It’s a sad truth that in today’s world everyone wants something for nothing. Consumers are becoming increasingly bargain-hungry shoppers – fueled by the rise of comparison websites, online auctions and discount sites. What’s worse is that more information, products and services can now be found online completely free of charge. And while consumers are lapping it up (and rightly so) I’ve found myself on more than one occasion with my head in my hands wondering how my little business and I will ever be able to compete.

It’s very easy to get overwhelmed when you first start using social media as a business tool. I definitely struggled to get to grips with the sheer volume of platforms, terminology, best-practice advice and, of course, apps that all promise to help streamline and make the best use of your time.

Recently I’ve been feeling a little too self-satisfied with my efforts at social media marketing. My Twitter page has been going from strength-to-strength, I’m starting to get a handle on scaling content and scheduling across all the social platforms I run, and I’ve got big plans for Facebook. Truth be told I was starting to think I’d really cracked it.

We all know the importance of happy and engaged employees. They’re the lifeblood of my business and have propelled me from a struggling start-up to a growing, profitable company. But motivating employees can be hard – especially when you don’t have the capital to compete with large businesses on salary.

In an age where time is precious and the average attention span is less than a goldfish’s (yes, really), consumers want their content fed to them in a fast and easily digestible way. I’ve found that video has proven to be extremely beneficial for my business – especially when it comes to promoting the products and services I can offer in a short, succinct and consistent way.

Everyone who uses Twitter wants more followers. It’s almost an eternal quest, especially if you use it for your business. More followers equals more engagement and more engagement equals more business, right? Well, not necessarily, especially if your followers aren’t really interested in you or your product. There are tons of fake and ‘follow me and I’ll follow back’ accounts, neither of which provide any value, even if they do make it appear to the outside world that you’ve got loads of followers.

I like coffee in the morning. It helps focus my mind and while I drink it I’ll read emails, check my schedule and figure out what I need to do during the day. And that’s just the business side of things.

We’ve all heard the quote, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” It’s another way of saying that you don’t get something for nothing. As someone trying to grow my business I’m well aware of this, as I’m sure you are too. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to assist with the huge challenge of running a business.