Category: Getting Started

My 3 big investments into my business and how they impacted my bottom line

I’m all about the DIY and frugal approach to things. I sign up for freebies and free courses. I use google for a lot lot lot of things. I listen to podcasts and have a meditation app.

But at one point, you realize that you can only go so far alone (even with Siri by your side).

You can’t learn everything you need to know from google. At least not in this life time. You won’t bust through all my mindset blocks on your own. You’re not going to get super awesome at new things through pure osmosis from listening to podcasts.

If you want to go far and go fast, you need to invest in yourself. You need to invest in your business and your dreams.

Investing in your business can feel scary. Especially when you're not yet making a ton of money, spending money can put us on EDGE and feel like it's a bad idea.

But, when done right and strategically, investing in your business can SAVE you money, save you TIME, totally change your relationship with things you HATE in your business, and actually MAKE you money.

I have invested in my business at various stages throughout the years, and believe me - each time it was scary (I am frugal and DIY AF). I wanted to share my big investments and the impacts they had on my business.

#1 My first big investment was hiring an accountant to do my taxes.

I HATE doing taxes. They stress me tf out and make me hide in a netflix cocoon for days. Hiring an accountant not only freed me from SO MUCH stress, it also saved me WAY MORE MONEY than I invest in it. The ROI is just nuts.

#2 Quickbooks - now that I have it, I canNOT imagine life without it.

But committing to that $40+ a month was so scary to do! I had so much resistance to investing in it. And...my excel spreadsheets were kind of working fine...?? OMG QUICKBOOKS CHANGED EVERYTHING. I no longer hated bookkeeping. I actually DID my bookkeeping. It saves me a TON of time each year at tax time. AND I am now super on top of invoicing and paying my GST. QB has saved me time AND money.

#3 Advertising!

This one can be SO scary for businesses. Spending money to make money...we kind of believe it, but also the fear of spending money we feel we don't have really makes us not quite believe it. Advertising is one thing I have done since the beginning of my business and has been monumental to my success. From the start - before anyone knew whotf I was - I was selling out events because of my advertising. I can't say enough how essential this investment is to your business's bottom line.

Investing in yourself is the best investment you can make. You’re worth it. And your business goals are worth it. Go to that conference. Hire that coach. Sign up for that course.

How to price your products for profit

If your biz is one that creates and sells products, you're going to have two types of business expenses to deal with.

Fixed costs are the ones that are always there - whether you sell a ton of products or sell none at all. These are costs like your internet, your equipment, your studio/office/store rental. Your fixed costs are important because you need to cover them month over month.

With product-based businesses, you also have another type of cost, which isn't as as simple to deal with. These are called variable costs. Your variable costs are those that vary depending on your production. They go up when production goes up and down when production goes down - they're the costs that are tied to creating and selling your actual products (materials, shipping, transaction charges, etc.). These can be a bit more complicated to deal with when setting your prices because, well, they're always changing!

To price your products, you need to know both your fixed costs (the expenses you have in your biz no matter how many products you are selling) and your variable costs for your products.

Your fixed costs will tell you the min $ you need to make per month to break even, which is the first part of your pricing formula. To cover these, you want to consider realistically how many items are you going to sell in a month and then divide your fixed costs by that. Any products you sell on top of those, that becomes profit (happy dance)!

And then your variable cost per item is the next part of your formula (since you want to cover costs of a product in the price as well).

Then sprinkle more on to turn that pretty profit.

This profit sprinkle can either be your time cost (the amount of time it takes you to make an item at the hourly rate you want to charge) or it can be a markup. A standard mark up is 50% (or a 100% increase on the costs).

A formula

product price = (fixed costs/number of products realistically sold in a month) + (variable costs - how much it costs to produce that item) + mark up or time cost

Let's look at an example:

fixed monthly costs = $250

cost to produce an item (materials and transaction fee) = $25

time it takes to produce the item = 3hour

hourly "rate" = $25/hour

realistic sales goal = 25 items/month

Pricing formula using time cost for profit:

($250/25)+$25+(3*$25) = ($10)+$25+($75) = $110

Pricing formula using 50% mark up for profit

(($250/25)+$25)*2 = ($10+$25)*2 = $70

Things to consider when pricing your services

Struggling with pricing your services?

You are SO not alone.

The thing is, pricing is a complex thing with many factors to consider. Especially when you're selling services - you might not know how much time a project might take or how to charge your client.

The best way to price service-based projects is with a project fee (NOT an hourly fee). After all, no one wants to pay hourly for things since they don't know how many hours something will or should take.

So, how do you set your Project Fee?

✨The easiest formula is number of hours * rate per hour. Based on the number of hours you expect the project to take, use that number multiplied by your rate.

✨Use a different hourly rate for different parts of the project (project management vs. strategy vs. revisions)

✨When setting your hourly rate, consider your level of experience and the market price. Take a look at what competitors in your area are charging and then adjust for level of experience. Also consider what is a minimum per hour you want to get paid.

My general rule is if I am learning something new and spending time looking at youtube tutorials, etc. I don't charge for that time. If I have to redo a bunch of stuff because in my learning it I didn't get it quite right - I don't charge for that time either. Or, if it's mostly active work but a lot of learning along the way then sometimes I'll charge half my rate.

Do you have a strong brand story?

Let 2020 be the year where you know exactly what content to create to promote your business. Where you connect with your Dream Customers, grab their attention, and stand out in a busy busy market.

To get you there, you need a brand story!

A brand story builds and shares the vision and purpose of your business. It brings to life the passion, the spark, the imaginative idea that’s at the heart of your business and gives it shape.

A story tells the beginning, middle, and happily ever after of your business – it tells clearly and beautifully:

why you started
where you’re going, and
how you’re going to get there.

Everything you do in your business goes back to your brand story. The products and services you choose to offer, the customers you focus on, how you market to your customers, the colours you use to bring your brand to life, the staff you hire, the writing on your website…all of this is rooted in and guided by your brand story.

Ready to write your brand story?
Enter the 5-Step Model to Build a Powerful Brand Story Challenge.

Over the course of 6 days, you’ll get video trainings, a workbook, daily challenge prompts, and mindset block busters all designed to walk you through creating your own compelling brand story.

The best part? It’s free! Like, totally completely free. And it starts on January 27!

How do I get over the feeling that I’m not as far ahead as I should be?

You’ve got big goals, big plans, big dreams – and you just can’t kick that feel that you’re falling behind. It feels like no matter how much you’re working, you’re just not there yet.

If you’re feeling down on yourself for not having enough clients, not selling enough, not being further ahead, then this post is for you!

First things first...

If you’ve just started out or you’re in your first year of your business, take a deep breath. It’s so exciting to start a business and we want everything NOW. But building a business and a brand and an audience – like anything worth having – takes time. We don’t suddenly have a six pack the first time we do crunches and we don’t suddenly have six figures when we just start our businesses either. Great things take time! Focus on the momentum you’re building and the progress you’re seeing. Celebrate going from zero to one without setting the bar at going from zero to 100.

Stop comparing yourself!

I know, I know – easier said than done. We all fall in the trap of looking around us in our circle, our community, the whole of Instagram and think – how is that person so far ahead when I’m doing the same things and I’m NOT that far ahead! You are your own person, your own business, and you’re probably at a very different place in your business journey that they are. Make goals for yourself and track them for yourself.

Keep your eye on your Why.

Profit and the number of clients you have are important to your business. But so is your Why – the meaning you want to get, the impact you want to have. When it’s feeling tough and like you’re not getting traction, go back to your Why – are you aligned with it? Are you actually living it and fulfilling it? Because if so, then you ARE getting traction and moving forward even if it feels slow.

4 Tips to build a killer brand

A big BIG mistake I see when it comes to branding, is businesses thinking that once they have a logo they are all set. But, in truth, branding is so much more than a logo. In fact, a logo is the last piece of the branding puzzle, and with a strong brand, many businesses could get by without one.

A brand is your business’s personality. It is who your business IS. How others – including your potential customers and customers themselves – see you and relate to you. A brand is something that shows up in everything you do – from your packaging to your website to your tone of “voice” in emails and social media to the types of visuals and photos you use. A brand is all encompassing.

And, importantly, your business’s brand – its personality – isn’t always YOUR personality. It can often be a challenge for an entrepreneur – especially when they ARE the whole business – to separate themselves from their business brand.

A common mistake entrepreneurs make is to assume their tone, their favourite colours, and their personal style choices and to give those to their brand.

A better way to look at it is that your business brand may – and likely does – have ELEMENTS of YOU. Elements that are suited for what you want to put forward for your business and what you want the world to see. Also, elements that are suited for the type of business you run and the customer you want.

Let’s look at some of the building blocks of building a killer brand.

One: Think of your Audience

While your brand is a reflection of YOUR business personality and self, it also needs to be one that speaks to your AUDIENCE. After all, your audience is who you want to speak to! Your audience is who you want to build a relationship with, evoke feelings in, and who you want to be engaged with your brand. When selecting images, think about ones that would appeal to your audience. What would grab their attention? What would they find meaningful and interesting?

Two: Brand colours

Your colour palette is a key part of expressing your brand’s personality to your audience.

Colours offer a lot of opportunity for customization but also the potential to be used incorrectly. Mistakes often made include using too many colours, using colour combinations that don’t go together, or using colours that don’t fit your brand.

We often have the temptation to use colours we like without much thought as to whether they are the right colours for our business or brand. The RIGHT colours are key in sending the right message about your business to your audience. Beyond what looks GOOD and NOT GOOD together, different colours and fonts say different things about your brand.

From a colour palette standpoint, ask yourself what your colour choice is saying about your brand, and whether that is what you want to be saying.

Three: Selecting the right fonts

Much like your colours, your font choice will say a lot about your brand. When choosing fonts, it is helpful to ask yourself if your fonts will appeal to your audience and whether they’re a good fit for your brand and business.

Because there are SO MANY fonts out there, finding the right one can be more challenging than finding the right colours. Understanding the traits or personality you want your brand to put forward will help you pick the right fonts. Is your brand modern or traditional? Is it bold and loud or gentle and harmonious? These are questions to ask when thinking about what font would best express your brand.

Four: Consistency

Branding is all about consistency. Once you have an established what your brand looks like and what its personality is, you want to make sure you stick to it. When you design content for social media, flyers for your business, and even your website, use the colour palette and fonts to guide the design. When writing for your blog or website or social media, make sure the voice reflects your brand’s voice. When put together, all your business collateral – or marketing pieces – will help to establish and show your brand to the world.

3 Questions to turn your passion into a business

So, you’re ready to take your side hustle or your passion full time and you’re trying to figure out how exactly it’s going to make you money. Or maybe you’re currently running a business and are looking to explore new income streams to boost your profit.

When it comes to building a profitable business, deciding what you’re selling is a key piece of the puzzle.

There are so many ways to turn your passions and skill into a business offering.

Today we’re talking all about finding the right business idea for you. This might be a product or a service or a way that you deliver your expertise.

For an example, a fitness coach could do individual sessions, group programs, or multi-session one-on-one packages to name three options. All three of those are different ways to package and sell their skills. They could focus on new moms looking to get fit again or specialize in runners who want to prevent injuries and up their game. Those are two very different businesses and offerings.

If you’re selling hand-crafted pottery, you could sell wholesale through stores, online to individuals, hold your own pop-up shops, or sell at craft fairs. You could sell a particular style or really focus on mugs or tea pots or jewellery. Or maybe you might even want to explore hosting DIY pottery events.

So, upside - There are so many options. Downside – all the options can be a bit overwhelming and knowing exactly where to focus your efforts can be a challenge. We can find ourselves splitting our time and trying to do all the things at once, which generally just leads to not doing any one thing really well.

Our brand stands out when we’re really good at one thing. When we have a specific signature style or service or special way we do something. That’s when people take notice.

Not nailing down our business offering can also mean that we might find ourselves pursuing a business model or style that isn’t a good fit for us and that leaves us feeling unfulfilled or burnt out.

You want to create a business offering that will be something you enjoy doing and that fits with what you want out of your business and in a way that will make you the most profit.

The goal is to be profitable while also being sustainable – after all, profit is not that great if you hate every minute of making it.

There are a few ways to help uncover the perfect business product or service or package for you and your dream customer. I’m going to share one way to do so in this post.

We’re going to cover three key things to consider when trying to come up with your business offering. What we’re looking for is where these three things come together. So, where the overlap is.

If you’re testing some ideas you’re kicking around, then the same thing – you want it to be a checkmark in all three boxes.

Is there a market for it?

This is where our audience research comes in handy – does our dream customer want/need what we’re selling? Does it solve a problem/pain point they are having? Does it make their life better or easier or happier?

Is there a business fit for you?

Will you enjoy doing this day in and day out? Will it help you achieve what success means and looks like to you? Will it allow you to live the lifestyle you want?

Is there profit to be had?

When you look at the hard costs and the time costs – so the amount of time you need to put in – is it the most profitable thing you could offer? The most profitable way you can package your skills and passions and put them up for sale. This is where you need to really evaluate costs and how much time things will take you. You don’t have to be 100% here but you need to have a good idea. So, make some calls or send some emails to get some costs where needed and really think through how long things will take – and add at least 10% to that. The time part is really interesting and important because time is our truly limited resource. We could theoretically get more money, but we can’t magic up more time in our lives or our day.

If you’re still trying to figure out some business ideas for your skills and passion and don’t have any yet, add the word “where” in front of the first question.

So: where is there a market? Where is there a business fit? Where is there profit?

If you’re testing a few ideas, run each one through these questions and one will likely emerge as the winner.

You might have a lot of ideas that do very well in one or two of the areas, but that don’t do great in all three. To be profitable and sustainable, you need to find the magic that happens when you have a “yes” to all three questions.

How to start a business – a guide of things to consider before launching

So many people are starting a freelance business or side hustle of some sort these days, and we get questions almost weekly about how to set a business up, what steps to follow, and what things you need to know. Over the last week alone, we've gone over the basics with three people! So, we thought - it's time to dish the details.

This isn't a post about knowing your audience, marketing to the right people, or putting together an operations budget - more on those details later. This is a post about the legal and logistical things you need to consider and do in order to have a real, live business. What will your business name be? Should you incorporate? Do you need insurance? What is GST? How will people pay you?

There's a lot to consider but we have you covered. Whether you are launching the next big thing or setting up a small side hustle, the answers to your questions and the things you need to consider are in this guide. Download the SMRT Women Quick Start Guide for our basic primer on how to get started.

Caveat - we live in Whitehorse, Yukon so the steps that follow are relevant to our City. However, the basic steps apply anywhere in Canada. I recommend speaking with your local chamber of commerce or City permitting office to make sure you've crossed all of your "T"s and dotted all of your "i"s. This article is not a substitute for legal or financial advice. Please make sure you talk to a lawyer or accountant and talk to Government of Canada, your provincial/territorial business and your local municipal government as needed to make sure you have followed all the appropriate steps.

SMRT POP UPS and SMRT WOMEN makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information in this article and we will not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this information or losses, damages or injuries, arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The user must verify their own facts.

Networking Tips For Entrepreneurs

Networking serves such an important role in our business because it’s all about relationship building. Whether you are connecting with potential clients, mentors and business besties, or partners networking is a great way to meet new people and expand your business. But it can be daunting. Especially if you are introverted, don’t love big social events, or just feel awkward saying hi to new folks.

This week on the SMRT Women podcast we sit down with Patti Balsillie, a tourism, strategy, and engagement specialist. Patti has lived in the Yukon for over 30 years. She is the past Chair of the Arctic Inspiration Prize and currently sits on the boards of Destination Canada, Yukonstruct Society and Chief Isaac Companies. She is also a rock star networker so we brought her on to talk about how to networking well and how you can make it your friend - or at least your frenemy.

Check it all out below.

There are so many ways to network - pick one that fits your style

Networking can happen in so many different ways. You can go to a traditional mixer event, you can volunteer or serve on a board, you can connect with brands and people you love on social media, you can grab a coffee with someone you haven’t seen a while or want to get to know better- the bottom line is networking is about putting yourself in situations where you will meet new people. So pick a style that suits you best and run with it.

Go with a Goal

There’s nothing worse than heading to a networking event only to skulk in the corner all night, not talk to a single person, and then go home and mope about it. Ok - there’s a lot of things worse than that, but it still doesn’t make you feel good. Go with a goal in mind, a mission that you want to accomplish and you are much more likely to reach out of your bubble. Your mission may be to talk to three new people, learn something new, ask a question to some key people who you think will be at the event or even - dare i say it - have fun.

Bring a Buddy

Buddy system rules. Just make sure you don’t end up talking to each other all night instead of reaching out to new people. Use the fact that there is two of you to get brave and approach people. Try introducing each other so you don’t have to feel like you are self-promoting. Know each other’s goals and go for it.

Have an intro and an exit strategy

It’s totally ok to go with a few canned questions you want to try out on people - whether it’s talking about the latest community news, asking people their story, or discussing something that happened at the conference or event you are attending - go with a few questions in mind.

That being said, its very easy to get stuck in a convo that’s no clicking or going anywhere. Don’t be afraid to cut your losses and move on. Have a canned exit strategy (I’m hungry, need to go to the washroom, see someone I know…) and get outta there.

Know how you can serve and what you are looking for

Relationships are built on exchange. Go ready to share your story and tell people how you are excited to serve, share advice or info that you have online in groups if it’s helpful, and don’t be afraid to ask questions and let people know what you need - people are happy to tell you how they can help.

Tackle the busy business brain with mindfulness & meditation

SMRT Women Podcast Ep. 02 Mindfulness in Business with Ruth Lera

This week we are excited to welcome Ruth Lera to the podcast to talk about mindfulness and meditation in business. Ruth is an energy healer, mindfulness facilitator, meditation teacher, instructor of energetic self-healing, writer and boreal forest loiterer. She is the author of Walking the Soul Path: An Energetic Guide to Being Human.

In this episode, we talk about the busy business brain. Untamed, our brain can stay focused on the fear, spin us out, derail us, or stop us in our tracks. So many of us start our businesses with the goal of happiness, freedom, and living life on our own terms – the busy business brain can keep us feeling incompetent, not enough, and like we are always behind the eight ball.

So what can we do about it? How can we conquer those mind spirals so we can feel confidence and ease and pleasure in our business?

Take a listen to find out and see our hot tips below.

Accept the Journey – Failure is a given
Our brain likes to get so focused on the what ifs. What if people don’t like what I am doing and send me hate-mail, what if I don’t make any sales, what if I fall flat on my face in front of everyone. Mindfulness forces us to accept that these things will happen, or are already happening – failure is a given, life’s ups and downs are a given. The goal of mindfulness is not to make life perfect, it’s to strengthen our brain’s ability to roll with the punches with ease and flow.

Practice makes perfect.

Did you know that only 11 hours of meditation will change your brain? That’s like less than an hour a month. Mindfulness can be used in two ways to train our brains. Informally we can ask ourselves the two core questions at any point in the day: while we are driving, cooking dinner, playing with the kids, writing our next blog post. We ask ourselves the question and redirect to create an immediate shift. But this practice gets amplified when we do a formal practice – sit and focus on your breath in silence for 5+ minutes. We fire what we wire, and formal practice rewires our brains.

Think of it as a workout. Formal practice is going to the gym to build strength, and informal practice is focusing on your glutes and squat when you go to pick up something heavy at home. You need both to build strength over time.

Self -Compassion is key

Finally, none of this works if we are beating ourselves up for not being a “good” meditator. The goal of meditation is not a quiet mind – it’s a mind that notices our thoughts and actively chooses if we want to focus on them or something else. When the little voice says “ I suck at this” we are wiring negative thoughts. Our goal is to practice neutral observation -” I had a thought” and leave the judgments at the door.

Mindfulness is simple, but not easy. Five minutes a day of sitting with your thoughts can change you and your business – so why not give it a shot.

Do you have a mindfulness practice you use in your business? How does it help you? Any tips you would recommend for folks starting out? Leave a comment on the Facebook page. We’d love to see you there.

Category: Getting Started

#1 My first big investment was hiring an accountant to do my taxes.

#2 Quickbooks - now that I have it, I canNOT imagine life without it.

#3 Advertising!

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A formula

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So, how do you set your Project Fee?

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First things first...

Stop comparing yourself!

Keep your eye on your Why.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LOVE

Let’s look at some of the building blocks of building a killer brand.

One: Think of your Audience

Two: Brand colours

Three: Selecting the right fonts

Four: Consistency

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Is there a market for it?

Is there a business fit for you?

Is there profit to be had?

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Recent Posts and Freebies for Your Business

Networking Tips for Entrepreneurs

There are so many ways to network - pick one that fits your style

Go with a Goal

Bring a Buddy

Have an intro and an exit strategy

Know how you can serve and what you are looking for

Recent Posts and Freebies for Your Business

SMRT Women Podcast Ep. 02 Mindfulness in Business with Ruth Lera

Networking Tips for Entrepreneurs

Recent Posts and Freebies for Your Business