Author: Franz Malten Buemann

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At just five years old, Janet Hoang already had a ton of business savvy. After acquiring a surplus of a certain in-demand item, she figured out a way to earn some extra money from her kindergarten classmates.“I don’t know why, but my aunt spoiled me with Hello Kitty stationery,” Janet said. “I would tear apart my Hello Kitty notebooks into five pages and sell them for $5 [to my peers]. That’s how I paid for my snacks.”And that was just the beginning. When Janet was in sixth grade, she was inspired by Ashley Quall – the 14-year-old who created her website that offered HTML tutorials and Myspace layouts. Janet had read about Quall from a Seventeen magazine she got from her middle school library. The story galvanized her to write up her very own in-depth business plan which she presented to her father.While she wasn’t quite ready to open up her own business as a preteen, all that drive would pay off. By age 21, Janet had already earned six figures from her lifestyle brand Janet Gwen. And today – seven years later – her business has steadily grown and reached seven figures in sales. Here’s exactly how she did it.Crafting one-of-a-kind products in her high school art classThe fact that Janet would spend a ton of time in art class her senior year of high school was happenstance. Because she took on such a heavy course load – enrolling in eight classes a semester instead of four like the rest of her peers – she finished up her requirements early.While that may have been overwhelming to some, it wasn’t for Janet who always had a strong work ethic. In fact, she was reading at a college level by the time she was in fifth grade.“So what happens when you take all the classes?” she said. “Then you only have electives like art classes. I felt like I went to art classes three times a day.”It was in her high school art class that Janet would create and sell her very first product – a decorated phone case. She got the idea to do so after her mom had given her one. The only problem? It wasn’t cute.But as the daughter of immigrants, Janet’s family didn’t have a ton of extra money and her first instinct was never to ask her parents to buy her something. Instead, she decided to take matters into her own hands.“Instead of being like, ‘Oh, let me buy a pretty phone case.’ I was like, ‘let me just paint this.’”At the time, her art class was learning about a painter who used a unique swirl technique which inspired Janet to create a similar design for her phone case with acrylic paints. Janet’s classmates quickly took notice of her custom case and started asking the teenager if she could paint their phone cases, too. View this post on Instagram A post shared by JANET GWEN (@janet.gwen) So that’s exactly what Janet did. She would paint various designs on index cards and pass them around school – a sort of catalog if you will. After choosing their favorite designs, her classmates would give Janet their phone case and she would work her magic. She sold these cases for anywhere between $12-$20.This make-shift business became so popular that Janet had to hire classmates to help her with the logistics of collecting and delivering the cases. It also got to the point where her art teacher and principal caught on. And while students weren’t technically allowed to run their own side hustles, everyone was super supportive of Janet and her talent.“Everyone believed in me,” she said. “My art teacher was like, ‘Janet, I just see you making a million dollars.’”Unfortunately, by the time senior year was wrapping up, Janet had felt immense pressure to pause her business aspirations and go to college for a practical job. She was nominated by her school for a full-ride scholarship to UNC Chapel Hill, but to continue the application process, she would have had to go through a series of interviews and at the time, she wasn’t sure what she wanted. This led her to withdraw her application.“The Morehead scholarship felt like so much pressure,” Janet said. “There was no guarantee that I’d get it. I didn’t even attempt it, probably because of my fear of failing. But also, to have to commit to four years of school that I’m not even sure I want to do?”Instead, she went to community college and took on a bunch of part-time jobs. But all along, she continued to work on her small business – a dream she just couldn’t let go of.Going all in on her small business and opening up an Etsy shopDuring college, Janet was doing a little bit of everything. After she’d get done with her classes, she’d go to her part-time jobs where, somehow, she managed to always get promoted. It got to the point where the 19-year-old was slacking on school and working 90 hours a week in retail.“I remember just being so bored one day in a retail shop [during my shift].” Janet said. “And I was like, am I going to work so hard for someone else – because I turned every part-time job into a full-time job. All my managers loved my work ethic – or am I willing to work hard for myself?’”That epiphany drove Janet to get back to focusing on her small business. She opened her very own Etsy shop in 2014 for exactly $100. All she needed was plain cases and acrylic paints, most of which her art teacher from high school provided her with. She ran all of the operations from her mom’s house.Things moved quickly for the fledgling entrepreneur. Within the first week, Janet had already received many domestic orders along with 17 international orders from places like Japan and France. Janet attributes this boom to a few things. For one, she had an in-demand product – marble phone and laptop cases – and was doing things differently than any other online shop at the time. View this post on Instagram A post shared by JANET GWEN (@janet.gwen) “When I got my first MacBook I was like, ‘let me look up all the cute stuff [other retailers] have. But it was all boring to me,” she said. “So I made my first mobile laptop case with contact paper. We were the first person to come up with the golden marble laptop case.”Another factor was that social media was quite different then, and Janet’s aesthetically pleasing phone cases were a huge hit online. She got a ton of traffic just by sharing her work on Tumblr and Instagram and even went viral on Pinterest.💡Janet grew her small business thanks to social media – you can do the same by using Buffer to schedule your posts, analyze your social media strategy, and engage with your audience. Get started for free today!“I was posting my phone cases and they would get so many likes — the Instagram days when everyone gets likes and views — So we were picking up so much traction.”The entrepreneur also had partnerships with influencers before the term influencer was even a thing. Accounts with huge Instagram followings would reach out to Janet after seeing her cases and promoting the brand, one of them being Laura Beverlin.But there was an issue. At 19 years old, Janet wasn’t well versed on how to run a business and soon found she couldn’t keep up with the demand – which was growing thanks to the influencers. Customers were getting upset because the delivery of their phone cases was delayed.“I didn’t know anything about shipping or supply chain or even cost of goods. I was ordering cases from eBay that I didn’t realize came from China,” Janet said. “So the timeframe to get everything out was three weeks…I was taking my products to the post office and just getting them to mail it for me.”Instead of going into crisis mode, Janet realized that she needed to pause and reevaluate. She officially dropped out of community college just before turning 21 and poured her energy into learning everything about running a small business. She also familiarized herself with Etsy.When she finally reopened, she was prepared and ready to grow Janet Gwen into the successful small business it is today. Increasing her online traffic and diversifying inventorySince her early years on Etsy, Janet has experienced steady growth in her business. For reference, in 2014 when she first opened up her Etsy shop, the entrepreneur made $12,000. A year later, her earnings increased seven times to $85,000. By 2016, she made over $120,000.Janet knew she needed to diversify her online traffic if she wanted to continue to grow her business, which is why she made the switch from an Etsy store to a Shopify website. The results were impressive. In recent years, the brand has hit a huge milestone by making seven figures in sales.With her business expanding, Janet moved her headquarters out of her mom’s living room and rented a larger apartment she was both living in and using for business storage.It got to the point, however, where Janet kept needing to move into bigger and bigger homes to accommodate all of the orders. A good problem to have. Finally, she rented out office space – aka the company’s Warehouse – for $3,200 a month near Raleigh.This is when the entrepreneur started feeling more secure to grow the business. For the longest time, Janet Gwen was composed of just Janet, an administrative assistant, and a social media manager. But in 2021, Janet began hiring more employees to help with shipping out orders and has since added additional members to her team.Janet also realized that to stay relevant, she needed to be more innovative with her products. Which is why she decided to move away from solely producing their signature marble accessories. While the brand still sells tech accessories, including iPhone and AirPod cases, they’ve also introduced a host of new products into the business. View this post on Instagram A post shared by JANET GWEN (@janet.gwen) For Janet, it was important to stay true to her brand while also keeping up with the latest trends.“We have to evolve as a business. We can’t keep dying on the same hill… how can you use a trend and change it into something that fits your brand, without compromising your brand?” she said.But when it came to growing, Janet is very intentional about what products she adds into the mix. She looks to social media, specifically Pinterest, to predict what would interest customers. That’s how she came up with Janet Gwen’s viral unicorn rainbow can glass.“We’ve done a lot of trend forecasting,” Janet said. “So every single year, since the inception of the business, I’ve been very grateful that we have always created one viral product per year.”For example, in 2018 Janet Gwen made the shift to more home decor items, predominantly candles. In 2020, amid the pandemic, the brand introduced propagation stations as a way for people to enjoy their space during lockdown. Then in 2021, they added concrete goddess statues – which the brand makes in-house in Raleigh — along with trays, and drinkware.The switch to more home-based items also felt like a natural shift to Janet because she had reached that stage in life when she was looking for home decor, as were her followers.“Most people don’t realize that my audience grew up with me. They’re the same age as me. So we went through the whole aesthetic influencer phase,’ … now we’re into home decor because now we all have our own homes.”Not only is Janet willing to switch things up, but she also does a ton of market research and is very particular with each and every product she creates. This very steadfastness has contributed to her small business’s success.Once Janet comes up with a new product, she works closely with manufacturers to ensure the item is made exactly to her standards, even if it means a ton of back and forth.“Sometimes my manufacturers hate me,” Janet joked. “Because I would die on a hill for a product.”The Future of Janet GwenJanet has been crafting and selling products since she was 17, and now, almost a decade into her own small business, her ambitions are as big as ever.The entrepreneur admits that she’s achieved a ton of amazing things in her life from both a business perspective and also personally, like paying for her twin sister’s college education all thanks to her small business. Still, she feels there is so much more to accomplish with Janet Gwen. Her next move is to do a rebrand for the business as a way to get back to the basics and really find the company’s voice.For now, she’s also passionate about helping others. Over the years, Janet has received a ton of questions from supporters and admirers about her success, leading her to release YouTube vlogs showcasing the reality of her life as an entrepreneur. View this post on Instagram A post shared by JANET GWEN (@janet.gwen) “The reason I did YouTube was because, everyone kept asking me, ‘how do you figure out business? How do you do X, Y, and Z? How do you have so much time in your day?’” she said.Janet is also working on a podcast to connect with more of her followers and address a variety of topics from running the business to conversations about race as well. As an Asian American, Janet wants to use her platform to speak out about important and timely topics around diversity, inclusion, and life in general.As she continues to invest more into her brand, Janet’s main goal is to always make products that can brighten her customers’ days.“To bring a daily dose of happiness to people is everything I’ve ever wanted.”

It’s the beginning of a new year. Which means if you haven’t begun evaluating your businesses’ finances at the end of 2022, you’re doing so now.  Appropriate management of cash flow is essential for the success of any business. For eCommerce startups and small businesses, however, a healthy cash flow can mean the difference between…
The post Accounting For eCommerce: A Small Business Guide to Managing Finances appeared first on Benchmark Email.

I want to market my products on Twitter. Is there any good Twitter automation softwares? I hope it can tweet my posts from list, follow back my followers, like, retweet my tweets. submitted by /u/Known-Vermicelli3339 [link] [comments]

Last Updated on January 9, 2023 by Rakesh Gupta With each release, Salesforce is adding many new functionalities to Lightning Experience, which makes you more productive and helps you to provide a better customer experience.  Currently, the Spring’23 release is under the pre-release program. If you have not read the entire 570
The post Top Ten Gems of Salesforce Lightning Experience Spring’23 Release! appeared first on Automation Champion.

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Hello, We are a Lead Gen Agency who work in Facebook Advertising for our clients and are currently on the lookout for a specialists in Advertising. Initially, you will get paid $400 USD per project, however, this can increase through outstanding performances We are looking for someone who can provide 100% to the project they are working with and can take on multiple tasks at once. Additionally, we need someone who can provide us with the best results whilst also taking their time but not delaying the process too much. Specific details such as our niche and others will be explained once you message us and believe you are suitable for this role. Have a good day. submitted by /u/ManoG2 [link] [comments]

Twitter has been going through many changes over the last few months, prompting some brands and marketers to wonder if they would consider leveraging other platforms.

Here are some alternatives if you want a backup in case Twitter changes too much or is no longer the place for your brand. Keep in mind that by including this list of alternatives, we aren’t suggesting that marketers should abandon or majorly pivot a Twitter strategy that works for them. We are merely providing similar platform options for those preparing for potential future pivots.

Top 3 Best Twitter Alternatives
These alternative social media have similar features to Twitter.
1. Mastodon
Launched in March 2016, Mastodon has about 2.5 million monthly users. Like Twitter, the platform allows users to post and follow their favorite people and organizations and like and repost content. However, there is one major difference between Twitter and Mastodon. While Twitter is a single platform, Mastodon is a “federation” comprised of interconnected, independently operated servers.
These interconnected servers are called the “fediverse,” and each server has its own rules. As a user, you can interact with users from other serves outside your own, but the rules of the server you’re assigned determine what you can do. If you don’t like your server, you can switch to a different one, but then you have to abide by the rules of your new server. However, you can keep the relationships and connections you made in your original server as you move to a new one.
Mastodon emphasizes community, therefore marketers may have a difficult time finding their footing for their business in fediverse.
Pro Tip: If you’re interested in pivoting, I’d suggest investing in influencer marketing to connect with your target audience on Mastodon.
2. Hive Social
Hive Social was launched in 2019 and has about 2 million users. The mobile-only app looks similar to Twitter, allowing users to scroll through the platform and “heart” and repost content. Users can also use hashtags to find desired content or audiences. But that’s about where the similarities stop.
Unlike Twitter, Hive boasts a much simpler chronological feed — rather than one that is algorithm-based. It also doesn’t have a character limit, allowing much longer posts that resemble Tumblr posts.
And finally, Hive Social is much more customizable than Twitter. Users can choose background colors for their profile, and add their pronouns and astrological signs. One unique customization feature that stands out is the ability to sync your Apple Music or Spotify account and play a song or two for users visiting your profile.
For now, Hive Social doesn’t have a “verify” feature like Twitter, which can pose a problem for brands and content creators concerned about users impersonating them.
Pro Tip: Should you decide to pivot to Hive Social, you should be aware that the app is only run by three people who are still working out different bugs as more people flock to the app. One bug is the app’s tendency to crash since the massive influx of users.
3. Cohost
According to its website, cohost is a web-only social media platform with over 111,000 users. The platform was launched in February 2022 and is invite-only for now.
Like Twitter, Cohost allows users to follow other users and share, like, and post comments under posts. However, users cannot publicly see a post’s likes or see who or how many people follow another user.
The platform also doesn’t allow ads, doesn’t have a character limit, and it doesn’t have a recommendation algorithm — so posts appear in chronological order and can be pretty lengthy.
Pro Tip: Cohost also stands out because multiple people can co-own a single page — a great feature for brands and content creators doing collaborative projects.

Twitter Alternatives for Building Community
If you’re looking for a social media platform that allows you to build a community around your brand, the following platforms are worth looking into.
4. Reddit
The longest-running app featured in this blog, Reddit was founded in 2005 and has 430 million monthly active users. Reddit is a social sharing site split into thousands of smaller communities called “subreddits.” Each subreddit is dedicated to a particular topic. Most subreddits have their own set of community rules users are expected to follow.
Users can submit links, pictures, videos, questions, and information for other users to vote on. The more likes a post gets, the more visible it becomes. The more downvotes a post gets, the less visible it becomes.
Marketers can host Q&A forums called Reddit AMA’s (Ask Me Anything) to engage with their audience and answer questions about a product or service. Marketers can also be active in subreddits that correspond with the niche.
Pro Tip: Reddit also has Reddit Ads feature that marketers can use to stand out on the website, measure the success of their content, and connect with their target audience.
5. Discord
Discord is a voice and chat platform launched in May 2015, and it now has over 150 million monthly users. Users are able to start and join different servers within the platform to discuss niche topics or connect with their favorite creators.
Pro Tip: The platform doesn’t have any native advertising tools, but it’s a great avenue for brands to discuss with their audience about shared topics of interest in real time.
6. Tumblr
Microblogging website Tumblr was launched back in February 2007 and now boasts 135 million monthly active users. Tumblr allows users to share texts, photos, videos, quotes, music, and more in an infinitely scrolling blog format. The platform seems to be experiencing a resurgence in popularity. In fact, between October 4, 2022, and November 17, 2022, there were over 1 million tweets about Tumblr.
However, if marketers are interested in leveraging the platform, it’s important to note the platform appeals to younger and more alternative crowds. About 2 out of 5 users on Tumblr are between the ages of 18-25 and most media on the platform appeals to millennials and Gen Z.
Pro Tip: Fandom content as well as niche products and clothing lines typically do well on the platform.
Twitter Alternatives for Audio Content
One of Twitter’s most popular features is Twitter Spaces, which allows users to host and participate in live audio conversations. Here are some social media platforms that have similar features.
7. Clubhouse
Launched in April 2020, Clubhouse skyrocketed in popularity at the start of the pandemic when many people were stuck at home and looking for community. The audio-chat app attracted notable public figures and creatives like Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Mark Zuckerburg, Ashton Kutcher, and Malcolm Gladwell. They would use the platform to connect with fans and promote their work.
While the app has since waned in popularity as other platforms dabble into audio chats, Clubhouse still boasts 10 million weekly users as of mid-2022 — meaning there is still a sizable audience to tap into on the app.
Pro Tip: Marketers can use Clubhouse to have live conversations, Q&As, and panel discussions with their followers.
Twitter Alternatives for Short-Form Content
Twitter is mostly a micro-blogging and text-based platform, but it’s common for marketers, brands, and content creators to post short-form video content. Here are some alternative platforms that prioritize short-form video content.
8. IG Reels
Instagram has 2 billion monthly active users, all of whom interact with IG Reels. Instagram Reels was launched in August 2020 to compete with TikTok. Videos on IG Reels can be up to 90 seconds long, and users can add music, viral sounds, and various special effects and filters to their videos.
Pro Tip: Users can earn money from Reels via the Instagram Reels Play Bonus program. This program is invite-only and allows creators to earn money based on the reel’s performance, the number of reels produced, and the creation of themed reels.
9. YouTube Shorts
Launched in September 2020 to compete with TikTok, YouTube Shorts is the short-form video section of YouTube that boasts vertical videos that are 60 seconds long or less. As of June 2022, YouTube Shorts has amassed 1.5 billion monthly active users and over 30 billion daily views from global users.
Another incentive to pivot toward YouTube Shorts is its future monetization program that will launch in 2023. Starting in early 2023, creators can apply to the YouTube Partner Program by meeting a threshold of 1,000 subscribers and 10 million Shorts views over 90s days. Both current and future YouTube Partner Members will also be eligible for revenue sharing on Shorts, according to YouTube.
Pro Tip: Marketers can tease long-form content like longer videos and podcasts by condensing compelling snippets into YouTube Shorts.
10. IG Reels
Instagram has 2 billion monthly active users, all of whom interact with IG Reels. Instagram Reels was launched in August 2020 to compete with TikTok. Videos on IG Reels can be up to 90 seconds long, and users can add music, viral sounds, and various special effects and filters to their videos.
Pro Tip: Users can earn money from Reels via the Instagram Reels Play Bonus program. This program is invite-only and allows creators to earn money based on the reel’s performance, the number of reels produced, and the creation of themed reels.
11. TikTok
With 1 billion monthly active users, TikTok was launched in 2016 and propelled short-form videos into mainstream popularity at the start of the pandemic. Though there are several ways to monetize content on TikTok and paid ads are available, brands and marketers often have to leverage influencer marketing on the platform to connect with their target audience.
The reason is that many of TikTok’s users are younger and fall into the Gen Z demographic, and Gen Z is less keen on content from brands and more interested in content from people.
Pro Tip: TikTok videos can also be repurposed into Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts to give them a second life in front of a wider audience.
If your current Twitter strategy has remained successful throughout all the platform’s changes, you likely won’t need to look into any alternatives. However, if you’re looking for a new platform to pivot to in the event Twitter changes too much for your brand, you now have 11 new platforms to check out.