Small business Archives

Many businesses share a monthly newsletter with their client community, but we’ve seen a great engagement rate from sending out a different kind of message at Christmas. Instead of the usual combination of “hero” theme, tips and discounts, Christmas is a time to engage on a more human level.

For this blog, we talked to our digital and email marketing expert Claire about how to write a business Christmas message to strengthen your business relationships for the coming year.

What do we mean by a Christmas message?

Claire: Most monthly newsletters follow a standard format. Business owners have considered what works best for them and share a great combination of product promotion, top tips and special offers.

However, Christmas is not the time for a hard sell. It’s not really the time to talk about business either. Many businesses have their golden quarter in the run-up to Christmas…but by the time Christmas actually comes, it’s time to stop talking shop and connect on a more personal level.

What should I include in my Christmas message?

Claire: The best Christmas messages include a strong awareness of the reader, appropriate emotion and gentle humour. They’re a good opportunity to invite your clients to recognise your team members who have made a particular contribution. You can also show empathy by referring to challenges you know your clients have faced in the last year.

You can show emotion in your seasonal message with phrases like, “we’ve all found X tough this year…,” “I’m really proud of Y…,” and “Z was really exciting – such a privilege to be part of it!” Referring to your feelings will help your readers see you as a person and not just a business – this will reinforce your connection.

It’s easy for clients to overlook contributions made by individual members of your team. It’s not that they’re selfish – they just don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. But giving them some new insight has two benefits. Firstly, it shows that the service or product you offer doesn’t just magically appear – this helps your clients to understand its value. Secondly, it reinforces the fact that a real person has made something happen – a real support to the message that “people buy from people.”

Lastly, your Christmas message is the time to write about your clients and not about your business. Write about industry highs and lows, and praise your clients for how well they’ve coped with any recent storms. Thank them for supporting your business, including making referrals, being understanding in times of stress and remaining loyal.

Email marketing from Get Ahead If our blog has inspired you to write a different sort of Christmas message this year, Get Ahead are here to help. Our experienced marketing team includes content writers like Claire as well as graphic designers and email automation experts. Explore our site to find out more or follow us on LinkedIn. And if you’re ready to outsource your email marketing or any other back-office support, contact your local regional director here.

Social media marketing is a fantastic, low-cost solution that helps you share your message with your online community. Social media is also a great place to establish yourself as a thought leader and build your reputation through your expertise.

But what makes this complicated is that some content works better on social media than others, and it’s also important to stay-on brand.

In this blog, we look at how to flex with content while also keeping up your brand consistency.

What type of content is best for social media?

All types of content are great on social media…but you might have to adapt them. For example, sharing a whole blog as the main part of your post rarely works, because people using social media are looking for quick content rather than a long read. However, sharing the subheadings from a blog, or copying and pasting the intro paragraph, can be very successful. Both work as a teaser for the blog – you can then add the link to the whole blog if anyone wants to click through.

Similarly, you can adapt the message of your latest newsletter to share on your social channels. This helps you share the quality information that’s gone out to your mailing list with your social media community too.

If you create ebooks, you can use social media to promote your latest publication without sharing the whole thing. Remember to include a link to help people buy or download the complete ebook – don’t leave them hanging!

How do I find time to adapt my content?!

It’s often a good idea to write all your content from one idea at the same time – it can be a real time saver. If you write a blog, think about which sentence would make a strong social media post while you’ve still got the Word file open. Think too about how you can make this idea into a newsletter that will appeal to your mailing list.

All of Get Ahead’s content writers offer packages, where clients can have their blog and newsletter written from the same idea, with a suitable social media version too. This can be a great value solution that gets all the content written at the same time.

How do I maintain brand consistency if I’m changing up my content?

Editing your existing content doesn’t mean you have to compromise your brand message. If you have a strong brand that’s really embedded in what you offer, it’s almost impossible to go off-piste. That’s why it’s worth investing in your brand…but that’s another blog!

Re-read the carefully selected sentence from your blog before you post it on social media. It might be strong, but does it convey enough on its own? Consider whether it could be misinterpreted without the whole blog or ebook to give it context. Don’t be afraid to tweak it again to remove any controversy or reinforce your brand message.

Pictures can be very powerful on social media. Remember to illustrate your posts with pictures from your brand palette, accompanied by wording in the right font. If you regularly share content from your website to social media (e.g. estate agents sharing the latest properties), plan how these regular posts will look to keep up your brand consistency.

Outsource social media marketing

Our experienced social media managers love helping businesses like yours get more from Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and all the other channels. To find out more, explore our site or contact your local regional director.

The first budget of the new Labour government has been much anticipated, and Wednesday’s announcement had everyone glued to the news. Families, workers, savers and borrowers were all wondering what the budget meant for them. And entrepreneurs and CEOs were wondering, “what does the budget mean for businesses?”

In this blog, we look at what additional payments and reductions businesses need to cover, and how Get Ahead can help.

What does the budget mean for businesses?

The rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions (NICs) was not unexpected, but it has still raised the costs of taking on employees.

In addition, the increase to interest rates means that business loan repayments will increase – another cost to business owners.

It’s easy to see that, with these cost increases, business owners will be looking to make any savings they can.

One way that small businesses can save is by taking advantage of the increased employment allowance, whereby they don’t have to pay NI on the first £10,500.

Another way to save is to consider outsourcing instead of employing. Whether you’re new to outsourcing or you’ve used the model for years, Get Ahead is here to help.

How Get Ahead supports businesses impacted by the 2024 budget

Get Ahead is an established outsourcing agency. We work on a regional basis: business owners approach our regional directors in search of practical, back-office support. The regional director then connects the business owner with one of our virtual experts who delivers the required work.

There are a number of reasons why our business model gives businesses better value for money than conventional employment:

No NICs, sick pay, annual leave or pension contributions

All our virtual experts are self-employed. This means that our clients only pay for our experts’ work and don’t have any other financial responsibilities towards them.

Remote working

Our virtual experts work from home, meaning you don’t have to provide office facilities or tech hardware. This could save you renting office space, freeing up more of your profits to grow your business.

Only pay for hours worked

When you employ someone, you continue to pay them even when they’re on a tea break, watering the plants or signing team birthday cards. But with our outsourcing model, you only pay for the work they do for your business. We are also completely flexible – there’s no need to commit to paying for the same number of hours every month.

Your virtual team

Get Ahead’s virtual experts can work seamlessly with your other employees, or even form your entire team. Use outsourced work to plug skills gaps or provide support for project work. Alternatively, let us hand pick a group of people with the specific skills you need to take your business forward in a cost-effective way.

We believe you’ll see considerable savings when you outsource, enabling you to meet the new increased payments while still growing your business.

Find out more about the financial advantages of outsourcing here.

HR outsourcing and accounts outsourcing solutions for UK businesses

Unlike typical virtual assistant agencies, we offer a wide range of back-office services, including finance and HR outsourcing. Our finance experts can review your systems and might find other savings, like unused subscriptions and unpaid invoices. This could mean freeing up funds to cover the increased business costs, without having to let any of your current team go.

Our HR experts can help you stay compliant with the new rules, ensuring that you’re making the correct contributions and doing right by your employees. And if you find yourself in the unfortunate position of having to reduce the number of people you employ, our HR experts can help you manage the situation so it’s legal, fair and handled appropriately.

Get in touch to find out more

If our blog has got you thinking about ways to save money after the 2024 budget, we’d love to hear from you. We offer a range of outsourced back-office support, including administration, bookkeeping, marketing, social media, finance, HR and more. Visit our service pages here, or get in touch with your local regional director for a friendly, no-obligation chat.

Outsource graphic design, copywriting or administration to help you prepare for your next business expo!

Business expos can be great opportunities to find new customers and build your network. But to maximise the return on your investment of time and money, it’s important to plan ahead. Getting all your materials ready well in advance, as well as keeping your business going while you’re out for a whole day, will make the expo into a calm, positive experience to really help your business grow.

Let’s take a closer look.

How far in advance of the expo do I need to start planning?

Start planning for the expo about two months in advance. Of course, it’s not an exact science, and the amount of planning you need depends on how experienced you are at business expos!

Two months before the expo

The first steps to take are to think about your stand and what promotional materials you will use. If this is an expo where you are likely to pick up a lot of business, it’s worth investing more in sharing the right messages and developing some really memorable promotions. On the other hand, if your business is just making a token appearance or you’ve received the stand for free, you might not feel inclined to invest as much time or money.

Once you’ve decided on your goals for the expo, it’s time to think about what you need to achieve them. For example, the trusty pop-up banner you’ve used for the last three years might need to be updated, or you might need fresh material to promote a new product or service.

Whether you have a specific idea of what you want, or just a very broad vision, a good graphic designer will bring it to life. Planning two months ahead should give you and your graphic designer time to come up with a successful design. Remember, while the actual design might not take long, there are other factors that can delay the process. For example, the designer might have other client work, and you will need to find time to review the draft designs and give feedback.

One month before the expo

Now you’ve got your designs finalised, it’s time to send them to the printer to make into banners, leaflets, posters or whatever material you’ve decided to use at the expo.

Again, the printer can probably do the work in a lot less than a month, but it’s a good idea to have some time contingency. For example, while good printers will take work seriously and act with professionalism, problems can still arise. Slow couriers, supply chain problems, illness and emergencies can all get in the way of quick delivery of marketing collateral.

One month before the expo is also the right time to organise personnel to cover your stand. If you have a team, decide who is going to go to the expo (choose at least two people so you can cover breaks) and make sure it’s in the diary!

If you work alone, you might want to ask someone else from your business family to help you on your stand. If you’re already using a virtual expert from Get Ahead, they’d be happy to help! However, it’s important to fix it up in advance so they can plan their diary accordingly.

Expo days can be long. If you need to arrange childcare, book it now.

Two weeks before the expo

Decide how you’re going to get to the venue. If you can pop your banner, freebies and your packed lunch (!) in your car and park at the conference centre, all is well. But if it’s a city centre location and parking is difficult, or you have a lot to take with you and will need to hire a van, make a plan now.

One week before the expo

Get ready for your day out of the office. Tie up the loose ends, or delegate them to someone who isn’t going to the expo. Get Ahead’s virtual experts are here to help if you need us!

At home, fill up the freezer with easy, healthy meals. Expos can be very tiring – we’ve never had the energy to cook from scratch after an expo and we doubt you have either!

The day before the expo

Take everything you need for your stand and set it up. In our experience, it always takes longer than you think it will. Check the get-in time with the organisers and give yourself enough time to set your stand up properly – it will give you such a boost when you arrive in the morning!

The day of the expo

Enjoy yourself!

Outsource graphic design, administration and general support with Get Ahead

There are lots of ways Get Ahead can support you with your next expo. Many business owners decide to outsource graphic design, but there are lots of other solutions too. Talk to your regional director or download Getting the most from your Expo to find out more.

The much-anticipated Employment Rights Bill 2024 is being described as a “once in a generation” shake-up, protecting all workers and establishing new norms. Looking ahead, ministers hope it will improve job security, enabling more people of working age to stay in employment and contribute to the UK’s economic growth.

The Bill sets out new maternity rights, as well as an increase in statutory sick pay. Other rights will be introduced, including the right of a worker to retaliate against unfair dismissal without having to wait for a certain time period to elapse. While these could mean increased employment costs and workplace adjustments for small businesses, the overall benefits of the Bill are significant and a welcome protection for workers at all levels.

To help your business navigate the new normal and meet the requirements of the updated employment law, Get Ahead are here to help. Here are four ways we help small businesses comply with the Employment Rights Bill 2024:

Outsourced HR support

You want to do right by your employees but you need to know you’re operating within the new law too. Our HR experts will review your systems, contracts and employee handbooks to ensure they are up to date and compliant. Our team can also design and deliver training to update staff and supervisors, ensuring your team understands all the implications of the new Bill.

Payroll outsourcing services

The new Bill means changes to sick pay and maternity pay. If this also means changes for your payroll department, Get Ahead can help. Our payroll outsourcing services means we can set up new systems to incorporate the changes, ensuring your staff on sick leave and maternity leave receive the right pay at the right time.

Virtual PA services to streamline your systems

Over the years, our virtual PA services have helped countless clients to save money by streamlining systems and introducing efficiencies. Through chasing outstanding invoices, cancelling unused subscriptions, introducing quicker methods or reducing working hours, our VAs have made a massive difference to businesses of all sizes. Business efficiencies could free up the budget you need to cover the increases in sick pay and maternity pay outlined in the Employment Rights Bill 2024.

Your virtual team in an uncertain time

If you were on the point of recruiting but the new Bill has made you think twice, Get Ahead can help. Our expert team of remote workers can deliver back-office support while you test the water. And because you’re not locked into a long contract, you can hire your own permanent staff whenever you’re ready.

Flexible back-office support from Get Ahead

At Get Ahead, we know that businesses thrive on flexibility (that’s in the new Bill too!). That’s why all our services are fully flexible and we never tie clients into long contracts. In turn, this means your workplace changes could be sorted out quickly and efficiently – the new Bill doesn’t have to be an expensive, confusing headache at all. We can provide the short-term support to help you through the transition, freeing you up to do what you do best.

Explore our site to find out more, or contact your local regional director today.

Outsource recruitment planning and you’ll find you not only save time but see better results for your business too.

Recruitment planning is an essential part of growing your business. With a strategic plan and knowledge of how you’ll implement it, you can recruit the right people for your business who’ll help you deliver on your goals.

In this blog, we take a closer look at recruitment planning, how to do it and why it matters.

What is recruitment planning and how do I do it?

Recruitment planning is the spadework you put in before you advertise a vacancy.

What roles does my business need?

The first step is to work out what role or roles you need to recruit for. If you’re scaling up from working alone and taking on employees for the first time, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the prospect of recruiting a whole team at once. However, when you take time to plan the recruitment, you’ll see it all fall into place.

It’s probably easier to start with what you need your employees to do, rather than choosing job titles you think you need to fill. For example, you might want someone to do the accounts and keep on top of invoicing. If this is an area of business where you’re already comfortable, you might not need someone else to do this at management level, but you might need an admin assistant to deliver the day-to-day finance tasks.

It’s also a good idea to look at your business goals – these will help you decide what tasks you should prioritise. You might have spotted that you need to increase your sales by a certain percentage. If that’s the case, prioritising the recruitment of a strong sales team is the best way to deliver that goal.

What kind of person would be best for the job?

Once you’ve worked out what roles you need to fill, the next step is to think about what kind of person you’d like to have in that role. Remember that skills can be learned but personalities don’t change – think about the kind of person you want in your team and what kind of attitude is most likely to deliver the work you want.

Make sure your person specification and job description don’t have contradictions! Be realistic and remember, for example, that a motivated self-starter is unlikely to be a good team player, and vice versa. Some tasks don’t go well together, e.g. reactive jobs like PR can clash with regular responsibilities like finance and admin.

How do I attract the best candidates?

Another aspect of recruitment to consider is how to attract the highest calibre of applicant. Of course, salary is important, but savvy business owners also consider what values and benefits their business has that appeals to potential employees. For example, if you’re expecting to recruit someone to their first job, it might be helpful to say that there are prospects for promotion. If you want to attract someone who will stay in the role and really embed into your business, offering a long-term or permanent contract will help you appeal to candidates who are looking for job security. Depending on the role, values, ethics and your company’s B Corp status might also be worth mentioning.

Where should I advertise?

With the person spec and job description written, it’s now time to advertise. Think about where you might find the best candidates for the job. You might choose to headhunt on LinkedIn, or advertise on an industry-specific job board. Take time to think about how you’re going to spend your recruitment budget to be sure of having your advert seen by the most suitable candidates. For example, school-leavers might not be on LinkedIn yet, and efficient admin assistants don’t necessarily need to know your industry to work effectively. In other words, think carefully before you put your entry level jobs on LinkedIn or look for admin assistants by industry. On the other hand, leadership recruitment might involve actively reaching out to likely candidates instead of advertising in the usual way.

Why does recruitment planning matter?

The reason that all of these processes are important is that they help you attract and retain a higher calibre of applicant. This gives you a great talent pool to choose from and ultimately makes your business more successful. Best of all, if you recruit the right people for your business culture, they’ll want to stay. And the longer they stay, the better the value they give you.

Outsource recruitment planning

Outsource recruitment planning and you’ll benefit from the human resources expertise your business deserves. A well-planned recruitment process is the most likely to give you great new employees, ready, willing and able to take your business to the next level. Explore our HR outsourcing section to find out more.

What are the best ways to retain employees?

With a number of businesses struggling to recruit the right new staff, many business owners are looking to improve their employee retention strategies instead. Of course, we all know the basic tenets of respect, recognise and reward, but putting them into practice in an effective way can be more challenging.

In this blog, we talk to our business operations manager Debra, who manages our large team of virtual experts while also delivering outstanding admin support for Get Ahead clients. Debra herself has been with us for nearly ten years, giving her plenty of time to reflect on why she’s chosen to stay with Get Ahead.

Why is “respect, recognise, reward” not enough on its own?

Debra: The three R’s are a great starting point. But it’s also important that they’re not just a token effort. Instead, it’s important to think about what they mean for your specific business and the people you work with. Respect might include backing up your employees when they’ve done the right thing, even if the client doesn’t see it that way. Employee of the month can be a great recognition scheme, but sometimes a quiet “thank you” is more appropriate. Maybe you can’t afford to give the financial bonuses you’d like to, but it’s still important that your reward scheme resonates with your team.

How do I find the right employee retention strategy for my business?

Debra: A lot of this depends on your ideal workforce, the type of people they are and what their values are. For example, if you have a creative business where you employ lots of young people who are great at generating fresh ideas, you should acknowledge that they might have different values from older team members. Millennials might want to stay with your business because they admire its ethics and feel that it’s the best place for them to “be the change they want to see.” On the other hand, a team at a later stage of life might have financial commitments like mortgages or university fees. They might value job security more than your business’ journey to B Corp status.

Finding the right retention strategy can be tricky, but Get Ahead’s HR consultants can advise on how to take the general principles and make them specific to your business.

What do you think has made you stay at Get Ahead for this long?!

Debra: It goes without saying that I enjoy it here, I get on well with Rebecca Newenham and I love working with the wider team too. But on a practical level, I’ve found the flexibility perfect for my changing needs. I had a young family when I started working for Get Ahead, but the flexible working practices here mean that I could always be at school for sports day or at home if my family needed me. As family life and other commitments change, I’ve been able to take on more responsibility here, like managing the new content on the website. I didn’t have to stick with the same role as my capacity increased. And when I go on holiday, there’s always someone to cover my role so I don’t come back to a nightmare inbox!

I believe that this is a great example of a business knowing exactly what sort of person they want to work for them, and creating a role where that person wants to stay. A strong Get Ahead team member has to be someone who is naturally flexible, because the client work is so varied. To attract a team who thrive on flexibility, Get Ahead has to offer flexibility within its own culture too.

Develop the right employee retention strategy with Get Ahead

If Debra’s insights have made you take a second look at your HR practices, Get Ahead are here to support you. We can advise every stage of HR, from initial recruitment to rewards schemes that make your unique team want to stay. Explore our HR pages to find out more, or follow us on LinkedIn to become part of our online community.

Outsource website design and benefit from loads of skills, support and expert insights that will make your website work harder.

To get the website performance your business deserves, it’s important to check it accurately reflects your brand. In this blog, we look at how you can make your website work harder by ensuring every page and product is on-brand.

What is a brand?

A brand is the character of your business. What does it look like? What does its voice sound like? Who are its community and how do you talk to them? Is it fierce, strong, gentle, quirky, challenging, supportive, straightforward, creative…or something else?

When you know what your brand is, it’s very important to make it resonate in every area of your marketing. When your branding is consistent, it helps your customers relate to your business, products and services. Consistent branding also means that they feel as much at home and part of your community when they’re on your website as when they’re looking at your Instagram or attending one of your events. These factors are likely to strengthen customer loyalty and increase conversions.

How do I make my brand work on my website?

Appearance

A good designer or branding expert will always share their work with you in a format that you can use yourself or pass onto other marketing experts. If your designer has given you a specific colour palette and an inspiring logo, make sure you’re using them on your website. Remember to use exact colours – there are lots of shades, but only one or two accurately reflect your brand.

Check each page of your website, especially if they were made at different times or had input from different people.

Photos, pictures and images

Make sure that all the photos are similar – if your look is black and white, don’t let a colour photo creep in. Think about your target market too and check they’re reflected in the photos. Are they families? If so, check your pictures for gardens, children and pets. Corporate clients? Include images of suits and laptops. Of course, those are generalisations but it’s a good idea to think about who you’re trying to connect with.

Tone of voice

Tone of voice matters too: this is how you talk to your potential customers. Think about how you want to describe your business, and what words will resonate with your target market and get them on your side.

For example, if you offer a very traditional product, consider describing it as “classic” rather than “old-fashioned.” If your business is very cool and up-to-the-minute, use the latest trends in language and metaphor.

If buying your products would be a practical decision for your customers rather than an emotional one, you don’t necessarily need to describe what you sell as “amazing,” “fantastic” or any other hyperbole. Stick to telling people what it does.

There are lots of adjustments you can make to the language on your website to make sure it is consistent with the rest of your brand. And if writing isn’t your forte, consider outsourcing to a copywriter.

Consistent branding across other media

Now your website is on-brand, it’s time to check it against your other media. That logo that appears on your website – is it also on your business cards? Your social media? Your flyers?

Are the images you share on Facebook and Instagram aligned with the ones you share on your website? Is the language you use online the same as the language on your signage and printed collateral?

Check that a potential customer or client has the same experience of your business, wherever they encounter it.

Make your website work harder

When we align our websites with the rest of our brand, we inspire confidence in our potential customers and drive more conversions. Sometimes, strengthening the branding on a website is just a matter of a few tweaks. If that’s the case, it’s well worth investing a small amount of time and money to have them put right – you should see a fantastic return on your investment.

Outsource website design

If your online presence would benefit from outsourced web design, Get Ahead would love to help! Our team of web designers, developers, graphic designers, copywriters and SEO experts are all standing by to create the fantastic website your business deserves. Contact your local regional director to find out more.

PS – you can find our on-brand news and creative output on Instagram!

Outsource website development to increase traffic and drive conversions.

Every twenty-first century business needs a website. But is your website really working for you? Or could it be doing more? In this blog, we talk to our web developer Jennie about ways to make your website work to grow your business.

Why is a basic website not enough?

Jennie: A basic website is often false economy. If you’re going to invest time and money in having a website – whether you make it yourself or outsource website development – you might as well invest a little more and make it work for your business. Your website could be helping your business to build its reputation, or actively driving growth by providing downloads or an online version of your core business.

My website doesn’t interact with a booking platform. Do I need to start a new website from scratch?

Jennie: No, you don’t need to start again. A great thing about a website is that it’s an evolving, organic business asset. It’s really easy to make changes like adding a booking platform, ecommerce software or any other features.

These features will help your business to deliver its products and services online – it’s well worth using them to enhance your website and grow your business.

What else can I do with my website to improve user experience and increase conversions?

Jennie: Sharing website content on your social media is a great way to show Google and potential customers that you’re a credible business. Posting blogs and web pages to your social channels is excellent for increasing your visibility and creating ways for your customers to interact with you.

Many businesses create downloadable and gated content. Quality content enables you to share your expertise, while also strengthening your relationship with a potential customer. For example, if you write an ebook with your top tips for succeeding in your sector, you can make it available to download in return for the web visitor joining your mailing list. Once on your mailing list, you can communicate with them regularly, building your relationship and gradually encouraging them to buy your product or service.

Navigation is also a crucial aspect of user experience that can significantly impact how users interact with your website – make sure it works on mobiles and tablets as well as computers. A simple, intuitive navigation menu with clear, descriptive labels shows users exactly what to expect when they click. Try to think like a visitor to your website and organise your content in a logical way that makes it easy for someone to get the product or service you offer.

A good website should also be optimised for search engines so Google can easily find it. Check out our SEO infographic here.

How much content should I share on my website?

Jennie: This is a common question. It can be hard to decide whether you should demonstrate how much you know by sharing your expertise, or keep it to yourself so your clients can’t manage without you.

However, in reality, there will always be people who choose to do something themselves to save money. And there will always be people who know that paying an expert like you to do or provide something will have the best results. This is why you never need to worry about how much inside knowledge you share.

Bear in mind that your potential clients and customers don’t necessarily need to know all the detail of what you do. For example, I don’t write excited social media posts about new WordPress plugins. I care because they help me make better websites, but I know my followers don’t! My followers would much rather see a link to a website I’ve worked on that looks good and works well.

“How long should my content be?” is another frequently asked question. Long content (1000+ words) is good for SEO, but your ultimate goal should be converting a person, not an algorithm. Don’t write so much that they get bored! Instead, try for “just enough” which is about 500 words. Remember too that you can provide basic info on your main web pages and use your blog to go into more depth.

Outsource website development to Get Ahead

If you think your website could be working harder, Get Ahead can help! Web developers like Jennie love helping business owners get better results from their websites. They’re full of practical ideas that really make a difference. Contact your local regional director to find out more.

When you work alone, it can be difficult to give your clients your full attention while also driving business development. However, with the right attitude and priorities, it is completely possible! Read on for our top business growth ideas for solopreneurs.

What are the barriers to business development for people who work alone?

When we work alone, it’s really difficult to scale up our businesses. We have limited capacity, and once all our working time slots are full, there are no more hours available for us to earn from. This means that marketing, cold calling and other business development approaches probably won’t deliver what we need, because our businesses aren’t scalable.

On the other hand, we want to grow our businesses. No business owner is prepared to stay put forever. Instead, we need to take courage and think differently!

Top business growth ideas for solopreneurs

Be so good they can’t ignore you!

If we’re going to grow, we have to be unquestionably, unapologetically good at what we do. This puts us in a strong position to charge a higher rate. It can also help us establish ourselves as thought leaders, helping us to build a reputation that can help us launch other revenue streams that do not place demands on our time.

Remember that your expertise is valuable

Whatever we do, we probably find it enjoyable and easy – that’s why we do it! But remember too that the reason there is a market for our services is because not everyone can do what we do. Our knowledge and expertise have value.

Once we’ve established this mindset, it’s easier to see other ways we can share our expertise and grow our businesses too. Could we accept a speaking engagement? Better yet, could we accept two speaking engagements? That way, we can say almost the same thing to two different audiences and earn twice the revenue for one-and-a-half times the input.

Create other revenue streams

We’ve established that regular work is limited by the number of hours we have available. But that doesn’t mean we can’t generate income in a way that doesn’t eat into our time. For example, collating expertise into a book enables us to earn from book sales while we are doing our regular client work. Depending on our business, we could sell branded products, or develop paid-for content too.

Offer packages

Creating a package of top services is a great way to move away from the hourly-rate model that is holding back our business growth. For example, if you offer web design, consider offering web design and hosting as a package and gain a regular monthly income from it. Packages usually mean better service for your client because they have peace of mind knowing that everything is covered. And it’s good news for your business growth too – more money goes into the business on a regular basis while still leaving you time to do what you love.

Work with other people

Even with these ideas, there will still come a time when we cannot keep doing everything ourselves. When this happens, it’s time to accept help. Some business owners choose to employ staff. Others choose to outsource the tasks they find most challenging (see previous remarks about no one being good at everything!) – this frees them up to focus on their core business.

Outsource business development services

If your business would benefit from extra support, we hope you’ll consider Get Ahead. Many of our clients are in the scale-up phase of business growth, using outsourced support as an affordable solution as they grow. Explore our site or follow us on LinkedIn to find out more.

Category: Small business