Think Small Consulting

11/11/2021

04/24/2021

There is this unfortunate misconception that having products and services that appeal to ‘everyone’ helps you build a successful business.

In theory, that sounds great: the more people you target, the more opportunities to sell/service. In practice, you will be left without an identity and without a way to define a solid growth strategy.

By virtue of being a small business you already target a unique audience: those who can afford to pay more for good quality and great service. Cater to them.

Is Instagram the main medium for promoting your business? Guess what: 25-34 year olds are statistically likely to be your default audience, like it or not. Make this work for you or employ strategies to change that audience.

Reading this and thinking ‘who cares about my target audience, I have 20 followers’? Drop that mindset and figure out the common denominator between those 20. Then connect with others like them and start growing!

04/11/2021

They really do. But they won’t ask for it. You have under 30 seconds from the moment someone visits your social media page or website to let potential clients know why they should do business with you. You have another 90 seconds to answer their unspoken questions and build a connection.

Two minutes, 120 seconds...that’s it. Without saying a word directly to them. Before you scroll away from this post, thinking “that’s impossible”, remember:

🌱 Potential customers who are looking at your page are there because they want something that you’re offering. That’s your advantage: you don’t have to convince them that they need A product or service. Simply tell them why they want YOUR product or service🌱

Start with the simplest of “tricks”: tell them your story, your why. Don’t embellish: your story doesn’t need to dramatic or better than someone else’s. It needs to be authentic.

Post a video, an image with your story in the description, write a blog post - whatever speaks to you the most. Don’t overthink, just be you.

After all you are the brand, the CEO, and everything in between.

Have you practiced telling your story lately?

04/06/2021

If you rise, you might as well shine.

You’re here, you got this far, you started a new chapter (or, heck, maybe a whole new book!) But easier said than done, right?

How do you find the creativity, the energy, or even the time to bring your goals and ideas to life?

Strategy. Replace dreams with goals, align on your vision - in writing, establish how you will keep yourself accountable, and don’t forget to keep your “why” at the forefront of your small biz strategy.

Who’s ready to shine?

03/30/2021

Of course, the old-as-time answer is “one bite at a time”. Sounds easy until you try to take that first bite.

Do you chomp a random piece and hope that the elephant doesn’t notice? Do you call your village to help? Do you grab tools? Do you go for speed? Do you start at the bottom? At the top? What if you invested a ton of time and money into this elephant and can’t afford to not finish the entire thing...

Before I go any further, I’d like to note that I don’t condone eating elephants under any circumstances 😉 This post isn’t about animal eating at all, actually, nor is it about planning and strategizing our elephant eating task.

It’s actually more fundamental than that:

WHY ARE YOU EATING YOUR PROVERBIAL ELEPHANT?

The ‘why’ behind your business, project, or personal endeavour is a critical success factor. Getting lost in the slew of advice on branding, social media strategy, right and wrong ways of doing this or that are inevitable if you don’t have your ‘why’ nailed down.

So how do you go from having an awesome idea that you’re passionate about to EATING THE FRIGGING ELEPHANT?

🌱

1. Know your ‘why’
2. Nail down how to communicate your ‘why’ to your audience
3. Start chomping 🐘 (this is where you will need your tools, your plans, your vision, and your village but more on that later)

Need help with your ‘why’ or the chomping? Hit me up!