Professional Development Ideas for Entrepreneurs

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Professional Development |Professional Development Ideas for EntrepreneursEntrepreneurship isn’t so much a career as it is a way of life. Owning your own business or working freelance means you don’t have the safety net of an HR department to take care of your personal administration or a boss prompting you to take a course. All of this must be instigated by you, and it is important if you want to be successful in your field. Thankfully it’s fairly easy to do in today’s digital world; there are several ways you can work towards improving yourself and your business. Keep reading to find out more.

Books and podcasts

Regardless of your entrepreneurial field or freelance endeavor, there will be people who have to tread the same path you’re on and lived to tell the tale. These people write the books like road maps for you, allowing you to sidestep common pitfalls carefully. Research relevant people, invest in their books and learn from them.

The same theory applies to podcasts. Although similar to books in many aspects, podcasts deliver a more live experience. They are often hosted by entrepreneurs like yourself and will discuss dilemmas relevant to your field. A good industry podcast will usually have expert guests on the show to offer advice on various niche aspects of the industry and help accelerate your learning.

Learn a second language

You’ve probably heard that learning a second language is a great way to advance your career; it undoubtedly is, especially for people who want to garner a competitive edge over their colleagues or peers. But for entrepreneurs, it can be even more significant and career-advancing, not only from a personal development point of view but also in terms of client service.

If you run a business that deals with overseas customers, it makes a big difference if you can speak their language. For example, you might need to take up English conversation courses to make a better impression on your customers. They will be more responsive to a company that caters to their localization, and your client retention should improve. From a personal perspective, learning a language helps develop and exercise your brain. It’s been shown that people with second language abilities are more disciplined and creative.

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Get some extra training

Never underestimate the value of continuing professional development. It’s easy to forget about this after your company is earning strong revenue, but if you want to maintain those levels and grow your business, you need to stay sharp and relevant. Your extra training doesn’t have to be in your niche field; it can be Urine Collector, for instance, if you’re a performance sports brand.

Firstly, however, think about what areas of the business you would like to earn more about. Maybe you’ve always been poor with numbers, which is why you hire an account manager. That’s fine for the time being, but it’s also a good opportunity to train yourself in accounting as well. It isn’t so you can take over the role, but you can better understand the workings of the business. After training yourself in these satellite areas, you can then diversify.

Connect with communities

Entrepreneurship can be a lonely business at times; you have so many plates spinning, employees, and clients to manage, and only you intuitively know how to manage it. Or so you think. The reality is there are millions of people in the world just like you, with the same concerns and obstacles; the difference is they have a different perspective from you and, therefore, new ideas.

Industry communities can be found on social media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. They are built around people operating in your niche area and who encounter similar problems and dilemmas. Engaging with these communities is an excellent way to ask troubling questions and get support. It’s good to know you’re not alone when it comes to entrepreneurial endeavors.

Know your goals

The difference between a successful entrepreneur and one that fails is sometimes down to active versus passive personalities. The passive types tend to find some success, enough to sustain a lifestyle and then settle for it. They don’t engage further in personal development strategies or company growth. Conversely, the active ones tend to be interested in growing the business and improving their personal value.

The difference is only really an attitude. Active entrepreneurs will work to a set of goals that frame their intentions and motivate them to progress. Passive entrepreneurs may have goals in mind, but they are probably long term goals that aren’t timebound. Implement SMART goals in your life and business by identifying the broad categories or important areas to develop and then using your SMART goals to stay on track.

How to Start Your Own Business Online

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Start a Business Online|How to Start Your Own Business OnlineStarting an online business does come with plenty of benefits to it. As an entrepreneur, it gives you the freedom and flexibility to make money irrespective of where you are in the world. It also allows you to determine your work hours, work from home, choose the niche to focus on, and require little to no startup costs. There is absolutely no wrong in starting your own online business. However, you need to know that one of the most important steps to being successful with your online business is choosing a business or an idea that is in line with the strengths and skills you already possess.

It doesn’t matter whether you are looking to make it a side hustle or a source of passive income, or you’re going in as a full-time online entrepreneur. You must make sure that your service or product fulfills your customer’s specific needs or target audience. That’s the only way you are going to be successful in building a profitable online business.

Although it’s much easier to start a business online, however, when it comes to growing your business, maintaining, and sustaining it, the processes that it takes are much similar to that of a traditional business. If you are looking to start your own business online, here’s a list of authors’ processes at research paper writing help that you might find handy for you.

1.Choose your business idea.

This should not come as a surprise to you. It’s the first step you have to take, but you have to consider a few things in doing this.

Why are you doing this?

The reason you are doing this will go a long way to determine how much you will be willing to put into the business to ensure that it succeeds. It’s a lot harder to grow and maintain a business than it is to start one. You have to make sure you are driven by passion.

What are your strengths?

As mentioned earlier, you must build your business on the strength and skills that you already possess. You don’t follow an idea because others are doing it; you might not have the strength to pull it off. Make sure that whatever business idea you are starting is based on what you can do.

Are you solving any problems?

The goal of all businesses is to meet their target’s needs, and in doing this, they are solving a problem. So, what problem are you solving with your business? The only reason people will patronize you is if you are solving a problem or pain point for them. An excellent way to choose a profitable business is to look around for common issues that you have the skill and ability to solve and build your business around it.

2. Validate your idea

Once you have determined a business idea that’s good for you, the next thing is to validate your idea. The good thing is, this is not a complicated process. It often involves asking questions and researching people’s problem points and what they think the best solution is. This will give you an idea of how to chart your business course.

When it comes to validating your idea, there are different ways to go about it, especially since you’re dealing with an online audience.

Go through customer reviews.

You’re not starting a business that no one has ever heard of, so you already have competitors before you start. Go through some of their customer reviews to see people’s pain points and suggestions.

Survey your potential customers

Talking to your customers or targets is still the best way to validate a business, but since it is an online business and you can’t meet the customers in-person, you can talk to them over the internet too. An excellent way to do this is through online surveys. Create a survey and promote it to gather and sample people’s responses.

3. Make your business plan.

You can start creating your business plan once you have determined enough potential interest in the business. The good thing is that the process of defining your idea and validating it would already give you a head start for creating your business plan. Now you have to make sure that it is possible to forecast finances and pursue funding while growing.

Lean planning

When starting, make sure that your business plan is as lean as possible. Note down what you can do in the next 30 minutes instead of the next six weeks. This means that you’re only dealing with essentials, and it’s easier for you to get started this way.

Carry out market analysis

You must know the market that you are going into before you launch yourself or business in it. You should already have an idea of this during your validation stage, but this is where you do the real analysis. To do this, you need a SWOT analysis. This will help you determine your distribution methods, pricing models, your competitive advantage, as well as your weaknesses.

Consider your success metrics and funding.

You must think through your plans to fund your business and identify for startup costs. It does not matter if your business is only a side gig or you’re not a full-time entrepreneur. You must regularly review your metrics.

4. Set up a website

The fact that you are an online business means that you need a website. It is a matter of necessity. Creating a website is a much more complicated process than setting up a landing page for a preview. You have to make difficult decisions about your hosting platform, the kind of design that works best for your business, etc. Your website is essential because it is the first thing that represents your business to your prospects and targets. You have to make sure that it accurately reflects what you’re doing and the kind of service and products you offer.

In building your website, there are certain things that you have to ensure.

Make your website mobile-friendly

It is vital for the success of your business that your website is mobile-friendly. If you want to have good enough visibility online, your website must be compatible with mobile devices. If you don’t optimize your website for mobile devices, there will be very few positive experiences on your website when people visit with their phones. The fact that most people now surf the web with their mobile devices means your website visitors will have a more negative experience on your website. That’s not good for business. It becomes challenging for people to find your website organically too.

Use high-quality images

You would not be enhancing the credibility of your website by using poor or low-quality images. If you’re selling products on your website, for instance, you must have high-quality pictures of the products that you are selling. It makes a world of difference to your business. If you think you have to hire people (professionals) to get high-quality images, please do. Do whatever it takes to ensure that the quality on your website is top-notch. All of these form part of your reputation and credibility and go a long way in determining your business’s success.

Open a blog

Content marketing is an effective digital marketing technique, and blogging allows you to create more than enough content for your prospects and customers to continue visiting your website. However, you have to know that this isn’t compulsory. If you don’t think you are cut out for it, you can leave it out but if it is something that you can do or you’re okay with hiring people to write blog posts for you, then go ahead. It helps to drive traffic to your website and also creates more awareness for your business.

Conclusion

That’s all there is to creating an online business. There are different types of online businesses that you might want to consider, but don’t forget to only settle for one that fits in well with your strength and skill. Afterward, starting an online business is easy. The hard part is maintaining it. That’s where you need passion to remain consistent and push through.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Charlie SvenssonCharlie Svensson is a fast, engaging freelance writer at assignment help at My-Assignment.help. Skilled in content writing and blogging. The favorite topics of his posts are education, social media, marketing, SEO, motivation blogging, and self-growth. Excellent adaptability of skills to reach diverse audiences.

5 Tips for Creating the Best Domain Names for Online Business Entities

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article, 5 Tips for Creating the Best Domain Names for Online Business Entities

Whether you’re ecommerce, offer an online portal, or something else, you’re online. The best domain names for online business entities are the ones that are easy to spell, easy to say, and are truly memorable. Just as the domain name itself matters, so does the extension you use. These tips will make it easier for you to have a domain name that will help you succeed.

Look at What’s Successful

There are some companies that are killing it with the names of their businesses. They’re memorable, they’re easy to remember, and it shows they know how to be creative. By looking at some of the most successful names out there, you can be inspired.

Think about descriptive words that can be used to explain your online business. You may want to use SEO keywords. You may also want to combine two words to create a completely new meaning.

Keep it Simple

The last thing you want to do is make your business name so complicated that no one remembers it. Just because web browsers give you over 2,000 characters for a URL address doesn’t mean you should use them. Ideally, the character length should be less than 15. Anything over that and you risk people forgetting important details.

The best domain names for an online business are easy. They only contain one to three words, they’re easy to remember, and they can be spelled out phonetically.

Remember that while some people will reach your website organically, others will be typing it in after hearing about it on the radio, from a friend, or even seeing it on the side of your company vehicle. Make it easy for them to remember it long enough to type it into their web browser.

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Tell a Story

Who are you? What makes you unique within the marketplace? The name you choose is all about the storytelling process. Particularly when you are exclusively online, your business name and your domain name should be one and the same. Otherwise, it’s going to lead to people being confused about who you are.

Be authentic about who you are. Consider what your goals are within your business. There are countless stories of how businesses came to be. The ones that pull at the heartstrings or that make people smile or laugh are going to be the most memorable.

There’s no way that you can come up with the best domain names for your online business until you know who you are and how you came to be. Write out your story. Highlight some of the words that stand out. Those could be used within your business name and domain name.

Maintain Your Identity

Once you set your domain name, you’ve set your brand. This means that you can’t let your identity falter.

If you choose a fun name, people are going to expect you to be fun. The same goes for a name that is serious. And guess what will happen if you choose a boring name?

Additionally, your keywords could lock you into something that’s too specific. You have to consider the potential for growth when you choose your domain name. For example, if you are a wedding photographer and you use ‘wedding photography’ in the domain name, it can limit you to the events that you may photograph in the future. People may never reach out to you for a quinceanera, a bar mitzvah, or any other special event.

It’s best to keep your name a bit broad so that you can expand in the future without scaring off future niches.

Explore Your Options

There are plenty of options for you to consider when choosing a domain name for your online business.

Consider:

  • Specific keywords
  • A geo tag (city, county, state)
  • A fun word
  • A word that combines two keywords

Use a name generator to help you come up with some variations of your domain name. Maybe one combination is taken but another three are worth considering. There’s also nothing wrong with breaking out the thesaurus to help you explore word variations. Just don’t get so carried away that you choose a word that no one recognizes.

Your business name is who you are. It’s how people will refer to you. It will be one of the most important marketing tools that you have. Think about the different business names that operate entirely online. You know them by their web address – Google, Amazon, Yahoo. The list goes on and on.

The most successful businesses, online and locally, have brand recognition. You can say the name out loud and everyone knows who you’re talking about. It takes hard work to get to that level, but it all starts with a name. Finding the best domain names for online business entities is easier when you’re not fighting for a .com extension like everyone else. Prove that you’re different by using .ONLINE. It can open up the domain opportunities significantly and give you a name that you can be excited about

Why Professional Development Is Important

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StrategyDriven Professional Development Article |Professional Development|Why Professional Development Is ImportantMany professionals think that if they have years of experience working in their domain, there is nothing left to learn. But this assumption is wrong, as technology and the world are constantly developing and evolving. And professional development cannot only benefit your career but your personal life too.

On the other side, there might be many employees that want to develop more professionally but their employers do not see this as a necessity. As long as employees have graduated, they know everything they need and nothing new can be learnt.

This is a wrong assumption and businesses which do not see good reasons to invest in the professional development of the employees are halting their development. Professional development is important and it can bring benefits not only to the people who decide to take this step in their career but also to employers. Committing to becoming 1% better every day can change everything and this is valid both for leaders and their teams.

So, why is professional development important?

You Gain More Knowledge

If you take a look at how the state of the world is now, you will notice that almost everything has improved. We have almost eradicated extreme poverty and the entire quality of life has increased. Societies, businesses, and people and improving and evolving. And technology does this too.

Continuous professional development helps you gain more knowledge on the topics that are essential to your career. More knowledge allows you to get a new and fresh perspective on some topics, and this is important when dealing with complex issues or problems. Applying the knowledge you get through training or participation at seminars and conferences in your organization contributes to its development. More knowledge means more resources and perspectives, things that are essential both for leaders and employees.

Gaining more knowledge is a professional goal that can enhance your career, a thing that is true both for leaders and team members. A leader should always seek improvement because he is the person many people look up to, the human that has the power of inspiring and motivating the team.

And also, the one who leads the entire activity and coordinates the team, supporting team members in their efforts of accomplishing the team’s goal. If the leader of a team thinks that professional development is important and he seeks it, the team will follow. And this brings us to the next benefit.

Improved Skills

When looking at job requirements, you can easily notice that you need both hard and soft skills. Almost all jobs imply working in a team and collaborating effectively. Not all people have the opportunity to get involved in activities that help them develop their skills. And even though the actual job means accomplishing your tasks, there might be things the process of solving tasks does not teach you.

But why would someone want to improve their skills? Improved skills help employees organize their time more efficiently which leads to increased productivity. At the same time, they can learn strategies to diffuse and handle conflicts, give feedback, and communicate and collaborate across teams.

If people improve their skills continuously, it helps them work better in a team and boost their productivity and efficiency. This is important not only for their morale but also for the organization. Businesses that put an emphasis on the importance of professional development and encourage their employees to engage in it can save costs and come with new and fresh ideas.

More Engagement, Inspiration, and Loyalty

People like employers that care about them and their opinion and that are ready to invest in them. As knowledge and technology are constantly evolving, more and more employees feel that upskilling is necessary and essential in order to meet job demands. Developing yourself professionally helps you become better at what you are doing.

Of course, when your employer supports you in your quest of improving yourself and continuing your professional development, you get closer to it. Businesses and leaders that choose to invest in their employees can only benefit from it. Employees will be more loyal to the organization and their engagement level will also rise. Companies need to value their employees and support them in their goal of developing professionally.

Employees can get more inspiration from the development opportunities they will benefit from. They will be more open to going the extra mile and put in more effort to solve complex problems at work. At the same time, leaders who continue their professional development will become a source of inspiration for team members. All these contribute to higher job satisfaction that can increase the productivity and efficiency of employees. Studies have found that employees who report being more satisfied with their job are more creative, more open to outside ideas, and more productive.

Achieve Goals

Goals are an essential part of every business strategy and working team. The process of setting goals helps people from the same team be on the same track, find ways to accomplish those goals, and track progress. Goals can keep you motivated and persevering. But as the projects of the team grow in difficulty, so must the skills and expertise do. People need to develop professionally to update their knowledge and gather a new one. This new information will help them achieve their career goals because they gain more expertise in the field.

At the same time, more expertise gives you more self-confidence and motivation. This is something every employee deserves and needs to become a better one. Achieving goals might be a process full of obstacles, and knowing how to handle these complex moments can make the whole situation more approachable. People who continue their professional development develop skills that will help them achieve their career goals. They will also be great and committed team members that will lead the team to the next level.

Investing in the Future

Many businesses and organizations that choose to support their employees in their professional development are choosing to invest in their future. Professional development enhances the skills of the employees and leaders alike. It is a journey many employees want to embark on, but the results are not immediate. Organizations that understand this will benefit the most.

Professional development will easily be noticed in the way employees approach complex problems. It will be seen in the way team members collaborate and communicate within the team and across other teams. Leaders will be more inspiring and encouraging and the execution of tasks will be better. Employees who will see that employers care about their professional development will be more loyal to the organization and will experience a boost in morale. Their job satisfaction will rise and so will their productivity and performance.

Professional development is important because it helps employees and employers alike to grow. And this growth brings only benefits. It is an investment in the future of the business and its people. Keeping up the pace with the knowledge and technology updates will help employees and organizations adapt easier to challenging times and handle complex tasks more efficiently. At the same time, the constantly growing level of expertise within the business will support the complex processes of building the business strategy, executing, and managing it. The business will grow along with its employees who invest in their professional development.

About the Author
StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Tiffany HarperTiffany Harper is an experienced writing guru who’s been working in the B2B sector for several years now. She loves to share her thoughts through blogs and social media, sometimes she helps when somebody needs to get assignment help like SuperiorPapers. For her love of writing, she also provided some consultation while working with the best assignment writing service. Tiffany’s hobbies are playing board games with friends, going to rock concerts, and exploring nature’s marvels.

Why SEO is important for SaaS businesses

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article, Why SEO is important for SaaS businessesSEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is vital for any company with an online presence. It refers to the process of improving the visibility of your website in the organic results of search engines such as Google. Many factors go into the algorithms that generate search engine rankings, including keywords, links and mobile optimization, which means there are lots of techniques you can use to improve your website’s position. If you run a SaaS business (one in which customers pay for access to a software product), SEO is going to be particularly important for you and your company. Here’s why.

Drive traffic to your website

This is perhaps the most obvious benefit of having a good SEO strategy. The higher up your website appears on Google when people search for a relevant keyword or phrase, the more likely they are to click through to your page. It’s estimated that over 25% of people click on the first organic search result on Google, and people rarely go on to even the second page of results. Combined with the fact that most online experiences begin with a search engine, it’s easy to see why SEO is a vital part of getting customers onto your site.

Publicize your business without spending money on advertising

Lots of SaaS companies turn to paid advertising to promote themselves, which is a completely valid strategy but can take up a lot of your budget. Therefore when it comes to SEO SaaS companies have a cost-effective alternative to help generate more web traffic and gain more customers, particularly in the long term. This is especially helpful for newer SaaS businesses that perhaps don’t have a large budget for advertising, or who are happy to invest some time in creating the sort of high-quality content that ranks well. In the highly competitive world of SaaS, this can be a fantastic strategy.

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Stand out from your competitors

As mentioned above, the SaaS market is a very competitive one. It’s rapidly growing and expected to be worth over $140 billion globally by 2022. Standing out in such a crowded marketplace can be difficult, but a good SEO strategy can be a big help. By consistently appearing at the top of search engine results, it’s more likely that potential customers will remember and recognize your company name – even if they don’t click through to your site at first. Plus your main competitors will probably be utilizing SEO themselves, so you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage if you don’t do the same.

Get more customers

Essentially this is what it’s all about. The reason that you want more traffic to your site and greater brand recognition is all to help get more people to subscribe to the software you’re offering. Appearing at the top of search engine listings doesn’t just encourage people to click through to your site, it also helps boost your company’s credibility and trustworthiness. Organic content such as blog posts and videos tends to be viewed more highly in comparison with advertising, so packing your pages with great content not only helps improve your rankings, it also builds you a better reputation. It’s a win-win!