Ah, 2020. What a year for businesses. Closing, opening, re-opening, adapting, re-adapting, reshuffling and, to put it plainly, bravely getting on with it all even when things felt out of control. While the support for small businesses, both online and in real life, has been heart-warming this year, it is time to get ready for a new era. Yes, we can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel in terms of a vaccine and lockdown restrictions easing come 2021 yet things will not be back to normal as quickly as we would like. For small businesses, this places emphasis on continuing to reach out to your customer base in innovative ways, ensuring your online presence is on-brand and consistent and relying on sleek, functional websites with click and collect functions to ensure socially-distanced services with no glitches along the way. Whether you’re still tucking into Christmas leftovers or have started jotting down business goals for the New Year, we thought we would share three ways to get your small business ready for 2021 whilst, of course, supporting women-owned small businesses in the process. See what we did there?
Invest in your website images – If your images feel a little dated or your social media posts rely on fuzzy pictures you took on an old phone (we’ve all been there!), it might be time to invest in your product photography. We love Ailsa Clare Photography for modern, clear images to use on social media, your website and, why not, to push for that product feature you’ve been dreaming about on the magazine of your dreams. Ailsa is a South Wales photographer based in Oxfordshire and offers tailored packages with remote shooting too. While it’s easy to send your products in the post and hope for the best, we believe a clear-vision and partnership with your photographer is key to achieve the product you have in mind. In fact, Ailsa offers a consultation and research to ensure your content stands out to your existing and prospective clients. A welsh gem you can find right here.
Invest in your retail business – Thinking about starting a retail business? Or perhaps, you’ve already established your brand but struggling to level-up or expand in the way you’d like to? Speaking to someone with years of industry experience to materialise your thoughts into concrete action may be what you need. Sophie Biggerstaff, founder of BYR Collective, launched her business back in April and offers business mentoring, strategy support sessions and freelance consultancy services. You can take advantage of a free consultation, a free e-book and, most importantly, you can book a one off 1-1, business mentoring or freelance work to truly invest in your business before the New Year. You can find BYR collective here.
Invest in your social media strategy – With many of us working from home and relying on technology to interact with our client base, ensuring your social media and content strategy is up to scratch and reflects your brand vision is more important than ever. Here at Miss Squiggles, we also offer bespoke social media, content and copywriting packages. Choosing to focus on a handful of projects each year, we love to deliver brands’ visions and prepare strategies to showcase businesses. Our packages can be tailored to suit your business needs so, if you’re interested, do get in touch.
What are your business goals for 2021? And how will you be investing into your business? Feel free to share resources in the comments and we’ll re-share them with our community. Enjoy those leftovers and that dreamy period between Christmas and New Year, we’ve deserved some time to truly reflect this year.
Love,
The Squiggles Team X
