Q: Is now a great time to start a business?

A: Short answer, Yes. The nature of business has changed due to the Pandemic, but commerce is still happening.  Everyone has an eCommerce business now. If you have a product, a service business, or an online course that people need, you can be in business in just hours online. The world is still waiting on a better mousetrap, and if you build it, the world will beat a path to your door.

Q: Why do existing business owners need this book coming out of the Pandemic?

A: So many businesses got wiped out during the height of the Pandemic. Many business owners who have been able to hang on are being forced to reinvent, and they are still struggling with their digital pivot. Online marketing is the #1 sales channel, and it’s so complicated. So many people still don’t understand what to do, and they are overwhelmed. Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, Revised and Expanded, has exactly what they need to turn things around. I’ve added six new chapters on marketing, social media, and content, selling online (including how to sell and buy ads on Amazon), building a sales process, and building your leadership. After reading this book, business owners will have what they need to compete online and outshine the competition.

Q: Is your book advice especially relevant to women?  

A: Over one million women had to leave the workforce due to the Pandemic, and they are not excited about going back to the office, especially when children under 12 still don’t have a vaccine. These women are looking for a permanent off-ramp from Corporate America. These are early-stage and mid-career professionals who don’t see much advancement in their future before COVID-19. And women of color over-index within this group, which is why they’ve been starting businesses at 4.5 times of everyone else, but unfortunately, black women businesses make disproportionately less money. This book will teach them how to start a business online and design a business model that will help them finally get the freedom and financial reward they deserve.

Q: What is the #1 question you have been asked over all these years of teaching entrepreneurship? 

A: “I know I want to go into business SmallBizLady, but I am not sure what business to start?” And now I have an answer for them. I worked with behavioral scientists and researchers to develop www.BossQuiz.com. Now, this is not one of those simple marketing quizzes that have become popular with online marketers. This is an actual assessment that will produce a 9-page report that will provide lots of insight into your work style, business competencies, sales skills, ideal lifestyle, and your needs and wants to be successful. I am excited to share this tool with the world.

Q: What are the 6 Ps of online selling? 

A: You know I love a good alliteration sequence. 

P-Problem What problem are you solving?

P-People Who are you selling to?

P-Pitch What is your offer or Call to Action (CTA)?

P-Platform What social selling platforms will you use?

P-Persistence Stay with it! Yes, It’s hard

P-Pedestrians How will you drive traffic?

Q: How did you become SmallBizLady?

A: When the first edition of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months was about to come out in 2008, the market crashed, and my publisher postponed the release of my book until March 2010. A good friend suggested that I hire a publicist to help me start promoting the book even though it wasn’t coming out for 18 months. I hired a woman who knew as much about social media as one could at that time, which was in its infancy then. She suggested that I build my brand on Twitter. When I first went to Twitter to sign up for an account, my name Melinda Emerson was taken. After I got over the initial shock, we come up with a nickname that would tell people who I am and what I am all about. We came up with SmallBizLady, which we now know was the best branding move ever. We developed my mission statement to end small business failure and then launched my blog succeedasyourownboss.com. I have published over 5000 articles and used that brand to build a social media machine to help small business owners. Now my advice is widely read, reaching three million small business owners a week online.

Q: Why did you think it was time to update Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months?

A: By 2040, it’s estimated that 95% of all purchases will take place online. My mission as a small business coach is to End Small Business Failure. Coming out of the Pandemic, so many small businesses were impacted. Many have been struggling to reinvent or do a digital pivot and start selling online. Marketing has become quite complicated. You need a website, blog, SEO, mobile strategy, a marketing strategy and budget to buy ads. I wanted to give people the tools to sell online from their own website or on a marketplace like Amazon. In this book, I teach people social media selling skills and how not to  fear buying online ads. I want the reader,s to learn how to build a specific sales process to always generate leads and sales. I also want them to build their leadership skills so that they can manage their teams effectively.  Small business owners have even less time to hit it big with their niche target customers now. I thought the best way to help entrepreneurs was with a step-by-step method to start a successful small business online and offline.  

Q: Why did you first write Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months back in 2008?

A: I wanted to write a book I had never read. I want to give people the full picture of what starting a business does to them and for them personally and professionally. This is a tool for people who are unhappy with their jobs and wanted to start a business.  I also wanted to discourage people from just quitting their jobs without a well-researched plan. I got too many calls from people seeking my advice about starting a business—after they had already quit their job, which is way too late to start planning. I developed a step-by-step proven method to transition from a job to small business ownership.  

Q: Where can people find the latest edition of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months? 

A: Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months is available anywhere books are sold:Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, and iBooks on Apple. It’s also on Audible.