My Top 5 Business Books for Entrepreneurs
I firmly believe that we can learn from other people mistakes and triumphs without having to go through the ups and downs ourselves. This is especially true when it comes to business. It can’t hurt to get a leg up and learn from the mistakes and triumphs of others who have already gone through it. My top 5 favorite business books that have inspired me and taught me many lessons are:
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking By Susan Cain
Calling all my introverts! Have you ever worried that you couldn’t be an amazing CEO for your business because you are quiet and shy. I feel you. After reading this book, I realized that my tendency to listen instead of speaking in a business meeting or my need to re-charge in my hotel room instead of joining the other participants at the cocktail mixer at a conference, didn’t mean I couldn’t still be an effective business owner or entrepreneur.
Trademark: Legal Care for Your Business & Product Name
So little fun fact about me. I was an attorney in another life. And I firmly believe that every business owner should trademark their logo and business name. This is a great book to get you well versed in the ins and outs of trademarking your logo. There is nothing worse than putting so much time and energy behind building your brand just to learn that someone else already owns the rights to the name. Save yourself the heartache.
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
Are you feeling overwhelmed? Still trying to do everything in your business at the same time? Essentialism isn't about getting more done in less time. It's about getting only the right things done. If we prioritize everything then nothing is truly a priority. This book help me give myself permission to focus on one thing at a time in my business and do it really well.
Reading People: How Seeing The World Through The Lens Of Personality Changes Everything
I have taken all the tests on personality from Myers-Briggs to StrengthsFinder to Enneagram but this is the first book that really helped me put it all together. Before reading this book, I answered the questions for the test all wrong. I was answering as the person I wanted to be and not who I really was. Sometimes we have to be brutally honest with ourselves what our strengths and weakness. That way we can focus on our strength and hire others to help with our weak parts.
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
You have to believe in your business more than any other person. And often, especially in the beginning, we need to persuade others to believer and invest in our businesses. This book teaches the six universal principles of influence and how to persuade other people.
Podcast: My virtual mentors
I am an avid fan of podcast. I listen to them while I workout, when I am in the car and even sometimes while I am doing chores around the house. If you follow me on social media, you know I am always looking for new shows to listen to and learn from. I am constantly starting conversations with husband by saying
“I was listening to a podcast and they said….” It is my equivalent to “this one time at band camp…” He just rolls his eyes and patiently listens.
You can learn everything on a podcast or through a google search. I am a firm believer in DIY, especially when you are just starting out. Though it wold be awesome to be able to afford all the mastermind classes and conference, let’s be honest who has that kind of money or time.
If you are like me, you started your business while still working full time at your corporate job. I did all of my initial learning through podcasts on my daily commute. Who knew that being stuck in traffic would become my favorite time of day!
I heard Rachel Hollis say in an interview once that she has a bunch of famous mentors who don’t know she exists. And I feel the same way about podcasters. I am not a fan girl of one podcaster in particular but rather surf through episodes looking for topics I want to learn about. Here are some episodes that I learned a lot from when I was just starting out.
Goal Digger Episode 002: Creating an Unforgettable Brand with Jen Olmstead This is where I first fell in love with creating websites that were beautiful but also helped businesses make money. After listening to this episode, I started considering my work more an art than techie.
Jasmine Star Podcast : HOW I PLAN MY SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS IN 40 MINUTES. Like you, I may scroll through my Instagram feed more often than I care to admit to but I hate taking hours to plan our my social media. This episode inspired me to create my own system for planning out social in just three hours a week.
The Art of Online Business Podcast with Rick Mulready Episode 3: What’s Working Right Now With Facebook Ads Math was never my favorite subject but I have an analytical brain. I am fascinated by the data and algorithms behind digital media ads. I learned a lot from this podcast on how to leverage social media for not just likes but revenue as well.
Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield: How To Build Your Email List from the Ground Up. I fully subscribe to the belief that you do not own your social media audience. Having 60k followers is useless in my opinion if you don’t also have 60k people on your email list.
These are just the tip of the iceberg for the wealth of knowledge you can gather from a podcast. And it is all FREE. It takes investing your time.
*Pro Tip: If I find a podcast I like I always scroll back to listen to the first 10 episodes. I find when influencers are just starting out they are more excited and willing to share their inside tips. Plus, you can meet them when they were just starting out like you and have better advise for beginners.
How to Design Your Website to Drive Sales
*Affiliate Link Included in this post
Designing a website can be confusing and overwhelming, I get it. You spend so much time curating the perfect images and drafting engaging copy and then launch to crickets.
I am sharing with you the tips I have learned over the years that makes my customers websites not only beautiful but also drives sales. Having beautiful design is useless if your customers are confused where to click or can’t find the information they are looking for.
Before discovering these strategies, my clients end up giving up on their websites and going back to social media to run their business. Social media is awesome for driving potential clients to your website but it is not the best for capturing a real paying customer. Think of social media as the sidewalk outside a crowded outdoor shopping mall and your website as your actual store. You want customers to actually come inside your store not just look through the window.
Tip #1 You do not need a link on your homepage to every page of your website.
When a potential customer lands on your homepage, you want to direct them where to go. You want to guide them to the button you want them to click on.
It is like they are shopping at IKEA following the arrows on the ground. They always lead you past all the beautiful room displays that spark your imagination and inspire you to buy. If you just went downstairs to all the racks of boxes first, you would be overwhelmed and not know which to choose. Chances are you would walk right back outside and not buy anything.
In website lingo… your clients would bounce. Want to learn more about bounce rate? Check out this article from one of my favorite Wordpress SEO plugins.
Tip #2 Make Purchasing Your Service or Product Simple
Once a customer decides to purchase your product or service, you can still lose them if your checkout process is too long and cumbersome.
I am a big fan of the one page checkout. They should be able to enter they personal and payment info and click 1-2 buttons and be done. I hate websites that make you enter redundant info or make you jump through twenty checkout pages before you actually get to buy. Chances are your customers will get cold feet way and walk away leaving your product or service in their shopping cart.
In this day and age, TIME is very valuable. Ease of doing business is very important. Make purchasing from you easy, fun and pain free.
*That is why I often recommend Squarespace vs Wordpress to my clients. The e-commerce solution is much more intuitive to use and does not take as much techi knowledge.
Tip #3 Give your customers a reason to give you their email.
You creating a beautiful Instagram picture that caused your dream client to watch your Instagram story. And from there, she clicked on your website intrigued. You have started a relationship with her. Now it is time to draw her in even more and offer her a free sample of your product or service. Hey, it works for Costco!
Don’t just ask them to sign up for your newsletter. Give them a reason to sign up!
Offer them a Freebie or special access to something they want. Here is an example (full disclusre I am affiliate of BluChic).
