“Dancing with the Stars” contestant Barry Williams is sharing a few secrets about his lasting marriage to his wife.
The “Brady Bunch” star, 69, has been married to Tina Mahina for over six years, and they’ve been together for ten.
“I think we could just take a page right out of the Disney book, make her your princess,” Williams told Fox News Digital on the “Dancing with the Stars” red carpet.
Williams’ wife is a singer, actress and Polynesian dancer, and he spoke about what his wife thinks about him being on the popular dance competition show.
“My wife is at home practicing dance moves so that … when I come back, we can book a cruise somewhere that has a ballroom floor.”
Williams and his professional dancer partner Peta Murgatroyd performed a jazz dance to “He’s a Tramp” from “Lady and the Tramp.” He and Murgatroyd received a score of 18 points for their jazz routine on Tuesday’s special Disney100 theme night.
Since kicking off season 32 on “Dancing with the Stars,” Williams gained an immense amount of support, especially from his “Brady Bunch” co-stars.
WATCH: ‘BRADY BUNCH’ LEGEND BARRY WILLIAMS SHARES KEY TO SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE: ‘MAKE HER YOUR PRINCESS’
Susan Olsen, who’s best known for her role as the youngest Brady child, Cindy, was cheering on Williams from the audience. He noted that other familiar faces from the “Brady Bunch” crew will come show support in the upcoming weeks.
“Susan also is here tonight supporting me. … She’s the first Brady that’s come, although there will be more,” Williams told Fox News Digital. “Christopher Knight will be coming, my ‘Brady’ bro.”
WATCH: ‘THE BRADY BUNCH’ STAR BARRY WILLIAMS ON INTENSE ‘DWTS’ WORKOUT: ‘I’M A BASKET CASE’
Williams said Olsen’s support means the world and said he valued their friendship over the years.
“We’ve been friends and continue to be friends all of our lives. … I would have been disappointed if she hadn’t,” Williams laughed. “But it makes me feel really good to know that she was here, and she was cheering us on. Very excited, very engaged.”
Customer engagement has quickly become a widespread use for AI in the retail industry and beyond. With more customers expecting a hyper-personalized, real-time experience, the demand for AI technology in marketing has never been greater.
It makes sense, then, that so many marketing AI tools and software are targeting the conversion funnel. From lead generation to lead nurturing to conversion, funnel AI tools help marketers improve their strategy and streamline their processes.
Even small businesses need to adopt AI technology to keep up. The good news is there are many tools and software platforms available, so you are likely to find one that meets your needs.
Here is a deeper look at nine of the top AI tools for successful marketing funnels.
1. Systeme
Systeme offers an all-in-one sales funnel software that enables you to build and manage your funnel like a boss. From creating a landing page to teaching an online course to managing your affiliates, Systeme provides an array of tools.
The free plan only allows up to 1,000 contacts, so you’ll need to upgrade if you need more. Systeme also offers three paid plans, including:
Startup $27/month: Up to 5,000 contacts
Webinar $47/month: Up to 10,000 contacts
Enterprise $97/month: Up to 15,000 contacts
If you need more than 15,000 contacts, custom plans start at $147 per month.
If you are just starting out, you will be happy to know that all plans include:
unlimited emails
unlimited file storage space
unlimited membership site members
no transaction fees (Stripe and PayPal platform fees may apply)
affiliate programs
online support
For a truly all-in-one platform, Systeme stands out as both robust and affordable.
Who Should Use Systeme?
Marketers looking to consolidate their suite of marketing tools and processes and rely on one tool.
2. Exceed.ai
According to data from Sales Insights Lab, 50 percent of prospects aren’t a good fit for what you sell. Instead of using your salespeople to weed out the duds, Exceed’s personalization and lead qualification automation can do it for you in less time.
Use Exceed.ai in the lead nurturing and conversion stages of your funnel. With Exceed’s top-notch AI technology, engage your leads in human-like conversation. The platform can even schedule meetings for your reps and bring you that much closer to the sale.
You’ll need to request a quote from Exceed.ai to learn more about the package that fits your budget.
Who Should Use Exceed.ai?
Businesses and organizations that need the greatest help in their sales funnel’s lead nurturing and conversion stages.
3. Saleswhale
All too often, lukewarm leads are left to cool down. While you may have trouble allocating resources to less-than-enthusiastic leads, Saleswhale has your back.
Saleswhale is a SaaS product that uses AI to identify, engage, and convert neglected leads. Using automated follow-ups, referral handling, and interest qualification, Saleswhale’s AI assistants offer a best-in-class experience for you and your leads.
With the free plan, you can begin to nurture and convert up to 200 leads per month. For additional leads and active email campaigns, paid plans include:
Starter $495/month: Up to 500 leads/month, one active campaign
Plus $1,495/month: Up to 2,500 leads/month, three active campaigns
Professional $2,495/month: Up to 5,000 leads/month, 10 active campaigns
Who Should Use Saleswhale?
Companies strong in lead generation, but who need assistance in lead nurturing and conversion.
4. Appier
Similar to Systeme, Appier is an all-in-one sales tool with a full suite of AI services. This SaaS can help with prospecting to transaction with its robust data science platform.
Where Appier excels is in cross-advertising solutions. Using AI, Appier can effectively segment your audience to drive maximum lead conversions. You no longer need to create campaign after campaign hoping to hit the mark, as Appier will do the dirty work for you.
Appier’s pricing is not available on their website, so you’ll need to reach out to learn more about their tools and their potential fit with your business.
Who Should Use Appier?
Companies looking for a comprehensive suite of AI-powered marketing tools.
5. ClickFunnels
If you are looking for an end-to-end sales funnel solution, then consider ClickFunnels.
Utilizing AI sales models and neural sales data, ClickFunnels aims to improve the marketing experience for businesses of all sizes.
ClickFunnels enables you to easily create funnels, build websites, and manage affiliates. This means you can collect, nurture, and convert leads using just one platform. With more than 100,000 entrepreneurs using or having used the platform, it has undoubtedly made a name for itself in the industry.
While there are no free plans available, there are plans for almost any business’ budget. These include:
Basic $97/month: 20 funnels, 100 pages, three payment gateways, and three domains
Platinum $297/month: Unlimited funnels, unlimited pages, nine payment gateways, and nine domains
Two Comma Club $2,497/month: Unlimited funnels, unlimited pages, 27 payment gateways, and 27 domains
All plans come with chat support and video training.
Who Should Use ClickFunnels?
Companies who want an all-in-one solution that offers hand-holding and easy-to-use templates.
6. Data Studio
Previously known as BrightFunnel, Data Studio by Terminus is a funnel reporting tool that connects marketing platforms to deliver beautiful, insightful analytics.
When your sales funnel is fully implemented, it is crucial to evaluate it regularly. While many marketing tools and services provide their own data and reports, they may not be as robust as you need. With Data Studio, you can create custom reports for marketers, executives, and stakeholders.
Pricing is not readily available on the website, but you can schedule a demo to learn more about the platform.
Who Should Use Data Studio?
Marketing teams who need a cohesive analytics and insights platform to bring their sales funnel data to life.
7. Akkio
According to HubSpot, the top priority for marketers is generating leads. However, as any marketer can tell you, not all leads are created equal. You can spend your time manually poring over the data to determine your best path forward, or you can let Akkio take the reins.
Akkio is an AI marketing platform with tools to support every stage of the funnel. Where it excels, however, is in its augmented lead scoring and churn reduction technology. Using data-driven insights, Akkio aims to narrow in on the leads with the greatest chance of a conversion.
For as low as $50 per month, billed annually, you can give Akkio a try with very little risk. The features included in all plans are:
unlimited users
unlimited data
unlimited flows and deployments
integrations and API
model reports
Who Should Use Akkio?
Companies looking for a scalable, data-driven solution.
8. Bant.io
If you are hurting for qualified leads, you should know you’re not alone. According to HubSpot, 61 percent of marketers consider lead generation to be their top challenge. The good news is there are marketing AI tools, like Bant.io, that can help.
Bant.io offers an impressive array of lead generation tools and services. These run the gamut, including:
email
social outreach
pay per click ads
retargeting ads
sales chatbot
Unlike many one-size-fits-all options, Bant.io plans are customizable to meet your business’s needs. Just add the modules you need and leave the rest. The modules include:
Email outreach: $795/month
Social outreach: $495/month
Retargeting ads: $395/month
PPC ads: $395/month
Sales chatbot: $95/month
With Bant.io’s automated services at your fingertips, you will soon find yourself buried in qualified leads who are ready to take the next step.
Who Should Use Bant.io?
Marketers who favor a piecemeal approach to lead generation.
9. Funnel.io
It’s not enough to have a marketing funnel in place. You must evaluate every step of your funnel on a regular basis. While most funnel tools will have their own reporting, they may not always present you with the big picture. That’s where a reporting tool like Funnel.io comes in.
With 500+ data connections available, Funnel.io makes it easy to build reports that touch on all areas of your business.
Can’t find the data source you need? The team at Funnel.io will work with you to get it added to their platform.
There are a variety of plans available, including:
Essentials $399/month: Connects to 260 platforms, five seats, email support
Plus $999/month: Connects to 500+ platforms, unlimited seats, email and chat support
Enterprise $1,999/month: Connects to 500+ platforms, unlimited seats, priority email and chat support, and a Customer Success Partner
All plans are billed annually.
Who Should Use Funnel.io?
Marketers or agencies looking for a comprehensive and collaborative reporting platform.
Frequently Asked Questions About Marketing Funnel AI Tools
Do you have questions about funnel AI tools? Take a look at the most frequently asked questions below.
What Role Will AI Play in Marketing in the Future?
With increased expectations from both B2C and B2B customers, there will continue to be a need for AI tools in marketing and sales. This isn’t just within the retail industry, but healthcare, food services, technology, and beyond.
What Should I Look for in a Sales Funnel AI Tool?
First, you want to find a tool specializing in the sales funnel stage your business most needs help with (lead generation, lead nurturing, conversion, or all stages). Then consider how easily the tools available fit into your daily workflow so you can choose the right one for your business.
When Should I Consider an All-in-One Solution?
Whether you are just getting started or you would like to consolidate your marketing efforts, an all-in-one solution can be a smart option. The benefit is having all of your data in one place which can improve your ability to use it.
What Types of Businesses Benefit Most From Sales Funnel AI Tools?
With the explosive growth of marketing funnel tools utilizing AI technology, there are tools available for just about any budget. From small businesses to large corporations and marketing firms, just about any business can benefit from AI-driven sales funnel tools.
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AI Tools for Successful Marketing Funnels: Conclusion
Marketing automation and AI are here to stay. This is why companies big and small need to make the shift to using marketing AI tools sooner rather than later.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to marketing automation. Luckily for marketers, there are plenty of tools, platforms, and software to choose from.
Whether you choose an all-in-one solution or a platform that specializes in just one step of the funnel will depend on your needs. Whatever you choose, just know you are taking an important step in future-proofing your digital marketing processes.
Which of the above marketing funnel AI tools would be a beneficial addition to your business?
If you own a small business, content marketing is a tactic you should consider to grow your audience base and increase your brand’s name recognition.
Content marketing refers to the creation and dissemination of online materials that grow traffic to your website. Content types can include blogs, infographics, and whitepapers that are geared toward creating interest in your products or offerings.
In this post, we’ll break down why business owners of every size should deploy a content marketing strategy and how to create one.
Why Should Your Small Business Do Content Marketing?
Serving up useful, timely content allows your business to become a thought leader in your industry, increasing your business’s recognition and building consumer trust, respect, and loyalty.
Content marketing also allows you to identify your consumer’s pain points and speak to how your products solve those issues. This can lead directly to sales.
Another lasting benefit of content marketing is any evergreen content you create. This refers to assets that do not become outdated, like blog posts about the history of your industry or an infographic on how to complete a process that doesn’t change.
You can also find use in content marketing when you create assets that can be used across multiple channels and marketing campaigns. For example, if you write a blog post about the needs of a certain community, you can create a YouTube video on the topic and use the video in your blog post. Then you can link to the post and/or video on your social media channels. This saves you time and money, all while firmly establishing you in your field of expertise.
Small Business Content Marketing: 7 Steps for Success
The rest of this post will break down the seven steps every business owner should undertake to build a successful small business content marketing strategy.
1. Start a Blog
Blogging is a completely free way to market your services and capabilities, while simultaneously establishing yourself as an industry expert.
2. Build a Social Media Presence on the Social Channels Your Audience Uses
If you’re actively involved in selling a product or service, you most likely have a social media presence of some variety.
Unfortunately, simply being present isn’t enough. You need to be active on platforms that your audience uses.
How do you choose which social media channels among the multitude of options are right for your brand?
Before you start posting anywhere, you need to identify your target audience. On social media, you’re not speaking to everyone; you’re speaking to a specific set of consumers with specific interests. After you’ve established who you’re speaking to, you must determine how to reach those individuals.
You can use a variety of strategies to determine where your audience is active.
Aggregate all existing consumer data to see where your audience is spending their online time.
Visit your competitors’ social profiles to see where they have the most active users
Use tools like Google Analytics to determine consumer online behavior.
These three steps can help you begin to identify where your target audience is active and begin delivering content to them on those particular platforms.
Resources for Building a Facebook Presence for Your Small Business
Email newsletters are an excellent way for small businesses to wade into the world of email marketing. They alert your readers to new products, upcoming events, industry-related news, and any other notable business-adjacent happenings.
With historically high return on investment (ROI), for every dollar spent on email marketing, expect an average ROI of $42. Email marketing is an excellent tool for small businesses to use. In addition to sheer ROI, email newsletters can help small businesses:
4. Create Content Corresponding to a Basic Customer Sales Funnel
Finding the right consent to correspond to your consumer’s needs is key to getting them to actually make a purchase.
With a basic customer sales funnel and an accompanying content strategy, you can identify which stage of the funnel your customer currently occupies and deliver them content that speaks toward that stage.
A marketing funnel is the process people go through to reach the conversion phase. The funnel includes everything from getting introduced to your brand until they convert. Most marketing funnels have four steps:
Attention: a would-be consumer sees your ad, social media post, or learns about you through word-of-mouth
Interest: consumer wants to learn more
Desire: consumer wants to convert
Action: consumer acts (buying your item, subscribing to your email newsletter, etc).
To align this four-step process with your content creation, be sure you’re targeting customers within the various stages of the funnel with relevant content. For example, you wouldn’t want to overburden a potential consumer in the attention phase with an in-depth content asset.
Resources for Creating a Basic Sales Funnel/Content Journey
While it’s important to do the work to establish your buyer personas and to deliver them the content they need during their respective buyer’s journey stage, it is also important to keep delivering relevant content in a cadenced fashion.
Instead of scrambling to create content in a reactionary manner, build monthly calendars that include social posts, blog posts, emails, and whatever other content you would like to create that month.
Not only does this strategy keep you organized, but it also allows your readers to get comfortable with a schedule of content and to build continued trust and familiarity with your brand.
In a competitive landscape, it’s important to stand out however you can. One way your small business can achieve this is through your content marketing strategy.
Do a deep dive into both your existing content and your competitors’ content. See what is resonating with audiences and what isn’t. Once you’ve established efficacy, it’s time to try to replicate that success with your upcoming content.
Then it’s time to get creative. Don’t be limited by what already exists. Take your latest blog post and turn it into an infographic. Take your infographic and turn it into a whitepaper. Take your white paper and make it a series of quote-centric social tiles.
97 percent of local consumers use online media, including reviews, to search for local services. If you’re a small, local business, that means your reviews are driving your business.
Make those reviews work as hard as you do by bringing them to life through social posts and testimonials on your website and blog.
By sourcing the best quotes and ascribing a face to the name, you make that review much more personal, creating a consumer-generated ad that speaks for itself.
Resources for Building Effective Customer Testimonials
Building buyer personas allows you to establish a better understanding of your audiences and their respective pain points. By determining who is purchasing your products, you can assess which content they need and when.
Identify valuable consumer content
Consumers don’t want content for content’s sake. They want content that can solve their problems. After you’ve identified buyer personas, work to identify what content assets can best serve your buyers’ unique needs.
Set business goals
Setting business goals that align with your marketing strategy can feel overwhelming at first. Use the principle of SMART goals to make your benchmarks reasonable and reachable.
Solidify distribution channels
You’ve got your content ready to go and your goals ready to measure. It’s finally time to start sharing your content. While it would be nice if every piece of content performed well on every channel, that’s sadly not the case. Determine which pieces of content are appropriate for which channel to ensure success and reach.
Establish cadence
It’s not good enough to deliver one piece of content and rest on your laurels. You must establish a cadence that regularly delivers quality content to your consumers.
Small Business Content Marketing Frequently Asked Questions
Why do small businesses need content marketing?
Even though you’re a small business, you most likely have big competition. To make your business stand out among the crowd and grow your audience, you need a content marketing strategy that allows you to demonstrate your value to future and current consumers.
What are some examles of content marketing?
Examples of content marketing include blog posts, infographics, social media campaigns, podcasts, white papers, ebooks, downloadable PDFs, and YouTube videos. Any type of media that is free to access and brings in leads to your website is content marketing.
What is the best content marketing strategy for a small business?
Having clearly delineated buyer personas is vital for a strong, small business content marketing strategy. Without these personas, your content won’t have clear direction or purpose, resulting in low audience interaction.
How should small businesses create content for their content marketing strategy?
Small business content marketing is all about solving for the buyer’s pain point. After you’ve identified personas, all created content should center both around the respective pain points and what point the buyer is within the funnel.
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Small Business Content Marketing Conclusion
While your small business content marketing may be minuscule, it doesn’t mean that you can’t undertake most, if not all, of the above eight strategies.
After successfully defining your buyer personas, you’re well on your way to developing a winning content marketing strategy that can grow your audience and increase overall sales.
What’s the most effective strategy you’ve seen for small business content marketing?
Having good social media profiles can get you more exposure online, help you connect with your fans or customers, and improve your online reputation.
Unless you have a major site associated with your name (like NeilPatel.com), your social media profiles are usually the first results Google shows when someone searches for you.
Start thinking of each social media profile you create as a landing page for your personal brand.
Your social media profiles are possibly the first encounter that someone is going to have with your brand, and you want that first impression to make the visitor interested in knowing more about you.
Here are 10 elements of successful social media profiles.
Element #1: Your Social Media Profile Display Name
Okay, this seems fairly basic. The name that displays on your social media profile should just be your own name, right?
Usually, that’s correct. However, sometimes that doesn’t make the most sense.
On platforms like Twitter, where you don’t have to use a real name, a pseudonym might make more sense.
Element #2: Your Social Media Username and URL
On most social networks, your username is included in your URL, and it’s often different from your display name. Usually, you can’t change your username, so choose it carefully.
If possible, it’s usually best to just go with your own name. Sometimes, if you’re the face of your company, the company name might work better.
On Twitter, Brian Dean isn’t @briandean but @Backlinko, since that’s the name of his company.
It can be confusing when this isn’t the case, like Instagram being @yourname and Twitter being @yourcompany or @yourmiddlename.
Element #3: Your Social Media Profile Picture
Should you go with a logo or a personal picture?
Of course, if it’s for a personal account, you should almost always go with a headshot.
What about for a company? It’s a tough call, but it really depends on your goals. If you run a smaller operation or are the face of your company, include a headshot of you.
That’s what Brian does on Twitter, even with his company usernames. This also applies to people that are brands themselves, like musicians, artists, or politicians.
If you have a more recognizable brand or don’t want your company to be associated with you specifically, go with the logo.
It’s also a good idea to stick with the same (or at least a similar) photo across different social networks. That way you’re easier to recognize on different platforms.
Element #4: Your Social Media Profile Link
This varies from one social media network to the next, but be sure to seek out any opportunity to get your link on the main page of your social profile.
For example, you can add a link on the “front page” of your profiles on Twitter and LinkedIn.
You can use these pages to offer a special discount for people who have found you on Twitter or share information that is specific to a network, like recent blog posts you have written about Facebook.
Element #5: Your Social Media Profile Bio
Your main social profile bio should usually include a sentence or two about yourself or your business. Think of it as a perfect place to put your elevator pitch and include keywords.
If you’re on a platform like LinkedIn, your “about” section can have up to 2,000 characters. This is a huge opportunity to explain what you’re all about and make a great first impression.
To make this succeed, you’ll want to add more than just a simple description of what you’ve done and your current projects. Instead, create a story with a basic call to action.
For example, you can tell how you started with the industry you’re working in. What got you interested in it, and what makes you stick around and keep learning?
Finally, you can finish your bio with a simple call to action. This can be a link to a free report, an offer for someone to call you, or even a mission statement asking “will you join me?”
Element #6: Your Social Media Profile Interests
Some profiles allow you to have additional extended information about yourself in the form of favorite books, television shows, movies, and so on.
A lot of people skip over this, especially when it comes to business profiles, but that is a big mistake.
Look at these fields as an additional place to get some great value and connections
I doubt there is a niche out there that doesn’t have at least one or two published books.
Find books, documentaries, and profiles of influential people in your industry and add those in these additional fields (assuming you actually enjoy them, of course!)
This adds credibility and a new level of connection you can build with people who are learning about you for the first time.
Element #7: Your Social Media Profile Background or Cover Image
Different platforms have different requirements, but most social networks today have some way to add a larger image behind your main profile page.
Some users, especially on Twitter and LinkedIn, choose to use the default background image, but this is a mistake.
A customized background will allow you to share additional information and give personality to you or your brand.
Don’t make it distracting or more important than your profile picture, but a great cover image can go a long way to personalizing your social page.
On some platforms, like Facebook, this can even be a video. If you have the option (and decent video), this can be even an even more engaging way to connect with others.
Element #8: Your Social Media Profile Privacy Settings
After you have all of your profile filled out and pictures uploaded, the next thing that you will need to take a look at is your privacy settings.
These vary from network to network, but you will want to make sure that the information you would like to be public is viewable.
Chances are, if this is a business-related profile, you’ll want almost everything to be public. Of course, if your profile is more personal nature, you may want to hide some things.
Element #9: Your Social Media Activity
Once your profile setup is complete, your on-going mission will be to maintain a healthy level of activity on your main social networks.
It’s not enough to leave a profile blank. You need to contribute to the platform and build connections. After all, that’s what they’re there for in the first place.
No matter what social network you’re on, the basic guidelines still apply. You’ll want to connect with friends and followers by asking questions and responding to comments.
Provide value by posting interesting ideas, or at least sharing interesting and relevant things you find.
If you’re in any groups, become an active participant. Be helpful, connect with others in the group, and share things the group will find interesting.
Element #10: Your Social Media Promotion
Finally, there is nothing like a little healthy promotion of your social network profiles to help more people find and connect with you.
Be sure to add your social networking profile links to your website, email signature, and business card.
Also, don’t forget to interlink your profiles to each other. Many networks have places to include links to other networks, and you can and should use them whenever possible.
Stay connected, become an active member on the social network of your choice, and you’ll start acquiring a following.
Social Media Profile FAQs
What should my profile picture be?
This depends on what you do. If you have a personal profile or your brand centers around who you are, use a headshot. If you have a business where you aren’t the face, your logo will work well.
What should I do if my preferred username is taken on another platform?
Using the same name is ideal but not always possible. If your username is taken on another platform, then use something very similar.
What should I put in my social media bio?
Your social media bio should have everything people need to know about your brand. Let them know what makes your brand stand out, what you do, and a call to action whenever possible.
How can I do to personalize my social media profiles?
You can brand your social media profile by using a custom cover image with your brand colors and logo. You can also put important information in your cover image. On some platforms, you can also add your interests. This is a great way to add a personal touch.
What can I do to promote my social media profiles?
You can cross-promote your social media profile with each other, by adding all of your links to each profile. You can also all links to your website, and email campaigns.
Social Media Profiles Conclusion
If you’re getting started with social media marketing, the first step is to set up your accounts and profiles correctly.
If you’ve already been in the game for a while, it’s probably time to take a look at the profiles you set up.
Are there ways to improve what you already have online? Is the profile picture you uploaded last year still relevant? Does your bio or link need updating?
Since it’ll be the first impression many people see, it’s worth spending some time to improve your social media presence and make it compelling and interesting.
What strategies have you used to improve your social media profile?
The Perfect Business Credit Portfolio Includes Vehicle Financing
Does your business need vehicles to get the work done? This can be any number of kinds of vehicles, such as trucks for deliveries and hauling, sprinter vans, company cars, and even vans to facilitate commuting for your employees. Vehicle financing can be a smart way to afford all of them.
Vehicle Financing in a Nutshell
Much like you probably didn’t buy your personal vehicle outright, financing is a great way to go in order to get a vehicle now, without having to wait until you can just pay cash and drive it off the lot. With a car for personal use, your choices are usually buying or leasing. Providers include banks like Bank of America or the financing arm of the manufacturer, such as Chrysler Capital.
Commercial vehicle funding has certain parameters. Whether a vehicle is purchased new or used will affect the number of years you can finance the vehicle and the rates you will pay. If a vehicle is used, then the number of miles on it will also affect terms. Plus, business owners may be required to personally guarantee vehicle loans. If you are a co-borrower the loan will most likely report to your personal credit report. Some loans have a prepayment penalty and charge you for paying ahead.
In general, the following will eliminate the need to provide a personal guarantee for this type of financing: good business credit, a decent amount of time in business or good personal credit. And much like with any other kind of business borrowing, the more assurances you can give the lender, the better.
Basic Terms and Qualifying
You need to establish the amount of money you have for a down payment, and the vehicle you need. Plus, you must establish the costs associated with buying the vehicle.
You’ll need to provide documentation that proves you are the owner of a business. This includes business licenses, partnership agreements, LLC documents, and articles of incorporation (if applicable), listing you as having at least a 20% stake in the business.
You may also have to provide personal documentation like personal credit score and credit history. If you are a sole proprietor and the business is under your Social Security number, you are the borrower and guarantor. Hence you are personally liable for repaying the loan. It is also a good idea to have a loan proposal. A loan proposal should detail your business, loan needs, and financial statements.
Good Business Credit Can Help
If your company needs vehicles for operation build your business credit. This, way you will be able to qualify with no PG. Having this ability can give you the freedom to grow your fleet, and without your signature. More on this later. First, let’s look at those four keys to financing.
Vehicle Financing Key #1: Using Business Credit for Vehicle Financing
You can even finance a vehicle purchase or lease through our Business Credit Builder. These offers are in Tier 4, so these lenders will have certain requirements that business credit neophytes just won’t be able to meet. Lenders will want to see that you have the income to support the purchase.
As an example, consider Ford Commercial Vehicle Financing.
Ford Commercial Vehicle Financing Through Credit Suite
Ford offers several commercial funding options. These include loans, lines, and leases to actual business entities. This is not for sole proprietorships. You can get a loan or a lease.
Ford may ask for a Personal Guarantee (PG) if you don’t get an approval on the merit of your application. Apply at the dealership. Ford will report to D&B, Experian, and Equifax.
Ford Commercial Vehicle Financing: Terms and Qualifying
To qualify, you need:
Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address- matching everywhere
D-U-N-S number
Business license (if applicable) and a business bank account
You will need to have a strong business credit history. And you must have a good Experian business credit score.
Ally provides personal financing. But Ally will also report to business credit bureaus. If your business qualifies for financing without the owner’s guarantee, you can get financing in the business name only. Ally will report to D&B, Experian, and Equifax
Ally Car Financing: Terms and Qualifying
For Ally Commercial Line of Credit, to qualify, you need:
Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address- matching everywhere
D-U-N-S number
Business license (if applicable)
And a business bank account
Bank reference
Fleet financing references
If you use a personal guarantee, Ally will not report to the personal credit bureaus unless the account defaults.
With Ally Commercial Vehicle Financing, you can get a lease or a loan. To qualify, you need:
Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address- matching everywhere
D-U-N-S number
Business license (if applicable)
And a business bank account
There is no minimum time in business requirement. Apply in person only, dealer will advise if approval or Personal Guarantee (PG) needed.
Yet another potential form of vehicle financing is through the Credit Suite Credit Line Hybrid. A credit line hybrid is a form of unsecured funding. Our credit line hybrid has an even better interest rate than a secured loan. Get some of the highest loan amounts and credit lines for businesses. Get 0% business credit cards with stated income. These report to business CRAs. So you can build business credit at the same time. This will get you access to even more cash with no personal guarantee.
Credit Line Hybrid: Terms and Qualifying
You need a good credit score or a guarantor with good credit to get an approval (a FICO score of at least 680). No financials are necessary. You can often get a loan of five times the amount of current highest revolving credit limit account. This is up to $150,000.
Vehicle Financing Key #3: 401(k) Financing
Another option for vehicle financing is using your 401(k) as collateral. This is not a loan. You will not have to pay an early withdrawal fee or a tax penalty. You put the money back by contributing, just like with any 401(k) program. This means you won’t lose your retirement funds. This is a 401(k) Rollover for Working Capital program. The IRS calls it a Rollover for Business Startups (ROBS).
Per the IRS, a ROBS qualified plan is a separate entity with its own set of requirements. The plan, through its company stock investments, rather than the individual owns the trade or business. Therefore, some filing exceptions for individuals may not apply to such a plan. This type of financing isn’t a loan against, your 401(k), so there’s no interest to pay. It does not use the 401(k) or stocks as collateral. Instead, this is simply a movement or change of custodian.
401(k) Financing: Terms and Qualifying
Pay low rates, often less than 5%. Your 401(k) will need to have more than $35,000 in it. You can usually get up to 100% of what’s “rollable” within your 401(k) . The lender will want to see a copy of your two most recent 401(k) statements.
You can get 401(k) financing even with severely challenged personal credit. The 401(k) you use cannot be from a business where you are currently employed. So it will need to be from older employment. You cannot be currently contributing to it.
Vehicle Financing Key #4: SBA 504 Loans
The SBA 504 loan can be used to purchase “Long-term machinery and equipment”. As a result, it’s not a standard car loan. But you can purchase a truck with it. You can use an SBA 504 loan when the vehicles being purchased qualify as heavy equipment.
Some examples of trucks as ‘heavy equipment’ can include:
Cement trucks
Dump trucks
Custom-build heavy trucks fit for specific purposes (loading/unloading septic tanks, for instance)
Semis and tanker trailer trucks
If your vehicle needs run in this direction, then an SBA loan could be perfect for your needs.
SBA 504 Loans and Credit Suite
Did you know that you can get SBA loans through Credit Suite? Established businesses with tax returns that show good revenues and profitability can get very large sums of funding with Secured Small Business Loans. If you have positive business tax returns, you should apply for secured government-backed SBA program loans from $250,000 up to $12,000,000. Approval amounts will vary based on the collateral your business has, and the amount of net profit reflected on your tax returns.
The total time to close these loans is about 2-4 months. SBA loans offer some of the longest payback terms available for business financing. Get loan terms for 10, 15, or even 25 years with the SBA. Interest will total approximately 3% of the debt. The rate may be financed with the loan.
Get approved for up to $12 million. Your credit will have to be of good quality. Your collateral will need to equal 50% of the loan amount. Financials will be necessary.
SBA 504 Loans Through Credit Suite: Documentation
The SBA will require certain documentation to qualify including:
Business and personal financials
Resume and background information
Personal and business credit reports
Your business plan
Bank statements
Collateral and any other documentation relevant to the transaction
Vehicle Financing: Takeaways
Getting vehicle funding involves variables like whether the vehicle is new or used. Heavy vehicles like dump trucks can be paid for with SBA 504 loans. There is a possibility that you would have to provide a personal guarantee to get a loan or lease. Credit Suite offers financing that you can use to purchase vehicles, and we offer even more options through our Business Finance Suite. There are four keys to open the door to affording vehicles for your business. And there are a lot of options. Let’s explore them together.
The Perfect Business Credit Portfolio Includes Vehicle Financing
Does your business need vehicles to get the work done? This can be any number of kinds of vehicles, such as trucks for deliveries and hauling, sprinter vans, company cars, and even vans to facilitate commuting for your employees. Vehicle financing can be a smart way to afford all of them.
Vehicle Financing in a Nutshell
Much like you probably didn’t buy your personal vehicle outright, financing is a great way to go in order to get a vehicle now, without having to wait until you can just pay cash and drive it off the lot. With a car for personal use, your choices are usually buying or leasing. Providers include banks like Bank of America or the financing arm of the manufacturer, such as Chrysler Capital.
Commercial vehicle funding has certain parameters. Whether a vehicle is purchased new or used will affect the number of years you can finance the vehicle and the rates you will pay. If a vehicle is used, then the number of miles on it will also affect terms. Plus, business owners may be required to personally guarantee vehicle loans. If you are a co-borrower the loan will most likely report to your personal credit report. Some loans have a prepayment penalty and charge you for paying ahead.
In general, the following will eliminate the need to provide a personal guarantee for this type of financing: good business credit, a decent amount of time in business or good personal credit. And much like with any other kind of business borrowing, the more assurances you can give the lender, the better.
Basic Terms and Qualifying
You need to establish the amount of money you have for a down payment, and the vehicle you need. Plus, you must establish the costs associated with buying the vehicle.
You’ll need to provide documentation that proves you are the owner of a business. This includes business licenses, partnership agreements, LLC documents, and articles of incorporation (if applicable), listing you as having at least a 20% stake in the business.
You may also have to provide personal documentation like personal credit score and credit history. If you are a sole proprietor and the business is under your Social Security number, you are the borrower and guarantor. Hence you are personally liable for repaying the loan. It is also a good idea to have a loan proposal. A loan proposal should detail your business, loan needs, and financial statements.
Good Business Credit Can Help
If your company needs vehicles for operation build your business credit. This, way you will be able to qualify with no PG. Having this ability can give you the freedom to grow your fleet, and without your signature. More on this later. First, let’s look at those four keys to financing.
Vehicle Financing Key #1: Using Business Credit for Vehicle Financing
You can even finance a vehicle purchase or lease through our Business Credit Builder. These offers are in Tier 4, so these lenders will have certain requirements that business credit neophytes just won’t be able to meet. Lenders will want to see that you have the income to support the purchase.
As an example, consider Ford Commercial Vehicle Financing.
Ford Commercial Vehicle Financing Through Credit Suite
Ford offers several commercial funding options. These include loans, lines, and leases to actual business entities. This is not for sole proprietorships. You can get a loan or a lease.
Ford may ask for a Personal Guarantee (PG) if you don’t get an approval on the merit of your application. Apply at the dealership. Ford will report to D&B, Experian, and Equifax.
Ford Commercial Vehicle Financing: Terms and Qualifying
To qualify, you need:
Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address- matching everywhere
D-U-N-S number
Business license (if applicable) and a business bank account
You will need to have a strong business credit history. And you must have a good Experian business credit score.
Ally provides personal financing. But Ally will also report to business credit bureaus. If your business qualifies for financing without the owner’s guarantee, you can get financing in the business name only. Ally will report to D&B, Experian, and Equifax
Ally Car Financing: Terms and Qualifying
For Ally Commercial Line of Credit, to qualify, you need:
Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address- matching everywhere
D-U-N-S number
Business license (if applicable)
And a business bank account
Bank reference
Fleet financing references
If you use a personal guarantee, Ally will not report to the personal credit bureaus unless the account defaults.
With Ally Commercial Vehicle Financing, you can get a lease or a loan. To qualify, you need:
Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address- matching everywhere
D-U-N-S number
Business license (if applicable)
And a business bank account
There is no minimum time in business requirement. Apply in person only, dealer will advise if approval or Personal Guarantee (PG) needed.
Yet another potential form of vehicle financing is through the Credit Suite Credit Line Hybrid. A credit line hybrid is a form of unsecured funding. Our credit line hybrid has an even better interest rate than a secured loan. Get some of the highest loan amounts and credit lines for businesses. Get 0% business credit cards with stated income. These report to business CRAs. So you can build business credit at the same time. This will get you access to even more cash with no personal guarantee.
Credit Line Hybrid: Terms and Qualifying
You need a good credit score or a guarantor with good credit to get an approval (a FICO score of at least 680). No financials are necessary. You can often get a loan of five times the amount of current highest revolving credit limit account. This is up to $150,000.
Vehicle Financing Key #3: 401(k) Financing
Another option for vehicle financing is using your 401(k) as collateral. This is not a loan. You will not have to pay an early withdrawal fee or a tax penalty. You put the money back by contributing, just like with any 401(k) program. This means you won’t lose your retirement funds. This is a 401(k) Rollover for Working Capital program. The IRS calls it a Rollover for Business Startups (ROBS).
Per the IRS, a ROBS qualified plan is a separate entity with its own set of requirements. The plan, through its company stock investments, rather than the individual owns the trade or business. Therefore, some filing exceptions for individuals may not apply to such a plan. This type of financing isn’t a loan against, your 401(k), so there’s no interest to pay. It does not use the 401(k) or stocks as collateral. Instead, this is simply a movement or change of custodian.
401(k) Financing: Terms and Qualifying
Pay low rates, often less than 5%. Your 401(k) will need to have more than $35,000 in it. You can usually get up to 100% of what’s “rollable” within your 401(k) . The lender will want to see a copy of your two most recent 401(k) statements.
You can get 401(k) financing even with severely challenged personal credit. The 401(k) you use cannot be from a business where you are currently employed. So it will need to be from older employment. You cannot be currently contributing to it.
Vehicle Financing Key #4: SBA 504 Loans
The SBA 504 loan can be used to purchase “Long-term machinery and equipment”. As a result, it’s not a standard car loan. But you can purchase a truck with it. You can use an SBA 504 loan when the vehicles being purchased qualify as heavy equipment.
Some examples of trucks as ‘heavy equipment’ can include:
Cement trucks
Dump trucks
Custom-build heavy trucks fit for specific purposes (loading/unloading septic tanks, for instance)
Semis and tanker trailer trucks
If your vehicle needs run in this direction, then an SBA loan could be perfect for your needs.
SBA 504 Loans and Credit Suite
Did you know that you can get SBA loans through Credit Suite? Established businesses with tax returns that show good revenues and profitability can get very large sums of funding with Secured Small Business Loans. If you have positive business tax returns, you should apply for secured government-backed SBA program loans from $250,000 up to $12,000,000. Approval amounts will vary based on the collateral your business has, and the amount of net profit reflected on your tax returns.
The total time to close these loans is about 2-4 months. SBA loans offer some of the longest payback terms available for business financing. Get loan terms for 10, 15, or even 25 years with the SBA. Interest will total approximately 3% of the debt. The rate may be financed with the loan.
Get approved for up to $12 million. Your credit will have to be of good quality. Your collateral will need to equal 50% of the loan amount. Financials will be necessary.
SBA 504 Loans Through Credit Suite: Documentation
The SBA will require certain documentation to qualify including:
Business and personal financials
Resume and background information
Personal and business credit reports
Your business plan
Bank statements
Collateral and any other documentation relevant to the transaction
Vehicle Financing: Takeaways
Getting vehicle funding involves variables like whether the vehicle is new or used. Heavy vehicles like dump trucks can be paid for with SBA 504 loans. There is a possibility that you would have to provide a personal guarantee to get a loan or lease. Credit Suite offers financing that you can use to purchase vehicles, and we offer even more options through our Business Finance Suite. There are four keys to open the door to affording vehicles for your business. And there are a lot of options. Let’s explore them together.
Are you looking to open a business but don’t know where to start? The digital age has changed the entire scope of doing business, from getting licenses, getting clients, and selling products or services, all of which happens online. Regardless of the type of business you wish to open, having a digital presence is the key to survival. Here are some tips on how to open a successful business in the digital age.
You Cannot Ignore Technology When Looking at How to Open a Successful Business
Even if you run a convenience store where people will find you no matter what, you still have to embrace the digital era. While opening a business may be a straightforward thing, not all are able to do it correctly.
You may have all the relevant tools and software to help run the business at your disposal, but still fail to get it right. So how does one become successful in this digital era? This post will take you through all that you need to know on how to open a successful business.
Things to Know About How to Open a Successful Business Before You Start
So, have you settled on starting a business? That’s great, but as you know, things have changed over the last couple of years. If you want a smooth entry, there are a few things that you ought to know beforehand about how to open a successful business.
Everything is Now on the InternetThe internet is much more important to how to open a successful business than it used to be. Approximately53% of shopperswill research on Google to find more information regarding the product or services that they wish to purchase. This includes finding more about the vendor by looking for reviews online.
These numbers are a great eye-opener; hence, the need to have an online presence if you wish to be found by prospects.
The best way around this is to invest in a good website, have an active social media presence, and a good PR strategy.
There’s a crucial aspect you must consider when it comes to websites: Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This is a way of making your website search engine-friendly, making it easier to be found online by ranking higher in the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). There are many factors to consider when it comes to SEO, such as technical SEO, On-page SEO, and off-page SEO. In a nutshell, once you have a business website, you are not there yet. You still need to optimize it for search engines.
The other crucial thing to know is that almost everyone is now on social media, and you can leverage this platform to boost your business. Some of the ways to effectively utilize social media include:
Create brand awareness
Engage with your audience
Respond much faster to customer inquiries and concerns
Promote your products or services
Instil trust about your brand in your target audience.
You need to choose social media platform that resonates best with your business and invest more resources to help grow your audience and engage the current ones.
Digital PR involves getting reviews from third-party websites, independent reviewers, and get featured on local listings. This is a great way to boost your online visibility, and people will gain more trust in your business.
Getting Funding
Any business needs starting capital, regardless of how big or small the venture is. You need to conduct extensive research on your business to identify how much you need to be operational. Apart the materials and equipment required, you also need to factor in the labor cost and any unforeseeable miscellaneous expenditure.
Furthermore, depending on where you live, you may need certain licenses so as not to get into trouble with authorities.
Furthermore, you need to factor in a marketing budget. While creating a website and social media pages might not seem expensive, it can be costly. This is especially true when you get a professional to help you manage them. For instance, you may need to hire a web developer, an SEO specialist, and a social media manager who will increase your audience and engagement levels.
Once you know how much in total you may require for your project, the next step is to identify where to get the funding.
Some of the most effective ways of funding your business are:
Bootstrapping
According to Investopedia, bootstrapping is the act of starting a business with nothing else other than your personal savings. Before you start, have some money in your savings account to get you started. For this to happen, you may plan and save for a while.
Venture capitalists are individuals that invest in businesses that have potential. You need to reach out to them with a proposal of your venture, indicating the scope of business, the predicted results, and what you need to get the business up and running.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding has grown as a popular funding method for upcoming businesses. One can get assistance in various ways, such as getting a loan to start the business, investors, grants, or other people would assure you to purchase your product once ready, to give you enough money to take it to the larger market.
Have Financial Discipline
Many businesses fail within their first few months due to mismanagement. This is often a result of financial indiscipline. Before you start making any money, you should have a system in place that will help you take control of your finances and identify business trends. Accounting and bookkeeping are some of the most crucial parts of running a business. This shouldn’t be an afterthought.
With these three tips in mind, you are ready to open up your business. But under the current circumstances with the digital age, you are still not there yet. What’s missing? Here are a few pointers to help you navigate the ever-competitive digital market.
How to Open a Successful Business in the Digital Age
Research Your Market
The first thing to do is conduct market research to determine whether your business would make any financial sense. Are the people you wish to sell ready for your product? Have they shown any signs of interest in that particular service? What is the competition like? Are there any businesses of the same type in your area?
Before you settle on any business, you need to find out what other people have to say about it. Do not only rely on the responses of your friends and family. Talk to others also.
Identify Your Target Audience
Never get into the market hoping to attract the right people into your business without having pinpointed who you wish to target. What is your product or service? What type of people are likely to purchase more from you? Which group are you likely to convince to buy from you? That is what we call a target audience.
You need to point out the exact type of people you wish to target, as this will help you curate the right products or services. Furthermore, when it comes to digital marketing, you will save yourself a lot of resources when you target a specific group of people rather than generalized marketing. You have better chances at an increased return on investment (ROI) when you take on this route.
Conduct Competitor Analysis
Getting into the market without conducting an in-depth competitor analysis is simply gambling with your business. Find out what other companies like yours exist and how they are performing. If they’re doing well, identify their key strengths and see what you can bring to the market to outdo them.
Moreover, if your competition is struggling, find out what you can do differently to ensure that people come to you. Are the people getting valuable services from the competition? Are you willing to offer discounts as you start in a bid to lure more customers? How is the competition handling their online marketing strategies?
A business plan includes all the details necessary to help you run your business, incorporating every aspect of marketing, sales, and customer retention. You need to highlight what your objectives and goals are beforehand and work towards achieving them.
You also need to set up key performance indicators (KPIs) to help you understand the trends and identify if your business is headed in the right direction. This will help you tweak and change the strategies and your approach towards the business.
Embrace Technology
We have already talked about getting a website and an active social media presence to increase your brand visibility online. Still, there are many other ways to embrace technology that will make your operations seamless.
Business automation is the way to go in this digital era, and if you’re stuck handling most of your work manually, then you may sacrifice the revenue. Different businesses require different automation tools and software. Look for any manual tasks that could otherwise get automated to boost your work.
Final words
We hope that our complete guide on how to open a successful business in the digital age will help you get your venture on its feet. Remember that for you to succeed in the digital era, you need to be tech-savvy, understand who your audience is, know what your clients need, keep a close eye on the competition, and of course, have an online presence.
Lidia S. Hovhan is a part of Content and Marketing team at OmnicoreAgency. She contributes articles about how to integrate digital marketing strategy with traditional marketing to help business owners to meet their online goals. You can find really professional insights in her writings.
If you can get your client’s website to the top of user search, you’ll have a much easier time improving their ROI.
Of course, mastering SEO is no easy task.
There are so many things to consider, from on-page SEO to off-page SEO, copy, content, and even technical SEO.
A truly effective SEO strategy includes all of these strategies, plus regular optimization to ensure consistent returns.
This post dives deep into technical SEO and how you can use it to increase organic traffic, show up in search, and improve your overall site experience.
What Is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO is an area of SEO that covers optimizations that improve search engine ranking by making your site easier for search engines to crawl. For example, improving site load time, checking robot.txt files, and making redirects work properly.
Essentially, it’s the process of ensuring your website can be seen, crawled, and ranked by search engines.
Search engines, such as Google, give preference to websites that meet their webmaster guidelines. The basic principles state your website content should be accurate, easy to access, and user-friendly.
If your website loads slowly, has an unresponsive design, or lacks a secure connection, your content will not meet these guidelines.
This is where technical SEO comes in, as it can help you improve the technical characteristics of your website to improve organic traffic.
Why Is Technical SEO Important?
Imagine you wrote the most amazing content in the world. It’s content that everyone should read.
People would pay buckets of money just to read it. Millions are eagerly waiting for the notification that you’ve posted this new, incredible content.
Then, the day finally comes, and the notification goes out. Customers excitedly click the link to read your article.
Then, it takes over 10 seconds for your web page to load. Readers are annoyed and they don’t want to wait.
For every second that it takes for your web page to load, you’re losing readers and increasing your bounce rate.
It doesn’t matter how great that piece of content is—your site isn’t functioning well, and you’re losing precious traffic.
That’s just one example of why technical SEO is so critical.
Without it, Google and other search engines are incapable of finding, crawling, and indexing your site.
Even if your site can be found, user experience issues, like page load times and confusing navigation, can still negatively impact SEO.
Other issues like mobile optimizations, duplicate content, and site security can cause search engines to rank your site lower.
Elements of Technical SEO
While crawling and indexing are important factors in SEO, there are many more aspects to consider when performing a technical SEO audit. These include:
mobile optimization
page load speed
link health
duplicate content
schemas
crawl errors
image issues
site security
URL structure
404 pages
301 redirects
canonical tags
XML sitemaps
site architecture
At a minimum, a technically sound website should be secure, quick to load, easy to crawl, have clear and actionable navigation, and not contain any duplicate links or content.
It should also have systems in place to engage users even if they do hit a dead end, such as content created for 404 errors and 301 redirect pages.
When conducting a technical SEO audit, be wary of over-optimizing your website. Too many improvements can work against your best intentions and actually damage your SEO rankings.
What Is an SEO Audit?
An SEO audit is the process of evaluating your website to see how well it is performing on search engines.
SEO audits are a great way to create actionable plans to outperform your competitors, identify opportunities within your website, find and fix exit points, and create better customer experiences.
You should perform technical SEO audits, on-page SEO audits, and off-page SEO audits regularly.
As you go through your audit, you’ll find places where you can improve or optimize your website performance to improve performance and keep site visitors happy.
You may not be able to fix every error at once, but you can figure out what’s going wrong and make a plan to fix it.
What Are the Key Elements of a Technical SEO Audit?
There are three key factors to look at during an SEO audit:
back-end factors, such as hosting and indexing
front-end factors, such as content, keywords, and metadata
link quality and outside references
Sometimes, you won’t have the time to address each pain point. So, when deciding which audit insights are worth taking action on, use the 80/20 rule.
The most important part of your site’s SEO is the part that your incoming traffic actually sees.
That’s all washed away if your site isn’t mobile-friendly, though.
With the introduction of the mobile-first index, you need to make sure you understand how your site performs on mobile to ensure proper placement on SERPs.
What does the mobile-first index mean?
Due to 52.2 percent of global web traffic coming through mobile, Google has adjusted its algorithm to crawl the mobile version of websites.
It boils down to this—if your site doesn’t perform well on mobile devices, you are not just losing traffic; your site also looks bad to Google. That can result in lower rankings, and even less traffic.
How to Perform a Technical SEO Audit
SEO guidelines are constantly changing. Every time a major search engine significantly updates its algorithm, SEO has to adapt.
The good news is the frequency of changes in technical SEO tends to be lower.
After all, it’s not like search engines or readers will suddenly decide they’re okay with slower speeds.
If anything, you will see the average acceptable speed continue to drop. Your site simply has to be faster if you want to keep up with SEO demands.
Your website has to be mobile-friendly. This is only going to become more important over time, too.
It has to work without errors, duplicate content, and poor images.
Search engines also have to be able to crawl it successfully.
These things are all crucial to your success on search engines and site visitors. If you want to prioritize your SEO efforts, make sure you tackle the technical aspects first.
Before you do anything else, start a crawl of your website. You can use Ubersuggest to make it a simple process. Here’s how you do it:
Step 1: Enter your URL and click “Search.”
Step 2: Click “Site Audit” in the left sidebar.
Step 3: Run the scan. Upon completion, you’ll see this:
Crawling is useful for identifying problems such as duplicate content, low word count, unlinked pagination pages, and excess redirects. Ubersuggest will even rank issues in order of importance, so you can focus on what matters most.
If you find anything here, click on it for more information and advice on how to fix it. For example, our website has 32 pages with a low word count.
You can then review these pages to determine if you need to add more content.
What does this all mean?
In short, it gives you a glimpse into how the Googlebot is crawling your site.
If you don’t use Ubersuggest for your technical SEO audit, you can also search your site manually. We’ll explain that below.
2. Perform a Manual Google Search
A few Google searches can tell you approximately how well your website is ranking. This will help you figure out where to start your technical SEO audit.
How many of your pages appear in relevant search results?
Does your site appear first when you search for it by name?
Overall, where does your site appear in the results?
To figure out which pages are actually being crawled, you can use a “site:rootdomain” search to see what shows up.
Here’s what this looks like in action:
Missing pages don’t automatically mean that your site is un-crawlable, but it’s useful to understand what’s happening behind the scenes.
Your website doesn’t need to be at the very top of your searches, either. By using the site search, it will show you only pages on your own site.
3. Make Sure Only One Version of Your Site Is Browseable
If your website has multiple “versions” of itself, you send search engines a mixed message about how to crawl your site.
Basically, the crawlers don’t know which one is the right one.
If search engines don’t even know how to show your site to prospective traffic, your site’s SEO ranking will be negatively impacted.
The impact of HTTP vs. HTTPS on a site’s SEO is debated in the SEO community. Some sites using AdSense saw a decrease in revenue after making the switch to HTTPS.
With this change from Google, it seems you will need to make sure that your website only uses “https.”
4. Conduct On-Page Technical SEO Checks
When evaluating your site and the results from your crawl, there are tons of things to check. Don’t get overwhelmed! Start by looking for duplicate pages, headers, and title tags.
If you’ve published a lot of content with similar themes, like me, some seemingly unrelated content will show up in your crawl.
That’s okay. You’re looking for duplicates of the same content.
You can use a tool like Copyscape to assess potential technical SEO problems arising from duplicate content.
From there, closely examine a few key criteria that Google evaluates in their rankings.
You’ll want to make sure these are relevant to the content on your page. The content should also answer the questions your users are asking as fast as possible.
Essentially, you want to make sure the placement of pages makes sense—all your service pages should be under your “services” tab, for example. Make sure users don’t have to click through four levels of pages to find best-selling products. The goal is to make it easy for Google —and users—to find the information or products they are looking for.
Keyword Placement
Every page on your site should have a focus keyword included in the first 100 words.
Overall, on-page SEO checks are incredibly important, but they are only one part of your overarching technical SEO strategy. There are also other SEO checks to consider.
5. Manage Your Internal and External Links
Sites with logical hierarchies have improved SEO rankings. That’s why it’s important to check your internal and external links—to make sure visitors can navigate your site intuitively.
Pages might be deleted or moved, which can result in broken links and annoyed site visitors.
Don’t worry; you don’t have to do this manually.
Integrity and Xenu Sleuth can help you identify your broken links on your site. (Note: Integrity only works for Mac.)
While both tools are straightforward to use, I’ll use Integrity as an example.
Once you download it, add your URL in the text bar at the top of the page and click “Go.”
Then the tool will begin testing all the links found on your site and provide you with the results.
In the top-left corner, you see a snapshot of links and how many are bad.
Depending on the size of your site and how many links you have, you might consider viewing the results by link, page, status, or flat view to understand the results.
You’ll want to change any links marked in red with the “404 not found” label. These dead ends can negatively impact your technical SEO.
There are three different aspects of SEO, and technical SEO is the most important of the three.
It won’t matter how amazing your on-page SEO is if you fail at technical SEO.
It also won’t matter how great you are at off-page SEO if you’re horrible at the technical stuff.
Don’t get overwhelmed by the idea of it being “technical” or complex. Start with the big, critical aspects discussed above and tackle them one problem at a time.
How have you found success with technical SEO on your site?
A CRO program can improve ROI for your e-commerce business by targeting website performance and testing user experience methods that encourage online conversions.
Below, we’ll cover why CRO programs matter, how to create them, and what success in this space really looks like.
Usually, a CRO program finds drop-off points or obstacles on a website, analyzes how and why they are occurring, and then helps you develop new ways to ensure future conversions.
Using a combination of these tools and pairing them with a testing schedule is one of the most effective ways to improve your website conversion rates.
Why Are CRO Programs Important?
CRO programs are essential to growth because they improve customer experience, conversions, and sales.
Conversion rate optimizations can even lower your customer acquisition cost by improving conversion rates with visitors already on your site.
For example, if your website gets 1000 visitors a month and has a five percent conversion rate, you’ll get 50 conversions per month. If you can increase your conversion rate by five percent, you’ll double your monthly conversions without spending more to acquire new customers. You can see this at work in this conversion rate optimization funnel.
CRO programs give you insights into what is working on your website and what is not, allowing you to optimize your budget allocations.
As competition online grows, CRO programs are becoming increasingly important.
These days, it isn’t enough to offer a good product or service; you also need an engaging website that loads quickly, funnels users towards your end goals, and offers value and insight.
According to Unbounce, 70 percent of consumers report a slow load time decreases their chance of buying. From that same cohort, 32.3 percent claimed they are only willing to wait four seconds for a page to load.
A strong CRO program can tackle all of these solutions while putting user experiences first and creating a clear framework for improving on-site experiences.
Once you understand how, when, and why your customers enter or exit your site, you’ll be able to make improvements to help it reach its maximum potential.
With a well-structured CRO program, you have the ability to:
Improve the speed and quality of your website.
Improve long-term revenue without long-term investments.
Personalize on-site experiences for your customers.
Capture new insights into visitor and customer behavior.
Who Should Consider Starting a CRO Program?
Any business that wants to improve its online conversions can benefit from a CRO program.
More specifically, CRO programs are great for e-commerce businesses, businesses with email marketing programs, and businesses involved in paid media programs, as CRO is a natural accompaniment to these programs.
Any business looking to improve its online conversions or SEO can benefit from a CRO program. This list can include:
B2C e-commerce businesses
B2B businesses looking to increase online leads
blogs and listing sites looking to improve SEO
agencies and marketers running paid media campaigns for clients
agencies and marketers servicing digital-based clients
SaaS companies looking to drive online downloads
educational institutions that want to attract new students
hotels and hospitality organizations looking to improve bookings
Businesses that stand to see the largest benefits from CRO programs are those that have a large number of monthly web visitors.
CRO programs usually work best with scale. For example, a five percent increase in conversion rate on a site with 100 monthly visitors is only five extra conversions per month. Yet, a five percent increase on a site with 100,000 monthly visitors is 5,000 extra conversions per month.
Additionally, CRO programs are most effective for websites with one clearly defined goal. For example, an e-commerce website looking to sell more products, a B2B business may want to increase demo appointments or drive email sign-ups. Whatever your goal, it should be obvious to incoming visitors.
Keep in mind CRO programs are best suited for businesses seeking to build long-term value. Clients need to understand the value of their website and how it affects consumer relationships. Using several CRO strategies, for example, is often more effective but those strategies take time.
Drawbacks to CRO Programs
While CRO programs can be incredibly helpful to growing businesses, there are some drawbacks.
First, CRO programs can be costly and time-consuming. It’s not about quick wins, but rather ongoing testing, optimization, and education.
Many businesses don’t have the internal expertise to launch a CRO program. This often means hiring third parties is necessary, which increases the cost.
For those with in-house expertise, it can be difficult to shift resources towards a dedicated CRO program.
For businesses on a tight budget, or those without time to oversee these programs, CRO programs may end up being unfulfilling.
That said, creating a structured CRO program can alleviate some of the costs and drawbacks associated.
Below, we’ll outline some of the steps needed to integrate a CRO program into your business.
If you’re ready to start your own CRO program, you’ll want to lead with strategy. Here’s how to get started.
Establish a CRO Culture
For a CRO program to be successful, you need buy-in from top members of your organization and staff.
Top management controls budget, resource allocation, and sign-offs for your programs. Cooperation on this level is essential to see a CRO program through from start to finish.
Likewise, coordination with team members and among departments will be necessary to complete your program. CRO programs often include members of data management teams, UX teams, webmasters, and customer support.
To ensure your CRO program runs smoothly, educate all team members and higher-ups on the goals and benefits of the CRO.
Hire People Who Align With CRO Principles
CRO programs often involve data, strategy, design, copywriting, and web development. If you know your company is interested in CRO, establish this in your hiring processes.
Even better, search out top talent well-versed in CRO and consult their expertise when considering new team members.
The more alignment you have with your team from the start, the more likely you will see success in your CRO program.
Document and Adhere to the CRO Process
A successful CRO program requires a well-defined process.
This process should start by outlining key issues on your existing website and how they contribute to gains and losses in your conversion funnel.
From there, develop hypotheses to tackle these issues, and design a calendar to keep your team on schedule.
Your entire process should revolve around A/B testing. Once you start testing, you’ll likely find more places to optimize. Document these opportunities in as much detail as possible, then add them to your calendar.
Pay attention to any new opportunities for optimization and ensure every decision is data-backed and aligned with your overall business goals.
Use CRO Tools
Whether you plan to watch visitor activities on your website through heatmaps or want to know how your lead forms are performing, CRO tools are an essential part of your program.
Here are a few CRO tools to consider: -heat maps -scroll maps -A/B testing tools -multi variant testing tools -split testing tools -funnel analysis tools -Google Analytics -form analysis tools -visitor recording tools
Use CRO Research Methodology for Applicable Tasks
All good CRO programs start with research.
This can come in three forms: -experience research -qualitative research -quantitative research
Experience research usually involves site walkthroughs, usability analysis, and heuristic analysis to understand the workings of your existing site.
Qualitative research may use online surveys, polls, customer support insights, and user testing to understand how your users interact with your site and what makes them leave. Quantitative research involves web analytics and mouse tracking to see exactly where and how users convert.
This data will give you the foundation for your CRO program and let you know exactly where to focus your efforts.
From there, it’s all about testing, re-testing, and optimizing your website.
How to Measure the Success of Your CRO Program
While increased conversions are the most obvious metric of CRO success, too much focus on conversions can lead your CRO program astray.
Other metrics, such as bounce rates, time on site, shopping cart abandonment, cost per conversion, and clicks should be considered when measuring the success of your CRO program.
Remember, what matters most is the quality of conversions, not the quantity.
It often costs far more to bring in new customers than to keep the ones you already have. Similarly, a five percent increase in customer retention can increase your profitability by 75 percent.
Focus your CRO program on customer engagement, experience, and retention, and you’ll be on the road to success.
Conclusion
CRO programs are an effective tool to improve online conversions.
While they are a big investment, both in time and money, a good CRO program can uncover so many opportunities for business growth.
Whether you choose to run your CRO program in-house or hire a dedicated CRO company, this guide will set you up for success.
As a final note, remember that CRO and SEO can work hand-in-hand when done right.
Don’t be afraid to test and experiment widely with both. You never know what you might uncover.
Whether you’re just starting out or are an old pro, who doesn’t want to be a more successful entrepreneur?
Owning a business gives you a sense of freedom and empowerment. You can build things and watch them grow.
Entrepreneurs make decisions for themselves, realize their creative visions, and develop lasting relationships with other entrepreneurs, customers, and vendors.
It’s a great way to live. That’s why I’ve founded so many companies — I can’t get enough.
I’ve put together these tips to help you to become more successful, too.
1. Get Gritty
Grit is perseverance. Grit is the go-get-’em attitude that we expect of entrepreneurs. Grit is the ability to keep working when everyone tells you that you should give up.
If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to be gritty.
2. To Become a Successful Entrepreneur, You Must Challenge Yourself
If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to challenge yourself. No one else is going to push you, so it’s up to you to do it.
Challenges keep entrepreneurs nimble and on their toes. If you’re constantly looking for the next challenge, you’ll always be prepared for what comes your way.
Consider this example:
You’re going to the gym to build your upper body strength. You start doing bicep curls with a 10-pound weight. It feels pretty heavy at first. As you build up your strength, it gets easier.
Would you stop there? No!
Then it’s time to do bicep curls with a 20-pound weight. Once you’ve done bicep curls with a 20-pound weight, going back to a 10-pound weight will feel easy.
Challenging yourself with new and difficult tasks will make your other tasks seem even simpler. As an entrepreneur, you always have to be looking for the next big challenge.
3. Successful Entrepreneurs Are Passionate about Their Work
If you don’t love what you do, don’t do it. I truly believe it’s as simple as that.
As an entrepreneur, you’re going to have to put in long hours and make sacrifices for your business.
If you’re not passionate about what you do, you’re not going to have the motivation to keep going when you’re stressed and tired.
Have you ever noticed those entrepreneurs who never seem to get tired? Those entrepreneurs who get that gleam in their eye when they talk about what they do? That’s passion.
If you’re passionate about what you do, being an entrepreneur gets just a little bit easier.
4. To Become a Successful Entrepreneur, You Must Take Risks
Humans are generally risk-averse, but part of being an entrepreneur is recognizing the risks that you should take.
Successful entrepreneurs also know which risks to take and which they shouldn’t. Learn to recognize the risks that will benefit your business and take them.
Taking risks has a dangerous side, but the opportunities they present often far outweigh the potential dangers.
Learn how to identify which risks are worth taking and you’ll likely become a more successful entrepreneur.
5. Trust Yourself
If you don’t believe in yourself, who will?
Being a successful entrepreneur means that you’ve learned to listen to your intuition and rely on your wisdom when making decisions.
Your ability to trust and believe in yourself will show your confidence. People are more likely to follow and trust confident leaders.
Trusting in your own skills will also take some of the pain of uncertainty out of being an entrepreneur.
When you feel uncertain, remember how much experience and knowledge you have. Most entrepreneurs start their business after years of experience working for someone else.
There’s nothing wrong with asking for help when you need it or turning to a mentor for advice, but you also have to learn to trust yourself and your own judgment without input from others.
Learn to trust yourself and you’re already starting down the path of entrepreneurial success.
6. Reduce Fear
Fear stops action. Entrepreneurs have to be able to pivot and quickly take action when they see an opportunity or recognize a mistake.
With fear riding on your shoulder, you won’t be a successful entrepreneur.
As an entrepreneur, if you let fear be your guide, you won’t be able to listen to your intuition, you’ll be afraid to take the necessary risks, and your judgment will be clouded by emotion.
If you can find ways to reduce and manage your fear and you’ll be a much more successful entrepreneur.
Keep in mind that fear has to do with your perspective. For example, studies have shown that the more true crime you consume, the more scared you are of crime.
My favorite tip for managing fear as an entrepreneur is to do confidence-building exercises.
For me, I like to take a few moments at night to think of the decisions I made that day that had a successful outcome.
Thinking each day about the decisions that you made that benefited you, others, or your business will help you to quickly build your confidence and reduce fear.
7. Successful Entrepreneurs Visualize their Goals
This tip is less abstract than you might think, so bear with me.
When I recommend that entrepreneurs visualize their goals, I don’t intend for them to close their eyes and see the goal in front of them.
What I want you to do to visualize your goal is to define it so clearly that it’s real and tangible.
For example, which of these is a more accomplishable:
I want to become a successful entrepreneur.
I will become a successful entrepreneur by starting a business that solves a problem for this specific niche of my audience.
The second one, right?
When you can clearly articulate and visualize your goal, it becomes more achievable.
You can tell someone, such as a friend or business partner, or take photographs that represent your goal. Go with your strengths.
When you ask a successful entrepreneur what their goal is, they can tell you in great detail what it is that they’re working to achieve.
8. Hire Great Partners to Help You Become a Successful Entrepreneur
I’ll admit that this one might be a little bit obvious.
Successful entrepreneurs aren’t successful within a vacuum. We all have a great team and support network behind us.
When I recommend hiring great partners, I don’t just mean someone who can do the job you’re hiring them for. You should seek partners who have great character and whom you like and respect.
You and your partners will be working long hours together and making stressful decisions. If you don’t respect your partner(s), your team won’t last long.
Fill your team with people who have great character and you’re well on your way to success.
When choosing your partners and team members, always remember that you can teach skills, but you can’t teach character.
9. To Become a Successful Entrepreneur, You Must ActFast
Talk only delays action.
Successful entrepreneurs act.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in planning, considering potential failures, discussing funding, and talking in meetings with board members. If all you do is talk, you’ll get nothing done.
At some point, you have to halt the talking and make something happen.
10. Successful Entrepreneurs Spend Time on Important Tasks and Are Patient to See Results
Do you think that there’s such a thing as an overnight success? I recommend that you take a closer look.
Upon examination, the people and businesses that became “overnight sensations and successes” actually worked really hard and long for their achievements.
When you think you’ve found an overnight success, check again and examine closely the hours, days, and years that went into their success.
Take a look at their life, the things they learned, and how many times they failed.
Successful entrepreneurs take the time that’s required to reach success. And many of them have failures along the way.
If you think it’s taking too long to find success, give yourself a break.
Keep plugging along, putting in the hours, and before long, you’ll be a successful entrepreneur.
Just imagine looking back at all the hard work and knowing it paid off. Keep that image in your head to motivate you forward through the long, slogging hours.
11. Plan Your Finances
Startups and entrepreneurial businesses need money. It’s just a part of the lifestyle.
Many entrepreneurs spend too much time looking for money and not enough acting, but that doesn’t mean that you can leap into the abyss without a plan.
Decide which is best for you, and plan out your finances in the beginning. Try to stick to your budget, but know that the plan will have to be adapted along the way.
12. Who’s Your Customer? Successful Entrepreneurs Know the Answer
One of the most common reasons that entrepreneurial businesses fail is that there isn’t a customer.
If you start a business or make a product but don’t know who will buy it, that person might not actually exist.
Before you make a financial plan, raise capital, or even choose a name, make sure that there’s a customer who would buy your product or use your services.
Without a customer, you don’t have a business.
Successful entrepreneurs know who their customers and target market are.
13. Successful Entrepreneurs Listen to Complaints
This is one of the tips that I think is the most important for entrepreneurs to learn.
Your customer’s complaints are how you identify your business’s weaknesses.
Similarly to the last tip, without customers, you can’t have a successful business. There’s another possible scenario, though.
You might have customers who are interested in your product or service, but if you don’t listen to their complaints, you soon will have no customers.
Take your customers seriously, treat their complaints with respect, and listen.
As an entrepreneur, you’ll be inundated with your business, needing to take care of it all the time. When you get home and have some leisure time, you might be tempted to read fiction or books for entertainment.
There’s always something to learn from those who have already done it.
I especially think it’s important to learn from the mistakes of others. If you learn from their mistakes, you won’t have to make those mistakes yourself.
The more you learn from their mistakes and successes, the faster you can grow your business and become a successful entrepreneur.
17. Successful Entrepreneurs Self-Promote
Many people don’t want to self-promote or talk about their business too much for fear of sounding like an egomaniac; but if you don’t promote your business, who will?
Egotistical self-promotion and self-promotion can be differentiated.
Know your business, know some key stats, and have your 15-second elevator pitch polished and ready to go. Then, when someone asks you about your business, you can promote it factually and quickly.
Another way to self-promote without sounding cocky is to know what your customers say about your business. When someone asks how your business is going, you can tell them your customer feedback.
Don’t forget to provide some of the bad as well as the good.
18. Successful Entrepreneurs Set and Oversee a Positive Company Culture
There may have been a time when company culture wasn’t important, but with social media and the 24-hour news cycle, your company and employees are always under scrutiny.
Set a positive company culture from day one and you’ll be more likely to work with people you enjoy and who inspire you as well as attract great customers.
Many entrepreneurs are working with family, from home, and even across borders. It’s important to set and know what you want your company culture to look like.
19. Network, Network, Network
There is no such thing as too much networking (well unless it’s getting in the way of building your business, of course).
What I mean to say is that you shouldn’t ever stop networking because you never know where your next lead will come from.
Chances are, if you network with enough people, you’ll bump into another entrepreneur who might have the ideas and connections you need.
You might find a new connection while grabbing a beer at the airport bar, you might meet your next business partner in an elevator on your way to a meeting, and you just never know who’s sitting next to you on the bus.
Meet everyone you come into contact with and have a short chat. You never know who you’re sitting next to and what connections or resources they might be able to offer you.
20. Learn and Create
The successful entrepreneur mindset is that of learning and creation. As an entrepreneur, you always want to be taking in new information and creating.
To stay in the learner and creator mindset, stay away from TV, social media, and movies. These types of entertainment cause us to be passive and just take in information.
Pursue everything in moderation, but in general, these activities are time-wasters for entrepreneurs. Limiting your entertainment time is a sacrifice that must be made to become a successful entrepreneur.
Instead of watching TV and movies, read case studies and meditate. Take care of your mind and body in constructive, healing ways.
It may “feel good” to watch TV, but it’s not actually a rejuvenating way to relax.
To be a successful entrepreneur, find relaxing activities that help to restore your learner and creator mindset.
21. Successful Entrepreneurs Deliver, Not Sell
Honestly, no one likes to be sold to. I mean seriously, who enjoys going to the car lot and buying a new car? We all know what we’re getting ourselves into and dread it.
Instead of selling to your potential customers, deliver. Offer them a free trial and deliver a great product.
When your company delivers a great product or service, you’ll build customer loyalty faster than you can say, “successful entrepreneur.”
22. Take Baby Steps to Become a Successful Entrepreneur
Building a successful entrepreneurial business can seem daunting, and that’s okay. Building a business from the ground up is a massive undertaking.
Luckily I have a foolproof tactic: break it down.
Any problem that seems insurmountable, break it down into baby steps.
Once you’ve broken it down into baby steps, take them one at a time. Before you know it, just by placing one foot in front of the other, you’ll be halfway up the mountain.
With grit and perseverance, baby steps will get you far toward becoming a successful entrepreneur.
Think something doesn’t need to be on your calendar? It does.
Put your meetings, quiet work periods, time with friends, happy-hour business meetings, kids’ soccer games, workouts, meal times, and anything else that you do on your calendar.
Once something is on your calendar, then everyone who needs to meet with you knows that time isn’t available.
An additional benefit is that once everything is on your calendar, there aren’t excuses for not getting things done.
I want to also draw your attention to one of the items I included: quiet work time. That is time when you can work, solve problems, or think creatively without being interrupted.
Everyone needs these periods of time. To be a successful entrepreneur, guard your quiet work times with your life. The success of your business may depend upon them.
24. Exercise to Become a More Successful Entrepreneur
Did you know that sitting down all day long is bad for your health? It is.
Being a successful entrepreneur doesn’t just mean running a profitable business. Run yourself too ragged managing that business and you might not be around to enjoy its success.
Learn to focus and take time to do just one task. Giving one task your full attention will mean that you’re more likely to get it done and do it well.
It’s also important to know that too many tasks on your to-do list can make you ineffective and distracted.
Learn to focus your to-do list on the tasks that you’re capable of finishing in the amount of time you’ve allotted for them.
For example, each night, set the three tasks that you’ll complete the following day. Each month, set the overarching goal for your company that you want to achieve in the next 30 days.
These techniques can help you to learn how to focus and more effectively manage your business.
26. Take Time Off
We finally made it to the tip that I think it the toughest for successful entrepreneurs to put into practice.
You might not need time off every day or every week, but you do need to take time off. If all you do is work, you’ll burn out. Fast.
I think this is the most challenging for entrepreneurs because they often see themselves as invincible or believe that they must be invincible. This just isn’t true; we’re all humans and we need time off.
Time off allows your brain to roam, to rest, and to think. Ever wonder why you think of so many ideas in the shower? It’s because your brain has free range to just think and roam.
Even the most successful entrepreneurs don’t work all the time. Everyone needs time off, so don’t shame yourself for being human and normal.
When you do take time off, notify your staff ahead of time and let them know why it’s important to you.
Teaching your staff the importance of time off will help them to respect your time away and to recognize when they need time off.
Take time off before you need it and recognize that it’s important for healing, creating, and becoming a more successful entrepreneur.
27. Successful Entrepreneurs Ask Questions
You don’t know everything. No one does.
You should ask for help, advice, mentors, and everything else you need as you get your business set up and running. Asking questions is a valuable skill to have as an entrepreneur.
The more information you have, the more you will know and be able to take into consideration.
Asking questions also helps you to remain in a learner mindset, ready to accept advice and information.
Learners and those who ask questions are more likely to become successful entrepreneurs.
Better to accept it now then later. You will fail at some point. It’s how you adjust to these failures that will make or break your business.
Failure is an aspect of becoming a successful entrepreneur, so you’d better get used to it now.
If your first business does fail, keep in mind that you can create another with the lessons you learned from your first.
29. Get Inspired
Being an entrepreneur is a creative pursuit. As an entrepreneur, you have to make connections, solve problems, and create new things that no one has thought of before.
Creators and creatives need to be inspired.
Successful entrepreneurs take time for the things that inspire them.
Maybe your inspiration comes from being in an art museum, maybe it’s reading books, maybe it’s doodling —whatever it is that inspires you, do it. It’s good for your business.
Successful entrepreneurs are inspired. Don’t let that magic slip for too long. Whenever you can, and definitely when you’re feeling burned out, get out there and get inspired.
Inspiration is the spark for ideas. Ideas make successful entrepreneurs.
30. Successful Entrepreneurs Lend a Helping Hand
Entrepreneurs are busy, so this tip sometimes trips them up. It’s easy to think, “I don’t have time to help anyone else! I’m so busy already!”
However, helping others can be inspiring and massively beneficial. It makes you feel good.
Furthermore, as an entrepreneur, you have a network with whom you can share your expertise and jobs you can hire people for. Why wouldn’t you help out when you can?
When you help someone, they will likely find a way to help you. It might not be today or tomorrow, but somewhere in the future, they will be there to help you when you need it.
Helping others is also a great way to build a loyal and supportive network around you.
Conclusion
Succeeding in business doesn’t come overnight. It takes a lot of planning, preparation, creativity, grit, and patience to become a successful entrepreneur.
The 30 tips I provided in this guide will help you with a long-term strategy and build it in baby steps until your business becomes a success.
If you need help defining and implementing a digital strategy as you start to build your business, let us know if we can assist you. We even offer custom packages for businesses on a strict budget!
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