My guest today is Tiffany Wong, Co-Founder & Brand Director at The Ordinary Good.
Tiffany leads brand strategy and marketing at The Ordinary Good, a mission-led creative agency building and scaling sustainable and social impact e-commerce brands. Women led and operated. She has a brand building background layered with integrated marketing management for the past 7 years mostly in responsible fashion, beauty & wellness. Her favorite part of the job is working with early stage brands making our world better.
In this episode, Tiffany offers invaluable advice for emerging sustainable fashion brands looking to establish a strong brand presence and make an impact.
Tiffany explains the core concepts of sustainable fashion branding and why it's important in today's conscious consumer market. Learn how sustainable fashion brands can stand out in a competitive market by creating a distinctive brand identity.
Tiffany shares expert insights on leveraging email marketing to build strong connections with customers and communicate sustainability values.
Tiffany provides practical tips on using paid advertising platforms like Meta to promote sustainable fashion brands while upholding their values. Gain valuable advice on how sustainable fashion brands can maintain their commitment to sustainability without compromising on profitability.
Get a sneak peek into the future of sustainable fashion branding and discover upcoming trends and innovations.
The world of SEO is constantly evolving, and staying ahead of the curve is essential for online success. As the manager or owner of a fashion e-commerce brand, it's important to stay on top of the latest SEO strategies and techniques to ensure that your website remains visible and attractive to potential customers.
In this blog post, we'll explore some of the best SEO tips for fashion e-commerce businesses in 2023 to help you improve your online visibility and drive more traffic to your site. From optimizing your product pages to building a solid backlink strategy, we'll cover everything you need to know to make your fashion e-commerce site stand out from the competition.
What is Search Engine Optimization?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of getting your website to rank organically at the top of search engines like Google. This includes activities such as improving content and HTML code, keyword research, meta tags, link building, and other techniques. The goal of SEO is to increase the amount of organic traffic that comes to a website from search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. By strategically targeting certain keywords and phrases related to your business or industry, you can improve your visibility on these search engines. SEO also involves creating an online presence that will create credibility and trustworthiness with potential customers. When done correctly, SEO can help drive more traffic to your website which can result in increased sales or leads for the company.
Why is SEO Important for Fashion E-commerce?
SEO is a critical factor for every fashion e-commerce business. Optimizing your website for search engines is essential to ensure that your fashion brand appears in the search results and reaches potential customers. The fashion industry is highly competitive and it's important to use relevant keywords related to the latest trends, so that you can stay ahead of your competition. SEO for fashion e-commerce helps you reach new customers who are searching for the latest fashion trends and products like yours. By optimizing your website and using relevant keywords, you can easily increase visibility of your products or services on search engines and attract more customers. SEO also helps build credibility in the eyes of potential buyers, which gives them confidence that they are making the right purchase decision. Therefore, SEO plays an important role in helping build a successful fashion e-commerce business.
Benefits of SEO
What Are the Most Important Ranking Factors for Fashion E-commerce?
Ranking is one of the most important aspects of e-commerce. It determines how visible an online shop is and, in turn, its success. For fashion e-commerce specifically, there are certain ranking factors that are more important than others. These include site speed, mobile-friendly website, content quality, user experience, backlinks and customer reviews. High quality images and descriptions are also essential for creating a good impression with customers. On-page optimization is a key factor to ensure your store is found by your ideal customer. In addition, having customer reviews or ratings can be beneficial for credibility and trustworthiness. All of these ranking factors should be taken into account when setting up a fashion e-commerce store to ensure maximum visibility and success.
What are Some Good Keywords to Target for Fashion E-commerce?
When it comes to fashion e-commerce, keywords are one of the most important tools for driving traffic and boosting sales. Good keywords to target should be related to the products and services that your store offers, as well as terms associated with fashion trends and styles. Popular keywords can include “women’s clothing”, “men’s clothing”, “shoes”, “bags”, “accessories”, “dresses”, “coats”, “skirts”, and other product categories.
Additionally, you can use more specific terms such as “summer dresses” or “winter coats” to target shoppers looking for particular items. You can also include brand names in your keywords if you sell certain designer labels or have exclusive items from certain brands. To further optimize your campaigns, consider using long-tail keywords like “affordable women's sneakers for running" which are more descriptive and often have less competition than shorter generic phrases. Finally, make sure to include location-based keywords if you offer local delivery or have physical stores so new buyers in your area can find your business easily.
How Can I Improve my Fashion E-commerce Store's SEO?
If you want to improve the SEO of your fashion e-commerce store, there are several steps that you can take. First, focus on using long-tail keywords to target specific searches. You can also create how-to guides, reviews and videos to help boost your SEO rankings. Additionally, make sure that your website has high quality images with properly optimized alt text to improve visibility. You should also aim for a faster loading speed as this will increase user satisfaction and can lead to higher rankings in search engine results pages. Finally, try to get featured snippets for certain keywords as these can give you an advantage over competitors who don’t have one. With these tips, you should be able to effectively improve the SEO of your fashion e-commerce store.
Which E-commerce Platform is best for SEO?
When it comes to choosing the best e-commerce platform for SEO, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. It really depends on the needs of your business, the products you are selling, and the type of customers you are targeting. Generally speaking, popular options like Shopify and Magento offer some of the best SEO capabilities. They have a built-in search engine optimization feature that allows you to customize meta tags and page titles as well as generate sitemaps for better indexing by search engines. Additionally, Shopify has a large app store that provides various SEO apps to improve your online store's SEO. If you’re looking for an all-inclusive solution, BigCommerce or WooCommerce could be a good choice as they come with a variety of built-in features that make SEO easier such as URL redirection, canonical tags and content curation tools. Ultimately, whichever platform you choose should depend on your specific needs.
Why Is E-commerce Content Marketing Important?
E-commerce content marketing is an important strategy for businesses to connect with their customers and increase sales. It allows them to reach out to potential buyers and give them relevant information about their products and services. Additionally, it helps businesses build trust with their customers by providing helpful, informative content that educates them on the products and services they provide. Content marketing also helps drive more traffic to the business's website and social media channels, which can lead to more conversions and sales. Finally, content marketing is a great way for businesses to boost their overall brand awareness by creating content that resonates with their target audience.
Top Fashion E-commerce Strategies for 2023
The fashion e-commerce industry is constantly evolving, so it’s important to stay up to date with the latest trends and strategies. In 2023, some of the top fashion e-commerce strategies will include leveraging AI and machine learning technology to personalize customer experiences, and augmented reality (AR) to provide immersive experiences for customers. Utilizing omnichannel marketing tactics to reach a wider audience, creating compelling content that resonates with your target audience and optimizing your website for mobile devices.
Additionally, influencer marketing will remain an effective strategy for gaining visibility in the marketplace. Finally, focus on building relationships with customers through loyalty programs and customer service initiatives. By keeping these strategies in mind, you’ll be able to ensure your fashion E-commerce business remains competitive in 2023.
SEO for Fashion E-commerce Today
Getting started with SEO for fashion e-commerce today is essential for any business that wants to stay ahead of the competition. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a great way to increase your online visibility, attract more customers, and drive sales. With SEO, you can create content that is optimized for search engines and focus on keywords related to your products and services.
Tips to Improve SEO in 2023
Here are some tips to improve SEO in 2023:
Optimize for featured snippets: Featured snippets are an excellent way to drive traffic to your website. Optimize your content for featured snippets by providing clear, concise answers to common questions related to your product or niche.
Site speed: Fast site speed is essential for providing a good user experience and keeping visitors engaged. It can also impact search engine rankings. Google Consumer Insights found that 53% of mobile site visitors will leave a page if it takes more than three seconds to load.
Prioritize long-tail keywords: These are more specific phrases that are easier to rank for such as "women's black sleeveless silk dress".
Content quality: Your website's content is a critical factor in your search engine ranking. Make sure you create high-quality, relevant content that provides value to your audience regularly. Google is all about E-A-T these days- Expertise, Authority and Trust.
Customer Reviews: Positive customer reviews can help improve user engagement, and builds trust as they provide social proof and consumer insight.
Optimize all of your images: Image optimization includes compressing the file size, resizing the image to fit the page, ensuring the image is in an appropriate format, renaming image file names and alt-text with targeted keywords.
Videos: A great way to boost engagement, so consider adding videos such as How to/ instructional guides for your products or "try on" videos to your website or social media accounts.
By following these steps today, you’ll be well on your way to improving your SEO in 2023!
Why are SEO Services so Important for Fashion Brands?
SEO services are incredibly important for fashion brands as they help to make your e-commerce website more visible and accessible to potential customers. By optimizing the search results, these services can help increase traffic to a fashion brand’s e-commerce website and build their presence in the fashion industry.
SEO services also enable fashion brands to target specific groups of a target audience with tailored content, which helps them reach out to a larger audience. Additionally, fashion SEO can help improve the user experience on a fashion e-commerce website by making it easier for visitors to find what they are looking for quickly and easily. This will encourage potential buyers to return again and again, giving the fashion brand a better chance of gaining repeat business.
In conclusion, SEO services are essential for any fashion brand looking to make their mark in the ever-growing e-commerce sphere. Get in touch with us today for more information about how we can help you reach new heights with SEO!
9 SEO Myths That You Should be Aware Of When it Comes to Fashion E-commerce
The changing world of SEO and search can be full of rumors and misunderstandings about what succeeds and fails. Keep reading to uncover 9 common misconceptions and the realities behind them.
SEO Myth #1: SEO is a One-Time Job
SEO is an ongoing process that requires regular maintenance and updates to stay relevant and effective. It’s important to monitor your website’s performance and make changes to keep up with the ever-changing algorithms of search engines. Content should be regularly updated, keywords should be refreshed, and backlinks should be established on a regular basis in order to maximize visibility on the web. Additionally, staying up-to-date with new trends in SEO can help you stay ahead of the curve and ensure that your site remains competitive. SEO is not a one-time job; it requires dedication and effort over time to achieve successful results.
SEO Myth #2: SEO is Extremely Expensive
This myth is not true; in fact, SEO can be a very cost-effective part of a digital marketing strategy. While it's true that larger businesses may need to invest more money into their SEO, even small businesses can get started on a budget. By utilizing the right tactics and strategies, businesses of any size can improve their visibility and rankings in search engine results without breaking the bank. Investing in SEO services can help to drive organic traffic to your website, and over time this investment will pay off with increased conversions and improved profitability.
There are plenty of resources available online that allow you to explore the basics of SEO and customize it according to your budget and goals. A good starting point is conducting keyword research and optimizing existing content on your website so that it’s easier for search engines to find. From there you can build an effective SEO strategy that fits within your budget and gets you the results you desire.
SEO Myth #3: Keyword Research Isn’t Important
SEO Myth #3 states that keyword research is not important, but this could not be further from the truth. Keyword research is an essential part of SEO, helping to optimize content and draw organic traffic to a website. Through researching keywords, you can identify which terms have the highest search volume and therefore are most likely to increase your page ranking on search engines like Google or Bing. Knowing which words will help you rank higher can then be incorporated into your website’s content in order to give it the highest possible ranking on SERPs. So, while it may seem like keyword research isn’t important, it’s actually an integral part of SEO and should never be neglected when attempting to achieve higher rankings.
SEO Myth #4: The More Keywords on a Page, the Better it Will Rank
One of the most common SEO myths is that the more you use a keyword on a page, the better it will rank. This is not true. In fact, overusing keywords or using them in a way that does not make sense can result in a penalty from search engines, which can hurt your ranking. Black hat SEO techniques such as keyword stuffing should be avoided, as they are unethical and ineffective for improving rankings in most cases. Instead, use the keyword naturally within your content to improve its readability and help search engines understand what query it relates to. While keywords are an important ranking factor to consider when optimizing a page for search engines, there are many other factors that should be taken into account as well. If you want to rank well in search engine results pages, you need an effective SEO plan that includes a variety of proven SEO techniques instead of relying on outdated myths such as this one.
SEO Myth #5: Good Content is Enough, I Don’t Need SEO
Good content is certainly an important factor in a successful website, but it is not enough to guarantee success. Search engine optimization (SEO) is also necessary to help ensure your site can be found by potential customers. SEO involves optimizing a website so that it appears in search engine results when certain keywords are used. This can be achieved through a variety of techniques such as optimizing page titles and meta descriptions, creating internal links between pages on your site, and ensuring the content you create is relevant to the target audience. Without SEO, your website may struggle to appear prominently in search engine rankings, making it difficult for customers to find you online. While good content is essential for a successful website, it must be complemented with effective search engine optimization if you want to maximize visibility and increase traffic from organic search results.
SEO Myth #6: Duplicate Content Will Get You Penalized
Search engines generally do not penalize websites for duplicate content. However, it can still be beneficial to avoid duplicate or near-duplicate content on different pages and URLs, as this could hurt your website’s performance in search results. It’s important to note that if you have duplicate content across two separate websites, then both sites may suffer in rankings due to the presence of the same information on both sites. All in all, while having some duplicate content won’t necessarily lead to a penalty, it could still reduce your visibility in search engine results pages.
SEO Myth #7: Content Doesn’t Matter
Content plays an integral role in search engine optimization because it helps to provide users with relevant information and improve their overall experience. Without quality content, search engines would not be able to index webpages correctly and thus, users wouldn't find what they're looking for. Therefore, creating relevant content that meets the needs of your target audience should be part of any successful SEO strategy. Investing in content does take time and money but the rewards are worth it in the long run as it can help to increase organic search traffic and improve visibility online.
One should never discount the power of quality content; no amount of technical optimization will help if your content does not provide real value for your customers
SEO Myth #8: Long-Form Content is the SEO Magic Bullet
While it’s true that search engines favor longer pieces of content, there are other factors that come into play when it comes to optimizing your website for higher rankings. Word count alone won’t make a difference unless the content is relevant, has quality backlinks, and is optimized for keywords. Long-form content may help you rank better in search engine results pages, but it should be part of an overall SEO strategy rather than the single focus of your efforts. Quality matters more than quantity when it comes to SEO success and focusing on creating compelling and useful content will yield more results than simply increasing your word count.
SEO Myth #9: You Should Believe an SEO Company When They Guarantee Fast Results
No, you should not believe an SEO company when they guarantee fast results. SEO is a long-term process and it takes time to see the results. There are no shortcuts or quick fixes when it comes to SEO and any company promising fast results is likely making false promises.
In conclusion, it is important to understand the importance of search engine optimization (SEO), as well as common SEO myths that can be detrimental to success. Some of the most concerning myths include: believing that SEO is a on-time job or that optimizing only a few pages will bring sufficient organic traffic. In reality, SEO is much more complex than this and requires ongoing effort to stay on top of search engine algorithms.
By staying aware of these common SEO myths and taking steps to combat them, fashion e-commerce businesses can ensure their website stands out from the competition.
Start Reaching More Customers
We recognize the importance of a well-crafted SEO strategy that is tailored to your company’s unique needs. Our team takes the time to understand your business goals, products, services, website structure, and target audience in order to create a customized plan that delivers the best results for your brand.
From keyword research, to creating optimized content and link building, to measuring website performance with data-driven analytics – we’ve got you covered. We also provide on-page and off-page SEO services that help build authority and trust with both search engines and users.
With our comprehensive approach to SEO, you can rest assured that your business will stand out among the competition and be found by potential customers online. Get in touch with us today for more information about how we can help you reach new heights with SEO!
Today I’m going to share my story how I launched my 6-figure clothing business with 2 yards of polar fleece, that costed $25 .
Beginning a career in fashion starts with getting the right education
My journey into clothing design started very early during my high school years. From my very first sewing class, I knew this was the career path I will choose to pursue. Upon finishing high school, I took the first step and enrolled in the Fashion Design and Technology program at Kwantlen University in Richmond, B.C. I then went on to further my educational studies and to enhance my skills by attending the Fashion Design program and Ryerson University in Toronto, ON. I graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Arts Degree in Fashion Design.
I came up with the name "Punch Brand" in Ryerson when I was designing my year-end graduation collection. Over the years I had experimented in different lines for Punch Brand but it never really turned into a “real” business until 2005 when I attended my first comic convention. That’s when I came up with the idea for “crazyheads” hats.
Inspiration is all around us. You just have to look.
I was really inspired by all the creative and elaborate costumes. The fans attending these conventions like to dress up as their favorite comic book, video game or cartoon character. I was immediately drawn to the community and set out to figure out a way I could contribute to this distinct and colorful world.
I bought a meter of fabric and experimented with sewing a few kitty🐱 and bunny🐰 fleece hats. I signed up for the next comic convention, had no clue if anyone would buy my hats and SOLD OUT!!! I was surprised, jumping up and down for joy, and that’s when crazyheads was born!
Work in the industry to get real world experience
Prior to Punch Brand I worked in the apparel industry for 15 years and held various positions such as fabric coordinator at Club Monaco, technical designer for Dollhouse, product developer for Hudson’s Bay Company and product manager for Reebok. Although it was an amazing experience, I never really saw myself working for someone else. It was very suffocating and also there was a lot of job uncertainty. I was becoming more and more passionate about creating my own product line. A sudden layoff gave me the perfect opportunity to pursue Punch Brand full time.
I've experienced so much growth since I sewed my first crazyheads hat (starting with only $25 worth of material and my own sewing machine). Here are some of the best highlights:
⭐ My business had allowed me to travel the world, exhibiting at over 100 comic/ anime related conventions and fashion trade shows.
⭐ I built my wholesale account base from scratch to over 80 active accounts and secured distribution agreements with national pop-culture distribution companies in US and Canada.
⭐ In 2011, I got a call out of the blue from Google Marketing. The Android team wanted custom Android hoodies and beanies made for their developers. I was then introduced to the Google campus merchandise buyer where we collaborated on several official Android apparel and accessories for the Google online and retail store.
⭐ My Android clothing was featured in the Google holiday videos for 2 years in a row.
⭐ I have been featured on the front page Business section of the Vancouver Sun, the National Post and The Globe & Mail newspaper.
⭐ In April 2014, I had the pleasure of pitching in front of the Dragons on CBC Dragon’s Den.
⭐ In November 2015, I successfully funded my first Kickstarter campaign.
⭐ In January 2016, I gave birth to my son Chase. I decided to wind down Punch Brand at the end of 2016 as I wanted to prioritize being a stay at home mom for 2 years. Making the decision to wind down my business was hard.
Punch Brand was my first baby and I ran it for 10 amazing years!
It’s almost a given that the small business owner wears many hats. Sometimes it feels like you’re troubleshooting more than you’re creating. Running a small business comes with its share of challenges. Combined with a lack of experience and resources, owners often need to come up with creative ways to solve problems.
In this article, I will go over common challenges that most small businesses face. I will use actual examples of challenges I’ve faced running my business and how I dealt with them and give you some creative and practical solutions to use on your business.
Before I begin, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Glynis, I’m an Apparel Business Specialist and mama to a wonderfully energetic, smart and funny little boy. I’m also the founder of Chase Your Dreams, a consulting agency focused on entrepreneurship and personal growth. I help fashion entrepreneurs build a purposeful and profitable clothing business so they can make a living doing what they love.
Before launching my consulting company, I ran a clothing design company called Punch Brand. I started my business in 2005 just as a hobby while I was working full time as a Product Manager in the apparel industry.
That hobby eventually turned into a full-time business for me that led to creating and selling my products globally. At one point, I caught the attention of the Google campus merchandise buyer and we collaborated on several official Android apparel and accessories for the Google store. I ran Punch Brand for an amazing 10 years!
In my 10 years of running Punch Brand, I was faced with many challenges as you can imagine. One that I faced from the very get-go was a trademark opposition. I wanted to register my brand crazyheads with the USPTO. There are several steps that a trademark application goes through in order to be approved. One step is that it's published in a trademark journal, so that anyone who feels your trademark is possibly infringing on theirs, has the chance to oppose your trademark application. One day before the opposition deadline, I received a notice from a trademark lawyer of a large corporation. I'm not going to reveal who that company was but I found out they are a $130 million company.
O.M.G!! What the heck? How was I, this one-woman show going to be able to go up against this huge company?
So I thought about it and came up with a solution. I did some research and learned that the USPTO publishes all the other trademarks that had oppositions from this company, and all of them had the word "crazy" in it. It became apparent to me that this company was determined to stop anyone trying to register a name with the word crazy in it. So I began to scan through each trademark one by one, then noticed something. There was a trademark lawyer that had fought and gone against this opposing company and won. So what did I do? I contacted this trademark lawyer! We talked about a strategy and came up with a plan. Also, I had limited funds to spend on this so I set a budget on how much I was willing to spend. After several months of negotiations, I was able to get my trademark for crazyheads. It was stressful at the time but it was a huge accomplishment once I got the name registered. Hooray! I used a little bit of creative thinking to figure out a solution to a difficult problem.
So let’s get started and talk about 5 creative solutions for common challenges in business:
Challenge #1: How do you stay organized with tight deadlines and a million moving parts?
The solution is calendars. They are your BFF. I learned very early on from working at various corporations in the apparel industry that those companies that followed a calendar, whether it's a product development calendar or sales calendar, they were better able to stay on top of timelines and deliveries. Those companies that didn't use calendars had problems getting their products delivered on time to stores and clients. Another reason to use calendars is to avoid burn out as oftentimes employees are scrambling and putting out fires because they are so behind on their work. Using a calendar helps you stay on track. I start with a 12-month calendar and plug in my important deadlines. For product-based businesses, those deadlines are usually your delivery or ship dates. Then I work backward to figure out lead times to hit each deadline. This may take some practice to figure out, but I would recommend adding a buffer of a week or two to allow for any unforeseen problems. Once you have all your key dates figured out, then you can break them out into your weekly and daily tasks.
Challenge #2: How do you reduce the risk of an order getting canceled or potentially losing a client as a result of suppliers not shipping on time?
The solution is to build a solid foundation. Having a diverse supply chain is a key to ensuring you do not have all your eggs in one basket, and you have back up incase one falls through. I indirectly found out through a 3rd party that my main factory had declared bankruptcy, while they still had my goods in transit. That means that their creditors could cease the goods as collateral while they wait to be paid back. This was a huge repeat order from Google, so I was freaking out a bit. Luckily my goods arrived without any problems, however, this taught me a huge lesson. You should always be looking out for new suppliers as back up in case one falls through. Even when things are going well, you never know what will happen tomorrow. Start building a database of suppliers, manufacturers, and contractors even shipping companies today. You don't want to run into the risk of not delivering your goods because your factory has gone belly up.
Challenge #3: How do I increase sales and stay ahead of the competition?
The solution is to focus on a niche business. Who’s your ideal customer? You know that saying, "If you're everything to everyone, then you're nothing to no one". Knowing who you help and how you help them is a big part of a successful business plan. I personally find it sad and frustrating when clients cannot choose what business they're in. Many business owners with a product they don't consider to be niche, resist the idea of narrowing the focus of their marketing, fearing that they will lose business. However, choosing a niche and targeting it can actually increase sales. Here's how it worked for my business. I started out creating character inspired clothing for anime fans. Pretty niche right? I was predominantly selling my products at anime and comic conventions, because that's where my customers hang out. Everything I created was designed for this one specific customer. And guess what? That's how Google found me. They were looking for someone to design and produce Android mascot hoodies and beanies for them. I guess I showed up on the search engine, they are Google after all. Niching also helps with becoming known as the expert in your field. When your business is niched very finely and you're always talking about and writing about the same pain point, you become regarded as an expert. Niching is also the best way to command a higher price. Once you're perceived to be the only person for that specific job, nobody will blink at or haggle about your prices ever again. Niching brings higher quality clients. When you increase the quality of what you offer in terms of value, the clients you attract will be of the same quality. It's the law of attraction. Like attracts like.
Challenge #4: How do I make the best use of my time? I constantly feel overwhelmed, I wear too many hats.
The solution is outsourcing. Sell your strengths. Buy your weaknesses. This is probably one of the best pieces of advice I was given when I started out. I was doing everything myself. I mean EVERYTHING. I would be packing my own orders, scheduling social media posts, even doing my own bookkeeping. It's very common for small business owners to feel like they have to do everything themselves. I hated bookkeeping to the point where I felt like it sucked the life out of me. So why did I do it for so long? Well, I was stubborn. Once I got over my need to control everything and hired a bookkeeper, it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. Suddenly I had so much more free time to work on my business and do the things I enjoyed doing. Another tip, if you're thinking of hiring an assistant check with your industry or trade association to see if there are grants or wage subsidies available. I was able to get a wage subsidy through the Apparel Connexion, which allowed me to hire my first assistant.
Challenge #5: How do I get unstuck when I have so many questions? Who can I turn to for answers?
The solution (and this is very important) is to surround yourself with a support network. When you're starting out as an entrepreneur it can feel lonely, especially if you work from home. It's important to surround yourself with the right people who will support you and uplift you when times are tough. Learning from experts such as mentors and coaches are critical to helping you move along when you get stuck. A business coach can help you with brainstorming so that you'll have someone to bounce ideas off. A coach can be someone to hold you accountable to get things done and give you guidance to help you get back on track. Having an expert who's been through it can help you avoid some of the pitfalls when first starting out and that can save you from costly and time-consuming mistakes. You can also look into joining an industry or trade association, networking groups or other business groups and organizations. I'm proud to be a member of Mompreneurs and Forum for Women Entrepreneurs.
I would love to hear from you. If you have a small business challenge that you need my help with, please write to me in the comments section. If you have you have a story of a time you used creativity to overcome a challenge, please share in the comments section below.
