Despite having had a small business for over 20 years, I do still ask myself if I’m being successful with this endeavor.
When you first start a business, you have a lot of uncertainty about how successful it will be. Even if you have a solid vision of what you’re trying to do, success may not become obvious for years.
Although you’re going to have a fair amount of doubts throughout this process, you must persevere and be prepared for the long haul. The moment you stop building is the moment your business will fall apart.
I find that one of the most effective ways to deal with the uncertainty is to get others to publish articles about your business and attract online exposure.
There are many ways to get publicity for your business, but I’m focusing on getting press for your website or Facebook page.
While I’m doing all of these things, I’ll also be producing content for my blog, which I plan to keep a daily habit, as well as providing marketing help for small business owners on my site.
So without further ado, here are the three most effective ways to get publicity for your business.
I’ve been obsessed with the bullet journal method since a friend showed me the trend years ago.
What is a bullet journal? Essentially, it’s a habit-forming method that encourages you to write down everything you do for the day, including everything you want to achieve.
Some bullet journalists start each day off with what they hope to achieve. For instance, they might write “Get a lot done today.”
If you’re going to be creating content, which I always encourage you to do, you can write, “Write at least one article.”
I prefer the bullet journal because it’s structured. It’s something I can use, create and review every day.
A lot of people ask me how I plan my day, and how I keep up with writing in my bullet journal. This is my general template for a bullet journal:
As you can see, I use all type of journals, but this is the one that I’ve been using for about five years.
This may look like a lot, but it’s a simple format. What’s more important is that you want to have the habit of writing a journal, of posting to your social media accounts and keeping in contact with your customers.
The purpose of this is to keep you accountable and keep you connected.
And if you’re creating content for your website, then it’s a way to advertise your website. If you can be a bit funny or amusing, then you will be able to hook someone and they’ll become loyal to you.
Your customers are more loyal to you when they find out you write about your own business.
The reason I love this method is that it’s the closest to a magical formula for business success that I’ve ever seen. There is no magic formula, but if you can manage the tasks that this method suggests, it will have a large and positive impact on your business.
A lot of people have tried to create the magic formula, but I believe this is the closest to a legitimate recipe. This method of writing is extremely effective.
This method also has the added advantage of helping to integrate the following techniques I’ll be discussing in the next section.
Just like you must be an athlete, you must become an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are born, not made.
You have to take the bull by the horns and create something of value. If you’re not an entrepreneur, but would like to create something of value, then you have to be a source of inspiration to your fellow human beings.
When I started my social media marketing company, it was one of those crazy days where everything went wrong.
My data systems didn’t work. My backups didn’t work. My customers wouldn’t pay for my services. I had almost lost everything.
That was the day I thought I would give up. I had no idea how I was going to keep going.
Then the devil sitting on my shoulder piped up and said, “Hey, what if you ran a local blog?” I had no idea what a blog was.
But the devil was persuasive. You’ll have the same experience as I had.
When you’re on an entrepreneur journey, you must find your inspiration. It’s an important part of being an entrepreneur.
It may be that you’re looking for ways to make a profit. There are tons of ideas online, but most of them aren’t worth the time to follow them up.
The problem is that you have to do research and find those valuable ideas that actually add value. You’ll have a lot of time to develop new ideas as an entrepreneur.
There are only so many hours in the day, and you have to make the most of the time that you have to become successful. Find that time to think and reflect, and make a mental note to follow up on any ideas you might have.
After all, if you have one idea that you truly believe in, you need to be able to follow it up with action. You need to develop an accountability system and get involved in your community.
One of the keys to becoming successful is building accountability.
If you are a part of a community of entrepreneurs, then you must not only be a part of the community, but you need to be an authority figure. Your community of peers needs to depend on you for guidance, for information, and for support.
We can’t be concerned with the million other guys out there trying to get rich. We must find an audience that can relate to our ideas. We need to develop a community of fellow entrepreneurs.
Most entrepreneurs start out in isolation.
You may not have the family or friends that are helping you out along the way. You might be pretty alone, but you have to build a network of friends who can help you out and hold you accountable.
For instance, if you’re selling financial planning services, you need to find other people who are selling the same kind of services.
Find people in your community who you can call on for advice and guidance. Use those people to develop a support system, so that you can reach new heights.
Remember, when you are trying to make a successful transition from an entrepreneur to a small business owner, you need to have a lot of help.
You need to find a group of other entrepreneurs and learn from them.
Building accountability means that you have to push yourself out of your comfort zone, and reach out to others.
