Standing Out

I’m sitting @ Panera on Peach - I love Panera: great coffee, yummy CinnaCrunch bagels and free Wi-fi. Who could ask for anything more?

Online social networking can never replace the real, face-to-face interaction of traditional business networking. I would love to have an Office Nomads here in Erie or just a place to go on a regular basis and connect with other small business owners in Erie. I know that there are many.

If you’re in Erie and you read my blog, drop me a line via the contact form - I’d love to hear from you and connect!

***psst - a great way to “meet” online LOCALLY is Biznik - strange, but true - there is finally an online network that is locally-based…

The Successful Self-Employed Moms Mastermind first group meeting was held this previous Monday and I now know why members of Masterminds are so successful. The .mp3 recording of our meeting will be posted and available to members only. Membership is free.

There is a significant amount of power in a Mastermind group. The power comes from bringing together two or more minds that are contributing thoughts and ideas toward a common goal. The common goal of our Mastermind is business success.

We talk about our businesses and our families and we also discuss strategies to build and improve our businesses in order to achieve growth and ultimate satisfaction. This is possible by leveraging the variety of experience we all bring to the table.

If you’re intrigued and want to be part of a powerful group that may change your business, join here.

Yikes! I recently stumbled upon someone’s social network profile creation & management services through a Google Alert that was in my inbox this morning. I was so intrigued by what I was reading that I had to post on this blog twice today (sorry).

While the setup/management packages were relatively inexpensive, I believe they were a little over-the-top.

I’d rather educate my prospective clients and then hope they see the value in my services than to add a bunch of hype that isn’t true.

First of all, there’s no such thing as the “top” 50 or even “top” 25 social networks. Most people who are involved in social networking are not using 25. They’re probably using closer to 2 or 3, really. They’re definitely using MySpace or Facebook (or both) and they may also be using LinkedIn, Biznik, StartupNation, Twitter, Yahoo! 360, Plaxo, Bebo, Friendster, or Windows Live Spaces.

Some people, like me, are using upwards of 12-13 networks but I’m not really “using” them all. Some are set it and forget it types and some I just don’t have the time to actively maintain at the moment.

So, if someone is trying to sell you a service in which they set you up on the “top” 50 social networks, that’s insane! Not only is that completely unnecessary, but it’s also unmanageable (nevermind that there really aren’t 50 “top” networks).

It will be so difficult for you to really maintain 50 social networks that you will probably become jaded and forget the whole thing. Or, your profiles on some networks will become so stagnant that they reek of abandon - and that is about as bad for your business as stale advertising.

Really, set in mind a goal of 10 or fewer networks you think you want to participate in (and then go sign up for my e-course so you don’t go crazy thinking about how you’ll ever find the time) and try not to have social network fever and sign up for every one that you come across.

And remember - spice it up with other social media as well. Social networking doesn’t work as well if you’re not interesting.

• Create an account on YouTube and link to videos you like every now and then.
• Create an account on Snapfish or another picture-sharing account and post pictures when you go on vacation or to a business networking event or conference.
• Start a blog - a real blog, not just one on MySpace or Bebo. You can get them at wordpress.com OR better, download Wordpress and install it (or have it installed) on your business’s website.

But just trust me on this, you DO NOT need 50 or even 25 social networks. Pick a handful you will be active with and then trust in viral or buzz or word of mouth marketing to do the rest.

This idea may seem utterly obvious but I assure you that there is wisdom in this advice.

The power in social networking is the first half of the term, so be social!

Social networks were not originally created with businesses in mind, they were created for real people to make or reinforce or support connections with other real people.

I think social networking is great fun. I’ve been part of MySpace and Plaxo for years now (along with some others) and have just gotten into Facebook and Twitter over the last couple years.

I also think social networking can be good for business (hence, the reason I offer an e-course about it) and apparently the networks themselves agree: Facebook Pages is for businesses, etc. There are even “business” social networks like Biznik and StartupNation.

But when businesses create profiles but forget to “connect” and be social, they are doing themselves a disservice. Social networks only work for you if you participate.

Here are a few key ways to connect:

1. Participate in groups. This is the most effective way to grow your friends list. This takes time, but you need to find a couple groups to belong to, submit a few relevant comments every now and then, maybe participate in a forum discussion, AND THEN invite others in the group to be your friend.
2. Get personal. Make sure there is something personal about you on your profile. You absolutely need a personal photograph of yourself first and foremost, but you could also include your marital status, whether or not you have children, where you went to college or high school, or some likes/dislikes or favorites.
3. Respond to comments. I’m guilty of neglecting this key principle but it is really important if you want to use social networks for business growth. Make sure you respond to comments and messages. No one likes to feel ignored. Take the time to do this act of common courtesy at least once weekly.
4. Invite your real friends/colleagues. Make sure you take advantage of every network’s feature that searches your contact lists to find people who are already part of the network. It’s quick, easy, and it’s a great way to make connects almost instantly.

If you’re concerned about time there are a number of ways to make it worth your while: you can outsource the setup and management or you can create a social network marketing plan that takes time into consideration. If you’re curious how to make it work for you, feel free to check out my social networking e-course at http://blog.allamericanadmin.com. The link is in the sidebar.

Happy networking!

Tia

In life and in business you get what you pay for, right? If you believe that to be true, and you pay for nothing, what would you get?

Zero.

Correct. If you believe that you get what you pay for and then you turn around and pay for nothing you ultimately get nothing (there are always exceptions to the rule). In order to grow your business, you’ve got to sow seeds of time & money into it.

I believe that you have to put money into your business in order to get money out of it, but it seems that a lot of startups and entrepreneurs hold onto their wallets for dear life. They’ll spend money on gimmicks like memberships to this and that, but skimp on essentials like websites and business cards. Read my good friend Xan’s latest post - You have to spend money to make money - for his real life example of the situation.

As VAs, we fit into the entrepreneur group. We, like everyone else, have to put something into the business so that we can see the results.

No businesses, even those with extremely low overhead, succeed without sowing a little “seed.”

I put money into my business in the following ways and I have seen the benefits time and again:

• Business website hosted by a reputable, reliable web hosting company called Siteground (cost: $6.00/month - paid in advance)
• My own domain name (that’s the URL) (cost: included with my hosting package when I paid in advance)
• Upgraded monthly membership to Biznik, where I connect with other VAs, publish my blog and network with potential clients (cost: $10.00/month)
• Upgraded monthly subscription to Elance - IMPORTANT (cost: $19.95/month)
• E-books and other training material that I find useful, or that I can use as an inspiration for my own (cost: approx. $50.00/month)
• Business cards (cost: approx. $6.00, only for shipping - from VistaPrint - earn 25% off by using that link)
• Use of cell phone for business (cost: approx. $50.00/month)
• Use of Skype call-to-phone feature, so I can listen in on client teleclasses without using my cell phone (cost: $2.00/month)
• A bit of advertising in various places (cost: approx. $30.00/month)

There are of course many other ways in which I sow seed into the business and there are probably some items I’m forgetting here. The lesson is that you get what you pay for, or rather, you get out an amount that is directly proportionate to what you put in. Just remember, you reap what you sow!

–Tia