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My First Year in Business: 10 Things I’ve Learned

christina orso what i've learned first year starting businessI just celebrated my first anniversary of starting my company. It’s been such a whirlwind, but I can honestly say it was the smartest decision I’ve ever made. I wanted to share some things I’ve learned my first year in business, and offer insight to many of you who are currently contemplating doing the same. Reach out if you have any questions! I’d love to put together a FAQ post as well so be sure to drop a comment below and I’ll respond in a future post. xo.

1. Narrow down your niche, at least in the beginning. When I was doing influencer partnerships, side hustles and contract work, my projects varied a lot. I worked with restaurants, packaged goods, fitness studios, beauty products, wellness, finance…the list goes on. Choosing a niche was really important to me. Coming out of the restaurant industry and being passionate about food, I decided to focus primarily on restaurants and consumer packaged goods. While that’s still my main focus and the bulk of who I work with, I do a lot of copywriting for other industries like beauty, fitness, and wine. I think it’s important to have a niche to truly be an expert at what you do and then expand from there.

2. Prepare to leave your full-time job in a sensible way. Thankfully my former boss at Boston Burger Company was so generous in allowing me to slowly condense my role in order to find new projects. March is when I began the hunt and my goal was to find enough work to leave by the end of the summer. It came way quicker than anticipated! By April, I told them that May would be the last month in my full-time role. In June, I turned BBC into one of my clients, along with the others I had picked up along the way.

3. Learn to roll with the ebbs and flows and your workload and finances. Some of of my earlier projects were about 3-months in length. Knowing that, I was always preparing to find something to replace them. I also filled gaps with smaller projects — usually copywriting and blogging for brands. In July & August, work was slooowwww. I got a little nervous, but my former boss convinced me to hang tight, because work always picks back up in September. Like clockwork, it did…and then some. The majority of my clients now are long-term, but knowing anything can change in an instant, I’m always keeping new projects in rotation. One thing I would strongly recommend is building up your savings beforehand. I prepared for slower months by saving 12+ months of salary. Thankfully I never had to touch it, but in those slow summer months, I found comfort in knowing the money was there if I needed it.

4. Separate business and personal expenses. I will be totally transparent in that I did not separate my finances in the beginning. Because I always had a side hustle before starting an actual business, everything was just going into my personal checking and savings. It gets way too messy and I strongly urge anyone starting a business to immediately open three things: a business checking, a business savings (put your tax money there) and a credit card with a good rewards program. I am partial to American Express and have two cards with them.

5. Do what you love and automate or outsource the rest. Know when to do the work yourself and when to contract out little tasks. In the beginning, I thought I was supposed to do everything. But there were a few days of “Oh my God I can’t handle this all alone” sprinkled in. I am very strong-minded and wanted to do everything myself. But it doesn’t always work out that way and it’s no way to do business. I eventually learned to let go of control and outsource things that I knew somebody else could do quicker than me. Examples of what I contracted out were media lists, super technical website stuff, and video editing. There are just some things that you need to be okay with someone else being the master at.

6. Set up a routine for success. I thrive off of routine so I know how important it is to have one to be successful. I could do an entire blog post on this but I’ll keep it simple today. Things I keep routine are the time I wake up, what I do before starting my day, how I organize my week, and how I time block throughout each day. I also keep certain things the same as much as possible so as not to create unnecessary decision-making for myself. Like what you ask? I eat the same thing for breakfast every day. Why? As a business owner, you’re forced to make so many decisions all day long and if I can eliminate one right away at breakfast, COOL.

7. Have an online portfolio. I was so overwhelmed by this in the beginning because I had so many side hustles over the years that I wanted to showcase. But thankfully from having my previous blog and a social media following, it was more a matter of getting info in the same place, which is why it is essential to have a website!!! It blows my mind when I meet someone who has a business without a website. I built mine on WordPress because for one, I’ve been using the platform since starting my blog in 2009, but also because it is highly customizable.

8. Always be learning. I have an almost embarrassing list of podcasts I listen to. I am constantly checking books out from the library. The Amazon bookstore is a second home. I actually enjoy taking online courses. And I love, love, love Google. If you don’t know the answer to something, Google it. Something more in-depth? Find a book or an online certification and teach yourself.

9. Reward yourself for your successes along the way. In this crazy world of entrepreneurship, you have to remember to take care of yourself. Whether it be completing a huge project or landing an awesome new gig, pat yourself on the back every now and then. It can be little things like taking a full day off (this is a huge lol in my book though), getting a massage (I get those more now than ever), or gifting yourself a big purchase (I have a one luxury purse a year rule 😉). Trust me when I say that when I finish the catering website I am building right now I will be treating myself to a carrot cake and quite possibly a new wardrobe.

10. Be gracious, kind, and respectful. Anyone you know can be a referral, potential client, or even a potential assistant. Treat everyone as someone you may one day do business with. I am also a firm believer in helping others as much as you can. Our knowledge and expertise is meant to be shared, not selfishly kept to ourselves in order to get ahead of others. Giving to others will always come back to you!

Thank you to everyone I have worked with this past year and a friendly hello to everyone else who is reading! If you have questions, feel free to leave a comment below or reach out to me on Instagram.

10 Beginner Tips on Making Social Media Work For Your Business

If you’re reading this you know how important it is to have a digital marketing strategy for your brand. And if you’re still wondering whether or not utilizing social media platforms is a valuable use of time, think about this: 79% of internet users use Facebook, with the vast majority of them checking the platform at least once daily. And while Facebook isn’t the only platform they’re utilizing, there are a myriad of opportunities to build and grow on other networks. Here are my top 10 tips on how to get your business started on social media.

  1. Decide which key networks are best for your brand. Unless you have the time and resources to fully utilize every social platform, you’re better off focusing on one or two networks at first. I firmly believe that it’s better to excel on a couple platforms than to do a mediocre job using five or six.
  2. Identify which social networks your target audience is already using. Depending on the type of business you run, not every platform will work for you or help with what you’re trying to achieve. It’s best to determine where you’ll be best received. Joining Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is a popular choice due to their size and influence, but keep in mind there are millions of users on Pinterest, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Where will you make the most impact? Experiment with a few and track your progress.
  3. Define your goals. Though you may be inclined to dive right in (it’s only natural!), I recommend coming up with a few goals to help shape the way you approach your strategy. Questions to consider: Are you trying to increase sales? Raise awareness of your brand? Strengthen loyalty? Improve customer service? Have a brainstorming session with some of your team to hone in on what you’re trying to achieve.
  4. Study your competitors. You likely already know who they are, so do a simple search to snoop around. Visit their websites and all of their social media profiles, taking notes on the content they consistently post, if their followers are engaged, and how often they are sharing updates. You may also want to take note of which content performs best for them (based on likes, comments, and shares), as well as the tone of voice they use and how their followers are reacting to it.
  5. Consistency is key. I cannot stress enough the importance of sharing content on a regular, consistent basis. If any of your platforms appear to be abandoned, this signals a lights off in the digital world. Don’t let your fans forget about you. Post as often as you’d like, but ensure your content is of high-quality and offers value. Consistency helps foster a stronger relationship with your followers that will keep th em coming back for more.
  6. Create a content calendar. Whether it’s for just a week or for months in advance, a calendar will help you plan your day-to-day content as well as seasonal themes. Don’t post just to post. Plan for the big holidays (Christmas, Valentine’s Day), but also strategize for smaller events, like July 4th, or National Cheeseburger Day and other food holidays. It’s perfect okay to spontaneously post too — things come up and changes occur — just roll with it.
  7. Re-purpose your content. Now I don’t mean post the same photo on each platform every single time you share content. While pushing a photo from Instagram to Facebook is very okay, try not to do it every time, on every platform you utilize, with the same copy. Shake things up knowing that each platform has a different style and a different audience comes with it. More importantly, you should be taking a piece of content and turning it into other types of content. For example, share something that can also be turned into a blog post, a video, a recipe, or an infographic.
  8. Define your voice. One of the biggest mistakes I see brands making is having an inconsistent voice or tone. Determine your communication style by thinking about how you envision the dialogue between you and your audience. Will you be serious, fun, light-hearted, edgy, sexy, aggressive? Thinking about your values and your personality will help set you apart from your competitors.
  9. Provide value. The second biggest mistake I see is when companies oversell their product or service. Social media should always be a two-way dialogue and not you talking at your followers. Earn your trust and gain loyalty by providing value with your content and not over promoting yourself just to temporarily win someone over.
  10. Reassess your goals. After a couple of months, carry out a social audit. Identify what resonates w/ your audience and what type of content they prefer. You can do this more often by simply looking at your last 10 posts and determining where you were the most successful in engaging your target audience.

Social Media Speak: 5 Tips on What to Say and How to Say It

 

Social Media Speak

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned the importance of defining your brand’s voice and tone. Aside from that, knowing what to say and how to say it is crucial to your success. The following tips will help you gain customer interest, increase engagement, and boost loyalty to your brand.

  1. Use emotion. Social media platforms are primarily used to connect with other people. Show your audience the people behind your brand by being open, transparent, and authentic in all of your communication. Tell a story by sharing behind-the-scenes content and using everyday language.
  2. Put emphasis on the customer. Instead of talking about yourself and what you have to offer, make your copy engage the customer first. For example, instead of a restaurant saying “We just launched our Burger of the Month and we’ve really outdone ourselves. Come try it!”, you are better off saying “Get your burger fix this weekend by trying our April Burger of the Month. Can you handle it?” Do you see the difference? The second option makes the copy more about the consumer instead of you just selling the product to them. Remember, nobody wants to be sold. They want to be interested in your offer and feel that they made the choice to buy in.
  3. Keep it simple. Avoid too many numbers, statistics, or technical jargon. Be clear, concise, and entertaining. Depending on your brand, Emojis are a useful way to add a new layer of expression to your content. Copy that includes 1-2 Emojis (avoid overdoing them!) will receive more likes, comments, and shares.
  4. Provide great customer service. Often times brands think that providing good customer service means they handle complaints well. While that is true, there’s much more to it. I cannot stress the importance of engaging with your audience. You can post high-quality all day long, but if you’re posting and forgetting, you’re missing out. Respond to comments, ask questions, and join in on the conversation.
  5. Create meaningful relationships. To build on #4, I recommend getting acquainted with your audience. The more you engage in their conversation, the more they’ll remember you in a positive way. You will become more than just a brand to them. As mentioned in this post, it’s great to have a “person” behind the brand. Be consistent, genuine, and present with all of your communication.

Follow these guidelines to foster a meaningful, genuine interaction with all of your customers. In no time you will be on your way to creating loyalty and brand advocates that will significantly help increase sales.

Social Media Platform Analogies: If Social Media Platforms Were Places…

Social Media Platform analogiesIf you’re new to social media, you’re probably wondering what each of the key platforms is all about. You’re also in the right place — here — reading this blog. Many people don’t know how to effectively use each platform to its potential or they’re not using them correctly. Each one is designed with a specific purpose in mind and to get the most for your business, you’ll need to know what they’re designed for.

First, let’s think of social media as a telephone. The most important thing you should know is that it’s a two-way dialogue between your customers and your business.

Wrong: Using social media as a monologue, talking way too much about yourself and blaring about why your products or services are special

RIGHT: Using social media as a two-way dialogue, listening to what your customers have to say and providing a way to help them

Second, let’s think of the social media platforms as if they were places…

Facebook is like a bar. Think of it as a fun, casual place to meet up with friends. Here’s where you’ll catch up with old pals, update friends on your whereabouts, share family photos, tell jokes, or make weekend plans.

Instagram is like an art gallery. Maybe you’re showing off your newest piece. Maybe you’re scrolling through your friend’s artwork. Photos, collages, videos, but still, conversation.

Twitter is like a house party. You’re chatting, connecting, networking, sharing information, making friends. Here’s where you’ll make the most small talk in short, but ongoing sessions.

LinkedIn is like a job interview. Here’s where you’ll show off your professional side. You’ll have a more refined, educated tone in your writing. It’s a place to showcase your resume, employment history, and portfolio. You’ll make connections, pitch ideas, recruit or be recruited.

Pinterest is like a bulletin board. You’ll share ideas, projects, inspirational quotes, and anything creative on a digital bulletin board. Your boards can be seen and shared with others who are either prospective or current customers.

YouTube is like a movie theatre. It’s huge, loud, in your face, and a gold mine for videos begging to be watched. Grab the popcorn and press play.

Now that you have a better idea of how each platform works, start brainstorming ways that you can most effectively use them. It’s okay if your main goal is to promote your product or service. It should be. But remember it’s not just about self promotion; it’s about connection with your ideal customer base, gaining followers, and increasing customer retention.

How to Use Hashtags to Increase Your Instagram Followers

How to Use Hashtags

With more than 800 million active users on Instagram, it’s essential that your business is taking advantage of the platform. I’ve worked with many brands over the last few years, and more than ever, my clients are requesting to put an emphasis on Instagram over other platforms. But posting photos with basic captions isn’t going to cut it. It’s important to be mindful of each and every post, but more specifically, the hashtags you are using to get your content noticed.

Instagram’s algorithm is constantly changing in an effort to show you the most engaging content. Hashtags are a must. They’re one of the most effective ways to leverage your posts and boost the organic reach. They also help organize content and drive awareness to marketing campaigns. After coming up with high-quality content and effective copy, the next step is to identify which hashtags will give your brand a boost.

1. Do Some Research. 

Start this process right in the Instagram app. Go ahead, grab your phone now while you read this. Tap the instagram icon and then hit the magnifying glass icon at the bottom left of your screen, between the home and + icons. In the search bar at the very top, look up some keywords that are specific to your niche, making sure to click the “Tags” section for results. For example, if you’re a restaurant owner, you may want to start with #food. Seems simple right? There’s more. You’ll see results for both your search and for similar hashtags. The goal here is to really hone in on your target audience. While searching for #food is fine, you’ll get tons of posts with that hashtag which isn’t too helpful. Why not? Because it makes it difficult for you to stand out. To really get specific, search for something like #italianfood or #burgers, depending on what your business or service entails. Like following an Instagram user, you can also follow a specific hashtag: just search for it and click “follow” and the posts will start appearing in your feed.

2. Add Hashtags to Your Bio. 

Most people aren’t aware that including a hashtag in your bio makes it a live link leading to a hashtag page. To do this, head to your page (click your avatar in the lower right corner), then tap “Edit Profile.” In the bio section, list any preferred hashtags. Though this doesn’t make your profile searchable within those hashtags, there is a clear benefit to adding them here. If you regularly use a branded hashtag (for example, @BostonBurger_Co uses #bostonburgerco), a user will be able to click that hashtag and see all posts that use it. Having your own branded hashtag allows people to mark their own posts, signifying its relation to your brand, but also allows followers to search through those posts. In other words, if someone comes to your profile for the first time and wants to see what your brand is all about, they might click on your brand specific hashtag to see what others are sharing.

3. Encourage Fans to Use Your Hashtag.

More often than not, fans of your business want to share the experiences they have with you. It’s no secret that social media users tend to overshare. As a business owner, that should excite you. The more people are sharing your brand, the more exposure you get. For free. Why not give them a specific hashtag that represents your brand and collectively groups all related content together? Let’s go back to Boston Burger Company‘s hashtag #bostonburgerco. Because the brand includes this hashtag on all marketing material, including each and every single post they share, fans begin recognizing that this is the way to get their post included in the mix of, well, what’s important to be seen. Trust me when I say that if you’ve got a fan and they know there’s a chance of you seeing their post and liking it (or better yet, reposting it!), they’re going to use your branded hashtag. Not only are fans basically giving you content — again, for free — they’re creating a whole portfolio for your company that other users can see.