Women's Council of Entrepreneurs (WCE) Articles

How to Be a Great Host for a Networking Event: Building Genuine Connections Among Women Entrepreneurs

Wed, 06 Nov 2024 12:30:00 GMT

Hosting a networking event for women entrepreneurs is a fantastic way to bring together driven individuals eager to connect, share insights, and build relationships that support business growth. Your role as the host is vital: you’re not just managing logistics; you’re setting the tone, fostering connections, and ensuring that each attendee feels valued and encouraged to engage. Here are some tips to help you be a great host for a networking event that strengthens connections and builds a solid foundation for referrals.

1. IT all starts before the event

Invite to Connect: Make sure you are inviting your target audience to your events, so that you can make those important connections for your business.

Building Trust: Using WCE events to reach out to potential connections is great way to build trust without needing to sell yourself or your business up front.

2.Create an Inviting Atmosphere

Warm Welcome: Start by greeting guests as they arrive, offering a warm, friendly welcome that sets a positive tone for the event. Creating an inviting space helps guests feel comfortable and ready to engage.

Ambiance Matters: Choose a location that’s comfortable and conducive to conversation

3. Facilitate Genuine Connections

Thoughtful Introductions: If you know some guests personally, make curated introductions to help women connect with others who share similar goals or interests.
Encourage Real Conversations: Instead of focusing solely on business pitches, encourage attendees to share more personal stories or experiences. This approach creates authentic connections and lets guests find common ground.

4. Start on Time and Be Mindful of Guests’ Time

Be Punctual: Begin promptly and stay on schedule to show respect for everyone’s time. A well-managed event reflects professionalism and consideration, which attendees will appreciate.
Balance Structure and Flow: Keep the event flowing smoothly, balancing structured discussions with opportunities for guests to interact naturally.

5. Dive Deep into the Monthly Topic for the Mastermind

Focus on Meaningful Discussion: Make sure to leave at least 15 minutes to dive deep into the monthly mastermind discussion. Use this opportunity to provide resources, facilitate group insights, and spark meaningful conversations. WCE's mastermind discussions are what distinguish us from other organizations.
Leverage WCE’s Resources: Provide resources and tools from WCE that are relevant to the topic. Encourage attendees to share insights, ask questions, and offer support to one another.

6. Save Time for Networking at the End of the Event

Get to Know Each Other First: Instead of starting with networking, save time for it at the end, after attendees have had a chance to connect more naturally during discussions. By this point, guests will feel more familiar with one another, making networking more relaxed and enjoyable.
Encourage Connections Before Leaving: Use this networking time to encourage guests to make final connections and exchange contact information.

7. End with a Call to Action

Encourage Follow-ups and Accountability: Before closing, give a clear call to action. Encourage attendees to connect with at least one person they met and continue the conversation.
Provide Takeaways: Summarize key points from the event, share actionable steps, or encourage guests to set goals for following up with each other. This helps make the event’s value tangible and memorable.

8. Remind Guests That You Are Available to Help

Extend YOUR Support: Before guests leave, remind them that you’re available to support their journey, whether through connections, resources, or advice. Offering your ongoing support reinforces your role in building a thriving community.
Follow Up Personally: After the event, send a follow-up message thanking everyone for attending and offering additional help if they need it. This final gesture shows your commitment to their growth.

By setting a positive, professional tone and fostering meaningful conversations, your networking event can create a space where women entrepreneurs feel inspired, supported, and genuinely connected. As a thoughtful host, you’re not just facilitating a networking event - you’re building a community where everyone can thrive.

Free Printable ~ March Social Media Post Ideas Guide

Mon, 21 Feb 2022 15:08:23 GMT

We are about a week away from February coming to an end. We hope that you are feeling stress free and on your A game as March quickly approaches. We know that time moves quickly and how that can add to the overwhelm of owning a business.

Because we know the stress of business ownership all too well every month WCE focuses on trying to help you with the task of social media by creating a Social Media Post Idea Guide. We know it can be difficult to think of, create, and then schedule posts for all your business’s social media platforms all while trying to run a successful business. Larger corporations have whole departments dedicated to marketing their business & products and you are expected to do it along with the rest of the duties in your business. WCE's Free Monthly Social Media Post Idea Guide helps relieve some of that stress! And we have the March edition of the Social Media Post Idea Guide ready for you to print!

Before you download the Post Idea Guide we suggest that when planning your day, week, or month on social media you start with a goal in mind. Do you have a topic you want to target, a certain product or service that is new or you’re having a special on? In March you have the theme of "new beginnings" with spring around the corner! Think about what you want to communicate to your audience and have that goal in mind when reading WCE’s Post Guide.

If you are new to our Social Media Post Idea Guide you can use it by following it day by day, you can pick or choose which posts work best for you and your business, or you can use these tips simply as a guide and come up with your own posts! Whichever way you use it, we want you to always BE YOU and show your value! We found it’s best with any of our ideas to put your own twist on it that can really showcase you and your business. Use your platform and posts to present to your audience your value and the value of your product and/or service. We have now also added to the guide a place where you can take your own notes or write some ideas you have. That way you have your January Social Media Post ideas in one place and it will be easier for you to reference.

With all that said you can download for FREE WCE’s March Social Media Post Idea Guide by clicking the button or the photo below!

March Social Media Post Idea Guide Free Printable

We hope that this streamlines your workflow, as well as, helps you get more interaction on your social media platforms. For more tips and free downloads please browse through our other Articles. You can also find all of WCE’s workshops and in-person networking events by clicking Upcoming Events. And in our Training Resources you can find even more tools that can help you grow as an entrepreneur.

If you are not subscriber to WCE's newsletter you need to ASAP! Our newsletters are filled with inspiration, resources, and free downloads that go straight to you inbox every week! Click the button below for more info.

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As always, we really hope this helps! If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us at connect@wearewce.com! And to opt-in for WCE's text to get up-to-date info on events, resources, and deals simply text WCE to 936-228-6391!

Free Printable ~ Press Release Planner and Template

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 02:18:22 GMT

Visibility for your business should be a majority priority. We make this statement because honestly you could have the greatest product or service, but if nobody knows about it you then your business is never going to reach its full potential. Being consistent on social media platforms, going to networking events, and being involved in your community are extremely important and some great ways to market your business. Another way to get more exposure for your business is to be covered by media sources. How do you get media coverage? The answer: Public Relations.

According to prsa.org “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” As we stated before getting involved in your community is a great way to market, it's also a great way to build a relationship with the public too. But, getting your story out beyond the community you can physically reach is key. You can do this by building your brand’s story and issuing it to news outlets through a press release.

Prowly.com states a press release “is a tool made to announce something that is newsworthy in the most objective way possible. The whole purpose of a press release is to get coverage and get noticed by a target audience.” Get coverage and noticed by your target audience?! Yes, please!! But, before you jump straight into writing your business’s story and sending it off to media outlets you need to get your ducks in a row.

Here at Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs we always try to make your life as a entrepreneur easier - we feel like we say that all the time - but it’s true! And this time is no different. We created a Press Release Planner and Template for you to download for free to organize yourself and your business before you put yourself and your business out into the crazy media world!

We will go over each page of the download so you can properly use it. But, first you can download it by clicking the button or image below:

Free Download of WCE's Press Release Planner

Now that you have it downloaded we can go through each page to give you a better understanding of how to executed these worksheets.

The first page is set to brainstorm and write several statements that define your business. These statements need to be your key messages that explain your business or the story (stories) of your business. Think about all aspects of your business and how you want the public to see it. Some things to think about ~ What does your business do? What problems does your business solve? What do you and your business stand for? Do you help any causes? What are some adversities that you or your business have gone through?

We give you space for 6 statements, but you can create more if you would like. You can use these statements as a starting point for all of your media story ideas. These statements are what you want the public to know about your business. Use them so your message stays consistent! But, remember as time goes on make sure you keep your stories fresh and up-to-date while still staying true to your mission.

Now onto The second Press Release Planner Page! This walks you through a set of questions that will help you outline your main story or idea that you want to submit to the media. So, pick one of your defining statements and go through the second worksheet answering the questions accordingly.

First you will need to know if the story needs to be released immediately or at a later date. Then we move on to the purpose of the press release. Is this an announcement of an event? A new business? A merger? A community impact story? Or are you inquiring for interview? Next, is the title. Oh, the title! The title let's just say is no easy feat! With your title (or headline) you want to make sure it catches the reader's attention and entices them to continue reading, but is concise and to the point. This is really no different than any other news articles you see on your social media or in newspapers or magazines. You may want to skip the title section until you get your whole story mapped out. It tends to be easier to write the summary of something you have already written. The Logical Entrepreneur has some great tips on writing your title.

How to Title Your Press Release

Next up… The Who, What, Why, When and Where! You want to outline What your story is about and what the main news hook would be. Which leads us to the Why. Why is this story important and why should the media cover it? The Who is ~ Who is involved in the story? And whom does the story affect? And lastly when and where does (or did) the story take place?

Lastly, on the Press Release Planner Worksheet you need to create your Boilerplate and Call to Action. A boilerplate is simply a one-paragraph description of your company and key business information that goes at the bottom of a press release. Your Call to Action is simply what you would like to be done next. Do you want them to interview you? Do you want them to ask for more information? What would you like from them?

For more help on your boilerplate you can use this template to write your main company description in just one sentence:

{Business name} creates {offering} to help {target audience} {solve a problem} with {distinguishing characteristic}.

Our next worksheet for you is the Press Release Template. This is fairly self explanatory. Just follow the template we give to structure your outline into a press release. After you have your press release drafted you will need to research potential media outlets to submit it to. We have also included a great worksheet that will organize the different potential media outlets by their name, website, contact person, date of submission and if you have followed up with this outlet, as well as, as section for further notes. And as a bonus we also added an additional worksheet with prompts that will help you evaluate your progress monthly.

We truly hope these worksheets help you structure your press release! For more tips and free downloads please browse through our other Articles or discover even more ways to become a better and more efficient business owner with WCE’s Resources and Training Programs.

And you won’t want to miss our upcoming virtual workshop on February 17th: Your Public Relation Strategy! Carrie Ward of Connexions Public Relations will walk you through the basics of a Public Relations program and provide you with an actionable plan to kick off your own PR campaign!

You can find this event and all of our other upcoming events under our Upcoming Events tab or you can click below!

UPCOMING EVENTS

If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at connect@wearewce.com!

Free Download ~ February 2022 Social Media Post Ideas Guide

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 16:40:20 GMT

We seem to say this every month, but we really can’t believe that this month is almost over already! We hope that you are still going strong with your New Year's business goals as we head into February. Like always, we at WCE want to make sure we help you stick to those goals so we have for you another social media post idea guide! We really believe this can help relieve some of the stress that goes into planning your social media content.

Before you download the Post Idea Guide we suggest that when planning your day, week, or month on social media you start with a goal in mind. Do you have a topic you want to target, a certain product or service that is new or you’re having a special on? Think about what you want to communicate to your audience and have that goal in mind when reading WCE’s Post Guide.

Remember you can use our Monthly Social Media Post Idea Guide by following day by day, you can pick or choose which posts work best for you and your business. Whichever way you use it, we want you to always BE YOU and show your value! We found it’s best with any of our ideas to put your own twist on it that can really showcase you and your business. Use your platform and posts to present to your audience your value and the value of your product and/or service. We have now also added to the guide a place where you can take your own notes or write some ideas you have. That way you have your February Social Media Post ideas in one place and it will be easier for you to reference.

With all that said you can download for FREE WCE’s February Social Media Post Idea Guide by clicking the button or the photo below!

Free Printable Download

We hope that this streamlines your workflow, as well as, helps you get more interaction on your social media platforms. For more tips and free downloads please browse through our other Articles. You can also find all of WCE’s workshops and in-person networking events by clicking —> Upcoming Events. In our Training Resources you can find even more tools that can help you grow as an entrepreneur.

Subscribe to WCE's Newsletter

Grow Your Business with the Marketing Rule of 7

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 15:32:19 GMT

Have you ever heard of the Rule of 7? If you’re in marketing you sure have! If not, the Rule of 7 is a “marketing principle that states that your prospects or clients need to see or come across your offer or business at least seven times before they really notice it and start to take action.”

So, that means your client isn’t even going to consider you until they have heard your name or seen something about you AT LEAST seven times!

What does this mean for you? It means you need to be creative and find ways to get yourself and your business name out there! Use the tools and resources that are available to you, be active and engage on social media. Expand your network and use new resources to help spread the word about you and your business. Don’t be scared to pay for advertising, it works! You want to make sure you are seen not just by people you know, but by a whole new audience. By using well established outlets on social media and other media publications you will be able to expand your marketing channel.

So, let’s go over what you should focus on to utilize the marketing rule of 7!

1. Know Your Ideal Client

I think this is a topic we talk a lot about here at WCE and that is because it is extremely important. You need to know that not everyone is going to be your customer. You have an ideal, target market and once you figure out what yours is we guarantee that your business will flourish. It seems silly to think if you narrow your market you will get MORE clients, but it’s true. If you narrow your focus to who REALLY wants your product or service you can speak to them more directly.

2. Be where Your Ideal Client spends time

Your business doesn’t need to be EVERYWHERE ~ you need to present where your ideal client spends there time (hence why it’s important to know who is your ideal client). Let’s say you sell custom phone cases and your ideal client are girls ages 14-20. You don’t want to waste too much time on Facebook….you’re ideal client doesn’t hang out on Facebook. Girls 14-20 are on TikTok. I can’t count the number of times my teenage daughter has sent me links to products she wants after seeing it on TikTok!

This isn’t limited to social media either. Other ideas to keep in mind when thinking of where to advertise is be local. Sponsor a youth sports team, get involved with a charity or an event ~ take advantage of multiple marketing channels.

3. Be Consistent!

No matter what marketing channels you choose make sure you are consistently active. Really when you think of the Rule of 7 it really is encouraging you to be consistent. Be vocal about your business. The more you post, the more you interact, the more you show up in person the more your business will be seen by more and more people.

4. Don’t be scared of paid ads

Take advantage of social media’s paid ads and boosts. They have it so you can set your ideal target market. That means your business post will end up on your ideal client’s newsfeed! Google ads work the same way. Someone searches something that is similar to your business, google will place your ad at the top of their search!

Paid ads aren’t just on social media. You can do the research and find out where your target market hangs out. If your target market are moms, try buying a banner on a mommy blog website or have them to do an influencer post. You can also use this with local opportunities as well. Check to see if there are local magazines or organizations that you can purchase ads or even do paid partnership. The possibilities are almost endless.

But make sure to…..

5. Know your Metrics!

Keep track of where your customers are coming from! You might think one channel is the best way to market yourself, but after looking at your analytics and insights you might find you’re wasting your time and money. When you get a new client ask them how they heard about you. Start collecting data so that you know where to be and you aren’t spreading yourself or your pocket book too thin.

Marketing is essential for a successful business and learning how to marketing your business in a strategic and smart was is key. Remember that being everywhere is not necessary, being where you target market can be reached is much more important. And the tips above are a great way to start in the right direction of finding new and better ways to reach your target market. WCE has other articles and training resources that can help you even further.

Check out our Marketing Plan Template.

The Full Version includes:

✔️ Marketing Summary Worksheet

✔️ Target Market Worksheet

✔️ Competitor Analysis Worksheet

✔️ Product Sales Plan Worksheet

✔️ Service Sales Plan Worksheet

✔️ Marketing Goals and Action Plan Worksheet

✔️ Sales Goals and Action Plan Worksheet

✔️ Possible Marketing Channels for your Business

✔️Marketing Budget Chart Worksheet

You can get it here:

https://www.wearewce.com/Sys/Store/Products/287273

The Free Version includes:

✔️ Marketing Summary Worksheet

✔️Target Market Worksheet

✔️Marketing Goals and Action Plan Worksheet

You can get it HERE!

We also have a great workshop on How to Create Effective Ads on Social Media Workshop HERE.

Another article that will help on is on How to Collaborate with Brands!

You can search our other Articles for other great tips and more free downloads too! You can find all of workshops and in-person networking events by clicking —> Upcoming Events. In our Training Resources you can find even more tools that can help you grow as an entrepreneur.

Subscribe to WCE's Newsletter

Free Download ~ Marketing & Sales Plan Worksheets

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 22:40:18 GMT

A Marketing Plan…… we all know we need one, but most of us don’t know where to start. Last week Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs shared on our Social Media pages about the elements of a Marketing Plan. We thought that was a great place to start. But, here at WCE we never just stick to the basics ~ we are always finding ways to really help you streamline your business and get all of your ducks in a row. So, we created WCE’s Marketing & Sales Plan Worksheet Packet!

Not only have we created this 9-page Marketing & Sales Plan Packet that will guide you through the key elements of marketing and help break down your products and services so that you can easily set up a marketing and sales plan. Which includes ~ a Marketing Summary, figuring out your Target Market, creating your Competitor Analysis, Creating a Product Sales Plan, Creating a Service Sales Plan, Creating your Marketing Goals and Action Plan, Creating your Sales Goals and Action Plan, Possible Marketing Channels for your Business, and a Marketing Budget Chart. But, for a limited time we made 3 of the pages absolutely FREE for Download!! You will get the Marketing Plan Summary, the Target Market Worksheet, and Creating your Marketing Goals and Action Plan Worksheets FOR FREE.

You can download the free marketing worksheets from the packets by clicking the button or the image below!

WCE Marketing Plan Worksheets ~ Free Version

We do think it’s important to go over the Elements of a Marketing Plan and really dissect some of the worksheets we have included in this packet. The first step of a Marketing plan is…

1. Know your Target Market

What does this mean? It means know your audience! In your marketing plan describe your target audience. Be aware of your target market's size, demographics, and any trends that will affect the demand of your business. On our Target Market worksheet we have you dive deep into your target market. What is the age range, gender, employment status, education background, where do they live? Not sure who would be your target market? One way to figure it out is look to your competitors. Study who their customers are or see who follows them on social media. Start to break down who your products or services appeals to.

Within our Target Market Worksheet we also have you figure out your target market size which is your Total Available Market. If your target market is women ages 35-65 that live in an urban community, own a home, and are college or trade school educated you will have to research how many women with those demographics are in your target area.

Here is an article by The Pipeline on ways to find your Total Available Market

Finding your TAM by The Pipeline

Once you have your Target Market Size or your TAM you then need to document the number of customers you currently have. With your target market size and your current customer numbers you will be able to calculate your penetration rate so that you know how many of your potential market you are actually reaching! This is important to know so that when you are creating your marketing and sales goals you know the potential growth of your customer reach, as well as, your business.

Second element of a Marketing Plan…

2. Competitive Advantage

What is your Competitive Advantage? What sets you apart? Think of your competitors and start to think about what makes things you stand out from them and use these things to promote yourself. In our Competitive Analysis worksheet we help break these idea down and see where you and competition stand.

3. Create your Sales Plan

Write down how you are going to sell your product or service. Will it be through retail, online, or wholesaling your products? Know how many steps it will take your customer to purchase from you. In WCE’s Marketing & Sales Plan Packet we include 2 worksheets for the sales plan ~ one for products and one for services. We have you think through your products and services and really dissect what goes into them and how to market them properly. You need to look at your business from the outside-in so you can properly explain what you do and what you offer to someone that has never heard of you.

The fourth element of a Marketing Plan…

4. Describe your Marketing and Sales Goals

Create the marketing and sales goals for this year. Do you want to double your clientele? Do you want to triple your revenue? Do you want more email subscribers? Do you want to join a networking group? These are goals. Remember to think big, but also be realistic!!

5. Create a Marketing Action Plan

Make the action plan to hit those goals you just made. A goal without a plan is just a dream! List marketing channels you can use (online advertising, networking, etc). Plan out promotions and pricing that you will implement throughout the year.

With WCE’s Marketing & Sales Plan Packet we in way combined elements 4 and 5! We created a Marketing Goal & Action Plan Worksheet that will help you narrow down your marketing goals and categorize them into different Marketing Channels and then into the Action Steps to execute your goal. The best part?! This is one of the FREE worksheets you can download above! Yay!

Not sure what Marketing Channels you could use?! Here are a few to start some brainstorming:

Local marketing ~ Get involved in your community! Sponsor local youth sports teams, support a charity or event, get a speaking engagement, or even join a local networking group.

Influencer marketing ~ Find an influencer of your target market to promote your business. Influencer Marketing is usually done with an article or post written about your business or product or even a product review.

Email marketing ~ Use your email list to market your upcoming promotions. You can also partner with other businesses or influencers to be featured in their newsletters!

Display Ads ~ Buying ads or banners on websites that have high traffic volume of your target market.

These are just a few, we give even more ideas in our full version of the Marketing & Sales Plan Packet.

Also, in our Full version Marketing & Sales Plan Packet is the Sales Goals and Action Plan Worksheet. This worksheet is similar to the Marketing Goals and Action Plan Worksheet, but it helps you draw up a plan for all your SALES goals for the year.

Now, the last element of a Marketing Plan is…

6. Know Your Budget!

This one is important because if you mismanage your money you could find yourself out of business quickly! Calculate how much your marketing plan will cost. Research the cost of your ideas and know if they are possible. If you are over budget ~ reconfigure your goals as needed.

In our Full version Marketing & Sales Plan Packet you will get a Marketing Budget Chart to fill out so you stay financially on track!!

We really hope the free worksheets help you kickstart your Marketing Plan. If you are interested in the full version Marketing & Sales Plan Packet you can purchase it by clicking the button or the image below.

WCE's Marketing & Sales Plan Packet ~ Full Version

For Basic, Bronze, and Gold WCE Members the Full version Marketing & Sales Plan Packet is only $5! For non-members, it is $15.

Platinum Members it is FREE!! Platinum members, to download the Packet make sure you are logged in and go here:

Platinum Member Free Download

As a WCE Platinum Member you can get this, other full downloads, and ALL of our workshops for free! You can find out more about WCE Platinum membership benefits here:

Membership Benefits

Remember that WCE is always here for you ~ for more tips and free downloads please browse through our other Articles.

And you won’t want to miss any of our upcoming virtual workshops or our in-person events! You can find those under our Upcoming Events tab or you can click below!

Upcoming Events

If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at connect@wearewce.com!

Free Printable ~ January Social Media Post Ideas Guide

Thu, 16 Dec 2021 16:50:53 GMT

We only have days left of 2021 and we honestly can't believe it. We know we say that pretty much every month, but it's true! Time moves quickly and we know how that can add to the overwhelm of owning a business.

Every month we focus on trying to help you with the task of social media by creating a Social Media Post Idea Guide. We know it can be difficult to think of, create, and then schedule posts for all your business’s social media platforms all while trying to run a successful business. Larger corporations have whole departments dedicated to marketing their business & products and you are expected to do it along with the rest of the duties in your business. WCE's Free Monthly Social Media Post Idea Guide helps relieve some of that stress! And we have the January edition of the Social Media Post Idea Guide ready for you to print!

Before you download the Post Idea Guide we suggest that when planning your day, week, or month on social media you start with a goal in mind. Do you have a topic you want to target, a certain product or service that is new or you’re having a special on? January can be an easy one when thinking of this because you can use the theme of starting new goals or resolutions! So, think about what you want to communicate to your audience and have that goal in mind when reading WCE’s Post Guide.

Now, you can use our Monthly Social Media Post Idea Guide by following day by day, you can pick or choose which posts work best for you and your business, or you can use these tips simply as a guide and come up with your own posts! Whichever way you use it, we want you to always BE YOU and show your value! We found it’s best with any of our ideas to put your own twist on it that can really showcase you and your business. Use your platform and posts to present to your audience your value and the value of your product and/or service. We have now also added to the guide a place where you can take your own notes or write some ideas you have. That way you have your January Social Media Post ideas in one place and it will be easier for you to reference.

With all that said you can download for FREE WCE’s January Social Media Post Idea Guide by clicking the button or the photo below!

January Social Media Post Idea Guide Free Printable

We hope this helps and remember that WCE is always here to help! For more tips and free downloads please browse through our other Articles. You can also become a FREE member of WCE and get access to our hidden Member resource page that is full of INSTANT and free downloads, other great resources that will help you run your business, and get up-to-date information on our upcoming events! To join for free or to take look at our premium memberships go to the Membership tab here on our website or click below:

JOIN WCE FOR FREE!

And make sure to save the date for our upcoming 2022 virtual workshops, any of our in-person events throughout Texas, or our Inspirational Series Event in May! You can find those under our Upcoming Events tab or you can click below.

UPCOMING EVENTS

If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at connect@wearewce.com!

How to Collaborate with Brands with Brittni Schroeder

Fri, 10 Dec 2021 18:28:01 GMT

When focusing on your marketing do you ever wonder what you can do to get more eyes on your business? Have you ever considered collaborating with other business owners? Here at Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs we are a huge proponent of businesses working together and collaborating with one another to help propel each other’s businesses.

We started to write our blog on the tips for you to find a complementary businesses to collaborate with but then we saw that one of our experts, Brittni Schroeder, had already given a perfect step by step blog post about this very thing!

Brittni has been a three time speaker for WCE and we just are in awe of her wisdom and passion. She is a Marketing Strategist and Business Coach for entrepreneurs. She helps entrepreneurs create systems, automate their businesses, and scale. Brittni worked as a High School Senior Photographer for over 10 years. She also owned and operated Mozi Magazine up until 2017. Her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Good Morning America and several publications. She has worked in the non-profit sector for over 10 years AND recently founded her own non-profit called The Compassion Club after she lost her oldest son to a tragic accident.

Brittni offers so many ways to help entrepreneurs. With first hand experience in her workshops with WCE and her personal workshops we can say that she has helped us immensely in growing our business. You can find the workshops she done with WCE in our Training Resources. She also offers coaching, workshops, website training, and most importantly her Redefine Business Academy. Honestly if you are looking to level up your business in the new year look no further than Brittni’s Academy. It is a step-by-step business training program that teach you the essential tools, gives you the foundation to build a brand that is successful, and that will get people talking about your business!

In her article about Collaborative Marketing Brittni goes over what collaborative marketing is, how it works, the pros and cons of collaborating with other brands, how to get started, and what collaborative content marketing is. Collaborating with other brands really is a great way to market on a budget since you are combining your efforts and resources with other business owners. You can read the full article from Brittni by clicking the button or the image below.

How to Collaborate with Brands

You can learn also learn more about her Redefine Business Academy by clicking the button or image below

Redefine Business Academy

As always, we hope these tips and suggestions help you become the best entrepreneur you can be! For more tips, as well as, free downloads please browse through our other Articles. You can also become a FREE member of WCE and get access to our hidden Member resource page that is full of INSTANT and free downloads, other great resources that will help you run your business, and get up-to-date information on our upcoming events! To join for free or to take look at our premium memberships go to the Membership tab here on our website or click below:

WCE Membership

If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at connect@wearewce.com!

Free Download ~ December Social Media Post Idea Guide 2021

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 17:42:51 GMT

We can not believe that we have less than 2 days of November left!! With the Holidays in full swing we know that you are going to have less and less time to get the extra work done for your business!

WCE loves to find ways to relieve some of the tasks that come with owning your own business. And as most of you know each month we tackle the dreaded social media posts for your business! We know it can be difficult and not to mention time consuming to think of, create, and then schedule posts for all your business’s social media platforms. That is where Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs’ Free Monthly Social Media Post Idea Guide comes in to help relieve some of that stress! The December edition of the Social Media Post Idea Guide hot off the presses!

Before you start scheduling your the posts of of WCE’s post idea guide we suggest that when planning your day, week, or month on social media you start with a goal in mind. Do you have a topic you want to target, a certain product or service that is new or you’re having a special on? December is an easy one when thinking of this because you can use the theme of being the holidays by focusing on all the sales or deals you have for Holiday shopping or it can be about setting new goals as the end of the year approaches. Think about what you want to communicate to your audience and have that goal in mind when reading WCE’s Post Guide.

Now, as we have stated in the other monthly post guides ~ you can use our Monthly Social Media Post Idea Guide by following day by day, you can pick or choose which posts work best for you and your business, or you can use these tips simply as a guide and come up with your own posts! Whichever way you use it, we want you to always BE YOU and show your value! We found it’s best with any of our ideas to put your own twist on it that can really showcase you and your business. Use your platform and posts to present to your audience your value and the value of your product and/or service.

With all that said you can download for FREE WCE’s December Social Media Post Idea Guide by clicking the button or the photo below!

Free Download

JOIN WCE FOR FREE!

And check out our all of Upcoming Events and in our Training Resources for more tools that can help you grow as an entrepreneur.

If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at connect@wearewce.com!

Daily Gratitude in 5 Minutes a Day!

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 11:52:33 GMT

With Thanksgiving so close we always tend to start thinking about gratitude. We feel that focusing on what you are thankful at the beginning of each day it helps you project a positive mindset throughout the rest of the day. And you might be thinking ~ what does this have to do with being entrepreneur?! As an entrepreneur we can let our own thoughts get in the way of our goals, we over think things, we focus on others successes instead of our own, and we can let negative thoughts rule our day.

Here at WCE we have created a Gratitude Worksheet Bundle that is an exercise you can do each day to help you create a more positive mindset. And the best part ~ it's FREE to Download! Yay!

There are 2 steps to the daily the gratitude worksheet. The first worksheet (Daily Gratitude) will be the one you fill out in the morning. You will answer all of the prompts to get your mind focused on the positive and what you are thankful for! You will also think of what you will want to accomplish that day. Remember, always be realistic or you will just let yourself down and demotivate yourself.

The second worksheet is your Gratitude Reflection and will be completed in the evening after your day is over. You will reflect on the day, how you handled stresses, and what you can look forward to tomorrow. These worksheets should take you about 5 minutes each to reflect on and fill out!

We also have a bonus worksheet ~ we know a BONUS worksheet in a FREE bundle?! WCE is in the giving mood!

The bonus worksheet is a Monthly Worksheet that you will return to throughout the month. You will take note of the little things that brought you joy throughout the month, who or what you are grateful for each day, and what were things that made you proud throughout the month. Treat it like a documentation of the little things in life ~ the ones we tend to forget about when we are having a bad day.

Now that we have walked you through what you can expect with these worksheets it's time for you download the bundle! You can do so by clicking the button or the image below!

Free Download

Gratitude in life is so important and we hope that you find this download helpful. Here at WCE we are always here to help! For more tips and free downloads please browse through our other Articles. You can also become a FREE member of WCE and get access to our hidden Member resource page that is full of INSTANT and free downloads, other great resources that will help you run your business, and get up-to-date information on our upcoming events! To join for free or to take look at our premium memberships go to the Membership tab here on our website or click below:

JOIN WCE FOR FREE!

And you won’t want to miss any of our training resources and discover ways to make yourself a better and more efficient business owner!

Training Resources

If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at connect@wearewce.com!

6 Ways to Prepare Your Business for the 2021 Holiday Shopping Season

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 18:41:52 GMT

The holidays are right around the corner and holiday shopping is in full swing for most! According to Deloitte’s annual holiday retail forecast the 2021 holiday shopping season is predicted to "increase by 7-9% with holiday sales reaching $1.28 to $1.3 trillion during the November to January timeframe".

With those numbers we want to make sure your business is ready for the holiday crowds and rush. We found a great list created by the amazon pay team. They point out 6 ways you can prepare your business for this crazy holiday shopping season.

The 6 tips to get your business prepared for the holiday shopping season are:

Increase your digital presence
Get ahead with social media posts
Join a holiday gift guide
Make sure you offer a gift card
Be ready for more capacity
Keep your and your customers’ info safe

You can read the full Amazon Pay article HERE.

These may seem like too much to do in the little time you have left ~ but there is still time for most of these! We suggest with your social media posts keep it simple! You can keep it to just posting about your sales and new arrivals each week. Something is better than nothing. Schedule it out beforehand and if you have more time you can fluff later! Here at WCE we have monthly social media post idea guides that can help you streamline this task. Click HERE for November's Guide. December's guide will be coming out at the end of November so keep your eye for it! We also have amazing social media managers in ShopaSmallBusiness.com that can you help you with this as well!

Another suggestion we have to help break this list down is the digital presence and the gift cards. You want to make sure your customers can find you online. If don't already have an online shop or a way to take payments online you need to look into that ASAP. "Deloitte also forecasts that e-commerce sales will grow by 11-15%, year-over-year, during the 2021-2022 holiday season. This will likely result in e-commerce holiday sales reaching between $210 billion and $218 billion this season." That means YOUR BUSINESS needs to be online. If you can't get your business converted to an online presence this year try to make eGift Cards available to your online customers. This will open up your market and help out of town customers buy your intown customers gifts from you.

A few places that offer egift card options that you can look into:

There are other options available too, but we really think adding egift cards would be a great addition to your business for the 2021 holiday season.

And lastly, we loved Amazon Pay's suggestion of getting on a Holiday Gift Guide List. Here are WCE and ShopaSmallBusiness.com we are doing weekly gift guide lists that each targets different topics. Click the button below to read the Holiday Gift Guides we have published so far.

ShopaSmallBusiness.com Holiday Gift Guides

The best part of our gift guides is that they are all Small Businesses! Yay! WCE & ShopaSmallBusiness.com members are the only ones that are included on the lists. For more information about joining Women's Council of Entrepreneurs and ShopaSmallBusiness.com click the button below.

More about WCE

As always, we hope this helps. Search our other articles for great tips and some free downloads too! And check out our all of Upcoming Events and in our Training Resources for more tools that can help you grow as an entrepreneur.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us at connect@wearewce.com! And to opt-in for WCE's text to get up-to-date info on events, resources, and deals simply text WCE to 936-228-6391!

Free Download ~ November Social Media Post Idea Guide 2021

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 17:41:30 GMT

We are heading into the final stretch of 2021 and we can’t believe it!! As we all know the craziness of the holidays are upon us and we know that the tasks of your business can become overwhelming to say the least.

Here at WCE we love to find ways to relieve some of the tasks that come with owning your own business. Each month we tackle the dreaded social media posts for your business! We know it can be difficult and oh so so time consuming to think of, create, and then schedule posts for all your business’s social media platforms. WCE has come up with a Free Monthly Social Media Post Idea Guide to help relieve some of that stress! And we have the November edition of the Social Media Post Idea Guide hot off the presses!

Before you download the Post Idea Guide we suggest that when planning your day, week, or month on social media you start with a goal in mind. Do you have a topic you want to target, a certain product or service that is new or you’re having a special on? November can be an easy one when thinking of this because you can use the theme of being thankful or focus on all the sales or deals you have for Holiday shopping. So, think about what you want to communicate to your audience and have that goal in mind when reading WCE’s Post Guide.

With all that said you can download for FREE WCE’s November Social Media Post Idea Guide by clicking the button or the photo below!

Free Download

JOIN WCE FOR FREE!

And you won’t want to miss our last upcoming virtual workshops on How to Use Pinterest to Increase Your Sales or our any of our in-person events throughout Texas! You can find those under our Upcoming Events tab or you can click below!

UPCOMING EVENTS

If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at connect@wearewce.com!

Why a Business Plan is Important and How to Get Started

Mon, 04 Oct 2021 19:08:33 GMT

Here at Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs we have found both through our experts and through trial and error of our own that planning is one of the most important things you can do when owning your own business. If you do something last minute or on a whim it may work out, but it will never be as successful as it could have been if you planned it out.

This goes for almost everything (if not everything in business). Whether it’s planning your marketing strategy, your social media posts, you email marketing, your texts, the sales you’re running for the month or year, your finances, your retirement…. the list goes on and on.

~ Planning is key ~

WCE is always coming up with ways to make that planning go more smoothly with our downloads. We have our Monthly Social Media Plan Outline, Create Copy for Your ADs Worksheet, Social Media Content Weekly Planner, Create Your Elevator Pitch Worksheet, Video Content Marketing Checklist, Finance Tracker Worksheet, Social Media Clean-Up Checklist, Startup Cost Worksheet, Setting Goals Worksheet, and so many more ~ You the rest in our other Articles!

But, we even with all of those knew we had forgotten something really important. Something that should really be done before you even start your business ~ but can be done (or altered) at anytime in entrepreneurial journey ~ YOUR BUSINESS PLAN!

The SBA gives a great breakdown on why business plans are important in their article 5 Reasons You Need a Business Plan.

They state the 5 main reasons to write a business are:

It will help you steer your business as you start and grow
It’s not as hard as you think
It will help you to reach business milestones
It can help you get funding
There’s no wrong way to write a business plan

We couldn’t agree more about the importance of a business plan. Not only do you need a business plan to know what goals you need to achieve, but if you want any funding to kickstart your business no investor or bank will even look your way without a business plan. Writing a business plan seems like a scary and very overwhelming thing to start, but with the right guidance it really isn't. Having your plan paves the way for your business' future which will bring you peace of mind and organization within your business.

With all that said we realized we didn’t have anything for our WCE members and visitors to use to help them with their business plan! So, we knew we had to do a Virtual Workshop on it. On October 14, 2021 Dawn Miller will teach you how to create a simple, one-page plan for achieving success in business!

Dawn will walk you through how to create a plan that is guaranteed to accomplish one goal with simple, effective strategies that offers success in business, life, and more. This one page plan will help you achieve any goal by implementing up to 3 initiatives with up to five actionable strategies. She will go over the framework for a simple, one page plan that will help you launching your next product, service, event, and even provide a roadmap for a one-year business plan. She'll offer over a dozen prospecting and marketing ideas that you can implement immediately.

Make sure to sign up for that ASAP so you don’t miss out on her FREE business plan worksheet and workbook that she will be using a guide during her workshop.

Workshop Sign Up

And make sure to download all the WCE free downloads we have listed above. You can also become a FREE member of WCE and get access to our hidden Member resource page that is full of INSTANT and free downloads, other great resources that will help you run your business, and get up-to-date information on our upcoming events! To join for free or to take look at our premium memberships go to the Membership tab here on our website or click below:

Become a WCE Membership

And remember WCE always has your back! If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact us at connect@wearewce.com!

Free Download ~ October Social Media Post Ideas Guide

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 15:36:34 GMT

We say this pretty much every month, but it still stands true ~ time moves so quickly! And with October starting THIS Friday we believe our statement is more true than ever. We can not believe it is already time to give you Women's Council of Entrepreneurs October's Social Media Post Idea Guide!! As most of you know, WCE is always trying to find ways to take tasks off your list as much as we can and one of the ways we do that is with our Social Media Post Idea Guide.

For the readers that are new to Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs ~ our Monthly Social Media Post Idea Guide is a list of social media posts that are complementary to each day of the month. There are ideas to promote yourself, your business, and ideas to create interaction on your page. We also include important or fun holidays of the Month ~ like National Chocolate Day! You can follow our guide day by day, you can pick or choose which posts work best for you and your business, or you can use these tips as a starting off point and come up with your own posts! Anyway you use this guide we hope that this streamlines your workflow, as well as, helps you get more interaction on your social media platforms.

Our Social Media Post Idea Guide is easy to follow and is a simple one page guide. You can download for FREE by click the button or the image below!

Free Download

JOIN WCE FOR FREE!

And you won’t want to miss any of our upcoming virtual workshops or our in-person events! You can find those under our Upcoming Events tab or you can click below!

UPCOMING EVENTS

If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at connect@wearewce.com!

Meet the Woman Behind Galan Graphix

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 15:15:28 GMT

Women's Council of Entrepreneurs had the honor of interviewing the woman behind Galan Graphix, Myrna Galan. Learn all about Myrna, the setbacks she faced at a young age, what she is most proud of, and how making the decision to start her own business was the best thing she has ever done.

Tell us a little bit about your business and what you do

I'm a Graphic Designer, I create graphics for businesses to promote their services or products. I design a polished, professional brand for Business Owners. We provide client-focused design solutions to clients all over the country. We focus on creating concepts tailored to each client. Our ultimate goal is to produce results, turn client ideas into reality, and build long-term relationships.

How or why did you decide to start your own business?

I started my own business on March 26, 2009. It was the day I quit my job. There had been an issue over a project ad I was yelled at for something that was out of my control. I decided I didn’t have to put up with that type of behavior and I quit! I never looked back, the best decision of my life.

Tell us about you- the business owner/owners so we can get to know you personally

I’m a native Texan, born and raised in Houston, I now live in San Antonio with my husband. I have always loved to draw and create and it translated to commercial art (graphic design). I still love what I do after almost 28 years. I still get excited to see a project I designed or a logo I design on a sign as I drive around the city. I have 2 adult step sons and a granddaughter and 4 cats.

Why did you choose this business or industry?

I have been drawing since pre-school days and I learned about Graphic Design in high school. I was almost a beautician and I ended up needing an elective credit to graduate high school and ART fell back in my lap. Changed my whole life career.

Did you have any major setbacks or obstacles getting started?

When I graduated from high school, I remember telling my parents that I wanted to go to college. They told me that they had not saved any money for me or my sister to go to college. I was devastated because I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I spoke to the people at the Art Institute of Houston and they told me about grants and scholarships available for minorities. I applied to anything and everything! I got several grants and scholarships and had very little debt when I graduated. I always tell everyone “where there is a will, there is a way!”

What differentiates your business from your competition?

Galan Graphix is a design firm that prides ourselves on value, quality, and execution. We provide each client large design firm quality work.

What are you most proud of about your business?

I have been in business, full-time, for over 12 years. I’m proud of that because it is a struggle and I have survived longer than the statistics said I would. I’m stubborn and refuse to give up!

How has your industry changed in the last few months and how do you see it changing in the future (or will it)?

For my business, I had a lot of clients only needing digital graphics to promote online courses or e-book. This past month I had a lot more projects for print.

Galan Graphix prices vary, depending on what the Client needs. The scope of work is different for every business and Myrna focuses on creating concepts tailored to each client. At Galan Graphix their ultimate goal is to produce results, turn client ideas into reality, and build long-term relationships. Please connect with Myrna and see all the wonderful things she can do for you and your business!

Website: www.GalanGraphix.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/GalanGraphix

Instagram: www.instagram.com/galangraphix

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/galan-graphix-llc

If you would like to share about your business with WCE please contact us at connect@wearewce.com

How to Grow Your Audience With Landing Pages

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 13:15:18 GMT

We have said it before and we will say it again ~ we LOVE social media it is an amazing (and mostly free) way to be seen by new customers and clients and a great way to get info about your business out to the public. Buuuttt, what we don’t love is that we don’t own our social media accounts. We don’t have full control over who sees our posts or if our social media accounts will even be there tomorrow! You’ve heard the horror stories of business accounts being hacked, then frozen and then the owners are locked out FOREVER! That means all of your contacts are GONE because you don’t have those followers information.

What we have learned along our on-going entrepreneurial journey is that you need to find a way to pull those followers you have on social media into your email list so that you can talk to them directly. You will gain a piece of mind that if you lose your social media accounts you have your email list to continue to talk to your customers/clients and you won’t have to start from scratch if you ever have to rebuild your social media accounts.

So, the question is how do you capture people’s emails?!

One of the ways we do it is with a landing page!

You might be asking yourself ~ Landing page?! What in the world are you talking about and what is a landing page?!

According to Unbounce, “a landing page is a standalone web page, created specifically for the purposes of a marketing or advertising campaign.”

On a landing page you will give your potential clients/customers a little taste of what you can offer them. A landing page is not a full website, because landing pages have a specific call to action ~ for you it will be for the visitor to subscribe to your email newsletter.

There a lot of benefits of a landing page, but the top three to us are:

You Grow Your Email List

This one is obvious and we talked about the benefits of this above. You need to collect your followers on social media contacts so you don’t risk losing them.

2. You Can Learn More About Your Target Market

With ConvertKit you can add questions on the submission form to find about more about the person signing up for your newsletter! You can ask them how they heard about you or what they hope to learn from you or get out of your newsletter. You can ask your target market what they need!

3. It’s a direct way to Communicate with your clients or customers

An email list you are not yelling into the social media echo chamber and hoping people see it on their newsfeed. An email newsletter goes directly to your target market’s inbox.

Now the question is what is the best way to convince someone to give their email?

If you haven’t noticed we love giving out free content here at WCE! And when we found out about landing pages being used to grow our email list, we knew it would be a great way to get our free downloads to even more people! We use our free downloads on our landing pages ~ If you submit your email you are able to get the free download AND you will get ALL of WCE’s future free download directly to your inbox!

So, our suggestion is to give something to your potential client that makes their life easier. It can be a worksheet, a template, a checklist! Anything that goes with your expertise, that is a benefit to your potential client/customer, and shows them that you’re an expert in your field. You want your free download to be an example of what they will be getting in your newsletters. So you need to make it worth it!

A pro tip: A great place to make worksheets and free printables is Canva. They have a free option too!

Try Canva For Free

Now onto “where do I begin with building a landing page”?!

There are lots of places you can start and we have tried plenty of them! But, recently we found CovertKit and we are in love so far!!! The landing pages are beautiful and easy to edit.

Click on the button or image to see the one that we made for our Monthly Social Media Plan Outline Download ~ go ahead and sign up for our newsletter while you’re there too! ;P

WCE's Landing Page

Not only are the ConvertKit landing pages beautiful and easy to navigate we love that it sends an “incentive email” instead of directly signing the person up. Why do we think this is great, you might ask?! We think it is great because we know that the if the person goes to their email and confirms subscription then they ACTUALLY want to be a part of our group and newsletter. It also shows you that they probably didn’t just throw you a spam email. So, we love this extra step!

ConvertKit also has a great report section for each of your landing pages, as well as, a subscribers section where you can see all the emails that were sent, the click rate and your conversion rate. You can also manually add subscribers that you have from somewhere else. You then can use ConvertKit to send out your newsletter or what they can “Broadcasts”.

We could go on and on, but….

We suggest you sign up for free….oh yeah! We forgot to mention that this is free for up to 1,000 subscribers! So, again we suggest you sign up and browse around to see if you love it as much as we do.

Try ConvertKit for FREE

And here is a great video on how to make a landing page and some key more feature ConvertKit has:

ConvertKit Tutorial

We really hope this helps! Search our other articles for great tips and some free downloads too! And check out our all of Upcoming Events & and in our Training Resources for more tools that can help you grow as an entrepreneur. If you are not a WCE member already you need to today! We have a free membership level, as well as, premium levels that give you access to ALL WCE content for FREE! Click the button below for more info.

Join the WCE Community

Meet the Woman Behind Bostic’s Consulting

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 13:03:32 GMT

Women's Council of Entrepreneurs had the privilege of interviewing the woman behind Bostic’s Consulting, Latricia Bostic! Continue reading to learn more about Latricia, how her knowledge of Human Resources led her to create her own business, and her advice about starting a business for yourself.

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS AND WHAT YOU DO:

Bostic’s Consulting, LLC is a SHRM and Lean Six Sigma Certified Human Resources Consulting company that provides full human resources assistance to small business owners. We specialize in hr audits for compliance, pre-employment services, recruitment services, management training, general hr guidance.

HOW OR WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS?

I decided to start my own company because I heard that companies were afraid to approach HR because they thought HR hires and fires within an organization. In some cases this is only true if the team/or individual reports directly to HR. HR has a stigma about how they come across as being one-sided. This very statement was the reason why I started Bostic's Consulting to help clients and team get moving in a better direction for overall team and company success.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY?

I have been in HR for almost 20 years. I enjoy working with clients, business owners, leaders and team members to help them to become the best version of what success in an organization should look like.

DID YOU HAVE ANY MAJOR SETBACKS OR OBSTACLES GETTING STARTED?

Bostic's Consulting experienced a few setbacks, because the owner was still a part of corporate America and it was stunting the growth of the business. When the opportunity came for me to make the decision to either stay in corporate or run a full time business, I chose to run the business full time.

WHAT DIFFERENTIATES YOUR BUSINESS FROM YOUR COMPETITION?

We communicate and be very transparent with all of our clients. We make necessary recommendations in order for them to run a successful business operations. Our clients take pride in us knowing that we have their best interest.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS?

I am proud that Bostic's Consulting has gained the respect and trust from our clients. By doing so we had the opportunity to expand to the New Orleans area this year.

WHAT WOULD YOUR ADVICE BE TO OTHER WOMEN WHO WANT TO START THEIR OWN BUSINESS?

Is to go for it, it may seem scary in the beginning, but once you have started your own business, you will have a liberated feeling of I did this and I am so happy that I did.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE BEST INVESTMENT YOU'VE MADE FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

Is hiring a team that is very knowledgeable, in order to accommodate the business needs and growth.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR BUSINESS IN 5 YEARS?

I see Bostic's Consulting growing and growing all across the United States.

Bostic’s Consulting not only can help you and your business with all your HR needs from employee contracts handbooks, standardized hiring processes, performance management processes, pay and benefits strategies, onsite leadership coaching & training to retention strategies. They can also help with individual needs, such as, resume & cover letter writing, interview training, and LinkedIn Optimization.

To connect with Latricia at Bostic’s Consulting please visit any of following links today!

Website: www.bosticsconsulting.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bosticsconsulting

Instagram: www.instagram.com/bosticsconsulting

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/bostic-s-consulting

Email: bosticonsulting@gmail.com

Phone: (832) 241-7800

Free Download ~ September Social Media Post Ideas Guide

Mon, 30 Aug 2021 16:33:14 GMT

It is the final day of August, summer has come to an end for most and we have all fallen back into the fall routines. With the craziness of back to school for some and the holidays just around the corner we know that the tasks of your business can become overwhelming.

At WCE we can't do all the work for you, but we do find ways to relieve some of the mundane tasks that come with owning your own business. Each month we tackle the dreaded social media posts for your business! It can be so hard and so time consuming to think of, create and then schedule posts for all your business’s social media platforms. And although Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs can’t do all of that for you (we wish we could) we did come up with a Monthly Social Media Post Idea Guide! And we have the September edition of the Social Media Post Idea Guide hot off the presses!

Before you download the Post Idea Guide we suggest that when planning your day, week, or month on social media you start with a goal in mind. Do you have a topic you want to target, a certain product or service that is new or you’re having a special on? Think about what you want to communicate to your audience and have that goal in mind when reading WCE’s Post Guide.

With all that said you can download for FREE WCE’s September Social Media Post Idea Guide by clicking the button or the photo below!

FREE DOWNLOAD

JOIN WCE FOR FREE!

And you won’t want to miss any of our upcoming virtual workshops or our in-person events! You can find those under our Upcoming Events tab or you can click below!

UPCOMING EVENTS

If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at connect@wearewce.com!

Free Download ~ Monthly Social Media Plan Outline

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 12:09:58 GMT

As we say almost every week here at WCE our mission is to help entrepreneurs. We are always trying to find ways to lighten your workload because we know the immense load you carry daily. One of the ways we do this is by creating free downloadable worksheets and guides that can organize your daily tasks. The task we are focusing on this week (and we tend to focus on a lot) is social media posting. Monthly we create a Social Media Post Idea Guide that is filled with post ideas that you can use on your business' social media page. It is super helpful! You can find the August edition here: August Social Media Post Idea Guide

Well, we decided to stay in the theme of social media planning because we know how time consuming and creatively draining it can be! We have created for you a worksheet that should help you organize what you have going during the month so that you can plan and project to your audience exactly what you want them to hear on your social media pages.

We are calling it our ~ Monthly Social Media Plan Outline and it is super simple to use! You start out by figuring out your goals for the month and what you want your audience to learn about your business. Next, you write down any specials or announcements you may have for your business. Writing all this down helps you sort out what needs to be portrayed to your followers.

Next, you are giving ideas on daily topics you can use, these are similar to the ideas we give in our Social Media Post Idea Guides. There is room for you to write topics that are specific to your business and industry. Don't be scared to do some research. Look at successful social media accounts and see what they're posting. See if any of their topics would work for your business! Just remember to come up with your own version of it, stealing someone else's exact post is not only in bad taste it can also get you into legal troubles.

And lastly, we have a section for you to create some weekly themes for your social media posts. We have found this is a great way to break down the week and figure out when to post certain ideas. For example here at WCE we always post our articles, tips and downloads on Tuesday for #tuesdaytips! We always give our followers a great inspirational quote on Thursday for #ThursdayThoughts. Even if you don't publicly hashtag those themes you can still have them to make it easier for you to categorize your posts.

Along with the outline worksheet we also included a free monthly blank planner for you to actually write down the posts that you plan to do. We do suggest after planning your posts use an online scheduling program. Get a lot of your posts scheduled ahead of time so that you are not scrambling each day. Facebook has a good scheduler and if you use Canva.com they have a scheduling option as well (Jasmin Augustin goes over how to use it in our Canva Workshop). We also love Later.com, it is super simple to use and not expensive at all.

Now onto the good stuff! You can get your FREE Monthly Social Media Plan Outline by clicking the button or image below!

FREE DOWNLOAD

We truly hope this helps! For more tips and free downloads please browse through our other Articles. You can also become a FREE member of WCE and get access to our hidden Member resource page that is full of INSTANT and free downloads, other great resources that will help you run your business, and get up-to-date information on our upcoming events! To join for free or to take look at our premium memberships go to the Membership tab here on our website or click below:

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And you won’t want to miss any of our upcoming virtual workshops or our in-person events! You can find those under our Upcoming Events tab or you can click below!

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If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at connect@wearewce.com!

Meet the Woman Behind Georgia Joice Music & Tech

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 12:37:15 GMT

Women's Council of Entrepreneurs had the pleasure of interviewing the woman behind Georgia Joice Music & Tech, Georgia Joice! Continue reading to learn more about Georgia, her love for music, how her knowledge of technology was an essential part of growing her business, and her insightful tips for anyone wanting to starting a business.

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS AND WHAT YOU DO:

My name is Georgia Joice

and I own Georgia Joice Music & Tech. We are a STEAM instruction business. Our main goal is to help teens & preteens open the door to self-expression, creativity, and confidence - one song (or robot) at a time.

We provide private & group online piano, voice, ukulele lessons, as well as homeschool choir, Spring Singers, and summer robotics camps.

I know there are a lot of instructors to choose from, but we offer almost 15 years of experience and an Emotional Intelligence certified instructor. We take pride in providing professional, fun, & organized instruction that is customized just for you.

Come have fun with us and open your door to more creativity and happiness.

HOW OR WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS?

I am a second generation entrepreneur and sharing music was a natural progression.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY?

Music is a highly rewarding and lifelong skill. When you open that door, you are sure to receive benefits that compound and become a gift that keeps on giving - not just to you, but to others. It is a part of my life that is amazing and I want the same for others.

DID YOU HAVE ANY MAJOR SETBACKS OR OBSTACLES GETTING STARTED?

When my children were little, I sometimes struggled with keeping a reliable babysitter. Eventually, I found a couple of amazing people that I'm still in regular contact with today.

WHAT DIFFERENTIATES YOUR BUSINESS FROM YOUR COMPETITION?

Our recitals & performances are almost ALL for audiences of SENIORs and people with special needs. We also do not have any group lessons that are larger than 6 people (except our homeschool choir). Every single rehearsal & lesson includes state-level theory instruction that is simple and fun.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS?

I am incredibly proud of the smiles, joyful tears and confidence that my students have put out into our communities - locally and abroad. We connect with each other and our audiences!

Also, we pivoted to online lessons in 2020 in just a few days without any hitches. In fact, it was so successful, that we are an ONLINE only studio now in High Def 1080p video & super high-quality sound.

HOW HAS YOUR INDUSTRY CHANGED IN THE LAST YEAR AND HOW DO YOU SEE IT CHANGING IN THE FUTURE (OR WILL IT)?

With having a technical background, I can say the world of music instruction has changed from low-tech to very high-tech. Almost every teacher that survived 2020 quarantine had to be online. Sadly, many valuable, seasoned teachers took a big hit due to not being able to meet in person.

Students continue to use Apps for individual practice, but also their need to connect in class has increased as well. In-person ensembles, performances, etc. are still incredibly valuable and rewarding.

WHAT WOULD YOUR ADVICE BE TO OTHER WOMEN WHO WANT TO START THEIR OWN BUSINESS?

Make a plan. Research the profitability and the industry, then plan to reserve your personal time and female business connections. You do not need to work 24/7 to start your business and nor should you.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST SETBACK? WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM IT?

I haven't had a huge setback, but I would say time is my scarcity. I've learned to set my priorities for the day/week/month/quarter and be very aware of distractions. I've also learned to prioritize my needs & my family's needs and to say no to things that do not align with that.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE BEST INVESTMENT YOU'VE MADE FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

Connecting with communities on social media and investing in technology.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE "CHEAT' OR TIP THAT HAS HELPED YOU BALANCE THE BUSY LIFE OF A BUSINESS OWNER?

Automating as much as possible!

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR BUSINESS IN 5 YEARS?

Because we have more demand that we can provide 1/1, I see many of our classes turning into online courses with online communities.

TO WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE YOUR SUCCESS?

To whom - My parents. They were a constant example of how to properly run a business while maintaining our large family.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SMALL BUSINESS AND WHY DO YOU LOVE THEM?

Recently, I visited Ray's Automotive on Louetta in Spring. The owner (of 50 years) was genuine, caring, funny, and knew his stuff. He also didn't offer a higher cost service when I didn't need it. Loved him and his son!

Georgia’s students have the space to communicate & understand their feelings, the flexibility to work on music they love, while also incorporating music theory and multiple performance opportunities. To learn more about Georgia Joice Music & Tech please visit any of following links to connect with Georgia today!

Website: www.georgiajoice.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/georgiajoice

Instagram: www.instagram.com/georgiajoice

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/georgia-joice-90801023

If you would like to share about your business with WCE please contact us at connect@wearewce.com

Free Download ~ August Social Media Post Ideas Guide

Mon, 26 Jul 2021 15:19:50 GMT

It seems that each month passes quicker than the last! We honestly can't believe it is already time to give you Women's Council of Entrepreneurs August's Social Media Post Idea Guide!! We are always here trying to find ways to take tasks off your list as much as we can and one of the ways we do that is with our Social Media Post Idea Guide.

For those that are new to Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs ~ our Social Media Post Idea Guide is a list of social media posts that are complementary to each day of the month. There are ideas to promote yourself, your business, and ideas to create interaction on your page. We also include important or fun holidays of the Month ~ like National Dog Day! You can follow our guide day by day, you can pick or choose which posts work best for you and your business, or you can use these tips as a starting off point and come up with your own posts! Anyway you use this guide we hope that this streamlines your workflow, as well as, helps you get more interaction on your social media platforms.

Our Social Media Post Idea Guide is easy to follow and is a simple one page guide. You can download for FREE by click the button or the image below!

Free Download

JOIN WCE FOR FREE!

And you won’t want to miss any of our upcoming virtual workshops or our in-person events! You can find those under our Upcoming Events tab or you can click below!

UPCOMING EVENTS

If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at connect@wearewce.com!

5 Reasons Why You Need Digital Business Cards

Tue, 20 Jul 2021 12:45:36 GMT

As entrepreneurs and business owners we are always looking for new, innovative ways to do business. And though business cards might not be the first thing you think of when you are making improvements to your business ~ they are extremely important. Business cards are one of the easiest and most affordable ways to promote your business. And as we all know business cards are vital when networking. You can simply hand your business card with your name, email, website and phone to someone and boom they have your contact info ~ so easy! You’ve made a personal connection AND they have your contact information.

But, times are changing and digital business cards are on the rise. Some may as ask ~ What is a digital business cards?! A digital business card is an electronic way to store and share your contact information. So, what are the benefits of that over the paper format version? Well, we have complied 5 reasons below on why we think the digital format from Popl outshines the paper format!

1. Share ALL of Your Information

This one might seem silly because you’re probably thinking ~ ummm...you can share all of your information on a regular business card too! Well, you can usually fit your business name/logo, your name, phone number, and website and sometimes there is room for a social media handle or two. But, with the digital business card you store all of your basic information (name, phone, email, website) plus ALL of your social media handles. And more importantly this is not just written on a piece of cardstock, they are DIRECT links to all of your information. So the person that scans your digital business card can click on all your links and be visiting your website instantly.

2. Cost Effective

You can make your digital business cards for free in some cases. And if you go with the brand Popl you will only have a one time charge (from $15-30) for the “popl” to put on your phone and then no charge after that. Unless you want to get the PRO version of their app. We all know paper business cards aren't crazy expensive, but you have to keep buying them which adds up.

3. Eco-Friendly

Speaking of needing to keep buying paper business cards. The digital version of a business card is much more eco-friendly since you're not printing on 500+ pieces of cardstock. Yay!

4. Easily Accessible

Digital business are easily accessible for both you and the person you are “giving” it to. Your digital business card with Popl is always attached to your phone so as long as you have your phone near you, you have your business card. We all know we can’t say the same for traditional business cards, unfortunately. I can’t count the number of times I have been somewhere and someone has asked for business card and I have nothing to give them. And as for the accessibility for the person you are giving it to ~ they will instantly have YOUR information directly on their phone and they do not need the app to receive your information. They can save your contact info or friend you on social media right there on the spot. Easy!

5. Easy changes

Speaking of easy! With the digital business cards you can easily and instantly change your contact information if needed. Obviously with traditional paper cards you have to redesign new ones, order and then wait for them to be printed.

With all that said, we understand change is hard sometimes, so we suggest keeping paper business cards around while you are making the switch to digital. Have a few paper ones available just in case you encounter a not-so-tech-savvy person, but they still need your information! If you are ready to make the digital plunge we have a referral code and a 20% off discount code that you can use at Popl! Just click the buttons below for the referral and for your 20% off!

WCE Referral Code 20% off code

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Free Download ~ Create Copy for Your ADs Worksheet

Tue, 13 Jul 2021 11:50:09 GMT

We say it time and time again ~ Owning a business can be overwhelming to say the least. If you are a sole entrepreneur all of the tasks fall onto you! You are not only providing the product or services that your business offers you are also the customer service rep, the accountant, the sales department, operations manager, the IT department, and the marketing department ~ just to name a few. Here are WCE we are always striving to help relieve some of this stress from you by providing tools that can help streamline your work. That is why we developed this free worksheet to help you construct an outline of your product or services so that you can easily come up with great copy for your social media, print or even radio ads!!

WCE's Create Copy for Your ADs Worksheet is very simple to use and will help you organize your ideas and thoughts to help you express better what your product or service is to your potential clients and customers. We have also broken the worksheet into two separate pages ~ one for products and one for services.

How it works ~ you start off by answering some basic questions such as: what is your product or service? How does it help people? Where or how can it be purchased? You then move onto brainstorming key descriptive words that best describe your product or service. After that you move on to thinking about your target audience ~ who are they and what do they like? Finally you put all of your answers together to form copy that will give you potential customers or clients a perfect overview of your product or service!

It is important to think about each question. When we own a business and we are involved in it 24/7 it is hard to step back and explain what we do without leaving out the simple facts. Each of the questions we provided will help you go back to the basics to help easily explain your goods. Our suggestion is to use the "where/how do they purchase your product or service" question as the Call to Action. Many times we see amazing posts, but we have no idea where to go to purchase the product or how to get in touch with the business to begin service. Make sure to have your call to action clear and links are working!

With all that said we are sure that you are ready to dive deep into making your copy! You can click the button or the image below to get your free download now!

FREE DOWNLOAD

As we stated before WCE is always looking for ways to help entrepreneurs reach their goals as a business owners. You can find more free downloads, tips and articles HERE. You can also become a member of WCE for FREE and get access to all of our downloads and resources instantly! You can join by clicking the button below or going to the Membership tab in the menu above.

Join the WCE Community

And please don’t miss any of our upcoming virtual workshops or our workshop replays! We have topics covering all aspects of running a business. You can find them in the menu bar under Upcoming Events and Training Resources!

If you have any questions please contact us at connect@wearewce.com. And remember WCE always has your back!

Free Download ~ July Social Media Post Idea Guide

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 11:35:55 GMT

June has gone by in a flash as each month seems to do! With summer flying by so quickly we know that you would love to to soak up more sun with less “busy” work for your business! To help you, WCE has created our July Social Media Post Idea Guide! This can help relieve some of the stress that goes into planning your social media content.

If you are new to WCE's Social Media Post Guides we want you to know that it can be followed day by day, you can pick or choose which posts work best for you and your business, or you can use these tips as a starting off point and come up with your own posts! Anyway you use this guide we hope that this streamlines your workflow, as well as, helps you get more interaction on your social media platforms. We have been told that just reading our ideas have sparked new ideas of their own! Yay! We love that!

To download our Social Media Post Guide for free simply click the button or the image below!

Free Social Media Post Idea Guide

Join the WCE Community

And you won’t want to miss any of our upcoming virtual workshops or our in-person events! You can find those under our Upcoming Events tab or you can click below!

Upcoming Events

If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at connect@wearewce.com

5 Reason Why You Need Text-Based Marketing For Your Business

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 11:57:27 GMT

Text-based marketing ~ We have talked about text marketing before and even had a virtual workshop with the amazing Jake Dempsey of Project Broadcast! If you missed it you can see the replay HERE.

Those that are not familiar with text marketing might be asking ~ what the heck is text-based marketing? Text message marketing is the ongoing process of communicating business news, sales, promotions or other relevant information to your customers via SMS (short message service) text messages on their mobile devices. It is a type of digital marketing strategy that helps build brand awareness on a more personal level.(businessnewsdaily.com)

The reason we love and talk about text marketing so much is because it so important and so overlooked! Text marketing is not considered or put on the back burner for a lot of small businesses, but we feel like this is giant marketing opportunity that shouldn’t be ignored. Here are five reasons why you should consider text marketing for your business.

It is Direct and Instant

If you haven’t noticed people have their phones with them constantly and this isn’t just us thinking that. American users check their phones up to 52 times a day and 91% of Americans have their mobile devices nearby 24/7. (99firms.com) That means when you send a text, your customer will get it and they will see it AND most likely open it. Text marketing has an open rate of 98% and 90% are opened within the first 3 minutes! (www.smsglobal.com) You really can’t beat that amount of engagement with any other type of marketing.

2. More Personal and Can Increase Customer Engagement

Speaking of engagement. Text marketing not only has an amazing open rate, but it is much more personal than other types of marketing. It makes you and your business more accessible to your customers. With text marketing from Project Broadcast your customers have the ability to text you back! That means you can get instant feedback from your customers and start to build a trusting relationship with them.

3. Did We Mention High Open Rate

Not only does text marketing have the 98% open rate compared to the 20% email open rate, but 50% of US consumers make a purchase after receiving an advertising text, a discount coupon, or a QR code. (99firms.com). With that high of percentage you have a good change of getting a purchase when you send your sales and discounts over text messaging. And though this doesn’t apply to all business we thought this statistic was interesting. ~ SMS text marketing statistics show that 76% of people across the world are keen to be reminded of their medical appointments, while 69% would like to receive reminders to arrange appointments or to take their medication. (99firms.com) To us that means that people what important information TEXTED to them because they actually see it.

4. Opt-In and Opt-out

We feel like the Opt-in is a bonus because you know that the customers you have on your list want to be there. They want to engage with you and your business, that is why THEY opted in. This also applies for Opt-out. Though it is sad when you see someone not want to receive your texts anymore, it is good to know who your customers and what type of interactions they want. When you have an easy opt-out like in text marketing you don’t have to worry about marketing to the wrong clients. Some tips to get opt-ins: simply post your opt-in number on your social media platforms to let people know how to get your notifications of deals and sales. If you sell products check to see if you can integrate it in your check out process.

5. Time-Efficient & Cost Effective

Unlike emails that you have design and craft text messages are usually short and simple. You don’t want it too long otherwise people won’t read it fully and you don’t want it to look like spam so you keep it simple. Here is a quick tip ~ Always remember to add your business name in the text somewhere, so your customer knows who they are communicating with! And as far as cost effective, with text services starting as low as $10 a month text messaging marketing is inexpensive compared to other types of marketing.

If it isn’t clear, we love text marketing because it so easy and effective. We personally use Project Broadcast when sending out texts. You can see all the benefits of Project Broadcast by clicking the button below!

Project Broadcast

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If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us at wearewce@gmail.com! And to opt-in for WCE's text to get up-to-date info on events, resources, and deals simply text WCE to 936-228-6391!

SIMPLE STEPS TO BETTER PRODUCTIVITY

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 10:30:00 GMT

With so many distractions in our daily lives it can be very difficult to be productive. WCE has come up with 6 simple steps that will kick start your productivity. These aren't difficult changes, but they are changes nonetheless, so always give yourself time for adjustments and start small. When some begins training for a marathon that don't run 26 miles on day one. If you want to begin to make permanent changes in your life you should always make small changes to lead up to your end goal. If you try too much too soon you could ultimately fail. So, if you think this list is overwhelming ~ only try one or two things for awhile! But, we promise no matter if you do all of these steps or just one you will see a change in your productivity.

SIMPLE STEPS TO BETTER PRODUCTIVITY

1. Write Everything Down

You will forget it otherwise! Don’t trust your memory, too many things happen throughout your day for you to remember every little task you need to do or plan to do!

2. Plan your Day

Plan your day the night before! Write down all the tasks that you want to get do the next day. Remember to be reasonable with yourself, don't overbook yourself. Once you have all your tasks listed out, place them in the time of day you can do them. If you find that you can't fit all the tasks you want to get done in the amount of time you have available, re-evaluate your plan. Is there something that you can move until tomorrow? Is there something you can delegate to someone else? Once you have your schedule figured out you can write it in a planner or make a “note” on your phone by simply adding the times of day and filling in your action items. Fill in the what you’ll be doing at 7am, 8am, 9:30am, etc. Don’t forget to factor in eating, travel time, and any mental breaks! Driving somewhere takes longer than you think sometimes! WCE created a great Daily Schedule Template that you can download for FREE to help make this easier!

Daily Schedule Template

3. IF YOU PLAN IT - STICK TO IT!

This is why it’s important not to overbook yourself when planning your day the night before! Make sure everything you plan to do is possible!! Don’t break promises to yourself. If start breaking promises with yourself than you will begin to lose motivation.

4. Clear Your Space

Try to clear your space after each work day or each night. I know this is something I struggle with the most. I’m an artist and I love everything out so I can see it! But, it makes for a very chaotic environment that is hard to work in. When clearing off your desk/workspace if you can’t find a place to put an item away, you may want to think about getting rid of it or get rid of something else that has been stored away for awhile that you haven’t used. Everything needs a place so you don’t waste time looking for things.

5. Set a Timer

Set a timer for every task you need to do. That way you stick to your schedule you set the night before! Set the timer appropriately to the time you need to complete each task on your list. If you know that it will take you more than 10 minutes to answer emails, so don't set yourself up for failure as give yourself only 10 minutes to so. Give yourself the correct amount of time for each task. You will even need to set a timer for your breaks and you social media time (even if it is for work). You will be surprised how quickly 20 minutes goes by on social media!!

6. Self Care

When making your Plan for the Day the night before make sure you budget enough time for yourself so that life doesn't get overwhelming. You can't do great things if you feel run down. Take a walk, go for a run, read a book, go shopping, talk on the phone with a friend, do something for YOU! It is hard for some to take time for themselves because they see it as a waste when they could be working on something "important". But, YOU are important. Your physical and mental health is far more important than any email or social media post. Those things can wait ~ always remember that.

All in all, these are simple steps that help tremendously when trying to organize your work days. You will be surprised with how much more you get done when you start with a plan.

We hope this helped ~ if you think so check out our other articles here! And don't miss any of our Upcoming Events! You can also become a member of WCE for free! You can sign up and see all that WCE as offer by clicking the button below.

Join the WCE Community

And as always if you have any questions or concerns please never hesitate to contact us at: wearewce@gmail.com

Free Download ~ Social Media Content Weekly Planner Template

Fri, 11 Jun 2021 03:40:41 GMT

One of Women's Council of Entrepreneur main missions is to not only help educate entrepreneurs, but we also seek out to make your lives EASIER!! We know that running a business is exhausting and it consumes most of your time. We are always trying to find ways to help alleviate some of that stress and streamline your workflow.

As some of you may know each month WCE gives you a Social Media Post Idea Guide which is a FREE reference for you to use when you are just stuck on what to post on your business' social media platforms. There are ideas to promote yourself, your business, and ideas to create interaction on your page. It is a great resource and you can find the June one HERE! Even though we know this is helpful we got to thinking....the actual planning of when and where you are going to post can be overwhelming too!

So, we thought about what we do and what makes our workflow easier. And what we do is write things down! We strongly believe that writing out a daily, weekly and even monthly social media plan is very important for productivity! Again, our Social Media Post Ideas Guide is amazing, but you may not want to use all the posts that we came up with since they may not ALL fit your brand. And you may want to post slightly different things on each platform. It can begin to get a little unorganized. Well, this is where WCE's Social Media Content Weekly Planner Template comes in!

Our Social Media Content Weekly Planner Template is extremely simple to use. Once you download it you will see along the top you can write the week and the days that you are working. There are also spots along the left side of the page to write your social media handles. This then forms almost like a spreadsheet where you can place all the posts you want to do for each day of the week for each of your social media platforms!

We strongly suggest that you print out several of these at a time so you can plan head. The best way to organize all of these papers is to get a inexpensive 3-ring binder and hole punch and voila ~ You have yourself a custom social media planner!

With all that said it's time to give you the FREE download! You can download the Social Media Content Weekly Planner Template by clicking the button or the image below!

Free Download

If you found this helpful you can find more free downloads, tips and articles HERE. You can also become a member of WCE for FREE and get access to all of our downloads and resources instantly! You can join by clicking the button below or going to the Membership tab in the menu above.

Join the WCE Community

Like we said before our goal here at WCE is helping you find ways to make your business life easier! If you have any questions please contact us at wearewce@gmail.com. And remember WCE always has your back!

Free Download ~ Create Your Elevator Pitch Worksheet

Fri, 04 Jun 2021 14:19:57 GMT

It is safe to say that most of us have been in a situation where we are asked to introduce ourselves and our mind goes completely blank and we can barely even remember our own name! It is even more difficult when you are asked to produce a quick summary of your business at a networking event! I mean we can talk about our businesses ALL DAY if you want us to, but you want me sum up what I do 24/7 in a 30 second “pitch” in front of all these people?! Yikes!

The hardest part of creating the introduction to your business or your "elevator pitch” is that you need to make sure you hit all the important aspects of your business. We have heard a lot of elevator pitches and while they are all good, some fall short when describing what the person actually does. We leave wondering “what exactly does she do again”?

Sometimes you only have a minute or less to make a good impression, so you want to make sure you are clear and concise. You want to have them know you as a person, but more importantly what your business is and who you help.

This is of course is easier said than done like most things are when owning a business! But, here at WCE we are always trying to make things easier for entrepreneurs. So, we created a free worksheet that will help you create your elevator pitch!

There are two parts to the worksheet. The first is a series of questions that will help you figure out who your business helps, how they help, where your target market is, and what sets you apart from the rest. Not only will these questions help you create your “elevator pitch”, but it can also help you develop a great summary for your website and social media accounts!

The second part of the worksheet works similar to a mad libs and is there to help anyone really struggling with stringing all of these ideas and statements together. While you can use the text we provided word for word, we do suggest you put your own spin on it so that the people you are networking with get an understanding of who YOU are too.

Once you have your intro written out ~ practice it OUT LOUD until it becomes natural when you say it. Try to tweak the wording to what naturally comes to you! Remember be YOU. Practicing will help relieve the anxiety built around being put on the spot when asked to introduce yourself and your business. The more you say this “pitch” the more it will naturally flow and it won’t seem like a pitch anymore

So, we know that the “elevator pitch” is important because it helps people really understand who needs your business and what your business does, but we can’t forget the importance of building relationships at a networking event. Using this worksheet and organizing your introduction will really open the doors to you being able to be yourself at the events. Being prepared always makes us feel more relaxed going into what can feel like an uncomfortable setting.

With all that said, now is the time for you to get the worksheet! Click the button below or the image for the FREE download of WCE’s Create Your Elevator Pitch Worksheet.

Free Download

As always hope that this helps! You can browse our other Articles for more free downloads, helpful tips and entrepreneurial resources. To make it easier for yourself you can become a member of WCE for free and have instant access to all these free downloads and resources. You can join by clicking the button below or going to the Membership tab in the menu above. Make sure to check out all the perks of being a premium member too!

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If you really want to dive deep into topics that will make owning a business easier you don’t want to miss our Training Resources or our Upcoming Events! We have so many workshops and webinars that can streamline your workflow and take your business to new levels!

If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to us at wearewce@gmail.com. Or you can connect with on Facebook and Instagram too! And remember, WCE always has your back!

Free Download ~ June Media Post Idea Guide

Tue, 25 May 2021 11:24:40 GMT

It's already the end of May and we can't believe it!! With school ending soon and summer coming up so quickly we know that you are going to have less and less time to get the extra work done for your business! WCE has a monthly Social Media Post Idea Guide and the June edition is ready for you!!

For those that are new to Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs ~ our Social Media Post Idea Guide is a list of social media posts that are complementary to each day of the month. There are ideas to promote yourself, your business, and ideas to create interaction on your page. We also include important or fun holidays of the Month ~ like Thank God it’s Monday Day! You can follow our guide day by day, you can pick or choose which posts work best for you and your business, or you can use these tips as a starting off point and come up with your own posts! Anyway you use this guide we hope that this streamlines your workflow, as well as, helps you get more interaction on your social media platforms.

You can click the button or the image below to get the FREE download now.

CLICK FOR FREE DOWNLOAD

JOIN WCE FOR FREE!

And you won’t want to miss any of our upcoming virtual workshops or our in-person events! You can find those under our Upcoming Events tab or you can click below!

UPCOMING EVENTS

If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at wearewce@gmail.com!

4 Myths of Networking

Tue, 18 May 2021 11:37:55 GMT

Networking has bad rap, but it doesn't need to!!

When most people think of networking they cringe at the thought of walking into a stuffy room with sharks ready to attack you with their "pitch". Or you envision the old fear of the middle school lunchroom and you see yourself sitting alone in the corner and no one talks to you!

While these feelings are understandable, that isn't the scene at most networking event (cough **especially WCE events** cough)!

We found an amazing article breaking down the myths of networking.

The 4 Myths of Networking Events according to Janna Kefalas are:

Myth 1 ~ Networking means going to a formal event in a business suit
Myth 2 ~ Everyone at the event is super confident, accomplished, and judgmental
Myth 3 ~ You have to spout off a memorized elevator pitch
Myth 4 ~ Once you go to the event, you're off the hook

We couldn't agree more that these statements are myths! Networking is actually fun and extremely important for your business so you that you can expand your reach to new clients and customers.

The myths aren't enough though Janna goes on to explain these myths, why they're not true and some tips on how to make networking not only easier, but dare we say...fun!

Follow the link here to read more about these www.forwardthinkcareers.com/the-4-biggest-myths-of-networking-events

And if you didn't know ~ Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs has great opportunities for you to network! You can go to our Upcoming Events to see our events near you (we also hold virtual ones too!). You can join our FREE Facebook group HERE to connect with women entrepreneurs all over the U.S. You can also check out all the benefits of being a member of WCE HERE, and we have so many days on both Facebook and Instagram where we encourage connections and collaborations ~ so make sure you’re following us on all the platforms (see the icons at the bottom of the page)!!

Our goal here at WCE is help you find ways to make your business life easier! And we hope this helped you! If you have any questions please contact us at wearewce@gmail.com

FREE Editable Mother's Day Graphics for Your Business

Mon, 03 May 2021 16:08:52 GMT

As many of you know the Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs’ mission is to promote, motivate, educate, and connect female entrepreneurs. We also try to find ways to lighten the load of being an entrepreneur and business owner! Each week we give tips or free downloads that usually streamline work flows, help get your creative juices flowing or give you valuable information that will help you grow as an entrepreneur.

We know that connecting with your audience on social media is important. Making sure to post on holidays is an easy way to connect with your audience. What isn’t easy is making the graphics for those posts! You could share graphics from other sites, which is perfectly fine especially if you like and want to promote the business you are sharing! But, the bonus of making a custom graphic with your website or your social media handle on it is when it is shared YOUR business is promoted! People will see YOUR business, no someone else’s! Now, we go back to ~ but, making graphics in not in my wheelhouse!

Don’t worry!

WCE has created a few Mother’s Day graphics on canva.com that are fully editable! And these are free for you to use!! When you click on it you will be taken to the download which leads to Canva.com. If you do not have account with Canva you can go:

https://partner.canva.com/c/2753431/647168/10068 to create one for FREE! Once you do that you will be able to change the colors and add your logo, website and whatever else you need to do to it to make the graphic YOURS!

You can download a template we made for you HERE or by clicking the quote image below!

While you are in Canva make sure to poke around! There are so many amazing templates for anything you can imagine. Canva makes it easy to create custom images and graphics for your business.

We really hope this helps! If you find yourself a little lost on Canva you can check out our two Canva Workshops right here in our SHOP. Jasmin Augustin of Media Jasmin does an amazing job of walking through all the amazing tools on Canva in the 2 part workshop! You can also browse our Articles for more free downloads and other tips and tricks. And please don’t forget to join or FREE facebook group where you can connect with other entrepreneurs, share experiences, and promote their businesses. And always if you have any questions or concerns please never hesitate to contact us at: wearewce@gmail.com

May Social Media Post Idea Guide

Fri, 30 Apr 2021 10:30:00 GMT

We can't believe it's the LAST DAY OF April 2021!!! Time flies by too quickly. We wish we could hold still the hands of time to be able to catch our breath a bit! Since we can't do that for you WCE is has created another Social Media Post Ideas Guide for you.

For those that are not familiar with our Social Media Post Idea Guide, it is FREE reference for you to use when you are just stuck on what to post on your business' social media platforms. It is super simple to use ~ you can either use it day by day and take advantage of all the ideas listed or you can pick and choose what works best for you and your business. Lots of people have told us that just reading our ideas have sparked new ideas of their own! Yay! We love that!

Well, without further ado ~ you can click the link or the image below for your Social Media Post Idea Guide: May Edition!

May Social Media Post Idea Guide

As always we hoped this helped. Our goal here at WCE is helping you find ways to make your business life easier! If you have any questions please contact us at wearewce@gmail.com. And if you did find this helpful….please don’t miss any of other helpful articles HERE and our Upcoming Entrepreneurial Workshops which you can find by clicking on the Upcoming Events tab or by going HERE!

5 Ways to Find Your Network as an Entrepreneur

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 10:30:00 GMT

As an entrepreneur building and maintaining your network is extremely important. Not only do you need this network of other entrepreneurs and business owners to help you build your client base, your network can be your go-to for support. As we have said before being a entrepreneur can be a lonely gig. It is so important to find that group of like-minded people that can be there for you and you for them.

Here 5 ways we have found that can help build your network as an entrepreneur:

1. ATTEND EVENTS

We know this might seem overwhelming to some people! Going to events where you don’t know anyone ~ it can bring back horrible nightmares of the junior high lunch room on the first day of school! Haha! But, don’t worry! Networking events aren’t as scary as you think….at the right ones aren’t. They can be very welcoming, inviting and inclusive. Make sure you come prepared with how you are going to explain your business to people. In some events (like WCE’s networking events) you will have 30 seconds- 1 minute to be able to introduce yourself. Make sure you can get what you offer and a little about yourself in that time. Practice at home, it sounds silly, but it helps! Also, don’t just talk business!! We know this may seem counter productive, but you’re not necessarily trying to find clients, you’re trying to make human connections for your network. You want to build relationships. Be yourself and you will find ways to connect with those at the event.

2. JOIN ENTREPRENEURIAL ORGANIZATIONS & FACEBOOK GROUPS

There are so many great networking and support groups for entrepreneurs on social media and online (cough * WCE is our favorite * cough). To find some, we suggest by looking for local neighborhood groups on facebook. Once you’re in those you can ask if anyone knows of a good networking group in the area. There are other speciality groups you can join that aren’t necessarily for entrepreneurs, but they usually have days that you can post about your business and you can start making connections with the business owners on those days!

3. TURN SOCIAL MEDIA CONNECTIONS INTO REAL LIFE RELATIONSHIPS

Now that you have made connections in your online groups start making real life relationships with your connections. For example, on Mondays WCE offers Social Media Monday on Facebook and Follow Back Monday on Instagram. Say you comment on those posts and you follow the other business owners that have posted too. Make sure to reach out to them and thank them for the follow back and continue to actively follow them on those platforms by liking and commenting on their posts. You may even make a strong enough connection that you can meet in person! Which leads us to number 4...

4. COLLABORATE WITH OTHER ENTREPRENEURS

Collaborating with other entrepreneurs is so good for your business! It helps both parties grow their potential network of customers. You can find business owners in your industry that compliment what you do ~ or you can find connections completely out of your industry, but still compliment your business. For example, say you’re a boutique owner, but you collaborate with a photographer. Together you could do a mini fashion shoot at your boutique! For a certain price women can come with their friends, pick a cute outfit from your store and get a photoshoot with their friends. You could even add a makeup artist and hairdresser too! Think outside of the box on how you can work with others to grow your businesses TOGETHER!

And Lastly…

5. BE CONSISTENT

None of the above will work if you don’t stay consistent. And we know this can be hard because there is so much work that goes into owning a business, but consistency is what truly works.

These don’t seem too hard and lucky for you Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs can help you with all of them! Yay!!! You can go to our Upcoming Events to see our events near you (we also hold virtual ones too!). You can join our FREE Facebook group HERE to connect with women entrepreneurs all over the U.S. You can also check out all the benefits of being a member of WCE HERE, and as we mentioned before we have so many days on both Facebook and Instagram where we encourage connections and collaborations ~ so make sure you’re following us on all the platforms (see the icons at the bottom of the page)!!

Our goal here at WCE is help you find ways to make your business life easier! And we hope this helped you! If you have any questions please contact us at wearewce@gmail.com

Video Content Marketing Checklist

Tue, 20 Apr 2021 01:51:03 GMT

The world is slightly obsessed with videos - on youtube, facebook and just about anywhere you look you can find people streaming videos. 75 million people watch video everyday! So, the question is - Have you considered how beneficial videos could be for your business? We have done some research and found videos are important for the growth of your business.

According to Hubspot....

97% of marketers say video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service
76% say it helped them increase sales
47% say it helped them reduce support queries
76% say it helped them increase traffic
80% of marketers say video has increased dwell time on their website

These stats say it all. Video helps drive traffic to your business and leads to actual sales! We know making a video is easier said than done. That is why WCE has created a video content marketing checklist for you! The checklist is simple to use and will help you get on the right track to making videos for your business. There are 5 topics on the checklist that we have broken down below.

The first step is to Plan and Prepare! You need figure out what your main goal for the video you are creating. Do you have a product you want to talk about? A new service that you are excited about? Whatever it is, plan what you want your customers to do with the video they are watching. Make clear point and try to make a call to action at the end of the video. Another important thing to focus on when planning your video is your target market. Who is your target market and what do they like? Make the sure the content in your video appeals to those in your target market!

Next up is the equipment. You can can stay simple by sticking with your smartphone for your recording device. Other options to record on are a Go-Pro or any type of a camera that records video. You will want to use a tripod to reduce camera shake. The tripod keeps your recording device steady while filming. An external microphone is recommended, but not necessary. You will also need editing software or an editing app on your phone. The software that were recommended by Aja Vickers of Aja Vicker Global Media are: Adobe Premiere Pro ($21/month), Blender, Lightworks, Shotcut, DaVinci Resolve, and Openshot. And for the apps creativebloq.com suggests apps such as Adobe Premiere Rush, Lumafusion, Kinemaster, and good old iMovie. Other optional items when shooting your video are a backdrop and some lighting.

Now onto the fun stuff ~ the Recording of the video! The first thing to do is find a location that is well lit (preferably with natural light), quiet (so there is no distracting background noise), and a background that is simple and not distracting to the viewers. If you are unable to find a spot with good lighting or a clean background this is where the backdrop and lighting would be needed for extra equipment. After you find your location and you set up your equipment do a test round to make sure audio is working and so that you can get comfortable with the content. It is a good idea to take multiple takes, you then can edited the best takes together with your editing software or app. Added tip ~ when taking multiple takes leave a few seconds of silence before and after talking for easier editing.

Speaking of editing ~ once you feel satisfied with your recordings it is time to move onto editing. Use one of the editing software or apps mentioned above or chose one that you have found that works well for you. When editing continue to be mindful of the length. Here are some stats from singlegrain.com on importance of video length:

“Shorter videos tend to have better engagement:
If a video is less than 60 seconds, over two-thirds (68%) of viewers will keep watching until the end.
If a video is over 20 minutes long, only 25% of viewers will finish it.
Generally, videos that are 2-4 minutes long perform best and will have more people watch to the end. But if your video supremely engaging, time is not as critical a factor.”

Another thing to keep in mind when editing is branding your video. To brand your video you can put your business logo in the corner of the video or simply put a clip at the end of the video with your logo and contact information. It is always best to not use music or sounds that you don't own or that are not copyright free.

Last on the checklist, but certainly not least is the uploading of the video! When uploading the video make sure the title of the video is relevant to the content. Do the same for the description and add keywords that relate to the content and your business. Include video tags that will make your video easy to find and be mindful if you want comments on your video to auto load or if you want to approve them. These tips pertain mostly to YouTube, but check the features on Facebook or other social media platforms to see what upload features are available to enhance your reach.

We believe this is a great place to start to making professional quality videos! But, it really is just the tip of the iceberg. To get more in depth learning check out past Workshop on How to create Professional Videos with your Smartphone and our upcoming coming Workshop Getting Over Your Fears of Being on Camera!

This was a lot of information, but is all on the FREE printable Video Content Marketing Checklist that you can download HERE or by clicking the image below!

If you found this useful please go through our other Articles where you can find more helpful tips and more FREE downloads. And please head over to our Upcoming Events or our Shop to see our other upcoming & past workshops we have more than just video production! Our workshop topics are created to help you become the best business owner you can be! We always have your back here at WCE!

Tips for Creating Your Brand Identity and Awareness

Mon, 05 Apr 2021 19:48:37 GMT

We might ask ourselves ~ Is brand indentity and awareness even important for a business? Well, according to edelman.com "81 percent of consumers said that they need to be able to trust the brand in order to buy from them”. How are you able to get someone to trust your brand or your business if they don't know you? Well, that is why brand identity and awareness is so important ~ to get your business out to the consumer and gain their trust! But, creating a brand that can be trusted by consumers can be a daunting task. A good place to start according to Sophie Newman of Florida Winter Marketing is by asking yourself these questions:

What do you want to be known for?

Who do you best serve?

What is the story only YOU can tell?

When answering these questions you need to keep in mind that being authentic is key! Being authentic is the fastest route to being trusted by consumers.

80% of consumers said “authenticity of content” is the most influential factor in their decision to become a follower of a brand.

After you answer those three questions and begin to have an understanding of the “feel” or mission of your business the question now becomes ~ how do I get my brand seen by consumers?

The answer is Brand Awareness.

Brand awareness (defined by info.zimmermarketing.com) is "critical to the success of your business. When people are aware of your brand and its logo and other marketing, you will sell more. People are more likely to buy from a brand they know or click a website from a brand they are aware of."

To create brand awareness you need to develop your brand identity. And according to learn.g2.com the 8 Elements of brand identity are:

Name
Logo
Colors
Slogan
Image
Shape
Graphics
Typography

Let’s break each of these elements down.

Name: You probably already have the name of your business, but if you don’t please take time to come up with your name. You want it to reflect what you are as a company and what you do and/or sell.

Logo: As a former graphic designer I can’t stress the importance of your logo enough. You want the logo to be simple and easily recognizable, you want it to stand out from other brands. If you already have your logo, but don’t love it ~ you can always change it and do a brand revision.

Colors: Using a signature color can increase brand recognition by 80 percent. Colors set the mood of your brand. You want to pick a theme of colors and stick with them. Make your brand and your social media feeds cohesive. You want people to see your content and know that it is coming from you before they even see your business name!

Slogan: Your slogan should go with your mission, but be short and memorable. Make sure it projects what you do as a company.

Image: As stated by 8 Ways Media, it takes about 50 milliseconds (0.05 seconds) for people to form an opinion about your website! YIKES! So, you want your images to be great! Your images are similar to color in that you want your images or photos to be cohesive. So, you can either do your own photoshoot to get your “look” down or pick stock photos that have the same look or feel to them. If you need help with this check out our workshop on How to Photograph Like a Pro HERE.

Shape: This is for businesses with products. You want your product to stand out from others especially if they are on the shelves at stores. One way to do this is give your product a unique or eye catching shape. One that people can start relating to your business.

Graphics: Again, like your images and colors you want your graphics to stay consistent. When creating graphics you want to use your brand colors and your brand logo. You will also want to use the 8th element of brand identity ~ Typography.

Typography: The typography for your brand are the fonts usually used in your logo. But, you don’t have to just stick to those 1-2 fonts for all of your graphics. You can pick a few that go well together and again…..you guessed it ~ Stay Consistent.

As stated above we suggest you add your logo to all graphics and content you create. With that said, if you find content that you like make sure to credit who said it or where your found it!! Not only is this a way to stay out of legal trouble, it’s just good business. Someone worked very hard to create that content ~ it’s not cool to steal it. What is cool is to share it! Even if you create that quote or idea into your own graphic/post give the person credit. You simply state who it came from in the graphic. You can also tag them in the comments it will help their brand recognition and most likely they will share your share and help you become seen by their followers! It usually is a win~win!

If it isn’t clear, the obvious theme with brand identity and awareness is staying consistent. Consistent presentation of a brand has seen to increase revenue by 33 percent according to Lucidpress! You want your colors, images, and graphics to have a feel that represents the mission you created for your business. You want to make sure that these are used throughout all of your channels and social media platforms, so no matter how someone finds your business it all looks like YOUR brand!

We have an added bonus freebie! Let us begin by saying we do highly suggest getting a professional graphic designer for your logo and images for your website, but we know that hiring a graphic designer for all your social media posts is not in everyone’s budget. That is why we are big fans of canva.com. They make it super easy to make beautiful content with there templates. Now for the FREEBIE! WCE has created a quote graphic template for you! Once you click on it you will be taken to Canva. If you do not have account with Canva it will ask you to create a free one. Once you do that you will be able to change the colors and add your logo, website and whatever else you need to do to it to make the graphic YOURS! You can download a template we made for you HERE or by clicking the quote image below!

If you have never used Canva or not sure how to upload your brand colors and logo or use any of the other great features on Canva you check out our Canva Workshops lead by Media Jasmin! Design Like a Pro: A Canva Workshop 1 can be found HERE and Design Like a Pro: A Canva Workshop 2 can be found HERE.

We really hope this helps, along with our Canva Workshops we have other amazing workshops to help you become the best business owner can! Our upcoming workshops can be found in the “Upcoming Events’ tab or by clicking here. And all of our past workshops can be viewed in the "Shop" tab or here. Make sure to browse our articles for more free downloads and other tips and tricks. And please don’t forget to join or FREE facebook group where you can connect with other entrepreneurs, share experiences, and promote their businesses. And always if you have any questions or concerns please never hesitate to contact us at: wearewce@gmail.com

April Social Media Post Guide

Mon, 29 Mar 2021 16:22:44 GMT

With the final days of March among us we can help but think of our social media posts…..

Oh, the dreaded social media posts for your business! It can be so hard and so time consuming to think of, create and then schedule posts for all your business’s social media platforms. And although Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs can’t do all of that for you (we wish we could) we did come up with a Social Media Post Idea Guide! WCE does this MONTHLY to help relieve business owners of some of the stresses that come with owning a business so you can focus on other parts of your business. And we have the April edition of the Social Media Post Idea Guide hot off the presses!

Before you download the Post Idea Guide we suggest that when planning your day, week, or month on social media you start with a goal in mind. Do you have a topic you want to target, a certain product or service that is new or you’re having a special on? Think about what you want to communicate to your audience and have that goal in mind when reading WCE’s Post Guide.

With all that said you can download for FREE WCE’s April Social Media Post Idea Guide by clicking HERE or clicking the photo!

We hope that this streamlines your workflow and really helps you get more interaction on your social media platforms. A bonus tip: to get even more interaction on social media don’t forget to like and comment on other people’s post and interact with anyone that comments on your posts too! We know it’s time consuming, but it’s worth it!

For more tips and free downloads please browse through our other Articles HERE. And to learn more in depth about business topics, such as, learning how to grow your business on LinkedIn, overcoming your fear of the camera, or even how to use Facebook Ads check out WCE’s Upcoming Workshops HERE or our past workshops HERE. WCE is always here to help ~ if you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at wearewce@gmail.com.

Tutorial: How To Photograph Products Like a Pro

Mon, 22 Mar 2021 17:00:50 GMT

Back in November of 2020 WCE held a Workshop called How to Photograph Like a Pro. During this Workshop Leslie Osbourne of Bessie Bakes Backdrops went over in detail on how to take professional quality photos of your products. We thought the information was so amazing we wanted to revisit a snippet of it here on our blog. Continue reading to learn about the different types of lighting, lighting angles and camera angles that can be used in photographing your product.

“Photography Principle number one ~ Light is at the heart of photography. You can get wrapped up in countless details, but in the end it all comes back to light. Light is arguably the most important element of a photo. It can make or break it, it paints your subject and it creates depth and helps give your photo a WOW factor.” ~Leslie Osbourne.

First type of lighting we will be talking about is Hard Lighting. According to photokonnexion “Hard light is found where the lighting is direct, undiffused, and is not bouncing or scattered by local objects or conditions. The flash on your camera is a hard light source. When direct and undiffused by clouds the sun is also a hard light source. A hard light source is relatively small and/or large and distant.”

Here is Leslie’s example of Hard Lighting.

Leslie took this photo next to a window when the light was beaming through the window. There were no diffusers between the object and the direct light source which created strong shadows. She took this photo in the afternoon when the sun was starting to set and the window was facing directly towards the sun. Hard light is usually used when you want to create drama or a mood in a photo.

Next is Soft light. Soft light is described by photokonnexion “is light that creates shadows with a gradual transition from light to dark. There are no hard shadow lines. It is created from a scattered or diffused light source. Soft light is found where the lighting is indirect or where it passes through a diffuser, clouds or some other medium which scatters the light. Diffused light can be light that has bounced off one or more surfaces before it hits a photographic target.”

In Leslie’s example you can see that the shadows are much softer and gradual and you don’t have the harsh light coming through the photo.

The lighting is much more even throughout the photo. Soft light is diffused, you can get this on a cloudy day, you can get it artificially with parchment paper or a translucent curtain over your light source or window.

Now onto directional lighting. First up is Backlighting.

Leslie described backlighting as “lighting up your photo from the back of the scene. Lighting it from behind creates a very beautiful glow casting over the items you are shooting.” In the example that Leslie shows she is shooting the back lit photo from above so you can see how the backlighting casts over the objects in the photo. These photos work the best for objects that can be viewed from above, such as a table spread. This type of lighting does not work well with objects such as “bottles, or subjects that are standing upright”. You will lose the detail in the front of your object, so if you have a label on the bottle you want to be clear you may not want to use this type of lighting.

You can see in this behind the scenes of a backlit photo that:

Backlight lights photo from behind
Camera is overhead or at the angle opposite of the light (don’t block the light)
Photographer is opposite the light (don’t block the light)
If using a tripod, you can stand anywhere that doesn’t block the light.
You may need to use a reflector to bounce light back into the photo

Another type of directional lighting is Side Lighting.

In the Workshop Leslie explains Side Lighting as lighting that “comes from the side of your photo from either the left or the right. So, you can have a window or artificial light on either the left or right side of your scene” She goes to say that side lighting is “generally much more even in the way that it lights your photo”

In Leslie’s example of Side lighting she uses diffused (or soft light) side lighting which creates softer shadows and has more even lighting. In this particular photo Leslie used a reflector to bounce light back into the photo so the lighting even throughout the photo and the side of the photo opposite of the light didn’t fall into shadows. This is a good lighting situation for the bottles with the labels.

Overview on Side lighting for Flatlay:

Light is coming from the left or right of the subject
Lights your subject evenly
Also works best for photos taken head-on like a burger or items standing upright

Leslie added “Side lighting is consistent and it’s a go-to lighting angle”.

Leslie goes on to explain the option of a mixture of both back and side lighting.

Back and side lighting can be achieved when light is at a 10:00-11:00 or 1:00-2:00 position in regards to location of your scene.

The benefits of combining back and side lighting is that it “lights your subject evenly yet gives the glow of backlighting”.

Below is a behind the scenes of how Leslie achieved the lighting in this particular photo.

In the behind the scenes Leslies backdrop is positioned at a slight angle and her camera was located at the base of the subject she was shooting as she didn’t want the photo composition to look crooked.

Next up on directional lighting is Overhead lighting. This is when the lighting is positioned directly over or above the subject. When photographing food or objects Leslie does not suggest having the “lighting directing above or even directly in front of it. What this does is it flattens out the shadows and it doesn’t allow for enough dimension” This lighting could be ok when shooting a person.

Leslie shot the example photos in a restaurant (right) and on her dining room table (left). You can see that the objects look flat and the overhead light is unflattering for food. You can use overlight to showcase your product on your website to show all of the detail with little shadow. When using overhead light use an infinity backdrop or light box that can reflect the light all around the object. But, for food or product STYLING photos it’s best to stay away from overhead lighting.

Camera angle is also important when taking a photo. In this photo Leslie shows three examples of different types of angles.

~ Overhead Angle: Gives a “birds eye view” and used in flatlay photos

~ 45 degree Angle: Camera is in front of the subject, but angled just slightly above it

~ Straight On Angle: Camera is directly in front of the subject

There is a plethora of knowledge that Leslie gives in the almost 1 hour long How to Photograph Like a Pro Workshop. You can watch the workshop HERE. And you can learn more about Leslie Osbourne and how to purchase the beautiful backdrops that Leslie uses in some of her examples at www.bessiebakesbackdrops.com.

Our goal here at WCE is helping you find ways to make your business life easier! If you have any questions please contact us at wearewce@gmail.com. And if you did find this helpful….please don’t miss any more of our upcoming virtual workshops! You can find them in the menu bar under Upcoming Events or you can click HERE!

Meet the Woman Behind Antares Law Firm

Thu, 18 Mar 2021 15:40:22 GMT

Women's Council of Entrepreneurs had the privilege of interviewing Laila Ghauri the woman behind Antares Law Firm. Learn all about Laila, the risks she took, and how her diverse background became her biggest asset and drives her passion to help fellow entrepreneurs pursue their dreams.

Tell us a little bit about your business and what you do

I am the founder and principal attorney at the Antares Law Firm. Antares Law Firm is a boutique law practice dedicated to providing innovative services to individuals and small businesses. I support our clients in building and protecting great companies and generational wealth. Most of my work is focused on trademarks, domain name issues, small business advising, and contracts.

How or why did you decide to start your own business?

Prior to starting my own company, I used to work for a larger law firm and was a small gear in a big machine. I had very little contact with people we served, our clients. I began to notice that in most firms, there were not many partners or leadership that looked and had life experiences like mine. I decided to go out on my own to take a chance on myself, my skill sets, and my dreams. I wanted to see the impact of my work in the world, I wanted to know my clients. These past two years have been amazing and humbling. It's incredible to see how your work impacts and changes lives.

Why did you choose this business or industry?

The legal field found me. I was previously working for and teaching at universities. I chose to work on projects that incorporated legal matters in higher education and learned my mind was made for this kind of work. I focus my legal practice in the world of small business and trademarks because I love creating things and enjoy helping other people do the same.

Did you have any major setbacks or obstacles getting started?

It's terrifying to start your own business when you know you can have stable employment elsewhere. It requires an emotional level-up. When I first started I took a pay cut. Law school doesn't teach you how to run a business. There was a learning curve. When I first started, I was the accountant, the marketing team, the intake team, the business strategist, the paralegal, and the lawyer. It was a lot. It's been worth it when you see it come together and take life.

What differentiates your business from your competition?

I am an anomaly in the field. There are not many female, South Asian attorneys running their own law practices in the United States. I worked extensively in three different industries before I became an attorney. I have lived in numerous places in different parts of the world, not to mention traveled extensively for work and pleasure. I speak three languages. The conglomeration of my experiences situate me in a really amazing space to provide out-of-the-box solutions for my clients. Being different, I have learned, is one of my greatest assets.

I am an artist as much as I am a lawyer. Running my own boutique practice has allowed the artist to come out and play and create things. Once you overcome the fear, the process of being an entrepreneur can become rather enjoyable.

What are you most proud of about your business?

I'd have to say that would be the first case I won for a small business client against a multi-million dollar conglomerate. In that moment, the impact of my boutique law practice became real for me. I saw the tangible effect my work had on others.

How has your industry changed in the last few months and how do you see it changing in the future (or will it)?

The pandemic is reshaping the law. While in some ways many legal processes are slower, the pandemic is making legal services more accessible. Attorneys are more likely to work with clients on digital platforms. So folks in areas that could not physically access an attorney, can now do that.

In my line of work, the number of people starting new businesses and filing trademarks has increased substantially. It shows us that the pandemic has not killed the American spirit of ingenuity and creativity. We are a nation that knows how to survive and thrive. I enjoy being part of that process.

What is your favorite small business?

The Katra Box, which is a small business founded and operated by Ghonva Ghauri, my little sister. It is the first-ever lifestyle and wellness subscription box for South Asian women. You should check them out.

Antares Law Firm offers an hourly rate or a flat rate depending on the type of case. You can connect with them on social media or visit their website to find pricing and book an initial consultation to walk you through your needs, the scope of your goals, and your budget.

Website: www.antareslawfirm.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/antareslawfirm/

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/antareslawgroup

Facebook: www.facebook.com/antareslawfirm

Twitter: www.twitter.com/AntaresLawFirm

If you would like to share about your business with WCE please contact us at wearewce@gmail.com

Understanding and Tracking Your Business Finances

Tue, 16 Mar 2021 00:29:10 GMT

Finances. Such a dreaded word. It is such a dreaded word that a lot of business owners (and people in general) choose to avoid that word and any tasks that come along with it. Even though we try to avoid it, we know that keeping track of finances is essential for business owners to do! It is how they know where their money is coming from and where it is going to which helps them to continue to financially grow! You might be thinking ~ I don’t fully understand my finances, but I do know that I am making more than I did last year ~ so I must be growing as a business! Well, that is partially true. Making more money is, of course, a good indicator of a thriving business, but you might also be spending more in places you didn’t think you were. Getting a good grasp of your finances, creating a budget and a forecast for your business will help you get rid of costs that you might not actually need.

Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs has created a Finance Tracker so that you can get a monthly estimate of what you spend, what you make and your monthly financial forecast. You can download this worksheet for FREE right HERE! And please continue reading so you know how to use the worksheet appropriately.

If you have already printed out the WCE Finance Tracker you will see that that there are 3 columns and 5 rows in the first box. The columns are labeled monthly forecast, monthly actual, and variant. Our first task is how to find the numbers you will be filling out in the “Monthly Actual” Column on the Worksheet. We will then explain at the end how to figure out your "Monthly Forecast" for next month! Let’s begin on explaining each row.

When looking at the WCE Finance Tracker you will see there are rows for your Monthly Income, Cost of Goods Sold, Gross Profit, Operating Expenses, and your Net Income. And you may already want to give up, and believe us we don’t blame you! Going through finances is never fun, especially when you can never remember what all of these terms mean! But, don’t worry! WCE is here to help! And below is your cheat guide!

First up ~ what to put in the INCOME section of our worksheet. Investopedia defines Income as: “money or the equivalent value that an individual or business receives, usually in exchange for providing a good or service or through investing capital.”

Simple terms:

INCOME is the amount that you made for the month! Yay! This number is BEFORE any cost is taken out or any expenses at all. Income is the total number of sales you made. If you made $4,321 in sales than that’s the number you put in the monthly Income section. It doesn’t matter yet that your supplies cost you $333, that’s the next step.

Now for the next step! Cost of Goods Sold section! Investopedia definition of Cost of goods sold (COGS): “The direct costs of producing the goods sold by a company. This amount includes the cost of the materials and labor directly used to create the good. It excludes indirect expenses, such as distribution costs and sales force costs.”

So, the COST OF GOODS SOLD section will hold a negative number and will be the total amount of money that it took to create your goods. If you are service company you most likely do not have any cost of goods.

Moving on to the Gross Profit section. This one is fairly simple, but we want you to know what Gross Profit means! According to Shopify “The gross profit of a company is the total sales of the firm minus the total cost of the goods sold. The total sales are all the goods sold by the company. The total cost of the goods sold is the sum of all the variable costs involved in sales.”

GROSS PROFIT can easily be explained as subtracting monthly cost of goods from your monthly income. Easy Peezy.

OPERATING EXPENSES is next. This one is a bit trickier only because you will need to think of all your monthly expenses outside of the cost of goods. Investopedia defines Operating Expenses as “Costs that are associated with the maintenance and administration of a business on a day-to-day basis. Operating costs include direct costs of goods sold (COGS) and other operating expenses—often called selling, general, and administrative (SG&A)—which includes rent, payroll, and other overhead costs, as well as raw materials and maintenance expenses. Operating costs exclude non-operating expenses related to financing such as interest, investments, or foreign currency translation.”

This might seem a bit overwhelming, but again never fear WCE has you covered! On the Finance Tracker Worksheet we also added a second box to total up your Costs called the “OPERATING EXPENSES BREAKDOWN”. We have items that are common operating expenses, as well as, blank sections you can add custom costs you may have your business!

Once you have you have totaled all of your operating expenses items together from the monthly “operating expenses breakdown” you can log that total number to the Operating Expenses ssection in the upper box. Again this will be a negative number.

The last section of the WCE Finance Tracker is the NET INCOME. CFI defines Net Income rather perfectly: “Net income is the amount of accounting profit a company has left over after paying off all its expenses. Net income is found by taking sales revenue and subtracting COGS, SG&A, depreciation, and amortization, interest expense, taxes and any other expenses.”

So, to get your Net Income simply take your Gross Profit and subtract the operating expenses from it! Now you have what you ACTUALLY made this month!

That wasn’t so bad, right?!

Well, we’re guessing you are looking at your worksheet and you’re maybe wondering ~ "ok, now what is with the “monthly forecast” and “variant”?!"

Creating a monthly forecast is essentially making an estimate of what you could make and spend in the next month.

You can find your monthly forecast for the upcoming months or you can skip it, it is up to you. We suggest you do it since it helps you understand your finances even more and gives you a visual of where you are actually spending your money and if you are using your money wisely. Don’t know how to create a forecast? That’s ok. You can get one in 2 simple steps.

Look back in your files and gather the last 3 months of Income (remember this is before cost of goods or operating expenses).
Take those three numbers and find the average by adding them together and then dividing the total by 3.

The number you get is a indicator of what you can put in your next month’s Income Monthly Forecast. You can also look back on past years and see if the month you are forecasting is usually a good month or bad month for sales and adjust accordingly.

Do the two steps above for Cost of Goods Forecast as well so you can take your Cost of Goods Forecast total and subtract it from your Income Forecast for your Gross Profit Forecast.

To find the Operating Costs Expenses Forecast do those same steps above, but for each item in the “Operating Expenses Breakdown”. Total those all up and add it to the upper box. Some of these numbers are set each month so this could be fairly easy. But, if you have one that can be adjusted, try it for a month or two a see how it goes. For example: your marketing and advertising, for a couple months add more to (or take away some of) your budget and see if it affects your Net Income! It's a good way to see if you need adjust your spending.

And finally to find the Net Income Forecast you will (you guessed it) subtract the Operating Costs Expenses Forecast from the Gross Profit Forecast and your difference is your New Income Forecast!

And lastly, your monthly VARIANT is the difference behind your forecast and your actual. Take the total and fill in your monthly variant section. The Variant for the Operating Expenses Breakdown box works the same way.

We know this is a TON of information for some people. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at wearewce@gmail.com. If you found this useful please go through our other Articles where you can find more helpful tips and more FREE downloads. And please head over to our Upcoming Events or our Shop to see our upcoming & past workshops and other events that will help make your the best business owner you can be! We always have your back here at WCE!

5 Simple Steps to Grow Your Email List from Ground Zero By: Marsha Lynn Hudson

Tue, 02 Mar 2021 11:32:51 GMT

Marsha Lynn Hudson

The email list is the small business owner’s best friend. Unlike social media, we own our email list. Social media can shut down at any time or block you. You own your email list, and a good list will turn lookers into buyers. Even if you don’t have a big email list, you can grow a good list of active subscribers from ground zero.

5 Ways to Grow Your Email List…

Go through your present email and make a good list of people who you know could benefit from your services. Go through your personal emails and compile a good list from friends and family.
Create a welcome or welcome back email to let people know that you will be emailing them some valuable information on a monthly basis.
After you have gotten this list active, now you want to start adding to the list. It is time to create a lead magnet or opt-in. This doesn’t have to be long.
Your lead magnet or opt-in can be a PDF that is something of value that prospects can download for free in exchange for their email. A lead magnet can be created with Canva or from a landing page.
Be consistent with sending an email on the same day of the week so your subscribers can expect, anticipate and look forward to getting your email.

If you follow these 5 steps, and you are consistent,you will see growth. An active email campaign will not only keep your business on “top of mind” of your ideal client, but will bring in loyal, paying customers.

To read more tips on how to successfully grow your business from Marsha Lynn Hudson go HERE! You can also join Marsha and WCE to learn more in-depth on to How to Build a More Profitable Email List at next week's virtual Workshop! You can register for that by visiting our Upcoming Events!

We hope this helped! Our goal here at WCE is helping you find ways to make your business life easier! If you have any questions please contact us at wearewce@gmail.com.

March Social Media Post Guide

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 11:48:23 GMT

We are in the final week of February and like each month that has gone by this quickly we just can't believe it. As a parent they say the days are long and the years are short and we feel this applies to being an entrepreneur too! There is so much to manage and juggle as an entrepreneur. Because of this here at Women's Council of Entrepreneurs we try to take some of that burden off of you and each month we give you a free monthly social media post idea guide.

For those that don't know ~ WCE's Social Media Post Guides can be followed day by day, you can pick or choose which posts work best for you and your business, or you can use these tips simply as a guide and come up with your own posts! Anyway you use it we hope that this streamlines your workflow, as well as, helps you get more interaction on your social media platforms.

To download the FREE March Social Media Post Guide you can click the image or click HERE.

You can find more helpful tips and downloads in our other Articles and WCE also offers online workshops that provide invaluable knowledge all things you need to know about owning your own business. To register for the virtual workshops, such as, How to Build a Profitable Email List please go to our Upcoming Events. You can also visit our Past Events to view recorded workshop topics!

A Social Media Clean-Up Checklist

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 13:06:16 GMT

We’ve said it before and we will say it again ~ owning a business can be overwhelming! There is so much to keep track of that is usually outside your own wheelhouse as a business owner. One of issues that we see entrepreneurs struggle with (and we also are speaking from personal experience) is social media. And not necessarily posting or content creating, but making sure that ALL social media platforms that your business is listed on is clean, updated with most current contact information, and clearly expresses what the business currently offers.

Cleaning up all your social media platforms can be time consuming and a big undertaking. WCE created a Social Media Clean-up Checklist to simplify and streamline this task! The checklist is simple to use ~ most (but not all) social media platforms have there own box on the worksheet filled with items pertaining specifically to that platform, facebook being the most in-depth. All you will need to do is sign into your account on each platform and use WCE’s checklist as a guide to make sure all of the items listed are up-to-date! If you have a platform that isn’t listed just use one of the platforms that are listed as a guide when editing that specific platform.

Before you start editing we do suggest you write out a couple quick descriptions of your business similar to (or can be) your mission statement. One needs to be a little longer that can explain more in-depth about your business (used on facebook). Another one needs to be a shorter summary that will be used for the bio on platforms like Instagram or Twitter. Both need be cohesive and explain what your business does and what problem it solves.

We also want you to really think of what your handle/user names are for each of these platforms. Do they match? Or is one Missy_Loves_Clothes and the other platform is MissysCloset? They need to be cohesive as possible and we suggest that you keep it simple and just us the name of your business. This leads us to the next questions to ask yourself. Can your handle/user name easily be found by the client or customer or more importantly is it easily tag-able? For instance if your business is Easy Auto Repair, but your handle is WeLoveToFixCars or TheEasyPlaceAutoRepair since the handle/user name doesn’t match your business name it’s going to make it harder for your clients or fellow small business owners to find you and tag you on their posts. You want people talking about your amazing business and making a buzz about you ~ make it easy for them, keep your handle/user name simple and as close to your business name as possible.

That is it! That’s all we needed to explain about our simple Clean-up Checklist.

You’re ready to start cleaning up your social media platforms with WCE's Social Media Clean-Up Checklist Worksheet! Click HERE or click the picture for the FREE download!

We hope this helped! Our goal here at WCE is helping you find ways to make your business life easier! If you have any questions please contact us at wearewce@gmail.com. And if you did find this helpful….please don’t miss any of our upcoming virtual workshops! You can find them in the menu bar under Upcoming Events or you can click HERE!

A Canva Tutorial: How to Remove the Background of a Photo

Mon, 08 Feb 2021 21:12:52 GMT

Designing social media content can be hard, even for people that are trained to it. And it can be nearly impossible for people that have never designed something before. We have found Canva.com is the absolute best for business owners that do not have a design background. It has amazing templates and easy to use tools. But, even with it’s simple platform Canva can still be very overwhelming. Last year Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs and Jasmin Augustin from Media Jasmin teamed up created a workshop called “Design Like a Pro ~ A Canva Workshop” (which you can find in our Past Events). In this workshop Jasmin went over lots of Canva’s features & tools and how to use them. Today we are going to take snippets of that Workshop and focus how to remove the background of photo! Continue below for these simple steps!

First you need a photo that you want to remove the background from. In Canva you can find stock photos by clicking on the photos icon in the menu on the right side. Or you can upload your own photo by using the uploads icon in the menu on the right. With either option please remember to be mindful of the copyright of the photo you use.

Once you find a photo you like to use make sure to click on the photo and not drag it into the design you are working on. Dragging it in could cause the photo to placed into the background.

Now to use the background remover tool! Make sure the photo you want to use is selected. Now find the Effects option in the menu at the top of your workspace.

Once Effects is clicked you will see options pop up on your right ~ at the top of those options you should see “Background Remover”. Simply click "Background Remover".

It should show that it is working….and the boom...the background should be removed!

Now you can use background-less image! You can more it around the design, overlay it on top of fonts or other images, you can put in front of some wording and behind others to give your design more dimension.

You can also use the filters that are available on Canva directly below the Background Remover option to play with different tones and colors in the photo.

Our goal here at WCE is help you find ways to make your business life easier! And we hope this helped you! If you have any questions please contact us at wearewce@gmail.com or you can contact Jasmin at www.mediajasmin.com

If you would like to learn even more tips and tricks with Canva join WCE and Jasmin Augustin at our virtual Design Like a Pro: A Canva Workshop 2 THIS Thursday! Jasmin will be going over even more tools and options Canva has to offer. You can register HERE for this event. We hope to see you there!

Why Design is Important to Your Business

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 12:32:12 GMT

Here at Women’s Council of Entrepreneurs we try to bring you tips, tricks, and support to help you grow as a business owner. We enjoy finding new ways to help you streamline your workflow. We find the latest apps and software that simplifies certain aspects of running a business.

This week we are focusing on design. You might be thinking ~ Design? That has nothing to do with my business. Well, you might not THINK it has anything to do with the service or product you provide, but it does. Design is very important for businesses, it is the first impression of your business to your potential clients. Your logo is gateway into your business, it gives your potential client the sense of who you are and the “feel” of your business. This also goes for labeling if you have products! The images you put on your website and social media is very important. As we have stated in a previous article photos are important part of your brand, well this goes for ALL the visual content you put out there - which is design! Good design work will also set you apart from the crowd.

Here is a great article by Canva on 20 reasons why design is important to your business https://www.canva.com/learn/design-at-work/ !

Design is clearly important to your business and shouldn’t be something that is brushed over, but at the same time we know that it is not easy for everyone to do! We suggest you contact a graphic designer to help with your logo and other design needs if it is your budget. Another great option is getting on Canva and working with the hundreds of templates they offer. They have template for social media posts all the way to wine labels!

Even though Canva has amazing templates don’t get discouraged if you become overwhelmed. Since it has so many features you can feel a little lost when you first get on the website. WCE held a workshop last year and Jasmin Augustin of Media Jasmin navigated us through many of the important features of Canva! You can find that workshop HERE! We also will be having Canva Workshop #2 next week where Jasmin will be back to dive deeper into Canva! You can register for that HERE or if you missed it you can find it in our Shop.

We are also here to help and we hope this did! Any questions or concerns please contact us wearewce@gmail.com

P.S. You can find some AWESOME graphic designers on www.shopasmallbusiness.com!! Always shop small when you can!

Meet the Woman Behind TNH Financial Services, LLC

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 11:30:00 GMT

Women's Council of Entrepreneurs had the privilege to interview Tifani Henderson the woman behind TNH Financial Services, LLC. Continue reading to find out how Tifani was able to get through the setbacks of starting her business, what differentiates her from her competition, and how she pivoted to create a WIN out of 2020.

Tell us a little bit about your business and what you do?

TNH Financial Services, LLC is a financial based firm that has a passion working with individuals and small businesses to achieve their business and financial goals. We also consult and work with newly startups.

How or why did you decide to start your own business?

I started TNH Financial Services, LLC from humble beginnings. The income coming in changed and I needed to figure something out. I was currently working a full-time job but needed some additional income. One day while at work, I realized the money I was helping the company I worked for make, I could do the same for myself. Surely my skills and experience at the time could allow me to do that. After much thought and prayer, TNH Financial Services, LLC was birthed.

Why did you choose this business or industry?

I was currently working in the world of Accounting. It’s always been something I have enjoyed. It was something I felt compelled to share with others. I felt there were other individuals, small businesses, and dreamers that needed guidance, knowledge, business tips, strategies, and help such as I did when I started my business.

Did you have any major setbacks or obstacles getting started?

Yes, in the beginning, I didn’t have any money to start a business. I didn’t know how to start a business. But, I knew I had to start where I could. The start was slow and often times discouraging. Also, I quickly learned what it took to run a business. It wasn’t just the accounting work I was used to doing on my full-time job. There was so much more to learn and several hats to wear.

What differentiates your business from your competition?

Three words: Professional, Experience, and Integrity. This is what TNH Financial Services, LLC is built on. Our clients are like family to me. Some I have been knowing a long time and have watched them grow personally and professionally. I love it!

What are you most proud of about your business?

I am most proud of this journey God has allowed for me. I have been able to work with some amazing people and retain clients not just customers. Also being able to see the growth from 2006 to today has been a true blessing. I started in Missouri. But since, have worked with clients in California, Memphis, Texas, Indiana, Illinois. I’m inspired to keep going!

How has your industry changed in the last few months how do you see it changing in the future (or will it)?

To me, the industry itself hasn’t changed much. This industry knows how to prepare and stay ready. For example, tax laws are subject to change year to year. So, we must stay credentialed and up to date to inform our clients. However, what has changed for TNH Financial Services, LLC is the way we do business. TNH Financial Services, LLC is now predominantly virtual. We are completely setup to serve our clients remotely and because of that, this has allowed us to expand our service based where we can serve clients no matter where they are. We find a WIN in that!

What is your favorite small business?

My favorite small business is any business that is thriving and successful.

TNH Financial Services, LLC is not only Professional, Experienced, and works with integrity, but they are also affordable! The introductory session is only $25 and consulting is $75 per hour. Training services start at $125 per hour and Tax Preparations begins at $175. For bookkeeping and accounting Packages please go to www.tnhfinancialservices.com.

You can also connect with Tifani and TNH Financial Services on their social media platforms:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tnhfinancial/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tnhfinancialsrvs

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tnhfinanicalservices

February Social Media Post Idea Guide

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 11:00:00 GMT

January went by in a flash as each month seems to do! We hope that you are still going strong with your New Year's business goals as we head into February. Like always, we at WCE want to make sure we help you stick to your goals. So, we have come up with yet another social media post idea guide! This can help relieve some of the stress that goes into planning your social media content.

To download our Social Media Post Guide for free simply click HERE!

You can find more helpful tips and downloads in our other Articles and WCE also offers online workshops! We have our rescheduled workshop coming up this Thursday on How to Improve Your SEO Rank on Google. To register for this and our other events please go to our Upcoming Events.

Let us know if this was helpful ~ we love feedback!

P.S. Please remember to always Shop Small with www.ShopaSmallBusiness.com! If you would like your business listed in ShopaSmallBusiness.com please go here: https://www.wearewce.com/Join-us

How to Prepare for Media Interviews

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 12:32:25 GMT

Last week we talked about several different ways you can gain more PR for your business. Carrie Ward of Connexions Public Relations left you with some takeaways and steps to start working towards increasing your businesses visibility. If you missed that you can view again HERE.

After we wrote that article we thought…..what happens after you get the big media interview? Whether it’s a recorded podcast or a live show ~ how do you go into it confidently and not be a nervous wreck?! We as small business owners do everything for companies and now we are adding T.V. personality to the list!! Haha! Well, we found a great article from zapier about this exact topic and wanted to share it with you:

Media training 101 for small businesses

Like we said in article last week if you’re feeling lost or need guidance please contact Carrie and Connexions not only can they help with finding you PR they can help you prepare for it!

For more helpful tips and free downloads check out our other articles. And don’t miss our upcoming workshops ~ WCE wants to help you become the best business owner you can be!

Meet The Woman Behind Psalm 47 Marketing & Design

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 13:00:00 GMT

Women's Council of Entrepreneurs had the privilege of interviewing Olivia Olaguer the woman behind Psalm 47 Marketing & Design. Learn all about Olivia, the team of women behind her, and how her strong faith helped her fulfill her passion for helping fellow entrepreneurs pursue their dreams.

Tell us a little bit about your business and what you do.

Psalm 47 Marketing & Design provides business owners with the essentials when it comes to planning and launching their businesses, big or small. From logo and branding to website design, we make sure each of our clients are well prepared and taken care of. Our company is built on the knowledge that we are here for our clients - it is our top priority to make sure they have peace of mind and confidence in their businesses. We also offer social media management, digital and print marketing, email marketing, graphic design, copywriting, and copyediting.

How or why did you decide to start your own business?

Psalm 47 Marketing & Design officially became an LLC in May of this year. At the beginning of the pandemic, there were so many amazing people that had always dreamed of opening their own businesses and the quarantine gave them the availability to do so. God definitely brought positivity out of a difficult time. I also noticed that many business owners felt discouraged and frustrated by the lack of affordable and quality design and marketing. I had been doing freelancing while I was also home, but God put it on my heart and mind to start my own company and help other people, especially those that weren't in the best place financially but wanted to pursue their passions. So, I took the leap of faith and am so thankful I did!

Why did you choose this business or industry?

Throughout my career history, I have gained a lot of experience in marketing and design, as well as sales and customer service. Being a business owner in this industry, it's super helpful to be well-rounded in these areas. I also loved the flexibility to be able to work from home while being there for my three children.

Did you have any major setbacks or obstacles getting started?

Being a mother to three children and a small business owner, I often wish for more hours in the day. But as the business continues to grow, I have also been able to scale. I am so proud to have a team of two spectacular ladies, Madison and Miranda, that get me through the hardest days.

What differentiates your business from your competition?

I believe me putting my beliefs and faith out there first and foremost has set me apart from the competition. I have met so many wonderful women of faith throughout this journey and have built a lot of lasting relationships. I also know my business and customer service model is what drives the growth the company has seen. It is so important for me to have a one-on-one connection with each and every one of our clients. I love to think that I am their business bestie! Some days can be crazy busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

What are you most proud of about your business?

Honestly just thinking of the answer to this question makes me so happy and brings tears of joy. I am so proud to be able to help my clients and hear their excitement as their businesses grow. It's the best feeling in the world to be there for them.

How has your industry changed in the last few months and how do you see it changing in the future (or will it)?

Unfortunately, a lot of industries and businesses have taken a hit during this year due to the pandemic, some not able to recover. As I mentioned before, many people have shifted into being business owners, so that has meant more of a need for the services we provide. What I see changing, or continuing to change, is marketing in general. Social media is a major part of marketing strategy nowadays, so it's vital to make sure you have an online presence and stay relevant.

What is your favorite small business?

Oh man this is a hard question, I try to support other small businesses when I can, so it's hard to just think of one! I mean I have a place I get my cookies, cakes, candles, jewelry, clothes, and others!

Olivia and her team at Psalm 47 always aim to always be transparent with their pricing since their mission is to provide affordable marketing and design solutions. You can connect with them on social media or visit their website to find pricing and book a consultation!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/psalm47marketingdesign

Instagram: www.instagram.com/olivia_olaguer/

Website: www.psalm47marketingdesign.com

If you would like to share about your business with WCE please contact us at wearewce@gmail.com

Tips To Get More PR for Your Business

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 12:04:57 GMT

There is always a lingering question with business owners and entrepreneurs….How do I get my business to the next level? The answer is Marketing and PR! Well, we all probably knew the answer, but the biggest problem is we don’t know really know how to do it. Marketing your business is a never-ending job and you should always give yourself a proper budget for it. We have tackled different ways to market your business in other WCE articles, today we are focusing on PR.

What is PR? Carrie Ward of Connexions Public Relations shares with us that “PR is your business story shared through a third-party such as: news media, investors, partners, influencers and/or customers.”

Carrie also shared with WCE ways to legitimize your business with these outlets:

Press Release. A press release is “an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, an official statement, or making an announcement.” This how you can present your company’s story to the news media, investors and even customers.
Awards. Research different awards in your field and submit your application for them. If you are successful and achieve these awards ~ tout your successes! Post about it and spread the word that you are “award-winning” in your field!
Media & Analyst Relations/Contributed Articles. Establish relationships with publications, journalist, blogs, and industry analysts. Write and submit articles to these media outlets. Be seen and be heard as an expert.
Reviews. Always, always post and talk about customer testimonials, product reviews, and online reviews. People take their peer's suggestions seriously.

This can be overwhelming, but Carrie says to break it into bite size pieces. The first step before you send off your press release or contact blogs is to develop your company’s story. Think about how and why you started your business and what sets you apart for all the others. Then review existing marketing content for PR opportunities, identify one to three journalists or influencers that fit your field to contact. Next, step is simple, research one award and a apply for it. Then finally, ask a customer for a quote or have them write an online review for you.

Even the bite size pieces can be a lot when you're trying to run your business too, so if you’re feeling lost or need guidance with developing your story, writing a press release, or contacting media outlets Carrie and Connexions can help with all of those things! You can get more info by visiting their website: www.connexionspr.com

And for more helpful tips and free downloads check out our other articles. And don’t miss our upcoming workshops ~ WCE wants to help you become the best business owner you can be!

January Social Media Post Ideas

Tue, 29 Dec 2020 12:18:29 GMT

December has come and almost gone quicker than we could ever have believed! And since the New Year is right at our fingertips we know most of us are focused on our long term goals rather than what we are going to post about next week on social media! So, WCE has put together another social media post guide to help relieve some of that stress!

This January Social Media Post Guide can be followed day by day, you can pick or choose which posts work best for you and your business, or you can use these tips as a starting off point and come up with your own posts! Anyway you use this guide we hope that this streamlines your workflow, as well as, helps you get more interaction on your social media platforms.

To download our Social Media Post Guide for free simply click HERE!

You can find more helpful tips and downloads in our other Articles and WCE also offers online workshops! We have a workshop coming up on January 14th on How to Improve Your SEO Rank on Google. To register for this and our other events please go to our Upcoming Events.

Let us know if this was helpful ~ we love feedback!

P.S. Please remember to always Shop Small with www.ShopaSmallBusiness.com! If you would like your business listed in ShopaSmallBusiness.com please go here: https://www.wearewce.com/Join-us

Meet the Woman Behind Right Track Financial

Mon, 28 Dec 2020 11:30:00 GMT

Women's Council of Entrepreneurs had the pleasure of interviewing the woman behind Right Track Financial, Michelle Nieman. Continue reading to learn more about Michelle, why she quit her corporate 9-5 job to start her own business and how she has stayed in business for over 20 years!

Tell us a little bit about your business and what you do:

I am a financial services agency that educates individuals and families on their options for retirement planning and life insurance to ensure financial security for their family.

I am looking to start focusing on teaching young people the importance of starting early with saving for retirement...the younger you are the easier it is to build and grow retirement!!!

I also specialize in Medicare. I help take the confusion out of Medicare options and help beneficiaries make the best decision for them.

How or why did you decide to start your own business?

The first day I went back to work (in downtown Houston) after I dropped my 6 week old son at the sitter I received a phone call that he turned over for the first time all by himself. I immediately put in my 2 week notice and decided to get insurance licensed so that I could work from home. I was able to attend every single event he ever had all the way through graduation and still be able to earn a good living.....and I don't regret a minute of it. Not to mention that I was miserable doing the 8 to 5 work day and having to answer to others.

Why did you choose this business or industry?

When I was 17 I was riding the bus to school and I saw an insurance agency with a persons name on the door... I wondered how does a person come to own a business like that and if it would be possible for me to do something like that someday. I never really thought about it again. However, 17 years later, the opportunity came to be.

Did you have any major setbacks or obstacles getting started?

I can't say that I have had any major setbacks or obstacles in starting my agency. I have just taken it slow and steady and my business has grown every year.

What differentiates your business from your competition?

Although I am a single person in my business, I have many, many options for people when it comes to life insurance or Medicare companies. While most agents will focus on only a small handful of companies, I am contracted with many life companies and 13 Medicare companies. I don't have to push a product on a client for the reason of being limited on options.... I can offer what is best for them.

What are you most proud of about your business?

That I have managed to stay in business independently for over 20 years and have clients return to me year after year and send referrals to me on a regular basis. I always do what is right for the client....always.

At almost every appointment, my clients tell me that they appreciate the time I take to explain the product, what their options are, and that I offer that they call me at any time.

How has your industry changed in the last few months and how do you see it changing in the future (or will it)?

The only real change that has happened in the past few months is due to Covid-19 and the inability to have community meetings. However, every client I have seen this year has opted for face-2-face meetings.

~DO you have a favorite small business?

I don't really have a favorite small business, however, I do strive to support family owned restaurants.

Do you have any pricing info to share?

Pricing is based on many personal factors of each individual, however, I shop for the absolute best deal for every client.

Right Track Financial's goal is to help you meet your wealth building goals both in the present and long term. To get your financial future in order in 2021 connect with Michelle here:

www.righttrackfinancial.com

Are You Spreading Yourself Too Thin?

Tue, 15 Dec 2020 12:34:12 GMT

Packed schedule, feeling that you will miss an opportunity if you don't say "yes", feeling guilty if you say "no", feeling unimportant or insignificant if you aren't "busy". We can all agree these are very common and relatable feelings. We live in a society that considers "busy-ness" a talking point and we hold busy people to higher value. So, we push ourselves to be busy ~ to be important. But, there are repercussions of being overworked and overscheduled. According to WebMD overworking yourself can lead to health issues, such as, stroke, heart disease, mental health problems, diabetes, and abnormal heart rhythms.

So, how do we know we are overworked and how do we stop ourselves from doing it. Here is a great article that lays out the 6 signs that you are overscheduled, the consequences, and what to do about changing your habits.

https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/signs-that-you-are-overworked

Our biggest piece of advice (which we need to follow as well) live your life for yourself. Don't worry about impressing that random friend on facebook, don't worry about gaining that approval from acquaintances, co-workers, or people in general. In most cases those are unattainable goals and in reality you will never feel satisfied until you are doing the things that make YOU happy. Release yourself from the things you don't need to do. Say "no" sometimes for your own mental health and try to slow things down to enjoy the beautiful life you have already built.

Don't forget to check out our other articles ~ we have lots of free downloads such as a Gratitude Journal template, Setting Goals Worksheet, a Daily Schedule Worksheet and many other tips. And don't miss our upcoming events for 2021. They are online and recorded so you can fit them anywhere in your (lessened) busy schedule!

If you have any questions or concerns contact us through email at wearewce@gmail.com. And remember WCE always has your back.

5 Tips on Finding Peace During the Holidays

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 04:49:00 GMT

The holiday season is the most wonderful time of year and can be very a chaotic time for most too. Then we add a pandemic and owning a business to it all and it can be a recipe for disaster. We have put together some simple, quick tips than can help you time manage and maybe even stay sane during this holiday season!

Set a Timer for Social Media If you don’t own a business you could do away with social media altogether to free up A LOT of time. But, as business owners we really need to be online connecting with our customers. Do we need to be online 24/7? Absolutely not. So, our suggestion is to set a timer - it can be 30 minutes a day, an hour day, 20 minutes a day. Whatever time limit you set for yourself - stick with it!
Don’t Set Crazy Goals Now is NOT the time of year to be setting high level goals for yourself or your business. Keep it simple. Finish up any loose ends with what you have started and stay consistent with the things you already have in place. There is no reason to add anything extra on your plate right now. Whatever ideas you have you can achieve them in the new year. But, HERE is a worksheet to help you organize those goals for next year!
Make Daily To-Do Lists ~ That are Realistic! Make a daily to-do list of all the things you need to get done FOR THAT DAY. Prioritize what needs to actually get done. Holiday cards are great! Are they an absolute must….no. Remember less can be more. You want to enjoy the holidays not be a giant ball of stress because of things that just weren’t necessary.
Take Time Out to Declutter It seems like this would add another to-do on that list. But, that’s ok. Because this To-Do will make it easier to get those other tasks done more efficiently. Along with getting your spaces (including your workspace) cleared, now is a great time to get rid of things that you don't need anymore and donate them.
You Don’t Need to be Perfect. That needs to be said and res-said until it sinks in because this is by far the most important one. You, your business, your family, and your holidays DO NOT need to be Pinterest perfect. Jaron Lanier said “Seeking perfection in human affairs is a perfect way to destroy them”. You will never fully enjoy this time of year if you continue to seek perfection. Embrace the chaos.

We hope this helps and now we need to go practice these tips ourselves!! Easier said than done! It’s so hard not to get wrapped up in the Pinterest perfection, but we really think tip #1 will help us to get out of that mindset.

Also, last November & in July we shared a Daily Schedule Worksheet that could help with this too. You can find it here: https://www.wearewce.com/Articles/8102593

And please don’t forget to shop small when you can while getting your gifts this year. As a small business owner you know how hard this year has been for us all. To make life easier you can go to www.shopasmallbusiness.com to save yourself a ton of time on finding small businesses to shop with!

Happy Holiday Season, y'all!

December Social Media Post Ideas Guide

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 11:32:43 GMT

Eeekk!! It's almost the end of November!! With the Holidays literally around the corner we know that you are going to have less and less time to get the extra work done for your business! So, Women's Council of Entrepreneurs has created another monthly Social Media Post Idea Guide for you!! You can use all of these ideas each day at a time or you can choose the ones that best fit your business and brand. You can also use these ideas as a starting point and mold them into more of what your business/brand is about. No matter how you use these ideas we hope that it takes some of the stress out of this holiday season. ✨

You can click ---> HERE to download the WCE December 2020 Social Media Post Ideas Guide!
If you found this helpful please let us know and please browse around for other tips we have! You can also find educational workshops to help you with things such as marketing, taking professional quality photos and videos, learning Canva and even podcasting! Go HERE to view all of WCE's workshops!

And as always don't forget to shop Small Business at www.ShopaSmallBusiness.com!!

A Gratitude Journal: Exploring What Makes You Happy.

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 13:23:52 GMT

Gratitude. What a powerful word. This word means a lot during this season, with Thanksgiving right around the corner. But, we strongly believe that gratitude should be recognized in your daily life all year. Do we follow this usually? Well, no. We let our own thoughts get in the way of that, we over think things, we focus on others successes instead of our own, and we let negative thoughts rule our day.

We created & shared this Gratitude Journal template last year not only because it is fitting for the Thanksgiving season, but Ali, one of WCE’s co-founders, experienced the need to search for gratitude while her youngest daughter had been in the hospital for a total of 12 days because of an emergency appendectomy and complications from it. With other health issues happening in the household as well, her and her family were in dark place. But, they pulled themselves out of it because of all the people that came to their aid to help in any way they could. Her family, her friends, the nurses, the hospital staff, the doctors. This created positive energy that she then projected onto her daughter. It made Ali realize the importance of gratitude.

2020 has been a rough year for most people, so we know that nearly everyone can relate to the tough times that Ali experienced last year and most likely and unfortunately on a greater scale. This year has tested us on so many levels and it has and continues to put us in situations where it is hard to find the good or something to be thankful for. But, it is important to find those things to help keep us moving forward.

Gratitude also carries over to our professional lives. Always focusing on the negative aspects of our mistakes or what we could have done will not help us achieve our goals. Finding the silvering lining in each of our days to help project us forward towards where we want to be is vital, especially during such strange and often lonely times. We need to be at peace with the process and realize all that we have to be thankful for around us ~ even though sometimes it doesn’t feel like there is anything.

Please download the template here: WCE Gratitude Journal and follow the steps on the journal page.

Start creating the life you deserve, by finding some light in the life you already have.

12 Ideas for a Successful Small Business Saturday!

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 12:10:16 GMT

Small Business Saturday is on Nov 28th this year, which means there are only 17 days left to plan! We put together some ideas to help you have a successful and fun Small Business Saturday. This list is similar to our one last year, but with a couple more ideas and a few tweaks with Covid in mind. Remember, during this season it is important to engage with your customers especially online to let them know what you have to offer them.

1. Create a Gift Guide for your Customers

Let your customers know all of the amazing products or services that you have to offer and which ones would be great for their mom, sister, daughter, grandmother, father, son, brother, husband, even neighbor! Your customers might not know what you have available so show them!! If you don’t have all these things add other shops around you that do!

2. Sell Online

With Covid it’s just not safe for ALL people to go out and shop. If you have the option for customers to shop online PROMOTE IT! Let them know how easy it is to shop with you from their home. If you don’t have a online shop consider doing facebook livestream shopping events or putting items for sale on your Facebook and taking payment through PayPal or venmo.

3. Host a Small Event (In-store or Online)

You could have local entertainment playing outside, activities for families, wine and shop for the ladies, online vendor event with other fellow business owners, the list could go on and on.

4. Have a Holiday Display for Photo Ops for their Holiday Cards.

Make your business part of your customer’s holiday traditions! Make sure to post about it on social media so people know to go to you for it. You can have a photographer or just let them take the photo themselves.

5. Non-product based businesses! You can celebrate Small Business Saturday too!

If you have a brick and mortar by local shops you can put out promotional material with your business info on it like water bottles, masks, or hand sanitizer for the shoppers! If you don’t have a brick and mortar in those areas or at all, ask a local shop if you could provide those things inside their store their shoppers!

6. Support a Local Charity

On Saturday have a portion of your sales go to a LOCAL charity!!
Here are some local Charities in The Woodlands (there are so many more - do some research to find one that best fits your beliefs!!)

CASA Child Advocates of Montgomery County:
https://casaspeaks4kids.com/

Cassidy Joined for Hope:

https://www.cassidyjoinedforhope.com/

Inspiration Ranch:
https://www.inspirationranch.org/
The Montgomery County Food Bank:
https://mcfoodbank.org/
New Danville:
http://www.newdanville.org/about/
Operation Pets Alive!:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/OPATexas/about/?ref=page_internal
Children's Safe Harbor:
https://childrenssafeharbor.org/
Yes To Youth:
https://www.sayyestoyouth.org/
iGo Pink:
https://thebreastcancercharities.org/
Interfaith of The Woodlands:
https://woodlandsinterfaith.org/
Special Angels of The Woodlands:
https://www.specialangelsofthewoodlands.org/

7.Collaborate with Other Small Businesses

Help one another with promotions by passing out each other’s coupons or business info to your customers or sharing about each other online. People always like recommendations on where else they can SHOP LOCAL! If you’re looking for Small Businesses to collaborate with our www.ShopaSmallBusiness.com is a great source!

8. Register with American Express

American Express has free material you can use for Small Business Saturday, such as, posters, social media posts, and more ideas to help you make the best of your Small Business Saturday.
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/merchant/shop-small.html#toolkit?linknav=us-loy-homepage-visittheshopsmallstudio

9. Reward Check-Ins or Social Media Shares

Give coupons, discounts, or a small (free sample size) gifts to people that share your business on social media or that “Check-In” on social media while at your store. Have a little basket full of goodies with a sign that says “FREE - just please “Check-In” on Social Media to let everyone you’re here and to SHOP SMALL TODAY!” The influence of friends is a big deal when it comes to marketing!

10. Make a Countdown on Social Media and Utilize your platforms as much as possible!

With so much competition during the Holidays remind your costumers you are still here! You can also use the countdown as a way to promote any promotions or sales you will be having on or leading up to Small Business Saturday too.

11. Spotlight a Loyal Client/Customer, Another Small Business, or a Charity

If you spotlight one of your customers they will share that post with their friends, same with another small business. Those are more eyes seeing what you have to offer them for the Holidays!

12. Don’t let Small Business Saturday Sneak Up on You NEXT YEAR!

Plan ahead and even set a reminder on your phone to start your planning on how you to celebrate SBS! Research if there are festivals you could be a part of next year - Check them out this year to see how well it is attended in the past. Also, see if there are local Holiday activities in the area that you could contribute to! Example: If you are a baker see if you could donate cookies for a meet and greet with Santa - imagine all of those people being able to sample your work!

We hope this helps you prepare for Small Business Saturday!! Add a comment below if these tips did help you out or let us know what your Small Business Saturday plans are!

Good Luck and we will see you out there or online!

4 Reasons Why Good Photos Are Important for Your Business

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 13:03:12 GMT

You might not think that photography is important for your business since… you’re not a photographer! Well, that is not true and frankly bad photos on your website or social media could make or break your business. Here are 4 reasons why *good* photography is extremely important for your business.

Why Quality Matters “75% of online shoppers rely on product imagery when making a decision about a potential purchase.” With that statistic alone you want to make sure your photos are the best representation of your product! You could have the most amazing product on the market, but if the photos are poor quality your product will look like poor quality.
First Impressions Most of the time your photos on Social Media & your website are the FIRST thing people see about your business. You want the people viewing your business and seeing clean, good photos so they know you are a business that takes pride in their work. The photos they see are the only representation of your business at that point ~ how do you want your business to represented? This goes for non-product based businesses as well.
Relieve your Customers Anxiety About Purchasing Online Some people don’t pull the trigger with a product online because they can’t physically touch it and see if they like it. Relieve that stress and doubt by providing high quality, crisp photos from multiply angles of your product.“22% of Returns Occur Because the Product Looks Different in Person”Don’t let this happen to your product because of poor images.
Good Photos are more Shareable! Good Visual Content is 40% More Likely to Get Shared on From your Social Accounts! Increased engagement is the most important thing for social media, if you have more shares and engagement then the social media gods will boost you up on news feed. That means you will be seen by more people and your potential client/customer will grow as well!

It is fairly obvious now photos are an important part of any business. You can hire a professional photographer to take photos for you especially if you’re needing new headshots. It is also a good idea to learn how to take good quality photos so that you don’t always have to rely on a professional photographer for your quick shoots. WCE has a workshop coming up this Thursday, Nov 5th ~ How to Photograph Products Like a Pro! You will learn simple lighting techniques, the best angles and composition, and ideas for color palettes! You can go

HERE to register for the event. This is recorded event so if you miss it you can check back at our SHOP for the recording.

Any questions or concerns please contact us!

Meet the Woman Behind Trulove Webworks ~ Web Design

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 12:00:00 GMT

WCE had the pleasure of interviewing Katelyn Trulove of Trulove Webworks Web Design! Learn all about Katelyn, why she chose to start her own business, what sets her & Trulove Webworks apart from the others, and why she has a passion for small business!

~Tell us a little bit about your business and what you do~

I build websites for small businesses that speak directly to their ideal customer. We don't use templates or generic content. The client and I work together to find a real strategy and brand personality that shines through every aspect of their online presence.

~How or why did you decide to start your own business?

I was raised on small business, and I've worked in small business my entire adult life. So, of course, I'm passionate about seeing local businesses succeed. I've been really inspired by the people I've had the privilege to work with. Owning a business has always been a dream for me, so seeing the amazing people in our community doing it gave me the courage to take the leap for myself.

~Why did you choose this business or industry?

Creativity runs in my veins. As I mentioned, I grew up in a small business, but another huge piece of my upbringing was art. My mother and both grandmothers were creatives and encouraged me from a young age to embrace my creativity. As a kid of the '90s, I watched the internet, and social media become what it is now. I think it just made sense to put that knowledge and my natural creativity into a career path.

~Did you have any major setbacks or obstacles getting started?

Other than the obvious obstacles that life brings for everyone, it has been an interesting road. I had my third daughter at the beginning of this year and launched my company in July. Family life, along with the changes brought on by Covid-19, have forced me to look at things a little different and stay flexible. The impact of Covid-19 has undoubtedly made my commitment and passion for small business stronger.

~What differentiates your business from your competition?

I describe myself as a concierge web design agency. It's really about the client, and I'm here to show them the way and facilitate success. I'm not the web designer that delivers a website that looks and sounds just like the competition, and disappears. Throughout the entire process, I keep you and your customer in mind. It's a collaboration to find a way to truly convey your message. I see every client as a relationship, and I take pride in nurturing that to create on-going success for us both.

~What are you most proud of about your business?

My clients, they are kicking butt! I have been so lucky to work with people who share my passion and drive. Seeing them grow is a real privilege.

~How has your industry changed in the last few months and how do you see it changing in the future (or will it)?

A lot. Covid has taken a toll on industries in different ways. It has definitely shown small business owners how important it is to be able to communicate with customers and do business online. It has also made it especially important for those businesses to have a marketing company that will update their information at a moment's notice. I believe that shift is here to stay and I’m proud to be a part of it.

~Please share any pricing info with us! ~

You can find my packages and pricing at https://trulovewebworks.com/web-design-pricing/

To see everything Katelyn and Trulove Webworks has to offer and to connect with her on Social Media please go here: https://linktr.ee/trulovewebdesign

November Social Media Post Idea Guide

Tue, 27 Oct 2020 05:39:58 GMT

It's already the end of October and we can't believe it!! With all the Fall and Winter Holidays coming up so quickly we know that you are going to have less and less time to get the extra work done for your business! So, WCE has created another monthly Social Media Post Idea Guide for you!! You can use all of these ideas each day at a time or you can choose the ones that best fit your business and brand. You can also use these ideas as a starting point and mold them into more of what your business/brand is about. No matter how you use these ideas we hope that it takes some of the stress out of the upcoming holiday season.

You can click ---> HERE to download the WCE November 2020 Social Media Post Ideas!
And if you found this help please let us know and please browse around for other helpful tips! We would also love for you to join us at our LAST Workshop of the year. Leslie Osborne of Bessie Bakes Backdrops will be teaching us How to Photograph Products Like a Pro! Go here to register: www.wearewce.com/event-4011247
It's only $12 until November 3rd!!

And as always don't forget to shop Local at www.ShopaSmallBusiness.com!!

Meet the Woman Behind PinPoint Massage & Bodywork

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 11:30:00 GMT

WCE had the privilege of interviewing Elanor Sung the woman behind PinPoint Massage & Bodywork. Learn all about Elanor, her passion for massage therapy and why she doesn't believe in competition, only cooperation.

~Tell us a little bit about your business and what you do

I am a Licensed Massage Therapist and it is my goal to deliver the massage service that the client is looking for. I focus on the clients needs and wants of the client, to deliver a massage where the therapist listens to the client.

~How or why did you decide to start your own business?

I decided to start my own practice because I was frustrated with franchises. They focused on the money making aspect of massage and didn't care about the clients. I would work with clients and they would need an extra 5 or 10 minutes because we were just starting to see results. But I couldn't. I had to stop the session or risk running behind all day. I had wonderful relationships with my clients, but the company didn't support that relationship. If I had a regular client that didn't show up for 2-3 weeks, I wanted to call to check in, but couldn't. It was frustrating for me, and I knew how to fix that. Start out on my own. So I did.

~Why did you choose this business or industry?

I became a LMT because I knew the healing power of touch. When I was 20 I started getting debilitating back pain that would make me pass out from the pain. It would last for hours. My uncle (a Massage Therapist) did 3 deep long strokes at the beginning of one of my episodes. The pain went away in 45 minutes when it used to take 4-5 hours. It was then that I asked him about being a massage therapist, because if he could make me feel that much better with 3 strokes, how much can you accomplish with the entire body?

~Did you have any major setbacks or obstacles getting started?

I started my massage career in 2004. I tried starting when I was a brand new therapist, but had no clue what I was doing. I tried again in 2011. Still, I didn't know what I was doing and the advice I was given was not very good, and I couldn't stay afloat. In 2016 I tried again, this time I had a vague idea of what to do and how to manage my money. I found several mentors in my industry and started following them. I took advice, listened to business podcasts and found support. I grew. I had a baby in that first year, and when I was at my lowest, I kept pushing through. The best investment I have made for my business is a business coach, everyone should have one.

~What differentiates your business from your competition?

I don't believe in competition, I believe in cooperation. There are so many amazing therapists out there, that if I am not the right fit, I have many friends that I can refer to. Techniques are the same, but the application is what sets us apart. Let me tell you of some benefits you will get when you choose me as your therapist. I do not comply with the industry standard of a 50 minute session. If you schedule a 60 minute massage, you will get 60 minutes (or more) of hands on work; from the time I put my hands on you to compress your tight, sore muscles, to the final compression of your legs. You get FULL TIME massage sessions. You can experience techniques like cupping, hot stones or a foot scrub as a complimentary service, no add on fee required. Many times I will suggest adding on cupping or stones (and sometimes both) in your session, especially if I feel that would help you reach your goals faster.

~What are you most proud of about your business?

I love to learn. I am constantly adding new knowledge to my repertoire. I am a Massage Instructor as well as a Massage Therapist. I love learning and growing. Currently I am working on 2 additional certifications: Neuromuscular Cupping Therapy and Manual Lymphatic Drainage (Vodder) Official Certification.

~How has your industry changed in the last few months and how do you see it changing in the future (or will it)?

The Massage industry has changed because they are taking a bigger role in educating people on the dangers and prevalence of Human Trafficking. Many don't know that Houston is the second biggest hub for human traffickers in the nation. That is so sad. Texas (and the industry as a whole) is moving forward in preventing this deplorable trade. Many people who are being trafficked, pose as massage practices, but really are there for sex trafficking. Know the signs of human trafficking and never hesitate to call your local police, if you suspect trafficking.

~Please share any pricing info of products or services

Pricing: I charge $84 for an hour session. I find that most people need a 75 minute session, at $99. I price for my time, and not for the type of massage you receive. Customized sessions range from light pressure to deep tissue; from relaxation to rehabilitation and recovery. Medical Massage sessions are generally for those with a prescription for massage from their doctor. While I don't charge insurance at this time, I will gladly provide you with whatever documentation your insurance requires for you to get reimbursed.

You can find full descriptions and price lists on Elanor’s website: www.pinpointmassage.com

You can also connect with her through her Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PinpointMassageTX/

6 Steps for Making Happy Customers

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 03:53:10 GMT

With Yelp, Facebook Reviews, Google Reviews, the Better Business Bureau, and everywhere else reviews for your business can be made it is important to know how to make your customers happy.

Here are 6 tips we think are important for making a happy and satisfied customer.

1. Know your Clients Expectations

Better yet - remember the expectations you have advertised about your business. What are the main things you have stated you provide for your customers or clients? Always keep up with the standards you have set for your brand. Know who you are as company and always provide that to each of your customers or clients.

2. Be Prepared to Solve Your Customers Problems

Know and be prepared for the common (and not so common) problems your customer tend to have. Be one step ahead, so that your customer's experience runs smoothly. Have procedures in place for the different issues that could occur and make sure your co-worker/employees are trained on these procedures. For example: if you're a wedding photographer and you know every wedding there is always an issue with brides being able to gather all her family members after the ceremony for the portraits. The solution/procedure: Give your bride a worksheet to fill out well before the wedding of all the portraits she wants taken on her wedding day. Then provide printable cards she can have her bridesmaids give to the family members needed for portraits explaining where they need to meet the bride and groom after the ceremony. Simple! Something that is very stressful for your client is fixed by you = happy client!

3. Have AMAZING Customer Service

None of us are perfect, we all make mistakes. There will be a time when you will have an unhappy or unsatisfied customer. Whether that customer's complaint is legitimate or not doesn't really matter. You need to try and make that customer happy and right your wrong IMMEDIATELY. Listen to your client's complaint, show sympathy, admit fault, apologize, even ask the customer how you can fix this for them. Again, have a plan and procedure in place and make sure everyone working with you is trained on that procedure. Nothing can take down a business faster than bad customer service.

4. Thank Your Customers

Make sure to thank your customers at the time of purchase. And it is also a nice touch to send past customers/client a note, email, or text (however you contact them) with a thank you and add a coupon or discount code with it! It will remind them you are still there while making them feel appreciated.

5. Ask for Feedback

You will never grow as a company if you do not listen to your customers/clients. Provide a place where they can leave anonymous feedback ~ it will be more honest that way. The best way to know what your customer wants or needs is by asking them.

6. Listen to the Feedback

If there are things that your customers are not happy with ~ change it! Like we said before nobody is perfect, you will always need to adapt and change things within your business to provide the best experience for your customer or client.

The bottom line, when a customer has a great experience they will want to return. If you exceed your customer's expectations not only will they want to return they will recommend you to others.

We hope this helps! Let us know (we love feedback)!! Also, if you are struggling to find more customers browse through our other articles for marketing tips. You can look through our shop for webinars & workshops too ~ we have so many topics to choose from! WCE also has an upcoming webinar on 5 ways to make your Marketing more Inclusive that can help you grow your clientele!

Any questions or concerns? Email us at wearewce@gmail.com!

Kreative Media ~ Digital Marketing Agency

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 11:30:00 GMT

WCE had the pleasure of interviewing Krista McDaniel owner and founder of Kreative Media a Digital Marketing Agency in The Woodlands, TX. Learn all about Krista, why she chose to start her own business and what sets her & Kreative Media apart from the others!

~Tell us a little bit about your business and what you do

Kreative Media is a full service digital marketing agency. We specialize in website design, logo design, social media management, SEO, content creation, ad campaigns and all things digital.

~How or why did you decide to start your own business?

Before Kreative Media, I owned an upscale women’s clothing boutique for 10 years. I grew it to one of the top in the industry and had 2 locations before I started a family. I did this through innovative and creative ideas that no other boutiques were doing at the time. We were featured on ABC The Bachelor and on the news multiple times. I noticed a niche in the market for someone to actually help grow these businesses and think outside of the box. There’s a lot of digital marketing agency but I know what businesses actually need since I have been on the “other side” of business. All businesses really want is ROI and growing their brand. I am here to help you propel your brand to the top of your industry.

~Tell us about you- the business owner/owners so we can get to know you personally

I graduated from the University of Miami in 2012 (Go Canes)! After college, I moved back to The Woodlands where I started my clothing boutique and in the meantime met my husband. We have been married for 5 years and have 2 little girls who are 2 and 4 years old. When I am not behind the computer designing and working, you will find us out and about in The Woodlands.

~Why did you choose this business or industry?

My major was in Public Relations and I have always loved the digital design aspect. I love watching my client’s businesses grow and being along the journey with them. All of my clients, I consider my friends and we talk multiple times a day about new ways to market, content creation, email marketing, website updates and events that we could do.

~Did you have any major setbacks or obstacles getting started?

I knew the biggest challenge would be getting my first client. Surprisingly, one of the first clients I reached out to started right away. I have been blessed with the clients I work with and happily can say that every client I have started has stayed with Kreative Media. We have now expanded to help all industries from retail, real estate, law firms, med spas and more!

~What differentiates your business from your competition?

All of my clients appreciate that I have been on the other side of the business. I understand the struggles that brands go through and help to avoid those by being proactive and staying on top of the industry trends. I know what consumer’s want in a website and what works. I go above and beyond for all of my clients and work 7 days a week to make sure everyone is successful.

~What are you most proud of about your business?

I am truly proud of my clients and what we have been able to accomplish. Every one of my clients have grown 100x since I started working with them. I am proud of the start ups that I do a full package for which includes logo design, full website design, branding and social media management. I love watching their vision come to life and take off on their own. I love seeing the smile on my clients face when a campaign works and receiving online sales. I would say this industry has a lot of reward but you have to be ready to put in the work. I am here to do the “dirty” work to grow your brand while you focus on what you truly love.

~How has your industry changed in the last few months and how do you see it changing in the future (or will it)?

I believe people must go digital these days. If you don’t have a website or some type of online presence the brand your brand will be left in the dust. Brands must make it personal, people want to see who is behind the brand and get to know you! My business has grown 10x during these past few months because people understand the importance of being digital.

~Please share any pricing info of products or services

Our packages are completely customizable. We do everything from start-ups that need our full package (logo design, website design, branding and social media) to already established companies who just need SEO or a little push to take it to the next level. No project is too small or too big for us to handle.

Please Krista & Kreative Media for all your marketing needs:

Website: www.kreative-media.com

Instagram: @Kreativemediagrp

Facebook: @kreativemediagrp

October Social Media Post Idea Guide

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 11:22:34 GMT

Who's excited that October is in just a couple days?! We are!! And we are super pumped to give y'all the Social Media Post Idea Guide for October!

For those that don't know WCE puts together post ideas for each month of the year to help you streamline your social media marketing! You may not use all of our ideas, but we do think it will get your brain moving and help you think of ideas that relate to your business!

So, without wasting too much more of your time ~ you can download this guide for free HERE!

We really hope this helps! Don't forget to browse around our other articles to find more business tips & other free downloads!

5 Reasons Why Your Business Needs Videos

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 11:36:39 GMT

If you haven't noticed the world is slightly obsessed with videos - on youtube, facebook and just about anywhere you look you can find people streaming videos. 75 million people watch video everyday! So, the question is - Have you considered how beneficial videos could be for your business? We have done some research and found videos are important for the growth of your business. Here are some reasons you should add video to your marketing strategy!

1. Video Can Explain Your Message!

Text and image marketing are great, but it can be difficult to get your message across. Think of it as a TV commercial compared to an ad in a magazine. Another thing to keep in mind - viewers retain 95% of the info they watch on video! The average retention for reading text is only 10%!

2. Videos are more Engaging & Encourage Sharing

Videos on Facebook increase engagement by up to 33%. But, studies have shown that keeping the videos up to only 2 minutes get the most engagement. Videos are more likely to be shared on social media platforms too, actually they're 12 times more likely to be shared than text and images combined!

3. Google loves Videos

Embedded videos on your website can increase your traffic by 55%! To optimize your videos for SEO you need to make sure that you have good titles and descriptions otherwise google won't find them.

4. Videos Can Build Trust

Video give your customer a better understanding of your company and your product/service which gives them confidence to buy. 77% of consumers say that videos gave them more confidence to purchase online. Videos also have shown to increase revenue - marketers who use videos experience a growth revenue that is 49% faster than non-video users.

5. It Can Boost Email Marketing

Simply mentioning email in your subject line can increase your email open rate by 19%! Which is big in the email marketing world! The average click rate for email marketing is 15-20% so you are significantly increasing your reach by adding videos links to your emails.

All in all, videos can do wonders for your business. A lot of us shy away from videos because we don't want to be in them or don't know how to do them! If you want to learn more about making videos for your business you can join us at our workshop How to Make Professional Videos with Your SmartPhone on October 8th!

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us!

How to Calculate Your Startup

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 11:09:10 GMT

Are you thinking about starting a business and don't really know where to start? A good place is estimating how much the startup will cost be! Knowing your expenses is extremely important even for a seasoned business owner.

When figuring your startup costs you need to take into consideration your physical assets, your one-time costs (or irregular costs), your monthly production costs, and your operational costs.

Physical Assets are things that you buy that are long term in nature ~ they are your tangible assets. These include your equipment, building, etc.

One-Time Costs or irregular costs are the costs that don't have a monthly fee. Which include your attorney fees, formulation fees, graphic designer fees, insurance, permits fees, etc.

Your Monthly Production costs vary with your production volume, so the more you sell the more your production costs will go up. These costs include materials, shipping costs, labor, etc.

And finally your Operational Costs which are your regular monthly expenses that will rarely fluctuate. These are your cell phone bill, rent, web hosting, bookkeeping, etc.

WCE has put together a very simple Startup Cost Worksheet that will help you breakdown your physical assets, your one-time costs, your monthly production costs, and your monthly operational costs. You can find the worksheet HERE!!

We hope this helps you get one step closer to achieving your dreams! Another thing to consider when thinking about startup costs is getting funding for you business! You won't want to miss WCE's next webinar What You Need to Know About Venture Capital! You can find this and all our other upcoming webinars and workshops in our Upcoming Events!

Save with Lone Star Local Guide

Tue, 08 Sep 2020 13:00:00 GMT

We would like to introduce Lindsey Kasprzak founder of the Lone Star Local Guide and Sponsor for Everything You Need to Know About Text Marketing to be Successful Workshop!

Lone Star Local Guide is your Montgomery County fully digital community magazine and marketing company. We help the average small business get their name out to the public by promoting them not only in our magazine but also through our social media outlets that reach an average of 30,000+ a month. We understand that marketing and promoting your business can get expensive which is why we have prices any small business can afford.

~How or why did you decide to start your own business?

Being in the advertising industry for over 16 years, I saw how it was hard and expensive it was for small businesses to advertise. A lot of that has to do with the cost of print. We live in a digital world today and print media is no longer the only game in town, but it’s also now not the most beneficial, cost-effective, or useful. This is why I came up with the fully digital magazine. Again, people use their phones now more than anything else so this media is much more effective. Plus, it has the added benefit of data analytics and targeted marketing- with digital and online media, you can see how often people visit your website, how long they are there, and what pages they spend their time on. You can also tell generally where those visitors are located. With print, you pepper an area and hope people look at or read your material. Most likely, they nowadays just throw it away. With my pinpointed marketing, you reach your targeted customers directly and, more importantly, you know you did.

~Tell us about you- the business owner so we can get to know you personally:

My name is Lindsey and I am so proud to not only call myself a Texan, but also a Houstonian. My family history is not only deep in the heart of Texas but deep in the heart of Houston since I’m a direct descendant of the Allen Brothers. I’m therefore very proud that my digital publication represents the area where I live and where my family is from. I am passionate about my community and the small businesses within it and I love helping them reach their local market. I graduated from the Art Institute with a degree in Graphic Design and Advertising. I spent several years designing ads and formatting a local phone book and then several additional years providing similar services for a local print magazine. I started Lone Star Local Guide in 2019. The pandemic has been hard on small businesses; I think my more than 16 years of experience can be a great asset to anyone trying to get their name out.

~Why did you choose this business or industry?

I love to help people and have always been a big proponent of supporting local. Graphic design attracted me because I also have an introverted creative side. Lone Star Local Guide is my way of marrying the two together.

~Did you have any major setbacks or obstacles getting started?

LOL! What business doesn’t? When I started I knew I wasn’t going to be have a problem with the graphics and designing part, it was going to be getting businesses to trust me and know that I'm here to help and to support them. I want my customers to know that no matter what, they can come to me with any questions any time and that they’ll get the support they need. Advertising is a difficult concept for people to understand and they want immediate results immediately. Part of what I do is try to set and manage expectations from what you should expect from your advertisement. Yes, of course, we all want business. But, the only way to get that business is to be seen on a regular basis from the people most likely to utilize your service or need or want your product. That’s where I excel.

~What differentiates your business from your competition?

Personal experience, affordable pricing and a support system. I spent a great deal of time networking myself and have amassed not only a fairly large sized following, but have made relationships with many other business owners. I am always looking for ways to get my customer’s names out there, whether that’s by finding a way to schedule an interview with you for the radio, by alerting you to a networking event, helping film and produce a commercial, or by cross-marketing synergistic services and products, like a bounce castle rental place with a cupcake baker. All my customers have my personal cell phone and it’s not uncommon for me to get a text asking how to make a good facebook post or “Hey can we make a promotion video for my upcoming event?” When someone decides to advertise with me, they're not just a number, they’re a friend.

~What are you most proud of about your business?

Everything! I get compliments all the time on how beautiful my magazine is and how clean my ads are. We’re proud of how user-friendly the app is (I taught myself how to make the app) and how functional the whole thing is. For instance, I’ve programmed it so that there is a hyperlink to the business website directly embedded in the digital ad. All you have to do is click on the ad and it takes you to that business’s website. I’m most proud of the successes we’ve had with our customers, especially the ones who couldn’t afford expensive print advertising and were struggling to get their names and businesses known. The love and gratitude they have is humbling. Finally, I absolutely love all of my customers. I support their businesses everywhere I go and with everything I have. Their success is very important to me.

~How has your industry changed in the last few months and how do you see it changing in the future (or will it)?

Oh boy! Thanks to COVID small businesses are struggling. That affects not only them, but their families, and by extension, their communities. We’ve had to get creative with our processes and strategies. I’ve been trying everything I can for my customer to help keep them afloat by thinking outside the box. Again, this is the key thing that sets Lone Star Local Guide apart from others- I’m here to help my customers no matter what and if it’s me helping them think of different ways to market, then that’s what I’ll do. I read a few months ago another company say “their customers need to think outside the box” well in my opinion it’s not the small businesses job, it’s my job.

~Can you please share any pricing info for those interested in your services?

We offer packages for everyone’s budget. From a simple business listing on our website at $50 a month to us promoting them with paid sponsorship ad on social media. What’s also great about Lone Star Local Guide is everyone that advertises gets a full page ad! This helps us track the ad when someone clicks on it to go to the advertiser’s website. We never want someone to say they can’t afford it. I’ll do my best to customize an affordable package for every single business. I’m absolutely confident that If we can’t find a way for you to advertise within your particular budget, it’s not possible.

~Please visit Lone Star Local Guide here to download their guide today:

www.LoneStarLocalGuide.com

www.facebook.com/Lonestarlocalguide

www.instagram.com/lonestarlocalguide

Text-Based Marketing: 13 Reasons to Use It

Tue, 01 Sep 2020 10:30:00 GMT

As business owners we are always looking for new and better ways to market our business. We know that social media is amazing for making connections to not only customers, but other business owners. The problem we always face with social media is that we are not in complete control of it! You might argue - "yes, I am! I finalize all the content that goes on my platforms!" That is true, but you are not really in control of who sees those posts and that is the most important thing! Even if you have the best product and the most beautiful content if nobody sees it ~ it's all for nothing.

Text-based Marketing is a form of marketing that you can be in complete control of and be able to connect with your customers on your terms! Here is an article by Content Marketing Institute that gives 13 reasons why text-marketing is something you should try!

https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2018/09/text-based-marketing/?fbclid=IwAR2fFHu2o5OzYcuw_XjI0EcTWaEmSMfIFjcJwA7f96aZ1u0a8gdqf3Y9o9w

If you think text marketing is something you want to try, but don't know where to start join our Everything You Need to Know About Text Marketing to be Successful Workshop on Sept. 10th! You can go here to register: https://www.wearewce.com/event-3894638

We really hope this helps! Search our other articles for great tips and some free downloads too! And check out our all of Upcoming Events & and in our Shop for more resources that can help you grow as an entrepreneur. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us at wearewce@gmail.com!

September Social Media Post Idea Guide

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 10:30:00 GMT

September is around the corner! With all the craziness that COVID has thrown at you this year WCE wants to make your life easier! So, here is our September Social Media Post Idea Guide to help you save some time and your sanity!

You can find it right HERE !

If this guide helpful come back at the end of September to find WCE's October Social Media Post Guide!

And don't forget to check out WCE's upcoming events! You won't want to miss our text Marketing Workshop!!

Remember WCE always has your back ~ if you need help or have any questions never hesitate to contact us at woodlandswce@gmail.com!

42 Book Every Entrepreneur Should Read

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 11:55:24 GMT

Continued learning and staying inspired is very important when you’re entrepreneur. A great way to do this is by reading!!

WCE found an amazing list of books for entrepreneurs from The Success Mountain. This is list is broken into great categories, such as, books for online entrepreneurs, personal growth, fighting anxiety, for women, routines, even books on psychology of personalities all geared towards entrepreneurs!

Here is the link:

https://thesuccessmountain.com/best-business-books-for-beginner-entrepreneurs-gift-guide-2018/

Let us know what you think! Have you read any of these, which one is your favorite, and if you would add any to the list.

Don't forget to check out our Upcoming Events and how WCE can help you grow as an entrepreneur!! ✨

Setting Goals ~ Free Worksheet

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 13:39:59 GMT

For some the new year is when they set goals, but here at WCE we are strong believers of setting small goals throughout the year. Coming up with goals can be the easy part planning and implementing them is the hard part!

We have created a simple Goal Worksheet for you to use to help organize your goal and break it down so that you can easily achieve it!

Before you download the Goal Worksheet ~ which can be found HERE ~ we want to walk you through the worksheet so you know what each section means!

At the top of the worksheet you are going to simply write your goal down. You will also include a due date. This can be an estimated date, but you want to give yourself a deadline so you have a date to work towards.

After you write your goal down, give yourself the reason why you want to achieve this goal! This is important because it will remind you why you need to stay focused and your purpose.

Onto the brainstorming section! Some things to get your brain storming ~ What will you need to reach your goal? What are some routes to take to get there? What have done in the past that would help with this goal? Brainstorming is important for planning out the next two sections, so grab so extra paper if you need it!!

What you will fill out next is your contact and resources that can help to achieve this goal. Who are some people that can help you? Where are some places you can go for help?

Now you will be making your Action List! This will be pulled from your brainstorming list ~ what are the the small steps you need to take to reach the ultimate goal? Write each small step down, create a due date, and don’t forget to check it off when it is done!

We suggest after you fill this out hang it near your desk so that you see it everyday. You want to be reminded of the small tasks you need to do to reach the goal you have set.

We really hope this helps! Search our other articles for great tips and other free downloads and check out our Upcoming Events & and in our Shop ~ WCE just might be the resource you’re looking for to achieve your goals!!!

August Social Media Post Idea Guide

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 11:30:00 GMT

It is almost August!!!! We can't believe it! We know a lot of you have had a lot on your plate with the current situation so we are here to take some of the stress off of you!! WCE provides a monthly social media post idea guide to help you streamline your workflow!

You can find the August Edition right HERE!

If you find our guide helpful don't forget to come back at the end of the month to find WCE's September Social Media Post Guide!!

And while you're here check out our upcoming events for August! You won't want to miss our online workshop on How to Grow Your Instagram Following and Grow Your Business!!

Remember WCE always has your back ~ if you need help or have any questions never hesitate to contact us at wearewce@gmail.com!

7 Types of Digital Marketing Every Entrepreneur Should Know

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 11:30:00 GMT

Here are 7 types of Digital Marketing that you should know as a entrepreneur!

Social Media Marketing

Which is the use of Social Media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Alignable, Pinterest, etc., to connect your audience or client to your brand, increase sales, and drive traffic to your business. A great way to use social media marketing is interacting with people in local facebook groups!

Content Marketing

Content Marketing is focused on creating and distributing content for a targeted audience online. It is free, valuable content that is easily shareable. It is used to attracted leads, increase sales, increase brand awareness, expand your customer base, and engages your potential clients.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Pay-Per-Click Advertising is used to drive traffic to your website by placing ads on different websites. You will pay the website publisher when your ad is clicked. Social Media sites (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc.) also have their versions of pay-per-click advertising too. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a version of Pay-Per-Click Advertising because it uses paid advertising to get traffic from search engines like Google. WCE had a webinar on how to use Facebook Ads! Here is the link to check it out: https://www.wearewce.com/Sys/Store/Products/46531

Affiliate Marketing

Is the process of someone earning a commission by promoting your products. Example - you can pay a well known blog (in your target market) to promote your business or product for you. This can be expensive, but is a great way for your business to be seen by your target market and by someone they trust.

Email Marketing

Email Marketing is, well, sending your clients emails! If you already have a database of emails from your past clients use those to send newsletters, notification of sales coming up, or even holiday greetings! Email Marketing is a great way to remind your existing clients that you are still here! Building your email list is important too! Try putting a opt in for emails on your website or create a giveaway that requires an email to enter.

Text Marketing

Text Marketing is very similar to email marketing except is by text messages instead of email. There are different programs that you can use. WCE actually has a workshop coming up in September about Text marketing with Project Broadcast!! Here is the link for more info: https://www.wearewce.com/event-3894638

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is very important and can be hard to master. It is the process of driving free, organic traffic to your website from search results on the search engines. To be on the first page of a search engines you need to optimize your website or blog with the right content and search words and get enough clicks to make search engine sites see your website. Content marketing actually helps with your SEO!

Marketing is complex and hard to master to say the least. You can join us on WCE’s webinar this Thursday to hear more about Marketing and how to stand out on Social Media! Link to the event right here: https://www.wearewce.com/event-3877515

We do hope this helped! Let us know below! And remember WCE always has your back, if you have any questions please contact us at wearewce@gmail.com! ✨

5 Things You Need for a Successful Mindset

Tue, 30 Jun 2020 12:24:50 GMT

We are constantly told having a positive or good mindset is important for a successful life. But, not everyone is born with a positive outlook on things, many tend to dwell on the negative. We get caught up in the bad things that are happening and we start building the wall in between ourselves and success. So, the question is ~ how can we start making the steps towards having a different mindset? We found a good starting point with an article from Success Magazine. This article was written by Karima Mariama-Arthur the author of Poised For Excellence: Fundamental Principles of Effective Leadership in the Boardroom and Beyond.

Follow the link below to read the article on the 5 things you need for a successful mindset and please let us know below what you think!

https://www.success.com/5-things-you-need-for-a-successful-mindset/?fbclid=IwAR27EqoD4QmYX6Hp1IiaPIygg6f-ZMmRsTsAXhz9zMTwW8Ab_ckuAFl-Cu4

July Social Media Post Ideas

Tue, 23 Jun 2020 12:52:41 GMT

Having trouble coming up with Social Media Post ideas? Going blank on what to to post about next? Don't worry ~ WCE's July Social Media Post Guide will help and you can find it right here!

If you found our guide helpful please come back at the end of the month to find WCE's August Social Media Post Guide!!

And don't forget to check out our upcoming events!!

Remember WCE is always has your back ~ if you need help or have any questions never hesitate to contact us at woodlandswce@gmail.com!

Do you know your brand?

Tue, 16 Jun 2020 19:18:03 GMT

Branding is the visual heart & soul of a business. It gives your potential clients an idea of who you are, not just as a business, but as a person. Good branding brings your potential clients into your story. It gives them something that they can connect with even on a personal level. Now the question is ~ Do you know your brand? If not, no problem! WCE always has your back! ✨
Here are some great tips on how to figure out “Who is Your Brand?” and a worksheet to help you define that brand from Florida Winter Marketing!
https://floridawintermarketing.com/who-is-your-brand/

The Marketing Rule of 7

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 03:08:26 GMT

So, that means your client isn’t even going to consider you until they have heard your name or seen something about you AT LEAST seven times!

Here is a great article that goes into detail about ways you can use the Rule of 7 to expand your business ~ https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-to-use-the-rule-of-7-to-radically-grow-your-business-4037683

We hope this helps you!! And don’t forget to check out our upcoming events!!

Printable Saving Guide!!

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 03:33:20 GMT

WCE has joined forces with Local Businesses to bring the FIRST Play+Shop+Live Local Saving Guide!! This saving book is filled with local businesses in and near The Woodlands with lots of savings.

You can get your FREE local saving book HERE!

Thank you for supporting small business and please don't forget share this with your friends!!

June Social Media Post Guide

Tue, 26 May 2020 12:00:00 GMT

We can't believe it almost June already!!! Seems like 2020 is flying by (thanks a lot Covid-19!). Well, WCE doesn't want you wasting anymore of your time so we made the June Social Media Post Idea Guide to help you!

And you can find it right HERE !

If you find our guide helpful don't forget to come back at the end of the month to find WCE's June Social Media Post Guide!!

And while you're here check out our upcoming events we have a Virtual Vendor Event happening June 11th & 12th!! It will be a fun interactive shopping experience ~ You won't want to miss it!

Remember WCE always has your back ~ if you need help or have any questions never hesitate to contact us at woodlandswce@gmail.com!

5 Ways to Get More Clients

Tue, 19 May 2020 10:43:00 GMT

1. Referrals. Referrals. Referrals.

Ask your current clients to give you a shout out or ask them to write a a review on social media. It’s easy for them and influencer marketing is one of the most successful. If you don’t have current clients ask a friend (that you’ve done work for) to write the review or give the shout out! Remember people aren’t thinking about you and your business as much as you are (or at all) so you need to ask for help!

2. Network.

This one seems obvious and it might seem impossible during COVID-19, but it isn’t! There are lots of ways to network online! You can become more active in local Facebook groups ~ and not just one of them! Be active in all of them or most of them. Most likely people are in the same groups and if they see you in more than one group they will get to know you more and faster. Be remember ~ be genuine, be yourself. Don’t try to be someone you’re not just to get clients, fake shows. You can also find online events that are going on right now ~ either networking events or fun community based ones!

3. Show You’re a Pro!

Show the world that you are a leader in your industry! Book a speaking engagement for a local event, reach out to be a guest blogger, inquire about being on podcast, or do an Instagram takeover with another local business owner! Let people know that you know your stuff!!

4. Collaborate!!

You can collaborate with other business owners to help each other gain more clients. Clients are the only one thats can give referrals ~ other business owners can help you with that too! And don’t be scared to befriend the business owners in your industry! You might think they are the enemy, but they’re not! There are enough clients to go around and if they have an over abundance of clients wouldn’t you like to be their referral??

5. Know the Client You’re Looking For!

This is the most important one! Not everyone is your client! If you market to everyone you will run yourself too thin and come up empty. Here is a great blog post about Tips on Finding Your Ideal Client from one of our speakers for WCE: https://brittnischroeder.com/finding-ideal-clients/

Let us know what you think of these tips! And let us know how we can help you!!!

If you don’t already belong to our Facebook group do it now:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/woodlandswce/

And if you would like to support some local artisans join us on June 11 & 12, 2020 for a Live Facebook Marketplace Event! Details HERE!

6 Great Podcast for Female Entrepreneurs

Tue, 05 May 2020 13:09:24 GMT

Below are 6 great podcasts for female entrepreneurs to listen to. Each one helps you guide through this crazy entrepreneurial life. These are listed in no particular order!

Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield

“Expert interviews, mini execution plans, and intimate behind-the-scenes secrets from my biggest launches… all tied together by my mission to make everything you listen to as actionable and profitable as possible.”

2. The Goal Digger Podcast with Jenna Kutcher

“The live-workshop style business podcast that is helping thousands redefine success and chase bolder dreams. You can train from the experts how to dig in, do the work, and tackle your biggest goals along the way.”

3. Girl Boss Radio with Sophia Amoruso

“Each week on Girlboss Radio, you'll hear honest conversations with trailblazing women. These women go deep on what it takes to build a successful career or grow a business with staying power—while living life on their own terms and navigating personal and professional curveballs.”

4. She Did It Her Way with Amanda Boleyn

“She Did It Her Way inspires women all across the world to take massive action on their business idea and create freedom in their life.”

5. Being Boss

“Being Boss is a podcast for creative entrepreneurs, freelancers, and side-hustlers, whether you're wanting to quit your day job or have been your own boss for a while now.”

6. BizChix

“The BizChix Podcast is hosted by Natalie Eckdahl, MBA and BizChix CEO. Natalie interviews industry influencers and entrepreneurs to help her listeners and clients grow their businesses.”

Bonus LOCAL suggestion:

Tomball Press

WCE had the privilege of being on the Tomball Press with the awesome husband and wife team Jose and Lili Soliz! It is a great podcast to learn about local businesses we have in our area!

“On the Tomball Press podcast, we discover and share the interesting art, culture, food and drink, music, and things to do in and around our home, Tomball Texas. It is our goal to entertain and inform our community as well as those who may be considering relocating to the ‘Hometown with a Heart’.”

Let us know below what YOUR favorite podcast is!! And if you are thinking of starting your own podcast or at least curious on what it takes to start one join us for our Webinar ~ 5 Reasons Why Podcasting is the Future of Your Business. In this webinar you will learn how to get a podcast up and running and how to get quick results!

WCE's May Social Media Post Ideas

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 10:30:00 GMT

Struggling with what to post on social media for your business?? We've all been there!! WCE provides a monthly post idea guide to help make the wheels start turning for you!

You can find the May Social Media Post Idea Guide right HERE!

If you find our guide helpful don't forget to come back at the end of the month to find WCE's June Social Media Post Guide!!

And while you're here check out our upcoming events we have a Virtual Meetup Networking Happy Hour tomorrow April 29th!! You won't want to miss it!

Remember WCE always has your back ~ if you need help or have any questions never hesitate to contact us at woodlandswce@gmail.com!

8 Etiquette Tips for Virtual Events

Tue, 21 Apr 2020 10:30:00 GMT

It is important during virtual events to make a good first impression, just like you want to at an in-person event. Sometimes we don't treat the virtual events the same since we are at home and things can feel a bit more relaxed. And even though it is good to be relaxed and comfortable it's also good to follow some proper etiquette. So, we have created 8 Etiquette Tips for Virtual Events.

1. Dress for Success

You don’t need to be dressed to the nines, but make sure you put yourself together if it is a professional event. If it is more of a social gathering you can be more casual, but always present yourself the way you want your colleagues to see you.

2. Keep Your Background in Mind

Again, if this a professional event than make sure what is behind you is clean and appropriate. Suggestions for a background are a bookshelf, blank wall, or nice photos on the wall. If you are struggling to find the right background, then make sure to clean the room behind you.

3. Check Your Technology

Before your meeting or event, test out your audio and video. Make sure you have decent lighting, and check your WiFi connection. WiFi connection is more important than a perfect background or lighting! So if you need to move closer to your router, then do so. You don’t want to cut out in the middle of the event.

4. Prepare Your Part Ahead of Time

If you are presenting or you are able to introduce yourself, be prepared! When preparing your introduction be informative, but brief. You want to keep their attention not bore them. Be personable and fun and don’t forget to have your camera on while you are speaking! Also think about what contact information you want to give out (if you are able to). Will you give your email, your phone number, or just your social media handles? Make all those decisions ahead of time.

5. Be On Time

Even though this is a virtual event the same rules as apply as if it were an in-person event. Always try to be on time. There of course can be technical issues (tip 3 will help with that), but just being fashionably late is never good for a professional event.

6. Be Attentive!

While others are speaking - listen! If your video is on, make sure you are reacting to what the speaker is saying. It is rude to be doing other things while others are presenting or giving their introductions. Remember, if you are networking then you are learning about the other attendees not just waiting for your turn to speak. You are there to make connections with people. If you need to do other things (answer a text, a call, help a family member, etc.) turn off your video feed and mute yourself. Speaking of muting, it is also a good idea to turn off your microphone if someone else is speaking so you don’t have to worry about unexpected loud noises on your end.

7. Sit Still and Don’t Disappear

Again if your video is on, don’t be distracting to the person speaking or the other attendees. If you need to step away for a second just like in the last tip - turn your video feed off. Things happen when you are at home and it is completely understandable that you get pulled away from the event. But it is very distracting when people get up and leave, so simply turn the video feed off and no one will notice you needed to step away. It can be a good idea to use the message feature to let everyone know you will ‘be right back’ if you need to step away for awhile.

8. Follow Up After the Event

Just because this is a virtual event doesn’t mean you don’t follow up with the connection that you have made! When others are giving their introductions, listen to what their business is and think if there is way you can collaborate and connect with that person. Make it a goal to connect with at least 5 other attendees after the event. Message them on social media (or whatever contact they give) and consider becoming friends on social media. One way to collaborate is after you start following each other’s businesses make plans to share each other’s content on social media. Supporting each other right now is SO important!

Even though it can be hard to find the motivation sometimes, it is important to treat virtual events as you would an in-person event. After all, this is the only way for us to network and learn right now, so we need to make the best of it.

And if you are looking for virtual events please visit WCE's Upcoming Events tab!! We have both Networking Events and Webinars coming up soon!!

Tips for Working At Home for Moms

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 12:53:11 GMT

1. Have a Schedule

Whether you make a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule it is important to have one. A schedule sets guidelines for how you want the day to go and is a reference for you to keep you on track throughout the day.

Tip: Make a weekly overview schedule on Sunday and then a detailed hourly/daily schedule each day. Things are changing by the minute, but a weekly overview of what needs to get done during the week is important. And then creating a daily schedule the night before is the best way to stay on top of what is important each day. To help with the weekly schedule download your kids’ school schedule for the week to help set YOUR schedule. We don’t mean put their schedule over yours, just see if they have any online conferences they need to be live for and put those on the weekly schedule and do they same with yours, and with anyone else working in the house too.

2. Time Block Your Day

Define the times of day YOU are going to work. If you don’t do this you will be working at all hours of the day and night and you’ll be stressed that you’re not getting your stuff done and you won’t be in the mindset to help your kids.

Breakdown on Time blocking: Look at the overview of your family’s tasks for the week on your weekly schedule and start time blocking your daily schedule. Schedule everyone’s most important stuff first and then work your way through the not so important things that can wait until later or the next day. Make a family schedule that works for YOUR FAMILY. If your kids work better in the morning and then fade out after lunch - have them do a big chunk of work in the morning! If they are night owls this is not the time to fight that! Let them do most of their school work in the afternoon. Don’t forget to schedule in breaks throughout the day for everyone! Work for 30-40 minutes at time, take breaks, and remember to schedule in lunch.

Tip: Working early in the morning before the kids get up is a great time to work. Even if you are not an early riser try to get up at least an hour before the kids do. This is a great way to get a lot of work done and get time to yourself to start your day off right. Or if THEY are early risers maybe schedule some of your work after dinner. Let dad take the kids on a walk so you can get some quiet time to work!

Here is a link for WCE's daily schedule template that you can print out for free!

3. Delegate the Workload

Your home is not YOUR sole responsibility. If your kids have a school schedule then they are old enough to have chores. Have them clean the kitchen after lunch or empty the dishwasher. Have them switch the laundry over or fold their clothes. This a perfect time for kids to learn these tasks! If your kids aren’t old enough and you have a significant other ~ delegate work to them! Figure out the most tedious chores and split them between the two of you! One person does the laundry for the week, the other does the dishes! Also, you can delegate outside of the house! We know there is a quarantine right now, but there are people that you can hire that can grocery shop for you. Or you can plan a week ahead on the groceries and do curbside! If you chose to do either of these remember to sanitize bags and groceries before bringing them into your house.

Tip: If you are finding it hard to get the chores done add these to the daily/hourly schedule. Have the schedule posted on the fridge so EVERYONE can see what needs to get done!

4. Designate Your Work Area

Not only is this important so your family knows where your office is, it gives YOU the mindset you are AT WORK and that it’s not time to be a mom, it’s time to get work done.

Tip: Have areas of the house designated for different things. If there is a need for a quiet spot for virtual meetings maybe make the Master bedroom the “conference room” because the door can be shut. Maybe the kitchen is where group work happens ~ Kids can all be working on school work while you are making lunch so you can be available if they have questions. Involve the family, it will be fun for them to set up the house like an office or school AND it will help set boundaries! If they know that a certain room is the “conference room” then they’ll know you are doing something important and maybe they won’t bother you! ~ Wishful thinking, we know! Haha!

We hope this helps. And just remember you’re not Wonder Woman! Do the best you can and don’t be so hard on yourself. This not a time to add stress to yourself or your family. Take one day at a time!

4 Reasons Why Facebook Ads are Critical for Your Business RIGHT NOW!

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 10:30:00 GMT

Keeping your presence on social media is very important especially during a time like this! Here are 4 reasons why Facebook Ads are critical for your Business. To learn more about Facebook Ads and how they will help your business please register for our Webinar: Entrepreneur's Toolbox: Using Facebook Ads to be Seen on April 16th!

4 Reasons Why Facebook Ads are Critical for Your Business RIGHT NOW!

1. Digital attention is at an all-time high

2. Many of your competitors are pausing their campaigns

3. Brand awareness is a low-cost objective

4. You have the opportunity to serve people now, and win business later

(for the full description of these reasons please go to our source: here)

Local Restaurant "TO-GO Bingo"

Fri, 03 Apr 2020 13:05:37 GMT

During this time of uncertainty Women's Council of Entrepreneur's created a fun little game to help us all SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS and help families figure out what's for dinner! It is "Local Restaurant To-Go Bingo"!! All you have to do is download the To-Go Bingo Card here, check out all the awesome participating OPEN local restaurants! Once you order from a restaurant you can cross it off your card! All of these restaurants are offering to-go or curbside so this is completely safe while social distancing!!

Try to get a "TO-GO Bingo" (line of restaurants in a row) or FILL THE WHOLE CARD! Once you start filling the card post pictures of it on social media and tag the restaurants you've been to (or plan to go to) and show your community some love!!

Don't forget to share this with your friends so they can join in the fun!

April Social Media Post Guide

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 10:30:00 GMT

Having trouble coming up with Social Media Post ideas? Going blank on what to to post about next? Don't worry ~ WCE's April Social Media Post Guide will help and you can find it right here!

If you found our guide helpful please come back at the end of the month to find WCE's May Social Media Post Guide!!

And don't forget to check out our upcoming events!!

Remember WCE is always has your back ~ if you need help or have any questions never hesitate to contact us at woodlandswce@gmail.com!

Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources from the SBA

Tue, 17 Mar 2020 10:30:00 GMT

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources from the SBA (Small Business Administration).

Click here to learn about the following:

Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program

Guidance for Businesses and Employers

SBA Products and Resources

Access to Capital

Exporting Assistance

Government Contracting

Local Assistance

Overwhelmed with all this info?!!! Tomorrow, March 18th, WCE will have a representative from the SBA and a representative from SCORE on a webinar to discuss how the SBA & SCORE can help you and your small business. There will also be a Q&A for you to ask any questions you may have! The webinar fees are waived so join us tomorrow for FREE.

You must register to reserve your seat. Link here:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAtceqsqTouyBOu6XXVy5I-n6LZ2EGEyQ?fbclid=IwAR1QW_kyeJoXkFqOc8DemZeKQ-Gq9gv-8ykRBvLjOHjQsWH8aLj3TWyGWYs

5 tips for LinkedIn

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 11:30:00 GMT

Here are 5 tips we put together to help improve your LinkedIn!

1. Have a professional profile picture. Choose a profile photo that shows the professional you. It is best to hire a photographer to get professional headshots ~ it is worth the investment!!

2. Have a thorough profile with complete job descriptions. Let people know what you have to offer! And don't leave anything out or undone.

3.Be active. Don't set it & forget it. You could be missing out on key connections! Put some effort into making relationships with people in your industry and potential customers.

4.Use the right keywords. Search the top people in your industry and make a note of the words they use. Learn from people that have been through it already and are successful.

5. Don't make connections with just anyone. Find the people that you could potentially partner with at some point, not everyone is for you and not everyone is your client.

Let us know what you think of these tips and if you have any to add!!

March Social Media Post Ideas

Tue, 25 Feb 2020 22:58:55 GMT

March Social Media Post Ideas

Are you having trouble coming up with content for your social media?! Have no fear WCE is here! Haha! We have come up with Social Media Post Ideas ~ you can use these or you can use them to get your brain moving on other ideas!

You can also click the link below to download this image!

SocialmediapostIdeasIGMARCH.jpg

Enjoy!

6 Reasons Why Building an Email List is So Important Today

Tue, 18 Feb 2020 23:30:30 GMT

Building an email list for your business is so important! Here are 6 reasons why given to us by wpbeginner.com:

1. Email is Personal

2. Email is Purposeful

3. Email is Targeted

4. You Own Your Email List ~ Unlike ANY Social Media Platforms

5. Email is One-on-One

6. More People Use Email Several Times a Day

Please CLICK HERE to find the details for all of these reasons on wpbeginner.com!

Comment below your thoughts!!

5 Marketing Mistakes Business Owners Make

Tue, 04 Feb 2020 12:00:00 GMT

Most business owners struggle with finding their ideal target market and client. We found a great article on what NOT to do when finding your target market. Follow the link below to read the article by Michele Pariza Wacek. Tell us what you think below!

https://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/marketingmistake.htm?fbclid=IwAR26a0Yl9EYxpgKSwC0VFiyEtg49iJdOr7T9EKYNdQAKDtVo1n4lEZaXFgs

Tips for Using Hashtags on Instagram

Tue, 14 Jan 2020 11:30:00 GMT

Tips for Using Hashtags on Instagram

~Utilize all 30 Hashtags~

Instagram gives you 30 hashtags and there is no reason that you shouldn’t utilize all 30!

~Look to successful accounts that are in your niche~

Look to the ones that have been successful and see what hashtags they are using. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel! Use what has worked for others!

~Use relevant hashtags~

Remember to use hashtags that are relevant to YOUR post and directed at the audience YOU are trying to capture. What is the story you are trying to tell and only use the hashtags that compliment that!

~Don’t use banned hashtags~

Check Instagram ~ type in the hashtag, if it shows up then it mostly like safe, if it doesn’t show it up it is completely banned. You can also click on a hashtag and if it doesn’t show “most recent” option then it is partial banned.

If you are local we would love for you to join us at one of our Lunch & Learns to learn more business related tips! To see our upcoming events please click here.

Gratitude Journal: Exploring What Makes You Happy.

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 12:00:00 GMT

A Gratitude Journal: Exploring What Makes You Happy.

We created this Gratitude Journal template not only because we thought it was fitting for the season, but also because Ali, one of WCE’s co-founders, just went through a rough thing this past week. Her youngest daughter, who is 6 years old, had to have an emergency appendectomy after a week of being very sick. Her daughter is home and recovering after a 4 day day stay at the hospital that they thought was going to be 5-7 days! This is after her middle daughter had/has health issues that they have been monitoring and fixing for the past two months. While sitting in the hospital room with her youngest, Ali started designing the Gratitude Journal. She did because she had so much to be thankful for. Even though her kids’ health was not well at the time, she still had them with her. And not only her children, but so many of her friends and family. So many people came to her aid to help in any way they could. This created positive energy that she then projected onto her daughter. It made Ali realize the importance of gratitude.

Gratitude also carries over to our professional lives. Always focusing on the negative aspects of your mistakes or what you could have done will not help you achieve your goals. You need to find the silvering lining in each of your days to help project you forward towards where you want to be. You need to be at peace with the process and realize all that you have to be thankful for around you. So go ahead, download the template here: WCE Gratitude Journal and follow the steps on the journal page.

Start creating the life you deserve, by finding some light in the life you already have.

10 Ideas for your Small Business Saturday!

Tue, 19 Nov 2019 12:00:00 GMT

10 Ideas for your Small Business Saturday!

1. Create a Gift Guide for your Customers
Let your customers know all of the amazing products or services that you have to offer and which ones would be great for their mom, sister, daughter, grandmother, father, son, brother, husband, even neighbor! Your customers might not know what you have available so show them!!

2. Host a Small In-Store Event
You could have local entertainment, activities for families, wine and shop for the ladies, the list could go on and on.

3. Have Photos With Santa (or Photo Ops for Holiday Cards)
Make your business part of your customer’s holiday traditions!

4. Support a Local Charity
On Saturday have a portion of your sales go to a LOCAL charity!!
Here are some local Charities in The Woodlands (there are so many more - do some research to find one that best fits your beliefs!!)
CASA Child Advocates of Montgomery County:
https://casaspeaks4kids.com/
Inspiration Ranch:
https://www.inspirationranch.org/
The Montgomery County Food Bank:
https://mcfoodbank.org/
New Danville:
http://www.newdanville.org/about/
Operation Pets Alive!:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/OPATexas/about/?ref=page_internal
Children's Safe Harbor:
https://childrenssafeharbor.org/
Yes To Youth:
https://www.sayyestoyouth.org/
iGo Pink:
https://thebreastcancercharities.org/
Interfaith of The Woodlands:
https://woodlandsinterfaith.org/
Special Angels of The Woodlands:
https://www.specialangelsofthewoodlands.org/

5.Collaborate with Other Small Businesses
Help one another with promotions by passing out each other’s coupons or business info to your customers. People always like recommendations on where else they can SHOP LOCAL!

6. Utilize your FREE resources!
American Express has you covered here:
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/shop-small/howtoparticipate?linknav=us-loy-nav-howtoparticipate

7. Reward Check-Ins or Social Media Shares
Give coupons, discounts, or a small (free sample size) gifts to people that share your business on social media or that “Check-In” on social media while at your store. Have a little basket full of goodies (even chocolate) with a sign that says “FREE - just please “Check-In” on Social Media to let everyone you’re here and to SHOP SMALL TODAY!” The influence of friends is a big deal when it comes to marketing!

8. Make a Countdown on Social Media and Utilize your platforms as much as possible!
With so much competition during the Holidays remind your costumers you are still here! You can also use the countdown as a way to promote any promotions or sales you will be having on or leading up to Small Business Saturday too.

9. Spotlight a Loyal Client/Customer, Another Small Business, or a Charity
If you spotlight one of your customers they will share that post with their friends, same with another small business. Those are more eyes seeing what you have to offer them for the Holidays!

10. Don’t let Small Business Saturday Sneak Up on You NEXT YEAR!
Plan ahead and even set a reminder on your phone to start your planning on how you to celebrate SBS! Research if there are festivals you could be a part of next year - Check them out this year to see how well it is attended. Also, see if there are local Holiday activities in the area that you could contribute to! Example: If you are a baker see if you could donate cookies for a meet and greet with Santa - imagine all of those people being able to sample your work!

We hope this helps you prepare for Small Business Saturday next week!! Add a comment below if these tips did help you out or let us know what your Small Business Saturday plans are!

Good Luck and we will see you out there!!

Keeping a Daily Schedule

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 12:00:00 GMT

As an entrepreneur it is important to keep yourself organized and focused. Studies have shown that planning a daily routine helps with productivity, as well as, your work-life balance (as much as you can balance that!).

It is suggested that you make your daily plan the night before. It will help your mind rest knowing that you have a plan of attack for the next day. Setting your schedule will help you prioritize, make you more efficient, help your stress levels, and it will make it easier to set boundaries for yourself and others. In the long term you will build habits that defeat procrastination and you will honestly feel as though hours were added to your day! Remember to schedule yourself appropriate breaks. Try the 52/17 rule. Work for 52 minutes and give yourself a 17 minute mental break.

There are plenty of ways to create your schedule - you should always write it down (or type it) DON’T RELY ON YOUR MEMORY! You can put it in your phone or tablet, write on your calendar or in your planner, have a designated whiteboard, or you can download our Daily Schedule for FREE!

Daily Schedule Free Download

We hope this helped and that our worksheet will assist you achieving your daily and long term goals!!

Don't forget to join WCE's Private Facebook Group to find your community of fellow women entrepreneurs!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/wearewce/

Tips for a Profitable Holiday Season

Melissa Rouswell — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 14:26:19 GMT

Guest Post from Elanor Sung, WCE Member and owner of Pinpoint Massage

As we approach the holidays, I wanted to give some tips to have a profitable and happy holiday season.

1. DON’T DISCOUNT. It is the holidays. People are ready and willing to spend money on the products and services that their family/friends are wanting. Most people plan to shop for one person/item or with a specific amount of money to spend. If you discount your product/service, you are always giving more and receiving less. As an alternative, you can add value to what they are purchasing. For example, offer a gift with a $50 purchase, and make the gift simple, and little to no cost to you. If you sell services, it could be an upgrade, or if you sell product, you can add a free sample for you next seasons stuff.

2. KNOW YOUR WORTH. If you must discount, make sure that the discount does not exceed your profit margin. To know this, you must know how much your product/service costs per unit. This includes the cost of production, time and taxes (to name a few). If your profit margin is 20% and you are discounting 25% you are then paying for those customers. Above all, you need to know how much your profit margin is in order to create a profitable business.

3. HAVE A MARKETING STRATEGY. Invest your money wisely with your marketing dollars. First, who are you marketing to? Are you marketing to current customers, or new customers? Where would you find them? Then think about how to best reach them: Facebook, IG, Email. Then come up with a plan. When to post, what to post, how often to post.

4. SET GOALS. Set a goal for your holiday season. A goal should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based). For example, one of my goals this year is to sell 10% more services and gift certificates before the end of the year over last year. I know my holiday season starts on November 9 (with the Mistletoe Market) and will end on December 31. I know how many I sold last year, and I want 10% more than that. It could be that you want to sell at least $6000 of product or to get 15 more clients for your email list.

5. MAKE TIME FOR YOU. There are several major shopping days that are coming up: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, etc. You do not have do participate in ANY of them, if you don’t want to, or you can participate in all three! Decide when you want to work, what days you have off and what days you will be open late. Make sure your customers know any special holiday hours, so they know when to come in, or when you will be closed. Do NOT feel bad for taking time out for your family and events that you want to participate in. If you take care of yourself, and your wants and needs, your holiday season happier.

I hope these tips help you this holiday season. Let’s make this holiday the best by supporting each other in love, joy and enthusiasm. When we support one another, we can build amazing things!

Women's Council of Entrepreneurs (WCE) Articles

How to Be a Great Host for a Networking Event: Building Genuine Connections Among Women Entrepreneurs

1. IT all starts before the event

2.Create an Inviting Atmosphere

3. Facilitate Genuine Connections

4. Start on Time and Be Mindful of Guests’ Time

5. Dive Deep into the Monthly Topic for the Mastermind

6. Save Time for Networking at the End of the Event

7. End with a Call to Action

8. Remind Guests That You Are Available to Help

Free Printable ~ March Social Media Post Ideas Guide

Free Printable ~ Press Release Planner and Template

Free Download ~ February 2022 Social Media Post Ideas Guide

Grow Your Business with the Marketing Rule of 7

1. Know Your Ideal Client

2. Be where Your Ideal Client spends time

3. Be Consistent!

4. Don’t be scared of paid ads

5. Know your Metrics!

Free Download ~ Marketing & Sales Plan Worksheets

Free Printable ~ January Social Media Post Ideas Guide

How to Collaborate with Brands with Brittni Schroeder

Free Download ~ December Social Media Post Idea Guide 2021

Daily Gratitude in 5 Minutes a Day!

6 Ways to Prepare Your Business for the 2021 Holiday Shopping Season

Free Download ~ November Social Media Post Idea Guide 2021

Why a Business Plan is Important and How to Get Started

Free Download ~ October Social Media Post Ideas Guide

Meet the Woman Behind Galan Graphix

Women's Council of Entrepreneurs had the honor of interviewing the woman behind Galan Graphix, Myrna Galan. Learn all about Myrna, the setbacks she faced at a young age, what she is most proud of, and how making the decision to start her own business was the best thing she has ever done.

Tell us a little bit about your business and what you do

How or why did you decide to start your own business?

Tell us about you- the business owner/owners so we can get to know you personally

Why did you choose this business or industry?

Did you have any major setbacks or obstacles getting started?

What differentiates your business from your competition?

What are you most proud of about your business?

How has your industry changed in the last few months and how do you see it changing in the future (or will it)?

How to Grow Your Audience With Landing Pages

You Grow Your Email List

2. You Can Learn More About Your Target Market

3. It’s a direct way to Communicate with your clients or customers

Meet the Woman Behind Bostic’s Consulting

Free Download ~ September Social Media Post Ideas Guide

Free Download ~ Monthly Social Media Plan Outline

Meet the Woman Behind Georgia Joice Music & Tech

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS AND WHAT YOU DO:

HOW OR WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS?

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY?

DID YOU HAVE ANY MAJOR SETBACKS OR OBSTACLES GETTING STARTED?

WHAT DIFFERENTIATES YOUR BUSINESS FROM YOUR COMPETITION?

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS?

HOW HAS YOUR INDUSTRY CHANGED IN THE LAST YEAR AND HOW DO YOU SEE IT CHANGING IN THE FUTURE (OR WILL IT)?

WHAT WOULD YOUR ADVICE BE TO OTHER WOMEN WHO WANT TO START THEIR OWN BUSINESS?

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST SETBACK? WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM IT?

WHAT HAS BEEN THE BEST INVESTMENT YOU'VE MADE FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE "CHEAT' OR TIP THAT HAS HELPED YOU BALANCE THE BUSY LIFE OF A BUSINESS OWNER?

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR BUSINESS IN 5 YEARS?

TO WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE YOUR SUCCESS?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SMALL BUSINESS AND WHY DO YOU LOVE THEM?

Free Download ~ August Social Media Post Ideas Guide

5 Reasons Why You Need Digital Business Cards

1. Share ALL of Your Information

2. Cost Effective

3. Eco-Friendly

4. Easily Accessible

5. Easy changes

Free Download ~ Create Copy for Your ADs Worksheet

Free Download ~ July Social Media Post Idea Guide

5 Reason Why You Need Text-Based Marketing For Your Business

SIMPLE STEPS TO BETTER PRODUCTIVITY

Free Download ~ Social Media Content Weekly Planner Template

Free Download ~ Create Your Elevator Pitch Worksheet

Free Download ~ June Media Post Idea Guide

4 Myths of Networking

FREE Editable Mother's Day Graphics for Your Business

May Social Media Post Idea Guide

5 Ways to Find Your Network as an Entrepreneur

1. ATTEND EVENTS

2. JOIN ENTREPRENEURIAL ORGANIZATIONS & FACEBOOK GROUPS

4 Reasons Why Good Photos Are Important for Your Business