Being A Successful Online Entrepreneur

Have you ever felt that you do not want to spend the rest of your life working for someone else?

Are thoughts of starting up your own business or working under your own terms keep popping into your head? 

If your train of thoughts are somewhere along these lines, chances are, you have the ‘entrepreneurial’ blood in you. Entrepreneurship is the process of starting a business or organisation on your own, including developing short and long term business plans, risk evaluation as well as successful execution of the said business.

Sounds like a truckload of work doesn’t it? When venturing into a new start-up, you need all the help you can get, and one of the best and most effective resources that you can utilise is social media.

The lifeline of social media

Why is social media vital for modern businesses?

• Creates brand awareness
• Allows for two-way communication
• Immediate customer service/support
• Precise audience targeting (organic/paid)
• Recruitment opportunities
• Flexible sales promotions
• Availability of data on measurable trends to study the market

Social media should be the first, FREE marketing platform for young entrepreneurs to start their business because:

• most of them are already adept at using it
• almost all young associates are already inside the social media world and more seniors are tapping into it
• they have a fair chance of competing with the corporate companies
• it encourages them to be creative and innovative to stand out amongst others.

Social media helpline

If you have not noticed, the online world caters extensively to those who live to realise their dreams. The following are top five social media programmes available for young business ventures.

canva.com 
Fast and easy way to create images for use in social networking sites such as Facebook and Pinterest via the available templates.

hootsuite.com 
Manage multiple social media accounts under one platform and organise data for ROI measurement.

woobox.com 
Easy way to create powerful marketing campaigns in social media platforms.

leadpages.net 
Easy way to build conversion optimised and mobile responsive landing pages (particularly useful for online advertising).

mailchimp.com 
Online email marketing solution to manage contacts, send emails and track results.

Tips for the successful

The one thing in common among successful people is that they have principles or guidelines that they work by. As such, HeppiFace, a consulting and training agency specialising in social media, shares the HEPPI framework with graduates who are serious about capitalising and using the Internet as a rice bowl.

Headstart – Have a plan: determine the values, objectives, audience and strategies needed.

Enhance – The business page or website has to embody your business vision.

Promote – Get the word out! Have a marketing plan that allows you to utilise all available platforms to reach your target audience. 

Posting – Practice the 70-20-10 content rule: 70% consists of valuable content that is relevant to your business, 20% consists of sharing others’ contents and 10% consists of promoting your products or services.

Insights – Make use of available data. Being able to keep track of and analyse online statistics is a plus point as you will be able to track and record your business progress.

10 qualities all entrepreneurs should have!  

Passion – This is what keeps entrepreneurs going!

Explore – Always be on the lookout for opportunities!

Understand the market – Study and stay on top of current and future market trends.

Willing to learn – Be ready to accept new things!

Making sacrifices – Be willing to put yourself in uncomfortable situations to come out with extraordinary solutions.

Taking risks and accepting failures – These two are the main elements that will make you a better person.

Financial management – Learn how to manage business and money!

Persistence and consistency – Understand that entrepreneurship is a long journey. Learn to preserve till the end.

Be appreciative and optimistic – Be happy with what you have now and always think for a better tomorrow.

Social capital – Be sociable because the people you meet may present opportunities that will bring your business to the next level.