We’ve all heard how celebrities like to say they are a ‘brand’ and how certain things are not in line with their brand, but truly, what is a brand?
While there are different answer to that question, it can be loosely described a recognised entity which helps a person (if you are in tend to be famous) or business to be visible in the market they trade is. So having a brand is important if you aspired to build a mini empire. One important and simple way to achieve this is always using your mission statement to guide your brand strategy. Your Brand Strategy 1. What makes you unique - that thing that sets you apart from your competitor. Everyone is unique, so don't over think your uniqueness. What sets you apart can be your location of business, delivery time, your product packing. 2. Who is your target market - know and understand your customers. Spend time understanding you client, do surveys, host events, spend them with your clients. By: Tsholofelo Mabona
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KNOW YOUR GOALS
First you must know what are you saving for. having a specific goal in mind will help you stay motivated and on track. Do you want to buy that dress that you have always dreamt about? Or that handbag or do you simply just want to do on a fashion camp. START TRACKING Track your expense and see which ones are unnecessary. Cut down on the things you know that you don’t need. DON’T LOOK AT OTHERS If you really want to save, dont look at what another people are doing, stick your plans. If your friends are buying expensive meals just tell them that you can’t afford because you are saving for a certain. Real friends will never turn their backs on you and if they do then they aren’t your friends. GET THE TOOLS Open a savings account – I would advise that you contact your local banks for any options. Download an expense app and check your process. Happy Saving and All the Best. We would love to hear from you, email us your savings story and what did with your savings. You’ve got it all figured out, a business plan, machinery/equipment and money. But will all that, you’ll still need something extra to set you apart from your competitors and it will definitely not cost you’re an extra buck.
Top two trait every aspiring entrepreneur should have Friendliness: you might offer the most scrumptious biscuits in the neighbourhood, but a sour face won’t bring all the customers in the yard. Hard work: yes, there will be a time you’ll have to sacrifice a lunch date with your pals to put in the extra work. Make sure you have friends that totally gets it. Starting a business is good, maintaining a business not so much. Business owners will all tell you of the time (and money) they put on their businesses to succeed. But what’s a gal to do when she has homework, movie dates with friends…. and well basically a life!
Below are guides for a boss bae with a social life
By: Tsholofelo Mabona
By: Mosa Malebo So you started your business or you are looking for ways to grow your brand. What better way to do it on the Instagram, everyone is online every day. With over 1 million potential clients. *Oh Yeah*
First thing is first - let's build a checklist and get busy. Images Are your images of great quality and do they shout LOOK AT ME or are they just plain and simple? Instagram is a visual world, you need to have images that are eye catching and great quality. *You can either invest in a good camera, hire someone to take your images or you can use free stock images* unsplash - great for social media gettingimages - great for blogging (you can embed the images into your posts) Communication Now that you have images up and ready for uploading, what is the next step? You will need to communicate to your audience and let them know that you are open for business. Follow at least 3 different people a day, comment on their images. Chance is they will follow back if you are what they are looking for. When someone comments on your images - like their comment or communicate back. It may seem like its a waste of time but your audience will appreciate that you are noticing them. Hashtags Hashtags are a great way to get noticed. You may have noticed that other accounts have a million hashtags, believe it or not but this will help your audience to find you with ease. Hashtag Expert suggest you use +30 hashtags related to your brand. If you are selling cupcakes you really can't be hashtaging about football. Rather use #happiness, #bosslady etc. If you are unsure have a look at what your competitor is hashtagging about. BIO It's always a great idea to embed your website into your bio, this way your audience get a chance to see your website, helping you to grow your email list. Love what you do and give it your all If you not doing what you love then why you still at it? Before you jump and leave your job have a strategic plan, take a part-time course in your desired career path or volunteer to gain hands on experience. Be an inspiration Be a leader as well as a team player, Lead by examples. While others are resting keep at it and keep pushing, the reward will be worth it at the end. Try out new things Part of being successful requires that when you fail, you dust yourself and try again. Try differents methods if one method doesn’t work don’t stop but look and search for a new way of doing things. Stay Consistency A big part of being successful is that you have to keep moving, sometimes you don't need a large crowd but you only need a small audience that will trust your opinion. You may not win today or tomorrow but with practice and improvements you will become great. Remember Rome wasn't build in one day. Relax Yes being successful requires a lot of hardwork and determination but onces in a while you need to smell the roses and let your hair down *relax Successful words “Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there’s love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.” —Ella Fitzgerald “Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.” —Farrah Gray Work from a new space
Try new restaurants, internet café—this will also give you a chance to network and grow your customer base. Take walks outside Exercising stimulates your mind and this can help you come up with new ideas and a way of doing things. Listen to music Music is good for the soul and it enhance ones focus. *Go on put that radio on* Add colour to your office or room Blue color – Blue stimulates workers to a higher performance. What is interesting is that blue clothing is recommended to job interviews because it symbolizes loyalty. Green color – green symbolizes nature and it helps to evoke relaxed mood. It is currently the most popular decorating color. Thus the backstage rooms where actors are waiting to appear on TV or on stage are painted with green color, as it calms the nerves and people are more relaxed. White color – white is popular in decorating because it is light, neutral, and matches with everything. White areas seem more spacious, reflect more light and usually give people optimistic mood. Therefore white and other light colors are used in production areas, small rooms and hallways. White is the symbol of cleanliness and sterility, thus it is used in hospitals and various medical centres. Red color – the most emotionally intense color that stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. Red is recommended by decorators as the ideal color of furniture since it attracts attention. Yellow color – yellow is considered as optimistic color that enhances concentration, however it is too bright for the eye to be taken in. People loose their temper more often in yellow rooms. Colour deco, source: moredays.com Just Start
Start first with a plan, whether is a business plan or a mini plan of action, just start. Sell your product and get potential buyers. Once you see that your service or product is in need, start recording and building up a business plan. Make time When you are working a full time job, finding the time for a side business can seem hard but start with giving your business time whether it’s in the morning or at night. Start first by putting aside 15mins, then 30mins and then increase as you go along. Find a business model Sometimes you don’t have to find a business idea; you can go along with a business that’s already in place. E.g. like a direct marketing business or a franchise. Search for a company that stand for what you believe and take it from there. Or Find your own business idea that works for you. You can always search bplan.com for a business template similar to the idea that you have. Find clients Find people that will buy your product or service, build brand awareness and market your potential clients aware of your services. Build a facebook page, this is a great way to communicate with clients, or any form of online communication. It’s always great if you talk about your product and a client can put a name to face. *P.S when someone sells me a product I always google the name and if I don’t find it. It’s always a disappointment because I would like to follow their work and hear more from them. Because you can’t offer your services like a full time business let your clients know that you are a part-time business owner, so there isn’t any confusion. Manage your money This is your side business; you may need to cash in some money in order for it to grow. Keep all your invoices and record the income and expenses. Keep your finance in order and once you have a proper finance system you can approach business partners, investors or the bank for a loan, all they want to see is that the business is making money and is sustainable. |
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