6 Tips for CEOs to Master Work-Life Balance

For many CEOs, workdays mostly consist of managing an almost endless stream of emergencies. It can be difficult for them to find time for strategizing, generating ideas, and developing long-term goals because they’re constantly putting out fires. These dueling responsibilities can easily lead to burnout and sacrifices in the executive’s personal life to make more time for work.

Companies entrust CEOs with a wide range of responsibilities. Because of this, top execs typically carry an extremely heavy workload and often don’t get a chance to rest and recharge.

If you’re a busy CEO of a company of any size, use these six tips to stop sleeping in your office and find a healthy work-life balance:

1. Recharge Whenever Possible

You might not have the luxury of a whole day or weekend off—few CEOs do. But that doesn’t mean that you should give up on recharging altogether. Find small opportunities to reset whenever you can. Spend an evening with your family or take a long lunch to give yourself a chance to rest and reflect.

It’s also a good idea to take more time to recharge when the workload slows down. There will naturally be slower and busier weeks, and as the CEO you need to ride that wave and recharge whenever there’s a lull. Look for those opportunities and seize them—it’s all too easy to fill valuable time with busy work.

2. Delegate

As a CEO, you have many responsibilities, but how many of those do you actually need to be taking on yourself? After all, you’re not an expert in every aspect of day-to-day company operations. That’s just impossible. Give some of those responsibilities to employees who are more qualified to perform those tasks. 

CEOs can create more value for their companies by focusing on what they do best and delegating the rest. Putting your energy toward mission, values, strategy, vision, and growth will not only help the company succeed, but will also create more time for a healthy work-life balance.

3. Acknowledge Your Personal Needs

CEOs are people too, and even those who run huge companies understand the importance of balance and personal time. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s tip is to “find your rhythm,” which is different for everyone. For some people, being home in the evenings is important. For others, it’s finding time to exercise or get enough sleep. 

What’s important is to acknowledge your own personal need to help avoid burnout. If you start feeling resentful, you won’t improve your work-life balance and you’ll probably start to encounter trouble at work. Figuring out your rhythm and personal priorities is key.

4. Prioritize Your Downtime

As a CEO, your to-do list is never-ending. You’ll never get to the end of it, so you need to schedule downtime into your schedule knowing that you’ll never be truly finished. You may choose to take the weekends off, the evenings, or a completely different schedule depending on the needs of the business, but regardless of when you make time for downtime, it’s important to be present during your time off. Use your downtime purposefully, whether you choose to use it to build connections with friends and loved ones, care for yourself, relax, or just go for a walk. It’s your time to recharge your batteries and it’s important to prioritize those needs.

5. Establish Boundaries

Work will fill the time it’s given, so if you don’t create clear boundaries, it’s easy to let your life become your work. One way to establish boundaries is to put a natural limit on certain activities. GM CEO Mary Barra uses this tactic by scheduling meetings near the end of the workday. The meeting has to stop at a specific time because she has to leave for her child’s sporting event. These clear boundaries can prevent work from creeping into your personal life and force you to take time for yourself. It also sends a strong and important message to your team: it’s okay to have a life.

6. Take Technology Breaks

When you take your downtime, really take it. No answering emails or taking calls when you’re off the clock. One of the best ways to really recharge is to take breaks from technology. Leaving your phone and laptop behind while you walk your dog, play with your kids, read a book, or hit the gym is a great way to really be present or reflect and de-stress. Take breaks from the screen as often as you can!

Don’t Let Life Pass You By

It’s so important to live your life, even when it feels like you can’t take any time away from the office. Studies show that 51% of professionals miss important family events because of work-life imbalance. You don’t want to look back on your life someday and feel regret. Take a day off from time to time. The company will survive and may even be better off because you’ll be rested and ready for anything.

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https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/6-tips-for-ceos-to-master-work-life-balance/

4 Signs You Need Support in Your Business & How to Pinpoint Where You Need It

Being a business owner is no joke. It comes with an immense amount of pressure, and forces you to grow or to give up. If you want to focus on success, there are different types of support you need to keep growing both as a person and a business. 

Below are the four signs you will see when you need support, as well as what kind of support you need:

1. Exhaustion

The hustle and grind calls from time to time, but if you’re in a constant state of working too many hours without time off, you’re running towards burnout. If you find yourself overtired, overwhelmed, and overextended, it’s time to get some support. The key here is understanding what exactly is causing the exhaustion so you know where to get help.

There are three main support systems for this particular symptom: a health coach, a mindset coach, or a team member. If you find that your exhaustion is stemming from not getting enough sleep, a diet of Doritos and pizza, or that you’re not exercising, then you likely need a health coach or nutritionist.

If you find that your exhaustion is coming from overwhelm, fear, and other negative emotions that keep you on a rollercoaster of emotions and doubting yourself, then you likely need a mindset coach.

If you find that you’ve got too much on your plate, there are more jobs than you can handle, or you don’t know how to do something extraordinarily well in your business and it’s eating up your time, then you likely need a team member to support you.

Whether you need one or more of these support systems, exhaustion is one of the most critical signs to pay attention to, because if ignored, it can lead to burnout—which means lost time, lost sales, and lost money in your business.

“I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.” – Vince Lombardi

2. Dropping Balls & Not Meeting Deadlines

How many times have you forgotten something in the past week? If you’re consistently forgetting things, like deliverables you promised to your clients, calls you had on the books, or marketing activities you swore you’d have done two weeks ago, then you are dropping balls. 

This is one of the things that can turn your business upside down and make clients upset fast.

What this problem points to is: A lack of systems and not enough team members.

When you have a lack of systems, it means you’re often flying by the seat of your pants or putting out fires. When you’re only putting your attention towards fires in your business, you inevitably create more fires. Systems help you create and maintain priorities and structure, so that fires are few and far between, and your business runs well.

If systems is a word that makes you want to hide under a rock until the monsters go away, you’re not alone! Hiring a team member who’s a great project manager with excellent systems skills is vital if you’re experiencing ball dropping. This person will help you identify where you’re losing time and where you’re being ineffective, so you can get the right team members in place.

3. Weight Gain or Getting Sick

Have you let your exercise routine slip or fallen into the eating out/ordering trap? When you’re building a business, it’s easy to put all of your energy into your goals, and ignore your health. The problem is your body won’t let you ignore it for very long, and usually when you’re operating your business this way, it means the business can’t operate without you.

If your business doesn’t operate without you, it’s a poor business decision to let your health go by the wayside, which leads to getting sick. Lost time and momentum in your business can cost you opportunities, money, and peace of mind.

If you’re constantly in your business, it’s important to look at two things: Are you working extra hard, even though you don’t have to or does the business not run if you’re not working hard?

If you answered yes to the first question, it’s time to hire a mindset or high performance coach—someone who can help you prioritize and balance your life, so you can hustle when necessary and rest when necessary. Your business can’t afford for you to go down. So if there’s something compelling you to work long hours and ignore your health, especially if you don’t have to, it’s time to get mindset or high performance support.

If the second question got you, then it’s time to hire a team member. If you don’t know where to start with hiring someone, look at these questions first to help you figure it out:

• Where do you spend most of your time, outside of your genius?
• What activities are you doing that are NOT making you money?
• What activities are you losing time to?

The answers to these questions will pinpoint exactly what specialties your team members need to have to start taking things off of your plate, so that you can take care of your business and yourself.

“Money doesn’t mean anything to me. I’ve made a lot of money, but I want to enjoy life and not stress myself building my bank account. I give lots away and live simply, mostly out of a suitcase in hotels. We all know that good health is much more important.” – Keanu Reeves

4. You Haven’t Spent Time With Your Loved Ones In A While

When you started your business, what called to you? Did you have visions of vacations, working on beaches, or taking your loved ones out for extravagant experiences? Were you intrigued by being able to take off whenever you wanted? The tell tale signs of freedom often call to business owners, luring them in, but there’s more to the story than that.

When you own a business, there’s a responsibility to your clients and your audience to show up. When you start working overtime in your business, you start missing out on things with the people you love. You miss the dance recitals, the picnics, even the family dinners, and you can start to question why you’re doing this in the first place.

If this is where you find yourself, you’re probably taking on more duties in the business than necessary (or you’re focusing on the wrong ones). The way to fix this is to hire a team member who can take care of at least some of the daily, weekly, and monthly activities that can bog you down and eat away your time. This will allow you to focus on the high level activities that take your business to the next level. This will help you generate a larger return on your energy, while giving you your time back. 

Many of us work too hard and don’t have an adequately balanced life. To ensure you enjoy all aspects of your life, which part of the above article resonated most with you and why? Share your thoughts with us below!

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https://addicted2success.com/entrepreneur-profile/4-signs-you-need-support-in-your-business-how-to-pinpoint-where-you-need-it/

7 Financial Health Strategies for Young Entrepreneurs

Do you know what the main reason is for the failure of newly created companies? The reason is not that they did not conduct a preliminary analysis, did not create a unique proposal, or began to conduct business in a very competitive environment.

The reason many companies fail is due to the issue of not financial monitoring the state of the company. This is especially true for young entrepreneurs when confidence in success, ambition, and adventurism blur common sense. 

In this article, we talk about 7 simple yet effective strategies that will allow your company to always remain financially stable:

1. Track Your Performance

This is the main rule of any financial strategy – to know the real price of each of your actions and evaluate it in terms of business profitability. And for this, you will have to work with real numbers, track financial indicators, analyze, and create interim reports.

For example, if you’re the owner of the site participating in an affiliate program, you must accurately understand the cost of each lead attracted to your site and correlate this value with the commission that you receive from the sale. If you launch a contest on Instagram, you must first predict the desired results and understand the cost of each new subscriber from the perspective of the total cost of the prize that you promised them.

2. Optimize and Automate

This is the best way to reduce costs and allocate free money for your development. Modern technologies make it possible for a business to achieve maximum efficiency simply by automating business processes and optimizing labor. Of course, the practical steps will depend on your type of business.

Some examples include transitioning to a remote form of work allowing you to eliminate the need to pay for office rent. Another example is to automate your marketing efforts to save the marketer from routine tasks.

3. Keep Different Accounts for Personal and Business Finances

The best way to create a complete mess in your finances is to not separate personal expenses from business payments. Have you heard of the rule that the owner of a business gets his salary last? 

For a business to be sustainable, it is first necessary to pay for the work of employees, make payments on all debts, pay off suppliers, set aside a little non-combustible fund, invest in development, and only then dispose of the remaining money at your own discretion.

“The caliber of your future will be determined by the choices you make today.” – Anthony ONeal

4. Pay Your Obligations on Time

If you want your company to be financially stable, it is important to avoid debts. This applies to all types of payments you need to make within a month. Above, we already listed the main items of expenditure, but the essence of this rule is that by paying everything on time, you will increase the value and profitability of your business. Employees will be loyal to you because they can be sure of tomorrow, suppliers will want to work with you, and loan interests will not grow exponentially.

5. Take Care of Your Employees

Your employees are the main driving force of your business, so they should feel valued. You need to maintain their loyal attitude, because they not only help your company remain financially stable, but also take it to a new level. 

Motivated, involved, and confident ​​employees can help you take your business to new heights. As for how to make them such people, just ask a direct question, and they themselves will tell you what they lack in the workplace.

6. Build a Contingency Fund

Of course, clear financial strategies are good, but no one has immunity against sudden changes in your niche. If you use the capabilities of big data and analyze trends, you will be able to see alarm signs before others and have time to adapt. It is crucial to have a contingency fund that will give you the ability to stay afloat until you fully adapt to the changes.

“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” – Warren Buffett

7. The Best Way to Spend Is to Invest

If we are just talking about maintaining a business at a certain level of profitability, then in principle, it will be enough to use all of the above tips. But if you want your business to develop, it is necessary to invest in its development. And these investments must be comprehensive.

The best areas to invest in business development are investments in technology, product improvements, and investments in employee education and customer service. Determine for yourself the key areas for business development and you will immediately understand which area requires the most immediate investment.

It is necessary to invest before you take part of the earned money into your pocket. If you don’t, your company could stay stagnant. Additionally, your competitors will not be embarrassed to take advantage of this and derive additional benefits for themselves.

What’s the best piece of financial advice you’ve ever received? Let us know in the comments below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/entrepreneur-profile/7-financial-health-strategies-for-young-entrepreneurs/

3 Tips To Supercharge Your Visualizations

Visualizations work to influence change on an unconscious level regardless of the medium such as a vision board or series of images you see in your mind. Our unconscious mind is the part of the brain that is responsible for our decisions and actions (we back these decisions up with logic and reason).

Within the unconscious mind is our filtering system – the Reticular Activating System (RAS) – which determines what opportunities we become aware of consciously and what stays in the recesses of the unconscious mind. Think of the RAS like the world’s most advanced GPS system. Whatever we program into the RAS, the unconscious mind will set out to find the fastest and easiest route for us.

The RAS works based on pictures, not words. So when we communicate, the words we say and statements or phrases that we use are turned into a picture in our minds. Right now, for example, you likely have a picture of a picture in your unconscious mind. It’s these pictures that the RAS then begins taking action towards finding or creating. 

That is why vision boards and visualization are such powerful tools to manifest one’s goals – we are repeatedly putting the exact picture of what we want into the RAS. However, not all visualizations or vision boards are created equal!

Here are the 3 secrets to having a greater influence over your unconscious mind and finding more success with your visualizations:

1. Look Up

During normal waking consciousness, our brain waves are in the beta state. This means that the brain waves are operating between 12.5 and 30 Hz, and the waves come quickly with little space in between them.

During meditation techniques, our brain goes into alpha brain waves, operating between 8-12 Hz. In the alpha brain wave state, the waves are slower with more space in between them and our unconscious minds are also more suggestible.

We can put the brain into an alpha brain wave state simply by looking up at a 70 degree angle. To do this, stand in front of a wall, about arms-length back from the wall. Run your index finger straight up the wall and stop when the tip of the finger is barely touching the wall. This is approximately 70 degrees from eye level. If you use a vision board, put your vision board up at this height.

If you’d prefer to close your eyes and visualize your future, look up towards the third eye region (the spot between your eyebrows) to move yourself into alpha brain wave state. Doing this will cause your unconscious mind to become more suggestible to the images on your vision board or in your visualization so it will seek out to find those things.

“Whatever we think about, and thank about, we bring about.” – Dr. John Demartini

2. Time It Right

Between the unconscious mind and the conscious mind is a gatekeeper of sorts. You see, our unconscious mind is highly suggestible and doesn’t have the capability to be discerning of what information coming in is “good” and which information is “bad”. The conscious mind (the logical brain) then quickly shuts the gatekeeper to stop the unconscious mind from receiving information when it feels we are under attack or that someone is untrustworthy.

For visualizations to work effectively, we need to influence the unconscious mind. There are two times each day when our unconscious mind is most susceptible to suggestion (because the conscious mind is less likely to shut the gatekeeper). These times are the first 20 minutes after we first wake up, and the last 20 minutes before we fall asleep. During these times of day, melatonin levels in the brain are still high.

Melatonin is the hormone responsible for our sleep/wake cycles, and in higher concentrations reduces the effectiveness of the conscious mind to shut the gatekeeper. This leaves the unconscious mind open to our suggestions from the visualization or vision board without critique of what is “possible” or “realistic” from the conscious mind.

3. Get into the emotion

Let’s face it – emotions drive us. Our energetic vibration is determined by the emotions we experience most often. This in turn determines the quality of the things and people we attract into our world.

If we are constantly stressed out, negative, angry, or engaged in drama, our energetic vibration drops and we attract more of those things to us. And vice versa, if we are happy, fulfilled and grateful, our vibration rises and we can accelerate our growth and manifestation abilities.

It’s important then to understand the emotions you’ll experience when you achieve your goals. Then, during your daily visualization, focus on feeling those emotions in your body to raise your energetic vibration.

I also recommend finding other activities that’ll allow you to experience those emotions, and commit to engaging in those activities on a daily or weekly basis. For example, if presenting to a crowd of 10,000 people will cause me to feel excited, inspired and grateful then I need to prioritize and schedule activities such as listening to music that pumps me up, speaking to smaller crowds and travelling on a regular basis to experience more excitement, inspiration and gratitude in my present life.

“Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it.” – Jack Canfield

Implement these changes into your visualization process and you’ll see results not only in your goal achieving success, but also your mindset, the amount of opportunities you see and how you show up to obtain those opportunities!

Do you use the power of visualization in your life? If so, share your thoughts about it below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/3-tips-to-supercharge-your-visualizations/

(Infographic) 9 of the World’s Most Influential Female Entrepreneurs

The perception that the business world was a male-driven environment has been shattered in recent times by the extraordinary feats of many female entrepreneurs who have chased their dreams and worked tirelessly to make them come true. The wealthiest female entrepreneurs in the world not only should be proud of their own successes on a personal level but can also take pride in influencing and inspiring businesswomen everywhere to dream big, as anything is achievable.

This infographic below features nine female entrepreneurs who, each in their own way, had a burning ambition inside them and turned that passion into their life’s work, building multibillion-dollar enterprises along the way.

Some have done this in the traditional sense of entrepreneurship by starting small-scale companies and evolving them into global businesses – Spanx founder Sara Blakely is one such example. In her 20s, she greeted visitors at Disney World and sold fax machines door-to-door just to make a living. At 29, she took a leap of faith and set up her shaping underwear business from life savings of $5,000. She has now accrued wealth of more than $1 billion.

Some influential female entrepreneurs had already gained worldwide recognition by the time they started their own businesses. For instance, Beyoncé Knowles was a world-famous pop star who then doubled up her music career with a fashion label. This, along with her music and regular activism makes her a role model for millions of women worldwide.

Women like these have broken down barriers for female entrepreneurs everywhere and made it clear that you don’t need to be male to be recognized as a successful entrepreneur of great influence. Also, women can succeed in industries which many perceive to be male-driven; Cher Wang’s HTC is one of the leading smartphone manufacturers in the world. To quote Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.”

Check out this infographic from All Finance Tax below that outlines 9 of the most influential female entrepreneurs in the world:

Which one of these women do you admire most and why? Comment below!

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https://addicted2success.com/entrepreneur-profile/infographic-9-of-the-worlds-most-influential-female-entrepreneurs/

8 Essential Qualities That Define Great Leadership

Who is a leader? How do you identify and differentiate between a leader and a follower? The difference is quite obvious since a leader leads and a follower follows. However, there is more to it than this simple definition.

Any person, in a leading position, can lead. But that does not make them a leader. To be a leader, one must possess certain capabilities and nurture the growth of specific traits within their personalities. To be able to develop essential qualities and to follow them by heart is what makes a leader!

Below, we have listed 8 essential qualities which most of the great leaders possess:

1. Passion and Commitment

A leader’s job is not limited to getting a task done. Instead, it encompasses passion and commitment as well. A leader is the one who is passionate about their work and is committed enough to achieve positive results at any cost. Such dedication is required since it instills a sense of responsibility in the team members as well.

If the leaders are busy giving tasks their best shot, it will not only gain the respect of their team members, but it will also infuse a new sense of energy in them. This will help them perform better. On the other hand, a leader lacking in passion or someone who is not entirely committed will have a difficult time motivating their team members.

2. Great Communication Skills

The ability to communicate well is a valued skill, not just in employees, but in leaders as well. Clearly, the one who can effectively communicate their ideas, vision or thoughts is the one who will see positive results.

Since great communication skills are an essential trait, leaders must know how to utilize them to motivate and instruct or guide their team members. Words have the power to push people to do the unthinkable and anyone who can master it can be a great leader. 

It’s also important to notice that communication skills are not just about conveying thoughts in the best manner since it also encompasses the ability to listen well!

3. Holding Oneself Accountable 

If something goes awry, leaders must be ready to hold themselves or their teams responsible without being unjust in their conduct. This kind of behavior will make the team see their mistakes and will create a sense of responsibility among them. They will strive to improve and deal with their work more seriously. Keep in mind that constant criticism will only belittle the employees. So, the leaders should know when to praise or criticise someone.

“Accountability separates the wishers in life from the action-takers that care enough about their future to account for their daily actions.” – John Di Lemme

4. Demonstration of Integrity

Integrity is honest conduct and how can one be a good leader without cultivating the right values in their character? As D. Eisenhower puts it, “The supreme quality of leadership is unquestionably integrity.”

Having integrity and honesty are the most important leadership qualities as it enables leaders to stand up for what they believe in. That said, integrity is a start of mind rather than something that is situational. Leaders should not be able to choose when to lie and when to tell the truth.

A great leader is the one who sticks with integrity and instills similar values in their team members. To see how fair one can be when everyone around them is being dishonest is a true mark of leadership!

5. Managerial Competence

We often hear that great leaders once started out by being good workers. Since good workers understand the company’s policies, know the products/services well, and generally are hard workers, we can understand why many people say that!

While working hard is a great trait, not every hard worker possesses leadership qualities. For instance, someone in a law firm who knows how to do something a bit better could be more of a leader than someone in a more commanding position. This is because, at the end of the day, the ability to motivate, mentor, and guide others matter more than just doing your job!

6. Delegation and Empowerment

A single individual will fall short of accomplishing everything at once and leaders realize this before anyone else does. This is why great leaders tend to delegate smaller tasks to their team members while directing their focus on major tasks. Through this way, great leaders not only empower their employees but they also display a sense of trust which further motivates the team to perform better. 

On the other hand, leaders that continue to micromanage hinder the abilities of their team members. Apart from a feeling of distrust, this behavior often leads to subpar results.

7. Enthusiastic Spirit

Individuals become leaders because they are passionate and enthusiastic about their profession. They love what they do, and they try to instill the same amount of passion in other people. Even if they are not trying to achieve the latter, their energy can still become contagious.

While an enthusiastic spirit can never act as a substitute for other leadership qualities, it can make a difference when combined with other existing qualities or skills. All of this is what makes a leader successful in their profession. 

Being a leader can be a challenging task because not everyone will agree with their ideas. In addition, they may lack the skills or knowledge to tackle a particular task. However, combined with an upbeat spirit, leaders can remain positive and work with other people to find solutions. 

“The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.” – John Maxwell

8. Creativity and Innovation

The thing that separates a leader from a follower is that the former has a vision and the creative drive to accomplish the unthinkable. The creator of the Apple, Steve Jobs, puts it perfectly, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” 

Having creativity is not enough. Instead, individuals must be ready to transform their creative spirit into an innovation that sets them apart from the rest. This is the true quality of a leader that constantly pushes them out of their safe zones and forces them to think outside the norm. 

Shocking, not ordinary, is the way to go! Fortunately, many leaders realize this early on and because of this, they strive to push boundaries.

Conclusion 

A leader is not the one who has secured a commanding position in a firm. Instead, it is the one that has the natural drive to mentor, motivate, and guide other people. On top of this, a natural born leader is the one that identifies a weakness and strives hard to bring a solution. 

Not everyone is or can be a natural born leader. Individuals must strive hard to cultivate leadership qualities in their characters to truly become a leader. Because of this, the essential qualities listed above, if applied correctly, can yield positive results. 

What qualities do you think make a great leader? Share your thoughts with us below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/8-essential-qualities-that-define-great-leadership/

12 Things That Will Help Build Your Brand Reputation for Your Startup

Brand reputation drives the success of businesses, irrespective of what industry you are in. Currently, there are approximately 543,000 startups every month. 70% of these do not survive beyond two years, 50% do not exceed five years, and a third fail to cross the ten-year mark. Only a quarter of these businesses can survive beyond 15 years.

When you’re just starting out, your brand reputation is a blank slate. There is no negative yelp reviews, no social media meltdown, or inactive website traffic. But all this will change quickly. When you get positive customer reviews from the start, it becomes harder for negative reviews to weigh down the average star rating.

As a startup, you probably don’t have to worry about large-scale disasters. Your primary target should be to build brand reputation and positive associations. Here are 12 things you need to think about:

1. What Do You Want to be Best Known For?

What does your business stand for? What kind of a brand do you want to build? Give yourself the time to consider how you want to be perceived and what it is that you want to be known for. When you are clear on how you prefer people to see you, it will direct your business decisions.

2. Start With Your Website

If you’re looking for your customers to find you, your site should rank high in the search engine results. Poor online ranking can be a death warrant for your brand. Regularly add content to your website and collaborate with reputed sites. Make good use of tags and SEO keywords to give you the best visibility to the right search terms.

3. Have a Social Media Presence

You may not use all social media platforms, but it’s always a good idea to secure your company name on all the platforms and even purchase related domains if necessary. Keep your pages fresh and updated, and use your content to interact with customers besides cultivating brand awareness. This will not just help you build a reputation quickly but will also allow you to monitor how your audience responds to your brand.

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett

4. Blogging

Blogging is another excellent platform for you to control the information and messages you put out there about your business. Actively use your blog to share new information and updates about your business. Encourage your readers to make use of the comment section and actively interact with them.

5. Stay Responsive

Whether it’s on social media, email or the comment section on your blog, make sure to respond at the right time and with diligence. Interacting with customers through social media platforms or on the web is just another form of customer care, albeit better. Use this medium to connect with your customers on a personal level.

6. Tempted to Purchase Reviews?

Let’s be real, even Donald Trump has millions of fake followers on twitter. By starting early, it will give you a strong online presence that won’t be affected by a few negative reviews every once in a while, and you won’t have to buy fake reviews. From Presidential candidates to reputed Healthcare marketing campaigns, they have all shown that social media presence is not something you can afford to leave to chance.

7. Take the Reins Early 

If you want to build a positive online presence, it is important to control your brand reputation early on. As a new business, you start with a blank slate. Take advantage of that and focus on cultivating a strategy for brand reputation management that will set you up for some massive success.

8. Build Trust

Great brands succeed because a) they offer quality, and b) customers trust them. The quality you deliver, the messages you send out, and your customer care, all affect the trust that your customers have towards you. Transparency is another way to win over your customers’ trust. Your customers will respect you for being honest and open even when you have made a mistake.

9. Focus On Proactive PR

Simply sending out a Press Release whenever you have a big announcement to make will not take you very far. Find ways to join the larger industry conversations even when you don’t have any company news to share. By actively recognizing PR opportunities, it will continually put you under the spotlight.

“Publicity is absolutely critical. A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front page ad.” – Richard Branson

10. Your SEO Strategy and SERP

There is no denying your search result performance has a massive impact on your business and its bottom line. SEO also plays a significant role in building a strong brand reputation for your business and overshadow any negative results. It doesn’t stop there. You have to continuously work on your SERP so that when someone searches for your Company, it is your content that they find first.

11. Know How to Handle Criticism

Don’t shy away from negative comments or criticism online. Negative feedback will make your business stronger and hence, more successful. If people are slamming you online, find a way to address them appropriately and quickly. Paying no attention to it will not make it go away. When you respond professionally and promptly, you are nipping the issue at the bud and saving your Company from a potential mess.

12. Accept That It’s Never-ending

Brand reputation management isn’t just for startups. You may have an excellent reputation today, but it could all go away in the blink of an eye (no kidding). Search engine results and algorithms, customers’ expectations and opinions are continually changing on a daily basis. If you want to maintain your positive brand reputation, you will have to keep working at it always. 

from
https://addicted2success.com/startups/12-things-that-will-help-build-your-brand-reputation-for-your-startup/