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Innovative Approaches to Recruiting and Selection

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Do you want to enhance your recruiting and selection processes? Make sure you discover candidates that will not only fit in well with the corporate culture but will also become as enthusiastic about working for your firm as you are.

It’s critical to write job descriptions and outline what the position requires so that you can ensure that you’re attracting qualified candidates throughout the selection process and, of course, the selection interview.
You’ll be on the road to seeing your business grow if you make sure you’ve covered the following recruiting and selection processes, especially if you nail the onboarding process as well.

Say goodbye to employing the incorrect people, and rest assured that you won’t make the same mistakes again! The only tough decision you’ll have to make during the hiring process is to choose between so many qualified candidates! Our recruiting and selection methods will appeal to hiring managers, therefore bookmark this page so you can return to it if necessary. With these recruitment efforts, say welcome to discovering the greatest applicants!

You’ll learn about the following topics in this recruiting process guide:

• How to write the perfect job description
• Where to look for the best talent
• How to make your background check technique more efficient
• Begin hiring for attitude and skill development
• Bias-reduction and efficiency-increasing tools
• How to gather and analyze candidate feedback
• Recognizing the significance of the onboarding process


Improvements to the Recruitment and Selection Processes

1. How to Write a Fantastic Job Description

If you don’t have enough competent individuals applying for employment at your organization, the problem might be hiding in plain sight. Poor job ads, according to researchers from the United States and Canada, are the leading reason of low application rates.

But how can you know whether a job ad is good?

Researchers believe that job ads should be more than just a list of requirements. They must also be motivating. An excellent job description should, above all, address the question, “why is this firm a suitable career and life option for me?”

You might want to include the following ideas in your job description template:

Describe the firm in a few words. – this might be the tagline or pitch for the firm.

Mention the location of the employment. – so, you don’t waste anyone’s time, let the prospect know right away if you’re open to a remote position or where the office is located.

Mention the company’s top three achievements. – remember, you must sell this position in order to attract the best candidates

Discuss the character’s role. – who will the candidate report to, and a brief description of who they’ll be working with and what the job entails?

The things that aren’t negotiable and the things that are great to have. –  it would obviously assist if you had some flexibility in the recruitment process. List any abilities that will be a plus but aren’t technically required for the function to be scored.

Discuss the role’s responsibilities in greater depth, as well as what a typical day may include.

To attract candidates, emphasize the benefits of the position. – before they ever talk to you in person, you want to make sure they know they will be respected.

Include a statement from the potential candidate’s boss introducing himself and what he or she enjoys doing in their leisure time. It’s crucial to know that the new employee and the management will get along.

Discuss the company’s culture. – is the firm committed to promoting diversity? What are the personalities of the existing employees?

Finally, mention who the company’s directors are. What is their professional history, and where have they previously worked? If you’re a startup, this will assist you to figure out who should be in charge.

2. Unique Job Boards Can Help You Find Talent

Think beyond the box and come up with creative ways to advertise job openings. You might choose to avoid the main job boards and employment sites in the United States and instead look for applicants on smaller sites.

If prominent job sites haven’t been able to assist you uncover acceptable applicants, go deeper into the talent pool. LinkedIn, along with Facebook job ads, is one of the finest places to find job searchers that match your requirements. Most sectors will have job boards set up; it’s just a question of spending a few minutes online looking for them, which all hiring managers should do.

Great chances may be found at networking events, and employee referral schemes are an even better offline approach to talent recruiting.

Your employees are well-versed in your company’s objectives, culture, team dynamics, and day-to-day operations. Existing workers are more qualified to recruit talent than anyone else, so make sure they understand the recruiting process and can locate the best internal applicants for the job.

And, because they are supposed to vouch for their prospects, they will be hesitant to recommend someone for the position.

3. Make Your Background Checking Process More Efficient

Why undertake a background check on all candidates when screening is costly and time-consuming? Many businesses streamline this procedure by making a preliminary selection and then just reviewing the final applicants.

This stresses what’s genuinely essential, as well as the hard and soft talents of candidates. In addition, reversing the order allows you to make a speedier final selection.

On a similar issue, certain positions may not need the completion of specified screening examinations. For example, a candidate’s driving record will not assist you to determine whether or not they are a good software engineer.

Consider adapting your background checks to the demands of each role to make them more efficient.

4. Begin by hiring for attitude and then providing training for skills.

This increasingly trendy method to hiring helps establish dynamic teams by valuing work ethics, flexibility, and cooperation over experience and technical abilities.

In the long run, candidates who pass the attitude test become better workers. They have the mentality to learn, gain new talents, and contribute to the growth of your firm.

Furthermore, in today’s world, critical skills change quickly—the tools your employees will use in three years will be different from those they use now.

5. To eliminate bias and increase efficiency, use tools.

Developers and HR professionals are expected to release a new generation of AI-based hiring solutions aimed at automating screening, improving selection, and removing bias from the recruitment process.

These tools will establish a recruitment marketing practice, allowing you to leverage marketing tactics such as a multi-channel approach, targeted adverts, and deep analytics to find, attract, and engage better-qualified prospects, making the hiring process much smoother.

6. Candidate feedback should be collected and analyzed.

Another technique that helps recruiters save time and money is candidate rediscovery. It’s also one of at least two reasons why candidates you didn’t fire should never be forgotten.

The second reason is that I want to get better.

An applicant who has just been offered a position at your organization is unlikely to rate your hiring process on the record. On the other side, the prospects you’ve turned down are likely to have a lot to say about your employer brand.

Conclusion

It’s possible that you’ll discover that the recruiting procedure is more crucial than you thought. You must devote time to finding appropriate individuals while the organization is operating at 100 miles per hour. You’ll notice results if you make recruitment a top focus.

If you nail the job description, publish it on appropriate employment pages, and make sure the interview process is simple with the right questions, you’ll be ready to find the ideal new employee. If you’re recruiting a developer, for example, be sure you ask react interview questions.

Don’t forget to ask applicants about their experiences throughout the process so you can learn from them and, most importantly, get the onboarding process right. How many people do you know who quit their work because they weren’t adequately taught or didn’t understand their role? Here’s to building your company with a group of people that are just as enthusiastic as you are!

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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International Expansion for Your Startup in Houston Through Translation

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Few people know this, but Houston is the home and headquarters of companies that were once startups which became internationally well-known for their innovation and services. Not all startups have made that great leap forward despite how much easier it has become to expand internationally through eCommerce.

If you’re wondering what your startup can do to take that leap and expand internationally, then keep on reading!

Houston’s Startup industry in 2021

The New York Times reported that unexpectedly the pandemic had increased entrepreneurial activities in the US. For the past 40 years, entrepreneurship has been down. Many economists have pointed out that this led to stagnant job growth, poor economic resilience, and low innovation. 

However, the resurgence of entrepreneurship could bring back productivity and the dynamic aspect needed to rebound the economic recessions in the future. 

Houston is one of the places where you can see a boom in entrepreneurship. And there are several reasons why anyone would consider building their startup business in Houston, as it has a diverse and growing population, etc.

What’s more, Houston MSA’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) earned about USD 512.2 billion during 2019 while having 160,000 business establishments earning around USD 129.5 billion for exports alone in 2020. It is a clear indication that the business opportunities for startups in Houston are very favorable, especially if you plan to go global.  

Here are just some examples of startups that have gone international:

Elemental Coating (formerly known SurfEllent) 

SurfEllent’s startup story begins with the research of Hadi Ghasemi, whose research was licensed by the University of Houston. His research drew inspiration from North American Wood Frogs that could tolerate extreme freezing temperatures and survive the winter. 

They have since expanded their brand to cater to several industries locally and abroad that rely on automation, from marine to architecture. 

Last March 2021, they were given a grant worth $750,000 by the US air force to create “ice phobic” coatings for their aircraft.

Sysco Corporation

Sysco Corporation is a Houston-based company that has become one of the world’s leading foodservice companies. They provide support across 90 countries and operate across different continents.

In researching their marketing tactics and strategy, part of their strategy involved creating a blog dedicated to restaurant owners and professional chefs, featuring online recipe books and magazines, etc. 

Considerations When Creating an International Marketing Campaign and Strategy

Whereas Elemental Coatings, much of their marketing derived from news coverage and grants. Sysco Corporation, however, relied on digital marketing techniques through digital content to market their brand and company website.

Because of this, we’ve written some considerations when creating the perfect marketing campaign and strategy for international expansion, as follows:

Working with a Translation Company

The translation is what makes or breaks your international marketing campaign. For this reason, we encourage you to work with a translation company, especially if it’s your first time entering a foreign market, as they can guide you in how to best approach your target locale. 

We interviewed William Mamane, the Chief Marketing Officer of Tomedes, a translation company that has translated thousands of pages of marcom content for Fortune 500 companies for more than a decade now. When dealing with startups, Tomedes has assisted in translating and marketing their brands to foreign markets they plan to enter.

“Startups have the potential in bringing in innovation and technology that larger companies wouldn’t be able to provide due to constraints,” Mamane explained. “For any startup looking to go international, I advise that you take advantage of that flexibility into your marketing and business strategy. When expanding, you will have to consider changing some characteristics of your brand, your product, and services for your target locale. It’s all a matter of translating your brand so that your target locale can relate to it while retaining the essential aspects of your company.”

Local Market Research

When conducting research, a translation company can assist you with identifying your target locale, your locale’s culture, language, market, local competitors, demand volume, etc. You can conduct a feasibility study on your target locale regarding market opportunities and operations. 

It might seem like a no-brainer, but many entrepreneurs failed to take into account market research. By studying your target market, you can keep close tabs on your finances and reduce costs with your operations and marketing tactics.

Creating Content Strategy

Part of your consideration in creating a content strategy is translating your website. Gartner, a market research firm, reported that translating your website is necessary because about 66% of their survey participants said it’s important that the website is in their native language. 

A translation company can facilitate translating your website and digital content for your target locale, while at the same time helping with SEO. Your market research will be essential in your content based on the preference of your target locale. 

Online Platform Preference

During your research period, look into the online platforms where your target locale often uses. Some social media platforms, like Facebook, aren’t popular in countries, like Japan and Russia. 

Change Services and Products 

Again, marketing and operations go hand and hand. Sometimes, you will have to change certain aspects of your products and services for your target locale so that you can effectively enter a new market.

Be ready to change some things about your services and products because if you want to go global, you will need to go local.

Final Thoughts

Despite the pandemic affecting the global economy, entrepreneurship is on the rise, even in Houston. If you’re looking to expand internationally with your startup, working with a translation company is your best bet in ensuring that your marketing campaign becomes successful. 

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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4 Ways To Make Money Over The Holidays

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Everybody wants to earn a little extra money for the holidays. Having a little extra can mean different things to different people. It can mean a new gadget to tinker around with, a memorable meal, an important gift for someone you like, or even a plane ticket home. However, not everyone wants to work the same job during the holidays, year after year. If you’re tired of being an elf at the mall, check out these other gigs you can work at. There are a lot of holiday season job opportunities that are always available if you know where to look.

Here are some other jobs that can earn you some money during the holiday season.

1. Catering

If you like cooking and serving food, you can check out your local caterers. There are a lot of parties that happen during the holidays, and a lot of these will be catered. You can get seasonal work with the outfits that will be handling these events. Caterers will need all sorts of temporary staff over the holidays. You can easily find work as a server, delivering food and drink to the guests. If you want to work in the kitchen, you can always find work as a dishwasher. If you want to find seasonal work as a cook, the jobs offered will depend on the size of the catering company. Smaller catering companies just need cooks, while larger ones may need some cooks who know how to work as part of a line.

There could be some other seasonal jobs available at your local caterer, restaurant, or event place. Some venues may need people to drive, set up the tables, or even host. Just ask your local establishments what they need help with during the holiday season.

2. Babysitting and Child Care

Since there are a lot of events that happen during the holiday season, the need for sitters also rises. If you enjoy spending time with children, you could offer help to busy parents and daycare centers during the holidays. Working parents will need someone to look after their kids while they attend the catered events that they have to go to. And, if you get this type of gig, this may blossom into a series of sitting dates with their children. This is because working parents have to go back to the office before their kids have to return to school. They may need their favorite sitters to stay with their loved ones all throughout the holiday season.

3. Work From Home

Working from home is a normal way to work nowadays, and several large organizations hire seasonal remote workers during the holidays. These jobs usually come in the form of customer service. There are two types of customer service jobs to choose from, call and email support. There are a lot of transactions that happen during the holidays, and these companies need people to man their phones and keyboards. If doing customer support is not your thing, there are tons of online gigs available all year round. You can write, edit, draw, do some research, or act as a virtual assistant. Most of these are contractual or project based, so you can choose the work that fits your holiday work needs.

If you’re working from home, take steps to maximize your workspace so you can stay focused and free of stress. Declutter, get organized, clean, and add some mood-boosting indoor plants to your home.

4. Seasonal Tax Preparer

Okay, so this type of work isn’t available until after the new year, but you may want to consider it. The job of a seasonal tax preparer is to assist accountants or accounting firms in preparing their clients’ tax forms. This requires training, possibly during the holidays, in preparation of the incoming tax season. This training will teach participants how to assist in tax preparation and update them regarding new tax updates in their area. Accounting firms will soon be busy preparing their clients’ tax forms January through April, and they will need help during the tax season. Different firms have different requirements, each offering their own type of training.


There are a lot of seasonal jobs to earn some money with. You never know, one of these might just be the start of a new career for you.

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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Keeping the Cash Flowing: Top Tips for Business Money Management

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Cash flow is always top of mind for small business owners, but sometimes, financial problems seem to materialize overnight. This often happens when owners don’t monitor cash flow property, and therefore, don’t always recognize there’s an issue until it’s too late. Advanced planning and appropriate tracking tools can help position you for a healthy financial outlook, and Keetria offers the following guidance on making it work for you.

Watch Your Numbers

Cash flow can vary from one season to another, and there are myriad factors that can influence the amount of revenue that comes through your business. Tracking your income and your accounts payable will help you identify trends, in addition to helping you monitor overall finances — both practices that will keep you aware of and in control of your company’s finances. According to the Prince’s Trust, this starts with smart business planning, utilizing the right software tools to track cash flow, and making the commitment to regularly review your books to ensure you know where you stand.

Use the Right Software

There are numerous moving parts in a small business budget, so find a software program that will help you monitor trends, as well as segment categories and set benchmarks with which to measure your finances. Being able to recognize at a glance the various income categories in your business will help you spot red flags as soon as they arise and allow you to take proactive steps to mitigate the damage. This process will also help you with short and long-term planning, as well as identifying products or services that sell well versus those that underperform. This type of strategic planning can pay big dividends down the line.

Mind Your Money …

Of course, part of tracking your money also involves having a degree of fiduciary responsibility. Make calculated purchasing choices based on market research, consumer demand, and by assessing your own finances. Regularly review pricing structures and inventory and revisit vendor and supplier contracts on a regular basis to ensure you’re getting the best deals. While it’s wise to invest in staff members who will help build your business, it’s smart to look for redundancy in roles so you can ensure you aren’t filling positions you don’t really need. Sometimes contractors and freelancers can take the place of full-time employees.

… But Mind it Carefully

While a common inclination is to slash your budget to ribbons, this can backfire. Items that usually end up on the chopping block include deeply reducing your marketing budget or hitting pause on employee development. In dire circumstances, these might make sense, but avoid measures that could ultimately hurt your bottom line. Instead, look for ways to mindfully reduce costs.

For example, instead of seeking an outsider to find solutions to business issues, turn to your staff instead to find a path forward. This creates more buy-in and can even increase morale if a collaborative effort improves processes. When it comes to marketing, ask your team to explore more cost-effective processes like tapping into the free aspects of social media or even the less expensive paid social media. Your team can even take advantage of free tools like an Instagram post generator. Rather than forking over cash for a graphic designer, your staff can create captivating posts that are polished and professional in a matter of minutes.

Follow-Up on Accounts

Small business owners often have personal relationships with their customers, which can make it uncomfortable if there are outstanding invoices you need to collect. Make sure your bills all spell out your terms and conditions and make it easy for customers to pay you by giving them multiple options — electronic, debit, check, cash, or bank transfer. If payments are slow, let customers know you understand their dilemma, but reiterate your company policy and, if necessary, utilize a collection agency to intervene on your behalf. You may be able to salvage the relationship and still get paid, all by removing yourself from the transaction.

Make Regular Audits

Once you have your cash flow monitoring well in hand and your budget shored up, you can devote time to segmenting your various revenue streams and looking for ways to grow your business. Regular audits can help you make educated decisions about how well your business is performing, where you’re losing money, or spending too much. Operational decisions can be made from this knowledge — like expanding the business, or alternatively, downsizing, or going strictly online. Staying ahead of the cash curve will help ensure that all of the business decisions you make are informed ones.

Small businesses often operate on a shoestring budget, making financial monitoring all the more important. Maintaining good standing with creditors and suppliers and not allowing yourself to become over-leveraged will keep you on the right path to long-term business success.


Need help kickstarting your startup idea or getting media exposure for your brand?
Feel free to reach out for a free 20-minute consultation where we can chat about your business and how I can help! To schedule your time: CLICK HERE

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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7 Benefits of Running a Business in Houston

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Is the cost of living in your city becoming unsustainably high? If you’re trying to get a new business off the ground, high prices for everything from real estate to labor can set you back. Or perhaps you’re opening a small local business, but you’ve found that the lack of a thriving business community in your area is making the process harder. You’re thinking about moving for the sake of your company, but you want to make sure your family will be happy wherever you settle down.

If you’re trying to figure out where your entrepreneurial future lies, you might want to consider moving to Houston, Texas. In contrast to cities with higher costs of living, it’s a great place to build up your business without making major financial sacrifices. And with PR coaching from consultants like Keetria, you’ll see business growth in no time. Plus, it’s a fantastic city for families! Here are a few reasons entrepreneurs can thrive in Houston.

Reasonable Cost of Living

Houston is a major metropolitan area with a surprisingly low cost of living, and reasonable prices have drawn in entrepreneurs and their families. For instance, if you’re thinking about buying a home, Millionacres states that you can expect to spend about $263,000. Median rent prices are also quite realistic for families and young professionals at $1,464 for a rental unit. Furthermore, there are plenty of apartments available for rent in the city, with a healthy rental vacancy rate of 7.4%.

And the low cost of living won’t just benefit you when it comes to renting or buying – it also means that you won’t have to spend as much to entice top talent. With lower labor costs, you can relax, knowing that your business has a longer “runway.”

Growing Population

Houston is a growing city, and this massive metro area is only gaining more residents. For business owners, this is a bonus: there is an ever-expanding talent pool in Houston, and every day, more professionals who are seeking new opportunities are choosing to settle down in the city. Right now, Houston is growing by 0.07% annually, and since 2010, the population has grown by 10.68%.

Diversity

Are you hoping to hire talent that can bring varied perspectives and creative solutions to your business? It’s time to start thinking outside the box and approach your recruiting and hiring process with diversity in mind. Houston has large African-American and Hispanic populations, and residents of the city speak more than 90 languages. The greater Houston area is definitely a cultural melting pot, and if you want to prioritize diversity within your business, it’s an ideal place to relocate your company.

Highly Educated Workforce

Houston doesn’t just have a large business network – it’s also a hub for higher education. Business owners can hire educated recent graduates from right in the city, and you can even bring on interns from local universities who want to gain valuable experience. These Houston colleges and universities graduate bright students who are more than ready for the professional world:

  • With multiple local campuses, the University of Houston offers unique programs in subjects like Space Architecture.
  • Rice University is consistently ranked as one of the best colleges in the United States.
  • Baylor College of Medicine is a top medical school for research students.

Entrepreneurial Community

No entrepreneur is ever on their own in Houston. You’ll be part of a community with loyal customers, helpful business owners, advisers, and local leaders. When you’re dealing with a problem, you’ll have the guidance you need to push forward, and you’ll feel inspired to take on bigger projects and challenge yourself. Bold Patents recommends these supportive organizations for entrepreneurs:

  • The Small Business Development Center provides free educational resources for business owners.
  • The Indus Entrepreneurs facilitates networking and mentorship opportunities for entrepreneurs.
  • LaunchEffect is a local incubator that offers lots of helpful services to entrepreneurs, as well as classes, hackathons, and more.

Fun Local Activities

Simply put, you’ll never be bored in Houston. On any given day, there are plenty of things to do, and no matter where your interests lie, you’ll be able to find an outlet in the city. From the eclectic restaurant scene to the gorgeous green spaces, you can enjoy a very high quality of life in Houston. And this benefits the local workforce – after all, happy employees are more productive and motivated! Here are a few places and events to check out in Houston:

  • Explore an extensive trail network and view stunning art installations at Buffalo Bayou Park.
  • Spend a day perusing the gardens, renting a pedal boat, and having a picnic at Hermann Park.
  • Let loose at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo and revel in the city’s creative side at the Houston Art Car Parade!

Business Launch Resources

If you’re relocating to Houston from another state, it’s important to make a checklist of all the requirements you’ll need to fulfill in order to officially open and run a business in Texas. A few important tasks for business owners include:

  • Choose a unique business name that is not already on file with the Texas Secretary of State and file to register your business entity.
  • Apply for state licenses and permits, such as a sales tax permit from the Comptroller of Public Accounts, relevant regulatory permits, and necessary occupational licenses.
  • Take out a business insurance policy and open a business bank account.

And with so many transactions conducted remotely, you’ll need a strong internet connection to launch and grow your business. To find a fast and reliable internet service, check out local internet providers that cover your area and research their average maximum speeds. If you can get fiber optic internet service in your area, it’s worth the investment – it’s generally about ten times faster than DSL service.

With so many perks for entrepreneurs, it’s no wonder that business owners and hard-working professionals are flocking to Houston. For Houston’s entrepreneurs, the future is bright! The low cost of living, growing business community, and bountiful resources mean that success is well within your reach in Houston.

Ready to start building your business’s brand? Seek PR coaching from Keetria! Schedule a free consultation call through our website today.

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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How To Build A Business with Little Money

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A Newbie Entrepreneur’s Guide to Creating a Business from the Ground Up

INTRODUCTION – THE INTERNET AND DECREASED BUSINESS COSTS

Entrepreneurs today are lucky to be hopeful business owners during an era of resources. It used to be that business owners would work hard and only have a small hope that their business would take off in their area, but the Internet has now globalized the way we think about how to build a business.

The best part? It’s extremely inexpensive. Unlike marketing methods of the past that would cost entrepreneurs an arm and a leg, we’re now living in an age when social media, digital and content marketing strategies are inexpensive and easy to utilize, vastly increasing a business’ ROI potential.

Traditional physical business models are always going to be here to stay, but the age of the Internet is upon us. Entrepreneurs who want to save money while still creating and owning a business can now lease digital room at a rate that’s a fraction of the cost of a brick and mortar storefront.

The Internet is a Global Platform. It allows business owners to introduce themselves to a virtual audience while making real profits they can take to the bank.

Not only does the Internet give entrepreneurs a platform on which to reach their audience, it opens them up to audiences from around the world. Businesses that have a global potential can find success via the more than 3 BILLION users online as of August 2015. Since 1995, the Internet has grown at a staggering rate with 42% of the global population now having access to the Internet in some way.

This allows entrepreneurs to grow incredibly large businesses without investing that much capital. As businesses grow, of course, more money is needed to maintain the company — but profits grow with businesses online. Jeff Bezos created Amazon as an online bookstore and didn’t have a sale for a year. Now he owns the largest online retailer of any product imaginable.

When you use this ebook article as your guide to starting a business, you learn the benefits of the Internet as an online business platform, how to maintain costs and keep them low, as well as learn about incredible resources that can help your Internet storefront thrive.

I. BUSINESS MODELS THAT WILL KEEP COSTS LOW AND PROFITS HIGH

Let’s back up. At this point, you haven’t made a business yet, whether it’s a brick and mortar storefront or an online ecommerce hub. Before an entrepreneur ever launches any kind of business, crafting an executable strategy is the first step to success. 

First, entrepreneurs must test their marketplace. When you know your audience and what they need, you can better plan for your business launch.

The first step in marketplace testing should always be to examine market presence and competition. The easiest way to do this is to simply Google your potential business’ purpose online, like “haircare for kids” or “pet training kits.” What ads show up? How many relevant results are there? Perform your searches with quotation marks and examine how many results there are — any number under 50,000 is your sweet spot. This means competition will be minimal.

From here it’s easy to examine the competition that does exist and adjust business expectations accordingly. If a business idea has too much market competition, it may be time to rethink things.

Now we can examine the benefits of information marketing and media downloads. This is the sale of information online and media, respectively.

Information marketing is one of the most budget effective forms of business because it’s original, based on information a person already knows and only requires two things to be actionable: a website and a .PDF. Selling ebooks or online courses also help an entrepreneur grow their credibility. It’s one thing to sell a product, but the knowledge about that product is much more valuable. For instance, a dog training kit doesn’t present the same credibility as an ebook on simple dog training tips.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a downside to information marketing. An ebook isn’t worth a lot of money in the long run, and entrepreneurs who marketing ebooks or online courses at exorbitant fees will find they don’t move a lot of volume.

In general, you make what you put into information marketing. A five or six-page ebook isn’t worth as much as an in-depth, professionally designed, four-week course package. The amount of money to be made will vary based on the quality, length and credibility of the product.

Media downloads are similar but include a different formatting. Instead of “print” media, media downloads include videos, podcasts and other forms of auditory or visual media. These, however, require more investment capital — it costs a lot less to write an ebook as compared to selling a successful podcast.

Do you have a talent or skill that can translate into online sales? Selling online services can be a great way to make money online with a personal brand as a business.

Whether you’re a writer, a graphic designer or video specialist, you can make money online without a fully-realized business to invest in. The goal may be to build up to a content marketing firm, but brand establishment is important when you’re starting out. Sites like Freelancer, Fiverr, and Upwork are great for advertising your services so you can work your way up.

There are obvious benefits and negatives here. The pros are that you get to make money without spending money and you’re performing a service you already know how to do. The negative is that you aren’t protected in the way you would be if you owned a business of your own.

On the other hand, you may already have a brick and mortar store or physical products. How do you translate a physical business into digital sales?

This can be a bit trickier when it comes to keeping things on a budget. This requires a true online business, though it doesn’t mean a lot of capital has to be invested. There are either different skills or objects needed to make this happen:

• Knowledge of ecommerce solutions

• Web design skills

• Graphic design skills

• Online-to-offline business integration

• Attention to detail

• Copywriting abilities

• Domain name & website hosting

• Customer service

With all of this work comes a lot of profit, however. The benefits of an online storefront include owning your own business, there are resources that make the process easier and easy access to scaling up a business.

This also applies to selling someone else’s physical goods as a reseller. If you want to create a business based on selling physical goods that haven’t yet been, understand that creating goods increases business startup costs by a large margin.

Sometimes it’s possible to make money in business without creating your own products or even selling your own services. Entrepreneurs can make money via other business owners via commission.

Affiliate marketing is a way to make money online without even creating a website. How is this possible? Essentially affiliate marketing is the art of sending traffic to someone else’s website or product. When that person makes a purchase, the company makes money AND so does the person that sent them there — A.K.A. you.

Owning a website and affiliate marketing for multiple companies is the best way to make money in this “business,” but it’s not something that’s required. If you already own a business, affiliate marketing isn’t something you can’t participate in. It’s all about promotion and being paid for this promotion.

The cons of this method of money making include being at the mercy of the business in question and being distanced from the product itself. On the other hand, it’s money that can be made easily with little to no time or capital investment. The company is the one dealing with products and customers — not you. In general, affiliate marketing is great for entrepreneurs that want to put their foot in the door while still making some cash at the same time.

There’s also CPA — cost per action marketing. The difference here is that there’s no selling of a product, but instead the money comes when you get someone to take some type of action. This can include something like a trial membership, newsletter subscription or another type of CTA (call to action). The purpose? Businesses know that getting in new customers or creating actionable leads is worth commission.

Finally, entrepreneurs must look at this variety of startup models and ask themselves a few questions that cement their identity as a business person.

Before deciding on a specific type of business model, these are three questions that you need to ask yourself:

• What is it that you’re good at?

• What do you enjoy doing, and can it be actionable as a means to make money?

• How much of your own business are you capable of handling yourself, whether because of your skillset or time management?

How you answer these questions may determine the business model you should choose. It’s important to know the answers to these questions in order to create a business that you’re comfortable fostering and continuing — it should be based around your wants, needs and capabilities for the sake of longevity.

II. ESTABLISHING A SENSIBLE BUSINESS BUDGET

You’ve asked yourself some hard questions and decided your business model. Now what? The next step is deciding what your budget is going to be. While the cost of your business model will vary greatly depending on the model you chose — for instance, creating a product and then establishing a website won’t be as inexpensive as an affiliate marketing site investment — it’s also worthy to note that there are always inexpensive options to choose, no matter the model you went with.

For your business start up, avoid spending money on all the business bells and whistles. Look for free tools and resources that will lower your costs.

For both startup investments and continuous operational costs, there are three different types of costs that factor into these different business areas.

The costs being discussed are:

• Fixed — These are one-time investments that you’ll only have to spend once or very rarely.

• Recurring — Costs that are cyclical and will be a constant concern, whether monthly, weekly or yearly.

• Invisible — Hidden investments that relate to a business but not specifically.

To keep things simple, let’s break down each type of cost and common expenses that fall into that category, as well as an estimated cost for that expense:

FIXED COSTS

• Software needed to run a business (can be free or up to $500)

• Web design (free to $2,000)

• Extra development (up to $500)

• Branding creation (free to $300)

• A computer for work ($350 to $1000, laptop preferred)

• Business cards and other startup marketing material ($20 to $50)

RECURRING COSTS

• Domain registration (varies depending on your host, but typically $10 to $15 a year)

• Web hosting (varies depending on host, $6 to $15 per month at startup)

• SSL certification ($70 to $300 per year, not totally necessary but recommended)

• Maintenance ($100 to $2000 depending on your experience level)

• Payment processing (usually 2.9% commission)

• Advertising (free to varied, like $5 per day via Facebook advertising)

• Email autoresponder ($20 or more per month depending on email volume)

• Shopping cart (free to $200 plus per month)

• Cloud storage (free to $10 per month)

• Site backup (free to $5 per month)

HIDDEN COSTS

• Time, in the context of wage and business cost

• Rent or mortgage of your own home, A.K.A. your business hub

• Bills for Internet, phone and electricity

• Education required to run said business

• Email management

It’s important to make a very obvious note here:

This is an example. It is used as a starting point for one type of business model. Some expenses may apply to your business model, some may not. Some may not be listed. Your own budget depends greatly on your business model, experience and the tools you need to get started.

Smart business owners will look for ways to cut their costs and vet any only deals they think can lower their budget. For your own reference, copy this sheet to a document of your own and edit it accordingly. What does your own budget look like?

III. TOOLS ENTREPRENEURS CAN USE TO HELP STAY WITHIN THEIR BUDGET

You now have the business model you want to go with and the budget required to make it happen. Now the next step is to further estimate those costs via reliable and cheap service providers that can further decrease your budget.

It’s worth saying that just because a service is cheap, it isn’t worthless — many big name companies still use “tight budget” companies because there’s no use spending lots of money on a service when you could be saving all that cash for something else.

For each area, three different inexpensive service providers are listed. Choose one of these or do your own research on a cheap service alternative!

If your business requires one of these services, consider the recommendation:

DOMAIN REGISTRATION

• GoDaddy.com

• Domain.com

• Name.com

WEB HOSTING PROVIDERS

• Ehost.com

• iPage.com

• Bluehost.com

For more information on choosing a provider for your business, check out this best web hosting provider resource from Digital.com.

WEBSITE PLATFORMS

• WordPress.com

• DoodleKit.com

• Moonfruit.com

ECOMMERCE SOLUTIONS

• WooCommerce (Free plugin for WordPress, but expensive for additional features/extensions)

• Shopify

• 1shoppingcart

FREE BUSINESS LISTINGS

• Google My Business 

• Bing Places for Business

• Yahoo Local

We also suggest using a PASSWORD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM to protect your information. Check out this complete password management systems guide from PasswordManager.com

These are just a few types of resources and a few examples of each resource — this gives you a starting place for looking for your own inexpensive resources.

IV. YOU’VE STARTED A BUSINESS…NOW HOW DO YOU STAY ON A BUDGET?

Creating a business and setting up a budget are actually the easy steps within this ebook. Now we get to examine how to continue to stay on a budget as your business grows and resources necessary to keep things on track.

Maximizing business profitability is something a lot of experts talk about, but new entrepreneurs often don’t understand how to make it happen. Thus, they’re often lured into profitability scams — or resources that live by the old adage “you have to spend money to make money.” The sad thing is that entrepreneurs will spend money on these services, then find they aren’t making the money they were promised.

Starting a business doesn’t mean you have to spend lots of money to make it work. It’s essential to understand how to manage a business while simultaneously making money doing what you love.

First, don’t throw away your day job just because you got your first ecommerce sale. A startup company shouldn’t be what you sacrifice a living wage for, especially when you don’t know if your first attempt at business ownership will be successful or not.

Learn how to barter for goods and services. Being cash poor doesn’t mean you aren’t extremely wealthy due to your assets, skills, abilities and connections. If you can’t buy graphic design work, why not leverage your content writing abilities for a logo design?

Do you watch Shark Tank? You don’t have to go on national TV to find a great business investor. There are venture capitalists out there that would love to give you money to run your own business in order to see an expansive return.

Always look for ways to be thrifty. Don’t ever spend money without thinking first: “can I find a less expensive way to accomplish this task?” If you like looking for deals while grocery shopping, apply those same techniques here. Look for coupon codes, do your research and always be willing to haggle.

Finally, don’t spend big bucks on invoicing or accounting. Budget marketing tools like TurboCash or FreshBooks exist for a reason.

It’s also unnecessary to spend big bucks on marketing. Online marketing is cheap, easy to do and gives businesses an incredible ROI.

Online reviews are your friend. When a business is starting out, credibility is paramount. CTAs (calls to action) and requests for reviews can make all the difference in the world. Promote your business on sites like Yelp! or Google+ Local for an added incentive.

Blogging can be another way to make your business more credible while simultaneously creating marketable content. Blogs are easy to link to on social media, create SEO potential and establish yourself as an industry expert.

Speaking of social media, businesses that aren’t on social media are behind the times. Promoting products and deals on sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn (depending on whether your business is B2B or not) can bring in new traffic, generate new leads and give businesses the ability to connect with consumers.

You should also consider joining industry groups. Whether they are forums or chat rooms, these are vehicles for building great industry relationships while also promoting SEO in search engines.

Sites like HelpAReporter.com, or HARO, will help to promote your business via press releases or news stories you provide them. This helps media channels to find verified information about your business.
Connect with other businesses via a tit-for-tat relationship. Promoting another business via testimonials or cross-promotion efforts can mean they’ll do the same for you.

CONCLUSION – CREATING AN ACTION PLAN THAT WORKS

It’s one thing to have all the information necessary to start a business, and yet quite another to actually make it happen. I’ve provided you with advice and resources — now it’s your turn to turn it all into an incredible business!

You now know:

• It’s possible to make money online and to lay the foundation for an Internet business without investing a lot of capital.

• The Internet can give any business global reach.

• How to create a budget and stick to that budget with easily actionable tips.

• You can start and own a business for as much as $1,000 to as cheap as being completely free!

You don’t have to fully commit to all of these tasks yourself — outsourcing can be an incredible asset to new entrepreneurs.

It’s always important to consider what you’re capable of and what you can delegate to someone else. As your business grows, so will your need to ask others for help and to create new jobs for new employees. Every business starts with one person, but great business owners will soon realize their small startup has the potential to be something much bigger than they ever thought possible…

…and all of that is possible thanks to the Internet and low-cost business techniques.

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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Why you Should Add a Business Line to your Smartphone

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Entrepreneurs often wait until it’s too late to add a separate business line to their smartphone. Using your personal phone number is economical and convenient when a start-up is in its early stages. But when your company begins to develop its brand, getting a separate phone number for business communications becomes very useful, essential really. There are lots of great reasons why you should go ahead and take the leap as soon as possible.

Reasons Not to Use Your Personal Phone Number for Business

Studies show that 75% of consumers say a phone call is the easiest way to get a response, while around 52% who convert following an online search do so over the phone. Having a business phone number for your operations regularly rates better in popularity for consumers, regardless of how digitally linked you are to social media and online mobile applications.

What’s more, many businesses you interact with, government agencies, and other services use your personal phone number for identity verification. Your personal number can provide access to highly sensitive information and potentially lead to identity theft or other online scams.

The list of reasons why you shouldn’t give out your personal number to customers, clients, or suppliers is a long one. Here are a few key reasons to avoid using a personal number for business, in a nutshell:

1. Exposure to online threats like scammers and phishers

2. Exposure to telemarketers and robocalls

3. Your business is tied to your personal number and is difficult to change

4. Limited calling features that don’t scale with company growth

5. Lack of control over additional business lines

6. Personal privacy is compromised as you can always be reached

7. Inability to distinguish between work and personal phone calls

8. Lack of control over work vs. personal time with friends and family

9. Inability to transfer calls to team members when needed

10. Using a personal number for business just looks unprofessional

Benefits of A Separate Business Line for Your Cell Phone

A business phone number is a critical part of your brand identity and provides an essential convenience for customers. 70% of mobile users who look for goods and services online opt for a phone call over other forms of communication. 94% of users call a business after searching for it on their phones. Here are some other great reasons to get a separate business line for your smartphone.

Improve Customer Satisfaction

A phone number used explicitly for your business works to enhance customer service and satisfaction. Customers can get frustrated when they try to get in touch with a specific company, but can’t find their contact information or easily reach you.

If you do continue to use your business number, take care when using it on the internet or giving it out to clients and suppliers. Getting a business line makes sure customers can easily find your contact details and reach you. People can reach out to you and get answers to their queries and doubts.

Reliability and Portability

Whether you own a small or big business, having a business phone line works wonders. It gives your business credibility and works to promote your brand. It’s also easy to transition to a new location, so even if you move your business your customers can still contact you with the same number.

Separate Your Personal & Business Communications

We often change our personal numbers, but your business number needs to remain consistent. By separating business from personal contacts, you can more clearly distinguish calls and messages from friends and family, or from work sources. Also, using your personal number on marketing materials would render all those materials obsolete if you had to change it.

You Can Choose a Business Number That’s Easier for Customers to Remember

Thousands of local and toll-free phone numbers are available across all area codes, so you can get one that’s convenient and easy to remember. A toll-free number will appeal to landline callers especially, and can give your business an added appearance of professionalism, making it a potent marketing tool.

More Control Over Employee-Customer Communications

If your employees use their personal numbers when dealing with customers, you have little control over their communications in your business’ name. Perhaps more importantly, you won’t have access to call records and notes about clients that help streamline efforts among internal teams.

Easier to Maintaining Work-Life Balance

Giving out your personal phone number for business reasons, your personal and professional life can get mixed up. Customers and providers can always reach you, and your privacy gets restricted. Having a separate business line with set hours helps maintain a seamless work-life balance.

Minimize Your Need for New Devices or Hardware

Many small businesses and start-ups begin by using their personal number for business, but as the company grows, having a second number becomes more and more important. If you operate as a solopreneur, maintaining a second cell phone and business calling line can quickly add up in expense.

Why You Should Add a Second Phone Number to Your Cell Phone

Modern phones have gotten more powerful and easy to use than ever, and communications are getting better, faster, and clearer all the time. There’s never been a better time than to try out using a separate business line. There are lots of advantages of having one phone with two numbers, including:

  • Personal privacy: keep your personal information and details safe from your business-only contacts.
  • Work-life Balance: easily maintain separate personal and professional communications.
  • Saves money and time: keeping two cell phones can get confusing and expensive.
  • Mobility: connect with customers and colleagues from home or on the road.

Personal numbers are not meant for doing business, not to mention they lack professional calling features. Getting a phone number for your business is affordable, is a great idea for companies of all sizes, is convenient, and safeguards your personal data from scammers. A virtual phone system will allow you to put up a professional front with a very low cost.

Adding a Separate Business Line to Your Mobile Device is Easy

Many great business line mobile apps are available on Google Play or Apple App Store for iPhone and iOS. Mobile calling apps also provide essential extra features, such as voicemail transcription and auto-attendants. Incoming calls have a characteristic ring so you’ll always know who is calling. Operating a virtual business phone system helps you easily expand to additional team members. It doesn’t matter what hardware you use: smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktop computers, office IP phones, or traditional landlines. All your business phone lines will be linked to one single number for anyone who calls in.

You can sign up for a free trial of most business calling apps to get a better idea of how their features can work for your business. Tiered pricing plans are available for businesses of all sizes. Bring your business calling into the 21st century by adding a business line to your smartphone today.

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

The Ins and Outs of Financial Projections and Why They’re Essential for Your Business

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Do you have a solid grasp of the financials of your business and your future financial goals? Financial projections can be used as both an internal planning tool and a way to communicate with stakeholders, helping you make the best decisions about where you want to take your company. This article will take you through the process of creating accurate financial projections. 

What are financial projections?

Financial projections are an essential tool for any business owner or entrepreneur and provide valuable insights into your company’s future. With accurate projections, you can see where your business is headed and how it will grow or shrink over time, depending on your assumptions. 

The best thing about this type of planning is that it’s flexible. If something changes, like a new opportunity or challenge you didn’t foresee, you can adjust your numbers accordingly to accommodate these new circumstances. 

What financial projections do I need? 

There are many types of financial projections that might be useful, depending on your company. 

The most widely used ones are projections of profit margins, which can include revenue forecasts and expense budgets. But don’t forget to consider your cash flow statement, especially when planning to scale up your business, as you are likely to need cash available to make significant investments such as purchasing machinery or land. 

And a balance sheet can also help you project future success, as it gives a great overall view if you’re trying to get funding from banks or investors. 

How do I create financial projections? 

A great place to start with this process would be looking at historical data from previous years to have some baseline against which to compare any future scenarios. 

From there, you make assumptions as to what will happen in the future. Don’t forget to document the reason behind each assumption to make sure they’re realistic. 

There are many online resources available for creating financial projections, such as software like Excel spreadsheets. All you need is basic knowledge of how to use the tool, and if you want inspiration, there are plenty of online templates available to help you. 

Do you need help? 

Many financial advisors and accountants specialize in creating financial projections and can offer assistance or answer any questions if you get stuck. 

And if you want to deepen your knowledge about financial statements and what they can do for you, a good option might be getting an online accounting degree. Not only will you learn about financial statements, but you’ll also gain insight into accounting principles and standards. 

By earning your degree online, you can work around your existing schedule so that your work and personal life don’t suffer while you learn. And you will find that it gives you more confidence to handle the financial challenges your business faces.

Financial projections are an effective tool to understand how money is coming in and going out of your company so you can make more educated decisions about where it should go next. Accurate financial projections can help your business find funding, communicate with stakeholders, and grow.


Need help kickstarting your startup idea or getting media exposure for your brand?
Feel free to reach out for a free 20-minute consultation to chat about your business and how I can help! To schedule your time: CLICK HERE

 

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you want to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Two Steps to Launch your StartUp Idea – Don’t Lose Momentum!

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Here is a simple two-step process that will help you get started with launching your startup idea today.

Launching a startup can be an intimidating process. Taking ideas from your head and putting them into an action plan starts with deciding to bring your vision to fruition. Running a startup is no easy task, and launching one isn’t either. For those who are just starting, taking baby steps is recommended to prevent yourself from becoming overwhelmed or discouraged before you get started.

These steps can help you gain the momentum you need to get your startup up and running today.

Determine the Goal

Starting with your goal in mind will save you tons of time and energy. Just like taking a road trip, it’s best to have a sense of where you would like to end up. Know where you want to see yourself, even if you’re not sure about the final destination.

Determine what your destination would look like – is it more money, and if so, how much and why? For what reason do you want to make a specific amount of money? Is it the freedom to work anywhere in the world? Maybe your goal is to solve a problem for medical professionals who work in the healthcare industry. Know and understand your “why.”

Once you know your goal, you can proceed with creating a plan of action to achieve it. Most startup failures are due to a lack of clarity – no goals, no vision. A goal will serve as your guidepost and help you kickstart the required action steps to get things moving in the right direction. Most startup founders set out on this journey to make a difference. Startups play a pivotal role in changing our world.

Start with Simple Resources

Don’t let not having a website ready discourage you from getting your business online. We live in a world where social media is a big deal. If you have the name of your business, the official logo, and an overview of what your company does, that’s enough to get going. If you are in the middle of filing paperwork like business registrations, copyrights, trademarks, and similar items of that nature, I would suggest finalizing those necessary documents before going online.

In addition, there are also other tasks you can do that will help position your startup online when the time comes. These tasks include creating your brand mission statement or company overview, determining which social media platforms to use, and registering them. It is also a great time to start thinking about the marketing strategy and the best ways to promote your startup. This level of activity will spur your mind into action. Completing the simple stuff will make way for the next set of tasks you need for a successful launch.

Wrapping up

Hopefully, the steps above have given you some clarity and insight into why it is crucial to take action now on your idea. Even though you may experience levels of uncertainty or doubt, you will create momentum by moving forward. The goal is to start where you are with what you have. I’m sure you may have heard the quote, “An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied.” ―Arnold Glasow.

Need help kickstarting your startup idea or getting media exposure for your brand?
Feel free to reach out for a free 20-minute consultation where we can chat about your business and how I can help! To schedule your time: CLICK HERE

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Podcast Recap: Food Truck Culture and Entrepreneurship with Podcaster Ariel Smith

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Ariel Smith, host of The Food Truck Scholar podcast centered around the food truck business, food culture, and black entrepreneurship talks about the inspiration behind her podcast. She also shares several tips and ideas for aspiring entrepreneurs seeking to get started on their ventures.

1) Creativity is necessary

Creativity is important but not sufficient for a food truck business to get successful. An entrepreneur should try new foods and incorporate innovation in this business, but some important points must be kept in mind while doing so. As with all businesses, the food truck business also has its own risks and can fail if food quality, customer service, or any important other factor is not paid attention to. Such a mistake can be destructive for the business even if creativity is employed. In short, small factors may have significant effects on the business in the long run and thus must be considered.

2) Significance of the Food truck business

The food truck industry is an important one serving a lot of people daily. It is growing ever more significant as it has the potential to offer the same quality and variety of food that a person enjoys at a restaurant. Furthermore, food trucks cater superior food like lobsters and crabs to people of lower socioeconomic statuses while restaurants only serve such food to upper-class people. This growing significance of the food truck industry makes it a viable business option and promises a lot of opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs.

3) Social media marketing is essential

Social media is an essential marketing tool for food trucks, without which marketing can be said to be virtually impossible. It can help in maintaining a good customer relation, engaging them, disclosing opening, and closing times and routes which reduces the communication gap between the food truck operators and the customers. While many social media sites and apps are available, the most important ones in this business are Instagram and Facebook. The critical points in social media marketing of food trucks are that social media accounts must be updated with new posts regularly. Excellent photography must be employed in the posts about foods and a schedule of time and routes must be communicated to followers and should be followed.

4) Research is a must

Aspiring food truck entrepreneurs should do a lot of research before entering the business because this helps them avoid future problems. A person entering the business must research all the available options and choices and select the ones that cater to his or her needs.

5) Deciding and planning

A person willing to enter the food truck business should decide and plan everything as soon as possible. He or she should know the category of food they want to serve and whether it would be pre-prepared or will be prepared in the truck. It should also be decided if they plan to buy or rent the truck, and if someone else is working for them on the truck, how credible and trustable is that person. Most importantly, the person must build a following on social media accounts way before launching the business so that he or she knows that people are actually going to buy the product.

6) Passion is vital

Lastly, passion is a vital ingredient to enjoy success in the food truck business. It is not as easy as it seems and there are days when a person must work in very harsh conditions with patience and effort and such a contribution can only be made by a person who is working for his or her passion, not just for earning a quick buck.

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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