Build your local business with online skills
There are many wonderful resources available online when it comes to business topics such as marketing, accounting and even sales. Teddington businesses can take advantage in three ways.
Building knowledge and skills
Whether it’s finding solutions to an immediate problem, or formal education on entrepreneurial subjects, online resources can equip our small businesses in Teddington and across Middlesex to be even more successful and continue to grow. The LSBF page showcases a number of topics of interest. Business owners and staff might want to brush up on accounting skills as requirements continue to shift around Brexit, or learn about the ways that a modern marketing strategy could help them reach more customers.
Small business and entrepreneurship communities on social media also provide support, advice and inspiration to one another freely, helping spread ideas and useful approaches from all over. You can narrow down into the specific niche of your business type to find out what other people with similar businesses have found to be successful, or focus on a specific skillset such as local marketing or small business finance to swap tips and get advice that’s current and relevant to your needs.
Access to resources
Of course, there are other types of resources that can benefit our local small businesses online. Specialist skills or supplies that just aren’t available in the immediate vicinity can really strengthen a business’s ability to operate, grow and be effective. While we strongly encourage supporting our local economy and building into one another, online access to hard-to-find experts or specialists and suppliers from further afield makes it easier for our local businesses to reach their full potential.
Reaching new markets
Buying local is wonderful, but our local small businesses can expand their market beyond regional limitations by finding a customer base online. In fact, one of the best ways to use an online presence as a small business is to reach more local customers who might not be aware of what you offer or have challenges accessing your products or services from your storefront. Optimise your website or social media presence by including your address and mentioning your location. When you run advertising, try targeting it to people locally to drive more traffic through the door and more orders in the immediate area. Of course, selling across the district, country and world also provides opportunities to grow your local business, if you find that idea appealing.
Local businesses are greatly appreciated and an integral part of the community. In order for them to remain strong, effective and operational, they should take full advantage of all the opportunities that are available online to enhance in-house skills, access external resources, reach more customers, and reach both the local and wider markets. It’s remarkable just how much content is available and how much learning it’s possible to do online, and business owners have the advantage of being able to learn in place and put their new skills and knowledge to work immediately and directly in a functioning business so that they can see the results in real time.
