Outside of my "9-5" engineering job, I run a business. A food business. I sell plant based cookie dough and share my favorite recipes. If you know my story, you know I am working on expanding and growing into a full service restaurant. Anyways, as a business owner, I need tech to help increase my income.
My folks in the TFB program knows best when it comes to tech and small businesses but there are some things I am learning as a business owner myself.
Here's top 3 ways you can increase your business income through tech
Building an Online Presence
Marketing and Advertising
Outsourcing
Building an Online Presence
This is the first step and most important step if you ask me. I call this the foundation step. Building an online presence gives you a sense of creditability, especially in this digital era. According to Google, 97% of consumers use the web to search for local businesses.
Start with a website, landing page or even a social media account. How do potential customers know where to find you and the services/products your offer?
This is where terms like SEO (Search Engine Optimalization) and PPC (Pay-Per-Click) come in to play but that's also where Teknikally Speaking comes into play to help you utilize these tools. In the mean time, make sure you have professional contact information, for example, support@yourbusiness.com, 1800-your business or even a business address (virtual, if an online business).
Ensuring that your business has a strong online presence not only helps with new customers finding you but also with showcasing what your business offers.
Marketing and Advertising
Once you have a solid online presence, it's time to start marketing your business. Use tools like online ads or email/text campaigns. These tools can be automated to help save time and money.
Personally, I use an app to automatically post on my social media accounts like Facebook. For my email marketing campaign, I like to use a combination of platforms. Now that I think about it, all my marketing is done from my iPhone.
Technology has made it convenient for small business owners to market their business while increasing their income. How will you market your business?
Outsourcing
As a small business owner, I try to wear every hat. No, I don't try, I do! And that has to stop.
I've recently been looking for others to "help" with small tasks like graphic design, email campaigns, etc. I use the word help loosely because they are not employees but more like contractors that get paid for a specific task. I find these contractors on sites like Upwork or in Facebook groups. I can easily go my social media and look for help that will increase my productivity which will increase income.
The Bottom Line
Regardless of your industry, you will need to use technology in your business one way or another. Whether it's taking payments, inquiring new customers or security, technology is all around us.
If you are a business owner and need help with increasing your income, join our TFB program.