Checking out your competition

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Are you giving your competitors your time and attention?

You should be.

I think it’s wise to know and understand what they offer. Not so you can copy it…or even surpass it. But so you can differentiate what sets YOU apart. How are YOU different? The difference doesn’t have to be a reinvention of the wheel, it can be as simple as…I do this process this way and it’s rocking my clients’ socks.

There’s also opportunity to learn. What do you admire about how they do it? Does it inspire you? Push you to up your game? These are all good things.

Side note…I hate the word competitors because I visualize pissy behaviour which rarely, if ever, is the case. At least in my industry. Everyone is just out there busting their butts to be their best at what they do and deliver a service or product that jacks them up.

My point is do it. Give them time and attention.

As much as networking with people in your community and future client pool benefits you, networking with those in your industry also has great value.

Just don’t let them in your heart. I think at some point that happens to all of us. You push the comparison in there when you’re feeling self-doubt or insecure and then you start weighing how you measure up…or don’t.

Stop that shit.

It’s destructive and can be paralyzing. Give it a few minutes if you have to and then MOVE ON.

Remind yourself, every damn day if you have to, what YOU offer. How YOU are different. Click To Tweet And most importantly, how YOU make your Clients feel. I guarantee every small business owner and entrepreneur is doing something unique that sets them apart.

Took me a while to get there, if I had questions, I asked a stranger online. Why? Intimidated. Scared to ask for help…even from my mentor sometimes. Being the new old lady on the block made me stay in my bubble for quite some time. Now I’m confident that I’m good at what I do for my Clients. We partner well. And getting to know others in my industry has provided me with opportunity for growth, some referrals, and some really sweet connections and resources.

You can’t beat that.

So give competitors your time and attention. It’s worth it.

 

Hey Partner

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I get that it’s hard to trust someone with  something as close to your heart as your business is.

Especially when you feel so grey as to how to direct them so they can possibly understand your message…your brand.

You’re not creative.
You have no idea what your website should look like.
All you really know is how you feel about what you do, what you offer, what you’ve got going on.

FRICKIN AWESOME!

I don’t see all those points as a strike against creating a site that sells you and that represents YOU. At all. So long as you know what your business looks like, how you want your potential clients to feel about it…that’s what we need.

Because that’s the heart and I so dig that. All I need is for you to tell me – NO SHAME – what you’d love your business to be. The why you started. It may not be there yet, that doesn’t matter. Build it and they will come? Ya, that. Click To Tweet

Don’t be intimated that you don’t have a clue about web design. You don’t have to. Just like I don’t need to be able to create your product or service. That’s what this whole deal is about.

Consider me a partner. In a total non-John-Wayne-kind-of-way.

I promise we’ll get there. I’ll ask you a million questions, some may make you uncomfortable, but we’ll get there.

wait…uncomfortable??! Forget it, I’m out!

Hold up. Uncomfortable almost always means growth and getting to where you want to be, so let's embrace it. Click To Tweet All I mean is that I’m going to ask you to really think about why you want a website. Things like this…

How do you want your potential client/customer to feel?

excited?

calm?

educated?

motivated?

What voice are you using?

professional?

personable?

funny?

dry as shit?  (<—we’re going to need to talk about that one)

Ok…so I’ll cut the awkward feel-y BS…just know that I get it. Starting is hard. Reaching out for help in your solo venture is hard.

I KNOW IT. 

But what have you got to lose, let’s do this partner 🙂

Contact Brenda

 

Veteran Voices of Canada

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Ok…I know I ALWAYS get giddy about my new projects. Cilantro & Chive…my first paying gig & a new restaurant!…Yummy Custom Cakes…because, HELLO, it’s cupcakes and I got to do pink website!…Certified Tax & Accounting because she let me go outside a boring old accounting website like every accounting firm has and be unique….Farion Acoustical Architecture Inc. because I was intrigued by his work…guy did a study on reducing the noise in hockey arenas when the puck hits the boards, who’d have thought people do this kind of work?…Work&Life/Balanced because it was a clean site (my favourite kind!) and Keri was the most easy going client EVER!…and my 4 other sites in the wings that I can’t talk about yet. Each exciting for totally different reasons.
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Website Maintenance

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Something to consider…

You’re ready! It’s time to get your business on the internet! Turns out people are only using the yellow pages as a step stool. You’re excited. You dive in, hire a web designer and it’s go time.

Site’s done. You pay. Part ways.

Now what?

Your site NEEDS upkeep. And not just writing a blog now and then. WordPress has regular updates, for the actual system and for any plugins you may have installed (such as newsletter sign ups, gallery slideshows, calendars, etc.) It’s as simple as clicking “Install Updates”. HOWEVER, sometimes when you run updates, some of your other add-ons don’t like it. Things need tweaking, re-installed, fixed.

When your designer offers to maintain and keep your site at the top of it’s game, consider it. Keep that relationship open. I’ve already talked to so many people who have lost touch of the person who created their site, and their site is a mess. Features not working and the site is becoming more and more unprofessional in appearance and functionality.

Consider updating your content on a regular basis as well…if not monthly, seasonally. Commit to 4 updates a year to start. Keeping your site fresh and updated puts your website dollars to the best use. Monthly or seasonal updates to your site will keep it from becoming stale and ineffective.

Website Maintenance…as important as brushing your teeth. Necessary monthly or at least quarterly 😛

Welcome!

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Here’s where the magic is going to happen. OK, not really. But I am excited to start blogging again! I was a hardcore, faithful, every day blogger about 5 years ago and then just petered out…I miss it. A LOT.

What am I going to blog about? Guess you’ll have to stay tuned in to see. (that’s my teaser, I actually have no idea either!)

Welcome to Unlimited BS! I look forward to all that is to come in this new venture, I’ve never felt so right about something and it only took me 38 years to figure this whole “what I want to be when I grow up” thing. Not bad.