Many companies are experimenting with ChatGPT and other large language or image models. They have generally found them to be astounding in terms of their ability to express complex ideas in articulate language. However, most users realize that these systems are primarily trained on internet-based information and can’t respond to prompts or questions regarding proprietary content or knowledge.

Leveraging a company’s propriety knowledge is critical to its ability to compete and innovate, especially in today’s volatile environment. Organizational Innovation is fueled through effective and agile creation, management, application, recombination, and deployment of knowledge assets and know-how. However, knowledge within organizations is typically generated and captured across various sources and forms, including individual minds, processes, policies, reports, operational transactions, discussion boards, and online chats and meetings. As such, a company’s comprehensive knowledge is often unaccounted for and difficult to organize and deploy where needed in an effective or efficient way.

Emerging technologies in the form of large language and image generative AI models offer new opportunities for knowledge management, thereby enhancing company performance, learning, and innovation capabilities. For example, in a study conducted in a Fortune 500 provider of business process software, a generative AI-based system for customer support led to increased productivity of customer support agents and improved retention, while leading to higher positive feedback on the part of customers. The system also expedited the learning and skill development of novice agents.

Like that company, a growing number of organizations are attempting to leverage the language processing skills and general reasoning abilities of large language models (LLMs) to capture and provide broad internal (or customer) access to their own intellectual capital. They are using it for such purposes as informing their customer-facing employees on company policy and product/service recommendations, solving customer service problems, or capturing employees’ knowledge before they depart the organization.

These objectives were also present during the heyday of the “knowledge management” movement in the 1990s and early 2000s, but most companies found the technology of the time inadequate for the task. Today, however, generative AI is rekindling the possibility of capturing and disseminating important knowledge throughout an organization and beyond its walls. As one manager using generative AI for this purpose put it, “I feel like a jetpack just came into my life.” Despite current advances, some of the same factors that made knowledge management difficult in the past are still present.

The Technology for Generative AI-Based Knowledge Management

The technology to incorporate an organization’s specific domain knowledge into an LLM is evolving rapidly. At the moment there are three primary approaches to incorporating proprietary content into a generative model.

Training an LLM from Scratch

One approach is to create and train one’s own domain-specific model from scratch. That’s not a common approach, since it requires a massive amount of high-quality data to train a large language model, and most companies simply don’t have it. It also requires access to considerable computing power and well-trained data science talent.

One company that has employed this approach is Bloomberg, which recently announced that it had created BloombergGPT for finance-specific content and a natural-language interface with its data terminal. Bloomberg has over 40 years’ worth of financial data, news, and documents, which it combined with a large volume of text from financial filings and internet data. In total, Bloomberg’s data scientists employed 700 tokens, or about 350 billion words, 50 billion parameters, and 1.3 million hours of graphics processing unit time. Few companies have those resources available.

Fine-Tuning an Existing LLM

A second approach is to “fine-tune” train an existing LLM to add specific domain content to a system that is already trained on general knowledge and language-based interaction. This approach involves adjusting some parameters of a base model, and typically requires substantially less data — usually only hundreds or thousands of documents, rather than millions or billions — and less computing time than creating a new model from scratch.

Google, for example, used fine-tune training on its Med-PaLM2 (second version) model for medical knowledge. The research project started with Google’s general PaLM2 LLM and retrained it on carefully curated medical knowledge from a variety of public medical datasets. The model was able to answer 85% of U.S. medical licensing exam questions — almost 20% better than the first version of the system. Despite this rapid progress, when tested on such criteria as scientific factuality, precision, medical consensus, reasoning, bias and harm, and evaluated by human experts from multiple countries, the development team felt that the system still needed substantial improvement before being adopted for clinical practice.

The fine-tuning approach has some constraints, however. Although requiring much less computing power and time than training an LLM, it can still be expensive to train, which was not a problem for Google but would be for many other companies. It requires considerable data science expertise; the scientific paper for the Google project, for example, had 31 co-authors. Some data scientists argue that it is best suited not to adding new content, but rather to adding new content formats and styles (such as chat or writing like William Shakespeare). Additionally, some LLM vendors (for example, OpenAI) do not allow fine-tuning on their latest LLMs, such as GPT-4.

Prompt-tuning an Existing LLM

Perhaps the most common approach to customizing the content of an LLM for non-cloud vendor companies is to tune it through prompts. With this approach, the original model is kept frozen, and is modified through prompts in the context window that contain domain-specific knowledge. After prompt tuning, the model can answer questions related to that knowledge. This approach is the most computationally efficient of the three, and it does not require a vast amount of data to be trained on a new content domain.

Morgan Stanley, for example, used prompt tuning to train OpenAI’s GPT-4 model using a carefully curated set of 100,000 documents with important investing, general business, and investment process knowledge. The goal was to provide the company’s financial advisors with accurate and easily accessible knowledge on key issues they encounter in their roles advising clients. The prompt-trained system is operated in a private cloud that is only accessible to Morgan Stanley employees.

While this is perhaps the easiest of the three approaches for an organization to adopt, it is not without technical challenges. When using unstructured data like text as input to an LLM, the data is likely to be too large with too many important attributes to enter it directly in the context window for the LLM. The alternative is to create vector embeddings — arrays of numeric values produced from the text by another pre-trained machine learning model (Morgan Stanley uses one from OpenAI called Ada). The vector embeddings are a more compact representation of this data which preserves contextual relationships in the text. When a user enters a prompt into the system, a similarity algorithm determines which vectors should be submitted to the GPT-4 model. Although several vendors are offering tools to make this process of prompt tuning easier, it is still complex enough that most companies adopting the approach would need to have substantial data science talent.

However, this approach does not need to be very time-consuming or expensive if the needed content is already present. The investment research company Morningstar, for example, used prompt tuning and vector embeddings for its Mo research tool built on generative AI. It incorporates more than 10,000 pieces of Morningstar research. After only a month or so of work on its system, Morningstar opened Mo usage to their financial advisors and independent investor customers. It even attached Mo to a digital avatar that could speak out its answers. This technical approach is not expensive; in its first month in use, Mo answered 25,000 questions at an average cost of $.002 per question for a total cost of $3,000.

Content Curation and Governance

As with traditional knowledge management in which documents were loaded into discussion databases like Microsoft Sharepoint, with generative AI, content needs to be high-quality before customizing LLMs in any fashion. In some cases, as with the Google Med-PaLM2 system, there are widely available databases of medical knowledge that have already been curated. Otherwise, a company needs to rely on human curation to ensure that knowledge content is accurate, timely, and not duplicated. Morgan Stanley, for example, has a group of 20 or so knowledge managers in the Philippines who are constantly scoring documents along multiple criteria; these determine the suitability for incorporation into the GPT-4 system. Most companies that do not have well-curated content will find it challenging to do so for just this purpose.

Morgan Stanley has also found that it is much easier to maintain high quality knowledge if content authors are aware of how to create effective documents. They are required to take two courses, one on the document management tool, and a second on how to write and tag these documents. This is a component of the company’s approach to content governance approach — a systematic method for capturing and managing important digital content.

At Morningstar, content creators are being taught what type of content works well with the Mo system and what does not. They submit their content into a content management system and it goes directly into the vector database that supplies the OpenAI model.

Quality Assurance and Evaluation

An important aspect of managing generative AI content is ensuring quality. Generative AI is widely known to “hallucinate” on occasion, confidently stating facts that are incorrect or nonexistent. Errors of this type can be problematic for businesses but could be deadly in healthcare applications. The good news is that companies who have tuned their LLMs on domain-specific information have found that hallucinations are less of a problem than out-of-the-box LLMs, at least if there are no extended dialogues or non-business prompts.

Companies adopting these approaches to generative AI knowledge management should develop an evaluation strategy. For example, for BloombergGPT, which is intended for answering financial and investing questions, the system was evaluated on public dataset financial tasks, named entity recognition, sentiment analysis ability, and a set of reasoning and general natural language processing tasks. The Google Med-PaLM2 system, eventually oriented to answering patient and physician medical questions, had a much more extensive evaluation strategy, reflecting the criticality of accuracy and safety in the medical domain.

Life or death isn’t an issue at Morgan Stanley, but producing highly accurate responses to financial and investing questions is important to the firm, its clients, and its regulators. The answers provided by the system were carefully evaluated by human reviewers before it was released to any users. Then it was piloted for several months by 300 financial advisors. As its primary approach to ongoing evaluation, Morgan Stanley has a set of 400 “golden questions” to which the correct answers are known. Every time any change is made to the system, employees test it with the golden questions to see if there has been any “regression,” or less accurate answers.

Legal and Governance Issues

Legal and governance issues associated with LLM deployments are complex and evolving, leading to risk factors involving intellectual property, data privacy and security, bias and ethics, and false/inaccurate output. Currently, the legal status of LLM outputs is still unclear. Since LLMs don’t produce exact replicas of any of the text used to train the model, many legal observers feel that “fair use” provisions of copyright law will apply to them, although this hasn’t been tested in the courts (and not all countries have such provisions in their copyright laws). In any case, it is a good idea for any company making extensive use of generative AI for managing knowledge (or most other purposes for that matter) to have legal representatives involved in the creation and governance process for tuned LLMs. At Morningstar, for example, the company’s attorneys helped create a series of “pre-prompts” that tell the generative AI system what types of questions it should answer and those it should politely avoid.

User prompts into publicly-available LLMs are used to train future versions of the system, so some companies (Samsung, for example) have feared propagation of confidential and private information and banned LLM use by employees. However, most companies’ efforts to tune LLMs with domain-specific content are performed on private instances of the models that are not accessible to public users, so this should not be a problem. In addition, some generative AI systems such as ChatGPT allow users to turn off the collection of chat histories, which can address confidentiality issues even on public systems.

In order to address confidentiality and privacy concerns, some vendors are providing advanced and improved safety and security features for LLMs including erasing user prompts, restricting certain topics, and preventing source code and propriety data inputs into publicly accessible LLMs. Furthermore, vendors of enterprise software systems are incorporating a “Trust Layer” in their products and services. Salesforce, for example, incorporated its Einstein GPT feature into its AI Cloud suite to address the “AI Trust Gap” between companies who desire to quickly deploy LLM capabilities and the aforementioned risks that these systems pose in business environments.

Shaping User Behavior

Ease of use, broad public availability, and useful answers that span various knowledge domains have led to rapid and somewhat unguided and organic adoption of generative AI-based knowledge management by employees. For example, a recent survey indicated that more than a third of surveyed employees used generative AI in their jobs, but 68% of respondents didn’t inform their supervisors that they were using the tool. To realize opportunities and manage potential risks of generative AI applications to knowledge management, companies need to develop a culture of transparency and accountability that would make generative AI-based knowledge management systems successful.

In addition to implementation of policies and guidelines, users need to understand how to safely and effectively incorporate generative AI capabilities into their tasks to enhance performance and productivity. Generative AI capabilities, including awareness of context and history, generating new content by aggregating or combining knowledge from various sources, and data-driven predictions, can provide powerful support for knowledge work. Generative AI-based knowledge management systems can automate information-intensive search processes (legal case research, for example) as well as high-volume and low-complexity cognitive tasks such as answering routine customer emails. This approach increases efficiency of employees, freeing them to put more effort into the complex decision-making and problem-solving aspects of their jobs.

Some specific behaviors that might be desirable to inculcate — either though training or policies — include:

• Knowledge of what types of content are available through the system;
• How to create effective prompts;
• What types of prompts and dialogues are allowed, and which ones are not;
• How to request additional knowledge content to be added to the system;
• How to use the system’s responses in dealing with customers and partners;
• How to create new content in a useful and effective manner.

Both Morgan Stanley and Morningstar trained content creators in particular on how best to create and tag content, and what types of content are well-suited to generative AI usage.

“Everything Is Moving Very Fast”

One of the executives we interviewed said, “I can tell you what things are like today. But everything is moving very fast in this area.” New LLMs and new approaches to tuning their content are announced daily, as are new products from vendors with specific content or task foci. Any company that commits to embedding its own knowledge into a generative AI system should be prepared to revise its approach to the issue frequently over the next several years.

While there are many challenging issues involved in building and using generative AI systems trained on a company’s own knowledge content, we’re confident that the overall benefit to the company is worth the effort to address these challenges. The long-term vision of enabling any employee — and customers as well — to easily access important knowledge within and outside of a company to enhance productivity and innovation is a powerful draw. Generative AI appears to be the technology that is finally making it possible.

Is selling online over-saturated? No way! It’s still very doable to make money from anywhere with a laptop. You just need to learn how to sell online and have the dedication to make it work.

This guide will give you proven methods to sell products and services online with insights from people making money using digital platforms. Plus, we’re sharing tips for building your own website and the secrets to selling with social media.

How to start selling online

Before jumping in and making your first sale, you need to know what you’re selling and who to. Through market research, you will find the answers.

Do market research

Once you’ve brainstormed the products or services that you’d like to sell online, you’ll need to see if there’s a market for those products. To do this, there are market research tools online that you can use.

Market research involves gathering information about your target market, competitors and industry trends. The goal is to determine whether or not your ideas are likely to make money and, if they are, how you can reach an audience interested in buying from you.

Market research includes:

• Competitor analysis to see what others are doing and what works for them. You need to look at where you fit within the market, what makes you stand out and what you can offer that competitors don’t.
• Analyzing online forums where your audience hangs out to build a picture of who your audience is and what they need so that you can target them better.
• Look for trends to discover products people are looking for now.

Top tip: When it comes to identifying trends, you can use Google Trends, which is a free tool. Search the product or service you’re considering selling and see how interested people are.

For example, a search for ‘buy selfie stick’ shows that searches for this product peaked in 2018 and have steadily declined in search volume; probably not the product for you right now.

Searches for air fryers, on the other hand, increased in 2020 and have remained relatively stable ever since.

Choose a niche and product

If you’re starting your online selling venture from scratch, it’s best to start with a niche product or service.

Niching allows you to build out an audience looking to solve a specific problem. You will get to know your buyer deeply, and only then can you provide them with all the reasons why your chosen product or service helps them.

Top tip: it will help if you genuinely like and believe in what you’re selling, especially if you’re going to sell on social media (more on that later).

Choose a platform or create an online store

The key to choosing a platform – or platforms – is not to spread yourself too thinly. If you’ve done your market research thoroughly enough, you will already have an idea of where your audience is hanging out online.

Top tip: consider your time. You are better off covering fewer platforms well than covering many badly. You can always scale later.

Market and sell

Once you’ve covered the above, it’s time to jump into your marketing plan. You’ll need a marketing plan that considers the buyer funnel. Think about the content you need to create to persuade prospective customers to buy from you. You will also want to build trust as part of your marketing strategy.

Top tip: sites like Reddit and Quora are free and provide insight into your audiences, their problems, their issues with competitors and so much more. The same applies to Google’s People Also Ask.

Sticking with the idea of selling air fryers, a quick search of the word ‘air fryers’ returns commonly asked questions about pros and cons.

Popular platforms where you can sell products online

Now that you’ve got your marketing plan started, it’s time to choose a platform for selling online.

Sell on your own online store

You can’t sell online without a digital store or platform. While you can sell on social media (more on this later), an owned channel like a website can become an asset over time.

Here’s some guidance on setting up your own platform.

Choose a domain

Check your desired domain name is available and buy online. Your domain name should be the same as your business name. It should be memorable, easy to spell, and relevant.

Create your store

Create an online store using GoDaddy’s Website Builder and set up shop within a day. You can add products, take payments and sell online from anywhere in the world.

Add payment processing

You need to integrate your online store with a payment gateway to accept payments. The gateway you choose comes down to personal preferences, terms and conditions and transaction fees.

PayPal is free to integrate but may charge a higher rate per sale, but if you want to test your ecommerce store before committing to a gateway like Stripe, PayPal can be a good start.

Manage inventory

Inventory management is crucial for any ecommerce business, especially if you receive orders online. If you have physical products, your inventory must match what’s available online; otherwise, your risk selling more products than you have in stock, resulting in disappointed customers.

If you’re selling online and offline, stock inventory can get more complicated as you must regularly update your online inventory.  Larger businesses have inventory management systems for this, but as a start-up, you can sometimes manage inventory updates with good administration.

Choose a shipping provider

Shipping can get rather complex, especially if you’re planning on handling international orders. You need to think about shipping costs and how you will manage them. Some businesses choose to absorb shipping so there’s no obvious cost to the buyer. Of course, if you do this, shipping costs should be factored into your product price.

Shipping calculations vary, but here are some options.

• Flat-rate shipping is as it sounds. The business charges the same shipping cost for all packages, regardless of weight or distance. Flat-rate shipping should be carefully monitored. With a flat rate, your business expects to profit on some purchases and lose on others, especially if you’re shipping internationally. Flat-rate will only work if the profits and losses are approximately balanced.
• Actual cost is a calculation where the business calculates the exact shipping cost for each package and charges this to the customer. This is usually done automatically at checkout using a shipping calculator. The calculation will take into account location, weight, size and more.

You can incentivize a purchase with free shipping, and you can also offer more expensive shopping options for faster delivery.

Top tip: Test your shopping experience before you start. You must ensure your prospective customers have a seamless experience from finding you to buying. That means no broken checkout.

Sell on Marketplaces

Marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, eBay and Craigslist offer excellent opportunities to reach a broad audience and sell your products. Service-based businesses can try Freelancer, Upwork, Toptal and more.

You can sell on many of these marketplaces and your website. You can try the marketplaces and see how they perform.

Naturally, each marketplace will take a percentage of the sale, so you’ll need to factor that in.

Amazon

Any ecommerce brand should at least try out Amazon. It is a search engine for products, and some of your buyers will go to Amazon before Google.

Pros

• Amazon is one of the largest ecommerce marketplaces.
• It’s simple to set up a seller account and list your products.
• Users may use Amazon as a search engine rather than Google, so you’re reaching a new audience.

 Cons

• Amazon has over two million sellers, so you need good product photography to stand out.
• For users to find you on Amazon, you need to know a little about Amazon SEO.

Etsy

Etsy is a popular marketplace for crafts, handmade and vintage products. But Etsy is also an excellent marketplace for digital products like guides, ebooks and more.

Pros

• If your product is crafty, handmade or vintage, you can know that users are heading to Etsy to find it.
• It’s cheap to start selling.

Cons

• It is a busy marketplace with lots of sellers.
• You don’t have the same control over your Etsy store as you do your store.
• Customers often expect personalization on Etsy.

eBay

eBay is one of the oldest ecommerce marketplaces. By now, most of us have probably sold (or tried to sell) something on eBay.

Pros

• It’s familiar.
• You may already have an account with some reviews to build trust.

Cons

• eBay’s UX isn’t as friendly as some alternatives.

Craigslist

Craigslist is a classified advertisements website that allows you to sell products locally.

Pros

• There are no fees
• You can sell locally, which helps with shipping fees if you want to keep your business geographically small.

Cons

• Local sales only can be limiting once you have the desire to grow.

Sell on social media

Once the products or services are available to buy, your first task is to drive traffic to the site. Here are some tips for promoting and selling your products digitally.

Social media

Social media is a great place to build an audience and, importantly, a brand. Through social media, you get to know your audience, and they get to know you; social media is personal.

TikTok

TikTok is a platform credited for its generous algorithm providing accounts with excellent reach. As one of the fastest-growing platforms with over 1 billion users, your audience is likely hanging out there.

Mia Steele is a TikTok creator who began monetizing content in April 2022. She reports great success on the platform.

Steele says, “In less than six weeks of posting on TikTok and diving into User Generated Content (UGC), I began monetizing my content. I managed to replace my income by creating content and ads for brands.

“As my TikTok following grew, I even sold my own digital products to my audience.”

Steele’s top tip for a successful social media account is, ‘Devote time to cultivate and nurture your own audience, so you can capitalize on the traffic to sell your own products.’

TikTok also has TikTok Shop that you can access once you have 1,000 followers. TikTok Shop allows you to take a commission from items promoted and sold within your videos.

Facebook and Instagram

Like TikTok, you can grow an audience on Facebook and follow the path of selling digital products. Facebook and Instagram also have Shop functionality to sell products directly on the platform.

Facebook and Instagram benefit from the ability to post from Instagram to Facebook automatically, which will save you time.

Pinterest

Pinterest allows you to create a shoppable feed to list your products and sell them directly on the platform. You can also use Pinterest to drive traffic to your online store or blog.

Pinterest marketer Kayla Ihrig says, “The best way to make money on Pinterest is by making pins that lead to your services or products. Unlike other platforms where you need to constantly share valuable information to market your product or service, on Pinterest, users are searching for it and just want to be able to find it. Creators need to create images or videos (called pins) that display what they offer and then optimize them for search. Then, when a user searches for a solution to their problem, they find your content and go back to your website.”

Ihrig’s pin, pictured below, is the perfect example of a pin that leads a user to her service-based site.

Selling on social media opens a window of opportunity for entrepreneurs. You can sell your own products and services or explore affiliate and email marketing, which you can advertise in tandem with your platform.

Affiliate marketing

With a combination of your website and social media, you could sell products online without actually owning or stocking a single item. Ideal for the entrepreneur craving ultimate freedom.

With affiliate marketing, you take a percentage of sales made via your channels using trackable affiliate URLs.

Mia Steele drives traffic from her social media following of 20,000 to her website. She started with a domain name from GoDaddy and started her journey into affiliate marketing.  Steele says, “Within just seven months, I had joined more than 15 affiliate programs, built an email list of over 3000 subscribers, and earned over $90,000 in commissions by promoting products on TikTok and through my blog.”

The key, Steele says, is “Building your email list from day one. I underestimated the power of an email list until I ventured into affiliate marketing, and I regretted not starting earlier. Having a compelling free lead magnet and consistently producing high-quality content to drive traffic to your offers will be the key to your success.”

Email marketing

Email marketing is a cost-effective way to reach your target audience and promote your products. Done well, every email you send can make money. At least, this is the case for the team at Siligrams.

Arlene Battishill, Chief Marketing Officer, says, “Our email marketing is killing it with an average 55% open rate. Every email makes money. A recent email marketing campaign – a series of 10 daily emails – had an average 63% open rate because the campaign was nothing but stories and bad jokes and had absolutely nothing to do with our product!”

The secret to Battishill’s campaigns is consistency and humor; not every email is a sales plea that likely contributes to the sales success. Siligrams choose to humor and engage their audience instead of going for a hard sell. Remember, people buy from people.

Top tip: you can create and send stylish emails in bulk using GoDaddy’s marketing suite.

Trust the process when selling online

If it were easy, everyone would do it. Although the online selling path is simple, it requires dedication. Commit to your product, trust the process and be consistent.

As a budding entrepreneur, you have a lot to explore, and a platform that works for one business may not work for another, so be bold and experiment.

Sell online FAQ

Finally, we’re answering some of the most asked questions when it comes to selling online.

How do I sell online for the first time?

Your first online sale is the result of small steps made consistently. Follow the steps in this guide, from idea generation and market research to marketing and set-up, and you will make your first sale.

What are the most profitable items to sell online?

The most profitable items to sell online vary based on trends, but some items stand the test of time. These items include SaaS products via affiliate marketing since you earn recurring revenue.

For physical products, you can explore items in the following categories:

• electronics
• fashion accessories
• beauty products
• home decor
• health and wellness

Naturally, these categories are also some of the most competitive, and you should consider the challenges. For example, electronics can go wrong, resulting in customer service issues and refund requests. Health and wellness is challenging to build authority in, especially if you’re relying on a new, owned website to sell from.

How can I sell products online legally?

The legal requirements for selling online can vary, and you must research to ensure you comply fully with laws and regulations.  You must consider registering your business, correctly paying your taxes, and customer privacy and security. Advertising online also requires you to adhere to rules and regulations, from product information to the types of images and ad copy.

What is the easiest platform to sell online?

Ease of use is a priority for any platform that allows you to sell online. You can set up an eBay, Etsy or Amazon store within a day. The platforms are already geared to helping people like you sell.

If you want to own your platform, which is not a good idea, website builders help you set up shop as quickly and efficiently as possible.

In fact, here at SPI, we’ve changed our entire business model to center around community, and it’s the best decision we’ve ever made.

Starting a community from scratch, however, can feel overwhelming, especially if you don’t know where to begin.

In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through the entire process of creating a successful online community, step by step. Along the way, I’ll address common concerns and share practical tips and strategies to help you achieve your community-building goals.

Let’s get to it!

Part 1: Understanding the Value of an Online Community

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of starting your online community, it’s essential to understand the value that a well-run community can bring to your business or organization. An online community can:

1. Foster connection and engagement among your audience or customers
2. Establish your authority in your niche
3. Provide valuable insights and feedback to help you improve your products or services
4. Generate additional revenue through membership fees or other monetization methods (optional)

When you realize just how valuable a community can be for your business and brand, you’ll take the extra care necessary to make sure it’s awesome for your people and integrates well into your brand.

Part 2: Laying the Foundation for an Online Community

Step 1: Determine Your “Why”

Your “why” is the driving force behind your community. It’s essential to have a clear understanding of the purpose and value your community will provide, which will help guide your decisions as you build and grow your community.

Consider the following questions:

• What problem are you trying to solve for your audience?
• How will your community support your audience in achieving their goals?
• What unique perspective or expertise do you bring to the table?

Always remember: your earnings are a byproduct of how well you serve your audience. Start with your people in mind first and the revenue will become the reward.

If money is your primary driver, this isn’t going to work.

Step 2: Identify Your Target Audience

To create a thriving community, you need to know who your ideal members are. Think about the characteristics that define your target audience, such as demographics, interests, and needs.

Also think about the struggles and challenges they’re going through, and ultimately what their goals are.

It’s these common things that unite a community together. People on the outside might not really “get it” or understand, but when you’re on the inside, you feel like you’ve found your people.

This kind of critical thinking will help you tailor your community’s content, structure, and engagement strategies to attract and retain the right members.

Step 3: Define Your Community’s Core Values

Your online community’s core values serve as guiding principles for how members interact with one another and what they can expect from your community. Examples of core values might include mutual respect, continuous learning, or collaboration.

Our community’s core values are shared during the onboarding process, as soon as a person joins one of our communities. If you’re curious, or are seeking support for your online business journey, click here to see what we have to offer!

It’s important to clearly communicate your core values to your members: they help set the tone for your online community and encourage positive behavior.

Part 3: Choosing the Right Platform and Technology

When it comes to hosting your online community, there are numerous platforms and technologies to choose from. Some popular options include forums, social media groups, and custom-built platforms.

Facebook Groups used to be the top choice, but Groups (and Facebook in general) has been losing users for a while now.

I highly recommend using Circle, a modern, user-friendly platform designed specifically for building and managing online communities — one that you own and can control (instead of playing in someone else’s sandbox).

Circle offers a wide range of features, including customizable branding, member management tools, and seamless integration with popular tools like Zapier, WordPress, and Slack. It’s the community platform we use for SPI Pro and our All-Access Pass, too.

If you’d like to learn more about Circle, click here.*

*(Please note that this is an affiliate link and we do earn a small commission if you choose to eventually get on a paid plan — all this at no extra cost to you, we just want to be up front about that.)

Part 4: Designing Your Online Community’s Structure and Engagement Strategy

1. Determine the Type of Community

There are three main types of online communities: communities of interest, communities of learning, and communities of support. Each type serves a different purpose and requires a unique approach to engagement and content creation.

Consider your “why” and your target audience when choosing the type of community that’s right for you.

2. Start Simple

It’s crucial to begin with a simple, sustainable community structure that offers the right amount of value for your goals.

Avoid committing to long-term programming or overly complex schedules before you’ve launched your community. This is extremely important, especially at the start. Trust us, we know this from our own experience.

Instead of getting too complicated, focus on creating a basic framework that you can build on and adapt based on member feedback and engagement.

What are the most valuable components of your community? If you could only pick a few, what would they be? Start there.

3. Establish an Engagement Strategy

An effective engagement strategy is key to the success of your online community. Consider offering a mix of asynchronous (e.g. discussion posts, resources) and live (e.g. webinars, group calls) content to cater to different member preferences and schedules. Experiment with various types of programming to see what works best for your community.

Again, while there are a thousand things you can do in your community to encourage engagement, start simple and lean. From there, you can build out complexities in a more controlled and tested manner.

4. Set Expectations and Boundaries

It’s essential to set clear expectations for your community members and establish boundaries for your own time and availability. Communicate your community guidelines and moderation policies prominently to ensure a safe, welcoming environment for all members. This should be done as soon as a person joins — right in the onboarding process.

And of course, model the behavior you expect from your community to set the tone and encourage positive interactions.

Part 5: Pricing and Revenue for Online Communities

If you decide to monetize your online community (which we recommend because people value what they pay for) there are several pricing models and strategies to consider.

Some popular options include freemium-tiered memberships, one-time fees, and recurring subscriptions. When determining your pricing, take into account factors like your time investment, overhead costs, and the financial resources of your target audience.

Keep in mind that your pricing structure may evolve over time, and that’s okay. Be prepared to make adjustments based on feedback, market trends, and the needs of your community.

Additionally, see what other communities offer and what their price points are. Finally, consider what the overall value of your community is to your members. When the community and your guidance help a person, what does that mean to them? How much time and/or money will they have saved? How much better off will they be because they belong to the group?

Part 6: Launching and Growing Your Online Community

1. Start with a Small, Engaged Group

When it comes to launching your community online, it’s better to start with a small, engaged group of members who are genuinely interested in your community’s purpose and value. This will help you create a strong foundation for growth and ensure that you can effectively manage member engagement as your community expands.

How many to be exact? Even starting with five motivated members can do wonders. It’ll already feel like those people belong together, and they can help influence what the membership and community becomes and likely grow it through their personal networks as well.

2. Seek Feedback and Iterate

As you launch and grow your community, it’s essential to seek feedback from your members regularly. Use a variety of methods, such as one-on-one conversations, anonymous surveys, and open discussions to gather insights and ideas for improvement. Be prepared to iterate and adapt your community’s structure, content, and engagement strategies based on the feedback you receive.

3. Embrace Organic Growth

While it’s tempting to focus on rapid growth, it’s crucial to remember that thriving communities can be small. We can’t stress this enough, especially when you’re likely to find communities with thousands of members when you are researching other spaces within your niche.

You can be a small but powerful force!

Plus, a smaller community can often provide a more intimate, supportive environment that fosters deeper connections and engagement. Embrace organic growth and prioritize the quality of your community over the quantity of members.

4. Promote Your Online Community

To attract new members to your community, it’s essential to promote it across various channels.

Leverage your existing audience, clients, or network to generate interest, and consider offering incentives for early adopters, such as discounted membership fees or exclusive content. We advise against discounting so that you don’t “cheapen” your community just to get people in; rather, use exclusive bonuses, or language like “beta tester price” or “early bird pricing” to denote value in acting early.

Additionally, share testimonials, success stories, and other social proof to showcase the value of your online community and entice new members to join!

To Finish Off…

Starting an online community can be a rewarding endeavor that brings immense value to your business or organization. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to creating a thriving, engaged community that supports your audience’s goals and drives growth for your brand.

Remember, building a successful online community takes time, effort, and adaptability. Don’t be afraid to iterate, experiment, and learn from your members as you chart your community’s path forward. With persistence and a clear vision, you can create a vibrant, thriving community that leaves a lasting impact and even changes lives.

If you want to learn more about the thriving entrepreneurial communities we’ve built at SPI, or if you’re looking for community support in your own entrepreneurial journey, click right here. We have several different memberships for entrepreneurs of all levels and business sizes, and we have an entire team dedicated to creating an exceptional experience. Hope to see you in there soon!

This article delves into the art of business negotiation, exploring the strategies and tactics that can help you achieve win-win outcomes or make the tough decision to walk away.

1. Understanding the Importance of Preparation

Successful negotiations start well in advance of the discussion itself. The secret is to plan. Find out about the parties, their interests, and any potential areas of agreement. Decide on your own aims and objectives as well as your BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement), or the point at which leaving the negotiation becomes a possibility.

Being well-prepared gives you the knowledge, assurance, and flexibility you need to negotiate well.

2. Building Rapport and Active Listening

Establishing rapport and building a positive relationship with the other party is critical. Show genuine interest, engage in active listening, and seek to understand their perspective. By creating a comfortable environment and demonstrating empathy, you pave the way for open communication and collaboration.

Remember, negotiation is not a zero-sum game; it’s about finding mutually beneficial solutions.

3. Building Trust

Trust is the foundation of successful negotiations. Be reliable, honest, and transparent in your dealings. Follow through on commitments and communicate openly. Building trust establishes a solid working relationship, facilitating smoother negotiations and the resolution of potential conflicts.

4. Employing Effective Communication

Communication is the lifeblood of negotiation. Choose your words carefully, using clear and concise language to convey your points effectively. Practice assertiveness without aggression, maintaining a calm and composed demeanor. Ask open-ended questions to encourage dialogue and uncover underlying interests. Nonverbal cues, such as body language and tone of voice, also play a significant role in conveying your intentions and understanding the other party.

5. Making Use of Negotiation Techniques and Strategies

Using effective negotiation techniques and methods can help you get what you want. Setting high expectations (aiming for more than you anticipate to obtain), making calculated concessions, and using the “good cop, bad cop” strategy when negotiating as a team are a few methods that are frequently used. However, it is crucial to employ these strategies sensibly and morally, keeping a concentration on long-term relationships and trust-building.

6. Recognizing When to Walk Away

As much as we strive for win-win outcomes, there are instances where walking away becomes the best choice. If the negotiation reaches an impasse, the other party is unwilling to negotiate in good faith, or the terms are no longer aligned with your goals, it may be time to reassess.

Knowing your BATNA helps determine when to gracefully exit a negotiation and pursue alternative options that offer better prospects.

7. Managing Emotions

Keep emotions in check during negotiations. Emotional reactions can cloud judgment and hinder effective communication. Stay composed, practice emotional intelligence, and focus on the facts and objectives at hand. By maintaining a calm demeanor, you create an environment conducive to productive discussions.

8. Finding Creative Solutions

Think outside the box and explore creative solutions that meet the interests of all parties involved. Brainstorm alternative options, consider trade-offs, and propose innovative ideas. By expanding the realm of possibilities, you increase the chances of reaching a mutually beneficial agreement.

9. Focusing on Interests, Not Positions

Reaching win-win solutions requires a change from positional bargaining to interest-based negotiation. Instead than rigidly sticking to certain requirements, concentrate on the underlying motives and interests that drive each party. Investigate original approaches to these issues in order to widen the range of potential outcomes and boost the likelihood of discovering points of agreement.

Both parties can leave feeling fulfilled by pursuing benefits that benefit both of them.

10. Continuous Learning and Adaptation

Continuously seek opportunities for learning and improvement in the field of negotiation. Stay updated on the latest trends, techniques, and best practices. Reflect on your negotiation experiences and identify areas for growth. Adapt your approach based on the specific context and parties involved, as each negotiation presents unique challenges and dynamics.

Conclusion

Business negotiation is a multifaceted skill that can significantly impact the success of your endeavors. By employing these 10 strategies and tactics, including thorough preparation, effective communication, interest-based negotiation, and knowing when to walk away, you can navigate the negotiation process with greater confidence and achieve win-win outcomes.

Remember that negotiating is a dynamic and continuing activity, and that improving your negotiation skills over time requires ongoing learning and adaptation. With training and experience, you can hone your negotiating skills to the point where you can forge successful business alliances and advance your endeavors.

There has never been a better time to start a business. In our hyper-connected digital age, you can set up a website, online store, and entire brand from anywhere in the world.

Online business-building tools have never been more accessible—and with the right approach, you can grow a loyal customer base quicker than you might think.

If you’re wondering how to start a business in 2023, we’re here to help. In this guide, we’ll look at the essential steps you need to take to make your business a real success. Here we’re going to cover:

FAQs

Ready? Great. Let’s get started.

Related: How to start a business

1. Find a business idea

First of all, to enjoy sustainable commercial success, you have to find a business idea that is not only feasible but something you feel passionate about.

If you have a shortlist of business ideas in mind, dig a little deeper by carrying out a little market research. Look at brands in your potential niche and find out how their consumers engage with them while looking at overall demand based on public sales or growth data.

Doing so will give you inspiration for your own business ideas. Armed with your market and competitor research, you can develop your ideas by considering:

• What am I passionate about?
• What are my specific skills and expertise?
• Which subject matter am I most passionate about?
• Can I feasibly sell or promote the product or services in my potential niche?
• What unique spin can I put on well-trodden business ideas or concepts to stand out?
• What gaps or weaknesses can I exploit in my potential niche or market?

Ask yourself these questions and you’ll eventually land on a business idea that has the potential to scale while keeping you engaged and inspired in the long term.

Related: Read our guide on essential small business ideas for more small business inspiration.

2. Use market research to validate your idea

Once you’ve landed on a solid business idea, you’ll need to see if it has any legs. We just touched on the concept of market research, but now we’re going to drill down a little deeper.

When brainstorming business ideas, you will have scratched the surface. But, to really validate your concept, you must get under the skin of your industry as well as your target audience. In addition to gathering industry insights and data, you should build buyer personas that represent your ideal target audience.

During this phase of the operation, it’s also important to conduct extensive market research as well as market analysis. Here are some market research and analysis ideas for your consideration:

• Conduct consumer surveys across channels (phone, email, social media, mobile app, etc.).
• Hold focus groups to gain a deeper understanding of how your target audience might perceive your brand and what you have to offer.
• Observe how your target audience engages with potential competitors on social media as well as the related subject matter they’re discussing online.
• Explore public data related to your target market to uncover consumer buying patterns as well as sales trends. This will help you validate your idea while giving your business planning a definitive direction—which brings us onto our next point.

3. Create a business plan

Now your idea is validated and you’ve got a handle on your target market, you’ll need to start planning. When it comes to knowing how to start a business, developing your plan methodically is a vital skill. Here are some tips to help you navigate the process like a boss:

• Consider your “why”. This will help you gain an understanding of your key motivations for starting your business as well as what you want to achieve
• Outline plans of action or initiatives  that represent your brand mission and what you do
• Define your key business goals using timelines and milestones to keep you on track
• Write an executive summary that states all essential information related to your business’s aims, goals, and products

To break down each step in more detail, read our essential guide on how to write a business plan and use our official business plan template to make sure you don’t miss anything important.

4. Get funding, explore finance options

To get your business off to a flying start, you’re going to need to get the right level of funding. The funding options you explore will depend on the type of business you’re looking to start.

If you’re looking to start a solely online business and scale up, you could use your personal funds or savings to get up and running. Doing so will give you complete control on your decisions, allowing you to scale the business on your own terms. But, it’s worth noting that if your business struggles or fails to achieve profit, you will be solely responsible for paying back any debt.

Other business funding options include:

• Crowdfunding: Using dedicated crowdfunding platforms, you can inspire people to donate to your business venture in return for incentives or equity. This can be a very effective form of fundraising—and there have been many crowdfunding success stories over the years.
• Gain a line of credit: Akin to obtaining a personal line of credit, you can gain a line of business credit. The terms, limits, and interest rates will depend on the nature of your business as well as factors including your financial history and credit rating.
• Get a grant: Another way of securing a healthy level of funding for your business is getting a grant. If your business mission is rooted in building a better community or inspiring innovation, you could be eligible for a healthy grant from the Federal Government.
• Pitch to investors: Researching investors in your niche and pitching to them is an excellent way to get funding as well as professional backing and expertise. This is certainly an avenue worth exploring if you’re looking for startup capital as well as help with your business’s launch and development activities.

Interested in learning more about planning for business funding? Our guide covers the cost to start a business in full detail.

5. Choose a legal business structure

When starting a business in 2023, settling on a water-tight legal structure is vital. Before you officially register your business, you have to decide on a concrete business structure—and the type you choose will impact your business from a legal standpoint. So, take your time when considering these structures.

Sole proprietorship

If you own your business independently, you can opt for sole proprietorship. This means that you will have full autonomy over your business, but you’ll be responsible for all debt, obligations, and finances.

Pros:

• You will be in full charge of business decisions, development and planning
• You will receive all of the business’s profits
• You will find filing for tax simpler

Cons:

• Managing everything on your own could burn you out and limit your potential for growth
• If you hit financial hot water, you will be liable for settling any debts or arrears

Partnership

Combining forces with another budding business owner will give you double the startup as well as another person who is liable for the red tape as well as the financial aspects of the business. More often than not, two heads are better than one—forge the right partnership and you could see your business thrive from the get-go.

Pros:

• You will have twice the skills, perspective, and financial scope
• You will have another person who is responsible for the running as well as financial and legal aspects of the business

Cons:

• If you and your partner disagree on any aspect, this could cause the kind of friction that could derail progress and stunt growth

Corporation

As a corporation, you will separate your personal assets from your business assets. This means that while your company can incur debt and be subject to legal disputes, your personal finances and assets will remain protected. There are many different forms of a corporation to consider, some of which offer access to some pretty decent investment opportunities.

Pros:

• You will gain access to excellent capital options
• You will benefit from certain tax breaks
• You will be able to protect your personal assets

Cons:

• Corporates can be costly to form and run
• There can be a lot of red tape involved in the running of a corporation

Limited liability company (LLC)

This type of business structure is one of the most common options for new businesses. As a limited liability company (LLC), you will benefit from the legal protection of a corporation while also reaping the tax rewards of a business partnership.

Pros:

• The setup process is relativity straightforward
• You will gain access to a healthy choice of capital and funding options
• You will have a certain level of protection concerning your personal finances

Cons:

• Your investment options can be limited with an LLC
• You can be subject to fairly costly annual maintenance fees

Want more information on how to start an LLC? Our guide has you covered.

Weigh up the pros and cons of each business structure, taking your aims and goals into consideration. At this point, you will want to brainstorm a catchy business name to make it official and bring your brand to life.

Once you’ve decided on your brand-boosting business name, you secure the appropriate domain name.

6. Register your business and get the required licenses

The next step in your how to start a business journey is registering your business and getting any required licenses.

By choosing your business name and settling on your business structure, you will have already started the registration process. To complete the registration process and obtain the right licenses, you will need to:

• Check the full registration requirements depending on your legal structure
• Work though the registration requirements of any regions where you’re looking to trade or operate
• Register for any taxes
• Obtain an employee identification number (EIN)
• File any relevant trademarks
• Find out which business license is relevant to your organization and start the application process

7. Open a business bank account

With your business almost up and running, you’ll need to open a bank account. In 2023, there is no end of choice when it comes to setting up a business bank account.

You should choose a bank account with benefits and features that suit your business’s size as well as your goals.

Tip: Create a shortlist of business bank accounts with flexible loan options as well as excellent customer service and online banking applications.

To set up your business bank account, you will need:

• Official business formation documentation
• EaIN or tax ID numbers
• Your official business name and location
• Date the business was  set up or established
• Your  Social Security number, address and date of birth

8. Get business insurance

In addition to opening your bank account, you will also need to get business insurance. If you don’t, you could find yourself footing a colossal bill if any unexpected issues, damages or disputes arise.

Even as a small business, you will need to cover yourself with the right kind of insurance to protect yourself against any eventuality. At the minimum, you will need general liability insurance (GL) to cover you for loss, injury or damage to yourself or a third party.

If you’re offering a service rather than tangible goods, it will also pay to get professional liability cover incase of any consumer-facing mistakes you might make. Also, as your business scales, you might also consider employment practices liability insurance. This type of cover will protect you against any potential employee claim or complaint.

9. Build your website

At this point, you will be ready to build your website and bring your business to life. Your website or online store will be the digital hub of your entire business—so getting the design and the functionality just right is essential.

If you’re interested in starting a website for your business, here are some hand-picked resources to help you out:

Tip: To build an online store that is slick, wonderfully designed, and easy to navigate, try the powerful and easy-to-master GoDaddy website builder. Or build an online store with our slick and savvy ecommerce tool. And tie your business together with a GoDaddy POS system to accept payments anywhere.

10. Launch and grow your business

“There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas. What’s missing is the will to execute them.”—Seth Godin

If you’ve followed all of the steps in this how to start a business in 2023 guide successfully, you’ll be ready to launch.

Once you build a buzz about your big business launch across various channels including email and social media, you can start selling and take measures to grow year on year through marketing campaigns and sales initiatives.

Starting a business in 2023 is a challenging but potentially rewarding venture. Be persistent, play to your strengths, take the time to ensure you’ve covered every base, and you’ll be winning on the commercial battlefield in no time. Best of luck.

FAQs:

How can a beginner start a business?

A beginner can absolutely start a business. As long as you have a clear idea of your goals and a passion for what you do, you can make your business a real success. Follow the steps in this guide and you’ll be up and running sooner than you might think.

How much money do you need to start a business from scratch?

The cost of starting a business will vary depending on your industry or business model of choice. But, research from the US Small Business Administration shows that most small businesses cost around $3,000 to get started. And, the majority of home-based ventures cost $2,000 to $5,000 to set up.

Can I run a business by myself?

There is no reason that you can’t run a small business by yourself. With the right resources and the right approach, you can set up, launch, and operate your business. Going solo is more than possible, but with so much to consider it’s a huge undertaking. As your business scales, hiring a small team or getting a partner on board will be a good idea. That way, you can further accelerate your commercial growth.

How do you create a legal organization?

To move your business idea into a legal organization, here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll need to do. First, come up with a unique name for your business. Next, figure out what kind of business structure works best for you, such as a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC or corporation. Once you’ve got that sorted, pick a good location for your business and make sure you’ve got all the necessary permits and licenses. Then, get all your paperwork in order and register with your state. After that, it’s time to set up your financials, like opening a company bank account and staying on top of your taxes. Just remember, forming a business can be a bit complicated, so it’s always a good idea to chat with a tax advisor or lawyer to make sure you’re doing everything right.

What is the easiest business to start?

A service-based business is often considered the easiest to start as you don’t have to deal in physical stock or inventory. But, in 2023, it’s never been more accessible to set up and launch a successful online business. In the digital age, tools exist to help you set up an ecommerce store or build a website without technical expertise. Follow the right steps and almost every kind of business will be within your reach.

What is the simplest legal form to start a business?

A sole proprietorship is the easiest business legal structure to set up. If you have a little capital of your own, you can apply for a sole proprietorship with ease. You will have complete control over the entire business, but be aware: you will be responsible for the financial as well as legal aspects of the business.

Here are some tips on how to do just that:

1. Focus on Your Niche

One of the advantages of being a small business is that you can specialize in a particular niche or market segment. By focusing on a specific area, you can tailor your products or services to meet the unique needs of your customers. This can make you more competitive than larger companies that try to appeal to a broad audience.

2. Build Personal Relationships

Small businesses have a unique advantage in that they can build personal relationships with their customers. Take the time to get to know your customers and build a loyal following. Offer personalized service, send handwritten notes or thank-you cards, and respond quickly to customer inquiries. By building a strong relationship with your customers, you can create a loyal base of customers who will stick with you even when larger competitors come knocking.

3. Leverage Technology

Just because you’re a small business doesn’t mean you can’t leverage technology to compete with larger companies. Use social media, email marketing, and other digital tools to connect with customers and promote your brand. Consider using customer relationship management software to keep track of customer interactions and provide personalized service. By leveraging technology, you can operate more efficiently and effectively than larger competitors who may be slower to adopt new tools.

4. Emphasize Quality over Quantity

As a small business, you may not have the resources to produce or sell as much as your larger competitors. However, you can make up for this by emphasizing quality over quantity. Focus on producing high-quality products or providing exceptional service. By providing a superior experience, you can differentiate yourself from larger competitors who may prioritize quantity over quality.

5. Be Nimble and Adaptable

One of the advantages of being a small business is that you can be more nimble and adaptable than larger competitors. Take advantage of this by staying attuned to market trends and changing customer needs. Don’t be afraid to pivot your business strategy if necessary. By being responsive to changes in the market, you can stay competitive and thrive in a small pond.

6. Collaborate with Other Small Businesses

Collaborating with other small businesses can help you expand your reach and offer more value to your customers. Consider partnering with other businesses in your community to offer joint promotions or services. By working together, you can pool resources and expertise, and provide a more comprehensive experience for your customers.

7. Offer Exceptional Customer Service

As a small business, you have the opportunity to offer exceptional customer service that larger companies may not be able to match. Make sure you prioritize customer service in everything you do. Train your employees to be friendly and responsive, and make sure you’re available to answer customer inquiries and resolve any issues promptly. By providing exceptional customer service, you can build a loyal base of customers who will recommend your business to others.

8. Build a Strong Brand

Building a strong brand can help you stand out in a crowded marketplace. Define your brand identity and make sure it’s consistent across all your marketing materials and customer interactions. Use your brand to tell your story and connect with your customers on an emotional level. By building a strong brand, you can create a sense of loyalty and trust with your customers.

9. Stay Financially Disciplined

As a small business, it’s important to stay financially disciplined and avoid taking on too much debt or overspending. Make sure you have a solid financial plan in place, and track your expenses and revenue closely. Look for ways to cut costs without sacrificing quality, and make sure you have a plan in place for unexpected expenses. By staying financially disciplined, you can weather any ups and downs and ensure the long-term success of your business.

10. Stay True to Your Values

Finally, it’s important to stay true to your values as a small business. Define your mission and values, and make sure you’re living up to them in everything you do. Don’t compromise your values for short-term gains, and make sure you’re always acting in the best interests of your customers and community. By staying true to your values, you can build a strong reputation and create a business that truly makes a difference.

To Conclude…

In conclusion, small businesses can thrive in a small pond by focusing on their niche, building personal relationships, leveraging technology, emphasizing quality, and being nimble and adaptable. With the right strategies and mindset, you can compete and win against larger competitors. So embrace your smallness and use it to your advantage.

1. Monitor your Finances Closely

During an uncertain economy, it’s crucial to monitor your revenue, expenses, and cash flow carefully. Review your financial statements regularly and identify potential problems early on. By doing so, you can make informed decisions on how to allocate your resources effectively.

2. Diversify your Revenue Streams

If your business relies on a single product or service, consider introducing new products or expanding into new markets. This can help to mitigate any potential downturns and ensure your business remains profitable. It’s important to research your options carefully and make sure that any new products or services align with your business’s overall goals and values.

3. Build a Strong Online Presence

Having a website and social media accounts can help attract new customers and keep existing ones engaged. Additionally, offering online ordering or delivery services can help you reach a wider audience. Make sure your online presence is professional, up-to-date, and easy to navigate.

4. Focus on Customer Service

During tough economic times, your customers may be more cautious with their spending. To keep them coming back, focus on providing excellent customer service. Make sure your employees are trained to handle any customer concerns or complaints, and go above and beyond to make your customers feel valued. Consider offering special promotions or discounts to encourage customer loyalty.

5. Stay Up to Date on Industry Trends

By staying up to date on industry trends, you can anticipate changes in the market and adjust your business strategies accordingly. Attend industry conferences or join professional organizations to stay informed on the latest developments. This can help you stay ahead of the competition and position your business for long-term success.

6. Cut Unnecessary Expenses

During tough economic times, it’s important to cut unnecessary expenses. Review your expenses and identify any areas where you can trim costs without negatively impacting your business. This may mean negotiating with suppliers for better prices, reducing your marketing budget, or consolidating your office space. Make sure any cost-cutting measures align with your business’s overall goals and values.

7. Build a Network of Support

Running a small business can be isolating, especially during uncertain economic times. Build a network of support by joining business groups or networking with other small business owners in your community. This can provide you with valuable insights and support during difficult times. Consider mentoring or partnering with other small business owners to share resources and ideas.

8. Plan for The Future

While it’s important to focus on the present, it’s also important to plan for the future. Consider creating a long-term business plan that takes into account potential economic fluctuations and outlines strategies for growth and adaptation. Make sure to regularly review and adjust your plan as needed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, protecting your small business’s well-being during uncertain economic conditions requires careful planning, adaptability, and a willingness to take risks. By monitoring your finances, diversifying your revenue streams, building a strong online presence, focusing on customer service, staying up to date on industry trends, cutting unnecessary expenses, building a network of support, and planning for the future, you can position your business for long-term success.

Remember, while economic conditions may be uncertain, the steps you take to protect your business don’t have to be.

By following these tips, you can help safeguard your small business and ensure its success even during uncertain economic conditions. Keep in mind that these tips are not exhaustive, and it’s always a good idea to seek the advice of experts in your field or industry to gain additional insights and guidance.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past few months, you’ve likely heard about ChatGPT or one of its competitors and how AI writing tools are revolutionizing the wild world of blogging. But, is it something you should use for your blog? In this post, we’ll explore how to write a blog post using AI – the right way.

And, before you come at me, I should state I’m a writer that makes a living from creating content every week. I’m not on #TeamAI, but I’m also not exactly on #TeamNoAI either. Hopefully, by the end of this post you’ll understand why I’m writing about blogging with AI at all, and have some ideas of how to use it ethically and correctly for your own content.

What exactly is AI? And what is AI writing software?

TechTarget refers to AI or artificial intelligence as “the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems.” By extension, AI writing software is supposed to simulate content written by human writers.

With the use of algorithms, suggestions, and a lot of complicated computerized 1s and 0s, AI writing software should theoretically be able to take a prompt a user gives it, and deliver text content back to the user. The reason it’s causing such a stir in the writing world is that it can generate large bits of text in mere seconds.

What was taking content writers hours to complete can be created without breaking a sweat. Of course, that’s not to say what is generated is accurate, and not even necessarily great content. However, as I’ve played with several different AI writing tools at this point, I have to admit it is certainly impressive what the different software can spit out.

What can AI accomplish?

I think that what AI can accomplish depends largely on your goals. The different functions I’ve seen AI writing tools perform include, but aren’t limited to:

• Writing first-draft intros and conclusions for blog posts
• Generating a list of blog topics to write about
• Creating different heading and title options for blog posts
• Summarizing the points of a blog or article, or even just a section of the text for a better understanding
• Generating product descriptions for ecommerce stores
• Writing entire blog posts, articles, essays, poems, and even songs
• Analyzing the tone to determine if a block of text is professional, casual, funny, or depressing
• Creating landing pages for websites
• Writing social media posts to promote content, ideas, and views
• Generating ideas for videos, podcast episodes, and other types of content
• Brainstorm content marketing ideas
• Writing ad copy
• Answer questions (albeit not necessarily factual in its response)
• Breakdown complicated ideas into easier-to-digest ones, or beef up generic content with SAT words (For example, WordHero’s “Explain It To A Child” and “Explain It Like a Professor” functions)

Of course, this is only for the actual writing portion of blogging. I’ve seen so many tutorials and articles expressing various methods of using AI tools for everything from creating complementary YouTube videos for blog posts to generating AI artwork.

Since this article is about how to write a blog post using AI, I’ll do my best to keep my focus on that. So, is it possible for a blogger or content creator to use AI writing tools to create high-quality content? Let’s first take a look at the ethical considerations.

Ethical considerations of writing blog posts with AI

Aside from the ethical considerations related to carbon emissions generated because of the computing power AI tech is causing, some people look at using AI to write blog posts as straight-up plagiarism.

I spoke with SEO and copywriting expert Ryan Brock who is the Chief Solution Officer for DemandJump. He said whether we like it or not, Chat GPT, and all these other AI writing tools are just plagiarism. Period.

In his opinion, it scrapes the internet and then repackages it in a slightly different structure and gives it back to you. He says no matter how you look at it, “It’s plagiarism and that’s just not cool.”

He went on to say by scraping other people’s content, you’re not providing any new value to anyone. That’s not how you build trust factor if you’re trying to establish yourself as a thought leader (or if you’re trying to sell something).

On the flip side of things, Ryan admitted that for answering basic questions that are evergreen and don’t need a lot of fact-checking, it would help someone come up with ideas and break down basic concepts faster. But to actually use that in a blog post he says is doing more harm than good in the long run.

He’s not alone in this sentiment.

Joyce O’Day wrote an article back in July 2022 that basically said if you’re using AI writing tools, the content isn’t yours. She said, “All published content — popular or academic — that utilizes artificial intelligence should be appropriately labeled with the name of the AI software listed as a co-author. Otherwise, authors are taking credit for content that is not their intellectual property, which is plagiarism.”

The Guardian reported, “The use of AI tools to generate writing that can be passed off as one’s own has been dubbed ‘AIgiarism’ by the American venture capitalist Paul Graham, whose wife, Jessica Livingston, is one of the backers of OpenAI.”

I’ve seen many copywriters and content creators state in online forums such as Reddit, as well as within Facebook Groups and on LinkedIn that the act of simply pulling content from AI software is not ethical. To make matters worse, in many cases, depending on the complexity of the subject, it could be generating completely false information.

While every writing solution I’ve come across has stated it’s not responsible for the accuracy of the text that is generated, I’m not sure everyone takes the time to fact-check the content that is given to them. In fact, I personally know of a few people that have turned in shoddy work that needed to be corrected because they relied more on AI software than their own common sense. Needless to say, they lost work as a result.

Some content writers are leaning heavily into AI

While using AI for writing may not be seen as completely ethical, it’s no secret that a lot of freelancers are leaning heavily into it for content creation. One such freelance writer that is getting her fair share of flack for this opinion is “Fiverr Millionaire” and author of the book “Freelance Your Way to Freedom,” Alexandra Fasulo. The self-proclaimed Freelance Fairy believes that AI is the way of the future and she has stated she is glad it’s making waves in the world.

In fact, she recently took to Instagram to discuss Fiverr’s new category for freelancers dedicated to AI where she discussed freelancers charging to edit ChatGPT-generated articles to earn more money in less time.

At the same time, she’s certain that AI will not replace freelancers altogether. For example, one of the gigs she referenced in a TikTok video was to proofread, fact-check, and add hyperlinks to AI text.

Could edited AI text be the ethical way to produce quality content, but get it done faster and for less money? Perhaps.

I guess the real question we all need to ask ourselves is, where do we draw our ethical line in the sand?

Even Google has walked back its initial statements that it would completely downgrade a website’s search rankings if it used AI. In April 2022 Search Engine Journal reported Google’s John Mueller stated that AI-generated content was considered spam. Then, in January 2023, the publication reported Google is now saying AI content is okay as long as it’s high-quality and helpful to the user.  Perhaps this is because Google is working on an AI platform to compete with ChatGPT, or maybe they just don’t want to turn off all the potential advertisers that are using AI to produce content. Who knows for sure?

What about SEO considerations with using AI writing tools?

While we’re talking Google, let’s consider SEO for a moment. Can you write blog content using AI and have that written content rank in search results?

Based on all the research I’ve done for this post, and people I’ve talked to that are much smarter than I am, the basic answer is yes, but with a major caveat.

You have to add a lot more to the post generated with AI before you can ever hope to rank with it!

In other words, if you copy and paste content generated from your favorite AI writing solution into WordPress (or whatever CMS you’re using), no, you probably won’t rank well for it.

But, if you take that base piece and improve upon it – ahem, make it MUCH better – sure, you can rank with it.

Here are the steps you need to take if getting an AI-generated article to rank well is your goal:

1. Research keywords. Don’t generate the text until you have done a thorough keyword research session.

• While researching keywords, consider your ideal customer, and what they will actually be looking for that could ultimately lead them to your page.
• Consider the questions they are asking and the pain points they are looking to solve and how your product or service can solve them.

2. Come up with article ideas. Go to your favorite AI writing solution and add a simple prompt. For example, let’s assume you’re a personal trainer trying to get more clients in the Scottsdale, Arizona area. Next, we’ll assume you’re trying to rank for Best Personal Trainer in Scottsdale. So in this case, the prompt we’ll input is “Give me 10 article ideas for the Best Personal Trainer in Scottsdale.”

3. Generate an outline. Using one of the prompts, let’s generate an outline for the post. In this case, we’ll use the prompt “10 Reasons to Hire a Personal Trainer in Scottsdale: Benefits and Results” Again we’ll go to our AI writing solution and prompt it to create an outline for a blog post on that topic.

4. Write the post. You have two options at this point and this is where things get tricky.

• Option 1 – You could technically re-prompt your writing software to address each of the points in the outline and create a pretty decent article
• Option 2 – Write the post yourself addressing the outline ideas and add in real examples and testimonials that show off your expertise and authority on the subjects

5. Refine and optimize the post. Edit, and add to the post to make it even better. To do this you can:

• Add an FAQ section to include more of the keywords people are looking for (but don’t keyword stuff the post!)
• Include some images that are optimized with proper Alt Tags and descriptions (Compress the images before loading them into the post to improve page load time!)
• Break up larger paragraphs into easier-to-read shorter paragraphs
• Add more subheads for skimmers
• Include links to authoritative sites where relevant
• Include links to your own blog posts that expand on ideas presented in the post
• Create a solid meta description that tells search engines what the post is about (Don’t forget to use the keyword(s) that you’re trying to rank for in your description!)

6. Publish and promote. It might take some time for your post to start showing up in search engine result pages (SERPs), but you can start sharing it across social media, in your newsletter, and even in forums like Reddit and Quora. Just be careful not to spam!

7. Next, you need to write more posts. One solid blog post doesn’t show off your E-E-A-T! Google released an update in December 2022 that to improve the rating of your quality it’s previous E-A-T guidelines are no longer enough if you hope to win out over your competitors.

• E-A-T “stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness.”
• So what is the extra E? Experience!

DemandJump recommends writing around 16 posts centered on the same subject to rank higher than your competitors. They refer to this as a Pillar Based Marketing campaign. It’s similar to Hubspot’s “topic clusters” way of writing which involves writing long-form content about several subtopics related to one central topic.

So in this case, you could go back to step 2 and take all the blog post ideas generated from your AI writing solution and repeat steps 3-7 for all 10 of the ideas it gave you. Then, interlink all of them so they support one another and shout from the digital rooftops that you are an expert on the subject that has authority, trustworthiness and experience to back up your claims online.

5 AI tools that can help you blog better

What tools can you use to help you write your blog posts? There are several different options available. Rather than get into the specific brands (especially since more are coming online every day, it seems), I’ll just share what you should be considering to make your blog post writing easier on you:

• A keyword research tool
• An AI writing tool – preferably one that does more than write a paragraph. Look for one that can give you ideas for:
  • Headers
  • Meta descriptions
  • Content briefs
  • Email subjects
  • Videos
  • Blog topics
  • Blog post outlines, etc.
• A spelling and grammar checker
• A plagiarism detection tool
• A graphics and/or image generation tool

How to write a blog post using AI

So how do you ethically write a blog post using AI? The most basic answer is: Don’t copy and paste AI-generated text verbatim. So what if you can get 2,000 words written in a matter of seconds? Even with different prompts for different sections of a full post, I wouldn’t recommend slapping it all together and calling it complete.

The better way, and the more ethical way, is to perhaps use it as a means to improve my workflow and break through writer’s block.

That is what I do when the cursor on my Google Doc blinks at me longer than I like. I will throw a random prompt or two in just to get the creative juices flowing.

From there, go and do your own research and craft a message that actually delivers value. I will say that using this method has saved me a lot of time and energy because as someone who pumps out a lot of content, it’s easy for me to hit a wall and simply not know what to say next. So, having writing solutions that can inspire content ideas is helpful.

Then again, if I’m really stumped and don’t know where to go next with a post, I also go to sites like Neil Patel’s Answer the Public, AlsoAsked, and even DemandJump to get insights into what people are actually searching for online about a variety of subjects. In the case of one of my clients, when they get lost for content creation ideas, they go to the users and ask them what they want to know more about and then we create content campaigns around that.

All this to say, I do see AI as a fun tool for busting through writer’s block and inspiring new ideas.

And, it’s great for coming up with blog post ideas if you’re stumped for what to cover next on your website.

Conclusion

We’ve covered a lot in this post, but my biggest hope is that I’ve convinced you not to just blindly use AI writing apps to spit out a bunch of low-quality content. Your readers and customers deserve better than that. Sure, use all the tools you want to speed up the process and eliminate writer’s block. But, don’t rely on it so heavily that you can’t tell where the AI writing assistant ends and your authenticity begins.

There is definitely a place for AI. And, I’m all for using it to improve your content writing process. From here, I would recommend checking out as many tools as you want. Take advantage of every free trial you can find and play and test to your heart’s content. Then, come back, and sit down to draft a real strategy that will actually convert. Happy blogging!

Global pandemics, trade wars, and geopolitical conflicts pose challenges to the manufacturing industry. A recent survey among manufacturing executives revealed that 44% of respondents consider supply chain risks among their top three concerns.

In response, manufacturing companies plan to regionalize (parts of) their production with a view to increasing their resilience to external shocks — 43% of respondents already have specific relocation plans. European retail chain C&A, for example, intends to produce 800,000 jeans per year in a German factory, and Walmart has committed to spending an additional $350 billion through 2030 on items made, grown, or assembled in the U.S.

However, relocating production to countries with high labor costs is expensive. Companies cannot replicate the labor‐intensive production setups and technology used in countries like India, China, and Vietnam. To be cost-effective reshoring requires investment in automating and digitizing production processes. A number of European bicycle manufacturers, for example, are currently relocating frame production to high‐cost countries using fully automated processes — V Frames in Germany and Triangles in Portugal being cases in point.

But while large‐scale producers can distribute required heavy investments across high volumes, small‐scale producers do not have this luxury. They cannot fully utilize asset‐heavy production processes, leading to high machinery costs relative to their volume. A new production model, Production as a Service (“PaaS”), is emerging as a solution to this problem

A New Production Model

“As-a-service” models decouple utilization of equipment from ownership. They first gained scale in IT, when software providers shifted to a subscription model for their products. Content consumption (for example, Netflix or Spotify) and mobility (such as Care by Volvo and TIER Mobility) are among the most visible applications of the model.

In industrial settings, as-a-service models have already appeared at the level of individual production components. Since 2020, for example, Trumpf and Munich Re have joined forces to offer use of a laser cutting machine as a service. Other instances include ALD Vacuum Technologies (which supplies heat treatment), Kaeser (compressed air), and Rolls Royce (power).

PaaS expands this approach to the scope of an entire factory. The fully realized concept has three elements: flexible production, asset sharing, and financial transformation.

Flexible production.

In a limited number of product categories, factories can make multiple different products on the same manufacturing process — an injection molding producer can produce wine storage boxes and industrial pallets on the same machine using different tools. In most cases, though, products require specific processes which limit the ability to switch production to other, completely different products. But factories can still produce variants of the same product. For example, Porsche has developed the Multi Product Line, a highly flexible body‐in‐white production concept that can produce hang‐on parts for Porsche, but also for other, non‐Porsche brands.

Asset sharing.

By sharing a factory small‐series producers, which do not have sufficient volumes to fully leverage the capacity of highly automated production equipment, can enjoy some of the cost benefits that come from scale. To be sure, sharing facilities with unrelated companies creates compliance, antitrust, and intellectual property risks. Protection mechanisms are needed, like those commonly found at suppliers serving multiple competing customers. For example, critical products must be protected from sight when customers visit the site and sensitive data must be strictly separated.

Financial transformation.

As-a-service models decouple equipment utilization from ownership, as external investors finance and own the production assets. In many cases external investors may be reluctant to assume all the risks associated with the assets, notably underutilization. In many cases some of the risks can be allocated elsewhere — for example, insurance companies can take risks through risk transfer products, such as a technical availability guarantee, or users can provide utilization guarantees.

PaaS factories are not yet fully evolved. However, there are some examples of production facilities that are almost there, notably the Smart Press Shop in Germany.

The Smart Press Shop

Sports car manufacturer Porsche needed access to an updated press shop in order to benefit fully from technological innovations in the production of chassis parts. But press shops require high utilization to distribute investment costs across as many parts as possible. As a small‐series producer, Porsche did not bring enough volumes to fully utilize a new press shop all by itself.

The automaker decided to take an unconventional approach. It established the “Smart Press Shop GmbH & Co. KG” as a 50‐50 joint venture with Schuler, a press manufacturer, supported by additional debt financing provided by a consortium of banks. The Smart Press Shop (SPS) is a highly flexible press shop, specializing in producing small lot sizes efficiently. Many smart features enable flexible production, such as fully automated tool change‐over, a laser blanking line, and many others. The flexible production system in combination with the joint venture structure enables the Smart Press Shop to offer spare capacity to other automakers (even outside the VW Group).

Through the combination of flexible production and sharing, the Smart Press Shop is capable of meeting Porsche’s quality requirements at competitive costs. The SPS has been fully operational since June 2021 in Halle (Saale), Germany, and acts as an independent supplier to the market. As of today, it produces body parts for Porsche Macan and Panamera, Bentley and expects to become a Tier 1 supplier for other OEMs very soon. “We made production-as-a-service tangible in the Smart Press Shop and proof that PaaS can be realized today, even on a larger scale,” says Christian Hoedicke, managing director of the Smart Press Shop.

The Payoff

PaaS yields multiple benefits for all involved parties.

Users.

All asset users can reduce the upfront investment into production and tied‐up capital (turning CapEx to OpEx). The freed‐up capital can then be used for innovation. In addition, small‐scale producers profit from economies of scale through sharing, which enables a factory to operate larger assets.

Producers.

Providing ongoing services yields multiple advantages for asset producers, including recurring, predictable cash flow and more customer touchpoints to strengthen customer relationships. Moreover, customers in a PaaS setting assess a service provider’s performance by evaluating production output, not machine functionality, which can lead to improved customer satisfaction.

Investors.

PaaS creates a new asset class for external investors, with the production equipment providing tangible collateral. External investors would get access to investment opportunities in otherwise non‐investable assets and can diversify their portfolios in light of increasing market uncertainty. Moreover, the risk‐return profile can be tailored to investor expectations through risk‐sharing structures. Market analysis reveals that outside investment in plant and machinery through the PaaS model could potentially amount to $72–98 billion annually, including  $22–26 billion in the U.S., the same again in China, and $5–7 billion in Germany.

More generally, PaaS makes reshoring economically feasible by addressing scale challenges through sharing, which efficiently provides high levels of capacity utilization. This in turn reduces the length of supply chains and associated CO2 emissions. In addition, sharing. Consequently, PaaS contributes to a more sustainable manufacturing industry.

Looking at the positives, it’s a great way to get your brand and products in front of a far larger target audience, and market to shoppers who are much more likely to be interested in completing a purchase. But, with so many factors involved in running a successful campaign, how do you decide whether an Amazon Advertising strategy is worthwhile for your brand?

To help you decide, here’s a breakdown of what Amazon sponsored advertising is and how it can benefit your ecommerce business.

What is Amazon Sponsored Advertising?ma

Amazon’s online marketplace provides its advertisers with a number of different ad type options, allowing for companies to showcase their brand and products in a way that best aligns to their personal goals and requirements. These options, commonly referred to as ‘sponsored ads’, provide advertisers with ways to market their products both on and off of the Amazon platform.

Your sponsored ads can be displayed in premium spots across the online marketplace, helping you to stay one step ahead of competitors by ensuring that your brand and its products take centre stage in places where they are most likely to be seen by your target audience. For example, this could result in your sponsored ads appearing at the top of Amazon’s search results.

They are also a cost-efficient way of advertising as Amazon sponsored advertising operates on a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) model, meaning you only pay when shoppers click on your ads and go through to your product pages.

So, in a nutshell, that’s Amazon Sponsored Advertising. But what about the benefits it can bring to your business?

Boost your Online Visibility

Sponsored advertising can dramatically increase your online visibility. Your listings can appear at the very top of the product detail pages and search results, meaning shoppers are more likely to see your brand and products giving you the edge of competitors.

It’s a great way to drive impressions and clicks, increasing the overall likelihood that an interested buyer clicks on your listing to complete a sale. It’s also a good way to promote new products that shoppers may not yet be aware of.

Boost your Sales

Many Amazon shoppers already know what they’re looking for. They have an exact product in mind and are ready to buy – they’re just looking for the best possible price.

By placing your brand at the top of the search results, you’re making it easier for customers to choose your product over those offered by your competitors. If you’re offering the right product at the right price, shoppers won’t feel the need to look elsewhere – and you’ll see higher sales conversions.

Recap

So, to recap, Amazon sponsored advertising:

• Is a great way to showcase your brand and products
• Allows you to reach a much wider audience
• Gets your product in front of an audience who are ready to buy
• Boosts visibility of your brand and product on product detail pages
• Gives you an important edge over rival brands in the world’s most competitive marketplace
• Can boost conversions and drive sales

As a small ecommerce business, it’s not always possible to find the time to dedicate to the setup and management of a successful sponsored ads campaign. And if you’re new to Amazon too, it’s critical you get things right from the get-go. So, partnering with an Amazon ad agency may be the perfect solution. With a wealth of experience and inside knowledge, these agencies are able to help your campaigns run smoothly and effectively, allowing your brand to succeed online while you focus on running your business!