Financial reports can feel intimidating, especially for founders without a finance background. But understanding the basics can dramatically improve decision-making and confidence. In this practical guide, Rebecca Nankya Ssemugabi breaks down how to read a balance sheet in simple, everyday language, supported by a hands-on balance sheet generator you can try yourself. M ost founders don’t struggle with running a business. They struggle with understanding the numbers behind it. And few reports feel more intimidating than the balance sheet. But here’s the truth: a balance sheet is simply a snapshot of what your business owns, what it owes, and what’s actually yours at a specific point in time. The Balance Sheet in One Line Every balance sheet is built on one simple equation: Assets = Liabilities + Equity Assets are what the business owns Liabilities are what the business owes Equity is what belongs to the owner(s) If this equation balances, the balance sheet makes sense. A Simple Exa...
Recently, COVID-19 changed everything: the way we work, communicate, enjoy, and interact. Companies and organizations had to adopt the work-from-home model. E-commerce saw a boom as people faced lockdowns and restrictions. businesses realized the importance of digital channels for marketing and selling products and services.
While it created huge job opportunities for digital marketers, it certainly showed that it is not for everyone. Let me elaborate.
The first thing that motivates people to go digital is the success stories of brands and companies that are minting money online. The other is the stats of internet and social media users. When they hear that there are 2 billion Facebook users, Instagram has 800 million users, etc., they start to drool.
What they don't realize is that not all 2 billion people will be interested in their business. This figure is cumulative. These people are divided into different regions, countries, niches, likes, and other categories. It is true that they can reach new markets, but still it has a limit.
Likewise, they see social media stats. It also entices businesses to jump into the pool. Instead, they get disheartening results. Even the giants such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have negligible engagement compared to their number of followers. For example, Coca-Cola has 105,113,746 likes, but their posts have a negligible engagement ratio (which doesn't make even 1% of their followers/likes). Only entertainment pages have noticeable engagement, e.g., Khabees Orat. They have the liberty to talk about any topic and get people engaged. That is why they have a greater engagement ratio without post-boosting.
Recently, when everything went online, including marketing, these clients hired digital marketers. However, their expectations were short-lived when they saw these dismal results on social media and other digital media.
The situation on IG is not different. The influencers' accounts get lots of engagement, while the other pages have to be content with average engagement.
So what is the solution? You may be scratching your head, all this digital marketing boom is fake? The answer to this dilemma is aggregated effort. Your niche may not get enough social media engagement, but you can get traffic through other channels, e.g., email, SEO, advertising, blogging, affiliate marketing, etc. The idea is to use multiple channels to drive traffic. You are sitting in a niche area that is okay. Focus on SEO or advertising. Email is also a very effective method for conversion and lead generation. Instead of dumping your resources on a channel (e.g., social media) that is generating results, use other digital avenues. This holistic digital marketing strategy will help you realize your digital dream.
Similarly, it is completely okay if your business doesn't need digital marketing. You can do traditional offline marketing, and that is perfectly fine. The good old traditional marketing efforts, like direct marketing, marketing literature, events, classified ads, etc., can do the trick for you.
If you learned something, let me know. If you don't, then read this hilarious post. Talk to you in the next post.
Check: Mini-Course: Unpack The Exciting World of Advertising!
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