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Archives for October 2016

Womeneur Spotlight: Lucinda Cross of Activate World Wide

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Take a walk down the path of these entrepreneurs, business owners and progressive women.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”vc_default” bg_type=”image” parallax_style=”vcpb-default” bg_image_new=”id^2728|url^https://www.womeneur.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/kae-whitaker_650_650_ffffffgrayopac-7_s_c1.png|caption^null|alt^null|title^kae-whitaker_650_650_ffffffgrayopac-7_s_c1|description^null” css=”.vc_custom_1461291553153{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1477965903775{margin-bottom: -2px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

Lucinda Cross-Otiti

President[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” border_width=”5″ accent_color=”#e3672b” css=”.vc_custom_1460496937176{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Website:

Social Media: [dt_social_icons animation=”none” alignment=”default”][dt_social_icon target_blank=”true” icon=”facebook” link=”http://facebook.com/lucindacrossspeaks” /][dt_social_icon target_blank=”true” icon=”twitter” link=”http://twitter.com/lucindaspeaks” /][dt_social_icon target_blank=”true” icon=”instagram” link=”http://instagram.com/lucindacross” /][/dt_social_icons][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”5589″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Lucinda Cross is the President of Activate World Wide, best-selling author, internationally known speaker, spokesperson and energetic teacher of personal and professional development. Known as the Go to Girl for Taking Massive Action and America’s Favorite Vision Board Queen. Ultimately, her life is about helping women live a life of fire, fun and freedom.

We had a chance to speak with this Womeneur and learn all about her entrepreneurial journey.

What inspired your journey into business?
Working on a job that had no growth for my children’s future. I was tired of living paycheck to paycheck.

What steps did you take to start your business?
I sought out to find and connect with a mentor who was doing what I desired to do and was doing it well.

What did you do before this and is this your first business?
This is my first business. I started it 10 years ago and it has evolved every 3 years. I added more value and removed some deliverables that no longer served my niche. Before this I was a side hustler writing business plans and proposals as well as working as the head of Performance Improvement and Risk Management for a private hospital.

What is one thing that really helped you with starting your business?
Having a mentor and eventually hiring a coach. They helped me to know about the storms and up hill battles and how to prepare from them when they come.

What are your biggest business ownership fears?
Not knowing if I have the right accountants in place to keep me in the clear with IRS.

What do you do to stay motivated when you feel like giving up?
Besides prayer, I like to go have fun with my kids, they are so free and they give me so much energy. They give me no choice but to continue when I think about continuing that freedom that they have.

What do you enjoy the most about business ownership (what’s most rewarding)?
Being able to say YES. Yes to what I want, when I want.

What do you enjoy the least (what’s least rewarding) about business ownership?
Being tested faith-wise. I have big dreams and goals and it requires big faith and I know that big faith comes with test and those tests will make or break you. I love to dream big but I know that there will be some challenges I must prepare for. I have to be honest, sometimes I want it to come a little easier than it has in the past. But God has a way of making me spiritually strong.

If you had to do it again, what (if anything) would you do differently?
Stay focused on one niche from the start.

What’s one thing in business you cannot go one day without using?
My gmail account

What’s your secret to cultivating a good relationship with your customers/clients?
Being open and vulnerable about your journey and also listening to them is key. Listen to the things they are not saying and the things they are saying.

Where do you see your business in 5 years?
Owning a few Half way houses and my products in Walmart stores across the country

What are 3 tips you can share with anyone wanting to be a business owner?

  1. Find a niche and rock out
  2. Find a problem and solve it and call it your secret formula
  3. Show up and network with those who do what you do

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Why Exceptional Customer Service Matters

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Customer service must be one of the top priorities for any business owner. Unfortunately, not many pay enough attention to it. There are entrepreneurs  who don’t take good care of their customers, who just want their product to be in the hands of more clients and see money coming in, and who aren’t available to take action immediately when a client has a complaint.

Such people, and businesses, don’t make it in the long run. Customers know when someone doesn’t care about them, and they will just go buy from a competitor who does. Being nice isn’t enough either. Your service must be exceptional. Let’s see what that really means.

What is Good Customer Service?

Ever since marketing came to be, customer service has meant one thing – to make your clients satisfied. But few are good at it.

Because true customer service means going the extra mile, doing a little something (and doing it better than anyone else in the market) that will make them smile, feel special or will help them in some way.

It means being able to handle issues the moment someone contacts you or your team, doing it effectively, and making sure that doesn’t happen again.

It means knowing your product, service and company so well, that you can give a specific answer to any question a potential customer might have. That also includes communicating with them with respect and being friendly at the same time. After all, these are the people who pay your bills. But they also need to build trust in you and to know there’s a person behind all this who cares.

[bctt tweet=”As a business owner, it’s your duty to deliver any item on time, without exceptions.” username=”womeneur”]

What’s more, you should do your best to eliminate any barriers your customers might have that can keep them from contacting support or the point of major complaint. This might be technology – make it as simple as one or two clicks before they’re are chatting with an employee of the company and are receiving the guidance they came for. That’s not an easy thing as it means (in case you’re offering your product or service internationally) having enough staff members, a flawless system, and perfect organizational skills to make sure everything happens on time.

Don’t become an entrepreneur who considers a product delivered the moment it’s shipped, or sent. Server issues shouldn’t be something the customer has to figure out on his own. Sometimes, the system might not be working well and a customer might not be receiving emails and notifications. But if both parties don’t know that, at some point you’ll end up with hundreds of angry clients without knowing what to do.

Once you get to that point, earning their respect again and keeping them satisfied is quite difficult. So make sure you work hard before you get the product out there. And once it’s launched, never stop receiving feedback, listening to it, making improvements and learning from the mistakes.

Taking Customer Service to The Next Level

You want to stand out in your competitive niche, and customer service can be the foundation of your success.

Don’t just follow the rules above, do even more.

For instance, considering that first impressions matter the most, make it your goal to amaze a client who buys for the first time. Be it with a personal call from you a few days after the purchase to see how things are going, by giving them a bonus workbook on how to use the item effectively, or including them in a contest for winning something. That’s what going beyond their expectations means.

Encourage people using your product to take a picture, which you’ll then upload to your social media. Create engagement. Let them brainstorm ideas on how to make the process fun. Maybe a forum would be a nice addition to your site, and you yourself can even learn a thing or two about what your clients struggle with.

Why All This Matters?

Without your customers, you won’t be making money and the business will soon cease to exist. But there’s much more behind this.

Happy clients are the people who will give you feedback on how to make your product better, who will tell their friends about it, who might become fans of the brand and buy future products too.

In the startup world, it’s often said that it’s much better to create a product a small number of people will love, than to aim at making millions of people like it.

Loyal customers can go a long way, but you need that first group of people in the beginning. They will be your biggest asset. You’ll ask them what they need, what features they want to see, how they want the product to look in terms of design, what from your competitors’ products they like the most, etc.

So, now that you’re reminded of what true customer service looks like, what can you do today to optimize that aspect of your business?

Womeneur Spotlight: Essilfua Bartels of Essie Spice

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Take a walk down the path of these entrepreneurs, business owners and progressive women.

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Essilfua Bartels

Owner & Spice Mixologist[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” border_width=”5″ accent_color=”#e3672b” css=”.vc_custom_1460496937176{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Website:

Social Media: [dt_social_icons animation=”none” alignment=”default”][dt_social_icon target_blank=”true” icon=”facebook” link=”http://facebook.com/essiespice” /][dt_social_icon target_blank=”true” icon=”twitter” link=”http://twitter.com/essiespicer” /][dt_social_icon target_blank=”true” icon=”instagram” link=”http://instagram.com/essiespice” /][/dt_social_icons][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”5565″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

We had a chance to interview Essilfua Bartels, founder and Spice Mixologist of , offering gourmet, handcrafted Spices and Sauces made with West-African cooking Techniques and spices and other flavors from around the world. This year Essie’s products landed on the shelves of both Brooklyn Whole Foods locations where you can shop exoitc flavors like Mango Chili Medley, CoCo for Garlic and Tamarind Oh!

What inspired your journey into business?
Curiosity and my love for food and travel

What steps did you take to start your business?
Started small, lots of research, experiments and just giving it my everything

What did you do before this and is this your first business?
Worked in Global procurement in International companies

What is one thing that really helped you with starting your business?
Passion. You cannot do without that.

What are your biggest business ownership fears?
Not delivering my best work or being a failure. Also giving away too much of my company for equity or to the banks.

What do you do to stay motivated when you feel like giving up?
Call my mother. She is my rock. Alternatively, I just take time out to travel and pray or just make sure I immerse myself in nature; I always find zen in nature.

What do you enjoy the most about business ownership (what’s most rewarding)?
The fact that I’m impacting people’s lives each day with my sauces because I’m literally feeding them. Also because my work directly impacts my supplier of spices and artisans who create the products for me.

What do you enjoy the least (what’s least rewarding) about business ownership?
Having to juggle so much. Hoping I would be able to afford more hands so that I’m not doing a million things and dropping the ball sometimes.

If you had to do it again, what (if anything) would you do differently?
Nothing

What’s one thing in business you cannot go one day without using?
Prayer

What’s your secret to cultivating a good relationship with your customers/clients?
Make sure you’re accessible and listen to what they have to say.

Where do you see your business in 5 years?
Growth, expansion beyond the North East and new products and offerings

What are 3 tips you can share with anyone wanting to be a business owner?

  1. Be extremely passionate
  2. Harness your network
  3. PRAY

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5 Practical Tools to Automate Your Workflow

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In every entrepreneur’s life comes a moment when the work that needs to be done increases to the extent where you need to prioritize. So identify the areas that matter the most and which only you can do, and outsource or automate the rest.

Luckily for you, innovative business owners have created products that help you free up some time and automate your workflow.

There are so many tools out there thanks to technology, and once you give a few a try and find the right ones for you and your business, you’ll be able to stop worrying about repetitive and tedious tasks, and focus more on what you do best.

Here are 5 such tools you’ll find useful:

1. Onlypult

As we all know, Instagram can become a powerful marketing machine and brand builder if used in the right way.

But instead of having to be there at the specific times of the day when it’s best to publish content, why not schedule these in advance and know they’ll appear just in time for your audience to see them? What’s more, there won’t be any annoying notifications, but non-push ones.

You can enjoy a 7-day free trial and see how much time it saves you and how easy it is to use. Learn more about Onlypult’s features here.

Also check out these 3 apps for analyzing Instagram data.

2. Calendly

That’s a tool designed to make scheduling appointments and meetings easier than ever.

All you do is set your availability and create custom links for specific clients. Then, each person who wants to contact you just picks a time period you’ve listed as free and creates an event in your calendar.

No need to send multiple emails, lose potential clients, make them wait or use the phone. Anyone using this particular scheduling software swears by its simplicity.

Start with a 14-day trial period and see how you’re able to get more work done and simplify communication with clients and staff.

3. Basecamp

Moving onto project management, which is another aspect of the business you must automate as early as possible.

Basecamp is one of the best options as the features it offers can solve almost anything you’re struggling with.

From organizing tasks, prioritizing and assigning each, to having a separate page and discussion for each topic and adding all the necessary files there for anyone involved in the project to see and use.

You also have the freedom to chat in real time and share and organize any type of files. Easily keep track of deadlines and set milestones, with the option to add people to each and notify them right away.

You’ll receive notifications about anything that concerns you, so no need to even think about a project when you’re not working on it.

4. 17hats

Sometimes, even if you automate some aspects of the business, you still end up wasting a lot of time doing administrative tasks.

For example, you may often need to remind clients to pay you, or spend time creating different responses, contracts or invoices.

What about tracking your expenses and trying to manage your money? Even if you have a bookkeeper, you still need to take care of some things. You may also get lost in spreadsheets and notes when tracking all the areas you should manage.

Not anymore. 17 hats’ purpose is to help you stop using tens of apps and let you stay sane and on top of your game.

It’s an all-in-one business management tool that takes care of client correspondence, tracking payments and getting paid on time without annoying the client, capturing leads, bookkeeping, and building templates for the documents you use the most so that you never repeat the same thing twice.

Use it free if you just want to test the basic options, and upgrade when you see the benefits.

5. SumoMe

A set of tools that comes in the form of a plugin for your WordPress site and helps you build an email list, grow your traffic and optimize through analytics.

You can install a scroll box, smart bar or welcome mat to invite visitors to join your newsletter.

The heatmap and Google analytics will give you information about where people are coming from and what they are doing once they land on your website.

To encourage them to share your content, you can add beautiful share buttons, or install the image sharer and highlighter.

All these are free to use, but there’s also a premium version with even more features.

Which tool will you give a try today to make your work easier?