In the age of digital nomads, freelance enterprise, and the gig economy, it can be difficult to build a professional network the traditional way. But you don’t have to let that limit you. Today’s technology may seem like it gets in the way of fostering genuine connections, but the opposite is often true. If you know how to leverage social media and digital communication into a broader network, you can build a system of business connections that goes far beyond your local community. Here’s how.

Lesson #1: Go Face-to-Face

Today’s gig economy is full of phone calls, emails, social media interactions, and the like—essentially, anything but the face-to-face method of doing business. But face-to-face interactions haven’t lost their value in the slightest. If anything, they’re at a premium in the digital age, which makes these face-to-face connections more important than ever.

But if you’re an entrepreneur whose business exists almost solely online, this can be a challenge. How do you get out of your bubble and meet people in the real world?

• Attend conferences. If you exist within just about any niche with a large enough digital following, there will be more than enough opportunities to attend conferences that bring you face-to-face with colleagues and subject matter experts.
• Find co-working spaces. A co-working space in your area is a fine excuse to get out of your bubble and interact with new people. Not everyone will be a valuable business connection, but that’s not always the point.
• Find MeetUp groups. MeetUp.com is full of leisure activities—hiking, salsa dancing, and the like—but it’s just as valuable for networking professionals like yourself. Chances are, your local metropolis already has an active MeetUp group just waiting for new members to join in.

Lesson #2: Enhance Your Social Media Presence

Some criticize social media and say it gets in the way of genuine human interaction. Hogwash. The technology is there for you to find new business connections. Here’s what you’ll need to do on each platform:

• LinkedIn. Join and participate in groups of professional interest to you. It only takes a few moments of your time to participate in a LinkedIn group, but you’ll find that these connections can be far more rewarding than you’d ever imagine.
• Twitter. Find the types of people you would want to engage with and…begin engaging with them. Make sure that you reply, engage, and interact online. Don’t forget to add value with every self-directed post you make on Twitter and make yourself worth the return follow.
• Facebook. Launch a Facebook business presence and interact with customers—and don’t forget to join Facebook groups, just the same way you might interact with people on LinkedIn. Stay connected to your industry and you’ll find that many of the connections rise naturally.

Lesson #3: Don’t Limit Yourself to One Location

This may seem to fly in the face of Lesson #1, but it’s important to remember that instant communication should open new networking opportunities, not limit them. If you can’t get face-to-face interactions, be willing to make connections even on a digital basis with other people like yourself.

When a potential client reaches out to you for a video conference when you’d prefer an email, try indulging them. When you receive a potential lead via email that doesn’t seem like much, give your full effort. Explore every avenue you have available to you, because in the 21^st century, you have the advantage of not sticking to one single location.

Lesson #4: Don’t Close Doors

In some professions, you’ll be exposed to a large number of potential clients. Many of these potential clients will deem you not a “fit” for their needs. That’s life.

The important thing to remember here: don’t close any doors before their time. Rather than warn these potential clients that they’re “making a huge mistake” or ignoring them entirely, make sure that you keep them in your Customer Relationship Management software. Let them off nicely. Tell them that if they go in a different direction and it doesn’t work out, you’d still be open to hearing from them.

Not every lead will return to you this way. But some will. There’s no reason to end a potentially lucrative business relationship before it begins just because you feel your pride wounded at any point in the interaction.

Lesson #5: Prepare Yourself to Give a Little More Than You Get

One of the best habits when it comes to fostering new business connections is to stop looking for what you can get from these interactions—and start looking for what you can give.

You’ll see this principle plays itself out across a range of strategies for your business.

In content marketing, you should aim to create content that’s more than worth the price of admission—in this case, a free click to your website. Give away some of your best information. Give away the goods. Spend time and energy on creating something of genuine value so that when people visit your blog, they feel that their time wasn’t wasted.

One of the most effective ways to close a sale is to utilize the law of reciprocity, an essential element from Robert Cialdini’s famous book Influence. The strategy here is simple: you give something away. You do your potential lead a favor. The need to reciprocate will help drive them to take further action with your company.

In business networking, be willing to introduce people to each other. If you’re overloaded on client work or can’t handle any more customers, refer a client in need to someone who can help them. You’ll get nothing out of this interaction, of course. But you will meet the needs of other people, which means you’ll be first in mind when they have something to reciprocate.

In social media, think of what kind of profile you would want to follow. Would you follow you? If you don’t have a large following already, the chances are that the answer is: probably not. Create genuine value with insightful links, relevant sources, and original thoughts.

Building a Larger Network, One Connection at a Time

These lessons are a solid primer on building a larger business network. But try to make a habit out of them. Stop closing the door on leads. Start participating with groups online. Go out beyond your bubble with the intent to see what kind of people are out there. Even if results don’t come right away, you’ll build a larger network of people who know you—and think about you—in no time.

from The Grasshopper Blog – Insights for Entrepreneurs https://grasshopper.com/blog/5 Lessons for Building a Larger Professional Network/
via IFTTT

2020 is almost here, which means that now’s the time to start thinking about capitalizing on the top trends for small business owners. Before you get ready for the year’s end, it’s the perfect time for a refresher on what’s happened in 2019—and where the winds of change are blowing for 2020:

Trend #1: Automation Software

You don’t have to look very far to find that automation has been a trend as of late. But one of the best reasons it’s an emerging trend for a small business like yours is that automation software is getting more sophisticated—and more affordable.

Whether it means automating your social media accounts with content or capitalizing on one of the top business trends with automated chat bots, automation software can give you the appearance of a much larger operation—without you having to lift a finger.

There are two areas in particular that might be good for small business owners to pay attention to, according to Entrepreneur:

• Chatbots with built-in machine learning can get started with your customers right away and only improve with time. As you tweak their messaging and allow them to interact with customers, you’ll have a head start on other businesses that haven’t utilized this technology to create fast responses with their customer service inquiries.
• Virtual assistants are more popular than ever, and one reason is that it’s easy to use an AI virtual assistant. If you can start working with AI to delegate more of your more mundane tasks sooner rather than later, you’ll have a similar head start. Imagine where you could be in 2020 with a fully automated virtual assistant.

Trend #2: The Rise of Gen Z

For years, all of the talk in marketing has been on millennials as a rising demographic with increasing purchasing power. And those millennials aren’t going anywhere. But there’s another socioeconomic trend that all business owners will have to pay attention to: the rise of Gen Z.

Gen Z—defined as those who were born in the mid-to-late 1990s and later—are now coming of age. They were raised in a world with Internet, social media, and instant access to information. As such, marketing to them is different. And while 2020 won’t necessarily be a milestone in the world of marketing to Gen Z, it’s certainly as good a time as any to start rethinking your plans.

Trend #3: Mobile Applications

E-Commerce is one of the top areas of growth right now, as you can see at Statista. But one of the top areas for growth within E-Commerce can be found within mobile applications. Simply put, more and more small businesses are selling directly to the consumer by putting themselves directly on the consumer’s smart phones.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a new business or new to digital marketing—in 2019 and 2020, it’s easier than ever to construct a mobile app of your own. There are even no-code platforms that make it possible for you to generate an app with simple drag-and-drop ease rather than diving deep into the coding. This reduces expenses and labor associated with creating a mobile application for yourself.

Trend #4: Women In Leadership

The economic playing field continues to even, and that’s great news. But it’s not just in the United States where we should expect to see this trend continue. According to Intuit, “Women, especially those in emerging markets, will be a dominant force in the global market – taking increased leadership responsibilities across business, government and education.”

Not only is this a trend a sign that we’re headed in the right direction, but it’s also good feedback that the small business landscape is changing for the better.

Trend #5: Platform Consolidation

Sound a little technical? It is. But the good news is that small business owners don’t have to worry about that side of it. Platform consolidation only refers to the infrastructure that companies are putting together to serve as complete small business platforms.

When you can manage everything—from remote workers and social media marketing to the customer experience and user reviews—from fewer and fewer platforms, your to-do list gets smaller. So does your password management file. What’s left is an easy way to interact with your business and navigate everything you need to navigate as you look to scale.

In 2020, rather than adding more to your slate, think about all of the features of the platforms you already use—and ask yourself if you can scale back on these tools by consolidating to one or two specific platforms.

Trend #6: The Gig Economy Takes Over

Of course, we’re all aware of the effects the gig economy has created in every other trend. For small businesses, it can be a competitive advantage: being able to hire someone for a brief contract that doesn’t require full-time benefits.

The only question for 2020 is: where is this trend going? Expect it to become an indispensable part of doing business, with now over 57 million participating in the gig economy in the U.S. alone. By 2023, data suggests that over half of the U.S. workforce will participate in the gig economy in some fashion.

Trend #7: User Review Management

User review management is nothing new, but as E-Commerce begins to drive retail, user reviews will become more important than ever. That means that user review management software—tools that allow you to check reviews and gather feedback—will be of increasing importance.

In today’s small business environment, user reviews are essential. 97% of people read reviews for local businesses—to say nothing of how many users will give a quick glance at the user reviews of a product before they decide to purchase online. Incorporating user review management into your business isn’t an accessory anymore. It’s a necessity.

Today’s emerging trends might not all move into 2020 with equal momentum. But pay attention to shifting demographics and emerging technology to stay on top of your game and ensure that your small business runs smoothly.

from The Grasshopper Blog – Insights for Entrepreneurs https://grasshopper.com/blog/Top 10 Small Business Trends for 2020/
via IFTTT

The holiday bonus can feel a bit like a double-edged sword for employers: if you give away too little, your employees might not be happy with you. If you give too much, you won’t have quite as much left over to invest back into the company that keeps them all employed.

It seems like a simple enough topic. Then you start getting into more serious questions. How does it differentiate from the year-end individual performance bonus? What are the valid alternatives if your company simply doesn’t have extra money to spend on bonuses?

And, finally, is there a happy medium, or a single system you can use to determine 1) how to give the “right” amount in bonuses and 2) how to go about it the right way? Here are our thoughts on making the holiday bonus experience work for everyone:

Tips on Giving Out Holiday Bonuses

How do you give out a holiday bonus? It starts with poring through your budget and getting a clear idea of what you can afford. But first, let’s get clear about what a holiday bonus is:

“A holiday bonus can generally be described as a gift expressing gratitude, which is given equally to everyone,” writes PayChex.com.

That means that your holiday bonus comes low on the list of priorities—if the other priorities on that list include making payroll, paying great benefits, and giving out performance-based raises to employees. Still, the holidays are a perfect time to express your gratitude for what employees have done throughout the year.

How to Determine How Much to Give, and How to Give It

Since it’s already the holiday season, it can seem too late to reward the hard work of the employees you’ve kept on staff all year.

• Giving cash bonuses? Give out as much as you can afford to give to everyone. Once you start weighing holiday bonuses based on performance, you’ve stopped giving holiday bonuses. Now you’re simply adding to the performance-based raises you’ve already instituted throughout the year. Your holiday gift should be equal for everyone, but some employers do give percentage-based bonuses to their employees.
• Time it before the holidays. The holidays are a time in which many Americans’ spending is at its highest. If you’re giving out a cash payment in your bonuses, keep this in mind—the end of the year makes for a natural point to give out bonuses, but give people some breathing room to help with holiday shopping.
• Add the bonus to a paycheck. Cash bonuses can often be the easiest way to give bonuses for tax purposes, as it will fit neatly onto any employee’s W-2. And you’re not making it any harder for employees, as other gifts (like gift cards) would be considered taxable by the IRS.

Alternatives to Holiday Cash Bonuses

Let’s be honest: everyone’s favorite bonus from their place of employment is the gift of cash. But as it turns out, only about 38% of small businesses are able to give out cash bonuses every year. It’s great when you can do it, but it’s not always required. And if you can give bonuses like that to employees who deserve it, that should be your first priority.

But it doesn’t mean you can’t spread a little holiday cheer if your company is stretching the budget thin as it is.

Here are some alternatives to cash that employers like to use:

• PTO. Paid time off is not only appreciated during the holidays—it’s the second best thing to getting a fatter paycheck. Essentially, it’s the same thing. If your payroll is based on salary, you can give away holiday “bonuses” in the form of extra time off, and it’s one of the most popular perks outside of a direct check.
• Giftcards. If your company meets all of its financial obligations and provides its employees with great benefits, they’ll usually understand if you can’t afford the bonus amount. A gift card alternative can be a good way to show appreciation during the holidays without the financial requirements typically associated with cash bonuses.
• Company swag. If your budget is stretched to the max and you still don’t want to give your employees nothing, some free gifts are always welcome. Company swag often comes at favorable prices when you buy in bulk, which makes it a great way to stretch the dollar while still giving your employees a gift for the holidays.
• Holiday party. You’d be surprised at how much a holiday party can do to lift the spirits of people within a small business. In lieu of a Christmas bonus, a fun party can give people a chance to relax and kick back.

Budgeting for Holiday Bonuses

It’s that time of year, which means that you also have to be thinking about budgeting and year-end tax implications. Should you do a flat dollar amount? What did you do last year? What will make life easier for you in the new year?

These are all considerations you need to pay attention to during bonus season. And employees bonuses need to fit into accounting principles whether you’re doing flat dollar amounts or simply offering gifts to employees.

How do you prepare your budget? No two businesses are the same. But keep in mind that cash bonuses will show up on the balance sheet as income paid toward your employees, which needs to be taken into account.

If you can, spread the saving you do for holiday bonuses throughout the whole year. This makes the impact far less dramatic a drain on your cash flow, minimally disrupting your company on a month-to-month basis. But if it’s already too late for that, look at your cash on hand, the liabilities that require payment in the next three months, and what you expect your next tax bill to be. You have to prioritize meeting your financial obligations first, as fun as it can be to give out holiday bonuses.

A great holiday bonus is always a great way to cap off the year. But it’s important that you approach it the right way and find a way to give your employees a kind gesture for all of their hard work—big budget or not.

from The Grasshopper Blog – Insights for Entrepreneurs https://grasshopper.com/blog/The Employers Guide to Giving Holiday Bonuses/
via IFTTT