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7 Reasons to Send Your Workforce Home

Have you ever considered whether your office, the physical evidence of your “success,” could actually be killing your business?

After 10 years of having a buzzing team around me, I recently sent every single one of my employees home and closed the physical office doors forever.

Why? We went remote.

I’d heard about remote working many times before — many of my entrepreneurial friends have been doing it for years.

But I had a whole bunch of preconceptions, fears and concerns about all of the different reasons why remote working wouldn’t work for my business.

I could see how it would work for IT businesses or graphic design companies, but not a company like mine. We deliver training and education and write training programs for an array of industries that involve numerous skill sets, collaboration and resources.

• We need meetings and brainstorming spaces.
• We need a training room to run courses.
• We need all of the departments to be communicating face to face.
• I NEED to supervise it all!

My excuses and fears were endless.

After a short trial, the benefits annihilated all of my negative preconceptions. Now, like thousands of other modern businesses, we all work from wherever there’s an internet connection — and it works.

I believe that only construction or manufacturing type businesses (where something is being built in-situ) cannot be completely remote. Most other businesses could be perfectly efficient — if not more so — with an entirely remote workforce.

Sending my entire workforce home is the best thing I’ve ever done (from my point of view and from theirs). Here are seven reasons why:

1. Work Doesn’t Happen At Work

If I asked you, or any of your staff, “Where and when are you most productive work-wise?” I’d put money on the answers NOT being “At the office.”

Offices are big fat distraction machines.

Many business owners fear that productivity and work output will drop or that staff will slack-off without being supervised. If you can’t trust them to work independently, then why did you hire them? How often are you really staring over their shoulder anyway?

Working remotely required us to set up a collaborative platform where everyone’s tasks are shared in one single location. Everyone knows what their tasks are, what their deadlines are, how their colleagues are contributing and the progress status — from wherever they prefer to work.

2. Nobody Likes Being A Prisoner

When I had a physical office, days off were very rare occurrences. Yet ironically freedom was one of the reasons I’d started a business in the first place. Sound familiar?

When it feels like you can’t get away from something, you’re trapped.

More often than not, it’s easier for staff to “throw a sickie” or construct an elaborate disaster instead of request to leave work early for that doctors appointment.

Why? Because it’s tough to get a day-release card out of prison.

Did you hire your staff because they’re talented professionals or because you wanted good prisoners? For us, removing the walls has created a much more open and honest workplace, where people feel trusted and empowered — not trapped and controlled.

3. Board Rooms are Over-Rated

“But how will we all communicate?”

“How will I know what’s going on?”

I was convinced that effective collaboration and communication required face-to-face interaction. I look back and question how often we really did all get together to plan, discuss and collaborate when we had an office — it’s not as much as I thought.

Being remote seems to have put a much higher value on getting-together time, and as a result meetings are much more informative, efficient and proactive.

4. Productivity Doesn’t Work 9-to-5

Employees are people, not machines. They don’t switch on at 9 a.m. and switch off at 5 p.m. Sometimes we’re in the zone, and sometimes we’re not. Fact.

Going remote has allowed my staff with kids to fit in their work hours around school pick-ups, and my night-owls to be productive without having to pull 16-hour days.

It has allowed the ones who are only-in-the-zone-when-they’re-in-the-zone to make the most of it when they’re on fire and without me having to pay them when they’re not.

It’s now about the results they produce, not what time they get to the office.

Allowing everyone to manage their workloads and complete their roles how and WHEN they want has increased our operations and productivity.

5. Your Signature Stops Work

“It’s been on your desk awaiting your signature for a week.”

I was the bottleneck of my business — the very barrier causing a slowdown of productivity instead of the one speeding it up.

Breaking free from a physical office has required me to take everything out of my brain and write a process for it. The instructions for every task — the How-To Guide for everything our company does — has been removed from my head and made available to my team.

This has liberated me from being the bottleneck of the company and has liberated my staff from being dependent on me.

6. Expenses Reduce Profits

How much do you pay for your office and all of the additional expenses that go with it?

Whether it’s $200 or $20,000 a week, I’d say from my experience of going remote that it’s money that could be saved as profit or spent much more effectively elsewhere.

Having an office gave me pride. I liked looking around at all of my stuff and thinking how clever I was to have attained such a pile of “assets” — but the pressing need to be so busy came from having to pay for it all.

Remove the expenses, tasks and problems that come with having a physical space, and you’ll be amazed at what you have spare to grow your business.

7. Offices Block the Birds-Eye-View

Something about being in the office always put me in reactor mode.

• Fighting fires
• Talking to staff
• Answering “quick” phone calls

All of this often threw my proactivity straight down the proverbial toilet.

Going remote forced me to set up a platform where I can see everything I need to see from a birds-eye view — allowing me to delegate much more effectively, to have an at-a-glance snap-shot of each employee’s workload. Importantly, it has enabled me to lead my business instead of manage the daily operations.

—

I’m not saying that going remote is the best move for everyone, but its benefits have far outweighed its cons for me. Even if only a portion of your team went remote, how might it change your business?

(Photo by Citrix Online / CC BY)

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Stop Relying on Rewards for Motivation

It isn’t hard to find articles on motivation for a freelancer.

It’s only too easy to find five or 10 obvious steps to get goin’ on that approaching deadline (“picture the job already done” or “have a comfy work environment”).

But there’s a deeper philosophical issue at stake, and all too often these articles ignore it.

You don’t want to take just any advice on motivation techniques — some recommendations can hurt more than they can help.

From my experience, you really need to consider what type of motivation a particular strategy would speak to.

While some extrinsic motivators might work in a pinch, you don’t want to build up the habit of relying on them. Instead you need intrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic

You probably recognize “ex” as meaning “out” (as in external) and “in” as meaning “in.” Intrinsic motivations are things like:

• a need to feel good about yourself
• a feeling that you’d be letting yourself down by not being productive
• a sense that you’d be letting yourself down by not producing high-quality work
• a desire to maintain the freedom of a freelancer

External motivations could include

• the need for praise
• a desire for a good recommendation or some career stepping-stone
• the work you’re doing being publicized or grabbing a lot of Facebook Likes
• the necessity of money

So, with niceties out of the way, let’s look at why it’s crucial to be motivated by intrinsic factors.

Permanent vs. Fleeting

Alfie Kohn is one of the foremost thinkers on the topic of motivation. In 1994, Kohn published a now-renowned essay “The Risk of Rewards.” One of the studies he cited speaks to a lack of permanent change or results fostered by extrinsic motivation.

In it, children were asked to drink a soda called Kefir. Some were (incomprehensible as this seems) given treats for drinking more soda, while some were praised for it, and a third group was not given any encouragement.

A week later, the children who hadn’t received any external validation liked the soda as much or more as before, while those who’d received rewards liked it much less. Presumably, the experience of drinking the sugary pop was now flat for the kids who’d grown addicted to praise or rewards and were now no longer getting these.

What you’re looking for in motivation is something that will cause better results in the long term: pride in one’s work figures to motivate good work all the time, not just when we’re in a good mood or when there isn’t a great episode of Downton Abbey on.

If you are most motivated by praise, what happens with a client who wouldn’t tell LeBron James he was kinda good at hoops? Does that client deserve mediocre work? What happens when you’re feeling pretty good about your bank account? Do your clients then deserve work of less quality than those who find you just before rent is due?

Motivated to do What?

There’s the question of what motivation even consists of. If we assume that the idea is to be motivated, not just to get that drudgery done so you can watch DA, but motivated to do excellent, unique work with integrity, common extrinsic motivators may not be designed to help here.

Getting a project done just well enough to get paid isn’t a worthy challenge. The paycheck mentality alone will never produce good work. And even if there might be fussy clients out there, very few of them will push you to extraordinary work.

Rarely, as a writer, have I encountered a client who had the ability to critique or guide my work in a way that ensured good writing. In fact, most client preferences lead a writer toward a focus on simplistic or formulaic writing, with a bottom line of more site visitors or sales always looming large.

And of course, the worst extrinsic motivator of all: the deadline. It’s very unlikely that this will inspire good work.

Approval of Others is so Unkind

Another extrinsic motivation is some sort of notoriety or publicity. This applies to quite a few fields populated by freelancers: a logo you design can get you props from our friends who spot it while an e-book might become a best-seller.

But one of the biggest problems with looking for motivation in this way is that it’s out of your control. You risk losing motivation when, through no fault of your own, these things don’t come through for you. And this will probably lead you to change something about your approach, and that might compromise integrity.

Ultimately, intrinsic motivations speak for themselves. Pride in work and a sense that you owe it to yourself to produce quality will be the only things to power you through.

And while all of us slack off from time to time, a person who can motivate herself to quality can, through that same sense of duty, get motivated to get at it.

If you’re lacking in intrinsic motivation, that’s a post for another day. But it signifies a major issue, one that at least calls for some careful contemplation on your part.

(Photo by StartupStockPhotos / CC BY)

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5 Mistakes Successful Startups Avoid

In the fast-spinning and unpredictable business world, there are some common mistakes startups make.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 50 percent of the small businesses fail within the first five years.

Your new business venture is more like a journey where you go along a rocky road filled with landmines — one wrong step and you’re out.

Beginning stages are exciting, but then the majority of these blunders are made in early days.

Regardless of the nature of the business, some mistakes are inevitable. However, we all know that it’s never too late to correct the error. Right? So let’s have a look at five mistakes that new entrepreneurs generally make.

1. Failing to Record Cash Flow

For your new business, cash is king! It is important to know where and how your money is being used, because untracked finances can lead to devastating situations where you’ll run out of money.

• First things first, have a budget (a financial plan), which should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed. Figure out the right burn rate by getting an accounting system or hire a dedicated resource. This will help you in making realistic forecasts about how far your current finances will go, so you can plan ahead easily.
• Don’t count on the initial revenue from clients as profit. Keep in mind the unanticipated costs as well as monthly overhead and taxes.
• Your financial plan and reports are not one-time job. These need to be reviewed, updated and used regularly. It’s worthwhile.

2. Neglecting IP Protection

Don’t overlook the value of intellectual property, as it can cost you a significant amount of potential income. How? Here’s an example — suppose you invented a product and developed it, but didn’t patent it.

Others in the market copied your product and your customers started moving to them. Certainly, this would create a drop in your business.

To save your unique product or service from infringement, take steps like:

• Getting a patent
• Obtaining appropriate copyright, trademarks or service marks
• Requiring confidentiality agreements signings

Consulting a patent attorney can help you in dealing legal filing and other issues.

3. Telling the Wrong Story

Storytelling is a big deal — yes it is! A great story is not just about how two individuals met and founded the company — it is about these three elements:

• The market need that you and your product is addressing
• Keeping your target audience in front
• What makes you stand out of the crowd

Incorporating these points into your story can help you make the right pitch.

4. Forgetting to Embrace Agility

Nothing is set in stone. Your approach toward your startup makes a lot of difference to its success. While it’s essential to have goals and a vision of how to achieve those goals, you need to be open-minded and flexible in your approach. So practice analysis, adaptation and refinement.

A classic example would be that of a cheetah. This animal can accelerate, decelerate and can even change its direction in the blink of an eye. You need to act like this. Be responsive to the changing needs and demands of your company, employees and clients in order to keep your business fit.

5. Competing on Features

Understanding the end users, you’ve built a great product or service, but if you’re selling it by highlighting its features, then you’re making a big mistake.

Users don’t opt for a product purely on the basis of features; they are more concerned about getting the job done satisfactorily  — the end result. Competing on features will only make you lose your core focus, and you’ll be lost in the crowd.

The biggest example of this is Flickr and Facebook. While Flickr originally focused on the quality of photos, it shifted its focus to conversations and tagging, copying Facebook’s features. Despite being the first mover, Flickr forced itself to compete with Facebook and became less relevant.

Don’t let these mistakes paralyze your dream business. Beat the odds, and build a rewarding and thriving venture. Share your thoughts with us on this!

(Photo by Benjamin Child / CC BY)

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4 Tips to Successfully Juggle School and Full-Time Work

Being able to devote your time solely to school was so twentieth century.

These days, with ever-rising tuition costs, more people are working to put themselves through school.

Also, it’s becoming increasingly common to continue one’s education to take careers to the next level.

Whatever takes you to higher learning, the idea isn’t just to get a degree but to learn as much as possible.

The demands of studying while working full time might tempt you to take shortcuts or concede that you’re only sort of doing college. Here are some tips to get the most out of earning a degree while still on the job.

1. Use Gaps in Time

Even though sitting quietly with a book for a good chunk of time is how you’ll do a lot of your learning, you should learn to fill little gaps of down time with snippets of learning.

There are certain things you can do anywhere, like:

• Looking at flashcards
• Learning vocab terms
• Reviewing your notes
• Writing ideas for papers
• Reading assignments

And by anywhere, I’m not just talking about the library or the coffee shop. You can do these things while:

• Waiting in line
• Sitting in a subway train
• Waiting for the spin cycle to end
• Waiting at the dentist’s office
• Waiting for class to start

These days, with our technology, there’s an ever-shrinking roster of excuses for not having work with you everywhere you go.

2. Communicate With the Instructor

It may seem that taking a moment to visit office hours for a chat or to e-mail a professor is going the extra mile, spending extra time. However, it can actually save time.

As an experienced instructor, I can tell you that professors have thought about just about any concept covered in the class. This means they just might have a ready way of explaining it that may be clearer than your textbook.

So, a quick discussion can save you time puzzling over something that’s hard to grasp. Further, it can shorten time for research you may be doing by pointing you in the right directions and may stop you from having to re-do assignments you may botch if you don’t get on the right track.

3. Prioritize

I can’t speak for other instructors, but in the writing classes I teach, not all work is equal. For example, brainstorming, topic selection and pre-writing are very important, but they should be done with efficiency and time-management in mind.

As a quick example, hashing out some ideas on a sheet of paper will probably use your time a lot better than staring at pages of sample topics for an hour. Again here communication can help, since an instructor can set you on the right path in five minutes, whereas if you’re on the wrong track in terms of what topics will work, no amount of time spent on brainstorming will help.

My point is some students make the mistake of feeling that being a good student is all about being conscientious, which they interpret to mean spending a lot of time. That can mean spending time just to feel conscientious.

Save your time and energy for the meaty projects. Don’t go crazy over a routine homework assignment, taking the time to mount it in a nice folder with a cover page, and then rush around to get a major project half-heartedly done.

4. Refresh

There’s no question that you’ll feel overwhelmed at some point. You can fight this by taking a day every so often to get out into the country or do some meditation or to somehow renew yourself. Get away from the books and recharge.

—

Going to school while working full time is definitely doable, particularly when you recognize it takes special consideration and strategic planning.

What about you? Did you juggle school and a full-time job? What tips do you have?

(Photo by CollegeDegrees360 / CC BY)

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10 Ways to Create a Memorable Brand

Maybe you’re a business owner looking to get more exposure for your startup.

Perhaps you’re a budding internet marketer with dreams of ruling the Internet.

No matter how different from the next guy you may be, you have one thing in common: You want your brand to get recognized — to improve brand awareness.

Here are 10 tips to help you establish brand recognition, regardless of what industry you’re in.

1. Tell a Story

One of the most effective ways for you to develop brand recognition is to master the art of storytelling. Potential clients need to know the story behind the brand before they put their trust in it. Without a story, it will be hard to get your message across to the right people.

You don’t have to come up with an elaborate story for clients to like you. You need a story that will speak to your target market and allow them to see the person behind the brand. People in general love origin stories so start off with how and why you conceptualized your brand.

2. Develop a Unique Logo

It may seem pretty basic, but business experts believe that having a unique logo for your brand is just as important as having the right story to tell. Just think of all your favorite brands and try to imagine where they would be if they didn’t have their iconic logos. It just wouldn’t be the same, would it?

So what exactly makes a killer logo? Simple. It has to be unique, well-crafted and able to tell the story of your brand at one glance. Your logo impacts purchase decisions and aids in developing the overall attitude toward your brand. You can’t afford to miss out on making the right first impression.

3. Quality Print Marketing 

In this age of online marketing, never underestimate the power of high quality printed marketing materials. Business cards, flyers and even personal letters carry a high degree of trust and believability.

Remember, at the end of the day, you’re still talking to real people so it’s important that your printed materials are designed for, well, real people.

In order to have quality printed marketing materials, it’s best to invest in quality printing services. If you want design and functionality that will speak to your target market, always consult with experts.

4. Be Smart with Billboards

You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to get billboard exposure on traditional billboards. If you’re running on a low budget, you can always make do with the resources that are readily available to you. Using your cars as rolling billboards, for example, can be an effective and budget-friendly way to develop brand recognition in your area.

Since the average person will only spend a few seconds looking at a billboard, make sure that it works to your advantage. There are a few things to remember:

• Keep the message brief
• Make sure to include your logo
• Remember your contact information
• Have a persuasive call to action

5. Invest in Social Media

These days, you simply can’t develop a brand without investing in social media. Social media has become the gateway for clients to know more about you.

Not only is it a great tool for developing brand recognition, but it’s also the fastest avenue to get your brand’s message to the right people. Make sure to use it well.

Since almost everyone is already on social media, set yourself apart by engaging followers with quality posts that offer tips, special offers and even related human-interest stories.

Don’t make the mistake of using your social media accounts as a means to promote your brand 24/7.

6. Write a Blog

One way to get clients to know more about you and eventually trust you is to write a blog. It’s not just great for developing brand recognition, you can also use your blog to inform, entertain and foster trust with your target market.

Establish your brand online by writing 2-3 quality articles per week. If you don’t have the time to create your content, you can always ask the help of your employees.

This way, you’ll be able to quickly fill up your editorial calendar and at the same time show off a more personal side to your brand.

7. Send Newsletters

Just like a blog, email newsletters can help your brand generate interest and trust with your target market. Sending your mailing list a personalized clear concise message on a user friendly interface can help them keep your brand in mind.

If you don’t make the effort to stay in touch with your clients, you’re guaranteed to lose them to competitors.

Since most people have already become immune to email newsletters, brevity is essential. Make sure that your message is tailored to your audience and contains a strong and clear call to action.

8. Produce Other Quality Content

Other than blogs and newsletters, you can also create other forms of quality online content that will help establish your brand online. If you want to increase your brand’s status as an expert in the industry, you can try hosting a weekly podcast specifically catered to meet your target market’s needs and wants.

Even if podcasting isn’t actually your thing, there are other forms of online content that you can produce for your target market. Whatever medium you choose, always remember that part of establishing your brand is giving your clients what they want and exceeding their expectations above and beyond.

9. Reward Referrals

Word of mouth is still and will always be the most powerful way to get in leads. If you still haven’t made it a habit to reward existing clients for referrals, it’s time that you create some sort of program that will encourage them to talk more about you to their peers.

Remember, the happier your existing client base feels about your brand, the more likely that they’ll be talking about you with other people.

Setting up a rewards system is as simple as offering a discount or incentive whenever they refer new clients to your company. Just make sure that you communicate the details to your clients so that they know they have something to get excited about.

10. Partner Up

Networking is another great way to get the right people to pay attention to your brand. By attending trade shows and local networking events, it will be easier for you to get your brand out there and maybe even find the right people to partner up with.

The key to finding the right partners is to focus on the verticals. Look for other brands that have the potential to grow with yours. As much as possible, avoid partnering up with direct competitors, especially if you’re the one with all the advantages.

How do you think a memorable brand is created? What tips do you have to improve brand awareness?

(Photo by StartupStockPhotos / CC BY)

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How to Create a Resume When You’re Self-Employed (Part 3/3)

Dear Reader: This is the third in a series of posts on properly showcasing your freelance experience on a resume.

In previous posts, we’ve established first that freelance work can be regarded with suspicion.

We also learned it’s possible to combat this by demonstrating the skills you’ve developed during your freelance career.

Today, we’ll firm up ways to do this, looking, specifically, at the functional resume, and comparing it to the chronological resume.

Chronological Resume Defined

We’ve probably all made chronological resumes — it’s instinct. These are all the name implies: a listing of our three or four most-recent jobs, usually in reverse-chronological order. Under each job, the applicant lists duties, responsibilities, and activities related to that job.

Now, we discussed in the last post that you want to focus on skills developed through activities, not the activities themselves. Going with a functional resume takes this one important step further by listing skills themselves with no actual job history.

Functional Resumes — The Basics

In a functional resume, a category of skills takes the place of a particular job. At the top of the resume —or at least, right after the preliminaries such as your name and any very brief summary you choose to include — you put the first skill you’d like to list, the most important to the position you’re applying for or your line of work.

For example, a freelance writer might lead with Reporting Skills, then launch right into Editing Skills, and others such as SEO Expertise, Fiction E-Book Chops, or Non-Fiction E-Book Techniques.

Under Reporting Skills, one might list, being razor’s-edge specific, some things such as:

• accurately condensing city council and other government meetings into brief news articles
• compassionately interviewing and representing the comments of members of the business community
• meeting tight deadlines when writing news stories on local school volleyball and basketball games

You may give a brief sub-heading just below the Reporting Skills heading to identify the freelance work on which you gained these skills, such as:

• Freelance Journalism, Jonesville, MN — 2011 to 2015
• Freelance Journalism, writing articles for local print and worldwide Internet publications — Aug. 2013 to Jun. 2015

Emphasize the Concepts

Note, above, that the intrepid freelance journalist never said “journalism skills” or “article writing skills” but instead labeled journalism “reporting.”

This basically says that the writer is doing actual reporting work: interviewing, attending meetings, gathering original information and writing news reports, rather than essentially surfing the web to find various facts to spackle together.

If she is applying for a job with a company (hey, maybe it’s telecommuting, but still full-time with Mr. or Ms. Boss in the picture) that requires this sort of reporting, this is an important distinction.

In this case, the editing skills are an additional component of some of the work she has done freelance-style, such as the e-books, or perhaps the articles for which she developed SEO expertise.

This, again, focuses on skills, not experience—it’s not “I did X,” but “I can do X, Y, and Z.” Therefore, a particular piece of experience should yield several skills.

Job History Counts

This type of resume is slightly controversial — it sure has its detractors. They feel it doesn’t do a good job of organizing employment history. That’s a different argument for a different day. But, rest assured, any guideline to a functional resume will emphasize the importance of accounting for the positions you’ve held and their dates in one way or another.

Above, I mentioned listing the relevant freelance — or traditional — experience at the top of a category of skills. You can do it at the end, too. Sure, some categories of skills may correspond to two or three different gigs, and that’s where this style becomes impractical.

In that case, you may go the route of giving a neat, crisp work history at the end of the whole shebang. This just gives the jobs and dates, without a laundry list of duties for each one. That keeps your history more neatly bundled than in a traditional chronological resume.

Now you know how to put your freelance work on a resume. Go make yourself some healthy snacks and engage in one of your hobbies; then, fully refreshed, sit down and get cracking.

(Photo by nuggety247 / CC BY)

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5 Ways to Make More Money with Your E-Commerce Store

Britons are the biggest online spenders in Europe, with predictions of an average $1,800 per person to be spent shopping across the Internet in 2015.

That’s a year-on-year rise of 16 percent, pushing online retail sales in the U.K. to $80 billion.

The U.S. and Canadian markets can expect a similar rise.

But do you feel that your e-commerce site isn’t allowing you to get your hands on a share of this market due to poor performance?

Giving your customers the chance to buy your products online is one thing – but is your site letting you down when it comes to converting visits to sales?

Here are five ways of making sure your e-commerce site is up to scratch.

1. Is It Fast Enough?

Customers don’t like to wait. A customer tends to lose patience if they wait more than seven seconds for a page to load. So checking your page loading speeds should be a priority, otherwise you risk baskets or shopping carts being abandoned, thus fewer conversions made.

If you’ve recently expanded your selection of products available online, this could be slowing the whole site down. Google takes the speed of a site into consideration for rankings and rewards the companies that provide the best and fastest user experience, so make sure you recognize and resolve any problems.

The priority is your home page. Be aware of how much content is held here — of course you want to give new customers an overview of what you offer, but overloading it with graphics, text and images may be slowing it down. Remember, if this entry page isn’t right, the potential customer may never venture to the rest of your site.

Make sure that Google Analytics is checked regularly by a member of your team, as this is a good way of seeing the loading time of each page on your site.

Slow speeds may be due to several factors affecting the site as a whole rather than an individual page. It could be the way your site is built, the speed of your server or that certain images need to be compressed.

Google can provide an insight into potential problems that may be causing issues with page speed  — pass this on to your developers or whoever built your site, and let them work out where the problem is coming from.

2. Is It Usable?

Put yourself in your visitors’ shoes.

• Are they able to get all the information they need, such as your contact and delivery information and returns policy, without having to struggle searching for it?
• Information also needs to be presented clearly and in a way that’s easy to quickly take in and understand. Rather than having pages of dense text, break things up with easy-to-read tables or graphics.
• Revise the way your order forms work — what information needs to be included and what happens if a field isn’t completed correctly or at all? If all information is deleted and the user is taken back to the start, they are less likely to re-input and complete the sale. An ideal situation would be for missing information to be highlighted, allowing the customer to fill it in almost without thinking.

This part of the process is like a chore for your customers, so don’t make it any harder or longer than it needs to be, or you’ll lose them. Developers often neglect to think about usability when building things such as forms, so if this is the area you’re losing customers, make sure you re-test the process and make it a priority to update.

3. Are You Trusted?

While customers value a clear returns policy, they also like features such as a live chat function that shows you’re always available to contact with any queries. However, third part endorsements are the ultimate way to build customer trust.

Services such as Trustpilot are an effective way of gathering customer feedback in one place, display prominently on Google search results and give you icons and badges to be used on your website as a further sign of customer satisfaction.

Customers do their research before purchasing online, and it is in this browsing phase that they will look to reviews for guidance. The modern phrase for this is that they are looking for “social proof” of your business’ reputation. It’s up to you to make sure what they find is positive.

A recent move for us was to apply to be one of Google’s Certified Shops. The main benefit of this is that Google will help to push the businesses that have enrolled in search results.

However, it’s not for everyone — if you are a brand new business or in the process of expanding, there are free services available that can help provide you with the social proof you need. Make sure you choose a platform that is recognized in Google’s search results.

One service that offers a free trial is Trusted Shops; you input customer details and the program reaches out to those customers for a review. You don’t need a large number of reviews to see a difference in terms of your visibility when people Google your brand.

4. Do Your Customers Have Choice?

Are you making it as easy as possible for your customers to pay? No one wants to have to turn business away, so offering a wide range of payments is giving your visitors what they want.

Our business has accepted all credit cards from the beginning, including American Express, which is often seen as too expensive. Though charges are higher than MasterCard or Visa, it’s still a popular corporate card, so if your visitors include businesses, it’s something to consider.

Similarly, many business customers would rather have a credit arrangement, which is a good idea to offer if you can. Our business also offers further options — PayPal and Amazon Payments.

It is now an expected part of e-commerce sites to save credit card details and remember order history because of the example set by Amazon. This is the level of service expected by your customers.

By making ordering and paying as easy as possible, you are opening the door for your customers to keep coming back. It may seem simple, but it’s true.

5. Product is Priority

It’s crucial that your products are displayed with the best product information possible, inviting your visitors to purchase. Make sure your site includes a mix of words, images and video that display every item you stock. With such a crowded marketplace, you need to make sure that you have the attention of every potential customer, and adding value does this.

Are you doing something different? I remember an example of seeing a rug advertised online. Included alongside it was a short video of a team member rubbing their hands over it to display its thickness. It was short and simple, but stuck with me.

The main thing to remember is to make your content original and relevant to your customers — not just a copy and paste of the manufacturer information. Not only will it be basic, it will be duplicate content that won’t perform well with Google. It values original content, so bear this in mind when choosing how to present your products.

(Photo by SEOPlanter / CC BY)

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Wanna Be a Freelance Writer? Be a Brand Journalist

Companies once reached their audience by saying, “Buy Arco pancake mix. It makes good pancakes.”

And then came television commercials that promoted a lifestyle.

Then there was complex marketing research.

By the time Web 2.0 came along, the marketing intelligentsia on various brands tended to feel that any traditional advertising was a thing of the past and that telling a story was the way to reach people.

That is what brand journalism is all about, and it opens doors for freelance writers.

What is Brand Journalism?

A writer who works in brand journalism contracts with a company to tell that company’s story. The journalist might research stories about the company’s philanthropic efforts, about the problems in the industry that the company aims to solve, etc.

It’s about communicating the brand’s philosophy, and as such, isn’t explicit advertising. One isn’t expressly trying to sell anything in this form of writing. And like any other kind of writing being done today, it is open to freelancers in addition to in-house employees.

Creative Storytelling

Let’s look at a couple of examples from Microsoft. First is a profile of the company’s director of accessibility. Here, the journalist found a major motif in the woman’s handling of a disability. It’s about finding the story.

In this feature, the writer has created the infrastructure for a choose-your-own-adventure story that allows for interaction and allows Microsoft to tell its story. In this way, the company needs abundant creativity, a knack for narrative and all the other basic writing skills a writer will bring to the table.

These are all highly defined skills that are at a premium. They allow a writer to really show her or his skills and to fulfill a need.

A Growing Industry?

A story on Firehead, a digital marketing website, said that as of fall 2013, only about 300 people on LinkedIn (as just one index) listed themselves as “brand journalists” or “corporate reporters.” The group for brand journalism, at that time, had 1,500 members.

This seems to refer to people who are hired in-house, meaning that freelance opportunities still abound. Whether you’d like freelance brand marketing to lead to an in-house gig or not, the work is out there, though you probably have to go find it.

In any event, more and more businesses are seeing the need to tell stories. And while the term is “brand journalism,” it certainly doesn’t require experience in news reporting.

A marketing background, experience blogging for companies, creative writing chops and any demonstrated ability to write well for a wide audience can give you a fighting chance of breaking in.

Pros and Cons

The niche of brand journalism isn’t without its controversy. Some writers have qualms about it because it seems like veiled marketing; coy, disguised advertising; etc. Some people simply heard too many flannel-clad Generation Xers disparaging anything “corporate” throughout the ’90s to be excited by this kind of work.

But as the Microsoft examples show, in most cases, brand journalism is presented very clearly as coming from the company and being about and for the company. It says, “Let us tell you our story,” hoping people will want to read it, even if it comes from some commercial entity.

You might feel that brand journalism is hack work or some lesser form of journalism than traditional journalism. You’ll get a lot of agreement from … traditional journalists. The work you’d be doing won’t involve interrogating feisty politicians or visiting crime scenes. You don’t have to be balanced in the same way as a traditional journalist.

Well-known marketer Joe Pulizzi says of brand journalism, “If that content is transparent in terms of source and agenda, then it’s real. Whether or not it’s “journalism’ is not really important.”

So if you’re looking to broaden your range of freelance writing, think about brand marketing.

(Photo by niekverlaan / CC BY)

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How to Create a Resume When You’re Self-Employed

In the first of our series on effectively relating freelance experience on resumes, we looked at some of the red flags employers see in such experience.

One of the ideas we stressed was that you can get around these red flags.

The way to do this is by assuring the employer that you’ve developed the skills he or she is looking for.

Here, in part two, we take a look at how to do just that.

What Did You Do When You Did?

A long-standing, traditional model of a resume involves listing responsibilities and activities of a job. For freelance work, this could mean performing bookkeeping tasks, maintaining the inventory of a product you may be selling, etc.

The question is, which specific and concrete skills did you develop when doing these things? Think of it as a matter of filling in the details.

Lead With the Skills

Once you’ve made a list of the skills you’ve developed, it’s important to present these skills with maximum effectiveness. That is, don’t have a Skills section down at the bottom of your resume — instead, essentially replace the Experience section with Skills.

So, if you’re a freelance writer and you’re relating a chunk of freelance work that centered around writing press releases for various clients, instead of saying “wrote and submitted compelling press releases …” go with something more like this:

• Writing compelling press releases
• Utilizing appropriate press release aggregators
• Effectively addressing editors and other news professionals to place stories in high-profile news publications

If the experience in question involved technologies, theories and techniques, be sure to place these near the beginning of phrases and sentences.

The Right Stuff

As you surely know, we’re long past the days of the generic resume. Man, those were the days. Now you have to continually tweak and tweak things for each job you apply for.

That means re-casting your particular experience over and over, choosing pieces of that experience that apply in each case. You really need to give the employer as many of the skills named in the job listed as possible.

Ultimately, whatever concerns an employer may have about your transition from freelancing to traditional work should melt away if you do so. Having a good match of these skills will put you at the front of the line.

Your Skills are So … Soft

Not only is the phrase “soft skills” slightly unfortunate, but it’s very misleading, considering how important these soft skills really are.

Soft skills are so called because they are less easy to quantify than skills with a particular computer application or knowledge of a set of protocols. They include the ability to negotiate, to be sensitive to a client’s needs, to come up with creative solutions, etc.

These are increasingly valued, and your work as a freelancer involves these as much as any other type of skill. As a jack of all trades, you’ve surely learned all types of coping skills necessary to remain afloat.

You can list these just as with the examples above:

• Developing solutions from clients’ outlines
• Solving customer issues, etc.

And so on …

So, there you have it. Now that we’ve framed the issue in its general terms and have gotten into properly integrating skills, the next post will focus on chronological vs. skills-based resumes and how to put all this information together. So don’t turn that dial!

(Photo by sergio m mahugo / CC BY)

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Your Guide to Getting Along with Coworkers

In today’s workplace building a positive relationship with coworkers is extremely important.

Most employees spend at least 40 hours per week together, and the ability to communicate well and collaborate is key.

There are often times an array of personalities in the workplace, and it is important to be able to communicate effectively and get along well with everyone.

My business has allowed me to work with a variety of personality types and build relationships with our employees and clients.

Different Personalities at Work

While there are multiple personality and temperament tests, the Four Temperaments Test is one of the most popular for determining temperaments and the characteristics of those in each category.

The categories in this test are defined as sanguines, cholerics, melancholics and phlegmatics.

• Sanguines are characterized as friendly extroverts who tend to gravitate toward large groups of people.
• Cholerics are often thought of as the alpha individuals and always try to maintain control of a situation.
• Those with a melancholic personality are usually characterized as introverts and tend to be sensitive.
• Phlegmatics are peaceful individuals who like to please others.

Regardless of your personality type, it is important to learn how to build positive relationships with others in your office. Here are six tips to build positive relationships with coworkers:

1. Remember to Listen

Listening applies to everyone. In the workplace, we often get busy with phone calls, emails and conversations about clients and business deals. It is important to take a moment to listen to what your coworkers have to say about a project or situation.

In addition to this, listening to the opinions of others may provide an alternative outlook that was not previously considered. Have you run out of ideas for a particular project? Perhaps your coworker will have a new creative spin that will be beneficial.

Listening provides an opportunity to step back and evaluate another way to look at the situation.

2. Be Polite

Being polite cannot be stressed enough. Always treat coworkers with respect and be kind to them.

Chances are they will want to collaborate with you on a project and will be much more willing to help if you have an issue when they feel good about the way they are treated.

In addition to this, being polite with coworkers prevents any barriers or uncomfortable feelings when working together or asking for assistance.

3. Offer to Help

Relationships tend to work better when there is a give and take. If a coworker offers to assist with a project or steps in when a deadline is approaching, offer to help them with something in return.

This can mean assisting with another project or offering to teach them a new skill. Many workplaces put a heavy emphasis on collaboration and team projects, so the ability to help other individuals on your team and step in when needed is extremely important.

Giving back will also make your coworkers respect your knowledge and what you bring to the team.

4. Use Face-to-Face Communication

Depending on the situation, face-to-face communication is sometimes the best way to connect with others. If there is a problem or you are discussing something with a coworker over email, consider getting up and talking to the individual.

Electronic communication tends to lack body language and tone, and face-to-face communication helps to replenish this. You may be surprised about how talking with a coworker in person brings you closer together and solves situations that may have seemed like an issue relatively quickly.

5. Give Praise

If someone does great work, compliment his or her achievement! This helps to reinforce a positive company culture and makes them feel appreciated.

In addition to this, it shows that you care about others’ achievements and not only the achievements of yourself. The more coworkers build one another up and work together, the more likely everyone is to get along.

6. Get to Know Coworkers

Due to the number of hours that we spend at our job, getting to know coworkers has become a given. Take the chance to learn more about your coworkers by offering to take an afternoon walk together or grabbing a quick bite of lunch with them.

Socializing outside of the office will help to strengthen your relationship and provides an opportunity for you to get to know one another on a deeper level as well. Learn more about their hobbies and interests, and this will serve as a common ground for conversation and build the foundation for a solid relationship.

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Working together in harmony is an important aspect of the job, especially as more employers are putting an emphasis on interpersonal skills and the ability to get along well with others.

Since we spend so much time with our coworkers building a positive relationship with them is a must for success in the workplace. By following these tips, everyone will feel appreciated and respected.

(Photo by Al Abut / CC BY)

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