Your board is a critical asset for making sure your nonprofit organization is a success. They’re the ones making the big decisions that will determine which direction your organization takes next, but that can be easier said than done when the decision makers have to work as a team. Making sure your nonprofit board works as a team starts with making sure you have the right team members, so let’s look at some nonprofit board development strategies that will set you up for success. Identify and Implement Nonprofit Board Development Best Practices
Know Your Goals and Incorporate Them into Your Nonprofit Board Development StrategiesOnce you know what goals you want your organization to achieve, you can look for potential nonprofit board members who have the skills needed to achieve those goals. Getting your friends and family on your nonprofit board might fill seats, but it’s not necessarily in the best interest of your organization unless those people also have the right skillset. Establish Nonprofit Board Contribution Policies and Include Them in the BylawsOne of the most important steps to successfully recruiting a team member is to communicate your expectations for the role, and that’s as true of your nonprofit board members as it is of your staff and volunteers. To make sure everyone is pulling their own weight on your nonprofit board, you’ll need to establish policies on the minimum contribution you expect from each of your nonprofit board members. This could include everything from board meeting attendance to adding items to the board’s agenda or participating in board meetings. You might also want to vote on term limits for your nonprofit board members so you can be sure to free up space for new recruits. Have a Nonprofit Board Manual and Board MentorsIt can also help to assign a board mentor to each new nonprofit board member. Preferably this would be an existing board member who has been in the role for a while and can show your new member the ropes. Get a Strategy Rockstar to Identify Strategies for Your Nonprofit Board DevelopmentAs a Strategy Rockstar with more than 20 years of experience helping both small business owners and nonprofit organizations increase their revenue, I can help your nonprofit organization through any challenge. Whether you’ve been considering some nonprofit board development strategies, you need fundraising tips, or anything in between, you can schedule your FREE clarity call now so we can talk about how I can help.
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It’s that time of year when everyone is talking about new year’s resolutions, and while I think that’s important enough that I wrote my own blog post on it a couple weeks ago, I also think it’s important to talk about some motivation tips. Life is a roller coaster with ups and downs, and that can be especially true of entrepreneurship as our businesses go through ups and downs. The downs can be especially frustrating when you’re working long hours and you think you’re doing everything right, but nothing seems to be working. It can be hard to stay motivated through all that, so let’s look at some motivation tips you can use to tackle your business goals all year long. Motivation Tip 1: Take a BreakWe all need to take a break every now and then, especially when we get frustrated. When we get frustrated, we can have a harder time seeing the mistakes we’re making or the direction we should be moving in because we’re just so focused on what’s not working.
something else for a while. It’s because focusing on the problem can make it harder to see the bigger picture, and by taking time to step back and think about something else, you give your brain space to “breathe” and work on that problem in the background while you do something else. Meditation is also a great way to clear your head, and it only takes a few minutes, so if you don’t have time for a vacation or a long walk, a quick meditation can be just as effective. Motivation Tip 2: Get Help
If you do want to talk to a business coach to provide motivation tips all year long, or just to provide the accountability you need to achieve your big goals for your business this year, I’m here to help. You can schedule your FREE clarity call with a Strategy Rockstar now to talk about how I can help keep you motivated all year long, no matter what life throws your way.
If you’re struggling to attract and retain enough volunteers for your nonprofit organization, there’s an important group you might have overlooked: young adults.
Get Involved with Young Adult Volunteering Programs of Local SchoolsMost schools offer some sort of extra credit for students who volunteer, and if you approach a local school that does not currently have a young adult volunteering program, ask if they’d be interested in starting one. Then you can volunteer to be the first nonprofit organization to join. Get on Social Media to Promote Your Young Adult Volunteering Program
Talk to Parents About Your Young Adult Volunteering ProgramFor the young adults you can’t reach directly, see if you can talk to their parents about the benefits of young adult volunteering programs. Most parents would be thrilled to have their children volunteering for a local nonprofit organization, and since they already know their child’s interests, they’ll have an idea of whether your organization is the right fit for their child before they even bring it up to them. Host Events to Grow Your Young Adult Volunteering Program
Get Help from a Nonprofit Strategy RockstarIf you’ve tried everything you can think of to build your young adult volunteering program for your nonprofit, but you feel like you’re not getting any traction, it might be time to talk to a Strategy Rockstar. You can schedule your FREE clarity call now to see how a Strategy Rockstar can help you achieve all your goals for your nonprofit organization.
It’s that time of year again. We’ve taken stock of the past year, sent it off with a glass of champagne (or your beverage of choice), and now it’s time to look forward to the year ahead and think about what you want this year to look like. What do you want to see when you look back this time next year? A lot of people focus on personal development when setting their new year’s resolutions, but many of us also have big goals for our businesses. I want you to have your best year yet for your business, so here are some tips you can use for setting new year’s resolutions for business success in 2022. Set Realistic New Year’s Resolutions for Business Success
Many business owners want to be making six figures, or even seven figures, but if you’re just starting out, that might not be realistic for you, at least not for 2022. By all means, keep those big goals for your 5-year plan and your 10-year plan, but for this year, start by taking stock of where you are now and what it will take to get you where you want to go. How much of that can you realistically accomplish in one year? You want to make sure it’s a little bit of a stretch for you, because we want to get you outside your comfort zone, but we don’t want you biting off more than you can chew. It’s a fine line to balance on, and it’s OK if you veer from that line a bit. Just don’t go too far off course. Delegate
If you’re just starting out and you don’t have a budget to hire someone else, get creative. Find someone who’s willing to barter. Offer an internship to a college student, or even a high school student who would be willing to work in exchange for class credit. If you have kids of your own who are old enough to type, put them to work. You already know which skills are their strongest, so find out where they can help you in your business when it comes to tasks that, either you’re not so great at, or you can do, but it’s not the best use of your time. It can be a great learning experience for your kids, and even a bonding experience for both of you. Make a New Year’s Resolution for Business Promotion Regularly and Consistently
But if you’re like a lot of small business owners, you’re committed to promoting your business when work is slow, and as soon as work picks up, promotion tends to fall by the wayside. Then business gets slow again because you haven’t been promoting your business. The key is to find a nice middle ground - something that will drive results, but that you also know you’ll be able to stick to when you only have a few minutes a day to pick up the phone or post on social media. It’s OK to hit the promotion a little harder when business slows down, but by setting a goal you can realistically keep all year long, you’ll be more likely to stick to it instead of giving up as soon as business picks up and you don’t hit your goal for a week or two. Make a New Year’s Resolution for Business Planning on a Consistent Basis
When people talk about business planning, they often talk about sitting down and writing a business plan, which is a very time-consuming process. That’s not what I’m talking about here. Instead, just take a few minutes, maybe an hour each week to take stock of your business. What went well this past week? What could have gone better? In which areas would you like to improve for next week? No one expects you to set or achieve huge business goals for your business every week. But you should take some time every week to check in with the big goals you set at the beginning of the quarter or the year and make sure the things you’re doing in your business each week align with those goals. If they’re not, it’s time to adjust so you can intentionally go after those business goals, no matter how big they are. As a Strategy Rockstar, my favorite thing is helping small business owners set and achieve their biggest business goals. If you’re tired of spinning your wheels and ready to make 2022 your best year yet, schedule your FREE consultation to get started.
The end of the year is a great time to reflect on everything you’ve accomplished over the past year, and that’s especially true if you’re a business owner. At the same time, it’s important to remember that we don’t need to wait until January rolls around to stop and reflect on the past year. If your business is celebrating its first anniversary, that’s a great time to think about everything you’ve learned from 1 year in business. When reflecting on our business, our default is often to think about the things that did not go so well, especially if we didn’t achieve the goals we set for ourselves. I like to put a stop to that by starting off with celebrating the things that went right in your last year in business. Reflecting on the Highlights of 1 Year in BusinessStart by writing out a chart with one line for each month of the year. I want you to go through each month and think about the highlights for that month. What “wins” did you have that month (personal or professional)? What challenges did you overcome? Did anything new pop up? Any new relationships (or letting go of old relationships that were no longer serving you)? Did your existing relationships change?
Reflecting on the People Impacted in 1 Year in BusinessMost of us started our business so we could have some sort of positive impact on people’s lives, so take some time now to think about the people you impacted over the course of 1 year in business.
Challenges Overcome in 1 Year in BusinessWe’ve all overcome challenges in our business, and taking the time to stop and reflect on the things we’ve overcome can be incredibly empowering. Successes of 1 Year in BusinessEven if you didn’t achieve all the goals you set out for yourself in the past year, you must have had some successes. Whether it was signing a new client, launching a new product/service, or hosting a successful event, take some time to stop and take stock of all the success you had in just 1 year in business. Doing so will get you motivated to think about the success you want to have in your next year in business. New Relationships Developed in 1 Year in BusinessThis one can be personal, professional, or both. Did you gain a new client? Did you become a client of someone else? Did you meet someone who helped you take your business to the next level? You can also feel free to reflect on new friendships, or even new romantic relationships if applicable. As business owners, the line between our personal and professional lives can be blurry at best, so changes to your personal relationships can absolutely impact your business and vice versa. Ways I’ve Given Back in 1 Year in BusinessGiving back is a great way to give meaning to our lives, because even if we love our jobs, that’s not enough on its own for us to feel fulfilled. Giving back can make us feel needed and more connected to our communities. Whether you’ve been giving back as part of your business, or just in your free time, taking the time to take stock of the ways in which you’ve given back over the past year in business is another great way to boost your self-confidence. Get Help from a Coach for Your Next 1 Year in Business
Entrepreneurs and small business owners are known for working long hours all week long, every week of the year. There’s nothing wrong with hard work, but when it becomes a badge of honor, it can prompt us to forego things we need, like sleep, or just time off to take a break and recharge.
You’ll Be More Focused If You Take a Break from Your BusinessDo you ever wake up in the middle of the night because you suddenly got a great idea, or remembered something you forgot? It’s because, while you were resting, your brain was able to sort through the events of your day and bring something to the forefront that you forgot, or never realized you needed.
You’ll Be Happier If You Take a Break from Your Business
You Never Know Whom You’ll Meet When You Take a Break from Your BusinessHolidays tend to come with holiday parties, and while the original goal of most of these parties is not to network, that doesn’t mean you can’t network. Prospective clients can show up in the most unlikely places, and it’s important to remember that people work with those they know, like, and trust. What better place to get someone to know, like, and trust you than at a party where you’re more relaxed and yourself than you might be in a conference room? So instead of ditching that party to stay home and craft your next social media post, grab that holiday sweater and get ready to meet some new people and get your name out there. Let Me Show You How to Take a Break without Sacrificing IncomeOne of the main reasons I started my business was so I could spend more quality time with my family without sacrificing my income. As a Strategy Rockstar, I love helping my clients do the same thing, so if you think owning your business means you have to be working every waking hour, it’s time to think again. Give me a call so I can help you rethink what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.
Most small business owners want to grow their business, but if it feels like you’re already working as many hours as you can squeeze into a day, it can be hard to figure out how to scale your business to serve even more clients without foregoing sleep altogether. Admittedly, sometimes it’s necessary to work long hours, especially in the beginning stages of scaling your business, but it is possible to grow your business and make more money without working longer hours, even if yours is a service-based business. In some cases, you might even end up working fewer hours, but there is a strategy behind it. Since I’m the Strategy Rockstar, let’s talk about how to scale your business without working longer hours. How to Scale Your Business Through Delegation
Delegating in your business is important, but it’s also worth mentioning that you don’t have to restrict your delegating to just your business. As my business has grown, my assistant has taken over some personal assistant responsibilities as well as helping me in my business so I can continue growing my business without worrying about some of those domestic tasks falling through the cracks. How to Scale Your Business by Getting the Right People on Your Team
How to Scale Your Business with AutomationIf you’re not yet at the point where you can hire an assistant, the good news is there’s probably a software or piece of technology that can take care of some of the more mundane tasks for you. Consider tools that automatically send reminders (either to you or your clients and prospects), as well as tools that sync with other tools so you’re not wasting time updating an appointment in different systems when you could sync those systems and have everything update automatically.
When people talk about how to identify your target audience or create a marketing persona, most of the time they’re talking about marketing strategies for for-profit businesses, but nonprofits have target audience’s, too. A lot of people don’t think of nonprofits as businesses, but just because they don’t take in a profit doesn’t mean they aren’t a business. And just because your customers are donors doesn’t mean you don’t have a target audience. Actually, your customers are technically the ones directly benefiting from the services you provide, but for marketing purposes, we’ll define your target audience as your donors. Identify Your Goals So You Can Identify Your Target AudienceFirst and foremost, you need to identify the goals your nonprofit organization is trying to achieve. How much money do you need to raise to achieve those goals? Can you raise that much money with small donations, or do you need some heavy hitters on your list? The first piece of advice I like to offer to anyone starting to develop a marketing strategy is to take a good, hard look at the problem they’re solving for their clients. Once they’ve identified that pain point, they can focus their marketing around it to attract the people who are looking for solutions to that problem.
Check Out the Political Organizations to Help You Identify Your Target AudienceMost (but not all) nonprofit ventures have a political organization trying to change the world for the better in a particular way, regardless of whether the problem they’re trying to solve is a political one. If there’s a group of people who have organized to get politically active to help solve the same problem you’re trying to solve, take a look at the kinds of people who are active in those organizations to help you identify your target audience. Think Outside the Box When Developing Marketing Strategies for Nonprofits
Get Help from a Strategy Rockstar to Help You Develop Your Nonprofit Marketing StrategiesI have worked with a lot of nonprofits over the years, both as part of their staff and as a consultant, so I know the ins and outs of nonprofit marketing strategies like the back of my hand, and I’m happy to show you the way. You can start your journey towards more effective fundraising efforts by scheduling your FREE consultation today.
As a Strategy Rockstar, I’ve seen it all - from the entrepreneurs who are crushing their small business goals to the ones who are struggling, and everything in between. It’s frustrating, especially when we don’t know what it is we did wrong. As business owners, we are often too close to our business to see the mistakes we’re making, which is why it can help to bring in a Strategy Rockstar who has, not only years of experience helping entrepreneurs reach their business goals, but who can also bring in that outside perspective to help identify the small business strategy mistakes you might be making. Here are some of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make. Not Having a Team for Your Small Business Marketing Strategy
Not Identifying Your Target Audience as Part of Your Small Business Marketing StrategyOne of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make, especially when they’re just starting out, is saying they can work with “anyone”, which tells me they haven’t identified their target audience yet. I understand that a lot of small business owners are afraid to focus on a niche because they’re afraid it means excluding prospects who don’t fit into that niche, in fact the opposite is true. If you try to attract everyone, you end up attracting no one.
The same goes for your small business marketing strategy. Once you’ve clearly identified your target audience, you can create content catered to them and distribute it in the right places to make sure it gets in front of them. Without a clear definition of your target audience, your small business marketing strategy will struggle to attract anyone because it will be too broad to be relevant to anyone. Not Being Consistent with Your Small Business StrategiesNot being consistent with their efforts is one of the most crucial mistakes entrepreneurs make because consistency really is the key to success. I often talk about how I initially grew my business by making phone calls to prospects on a daily basis. Then a family member got sick and a lot of my time was taken up in caring for them, and I let those phone calls fall by the wayside. I wasn’t consistent in my business and my income suffered as a direct result. Now I have a system in place so I can be sure to spend some time making those phone calls, even if it’s just a few minutes here and a few minutes there, so I can grow my business no matter what I’m dealing with in my personal life. The same is true of my marketing. When I was trying to do everything myself, I wasn’t always consistent with it, and things often fell through the cracks. Now that I have a team handling a lot of my marketing efforts for me, my marketing efforts are much more consistent, and they’re getting much better results. Not Following Up
By proactively reaching out to prospects, you are taking control of your business and your income. So, while you absolutely need to implement and maintain a small business marketing strategy, don’t make the mistake of assuming everyone who sees your marketing efforts will take the next step towards working with you. Instead, it’s important to recognize that sometimes you need to be the one who reaches out to remind them of all the ways you can help them with their business. Whether you’ve just started a new business and you’re not sure where to start, or you’ve been at this for a while and you’re wondering why your business isn’t growing, I can help. You can schedule your FREE clarity call with me now to see how a Strategy Rockstar can help you achieve your goals.
Whether you’re a nonprofit leader, or you’re in a leadership role of a different kind of organization, there’s a lot resting on your shoulders. People are looking to you to set an example and guide them towards achieving the organization’s goals, so if you feel overwhelmed, that’s OK. Take a deep breath and read these tips to learn how to be a better nonprofit leader. Get the Right People on Your Team to Be a Better Nonprofit LeaderIn order to be an effective nonprofit leader, you have to be able to trust your team, and that starts with making sure you have the right team. Not only does this mean they need to have the right qualifications for their job, but it also means they need to share the ideals of your nonprofit organization. Do they believe in the organization’s mission? Keep in mind that skills can always be acquired, but passion is harder to teach. If someone doesn’t have the necessary skill level for a particular position, but they’re eager to help, bring them on board and either find someone who can teach them the skills they need to do the job or teach them yourself. Get to Know Your Team to Be a Better Nonprofit LeaderGetting to know your team is the best way to build a rapport with them so you can trust them with just about anything - including doing their jobs to the best of their abilities. Knowing your team on a personal level will also enable you to put them in positions you might not have otherwise put them in. For example, if you have a graphic designer on your team who also has a history working in IT, you’ll know you can call them the next time a volunteer has trouble logging onto a computer or your printer goes on the fritz. Keep in mind that this goes both ways. You need to get to know your team, but you also need to let them get to know you because that’s the best way to get them to trust you enough to rely on you and to come to you whenever there’s an issue that needs your attention. Take Care of Yourself to Be a Better Nonprofit Leader
Make a To-Do List and Keep It Updated to Be a Better Nonprofit Leader
Build and Maintain Relationships in Your Role as a Nonprofit Leader
Get Help as a Nonprofit Leader from a Strategy RockstarIn addition to getting support from your local community, most executives also find it beneficial to get support from a business coach. As someone who has decades of experience helping nonprofits increase their efficiency and their fundraising, both from the inside and as a consultant, I am ideally suited to support you in your role as a nonprofit leader. Just schedule your FREE consultation to get started.
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