Five Tools Every Mompreneur Needs for 2020 (to Grow Your Business)

grow your business

Are You Ready to Grow Your Business?

Hey momma! With the new year right around the corner, you may have thought about how you can start or grow your business in 2020. I know I have! My goal for the new year is retiring my husband. What about you? Do you want to bring in an extra $1000 a month to pay off debt? Or maybe you want to leave that 9 to 5 to spend more time with your kids. Or maybe you want to break 6 figures.

Whatever it is, starting or growing a business requires the right tools. But these tools do not have to break the bank or fill your home with more “stuff” for the sake of beautiful Instagram feeds. Here are the five tools every mompreneur needs for 2020.

A Great Business Planner

I listed this as first because like Alan Lakein said;

“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.”

We have to plan for our business’ future to give us direction to work towards it now. Whether your 2020 goal is supplementing your spouse’s income or hiring your first team member, a great planner can be your roadmap to success. Now, with all of the planners on the market, how do you choose the best one for your needs?

Short-Term Planners

Everyone needs a great 6 months to 1-year planner, from dreamers to established businesses. Planning the goals for your Year, Month, Week, and Day (in that order) allows you to back into your actionable items to that grow your business. There are countless options available online or at your local big-box store.

Long-Term Planners

If you’ve been in business for a year or more, I recommend having a long term planner along with your yearly or monthly planner. Planning 3 to 5 years out for a brand new business can be overwhelming and not really feasible since you may have not fully worked out your brand and niche. I can’t count how many times I’ve changed my focus over the years.

If you are established, you have a better understanding of what you need and what you want. So planning for a longer period allows you to map out your growth and succeed at your ultimate goal. The great thing is these planners are really inexpensive at typically less than $30.

A few available on Amazon include:

Website with Blog

You might be thinking “shouldn’t I already have this?” You would be surprised at how many mompreneurs are operating with just a Facebook or Instagram page or only have a basic landing page as their entire website! To really own your business, you need to have your own platform. You need something that drives organic traffic to you and your business. Although social media is a great tool, it is not yours and it is becoming hard and harder to reach QUALITY leads organically.

A blog, on the other hand, is a great long-term tool to bring new quality leads into your sales funnel. By offering your market useful information and tools through your site, you become the trusted “go-to” for your niche.

WordPress

I’m a little bias when it comes to website platforms. I love WordPress. It gives you control over your website without having to have a ton of coding experience. However, it has the versatility that allows you to customize with CSS or HTML coding (among others). Plus, you’re not locked into a host. WordPress is a powerful tool to grow your business.

Drag and Drop Website Platforms

There are several great drag and drop website platforms available. Wix and Square Space to name a few. These platforms allow you to build a basic website in an hour or two. The major downside to these is the inability to move to another host.

Sound and Media Equipment

Cameras

Grow Your Business

Even if you are not producing videos for YouTube, you need a great camera for product photos, personal photos for your website’s “about us”, event photos and more. Of course, you can utilize your cell phone (I use my iPhone 6), but there are some great quality cameras for around $100 or less.

Here are a few:

Microphone

If you’re not a big fan of spending hours on social media to grow your business, try podcasting or video-blogging as an alternative marketing platform. I am a big believer in the power of podcasting and video. Having a great sounding microphone can make all of the difference. When I started, I used the Condenser Recording Microphone for my podcast. It’s a great starter microphone for around $20. You can purchase it online at Amazon here. Amazon has some great options for both podcasting and YouTube.

Electronic Planner Platform

This is different than the planner mentioned before. This is an electronic planner that you can use to collaborate with team members and easily move graphics and blog ideas to social media or your website. I personally use Trello. It is a powerful platform for organizing your ideas and collaborating with others. And even better, you can sign up for free (and stay that way) or you can choose to upgrade for around $5 a month to get all of the features.

Virtual Assistant

Of course, I’m going to recommend a VA! Whether you go with me or someone else, most growing businesses can benefit from a VA taking over some (Or all) of the “working in” the business while the entrepreneur works ON the business. From emails to website updates, from bookkeeping to social media, a great virtual assistant can be the difference between a business burning out or catching fire.

If you think you might be ready to hire a VA and grow your business, I would love to talk with you!

Contact Me!