Five Things To Know This Week:
1) Can You Crowdfund Your Small Business?
2) Do Your Email and Content Work Together?
3) Taking the Awkwardness Out of Self-Introductions
4) Americans are Moving Into Barns
5) Resource of the Week: Pitney Bowes Financial Services
Brian Moran, CEO
Small Business Edge
Brian Moran & Associates
brian@smallbusinessedge.com
Can You Crowdfund Your Small Business?
Some small business owners have found successful raising money on GoFundMe. A blog post on Small Business Trends says GoFundMe is “one of the best resources available to a business owner trying to raise money.”
The post discusses the benefits of turning to a crowdfunding platform like GoFundMe instead of taking out a business loan, including how it’s likely you’ll get your money quicker than waiting for loan approval, and you can easily reach out to people (including family and friends) all over the country.
Not sure if this will work for you? The post’s author says, “you’ll never know what type of response you’d get unless you try.”
Learn more about raising money on GoFundMe.
Do Your Email and Content Work Together?
Email is not just for sending messages. A new report from the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) reveals that critical role email plays in promoting and tracking the effectiveness of your data.
As reported in the blog email on acid, when measuring the success of content, tracking email engagement (63%) was one of the top three ways B2C marketers use to gain insight into content performance. The top two methods were website metrics (67%) and conversions (65%).
The study also showed that not enough businesses were taking advantage of email to distribute content, instead turning to Facebook (88%), LinkedIn (78%), and Instagram (70%).
Learn more about how you can best integrate your email and content marketing programs.
Taking the Awkwardness Out of Self-Introductions
This isn’t something I have problems with, but I’ve noticed that when I’m participating on panels or in meetings, some people get tongue-tied when it’s time to introduce themselves.
If that’s you, you’ll definitely want to read this post In The Harvard Business Review. It thoroughly explains what it calls the “eloquent and effective” self-introduction framework. It’s also a simple three-part approach that invokes the present, past, and future.
Learn more about how to take the stress out of introducing yourself.
Americans are Moving Into Barns
No, they’re not sharing space with cows and horses. But “barndominiums” are one of the biggest trends in the home industry. Google Trends data shows increased search activity for “barndominium” since early 2020.
According to Insider, real estate listings on Realtor.com reveal that many of these homes (typically being built from scratch) are located in the Midwest, especially in Texas.
Read more to find out why you may actually want to live in a barn.
Resource of the Week: Pitney Bowes Financial Services
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Pitney Bowes since 2013. They’ve helped small business owners run better companies since 1920, when they launched their first postage meter machines.
Today, Pitney Bowes Financial Services helps small and midsize companies with everything from working capital to equipment financing.
Meet their team leaders, check out their offerings, and see if they can help your business in 2022. You can also listen to a “5 in Five” podcast I did with Christopher Johnson, SVP & President of Pitney Bowes Financial Services here.
Listen to my podcast with Christine here.
