Karee Laing Blog Image

IF OPPORTUNITY DOESN'T KNOCK, BUILD A DOOR!

It seems that most times when I work with entrepreneurs or solo-preneurs and I ask the question – “what do you believe is your unique selling point “USP”?, I often get very similar answers. The most common answer is quality or service or the willingness to do what it takes. While I agree that these are all necessary in business and especially if you are to build a lasting business, the key to understanding your USP is that you must pinpoint what makes your business unique in a world of homogeneous competitors. And if you’re not able to do this, you truly cannot target your sales efforts successfully. The simplest way to determine your USP is know with great certainty what makes your customers loyal customers.

If there’s one complaint about digital marketing that I hear more than any other, it’s got to be “I just don’t have the time.” I get it: you’re busy. But if your competitors are making the time to market themselves or their business online and you aren’t, then you’re going to be left in the dust before you can say, “What’s my Twitter password?”

Even for those of us who were born to be entrepreneurs, staying engaged and motivated every single day can be a challenge. My career takes me to many different places where I do many different things from day to day, so keeping a firm grip on my goals and my time takes work. Over the years, I’ve learned a few tricks to keep me focused and on target no matter where I am or what I’m doing.

If you’ve spent any time online in the past couple of years, you’ve almost certainly noticed that video is taking over. Businesses large and small across Houston and beyond are producing marketing videos to boost brand awareness, build social followings, and drive engagement and sales. Thanks to widespread, high-speed Internet connections and mobile devices, digital video has become one of the most versatile and profitable digital marketing tools out there—and best of all, video marketing is now affordable on any budget.

Want to know a secret? I don’t really look forward to conducting job interviews. I’d rather be spending that time taking care of my clients’ needs or working on something else that’s going to make me money. However, every great employee who has ever worked for me was hired only after a thorough interview process. It’s still entrepreneurs’ best methodology to determine just who, exactly, these people are that want to join our team. Can they think critically? Can we trust them? The job interview gives us our first clues.