With 2024 upon us, more women in the UK and worldwide are looking to expand their businesses and be more successful in the upcoming year, and Jade Pruett, woman business owner and founder of HelloSEO shares what New Year’s goals will help upscale her business.
Make More Money
It seems like a no-brainer for any company, right? But setting a goal to make more money means you will likely be investing more funds into marketing and more time into making your business a well-oiled machine that meets its deliverables with a quality product for its customers.
“2023 was a huge year for HelloSEO. I quit my full-time job in October of 2022, so 2023 was the first year I was fully dedicated to the business. Because of excellent SEO and meeting my client’s needs, we saw a 238% increase in revenue! I’m not expecting quite so much this year, but I am hoping for a 108% increase, which is about 2 clients per month for us,” says Jade.
Keep Cleaner Books
Many businesses, especially smaller ones, are just trying to make enough money to stay afloat.
“At the beginning of 2023, I was not very worried about my profit and loss statements, but as my company grew, I realised how important it was to understand exactly what was coming in and out. Clean books will help with growth and future plans,” comments Jade.
Invest in Relationships
Your biggest assets as a business owner are often the people you know.
“This doesn’t mean I just know these people, but they are also my friends. Plan to spend time this year building connections, making friends, and investing in existing relationships. This investment of time will help your company grow and be successful,” advised Jade.
Delegate More
Jade suggests that learning to delegate is one of the hardest things to overcome, especially for small business owners who “do everything.” However, when you are not needed for every task, it will open you up to work on truly important things while still checking everything off the list.
Less Calendly Bookings, More Looms
“We have been trained to think that meetings are essential for a successful business, something that I am working to unlearn,” says Jade. “Don’t get me wrong, my bi-weekly calls with existing clients are an excellent way to ensure we are meeting their needs. However, according to my 2023 recap, on top of my bi-weekly calls, Calendly informed me I booked 312 meetings last year! I did also make 214 Loom videos which Loom said eliminated 38 meetings, but it was more like 200. So this year, I will be working to create more Looms and clearing up more time while still holding essential meetings to ensure my clients are happy and no time is wasted.”
Focus on the Most Profitable Marketing Channels
Jade says that like many companies, she invested a lot in social media growth last year. Social media is an excellent choice for brand evolution, and while she went from 0 Instagram followers to over 1,000, she can’t trace any clients back to those efforts (though she is sure it drummed up a lead or two).
“On the flip side, I can trace dozens back to LinkedIn, Digital PR, and my own SEO. In 2024, pivot your attention to what you know works and maybe experiment with a few other channels, and your marketing budget will go further and drive more leads,” says Jade.
Diversify Revenue
To grow as a business, your offerings need to be ever-changing to ensure you continue to increase revenue and diversify your revenue streams. For example, in 2023, HelloSEO offered two things: full-stack SEO and Power Hours. Near the end of the year, the company expanded and began offering a-la-cart services like content hubs and digital PR packages.
“In 2024, I plan to continue to diversify to meet the needs of business owners at different phases in their business development. This will include ongoing workshops, some do-it-together options, and more,” shares Jade.
Continue Learning
Like many businesses, the SEO world is changing constantly.
“With the boom in AI use last year, my industry is more sink or swim than ever. Staying up to date on industry trends is a massive part of SEO and other businesses. Continue to learn by keeping up with the latest updates and theories by following experts on LinkedIn, attending industry conferences, reading the latest blogs and books, and, in my case, keeping up with a Women in Tech SEO slack group,” comments Jade.
Jade’s biggest advice is to stay curious and keep running your own experiments. Always run tests and discover new ways to boost your traffic!
