- Blog: Succeed As Your Own Boss
- Niche: Small Business/Entrepreneurs
- Founder: Melinda F. Emerson
- Twitter: @SmallBizLady
As the economy struggles to rebuild itself, many individuals are discovering that entrepreneurship may be the best way to build sustaining wealth. One of the top resources for those seeking to make this transition is Succeed As Your Own Boss. Founded by small business expert, Melinda F. Emerson a.k.a. Small Biz Lady, the site has become an award-winning guide for entrepreneurs all over the world. The 39-year-old’s honors include the 2012 Most Influential Female Online by Hawke Management, the 2012 Social Media Star Award from her base of operations city’s, Philadelphia Business Journal and recently signed on to the New York Times‘ “You’re the Boss” team. Currently, the site boasts monthly traffic of over 35,000 and Emerson’s brand reaches 1.5 million per week through social medial platforms and syndication partner, the Huffington Post.
Concurrently, Emerson is also the CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, a full service strategic communications firm that has handled campaigns for Verizon, Johnson & Johnson and Radio-One. In addition, she is the bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. When she is not occupied with the aforementioned endeavors, Emerson can be found sharing her expertise via outlets such as MSNBC and the New York Times. Today, she offers her insights into success in the digital space as part of BlackEnterprise.com‘s second annual Black Blogger Month.
I started blogging …
To build a platform be known as a small business expert. As a small business expert, my mission is to end small business failure. I blog to help people start and grow profitable and sustainable small businesses.
Succeed As Your Own Boss stands out because…
The content on my blog is focused on “how to†information. I give actionable advice that is relatable to today’s small business owners. Not only do I highlight my own expertise, my weekly content always includes a Q&A interview with another subject matter expert in some aspect of small business.
The main ingredients of a great small business owner are…
Someone who knows their customer, constantly innovates, and under promises and over delivers on customer service.
The biggest hurdle any small business owner will face is…
Staying focused. Most business owners have adult ADHD and there are lots of people out here to try to take advantage of people with dreams of being in business. Everyone needs a singular goal to be laser focused on. Mine is being America’s No. 1 small business expert.
The biggest influencers in my life are…
My parents. My mother was a serial entrepreneur, and my late father was a career salesperson. The most important thing I learned from my father was that I could do anything. The most important thing I learned from my mother was that if you are not charging people enough you have an expensive hobby. In terms of bloggers, I greatly admire Anita Campbell from SmallBizTrends.com. She believes in blogging as a business and her content is excellent.
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The biggest mistake I ever made in business was…
When I ran my first company Quintessence Multimedia, I didn’t get niche focused until about four years into my business. I wasted a lot of time and money chasing clients that I never should have been pursuing. Once I got focused on a specific niche customer, my business really took off.
What I learned from that was…
People hire specialists. They want a company that specializes in solving their problem everyday. If everybody can use your product or service, no one will.
The impact social media has had on my business is…
I am a walking, talking social media brand. Being @SmallBizLady on Twitter was the best branding accident that ever happened to me. Social media has meant everything to my business. I have been able to leverage it very strategically.
The biggest lesson I learned about branding in the digital space is…
You must pick a niche up front and own your niche. Having an intentional brand is also very important. My Small Biz Lady brand speaks for me in a very powerful way. It tells people exactly who I am and what I stand for. I also think that convening my small business community live each week through my twitter talk show #Smallbizchat is another important branding position I utilized in the digital space. I’ve been doing it three years, and it’s been a great way to interact with my followers, attract corporate customers and grow my brand.
The best piece of business advice I ever got was…
“You can learn something from anyone.†My dad, John Emerson, taught me that.
In business you should never be afraid to…
Give and ask for honest feedback.
My advice for anyone who wants to follow in my footsteps is…
Know your niche target customer and develop content every day for that customer. Stay focused, pick one social media network to dominate first, get a professional copy editor, and use an editorial calendar.
Be sure to check out the rest of the digital thought leaders as they’re revealed each day by logging on to BlackEnterprise.com/BlackBloggerMonth.