How To Utilize Community Listening To Develop A Product Your Customers Can’t Resist

If there’s one thing business owners have noticed this year, it’s how rapidly the world is changing. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been running businesses with so much uncertainty. One way that I’ve found it easier to know how to adapt is by listening to my community, who frequently tells me what types of changes they’d like to see and what’s really working for them. This community-listening model has allowed me to take data-backed leaps of faith that have, in large part, paid off. 

Presently, I serve as the CEO of Novel Education Group, a private homeschooling service that I started after private tutoring in Los Angeles. Through my experiences working in private tutoring, I saw the need for schooling services to a community of kids who wanted to get an education while also pursuing their dreams and goals. Although this was the stepping stone for me to build an education business model that catered to them, it was hard in the beginning to find this kind of community and support when I was solely working one-on-one with clients and in education. You don’t have that sense of community like you would in an in-person school because it’s a very unique and specific niche business. It’s definitely a field where sometimes it’s hard to find relatability.

When I started, there was so much stigma around homeschooling that I knew I’d have to break to gain clients. From the start, I implemented a community-listening model that allowed me to understand the needs and concerns of my clients. Largely, I learned that the word “homeschool” is essentially unregulated, and for many clients, this uncertainty made them question whether it was right for them. For example, the knowledge level of a child in high school who’s 14 years old and has been homeschooled may be a high-school freshman or they may not. In the typical homeschooling system there’s no way to tell where they are, what they studied, if they’re on par with their peers, or if they’re on track to go to university.

Because I heard this feedback, it was incredibly important for my business to be regulated. We’ve partnered with an online private school and students have a teacher to guide them daily. On top of that, we have graders for each class that are constantly checking the work that the tutors do with the students. This has allowed me to break down the stigma and get people to understand that online schooling, homeschooling, and virtual schooling are trends for the future. It is highly accredited and a highly standard form of education.

We’ve also continued to see a growing trend of families who live in communities such as Los Angeles or London, where they didn’t want to be in one place for an entire school year. For them, our partnership with private schooling and implementation of their curriculum allows a student, who let’s say had to travel for two months out of the year, to continue their education path as remote learning.

All that to say I am proud of my entrepreneurial journey and it all happened because I was ready and willing to adapt to change or pivot. Today, I have a full-time staff who gets health benefits, and I’m also able to watch students graduate and accomplish their goals. Although change can be difficult mentally and emotionally, you just need to take it one step at a time and understand that things that are happening for the benefit of your business and its customers. 

Here’s some pointers that helped me stay on track and continue to grow my business:

1. Do not make changes unless it adds value to your business. There is a right time to pivot your business, and it has to be organic and filling a need.

2. Take some time to reevaluate your customer base and pay attention to their changing needs.

3. Always think of the most efficient and cost-effective way to operate. I work with a Small Business Banker at Bank of America who has helped me gain insight into business loans, and which ones are right for me. They also have a Small Business Resources site that provides helpful tools and information for business owners, such as, which benefit options are right for employees.

4. If you find you are missing out on business because of a road block, try and change it or work around it.

5. Be patient and conserve funds. You know what they say. Good things come to those who wait.

About the author: Tiffany Sorya founded Novel Education Group in 2014. She is a renowned influencer and thought leader in the education industry, widely recognized for spearheading a fundamental change in the way young people engage with education in the digital age. 

This Founder Evaluates Her Business Every 6 Months To Maximize Growth

In life, you have to plan and account for unknown elements and circumstances that can’t always be planned for, as they’re unknown. The best way to do this in business is to make sure everything that can be planned, is. Most businesses, particularly small businesses, like to use org charts for budgeting, staffing, responsibilities, and chains of command, among other things. While they are an excellent tool to utilize, they aren’t the only way to plan and organize your business to maximize growth. 

Jasmine Morris runs a multifaceted PR agency and likes to refer to herself as a digital storyteller. She opts not to use an org chart for her agency, “Not because [she] doesn’t believe in them,” but because she takes the untraditional route and invests in business strategists. “Focus on the overall vision of the company,” she advices, adding that she assesses her business quarterly. By doing so, she has proudly scaled her agency to not require hiring many people, and found a way to replace humans for a system that has generated multi-six figures to seven figures.

Wondering how she did it? We were too, so we got her to spill her secrets. Here's 4 steps she has taken to successfully scale her agency to success:

1. Clarity

The most important thing for Morris was to know what she wanted internally and externally for her agency. She continues to refine her strategy by coming back to those questions mid way through the year. “We've gotten super clear on our dream client, and we've created a system where we only promote internally, to our clients, as a referral system to keep business flowing in,” Morris says. For example, she made the decision not to invest in social media marketing for her agency, which guides her company in a clear direction and has financial benefits. “Not focusing on social media marketing has allowed us to not hire a social media manager and eliminate any additional cost at this time.”

She also sets up her week for clarity and efficiency to accomplish their goals for the week. “We have specific days for specific tasks. For example, Mondays are CEO days where it gives me, as the CEO, a chance to check in with the financial goals, marketing for the week, branding, etc. We only schedule company calls Tuesdays through Thursdays, which eliminates having calls throughout the week as well.” 

2. Continue to invest in yourself

Morris abides by the adage, “If you don’t invest in yourself, who will?” Despite her success, she continues to invest yearly in high-level business coaches to continue her agency’s growth in reach and profits, and every six months invest in their systems and team to ensure it's improving. This approach helped her invest her first $10,000 right back into the company. “To surpass our first six-figures years ago, we invested our first 10k to identify what our messaging should be and how we should present our sales pages, and got super clear on our signature services. We found that only having three signature services is key to scaling and having a strong ROI every month. The fewer services, the better the ROI (in our opinion).” She continues, “We've invested almost 10k+ each year in business development and we've always seen a 10x return on it.”

3. Eliminate roadblocks

Morris found that for her company to run smoothly and successfully, the agency must be aware of and combat roadblocks on a more frequent basis. “Every week, we are focused on eliminating roadblocks for the company,” she explains. “We keep a database of 'opportunities' that we need to address whether it's financial, with whom we may need to hire, or processes that we have in place that we need to change. Having this database is a game changer.” 

By combating issues every month, Morris and her team are set up easily to progress forward and plan for major changes every half-year.

4. Untraditional hiring

As Morris previously stated, she likes to take the untraditional route. That’s particularly true when it comes to her hiring practices⎯more so her hesitation to hire non-essential employees. “Unlike most agencies, we didn't hire the traditional way by hiring a VA, project manager, marketing manager, etc,” Morris says. “What has allowed us to grow strategically, authentically, and to multi-six figures is to invest in experts and focus on growing from the inside out. Many female CEOs get stuck on hiring, but until you know what you need, you cannot scale properly so invest in someone who can assist.”

She isn’t advocating for any business to nix basic hires for operating, but some of the non-essential positions can be outsourced to apps and systems that help save an agency or company money while scaling. “Of course, there are basic hires that you should identify before operating. But as you operate, you learn what gaps you need to fill. After identifying what needs to be accomplished to run our agency, we've replaced a lot of those people with systems and strategies that allow us to serve our clients easily.” 

Morris adds that she also relies on Asana (a work management platform designed to organize, track, and manage a team’s work) and Dubsado (a suite of business tools including template creation, scheduling, and invoicing among other things). “We have a project overview within Asana that allows each team member to know what the project they are assigned to is about and what their specific tasks are,” she shares of the software. The versatility and range of both systems help her “eliminate hiring a ton of people,” again saving money that can be re-invested for further growth. 

Written by: Abby Stern

How Female Entrepreneurs Are Leading The Way Out Of The Pandemic

There’s no denying that post-pandemic, female-owned businesses are on the rise. In fact, in 2021, women started 49% of businesses, up from 28% in 2019. That shouldn't come as a surprise when you think about the way women do business. Men tend to be very transactional when it comes to business. They focus on data and analytics, and place more emphasis on whether a product or service is a top seller over feelings. Most women are the opposite of that. We are relational and want to create a business that's purposeful, mission-driven, and that we’re passionate about. 

When the pandemic hit and we were all isolated in our homes, we experienced a sudden loss of connection with people worldwide. During this time, people realized how important that connection was. We all craved to intereact with people again, not only with our loved ones but also with the people and companies we buy from. This was when many women stepped up and said, “I'm not just going to sell it to you, I'm also going to connect with you too."

Women are meeting the changing needs of consumers as we come out of the pandemic. Here's how:

1. Women Are Selling Differently 

During the early days of the pandemic, so many of us turned to the online world to connect in one of the only ways we could. We watched videos, joined online groups, and took online courses. We turned to the internet for entertainment and information. 

Many female entrepreneurs stepped into this space and filled that need for connection. As the owner of two businesses, Framed by Sarah and Launch Your Box, I was able to serve and sell online. I spent time cultivating relationships with our online audiences and shared my passions with them. So many of us experienced growth in our businesses as a result. 

The pandemic changed us and our buying habits. More than ever, people want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They want to feel good about where they spend their money. Yes, we all appreciate Amazon’s ability to deliver what we need quickly and conveniently. But we also want to support the artisans and female founders who are passionate about what they do, and spend time sharing that passion and building relationships with their customers. 

2. Women Are Creating Flexible Work Environments

Women have a way of looking at things differently as business owners. That perspective helps us in building teams and hiring employees. For example, during the pandemic, my number one goal was to figure out a way to keep the women I employed. During that time, many women across the country had to choose between homeschooling their children and keeping a job. The experience reframed our idea of work-life balance. Now, post-pandemic, many female leaders continue to adjust their companies for their employees, rather than the other way around.  

Many women business owners are prioritizing positive work environments and cultivating a culture where women can find balance. It's not a nine to five anymore. In my business, we’re working from home, working during school hours, and taking Fridays off. I’m proud to create an environment that allows each member of my team to feel good about being a mom AND having a career or job. 

3. Women Are Natural Adapters 

Women wear so many hats in their daily lives. This natural ability to multitask serves us well in our roles as entrepreneurs. We are several steps ahead, can plan for what’s next, and are able to manage multiple priorities at the same time. We are natural problem solvers. 

In many families, women act as the “glue” of the family, keeping everyone and everything moving in the right direction. We bring those same skills to our businesses. So much has changed since the beginning of 2020 and the way we do business has changed, too. The structure of our workdays, the role social media plays in our businesses, and the way we sell our products and services have all changed. As women, and especially as mothers, we can adapt to changing priorities and unexpected challenges at home. That flexibility served us well during the pandemic and continues to be an asset as we adapt to doing business in a post-pandemic world. 

While none of us can predict what the future will hold, I believe a day will come where female entrepreneurs have outnumbered men. I don't know how long that will take, but the shift will come. As women continue to lean into who we are and what we can bring to the table, we will get there.

About the author:

Sarah Williams is the CEO and Founder of two 7-figure businesses, Framed by Sarah and Launch Your Box, where Sarah has worked with thousands of subscription box owners and those wanting to start a subscription box, providing in-depth training that takes them through each step of starting, launching, and growing their business. She is also the host of Launch Your Box Podcast, which launched in February 2021. Connect with her on Facebook @subboxwithsarah.