My top tips for anyone running a small business

Today I'm super excited. Tigger excited, that's how bouncy I am. I'm giving coffee a run for its money, I can tell you.

Why? Well it's all to do with the event I'll be speaking at later today.

Are you reading this before 10am? Then you've still time to get to St Paul's in Southville to join in the fun. Assuming you live nearby, that is, and not in 100 Aker Wood (or similar). Click here for tickets.

So what am I going to be talking about? Well, it's not just about mistakes not to make. We can all point those out. It's also about what I learned from those mistakes and how to make sure they never happen again.

In other words, there'll be some top tips, too. And for anyone who's keen to know those tips, here are a few in brief.

Get a good PR book & dare yourself to try out some suggestions:

Sort yourself out a good CRM system. The one I use is Táve (& I think it's brilliant!). It's so good, I wrote a whole post about it back in September. If you click here you'll get a free 60 day trial (you're welcome!).

Enter competitions. They're so good for backlinks and improving your SEO if you get shortlisted. That's right: shortlisted. You don't have to win. Taking part means people will still be talking about you. So my advice is to choose something appropriate (maybe focusing on your niche or something local) and write a fantastic application form, not forgetting to add some stunning photos if your business is a product-based one. I got really lucky when I entered my first competition: the organisers made me a video and you can see it here.

So here's to 2019 starting well for one and all. Happy days are ahead!

Have you tried any of the above tips? Did they work for you? Do share your thoughts below!