Making the change….

Slowly I am making the move into social media consulting. I’m not trying to make the change to rapidly, as this is a key move for my business. I do have the marketing plan just about done, thankfully. Then comes the REAL fun! Making revenue projections….YAY!

But, I have to admit that I am excited about this new direction I am going in. It is an exciting area that I enjoy working in. I have managed to raise my Klout score from a 12 to a 24 in a little over a week. I am getting more and more engagement on my Twitter account. And my LinkedIn network is getting larger.

Hoping to start actually fully promote the new service in February. Going to start some Beta testing next week to get some feedback on what business owners are actually looking for from their social media. Fingers crossed I get some great feedback.

Navigating A Pivot Point

Making the choice to change direction

That critical time in every business has come for me. Do I stay on the path that I have been going or make a change in direction? This decision is always a very important one that should not be made on a whim. My old mantra holds true here: DO YOUR RESEARCH.

With my business, I started out just providing virtual assistant services which then expanded into customer service which expanded into marketing which expanded into social media management. All this expansion was done without really looking at whether or not it would benefit my business cause I was just happy to have work coming through the door. But, I have realized I have lost focus of what my business stands for. Is this where I want my business to go?

Than answer was a loud and resonating “NO”. This was not the direction I wanted my business to go when I started it, nor is it where I want to continue on going. So time for a major pivot point. The question then became “Which way?”. This was a bit more difficult to answer and took some major consideration.

I have decided to keep to the basis of the name RI Business Solutions. I’m changing my target market to a more local geographic region and plan on working with very small businesses (less than 25 employees). I understand their needs and have the experience to help them.

The services will be internet marketing including website development (including mobile sites), social media management, search engine optimization, and content development. This is the direction that the world is moving and it can be an overwhelming experience for the typical small business owner to undertake on their own.

The major difference this time for me, I am doing my due diligence in creating a business plan for this pivot change. I’m doing the research to make sure I understand exactly where I want to go, how to get there, and what I will need for the trip.  I have even contacted the local SCORE chapter for some guidance and input.

So hopefully this new plan will work out.

 

Related articles

• Pivot (candacemoore14.wordpress.com)
• 3 Business Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn from a Startup Pivot By Martina Welke (adamsdavids.wordpress.com)
• A Pivot to Embrace the Positive (markevans.ca)

Busy Week

It has been a very busy week for me. Not only got my first project from Elance. But also got a chance to speak with 2 other potential clients. One of these clients I have a very positive feeling that it will turn into another contract for me.

It brings about a great sense of satisfaction when you put in hard work and get a positive response from it. As most people know, starting a new business is both an exciting and scary experience. Especially when your doing it with a limited budget and as a pivot point in your life. I’m making the switch from being in the healthcare industry as an EMT to the business service industry. All while trying to get back into college. But I am determined to give it my all and try to make it all a success.

Got first project

Well…I won my first project on Elance.com this week. It’s a simple task of proofreading articles and posting them on Wikipedia. The project will run for about 3 months. I’m really excited about it. It feels good having some success after all the work I have done so far. Hopefully I can keep the ball rolling now.

Actually did some editing of articles on Wikipedia. I have never really explored the site before, but was really impressed by it. Adding your own little parts to a project that is constantly ongoing is really rewarding. You get to add something that others will learn from.

With this first payment I’ll be able to buy some online advertising and switch my website from a free server to a paid server. Course I will have to catch up on the latest website development software. But since I love learning new things, it shouldn’t be too bad for me.

SEO

Have you ever noticed all the different approaches to SEO? Seems like everybody thinks their way is the best way. Or how they have ways you can increase your PR rank in a couple of days. Course then the search engines change their algorithms and your ranking is gone.

Personally, I feel the best way is to just build your placement slowly with quality links in and out of your site. Placing the right keywords without overloading them. And updating your site frequently with quality and relevant information. It takes longer, but your placement tends to be more solid within the search engines.

So many people are in a rush to get to the top that they cut corners to get there, therefore sacrificing quality. But how does that reflect on your business? Customers may see how you inflated the content on your site just to gain ranking on a search engine. Does that mean you will inflate the quality of your work also?

I’m sure many of you out there are going to disagree with me on all this. Which is your right to do. But at least think about the points I have raised here and let me know what you think on all this.

Updating

Spent a few hours updating my RI Business Solutions website. I cannot wait till I can afford to upgrade to paid hosting. FaceBook blocks VACAU websites for being “spammy” so I cannot link my FB page to my website. Not good for SEO.

Located another freelance website called Elance.com. Maybe I’ll have better luck securing some work on this site. There is so much competition out there. Trying to think of new ways to set myself apart from everyone else.

Next step for me is to start doing some local networking with other small business owners. Going to see what local events will be coming up soon. Need to design some pamphlets and get some business cards printed up soon.

I’ve read a lot of books on marketing and there is still so much to learn. Just when you think you have everything figured out, something new comes along for you to learn.

Getting everything together…

Took another step getting everything on the same page. Twitter is all set up (@RIBusSol) and the website is up and running (ribusinesssolutions.vacau.com). My Freelancer.com profile is 86% complete. Also got my LinkedIn profile all complete. So all that leaves to do now is get the business Facebook profile done and connected to everything else.

Now if only I could win a bid on Freelancer.com. I’d at least start to build my creditably up. It is so hard competing with people from other countries. They word for next to nothing! How do you compete with that and still make a living is beyond me. But I’m not giving up yet.