I am sure we are all aware of the tragic events in Paris and while I find the social media displays of solidarity on the whole uplifting here are some practical ways you can help if you so wish:
http://mashable.com/2015/11/14/paris-attacks-how-to-help/#dRVncoJbRkqx
Of course, I realise that your newsletter is mostly about practical ways you can help yourself as well and that’s all to the good because the better we all do, the more we can help one another.
With that in mind, here is another great piece from Mashable that will help you on a personal and business level.
If you think the ideas here are too big or not relevant to you, think again because what happens with bigger brands filters down to the smallest of businesses and if you implement what you read here you will be one step ahead:
http://mashable.com/2015/10/29/winning-digital-marketing/#TlWozn1xPkqD
Running a better business does not always mean running one that is entirely profit-centred although that should be one of your primary purposes.
Many online entrepreneurs now prefer to run a business with which they feel entirely comfortable and which is congruent with their beliefs and core values. Interestingly, many of these businesses do better than those run on ‘traditional’ lines.
Why? I think it’s because their target audience smells the authenticity and loves it. These are often referred to as ‘heart-centred’ businesses and for those of you who have not come across the concept before, here’s an excellent explanation along with some sage advice:
If you’d like a good freebie guide to some heart-centred business strategies that work for any business then you can download Ryan Eliason’s here – he does have links to some of his products in the PDF but, as I always say, you can simply choose not to click on them:
And here are 11 great steps you can follow for even more success:
http://tommorkes.com/11-steps-to-building-a-heart-centered-business-from-scratch/
Ecommerce is one area where you need to run at least an ethical if not heart-centred business because poor quality products will lead to a lot of customer complaints!
There have been a lot of courses out recently on setting up ecommerce businesses – many of them very high ticket – but here is a realistic yet inspiring guide you can read for nada:
http://shopifynation.com/entrepreneurship/how-to-start-a-successful-ecommerce-store/
And you could do a lot worse than go through Shopify’s own comprehensive blueprint on setting up a successful ecommerce business:
Finally, another area where heart-centred businesses thrive is coaching. I love this from Fizzle and I especially love the advice that you need to ‘care about your audience deeply’:
https://fizzle.co/sparkline/how-to-coaching-business
In case you think running a business that is congruent with you and your values is not relevant to you, here’s this week’s TED talk on how being true to yourself can actually extend your life:
