Turning potential customers - or leads - into paying customers involves a strategic approach that focuses on building trust, providing value, and addressing their needs.

​Remember, the key is to create a seamless and positive customer experience throughout the entire journey, from the first interaction to the post-purchase phase.

​Here are several effective ways to convert leads into customers...

Remote work boomed during the COVID-19 quarantine period, and while quarantine has ended in the US, remote work continues to thrive. While some companies have insisted on a return to the workplace, others have recognized how productive employees can be at home. 

A unique subset of remote workers is those of you that run a home business. You've been working out of your home long before it was mainstream... and while you have many of the same challenges as others working remotely, your additional tasks as a business owner make the stakes of your productivity a bit higher.
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Balancing parenting and a home business can be challenging, but being purposeful about how you manage both can help. This post offers 5 tips on how to do just that.

Do you own a virtual business?

Have you spent the past few years setting goals and constructing initiatives to improve your business growth and development?

​From solidifying your brand and boosting sales, the advantages of focused efforts to grow your virtual business can help boost your sales and visibility.

If you have an eCommerce store, then you know it's a great way to make sales with less ongoing effort. You can generate sales around the clock and around the world without extra expense or retail staff. 

However, if you don't put in the time upfront then you may face some issues that cause lost revenue.

If you're interested in a career path where you can be your own boss and set your own hours, then self-employment may be right for you. You may have other reasons for starting your own business - perhaps you're passionate about filling a gap in your market and doing it yourself is the only way you see it happening. Or maybe your life is better when you have a flexible work schedule, and being your own boss is the easiest path to get there. 

Whatever your reason for thinking about self-employment, it's not for everyone. Just like with most big changes in our world, there are both good and bad consequences that result. To make an informed decision, you've got to know them all. This post will discuss some of the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of self-employment to help you start your research on whether it's a good choice for you.

One of the essential things for a successful company is developing a solid relationship with its clients. However,  buyers are looking for more when it comes to their relationship with a company; more engagement, listening, and more partnership.

​In fact, only a few business-to-business (B2B) customers feel engaged, and a more significant percentage of others feel actively disengaged or indifferent.

Establishing a strong B2B relationship calls for planning, dedication, and hard work. Fortunately, you can utilize key marketing strategies as an ideal way for building and strengthening B2B relationships. The following 8 tips are some of the tried and tested ways to build better B2B relationships.

Whether you are starting a business or are looking for a job, one of the primary keys to your success will be the first impression you make when meeting new potential partners, clients, bosses, and colleagues.

Making a good first impression involves your appearance, your body language, your attitude, as well as both what you say and how you say it.

If you've started your own business, then you're used to learning on the fly. But if you're ready to keep growing your business, then you should consider taking at least one of these courses.

While many argue that a job or career shouldn't define you, you do spend a significant chunk of your week at that job. Do you want to enjoy it, or just get that 9 to 5 over with?

Would you prefer to do something you are passionate about or is it all about money? A career can start out as a means to an end, but you may learn to love what you do. On the other hand, you may choose to take a lower-paying job because it's something you're passionate about. Lastly, keep in mind that sometimes you need to work in various entry-level positions to gain the experience needed for some more senior roles.

Whether you've joined the land of freelancing as a side gig, as a way to have more freedom in your career, or you're just looking for a way to revitalize your online presence, it's important to take a strategic approach to marketing yourself as a freelance professional.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have transitioned to working remotely or have even lost our jobs. Family commitments may have increased, and you may be looking for a source of income that is flexible. Advantages of freelance work include independence, the ability to control your workload and your exposure. Freelance work can open up posiibilities not possible when you are working for someone else. 

On the other hand, you don't have a dedicated marketing department or social media coordinator to market your work and abilities. The burden is on you to find clients and convince them you are the person to hire. Just as freelance work is attractive to you, its attractive to mnany others, making freelance bids competative.

​ Your freelance marketing approach should focus on 2 things: publicity and visibility. Let's dive in.

If you're like me and have started a small business in line with your passion, accounting probably isn't your forte (or passion, for that matter!) So how can you make sure that this key financial part of your business is not only efficient but done correctly?

Minimizing the effort it takes to manage your finances - as a small business owner or as an individual - is key. Why? So that you spend time on your passion and not the logistics.

Read on to learn about 3 ways to manage your finances in your small business

1. Manage it yourself
2. Outsource your accounting
3. Use cloud-based accounting software

Having work-life balance isn't just something to think about, but something you should take steps to achieve. Breaking the constant cycle of working with hobbies, vacation, and any other activities or experiences that you're passionate about will help you be happier, healthier, and productive at work. When your entire identity isn't wrapped up in a single job, you build both your confidence and your resiliency.

It's important to have a life outside of school, and that life might consist of family, friends, and hobbies. Whether you engage in your hobbies for joy or for cash or for both, you can take some steps to leverage that hobby for some side hustle cash while in graduate school. 

If you're musically inclined, today's post is for you. Let's talk about leveraging your love of music.

You may feel like you’re being pulled in a hundred different directions, trying to balance family life, work deadlines, financial pressures, and personal wellness. 

By identifying your priorities and taking concrete steps to take back control, you can feel better both at work and at home.

Whether meeting a mentor-to-be for coffee and conversation or whisking through the second round of interviews for your dream job, making a great first impression is no longer limited to the meet-and-greet. 

In this digital age, networking occurs as much online as it does in person. And people are more likely to reach out to you after Googling your name than from a business card at a conference.

What comes up for your name? Creating a professional online image is more than classifying your personal social media as private.

Let's talk about the combination of your in-person impression and your online footprint.

Why do people start their own business? It’s not easy, and the rewards can come and go. So why do it?
 
For some, the predictability of a 9 to 5 life doesn’t drive them – they feel unsatisfied and need something more. Perhaps they want more control, or they want to work for themselves. Both feed into the how small business owners do it all – accountant, data entry, HR manager, boss.

Forever on the go, the topic of burnout has hit headlines for many professions. From doctors working 36 hour shifts to businessmen with a cellphone glued to their ear, no group is immune. 

They say list off all the things you'd like to prioritize in your life - fitness, friends, family, sleep, work - and then pick 2. With a lifestyle like that, seeing articles headlining "How to Actively Invest Your Money" and "3 Easy Steps to Get Fit" probably fall on deaf ears, on the couch, exhausted after a very long day at work.

We all go through cycles. like New Years resolutions, when we try to boost our productivity, even in our down hours.

As we work all day and night, we work ourselves on a fast track to burnout. Exhaustion, nervous break downs, and an overall reduction in productivity and even work means lost income - the very opposite of what we're all trying do. (Make money). 

This post is about maximizing your earnings without contributing to burnout - how? By spending 1 hour of your day focused on it. Let's get started.

Running a modern business is all about how you adapt and evolve as a brand. Whether your brand is your company, or YOU yourself, incorporating change early on, continuously learning new skills, and focusing your marketing efforts will not only keep your business relevant in an ever-changing market, but help it soar to the top. 

You can find countless tips on the internet and in self-help books on how to improve upon your company moving forward. Today we'll pare it all down to 3 tips to help you surge forward. 

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If you want to start your own business, you need to channel your ambition in the right way. With all of the competition in the marketplace, it'll take direction to stand out from the crowd. A clear business plan, preparation, and the skills and knowledge to back it up will make it happen. To get you started, we are going to talk you through four of the key principles of starting a business. Let's go!