Freelancing has helped people to put their skills to work and earn a lavish livelihood through it. It has broken the myth that a job in an MNC will help you accomplish your dream to buy a BMW! Itâs a great feeling to be your boss but challenging simultaneously. Management is one of those skills that must be imbibed in your DNA because if you canât figure out the workload and deliver things on time, you will surely lose your clients, no matter how experienced you are! So, letâs peep into the brains of successful freelancers and find out the way how to manage a freelance project. Below we have discussed some of the ways to manage a freelance project like a pro.
Ways to Manage a Freelance Project
Be The Best Of All Your Competitors And Offer Unique
Imagine a scenario of a Content Writing organization that has a team of content writers. Now, there are lakhs of organizations doing the same thing. So, the smart move would be to offer graphic designing and website building services also! Rather than hiring some more freelancers, learn and teach your team designing and web development. This will help you attract more projects.
I am a pen and paper person. I like to write things down.So I utilize a spiral notebook to accomplish all of my to-doâs for the day. I put the clientâs name with their task list and then deadlines. So I record every detail. Same daily schedule for little and large tasks, with or without deadlines. Additionally simply be straightforward, defined limits with every customer, and don’t guarantee things you can’t convey. â Fernmaiden Fuentes
Make proper use of technology
Use New Technologies
Use the best technologies available and offer some unique services. There are many tools available on the internet which you can use to increase your productivity. If you are in an online marketing space there is a lot of tools and software available which you can use to offer more services to your clients and also to track your work-in-progress. You can easily manage a freelance project if you how to use technology in your favor.
I use a task manager, where I have every dayâs to-do list separated by project and priority. I recommend Todoist. â Adriana Chionetti
Popularise yourself through social media
Popularise Yourself
Connections and links with people in communities can get high-budget projects to fall in your side. LinkedIn and other professional social media platforms are the best ways to do that. If you are a coder or a developer then your GitHub profile, Hacker Earth, Hacker Rank or SPOJ profile will automatically attract the companies. So, you donât need to prove yourself in front of the interviewers. That’s why it’s important to build a strong network. With great network it becomes easier to manage a freelance project.
Though you have the freedom to work on the project anytime, professionalism has a vital role to play in your life. Make a proper time-table and have fixed working hours. In the lust of money, donât just spend 24*7 working on the project. Deliver things on time and thatâs enough!
Make your every day as productive as possible and try to use your time more efficiently. That way you will be able to learn new skills to improve your portfolio.
I make use of the Pomodoro method. It helps a lot. EEach Pomodoro is a 25-minute cycle followed by a 5-minute break. After the fourth Pomodoro, you take a 15-minute break. â Christina Ramas
Keep the Client Informed
If you have promised to deliver after 3 weeks then itâs not that you will call the client on the last day! Itâs important and a nice practice to keep him updated weekly at least! Whether you face any setback or challenges, just write an email to the client. This will just increase the value of your freelance project during submission and appreciation.
I have been battling with this since the time I had a go at setting off to an electronic calendar. This year, I went back to a paper planner with time blocked out for each client, priority to-do lists, and recognition that sometimes I may need to erase or rearrange. I additionally utilize a major whiteboard to list my customers initially, check off occupations as I finish them. These two methods together are working. â Bonniejean Alford Hinde
Ask for Testimonials and Referrals
Following up on building excellent rapport with clients. When you do this, itâs much easier to ask a client for a testimonial, which you should do!
Tributes are a piece of showcasing yourself and are âprofessional proofâ which increases trust in other imminent clients.
Testimonials can be published on your Website, in marketing PDFs, and on LinkedIn. Having recent testimonials is vital as the older a testimonial gets, the more irrelevant it becomes. Referrals are a great way to drum up new work and clientele. A referral implies either asking your customer to legitimately prescribe you to individuals in their system who may likewise require your services or inquiring as to whether they know anybody who might need your services so you can reach out to them yourselves. As with anything new that you try, there will be stumbling blocks, but itâs all part of the learning process â and the learning process can be exhilarating.
When you begin to shape some authority around freelancing, you’ll be considering approaches to comprehend new difficulties, for example, expanding your freelancing rate or discovering greater and better tasks to work on. Take the time to get your feet wet and learn the ropes!
People think very differently! Selling at a very cheap rate might force people to think that you might be missing something and may compromise with quality while high rates will return the customers at the very first sight. So, if you are quoting something higher than the market then you must offer some more than your competitors. Make it worth the money!
Start with a table in Word/Doc/Notepad: 1. List all your clients. 2.List the quantity of articles or words (for me) to be presented that day PER Client. 3. Rundown the time you want to spend on it. 4. Strike off everyone when complete and add your time. â Geo Maria George
Outsource Your Work
Many freelancers done a mistake when they get a lot of projects either they don’t accept or they try to do everything on their own. Try to outsource your work and it will be more beneficial if you can build a strong team. A team plays a major role in the freelancing world, you can’t grow your business if don’t have a team. So, after reaching the top try to build your team of freelancers. Sometimes it can be hard to handle any freelance project but following proper guidelines you can handle it easily.
No matter what you are doing in your life, management is a skill that you will need in every aspect. So make sure you are building your management skills along with other jobs. It will happen many times that you will get negative testimonials that time doesn’t give up and try to improve your skills more. Always try to deal with negative feedback as your mentor and learn from them. Learn time management as well and one day you will be able to manage your freelance project like a pro!
Every startup aspires to become a renowned group brand, but only some manage to survive beyond 2 years. Even fewer go on to cement their status. The reason is simple, brands aren’t built, overnight billionaires. It is easier to make money out of your startup than to build its identity. To build a brand, you must first know what a brand is.
According to you, a brand is a popular name on which goods and services are sold, and that with time, companies eventually become a brand. Another definition may be of an organization that sells a given product and has a symbol/logo in conjunction with a name. Well, a brand is way more than just a name and the simple textbook meanings mentioned above. To achieve the coveted status of a brand in the market, you need to think beyond ordinary. It doesn’t mean you mimicry what big brands do right away but do what the big shots did before becoming a household brand name. There is nothing like building a brand that customers love because it attests to a sense of attachment and fulfillment when people are satisfied with your product or service. Hereâs a list of ideas to achieve popularity and love amongst customers while building aformidable brand.
Pay Attention To Your Business
You need to carve a unique identification of the brand for your product or service. Donât engage deeply in one segment while ignoring others. Putting more into marketing and image building but less in sales or vice versa has pessimistic effects. No company focuses on branding first and sales later. Selling your service should be at the top of oneâs priority pass list. Provide the best to your customers. Likewise, not focusing on your strategies also leads to problems. Heed to all aspects of your brand.
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax, ” these words by Abraham Lincoln summarize the secret to crafting a successful brand. This simply means to prepare yourself and work smarter instead of harder. It is the quality of a product or service which differentiates a good brand from an average brand, a great one from a good one. Customers trust a brand based on its offeringâs quality.
To become a prodigy name, businesses must consider three elements: past, present and future. The first two elements must be used to craft strategies for the future. They need to keep themselves prepared for the worst. Whether it is the threat of a new competitor in the market or drastic action changes in the fundamental concept, brands revered by customers work on all possible scenarios and rebound no matter how severe the situation may be. A brand is thus the result of constant efforts and betterment applied over time and this makes it a preference for customers.
The key is to keep customers happy and content. An organization needs to build a loyal customer base that comes back to them each time. Such customers can even increase your brand publicity through word of mouth, forming a good image of you and a prodigy brand identity. Make your customers feel valued; be it in the form of a gift, a monetary incentive or some other add on. This way, your business enters the list of their all-time favorite.
A brand is more than a companyâit is an emotion, a feeling. You must have seen people talking about certain products with very high involvement. Women showing off their Gucci bags and kids flaunting their Air Jordans. Endorsing a brand gives them a feeling of standing out from the crowd. Your brand should have a meaning for you as well as its customers. This ultimately becomes the core of your functioning circuit. The crux of your business should be loud and clear. A tagline with a logo is the best way to represent it. It exudes your concept and shows the spirit of doing the business. An example is Nike’s ‘Just do it‘, which promotes the spirit of confidence. Any athlete is likely to buy a Nike product since the brand is strongly linked to sportsmanship qualities.
Your brand must possess authenticity. Originality is a differentiator. Donât imitate existing, successful brands word-to-word. You may borrow an idea or two but some aspects should set you apart. Straightforward mimicry is harmful, and customers are quick to judge such steps taken by companies. This also portrays your brand as hostile and fearful of the competition act.
It may sound weird since branded products are all high priced but this is when they are already established. They’ve been standing up to the reality of the expectations of their customers for a long time. To command, a high price for your products or services, start by becoming a brand that offers the best in quality at reasonable prices. Keeping lower margins, in the beginning, will increase your sales and with time, these can be adjusted with the rise in standards services.
It can be an enormous task to build a brand, but if you are passionate about your product and you, it becomes easier to convince people. Whatever you offer them, they have double to offer you. Credibility, authenticity check and quality lead you to unmatchable grounds of the market where everyone loves your brand. But for this, you need to love and live your brand.
Disruptions are the need of the hour. This applies to the eCommerce in India as well. With the emergence of new competitors in the online segment, established players such as Myntra, Flipkart and Amazon, are reinventing their way of functioning to stay at the top.
The new strategies being employed can be witnessed through the âtrendsâ that have captured everybodyâs attention. Indian entrepreneurs are adamant about revolutionizing the eCommerce industry and experience for their countrymen, taking inspiration from their western counterparts as and when required.
WIDGET: leadform | CAMPAIGN: undefined
Here are a few trends of 2020 that are collectively catapulting the eCommerce in India to another level.
Innovation in logistics
The customer orders an iPhone but receives a fruit instead. The blame directly or indirectly goes to the delivery guy who’s just a small part of the supply chain. Ecommerce players are realizing the importance of getting logistics done right since most of the customer complaints pertain to delivery issues. To sort it out, third-party logistics providers are turning up on the scene and are being hired by companies to micromanage the entire delivery process. The highlight to watch this year would be drones replacing delivery boys, overcoming hurdles such as traffic, transportation, etc. with relative ease. Hence, taking Ecommerce in india to another level.
ecommerce
Video marketing
Static advertisements are now becoming a thing of the past. Video marketing is gaining prominence, propagating and convey much more information than a normal ad. A 10-second advertisement can influence the audiencesâ mind to an extent that wasnât possible earlier. Donât believe this? Pay a visit to sites that show what’s trending in India and what is going to be blocked soon in India and test out the effectiveness of such video commercials!
Not leveraging the potential of AI and machine learning in the modern-day means an outdated way of performing tasks. A lot of endeavors out there are concentrating on creating the perfect trail room experience, continually improving the entire virtual procedure to mimic the real-world experience. A major reason why offline shoppers are reluctant towards jumping on the online purchase bandwagon especially when it comes to clothes is due to the lack of ability to try out items before purchasing them. Virtual trial rooms are quickly going to tear down this inability of e-commerce sites. Virtual assistant: A chatbot or virtual assistant with the appropriate functionality can do more than just a âHi thereâ; it can guide through the customerâs entire experience on the website, right from opening the catalog to finalizing the shopping cart. With the amount of research going on in Natural Language Processing and Artificial Intelligence, the number of conferences being held all over the world, universities rolling out certifications and specializations in these domains is a testament to the power that chatbots possess. Some websites have incorporated the same, showing that AI-powered assistants are receiving a positive nod. These advanced technologies are Ecommerce in India to grow more faster.
Government support
The current central government has been rolling out schemes one after the other. Initiatives such as Digital India, Make in India and others have strengthened the eCommerce in India. Various foreign companies are given canned to partner with local companies such as Walmart who purchased Flipkart, to increase foreign investments in India. Not only at the national level but at the regional level also, the state is organizing business summits to encourage eCommerce startups in India. Â The PMOs’ insistence on digital wallets has caused companies such as Amazon, Flipkart to bring changes in payment gateways. Other effects will be felt for sure in the coming future.
Foreign corporations investing in Indian companies make headlines is becoming a common news headline. Â The shot in the arm that Walmart intends to give Flipkart was the talk of the town for quite some time, and the legal broth it had stewed is a kind of incision revealing the difficulties involved in big mergers. By partnering with international firms, Indian e-retailers can leverage expertise and skills for their enhancement. It will give them chances to expand in their respective countries. The biggest problem is negotiation while remaining compliant with Indian rules and regulations.
Big Data, Cloud and IoT
With the extremely number of data that is being generated by online shopping sites, new visualization techniques and analysis tools are the needs of the hour. Storing the processed information calls for secure and reliable storage mechanisms is something that cloud service providers such as Amazon and Microsoft are known for. MNCs and startups alike are utilizing such high-end solutions for most of their needs. And as time progresses, the advancements are only going to reach unprecedented levels, allowing e-commerce organizations operating out of India to innovate and invent.
This is the most updated trend that the current eCommerce industry is using is combining the online store with the classic retail stores, commonly known as phygital store i. e physical + digital stores. There are numerous times when we want to buy something but can’t because of the sizing or other issues. The phygital stores are the solution and these are growing rapidly. Online brands like firstcry, lenskart, Nykaa have started this and other brands are planning to do it soon. This gives the customer the satisfaction of buying things personally while for the company they get to retain their company.
The rise of Social Commerce
With the trend of providing high-speed internet by Jio and other brands, the period spends online has increased. The transition in the way online shopping is done in India is evident. From people thinking twice before sharing their credit card details in the payment gateway to youngsters and adults buying items in a jiffy through the comforts of their smartphones, e-commerce is shaping up for sure, and for the better. It would be interesting to see how new trends evolve over the years, and how they would contort the presence of e-commerce in India. Who knows, brick-and-mortar shopping outlets may soon become a thing of the past!
Investors invest in a startup intending to earn back multifold times their actual investments. But, some startups tend to lose their grace during their startup journey or go into losses. So, many investors and entrepreneurs decide to exit the present venture to either start a new one or to join an existing one.
Any investor don’t want to use any exit strategy, Â here are some exit strategy in business plan that can be followed by investors as well as founders, to minimize losses and maximize profits.
Public Offering
In this process, startups sell their stake or part of the business to the public for trading. The advantages behind this process are, first, it increases liquidity or cash in hand. More reputation and more anticipated ROI will result in more trading price. Second, this cash in hand can be used to buy stakes of companies which are privately held and are facing a roadblock. Also, many companies going for an IPO sometimes buys smaller companies working in the same domain, to enhance their value and the money required to buy these small counterparts come from an IPO. This can be considered as a nice exit strategy in business plan by investors.
exit plans for business
Mergers
Mergers and acquisitions can go both ways i.e. A company can merge or acquire other smaller counterparts or can get itself merged or acquired. The basic reason behind this process is to maintain cash flow and to keep the company afloat. Companies with drying investments and facing tough competition in the market, choose this process. A company acquires others, to increase its workforce working in a specific area, to improve its dominance in a market or to scale itself. The amount an investor receives directly depends on his stake. It depends on the investor to either stay or use this as exit strategy, so to decide this an investor notes down three important things,
Will the company acquiring the venture, handle the venture properly or will it fade away with time?
Will the venture survive after the acquisition i.e. will it lose its grace or its niche?
Many startups when facing a cash crunch, raise investments in return for a stake. So, when a startup is to be sold completely, many entrepreneurs and investors tend to sell their entire stake in return for cash. This results in cash for a seller and complete control for a buyer, who then can change things accordingly. Most entrepreneurs follow this rule if they have a successful venture during their initial stage of life. This money sometimes used to start another startup, without actually facing a cash crunch at the initial phase. This exit strategy in business plan is also followed by an entrepreneur who wants a complete hold of his/her startup.
Cash Cow
The firms that can maintain a high market share in a low growth industry, in return of paying dividends to its shareholders. They have enough cash flow to stay afloat for the future where they see themselves in profits. Instead of exiting, these startups aim for profit by upping their sales figure. But, in some cases, an investor demands to opt-out, so than these ventures provide them with a refinanced plan with better offers. They tend to cash in on their products, so they are often termed as âCash cowsâ.Well established organizations who want to reinvest their profits for upscaling themselves, follow this procedure.
At times, the talent behind a successful product sparks greater interest than the product itself. This exit strategy happens during the initial phases of the startup, often leading to the closure of the startup. The employees are hired by a larger organization, on a much higher pay scale along with various other perks. Thus, the buyer company ends with an enviable workforce that becomes an acquisition target for the rivals.
Selling it to a friendly
It is a satisfactory way to sell your business and exit from the market as it is going to be a friendly face, with whom you will sell it. It occurs in family businesses where one family member passes the business to another member. The interested parties can be a family member, acquaintance or any knowing member. The face is selling your business to a friendly face will give you a satisfactory feeling that your business is in good hands. This is easy exit strategy in business plan as compared to others.
Liquidation and close
Liquidation is the process in which all the assets of a company are sold over in the market to liquidized it in the form of cash. When a business decides to go liquid, the prices of all bits invention goes down in the market so that it sells quickly. The proceeding is used to repay all creditors and whatever is left over is divided between partners. This might be the most painful exit strategy of all.
It is a rather unconventional yet conventional way to keep your legacy alive. If you are that businessperson, who wants to keep their legacy alive, then it can be a convenient way for you. In this method, you can sell your business to your employees. This will the business will have its working going on as usual. The employee will have the idea of all the details both intimate and general and hence, it will be easy for them to regulate the business, the way it was already moving. Also, it won’t hamper the production rate of it when the owner will be selling it. Giving it to the family is also can be considered but since there are chances of family rivalry or lack of knowledge, that won’t be the resulting beneficiary.
Seller always wants to sell his venture for maximum money and a buyer wants to buy it for an affordable price, so when a balance between both of them is struck, it is the correct time for an exit. It is advised to plan an exit strategy and should be mentioned in the pitch deck. This makes it easier for both owners and investors and doesn’t come as a shock to both the parties.
Almost all businesses face some sort of competition. BusinessCompetitors should be viewed, not as a hurdle but as challenges. Your business competition may create a plethora of problems for you, but you can try to remain one step ahead of them, keep an eye on your competitor and focus on improving your business model concerning that of the competition. Observe them, find loopholes in their strategy as well as yours and use this information to place yourself in the market efficiently.
Here are a few ways by which you can spy on competition ,
Monitor their brand
We live in an age where having a social media presence has become very profitable and can be used in many ways for the good of the company. Similarly, in our era, people share all of their experiences on social media, they give positive or negative reviews about companies. You can use this to your advantage by finding out the shortcomings of your competitors on social media. You can use these failures or shortcomings of your competitors, by highlighting their weaknesses as your strengths. Responding cleverly with well-placed marketing tactics can boost the image of your company in a major way. You can easily monitor the brands of your competitors by using google alerts. However, google alerts, although users may miss out on a lot of mentions of your competitors. There are many useful tools out there with the help of which you can monitor brands of competitors. These include SEMrush and Brandwatch.
Although this seems like an obvious point, it is one of the easiest yet most efficient ways to keep track of your competition. Follow your competitors on social media, sign up for their newsletters and read their blogs. Companies constantly update these with their latest innovations, tech, and ideas; This can be a great way to learn about what they are doing and position yourself in the market accordingly.
The way companies position themselves in the market can largely be figured out by analyzing the keywords they buy. One of the best ways to keep an eye on your competitors is to find out the keywords they use, and figure out what keywords you can buy, which will be cheaper and how you can position yourself in the market effectively. Almost all companies use Google AdWords and it is compelling to find out how the marketing teams of rival companies place their ads. SEMrush, the tool for brand monitoring is also one of the most useful tools you can use to keep an eye on your competitorâs AdWords. You can get an overview of the top organic keywords, distribution of how these keywords rank, paid keywords and also backlinks. And the best part is that you can get all this for free. More advanced options are to be paid for. However, it is also important to check their SEO, and figure out what keywords bring organic traffic from search engines to the website. Using this information, you can try and optimize your SEO for similar keywords or position yourself differently in the market.
One of the most effective and popular forms of advertising is creating display ads and placing those efficiently to attract users to your website. By keeping track of the ads your business competitors, you can analyze their strategies, find shortcomings and weaknesses and use these to help you create your strategy and figure out where to place your ads and modify your marketing strategy to bring more high-quality traffic. However, it is beneficial to use tools instead of manually figure out how their display ads are placed or what their marketing strategy is.
follow Competitors market stratergy
Most Ad Search is the biggest search engine for finding out digital ads. You can easily find out about the ads your competition has used in the past and the ads that are still active. You can use this to analyze the type of ads that may have worked well for them and create your marketing strategies accordingly.
These are a few ways you can spy on your competition and remain up to date in the market. But it is important to keep the focus on your own company. Your priority is your own business and although you are trying to stay ahead of your competitors, you should not lose sight of your vision for your startup.
Great customer service is one of the most important aspects of the business. We hear a lot of stories and there occurs a huge amount of negative coverage about companies that deliver poor customer service, and we donât hear a lot about companies who are doing it right. At this age, it is essential to stand out and one needs to rethink and improve customer service.
According to American Express, consumers allow themselves to spend 17 percent more when working with companies that are known for delivering excellent customer service.
Especially in the digital world, where a consumer is encouraged to check reviews and find out how other customers have interacted with a company before engaging with them. Good customer service has become ever more important. While several factors can affect the experience of a customer, customer service is one of the top indicators of how your brand or company is perceived as.
Customer Service is especially important for small businesses and startups. This is one aspect that they can control and use to effectively compete against big companies. You canât control your competition, but the type and quality of customer service you provide are completely in your hands. This is why you should put extra focus on trying to up your customer service.
However, as it can be hard to figure out what changes your customer service needs, here are a few examples of exceptional customer service and how you can learn from these companies –
Amazon
Customer Service by amazon
Amazon is one of the most quoted examples when talking about great customer service. But what makes them exceptional? This widespread eCommerce company keeps customer service as their priority, along with dedicated and extensive help pages and multiple ways to contact them for help. Its return policy is also an excellent example of how they keep put customers first. They have often put customer service as a priority in ways that cost them their profit. But it ensures a lifetime of loyal customers and good publicity.
Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon himself says âWeâre not competitor obsessed, weâre customer-obsessed, we start with what the customer needs and we work backward.â This kind of dedication, when it starts at the top of the company and trickles down throughout is when you know a company has great customer service.
Spotifyâs design and program itself is created in a way that it learns a userâs preferences by screening their music taste and songs, and uses this information by creating and providing personalized playlists as well as radio stations. Spotify tries to make interacting with customers and providing customer service fun, it has started a practice in which customers who tweet questions to their company are sent individual playlists designed in a way that it answers their questions. It also releases themed playlists in correlation with pop culture themes and popular styles. It is important to make your customer service fun and personalized and have a prompt social media team, which attracts customers.
Lyft
customer service by lyft
Lyft keeps up to date and focuses on issues that pertain to the real world. For instance, with the recent rise in awareness of global warming and the seriousness of this situation, Lyft announced a commitment towards minimizing the harmful extensive environmental impact of a large number of car rides it provides every day and declared all of its rides to be carbon neutral by purchasing carbon offsets. Lyft has also contributed around a million dollars to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), to help them fight against an executive order that restricted immigration from Muslim-majority countries to the United States of America. Lyft is focused on current issues that are important to customers with various initiatives like these.
An essential part of great customer service is to be aware of current affairs and take action when it is needed. Millennials are especially interested in doing business with companies that use their resources to give back to those in need and have similar interests. Many customers believe that it essential for companies to take stands on current issues.
Coca â Cola
customer service coca cola
Coca Cola is also one of the brands that focus on social issues and strives to make a change at the core level. One of the most important aspects is that they not only donate to big charity or organizations but also have initiated efforts to pump money into local charities. Coca Cola started a âThank You Fundâ based in Ireland wherein they have tried to fund projects that inspire and support young people in Ireland and Northern Ireland, along with their partners Irish Youth Foundation and Youth Action Northern Ireland. It has donated around 900 Euros with this initiative to local charities and non-profit organizations.
Ritz-Carlton Hotel
Great customer service by Ritz-Carlton
A very important facet of great customer service is high levels of employee satisfaction and engagement. They are so deep commitment to the idea of exceptional customer service, that they have given any employee the power to spend up to $2,000 per day to improve the stay of guests. John R. DiJulius is the President of a leading customer experience consulting group, who has written about the customer service of Ritz Carlton Hotel in his book.
DiJulius accidentally left his laptop charger behind in one of their hotels when he left. The hotel sent him a next-day air package with his charger, along with an extra charger. The package carried a note personally signed by someone from the hotelâs Loss Prevention department which said âMr. DiJulius, I wanted to make sure we got this to you right away. I am sure you need it, and, just in case, I sent you an extra charger for your laptop.â
This level of customer service was only made possible by empowering their employees, by which they felt more engaged and took on more responsibility.
And even if you donât have a large budget like that of this hotel chain, it is possible to keep your employees engaged through different means, or having a smaller budget to wow and give customers a memorable experience.
Customer Service is not limited and companies can be very open and creative about the kind of experience they want their customers to have. Be as open when interacting with customers, keep your employees engaged and empowered to bring more customer loyalty and focus on what the customers want, and basing your business model around it instead of having it the other way around. Having great customer service will make you stand out and it is the one thing you can control, especially while competing with business giants.
Books are distinct from visceral forms of entertainment for various reasons. They can be a game-changer, often for the greater good. Entrepreneurs must read books which are enriched with words of wisdom put forth by experienced entrepreneurs and market leaders who have years of experience good and bad in the industry.
We have compiled a list of 10 best books for entrepreneur, that you should read, no matter youâre an established entrepreneur or just starting out in that direction.
One of thee best books on startups is penned by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters, a self-made billionaire, Zero to One gives an insight into his journey from co-founding PayPal to selling it to eBay for a cool $1.5 billion along with investing in Facebook. Peter highlights important lessons and valuable techniques that entrepreneurs can incorporate in their ventures.
Think and Grow Rich
Think & Grow Rich-best books for entrepreneurs
Author : âNapoleon Hill
Publication Year : 1937
Arguably one of the most motivational pieces of writing that the world has come across, and therefore a must read for every entrepreneur. This self-help book published by Napoleon Hill in 1939 is the amalgamation of powerful thoughts that were the driving factor behind prominent personalities of the 18th and 19th century. Andrew Carnegie was the wealthy philanthropist whose proposal compelled Napoleon to bring this 250-page book to fruition. It took him nearly 20 years before the perfected version to come up with the perfected version of âThink and Grow Richâ.
The Warren Buffett Way
The Warren Buffet Way
Author : Robert G. Hagstrom Publication Year : 1994
Not a fairy-tale by any means, the book talks of Buffettâs initial years, such as his first stock and important lessons he learned from legends such as Philip Fresher. The core of the writing is his four principles of investment methodology- Business, management, finance, and markets; there are nine case studies elucidating how he used these tenets to invest in some of his holdings. It has been written by Robert G. Hagstrom.
How We Make Stuff Now: Turn Ideas Into Products That Build Successful Businesses
How We Make Stuff Now
Author : Jules Pieri Publication Year : 2019
This book is a must read book for entrepreneurs who are working on a physical product. There are 16 chapters like Design and Documentation, Prototyping, Funding, Manufacturing, Packaging, Direct to Consumer, Logistics, and Inventory Management for hardware and product business. These chapters are filled with case study examples from companies that have had products in The Grommet.
When to Jump: If the Job You Have Isnât the Life You Want
Author : Mike Lewis Publication Year : 2018
Mike Lewis gives the much-needed guidance for those planning to step into the entrepreneurial waters. With a foreword from Sheryl Sandberg, the book is a collection of short stories by numerous successful founders describing their journey in the first place. A must read, especially for those who are hesitant to ditch their 9 to 5 job for entrepreneurship.
âHabits make a manâ, and taking a cue from individuals known for being effective and efficient wonât do any harm. After all, almost everyone tries to emulate the most intelligent kid in the class. Summarizing the seven points into one-liners would do injustice the book, for the explanation behind each habit is worth reading!
Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do
Author : Jennifer Eberhardt Publication Year : 2019
Jennifer Eberhardt writes about her decades of experience studying race and everyday interactions. She suggests that in order to overcome our own racial biases, we must acknowledge them. This book helps us to view how racial bias works in our own minds and throughout society. Her research shows critical information which can help leaders better understand how biases can impact our judgment and how we are perceived by the communities we are sworn to serve.
Start With Why
Author : Simon Sinek Publication Year : 2009
Simon Sinekâs Ted talk is amazing and Iâd personally recommend you to watch it before reading âStart With Whyâ. In this book, Simon puts forward the idea that throughout history, renowned leaders have valued the why over how and what. His philosophy and real-life examples ought to inspire the reader to inspire those around him or her. Such is the ripple effect produced by this wonderful writing!
Networking Like a Pro: Turning Contacts Into Connections
Author : Ivan Misner, Brian Hilliard Publication Year : 2009
The cumulative work of three writers– Ivan R. Misner, David Alexander and Brian Hilliard, this guide teaches the art of networking and how businesses can leverage the power of connecting to turn successful. A useful technique known as âfour streams of networking riversâ, outlining how to have a well-developed referral network, is just one among the various reasons as to why every entrepreneur must read this masterpiece.
Brave New Work: Are You Ready to Reinvent Your Organization?
Author : Aaron Dignan Publication Year : 2019
Aaron Dignan helps teams around the world completely reinvent their operating systems which is fundamental principles and practices that shape their cultureâwith extraordinary success. He helps them see that organizations aren’t machines to be predicted and controlled. Instead, Organization is a complex human system full of potential waiting to be released. In Brave New Work, you’ll learn exactly how to reinvent the way you work, not through top-down mandates, but through a groundswell of autonomy, trust, and transparency.
Tim Ferris introduces the concept of the âNew Richâ, one that encourages the lifestyle of doing, having and being whatever the person wants. The technique known as DEAL: Definition, Elimination, Automation and finally Liberation, is what the author feels every man should follow in order to gain financial freedom and thus live life better.
The Founderâs Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup
Author : Noam T. Wasserman Publication Year : 2012
Noam Wassermanâs efforts bring to notice a topic that is often downplayed in the process of launching a startup: Difficulties and adversities. Through research, Wasserman talks of the most common pitfalls that founders have to endure. To better prepare such future leaders, this book serves as an essential toolbox; this gem of a book transcends a self-improvement guide!
The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done
Author : Peter Drucker Publication Year : 1966
Peter F. Ducker is considered to be the most influential management thinker ever. In this book, Ducker highlights the constraints that executives and those in similar positions are subjected to. He then provides excellent suggestions for maintaining the business effectiveness that is imperative for being productive. A classic must read for entrepreneurs that was first published in 1966!
Author : Edwin Catmull, Amy Wallace Publication Year : 2014
In Creativity, Inc., Ed Catmull, President of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation, shares what happens behind-the-scenes in these two great companies. Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights. You can enter into the nerve center of Pixar Animationâinto the meetings, postmortems, and âBraintrustâ sessions where some of the most successful films in history are made. It is, at heart, a book about how to build a creative culture.
The book is centered around the concepts of validated learning and build-measure-learn feedback loop which means build a product, measure your customersâ reactions, and learn if your idea has been validated or if you need to adapt. Repeat this cycle until your customers send you a clear signal that your product fits a market need. It tries to bring in a systematic approach to measuring the progress at a startup. According to the author of book, one must begin with the customers in the form of interviews and research discovery. Ries also recommends using a process called the Five Whys which is a technique designed to reach the core of an issue.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things is written by Ben Horowitz who is a cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and he is one of Silicon Valley’s most respected and experienced entrepreneurs. He writes his own story of founding, running, selling, buying, managing, and investing in technology companies to offer essential advice and practical wisdom for navigating the toughest problems business schools don’t cover.
Author : Nir Eyal, Ryan Hoover Publication Year : 2014
Why do we use certain products regularly though many such products are available in the market? – like Google- What makes us habituated with certain products? Is there a pattern underlying how technologies hook us?
Hooked is based on Eyalâs years of research, consulting, and practical experience. Hooked is written for product managers, designers, marketers, start-up founders, and anyone who seeks to understand how products influence our behavior.
Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries
Author : Safi Bahcall Publication Year : 2019
Safi Bahcall is a cofounder of the biotech company Synta Pharmaceuticals. This book explains about lessons learned in wartime as well as from Polaroid and space exploration, among other periods and events. Using examples that range from the spread of fires in forests to the hunt for terrorists online, and stories of thieves and geniuses and kings, Bahcall shows how this new kind of science helps us understand the behavior of companies and the fate of empires.
The $100 StartUp put out the possibility of starting and running a successful business with a ridiculously small team (1 to 5 members) with many real-life case studies. Chris Guillebeau writes a step-by-step framework you can use to find where your passion meets your skills and turn those into an income from your couch, based on his own case studies. Using nothing but a laptop and some wifi in most cases, you can build a thriving software, freelance or education business and scale it as far as you want.
Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World
Author : Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall Publication Year : 2019
The new book ‘Nine Lies About Work’ explains the inherent flaws of traditional attempts to define effective leadership. Authors Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall explains the disconnect between the ways you know you work best and the ways you are told to work. They examine the practices that organisations do to exert control and impose uniformity: practices that have become common wisdom but that have failed to result in improved productivity and employee motivation.
Author : Michael E. Gerber Publication Year : 1995
Michael E. Gerber originally published as âThe E Mythâ in 1986. Michael Gerber revised and updated the book in 1995. Michael E. Gerber explains how you can set up a company that depends much more on systems, than on people, and anyone can look after it with set of right instructions. He explains running a business and getting technical work done are two different things and shows you how you can set up a system dependent company rather than people dependent.
Steve Blank explains hands-on instructions on how to handle customers, sales, marketing and building your company at different stages of your business. He explains how Customer Development Model is more useful than Product Development Model for new startups. There are four steps to the Customer Development Model: Customer Discovery, Customer Validation, Customer Creation and Company Building.
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
Author : David Epstein Publication Year : 2019
The book, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World explains diverse experiences are helpful in business, science, music, parenting and even sports. This book says that you can be more successful in life if you learn different things and don’t try to be an expert. The book also says generalization is the key to parenting, especially when it comes to guiding your children towards areas where they can excel: “The best thing [parents] can do is to expose [children] to a lot of things, help them to reflect on those things, that’s called self-regulatory learning.“
Rockonomics: A Backstage Tour of What the Music Industry Can Teach Us About Economics and Life
Author : Alan B. Krueger Publication Year : 2019
Alan B. Krueger uses the music industry, from superstar artists to music executives, from managers to promoters, as a way in to explain key principles of economics, and the forces shaping our economic lives. Mr. Krueger surveys studies on the healing qualities of music â both its ability to âstir memories and emotions in people afflicted by neurological disorders,â and to make us happier.
Unlocking the Customer Value Chain: How Decoupling Drives Consumer Disruption
Author : Thales S. Teixeira Publication Year : 2019
The book, “Unlocking the Customer Value Chain: How Decoupling Drives Consumer Disruption” says how and why consumer industries are disrupted, and what established companies can do about itâwhile highlighting the specific strategies potential startups use to gain a competitive edge. Thales Teixeira is a Harvard Business School professor. Thales Teixeira explains the nature of competition has fundamentally changed. Using innovative new business models, startups are stealing customers by breaking the links in how consumers discover, buy and use products and services.
The Vagabonds: The Story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison’s Ten-Year Road Trip
Author : Jeff Guinn Publication Year : 2019
The Vagabonds is the fascinating story of two American giants, Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. They were accompanied by Harvey Firestone, and naturalist John Burroughs too. The Vagabonds is an evenhanded look at four men who helped define their time. Author Jeff Guinn wrote the exciting parts of the vagabondsâ road trips and the impact they had on the populace without shying away from the profound character flaws of Ford and Edison. While not a detailed biography of these men, you get a good sense of who they were and what motivated them.
Everyday Chaos: Technology, Complexity, and How We’re Thriving in a New World of Possibility
Author : David Weinberger Publication Year : 2019
Everyday Chaos says how we’ve been busily, silently overturning our most basic ideas about change. That affects how we plan, measure success, make predictions, model and explain our world, and design strategies â and ultimately how we think the future emerges from the present. Through stories from history, business, and technology, philosopher and technologist David Weinberger finds the unifying truths lying below the surface of the tools we take for granted–and a future in which our best strategy often requires holding back from anticipating and instead creating as many possibilities as we can. The bookâs imperative for business and beyond is simple: Make. More. Future.
What You Do Is Who You Are: How To Create Your Business Culture
Author : Ben Horowitz Publication Year : 2019
“What You Do Is Who You Are: How To Create Your Business Culture” takes readers through the process of designing a company culture and imbuing it with the values one wants to espouse as well as the level of performance one expects. The author combines lessons both from history and modern organisational practice with practical and often surprising advice to help us build cultures that can weather both good and bad times. This book is a journey through cultures ancient to modern, spotlighting models of leadership and culture-building from the samurai to prison gangs.
Author : F. Scott Fitzgerald Publication Year : 1925
An American business magnate, co-founder of Microsoft Corporation. He is a great lover of books. He has always books on the roll to read. One of his all-time recommended books is ‘TheGreat Gatsbyâ written by F.Scott Fitzgerald, which is a tragic love story, a mystery, and a social commentary on American life.
This is the story of Jay Gatsby’s who has a desperate quest to win back his first love. It also shows the importance of honesty, the temptations of wealth, and the struggle to escape the past.
An Indian IT industrialist and the co-founder of Infosys is a good reader and writer. One of his recommended books is âWinners Never cheat even in DifficultTimesâ by Jon M Huntsman.
This book shows how the author himself built a $12 billion company from scratch, Huntsman tells how he struggled to get to the highest level and how you can too. This book is about remembering why you work and why you were chosen to lead. It’s about finding the courage to act on what you know is right. It’s all about winning in the right way.
Author : William Shakespeare Publication Year : 1606
An American inventor, designer, entrepreneur, who was the co-founder, chief executive, and chairman of Apple Computer. He has a different collection of books. One of his recommended books is âKingLearâ by William Shakespeare.
This story portrays how misguided judgments can lead to tragedies. King Lear is fooled by his two hypocritical daughters and makes a mistake by giving them his property. Fogged by illusion, he even missed to see the true love his third daughter had for him, the book gives a vivid depiction of what can go wrong if you lose your grip on your empire.
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Author : Thomas S.Kuhn Publication Year : 1962
This book presents a revolutionary approach to how science functions and progresses. Against the normal perception of science as a linear accumulation of knowledge. Kuhn attempts to view science as progressing in leaps from one âparadigm” to the next.
An American Internet and aerospace entrepreneur founder, chief executive officer of Amazon. He is very passionate about books and reading. One of his recommended books is âThe Remains of the Dayâ by Kazuo Ishiguro.
It tells of a manâs journey into the past during a motoring trip through the English countryside, Told. From a first-person perspective, the story is narrated in the form of a diary by an English butler named Stevens. It begins in July 1956 at Darlington Hall, where Stevens has worked for 34 years.
Entrepreneurs have to get along with creativity and management side by side, books are often a golden treasure to them.
Reading is one smart way of helping them to think in various ways to achieve success. Learning is a never-ending process, successful people learn something new every single day through their habit of reading.
The book includes stories about Wall Street with drama and adventure.
Conscious Capitalism
Author: John Mackey and Raj Sisodia
Publication Year: 2013
The book illustrates how business and capitalism can work most powerfully to create value for all stakeholders.
As a Man Thinketh
Author: James Allen
Publishing Year: 1903
As a Man Thinketh explores the central idea of self-empowerment writing.
Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World
Author: Rene Girard
Publishing Year: 1987
The book is an analysis of three core mechanisms that leads the widespread social interactions.
Do let us know if you have read any other book which should have been in the list. We would love to read it and feature it in this list of the books for entrepreneurs.
On-Page SEO is the technique that is applied on web pages to improve the search engine ranking. These are under the webmaster’s direct control. They are related to the site and page structure, to the web technologies involved in the implementation and design and generally to how the website is built.
If you donât get On-Page SEO right, you have very little chance of securing top spots for competitive key phrases, even if youâve got a fantastic outreach and PR campaign and an awesome link profile! Itâs a common mistake to ignore the SEO and focus on getting links instead of whatâs in your control that’s the optimization of your site. With this in mind, hereâs a brief guide to getting On-Page SEO right.
Before you start your On-Page SEO research, Here are some On-Page SEO techniques to rank on the first page of google.
On-Page SEO Techniques for Higher Rankings
On-Page SEO Techniques for Higher Rankings
Content of the page
It is what the user came to see and is thus extremely important to create good content from an SEO perspective. Hence your content must supply a demand. If you are targeting any particular keyword you want to rank make sure you include that particular keyword. But also keep in mind that individual keyword density must not be greater than 6%.
Content only accessible after logging in and content that can’t be reproduced or shared are less likely to rank. Moreover Unique and frequently updated content is always good. Also, an SEO optimized post has more than 700 words.
Page Title tag
Start the title with the main keyword. Then put its variations (plural, synonyms) in the title tag of a page.
Keep only 55-65 characters.
Keep it in the H1 tag
No special character
Use brief, but descriptive titles
Accurately describe the page’s content
Always ensure you target one main keyword and variations per page
Meta Descriptions
Meta descriptions donât contribute as a ranking signal anymore, but theyâre still an incredibly important aspect of On-Page Optimization. Well written, approximately 156 -170 characters and essentially a sales pitch for what the landing page is about. Google can use them as a snippet.
For each of your pages, you can include a set of keywords in the form of meta tags. These should be all the relevant keywords of your content. Try to include these tags somewhere in the body
Body Tag
H1 tags are reserved for your main page title, with subsequent headings being issued H2, H3, etc. Make sure you write keyword-rich headings in the order of priority in H1, H2 and H3 title tags. They are used by many crawlers to differentiate important content. Always remember to highlight the important parts of the article.
SEO Friendly Permalink URLs
SEO friendly permalink URLs contains keywords that can explain the whole article and they are also easy to read both by human and search engines.
3-5 words in a URL are given more weight.
Always use hyphens rather than underscores and try not to have main pages sitting too many directories deep in your site
You need to include visuals to make your content more attractive to get more visitors. Engaging images, videos, and diagrams can reduce bounce rate and increase time on site. Visuals play an important role when it comes to user interaction ranking factors.
Image SEO
Images are important but these should not increase the loading time of the website.
Use original images: If you need to use an existing image from the web you need to give credit to the source.
Optimize the size of the images: The smaller the size (in bytes) of the image the better.
Use ALT tags to describe the images: This helps search engines understand what the image is about.
Use descriptive filenames: Donât just name your image âimage1.jpgâ but try to use descriptive filenames, for example, âMan doing push-ups.jpgâ.Better if you keep your keyword.
Use a Content Delivery Network: If you have a lot of images on a single page you can use a CDN service (from Amazon or Google) that will make your page load faster. In simple terms, your images will be hosted and served by many servers and this speeds up the loading process.
Use Outbound Links
Outbound links to related pages is a relevancy signal that helps Google figure out your pageâs topic. It also shows Google that your page is a hub of quality info. Using the outbound link to link a popular site boosts page rank.
Internal Linking
Placing links to your other website pages is a great way of improving the quality of your articles and enhancing the site. Internal links not only does make it much easier for your visitors to navigate around your site and find all of your content, but it also ensures that your site gets properly crawled allowing the search engines to find all of your pages.
The first sentence in the body text and the first words used per sentence are the most important ones for advanced On-Page SEO necessities, so choose it wisely.
Creating new optimized content weekly.
Drop Keyword in First 100 Word.
Things Not to Do
Donât try and trick the search engines by optimizing multiple pages for the same keyword.
Don’t spam or over-optimize meta tags and always think about what works for users before the search engines.
Donât keep repeating your main target keyword in each tag, rather use variations which enhance the value of the content
Check your page now!
On-Page SEO Checklist Content
On-Page SEO Checklist
Content is original â Copyscape checked?
Content is first published on your website?
Does the content have enough descriptive text?
Content is well researched with references?
Do you have a clear publishing strategy?
Pages Titles, description and formatting Page titles are unique for each page? Descriptions are unique and up to 150 characters? Text is properly formatted using H1, H2, Bold, Italics? Text is split into small paragraphs? Font size is easy to read on small screens (tablets) as well? Image size is optimized using smush it? All images have alt tags defined? The image filename is descriptive?
URL Structure Permanent links use â-â as a separator? Website pages/posts are grouped into categories? Is there breadcrumb on all posts/pages? Is there an HTML User Sitemap?
Internal Links Do pages have internal links? There is a âRelated Postsâ section at the end of each page? Do internal links use both keyword and non-keyword anchor text?
Speed and Authorship Is the website score more than 90% when checked by Google page speed insights? Google Authorship is implemented for every post/page available on the website?
If you are running your business online or if you have a blog you need to follow best SEO practices to get your website rank higher on the search engines. All the small businesses must get the Local SEO done to convert the potential customer into buying customer. SEO is important for increasing the traffic and should be a focus of every online business’s priority to check-in. Tell us how you use SEO in your articles, in the comment section below.
Searching for jobs can be tedious and direly frustrating at the same time. Yet, once you consider stepping into the shoes of a hiring manager instead, and think of scores and scores of profiles lying on your dashboard for a single job post, you know the stakes are high as is the level of competition. The bottom line here is, getting your job profile to stand out among a host of others and getting noticed by your potential client. So, how do you compete against a thousand others? This article deals with just that!
With some great skillsets you must need a high-quality freelancer profile to compete in this competitive market. Here, we have listed some of the ways to improve your freelancer profile that stands out.
Ways To Improve Freelancer Profile
Ways to Improve Freelancer Profile
Keep It Visually Appealing
As a freelancer, it is your online profile that gets noticed first, before you apply for any project. Now, you aim to not just to attract attention but hold it long enough for the client to take a genuine interest in you. The best way to achieve that is by putting some serious thought in the design department as well.
Make sure you put up high-resolution images to showcase your work. Do include write-ups wherever needed and make sure to keep them short and simple; nobody likes to read long essays. Keep a formal, user-friendly layout and categorize your work samples well. Last but not least, put up a professional, front-centered display picture on your profile.
Certification and Skills
Your profile should mention a list of all the professionally certified courses you have undertaken to obtain either software expertise or gain specific knowledge. Also, do include your academic qualifications as well as any merit certificates or honours received for academic or technical excellence. Some jobs require specific academic expertise and thatâs where your academic degrees come to your rescue.
While at it, mention your professional skills and highlight your strengths without coming off as too boastful. And lastly, be honest with your profile, forgery is never accepted it only proves that you are good at lying.
Promote
Every successful freelancer, on some level or another, relies on self-promotion to get noticed and gain clients.
Think of an attractive title for your gig. You need to be specific and catchy at the same time. The title is, after all, one of the first things your client sees.
Make an introductory video that not only lets your employer know of what all skills you’re capable of but also tells a bit about yourself. Itâs a known fact that a video can engage the audience in ways much better than rich text. Use that to your advantage by making short videos for each of your gigs.
Start promoting your profile on other online platforms, from your social media handles to your blog, so that people can reach you for your freelancing services better.
A great freelancer profile needs a great portfolio. After all, it is for your skills that your client is going to hire you. Attach your portfolio that is your work samples based on what content adds more value to your work genre and not to increase your workâs diversity. Make sure you not only concentrate on the work samples but also on the display layout.
Add Experience and Achievements
Your client needs to know if you carry any significant previous work experience similar to the assignment being offered. Your work experiences add credibility to your portfolio and increase your chances of bagging the job. If you have had participated somewhere, won awards, or were a scholarship student, mentioning it is worth the while to add significant value to your profile.
Update Your Profile Frequently
As a freelancer, you are constantly learning, improving and exploring new genres with each project. Of course, curating your profile, accordingly, from time to time, marks your progress, keeps your work folio updated with the latest trends and keeps you a notch higher in the professional market.
Link Your Social Media Profiles
Link Your Social Media Profiles
If you have created your freelancing profile on the sites like Fiverr, UpWork then you also have to link your social media profiles there. So make sure your social media profiles are professional and updated. It would be great if you can post quality content and upload some of your sample works on your social media profiles.
Even you will get many opportunities from social media too. Like on LinkedIn business professionals are looking for people with right and quality skillset. So here is a door to your freelancing career success.
Don’t make your freelancing profile over-complicated make sure you are showing expertise in one niche only. Make your profile understandable so that people can connect with you easily. For example, if you are a Web Developer and you are creating a freelancing profile of yours. Don’t mention any other irrelevant skills that you have like Closing Sales, Data Entry etc. This way people will get confused and chances are they will ignore your profile.
Set Your Price Properly
Many freelancers especially those who are beginners done this mistake, they try to provide services at the cheapest price. If you believe in yourself and you think that you will provide quality service then make sure you are setting the right price. You can also take inspiration from other freelancer profiles.
If you are creating a profile on Fiverr then mention all the services you will be providing for the specific gigs. There are many freelancing websites where you can mention your hourly charges, follow the same rule for those websites also.
What Solutions You Can Provide?
You are reading this article because you want to earn money from freelancing. You might be beginner also that’s why you are surfing on the internet. I have something to tell you, it’s not important how many skills you have or how professional you are. The most important thing is what solution you can provide to the market. What is the burning problem you can solve with the help of your skills? If you can answer this question not with words but with your action. Then you can earn money because people are looking for results, not for process.
So, research about the trending tech and online marketing things and try to find the problems that people may face. If you can solve those problems then you are all set to get started.
Creating and managing a good freelancer profile is not a tough job. But getting new clients and improving yourself and your profile is hard. There are many tools and technologies available which you can use to be updated. Try to learn new skills and keep updating your profile. Always remember those who are not learning and improving are bodies without soul.
You will achieve all the success you are looking for but make sure you are consistent. Don’t take any negative feedback personally those are just indication to improve yourself. Keep patience and never give up because this is the transaction charge for success. Success is easy, you just have to work for that. All the best!!
Globalization processes have resulted in greater complexity, interdependence and limited resources. Non-government organizations and corporations are increasingly engaging each other in recognition that shareholder and societal value are intrinsically linked. For both sectors, these partnerships can create an enabling environment to address social issues and can generate social capital.
This is because entrepreneurs and the business sector has realised that the true potential of customers is not with the size or the number of customers but most importantly, it is with the depth of engagement and interaction. Thus, there has been a global trend where brands have put community building at the heart of marketing strategies.
There is a growing genuine desire among business people to run a business for a profit, but at the same time to be contributing to the investment and the growth in the community, of a strong community. This is because the entrepreneurs have realised that they actually derive their profits from within a society, they live in society, their employees are citizens within a society, their customers are citizens and they abide by the rules of society. That means they have the same responsibilities and duties to society as anyone else who lives and breathes in the society.
Benefits of Building Community
Why should Community building be followed by the entrepreneurs?
Corporate social responsibility is the commitment of business to pursue policies, make decisions and follow directions for actions that are congruent with the overriding objectives and values of the societies in which that business is embedded. The business benefits for doing this are convincing.
Socially responsible behaviour within a community minimizes the possibility of regulation and tighter controls that will inhibit performance. Loss of reputation, criticism and distrust from the community inevitably threaten the sustainability of business. In this view, therefore, economic performance is dependent on social performance and thus it is important that entrepreneurs dedicate themselves to engage with the community.
5 Strategies to build community
In a nutshell, community engagement strategies are a process to help your customers to gain trust in your service. Behavioural studies show, human beings are more attached to groups where they feel more respected and cared for.
You can use these simple strategies, in your daily business to keep up with your customers within the community and spread a smile.
Provide a platform for your community members to freely express their needs:
First, plan and chalk out why do you need to have the community and then work towards it to build a space where the members of the community can express and provide opinions. A big part of the community building strategy is understanding the community members.
Community Building as a part of customer satisfaction
Your feedback form must always consist of these few things:
Whether they liked your service?
Do they think there is any scope of improvement, if yes what?
How can you serve them better?
How has the behaviour and overall service of the employee been?
Will they recommend your service to any of their friends?
These questions would help your customers to gain trust in your service and they would feel cared for. Also, feedbacks would help you build upon your business easily and fill up any gaps which you werenât aware of. The more the community members feel that they are being heard and valued, the more likely they are to remain loyal to your company and express their needs. This makes community engagement a very interesting tool for retention.
If you are working on creating an idea and spreading your art into the world, you would definitely want it to grow. You would obviously be looking for attention among the community. This is simply, what marketing does. Be it a small-scale banner that is put along the roadway of a steel bar or having a fashion icon speak about a particular beauty secret, there has been various ways of promoting business which entrepreneurs follow.
But you need to keep in mind, what appeals most to your community. Is your community a fan of cricket, then you can use cricketers as models to advertise your product. If most of your community members are at an older age group, you must invent ways so that it is beneficial for them. For example, you may introduce a door step delivery of your product to the old members of your community. You can also arrange and sponsor for programs around your community.
Providing sponsorships engage a lot of attention as it mutually benefits both the businessmen and also the community members. The community members can rely on your service and would continue to reach out to you whenever they need. Some of the benefits in building up the loyalty for your community are listed below:
Always keep in mind, business is like a democracy, the power is in the hands of the customers, if they do not like your service, they can very well provide bad ratings or give negative feedback which would affect your business in a tremendous way in the future. Thus, always keep in mind to do the best from your end.
Creating user generated content implies, you design a tailor-made service or product that is best suited for your community members. For example, not all requires the same shampoo which protects against hair fall. Some might need the shampoo to enrich their hair or have a better shine. Some just need to retain the colour of their hair while some might need a shampoo for their pets. Demands differ according to the needs of your community. Going out of your way to adjust with the desires of a customer makes them feel respected and controlled. Whenever possible, try to provide your customers more than what they expect.
Use social media to build your own community
Most people with a fanbase have derived their customers easily from the social media. Social media can be a great way to engage in building a brand community and attract fans. Digital marketing does not imply only reaching through blog post, but also other mediums such as a YouTube video or simply a social media shoutout. Facebook, Instagram, Twiter, Youtube Channels, LinkedIN are some of the most trending areas where you can freely open up your page and promote your work by attracting attention to the vast majority of people without any political barriers.
You can also be extremely adored by your community members if you follow up their posts, like and share your followersâ posts, comment on them and get to know your followers.
Be responsive
Communities are all about interaction. So, it is insane to expect that you can be unresponsive to your customers when they need help and support.
Relationships between organizations and clients develop with trust. Thus always be patient and Listen and Respond to the problems of your community members regarding your services. We have always been taught to respond and not react, but it becomes quite a challenge to follow this on our daily lives, especially when we deal with customers who provide us with monetary benefits. Whenever there is complaint raised from the end of customers, always listen to all the problems they have been facing, take their side and ask them generously what solutions do they want. See if it is possible for you to provide the community with their demands. Try and do as best as possible for them.
Conclusion
Community involvement includes contributing money, products, services and human resources such as time, skills and leadership to meet the social and economic needs of the community by connecting the objectives of the business with the communities. The strategy is to devise new ways in which business interests can be aligned with community interests so that there is a winâwin solution to community problems and issues. The commitment to working together strategically, in order to grow business together sustainably, is good business sense and can create an enabling environment to address social issues.
