It’s Girl Scout season! I was definitely inspired by these pint sized entrepreneurs and came up with three business tips that reflect some key pieces of their business model.

Stay on top of trends

Remember the days when getting your fix of Thin Mints® meant hunting down the neighborhood Girl Scout or catching a troop stationed outside a grocery store?  Well, Girl Scouts soon realized they were missing out on the ever growing e-commerce trend and as a result a large market of potential customers.

In order to stay on top of the trend, they created a digital cookie platform where the girls can keep track of customer orders and even promote to friends and family via social media, with a custom link to their online shop.  This not only makes it easier for them to track cookie sales and customer orders, but allows them to reach people on a more convenient platform.  As a business owner it’s not only important to be on top of the trends affecting your industry, but try and stay ahead of them.

Set Specific Measurable Goals with a Deadline

Those girls aren’t just out there selling cookies; they have a goal to hit.  They are raising money for their troop to participate in national events or to help a cause they support.  Without setting those goals, they have no idea how many cookies they sold or need to sell, or how many more grocery store slots they need to book.   It’s not just enough to have a specific goal either, you need to make sure it’s measurable.  Making the goal measurable gives actual evidence you accomplished what you set out to do and allows you to track your progress towards that goal along the way.

Deadlines are important because they create that sense of urgency and also help keep people accountable.  You bet that local troop has a specific goal they need to hit for cookie sales, and tracks progress every day so they can make the deadline.  It’s easy to set goals, but making a process to attain them is going to be key if you want to see positive change in your business.

Don’t forget to thank your customers

Image from the Girl Scouts Sales Tool Website  

This seems like a no-brainer, but sometimes we get caught up in our day to day business and forget to thank the people who are at the core of what we do.  After all, we are customers ourselves every day. Doesn’t it make you feel appreciated when a business owner or employee takes the time to personally send out thank you card? It does, because it shows they actually appreciate your business and took the time to make sure you knew that. Personally, I’m always more willing to refer friends and family to them when they take the time do that.

Even though these tips were inspired by Girl Scouts, they are still very applicable to your business or to an upcoming entrepreneur.  Need more tips for your business? Don’t forget to check out Kristi’s blog on “Here’s Your #1 Tip to Ranking on Google in 2016.”