Last December I had the opportunity to attend Business Squared, an event which focused on doing business in the digital space. There was an incredible list of successful entrepreneurs and social media legends speaking so I decided to take myself along to learn new skills and gather insights that would be valuable for my stockists.

First cab off the rank was JT Foxx, a wealth coach who believes there are four main factors in becoming a successful entrepreneur. These include branding, marketing, relationships and coaching. 

JT began to elaborate on how he measures success for his business and went on to explain that success means different things to many different people for many different reasons. People have different values and different cultures, which creates different perceptions of success. This can be very humbling.

Key Learning: Define what success looks like for your business and how you measure it.

Next to the stage was Gary Veynerchuck who is not only a very successful entrepreneur but my go-to inspiration whenever I want to learn a new skill in the ever changing digital world. Gary made a comment that really struck a chord with me: “if you OUT CARE everybody else, your business can be humanised. People bond with people not large corporations”. This is very applicable to the beauty industry because people are more likely to return to your business based on how you made them feel, not what special offers you had. Gary also recommended that you allocate 65-75% of your marketing budget in 2018 to Facebook and Instagram advertising.

Key Learning: Care about your clients and their results and retain clients for life. 

Up next was the inspiring and insightful Jodie Fox, co-founder of the very successful online store Shoes of Prey. A lawyer by trade, Jodie moved into advertising and was hunting for something new – she wanted to change the way women shopped for shoes. 

Jodie shared some of her most successful sales tips which were about coming back to basics. For example you should show your customers how your product/service will make their life easier and how it will benefit their life.

Additionally, Jodie encouraged everyone to be passionate about the business path they chose because passion will make it easier to overcome obstacles. Understanding your why is vital to a successful business. You need a WHY. Why are you putting yourself through this?

Key Learning: Remember, simple sales techniques are a great starting point followed by understanding your why.

The final speaker was Janine Allis, Boost Juice Founder & Shark Tank Mentor. She spoke a lot about customer service and said “you have to love your customer; unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning” and “if you don’t like people, don’t be in the customer business, you have to love your customer no matter what you do”. There are no truer words to run a business by. 

Key Learning: Learn from unhappy customers and allow this to improve your business.

Amanda’s Top Learnings from Business Squared 2017:

1. Create Genuine Conversation on Social Media 

If we’ve heard it once, we’ve heard it a thousand times, 2018 will be all about social media. But in 2018 social media needs to focus on being more social, friendly, personal and human - not so much about selling. Next time you update your status think about your personal Facebook page – would you try and sell to your friends? The reason your clients come back to you is because they like YOU and they like the social aspect of their visits. Create more informal, engaging content mixed with business.

2. Create Relationships with your Customers

Be passionate about what you do and care about your clients. People have so many options available to them at the moment however when they feel appreciated they are more likely to be loyal, life-long customers.

3. Incorporate Video

Share videos on your social media platforms with your customers so they can get to know you more. This is especially valuable when it comes to attracting like-minded clients as people like to do business with people they like. Videos also tend to gain more engagement than photos or text posts.

4. Create a Conversation with Instagram

If anyone starts to follow you on Instagram that you think could be a potential customer make sure you send a personal message introducing yourself and your salon and let them know you are happy to help with any questions.