This episode is all about answering your business questions! So here we go!
(1:20 minutes)
ELLIE PARVIN
Question: What is a good way to request testimonials after an event or service has already taken place? This is for a person who is fairly new in their business and wants to be able to feature legitimate testimonials on their website.
Answer: This is a great question because testimonials are so important to the success of your business. People love reading testimonials. My suggestion is to collect them continually, so don’t necessarily wait for an event to occur to collect them. The next time someone contacts you with “thank you so much for ______”, or some rendition of this, respond with a polite request to use their verbiage as a testimonial. Ask if they have a preferred head shot they would like you to use, and start to build up a list of testimonials from people. Testimonials are everything when it comes to building community and getting people to add to cart.
(5:04 minutes)
HEATHER DELIA
Question: How far do you set your ring light and camera from you when you shoot? I purchased the ring light setup you recommend but I’m unsure on the best setup.
Answer: You want to find a happy medium. So film a couple minutes and check to see what it looks like. Then do this again until you find where the intensity of the light looks best. Make sure you’re not too blown out, meaning the lighting is too white, and you’ve lost contour to your face and depth in the shot. Where you’ll want to put the camera with the ring light in relationship to you, somewhat has to do with the type of camera your using. The better the camera, the father away it can be from you. However, you don’t want to be too far away as this will defeat the purpose of the ring light. So, you have to take a little bit of time to figure out where placing the camera and light works best for you and the shot you’re looking to achieve.
(8:05 minutes)
ALICE GIRLING
Question: I am planning a business to run baby massage classes as a four week set course. How do I begin to promote this as I need to set a start date, but won’t know what the demand will be? I need 6 to 8 babies per course to be viable.
Answer: If you are thinking of doing something locally, you have to be present and you have to have people show up for it to work. So think about how you can change your idea into an online concept. For example, you could do your baby message class as an online academy that people sign up for and can use at their convenience. That way YOU don’t physically have to be there. You can use a Facebook ad to promote a free webinar, and when hosting that webinar you will sell your online baby message program. For everything Facebook ads, check out Amy Porterfield’s program; links are below. And I am new to webinars, so a great resource for you is Lewis Howes; links to his info are below as well.
(13:00 minutes)
SAMI LIZ
Question: As far as owning your own business and employee management, how do you keep everyone enthusiastic about working for you? How do you keep them working towards goals and keep them motivated? How about incentives for productivity?
Hire character over skill. We look for people with certain personality traits. We can teach them the skills. What’s more important to us is that they have the attitude we like; positive, hard working, driven, want to help others and create change. We also like allowing our employees to set their own schedule and like them to find the environment they work the best in. Also, recognition is so important! Tell your employees how valuable they are. Don’t forget to honor your employees and verbalize their positive traits!
(18:20 minutes)
CRYSTAL SAUCEDO
Question: I’m slowly building my tribe…and I want this so bad for me and my son (I am a single mother) but juggling a full time job, mommy duties and a business is very VERY hard. What suggestions do you have because as bad as I want it, I’m not where I want to be because I know I have more potential than what I’m putting into it right now.
You can’t compare yourself to someone who is not in the same situation as you. Crystal, remember that categorizing your time will help you stay present for your child. Put a photo next to your desk of your son and let that remind you that you are working for you dream. This means you might have to sacrifice; waking up early, staying up later, not watching tv, spending your weekends working, not socializing, etc. But I promise you that if you put in the work now, it will be worth it in the future. Remember to do this at your own pace.
(21:40 minutes)
HANNAH LEBRON ESTHETICIAN
Question: With a small business, and limited amount of money to spend on advertising, how would you go about getting the word out about your work?
Use other social media forms to advertise for your business, such as Pinterest. Natalie Jill is an amazing rescource for Pinterest, links are below. Also think about doing a lead magnet, a freemium or an opt-in to provide your customers with something they can’t pass up (examples of mine are below). Asking your customers for an email in exchange for a free product or service your providing, allows you to start building a tribe that you get to continually connect with and eventually drive towards your product. I suggest you go back and listen to some of my earlier podcasts that might help. Links are below.
Links from this episode:
Amy Porterfield’s Website (Facebook ads): http://www.amyporterfield.com
Amy Porterfield’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmyPorterfield/timeline
Lewis Howes Website (webinar): http://lewishowes.com
Smart Passive Income Podcast with Pat Flynn: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/smart-passive-income-podcast/id383084001?mt=2
Natalie Jill’s Pinterest as a reference: http://www.pinterest.com/nataliejillfit
Chalene’s Podcast on how to get your stuff seen in the Facebook Newsfeed: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-get-your-stuff-seen/id910990031?i=317947965&mt=2
Chalene’s Podcast interview with Natalie Jill about Pinterest: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pinterest-challenge-to-build/id910990031?i=318062796&mt=2
Chalene’s Podcast interview with Lewis Howes on how to use a webinar to sell your product: PART 1- https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/webinars-work-lewis-howes/id910990031?i=318631933&mt=2
PART 2- https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/7-figure-webinar-know-how/id910990031?i=318631934&mt=2
Chalene’s Podcast on developing your personal brand: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/developing-your-personal-brand/id910990031?i=320056294&mt=2
