10 small business tips for entrepreneurs, according to SMB leaders

Small business owners are known to wear many hats - that's the nature of being an entrepreneur. In the early stages of starting your business, you might be trying to build your customer base, market your products or services, and capitalize on opportunities for growth. You might also struggle with incorporating new technology like AI and the best ways to make connections with your customers.

That's a lot to juggle. Getting advice from those who have lived the startup life can help spark inspiration and ideas for how to be successful with your small business goals.

Kenniqua Lewter, founder and CEO of K&D Jones Client Services; Sam Williams, head of IT operations at Synthesia; and Gabe Moronta, head of growth at Visla, joined our Zoomtopia small business trackto talk about building their companies and provide advice to aspiring and established entrepreneurs. Read their tips below.

Tips and advice from small business leaders

1. Have a plan before you go all in

If you have a new business idea or are simply tired of working your nine-to-five, it might be tempting to drop everything to focus on your dream. But having a solid business plan and exit strategy from your current job will help you reduce your risk and increase your chances of success.

"Write it out. Figure out what your services are going to be, what your pricing is, how you are going to find clients. Think of the strides and steps that will prepare you to move into entrepreneurship, like saving money," said Kenniqua, who left her call center job to start K&D Jones Client Services.

If your business idea doesn't require a lot of upfront expenses, you might be able to get started with minimal investment. You may already have a lot of the tools and the ability to operate as a "side hustle" before you jump right in. Creating an exit strategy from your current job, with a proposed timeline and goal to have a certain number of clients or sales, will help you stay motivated and transition to full-time entrepreneurship when the time is right.

2. Decide what product or services your business should offer

When Kenniqua founded K&D, she didn't know exactly what she wanted to offer. She started by utilizing the skills she already had to provide services as a virtual assistant and website designer. As she gained an understanding of what her client base needed and gained experience creating content, she began offering more specialized services, like YouTube marketing strategy and HoneyBook implementation.

Think about what you're good at or what in-demand skills you might have, and why a client might choose you to perform those services or to purchase your product over someone else's. As you hone your craft, consider whether it makes sense to specialize and become the best at what you do, or broaden your offerings to reach a larger market.

3. Build your email list from day 1

Email marketing is an essential tactic for many entrepreneurs. Kenniqua said that if she could go back in time, she'd start building her mailing list as soon as she decided to start her business. "The money is in the email list. That's how you follow up with people and make connections with clients," she said.

To start, look to the people who are already engaging with your business: website visitors, social media followers, blog readers, YouTube viewers. Give them the opportunity to sign up to receive more content from you via a pop-up or landing page on your site, a simple call to action at the end of a blog, a link in your social media profiles, or a QR code at an in-person event. And most importantly, when you have a list of engaged followers, connect with them by sending newsletters or other helpful, relevant content on a consistent basis.

4. Provide business value to your audience

One way to get in front of prospective customers and stay top-of-mind with existing ones is to create content that resonates with them and answers questions they may have. Kenniqua says she runs workshops using Zoom Meetingson various topics that might be interesting to entrepreneurs, her target audience. Some workshops are paid, creating a new way to generate revenue, but others are free, giving her a chance to connect and build community with other entrepreneurs.

Offering free content, whether through a webinar or YouTube video, can help establish you as an authority in your space so your prospects know who to go to when they're ready to make a buying decision. Your small business will stand out among the noise as a voice that adds value.

5. Use virtual events to engage and educate

Along these lines, virtual eventsare a great way to provide your audience with valuable information, give you a platform to promote new products or features, and grow your business by collecting leads. Sam Williams, head of IT operations at fast-growing startup Synthesia, noted that his company hosts webinarsfor launch events, feature releases, customer enablement, and thought leadership. In looking at the data, they found that these virtual events are particularly effective for teaching customers how to use their products effectively, which has led to higher activation and usage rates among webinar attendees.

"We doubled down on webinars as a way to connect with our customers, and now run three types of webinars across three global timezones," Sam said. "Through the attendee reactions in the webinar, we can see when people are excited about a feature release or a skill they're just learning about."

6. Create a polished experience

When you're a small business, competing with larger or more established companies can seem daunting. One way to stand out is to create a polished, professional experience at every point in the customer journey. Whether they're going to your website to learn more about your services or contacting your sales team to schedule a demo, you don't want your potential clients to encounter any friction.

For Gabe Moronta, head of growth at Visla, using a scheduling app like Zoom Scheduleris a simple but effective way to look professional. If you haven't used one before, it is designed to eliminate the back-and-forth of finding a time to meet by allowing your meeting guest to choose an available slot on your calendar. "I send them my Zoom Scheduler link, they book the time," Gabe said. Once a prospect or client schedules an appointment, they get sent an email with the meeting information and a link to join.

Gabe says the automated process keeps him organized while providing a more streamlined experience for the person he's meeting with. "We're a startup, we're small, but we look bigger and more professional," he said.

You'll want to extend that polished experience to every touchpoint you might have with a customer or prospect. From the quality of your video callto the speed at which you send a follow-up email, every communication presents an opportunity to highlight your professionalism.

7. Know when to delegate to your team

Once you've gotten your business off the ground, you may find that fulfilling orders or taking on new clients leaves you with less time to spend on other areas of your business. Delegating tasks to other members of your team will help you prioritize high-impact work that only you can do - think business development and client relations. If you're a solopreneur doing everything on your own, you can look into hiring a contractor or freelancer to help with an area of the business you may not have expertise in, like marketing or accounting.

8. Take advantage of AI to help with tasks

Speaking of delegation, AI can help you accomplish a variety of tasks during your workday. Kenniqua and Gabe both use Zoom AI Companion'snote-taking capabilities during meetings so they can stay focused on the conversation.

"Going back after a meeting with a question when you should have been paying attention is the worst feeling in the world. You feel like you've already lost a customer. My life has improved a hundredfold with AI Companion meeting summaries. Now, I can pay attention to the nuances of our conversation instead of worrying that I missed writing something down," Gabe said.

After, they send the AI-generated meeting summary to their clients as a follow-up - it saves them time because they don't have to type up their own meeting notes. "I think it makes me look even more professional - it's like, 'how did she get all of these notes from our conversation and send it over in five minutes?'" Kenniqua said.

Other ways to use generative AI include brainstorming and content generation. You can have AI tools like AI Companion generate an email draft, blog post, or webinar outline, pulling information from meeting transcripts and chats.

9. Use data to improve your approach

Knowing what works and what doesn't is crucial to enabling your small business to succeed. Looking at the data can help you decide what to prioritize and what to give up, which products to push and which to scale back, which marketing efforts are most effective and which aren't worth continuing. When the Synthesia team looked at churn rates and product activation based on webinar attendance, they found that customers who viewed their webinars were more likely to use the product longer. They concluded that webinars are a great way to educate customers and enable them to gain more value from the product - a worthy investment of time and resources.

10. Be a lifelong learner

A growth mindset is imperative for anyone who aspires to be a leader. Continued learning - about your industry, about entrepreneurship, about current trends - is key to staying ahead of the competition. Seek out content from industry thought leaders on blogs, podcasts, media, LinkedIn, and other sources. Join in-person or digital communities of entrepreneurs and business leaders to learn from your peers and talk about challenges. Stay up to date on the latest trends affecting your industry, like AI, and be open to incorporating new technologies into how you do business.

More resources for your small business

If you're interested in entrepreneurship, these tips will help you attract and connect with prospects, provide a polished experience, and be more efficient with your time - all of which contribute to business growth.

Looking for more tips and insights? Check out our blog on building your small business with Zoom, and explore Zoom's small business solutionstailored to the needs of a small business.