“I’m passionate about what I do because I get the unique opportunity to watch a company blossom from a small business (with everyone wearing many hats) to a larger organization operating in high growth mode. I help companies create a stable technology foundation, so they can operate efficiently without having to make huge technology investments when in high growth mode.” –-Angela Stewart, CEO of CloudStewards
Angela Stewart, CEO of CloudStewards
Angela Stewart, CEO and Founder of CloudStewards, LLC, headquartered in Atlanta is among the few African American women who owns a technology company. Angela throughout the years has worked extremely hard to ensure that her vision of 21st century entrepreneurship had the mission, infrastructure, systems, and resources to establish a solid foundation that would continue to reach escalated levels of success.
We recently had an opportunity to catch up with Angela to share her business philosophy, success nuggets and tips to become a 7-figure business:
Share your thoughts on “work smart, not hard”?
Yes. With any business, it's important to build a business model designed for growth. Scalability is key. Although you’re an expert at what you do, it's simply not sustainable to have a hands-on approach for everything. Figure out how you can use your personal brand to attract new customers, but then leverage trusted, qualified resources for execution.
Do you really believe that “making money is simple?”
Ironically, making money is simple if you don't focus on making money. Of course, every business should have revenue goals, but making money should be the outcome. Focus on delivering a high quality product or an exceptional customer service experience for your clients. Not only will your customers happily pay you, they will refer more customers to you. Your offering should fill a gap in the marketplace and provide value to your customer. If you are offering a product or service in a crowded market, it's imperative to differentiate yourself by finding a niche offering.
Why do you think the average entrepreneur struggle financially (or profitably) in their business?
Small business owners make the mistake of "trying to be everything to everyone". They cast a wide net in hopes that everyone will buy from them. However, they soon realize that potential customers want specialists. Personalization is critical when attracting new customers. Understanding a target audience's wants, needs and problems will allow business owners to offer a perfectly matched solution.
What do you believe is a major, critical key to business sustainability?
Be agile. Change is the only constant. While a business model may be working flawlessly today—political, economic, social or technological trends could potentially kill it. Look at the impact of social media to newspapers, mobile phones to laptops, and cloud computing to traditional software. Business owners should stay abreast of trends by routinely performing a SWOT analysis on their industry (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats), be aware of the competition and frequently conduct customer feedback surveys. Keeping an eye on the marketplace will mitigate any surprises. Be ready to make smart, calculated changes to your business model or offering as the market changes.
What are seven (7) ways to set a good foundation for a 7-figure business enterprise?
1) Include a recurring revenue stream in your business model.
2) Leverage your network. Get out of the office and meet people!
3) Use social media to get the word out. Be consistent in your messaging.
4) Take the time to clearly understand your market landscape. Make sure you are offering a solution for a real problem or filling a gap in the marketplace.
5) Stay engaged with your target audience and propagate value-rich content (such as a blog or YouTube videos) to educate those prospects that are not ready to buy today.
6) Build credibility with prospects by asking your existing customers to provide testimonials on your work. Post on your website, Facebook or LinkedIn pages.
7) Find a niche market that is in growth mode but may currently be under-served.
What are additional entrepreneurial tips that you’d like to share:
· From the start, build a support system. Having a supportive foundation will enable you to focus on building your business. Lack of support at home will eventually become a distraction.
· Learn how to balance work life and home life. While success may be important, sharing your time with friends and family is just as important. As a single mother of 2 children, I make it a point to prioritize my time with them.
· Pick up a hobby that you're passionate about. Lose yourself in it! For me, this is tennis because it allows me to take my mind off work for an hour or so, plus enjoy good friends in the process.
“Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.” —Farrah Gray
WEB: CLOUDSTEWARDS.COM | TWITTER: @CLOUDSTEWARDS
EMAIL: ANGELA@CLOUDSTEWARDS.COM
Cloud Stewards, has provided professional consulting services, and web / mobile app development for businesses for the past 4 years. In 2018, their offerings will include Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Data Analytics solutions.