You've likely come across the tern sales funnel, have you every wondered what it means?  Don't worry you're not the only one.  A sales funnel refers to the progression of steps that customers take from discovering your business and products to making the final purchase.

Here's an example
Let's say you have a brick and mortar store.  many potential customers will pass the door, but a percentage of them will decide to walk in.  Of those that walk in, a percentage of these will see products that they like and decided to have a look at them.  A percentage of those who decided to view the products will pick those that they like and proceed to the checkout, where they will make a purchase.  The steps customers take the buy will be similar, more or less, whether you run a brick and mortar store or an online store.

Why is understanding the Sales Funnel so Important?
Understanding the sales funnel helps you know what potential customers thin when they are at different stages of the sales funnel.  Why is this so important?  Because now you can develop marketing strategies geared towards pushing the customers towards the next stage until they finally make a purchase.  This also means developing personalised messages tailored towards a client based on which stage they are in.

The Stages of the Sales Funnel
When prospects first hear of your business, products or services they will go through several stages of decision making until they can finally make a purchase.  Granted, the process may not be the same for every customer.  However, they will make their choice sooner or later based on their interest.  There are 4 main stages of the sales funnel.

The Awareness Stage
Here customers are just learning about the products and services you offer.  This can be through social media ads or various other marketing campaigns that  your business runs.  I'll be honest with you, the number of leads who move down the sales funnel will depend on how effective your marketing efforts are.  Sometimes customers go straight to buying a product or service but most times you will need to woo the customer at the awareness stage to encourage them through the next stages.

The Interest Stage
Now that customers are aware of your products or services, they will then enter the interest stage.  Here they will make competitive research comparisons and weigh the options available to them.  This is where you offer your customers valuable content and information, you are established as an expert in the minds of the customers and establish brand trust.  A customer can sit at this interest stage for some time.

The Decision Stage
At this stage in the buying process, the customer is ready to make a purchase.  Keep in mind they could be interested in a competitors product or service al well.  This is where you might offer deals, discount codes or promotions.  The goal is to make your products and services so attractive that customers can't wait to purchase them.

The Action Stage
The customer finally buys your product.  It may be the final step in the sales funnel, however it doesn't mean it's over.  Make sure you have a customer retention strategy in place for them to keep coming back for more.

Final Thoughts
Understanding which stage of the sales funnel a customer is in allows you to know exactly what is going on in their minds.  This in turn make it possible for you to send marketing messages that are more personalised and Tailored to the individual client.  This results in more leads going through the sales funnel.

Altitude Business Solutions are committed to helping Small Business Owners navigate their way through growing their business. Helping them assess where there are issues and providing the recourses and contacts to give Altitude to their business. We offer online training, Social Media Services & Website Services.  

There was a time in the past when people thought it was only a matter of time before content marketing would lose it's place in the modern digital business space.  A few years down the track and the reality is that content marketing is alive and well & continues to be a driving for small business sales.

This doesn't mean that things have changed, the truth is that content marketing has evolved to accommodate the new challenges faced by modern businesses.

As the years go by, business have had to deal with changing marketing conditions and consumer preferences.  Covid-19 sped up the process of online purchasing and communication significantly as consumers realised that being locked down in their homes they had to move to a more digital presence.  This meant they were spending more time online than ever before and so their behavours changed.

More Use of Video
From 2017 to 2021, users increased the average time spent on watching video from 20% to 80%.  That means in 2022 video is taking center stage in a big way and is not the main form of content uploaded by businesses each day.

Multimedia has reached an all-time high
The use of multimedia which includes both video and images, continues to rise.  As a result, the attention span of customers has dropped significantly.  Consequently, marketers have been forced to find ingenious ways to use multimedia to grab and retain customer attention.

Clever SEO Techniques
SEO grew from 64% in 2020 to 69% in 2021.  Marketers are now creating personalized experiences for online shoppers with the help of SEO.  The goal is to create content that offers value but is also different from wha the competition is offering.

Personalized Content
Marketers are now creating content that speaks to the user.  This means investing time and resources in learning about the customer's desires, wants and needs and creating content around this.  As a result, content marketing is geared towards attracting a more loyal clientele. 

Creating Value of the Quantity
As more customers shifted their time and shopping online, they were exposed to more content.  There was a need to shift from offering more content to offering something unique.  Churning out more and more content doesn't mean anything if you are not offering your customers value.  The best content, therefore, should be able to provide solutions to customer problems.

Repurposed content
content marketing is not seeing more repurposed content.  This is where marketers have already created valuable content and they share it across multiple platforms in multiple different formats.  A good example would be this blog post.  We created a blog post, a youtube video, a podcast and 8 social media posts just of this one piece of information for our clients.

Final Thoughts
Content Marketing is not dead but has definitely evolved in response to new business challenges.  By keeping up to date with content marketing trends you can stay ahead of the curve and help your business stay relevant now and in to the future.

Altitude Business Solutions are committed to helping Small Business Owners navigate their way through growing their business. Helping them assess where there are issues and providing the recourses and contacts to give Altitude to their business. We offer online training, Social Media Services & Website Services.  

​First Published April 2022​

Many people are under the idea that email marketing is dead. It is only understandable considering the number of emails that you ignore, delete, and mark as spam if you hold this notion.
That said, there is also a select number of emails that you are happy to engage with.
With that in mind, it begins to make sense that you can still use email for business in today.
All you need is to learn the tricks that can help recipients view your email as an important email and want to engage with it.
Creating engaging experiencesIt is likely that if you plan on using email marketing, you have a call to action on your website. Something like, “Subscribe to our weekly newsletter”.
However, have you taken the time to think about the type of experience your subscribers get when they click on your call to action?
Let see this in the context of buying a product.
Always try and win back a customer who went through the buying process but abandoned the cart.
Here you can set a trigger to send an email to prompt them to revisit the website and complete their purchase.
One thing to keep in mind is that while new and prospective customers are always a good thing, it is the returning customers that will impact the business’s bottom line the most.
Focus on customer relationsOptimizing and personalizing your email marketing campaigns should be a priority.
Personalizing allows your business to engage with customers in a far more meaningful way.
A straightforward way to drive this point home is instead of an email starting with hey, or hello, you can choose to start with the reader's name.
A/B testing - the importanceWe cannot overemphasize the importance of A/B testing when it comes to email marketing campaigns.
Through analyzing previous customer data, you will know precisely what your customers respond to and use this information in your next campaign.
Did you know that as soon as you receive an email, your habits are being evaluated and analyzed through it?
Some of the information that you can find out is:
●      Does the subject line affect your email response, or are you better off with emojis
●      What happens when you increase the number of images? Do you get more responses or fewer responses?
●      What time of the day do you get the most emails?  
With A/B testing, you may find that your hypothesis fails. However, you should never look at it this way.
Instead, view this as an opportunity to learn something from it.
Let’s say the majority of your customers read their emails on their mobile phones.
You may start to realize that if you increase copy that the click-through rates go significantly low.
Now you know what you shouldn’t do next time.
Speaking of mobile phonesOver 70% of people would rather read their emails via their mobile apps than on the desktop.
It makes sense, therefore, to ensure that your email marketing campaigns are optimized for mobile.
People now decide on whether or not to proceed with a purchase within seconds.
This means that you can quickly lose a customer if they don’t like what they see on their emails.
Final WordWhile it is easy to think that email marketing is dead, the truth is that it is still alive and well in 2021… If you use it right!
The fact that most businesses are looking away from email marketing means that your business can look towards revitalizing this way of marketing your brand.
Done the right way can help improve your company’s bottom line, so definitely, don’t take it off the scope!
Now with this in mind, let’s move on to part 2 of this article series, where we will give you actionable tips and tricks to take massive action on your email marketing and use it to scale your business.
 
Ready? Steady. GO!
​

​Altitude Business Solutions are committed to helping Small Business Owners navigate their way through growing their business. Helping them assess where there are issues and providing the recourses and contacts to give Altitude to their business. We offer online training, Social Media Services & Website Services.  Subscribe to our social media channels to be alerted of new content.

First published December 2021

For many businesses, marketing and sales are often used interchangeably. The reality, however, is that these are two distinct disciplines.
Marketing refers to all actions taken by a business to promote its products and brand. This will also include advertising and research.
On the other hand, sales refer to the action of exchanging money for business products or services.
But which between the two disciplines is more important?
Well, businesses will often mainly focus on sales as, without it, there is no cash flow.
But the truth is that without a steady flow of leads, your business will struggle to make sales.
That is to say that you shouldn’t choose between marketing and sales, but instead, aim for the optimal utilization of both.
Sales is a more direct optionAs a business manager, it is easy to fall into the trap of trying to make as many sales as possible to stay afloat.
Unlike sales which is mainly centered around one action, marketing requires you to understand your target niche and audience, their needs and create ads that are tailored specifically to your niche.
There are multiple actions needed to create a successful marketing campaign.
You will need to focus a significant amount of time and resources on branding, pricing, generating leads, creating demand, and creating a marketing strategy.
That said, the great thing with marketing is that you have the opportunity to create an impact in the lives of your buyers by helping to solve their problems.
The results are much more long-lasting and can help solidify your business brand in the minds of your customers.
Both sales and marketing should never be viewed as separate disciplines that can operate independently.
Instead, they should and must work together.
Start with MarketingSuccessful marketing requires time and resource investment. This can place strain on a small business’s capital.
This may also explain why small businesses tend to overlook marketing and focus on sales.
However, marketing is an investment into the future. By taking the time to learn what your customers want, you can make improvements to your products and services to suit their needs.
You can create tailor-made ads that specifically appeal to your target audience.
This makes customers feel like your business exists to serve their needs.
As a result, this will build your business brand and solidify it in the minds of potential customers.
Not only does your business stand a chance to get new clients, but it also gets to keep these clients.
Sales, on the other hand, is what comes after marketing.
It should be viewed as the result of your marketing strategy and efforts.
It is the cream to the cake. Marketing helps generate a steady flow of leads who can subsequently be sent through the sales funnel.
A security measure for the futureThat is what marketing is—security for your business. Marketing allows your business to get a steady flow of leads.
These leads can help cushion your business during tough times, so you don’t have to worry about staying afloat.
This is more than can be said for businesses that mainly focus on moving their products.
What’s more, your business now has the option of loading clients that are bad business without having to worry about any significant impact this would have on your business.
Simply put, you have options.
Final ThoughtsWith marketing, you create a hedge against any uncertain times ahead.
Your business is secure in knowing that it has a steady flow of leads and can turn these into repeat customers.
That said, marketing and sales go hand in hand and are not to be approached as separate disciplines.
We URGE you to learn more about marketing, sales and how you can marry the two to create the ultimate flow of paying leads for your business.
​


​Altitude Business Solutions are committed to helping Small Business Owners navigate their way through growing their business. Helping them assess where there are issues and providing the recourses and contacts to give Altitude to their business. We offer online training, Social Media Services & Website Services.  Subscribe to our social media channels to be alerted of new content.

Every successful business owner understands that marketing is an important part of their business. After all, marketing brings in new customers, profits, and long-term benefits for the business.
In thinking about marketing your business, you may have many questions, such as:


●      What’s the difference between online and offline marketing?
●      Is one better than the other?
●      Which is the better option for you?
 
These are all important questions, and this guide will help you in making a decision.

​What Is Online Marketing? 
Online marketing involves promoting your business, product, or service on the internet via your website, online ads, or social media.
Benefits of online marketing include: 

1. You can see the engagement of your content and promotions. With social media channels, you can physically see what your audience thinks of your brand and marketing. If you’re seeing lots of likes and shares of your content, then surely, you’re doing something right!
   
   
2. It’s easy to track your return on investment (ROI). You can track clicks and sales when using ads online, so you can easily see which ads are the most profitable for you. This will help you to make smart decisions regarding future marketing strategies and campaigns.
   
   
3. You can target specific demographics. With online marketing, it’s possible to drive specific types of people to your offers - people who are more likely to buy your products.

There are also some negatives to using online marketing, such as: 

1. Digital advertisements can be annoying. While it’s certainly clever that advertisers can target ads specifically to you, showing you ads for products that you searched for days previously, they can be highly annoying and even drive you away from a brand.
   
   
2. The ads are fleeting. Unlike a billboard, an online ad can easily be missed or ignored. It’s easy to scroll past an ad and click to the next page without even taking notice.
   
   
3. Online marketing is constantly evolving. Whether it’s the latest social media platform or a change to the search engine algorithm, there’s always something new to learn. If you don’t keep up with important trends, you may find yourself being left behind.

What Is Offline Marketing? 
​
Offline marketing is typically anything that does not involve the internet, so any magazine or television advertisements are good examples of this type of marketing.
Benefits of offline marketing include: 

1. It can be impactful and easy to understand. A billboard or TV commercial will often become part of a person's daily life, so it will usually be easy to understand and digest.
   
   
2. Printed marketing materials are often permanent. Unless a magazine is recycled or put in the trash, then the advertisements found within will be permanent, so they can still work weeks, or even months, after first being published.
   
   
3. They are memorable. Many offline ads are memorable and likely to be remembered much better than an Instagram ad for example, which is almost instantly forgotten. Think of all the popular Super Bowl ads and other commercials that we all know so well that they become part of our culture.

 
Offline marketing also has some negative aspects, such as: 

1. It’s difficult to measure the success of a campaign. There are ways to measure the success of a campaign, but they are not as in-depth or accurate as those available for online marketing.
   
   
2. It can be expensive. Typically, offline marketing can be expensive. Even a small run in your local newspaper or a single 30-second spot on TV can set you back a considerable amount.
   
   
3. Little feedback from your audience. After running the marketing campaign, you can rarely gauge the reactions from your potential customers.

Which is Better for You? 
Both online and offline marketing have their pros and cons.
 
Offline marketing is seen as more traditional and will be better aimed at the older generation, while online marketing is generally a better option for the younger generation. However, these are only generalities and might not apply to your business.
 
Plus, you don’t have to choose one over the other. Perhaps a combination of online and offline marketing will work best for your business.
 
You will need to understand what you want to achieve marketing-wise, what your budget is, and most importantly who your target audience is. Study your audience and go with what you think will work best with them, keeping your budget in mind. This will get you started.
 
Then, track what you can to determine which campaigns bring you the greatest profits. Run new campaigns and track those. Experience is the best determiner. Analyze as you go and stick with what’s working the best for your company until you find a new campaign that drives even greater profits.

Altitude Business Solutions are committed to helping Small Business Owners navigate their way through growing their business. Helping them assess where there are issues and providing the recourses and contacts to give Altitude to their business. We offer online training, Social Media Services & Website Services.  Subscribe to our social media channels to be alerted of new content.

First published September 2020

You've probably heard us talk about the advantages of using a paid for scheduling tool for your social media.

1. Saves you time - Because you are able to sit down and schedule a number of posts at once you are able to gain some momentum and becomes a very time efficient way of posting to Social Media.
2. Allows you to have a strategy - Rather than just waking up each day and thinking "What am I going to post to Social Media today" you can actually think about a strategy and create content around that.
3. Consistency - Scheduling your posts in advance gives you the ability to have consistency on your social media platforms, showing up regularly for your audience is important.
4. Encourages Engagement - when you schedule with consistency you are showing up for your audience and they engage with you more.
5. Keeps you out of the Social Media Mouse Wheel - we can spend all day thinking about social media having your posts scheduled in advance means you know that you've got it covered so you get back to business.

What Scheduling program should I use?
Over the years we have tried so many however 12 months ago we found publer and it changed our world here's why.

What is Publer?
Publer is a social media management tool that allows you to post to multiple different platforms from including Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Google My Business, Pinterest, Youtube and event has the ability to schedule to Wordpress.

CLICK HERE to get your FREE publer account

And while it's list of platforms is impressive so too are it's features.


​Status updates, links, single photos
Customize and preview posts
Built-in photo editor
Design with Canva
Link in Bio (free)
Drive, Dropbox & Unsplash
Browser extension
Calendar view
Auto schedule
Shortcodes
Link shortening
Group the social accounts
Add Delay between Accounts
Unlimited scheduling & drafts
Bulk scheduling(500 posts at once)
Media library(unlimited storage)
Export from Canva
Link in Bio (premium)
Automatic RSS posting
Analytics
Watermark photos
Signatures
Schedule follow-up comments
Autoshare & autodelete
Create additional teams
Eternal post history
Videos, Multi-photo posts, GIFs
Hashtag suggestions
Content recommendation
Schedule Facebook Group albums
Upload videos from URL
Watermark videos
Schedule YouTube videos
Design videos
Automatically recycle posts
Schedule recurring posts


Thankfully Publer has a FREE version for you to try out CLICK HERE to take advantage of this amazing tool today.

​Altitude Business Solutions are committed to helping Small Business Owners navigate their way through growing their business. Helping them assess where there are issues and providing the recourses and contacts to give Altitude to their business. We offer online training, Social Media Services & Website Services.  Subscribe to our social media channels to be alerted of new content.

First published November 2021

Smart business owners know how important search engine optimization (SEO) is for their company’s websites. SEO, when done effectively, will help to increase a website’s visibility on the search engines.
 
This means that their website will show up in the top search results when someone searches for a keyword or phrase that applies to their business. Being in the top results can send thousands of targeted prospects to your website.
 
In fact, smart SEO can help your business in many ways!
Consider these benefits of SEO: 
1. You will see anincrease in traffic. As your website becomes more optimized over time, it will start to rank higher in the search engines for various search terms. As this happens, you should see an increase in traffic, or prospects viewing your website. Ultimately, this should increase your sales too.  

2. It will increase the credibility of your business. Your customers are conditioned to believe that the best businesses are those ranked at the top of the search engines, whether that is true or not.  When you rank highly, your prospects perceive your business more favorably, which leads to an increase in sales, conversions, and brand recognition.

3. SEO can lead to long-lasting results. Radio, print, and billboard ads produce short-term rewards. SEO, on the other hand, helps to deliver long-term rewards. By investing in SEO, your online presence increases, resulting in a more profitable return on investment (ROI).

​4.You are in control of the cost. Whether you are building backlinks, creating a social media presence, or creating blog content, you will know how much it will cost beforehand. Once you know what each service will cost, you can determine which you believe would give you a better ROI.

6. SEO helps encourage users to visit a local store. It has been shown in numerous studies that having an online presence can also increase visits to your offline premises. If you have a restaurant, for example, a potential customer could check out your menu or customer reviews before making a reservation. 

7. Your social media following will increase. As your search engine rankings increase, more visitors will arrive at your website. Even if they do not immediately buy from you, they may still end up checking out your social media platforms, follow them, and then become buyers later on.  These new followers can also share your marketing messages, leading to an increase in social traffic and sales.

8. SEO helps put you ahead of your competitors. As you integrate SEO and various other online marketing techniques into your business, you will move ahead of those competitors who have not implemented these techniques.  ​

SEO is incredibly important nowadays, and if you are not implementing it in your own online marketing activities, you are limiting your results, sales, and profits. Look at what your competitors are doing and see what you can do to rise above them. It will be worth your time and effort.

Altitude Business Solutions are committed to helping Small Business Owners navigate their way through growing their business. Helping them assess where there are issues and providing the recourses and contacts to give Altitude to their business. We offer online training, Social Media Services & Website Services.  Subscribe to our social media channels to be alerted of new content.

First published December 2017

Finding a work-life balance is good for both your physical and mental health. But many times, heavy job responsibilities steal that balance away. When that happens, both our work and home life can suffer unwanted consequences.
 
But how can you achieve that balance and still excel at your job?
 
Use these strategies to create the work-life balance you seek: 

1. Avoid checking your work emails outside the office. While in the office, you’ll probably check your work emails often to ensure that any meetings and deadlines are met. However, checking them when you’re off work allows your work life to encroach on your home life. Set boundaries with yourself and your work colleagues regarding emails, so that you can take care of work communications only while at work.
2. Learn to say no. You may love your job, but it’s usually unnecessary to be available to your boss 24/7. We all need a break occasionally, and there is nothing wrong with saying no once in a while. Especially outside of your allotted work hours.
3. Work smarter, not harder. Instead of working all hours of the day, with very little rest, work smarter. You’ll actually get more done in a shorter period of time.
4. Prioritize important tasks and do these tasks first each day. This way, the most important things always get done.Avoid unproductive activities, such as unstructured meetings or constantly checking your social media accounts.
5. Leave work at work. This may be hard, and may not always be possible, but when you clock off for the day, make a mental note that work has finished.Perhaps take a moment to acknowledge that work has finished by stopping and taking a breath before your commute home. The reason for this is to ensure that you are not bringing the work and any stress associated with it home.
6. You don’t need to be perfect. Have you ever been on your way out of the office, only to turn back around because you thought of a way to make a report or task perfect? Sometimes, it pays to remind yourself that you and your work are good enough.
7. Focus on things outside work. For some of us, our work is our life, but what happens if one day we lose our job? Where does that leave us? It may be a scary thought, but it’s important to have a life outside work.  Develop some hobbies that interest you. Spending time doing something that you love reduces stress and energizes you while relaxing you and uplifting your mood. Add some “happy time” to your life.
8. Make your own rules. There has been a shift in work attitudes, especially among younger workers. More people - even bosses - are recognizing the value of work-life balance. Come up with your own ideas that will help you separate your work from your home life and run them by your boss. They might just agree!

Finding a balance between work and your home life can be difficult, but it’s well worth the effort!  Don't listen to what others say make sure it's your own kind of work life balance.

Altitude Business Solutions are committed to helping Small Business Owners navigate their way through growing their business. Helping them assess where there are issues and providing the recourses and contacts to give Altitude to their business. We offer online training, Social Media Services & Website Services.  Subscribe to our social media channels to be alerted of new content.

If you’re like many professionals, you probably created a Linkedin profile and occasionally go back to add more connections and comment on a few posts. However, there is so much more you can do with this platform to advance your  business and career.
 
Take charge of your future and attract more attention from potential clients or employers by optimizing your profile and using it on a regular basis to attract the kind of attention you want for either your professional profile or your business. 

Try these tips for designing and using your LinkedIn profile.
​Designing your LinkedIn Profile: 

1. Upload a Cover Image. Take advantage of this prime realestate to advertise what it is you do or your business.
2. Professional Profile Pic. Pick an image that looks professional and clear. Focus on your face and use flattering natural light.
3. Edit your headline. Start by writing a specific headline. Tell employers/clients what value you add and make them want to learn more. Keep your audience in mind and avoid technical terms that may be unfamiliar to them.
4. Update your summary/about section.  Your summary is where you can add more details and showcase your achievements. 
5. Add keywords. Help recruiters and automated search tools to find you. Browse through job descriptions and resumes for keywords that are popular in your field and include them in your profile, including the headline and summary.
6. Choose your URL. LinkedIn gives your profile a URL, but you can change it to something that you like better or might work more effectively for you. If your name is already taken, use a slight variation with your middle initial or hometown.

Optimizing your LinkedIn profile can make it easier for others to find you and help you reach your professional goals. You’ll increase your job satisfaction, and you’ll probably spend more time doing what you love.

​Altitude Business Solutions are committed to helping Small Business Owners navigate their way through growing their business. Helping them assess where there are issues and providing the recourses and contacts to give Altitude to their business. We offer online training, Social Media Services & Website Services.  Subscribe to our social media channels to be alerted of new content.
 

So you've all heard that you need to have an effective Social Media Strategy for your business but what does that mean? and where do you start?

Marketing has greatly evolved over the past few years and now every business understands that they can no longer put their head in the sand and hope that it will all go away.  We thought we'd break it down to help you get started on your social media journey today.

1. Define your goals and target Customer - What are you goals?  Are you trying to drive more customers to your website?  Do you want to boost the presence of your brand?  Are you trying to share coupons and special offers?  do you want to communicate more with your customers?  Are you trying to marketing and sell products directly?  Once you set some specific, measurable goals decide how you want to prioritise them.
2. Choose your Social Media Platforms. Facebook is big with women and young adults.  LinkedIn is where you will find business professionals and entrepreneurs.  Twitter users are mostly educated, young adults and there are slightly more female users than males. 
3. Get your content figure out - Develop a plan for your content based on your target customers problems.  You then need to decide what format you will use to share your content.  Written posts, videos, audio files.
4. Start Posting - this is where most businesses stop.  I mean what will happen if I put something out there that people don't like? if no one comments or likes I will feel stupid.  Just do it, seriously no one cares but if you're not posting anything then you are not going to get any traction at all.
5. Be Consistent - Commit to a posting schedule and stick to it.  Just like opening the front door to your business it just simply has to be done and consistency on platforms will see you being rewarded with more reach organically. Followers cast dead profiles aside.

Creating a social media presence isn't difficult, but it takes some time and planning.  Give them regular meaningful content around the problems they might be having and you will see growth.

Altitude Business Solutions are committed to helping Small Business Owners navigate their way through growing their business. Helping them assess where there are issues and providing the recourses and contacts to give Altitude to their business. We offer online training, Social Media Services & Website Services.  Subscribe to our social media channels to be alerted of new content.

1. It can be a low-cost promotion strategy.  While Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads are an option, it is certainly possible to promote your website, business and offers online without spending a penny.
2. You can reach a Global Market.  With online marketing, you aren't stuck in your own neighbourhood.  A wider audience may give you a greater chance of running a successful business.
3. Reach your target audience quickly and easily.  Paid advertisements are an option, and your results can be immediate.  With time and an optimised website, you can reach new prospects continuously by ranking at the top of the search engines.
4. Collect Payments easily.  If you enable e-commerce on your website, you'll be able to collect payments from your customers quickly and easily.
5. Market your offers 24/7.  If you've created a website or established a social media presence, this will be available at all times.  It won't close like a physical store would.
6. Trackable, measurable results.  You can sign up for analytics tools that allow you to track your campaigns, so you can see how effective they've been. 
7. Build customer loyalty.  When you engage with your online audience on social media or your website, answer questions and be open with them about what you can offer, then you'll build trust.  This will increase your sales
8. Build your influence, or social currency.  When you share content online that resonates with your audience, they are likely to share it.  With each share, you increase the reach of your campaign, which increases your audience and potential customers.
9. Better conversion rates.  With a website you are only a click or two away from making a sale.  Offline, a customer would have to make a phone call or physically go to a store to purchase.

So as you can see online marketing is generally easier, quicker, and more efficient than offline marketing.  Plus you can advertise online for FREE.

Altitude Business Solutions are committed to helping Small Business Owners navigate their way through growing their business. Helping them assess where there are issues and providing the recourses and contacts to give Altitude to their business. We offer online training, Social Media Services & Website Services.

With online marketing, there’s a debate raging among experts over which strategy is best to grow your business.  Let’s start by ensuring your understand the difference between the two.
 
Social media marketing: Social media marketing is about building relationships and brand awareness while engaging with your audience on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
 
Search engine optimization (SEO): is about showing up in Google search results for your audience's search queries.

Would SEO or social media marketing be the better option?
 
Often, businesses will hire an SEO expert or agency to increase their visibility in the search engines without even thinking about social media and the traffic that it can bring to their business.
 
Similarly, there are those who focus their attention entirely on building a social media following without spending any time on SEO.
 
Let’s compare both strategies to see which option is best.

​Targeting an Audience 
To bring in relevant traffic and sales, it’s important to be able to target a specific audience. It is definitely easier to target an appropriate audience on social media platforms.

engines will rank your website highly for that search term.
For the highest rankings, go more in-depth than your competitors, provide clear answers, and provide graphics or illustrations to help your reader understand the content clearly.


2. Try to rank for longtail keywords. These are keywords that are niche-specific and may have very little search engine traffic. The reason why you will be aiming to rank for these terms is that there is less competition, so they should be easier to rank highly for.

• Ranking highly for these terms will be easier and maybe quicker to achieve too.
• Plus, if you rank highly for lots of these terms, your overall traffic will increase.  At this point, you may be able to consider ranking for more competitive search terms.

3. Get customer reviews. With local businesses, reviews submitted about your website online can affect your search engine rankings as well.

• For many reasons, it’s worth your time and effort to ensure that you are providing the best service possible for your customers. This will lead to great reviews and more customers!

4. Copy your competitor’s on-page SEO strategy. Visit your competitor’s website and study their content. You may think that creating longer forms of content is best when it comes to ranking. However, this is not always the case. Check whatever pages are ranking for each particular search term.

5.  Build internal links. For each of your longer, authoritative articles, link smaller supporting articles in your website to this main page. This will help your longer page achieve higher rankings.

6.  Ensure that your website is easy to navigate. If your website isn’t easy to navigate, your visitors will just click off your website and go somewhere else. This can lower the time spent on your website and increase the bounce rate. These are both negative SEO factors.

7.  Have a mobile-friendly website. These days, most internet users will access your website through a mobile device. If your website isn’t rendering properly on mobile, this will have a negative impact on user experience, rankings, and sales. So, be sure to optimize your website for mobile devices as well as desktops.

8.  Increase your page speed. Page speed refers to how fast your website page loads, and this affects your rankings.

• A faster-loading website improves the user experience of your visitors. No one wants to be waiting for a website to load. Chances are if they have to wait more than a few seconds, they will leave the website entirely.

​
9.  Get an SSL certificate for your website. It has been shown that having an SSL certificate on your website increases your website rankings.

• These days many search engines will warn its users that a website without this certificate is not secure, which will result in a user leaving the website immediately. This harms your rankings and possibly your reputation as well.

 
If your website is still new and has yet to establish any authority within the niche, or if the competitors in this particular niche have very few backlinks, then it is certainly possible to rank highly for various search terms using these strategies.
 
As your website becomes more competitive, then building backlinks will certainly help you to continue to rank higher.
 
But in the meantime, don’t worry about the backlinks. Draw your visitors to your secure, quick-loading website and provide quality content that they’ll want to engage with and share with others.

At Altitude Business Solutions we work with you to come up with solutions to your business problems and set a plan for implementation.  It all starts with our Discovery call where we will find out more about your business and discuss options for you moving forward.  For Queensland Small Business Owners we will also discuss the Government Funded Australian Small Business Advisory Services program and if your business can take advantage of discounted services.

Contact Us to book in today
Phone: 0419 183 451 
​Email: altitudebusinesssolutions.au@gmail.com

9
Everyone procrastinates at some time or another. If we’re honest, we will admit that we’ve missed opportunities, delayed outcomes, and caused other negative consequences because of procrastinating.
 
If you’ve ever intentionally deferred acting on a goal or put off doing what needed to be done to realize your dream, get through school, acquire that promotion, lose/gain that weight, or take that bold step, then you have most definitely procrastinated.
 
As you’ve seen for yourself, the old adage, “You snooze, you lose,” is real.
 
Procrastination is a tough habit to overcome! Lucky for you, however, you can put procrastination in your past and move forward without having to worry about all those negative consequences again.
 
The key to real change - even for procrastinating - is changing your mindset. You can change your mindset by changing your thoughts. And what motivates your thoughts? Perception.
 
Perception is how you see things. Your thoughts all arise from your view of a circumstance, situation, or the world in general. You have more control over your world than you think. If you think you can, or if you think you cannot, you are correct.
 
Perception is everything. You can change your mind - and your life - by changing your thinking.
Today is a good day to change your thinking and stop procrastinating. Here’s how: 

1. Decide that you want to change your mind. Start thinking differently about your goals, projects, and tasks. Think “urgency” and “opportunity.” This will cause you to see the benefits of pursuing those actions with expedience.
   
   
2. Like Nike says, “Just Do It.” There is no time like the present to do what needs to be done. Whenever you think of procrastinating, redirect your thoughts to this short command. Let your mind hear it over and over. Eventually, your mind will start to use this thought in the first place.
   
   
3. Avoid putting overdue emphasis on the negative aspects. Thinking about all the things you don’t like about a task can cripple you from even getting started on it. When you’re in this frame of mind, excuses have a way of flooding the mind and making you feel better about not working on the task.
   
   
4. Focus on the benefits. Seek out the brighter side of things. Think of the benefits you’ll receive by getting the task done early or on time. When you do this continuously, you’ll become more effective at getting yourself to go ahead and do what needs to be done. The more you practice, the better you’ll get.
   
   
5. Avoid discussing the project with those who criticize everything. Sadly, they are only able to focus on the “what ifs,” and “all that could go wrong.” They can put you in a quandary about the task or project, thus delaying you or keeping you from starting it in the first place.

 
When you stop procrastinating, you’ll experience the joy of completing, succeeding, or achieving all the things you had deferred. Removing one more item from your agenda will bring you the satisfaction of a job well done as you move on to your next task.
 
This is especially rewarding when you had previously put things off because you didn’t think you could do them.
 
But look at you now! Changing your thinking and all ready to go. It makes all the difference in the world. Get started today!
​
Altitude Business Solutions are committed to helping Small Business Owners navigate their way through growing their business. Helping them assess where there are issues and providing the recourses and contacts to give Altitude to their business. We offer online training, Social Media Services & Website Services.  Subscribe to our social media channels to be alerted of new content.

First published September 2019

Recommended reading Eat That Frog

Here are some free online marketing methods that you may want to consider for your business:
1. Partner up with another expert in your field. Consider joining forces with another brand. You can then offer a more substantial product together than either one of you could offer alone.

•  In addition, you’ll automatically get the attention of both audiences, resulting in more sales and adding more leads to your email list. In the future, these new leads can drive more sales of another one of your products.
• Partnering on even one marketing campaign can bring long-term benefits to both of you.

2. Encourage user-generated content. If you can acquire user-generated content, your website will grow without you having to create your own content. This type of content also increases your website visitors. Enable comments on your website and contribute to the discussions.

• Allow visitors to submit their own articles and encourage guest posts from other experts.

3. Affiliate marketing. When you create an affiliate program for your business, you will be getting other experts in your field and the public to send business your way. This can be mutually beneficial, and you will only be paying commissions (after the sale) if the affiliate makes a sale.

• As with the partnering technique, many of these new visitors will sign up for your email list, even if they don’t buy something right away, bringing you long-term benefits and sales.

4. Be active on social media. There are millions of users visiting the various social media platforms daily, so it makes sense for your business to have a presence there.

• Share funny or interesting images or videos that are relevant to your business.
• Post insights and valuable information.
• Let your audience know when you have a sale on your products. Give your social media followers coupons or discounts.
• Encourage engagement by participating in discussions. Ask questions and answer theirs.
• Run a survey, poll, or contest.
• In turn, these will then be shared by your followers, increasing your reach and ultimately resulting in more sales of your products or services

5. Use free online tools. There are plenty of tools online that can help your business. You can sign up for websites that will enable you to create free surveys, or you can use a free online service to send emails to your customers. You do not have to pay a premium to receive top-notch service.

6. Change and reuse old advertisements. Rather than going through the expensive route of creating new articles with every marketing campaign, try reusing parts of an advertisement that worked well. This will save you time and expense.

• Plus, keeping consistent brand imagery through every ad will help with brand recognition too.

​​

If you work in an office, your day might already be planned out, with your coworkers giving you social interaction and your boss giving you accountability.
 
However, working from home is much different. How can you get work done without any of this help that you would normally receive from coworkers?
 
Try these techniques to stay motivated and be productive: 

1. Wake up early. Think of it like this: When you’re working from home, you’re still going to work, but the commute to your desk is much shorter. Set your alarm and make an effort to get up and get ready for an early start. You may find that you’re more productive earlier in the day, as your mind may be sharper.
   
2. Get dressed. However tempting it is to work in a pair of comfortable sweatpants or pajamas, you may be more productive in regular clothes.  Research has shown that how you dress sends psychological signals, so if you want to get work done, it’s important to dress appropriately.
   
3. Have your own workspace. Setting aside a regular space to work sends a signal to your brain to work whenever you’re in your workspace. Plus, having your own workspace will help keep distractions to a minimum. 
4. Create a schedule. A work schedule also helps to motivate you, get you going each morning, and be more productive while you work. With a schedule, you’ll know what to get started on the moment you sit down to work. Then, you can depend on it to guide you throughout the rest of the day.  Your schedule will depend on your own job, but, for example, if you were a blogger, you might write in the morning, before editing and posting the content in the afternoon.
   
5. Take time to exercise. Set aside some time each day to get some exercise. Regular exercise is good for both your body and mind.  Most office jobs are pretty sedentary but working from home may be even worse. After all, you only need to travel a few feet to visit the restroom. With this in mind, it’s important to ensure that you take extra care to look after your physical needs.
   
6. Reward yourself. Since you’re working from home, it would be easy to just sit in front of the television all day and not get any work done. But for obvious reasons this is not the best idea. You can bypass such temptations by using rewards to increase productivity.  For instance, you could work for two hours straight and then reward yourself with a short, 30-minute episode of your favorite show.
   
7. Go outside. Not leaving your house for days on end can negatively impact your mental health. Not only is sunlight good for your health but seeing and interacting with others is important too.  Your mood will be uplifted, and you’ll get more work done after a short break for getting out into nature and socializing with others.
   
8. Avoid social media. If you find yourself browsing Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram instead of working, you can take steps to avoid these distractions.  Try deleting these bookmarks from your browser or installing a plugin that will block you from visiting those sites.  Turning off notifications on your smartphone while you work also helps to stop distractions.

 
Working from home isn’t for everyone, but if you love the freedom of making your own schedule, then you may love it.
 
Follow these tips and you’ll be able to stay motivated, maintain discipline, and get all of your work done while working from home.

At Altitude Business Solutions we work with you to come up with solutions to your business problems and set a plan for implementation.  It all starts with our Discovery call where we will find out more about your business and discuss options for you moving forward.  For Queensland Small Business Owners we will also discuss the Government Funded Australian Small Business Advisory Services program and if your business can take advantage of discounted services.

Book your complementary 20 minute discovery call today.

More than two decades ago, the Internet shot onto the scene and changed the world as we know it. While the concept of the Internet has been around since the late 1960s, when the first electronic message was sent over the ARPANET, it wasn't until the mid-1990s that the Internet began its revolutionary impact on our culture, commerce, and technology. Since then, it has exploded with ways for people to make money online.
 
In the age of the Internet, online niche marketing has quickly become the king of the business and marketing world. Now, both business people and marketers can reach out to increasingly small groups of people to provide them with niche solutions to their problems. As the Internet, and its reach, continue to grow, the development of personalized and targeted marketing to a niche group of people is not showing signs of slowing down anytime soon. If you want to take advantage of this popular way to make money online, then you need to find your niche.
 
Finding your niche isn't without its challenges. You have to take the time to research whether or not your niche idea is viable and whether or not it will be profitable — the key to finding success with an online business if finding the perfect niche for your business. If you want to get started with an online business but don’t know how to go about finding your niche, this 5-minute guide to finding your niche can help.
 
Step One – Your Niche is What You Know
When it comes to starting an online business, there are literally hundreds, if not thousands of markets that you can choose. While you can spend a ton of time exploring the different markets and coming up with ideas for the perfect niche market, this won't guarantee that you'll be able to find success. However, if you can choose a niche topic that you are familiar with, your chances of success increase significantly.
 
Luckily, the idea for a niche market is already floating around in your mind somewhere, and the trick is finding out how to unlock the potential that you already possess inside of you. You can start your search for your niche by creating a list of everything that you are passionate about, interested in, and fascinated about. These shouldn’t be things that you’ve recently become curious about, but instead, they should be things that you've shown a strong interested in for a few years.
 
Starting an online business will be one of the most challenging things you will probably ever do in your life, so you need to choose something that you are passionate about. When you choose a niche that you have a passion for, you will have the motivation to continue working even when challenges arise. If you are finding it challenging to come up with ideas, you can ask yourself the following questions:

• How do you want to spend your time?
• What do you love to talk about all the time?
• What do you read about the most?

 
It is essential to keep in mind that at this point in the process, you're only brainstorming possible niche ideas before you move onto researching whether or not any of your ideas are viable.
 
Step Two – Identify Your Niche’s ProblemAfter you’ve compiled a list of ideas that you are passionate about, you need to work on identifying a problem that is related to the ideas. Most of the online niche businesses that you find have come from identifying the target audiences’ problems and coming up with a solution to solve their problems. Once you can identify the issues that your target audience are experiencing, you can start to think about the kind of solutions that you can provide that will address these issues. But how do you find what problems your target audience is experiencing? There are many tried and tested methods for identifying the issues within a niche market.
 
One of the easiest ways to find out what problems your target audience is experiencing is to ask them simply. Many times, the best niche ideas are identified by the target audience. You can harness these insights and knowledge of your niche market by arranging conversations and conducting focus groups to discuss the problems and present the possible solutions that are related to the niche. You can also send out surveys to gather this information.
 
Another way that you can determine the problems experienced by your niche’s target audience is by heading online. The Internet is the most useful tools that you can use to identify problems within your niche. You can start by browsing blogs and forums, like Quora, to determine the kinds of problems that people in your niche are experiencing. Social media platforms, like Twitter and Facebook, are also filled with people talking about the problems that they are experiencing, as well as raising concerns within your niche market. To inspire more ideas, check out what's trending on Twitter or look through the many Facebook groups.
 
 
 
Step Three – Know Your CompetitionWhile a part of niche marketing is trying to identifying a gap in the market that no one is currently occupying, the sad reality is that there will always be competition. In fact, competition is a good thing when it comes to being a successful Internet business because when there is competition, it means there is money to be made. 
 
For as long as people have been trying to make money online, there have always been business owners in niche marketing that believed that they were on to something huge, only to discover that the reason why there isn't any competition for their niche product is that there is no way to make a profit. That's why it is essential that you conduct some in-depth analysis of the competition in your niche.
 
You can use a simple Google search to browse the Internet for business sites within your niche market. Keep an organized spreadsheet of the different companies and details about the products, services, and market share for each of the competitors that appear in the Google search results.
 
Compete on QualityWhen you are analyzing the competition, you want to look at the quality of the product or service that they are providing. If the other players in the niche market are only producing poor-quality products, by offering a much better product to your target audience, you can beat the rest and come out on top.
 
 
 
Compete on ImageIf your competition is producing high-quality products or offering top-of-the-line services, there are other ways that you can stand out from the crowd that is a bit more subtle. For example, maybe you can strive to come across as transparent and more human-centric compared to the large corporations and faceless companies that are present in the market. Or, you might try to position yourself as a sustainable or green alternative to the competition.
 
Compete on PriceOne of the most necessary determinates of whether or not your products will sell over competitors is the price. It could be that the competition is charging too much and you can try to provide a lower price point for your product or service. Otherwise, you'll have to work to provide a higher-quality product and market your business to those in the market that are willing to pay more.
 
Understanding the competition will ensure that you stand out from the rest. By checking out your competitors, you can assess whether the niche is worth your focus and efforts.
 
Step Four – Determining if The Niche Will Make MoneyNow you've determined your niche, identified the problems of the target audience, and developed a solution, and you've done some research on the competition. Next, you need to determine whether or not the niche will be profitable. While the fact that there are other competitors in the space is an indication that there is some money to be made in the niche, you still need to conduct some further research to find out what kinds of products and services are available in your niche.
 
You can check out websites like Amazon, ClickBank, and Mix (formerly known as StumbleUpon), to find out if there are any products in your niche category. ClickBank is an affiliate marketing site, that can help you determine what digital goods, if any, are within your niche. Mix, is a site that can help you find other websites within your niche and curate those topics into sub-niches. This information can help you find out if there are other websites making money in the same niche as you.
 
If you discover another leading company in your niche, don’t let it discourage you and lead you to believe that there isn’t any hope of you succeeding in that niche. Even though Coca-Cola is a multi-billion dollar company, it hasn't stopped Pepsi from becoming just as successful in the market. While this doesn't necessarily give you too much certainty about whether or not you've chosen a profitable niche, it is more about looking for signs of profitability. The perfect outcome that you can hope for is that there are a few products available in your niche and that it isn't oversaturated with an abundance of products and services.
 
 
 
Step Five – Trial Your Niche IdeaNow you can start to trial your niche idea, to determine if your niche idea will be successful. The first four steps of the process were designed to find out if there is an audience for your niche idea, and this final step is to find out how many people there are who are willing to pay for the product or service that you are offering.
 
You can start to gather information on the interest in your niche by setting up a mailing list. This will give you an idea about whether or not you are going to find success in your niche before you take any risks and waste your time and money. You can use an online email service like MailChimp or Constant Contact to set up an email marketing campaign to test your idea.
 
Another way that you can test your niche idea is by taking pre-orders for your product or service. On your website, set up a pre-order landing page for the product or service that you are thinking about developing. This will provide you with some indication of the number of people that are interested in your niche idea. If you aren’t quite ready to take pre-orders, you can start fishing for interest in your niche by setting up a membership program to develop a direct relationship with your fans. If people show excitement for your idea and are willing to pay for it, they’ll support you.
 

While everyone might have the imagination to come up with a brilliant niche idea that addresses a target audiences’ problems, the trick and the challenge is finding a way to make a profit while doing it. The question of how you find a niche isn’t just about solving a problem, but it is ultimately about transforming it into a viable and profitable business.
 
There is really no one-size-fits-all blueprint when it comes to finding your niche. Every journey will be different. The key to finding a niche that will work for you and be profitable is about doing the research to determine if there is an audience that will be willing to pay for your knowledge, experience, products, and services. Take the time to conduct the necessary research, as outlined above, and you will be well on your way to finding the perfect niche for your internet business and finding success.

At Altitude Business Solutions we work with you to come up with solutions to your business problems and set a plan for implementation.  It all starts with our Discovery call where we will find out more about your business and discuss options for you moving forward.  For Queensland Small Business Owners we will also discuss the Government Funded Australian Small Business Advisory Services program and if your business can take advantage of discounted services.
Book your complementary 20 minute discovery call today!

A lot of us are concerned with the size of our biceps or the girth of our waist. Having a fit body is important. However, keeping your mind in shape is critical to enjoying your life at the highest level. Give your brain the attention it deserves​.
Keep your mind healthy, active, and in shape with these strategies:

1. Exercise regularly. Roughly 30% of your brain’s volume is composed of blood vessels. It’s important to keep your blood moving! Exercise will get your blood flowing and help to control your blood sugar. High blood sugar is harmful to blood vessels. That’s why so many diabetics die of heart disease or stroke at a relatively young age. For some tips on how to get more excersice into your day this article from CSIRO will give you some tips
2. Read each day. Reading requires a lot of your brain. It’s not easy to transform symbols into words and meaning. Spend some time each day with a book that makes you think. You might learn something useful, too. Avoid reading the same types of books on a regular basis. Read well-written articles. Read the classics. Try a new science fiction novel. How about a book on theoretical physics? Reading the sports page every day doesn’t count. The same goes for romance novels by your favorite author. Mix it up. CLICK HERE for a list of our top business books.
3. Eat well. A healthy diet will help preserve your brain function. Do a little research on the best diet for longevity and attempt to make a few changes to your eating habits. A few, small changes each month will go a long way toward keeping your brain healthy. Again the CSIRO has some great articles on nutrition.
4. Meditate. Meditation is powerful for several reasons. You’ll learn to focus like a Tibetan monk. You’ll also learn how to relax. Both are wonderful for your brain. Meditation is hard work. It’s like a decathlon for your mind. Find a good teacher in your area and meditate in a group. You’ll make some new friends, too. One of our clients has a magnificent product that helps you to meditate while you enjoy the benefits of a soothing bath.  Bathcalm sends you to another world through the power of natural oils, each fragrance comes with a 20 minute guided meditation.
5. Challenge yourself. Learn something new. Learning to paint, speak a new language, or dance are a few great examples. Learning something new forces your brain to create new neural pathways. Your brain’s ability to change is referred to as its “elasticity.”  This can be very challenging at first. If you’ve been living the same day repeatedly for several years, learning something new is similar to going jogging for the first time. It’s painful, and you don’t get too far. Be patient and give your brain a chance to wake up.
6. Do something that requires a lot of brainpower. It might be solving cryptograms or writing a computer program. Take a multivariate calculus class. Study chess. Push your brain to the maximum.
7. Remember the past. As we grow older, it’s more challenging to remember facts from the past. When you can’t remember something, avoid giving up. Take all the time you need to remember. You might finally remember the name of your high-school English teacher while you’re mowing the grass. Keep at it.
8. Get out and socialize. Spending too much time alone has been shown to increase the likelihood of developing dementia. Have an active social life and spend more time with others. You’ll enjoy your life more, too.

There are many benefits to keeping your mind in tip-top condition. You’ll enjoy better mental health and preserve your mental faculties longer. Keeping your mind healthy requires attention. Challenge yourself to learn new information and skills. Your brain is highly elastic. Give it a chance to use that ability.

At Altitude Business Solutions we work with you to come up with solutions to your business problems and set a plan for implementation.  It all starts with our Discovery call where we will find out more about your business and discuss options for you moving forward.  For Queensland Small Business Owners we will also discuss the Government Funded Australian Small Business Advisory Services program and if your business can take advantage of discounted services.

Book your complementary 20 minute discovery call today.

​It’s much easier to plan your budget, savings, and retirement when your income is consistent. If you’re paid on commission or own your own business, it can be significantly more challenging to save regularly for your retirement. Strategies that work for most might not apply when you’re working for yourself.
 
Try these strategies to build your retirement savings even if your income changes from day to day:
 

1. Start slowly if you like, but get started. Many business owners falsely think that it’s a waste of time to save small amounts of money. Even if you can only save $10 each month, it’s a start. Attempt to add to that amount each month.

 

• Getting into the habit of saving money is the most important first step.

 

1. Create your own version of direct deposit. One great thing about working for a large company is direct deposit, because it’s easy to send part of your paycheck off to a savings or brokerage account before you ever see the money. As a business owner, you can create a similar system.

 

• Set up your checking account to automatically transfer a specific amount to a savings account at regular intervals.

 

• Many individuals leave the money in their checking account while attempting to use mental accounting and tell themselves, “This $150 is for savings.” This rarely works. Remember that you can cancel a payment if you’re unable to swing it one month.
  
  

1. Save more when you can. Some businesses are seasonal and many are particularly inconsistent. When business has been slow for a while and then it picks up, it’s natural to want to enjoy your newfound bounty. Avoid falling into this trap. More tough times could be coming. When things are going well, save as much of that extra income as possible.

 

1. Eliminate unnecessary expenses. This is a good rule for everyone. Even if you’re earning $1 million per year, it’s foolish to waste money on unnecessary items and services. For most business owners, it’s wise to consider cutting out anything you don’t truly need.

 

• Once your retirement is funded, you can go crazy and enjoy your wealth.

 
Building a retirement fund sounds great, but without a good budget, you’ll find that most often, there’s nothing to save.

Learn how to create a budget, even with inconsistent income:
 

1. Look at the past. Look back at your bills and expenses for the past year. Now consider your monthly income. It only makes sense to attempt to build a budget with your lowest month of income as a starting point. After all, if you can survive your lowest month of income, the rest of the months will be easy!

 

• You can also average your monthly income from the last year. However, an obstacle may arise if your income is lower than expected for several months in a row. An adequate safety buffer is lacking with this method.
  
  

1. Create an emergency account. The best way to be prepared for low income months or an unforeseen expense is to have an emergency savings account. Once you fall into the trap of avoiding the electric bill to pay for groceries, it’s challenging to dig your way out.

 
 
Get started immediately on your budgeting and savings plan. When you’re self-employed, there’s rarely time to waste. If money is tight, these may be challenging activities. But when you put the proper foundation in place, you’ll greatly increase the likelihood of experiencing an abundant retirement.

At Altitude Business Solutions we work with you to come up with solutions to your business problems and set a plan for implementation.  It all starts with our Discovery call where we will find out more about your business and discuss options for you moving forward.  For Queensland Small Business Owners we will also discuss the Government Funded Australian Small Business Advisory Services program and if your business can take advantage of discounted services.

Book your complementary 20 minute discovery call today.

Life is fast moving and complicated. There’s a lot you can do to simplify your life and still get more accomplished. There’s a seemingly endless supply of “hacks” online. There are hacks for work, your love life, exercise, and everything else under the sun. Getting through all of the hacks requires a hack of its own.
 
Keep things simple and focus on a few powerful strategies:
 

1. Make a short list. The fewer things you try to accomplish, the more you’ll get done. Make a list of the 2-3 most important things you want to get done at work. Before you drive home, make a list of the 2-3 most important things you want to get done at home. Make a new list for the weekend.

 

• The act of making the list will force you to prioritize so you can accomplish the most important tasks.

 

1. Focus on one task at a time. Switching back and forth between two or more tasks is inefficient. Learn to focus on one task until it’s complete before moving on to something else. Try this for a week and notice the difference it makes.
   
   
2. Simplify your diet. The next time you’re at the grocery store, stick to the edges of the store. What do you find there? Lean protein, vegetables, fruits, and dairy. Throw in some nuts and healthy whole grains and you have a healthy diet.

 

• You’ll save time and money at the store and do wonders for your health.
  
  

1. Try to limit your emails to five sentences. If an email is five sentences, no one will complain that your email is too short or too long. You can maintain relationships without spending a lot of time typing a senseless email. Pick up the phone as the situation calls for it.
   
   
2. Go to bed early. Any extra time you’re awake at night probably isn’t productive. It’s probably spent watching TV while nodding off in your favorite chair. Get to bed early and get up early. You’ll get more done.
   
   
3. Sort your mail as soon as you get home. Each day, grab the mail and stand over the garbage can. Throw out the junk and sort the rest. Put it all away in the appropriate place.

 

• Avoid the frustration of lost bills and clutter. Save your time and energy for more important tasks than going through a huge stack of junk mail every time you need to find a bill or other important paper.

 

1. Work offline. It seems that more and more work must be completed on the computer, but there are pitfalls to working online – the internet. The internet is both the best and worst thing ever invented. It provides tremendous resources, but it’s also the perfect way to waste a lot of time.

 

• Would you rather complete the billing report for your boss or watch a video of kittens riding on the back of a goat? See how easy it is to get distracted?
  
  
• If you’re at home, pull the Ethernet cable or turn off the Wi-Fi. You can find a similar solution at work.
  
  
• One famous writer once stated that the only way he could get any work done was to glue the Ethernet cable into the port and then cut off the cable. He couldn’t control himself if he had access to the internet.

 
Try out these seven hacks and see how they impact your life. What other hacks could you add? Consider where you seem to waste the most time. This is a prime area for developing a hack of your own. Keep your life simple and it will be easier to get through the day with a feeling of accomplishment.

Gone are the days where you business can successfully grow without a website.  And for those of you thinking that everything has moved to social media, well that's a blog for another time.  In today's business world having your own website means you can transact across the glob and also give you a quick and easy point of reference of your business for your customers.

Here are five essentials every business website should include:

1. A powerful home page
Your website’s home page is the first impression you give the online world about your business: It is a representation of you and your business and it's so important that its easy to use and has all the elements expected. It should clearly communicate your business’s brand image through appealing visuals and copy, along with:

• What your business does
• Who it serves
• Why it exists
• Why a customer should care

There are many creative ways to approach your home page, but it should include (at minimum): your logo, a brief description of your business and a navigation menu that directs users to other important pages on your site.
Now that at least 68 percent of Americans own smartphones, according to Pew Research Center, your website should also include responsive design features that ensure it’s as easy to view and navigate on smaller screens as traditional desktop computer orientations.
2. User-friendly navigation Whether your navigation menu expands across the top of your site or in a sidebar, it must be easy for site visitors to locate, and should include logical categories that make it simple for site users to find the information they seek. According to an infographic, poor navigation is the No. 1 reason people abandon a website they’ve visited.
Consider how you can best structure your navigation menu and the categories (and possibly, subcategories) it will contain based on common questions a new customer to your business might ask. For example:

• What broad categories of items or services do you sell?
• What do those products or services cost?
• Where is your business located; what are its hours of operation?
• How do customers purchase items or services, and what forms of payment do you accept?

Ideally, a clean navigation should use logical sequencing and titles that help customers easily identify the section of your website they need to visit.
3. Search features Include a search box feature in addition to your site navigation menu so customers can type keywords or phrases to find the information they need when the navigation menu doesn’t meet their needs. When customers type content into the search box, they’ll be presented with relevant pages to visit, so they don’t have to handle their search manually. (The more content you have on your site that addresses all possible keywords, the more beneficial the search box feature becomes.)
4. Access to help Despite the marketing benefits that a website offers small businesses and online customers, there are times when customers want to connect with a human. Your website should include the option to connect via phone, email and at your physical location, if you have one. Amazingly, Social Media Today reports that 93 percent of small businesses do not publish an email address that customers can use to contact them.
5. FAQ pageThe more you engage with customers online and off, the more you’ll sense patterns in the types of information customers seek, and the questions that arise in regards to your products or services. Offer a page of frequently asked questions and their answers on your site to make it easier for customers to find the detailed information they need.
A small business website is an affordable and effective way to expand your online reach and potential to market to prospects and customers. Yet it needs a few critical elements to make a positive impression. Incorporate these five important website elements into your site to build an online presence that brings customers directly to your business, no matter where they’re located. 

At Altitude Business Solutions we work with you to come up with solutions to your business problems and set a plan for implementation.  It all starts with our Discovery call where we will find out more about your business and discuss options for you moving forward.  For Queensland Small Business Owners we will also discuss the Government Funded Australian Small Business Advisory Services program and if your business can take advantage of discounted services.
Book your complementary 20 minute discovery call today.

*blog courtsey of entrepreneur asic pacific

CRM = Customer Relationship Manager, and if you are in a service or sales based industry we're sorry you need one and now.  If you've been considering a CRM system but have been bamboozed by the choice that is out there then you are not alone.  We had to look in every dark corner of the internet and were so pleasantly surprised to come across 17hats.
Main features of 17hats are:

• Client Profile Management - take notes record phone calls log time
• Dashboards - Easy interface with a Dashboard that has all the information on it
• Templates - Making everything easy
• Online Contract Signing - Someone wants to do business with you sign away
• Workflow Automation - Like you're own personal assistant
• Lead Generation - forms that can be embedded on social media and websites
• Invoice Management - Invoice direct to your custombers 
• Scheduling - clients can book straight into your diary
• Credit Card Payments - intergrates with Square
• Automated Payment Reminders - When invoices are coming up and overdue
• Financial Management - Bookkeeping options
• Free webinars where you can ask all the questions you want
• A comprehensive training platform

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In our experience we couldn't live without 17hats and it has totally change the way we do business.  It combines so many different platforms in one it cut our subscriptions down and saved us money.  Now that's all well and good I hear you say but what is the cost? well it starts from just $395USD for 2 years it represents amazing value, best thing is with the link below you can try it yourself for free an use the same link to get 10% discount at checkout. Winning!

Keep an eye on our Live Webinars as we regularly have a session on 17hats. CLICK HERE to see our upcoming webinars

The ideal way to stay in touch with your clients and your staff, once you get over seeing yourself on the screen or your fear of the camera you are right to go. Zoom is a cloud-based and highly scalable video and web conferencing software that allows users to carry out online meetings, file sharing, webinars, and group messaging. The platform is ideal for any company regardless of size. Zoom makes use of high-quality video and audio for an immersive interaction and screen-sharing experience. This robust software is capable of combining meetings online, cloud-based video conferencing, group messaging, and sharing content wirelessly in one convenient place. Through Zoom, users are given the option to connect to more than one conference room, include more attendees remotely, and conduct face-to-face meetings with a single mouse click.

Main features of Zoom are:

• Zoom Meetings Rooms
• Integrated Scheduling
• Video Webinar
• Premium Audio
• Group Collaboration
• Cloud and Local Recording

If you are alrady one of our clients you will know how we love zoom, it's how we do all our webinars and 70% of our client meetings.  The fantastic thing about Zoom is you can try it for free by simply clicking the link below, many businesses and organisations can get away with using the free version, however if you need to upgrade you can do from as littls as $21 per month.

Ahhh Trello, where do we start? If you run a team of any sort or are looking for a project managemet program then get ready to fall in love.  Infact we could rave on all day about this amazing tool, but we won't here's the list instead.

Main features of Trello are:

• Detailed & Quick Overviews of Front/Back Cards
• Easy, Drag-and-Drop Editing
• In-Line Editing
• Easy Organization with Labeling, Tags, and Comments
• Progress Meter Checklist
• Card Records Archive
• Easy Upload (Local Devices, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Box)
• File Attachment
• Data Filters
• Deadline Alerts and Notifications
• Automated Email Notifications
• Activity Logs
• Individual/Group Task Assignment
• Information Backup
• Information Retrieval
• SSL Data Encryption
• Mobile-Friendly Views
• Developer API
• Customer Support
• Easy Upload (Local Devices, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Box)
• File Attachment
• Individual/Group Task Assignment
• Voting Options
• Discussions

with all these features you's expect to pay a bomb for this program but it's seriously just $5 per month.... what are you waiting for try it now........Oh keep an eye on our Webinars this is another- one we do webinars on cause it's amazeballs.  
CLICK HERE to see our upcoming webinars

For those of you who already have a CRM system and are looking for a fantastic scheduling tool then this is the one for you. Not only is this scheduling platform so easy to use it sends automatic text messages and emails to your clients reminding them of your meeting.

Main features of Calendly are:

• Open API
• Calendar integration
• Fully optimized for all devices
• Simple, elegant and modern interface
• Automatic/custom notifications
• Team scheduling
• Group events
• Enhanced privacy and controls
• Can be embedded with websites
• APIs and Webhooks
• Invitee calendar integration
• Metrics and reporting

The great thing about calendly is the basic version is free so it's a no brainer to give it a try, paid verison start from just $8USD per month.

E-mail is not dead.... I reapeat E-mail is not dead.  With that being said over 50% of small business owners have either given e-mail the flick or just can't be bothered, that's where MailChimp comes in.  With over 90% of it's users saying they would reccomend it we will let the list of features do the talking.

Main features of MailChimp are:

• Email Designer
• Reports
• MailChimp Editor
• Social Sharing
• Custom Forms
• Email Client Testing
• Mobile Signup Forms
• RSS-to-Email
• MailChimp Mobile
• MailChimp Coupon Scanner
• Campaign Archives
• Merge Tags
• MailChimp Snap
• Automation
• Social Profiles
• Integrations
• MailChimp VIPs
• SMS for Events
• Geolocation
• Segmentation and Groups
• Multi-User Accounts
• A/B Testing
• Delivery by Time Zone
• Spam Filter Diagnostics
• Email Beamer
• Subscriber Profiles
• Email Delivery
• Email Templates

Another great product that offers a free account however if you want to get the upgraded features plans start from just $15.00 per month and is based on the number of contacts.

At Altitude Business Solutions we work with you to come up with solutions to your business problems and set a plan for implementation.  It all starts with our Discovery call where we will find out more about your business and discuss options for you moving forward.  For Queensland Small Business Owners we will also discuss the Government Funded Australian Small Business Advisory Services program and if your business can take advantage of discounted services.

Book your complementary 20 minute discovery call today.