Game Change Your Biz

You can develop an effective marketing strategy during the holidays. There's no need to compete with the marketing gimmicks and promotions that others use. You can stand out by simply focusing on your own products and services.

Show Notes

• Prepare in advance. It's important to be ahead in planning and strategizing
• Have special loyalty offers for the holidays
• Initial promotion can be done through social media using free promotions
• You can also use Facebook ads and Google ads
• Use in-store or in-shop promotions as another method
• Use gift certificates or gift cards and sell to customers as their holiday gifts to family and friends
• Decide if you will maintain your business hours and announce it on the shop, on your website, and on your social media accounts. This will help your customers plan their visits
• Promote your gift certificates to your clients after their therapy session, not during the session
• Update your website with your holiday promos and gift certificates and holiday hours
• Have your GCs readily available for handing out
• You can also sell your GCs on your website
• Sell your products as your customers' gifts to their family and friends
• By selling your products on discount, you will move your inventory and you also provide samples for impulse buyers and other customers

Resources:

Giftcardcafe.com

Our resource center: www.gamechangeyourbiz.com

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Maya Holihan went from quitting her job at a major bridal salon to owning it in a matter of months. Since then, she has opened a couple of shops and acquired 5 existing bridal salons. Last year, she won the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from ACHI Magazine and was recognized as one of Inside Business's Top 15 Women in Business. She was named the "Entrepreneur of the Week" on 2 episodes of the TV show Hampton Roads Business Weekly. She has been featured in magazines, bridal shows, and television. She is the Editor of House of Maya Presents the Wedding Planner of Hampton Roads, is a business consultant, public speaker, and a recognized wedding expert. She lives with husband Bobby and their 3 children. They are her inspiration for her continued success.

With a commitment to her employees, her clients, and her community, coupled with her passion for the wedding industry, Maya has changed the way bridal salons operate in Hampton Roads, by providing the very best in service and products.

Show Notes

• How did she acquire her expertise in wedding planning?
• What are the organizations she supports?
• The well-being of her clients, employees, and her community is a commitment on her part
• She has a passion for the wedding industry
• She always looked to herself as an entrepreneur
• What Maya does to promote the House of Maya
• Professional development goals should always be part of one's success goals
• She has her own publication
• The best advice she ever received came from her mother: Don't let anybody get in the way of your vision. Stay focused. Don't get distracted.
• What she does to maintain her focus.
• She thinks in minutes. She is a moment to moment person
• Take care of yourself: Sleep well, eat well, delegate work.
• Resources

https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/maya-couture-norfolk-va-358519

http://www.houseofmayabridal.com

https://www.facebook.com/MayaCoutureBridal

Our resource center:

www.gamechangeyourbiz.com

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In the previous episode, Elise talked about the ways to expand your business and each of these ways requires resources. An alternative to expansion is simply just growing your business, which, similarly, still needs financing if you want to grow fast. Financing has an important role in making your business grow. The strategic use of financial instruments, such as loans and grants, is the key to success of every business. In this episode, Elise Walton gives you another game- changing strategy for your business.

Show notes:

• Ways to finance your business

1. Get a bank loan. Banks have funds for small business lending.

2. Use your credit card. This method is risky though so it needs to be used sparingly and wisely.

3. Crowdfunding. This facilitates the asking for and giving of support for projects. Usually, project creators offer incentives for the one pledging support.

4. Angel investor or group of investors. Angel investors prefer to fund companies with experienced and credible management team.

5. Tapping into your Retirement Plan. Based on long-standing provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, you can finance a new business or franchise by rolling your retirement money into your new business. You pay no income taxes or early withdrawal penalties, avoid debt and have money available immediately to rent a space, pay a franchise fee, hire employees, buy equipment and pay yourself a salary.

6. Securing an SBA loan. Your business may need to meet other criteria depending on the type of loan.

7. Raising money from friends and family. You will have to treat the money as a loan.

• What is an SBA Loan?
• What you need to apply for a bank loan
• Using your credit cards wisely
• What is a Crowdfunding?
• How crowdfunding can help your business and projects
• Finding Angel Investors
• When to pull out your retirement funds
• Government guidelines that your business needs to qualify for a loan
• Tips for treating your friends and family as investors
• Marketing strategies

Resources:

Our resource center: www.gamechangeyourbiz.com

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Game-Change-Your-Biz-735650646569921/

You've set up your business and you're now excitedly watching it pick up momentum day after day. Your current business is under effective control. You start thinking of growing and expanding it because you feel that's the next best thing to do. Elise discusses several ways to grow your business. Choosing one, two, or more of these methods of expansion will depend on a lot of things - your type of business, available capital, time, and other resources you are willing to invest. Here are your choices:

1. Opening another location. Spread your business to another location or city. This is the most popular approach among business owners – opening a new office or store in another place.

1. Franchising. If you have a highly successful business, people will be interested in buying out a franchise of your business. Franchise out not only to gain more capital and exposure but also to expand your business without requiring you to manage the new franchise. Before doing that, you'll need to hire a lawyer to draft the franchise agreement and all other legal documents and to provide legal advice in the implementation of your franchise business.

1. Collaborate or form an alliance. Look at the big picture without leaving your primary goal. Aligning with similar businesses by forming an association or organization can be a powerful way to expand quickly.

1. Diversification. To diversify means having another product or service; or selling someone else's product. You can also teach a class or speak on the same specialty. Diversifying is a great strategy for growth that can often fill seasonal voids of your own product or service.

1. Merger or acquisition. In this method of business expansion, make sure the business you are acquiring or buying is profitable, it has no debts, and the company's mission and vision are aligned with your own. Do your research to find out if the business merger is beneficial.

1. Globalization. Export your products or import others' products to expand globally. You will need to sign up with a foreign distributor who will resell your product in their domestic markets or vice versa, you can sell their product in your market. International business can be done through the internet but this calls for more responsibility. Due diligence is a must. You would need to do your homework through research.

You'll find one more method of expansion for the small business and more detailed tips as you listen to Elise:

The rest of the Show Notes:

• She describes the resources you'll need for business expansion
• Your sweat equity, what it is
• Import and export of products
• Targeting other markets
• Speaking or writing about your business can expand your business
• Using your creativity in growing your business
• Search engine optimization of your business
• Business expansion through the internet
• Doing market research
• Using trade journals and magazines
• Importance of an attractive and optimized website
• When you just need to keep on growing your business without diversifying location
• Other opportunities for expansion
• Choosing the best opportunity and method

Resources:

Game Change Your Biz resource center: www.gamechangeyourbiz.com

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Game-Change-Your-Biz-735650646569921/

Danijel Velicki, , a motivational speaker, educator, author, and entrepreneur owns 3 successful businesses in Virginia. He had transformed a difficult childhood in war-ravaged Croatia into his very own version of "American dream." His unique strategies for financial education and family planning have equipped his clients with the knowledge base and skill set to excel professionally and personally, turning their own dreams into profitable and fulfilled realities. He is happy to share his story to inspire you and game-change your business.

Show Notes:

• Danijel's inspiration for creating his business
• Worst entrepreneurial moment
• What was it that held him back from being an entrepreneur
• What was his Ahah moment
• What he suggests to people to become a successful entrepreneur
• He is a member of EO https://www.eonetwork.org/ the world's most influential community of entrepreneurs.

• Advice for those who want to become entrepreneurs
• Quotable quote: Successful people want others to become successful too. They became successful because of that attitude
• What he does to promote his business/es. He's got 3 businesses
• The best advice he received was the mentorship and financial advice
• Books he recommends are: Chicken Soup for the Soul; Success Principles; The Extraordinary Mind
• He wrote the book: Your Life is a Blank Canvas

Resources:

Danijel's website: danijelvelicki.com

Our resource center: www.gamechangeyourbiz.com

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Game-Change-Your-Biz-735650646569921/

Elise is happy and excited to introduce this week's guest, Steph Nissen, a Social Media strategist and CEO of Nissen Media, a successful digital marketing agency based in Missouri. Steph, a single mom with 2 kids, is a web developer turned social media manager. She launched her company in September 2014 and since then has been covering all digital marketing needs of entrepreneurs in most parts of Missouri.

What you'll hear from this episode:

• The first step the entrepreneur must take to launch business
• How networking helps your business
• She talked to a lot of people
• Elise met Steph at an event
• Steph's worst entrepreneurial moment
• Did anything hold her back from pursuing entrepreneurship? If yes, what was it?
• What was Steph's Ahah moment?
• Advice for those new in the field and those who want to be in the same business
• What she did aside from social media marketing to promote her business?
• She also did offline marketing because not everyone is in social media
• Best advice she received was from her dad.
• Quotable quotes:
• You're the only one who gets in your way. – Steph's Dad
• Hug your haters.
• Avoid opportunistic clients, those that don't align with your ideals
• Surround yourself with good people
• Love what you do.
• Don't get stuck in a routine

http://www.stephnissen.com/

This episode will provide tips on how to manage your finances in 6 ways: 1) Annual review of your Credit status; 2) Obtaining new money for investment or getting lower interest rates on your loans; 3) Managing your personal finances, as well as your business finances; 4) Saving for the rainy day or investing in business; 5) Paying the right taxes and ways of refunding any overpayment, and 6) Finances and your Retirement. Elise has a background in finance and accounting and has years of experience in the field.

Here is the summary of Elise's advice:

1. Credit reports can impact a lot of things in your life -- how much money can be loaned to you, as well as interest rates on your loans. Make sure you have the highest possible credit score. Check your free credit report on an annual basis and read up on that report to see what you can do to improve your score.

1. Debt. Obtaining new money, a better loan or rate, for the advantage of being able to streamline or refinance your loan may depend on your credit score. You might want to check with your tax accountant or call the credit card company to negotiate for lower interest rates.

1. Keeping your personal and business finances separate. Don't mix the personal with business finances. You can pay your salary from your business account, but all your personal expenses must be separate from your business expenses. Keep a separate checking account for your business, and personal checking account for your personal payments.

1. It's very important to save money. You can do it by 1) setting aside money in a savings account, or 2) invest in business or stocks, and 3) Maintaining your 401K.

1. Pay your taxes every year to avoid penalties. Check with your accountant if you 've missed some savings in taxes. If you paid more, the IRS may refund it or deduct it from your next tax payment

1. Sooner or later we all want to retire. Make sure you have the options available to you. You could semi-retire or get the money from your 401K penalty-free. It's a good idea to have a financial consultant. Find an advisor that you can trust. There's a penalty if you do an early withdrawal of your 401K. Ask questions. You have the right to know how you want to spend your retirement money.

Please listen to the podcast for the details on these 6 tips/topics:

Show notes:

• The 6 topics for financial management
• How to obtain a credit report
• Importance of a credit report
• How to improve your credit score
• Negotiate for a lower interest on your new loan
• How to obtain new money for your investment
• Separate your personal finances from your business finances
• When to access your business finances for your personal finances
• The 2 ways of saving your money
• Pay your taxes annually to avoid penalties
• Find out if you have overpaid the IRS and ways of getting back your overpayment
• There's a penalty if you withdraw your 401K money too soon or prematurely
• Saving your money for the rainy days or for an early retirement
• What to do if you want to have an early retirement
• Consult a financial adviser for the best ways to enjoy your retirement

Resources

Please share our Game Change Your Business website with friends and family.

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Game-Change-Your-Biz-735650646569921/

In marketing your products or services on the social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, or Google Plus, here's one powerful tool to keep in mind. You can market your gift certificates, aromatherapy products, or your massage therapy business without spending a lot of money. Elise talks about PRISM.

Show notes:

• P is for In order to be successful, build your audience on a daily basis. This should be the right audience. Social Media apps have analytical tools identifying the type of audience that you can target
• R is for Relationship. If you have a good relationship with your audience, they are more likely to take action that you desire such as opting in, subscribing, sharing, or purchasing. Build rapport with your audience by providing valuable content and by connecting with influencers. Listen to the full podcast to learn about influencers.
• I is for Inbound traffic. You can attract traffic and build an audience by sharing valuable evergreen content. What is an evergreen content? Elise describes this in the podcast. Share this content on a regular basis to increase traffic to your website through the social media
• S is for You want to capture the contact details of your audience by sending your social media audience to your website. A capture form will save the name and email address. You can, later on, send them promotional emails, nurturing emails, or emails that build good relationship with your followers.
• M is for You can direct your leads to a sales funnel to convert them. When people opt in to purchase, you can also make an upsell.

In the upcoming episodes, Elise will discuss social media strategies, sales funnels, and other social media marketing tools.

Listen to the rest of the show notes to get all the details of the podcast. You don't want to miss any episode so check out our resource center here: Game Change Business of Massage Therapy

In this episode, Elise interviews Carl Tuinstra, the CEO of Gift Card Café (GCC) which he founded in May 2007. The GCC is both a virtual/instant and physical gift certificate that can serve as a complimentary gift, discount feature, special deal certificate, or a promo code. It can be integrated with your Paypal merchant account. GCC helps your business get more sales by adding an instant Gift Certificate and Special Daily Deal to your website.

Show notes:

• How Karl developed the GCC concept
• How GCC boosts your sales
• What you need to join the GCC
• What was Carl's worst entrepreneurial moment?
• What were his Ahah moments
• Biggest strength of Karl
• What does Carl consider his biggest weakness
• What Carl does to promote the GCC business
• Which of these had helped increase his sales: trade shows, postcards, salon, mailed out postcards, PR firm, or word of mouth referral
• Book recommendation
• How the GCC payment button is added to your website
• GCC online security issues

Resources

www.TheGiftCardCafe.com

Gift Card Facebook

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In this episode, Elise shares simple but best tips on how to promote your massage therapy business now that you already have a website.

Show notes:

• You can tap your existing clientele. Ask them to tell their friends and family that you are accepting new clients. Reassure your clients that they won't lose their time slot even if new clients come in. Let them know that they are entitled to a discount for referring new clients to you. Show them your appreciation for helping you grow your customer base.
• Have an automated tracking system. So nobody gets left out in your incentive system, keep a tracking system. Type in the name of the referrer and the name of the new client he/she referred. Record their client visits. This will help you remember who to give discounts to and when.
• Have lots of business cards on hand. Distribute to these cards to your existing clients and ask them to give them out to their friends or family who need massage therapy service. Be ready to give out your card to prospects. So they can call you whenever they want to avail of home service or whenever they have a client to refer.
• Treat all clients fairly. Treat your new clients the same way you do your original and loyal clients. That's the way you earn their loyalty and trust. Don't forget to ask them for referrals too.
• Send out newsletters. You can build an email list by sending out a newsletter every 2 months or every quarter. This can be forwarded to your friends' contacts. It's very important to mention your specials in your emails, when they can expect your next newsletter or blog. Remember not to spam your readers by sending out too often.
• Write blogs. A blog is a very effective way to let your clients know about your expertise. Help them with the information about the different modalities that you regularly offer, and the special modalities they can avail of.
• Attend sports events, expos, and other related events or occasions. You could rent a table so you can conveniently give out your cards or brochures. If renting a table or a tent is expensive, just pay somebody to stay at a strategic spot to distribute your cards to people attending or participating in the event.
• Give Lectures at various functions. This is an effective way to let the target audience know about your service. You can advertise your business by letting them know about your website, your services, and your location. Hand out brochures and cards, too.

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