Spring is sprung! Just seeing the daffodils come up makes us all feel better, even if the clouds can’t decide whether to come or go. If you run a business, why not tap into the energy of springtime and shake up your social media?
Our social media managers shared five of their favourite ideas:
(more…)All businesses need to bring out new products and services from time to time. They help keep the business fresh, and can help you attract new customers from different demographics. So our marketing experts have broken down the key steps towards a successful product launch.
(more…)Regular followers of Get Ahead’s updates may have noticed that we’ve been diversifying our content recently. The team has collaborated to write and design two e-books, while our founder, Rebecca Newenham, has written her own book on franchising and flexibility, called Virtually Yours.
We’ve created the books not only because we have information to share, but also to showcase the skills and experience of our copywriters and graphic designers. We’ve noticed that e-book experience is in increasing demand, as more clients decide to make their knowledge available to their own business family.
(more…)You’ve fulfilled your dream of working for yourself and being your own boss. This is great news – we’re thrilled for you! But we also know that working alone can be tough. This applies to people in many professions, but particularly business coaches and life coaches, who give so much support to others that they sometimes neglect their own businesses.
In this blog, we look at ways to make working for yourself as fruitful and efficient as your business deserves.
The advantages of working for yourself
(more…)If you’re reading this, you might well be researching franchises before you choose one to commit to. That’s great to hear – we love it when someone new joins the Get Ahead family, but more importantly, we want you to find the franchise that’s the best fit for you.
One of the key advantages to buying a franchise is that you get to “work for yourself but not by yourself.” Get Ahead can back up that mantra with great results and franchisee feedback, but sadly, not all businesses can. When you’re researching franchises, it’s a good idea to look at what that means in practice. This means delving into how communication works at the business you’re considering, weighing up its effectiveness and deciding whether it would suit you.
In this blog, we look at how Get Ahead builds a strong communication network across the team of franchisees.
(more…)Get Ahead has been supporting coaches for almost as long as we’ve been in business. Some of our most successful working relationships have been with life coaches, business coaches and personal branding experts.
In this blog, we look at why outsourcing is a great solution for coaches.
Why is Get Ahead a valuable resource for coaches?
Coaches, like other business owners, usually have a long to-do list. In addition to working with clients to help them find their strengths, we know that coaches also have to market their businesses, stay on top of invoicing, create resources, keep up with the filing and more.
(more…)As we welcome the new year and make plans for the coming months, it’s important to recognise exactly where our businesses are and where they’re going. While our businesses probably offer the same products and services we created them for, our focus might have changed.
In this blog, we look at ways of identifying where our businesses are right now, and how to use our findings to plan ahead.
It may be tempting to get out last year’s plan and just reprise it for this year. But to create an effective forward plan, you need to be clear with yourself about where the business is now, and how successful it is.
You might notice you’re in a stronger position this year than last, or you might be in a weaker position. Perhaps there has been a development in your industry which affects the way you work. Suppose that you work in communications and covid homeworking has created some new opportunities for you to expand into. Or if you work in an industry that has become more precarious in the last two years, such as entertainment or hospitality, it might be time to broaden your offering in a new field.
As well as identifying where you are now, it’s also valuable to compare it with last year. If you were in a strong position twelve months ago and are now in a weak position, what has gone wrong and what can you learn from it? Alternatively, if you’re seeing a steady trend in your sector, it might suggest new opportunities to grow your business.
Depending on whether you’re on an upswing or a downswing, your priorities for the upcoming year will be different.
If things have been a little slow, business growth is the obvious priority. You might consider refocusing your marketing to connect with new audiences, or review your products and services to see if they still appeal.
On the other hand, if you’ve seen a year of expansion, it might be time to bring in more pairs of hands to help you meet demand. You might choose to invest in technology that would enable you to work smarter and expand still further. Perhaps the additional revenue generated last year could be reinvested in your business to help it grow.
If it’s time to break into a new market, we always recommend doing thorough research and keeping an open mind. We’ve seen restaurants offering online cookery and click-and-collect meals. We’ve seen theatre companies offering exclusive streamings of their shows. Sometimes the new direction chooses you – if all your clients have been from the same sector in recent months, consider ways of connecting specifically with that market.
Outsourcing is a cost-effective solution whether your business is expanding (or needs to expand!).
If this is the first year you’ve seen growth, you might feel cautious about taking on a permanent staff member. However, when you outsource, you only pay for the hours they work – you can even mix and match skills to create the perfect business support package.
And if you’ve recognised that you need to make your business work harder, a virtual expert can help. They can focus on a particular area you struggle with, whether that’s admin, marketing or cold-calling to drum up more business. Again, you only pay for the hours they work so there’s no need to commit to expenses you can’t support.
And if you’re breaking into a new area, you can work with a virtual expert who has relevant experience. For example, you might need to add some new pages to your website to showcase the additional services, or learn about a new pricing structure – the right virtual expert will share their knowledge and help your business to travel in its new direction.
Outsourcing for expanding businesses
Get Ahead has worked with countless clients whose businesses are experiencing growth. The flexibility a virtual expert offers makes outsourcing a great solution for businesses experiencing change of any sort. To find out more, visit our services page or contact your local regional director.
PS – if you found this blog useful, you might also like:
How to do a quarterly review – four questions you should be asking – Get Ahead VA
Learning from business mistakes – why it’s important and how to do it – Get Ahead VA
Why are financial goals important for my business? – Get Ahead VA
How do you feel about January? Are you someone who likes to hit the ground running, or does it take you ages to motivate yourself after the Christmas break?
At Get Ahead, we’ve learned to start the year with a bang! As soon as the fireworks go off for New Year, we’re feeling excited about what the future has to offer. We look for ways to do better in the coming year, harnessing the power of a fresh start to raise our standards and take our business to a new level.
In this blog, we share some of our ideas for starting marketing with a bang.
(more…)Do you make New Year’s resolutions? And – more importantly – do you stick to them?
New Year’s resolutions can be powerful motivators and a great tool to drive your business and yourself to a better place. The ones that work best are those that are flexible and realistic. A resolution you stick to is its own reward – if you and your career are in a better place because of it, it’s worked its magic.
In this blog, we look at choosing New Year’s resolutions, business and personal, and how we put them into practice.
(more…)For some of us, Christmas is about having a rest away from work and (fingers crossed!) spending time with friends and family. But Get Ahead works with a huge variety of businesses, and the team here are well aware that for the retail, hospitality and beauty industries, Christmas is the busiest time of the year.
In this blog, we look at ways busy businesses can streamline their systems, leaving business owners free to make customers happy!
(more…)