Having tools for quantifying a business’s health immediately available for a business owner to review and understand is critical to evaluate how the business is doing on a day to day basis. Specifically, online marketing focus and internet presence are an ever growing necessity, and understanding where a company stands allows a business owner to pivot accordingly in order to target a goal and grow.
Being able to analyze how a business is performing on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter will give you a better ability to understand how to change and adapt. And with GoSmallBiz, these tools are bundled together with other important benefits all in a single plan!
Setting up the different analytics instruments is easy and fast.
Upon logging in to GoSmallBiz, a user will be greeted by the DASHBOARD page. This not only is the home page, but also functions as a go-to for all of the vital information for social media and analytics down to the city a person is in and the weather. This allows for a business owner to quickly review the daily state of the business, check to see how they are measuring on website usage and also make quick updates to their media feeds or accounts.
JuJuan Buford is a Detroit native, entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of JSB Business Solutions Group, business development professional, and writer dedicated to helping families, entrepreneurs, and business owners establish thriving enterprises, achieve financial independence, and build lives of satisfaction.
Q: When is the new deadline for PPP loan applications?
On Saturday July 4, 2020, the President signed the “PPP Extension Act” into law. On Monday, July 6, the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program resumed accepting loan applications.
As the program’s initial deadline of June 30 approached, many small business owners wondered if there would be another chance to access the remaining funding put in place for the Paycheck Protection Program by the CARES Act. The approval and enactment of the “PPP Extension Act” has provided small business owners with this opportunity.
The new deadline for PPP loan applications is August 8, 2020.
You can view The White House’s and the SBA’s announcements by following the hyperlinks provided below.
Business owners who are still in search of a SBA approved lender can utilize the SBA’s Lender Match Tool, which guarantees contact from a qualified lender within two business days of submitting information on the platform.
Business owners who are interested in applying for, have applied for, or have obtained a PPP loan should familiarize themselves with the latest guidance released by the SBA and the U.S. Department of the Treasury based on the enactment of the “PPP Flex Act” on June 5, 2020.
In a previous blog post we discussed the important changes implemented by the “PPP Flex Act” and provided resources to assist business owners in familiarizing themselves with the SBA’s most recent guidance.
To visit our previous blog post regarding the “PPP Flex Act,” please follow the hyperlink below.
JuJuan Buford is a Detroit native, entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of JSB Business Solutions Group, business development professional, and writer dedicated to helping families, entrepreneurs, and business owners establish thriving enterprises, achieve financial independence, and build lives of satisfaction.
There is a persistent misperception out there, that if you post it people will magically come. Social media is skilled trade, and the tools of the trade must be used frequently and often to bring about a desired impact. And just like a hammer, if you don’t swing it at something repeatedly, or know how to use it, you’re not going to get much work done. The great thing about social media marketing, is it can be learned like anything else, and there will be a learning curve. In other words you may suck for a period of time, and it's OK because that is part of the process of improving at anything. The most important thing you can do is get started.
Facebook - Engage Them
Instagram - Get To Know Them
LinkedIn - Educate Them
Pinterest - Share With Them
YouTube - Show Them
You can't get dirty and look good at the same time. Just do the dirt.
IDENTIFYING WHO YOU SERVE
You’ve launched your labor of love. You’re passionate about what you do. You’re confident that everyone who learns about what you do, will be just as enthralled as you. Or you have a product or service that you believe a particular demographic will find attractive, and instead you find yourself servicing a different client base then you expected. It happens. Or, you find out, you’re really not sure what your selling. It happens more frequently than you think.
What is the difference between a $700 grandfather clock and a $5,000 grandfather clock? What is the difference between a 2 cent paperclip and a $1,000 + paperclip? The materials and time spent to craft such things? Perhaps. The end user’s perspective regarding the value of the service or product? That would be a yes. In other words, much of your success is going to based on your willingness to get out of your own head, and root out what the market believes your wares and services are worth. In the beginning, you may have to lean in multiple times, and unabashedly as for the sale, if only to gain more perspective on what people are will pay for your services.
Understanding who your ideal customer really is, or what many refer to as your buyer persona is critical. It doesn’t mean you dismiss potential clients, but know who is already seeking your services or predisposed to patronize you; they don’t need much in the way of education regarding your value proposition (or convincing); and can easily afford your services. Your branding, marketing and prospecting techniques, and how you execute your client services should all be geared to attract and retain your ideal client.
Besides, not being willing to do the work. This unarguably kills a small business faster than anything else. Why? Typically, especially when first starting out, entrepreneurs are operating on a shoestring budget and not knowing who to target your marketing resources to get the biggest bang for your buck is throwing good money after bad. It also make the difference between merely surviving, versus growing, scaling, and ultimately thriving.
Your ideal customer is not only valuable because of the upfront transaction. They are valuable because they will repeatedly patronize you, refer you to others, and become brand ambassadors (people who are willing to broadcast their patronage of you to others).
FACTS TELL & STORIES SELL: THE SUCCESS STORY
Not quite sure how to share your business with the world. Here is a simple script to follow.
What does your idea client look like? What was their challenge before they met you?
How did/does your service or product save the day?
What does your idea client look like, sound like, how has their lives been changed as a result of knowing you or experience what you provide?
If you’re concerned about what to post, and whether you have the time? It’s because you’re thinking too hard about it.
Share the success stories. Share the process of creating - the product, prepping to deliver the services, the sweat equity put into delivering - the value proposition. Share the excitement, exhaustion, elation, epic failures, and the end result of the happy client.
If you’re doing the work, you’ll never run out of stuff to post.
PEEL BACK THE ONION – TELL YOUR STORY
In a world of curated lives. The constant stream of steak and egg pics, trips to little known vacation destinations, grape juice, celebration of our best lives pics..... People want to know if you’re real. Do you really have the academic chops or are you studied? Are you really passionate about what you do, or do you exist solely to part me with my money? Do you have the experience, or access to the experience. What inspires you, because people are also looking for inspiration.
Are you creating emotional attachment? This is a Budweiser commercial, curated by VeynarMedia. But is it?
People don’t buy the chocolate chip cookies because they’re cookies. They buy the cookies because of the love that is cooked inside. Until your wares are branded, you’re the brand. If you’re being your authentic self, and you’re not an offensive SSOB, you’ll be ok.
And remember, TONE, is important too. That was one of the biggest gems for me personally.
CHOOSE QUALITY OVER QUANTITY? ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
In order to stay relevant, you must be present. The more regularly people are exposed to you, it’s like priming the pump, baking the popcorn, bringing that prospect one step closer to FEELING more familiar with you, and being willing to do business with you.
However, identify 3-5 topics that capture who you are, what you do, and why you’re doing it. And consistently drive messaging about these 3-5 topics across all the social media platforms you’re employing. In the beginning, concentrate on the platform that gives you the most traction, and then spread out to the other platforms.
Don’t be all over the place. Keep your messaging as consistent as possible.
“SOCIAL MEDIA IS INTENDED TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS.” - Rachele Wilson
Nothing else needs be said.
WHAT ARE THE BEST TOOLS & TACTICS THAT ARE WORKING PRESENTLY? DO YOU HAVE WORKBOOKS?
By the way, Rachele is the real deal, Evander Holyfield. Down to earth. Truthful. Gritty, with a nice splash of lemon juice and honey.
THE BEST COMPLIMENT WE COULD EVER RECEIVE.
“This was really good. I can tell you are really doing it. Experienced at this.”
When I heard those words repeatedly shared from attendees, all the other stuff didn’t matter anymore. Our goal is to put our clients (those in the audience) in front of people who have done something other than read a book, watched a YouTube video, received a bunch of recognition from well-connected friends, etc., etc,. We are about actionable content. Introducing people who are about the entrepreneurial life and are living it: learners, doers, evaluators, sharers, elevators.
YOU are the most important thing about what we do. Leaving more informed, but also ready, willing, and in a prepared place to execute.
We believe entrepreneurship is empowerment, and while everyone isn’t ready. We don’t need everyone to be an entrepreneur, although we can all benefit from a more entrepreneurial mindset. We simply need more entrepreneurs making a living and making a difference.
JuJuan Buford is a Detroit native, entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of JSB Business Solutions Group, business development professional, and writer dedicated to helping families, entrepreneurs, and business owners establish thriving enterprises, achieve financial independence, and build lives of satisfaction.
Nine times out of ten, if you made the transition from a highly accomplished, overachieving professional to an entrepreneur, you may be overconfident in your own ability. In traditional work environments being exceptionally competent or having an invaluable skill set that is not easily duplicated, affords you recognition, perks, and material rewards (ideally). And of course we all know that birds of a feather flock together, and this creates cultural bias or blind spots.
More often than not, overachievers assume that other people have the same baseline of knowledge and skill sets. They can become irritated when others don’t execute to their expectations or at the level they would expect of themselves: asking questions and offering critiques that dissuade others from taking initiative around them; ultimately behaving like idiosyncratic overseers, driving down morale and eventually fomenting decreasing levels of performance than previously experienced.
Good leaders know that the more you learn, the more you understand what you don’t know. They are empathetic to the fact that even the most talented individuals come to the table at different places developmentally. Instead of asking why certain tasks aren’t being implemented to standard, they ask what systems can I put into place to help everyone one level up? Instead of asking “why aren’t you/they doing this?” They approach with “how can we accomplish this task…. let’s discuss how we can improve the situation.”
Leadership is a Skilled Trade
For well over a two decades you endured organized schooling, attended an innumerable amount of training, delved into self education, and worked assiduously to chisel yourself into the fine oiled machine you’ve become today. If you are an exceptional writer, musician, world class athlete, salesperson, attorney, doctor, real estate agent, cook, celebrity stylists, etc., etc., this sounds familiar.
Becoming an excellent leader requires the same commitment. Not only do you have to become technically sound in your skilled trade and a subject matter expert in your industry, but you have to become exceptionally skilled at influencing people. At the end of the day, that is what good leaders do. Military leaders are able to induce people to follow them 50 yards against the hail of bullets. Football coaches can engender such respect and affection that grown men, earning millions of dollars (with accompanying colossal egos) to continue to play despite horrific pain and adverse physical effects.
In other words, you must become a student of how to motivate people, engender belief, inspire sacrifice, and influence people.
Here is one caveat to remember though. Don’t expect your employees to want the success of your business more than you do. However, if they believe in you, and see you running a hundred miles per hour, they may keep pace at 90 miles per hour.
Don’t Be a Butthead
People are emotional creatures. We make decisions predicated upon gut feelings, our level of excitement and belief, or our level of distrust or discomfort. Then we use our cerebral cortex to justify our decisions after the fact. Ever hear of the axiom, people don’t remember what you said, but rather how you made them feel? Don’t be lazy with language.
Before you unleash your justified wave of indignation and self righteous criticisms, remember you were an ugly duckling at one time. You stumbled. Made mistakes. At a certain age most of us learn to flee from people who believe they can do no wrong. People are more receptive when you talk with them, rather than at them.
More Conventional & Non-Conventional Strategies and Tools
Golden handcuffs. Offering benefits such as key person insurance, identity theft and legal services, access to child care resources, the provision of transportation options, etc., etc., These types of benefits help to alleviate expenses that today’s generation of employees are becoming increasingly sensitive to….in other words there is more than one way to compensate an employee.
Take the time to hire a professional to help you identify the key performance indicators (KPIs are tasks and activities) that drive the most profitable outcomes for your business. Then gamify or simply find ways to incentivize employees that exhibit the ability to hone in and execute on these KPIs.
Host events that recognize peak performers, but more importantly, highlight the KPIs that contribute to their achievements.
Incorporate into the on-boarding process (invest in an employee hand book and/or operating manuals) an informal interview process whereas you help employees to identify what they’re taking aim at financially and personally. Find ways to marry their performance and success in your company, to their short and long term goals. If your employees can’t envision how working for you can serve as a means to achieve their goals, your business becomes just another job, pit-stop, or bus stop on the way to the next one.
Not to be redundant but incorporate an on-boarding process, and invest in an employee handbook, training, and or operating manual. The way you on-board an employee sends a clear signal about whether your business is built to last. Stop complaining about not being able to find "good" employees, when you don't have a "good", professional onboarding process.
Don’t operate out of fear or jealousy, and be ok with others being more competent in other areas than you. If you truly desire to scale your business, you're going to need good leaders to hand the ball off to.
Resist the urge to be nepotistic!! Here is a checklist I adopted and refined for my purposes after reading a book on leadership authored by John C. Maxwell.
What is this person’s value to the team: skills, talents, aptitudes?
What natural abilities or energies do they possess?
Are they self motivated, doers, self-starters, who take responsibility for their performance?
Is the timing right for them to be a part of the team, or are they operating in a tempest?
Do they have potential that can be identified via their performance?
Are they a good mentoring fit and willing to be held accountable?
Desire to Learn More? Visit my calendar at https://calendly.com/jsb_business_solutions; whereas you can see my schedule in real time, and select a time that works best for you. I look forward to connecting with you soon.
JuJuan Buford is a Detroit native, entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of JSB Business Solutions Group, business development professional, and writer dedicated to helping families, entrepreneurs, and business owners establish thriving enterprises, achieve financial independence, and build lives of satisfaction.
The aforementioned quote by Mark Cuban could not be more accurate, as at some point you realize that 99% of your success or failure in business is an inside job. However, while the colloquialism “get your head right” is ubiquitous in its use verbally, very few understand its application in business, or in life for that matter. At the end of the day, how do you get your head right as an entrepreneur?
THE STORY YOU TELL YOURSELF, ABOUT YOURSELF IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STORY YOU’LL EVER HEAR IN LIFE.
Who or what is shaping your world view, your place in it, and you’re overall self concept? In other words how much time are you spending writing, reading, and reviewing your vision statement, your goals and affirmations, and looking at the action steps you’ll need to achieve your chief aims? Versus, how much time are you spending listening to constant negative news, sifting through social media content, profiles, and commentary, or listening to the most recent radio show gossip?
If you’re willing to answer this question honestly, the answer may and should alarm you to no end. From the time you wake up in the morning, the world’s agenda is waiting for you. And the question you have to ask yourself is are you ok with it? And are you really in control of your life’s trajectory, or are you a shiftless human, happening?
If you think of your mind like an emotionless, computer programming system (which is kinda what it is), ask yourself who’s making the most inputs into your mind: the corridor to your thoughts, feelings, physical doings, and spirit. Are the very first inputs of the day determined by you? Or are you taking inventory of what your boss wants you to do via email? Or what the news wants you to be scared to death of today? Or your bill collectors demands for your wages? Or the opinions of people, who wouldn't attend your funeral on a rainy day?
Whoever is determining or making the most inputs into you, is ultimately determining your trajectory in life. Are your thoughts being dominated by things that build up your self esteem and give you energy? Are you consuming content that you are the author of, speaking to your dreams, ambitions, and the life you truly want to live? Is your mind inundated with your victories -small and large alike? Financial independence deposits? Information, new learning, or data that will help you become 1% better each day?
Show me your social media feeds, or lack thereof, and I’ll show you your life. Who is ultimately penning your life’s story. Who’s really pulling your strings? Are you the pilot? Or are you asleep at the wheel, or worse, allowing others to steer you here and there. You say, God’s got his hand on the wheel. I don’t think God would appreciate his name being taken in vain, and substituted for Facebook, your supervisor, or the bank that financed your car.
Don’t be flippant, or allow yourself to skate past these questions. Take inventory right now.
FAMILY, FRENEMIES, AND NEIGHBORS
The people that you spend the most time interacting with are either breathing life into you, or siphoning it away. They are either challenging you to live up to your potential, or happily introducing you to their shared life partner, Mr. or Ms. Mediocrity. They are either contributing to your goals, strivings or ambitions, or sabotaging your efforts.
There is no in between. Just like there is no in between when a hyena is chasing a zebra. You’re life’s energies are either being consumed and torn asunder by the words, actions, and inaction of those around you. Or they are being replenished and edified like a sunflower, being kissed by the sun.
This is not a call to diss those around you. However, if you’re not moving forward or making the progress you desire, perhaps it’s time to distance yourself from some people, and befriend others who are achieving and succeeding at the work you desire to pour yourself into.
I’m not a motivational speaker, or social media influencer who is going to fill your brim with curated sunlight. Entrepreneurship is empowerment, but it can be grueling. The rewards of entrepreneurship can by far exceed the alternative, but so does the price. Being an entrepreneur means you’ve decided to swim upstream against the current (the opinions of naysayers and haters, and a system that is constructed to reduce you to a duracell battery for the matrix), and it requires that you have some people who are willing to spot you when the physical, psychological, and spiritual fatigue sets in periodically.
Talent wins games. But TEAMs win championships. Remember the Detroit Pistons 2004 NBA Championship team.
YOU MUST LEARN
At the end of the day, entrepreneurs are compensated commensurate with the volume and size of the problems we are able to solve, and or the needs, wants, and desires we are able to fulfill. The bigger the problems solved, or appetites fulfilled, the bigger the paychecks. The most successful entrepreneurs repeatedly summon the courage and the humility to step into the fringes of society, and see things first. And this type of commitment requires that you must be better informed, more acutely aware, and attentive to the ever changing conditions coloring people’s lives.
By the time most of us reach adulthood, we’ve attended 12 to 17 years of structured learning and preparation to become a more effective worker bee. Why would you believe that the entrepreneurial journey you’re embarking upon…..the vehicle that you intend to transport you to, and deliver a lifestyle of satisfaction would require a lesser commitment to learning?
Goal setting and goal achieving is skilled trade. Understanding how and why people make decisions is skilled trade. Learning and implementing systems that will allow your business to scale beyond simply surviving is skilled trade. Effectively influencing and communicating with people is skilled trade. Listening and interpreting the winds of change is skilled trade. Leadership is skilled trade. Balancing your personal and business checkbook is skilled trade.
The super-majority of us haven’t been exposed to or inundated with these skilled trades in a structured, extended learning environment. Reading ten pages of a good book a day (or an equivalent audio) pretty much ensures that you’re reading approximately 1 book a month, which is tantamount to approximately 15 books per year. Entrepreneurship is leadership, and leaders are constant learners.
Desire to Learn More? Visit my calendar at https://calendly.com/jsb_business_solutions; whereas you can see my schedule in real time, and select a time that works best for you. I look forward to connecting with you soon.
JuJuan Buford is a Detroit native, entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of JSB Business Solutions Group, business development professional, and writer dedicated to helping families, entrepreneurs, and business owners establish thriving enterprises, achieve financial independence, and build lives of satisfaction.
