Is it Time to Ask for Business Help?
Did you know asking for help is one of the best ways to grow your business? We’ve been taught as entrepreneurs that doing so makes us weak, but that’s not the case. Asking people you respect within your field, or entrepreneurs in general can help you by growing your network, boosting brand awareness, and helping you to create problem-solving opportunities by showing potential new business challenges.
Here are some more tips for sleep consultants who might be feeling now is the right time to be asking for help!
Grow Your Network
Did you know that not everyone in your business circle has to be a sleep consultant? Having a diverse circle will actually become beneficial and we can learn from the transitional skills of successful people, no matter their profession.
Are you struggling to grow your network? You know the value of connections and building relationships to nurture your business but no matter what you do, you aren’t getting anywhere. Sound familiar?
Check Alumni networks. Your sleep consultancy certification probably has a group chat or Facebook group just for graduates. There’s no better place to start than with those who have been through the exact same program!
Social Media. Hashtags aren’t just there to annoy us. They serve as a filing cabinet to identify topics. Look at other sleep consultants, comment on their socials, share their content, and check out what hashtags they use to meet other sleep consultants!
Industry Conferences. Don’t just think of sleep consultancy work but look at the entire baby and childcare industry! Go to trade fairs and conferences led by industry-influencing keynote speakers. Anyone in that audience could be your next referral, or you there’s!
Talk to your friends. Most of your friends probably know you’ve started a new passion career and have cheered you on through your sleep consultancy training. But they probably don’t know just how many people they know that would fit in your network, like baby product creators, photographers, nannies, and even the obvious doctor. You’d be surprised at how often your friends won’t connect the dots - especially if they’ve never needed a sleep consultant!
Boost Brand Awareness
Did you know there is a difference between a brand and a business? Brand is a word thrown around a lot in entrepreneurship that might seem a little confusing, which is understandable.
Where many new sleep consultants struggle is defining their brand. In professional terms, your brand is a collection of your full presentation: logo, typography, the colors you use, the style of photographs, and even the filters you use!
Did you also know that your font and colors have a psychological impact? It’s true! Colors like pink evokes feelings of compassion and love, but red is shown to increase your blood pressure and promote action.
Fonts can evoke feelings of trust, playfulness, or harshness based on their lines and shape.
So how can you build your brand?
Sit down and write a list about how you want your clients to perceive your business and services. Create color palettes, experiment with fonts, and even mock-up an instagram account!
Once you find the aesthetic that you like, start creating content and be consistent with your content across all platforms. Use the same colors and fonts on your website as you do in your guides and social accounts.
Everything you do or say should reflect your brand and your brand will continue to evolve and grow overtime so don’t think you need to do everything at once! When you have this locked down, your ability to talk to people, connections, and clients about what you do and can offer them will be loaded with confidence. Furthermore, the people you trust to ask for help or guidance will appreciate the effort you’ve put into defining your work. This will make them more likely to share your information with their high-value network!
Help You Solve Problems and Recognize Potential Challenges
When our business is stuck it’s easy to think we know why or make assumptions on what went wrong. Remember the old saying that it’s hard to see the forest for the trees? This is true – even for the most seasoned sleep consultants. If you feel like you’re running in circles and whatever you’re trying isn’t helping, open yourself up to outside guidance! A business mentor, successful entrepreneur, coach, or even another sleep consultant who is killing it will be able to relate to where you are. Believe it or not, most business problems aren’t exactly unique.
Another benefit from asking for help with solving problems comes when outsiders identify potential challenges you might be facing with growth, or with your current challenge. They might be able to say, “We can fix your low query rate through more cohesive marketing, but how are you going to manage the return communication to make sure it’s timely and effective?” Getting more leads is something we all dream of, however, we are so quick to forget replying to emails takes time, and mental energy, and new clients often have high expectations for what they expect from your communication style and timelines.
Growing your business will present consistent opportunities to problem solve. The best part? You’ll soon start to spot patterns, and needs, and be able to set yourself, or someone else, up for success!
What Do You Think?
Is it time to ask for help with your sleep consultancy?
You can’t solve a problem you don’t face, and you can’t grow your business if you’re not sure why it’s stalled. Most entrepreneurs, and especially us sleep consultants, just want to see those around us succeed. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and also don’t take offense if someone tells you they can’t give you the time or information you need. Just like how you work with clients, those in your network have to judge when and where to give information away. However, they won’t think less of you for asking but will respect you for accepting whatever time or knowledge they can share!
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