entrepreneurship

Decide. Then Do.

~ whiteknighthub ~ Leave a comment

Last year my publisher invited me and his other authors to a writers’ retreat in Los Angeles. The chance to hang out with this particular group of writers was pretty exciting, plus I had lived in LA for 10 years and was looking forward to being back in the “hood”.

But, despite that excitement and anticipation, as the date drew nearer I started to talk myself out of making the trip.
Although writing is important to me, it was a “time and money” thing. Money was tight and I wasn’t sure I could justify the expense.
Besides, I told myself, my business needed me. I had things to do, clients to see, deals to sign. We had just launched our VideoCrisps packages and we were feeling very much like a start up again. Everyone was working long hours and eventually I convinced myself that I just couldn’t leave, and in doing so I decided to stay put.
The people in my writers’ community who did go on the retreat had an incredible time, made lifelong memories and friendships and they even got some writing done while they were there.
I worked every day too, but I can’t tell you exactly what I did or even what I accomplished. I’d like to think that by staying back and not going on the trip that I made a significant difference in the business, but I honestly don’t know if that’s true. Chances are pretty high that everything and everyone would have survived if I had gone away for the week.
I was disappointed that I hadn’t just said, “To hell with it,” and had taken off to LA. And I made a big decision. In 2018, no matter where in the world the retreat was going to be held I was going, no matter what.
I sacrifice a lot for my business, but I refuse to give up travel and life experiences for “someday” when the business is more lucrative, stable – or even sold.
We all know that the perfect scenario may never show up, or when it does we may not be fit for traveling. Life can be ironic like that, so I no longer believe in waiting.
And so I decided. For real this time. And this time everything is different because I’ve made it non-negotiable. It’s happening. And while the trip isn’t until October, I’m already getting ready.
I changed my screensaver and desktop pics to beautiful Bali temples and beaches, so that every time I open my computer I get excited about the trip. I’m also beginning to accumulate just the right clothing and shoes.  I researched the best way to get to JFK and decided to add an extra day in New York City on either end of the trip. My daughter will be there in October, so seeing her will be an extra bonus before and after the marathon 26-hour flight.
I’m not 100% sure about all the details of “how” this whole trip is going to happen, but I have confidence that it will, one way or another.
As far as the business goes, I’ve been thinking about hiring an assistant for a long time but now that I’ll be gone almost two weeks, I have a real deadline. I need to get someone hired and trained well before my trip. Having that assistant in place is going to help in a multitude of ways beyond just allowing me to go on this trip, and it’s something I’ve been talking about for a long time, but now suddenly having this deadline means that it’s going to happen.
The simple act of making the decision to go has made all the difference. It feels completely different this time.
So, let me ask you if there is a decision you can make in your business or life, a non-negotiable, impactful one. Something big. Important.
If there is, why not commit to deciding and sticking to it, no matter what. Great achievements and adventures both start with simply deciding to ‘go for it’ instead of playing it safe, and you just may just be surprised at what starts to show up when you come at life this way.
Elin Barton is the President of White Knight Productions and the host of the podcast, Ready, Set, Grit.  Her first book, Ready, Set, Grit: Three Easy Steps to Finding Your Purpose and Igniting Your Life will be released in 2018. To find out more about how you can use video as a smart tool to grow your business visit our website.

A Passion for Storytelling

~ whiteknighthub ~ Leave a comment

AdobeStock_9656316.jpeg

A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not conviction.

-John Maxwell.

At White Knight most of our work is done for businesses, telling our clients’ stories in a way that resonates with their customers, clients and supporters. But recently we got to do something a little different. Something exciting. Wonderful. Important.

Instead of our usual type of work, we were commissioned to create a family legacy video.

It was an amazing experience, hearing and recording the stories the grandparents told about their family history. Close family members sat in the audience to witness the event. There was laughter. And tears. And singing. All of it was filmed by our team, to be turned into what I hope will become an important family treasure.

Many years ago, when we lived in California, I had a business recording family histories. I started the business because I was passionate about the idea of preserving important family memories. At that time my focus was on creating audio recordings and books, but now, the recent experience with this legacy video has got my head swimming with the possibilities that video brings into the mix. What a gift to capture not just the stories, but the mannerisms, humor and charm of these pillars of the family. I hope the video we make will be cherished for generations to come.

Through doing this project I remembered how much I truly love doing this work. It’s interesting, it’s important, valuable, and also fun. It’s reminding me that there’s no need to stop following one’s passion just to run a business – there is probably some way to combine the two. This is something I plan to explore as the year progresses.

And all of this leads me to leaving you with one question: what forgotten passions might you have that you can dust off and somehow reintroduce to your life, either at work or through your hobbies and other activities? It might be something worth considering, because who knows where it could end up leading you, and how you will end up changing as a leader because of this decision.

Elin Barton is the President of White Knight Productions and the host of the podcast, Ready, Set, Grit.  Her first book, Ready, Set, Grit: A Three-Step Formula for Finding Your Purpose and Turning it into an Incredible Success, will be released early 2018. To find out more about how you can use video as a smart tool to grow your business visit our website.

 

Smart Growth: Fewer Clients Can Lead to Profits

~ whiteknighthub ~ Leave a comment

Have you ever fired a client? If you’re new to business you might think that this would be a crazy thing to do, but ask some more seasoned business owners and almost everyone has a story about how they had to cut a high-maintenance client loose.

The other day I was talking with some fellow business owners and one of the group shared that she had done exactly that. This woman had done some real soul-searching, which resulted in her restructuring her business and letting 30% of the clients go. At first those of us in the conversation were all kind of surprised by this woman’s audacity in firing all of those clients, but then she reminded us of the 80/20 rule. In her case, 80% of her profits were coming from 20% of her clients, so letting the less profitable ones go actually significantly increased her profitability – that all important bottom line.

And here is the part of the story that is really interesting. When this person fired all of those clients her business revenue – her top line numbers – took a nosedive. Some of the clients she was releasing were really very large accounts. But despite the temporary reduction in revenues what she found was that, at the end of the day, her profitability was up more than 50%!

“I think one of the hardest parts about this restructuring,” she shared, “had to do with my own ego. Everyone likes to say that they have a company of a certain size or X-million-dollars in revenue, but if you’re not all that profitable then it really doesn’t matter.”

Another friend of mine ended up letting her largest client – Walmart – go, after experiencing years of intense pricing pressure and many “logistical hoops” from the behemoth organization.

I know that making that decision wasn’t easy for this friend, but although her overall volume is down, she too has experienced increased profitability and – also importantly – she also seems a lot less stressed these days, too.

When considering the smartest way to grow your business, there really is a lot more to look at than just sales volume. It’s about not only knowing your numbers but also about knowing which of those numbers really matter the most to get you to the fastest -and smartest- growth.

Elin Barton is the President of White Knight Productions and the host of the podcast, Ready, Set, Grit.  Her first book, Ready, Set, Grit: A Three-Step Formula for Turning Your Daydream Into a Phenomenal Success, will be released early 2018. To find out more about how you can use video as a smart tool to grow your business visit our website.

Tell Me a Story

~ whiteknighthub ~ Leave a comment

It’s no secret that we are attached to our phones and other electronic devices. In fact, a recent study in the UK found that most people would rather give up the following as long as they got to keep their smart phone: sex, shoes, house keys, their partner, alcohol, a car, and… get ready for it… JOY. Let that sink in for a minute. People would forfeit joy if it meant they got to keep their phone.

Ok. So, we can accept that electronic devices are not going away anytime soon. But what does that really mean to you and your business? If you’re in the market of selling something – pretty much anything – you need to reach the people who are on those devices. And that means that you have to find something interesting to say – and a way to say it – on a consistent basis.

It’s not enough to write an article or blog post one time and call it a day. In this crowded but all-important digital space you have to learn how to define your company’s story and how to tell that story in an impactful way.

And just what that way is depends on your business. You have to know your customers and find out where they’re hanging out online, then find a way to be in that space in some meaningful way.

Across the board you’ll find that people tend to spend the most time on social media sites. Most of us are on these sites 1-2 hours a day, and for many it’s a lot more than that. This means that if you’re in business it’s a good idea to have a social media presence that people find interesting and engaging. Depending on your sales cycle or type of service people may or may not purchase from you right away, but staying top of mind is worth the investment of maintaining an active presence.

Also, speaking in general terms, YouTube is a site that cannot be ignored. Not only is the YouTube search engine second in size only to Google, but the platform is growing at mind-numbing speeds. At this point in time 300 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every single minute. It’s important to have a presence here for all sorts of reasons (Google the statistics on the percentage of people who would prefer to watch a video about a product or service instead of reading about it). But it’s even more important that you have a message that will get noticed among all of that clutter in the YouTube space.

At the end of the day, people want to be entertained, but they also want to be smarter about all kind of topics, especially if getting to that place of being smarter is fun and easy to understand.

So, please, make story part of your strategy and use videos to help engage your audience too, but make sure you’re doing so in .an interesting and consistent manner, and preferably one that brings value to your clients. People are always up for a good story. You just have to figure out the right way to tell yours.

Elin Barton is the President of White Knight Productions and the host of the podcast, Ready, Set, Grit.  Her first book, Ready, Set, Grit: How to Turn Your Daydream Into a Phenomenal Success, will be released early 2018. To find out more about how you can use video to grow your business visit our website.

Using Video Sounds Good, But What Do I Say?

~ whiteknighthub ~ Leave a comment

Social media posts with video are 1200% more likely to be shared than posts with just text, and text and pictures COMBINED.

Consumers who watch a product video are TWICE as likely to purchase the product than those who do not.

Websites with heavy video content are 53 TIMES more likely to land a first page Google ranking than sites without video.

Many of you have heard the impressive statistics about using videos to reach your current and potential customers, but are unsure how to proceed when it comes to knowing what to say in a video, or in creating videos about your business.

With our Video Crisps subscriptions our clients get professionally edited and/or animated video content given to them each and every month. When we launched this program we didn’t anticipate how many people would struggle with not only knowing what to say in the videos but also with knowing how to use them.

That’s exactly why regular consultations on content and strategy are an important part of the program. This is the first of a series of blog posts in which we’ll be looking at different type of video content and usage, starting next week with community outreach and public education.

But in the meantime here are some ideas to get you started brainstorming what video can do, in very tangible terms, for your business.

  • Explain how your services work
  • Collect customer testimonials
  • Recruit fresh talent
  • Describe your mission
  • Train your employees
  • Enhance your social media
  • Increase open-rates on emails and newsletters
  • Introduce your staff
  • Showcase your products
  • Show your audience your space
  • Highlight your community events
  • Stay top of mind
  • Create videos that can be shared
  • Communicate your message

If any of this sounds interesting, give us a call at 607.239.5423, and remember to subscribe to our blog so you don’t miss a single post about how using video in your messaging can significantly impact your business.

Elin Barton is the President of White Knight Productions and the host of the podcast, Ready, Set, Grit.  Her first book, Ready, Set, Grit: How to Turn Your Daydream Into a Phenomenal Success, will be released in the Fall of 2017. To find out more about how you can use video to grow your business visit our website.

Adapt and Grow

~ whiteknighthub ~ Leave a comment

If you’re not always changing and adapting as a business, then your business is dying.

You have probably heard that idea before, but if you’re running a small business are you so caught up in the day to day that you’re forgetting to ask yourself how you can continue to do better, be better, and adapt to and ever-changing and often fickle marketplace?

Part of the solution to this issue is a commitment to education for leadership and employees of any organization. And the other part is a willingness to grow and change, to try new things and to let go of that which is no longer serving you.

In order to do this effectively you have to ask a lot of questions, which means listening to your customers, your employees and to peers and leaders in your field. And, when you do start getting feedback, you have to be willing to do something about it.

If you start hearing that your pricing is too high, for example, that could mean one of two things. Either you need to come up with a product or service that is more affordable to your customer base, or you need to court a different demographic because you’re probably not working with your ideal clients.

Obviously no business should want to jump on every trend that pops up, but being savvy enough to balance what your customers need and want with new advances and best practices in your business are a winning combination and one which we all should be striving for.

And even if achieving the perfect balance of innovation and consistency is tough, you don’t have to be perfect to be effective. In fact, any steps you can take towards intentionally creating an innovative and forward thinking company are going to serve you well and move your closer to your goals.

Perfect Place, Perfect Time?

~ whiteknighthub ~ Leave a comment

At times running a business can be scary. You could lose a big client, make a costly mistake or have issues with an employee. Your office space could flood as we’ve seen happen recently down in Texas, or you could get sick and have to step back from the company for a while.

I recently spoke with business owners who have experienced all of the above, and one of the similarities that I found among them was this.  While no one enjoyed actually going through the unpleasantness of a major setback, every one of the people I spoke to was convinced that their lives and their businesses are better off now than before they experienced their life-changing event.

One friend, for example, had extreme challenges in her business when she lost a major client. She was forced to dramatically cut back on her staff, and then shortly after that she became seriously ill, which meant that working 70 or 80 hour weeks was no longer an option for her.

What ended up transpiring was that she cut her work hours back dramatically and actually found that without her previous overhead, that her profit was actually significantly higher, even with the shorter hours. She also started working on a book that she had been meaning to write for years but which she had to keep putting off due to other obligations.

It’s not hard to see how this friend’s life and business were better after the unwelcome shake-up happened, and interestingly, I found the same thing to be the case with everyone I talked to about this. Each of the business owners had had a significant setback that turned out to be a blessing. And that’s the part that I started getting very, very interested in.

So often we resist change, especially when it’s something that is perceived as negative, but in the cases of the people that I spoke to, the changes they had endured all had incredible blessings attached to them.

There is a school of thought that says the Universe is always conspiring for our highest good, for our best interest – even when it’s difficult or impossible to see it at the moment you’re going through something challenging. I for one am going to work on actively remembering this the next time things don’t go my way in life and in business. Sometimes the best thing we can do is to relax and allow, and lean into our faith in happy endings and positive outcomes.

Tribe it Up

~ whiteknighthub ~ 2 Comments

The other day I had lunch with my friend and fellow entrepreneur. We spoke candidly about some of the challenges in our respective businesses, and as we were getting ready to leave the restaurant she said to me, “I’m so relieved that I’m not the only one who goes through this stuff.”

That statement struck a cord with me because so often as entrepreneurs and small business owners we do feel like we have to figure everything out on our own, and that can be a very lonely position to take. The truth of the matter is, we have more in common than we realize. Even though we may be running businesses in different industries with our own very specific challenges, on a slightly higher level we are all the same.

We face issues and questions around cash flow, sales, employee recruitment and retention. We have to pay attention to marketing, advertising, culture and reputation. As our companies grow we most likely have a team in place to assist with many of these items, but ultimately, as a small business owner, the buck does stop with us.

But that doesn’t mean we have to go it alone.

Taking the time to intentionally seek out and build a support network for yourself is, I believe, key for the success of a business. At a minimum you may want to consider hiring a business coach or a mentor, but beyond that setting up a “mastermind” group of trusted peers will help you to keep challenges – and successes – in perspective.

Elin Barton is the President of White Knight Productions and the host of the podcast, Ready, Set, Grit.  Her first book, Ready, Set, Grit: How to Turn Your Daydream Into a Phenomenal Success, will be released in the Fall of 2017.

I’ll Tell You a Secret

~ whiteknighthub ~ Leave a comment

And that secret is, your customers don’t care about you.

Okay, that may have been a little harsh and it may be a slight exaggeration, but only a little one. The truth of the matter is, many companies spend their time talking about how great they are and how much they have to offer.

I know you’ve heard the pitches. They go something like this:

  • We have the best team.
  • We offer the best service.
  • Come and work with us and you’ll get the benefits of our new and shiny equipment/office/services.
  • We’re so much better than the competition

The thing is, your customers probably don’t care about all your bells and whistles. They don’t really care about your awards, accolades and your team. No offense, but they really don’t.

The truth is, what they do care about is how they’re going to feel if they decide to work with you. That’s it, so start shifting the story that you’re telling and turn it into one that they actually want to hear.

Need help with your content creation? At White Knight we offer both Video Crisps and our total content solution: Content and Crisps. To find out more about our programs, schedule a time for a discovery session.

Content is King

~ whiteknighthub ~ Leave a comment

Remember the old days of communicating with customers when you were forced to rely on broadcasting your message to the masses, whether via TV or radio advertising, print ads or billboards? You put your message out there and calculated that some small percentage of people who saw it would have a favorable reaction and buy your product or service.

These days, of course, we’ve gone a complete 180 and instead can hyper-target who sees and responds to your message. There are incredible tools available to marketers now, in 2017, but what’s more relevant today than ever before is the need to produce quality content. And quality is the key word. Your content needs to be something that your current and future customers will find interesting, relevant and engaging.

Many marketers find that producing such content is time-consuming and challenging. But at the end of the day it is completely worth the investment, and the proof of that is in the numbers. I recently saw a statistic that showed that companies that publish a blog post 16 or more times per month increase their web traffic by three and a half times over companies that publish 4 or fewer posts per month. That is a significant number because of course, every time someone comes to your website it is an opportunity for them to engage with your brand or to purchase your product or service.

When you begin to consistently put out content that people care about you establish yourself as an expert, and you become a trusted source of information. In addition, when your content is interesting and valuable it is shared by your followers and you suddenly find yourself in front of a new audience that you may have not initially been aware of or had access to.

Written content is powerful, but video content can help you take your customer engagement to a whole new level. Consider these statistics. Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined. Brightcove reports that video drives a 157% increase in organic traffic from search engines, while MarketingLand says that 62% of Google searches include video. And, of course YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine and videos that are hosted there and link to your website can help your Google rankings. “How-to” searches on YouTube have been consistently growing at approximately 70% per year, and this trend is projected to continue.

It’s our belief that written content and video are both important to your customer engagement and your SEO. But be aware that both your written and video content must be high quality or it will be a turn-off for your audience. Brightcove, in one of their studies, reminds us that poor quality video will actually give people a negative perception of your brand.

Need help with your content creation? At White Knight we offer both Video Crisps and our total content solution: Content and Crisps. To find out more about our programs, schedule a time for a discovery session.