A little help from my friends: 7 ways to have a positive impact on a your friend's business
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Starting a business can be incredibly challenging. Sometimes it feels like there are a million tasks to complete, from providing a quality service to managing staff and balancing budgets. Often as a business owner you need to be whatever the business needs at that moment in time, whether that is a social media director, a carpenter or an accountant. The huge investment of personal time and finances involved in a start up means that the highs are very high and the lows are very low.
There are moments of self-doubt and a multitude of mistakes to learn from when starting out on the journey. A squad of amazing friends can make all the difference in making your friend's path to success a lot smoother. Below are a few tips that might help you help them.
1. Spread the Word
Thanks to social media, spreading the word about your friend’s business is easier than ever before and can be done free of charge. Simply by sharing a post you like from their social media page, hundreds more people can potentially see it. Every like, comment, share & or video view impacts their online footprint and is one of the little things that adds up to a big difference. Word of mouth through referrals to loved ones is also extremely powerful so tell your family, friends, colleagues and more to start shopping!
2. Support Their Lifestyle Change
Being an entrepreneur may change their way of life particularly in the early days. The regular vacays and three-course dinners may have to placed on hold while they invest into the venture. Treat them or suggest more cost-friendly ways to hang out. Listen to them and love on them and these moments will be valued more than you can imagine.
3. Offer to Help
There is absolutely no doubt friends can be a source of assistance when creating a business. As an entrepreneur, I am wary of requesting too much help from friends so there’s a tendency to not ask for help even when super-stretched. Offering help removes the guilt factor & you may enjoy gaining access to the magic behind the scenes. Offer your help and I guarantee you they’ll be grateful you asked.
4. Constructive Criticism
As a friend to the business owner, you have the unique viewpoint of a potential client. If there’s something you feel can be better, offer your criticism in a kind and loving manner. Go the extra mile by discussing a few options which you think can help resolve the problem or improve the process. Your friend is likely to be grateful you took the time and any potential solutions are a bonus.
5. Shop with them
Actions speak louder than words and one of the strongest modes of support is purchasing a product or service from their business. It screams "I believe in you!" and warms my heart when a friend purchases a Cultureville product. Drop a review so potential clients know you had a positive experience which will impact their sales positively and be even more reason for your entrepreneur friend to be grateful.
6. Celebrate their Wins
There will be special moments where great things happen on the path to success. They will achieve major milestones and win awards which make the late nights and hard work worth it. Celebrate these moments with them because it makes the win much more special.
7. Love on them
From lending a listening ear to attending their events and planning hangouts, there’s a gazillion ways to support your friend. When they doubt, encourage them. When they do an amazing job, let them know. Every bit of support has a positive effect on their path to success.
We hope these 7 tips make it easier to support your entrepreneur friends!