The beginning of a new year is a great time to think about small business trends for 2015. For me, last year ended and the new year began with travel. Travel always changes me. Being away gives me a new perspective on daily tasks. I meet new people whose thoughts and conversations give me food for thought. I see how small business owners make things happen in their part of the world.
What are the small business trends you see for yourself in 2015? Since I spent the week of Christmas with my best friend since 8th grade who is himself an entrepreneur, we talked trends. Here's what I see for me:
- I love the consulting and coaching that I do, but I don't want to hassle with clients who do not follow through. And while I am generous with my time with many people who ask, I probably need to charge more for my consulting services. Trend: Sharpen my focus to ideal clients and review what I charge.
- The back end of running a mostly online business has become overwhelming, and I'm not one to use that word often. In fact, I don't even believe in overwhelm. But the truth is, the tech knowledge required to handle your business's back end is far more complicated now than it was even a year ago AND it never stops upgrading and changing. Trend: Either drastically simplify away from tech and back to local networking, or hire even more team members to help manage all of it (thus the need to raise your prices before you even see an increase in your own income).
- Because of #2 I personally need to unplug more often during each week and have more time away throughout the year. I've worked too much and too hard the past 3 years without truly unplugging for 3 or 4 days at a time. Between my own business, working with Ali Brown's Elevate program as a coach, and rehabbing my leg almost constantly I have really put in countless hours without a break. I've been really tired and didn't even know it. TREND: Shorter but more frequent down time instead of long journeys from which it is almost impossible to recuperate work-wise.
- Drop what isn't working. There's lots of talk these days about blogging being dead. Michael Hyatt went so far as to cease even taking comments on his blog last week. Blogging can work still if it is extremely narrowly focused, like Trudy Scott's blog. But for biz strategists like me trolling for comments isn't working. Better to write and publish the content as many other places as possible along with parking it on your blog. And don't measure your blog's success by how many comments you get anymore. It's all about the views for most of us. Blogging can be very time consuming for what you get from it. Creating a blog in the “new way” of written content PLUS video PLUS MP3 audio-only PLUS a strong graphic takes technology and time far more than writing a quick blog post used to take. It's a day-long production to get all that done! TREND: Use your content in multiple ways and evaluate if blogging even works for you at all.
- I see more contentiousness in the online world, something I really do not like. The increasingly harsh and non-peaceful world is not healthy for me or for anyone else. Part of my life has to be about adding peace to the world, person by person, day by day. TREND: Let your business reflect your values and serve as a platform for the impact you want to have on your culture. It truly isn't all about the money.
What are the small business trends you see for yourself in 2015? I'd love to hear them!
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Great post. I’m definitely focusing on using my content in different ways. Repurposing content allows me to work smarter, not harder.
Great points Sue that resonate I am sure with most entrepreneurs.
I find following the concept of shorter but more frequent down time instead of long journeys from which it is almost impossible to recuperate work-wise is the way to go – I schedule one long weekend per month to allow this to happen and it works wonders.
Trend #1- Systematize 6 of my products so they are ever green and available, and therefore won’t require any more work from me
Trend #2- Office hours in my schedule that I schedule around for focused business time (of course these hours will revolve around my yoga schedule 🙂 )
Trend #3- Focus on income producing activities and automate everything else.
All great points, Sue! I especially agree with #2, #4, #5. Do what works, drop what doesn’t, get help for sure, and most importantly, always operate in alignment with your values and priorities.
Sue,
It is an excellent habit to annually evaluate what
is going on overall and then to drill down into what
specifically this means to you and your business.
Good luck to you carrying forward your new action
steps this year!
Wow Sue. I was nodding my head until I saw #5 which is rather horrifying! So sorry to hear you’re encountering some negative folks out there. Pity really and it always comes back to haunt them. I also am hearing the changing situation on blogs in my groups as well. Seems like creative people like us still need to write and then showcase on other platforms and repurpose.
Good idea, Mary Ellen, about the writing and then showcasing on other platforms and repurpose.
I love the article, and the directness of it. For me, my trend for 2015 is to do videos for my social media pages linking to my website. I find my clients want direct, and to the point … they’re busy and want information without having to search and read it.
Also, to work with increased focus this year, and yes as you mentioned in # 1 I already reviewed my rates giving me greater clarity on my ideal client.
I am excellent about stepping back from work and going off the grid completely to enjoy private time. It took a bit of doing initially, however the results have been so excellent, I will not return to my ‘old ways’.
Thank you for the article.
Debra,
I’m psyched to hear you are great at stepping back for your personal time. More people need that!!
Sue
I love this post and #1, #2 and #3 are all so applicable for me and front and center as I go into 2015. For #2 I’m in the “I need to hire” mode and am excited about this
Thanks for the mention of my blog – as you mention it is working for me – I am getting tons of comments and plenty of engagement (as well as it being a source of income) so I plan to continue to do this.
But I agree we do need to re-evaluate and do what is working. The other area that is really working for me is doing summits and I am planning season 3 of The Anxiety Summit for May – yeah!
What I didn’t say is that blogs and summits are a wonderful way for me to serve and connect with my fabulous community – but I almost think that goes without saying
Trudy – You and your summits! You’ve found a winning combo for sure.
Sue
I love the way you have your finger on the pulse of what is happening in business (especially online entrepreneurs). When I read your article, I realized that I have all but dropped blogging from my repertoire. As you say, it just wasn’t getting results. I get better results posting new music, videos, and photos… AND, I am headed to a big high-end live event where I am one of the featured musicians. As you say, NOTHING beats meeting in person… NOTHING!
XOXO, Katherine.
Thank you, Katherine. Yes, in person can be tiring but it’s great!
Sue