Tag Archives: business

Business Strategy , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

260% Hiring Increase Propels Freelancers Beyond Flavor of the Month

by

Mellow, a global contract and payment services platform whose customers are Freelancers, consulting companies and independent contractors, revealed in Their latest report a startling 260% increase in overseas hiring of Freelance workers by U.S. businesses from 2022 to 2024. The report indicates that the projects were also outside of the U.S. and that skill sets in highest demand included engineers, technical writers, analysts and website developers. The organizations for whom the Freelancers worked were Mellow contractor-of-record clients, based in the for U.S. and with 50-200 employees, categorized as Small and Midsize Enterprises (SME). The Freelancers hired were based in regions with emerging economies, primarily Central Asia, the Middle East/North Africa and Eastern Europe.

Mellow researchers interpret the big picture of their findings as confirming the centrality of Freelance workers as essential participants in a global trend that demands flexible work models and as a standard that will ultimately benefit U.S. based Freelancers. Rather than replacing U.S. workers, Mellow investigators see the predominance of flexible work models as creating new opportunities for both businesses and individuals in the U.S. Mellow emphasizes that the Freelancing surge is not about offshoring, but rather about decentralizing work and enabling businesses to be more agile, competitive and profitable.

Freelancers are a core business strategy

The advantages inherent in flexible, ad hoc, project-specific work arrangements were already apparent to both Freelance workers and the organizations that hire them, and the practice was already well established and growing in acceptance and popularity when the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses to reconsider their work models and shift their employees into Work From Home mode. The pivot spotlighted the value of both remote work and the availability of a talented and reliable Freelance workforce. Organization leaders now widely recognize the logic of employing temporary talent for specific projects and this acceptance has brought revisions to their strategies for talent acquisition and workforce management. Freelancers are no longer regarded as just a short-term fix, but instead as a strategic advantage that delivers tangible benefits in today’s layoff-prone environment.

Talent management within an organization is no longer considered primarily an HR strategy and is now recognized as a core business strategy that owners, entrepreneurs and executives must recognize. The data makes it clear that organizations are welcoming Freelance talent and the shift isn’t just about cost savings; it’s also about responding to the need to be agile in a hyper-competitive marketplace that includes the realities of a periodically unpredictable labor market.

Market research company Grand View Partners estimates that global Freelance marketplaces such as Mellow, Fiverr, Guru and Upwork will have a 17.7% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for the period 2025 to 2030, according to their recently published Market Analysis Report that examined the market size, share and trends of Freelance platforms. Industries setting the pace and providing a template that other companies can follow include Edtech, out front with an average hiring rate of 108 Freelancers and advertising companies, with an average Freelance hire of 34 contractors.

U.S. Freelancers thrived during difficult years

The years 2022-2024 were challenging for many American workers, executives and business owners. Numerous lay-offs, persistent inflation and widespread hiring freezes came on the heels of the coronavirus shutdown. “Quiet quitting,” the great resignation and persistent demands to return to the office—a condition that many employees find unnecessary, if not unacceptable—dominated the echoverse.

The unrest motivated many companies to adopt a flexible approach to getting the work done and increasingly, company leaders acknowledged that Freelance professionals are uniquely qualified to provide the skills their organizations needed. The inclination to hire Freelance workers also aligns with agile business strategy that likewise requires a flexible, capable and cost-effective workforce that drives innovation, growth and profitability.

 In a January 2023 survey of 1,000 U.S. business leaders of companies with more than 50 employees, Resume Builder showed that 40% of those companies hired Freelance workers to replace laid-off employees and 53% convinced some of their full-time employees to accept Freelance positions, in order to remain employed.

Return-to-office and lay-offs poised to increase Freelance opportunities

Lay-offs have been announced by Hewlett Packard, Grubhub, Meta and Chevron; meanwhile, RTO mandates have been repeatedly announced, most notably by J.P. Morgan, along with Amazon, Dell and Starbucks, all of whom are cracking the whip and herding the last of their WFH employees back into the office. As unpleasant as all that sounds (at least to me), Freelancers are positioned to obtain clients and potentially generous billable hours that result from lay-offs and RTO mandates that are ignored. One door closes and another door opens.

Data from Upwork, the Freelance marketplace used by both Freelance workers and the companies that hire them, shows that Freelance labor is 30-60% less costly than W2 employee labor; the latter entails costs such as payroll taxes, social security payments and vacation and sick time, while the former option enables company leaders to pivot into a flexible workforce arrangement rather than lay-off W2 employees (and perhaps face media scrutiny). Furthermore, Resume Builder data also shows the rise of a strategy called “quiet hiring,” that is demonstrated by the 37% of companies that had recent lay-offs and hired Freelancers to replace laid-off workers.

Regarding RTO mandates, the advantages of Freelance talent are not exclusively limited to remote arrangements. In fact, the in-person Freelance model is a fast-growing segment. Spurred by front-line workforce talent platforms specializing in retail, hospitality and even factory workers, in-person Freelance gig workers are solving significant challenges for industries known to suffer from high rates of employee burnout and churn.

The Freelance future is bright

The demand for Freelance talent is expected to energize the employer side of the equation as evidenced by the predicted 17.7% CAGR within 2025 the SME and large enterprise business categories. The rise of start-up businesses and entrepreneurship in general contributes to the increasing demand for Freelance talent, as detailed in the Upwork Freelance Forward 2023 report, that noted Freelance labor contributed $1.27 trillion to the U.S. economy in annual earnings and also noted that 38% of the U.S. workforce, or 64 million Americans, performed Freelance work as either a primary or occasional source of income.

Start-ups often have limited budgets that constrict their ability to hire full-time employees for every role. Fractional executives, who are Freelancers who serve companies on a C-Suite level, are also taking hold at start-ups and Freelance and fractional workers provide start-ups and SME businesses with an affordable way to access high-quality talent on a short-term or project basis. The scalability of Freelance hiring models makes it easier for entrepreneurs to manage fluctuating or unpredictable workloads while maintaining high-quality standards without exhausting financial or labor resources. The ability to hire specialized Freelancers enables start-ups and other businesses to remain nimble and efficient—agile—which is essential for their growth and survival in highly competitive markets.

The success of Freelancing is perhaps best summed up by data from Mellow which reported that in 2023, the average monthly income of Freelance workers in their report grew by 18% and grew by another 23% in 2024. Mellow’s data also confirmed that the way to earn billable hours is to take on more than one client at a time (but you knew that).

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: ©Epic Records. Singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton (1947-1979) in the cover shot for her gold album Perfect Angel (1974)

Marketing , , , , Leave a comment

Is Your Social Media Strategy Delivering?

by

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.”

Possibly apocryphal quote often credited to 19th century Philadelphia department store magnate John Wanamaker.

Accurately measuring the impact of the marketing activities you create to promote your company’s services and/or products and, furthermore, analyzing the impact of your marketing to verify that the activities were worth the time and money invested in them can be somewhat of a puzzle for a marketing manager. In particular, the return on investment of social media activity can be nebulous, given that much of its focus is often devoted to relationship-building that stimulates one or more aspects of brand-building, for example, brand loyalty and brand reputation. Determining which of your go-to social media platforms is your top performer might be difficult to confirm, there is not always an obvious path to follow as you track and document your customer’s behavior or buyer’s journey from first contact through purchase; and then there are those who jump ship somewhere between those points and the debrief on that scenario is yet another drama to unravel.

Social media remains a hugely popular marketing tactic that for the most part has earned its accolades in both free and paid options. So, it comes as somewhat of a surprise that recent marketing research shows that at a representative group of enterprise companies, the social media marketing spend is softening. According to the Spring 2024 edition of the CMO Survey, which surveyed 292 marketers employed by leading U.S. companies, social media investments declined from 17% in Spring 2023 to 11% in Spring 2024, reaching its lowest level in seven years.

The CMO Survey found further confirmation of this occurrence in participant responses to the question “Which best describes how you show the impact of social media on your business?” and one-third, all of whom are marketing leaders, reported “we haven’t been able to show the impact yet.” The remaining participants were evenly split on whether they’ve “proven the impact quantitatively,” with some stating that they have a “good qualitative sense of the impact, but not a quantitative impact.”

Maybe you’ll soon decide to pull back on social media paid ads, too, and rely more heavily on the “free” option (free except for the time spent to choose and post content that interests followers, that is) since it remains an effective method of customer outreach and enables you to build and sustain relationships with customers, convert prospects into customers and boost brand visibility. Your social media spend may decrease, but that adjustment could motivate you to make the most of a reconfigured, but still valuable, marketing investment.

Multi-channel is most effective

According to an analysis of performance data associated with social media marketing campaigns, the format produces greater results when used in combination with other marketing tactics, e.g. monthly newsletters and/or case studies, e-books, podcasts, or webinars. Furthermore, when researchers examined 10 years of CMO Survey retrospective data, below-average performance of social media marketing campaigns was reported by participants whose answer to “How effectively does your company integrate customer information across purchasing, communication and social media channels?” revealed weak scores describing the use of that data during the period 2011 – 2023. The performance ranking scale measuring customer data sharing ranged from “not at all” to “very highly.”

In light of the findings of the 10-year retrospective, survey researchers recommend that marketers consult with a Customer Relations Management (CRM) company, e.g., Sprout Social, HubSpot, BuzzSumo, or SalesForce, to ensure accurate interpretations and beneficial integration of their social media marketing performance data to enhance the success of future marketing campaigns. Correctly interpreting and utilizing social media marketing performance data ensures that you’ll have a holistic understanding of customer behavior that’ ‘s inclined to positively impact the buyer’s journey your company provides.

Use social media to grow your customer list

The CMO Survey also found that nearly half of companies use social media platforms to sell their services and products. However, survey data reveals that fewer than 20% of those companies leverage their social media engagement to invite customer feedback that might improve aspects of the customer experience or even suggest new product or service opportunities that the company could explore and possibly launch. Companies that exploit this easily accessible customer feedback opportunity are able to develop a customer experience that responds to and retains customers, encourages referrals and increases sales revenues and profitability.

Improvise to stay timely and relevant

Finally, enhancing your ability to provide a timely response to breaking news that matters to your customers and prospects right now is just about guaranteed to enhance both the relevance and visibility of your brand—and using social media makes this possible. Still, marketing managers often neglect opportunities that are easy to address, as evidenced by the self-reported survey participant score of “average” when describing behavior associated with the statement “Responding quickly to opportunities and challenges when managing your most engaged customers.”

CMO Survey findings convincingly show that adopting a flexible, even improvised, approach to your social media engagement is the most effective aspect of your strategy and that your awareness of breaking news and developing events is most urgent and beneficial when providing a timely response is desirable. Communicating with your customers and prospects by acknowledging the unfolding event or unexpected (surprise) development, with a humorous or witty remark demonstrates your authenticity. In short, building in processes designed to make you ready for and prepared to quickly respond to various types of communication opportunities is able to improve the ROI of your company’s social media marketing and engagement.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Simon Smith. Bunhill for Getty Images

Sales , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Make Marketing Messages Memorable

by

What is effective marketing in the 21st century? Communication technology has gone through so many game-changing upgrades—radio! television! Watson the IBM supercomputer!—but the essence of human beings hasn’t really changed over the centuries. The basics of buying and selling resources that we value, whether they are integral to survival or ego-boosting bling, are still governed by a group of fairly standard actions that comprise what’s known as the buyer’s journey. Circumstances and other factors that spark buyer interest and may lead to a sale haven’t changed much in about 8,000 years of civilization as we know it. I think it’s safe to say that buying and selling, and the marketing strategies designed to influence the process, are at their core about the same today as marketing was in Shakespeare’s England (early 1600s) or during the reign of the pharaohs.

Successful marketing campaigns have as their foundation good storytelling and the story must be distributed to potential buyers of the product or service. Marketing stories must appeal to prospective buyers and be accessible on media outlets (channels) that target prospective buyers follow and trust. Beyond those qualifiers, it’s incumbent upon sellers to create and distribute marketing content with a message that persuades potential buyers to stop, look and engage. Sellers need a marketing message that tweaks curiosity or strikes a familiar chord with those who experience it. How can you ensure that your marketing messages will consistently deliver? Read on to learn a few actions that will optimize the power of your marketing messages.

How are prospects meeting their needs now?

As usual, it makes sense to begin at the beginning. Before you can create trust inspiring, right-on-time marketing messages, it’s necessary to know what your customers are doing now — who or what are you competing against? You cannot make a battle plan until you know your opponent and the strengths, weaknesses and perceived value that’s made customers buy (until you arrived to shake things up)?

BTW, more often than you’d guess, your competition is neither a rival Freelancer nor a traditional business entity; your competitor could be inertia, AKA doing nothing. The status quo could be your client’s hiding place and coaxing him/her into the fresh air and sunshine of problem-solving could be a difficult endeavor. “Kicking the can” may have powerful defenders on your sale’s decision-making committee and one or more of them could have budget influence that can be weaponized and used to shut down spending or any move toward progress.

So, if one or two of the prospect’s decision-making committee members are comfortable with what’s being done now, you must demonstrate why deflecting what could be considered a reasonable problem-solving action, or doing the same dance with the same partner, is less effective and in the end more costly than bringing in your solution. To do that, you’ll need a marketing message that is powerful and persuasive. To figure out how to shape the narrative you need, start by exploring these issues:

  • Examine and analyze lost sales. When you lose a sale, diplomatically attempt to discover who your prospect decided to buy from, if possible. Perhaps even more important is to ask the prospect directly or ask someone who can speak for him/her, what shortcoming(s) motivated the decision to select another vendor. You must learn how you dropped the ball in order to fix the problem. Once you’ve identified lapses and/or weaknesses, you’ll decide on the most efficient corrective actions.
  • Examine and analyze successful sales. When the prospect hires you and becomes your client, discreetly inquire about their decision process. It’s seldom easy to learn the identities of competitors on your now-client’s shortlist but is a definitive way to confirm your competition. Equally valuable intel is learning which factors or characteristics of yours motivated decision-makers to bring you on board. What is it about you and your organization or skill set that makes you stand out?
  • Get input from your best customers. If your product or service didn’t exist, what would your customers do instead? Their answers will reveal the real-world alternative solutions you’re up against. To get started on building your case, consider these tactics:

Describe your value proposition, as your buyers define it

Once you have a good understanding of your typical competitors, identified weaknesses you must address and strengths that distinguish you and instill confidence in prospects, incorporate your findings in your marketing messages. Your story will be best served when you think beyond predictable product or service features; standing out in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace requires more than a recitation of product or service features and benefits. Put yourself in the prospect’s shoes and envision what s/he must achieve and what it takes to do so and use those insights to predict which of your product or service features and benefits to showcase. Develop a marketing message that will “paint a picture” that enables your prospect to “see” how your solution helps them to achieve their goals or please their customers. Adopt a “what’s in it for them” mindset as you customize your marketing message with a story that goes beyond generalities:

  • Superior customer experience (e.g., fast and uncomplicated new customer onboarding or the availability of end-user training and/or other post-sale support.
  • Expertise in a specific market or problem area.
  • Flexibility or customization that others lack.
  • A track record of success with companies similar to your target customers.

Edit marketing message talking points

Make it easy for prospects to remember (and also value) features and benefits by paring down your list and building your message on three or four powerful and persuasive talking points, so that you’ll avoid overwhelming prospects with too much information that is bound to get lost in the shuffle. A short list of strong value points makes a bigger impact than a long list of features. These 3-4 marketing message talking points become your core value proposition for you to use in all of your marketing materials. Choose your list of customized, high value talking points guided by these suggestions:

  • Relevance: Which benefits speak most directly to your audience’s most urgent goal or problem?
  • Uniqueness: Which of your strengths is most difficult for competitors to copy or claim?
  • Defensibility: How does your marketing message communicate a story that demonstrates in a clear and persuasive narrative that your solution and company are the best option for the client?

Customize messages for market segments

Your carefully selected and vetted marketing message should quickly resonate with your customers and prospects, literally “speak” to your audience so that its members can recognize the information they care about most. Adjust your core message based on who you’re talking to and where they are in the buying journey. Be sensitive to the need of different information or incentives that are useful to prospect as they progress through the buyer’s journey. Prospects who are establishing a familiarity with your company and its solutions are not the same as prospects who are in the process of making a final determination between two or three potential vendors. Supporting information should align with the questions a typical prospect has when progressing through the buyer’s journey.

  • Decision-makers: Emphasize high-level results, like return on investment for users of your product or service, or overall cost savings.
  • End-users: Focus on ease of use and practical features.
  • Awareness stage: Talk about common problems and introduce your solution.
  • Decision stage: Show clear proof and highlight what makes you stand out.

Message at every touchpoint

A messaging hierarchy helps you stay consistent across all channels — from your website homepage to sales meetings. It starts with your core value points, then moves into supporting messages and ends with evidence. Structure it like this:

  1. Value proposition talking points: The top 3-4 benefits you chose to highlight (above).
  2. Supporting messages: Additional advantages or benefits that reinforce why you core value proposition makes a (positive) difference for the prospect.
  3. Case studies: Real life experience helps a prospect understand how your service or product performs in the real world. Present performance metrics, share a case study or other stories that document and illustrate how you (and your team) provide solutions that solves problems, achieves goals and delivers on promises made.
  4. Technology: Demonstrate to your prospect that you are a capable and prepared professional who is comfortable with commonly used tech solutions by using an online calendar platform (such as Calendly) to schedule and confirm your sales meetings, as you reduce the incidence of missed appointments or cancellations—frustrating time wasters. Doing so demonstrates not only your knowledge and proficiency of useful technology, but also signals to prospects your intention to deliver a seamless and pleasant end-to-end customer experience.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: ©National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 1972. Eugene Cernan, commander of the Apollo 17 mission and the last astronaut to walk on the moon, holds an American flag during his mission in December 1972. 

 

Business Strategy , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Trend Tracker Is Free Help from Yelp

by

Launched in 2014 at the platform’s 10th anniversary, Yelp’s Trend Tracker is receiving so much flattering business press of late that it feels like a relaunch (and I’m sure it is)! If you operate a small business and maintain an active Yelp account, whether or not you subscribe to Trend Tracker, Yelp is talking to you. If you’re a Freelance solopreneur who’s claimed your free Yelp listing and then dropped the subject, Yelp is talking to you, too. Or maybe you’re a self-employed professional, a Freelancer or SMB owner, who does not have an active Yelp account? Whatever the case, Yelp and Yelp’s Trend Tracker beckon with insightful and potentially actionable data that pertains to your industry and can support your mission to build a profitable and sustainable business entity.

What is Yelp’s Trend Tracker?

Trend Tracker is an AI-powered, cloud-based tool that monitors customer searches, reviews and interactions to identify trending topics in real time. Trend Tracker reveals and reports customer search patterns, behavior and emerging customer preferences across a broad array of industries. Trend Tracker harvests data from unique searches the Yelp platform receives each month (178 million in January 2025) and measures the frequency of specific phrases and topics used in those searches. This data sheds light on what you want to know, from customer purchasing trends to popular B2B and B2C services. Furthermore, Trend Tracker goes beyond search terms and also analyzes the text of customer reviews, to further clarify the picture.

It can literally pay to know this stuff because from time to time it may be worthwhile to respond to certain information. You may decide, for example, to update the key words in your content marketing material if Trend Tracker data indicates that target customers have begun to use certain terms when searching your product or service category.

Free market research for Freelancers and SMBs

Trend Tracker analytic insights are available free of charge—join the mailing list and you’ll receive data that is relevant and updated monthly and enables those who pay attention to access boots-on-the-ground marketing insights that can potentially help to promote your products and services more effectively. Supported by Trend Tracker, you’ll be positioned to detect and quickly respond to customer preferences, adjust marketing strategies and/or tactics to better align with shifting customer priorities and maybe even tweak your service or product line to reflect a significant shift in customer tastes.

When business decisions are guided by relevant, reliable data, decision-makers are more likely to achieve their intended outcomes. Decisions and actions that are guided by what matters to prospects and customers IRT will be immensely helpful to business owners. One of the biggest advantages of Trend Tracker is its ability to give you the heads-up on developing trends before they go mainstream and giving you time to update your position and be among the first providers to capitalize on emerging customer demand. Trend Tracker enables you to:

  • Identify emerging customer interests before they become mainstream
  • Adjust marketing strategies and tactics to respond to customer interests in a timely fashion
  • Create events and promotions that reflect developing trends
  • Improve your brand’s online visibility and search engine optimization with trending keywords
  • Stay ahead of competitors (who may not have access to reliable data-driven insights)

What else can Trend Tracker do for you?

So what’s trending that applies to you? Trustworthy intel is what’s trending and it applies to your entity in many ways. Trend Tracker data can even be a resource when you must conduct market research to evaluate your business planning, from the feasibility of scaling or expanding your venture to clarifying your decision-making as you verify, or rethink, a side hustle you hope to launch. News flash! Re: business planning, can we acknowledge that Freelancing does not exclusively pertain to B2B services such as marketing, website development, graphic arts and shooting and editing videos? Can we recognize that Freelance expertise can also be applied to a B2C service entity? In other words, could it be that upgrading home interiors is a more satisfying expression of your entrepreneurial talent than cybersecurity? That seems to be the case for the Property Brothers.

You may be interested to know that the Trend Tracker September 2024 issue reported that in 2024, home services produced record growth for business owners in that industry across the U.S. and drove an all-time revenue bonanza for the category. Trend Tracker data indicated that in 2024, home services were the fastest-growing segment of B2C services in every U.S. state plus Washington D.C. and was the top category for new business launches among all industry categories on Yelp as well. This still trending growth cycle is fueled by renter-friendly home upgrade projects. As many citizens come to recognize that attaining home ownership or trading up from starter house to a more spacious (and grand) residence is unaffordable, remaining in the current home for a longer period of time has become yet another New Normal reality.

As a way to make home feel more comfortable or look more stylish, people are investing in improvements that upgrade living spaces without upsetting the landlord. Another home services industry hot spot, this one pertaining to homeowners, is weatherproofing services that make homes more resilient to what seems like increasingly frequent extreme weather events. Trend Tracker data shows that Yelp users have increased searches for both renter-friendly and homeowner services—could responding to the growing demand become your side hustle or even your full-time Freelance or SMB enterprise? Aspiring business owners have set up shop as Freelance solopreneurs and SMBs to address those priorities, which resulted in big increases in Yelp searches in 2024 vs. 2023:

  • home organization (+362%),
  • peel and stick tile (+73%),
  • wallpapering (+41%),
  • snow removal (+36%)
  • home automation (+27%),
  • drapery installation (+11%)
  • waterproofing (+23%)

In sum, Trend Tracker can be a game-changer that might potentially have a direct impact on your ability to gain or maintain competitive advantage and monitor customer priorities—and maybe even launch a successful business or side hustle. Tara Lewis, who spent 15 years at Yelp helping businesses connect with their target customers and also served as its trend expert, advises that the best way to get started with Yelp’s Trend Tracker is to check out the latest trends noted in the monthly newsletter and pick one insight to test in your business this month. Lewis says that even a small adjustment can lead to noticeable improvements in brand visibility and sales revenue generated. She recommends the following:

  • Practice authenticity in trend-chasing. Don’t just follow trends; make them your own to help your business stand out.
  • Connect with valued customers through shared trending interests. Form meaningful connections with your community by creating events and social spaces that appeal to those who matter most.
  • Use Yelp Trend Tracker data to highlight what you already offer. Your business may be in tune with rising trends — adapt your marketing strategy to make these products or services more visible to customers.
  • Position your business for long-term trends, not just momentary fads. Some trends are fleeting; others reflect larger shifts in consumer behavior. Identify trends with staying power and incorporate them into your business vision.
  • Your brand’s unique personality is your trendiest asset. Lean into what makes your business distinctive to set yourself apart and keep customers coming back.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Freepik

Business Strategy , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

LeadGen and Customer Acquisition in 2025

by

LocaliQ, a digital marketing platform that specializes in lead generation and multichannel marketing campaign management, and is a subsidiary of Gannett Publishing, surveyed more than 730 small business owners and marketers worldwide to get boots-on-the-ground perspectives on leadgen and customer acquisition marketing tactics SMB owners are using now and uncensored feedback on what’s producing the best results. The survey is a rich source of benchmarking and actionable insights that have the potential to inform your approach to leadgen and customer acquisition strategies and tactics this year.

In its first Small Business Marketing Trends Report, LocaliQ shares the results of a deep data dive that’s intended to help Freelance consultants and SMB owners successfully navigate the business landscape they can expect to encounter in 2025 by learning how their peers energize sales revenue by identifying leadgen tactics that promote customer acquisition.

The relevance of LocaliQ data is for many of you validated by the survey demographics—15% of respondents are soloprenuers; 31% have 2-10 full-time employees; 24% have a marketing budget that’s less than $500/ year (5% have no marketing budget); and 74% are based in Canada and the U.S. (all six inhabited continents plus New Zealand are represented). The survey was published in October 2024. How does the average Freelancer or SMB owner attract prospects?

Survey respondents do what you’d expect and it’s safe to assume that they use more than one leadgen tactic to implement their marketing /sales strategy. Social media marketing (free) is used by 52% of respondents; 47% of respondents use (paid) social media advertising; and 40% of respondents use search advertising, i.e., pay-per-click sponsored ads that appear in search engine inquiries. Other popular leadgen tactics are email marketing, used by 39% of respondents and content marketing, used by 33% of respondents. Online listings and directories (28%), display ads (24%) and traditional media (23%) are 20th century tactics and that gives them a similarity (IMHO); when combined, 75% of survey respondents use one or more of these older leadgen tactics.

As for the social media platforms used, it’s no surprise that Facebook dominates—76% of respondents use the platform for leadgen, promoting products and services and otherwise engaging with current customers and prospects. Instagram is used by 63% of survey respondents and LinkedIn, tailored as it is to B2B customers, is used by 43% of respondents. The data also showed that 29% of respondents use video marketing, a feature that is available on the above three platforms and also YouTube, which is used by 38% of respondents and recently rescued TikTok, which is used by 34% of respondents. Surprisingly X, a platform intended for Instant Messaging and other text communications, is used by 41% of respondents for social media marketing (X also hosts video sharing).

Now let’s talk turkey—when asked about their satisfaction (or disappointment) with the results of leadgen tactics, social media marketing and online listings/business directory users are satisfied with results—66% of social media marketing users and 61% of online listings/business directory users are pleased with their leadgen marketing results—still, each group also has a dissatisfaction rate of 15%. Furthermore, there is a rather large group of “neither satisfied nor dissatisfied” —meaning lukewarm?—users associated with those leadgen marketing tactics and 24% of online listing/ business directory users and 19% of social media marketing users joined the lukewarm group. Maybe it’s too difficult to measure leadgen results directly from social media marketing activity, whose conversation threads remain visible for years and likewise for presence on a business listing site or directory that a prospect might see many months after publication?

More clarity is derived from search advertising and it topped the list as the leadgen tactic most respondents are happy with, as evidenced by its 76% satisfaction rate (with 12% dissatisfied and 12% neither satisfied nor dissatisfied). A close second in popularity is video marketing, a leadgen tactic that has a growing user rate on every platform; in this survey, 74% of users are pleased with their video marketing outcomes and just 8% are unhappy (and 17% are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied). Short-form videos, like those on TikTok and Instagram Reels, continue to surge and 58% of respondents have either recently tried or would like to try the format.

Search advertising succeeds because it kicks in precisely when the purchasing motive is strongest and prospects are actively looking to buy a product or service that’s similar to yours. Readily available alternative options are waiting for them, as shown in search ads you’ve seen. Survey respondents also indicate satisfaction with results they’re finding with content marketing (75%) and advertising on social media platforms (73%).

The best source of leadgen is (drum roll) customer referrals! Almost 65% of survey respondents reported that customer referrals are the best leadgen sources. The influence of customer referrals is greatest (75%) for SMBs that have 10 or fewer full-time employees and have less influence in larger organizations—just 46% of businesses with 50 or more employees report that customer referrals are the best source of new customer leads.

Major challenges anticipated in 2025

Freelance consultants and SMB owners know that in order to survive and thrive, a clear-eyed view of their economic landscape is necessary. Economic uncertainty, leadgen tactics that stimulate new customer acquisition and optimizing an (often modest) marketing budget are by necessity at top-of-mind. The ability to predict which marketing tactics can be relied on to produce the strongest return on investment is viewed as somewhat or very challenging for nearly half of survey respondents—44% are somewhat or very concerned about the capability of their chosen leadgen tactics to drive results. Adapting to new technology is a concern for 40% of respondents, who indicate they are somewhat or very concerned about keeping up. Furthermore, 45% of respondents are somewhat or very concerned about their leadgen tactics bringing in enough new customers and 48% are somewhat or very worried about economic conditions and uncertainty.

So, what are the recommendations for driving Freelancer and SMB success in 2025? There are no definitive answers and the suggestions offered below are not new and not rocket science. Your goal is to make money, but you could meet with headwinds for any number of reasons. Outcomes produced by your business strategies and tactics cannot be predicted but appropriate design, execution and performance monitoring on your part can be expected to yield at least modest success. Marketing and sales have a direct effect on customer acquisition and generating revenue, making these two closely related functions the money-making engine of a business venture and deserving of your intense focus. Just do it.

It’s helpful to monitor the performance metrics of marketing tactics and for that process, Google Analytics generates relevant and insightful data that enables you to evaluate your campaigns—at no charge. Sign up now! Along with leadgen/customer acquisition, make a point to promote customer referrals by asking your current customers if any of their colleagues or customers have the potential to become one of your customers. Also, create customer experience protocols that at every touchpoint anticipate and respond to customer needs end-to-end, from new or returning customer onboarding to after-sale training or other services. Finally, invite customer feedback by directly speaking with those who do business with you when possible. It’s good business to send out an email survey (maybe once a year), or chat with customers by way of social media; it’s important to learn what customers would like to see you do (or not do), so that you can optimize the experience of doing business with your company.

  • Be prepared to manage both the opportunities and challenges you encounter by being aware, being agile, being resourceful and being resilient.
  • Develop comprehensive marketing/sales strategies and implement with tactics you can expect to be effective. Regularly consult your website (and social media) performance metrics and make adjustments where necessary, to maximize performance.
  • Identify one or two local business associations and aim to attend one program per quarter as a way to obtain professional development and/or enhance your business acumen skills as you meet colleagues and engage in face2face networking that builds mutually beneficial relationships.
  • As soon as your budget allows hire an (outsourced) business accountant or bookkeeper to not only maintain the integrity and timeliness of your business financials and tax filings, but also to discuss and guide the potential business growth and expansion of your venture.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © kali9/ iStock

Business Strategy , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Getting Things Done: 10 Tasks to Outsource in 2025

by

Outsourcing is the practice of delegating certain business functions to an external agency with the goal of enabling the business to focus on primary tasks and responsibilities. Outsourcing enables Freelance consultants and other business owners to devote time and talent to the organization’s core functions by selectively delegating certain tasks to a highly skilled external expert.

The importance of outsourcing in today’s business world cannot be overstated. It is a valuable resource that, when implemented wisely, has the potential to offer significant benefits to businesses of every size, in particular cost savings that would be associated with hiring one or more employees to do work that is instead outsourced and obtaining access to specialized skills that are not available within the organization. Outsourcing promotes effective time and resource management.

Devoting time to functions that are core to your business and gaining useful professional expertise that can upgrade how your business functions are the most persuasive motivations for introducing outsourcing to your entity. Accessing specialized professional skills that would otherwise be unavailable to your organization can be a game-changer that has the potential to enhance productivity, efficiency and even the current or future profitability of your venture. Increased operational efficiency, positioning the business to grow, expand, or scale and promoting risk management practices are additional benefits that can be derived from strategic outsourcing. As businesses strive to become agile and remain competitive in a rapidly evolving market, outsourcing has become an integral part of business strategy.

In addition to choosing the right business functions to outsource, it’s also important to know what you want outsourcing to enable you to achieve. Keep goals in mind—do you want to improve productivity and operational efficiencies, save money, protect your IT network security, or increase profit margins? Set goals and record their starting metrics; continue to follow and measure the impact that outsourcing has on your entity.

Oh, and let’s not confuse outsourcing with off-shoring. Outsourcing is a way to get work off your desk and an opportunity to access special skills that you don’t have in-house and enables you to concentrate on business functions that are best performed by you. The purpose of off-shoring is to find cheap labor, typically located in a developing economy, and paying laborers there to work at an hourly rate that is considerably lower than what is paid in a developed nation. Off-shoring is about minimizing costs by transferring certain business functions to locations outside of the U.S., taking advantage of international currency values and slashing business expenses (payroll, for example) as a way to increase profitability.

Below are 10 tasks you may want to consider outsourcing in 2025, perhaps by hiring a fellow Freelancer.

  1. Accounting and Finance Delegating your entity’s accounting, bookkeeping, or other financial functions to a trustworthy external provider can include tasks such as cash-flow management, tax preparation, payroll management, financial reporting and auditing. Staying compliant with tax laws and regulatory requirements is crucial for every business and an experienced outsourced accountant will have deep knowledge of current laws and ensure that you’ll avoid fines, penalties and legal problems. Additionally, accounting firms typically have in-house expertise in risk management and are able to identify potential financial lapses before they escalate. Freelancers and small business owners can further benefit from the guidance of an outsourced financial expert who has detailed knowledge of the company’s financial position should they inquire about the feasibility of scaling, growth or expansion, or where money can be saved. When interviewing prospective accounting/finance outsourcing experts, consider asking these questions:
  • What’s the biggest financial challenge for a company like this in today’s business landscape?
  • What specific accounting/finance services do you provide?
  • Can I expect monthly, quarterly and annual reporting? Will recommendations be made where necessary, based on the numbers?
  • Will you help me set realistic goals for business growth?

2. Customer Service tasks can range from answering customer queries and handling complaints to providing technical support and managing social media interactions. Your outsourced customer service specialist can provide these services through various channels such as phone calls, emails, live chat and social media platforms and allow your business to provide support 24/7 and otherwise enhance customer satisfaction and the customer service experience that impacts your brand. Your external providers will likely have a team of trained professionals who can handle a wide range of issues and ensure high-quality service. You can help the experience by using automation tools to integrate FAQs and chatbots, complementing human support. When investigating customer service outsourcing, the questions below should be helpful:

  • Does the outsourced customer service candidate possess superior communication skills and highly evolved Emotional Intelligence and excels at clear and empathetic communication?
  • How familiar is the candidate familiar with your preferred support platforms, like Zendesk or Intercom? Multichannel experience is crucial.
  • Define clear and reasonable guidelines for response times to customer questions and tone of voice, in order to maintain consistency and meet customer expectations.

3. Human Resources Under the HR umbrella are numerous subspecialties, such as talent acquisition, payroll processing, benefits administration, training and development, compensation strategy, onboarding and background checks. Delegating HR tasks to a specialized HR outsourced service provider is proactive risk management that will ensure your company’s compliance with labor laws, for example.

HR experts are responding to the evolving business environment that calls upon those in the field to meet the special circumstances of Freelance workers and fast-paced agile business practices. There is now Freelancer Management System (FMS) software that allows HR companies to efficiently manage hundreds or even thousands of Freelance worker, who could be located anywhere in the world, and seamlessly implement their onboard, store documents, manage projects, send invoices and make payments.

As noted above, there are many HR subspecialties and no one is equally adept in all aspects. When addressing this suite of critical business functions, it’s imperative that you work with an outsourcing HR partner that best suits your needs. Insightful questions to ask when considering an outsourced HR talent for your entity will likely include:

  • What services are you most qualified and comfortable supporting? N.B,. it’s important to consider both current and future needs, such as the possibility of scaling or otherwise expanding your entity, which could necessitate talent recruitment.
  • How long will it take to implement the services you need? Also ask about the software or cloud computing required to support those services.
  • Which metrics and reports will be provided? Your HR expert should discuss the reports you’ll receive and how often you’ll receive them.

4. Information Technology Needless to say, your business entity cannot function without the right technologies and they must function reliably and seamlessly. Freelancers and SMBs frequently seek out outsourced IT expertise for essential services such as network management, cloud computing, cybersecurity and website maintenance that ensure your IT infrastructure operations are seamless and secure. Your preferred outsourced IT expert will have invested in state-of-the-art infrastructure and technology that enables business clients (you) to access cutting-edge technology that can maximize productivity and even give your company an advantage over competitors. The following questions will give you useful info:

  • Do you operate 24/7?
  • What services do you provide?
  • What is your approach to security issues?
  • Do you (and possibly also colleagues) work from home, in an office, or as a hybrid?
  • How do you manage power outages?

5. Market Research Is there something you need to learn about your customers or your industry as a whole? Whether you’re thinking about launching a new product or considering expanding into a new market, proper research is integral to the process. In the world of business, knowledge is power—competitive intel, analyzing market trends, identifying target audiences and discovering niche markets directly impact the profitability of your venture.

A diligent market research maven who knows where to look for the relevant data and how to analyze the information can be a game-changing resource for supporting informed decision-making. Those insights can shape product development, marketing strategies and even overall business direction.

In most businesses, data and market research are integral to business success, but data deep dives are known to be rather too time consuming for single person entities maintained by Freelance professionals or skeleton crew sized SMBs. Actually, in nearly every organization, workers should direct their focus to implementing data rather than finding it. Interviews with market research outsourcing candidates can include the following questions:

  • Describe a market research project where you identified a significant trend or insight that impacted business strategy?
  • How have you used quantitative and qualitative research methods?
  • How do you stay updated on the latest market research techniques and technologies?
  • What steps do you take to avoid bias and ensure that the data you collect accurately reflects the market you’re studying?

6. Design and creative Very few people have artistic talent, making outsourced design and creative work a common request. Many professionals accept the limits of their creative ability and delegate design to the artists, who can produce a professional, brand-building appearance for a website, social media pages, logo or business card, December holiday and thank you cards and even branded swag items to send to your most loyal customers when special occasions arise. You might explore the following topics and questions when discussing outsourcing a design project:

  • Review candidate portfolios to ensure their style matches your brand’s aesthetic.
  • What experience do you have with video editing and animation?
  • What is your experience using Artificial Intelligence and how does it fit into your creative process?
  • Discuss and agree on the number of design revisions are included in the project fee.

7. Search Engine Optimization SEO is essential for driving traffic to your website. Freelancers specializing in SEO can audit your site, optimize content and improve your search rankings for competitive keywords. To ensure that your website does what you want it to do, that is, function as your inbound marketing engine and hub for many marketing functions, you should regularly update site content with fresh, optimized info to maintain visibility. You will do well to explore the following topics and questions when seeking to outsource SEO:

  • Ask to see case studies or client testimonials that verify tangible results.
  • Discuss and agree upon the SEO strategy, that is, a clear plan that will prioritize keyword research and backlink-building tactics.
  • Ensure that regular progress reports will be received and that performance results will be incorporated into data-driven strategy and/or tactical adjustments.
  • At what point can you expect to see the SEO needle move in a positive direction?

8. Data Analysis Data-driven insights may need translation and interpretation, so that you can be confident about the story your numbers tell. A data analyst can help you make sense of your business metrics and therefore enable better decision-making. Your business data guru can identify trends, predict customer behavior and provide actionable insights that will guide marketing campaigns and strategies, or even new products or services you might launch. To find the right analyst, ask the following questions:

  • Choose an analyst who’s familiar with your sector to ensure that you’ll receive relevant, timely, actionable insights. How familiar is the candidate with your industry?
  • Review case studies to see examples of past projects so that you can assess candidate ability to make actionable recommendations that drive results.
  • Ensure the candidate is proficient in the use of analytical tools, such as Google Analytics, Microsoft Excel and Power BI, SAS and also the role of AI in data analysis.

9. LeadGen One of your smartest and potentially most successful outsourcing moves can be to stimulate the all-important leadgen process by using marketing automation that’s supported by the Artificial Intelligence capability known as AI-powered Intelligent Virtual Assistance. Time is money and Freelancers who want to drive results would be wise to investigate IVA outsourcing options to streamline their marketing/sales funnel operations. Smart forms, your AI “Agent,” will engage potential clients through interactive conversations, social media, or even direct telephone calls, to efficiently capture leads and qualify them in order to enhance customer acquisition. You’ll also receive regular updates of relevant metrics, most notably your campaigns’ cost per lead and the number of leads that originate from specific professional audience segments. Then, all you’ll have to do is nurture those leads and persuade them to convert. Reach out to your leads across multiple channels, conduct targeted email campaigns, or even host webinars—whatever you need to convert to customers. When meeting with a leadgen outsourcing expert, explore the following questions:

  • How do you create leadgen campaigns that you can expect will produce the desired results?
  • By what standards do you identify robust leads?
  • How do you measure and adjust leadgen campaign results?
  • Please give an example of a challenging leadgen situation you encountered and how you overcame it?
  •  How you have handled objections and rejections in leadgen?

10. Public Relations Freelance consultants often don’t have time to pitch themselves to editors of business publications, speakers bureaus, podcasts and webinar hosts, or business organization liaisons who can schedule them to speak of make an appearance on a webinar or podcast. But everyone knows that PR is an important component of brand-building and positioning oneself as an expert in the field. Authoring a blog or newsletter and social media activity also matter, but face2face interaction has a special impact. To make sure that you don’t allow this important marketing function get lost in the shuffle, consider outsourcing.

While most PR specialists want to design a strategy and use it to shape their client work, it’s usually possible to have your own goals and hire the PR expert to make them happen. Still, understand that an external PR agency can bring a fresh perspective to your business. Your outsourced PR expert can offer unbiased insights and innovative ideas that may not be apparent to you. This outside viewpoint can be invaluable for identifying new opportunities, addressing potential challenges and crafting messages that distinguish you in a crowded marketplace. Another set of eyes can see your brand from a different angle and recognize creative and impactful PR strategies that you did not anticipate.

Furthermore, PR agencies have established relationships with journalists, media outlets, influeners and others in the promotional communications sector. These connections are routinely leveraged to obtain media coverage for clients and amplify your brand’s message. By outsourcing your PR activities, you gain access to this extensive network, which is a resource you would be unlikely to build and maintain on your own. A well-connected PR agency can open doors to new opportunities and ensure that your brand is heard by the right people. The following questions will be insightful when meeting with potential candidates for outsourced PR:

  • How do you develop PR strategies for clients?
  • How do you obtain media placements and coverage for clients?
  • Can you share examples of how you’ve improved a client’s brand visibility or reputation?
  • Do you have case studies that showcase your work and results in our field?

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: ©ARTpok/ Shutterstock

Business Strategy, Survival Strategies , , , , , , , Leave a comment

What Freelancers Should Prioritize to Prevail in 2025

by

Taking on 2025

Well, here we are! The trap door opened, we all fell in and like it or not, 2025 has us in its grip. When the inevitable obstacles and setbacks disrupt the flow you planned for your business venture, will you be caught in a whirling vortex of problems—or might you somehow regroup and win a skirmish or two? Better still, will Fortune smile and hand you a big victory this year? More than likely, however, 2025 will be a test of strength and strategy that feels like you’re in a triathlon (swim, bike, run); cross-training, so to speak, will be the best preparation to get your entity in shape to compete and win.

Political instability, compromised national borders, cybersecurity breaches, a metastasizing housing crisis, unrelenting armed conflicts boiling on three continents and wildfires burning in rural and metro areas of the U.S. are just a partial list of adversities troubling the global economy and working against your attempts to make an acceptable profit. The need to develop resilience—the ability to adapt and prevail over unexpected, often destabilizing, occurrences—will be a priority for Freelancers and other small business owners in 2025 (and probably beyond).

More than just surviving, resilience means developing the capability to respond well to unexpected, difficult, events. Resilience gives you the courage to accept sudden, radical change and realize that if it happens, you must take charge and quickly assess the new business conditions to figure out your next move and design a well-executed pivot that aligns your business with the new normal.

As we move into 2025, it’s clear that Freelancers and SMBs must be ready to adapt to a rapidly evolving landscape. By behaving proactively and building up resilience as a defense against economic uncertainty, you can position your entity to not only survive, but thrive, in the coming year.

Master the challenges

How will you prepare for the trends, challenges and opportunities that Freelancers could encounter in 2025? Your must-do list is unlikely to hold any surprises but nevertheless, the evolving economic and political circumstances, global and national, are bound to bring about a shift in the relevance and interpretation of What Matters Now. At the beginning of the year, Freelancers and SMBs will be wise to adopt a big-picture view of their entity and focus on how to remain viable over the next 12 months.

  • Review the pricing structure of products and services
  • Update marketing strategies
  • Identify potential new or niche markets
  • Analyze the company’s financial condition
  • Nurture client relationships
  • Revitalize networking, with goals of developing new relationships and finding new clients

Enhance your brand and be visible

A trusted brand is a valuable resource during times of uncertainty. Clients and prospects gravitate to Freelancers who inspire trust, based on their reputation (brand) and online presence. Beyond showcasing a well-presented portfolio, Freelancers should actively engage on platforms like LinkedIn, as well as join or host webinars, get invited to podcasts, teach workshops or classes related to your core professional expertise at local colleges, business associations, libraries, or other credible venues. It is also recommended that you author informative blog posts, as a guest blogger or on your own site, and share relevant industry insights on social media. In other words, establishing yourself as a thought leader will increase visibility, enhance your brand and attract high-value clients. Showcasing your most desirable skills and competencies can help attract potential clients more effectively.

Social media platforms, most notably LinkedIn, which was designed for professional networking, is an excellent tool for staying in touch with past clients, posting articles you’ve written and connecting with others in your industry. Staying active on the right platforms can increase your visibility and encourage client acquisition.

 Optimize workflow by investing in AI-powered tools

As you grow your client list, you may at times find yourself juggling multiple projects. It’s the realization of your goal, but feeling overwhelmed and stressed can result. You can more efficiently manage your projects, instead of the projects managing you, by using one (or more) online productivity tools to streamline your workflow. From video communication platforms like Microsoft Teams and Goto Meeting to project management platforms like Asana and ClickUp, the right online tools will help to expedite your workflow. Incidentally, familiarizing yourself with one or more popular software tools can make you appear more competent, and therefore more marketable, to those clients who, all things being equal, prefer working with Freelancers who are familiar with their company’s preferred in-house workflow platforms.

Moreover, Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing how Freelancers work in every industry—graphic designers can use AI to generate initial concepts for marketing materials they’ve been hired to create; copywriters can identify the most popular keywords to include. Marketers can discover copywriting ideas and conduct content analyses, accountants and bookkeepers can automate routine tasks and direct their focus to high-value work that clients appreciate, such as strategic financial decision-making. Staying updated on the latest AI advancements and incorporating them into your workflow will ensure that you deliver faster and smarter solutions for your clients. You will be wise to do some research and incorporate AI into your business.

Learn and grow by seeking client feedback

To achieve success, Freelance professionals must use all available opportunities to build a healthy client list; part of the process is to invite post-project follow-up, that is, client feedback. Understanding what is or isn’t working for clients helps you evaluate in real time your business processes and ensure that they reflect client preferences. Feedback can also lead you to make updates to your services and/or products, or introduce new features, add-ons, or upgrades that clients will value and buy. Demonstrating your attentiveness to feedback supports your goal of building a robust and loyal client base, which is another strategy that promotes stability during uncertain economic times—you’ll have a cushion. As you know, providing the best product or service and presenting a client experience that distinguishes your organization from competitors is a critical component of long-term success.

With your final project invoice, make it a practice to send a short survey and invite the client to share his/her thoughts about the experience of working with you. Some remarks may make you wince, but uncensored feedback is the best way to become aware of weaknesses and, on the bright side, discover opportunities for further growth. You could even discover a niche market, if several clients let you know that they’d appreciate it if you’d provide an additional product or service.

Finally, not only will post-project feedback help you learn a great deal very quickly, but it’s also a great way to show clients that their satisfaction matters. Routinely inviting client feedback can also enhance your brand and make you more marketable.

Routinely request referrals

Politely asking a satisfied customer to provide referrals of those who may be interested in your products and/or services is good business. Referrals can be requested in different forms, from asking a former client to write a reference letter for you to casually inquiring whether a client has any contacts who could use your services or products. However you pose the question, take care to use proper tact and time your request wisely. Additionally, be specific about what you’re asking for and include an opt-out to avoid any potential awkwardness.

If you don’t feel comfortable asking for a referral, asking for an online review can be a great alternative. Whether it’s posted on the profile page of a social media site like LinkedIn or appears on a business ranking site such as Yelp or Trip Advisor, reviews are just as important for Freelancer professionals as they are for SMB owners.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo. Since its debut in 1934, the Pioneer Days Rodeo has ranked as one of the top five large outdoor rodeos on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit. Shown here is an image from July 2021.

Survival Strategies , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Freelancers Do the Side Hustle

by

When a local small business owner and acquaintance of mine opened her second venture, a tiny breakfast and lunch place with a retro cool vibe that I love, she soon started “moonlighting” as a dinner service waitress three nights a week at a small artisanal pizza restaurant nearby. She burned the candle at both ends, finishing the waitress shift at midnight and crawling into bed at 1:00 AM, only to wake up at 4:00 AM to make the 45 minute journey to the wholesale restaurant market six days a week, to help her contain food costs and offer menu prices that customers would accept. It was exhausting, but Nicky was determined to pay her share of the debts from the failed first business venture in which she was a partner and also maintain adequate cash-flow in the new one, where she is the principal owner.

About three miles away from Nicky’s restaurant is Anthony’s, another tiny breakfast and lunch place that I love. A few years ago, Anthony told me that his venture’s cash-flow foundation is real estate. Some years ago, Anthony was able to buy the building where his restaurant is housed; upstairs over the restaurant are four apartments that command premium rents for his harbor-facing location.

Cathy, a former client of mine (who, sadly, passed away about three years ago), worked for three or four years as a Lyft driver, to build cash-flow that safeguarded her ability to make the weekly payroll and cover other expenses in her medical billing business (which her children sold). My friend Jackie, a fitness instructor and trainer, launched a boutique gym 20+ years ago, yet she continues to teach classes at a large, prestigious gym where she receives training and certifications in new exercise techniques that she passes along to her gym’s fitness staff so that her team has updated skills. Jackie is also able to now and again observe smart business practices used by her mega-gym employer that she can apply at her operation to improve her performance as fitness center owner and manager. Then there’s my friend Paul who once co-owned four outlets of a popular skin care franchise. To provide health insurance for himself, his wife and their four children, for many years Paul worked 20 hours/week as a FedEx delivery driver.

I also created a side hustle strategy to protect my business cash-flow. Until about three years ago, I periodically taught noncredit skills development workshops to aspiring entrepreneurs—business plan writing, sales skills training, marketing and networking skills—at a local school and at a business incubator that serves aspiring female entreprenurs. Unfortunately, pandemic related shake-ups torpedoed my access to both teaching positions but if an invitation is made, I’ll gladly return—and money is not my only motivation—I enjoy teaching! On the plus side, since 2016, I’ve been a contributing writer at Lioness Magazine, a globally distributed publication that’s targeted to female entrepreneurs.

So where are we going with this? You noticed that the recurring theme of these stories is how Freelancers and small business owners take action to strengthen their business cash-flow. Freelancers and small business owners can be dangerously vulnerable when it comes to financial security. Keeping an entity healthy throughout the inevitable ups and downs of the local or national economy or, in the B2B sector, protecting yourself from cash-flow crunches that can result if a client is late paying your invoice or worse, doesn’t pay at all, is an essential function of your risk management strategy.

The phenomenon once known as “moonlighting,” that is, working in a second (or third, or even fourth) job, and now called a side hustle, burst into the public discourse during the pandemic, when the economy as we knew it suddenly turned upside down and most jobs tumbled into a confusing transition. The shutdown resulted in the swift closure of numerous restaurants and fitness centers and was soon followed by waves of lay-offs and bankruptcies that are ongoing, especially in the tech and retail industries.

Life gradually returned to what’s called “the new normal” and markets rebounded and stabilized, on paper anyway. Contrary to the many glowing reports of a low unemployment rate, subsiding inflation and millions of jobs that are unfilled (and, allegedly, looking to hire qualified candidates), many Americans are experiencing a different reality and the desirability of earning extra income has taken hold. The popularity of the side hustle economy has continued to grow, publicized by rideshare giants Lyft and Uber and fueled by financial pressures felt by both independently and traditionally employed workers.

Recent data confirms that side hustles are on the rise and here to stay, with CBS News reporting that nearly half of America’s workforce has a secondary source of income or their own side hustles. Surprisingly, according to Side Hustle Nation, side hustles aren’t exclusively for the financially challenged—the 2024 Side Hustle nation survey found that more than 40% of participants have household incomes that exceed $100,000 and 78.4% stated that they aren’t struggling to make ends meet.

The changing societal zeitgeist gives today’s Freelancers and SMBs the greenlight to radically reframe their feelings and expectations toward “moonlighting,” with its former connotations of operating in secrecy in order to rustle up money needed to supplement an insufficient income, to a potentially impactful revenue stream that could surpass mere cash-flow support and extend into financing new business ventures or other investment. For today’s Freelance professionals and SMB owners, a side hustle can translate into a unique growth opportunity but to make the strategy work, the side hustle must be managed with intention. Proper structure, planning and assessment are required. If you are Freelance professional or SMB owner considering the enhanced security that can be provided by a good side hustle, here are six steps to take to help make your side hustle worth your time and effort.

  1. What’s in it for you? As you’ve seen, the side hustle economy gets lots of publicity and the noise may get you thinking—is there an opportunity for you? Life continues to get more expensive and also, extra money is an essential resource when one has financial or entrepreneurial goals. You might see a side hustle as a vehicle to pay off debt, finance your retirement, or build capital to launch a start-up. Then again, you could be motivated by a basic need or desire to supplement your Freelance or other business revenue or your W-2 paycheck. There are also those who harbor the goal of building out a promising side hustle that will become a full-time business venture and replace their current employment. Before you focus on what might be your most promising side hustle, however, you would be wise to clearly define your motivation.

2. What are your marketable skills and are they expert-level? Once you’ve made an uncensored examination of your interest in launching a side hustle, make an accounting of your potentially marketable skills and evaluate what customers might be inclined to pay you to do. For example, might your knack for graphic design open doors to projects such as designing wedding invitations, or perhaps creating marketing and sales materials? Talented writers might parlay that competence into a Freelance editing side hustle. If you were born with a green thumb and can keep blooms popping, from crocuses in early spring to chrysanthemums in late autumn, then window box and garden management may be the side hustle for you. Be aware as well that it’s a valuable competitive advantage to invest in your side hustle skill with training that upgrades your expertise. Certifications, degrees and experience (communicated by customer reviews) can be posted on your website and social media accounts to increase the confidence that prospects have for you. Skills training helps you stand out against competitors and can increase customer demand, grow your client list, justify premium pricing for your services and ultimately, position your side hustle to earn more money, faster.

3. What will success look like? It’s important to align your side hustle’s driving purpose with your marketable skills that a critical mass of customers will pay to receive and also fit your definition of financial success. This is about managing expectations—will the side hustle you have the skill set to get paid for earn you enough money to make it worthwhile doing? For example, you may want to become a piano teacher but research of the most respected teaching qualifications, or your access to potential students, may not support either the price you’d like to charge for lessons or the billable hours you’re likely to get. You may be able to tap a new market and improve access to students—maybe retired adults who want to revisit their childhood piano lessons?—but since you can’t charge your preferred price for lessons because you lack a certain qualification, so you’ll have to work harder and give more lessons. Basically, you must be honest about how much time and focus you care to devote to your side hustle venture and define your picture of success.

4. How disciplined are you? The side hustle will not get off the ground and fulfill expectations if you can’t make yourself put in the time and effort to make it successful. This seems obvious, but for some it may not be as easy as it seems. Before you invest significant money into developing your side hustle consider likely the time commitment, along with the necessary tools, equipment, relationships, training and administrative duties (marketing and bookkeeping, for example) it will take to launch and operate your venture and guide it toward your definition of success. Estimate the number of hours per week, with a realistic hourly service rate, it will take to make the thing worthwhile. Be brutally honest about the number of hours per week or month you can (or will) allocate to working a side hustle. BTW, as you calculate your estimated time commitment, do not even think about infringing on the time and focus needed to effectively do your day job.

5. Create milestones with timeline and success metrics. Operating a side hustle means lengthening your to-do list and spreading yourself thin, making it essential to be organized. Keep yourself on track and also alert yourself to what is or isn’t working by creating a simple and revealing tool—a timeline. At periodic intervals—monthly or quarterly will be good—over a 12 month period, it will be very helpful to track and assess Key Performance Indicators that demonstrate side hustle growth, or lack thereof. Look at billable hours worked, number of customers seen, revenue generated and business expenses to get the story of side hustle performance. Pay attention to prospects who don’t work with you to learn of some element you may want to adjust. It’s important to use a timeline to project what you think is achievable so that, as an entrepreneur, you are setting yourself up for success.

6. Course correct when necessary. You’ll quickly know if something is not performing as you’d hoped (like revenue generated), but the above-mentioned timeline will confirm the diagnosis with metrics. Along with defining your KPI timeline is to recognize what’s working and what’s not, so you can make corrections where necessary. The big-picture view is a revealing perspective. Take the time to consider why those who tell you no are declining to work with you—are you falling short somewhere? On the plus side, are existing customers referring new customers and/or writing good online reviews? Once a month or so, hunt for time in your very busy schedule to think about your side hustle for a couple of hours, just as you think about your Freelance consultancy or SMB. Know that it’s okay to periodically reevaluate and change course if necessary.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Shutterstock. Working as a fitness instructor or trainer has been a popular side hustle since the 1980s.

Sales , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Rip Off the Band-Aid: Why Prospects Refuse to Be Customers

by

You’ll never preside over a thriving business enterprise, be it large, small, or somewhere in-between, unless you consistently recruit new customers—as you simultaneously encourage repeat business, that is! Maintaining a healthy customer list is a balancing act that requires constant attention. When creating marketing strategies and campaigns for your entity, I think it’s safe to say you create content expected to interest current and prospective customers who have at least a back-burner need for your service or product categories.

But as you brainstorm potential marketing messages to fuel your next inbound or outbound marketing campaign, your thoughts could eventually land on a cohort of elusive and reluctant prospects—- noncustomers, who buy little or nothing from either you or your competitors. Who are those outliers lurking at the fringes of your marketplace, you may wonder? Admittedly, Freelancers and owners of small or medium size businesses will (correctly) assume that it’s a smarter bet to direct your time and money to prospects who’ve shown a need for products and services offered in your marketplace. Nevertheless, you may not be able to ignore the silent awareness of noncustomers who may have a latent, unacknowledged need for what you sell. Could they exist in sufficient numbers and hold revenue potential to constitute a niche market for you? Maybe.

The answers you seek can most efficiently be revealed with comprehensive market research, data-driven and available in software like Qualtrics and other SaaS companies to get trustworthy customer intel that helps you make informed decisions. Once you’ve discovered the identities of your noncustomers, guided by the industries they occupy, you can then verify the business case for how your services and/or products could be worthwhile for them.

As you research your noncustomers, you may quickly see that they’re not all alike and that each subgroup has idiosyncratic biases, doubts, concerns, even misperceptions that explain why they’re noncustomers. Research may reveal that for some of them, the decision to decline to buy from either you or your competitors could make sense. That said, your noncustomers, while perhaps operating in different industries and maintaining different perspectives, might share certain similarities—goals, challenges, or concerns, for example, that could give them something to talk about if they all show up at the same holiday party. Subject to an analysis of relevant data that’s interpreted well, you may be able to build on what your noncustomers have in common and discover a potential niche market that you might convert into a few good customers.

Noncustomers categories

The challenge of noncustomers was researched by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, who sought to help companies more effectively understand and, where possible, convert the untapped demand of these inaccessible prospects and in so doing create the genuine demand for a company’s products and services that they named blue ocean. Kim and Mauborgne are professors of business strategy at INSEAD (Institut Europeen d’Administration des Affaires) and coauthors of Blue Ocean Strategy (2005), the book and the marketing theory. The developed an analytic framework used to study the phenomenon of noncustomers and they sorted the cohort into three tiers.

  • First Tier: Soon-to-be

First Tier noncustomers are on the fringe of your market and waiting for an opportunity to leave your industry. They’re not precisely noncustomers; when they must, they’ll buy certain products or services offered by companies in your category but know that they have no love for any company operating in your industry.

What drives First Tier noncustomers? They may be dissatisfied with the available products or services in your industry and hoping for a solution that better satisfies their needs.

  • Second Tier: Refuseniks

Second Tier noncustomers make a conscious choice against your market and deliberately decline to buy your industry’s product or service offerings. These noncustomers have seen the available solutions that might fulfill their needs but have decided against them.

What drives Second Tier Noncustomers? They may find the available products or services unaffordable or somehow inappropriate for their needs.

  • Third Tier: Unexplored

Third Tier noncustomers are psychologically farthest away from your marketplace. These noncustomers have never considered products or services sold in your industry to be an option and so they’ve made no purchases. It’s assumed that the needs of third tier noncustomers are addressed by another industry.

What drives Third Tier Noncustomers? They never viewed your industry’s products or services as a viable option and therefore never considered exploring what you sell.

Marketing messages for noncustomers

Prospects who erect barriers and refuse to be considered are not easy to overcome, as you know. Kim and Mauburgne recommend that those looking to appeal to noncustomers to first, search for similarities that link your various noncustomer subgroups and second, focus on low hanging fruit. In other words, figure out which noncustomer groups you can expect to most easily, quickly and inexpensively communicate with and then create strategies and campaigns to win them over, if that is possible. Spotlighting benefits they stand to receive when using your products or services may be persuasive.

Identifying those similarities shared by your different noncustomers will be a good job for your data analytics software. Once you’ve figured out the landscape, you can then decide which problem or priority to address. After that, you create a marketing message you expect will resonate with your chosen cohort and distribute through channels they can be expected to trust and follow.

  • Neuromarketing: emotional appeal

Some behavioral experts believe that 95% of customers’ buying decisions are made subconsciously and this strategy seems to me like a potentially successful one for reeling in noncustomers. It’s entirely possible that even your toughest B2B customers aren’t using as much logic as they’d like you to believe when they evaluate (or ignore) the possibility of buying your product or service. Moreover, the biggest urge that’s attached to unconscious decision making is emotion. What all this means is if you effectively appeal to your noncustomers’ feelings, you’ll have a better chance of influencing their buying decisions.

Research also shows that marketing campaigns that have purely emotional content perform twice as well when compared to content that only uses logic. Furthermore, for some unexplainable reason, content that includes both emotion and logic doesn’t connect as well as exclusively emotional marketing content, whether the content features positive or negative emotions. Emphasize emotions in your marketing content when reaching out to customers or noncustomers by including storytelling, humor, music, or other behaviors that resonate with their emotions. Instead of focusing solely on product features or benefits, create emotional content that strives to encourage a personal connection with your viewers.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Getty Images/Ingram Publishing (2014)

Uncategorized , , , , Leave a comment

Use Customer Service to Grow Your Business

by

The quality of customer service that your organization delivers reveals more than you may suspect about your organization— the quality of the products and services offered, your commitment to quality control, your respect for those who buy from you, your appreciation of the value of building and maintaining good customer relationships, your brand and your management skills.

Of the many tasks that a business owner must examine and address, few are more representative of your business acumen than customer service. You owe it to customers, prospective customers (you want to convert them, yes?) and yourself to analyze your company’s buyer’s journey and after- sale service and ensure that every customer touch point reflects your commitment to providing a solution to the needs of those who might become your customers and your goal to promote confidence and trust in your company.

Encourage customer feedback—-distribute a survey when you send an invoice, initiate conversations about what might make doing business with you even better. Read on and remind yourself of why customer service matters.

It’s good business

While there are many factors that contribute to the success or failure of a business, good customer service is always a positive. When customers are pleased to do business with your establishment, they’re likely to say good things about you, your team and your products or services. Remember to ask your happy customers to write online reviews, make referrals and also contribute testimonials or participate in a case study.

Prospects, too

The buyer’s journey requires the engagement of you or your team once prospects move from stage 1 Top of Funnel to stage 2 Middle of Funnel. As prospects become more serious about doing business, personal interaction begins. Prospects may want to have a 30 minute (free) consultation, or they may have a question or two. You and your team must respond to inquiries from prospective customers promptly, professionally and pleasantly.

Prospects who’ve maintained an interest in your product or service and entered stage 3 Bottom of Funnel are especially deserving of superior customer service. It can help you win the sale, or cause you to lose it, if you don’t perform to expectations. Converting someone from consideration to commitment is a careful balancing act that’s eased along with good customer service.

They remember

The customer may forget what they bought and when they bought it, but memories of the interactions between you, or your staff, and the customer will have a long life. It is therefore in your interest to take all possible steps to leave customers and also prospective customers, with pleasant memories of your establishment. I’m sorry to say that memories of poor customer service have the longest life. Many marketing experts estimate that 12 positive experiences are necessary to make up for just one unsatisfactory customer service experience.

They matter

Providing good customer service is the ultimate demonstration of courtesy and respect. Part of the value that you deliver to customers (and prospects) is communicating that you value their business and their interest in doing business with you, even if you ultimately cannot fulfill their need at this time. Treat customers and prospects well and you’ll leave them with a good feeling. They will trust you and will be more likely to refer you to others who may become your customers.

They return

Depending on which study you believe, and what industry you’re in, acquiring a new customer is anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one. Research done by Frederick Reichheld of Bain and Company in Boston, MA concluded that increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%.

Good customer service is an important ingredient of your customer development strategy. It encourages good customer relationships, good online reviews, good word of mouth, repeat business and referrals. In other words, good customer service is worth money. I believe making money is why you went into business?

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Nick Briggs, Carnival Film & Television Ltd. Members of the Downton Abbey household staff