Getting knocked down in life is a given, Getting up and moving forward is a choice. — Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker
Seven years ago, Francis van Wyk forsook a steady career when her husband had to move to the Middle East. Not one to sit idle, she found her calling in the virtual world. Here she tells Aney Mathew how she became a successful online businesswoman
Being an expat wife has its share of challenges. Many trailing wives find themselves on the wrong end of the career ladder, when they give up fulfilling professions to ensure their husbands pursue theirs.
It was no different for Francis van Wyk, currently a Doha resident, who had to give up a rewarding career in a large petrochemical company in South Africa, when her husband received a job offer in the Middle East, seven years ago.
Rather than sit around and whine over her misfortune, she decided to put the time she had on her hands to good use. Today, she is a very successful online businesswoman with clients all over the world!
It is said, ‘No-one ever injured their eyesight looking at the brighter side of life.’ Francis van Wyk is testimony to this adage. She is an online Business and Marketing Strategist, who mentors women solo-entrepreneurs world-wide and helps them understand the basic and fundamental concepts of marketing and its application (both online and off-line) in their entrepreneurial businesses.
Talking to Community, the founder and CEO of two successful online businesses (‘Create Client Chemistry’ & ‘Be Virtual Assistant Wise’), shares her own experiences on how she got started and goes on to share some important tips on creating client chemistry.
“My business is 99.99% online and I work with clients world-wide, using Internet-based technologies. My work empowers women to create a business and marketing roadmap where they can confidently attract clients, and hence their business”, she says by way of introduction.
Armed with double-masters in chemistry and business administration, Francis was fast climbing the corporate ladder, working as a Laboratory Manager in South Africa until her husband decided to accept a job in Saudi Arabia; suddenly her dreams came apart and career came screeching to a complete halt.
“Coming from a corporate background, boredom and just drinking coffee with the other expat wives was something I was not used to. I became obsessed with wanting to do something. Consequently, in a country where women are not allowed to work in a professional capacity I discovered the power of the Internet and what it meant, to work virtually. Soon I started my first online business and became an info-preneur.”
“It was not long before my business changed focus — from merely providing information, to also working with people in a personal mentoring / coaching capacity. During this natural progression, I became painfully aware of the huge role that consistent marketing plays in getting clients and growing a solo-services business, successfully”, she explains.
Talking about the challenges she faced in setting up her own business, Francis explains, “Being an introvert, the idea of marketing was scary for me. Furthermore, my theoretical marketing knowledge didn’t really work in my solo business. This led to a turning point in my life. I went on a learning spree and spent a fortune, learning from gurus all over the world. I began putting the pieces together for my own business. Today, I’ve developed a step-by-step system that provides an authentic but very effective marketing roadmap that get clients consistently”.
“What I found is that ‘right’ marketing is not this sleazy process where you ‘sell’ yourself. Instead, authentic marketing is about reaching out to people and informing them of the solutions they are already searching for. Today, I don’t fear marketing anymore — I LOVE it. What’s more? As I share these strategies with others, they experience excellent results, too!”
Elaborating on how she helps her clients get their business started, Francis explains, “I teach my clientele how to create a client-attractive website that is not merely a pretty online brochure, but one that will get them customers. I also show them how to use content marketing, social media, SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and online forums (to name a few) to build a list of loyal subscribers via their website. This is also called ‘list building’ or ‘lead generation’.
“Having a list (or database) of subscribers who already know who you are and what you do, gives you a pool of potential clients who are more likely to start working with you, than with total strangers. This makes marketing more effective and increases your chances of building a successful and profitable business.
“I also help my clients identify a target audience so their marketing can become more focused and effective. We work on identifying where to get more of the right clients and how to create an authentic marketing message that won’t feel like selling.”
As a matter of fact, Francis offers quite a bit of free and useful information on her website ‘Create Client Chemistry’. People can also sign up for a free copy of her book
“As an introvert, I was able to overcome the fear of marketing and figured out a way to fill my business with private clients. I was also able to sell my info-products and programs on an on-going basis. Today, I want to pay it forward and help others do the same”, reveals Francis as we wind up our chat.
STRATEGISING SUCCESS
♦ Identify your target audience and the ideal clients within that audience.
♦ Get to know what they want/need most (as it relates to what you do).
♦ Develop a marketing message that addresses those wants/needs.
These steps will have your clients ‘self-select’ you, since they’ll see you as the one that will take away their ‘pain’ or solve their problem for them.
When it comes to choosing your target audience, remember it is a conscious decision. The best target market for your business is to choose a group of people:
♦ whom you will enjoy working with
♦ who have a problem you can solve and
♦ who are willing to pay you for the solution you provide to their problems.
A typical mistake that many entrepreneurs make is that they want to market their services to the whole world —i.e. anybody that can use their services or products. They feel that if they narrow their focus and choose a target audience to work with; they will ‘exclude’ people and limit their income. The opposite however, is true.
The problem is that even if you have services or products that everybody in the world can use, you practically cannot market your business to all and everyone. It is financially not possible and for an entrepreneur it practically doesn’t make sense.
It is much better to rather focus your marketing on a smaller, ‘ideal’ group of people that you can serve best with what you do. It’s better to be a big fish in a small pond, rather than a small fish in the whole wide ocean.
TOP TIPS
Top 3 practical and easy-to-implement tips, for getting more clients… best of all, they won’t cost you a cent.
Schedule specific time slots in your calendar EVERY DAY for marketing and promoting your business.
This might sound obvious, but is often overlooked. Women entrepreneurs generally, don’t like marketing and tend to give it a low priority. As a result, it rarely gets done. Remember, if you don’t market and promote your business consistently, you’ll always struggle to find more clients.
During this scheduled time, don’t answer emails or attend phone calls. Engage only in activities that get the word out, about your business and gets people interested in what you do. Make contact with prospective clients (email, social media tools or telephone), write articles for offline magazines or online sites, write adverts, write and practice a 30sec introduction speech or search for new networking opportunities.
Create a Magnetic 30sec ‘Introduction’ Speech.
Often the first question you are asked when you meet someone is, “So, what do you do?” When you have a magnetic 30sec introduction, you won’t ‘uhmm’ and ‘ahh’, on the answer, but can quickly and effectively describe exactly what you do and how you help your clients.
A helpful formula is: ‘I help/ teach/assist [my target audience] to do/get [this ONE thing they want] so [they can get this benefit/ end result]. Substitute the words in brackets with your own information.
For instance: ‘I teach women solo entrepreneurs get more clients so they can increase their income and build a successful business.’
Be Visible so people can get to know, like and trust you.
It’s important to be visible so people can start recognizing you or your products. People prefer working with or buying products from someone they know, like and trust than from a total stranger.
Join a group or association where your target market frequently hangs out and start doing some networking; prepare and give a speech/ presentation that showcases your expertise and invite people afterwards to work with you. List your website on online directories; get active in the online forums your ideal clients are active in; establish a social media presence and join the same social media groups on Face book and LinkedIn that your ideal clients belong to.
This way you not only build on your visibility and become more recognised, but you also build likeability and trust, that are key components for people to start working with you.
BELOW:
1) TECH TALK: Online Business and Marketing Strategist Francis van Wyk making a presentation.
2) HAPPY IN DOHA: Francis van Wyk with her husband Albert van Wyk and daughter Marene van Wyk.