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5 Skills Every Entrepreneur Needs

Ask any business owner if running a business is easy and they’ll tell you that you need hair on your teeth to deal with the daily ordeals that come with the title; business owner / entrepreneur.

Seriously, imagine a page long list of problems before you’ve even managed to have your morning cup of morning! This is the reality of entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurs wear many hats; number cruncher, admin, sales, customer service, mediator or even barista if you’d please.

But, lets be frank, it’s not all doom and gloom. There’s an equal amount of positives to running your own business. And, to do so, you’ll need a few skills to crush it in business.

Stress and Time Management

If lavender is meant to relieve stress, then entrepreneurs should probably bath in it. Stress is a part of the package any owner would much rather wish away. And while we can’t expect them to be perfect beings, being able to effectively manage business stress at least 60% of the time gets them closer to superhuman status.

Money Management

If ever there was a top spot competition for entrepreneurial skills, money management would be one of the strongest contenders. They say, if you can manage money, you can manage anything.

The priority for any entrepreneur is to make decisions that will contribute to the growth of the company. And money plays an important role in many decisions that need to be made.

It can determine the success of the business, keep it from failing, help reduce or eliminate unnecessary costs and, more importantly, impact the profitability of the business.

Problem-solving

If you can’t solve problems, then you shouldn’t be in business. There’ll be unhappy clients demanding your attention, internal issues or processes that aren’t making your ship sail smoothly. But see these as a drop in the ocean of all the issues that can arise.

Problem-solving is a two-part skill; first there’s the ability to be able to identify the problems, and then, there’s finding the solutions that will help move the business forward.

Communication

Communication in business will take many directions - communication with employees, customers, suppliers or service providers and investors. And it will come in many forms; a business owner will need to listen, relay, interpret and motivate. Strong communication skills will help build trust, solve problems and give your business a better sense of direction.

Resilience

Stress, problems, a lack of focus, losses and rejection are beasts that business owners are no strangers to, and factors that can break a business. But drive and determination will keep you and your business progressing in the direction it needs to go.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your business won’t be an overnight success. There will be highs and lows along the way, but when you nurture your entrepreneurial skills, you better your chances of growth.

5 Ways to Make Your Website More Attractive

Did you know, there’s competition lurking at every corner ready to snatch up YOUR potential customers. This can impact your success as a brand, so you need to be thinking about how you can set yourself apart from the competition.

A website is one of the easiest ways to reach an audience. But is yours getting the attention it deserves? If the answer is no, why not? And more importantly, how can you change things up to make sure it’s getting the attention it should?

Here’s 5 ways in which you can make your website more attractive:

Logo

When people visit a website, a logo is one of the first things they’ll suss out. As an element that lives everywhere - on your website, social media pages, marketing material, in your email signature and on invoices or quotes - a logo can really make or break a brand.

Captivating a users’ attention with a good, quality logo that best represents your brand not only improves how people perceive and interact with your brand, but also contributes to your overall online presence.

Balance

Overdone websites are distasteful. You want to convey the right message and attract the right audience. Striking the perfect balance between text and visuals will make your site more attractive and will help make for a better converting website.

Complementary Colours

Your colour scheme is your signature, using colours that complement one another will add to the visual value of the website.

They should tie in with your logo, be a clear representation of your brand and shouldn’t be visually overpowering. Using the wrong colour combination can detract from your brand message.

Easy to read fonts

The user experience is as important as the information you wish to put forth. Fonts are one part of the design that expresses your personality. And often, not much thought goes into it.

Fonts should first and foremost be readable. Fancy fonts, although “pretty” are not always ideal to use on a website.

Secondly, when using more than one font, try ones that best complement one another or ones that belong to the same font family.
People won’t bother reading all the information on your website, they’re prone to skim. How you use fonts is just as important - making certain words bold, capitalised or italic will help draw attention to important pieces of information.

Good quality graphics

The use of good quality graphics cannot be emphasized enough.

Here’s how to use images and videos the right way on your website:

Your visuals need to relate to who you are as a brand and what you offer customers.

Be strategic with the way in which you distribute your images.

Make sure the sizes are correct, files that are too big may make your website load slower.

5 Reasons You Should Hire A Professional Web Designer

Will you defend yourself if you have NO legal knowledge or experience? If not, why would you want to design your website yourself if you’re not a professional web designer?

With all the DIY resources, tools and tutorials at our disposal, there’s a false perception that designing your own website is easy. Of course it’s possible to try it yourself, but it’s not recommended.

Ever tried to navigate your way around the backend of a website? Do you know how to code, align, do section breaks and resize elements? Can you make a website mobile responsive? If this sounds foreign to you, it’s obvious you should not attempt designing your own website. These are a few areas of design experienced web designers are skilled and knowledgeable in.

So, here’s 5 reasons why you should hire a professional web designer to design your website.

1. Saves you time and money
In this day and age, who has time and money to waste? Whether you’re a solopreneur or a team; you’re trying to run your business to make money - this means managing staff, finances, sales and all the nitty gritty tasks that consume your day. It also leaves little to no time to properly learn how to design a website. And even the basics may take months to grasp.

But any website, whether done by a professional or an amateur will require more than just the basic design skills. You’ll end up directing your customers to a poorly designed website, and you’re likely to lose them to your competitors.

2. It will look professional
Professionalism sells! Designers have an eye for detail and know how to make a website aesthetically appealing through balance. They know how to get the right text to image ratio. Where and how to use the correct colour schemes and the right fonts that contributes to the overall look of a website.

3. A professional knows the do’s and don’ts of web design
When a potential customer lands on your website, you want to make sure it ticks all the design boxes. First and foremost, you’d want it to be mobile responsive. When people find it difficult to navigate their way around a site on mobile devices, they’re more likely to leave the site.

Security is key. Every website needs to have an SSL certificate to make it safe and secure to browse. Having a “this site is not secure” notification pop up will immediately direct your website visitors away from your site.

Additionally, designers will have knowledge in implementing the following:

When and where to add page or section breaks
How to distribute call to actions
Optimizing images to load better on pages
Proper navigation

4. It gives you a marketing advantage
A website and marketing goes hand-in-hand. People want to know who you are and what you do. Having a website allows potential customers insight into who you are as a brand, enables you to rank in the business listing, and this further adds to your credibility and can give you a competitive edge.

5. You’ll have technical support
Designing a website is merely one part of getting a website online. The domain needs to be registered and you’ll require monthly hosting. You’ll stumble across many companies offering domains and hosting to you, but it’s important that you partner with the right service provider.

More often than not, these services are offered at a cheap rate and clients find themselves in a loophole of struggles - little to no technical support, communication issues, systems crashing and so much more. Getting professional support will ease the burden.

As a professional web design company offering affordable website design packages, we strive to meet all your design needs.

You can get your website designed by our professionals that;

Saves you time and money
Looks professional
Offers technical support
Gives you a marketing edge
Is secure and responsive
Includes monthly maintenance

If you’re a small business owner in search of a professional web designer to help you get your business online, we’re here to help you! Give us a shout, pop us a mail or send us your details and we’ll get our team to contact you.

Remote Work: A New Normal We Need To Embrace

The shift to remote working for companies, both big and small was a no-brainer. With lockdown being put in place and businesses already facing restrictions and obstacles, there was a need to act swiftly. Four months later and remote work has now become the new normal we’ve needed to embrace.

While the concept of working remotely has risen in popularity over the years, there’s much concern about whether it will be temporary. Will it phase out? Will there be positive or negative long-term consequences?

Given the circumstances we’re in, this is what we currently know and foresee:

The numbers will continue to rise

It's predicted that the aftermath of the virus will linger for at least the next 2 years, if not longer. This reality places businesses in a position where they need to be tactful in their decision-making. For safety and financial purposes, the option to work remotely makes sense.

Many have started settling into this “new normal”, and we reckon more companies will jump onto the bandwagon. Those already doing so will consider remote work as a new or long-term option.

Businesses and workers benefit

There’s been much debate about whether remote work is a viable option for businesses in the long-run, but studies have shown it’s potentially a win-win situation for employees and employers alike.

Of course, there’s advantages and disadvantages on either side of the scale, but with the freedom and flexibility that remote work allows comes increased productivity, focus and a better sense of responsibility.

Decrease in stress levels

Stress is known to have a huge impact on many aspects of our lives: mental, physical and emotional well-being; all of which can affect both our work and personal life. Working remotely can help improve your work-life balance.

More so, employees can better plan their personal lives. There'll be a significant decrease in the added stress of transport costs or related issues like traffic or taking time off.

Operational costs will be lower

With the economy taking a major knock, businesses closing down and an overall decrease in revenue for many companies, the financial burden of working remotely compared to employees working from the office is far less.

Overall, working remotely means adapting and looking at life in general through a new lens.