Business

Freelance copywriter ANDREW KNOWLES wants to see Dorset’s smaller businesses grow and thrive. His own business grew out of his career as an accountant, consultant and trainer. Now based in Wyke Regis, he’s been freelance for nearly 15 years, including work with Dorset Growth Hub, helping to support and train hundreds of small business owners.

Adding resolve to your resolution

Your business needs resolution, but not the New Year variety You’ve probably given up on a few New Year resolutions already. Including some for your business. Maybe you had good intentions about keeping your bookkeeping up-to-date, posting on social media every day, or keeping your work space tidier. Every year I resolve to keep my email inbox cleaner. Already given up on that – again. January is famous for discarded resolutions. New regimes for nurturing health, wealth and – for your business – growth, get overtaken by the urgent, then quietly suffocated by lack of motivation. You know these changes are important, but somehow they’re not important enough for you to stick at for more than a few days into the New Year. Don’t let giving up on your New Year resolutions frustrate you. Yes, it’s disappointing. But sticking religiously to a new habit or new approach is nowhere near as valuable as having the resolve to try again. And again and again. Last year I had the privilege of watching a young man’s website design business take off. Suddenly he was winning valuable contracts and becoming highly visible in the market he chose to operate in. To many of his new followers on social media, he was an overnight success. Except that the ‘overnight’ took a decade of trial, error and failure. He finally broke through because he had the resolve to keep going. He believed in his business idea and in himself. New Year resolutions may sometimes be useful. But they’re nothing without the underlying belief in your capability and that what you do will help your future customers. Moments of doubt are natural, but don’t allow them to distract you. Resolve to give your customers and your business the best you can offer in 2023. Don’t let minor push backs weaken your resolution. Keep going. I trust 2023 will be a great year for you. Are you hiding from your customers? Visitors to your website are looking for your ‘About’ page. How do I know? Because it’s one of the most visited pages on most websites. Your future customers want to know who is behind the business. A good ‘About’ page says something about you. It’s not another place to say ‘Buy this from me’ – it’s a space to share a picture or two and to say something of your reasons for doing what you do. A good ‘About’ page can win you more customers because it helps them trust you more. Thinking of starting your own business? Across West Dorset hundreds of people serve customers across the UK, and indeed the world. They work for themselves as artists, writers, tutors, coaches and more. Some sell products, others sell services. If you’d like to work for yourself but you’re not sure how to start, get in touch with your local Chamber of Commerce or other business support organisations.