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.

A Gratitude Journal: Exploring What Makes You Happy.

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 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!

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!!

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/

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!