Shop Small: 3 ways to support the entrepreneur in your life when you are not the target audience
Your friend has stepped out to embrace her next step as an entrepreneur.
She’s launched her blog.
She’s started her business.
She’s published the book.
You love what she’s doing, and you cheer her on. You know firsthand how hard she’s worked and the sacrifices she’s made. You know she needs the support of family and friends.
But how do you support your friend who has a blog, runs a business, or wrote a book when you are not the target audience?
Supporting the entrepreneur in your life when you are not the target audience is much easier than you realize. That’s why today, I am going to share three easy ways you can support her right away.
Support an Entrepreneur tip #1: Like. Share. Post.
While you may not need a financial coach, a professional organizer, or enjoy a blog on military life, someone you know might. Sharing your friend’s post on your social media is quick and easy, plus it will help boost the number of viewers who see her content. Actually, it takes less than a minute to share any of your friend’s content on social media.
Did you know when you share blog posts, videos, or posts you are helping your friend grow their viewers organically?
So repost on Instagram, share on Facebook, pin in Pinterest, retweet on Twitter, subscribe to the website, and invite others to the page. When you do, be sure to tag the business, the blog, or the book. I encourage you to make it a priority to share her work at least once a week. This exposure will, hopefully, lead to more readers, more viewers, and more business. Word of mouth is a strong marketing tool! Use your voice and your influence to introduce your friend to the world.
Support an entrepreneur tip #2. Buy. Give. Refer.
Now I know I said we would talk about how to support the entrepreneur in your life when you are not the target audience. So why would I encourage you to purchase something you would not use? Isn’t this a waste?
Well, I encourage you to buy from your friend then use it as a gift for someone in your life who would enjoy the present or the service. You get to financially support your friend while also introducing someone new to what your friend has to offer. This is an effective way to give a gift with meaning while helping the entrepreneur hopefully gain a new customer. But please—DO NOT ask your friend for a discount. Be willing to pay full price for the product, the service or the book.
I encourage you to identify one person who would benefit from the product or service your entrepreneurial friend offers. This season, shop small and support locally.
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Support an Entrepreneur tip #3. Listen. Advise. Cheer.
People who are stepping out to write or own a business often want to talk out the process. They have ideas running around in their heads and want to discuss what do next. Be available. Give feedback on their product, service or writing. Even if you don’t use the service, how could your friend increase her reach toward her target market? You may have a different point of view to help your friend improve her posts and reach her audience.
Be sure to cheer on your friend. Remind her why she started her business. Remind her of the strength of her story. Remind her of God’s truth for her journey. Your relationship can help make the difference on a tough day when no one has read her blog, purchased a book, or used her service.
Being an entrepreneur takes bravery. It’s not easy taking a risk to start a business. It’s okay if you are not the target audience for the entrepreneur in your life, but your support matters. Make a decision to take one step to show up in ways that you can for your friend or family member.
Cheering your on,
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Ala Doros
Agree! We all need so much support from friends and relatives.
Mamie L. Pack
Ala DorosYes, their support definitely helps.
Lindsay Joseph
I love this! Often times, our closest friends are NOT our target audience. However, support in the smallest ways can be extremely helpful, even if it just makes us feel more encouraged. Great post!
Mamie L. Pack
Lindsay JosephSometimes those we love don’t know just how simple it is to support us even if they cannot use our services or products. Thanks for stopping by!
mvwills
100% Agree, It can be tough to navigate supporting the ones close to us. Especially, when you factor in an Entrepreneurial aspect. It can also be a challenge to recognize when or how we need to support them. Both emotionally and or economically, in my experience, it appears on the surface that this amazing Entrepreneurial friend or family member has it all going for her and she doesn’t need the constant reassurance or support. But in reality that Entrepreneurial person needs it even more because she IS allocating a significant part of her time, emotion and resources to “nurture” her either new or growing “baby”. The logistics of running a small business are both very challenging and rewarding. Just as we cannot expect to sustain a functional mind and body by simply eating once or twice, the same applies to a Small Business. You have to nurture and maintain a certain level of care for it to be successful long term.
Thank you for sharing a step by step guide for us to follow and better support one another! 🤗👍🏻
#ShopSmallBusiness
Mamie L. Pack
mvwillsI absolutely this!! The nurturing part is so true. It takes time to help it grow and develop. Having support of family and friends helps tremendously.
mylittlegreenboutique
YES this blog that I just started is starting from the ground up and it has been hard to have it grow. The only way I have been able to have it grow is to go join facebook groups. People who aren’t enterprenuers dont understand that any support is huge.
Jasmine - LoveLifeLaughMotherhood
I like sharing things because even though i might not need it, someone i know could
Simplefficientmama
This is great! Will repost if you don’t mind. I feel like friends just don’t know how to support and this is a good article on how to do that! Thanks!! =)
Mamie L. Pack
SimplefficientmamaThank you! Yes, feel free to share.
YoungStirCrazy
These are great! Sometimes it’s so tricky to figure out how to support others when we don’t need their services, but I love the idea of purchasing them as gifts. It’d even be great to buy the product/service and donate it to your church or organization!
Mamie L. Pack
YoungStirCrazyDonating is also a great way to support as well. What a blessing to be able to give to others.
Samantha | The Vegas Mommy
I love this! Especially number one. I wish my friends & family would just share things I do.
Mamie L. Pack
Samantha | The Vegas MommyMost people don’t realize how just sharing the post or sharing the services we offer helps spread the word. Even liking posts helps!
Sarah
This is so true! My blog is still new, and I would love if more friends and family understood this!
Mamie L. Pack
SarahSometimes it takes having the conversation about how they could help. When I talked with the important people in my life about the support I need and what they felt comfortable doing made a tremendous difference.
Jessica
I appreciate your positivity! All are great ways to help support a friend. Even if you aren’t interested personally in the product or business, it’s important to be supportive!
Mamie L. Pack
JessicaAbsolutely Jessica! Showing support goes a long way especially when others are getting started.
Jasmine
I can definitely relate to this! Being the entrepreneur and the friend. I think sharing is so important and is the best way to support
Mamie L. Pack
JasmineEvery bit of support matters especially when starting off. Sometimes those we care about just don’t know what to do.
Michelle
These are such great tips! Thank you so much for sharing them
Mamie L. Pack
MichelleThanks for stopping by Michelle!
anitadoseck
I love this! There are so many people in my own life whom I would like to hit over the head with it. Too much?
This is so true, not only for entrepreneurs in your life, but family or friends who have hobbies and interests different from your own as well. Your advice is a great lesson in learning to be supportive and take interest in the people close to you.
Mamie L. Pack
anitadoseckIt’s so important we help and support each other. Imagine the impact if we did.
Traveling Holmes
Completely agree with you!! 🙂 Thanks for the post.
Mamie L. Pack
Traveling HolmesThanks so much!
budgetbelles80
This is what my brother has been doing for me! He is not into fashion but he shares or likes my posts!
Aditi Wardhan Singh
What a wonderful reminder for our friends. Now only if we could get all if them to read that ! ☹️😁
11yearsofnappies
WOW. This is so important and a message I am trying ti get across to my community.
I would love to share this on my blog.
I love your work. I would definitely love to feature you on my blog.
Mamie L. Pack
11yearsofnappiesOh, thank you. Let’s chat soon. My email is hello@mamiepack.com
Harassedmom (@laurakim123)
Love this. Sharing a post and referring a friend is always so appreciated!!
Jen @ Jen Bradley | MOMS
This is golden advice!!! Having these things happen for me and my business would be an absolute dream! I’m going to look for opportunities to do this for my friends.
Mamie L. Pack
Jen @ Jen Bradley | MOMSThat would be awesome. Sadly many entrepreneurs don’t have as much support from family and friends. Showing up for others makes a big difference.
onemainemama
Wonderful tips!One of my main goals is to refer to local business, we all support eachother!
Mamie L. Pack
onemainemamaSupporting local puts money back into your community.
Amanda Krieger
I LOVE this. I often wish my friends knew the power of social media — liking and sharing posts benefits my blog more than anything!!
Danielle
These are really great tips. I love supporting small businesses that are local to me and online. I wish more people would think about supporting them as well and these are great ways to do so.
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