As a result, many people have started, or are thinking about starting, their own small businesses. From artisan charcuterie boards to multi-product e-commerce ventures, small businesses can be the way to live out your entrepreneurial dream and find your "why."
Whether you're looking to open an online store, provide a service or cook delicious food, all small businesses have one thing in common today: the need to get noticed on the web. This can seem daunting, but getting your online presence up and running doesn't have to be a costly nightmare, especially if you use a one-stop-shop service like GoDaddy.
For a small fee, you can secure the perfect domain, get access to beautiful website templates and build your brand on a user-friendly platform. Plus, GoDaddy has recently launched some new tools in Canada (like e-commerce and marketing integrations) to make running a small business online even easier.
As you build your brand, it's important to remember that launching a small business is about more than just a website. Building a community, developing your social media strategy and keeping an eye on your finances may sound time-consuming and potentially costly, but where there's a will (and these seven tips), there's a way.
Buckle Down & Do It
If you've been in the dreaming phase of your entrepreneurial journey for what seems like ages, sit down and plot it out. When you feel the nine-to-five life isn't the key to your career fulfillment, it's time to acknowledge that and start rounding up the "buts" you've been using to justify not starting.
You've got to start somewhere, so find solutions to your concerns and map out how you can get your business idea off the ground.
Cultivate Your Online Presence
Thom Bradley | BurstEven if your business isn't entirely virtual, there's no way for potential customers to find you if you aren't showing up where they are — online. And one of the best ways to be spotted online is through the use of proper SEO (or search engine optimization). GoDaddy Websites + Marketing provides an easy set up experience to help your website get found online, no professional SEO experience needed.
If you're not sure where to start in the e-commerce landscape, that's understandable. GoDaddy’s Online Store combines a sleek ecommerce store, powerful selling tools and flexible shipping and payment options. They will also be introducing a Marketplace integration next year so Quebec entrepreneurs can leverage popular digital markets like Amazon and eBay Marketplace all from one dashboard.
Learn From The Community
There's plenty of free advice out there if you know where to look. Seek out the small business mentors on Instagram, Medium, or Quora, and take in all the tips, tricks and advice you can.
Reach out to your offline circles, too. That once-removed aunt who runs a small B&B on Vancouver Island? She knows her way around financials and might be able to teach you a thing or two about keeping your accounting in good shape. That local shop that you absolutely love? Drop by and befriend the owners — they can help you know what to expect as you get your business off the ground.
The best champions of small businesses know just how challenging running one can be. Seek community over competition and you'll find valuable skills to help your new venture thrive.
Automate Wherever & Whenever You Can
Your time is valuable, especially when levelling up your side hustle into a small business. There are plenty of free or low-cost tools available to help you cut back on the busywork. Invoicing can be a breeze with platforms that do all the heavy lifting for you, for example. Email funnels and sequences can save you time and keep your new subscribers engaged without you having to put in much work after the initial setup.
When it comes to social content, manually posting to multiple online platforms is becoming a thing of the past. GoDaddy's Instagram Direct Publishing Feature cuts back on the labour of managing followers and curating feeds with the ability to schedule, publish and monitor posts all from within the GoDaddy Websites + Marketing dashboard.
Focus On The Product & The Customer Experience
Matthew Henry | BurstA product that is only "okay" can be tough to sell. With quality products, the marketing basically does itself through repeat customers and word of mouth. On the other hand, it's virtually impossible to win back a customer who has had a poor experience with you (and to prevent them from cautioning others about your business).
Keep a personal touch, so you can make customers feel special, and so you can stand out against larger corporations.
Enjoy The Process But Take Notes
Chances are that your initial launch will feel like flying by the seat of your pants, and that's okay. Once you've figured out what works and what doesn't, cut the fluff and document your processes for keeping things running smoothly.
If it's just for you, or you have a small team, having a system to follow helps ensure that each customer and order receives the best care. Streamline your processes and take advantage of some of the other tips, like automation, to make each task as simple as following points one through three.
Keep Your Work Life Separate From Your Personal Life (Especially Your Finances)
Eventually, if your business has grown large enough, you might choose to incorporate. Until then, it's a smart idea to keep your business and personal finances separate. Even if your launch goes swimmingly, don't go spending all your hard-earned money at once.
Set up rules and automatic deposits in your designated business accounts to save a percentage of income for taxes. Come April, you'll breathe a sigh of relief knowing that you had funds set aside to pay any taxes.
Starting small, like with the seven tips above, is a great way to get your business idea going, and it sure beats waiting for all the pieces to perfectly align. In reality, those pieces won't fall into place without your actions, your commitment to growth and learning, and just buckling down and making it happen.
GoDaddy Websites + Marketing combines professional website templates with tools to make getting started a breeze. Once your site is up and running, their social integrations can help you to reach customers with ease. Just think where you and your business idea could be in a month or in a year — your imagination truly is the limit.
Learn more about GoDaddy by checking out their website or following them on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
This content is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, tax or accounting advice.
This article was originally published on Narcity Canada.
The Internet Is Obsessed With This Montreal Restaurant's Refreshingly Honest Menu
You might be a frequent eater of Cuisine AuntDai in Montreal. Or perhaps you just heard about the Chinese restaurant this week when its strikingly honest menu went viral.
But who is behind the hilarious descriptions and anecdotes that accompany each menu item? We spoke to owner Feigang Fei about his newfound fame and the decision to caption his orange beef with "This one is not THAT good. Anyway, I am not big fan of North American Chinese food and it's your call."
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What's the story behind the brutally honest comments on AuntDai's menu?
Fei told MTL Blog he began posting comments on the online menu four years ago, after noticing that some customers would order plates they didn't enjoy in the end.
"After so many of these cases, I started focusing on the weird menu items," said Fei, explaining he added comments to unusual dishes so customers would know what to expect before trying them.
The descriptions proved to be effective.
Fei said that when customers showed up to AuntDai, they raved about his advice and how helpful it was.
Fei went on to add descriptions to every one of AuntDai's menu items last year.
The comments are too good, each more comical than the last.
Here are some examples:
Peanut sauce (chicken, beef, shrimps or vegetables at choice): I don't know why but peanut sauce chicken is liked by a lot of customers at AuntDai. Â
House Salad:Â A lot of Chinese people know this dish but I don't, maybe I am not so Chinese.
Satay sauce beef: According to a lot of customers, this one is very popular, I still don't have chance to taste it. Looks like I should spend more time eating in my own restaurant.
Cumin beef: We used to have the beef pieces on small sticks but several customers cut their lips by it thinking it was some hard ingredient ... To avoid incidents like this, no more sticks.
Hot and sour soup: Spicy and tasty, no meat, drink slowly to avoid hiccups.Â
What is it like to 'go viral'?
The recent spike in AuntDai love started with a tweet from Montrealer Kim Belair who wrote, "Aunt Dai is my favourite Chinese restaurant in Montreal, but the REAL treat is the menu, featuring extremely honest commentary from the owner."Â
The tweet has since racked up over 66,000 "likes."Â
Fei called the experience of going viral "crazy."Â
When a German newspaper contacted him, he said he even asked for proof thinking it was spam.Â
"After checking, I saw it was one of the top papers in Germany," he said.Â
The story was also picked up by other international media outlets, such as The Guardian.Â
"It’s a first thing for me in my whole life," he said.Â
What's next for AuntDai?
Fei said he worried for his business near the start of the pandemic.Â
"The business went down a lot — maybe [by] 50, 60 percent," he said. "It was really bad, we had to let people go."
However, Fei said business slowly picked up when the restaurant joined Uber Eats, SkipTheDishes, DoorDash and Foodora.
"They take really big portion [for] the commission. I don't think we can make money, but it helps," Fei told MTL Blog.
"Without them, we would have closed for sure."
Fei also thanked AuntDai's loyal customers, who he said have been integral in keeping the restaurant alive.
"I know families who come from the West Island and Brossard to come pick up — some of them live really far," he said.Â
"Those customers really helped us, otherwise I would probably have had to close in early February."
Prior to the pandemic, Fei said the restaurant regularly held "exchange groups" on its second floor in the evenings, facilitating English and French tutoring for Chinese immigrants while helping Montrealers learn Chinese.Â
The restaurant also offered information sessions to new immigrants with backgrounds in specialized professional fields, aiding them in learning how to regain careers in Quebec.
"We resume the club [after the pandemic] to help the immigrants, to improve each other," he said.
As for next steps for the AuntDai website and Fei's food commentary, he told MTL Blog his goal is to continue the restaurant's blog in his spare time.
"I always like to write real stories about the hardships of running a restaurant," he said.Â
"We try to be better for ourselves, we want to improve. I just want to make things right and make customers happy."