Wondering if you’ll ever find your voice as a business owner? Some people may know that you’re an entrepreneur… but do they have an idea what you actually do? How can you find ways to get the word out about your business and do it without spending a fortune? Can you achieve this without sounding desperate? Let’s explore the possibilities.
Think about it, you would likely spend thousands crafting an advertising message to push the word out about your business. So why not do a very simple thing and start and offer a basic explanation of the products and services you deliver with your business? At the very least, at some point someone who knows someone who needs what you deliver, will remember your name and that can turn into a profit producing situation for you.
Below find some essential and EASY ways to let people know about your business that you work so hard at running, every day!
Any chance you get, have your business card ready.
You can actually save yourself a lot of time in trying to explain what you do to any level of detail. Just sum it up on the business card and put in a compelling logo as well as your basic contact information. Then, you can talk with people about your business offerings.
Before the conversation goes off the rails, put your business card into their hands so that they can refer back to it later and maybe even follow up and want to do some business with you.
Network like crazy.
Another way to get comfortable talking about yourself as a business owner is to network with other people who also have their own business. These people will be in various phases of company ownership. Some may just be starting out. Others may have had their own company for years. Still others maybe have even flipped businesses, making this old hat to them.
The point is that if you surround yourself with like-minded individuals who are also eager to get the word out about the products and services that they supply to their customers, you will adapt to their way of speaking and ease into the habit of talking freely about having your own business. You’ll also be able to refer each other to friends and relations!
Work up an elevator speech.
An elevator speech is supposed to be a brief explanation, just a few sentences, letting people know about your business and what you offer. They call it an elevator speech because you should be able to say the words and offer the explanation in a clear and direct way and do it in the amount of time it would take to ride an elevator.
Being able to whip this simple message out at a critical time is definitely a good way to get into the habit of talking freely about your business with other people. Plus, that simple phrasing will help cement in people’s minds what it is that you do in your business.
Wondering how to get the word out about your business, and do it in a way that flows naturally with the conversation? It’s not always easy to talk about your business, and if you’re the shy type you might feel uncomfortable, as though you’re bragging. Even so… the more you practice easing your business mention into an everyday chat, the better you’ll get at it, and that means more business for you.
Here are some ways to practice slipping in a mention of your business without sounding awkward or desperate.
When people ask about your work, don’t be afraid to get specific.
Think of how many times in your life that you have talked about work with family members and friends. “I was at work today,” “I just got home from work,” “I brought my kids into work today.” People talk about their work in this vague manner all the time.
In fact, you can go years without even really knowing what a person does at their job beyond the basic facts like what company they work for and what their position or title is. And for this reason that’s why it’s so important to share at least a few key details about your business when talking discussing work with family and friends.
See yourself as the solution, when people bring up a specific problem they’re having. Suppose you run a yarn shop, and today your friend has started a conversation about how it’s supposed to be an exceptionally cold winter. This is definitely an opportunity to mention your yarn shop, and all of those hats, scarves and mittens that you and your colleagues and customers will be making in time for the chilly season ahead.
Work a gift into the situation. If you’re not so great at explaining what you do in your business, you can always help people understand by showing them, with an actual product example. Think of all the opportunities that exist to get your offerings out there. Maybe you sell chocolate bars with custom printed wrappers, and there’s a school fundraiser coming up.
Or maybe you’re a writer, and a local business is in need of a press release. Offering a small gift that will take no more than an hour or two of your time is a great way to get your name associated with a specific type of offering so you can attract more business down the road.
Find the teachable moment. Sometimes people have questions about how to do things. They’re looking to master a new skill. Is that skill a part of what you offer with your business? At first you might feel shy about this, like you’re tooting your own horn. But if you’re an expert at something, you’ve earned what they call bragging rights. That means you get to share what you know with people who can benefit from learning about the information.