1. Advertise:
   I have good news for you. You don’t need a large marketing budget to advertise in today’s digital world. Advertising is vital as it plays a crucial role in getting your name out to your potential consumer base. Your advertising campaign will vary depending on your business and who it is that you’re trying to reach. With social media, local newspapers and personal networks, your advertising campaign can cost your business very little for a good return. I do recommend that as your business grows, you increase your marketing budget as this is the key to your businesses success.
2. Create local awareness
   Creating a strong presence in your local community is vital to your success. People won’t support you if they don’t know who you are or what you do. Presence and awareness needs to be gained. You can gain your local awareness by increasing your coverage in local newspapers, social media sites, or industry magazines. You know your industry, find out who it is you need to meet and speak with in the local publications and set up a time to meet with them. Have your purpose, no one will promote you if they don’t believe in you.
3. Social media presence:
   As a local business, social media is your new best friend. With social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, being used almost religiously, your business needs an engaging presence online. The goal is to provide your followers with something that makes them read, engage and share your post. It’s important to learn who your audience is. Start small, be consistent with your posts and respond to your followers’ comments as soon as possible.

4. Engage with your customers:
   When people personally know who it is behind the business, they enjoy a connection which they would otherwise not have. This creates a loyal customer who wants to support your business. If they see that you care about them, they will always care about you. Your customers will remain loyal to you if your product or service is what you promised and what they expect, and if they see the human element behind a brand.
5. Engage with your customers through email marketing:
   Creating an email campaign is easy and free. Using a service such as MailChimp, allows your local business to create newsletters, automated messages or targeted email campaigns to your consumer base. Having an email marketing campaign, connects you with you customers, which helps you build a community of supporters by keeping your product and business at the front of their minds. Remember, people receive 100’s of emails daily, be strategic when you send your email, ensure you have a capturing subject line, and have a purpose for the email. If you don’t, people will either unsubscribe or automatically delete your email.
6. Eat, Drink, Sleep your business:
   I hate to break it to you, but there is no such thing as a day off when you own your own business. Every opportunity you get; you’re selling your business. You need to really love what you’re doing to succeed in this world.
7. Support local businesses:
   “Love thy neighbour”. Local business owners have an incentive to support other local businesses. Having a sense of community and a strong relationship with other local businesses is great for your consumers to not only see but also feel. It becomes contagious and people will stay loyal to the local area.
8. Word of Mouth:
   Satisfied customers is the best form of marketing for any business. What makes it even better, is the fact that it is absolutely free. Having a quality product or service and then genuinely engaging with your clients is the key to having your customers speak to their family and friends. Additionally, attending school functions, local sporting events, or business networking events also allows your business to be on everyone’s lips. When selling a service or product, you’re inevitably going to have an unhappy customer. Read our previous post on how to successfully handle your unhappy customers.

Owning a coworking space in the Sutherland Shire allows us to engage with start-up businesses on a daily basis. It is so exciting to see how local communities support businesses within their community when a sense of pride is created with the brand.
If you are in or near the Sutherland Shire and want to come and check out Inspire Cowork and have a chat over a cup of coffee, contact us today. We look forward to meeting you.

If given the opportunity to work locally for less money, would you do it? Working local doesn’t always mean less money, but for most of us living in Sydney, we usually know that the top paying jobs are in Sydney’s CBD or in the business industrial parks which are located in areas with limited residential access. This means a long commute for us living in suburbia.
For me, working in North Sydney and living in the Sutherland Shire, my daily commute is a long one. I have been very fortunate to have negotiated with my company to work 3 days a week out of Inspire Cowork, the Sutherland Shire’s largest coworking space, which allows me to benefit from working local.
Here are my top 10 reasons why working local is better.
Reduce your commute to work
We’ve all done it or are doing it! That dreaded daily commute to work. Whether working local saves you 30mins each way or an hour each way, the time at the end of the week adds up very quickly. Reducing your daily commute allows you to have time for you. 
Better quality of life
Living closer to work gives you a few extra hours a day at home with family or time to meet up with friends. It allows you to engage in your hobbies, join a local sporting team or use the time to further educate yourself. Setting aside time for yourself, your passions and hobbies makes you more productive in the workplace and happier in life.
Support local businesses 
Working local allows you to support your local business. Whether you are buying a sandwich for lunch or stopping off at the grocery store to pick something up for dinner, you are buying local rather than on your commute home.
Save money
We all know that commuting is expensive. Whether you drive to work and have to pay for petrol and the wear and tear on your car, or the cost of public transport, it hurts the pocket. Additionally, as you are waiting for your train or bus there is always the temptation to buy a coffee and a pastry in the morning or a drink or snack on the way home.
Less stress
Commuting can be incredibly stressful. With the work day getting longer, the consistent issues with public transport and the terrible traffic on the roads, working closer to home will alleviate so much pressure and stress. A study conducted by Canada’s University of Waterloo discovered a direct link between your commute time and well-being. It was found that commute lengths are linked to a sense of time pressure. People who spend the most time on the road experience higher levels of stress as they constantly feel hurried and out of time. 
Fitness
If you work local and close enough to bike, walk or run to work, it gives you a great opportunity to get your workout in before and after work. With this, not only do you gain your fitness, you also save money. You will arrive at work already mentally stimulated and your productivity will sky rocket. You will get home relaxed as you have time to de-stress and put your mind at ease before walking through the front door.
More sleep
If you’re anything like me, I need my sleep to function. When I commute to the office I need to be up before the crack of dawn to be at the train station before 7:00am to make it to the office by 8:30am. When I work from the coworking space I only need to wake up at 8:00am to make it to the office by 8:30am. Depending on the kids, this usually gives me an extra 2 hours of sleep in the morning, or an extra 2 hours with the kids.
When I have enough sleep I find that I am more productive, much more creative, my decision making skills are on point and my concentration is sharp.
Flexibility
Working close to home allows you to get things done in your personal life. Whether you decide to go before work, on your lunch break or after work, you have the opportunity to visit your local doctor, shopping centre or bank etc. It also allows you to drop your kids off to school, or if you forgot something at home you can quickly race back to pick it up.
Home in time for dinner
For those of you with kids, you know that it’s not often you get to be home to sit at the dinner table with them and enjoy a meal. I’m very fortunate that when I work from the coworking space, I am able to do this. When working from the office, if I’m lucky to leave by 5:00pm I only get home by 7:00pm. Dinner then gets pushed back till about 8:00pm.
Have a routine
Having a routine is so vital for your mental stamina. It provides you with structure, creates positive habits and increases your efficiency. It is important that your routine isn’t only getting up for work, commuting to work, working, commute home from work, eat dinner and go to bed. This has an adverse effect of what a routine should bring to your life. A routine which has a positive impact on all aspects of your life is important to your overall well-being.
Are you ready to quite the daily commute? Get in touch and I’ll share the steps you need to take to work remote.

1. Keeps you focused and alert:
   It’s no secret that exercise increases the blood flow to the brain which in turn sharpens your awareness and improves your mental capacity. I find that when I wake up at 4:30am to go for my morning run or gym workout, I am more focused and engaged throughout the entire day. When I choose to have a sleep in and skip my workout, by 1pm I feel lethargic and lack attention.
2. Exercise helps to prevent illness:
   I always say when I feel like I am coming down with a cold or flu that I’m hitting the gym to ‘sweat it out’. Though this may not work all the time and there is no exact science to it, it certainly helps and typically combats the cold or flu symptoms. Exercise can also provide both physical and mental relief from stress and keeps your body fighting fit.
3. Exercise makes you happy:
   When you exercise your body releases endorphins which interact with the receptors in your brain which triggers a positive feeling in your body. With that a neurotransmitter named Serotonin causes that happy, unbeatable feeling you get when you exercise. It helps improve your state of mind, dealing with complex issues making it easier and more constructive to make a decision.
4. Increases energy:
   Exercising when you don’t have any energy sounds counterintuitive, but choosing to hit the gym when you feel like this can actually provide a boost to your energy levels. With higher energy levels, you will feel more responsive in the office, performing at a consistently higher level within your job.
5. Gives you time to think:
   With no distractions, just you, music playing in your ears and your feet pounding the road there’s no better opportunity to think of all those great business ideas floating through your mind. I find that when I run, it gives me a chance to think about certain situations occurring in the office or play different scenarios in my mind for new business ideas. With the fresh air, oxygen in your lungs and endorphins pumping – your next big idea may come within those 30-45mins.

At Inspire Cowork, not only do we understand the benefits of exercising but we encourage it. We have partnered with Fitness Republic in Miranda which is only a few flights of stairs away from the office. With 24-hour access, classes, cardio room, weights room and showering facilities, there really isn’t much room for an excuse. If you are a member of Inspire Cowork we have negotiated some incredible rates for you! Just speak to us to find out more.

When selling a service or product you’re inevitably going to have an unhappy customer at some point.

Complaints are good because it means your customer is giving you the time and chance to retain them as a consumer:

So how do you effectively deal with an unhappy customer and ultimately retain them as a loyal customer?

1. Respond don’t react

   As difficult as it can be you must put your emotions aside. It’s understandable that business owners and loyal team members take complaints personally but it is how you respond to them which can make your business better. It is important to note that when you do respond to a complaint – be careful not to come across as patronizing. There is nothing more infuriating as a consumer when you have someone on the other side of the conversation being nice and thinking they are saying all the right things because that is what they have learnt in a 101 customer handling course and it comes across treating you like you’re a child.

2. Listen Actively

   It’s no coincidence that Listen & Silent are spelled with the same letters. It is also no coincidence that we were born with 2 ears and 1 mouth – listen twice as much as you talk. To listen actively, you must provide your full attention to your customer and pay attention to what they are actually saying.

3. Use the customer name in a genuine manner

   Your customer wants to know that you know who they are. By using their name discreetly and in a genuine manner, it reassures your customer that you have been paying attention and know who they are. There is no need to go overboard in the name usage, it is vital to open the conversation with the name, close the conversation with the name and use it at least once but no more than twice within the conversation.

4. Make notes

   Acknowledging and making reference to what your customer has said is very important. It allows you to control the conversation, and it also tells the customer that you are listening and you care. Don’t be a hero and think you can remember everything. Take notes! If you are dealing with the consumer face to face, first ask for permission to make notes before you begin to write. This will make them feel comfortable and at ease, knowing that you are taking their feedback seriously.

5. Compensation

   Compensation does not always have to be about giving something away. It’s about bettering the customer’s experience and retaining them as a consumer. Some of my most valued customers who I have built the strongest relationships with have come from a customer complaint which resulted in not giving away the house. Know your product or service, know what you’re willing to provide as compensation for certain issues and have confidence in the way you deliver your message.

6. Hold yourself, team and business accountable

   There are plenty of articles out there which tell people the best ways to complain to get something for free. These people you can typically pick up straight away as the complaint is textbook. Although you still need to be cognizant of all complaints and make sure you take every complaint seriously by holding accountability and investigating the issues presented. Avoid challenging the complaint and always offer follow up if you need the time to look into an issue.

7. Be flexible

   If you don’t have a solution right away, consider how you can make the customer content for the short-term. Sometimes it is as easy as communicating with the consumer, other times people want something, whether it be a free coffee or lunch. Again, if you know your product or service and what you are willing to negotiate on, this will make the conversation win-win for both parties.

8. Follow up as quickly as possible

   If follow-up has been promised, ensure you are prompt in your follow up. Not only is it awkward getting back to an angry or upset client or customer days after the initial complaint, but it also shows a lack of urgency and care for their feedback.

9. Say thank you and send a follow-up email.

   It is always important to thank the consumer for their time at the end of the conversation. If you have an email address available, it is always advisable to send a follow-up email, apologizing for their inconvenience and thank them for their time. It is also best to recap the complaint with the outcome and solution of the conversation. An email is also a good idea as the consumer will then have all your contact details if they don’t have so already.

10. Move on

    Don’t dwell on the complaint. You can’t take it personally. If you have a team, you should have a way where your team are empowered to make decisions to handle a customer complaint and a reporting system where everyone in the team is informed. Complaints allow for your business to improve as they usually highlight a glitch in the system. Take note, fix the problem, move on.