Where to save and spend on business processes

Introducing big deals for soloists 🙂

Last week we were excited to announce our new partnership with David Koch’s Pinstripe Media and his stable of trusted small business brands. Today we are pleased to bring all of the Flying Solo community a range of money-saving deals courtesy of our new partners Small Business First, who are on a mission to get small businesses taken care of the way big businesses are! Read more about it and access four exclusive insurance deals to help protect you for less.

This week’s must-reads

Let’s talk about the savings, shall we?

While SEO has fast become the ‘holy grail’ of business marketing, columnist Jo MacDermott favours three simple tweaks over spending a fortune on ‘expert’ advice.

Like, #2: “Optimise your images with Google Image Search. Create a specific filename for each photo that uses long tail keywords you’re targeting, and include these as alt text – the piece of text that describes what your image is about to viewers.”

Any money saved here could instead be directed to overseas outsourcing, although you should bear in mind that the lowest bidders are often a false economy, says columnist Vanessa Emilio.

“Some overseas providers may not have the same quality level, experience or education. Even though they are less expensive, you may not be happy with trying to manage the work with them or the final result.”

Soloist Life

“What is a successful person though? I’ve known people who make lots of money who don’t do these things. And I’ve played the office game and not got the result I wanted because I was too busy playing the office role. Being busy is such a drain and can be so distracting.”

Dani Elle reflects on ‘What successful people do on Monday mornings’, via our Facebook page. Do you agree or disagree?

New and renewing members…

This week’s new members are Lawbase Pty Ltd and Pulse Digital. Welcome on board! Renewing for another year are LifeInsuranceComparison.com.au, Lifestyle Here and Be Media Group.

Spotlight

David Head has always been a ‘self-motivated perfectionist’, so running his own business came naturally. At ULearn IT David’s spent the past 25 years helping small and medium businesses improve their processes and says he can do the same for you.

Tech Tip

Is your website gathering dust or driving business? Start by evaluating the effectiveness of your CMS via the Acquisition menu on the Google Analytics Dashboard, writes contributor Paul Dunstone.

From the forums

Anyone else using freelance work to pursue their passion, asks Overleaf? “You could say that’s how my business started,” replied @Bert. “I needed flexibility to care for my children… I educated my clients to understand that my primary job was a parent, and they would have to wait if my children needed attention.”

Listen

Carl Quested has a distinctly professional approach to his lifestyle business and doesn’t like missing opportunities. Far from the slavish pursuit of growth, in this week’s podcast episode he seems more focused on fun.

Inspiration

When Flying Solo, it’s your attitude that determines your altitude.

Via Flying Solo contributor, Grant Hyman.