6 Tips to Help You Start Your Side Hustle

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6 Tips to Help You Start Your Side Hustle

Does this sound familiar? You know you want to start your own business, but for whatever reason, you can’t quite take the plunge into full-time entrepreneurship.

That doesn’t mean you have to put your dreams on hold. Instead, consider starting your business as a second job or side hustle while you maintain other employment.

If you already juggle a busy schedule, starting a side hustle will make things even more hectic. Yet some people thrive under pressure and accomplish more when they have a finite supply of free time.

Plus, testing your business idea as a side hustle means you’ll still have a safety net in terms of regular income, benefits and other employment perks.

Yet it’s not a decision to be made lightly. The biggest thing is to make sure your side hustle won’t be in conflict with your other employment. You don’t want to set yourself up for disciplinary or even possible legal problems with a current employer.

Once you’ve cleared that hurdle, put yourself on the path to side hustle success with the following checklist.

1. DEFINE YOUR VISION.

When you get caught up in the excitement of launching your own business, it’s easy to get lost in the details of your venture. Yet it’s so important to start by defining your entrepreneurial vision — you want to address the “what” and “why” before you start considering the “how.” Try answering these questions:

  • What will your business offer?
  • Why do you want to start this business?
  • What makes your business different from your competitors?
  • What do you hope to accomplish with your business?

Answering these questions — as well as defining your company’s mission — will not only help keep you on track, but will also help inform later work, such as crafting your company story and messaging.

2. SET YOUR BUDGET.

Ready to crunch some numbers? Here are a few important figures to consider: how much are you bringing in from other employment? How much money do you need for bills and living expenses? What are your initial and ongoing side hustle expenses?

You’ll want to break out costs of everything you can think of that you’ll need to get your side hustle going. Will you need inventory? Where will it be sourced/produced? Shipping materials? Office space or other premises? Support services? Research as many costs as you can to help prevent you from being blindsided by the cost of doing business. You might want to reach out to other entrepreneurs in your area to get their input. Or register for Kauffman FastTrac, a free online course that will help prepare you to start your business, including setting financial goals and identifying possible sources of funding.

3. ASSESS YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS (AND BE REALISTIC).

While you work on your budget, this is a prime time to assess your business needs. The most important advice: be realistic! When starting and running a business, it’s always easier to start small and then scale up. Use that same approach here. Do you *really* need separate office space, or can you run your side hustle from home for awhile? Supporting services can be another big expense. It’s a good idea to enlist the help of an accountant from day one — and, depending on your business and industry, a lawyer. Yet in your company’s early days, you don’t necessarily need to foot the bill for outsourced services like a marketing agency.

Try this approach. First, write down every single business need or expense that comes to mind. Then, revisit the list and pare it down to the essentials. Remember: you can always scale up as your business grows and you bring in more money. This exercise is more about determining what you absolutely need to launch (and run) your side hustle so that you’re not left scrambling.

4. LAUNCH A WEBSITE.

In today’s increasingly digital world, a website is among your business’s most important assets. A well-designed, responsive (read: mobile-friendly) website that’s easy to navigate will help more people learn about your company and understand why they should do business with you. There are a number of tools like Squarespace and Wix that can help you build basic, functional websites from a template. Or you can enlist the help of a web developer and designer to bring your vision to life.

Consider this, especially as you build your budget: robust, sophisticated websites aren’t cheap — and they shouldn’t be. This might be another place where you start small — with one of the aforementioned template-based tools, for example — and then refine or redesign your website once you can comfortably cover the expense.

5. FIND CUSTOMERS.

We’re guessing your goal is to build your side hustle so that, at some point, it becomes your full-time hustle! And that’s why it’s so important to find customers. A website is an effective place to start. You should also set up accounts on at least a couple of social media sites. Think about where your prospective customers might be and start there. Depending on your budget and type of business, you can also spread the word with direct mail pieces (assuming you have a mailing list) or go guerilla and distribute flyers in local businesses.

Another helpful resource: networking events. Grab a stack of business cards and share your side hustle story while you mix and mingle. And even in today’s technology-gripped world, few tactics can beat the power of word-of-mouth referrals. Make sure your friends and family know about your side hustle and encourage them to share the great news!

6. MAKE A SCHEDULE.

Starting a side hustle while you juggle other employment and a personal life can be challenging. And that’s why it helps to make a schedule. Where can you make time for your side hustle? If you have a full-time day job, for example, you’ll probably want to carve out early morning, evening and/or weekend hours to devote to your side hustle. If you can, try to schedule in time for personal interests, relaxation and self-care to help avoid burn-out and keep you as rested and refreshed as possible. As your side hustle grows and you bring in more income, then you can look at opportunities to scale back other employment hours so that you’re able to devote more time to your business.

Follow these tips and, before long, you just might find that your side hustle becomes your full-time career. We’re cheering for you every step of the way!

Turning a Social Movement into a Business

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Turning a Social Movement into a Business

To celebrate entrepreneurs and all the hard work they do, we’ll be featuring a Kauffman FastTrac graduate every month. Meet the people who once were in your shoes and learn how FastTrac can help a variety of people looking to start their own business.

Innovation can come from anywhere and anything. Imagine the creative freedom of being a performer, but struggling to put on a show without a record deal or the money to power an entire concert. AY Young’s path to entrepreneurship began here: no platform for his music, and no electricity to give off the full effect of a live music performance.

“I want it to be like when you walk into the Riot Room,” AY said. “I want it to feel like a concert.”

But with no money, no fans, and no backing, AY had to get creative. After discovering the sustainable use of car batteries, AY took to the streets of Kansas City, most notably the Crossroads and the Country Club Plaza, and put on his live performance, eventually earning the name The Battery Tour. He said he wanted to go where the people were at, so he could build a business through entertainment that would connect and get the world plugged in.

The Battery Tour consists of AY’s original songs, as well as popular covers. And since it’s an all ages show, kids dance to the Cha Cha slide and do the macarena, while other audience members try their hand at singing. It’s an interactive dance party, with the atmosphere of a live concert.

AY has traveled America, inviting thousands more across the nation to become Outlets (how he refers to the fans). While out on the road, AY said people would tell him that what he was doing was sustainable, environmentally friendly, and provided a platform for people to express themselves. The positive reaction got AY thinking: what happens to it when he’s gone?

AY enrolled in FastTrac when he got back to Kansas City.

“My whole life changed because of FastTrac,” AY said. “I think the most useful part of FastTrac for me, just personally, is just learning the appropriate way to build a business, learning how to scale one, learning what is highly scaleable, what may not be, the difference between a lifestyle business, just the differences and how to construct something, right? Construct a company and maybe even things like recognizing who to work with and who to partner with, what to look for in a partner, what to look for in a co-founder, what a founder is, like having those definitions that I never understood but I was doing business is really great. You have your measuring stick and now you won’t make some of those problems, and you won’t have some of those falls. Hopefully you can … You can still fail fast. One thing that I learned in FastTrack is to fail fast. That is okay. To fail fast, because you learn, you can apply, and adjust.”

The philosophy of the Battery Tour is all inclusive: for, by, and with the people. That’s why AY calls his fans “outlets”: “I’m like, ‘I’m AY and this is the Battery Tour,’ because there’s batteries. It just came out like, at a show, right? People would donate and donate and donate and things like that, and then some guy was just like, ‘Man, we’re your outlets. We’re powering the Battery Tour.’”

Community is what the Battery Tour is all about. And just like with AY’s Outlets, the entrepreneurial community can also help you succeed in your business. For AY, that just means you give back. Talking about his experience at a 1 Million Cups meeting, AY said it’s important to connect to other entrepreneurs, but while your connecting, you should support them as well. AY shared an experience he had at one particular meeting during which he saw a presenter talking about her yoga studio. Afterwards, he bought a yoga membership from her.

“Pay your dues, I guess, right?” he said. “Go pay that thirty dollar yoga membership thing and create a relationship with this entrepreneur or that business or that T-shirt company or whatever. I strive to do that in both, whether it’s music, or being an entrepreneur.”

As AY creates his social music movement, as he calls it, the business side of things allows him to cultivate a sustainable culture that supports artists and musicians and anyone wanting to join the scene, whether its through dance or song and simply being there.

It all started with a simple question: how to create a live outdoor concert experience without the money to do so? FastTrac can help you take an idea and turn into something potentially profitable, and possibly, something beyond that.

“It’s just kind of more than just the social music part and the live performance,” AY said. “It’s almost just like a family, right, of outlets that power each other. It’s really beautiful.”

How to Identify & Protect Your Intellectual Property

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How to Identify & Protect Your Intellectual Property

Like many new business owners, you may find that your most valuable asset is your intellectual property. Unfortunately, that may leave you a bit confused. To help, here’s a quick overview on how to identify and protect your copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents.

COPYRIGHTS

Copyrights generally protect creative works including music, art, dance, and even computer code and business documents. If you create an original work, you’ll own the copyright to that work as soon as you reduce it to a tangible medium. Although not necessary, it is wise to register your work with the United States copyright office. Once protected, you can prevent other people from copying, displaying, distributing, and creating derivative works using your protected work (or anything substantially similar). The length of protection is usually the life of the author plus 70 years.

One of the most important things to keep in mind when copyrights are at issue is who owns the work. Generally speaking, the creator will own the work unless: (1) he assigns it to someone else in writing, (2) it was created for his employer, or (3) he created it as an independent contractor under a written agreement identifying the work as a “work made for hire.” Note: this third option is limited so you should always consider written assignments.

TRADEMARKS

When writing your business plan, you may include the perfect new business name and tagline. Those items, among other things are known as trademarks. They serve to distinguish your goods and services from the goods and services of other people in the market.

You gain ‘common law’ trademark rights the moment you begin using a unique mark in commerce. But it is usually a smart move to file a trademark application with the USPTO to shore up your rights nationwide. Once you have a valid trademark you can usually protect it for as long as you use it in commerce.

TRADE SECRETS

Among the many steps involved when starting a new business plan is signing NDAs with multiple parties. The reason NDAs exist, of course, is to protect confidential information. But did you know there are state and federal laws that can help too? Those are known as trade secret laws and they allow you to protect information which you protect as confidential and which provides economic value to your business due to its confidential nature.

The key is you must take reasonable precautions to protect the confidentiality of the information. This usually means only disclosing it to third parties that have a need to know the information and, even then, ensuring they sign an NDA. Further, you should use good data privacy policies such as firewalls and good passwords. For physical items, you should use safes and other protections. To the extent something is a trade secret, you can protect it for as long as it remains a secret.

PATENTS

Patents protect inventions, machines, processes, and similar things and are issued by the USPTO. To obtain a patent, your invention must be: (1) useful; (2) new; and (3) not obvious. An important consideration when you invent things is when to file for patent protection and the general advice is to apply as soon as possible. There are very strict grace periods and, in some countries, you lose your ability to obtain a patent as soon as you disclose your invention to the public. Once you secure a patent, it will usually last for 20 years.

HOW DOES THIS FIT INTO YOUR PLANNING?

This is quite a lot to consider. But it is important for you to think through these topics as you write your new business plan and get ready to launch your business. If you’d like additional help, you can sign up for the free Kauffman FastTrac program at www.fasttrac.org.

CONTRIBUTOR: Chris Brown, Founder and Attorney, Venture Legal

Grow with Purpose: Why You Should Set SMART Goals

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Grow with Purpose: Why You Should Set SMART Goals

Starting and running a business is a journey.

And along that journey, you’ll likely be setting goals to help guide your personal and professional growth.

The key is to identify and set goals that, when met, will deliver results. After all, you have enough to juggle. You don’t want to waste time on vague or unattainable goals that do nothing to help you and your business grow and improve.

Instead, focus on setting SMART goals. Let’s first explore what they are, then we’ll give you a few examples to help jumpstart your own goal-setting process.

WHAT ARE SMART GOALS?

The SMART acronym dates back to November 1981 in Spokane, Wash., according to Project Smart. Consultant George T. Doran published a paper titled, “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives.”

SMART goals, in short, provide a results-oriented framework to goal-setting. Think back to your own experiences with goals or everybody’s favorite: New Year’s resolutions! You can likely pinpoint more than one occasion on which you set a goal and then had trouble meeting it. Or, if you did, perhaps that goal didn’t deliver the anticipated result.

That’s where SMART goals can help. Let’s break down the acronym:

Specific — Vague, open-ended goals are often an inhibitor to progress. For example, a goal of “I want to sell more product” isn’t specific enough. Try assigning a value and a timeline to the goal so that it becomes “I want to increase product sales by 25% within the next year.”

Measurable — If you can’t measure your goal, how can you be sure you achieved it? Setting measurable goals also helps if you’re looking at long-term goal setting. That way, you can periodically check your stats to see what progress you’re making. If you want to increase your year-over-year website traffic, for example, you wouldn’t wait a year to monitor traffic stats. Instead, you’d likely check in at least monthly to see if you’re on track to meet your original goal.

Attainable — This can be a tricky one for entrepreneurs, since so many of us are used to thinking and acting big! But when it comes to goal-setting, there’s a balance between a goal that’s challenging and one that’s simply unrealistic. Don’t set yourself up for failure out of the gate and, instead, think of what you want to achieve given your particular circumstances and limitations.

Relevant — It can be tempting to set long-term goals that will give you the added boost to make big things happen. Instead, ensure your goals are relevant to your current and near-term situation, not to mention to you and your business. It’s easy to get caught up with what others are doing, especially on social media, and think that you need to set several goals to modify your entrepreneurial behavior. Instead, stick with what makes sense for you and your business. After all, these are your goals!

Timely — Again, don’t look too far down the road when goal-setting. It’s fine to set some one-, two-, even five-year benchmarks, but the more timely your goals, the more likely they are to be successful. For example, if you haven’t yet brought a product to market yet, you’d want to focus on that before you set a goal to boost product sales. You can also think of “timely” goals as “time-bound” — in other words, give yourself a deadline. Otherwise, it’s easy to keep pushing that goal to the bottom of the “to accomplish” list.

3 TIPS TO MAKE SMART GOALS WORK FOR YOU

Now that you’ve got a grasp of what SMART goals are, let’s explore how to make them work for you and your business.

  • Brainstorm first. Before you dive into setting goals, grab a piece of paper and a pen and indulge in a few minutes of brainstorming. Where are you right now with your business and professional skills? And where do you want to go? Making a list of things you want to focus on can help you identify where to start setting goals.
  • Start small. We’ve talked about starting small and scaling up in other facets of your business, and goal-setting is no different. It’s often tempting to make a huge list of goals as you’re swept up by thoughts of what you’ll accomplish. Yet at some point, reality sets in, and the long list that once was invigorating now seems downright daunting. The trick is to start small. Set 1-3 goals, for example. Maybe you need to launch your website. Or you want to start an email newsletter. Or, on the professional development side, you want to start attending two networking events per month. Then, as you accomplish your goals, you can set more. And speaking of starting small: you don’t necessarily need your goals to hit every letter in the SMART acronym. If you can, that’s great. But otherwise, focus on at least three of those attributes, which will help you make more impactful and achievable goals.
  • Document your goals. Whether it’s a notebook, a spreadsheet or a note on your smartphone, don’t forget to note your goals. That way, you can track your progress. No matter what goals you set, we’re betting you’re not going to achieve them overnight — and that’s good! Logging your goals not only makes them feel more official; you can also refer back to them and see how you and your business have grown. And if you don’t meet a goal, make some notes. What were the factors that impeded your success? Can you modify the goal for better results? Or did it highlight an area of your business that needs some attention? Your professional goals are very much a part of your entrepreneurial journey, so for both learning and posterity’s sake, it helps to record both goals and outcomes.

Ready to set a few goals of your own? Great news! And if you’re still unsure how to proceed, that’s fine, too. Instead, start with this goal: register for Kauffman FastTrac, a free online course that will help you launch your business. The self-paced curriculum includes a focus on goal-setting and just might be the inspiration you need to unleash your inner goal-setter!

Trademarks 101 for Entrepreneurs

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Trademarks 101 for Entrepreneurs

Many entrepreneurs and business owners don’t think about trademark law until it is too late. If you are just getting started writing your business plan, you should think about it right now. If you’ve already started your new business, well, you should think about it right now too.

Here are seven critical things you should consider when thinking about your trademarks.

WHAT DOES A TRADEMARK PROTECT?

Trademark laws allow you to protect any name, logo, slogan, or similar branding element, that you use to distinguish your goods or services from those of your competitors. While many forms of intellectual property (copyrights and patents, for example) primarily exist to protect businesses, trademark laws exist to protect consumers. The idea is that consumers should be able to buy a product and trust that the product is coming from the company listed on the product.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR TRADEMARK.

It is important to note that trademark registrations are highly encouraged (see below), but they are not technically required. Rather, courts will enforce trademark rights as soon as you begin using your mark in commerce. However, without a registration, your rights will be limited to the geographic area in which you use the mark.

Thus, it is almost always a good idea to file a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. If approved, you can protect your mark nationwide.

HOW LONG DOES A TRADEMARK LAST?

Generally speaking, you can protect your trademark for as long as you use it in commerce. However, if you allow other people to also use it, you may lose your trademark rights. For that reason, it is important to police the market and stop other people from using your trademark without your permission.

WHY DO GOODS/SERVICES MATTER?

By way of example, think about Delta Airlines and Delta Faucets. Both are allowed to use “Delta” because consumers are not likely to think they are the same company due to their different areas of focus. However, if you were to open a business selling sinks and name it Delta, you may end up receiving a cease and desist letter from Delta Faucets since your company’s products and their products are similar in nature.

Thus, it is always important to consider what goods or services you’d like to tie your mark to since you will largely be limited to that area when you obtain rights.

WHAT MAKES A “GREAT” TRADEMARK?

For starters, you should avoid trying to protect generic and descriptive names because you generally cannot protect them. You’ll never be able to protect “Restaurant” for example because if you could, no one else would be able to use that word to describe their business. You can sometimes protect “descriptive” names, but that can be difficult (think about “Holiday Inn” for example).

What you should aim for is suggestive or arbitrary names. “Coppertone” for sunscreen is considered suggestive; while “Apple” for computers is considered arbitrary. In both cases, you’ll be more likely to obtain good trademark rights.

HOW TO RUN A TRADEMARK SEARCH.

Before adopting a name, you should always run a trademark search. You should start with the publicly available database available at www.uspto.gov. Assuming you clear that database, you should then search other government databases such as state trademark registries and non-public (common law) sources such as Google, Facebook, trade publications, newspapers, and elsewhere. This “common law” search is important because, as mentioned earlier, people can obtain trademark rights even without a federal registration.

Also note, while you can search on your own, it is usually best to hire a professional trademark search company to run your search. Their search will be more thorough than what you can do on your own.

WHAT CONSTITUTES TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT?

Trademark infringement occurs when someone uses a mark in commerce and consumers are likely to be confused as to the source of the goods. For example, if you began selling computers under the name “Apple,” it is likely that your customers would assume you were selling them computers made by Apple, Inc., in California. If that confusion is likely, then the real Apple could use trademark infringement laws to prohibit you from doing that (and they might be able to seek damages too).

KEEP GOING!

Starting a business can be one of the most exciting things you ever do. However, as you can see, there are a lot of things to consider. Luckily, with the right help, you can increase your chances of success. In addition to the helpful tips above, you should consider taking formal classes to learn more. One such program is the Kauffman Foundation’s FastTrac program, which you can use for free at www.fasttrac.org.

Social Media 101: 6 Steps to Effectively Manage Your Digital Presence

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Social Media 101: 6 Steps to Effectively Manage Your Digital Presence

In today’s increasingly digital world, your company’s social media presence isn’t merely a value add. Instead, it can be a powerful way to extend and support your larger messaging strategy — that is, when used correctly.

That’s the caveat. Correct — or optimal — social media use can be a struggle, especially for entrepreneurs who are trying to juggle 100 tasks at once. Social media management can, and often does, fall far down on the to-do list.

Social media channels are an effective way for prospective customers to find you and for you to share information about your company, your vision, and your story.

Instead of delving into the nitty-gritty details like what days and times you should post and how often, we’re going to take a step back and offer a more holistic approach to social media management. After all, you don’t have a lot of time to spare, which is why we want you to make the best use of the resources you already have.

Ready? Let’s go!

1. START SMALL.

It’s tempting to sign up for every social media platform. Don’t! Instead, pick two to three channels to start with. Frequent choices include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. As you decide where to start, think of your business and these questions:

  • What’s your vision? Your voice?
  • What products or services do you offer?
  • What’s your message and how can you best convey it?

Answering those questions can help you decide what makes sense. For example, Instagram is an incredibly visual platform, so you’ll want to be sure you have plenty of photos and short videos to showcase. LinkedIn, on the other hand, is particularly effective for a B2B audience with a slightly more polished, professional tone than what you might use on, say, Facebook.

Keep this in mind: It’s always easier to scale up than scale back, and that includes social media marketing. If you start with too many channels at once, you risk fragmenting your message and not having enough time to devote to each platform. Social media marketing, like digital marketing, is an ongoing work in progress. You’ll always be testing, analyzing and refining. After several months, you may realize a particular social media channel isn’t working for your business. At that point, step away from that channel and pivot to another one. Lather, rinse, repeat.

2. FIND YOUR AUDIENCE.

As you decide which social media channels to activate, it’s important to understand where your audience spends time. Many social media marketing resources take a “one-size-fits-all” approach. That’s a helpful starting point, but paying attention to your customers and prospects is what will help you succeed. If you host any focus groups with members of your target audience, ask a question or two about what social media channels they use and where they enjoy hearing from businesses.

Another tip? Keep a close eye on your analytics. Use Google Analytics to monitor social media traffic to your website. Most social media platforms will also provide built-in insights. On sites like Instagram, you’ll need to make sure you’ve set up a business profile, rather than a personal profile, which you connect to your business Facebook page. Make a point to regularly look at your data, which will not only tell you what type of content is performing well, but also where your audience is interacting with your business.

3. CONSISTENCY IS KEY.

Unforeseen circumstances can prevent you from posting consistently.   You’re busy running your business and suddenly it’s been two weeks since you’ve posted on Facebook or shared an image on Instagram.

On the other hand, you don’t want to post for the sake of posting, which is why so much of social media marketing is about balance. To help ensure a consistent posting schedule, try these two things:

  • Gather content before you launch.If you haven’t yet activated your social channels, take a few days to gather content before you go live. Create an easily accessible file on a tool like Dropbox or Google Drive where you can stash photos, videos, and other visual assets. Then, pair those with the holy grail of social media marketing: an editorial calendar.
  • Build an editorial calendar. As an entrepreneur, you also wear the hat of a publisher — congratulations! You’re creating a lot of content, including for your social media channels. Building a calendar can help keep you organized and ensure you’re hitting all of your messaging pillars. You don’t need to start with anything fancy — you can build a simple spreadsheet in Excel or, better yet, Google Sheets so that you can share it with your team. Include quick content notes on your calendar — do you have products to feature? A sale or promotion to share? If you’re also blogging, you’ll want to be sure to share all of your blogs on your social media channels so that you drive people back to your website. If you get stuck creating content, look at what other businesses in your industry are doing. Are there widely used hashtags like #TBT (Throwback Thursday) that you could personalize to your company? Or look up silly national holidays that you can potentially tie in to your product or service. Creating social content really does get easier. As you find your groove, you’ll start to see ideas and inspiration all around you.

4. REMEMBER THE “SOCIAL” IN SOCIAL MEDIA

No matter your industry or business or what you post, remember this: be conversational. Social etiquette can get lost behind a screen, but at the end of the day, all social media channels are built on conversations. Picture a few members of your target audience as you create content: what do you want to tell them? Avoid constant sales pitches or you’ll quickly be perceived as spammy. And don’t be afraid to show some personality! We’ve talked before about the importance of every business having a story and a voice. Your social media channels are the perfect place to show people who your company is, why it exists and why they should do business with you.

5. TAP INTO TOOLS.

There’s no shortage of tools to help you manage and optimize your social channels. To track the performance of links in a place besides Google Analytics, try a link  like shortener Bit.ly, which will save your links and show you data like clicks, referrers and geographic location.

Management tools like LoomlyBuffer, and Meet Edgar automate functions like scheduling and can be a big help, especially if you’re struggling to find enough time to manage your social media. One note about scheduling: remember what you have scheduled and what it says. If, for example, a national tragedy strikes, it’s a good idea to disable any schedule posts to prevent being perceived as insensitive or dismissive to what’s happening.

To easily create polished graphics that are sized for a specific social platform, try using apps like Canva or WordSwag. For more in-depth photo editing, Snapseed is a robust option (also an app).

6. OVERWHELMED? OUTSOURCE!

There will likely become a point when social media management becomes too much for you or your team. In that case, consider outsourcing your social media marketing to a solo contractor or an agency. You can set up parameters for reviewing content prior to publication or attend regular meetings to discuss strategy and results. So, that you’re not completely removed from the process. Just be sure to carefully vet your prospective vendors and, if possible, equip your vendor with brand and messaging guidelines to help ensure consistency. And in the event that you discontinue a vendor’s services, be sure to change your social media passwords ASAP so that you know who has access to your accounts.

Here’s a final tip: if you haven’t yet fully developed your brand and marketing, you’ll want to do that before you dive into social media management. Your social channels should be a reflection and extension of your brand, which is why it’s so important to start with a larger marketing strategy.

And if that’s something you need help with, you’ve come to the right place. Simply register for Kauffman FastTrac, a free online course that quickly gets you up to speed on everything you need to know to launch a business, including identifying your brand and developing your marketing. When you’re done, you’ll have the insight and resources you need to tackle any challenges that come your way, including what to post next on Instagram!