How to Grow a Good Reputation When Running Your Business Part-Time

How to Grow a Good Reputation When Running Your Business Part-Time

Running a part-time business is becoming more common than it has been in the past. This is due to several reasons, one being that the internet makes business promotion much more accessible and with social media where you can schedule posts and answer messages from anywhere you don’t need to be tied down to an office. Many people also feel the need to add a second income to top up their earnings as wages have not increased in real terms for many years.

Another reason why part-time businesses are exploding is thanks to the proliferation of online business models. Affiliate marketing is one such example — a way you can promote products you don't and get commissions from every sale. Affiliate networks like CJ Affiliate, Sovrn and AWIN connect thousands of businesses with people looking to promote their goods to generate an income.

Answer Communications Promptly

Even if we are not able to be in the office, sitting at a desk with a computer and a phone, it is still essential to be able to respond to any queries swiftly. So, even if you have another job or are busy, you mustn't leave customers with the feeling of being ignored. There is a portion of customers who expect a response within an hour so, where possible, try and answer in this timeframe but try and never leave it longer than 24 hours.

Have an Informative Website & Social Media Accounts

One way of lessening the extent that you are receiving messages is to have as informative a website as possible. This will hopefully mean that they can get a lot of the information about your products and services from the site and only need to get in touch when placing an order. You can get much of this information out there on social media as well, and with so many specialist platforms out there, such as this social cooking one, you have more avenues than ever to inform the public.

Promote all the Time

It's important always to be promoting your new business. Never pass up an opportunity to talk about your work, what you do, and why you are the best at it because you never know when you may find someone who is a potential customer. You could incorporate your brand in your everyday life, this includes banners on your car or wearing branded clothing, and this is easy to get, find somewhere that supplies custom t-shirts near me, which are always available and affordable.

Ensure Customers Know Your Operating Hours

In any business it is crucial to have accurate operating hours published on your website or Google listings, especially if they change at any time. Few things anger a customer more than turning up somewhere to find it's closed. This is especially true when running a part-time business.

Don’t Overload Your Schedule

One final issue that is essential to understand and get on top of is not to overload your schedule. Since you are running the business part-time, it's important to make sure you are realistic about what you can achieve in the time available. This will reduce the possibility of significant delays to your customers, causing unhappy customers and potential damage to your reputation. Proper planning and excellent communication are essential here, as is time management.