Business today is technology driven - especially for the solo professional. This presentation gives you the secrets you need to know to set your business up - step by step - and what tools to use. It also gives you a peak into different strategies which are so important to succeeding in today's fast-pace business reality.

1. Online Business Success
Marketing is only the tip of the iceberg
Online
Business
The system and tools
to help your business
grow and thrive

2. Barbara Saunders
Solo Pro Success
SoloProSuccess.com

3. The Kayak Business Model
The Solo Pro Business Model
A Strategically Built
One-Person Craft

4. What You Need To Know
❖ Who your ideal client is
❖ What you’re delivering and how
❖ Your business model
❖ How do you want to be paid
❖ Where do you want to end up
❖ The lifestyle you want to live

5. One More Thing You Need To Know
You must invest in your business for it to survive.

6. The Systems of Business
The structure of a 21st Century business
Well-defined systems keep
your business running.

7. Kayak Business
Model Structure
Your Business
Income
Back End CustomerOffer
Your Expert Personality
Your Lifestyle

8. Build in Phases
Phase I: Concept and Brand
Phase II: Community Outreach
Phase III: Profile Polishing
Phase IV: Offer Testing
Phase V: Website Development
Investment

9. Your Business Solar System
Think beyond a digital brochure
A world of business
possibilities.

10. Your Home Base
Back-End Systems

11. Your Satellites
The cocktail parties, barbecue and water coolers of the online world
Find people to invite
to your Home Base.

12. Manage your online reputation
Polish Your Profiles
Branding and positioning start with your
core message carried through your website
and social media profiles.
Note: Don’t rush out to hire a Designer!
Target, Structure & Functionality first
Then messaging - then design.

13. Tools Streamline Your Business
Automate. Delegate. Delete.

14. The jobs you need tools for
Basic Back-End
Business Centers
❖ Market, connect and communicate
❖ Team up with others
❖ Integrate with other services
❖ Create and deliver
❖ Invoice and take money
❖ Track and report
❖ Manage time and resources

15. Modular Web Platform for Business
WordPress
Themes & Plugins
❖ It’s powerful and user friendly
❖ Grows with you
❖ Modular and customizable
❖ Secure
❖ Tons of possibilities

16. Add Web-Based Tools
❖ Extend capabilities
❖ Automate and integrate
❖ Connect with your email service
and social media profiles
❖ Streamline your business process

17. Make Your Site Safe and Easy to Find
❖ Akismet Plugin - anti spam
❖ WordPress Security
❖ WordPress SEO Plugin by Yoast
❖ Google Analytics for WP Dashboard
❖ Google Analytics plugin to add your
tracking code to your pages
❖ Backup Buddy by iThemes ($80)
Essential Plugins for Everyone

18. Online Business Growth Phases
Strategic phases puts structure in place for the next phase
The phases reduce false starts
and wasted resources.

19. Tailor Your Business
Concentrate on this first!
A custom-tailored suit
enhances your assets.
Phase I: Concept and Brand

20. Tools For Your
Expert Personality Block
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Build the business
that fits YOU
Your Expert Personality

21. Your Expert Personality
❖ People Powered Experts
❖ The Motivator (Speaker, Author)
❖ The Teacher - (Coach, Counselor)
❖ Promoters, Sales & PR Pros
❖ The Connector
❖ Process / Outcome Focused Pros
❖ Analytic Advisor
❖ Creative Problem Solvers
❖ Experience Facilitators
❖ Skilled Creators
❖ The Artisan
❖ The Professional Creator
❖ Expert, Curator, Intelligence Center
❖ The Industry Insider

22. The Client is Essential
You are NOT your client.
You must know who you’re
talking to for them to trust you.
Phase II: Community Outreach

23. Don’t skip over this!

24. Creating Connections
Customer Block Marketing and Communicating

25. Social Media

26. Keeping Your Best Face Forward
Branding, Positioning, Messaging and Content Development
It’s the first impression that
stays on the web forever!
Phase III: Profile Polishing

27. Create a
Master Profile
Include a good pic:
• Friendly
• Professional (not sexy)
• Up to date (no high school pics)
• Use .jpg or .png NOT .gif
• Zero in on eye contact
• Remember: relationship building
Tip: Do this once and update it, keep it on your hard drive.

28. Profile Tips
• Be candid; show some personality
• Be the expert; not a job seeker
• Accomplishments and goals; not tasks
• What makes you different
• Include personal endeavors
• Include a link to your website, blog
• Write like you would talk—Do not
write to show how smart you are
• Keep it short: Think sound bites
Each platform is different

29. Your Sales Force
Online Profile Management
Social media is the outreach tool of the 21st Century.
A well-crafted profile builds credibility and builds brand
recognition.

30. Join Groups

31. Pathway to Connection
Comment
Blog Post
Survey
Free Offer
Collect Emails

32. Email

33. Email Services
❖ Aweber
❖ MailChimp
❖ Vertical Response
❖ Constant Contact

34. Integrated Social Media Tools
❖ Automate posts to multiple platforms
❖ Pre-schedule posts to run on autopilot
❖ Enhance reach and engagement
❖ Live chat

35. Integration Examples
❖ Buffer
❖ CoSchedule
❖ HootSuite
❖ MeetEdgar
❖ TweetLater
❖ SproutSocial
❖ LeadPages
❖ Outsource tasks

36. WordPress JetPack
❖ Adds customization, traffic, mobile,
content, and performance tools to your site
❖ Comes with most WP installation - just
activate
❖ Multiple features you activate:
❖ Customize site’s features (widgets…)
❖ Share content
❖ Create forms
❖ Engage Visitors

37. A Word About Content
You MUST create content
Learn to talk to your clients
in different mediums
Content Strategy is King

38. Productivity Tip: Editorial Calendar
❖ Every business type needs to create content
❖ Plan content themes by quarter
❖ Bite-sized ‘sound bites’ regularly
❖ Schedule through out the week or month

39. Schedule Appointments | Plan Events
❖ Editorial Calendar Plugin: create/schedule posts
❖ Events Manager Plugin: display events, sell
tickets and market
❖ Appointment/Booking Scheduler Plugins
Clients can book appointments through your site
❖ Web-based Options:
❖ Schedulicity
❖ TimeDriver
❖ Appointy Plug in for Wordpress

40. Content Funnels Process
Make your tools work together to grow your business
An example

41. Content Funnel Pathway
Awareness on Social
Media or in Person
The visit your website
or Facebook page
You have a special offer
for some free content
in exchange for email.
Integration:
Email Tool
Webform
Leadpages Box
Schedule Call
Make Apt
Buy Product
Hire Me
You send estimate
You get hired or they
buy a product
Create a relationship with them through content: Newsletters, blogs, status updates, etc.
You get paid.
You send an invoice
if you’re hourly.

42. OfflineVisibility

43. Think Solutions
People buy on emotion and rationalize with facts
One good solid offer can be
repurposed in multiple ways.
Phase IV: Offer Testing

44. Offer Block
Services, Programs, Packages and Products
Transition AWAY from hourly
work to grow your income.

45. Use Your Site To Create Income Generators
❖ Membership programs
❖ Online courses
❖ Downloadable information products
❖ Online events and conferences
❖ Podcasting/radio
❖ Blogs to books publishing
❖ Affiliate Programs

46. Your Business’s Home Base
Your website can run all the systems needed to make your business thrive.
This is where you invest
Phase V: Website Development

47. WordPress Themes
❖ Think FUNCTIONALITY, not design
❖ Clean, not cluttered
❖ Go responsive

48. 2016 Web Design Trends
Design Tip #1: Fonts
Distinctive - but readable - type is part of your branding
and tone.

49. 2016 Web Design Trends
Design Tip #2: Flat
Flat design focuses on your content. Don’t get fancy.

50. 2016 Web Design Trends
Design Tip #3: Hover
When you scroll over the navigation bar or even some of
the buttons, the different buttons change colors letting you
know where you are on the site. Incorporating drop
downs lets you get more info on a page while remaining
uncluttered.

51. 2016 Web Design Trends
Design Tip #4: Scroll Links
You click a link and it brings you to a different part of the
page. These are called ‘Anchor Links’.
Scrolling is a better option for a visitor's usability. Instead
of clicking from one page to another to get all of the
information, everything is on one page. No need for
multiple pages to load. The content is in the order that
makes the most sense for the visitor.

52. 2016 Web Design Trends
Design Tip #5: Big Pix
Big pix reinforce benefits of a feature (or service) by having
the opportunity to point out valuable pieces.
It keeps the visitor thinking about the product with the
visuals. We skim text, but the large product images give a
solid idea of the product features.

53. 2016 Web Design Trends
Design Tip #6: Videos
Use in-depth product (or service) videos to talk about the
benefits.
92% of B2B customers watch online video and 43% of B2B
customers watch online video when researching products
and services for their business. (Source Inc, Magazine)

54. 2016 Web Design Trends
Design Tip #7: Ideas
Stop over designing and start thinking about delivering
of ideas.

55. Back-End Block
Tools to connect your team
Avoid paper to keep
everyone updated

56. Strategy First
Don’t obsess over tools
Tools support the strategy

57. Google Toolbox
❖ Communicate
❖ Gmail
❖ Hangouts
❖ Calendar
❖ Google+
❖ Store
❖ Drive
❖ Collaborate
❖ Docs
❖ Sheets
❖ Forms
❖ Slides
❖ Sites
❖ Manage
❖ Admin
❖ Vault

58. Web-Based Collaboration Tools
❖ Asana
❖ Trello
❖ Basecamp
❖ Orchestra
❖ Flow
❖ Evernote
❖ WorkBoard

59. Your Income Block
Add functionality with plugins - or integrate outside
Sell and receive money
through your website
or a mobile device.

60. Payment Gateways
❖ Paypal
❖ Stripe
❖ Square
❖ ClickBank
❖ Authorize.Net
❖ BluePay

61. eCommerce Plugins
❖ WooCommerce and Add ons
❖ OpenCart
❖ WordPress eStore Plugin

62. Integrated eCommerce Solutions
❖ SendOwl.com - Sell digital products
❖ Shopify - Complete managed store
❖ ClickBank

63. Take Payments in Person
❖ Paypal
❖ Square
❖ Shopify
❖ Intuit

64. Invoices and Estimates
❖ WP Invoice: create and send web-invoices
and setup recurring billing
❖ Sprout Invoices: Create estimates and
invoices within your WordPress site
❖ Invoice King Pro: Invoice King Pro makes
invoicing simple.

65. Integrated Invoicing Options
❖ FreshBooks.com
❖ 17Hats.com
❖ Harvest (GetHarvest.com)

66. If you’re charging by the hour or have contractors
Time Tracker
A simple way to track your billable time for
you, your staff and 3rd party contractors.

67. Web-based Productivity Tool | 17Hats.com
❖ Contacts/clients database
❖ Project Management Tool
❖ Syncs with email
❖ Calendar that syncs with your desktop
❖ To-Do task list organizer
❖ Invoicing by project
❖ Time tracker
❖ Workflow organizer
❖ Bookkeeping feature - links with bank
accounts and Paypal in real time, runs reports

68. Foundation Block
YOU are the most important asset in your business.
Tools to support
your lifestyle.

69. A System of Mutual
And Public Support
Bringing freelancers together to build smarter solutions for health care, retirement, wage security, and other broken systems.
Community, Benefits,
Insurance, Discounts

70. Develop Your Community
Connect with others
Clients, Partners,
Collaborators, Other Solos

71. Barbara Saunders
(503) 616-3188
Solo Pro Success
SoloProSuccess.com
If you need help or have questions . . .