 If there is anything business owners and entrepreneurs have been told in recent years it’s that success can’t be found without immense suffering. You can’t be successful without working 24/7. How do you plan to reach your goals if you want to, dare I say, take a vacation? Work/life balance? Not a chance! What happens when these business owners and entrepreneurs take this advice? They do it. They work 24/7, sacrifice hobbies, family time, anything else that brings them joy. They lose sleep, they may skip meals, and before you know it, they are burnt out. Productivity dips, numbers drop, and it feels like all that work has just gone down the drain. How can working hard lead to burnout? Working hard is one thing. Working beyond your limits is another. Hard work and dedication is needed when being a business owner or entrepreneur, that’s a given! Burnout occurs when individuals OVER work themselves and essentially bite off more than they can chew. This usually happens in the early stages, when staff and funding is limited and the main goal is to get things off the ground and turn profit. Business owners and entrepreneurs often do most, if not all, of the work; marketing, sales, finance, etc. Doing several jobs all at once is time consuming and because of this, individuals often have to sacrifice things that can alleviate stress and help prevent burnout, such as family time and hobbies. But it doesn’t have to be that way. So, what is the solution? Simple - asking for help. It can be hard as a business owner or entrepreneur to ask for help. You may like things done a certain way and fear others cannot replicate or you may feel a sense of failure because you can’t manage what you initially thought you could. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but rather, a good thing! Business owners have to be level-headed and understand the ups and downs. The ability to understand where things may be going wrong within your business or personally is key. Take some time to analyze day to day tasks. Figure out what is consuming the majority of your time, what is driving profit, what your strong suit is, what tasks are being left on the back burner, and what your weak spots are. Once you break this all down, it’s time to find the help you need! Well, where exactly do I get this help? Hiring extra hands is the best way to alleviate yourself of tasks that may be adding a bit too much to your plate. A cost effective method of help is hiring a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants are pretty much jacks (or jills) of all trades. They can aid with everything from email to payroll to social media. Virtual assistants can even help you access what is on your plate and help you better organize and assign your tasks for optimal performance. What are the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant? Where do we even begin?! Hiring a virtual assistant poses many benefits.
Long gone are the days where you have to run yourself into the ground to be successful. Working with a virtual assistant can help take daunting tasks off of your plate so you can focus on what’s most important - YOU. Say goodbye to hustle culture and HELLO to balance!
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 Since 1878, the Horton Farmers’ Market has been an integral piece of our local culture.
It is a is a best-in-class market destination that promotes civic pride, shapes local culture and supports the regional economy by providing access to high quality food producers, craftspeople and artisans. Each season, the market strives to source all our vendors and products from within a 60km radius of the market, ensuring our community has access to the very best fruits, vegetables, flowers, meats, cheese, and hand-crafted items our region has to offer.” In 2021, the St. Thomas Economic Development Corporation took on the management of the Horton Market with the following objectives in the first year:
How did we do in our first year?
If you are interested in learning more about the Horton Farmer’s Market contact manager@hortonfarmersmarket.ca or call 226-377-0064.  I get asked in almost every marketing appointment whether or not small businesses should invest time into TikTok. My answer is well, it depends.
Tiktok can be an incredible tool if it applies to your market, product, and available resources. The platform saw immense growth in user base throughout the pandemic. What was formerly a dancing app for Gen Z has become a vast layered system with an incredibly accurate algorithm. It isn't something that can be blown off and ignored as an option, but one needs to carefully consider and test the waters before diving all in on TikTok as a miracle marketing strategy. For small businesses with a strictly local market, breaking through to a valuable following on TikTok might be a challenge as the algorithm intentionally tries to show you clips from creators you have a topical interest. Whereas on Instagram you can follow local hashtags - it's easier to focus on a localized market. Shopping tools available through Meta products also limit the amount users need to leave the platform also cut barriers for users to purchase. For individual users and influencers, a base of followers can be beneficial regardless of geography and lead to brand collaborations. The app can be particularly profitable in the US because of the TikTok Creator Fund. But it doesn't necessarily generate sales and when it does it can be a wild ride of viral videos, sell-outs, and expensive restocks only to sit on inventory because the algorithm isn't connecting the buyers anymore. TikTok can be an incredibly valuable tool if you do a little bit of prep work in advance. Ask yourself some questions like: Is my audience purchasing products like mine because of TikTok? Do I have time for this? Can I make time? What skills do I need? Am I already using Reels on Instagram? Is there content that I can repurpose? What are my goals for using TikTok? Are my products accessible enough to justify the additional work? How would I prepare or handle a viral video/sell-out situation? If you do decide that TikTok is where you want to pour some of your marketing strategy check out some additional resources below: 8 Ideas to get your small business started on TikTok TikTok for Business in Canada If you have questions about using TikTok (or Social Media in general!) for your small business, don't hesitate to reach out - I'd love to connect about your marketing strategy! - Sarah |
