local business networking rosewood va deanna simone

As a small business owner – you know that networking is one of the most important skills that you should learn in order to make your business a success story. Building a successful business takes time and dedication, so it is a great idea to have a network of business professionals to keep you inspired and motivated.

By surrounding yourself with people who share a similar passion and determination, you are more likely to move forward and achieve the results you want. Business networking is a valuable way to expand your knowledge, learn from the success of others, acquire new clients, increase your brand’s awareness, and make friends! 

Rosewood strongly believes in the power of teamwork to successfully reach goals – both personally and professionally. But what’s even more valued, is forming a strong and active LOCAL business network that can help your business grow and flourish in the specific city or region that you serve.

And there are a ton of local business, philanthropic, and interest-based groups to connect with! From “Mom’s in Business” to Green Connections – which supports environmentally and socially conscious business practices.

Rosewood LOVES to Network!

Rosewood is a proud member of:

We also recommend:

Here at Rosewood, we are huge fans of Organic Networking, and just getting out there and meeting people! Selling is typically an afterthought after forming these amazing business relationships.

And one last thing – networking groups take a bit of a hiatus in the summer, but September is just around the corner! Now is the time to check out some of these groups. You can usually attend for free as a guest your first time.

Our Top 5 Benefits to Local Business Networking (not in any particular order!)

  1. Business Opportunities
  2. Valuable Advice
  3. New Clientele
  4. Enhance your Personal Brand
  5. Friendship!

These are just a few of the incredible reasons why local business networking is so important for both your personal and professional growth. Connecting with people who have business experience and share similar interests will undoubtedly help your own brand flourish!

Let’s Connect

Do you have any networking questions or comments to share? Feel free to get in touch with us directly for guidance – we are always happy to help. And of course, we would love to connect with you on InstagramLinkedIn, and Facebook!

Happy Networking!

Ananta

Content Coordinator

Rosewood Inc.

Photo courtesy of Rhonda McNeil of Catch the Brand Photography

importance of google analytics roseewood va deanna simone

If you are a business owner or entrepreneur – chances are you heavily rely on the strength of your online presence and the traffic on your website to acquire clients and build your brand. Which is why it is with your best interest in mind that Rosewood recommends taking full advantage of Google Analytics! Google’s free web analytics service not only allows you to analyze in-depth detail about the visitors on your site, but it also provides valuable insights that can help you optimize the online strategy of your business.

Regardless of whether you run an e-commerce website or an informative blog, every business should understand and study the behaviour of their visitors to deliver better results. Keep reading for our reasons on why you should be regularly using Google Analytics to measure the success of your website – and by extension, your business as a whole.

Conversion Tracking

There is a feature which illustrates how many website conversions you have obtained by visitors on your site. It’s always great to know how many people have visited your site, and where they came from, but how do you know if those users are actually converting?

Google Analytics allows you to set up goals to track when a user completes a certain action on your site. Regardless of how many users each channel is driving to your site, it is essential to confirm that this traffic is actually converting.

Customer Engagement

Engagement metrics such as the bounce rate and average session duration can do wonders to show how well your website is performing. Google Analytics has a number of features that allow you to review how well users are interacting with your website and content. These metrics monitor different aspects of the customer journey, showing how the customer has interacted.

You can also view these statistics against individual pages, giving you a better idea as to what pages are doing well, and which may need optimizing to improve their user experience. Perhaps a page is taking too long to load, or there is too much text and not enough images – leaving the visitor impatient and uninterested. There may be hidden clues to these types of issues in the customer engagement metrics of your site.

Our Top Metrics to Keep an Eye on

  1. # of visitors on website
  2. Average visit length
  3. # of number of pages viewed
  4. Average time on page
  5. Most popular pages on your website
  6. Visitor demographics such as – gender, age, city location, etc.

Converting Data into Business Goals 

Google Analytics data on its own can tell you a lot about website performance. And this information can be very crucial to devising and improving your business plan moving forward. However, you must have a goal in mind for the data to be of use.

True performance tracking and improvement comes from comparisons on current results against previously set goals. Do you want people to get in touch? Download your how-to guide? Use specific goals to target what areas of your website you want to work on.

How Rosewood Can Help

Now that you’re sold on the many business benefits of Google Analytics – feel free to get in touch with us to see how your metrics can skyrocket with our support and training services. If you are new to the analytics world, fear not! We can happily show you the ins and outs of how to use and track the analytics metrics of your website.

And to briefly summarize, Google Analytics can monitor the effectiveness of your online marketing strategies, content, user experience, and functionality on your website. Once you identify any issues your site may have, Rosewood can help you create a solution. Google Analytics provides you with the information needed to improve your website, and we strategize to make it happen!

Questions or Comments? Get in Touch!

Until Next Time,

Ananta

Content Coordinator

Rosewood Inc.

5 ways to stay focused this summer rosewood deanna simone

Summertime is officially in full effect – complete with rising temperatures, family activities, exciting trips, pleasant weather, and BBQs with friends. I am sure that almost every business owner can agree – it’s incredibly challenging to maintain the same level of focus on your work during the warmer months.

Let’s be real here – how are you supposed to maintain productivity with so much other stuff going on? That’s where this article can help! By implementing a few simple changes to your routine, you will be shocked at how productive your summers will become! Check out our top 5 summer-specific tips to stay on task below.

  1. Take Breaks Often

Even if you only have 5 minutes to spare, always try to find ways to take a quick break to rejuvenate your mind and body. A few of my favourite tactics include:

  • Going for a walk around the block with my dog
  • Stepping outside and soaking in the sunlight for a few minutes
  • Powering through a quick yoga/pilates session to re-energize the muscles
  • Having a yummy and brain-boosting drink to cool off (my go-to favourites are fresh lemonade and fruit smoothies)
  • Taking a quick, 15-minute nap (if your physical location allows it)

Even just a few moments away from your desk can help put you back into the correct mindset to get things done.

  1. Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

If you have a special event or vacation coming up, remind yourself that keeping your work-life in order will make your time off even sweeter. If you set your priorities straight now and get your work under control before you go away, you will be able to enjoy it even more wholeheartedly. It is always less stressful to leave for a vacation when there isn’t any unfinished work or loose ends to worry about.

Our very own founder and CEO of Rosewood, Deanna Simone, reflects on her recent vacation to Europe – “I took my first vacation in almost 4 years since starting the business. I ensured that I had a team to cover the day-to-day operations and guarantee no fires started. It allowed me to rest and come back rejuvenated and with a renewed passion for my business!”

  1. Don’t Forget to Treat Yourself!

Plan to allow yourself to indulge in something you really love after you’ve completed tiresome tasks. For example, if you need to get through a long day (or week!) of client meetings and tedious paperwork, you may promise to treat yourself afterwards. This could be a trip to the movies, a bubble bath, a night out with friends, a massage, a new outfit, anything goes! Knowing you’ve earned your special treat will make your hard work that much more meaningful.

  1. Limit Time on Social Media

Try your absolute hardest to refrain from scanning the news feeds of your personal accounts until after you have finished your work for the day. When you’re trying to focus on work, seeing your friends vacation pictures won’t help you concentrate on what you need to accomplish.

A big portion of my own job as a social media coordinator, is to tend to the social media accounts of my clients. However, I am consistently working on fighting the urge to take a quick peek on what is happening on the news feeds of my personal accounts until my time is clear to do that.

  1. Find a Change of Scenery

Of course, it is understandable that getting away isn’t always an option. In those situations, consider moving your work somewhere outdoors for a change of scenery. For example, if I’m craving a breath of fresh air, I’ll take my laptop to a nice park, an outdoor cafe, or sometimes even the front porch or backyard will do. Just a simple and temporary change in your physical environment can do wonders for your mood and motivation.

Voila! By taking these 5 tips into consideration, you will quickly realize that summer doesn’t have to sabotage your business goals. You can enjoy what the season has to offer while staying focused on your career—all it takes is a little creativity and self-discipline.

Questions or Comments? Get in Touch!

Until Next Time,

Ananta

Content Coordinator

Rosewood Inc.