This week has been a busy one for us at Crow - establishing or running a business is no mean feat. There's always a to-do list as long as your arm, clients to please, and endless decisions to make. That's why at Crow Marketing, we're keen to share what we learn along the way - because if we can make the journey a little easier for you, we will.
This week has been… well, let’s just call it a whirlwind. You know those weeks where your to-do list is so long it looks like it’s been written by a crow on caffeine? Yep, one of those. Between 15-hour days (anyone else guilty of never switching off?) and trying to juggle work with the back-to-school chaos, I somehow managed to survive on a diet of Penguins and strippy-cheese. Spoiler alert: this does not constitute a meal. Ever.
And yet, in the middle of the madness, I had a choice: decline the networking events I’d committed to in a moment of good faith… or power through and turn up, slightly frazzled, definitely hungry, but ready with a smile and a coffee in hand.
Here’s the truth: don’t put it off. Networking is always worth it.
Because even when you fluff your carefully timed 10-minute intro and turn it into a 20-minute ramble (complete with awkward hard-sell moment you instantly regret), it doesn’t matter. You’ll probably never see half of those people again anyway. And if you do, they’ll remember you for being human, not for your perfectly polished pitch.
Besides, networking has perks: free coffee, new faces, and sometimes - if you’re lucky - a flash of inspiration.
This week, that spark came from a fellow marketeer’s presentation. He shared some straightforward SEO wisdom, and it reminded me how refreshing it is to strip things back and look at your business from a different perspective.
We marketeers take things like SEO, blogs, backlinks, and content for granted: it’s second nature. But most business owners aren’t thinking like that. The good news? You don’t need to overcomplicate it.
Here are a couple of ridiculously simple tricks you can start with:
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Google yourself. (Yes, seriously. If you don’t like what you see, neither will your customers.)
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Ask friends how they’d search for you online. Spoiler: “that lovely accountant with the good spreadsheets” isn’t going to cut it.
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Take those real-life phrases and put them into your website content. Don’t just write what sounds fancy, actually use the words your customers are typing into Google.
Small tweaks, big results. Suddenly, the right people find you quicker than a crow spotting a shiny crisp packet.
So, yes, starting out is exhausting, running a business is stressful, and occasionally terrifying, but the rewards are great. So, don’t delay, don’t reschedule, don’t talk yourself out of showing up. Keep turning up, keep chatting, and keep learning. Because every conversation could be the one that sparks your next big opportunity.
A sweet offer...
Oh, and before we forget - we’ve got a Pick ’n’ Mix offer running until 30th October. Want to know more? Head over to our socials for the details. Go on, treat yourself...it’s better than Penguins and cheese sticks, we promise.