Business is not as usual since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, now is not the time to give up on your business either. Plenty of business owners have felt hardships that have come with the recent crisis, but it is the small businesses that are facing the most uncertainty.
The team at millennial-led female-owned PR firm, Publicity For Good, decided to gather top entrepreneurs in various industries who have faced their own challenges. Today, they share the best advice and tips to help small businesses navigate their next big moves.
The SBA recently announced the postponement of National Small Business Week this year–which should have fallen on May 3- 9. It’s inspired us to provide support in the form of useful tactics and advice from these successful entrepreneurs.
Dan Fleyshman is the youngest founder of a publicly-traded company in history. Currently his social media agency “Elevator Studios” works with over 600 influencers and manages campaigns for a variety of large companies. The agency has also hosted 30 live events called “Elevator Nights” which has helped 1000’s of entrepreneurs learn from and network with investors in multiple sectors including cannabis & cryptocurrency. Most recently he started the 100 Milion Academy, an online educational platform featuring over 20+ entrepreneurs who have sold over $100 million in revenue, spent over $100 million on advertising, or have been seen by over 100 million people. They are currently supporting business owners in need by providing them with at least a 30-day free access to their educational program. To learn more about Dan visit him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danfleyshman
Advice for small business owners:
“Pivot hard, take steps immediately, and do it all without apologies; the life of your business depends on it. Most businesses had thin margins, or survived month to month, and the reality of the ‘new world’ starting this summer is that 10s of millions of businesses will lose customers due to travel/restrictions/fear and see lower spending due to the impacted economy.”
Emily Vavra is an alpha female Entrepreneur who had a dream and went for it. This LA-based wellness leader and speaker continues to pave the way for others as one of the top network marketing professionals. Since 2011, Emily has helped thousands of other entrepreneurs in building their own health, wealth, and financial freedom. Emily is a global traveler speaking to filled arenas on business topics, mindset issues, motivational stories, and more. Known for her #RealTalk, Emily is innovative; delivering with knowledge, style, and just enough edge to ensure value to those who are listening. She is Yahoo’s top 10 Entrepreneurs to follow in 2020, and has recently been featured on WGN Chicago, ABC Sacramento, Bloom TV, KTLA, Life&Style Magazine, Thrive Global, Good Morning Lala Land and more!
Advice for small business owners:
“I believe all of America’s small business owners and entrepreneurs deserve to be celebrated for their contributions. In order to succeed, you need very good customer service. We live in a noisy, competitive world. Want to stand out? Always ask yourself ‘how can I serve my customer?’ ‘How can I go to the extra degree?’ Create a safe place for people to grow yet remain challenged and constantly evolving.”
Jamie Joslin King is a serial entrepreneur, internationally recognized female leader, and founder of the Slay Coach, a mission to make entrepreneurship obtainable for women all over the world. After just two years of business, Jamie’s empire The Slay Coach has grown to include various successful online programs, personal coaching, inspiration speaking, and workshops, transforming thousands of women’s lives worldwide.
Advice for small business owners:
“Being an entrepreneur needs to be about more than making a lot of money. It’s important to give back to your community. After all, they’re the reason that you have been able to achieve all of your success. I’ve made it my mission to make entrepreneurship obtainable for women, and for me, that means supporting them and offering scholarships to programs that they couldn’t otherwise afford. Give back to the community that has helped you succeed.”
Jane Merten is a passionate entrepreneur helping people find clean, organic personal care products that fit their daily lives. Her natural curiosity about the environment and sustainable practices of individuals and businesses eventually led her to a thriving career in the Natural Products Industry where she has enjoyed creating and marketing organic products since 2009. She currently is the Vice President of Marketing at Eco Lips located in Marion, Iowa and owns her own organic deodorant business, All Out Naturals.
Advice for small business owners:
“Your people are your best asset so being transparent with them on the status of the business will be appreciated now more than ever. Regularly sharing the good and the bad will help them understand and support pivots the business has to take to better serve the current marketplace and save the business. Sometimes the best ideas come from people in different departments so be open to input from all areas. Teamwork makes the dream work!”
Heather DeSantis is the CEO and Founder of Publicity For Good, Founder of Good Side News, and Founder of Press Demand. She was also Miss Ohio International and most known for building her business on the road from her Airstream. Her story of living and working full time in an Airstream has been featured on FOX News, Business Insider, The NY Post, Entrepreneur, Inside Edition, iHeart Media, amongst many other media outlets.
Advice for small business owners:
“Don’t try to do everything yourself. It’s important as a leader to ask for help and lean on your team. Doing it all yourself will guarantee that you burnout, and burning out helps no one. Separate yourself from your business and take your self-care seriously. Don’t connect your self worth to your revenue or your business. You are so much more than your business! Taking care of yourself will ensure that you are at your best and you can show up for your business and team when they need you.”
Luke Lintz and Jordan Lintz are the founders of HighKey Holdings, a company that owns a large equity position in HighKey Technology Inc, HighKey Agency Inc., HighKey Clout Inc and Lyrical Inc. Luke and Jordan were able to experience unbelievable levels of growth with HighKey Agency and after working and connecting with hundreds of the highest level people across North America, so many more business opportunities arose. In late 2019, Highkey Clout Inc began, which has been the fastest-growing company that Luke and Jordan have ever experienced. The company reported reaching a six-figure total revenue in under 30 days of opening. Highkey Clout currently focuses on Instagram growth for their clients that are trying to increase their brand and exposure on social media.
Advice for small business owners:
“My team at HighKey understands that any business or individual wanting to thrive in the future must always be where the attention is and have a strategy in place to take advantage of it. Currently, Instagram is at the top of social media usage around the world, which is why having a presence on Instagram that exceeds the expectations of your customers is crucial. Customers and potential leads will make split-second decisions of working with your business just by looking at your social media profile. Every part of your Instagram page plays a part in this, your followers, your Instagram bio, your content, your Instagram highlights. Business professionals need to be treating their Instagram pages like a landing page, where someone can understand exactly what you do after looking at your profile for 10 seconds.”
“The reason Instagram’s growth is so hard nowadays is because of the accumulation of Instagram algorithm updates. Instagram has specifically removed pretty much all methods of growing on Instagram that are ‘not natural.’ Their goal in doing so is to make their platform more interpersonal because not everyone can be famous. These updates have allowed for opportunities because now everyone is on the same playing field and there are only a few methods of growth left.”
Kayla Ybanez is an Instagram and Business Strategist for Network Marketers and online coaches that want to scale sustainable relationship-based businesses without age-old strategies like “hey girl” cold messaging. She is also a Speaker & Event Host. Kayla has been featured in Forbes, Thrive Global, WGN Chicago, Conscious Company, and Life & Style. She is the host of the Stop The Hey Girl Podcast.
Advice for small business owners:
“Entrepreneurship seems scary to those on the outside because it is unpredictable and has so many unknowns. For me, that’s exactly why it is so exciting because I know my success is dependent on me and not somebody else. I love having control over my finances, what I create and the impact I can have. My tips for someone who is wanting to pursue entrepreneurship is to first evaluate what social media platforms you want to have a presence on because especially in current times, social media is more important now than ever before. Make sure you aren’t putting all of your eggs into one ‘social media basket’. Second, are you showing up on social media as who you are in real life? If your audience doesn’t feel like they’re getting the whole package they aren’t likely to trust you or your business.”
Leslie Lee is a Mother, serial entrepreneur, trusted confidant, and Registered Nurse. Her life experiences have molded her into the entrepreneur and nurse that she is today. Professionally Leslie focuses on helping her patients find their unique beauty and then helps to enhance it. Leslie is also the owner of Liv and WYLD, a monthly subscription box that provides patients and consumers with top medical grade skincare products, that arrive conveniently at their door each month while educating them on how to use them. Leslie takes all of her favorites and curates them into a box tailored just for you. She takes all the guessing out of what skincare products to choose. For every purchase, Liv and WYLD will be donating a Hope Box to “And Now She Rises,” a non-profit group helping victims of domestic and sexual abuse.
Advice for small business owners:
“Creativity is at the heart of every human, entrepreneurship allows the artist in you to come alive. Every human is an artist, Entrepreneurship allows your creativity to come alive. You will want to give up. At some point, you will wonder ‘why am I doing this?’ ‘I have no idea what I am doing.’ Keep going. No one cares as much about your business as you.”
Martin Erim is the CEO of CROWN/ARMOR, a powerful broad-spectrum antiviral product that is highly effective in preventing the transmission of viruses. Martin’s prior work included 16 projects as a food and beverage entrepreneur dedicated to natural products. He founded two companies, First Renaissance Ventures, and FR Global, that worked with startup firms and established companies planning growth expansion both domestic and internationally.
Advice to small business owners:
“As I ponder the current world situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, I feel that we are still in a phase of shock. Stunned and lacking clarity about what is happening and its impact. With such a tremendous event, there is enormous damage, challenge, and as always commensurate opportunity. I am spending time thinking about the opportunity.”
“The opportunity to be part of the humanitarian response and the commercial opportunity when you have solutions. I think of a few pertinent quotes that resonate for me such as ‘more generals are made in wartime than in peacetime’, or Winston Churchill who said ‘never waste the opportunity of a crisis’. Perhaps very apt for me is the famous quote from Wayne Gretzky who stated that his success was simply ‘because he went to where the puck is going, not where it is’. Anyone that can predict, foretell, anticipate where the economy and the culture is going because of this event, will have exceptional opportunity.”
To schedule an interview with these experts contact Heather DeSantis – [email protected]