Over the years we’ve worked closely with other social media managers, helping them effectively scale their businesses so they can work less & make more money.
If you talk to enough people who are walking the same path, you’ll start to see the similarities that help to make them successful. If you pay close attention you can identify their common mistakes as well.
We’re sharing 3 of the biggest mistakes that even the best & brightest social media entrepreneurs make (and how you can avoid them!).
Mistake 1: You Aren’t Clear on Your Ideal Client
Every business needs social media in some capacity, but YOUR business’ target market isn’t every business.
When you’re just getting started it can seem crazy to narrow down who you’ll work with & say “no” to new business. However, this approach is a slippery slope, and it’s challenging to undo.
After months of saying yes to all the wrong people, you may end up with a full roster of “eh” clients, unable to say yes to someone you’re actually excited about working with.
Plus, without a clear understanding of your ideal client, you will have a tough time sorting out your business’ branding, your positioning in the marketplace & your overall marketing strategy.
Since social media strategies aren’t a one-size-fits-all-solution, it’s nearly impossible to create service offers & packages that appeal to everyone. So if you don’t know exactly who you’re trying to attract, creating irresistible offers will be extremely difficult!
By developing an ideal client avatar & getting super clear on who your business best serves you’ll be able to:
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Attract more dream client leads
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Get those dream clients better results
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Streamline your branding & marketing
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Craft highly specific offers & packages
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Keep things simple on you & your team
“THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE & REALLY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE IS THAT REALLY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE SAY NO TO ALMOST EVERYTHING” - WARREN BUFFETT
Although it might seem counter intuitive, having an ideal client isn’t limiting to your business at all. In fact, it can help your business grow even faster because it makes everything so much more streamlined.
Mistake 2: You Think You Can Do It Alone
In practically any situation, if you want to grow your social media business to six figures and beyond, you’re going to need help. That’s because, as a service provider, every time you bring on a new client, you’re adding new, time-consuming tasks to your plate.
With only so many workable hours in day, trying to scale your business alone is the fastest way to hit a financial ceiling or reach total burnout.
By outsourcing:
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your most time-consuming tasks
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the tasks outside of your zone of genius
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or the tasks you no longer want to do
… you’ll allow yourself more hours each day to bring in new clients, work on the big picture parts of your business, or to simply hang out and enjoy the free time & additional income you’ve created.
Many social media professionals try to do it alone for way too long, which keeps them from scaling their businesses to the next financial level.
What are the signs that it might be time to outsource?
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You never seem to have the time to work on growing your business to the next level
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You’re too busy working on administrative tasks to do what you once loved
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You used to feel inspired, but now you feel overwhelmed about your work
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You’ve stopped developing new strategies or coming up with creative ideas
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You feel like you’re not where others in your industry are, or that you’re missing out
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You have had to turn away ideal clients because you can’t take on new projects
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You’ve reached a ceiling in your income
As you work to grow your business, these are just a few of the situations that can indicate it’s time to hire some help.
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Mistake 3: You Didn’t Set Up Proper Systems
It’s easy to overlook the importance of establishing great systems when you’re a freelancer or solopreneur, and you’re working all alone.
It can feel easier to manually handle client emails, marketing tasks, and your day-to-day operations in the moment, as they come across your desk.
However, continuing to keep things manual & having all of your processes living “in your head” or completed “on the fly” won’t allow you to grow your business to a sustainable place.
Your systems & processes are one of the most fundamental pieces of running a sustainable & scalable social media business.
Whether you’re ready to scale right now, or you plan to stay solo for a while & scale with a team later, developing the foundational systems & processes that you’ll use to operate your business day in & day out is essential.
As a business that offers a service, having functional systems & processes is one of the key components to creating both more time & more money as you expand.
Taking the time to get these systems in place will create a sense of flow in your business & give you peace of mind as your company grows.
“IF YOU’RE TOO BUSY TO BUILD GOOD SYSTEMS, THEN YOU’LL ALWAYS BE TOO BUSY”
Once you have systems in place:
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You won’t have to “reinvent the wheel” each time a new email, client, or project pops up
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Anyone on your team can jump into a task quickly & easily
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You will have a “standard” of work, so expectations are always clear
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Things will be more efficient & consistent, so you can deliver more accurate results
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You can monitor & manage all of your tasks to better understand team performance
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You can pivot more easily when the industry changes
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You will have more peace of mind & feel more at ease
By setting your business is set up to run like a well-oiled machine with foundational systems and the support of a dreamy team, you will have the time & space you need to work on your business instead of in it. You can use that time to network & market your business, to treat yourself like a client, and create multiple streams of passive income!
