by Ray Blakney, CEO and co-founder of Live Lingua
Can you believe that we are already in the last month of Year 2021? Right now, you are probably thinking of all the ways you want to improve your enterprise’s operations and grow your overall business success in the New Year. Yes, it is a great time to reevaluate your project management initiatives, customer retention strategy, and HR processes. However, there are so many other ways to take your business to new heights in 2022 and beyond.
In my experience of launching the Live Lingua online language school and other 6-and 7-figure businesses on a bootstrap budget, I’ve learned a thing or two about innovative and unique ways to make a business more successful.
Here are just a few of my tried-and-true tips that will help you make 2022 your enterprise’s biggest year yet.
1. Learn How to Use Basic Wireframing Software to Reduce Web Development Costs.
As a business owner, do you have to constantly update your enterprise’s website and add new product listings, testimonials, pages, and other functions? Are you also thinking of revamping your entire website in 2022? All of the web development costs could really drain your enterprise’s overall monthly budget. That said, you can greatly lower the cost of developing your website by learning how to use basic wireframing software — there are multiple affordable options to choose from online these days that require no programming knowledge!
By creating a wireframe of your concept and code, you will be able to give much clearer instructions to any programmer you hire on what the finished product should look like. Even better, you can save money on the programmers because you can work with less experienced developers who just have to build what you show them (as opposed to them having to figure it all out themselves). I have been a programmer for 20 years and a business owner for over 14 years, and this is the method that has saved me a lot of time and money.
2. Better Prepare for Future Crisis Situations by Using Geo-Arbitrage.
It is pivotal to ensure that your business is prepared for any worst-case scenario — that said, prepare for any future crisis situation by using geo-arbitrage! The days when having staff, resources, and tools based in other countries was a thing only big multinationals could do are behind us. No matter the size of your business, it is now possible to affordably build systems that leverage people and tools all over the world. This not only has the potential for saving costs in your operations as you grow, but also it helps you diversify different parts of your business so that you will have a bulkhead against future crises, no matter what or where they may be.
To find new employees from all over the world for your company, check out freelancer websites like UpWork and Fiverr. You can hire a fantastic virtual assistant, content writers for your website and company blog, SEO specialists, a public relations expert, social media marketing gurus, data entry specialists, and so many other people from all over the world to help your business grow. You can also join online entrepreneur groups that will give you the opportunity to meet other business owners and specialists from other countries.
3. Set Your Own Yearly Salary & Stick to It.
One of the biggest mistakes that business owners make is not setting their yearly salary — they simply take all the profit of the company and make that their salary. This means that when the enterprise is doing well, they have more money than they can need. However, the mistake is that with this method, when the company is going through a rough period or when cash is needed for a large investment, the business does not always have the cash on hand. This can spiral into great financial hardships for the enterprise.
Therefore, set a designated salary for yourself and make sure to stick to it. Anything else the business makes should stay in the company coffers. Then, if the coffers get too big, you can always pay yourself out in dividends, but be disciplined and only do so once certain criteria you set are reached. As the business owner, you need to do everything you can to stay on top of your company’s finances. Setting your salary will help you do just that.
4. Constantly A/B Test Your Marketing & Sales Tactics to Increase Conversions.
If you want to maximize your overall profits and grow your business, optimize your entire sales funnel and marketing strategy through regular A/B testing. For example, test variables in your promotional emails (such as the copy style or call-to-action) and make necessary adjustments to future ones to see how you can increase click-through rates. Or, constantly change portions of your call center scripts to see if you can improve the conversion rate by even just a little bit.
Keep in mind that the quicker you conduct these A/B tests, the faster you will be able to determine which marketing and sales tactics work the best, and the more your business will thrive. Therefore, strive to A/B test faster than your competitors to stay ahead of them in the market. Schedule to do these tests on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis.
To Wrap It All Up.
Are you wondering how you can take your business to the next level in 2022? Yes, it is vital to analyze and enhance your employee retention plan and customer service processes, but there are so many other highly impactful ways to optimize your company. One New Year’s resolution that all entrepreneurs should follow is to learn how to use basic wireframing software to reduce web development costs. Other resolutions are to prepare for future crisis situations by using geo-arbitrage, set your own yearly salary and stick to it, and constantly A/B test your marketing and sales tactics. Following these resolutions will help your business thrive for years to come
Ray Blakney is the CEO and co-founder of Live Lingua, a renowned online language learning platform. An award-winning, Filipino-American entrepreneur, speaker, and podcaster, Ray builds and helps others build 6- and 7-figure businesses on a bootstrap budget using SEO.
