Self Employment Pros And Cons

Like every other profession, self-employment too has its own pros and cons. If you want to know, what will be your likes and dislikes later, first let's see: "I ask because I am considering self-employment." What are the reasons that prompt you to consider this?

1. Many people think once they are self-employed, they will be their own boss. Wrong ! Once you become self-employed, you will have so many bosses and you will have to meet their standards and their deadlines. (Every Mary sitting at the reception desk of a client now becomes your boss and if you are not friendly with her, she can curtail your access to the boss.) So, if you want to start a business, to become 'boss-less', well, you have a shock coming your way.

2. You want to become self-employed to make more money: well, you might make some dough, but, it will take at least 2 years, assuming you are lucky and/or you have an incredible product or service.

3. You want to be self-employed to spend more time with family. Not a good reason, unless your spouse already is earning in buckets. Self-employment means commitment to your work and clients, 24x7x365.

4. You want to become self-employed because you want to realize your potential and you feel money earned from it is incidental. Well, if this is the reason, you should take it up.

To be truly self-employed is almost always to be an entrepreneur, however small the scale of that role may be. Self employment is _not_ the same thing as being a contractor - a common enough role that is more often than not just a thinly disguised form of employment. To succeed at self-employment means having to take on a whole range of new skills or to amplify and use existing skills to best advantage; one is a sales person, a marketeer, a book-keeper, a designer, a manager, a writer, a logistics person and then when all those tasks are completed one still has the paying work to do; in short one may well be working 18 hours a day 7 days a week.

This is not a role that fits everyone; it requires passion, committment and motivation and a realistic understanding of the scope of the project.

In other words one is setting up in business - the fact that you are or will be the only employee is irrelevant. Like any other business it's necessary to have goals and a plan and not start out with the expectation that you will be making money - let alone a profit - from day one. These days one is lucky indeed if one can take any new business from startup to to break-even in a year. It's essential to be realistic about the funds you will need to get through that first year - and where they are coming from; maxing out credit cards or borrowing to get going is rarely a sane or sensible move *unless* you have already secured at least a couple of clients at sensible rates of remuneration.

Which raises the issue of how one calculates tha daily/weekly or other rate. In order to do that you need to know what simply staying alive costs you every year, and what your business expenses are likely to be; that allows you to calculate a daily rate, knowing that in the first 6 months you will probably only be working for money at 25-40% of your capacity - somewhere between 5-7 days a month.

If you choose this road, it is an act of entrepreneurship and should be seen as such. Entrepreneurship can be chosen as an act of desperation or a conscious choice. To say there is no security on this path is an understatement. However, once you accept responsibility for your career and its management you become the "boss", you set your own objectives, and although no one is really in control, you have the freedom to set your own agenda.

The best advice to give to someone about to walk on this road is to strongly suggest to view this act positively. Make a "business" plan even it is simple and set yourself milestones to achieve. Work methodically and with a clear sense of purpose.

If you handle this the "right" way, and I might add that there is no one right way, You will wonder why you didn't become an entrepreneur sooner.

Now, ask yourself: why do you want to become self-employed? Therein lies answers to the likes and dislikes of the profession !

The Most Important Values Driving Your Small Business

The most important part of your business should not be money, but your clients. If you get your client relationships right, the money will flow.

Here are my Guiding Principles:

I am professional in everything I do.
I value teamwork, collaboration, and mutual respect.

I will only engage with clients where I believe that I can add genuine value to their enterprise.

I am honest and open in all dealings and value long-term, trusting business relationships over short-term financial results.

The values most important to me are that my fees are reasonable (yes, I value my expertise and must also feel well compensated), that my service is exemplary, that my clients feel valued, supported and confident in my abilities, that I continue learning and providing my clients with the very best techniques and strategies, and that all my business is conducted in an honourable manner.

I choose these values as they reflect my personal values, and I would not conduct my business in any other manner. I am my business, and won't put my name in jeopardy. I also choose colleagues who are similar in their approach and often refer clients whose deadlines I cannot meet to these colleagues. It's the only way to work!

Who ever you are the most important values for your business should be ones that you as an individual will be happy to live up to. People buy people - so it's right saying "integrity" matters - this to me is not so much a value in its own right but the act of truly living your priority values.

I don't believe there is any such thing as a common set of "correct values" - any values can be perfect for any business as long as they are authentic.

What To Ask Before Using Apple Products For Your Small Business

Some of the recurring questions I've seen others (and occasionally myself) ask over the years....

- Which contact management software should we use and how do we use it?

- Which project/task management software is best and how do we use it?

- Which email/scheduling software works best with MS Exchange and other PC users?

- How do we/share sync calendars, documents, etc. between iPhone, iPad, Mac, and PC?

- How well does Parallels or VMWare Fusion work for our needs and should we use it?

- What are the differences between MS Office for Mac and MS Office for PC?

- What are the differences between Apple iWork and MS Office for PC? Compatible?

- What software should we use to create our newsletter and other in-house marketing collateral?

- How can we ensure a smooth transition from Windows to Mac?

- How much "horsepower" (hardware) do we need to buy?

- How do we integrate all our software with mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac)?

- Will Apple Safari work with our corporate intranet?

As I'm sure you realize, you'll get a variety of answers depending on the industry a user is in.

Small Business Marketing Tip .... Not What You Think

Don't market! Most companies have marketing budgets but few have customer rétention budgets. Focus on what makes your company unique. Be real. Here is a snippet from a blog by Marc Reece .....

Don’t just tell me how important I am to you in your messaging, show me! If customer service is truly your number one priority, make sure that your actions match your printed word and mission statement.

Nothing shows more disrespect and gets me more fired up than listening to a recording stating how important my business is to you so please hold for the next available customer service agent.

My time is as valuable to me as my business is to you, remember that! I want you to remember that everyday you are open for business, you are open for a reason and a purpose.

That reason and purpose is me, remember that!

Tips For Generating Leads From LinkedIn

The bottom line is that you need to operate on LinkedIn as you would in the real world. Think of LinkedIn as just a business after hours ... one that has millions of people, goes 24-7, and allows you to learn about prospects before you connect. So do the same. Connect with new people. Reconnect with those you already know. But in all cases, find ways to help others. If you do those things (and are patient ... which is key), things will come your way.

To be more specific ......

1) Really understand who your target market is, so you can recognise them when you find them.

2) Really understand what it is you are offering to your target market - in terms of benefits, not features, so that they can recognise you when they find you.

3) Make yourself 'findable' by your target market:

a) Ensure your profile reflects both of these - who you are, what you are about, what you are offering and who you want to work with - with all the technical details Sian gives - keywords, call to action etc.

b) Participate honestly and fully in groups where you are likely to 'meet' your target market, or they are likely to 'meet' you.

3) Go looking for leads yourself. If you really know who you are looking for, and you are confident in what you can offer them, then use LinkedIn search capabilities to find leads for yourself.

Search for companies, find people you know at that company (or who know people you know - this is why you connect with people you 'don't know'), Find the groups they belong to. Make contact, start proper and honest conversations, send them a direct message.

If you show that you are really caring about your prospect and not just spamming them, then this will pay off.

Of course all of this takes effort and more importantly time .... so take the time to get it right.

What Does The American Dream Mean To You?

Freedom and opportunity to use my talents and skills to provide for myself and my family the basic necessities and comforts that lead to personal happiness.

I think this is best achieved for everyone by this country supporting the goals set out in the Preamble to the Constitution: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity...

When we work together for liberty, when justice serves all of us, when we are safe from corruption and oppression, and supportive of each others' welfare, then we provide each other an opportunity to pursue and achieve the American Dream.

How about you???

Why is social media important to my business

A couple of statistics are key to understand why online social media are critical for your business:

* 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations
* Only 14% trust ads

If you can establish yourself in the right social media and you have a strategy for 

generating positive reviews and ratings, you can dominate your market.

Your presence in social media, like your own YouTube channel or Facebook business page, establishes your business as a social authority

It engages your prospects and customers on their "turf", instead of having to drive them to your Website to establish a relationship

You can communicate with them regularly and offer deals and specials as part of an ongoing conversation, instead of an occasional intrusion. It also personalizes your business and makes it more likeable.

Request information about our Social Media Power Cluster service and how it can help your business get established, and dominating online. Contact us

We also offer $100 gift certificates for new managed adwords accounts.

Benefits Of Cloud Technology For Small Business

Small business is riding the cloud to cost effective operations.

All the fascination about terminal hardware applications will be over in the near future. The "Cloud" and SAS will rock the hardware and software world and make access to technology easier for vast populations. Devices to do so will cost pennies on the current dollar or the will be free.

Like the PC makers, the sun is already setting on cell phone devices, associated applications, OTS packaged software and related products. Even though these products are enjoying current popularity They are expensive and will be rapidly overtaken by tight economics and services competition.

Smart,strategic planners are pointing to the future and it is not a hardware and licensed software market - it is service oriented with low cost access and rates. Volume, free products, advertising and shareware will drive it all.

Possible exceptions for a bit longer period of time are the high-end hardware and software technologies in government contracting, which for security reasons must be cloistered, protected and safeguarded. Your friendly government agency will be the last to boot its PC out the window.

I pack 5G of storage on flash drives in my wallet and work on around 11 different computers from the public library to client locations, coffee shops and meeting places each day.

Someone else has to worry about the hardware that way and the server farms of the foundations I support maintain all my case records.

I have budgeted about $9 for a backup flash drive. Google charges me $10 a year for the web site domain where I maintain my books, articles and reference materials for clients. Box Net and Linked In are free web-based repositories.

Total projected expenditure for 2012, serving a projected 1200 clients based on my history the last 6 years and publishing a new book - under $30; could not be simpler.

Courtesy of Kenneth Larson

Small Business Consulting .... How To Be A Great Success Coach

The thing is, it's about what you CAN help the business do. Most people ARE risk averse and especially during times like these, they're not willing to go out on a limb to try something completely new or trust the advice of someone with whom they have no rapport. Does running scared in business often mean that people leave money on the table or that they operate in an inefficient manner or that they're not optimizing different aspects of their business? You betcha. But what they're doing is what makes them feel safe and comfortable.

You have to understand that as the underlying need first and alleviate that which people fear before they can take the next step. Take a really hard customer-centric look at your business and your offerings. Are you framing your offering in such a way that it appeals to the new recession-minded entrepreneur? Are you fulfilling a need that they have? If not, can you re-align your business so that it can?

You may want to look at the challenges that small businesses (especially in start up) are facing and present your services in a way that addresses those challenges.

The challenges that come to mind are:

1. Money. Many small businesses and start ups don't have the money to hire a consultant, even if they wanted to. You may be able to overcome this obstacle by guaranteeing results, a commission structure, or deferring payment until the client's business reaches some milestone (revenue, number of customers, etc.)

2. Lack of knowledge. The people that you are trying to help may not know that they need help. Three approaches that might help with this issue are creating a valuable newsletter that goes to target customers, writing articles for local newspapers or newspapers that your target customers read, and speaking to business organizations or teaching relevant classes through a community college or other local organization.

3. Uncertainty about whether you can help them. Every day, small business owners are approached by consultants telling them what they should be doing, shouldn't be doing, and promising solutions that sound or are "too good to be true." To overcome this issue, consultants need to have credibility. This might be done by building a reputation (perhaps using the approaches identified in point 2, above) or by guaranteeing results in a way that creates customer confidence.

4. Competition. Many community colleges and other local resources (RSVP, for example) offer help to start ups and small businesses at very low rates. Can you compete on price, or do you offer some sort of guarantee or additional support that the other options don't provide?

You have to identify what they need and then sell to what they want.

For example if someone says I need more money, sell them a solution that will provide them more freedom. Remember people don't pursue money but they pursue the options that money provides.

See if you can slightly alter your mindset about prospecting and selling. Start by embracing the reality that need and want are in the prospect's mind. Rather than pushing on that river, look for prospects who are (a) open to evaluating the POSSIBILITY your services would have value and then (b) do indeed have want and need for what you offer.

See the development of rapport as something that occurs as you have those sales and other conversations. (Not some sort of emotional bond.)

Create a list of questions to use to uncover a prospect's POSSIBLE need and want for your services. Include questions that help uncover whether the issues of fear, etc. are something to explore or not. However, most questions should help uncover very practical want and need. Those are the things far more people will be willing to talk about.

When you uncover need and want, offer services using consultative-type phrases like, "...may have value." Use benefit statements that loop back to what the prospect him or herself said. Very gently add other issues, or leave them off the table for now.

After describing services, ASK for the business.

I am sure you have lots to offer. All of the above can help open more doors and I hope you find it useful.

What’s the benefit of using paid online services like Adwords

 

Paid online advertising like Google Adwords (also known as pay-per-click advertising) can enhance your overall online marketing program but you shouldn’t rely on it exclusively.

 

Before you go spending money though, get an online marketing expert to help you research the best keywords to focus on for your ads.

 

Google Adwords Express is another option that works best for the local main street business.

 

Also, you should consider using Facebook ads, especially if you have a business page set up on

Facebook. You can target specific locations, demographics, likes, etc. on Facebook that you can’t in other online paid ad services.

 

Let us help you determine the best, most affordable way to integrate paid advertising into your online marketing plan. Contact us

 

We also offer $100 gift certificates for new adwords accounts.

Huffington Post published the 2012 Online Reputation Checklist - Do you know where you stack up?

Here’s their 2012 Online Reputation Checklist. How do you stack up?

The new year presents many challenges and opportunities for reputation-observers. If a fortune cookie that could actually tell the future were handed to me this coming New Year's Eve, I'd expect it to reveal the following:

1. Reputation's inflection point is here.Reputation will always continue to matter but for reasons that are less financially-based than in the past. As Geoff Colvin, Fortune's senior editor said, "Previous major scandals were mostly financial; the numbers were lies. Not this time. The damage so far derives entirely from behavior...." How companies behave, act and respond will impact reputations this year more than quarterly numbers. The kind of company behavior that will matter most will, of course, be how leaders manage crises. It will matter even more than the actual crisis itself. Just think about BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill or News Corp.'s phone hacking scandal.

2. Reputation whisperers will outshout traditional channels. Reputations will increasingly be established through customer reviews online, not just through family and friends. These reputation-makers will quietly pass along positive and negative reviews about products and services that will make and break reputations with increasingly greater impact.

3. Reputation blackmail will rear its ugly head. We will hear more in the coming year about threats to reveal private e-mails unless people disclose corporate secrets such as confidential information or network security codes. Reputations of the vulnerable will increasingly become the bargaining chips of the malcontents.

4. Reputation defense goes to the movies. Increasingly, both companies and activists will turn to video, documentaries and even movies to further their goals. Companies will increasingly hire well-known film makers to educate their employees about either corporate culture or a reputation-changing incident in their history. Activists too will increasingly take to the silver screen, video-sharing or social media sites in an attempt to promote change.

5. Forget internal versus external. Reputation goes holistic. Many Fortune 500 companies hire different professionals to handle either internal or external communications. The distinction between the two is practically artificial. What is said internally to employees is now instantly external. What is said externally to the public is now instantly internal.

6. Reputation fixers will be in great demand. Companies as well as individuals are increasingly hiring firms to help cleanse damaged or dinged reputations. The surge in online reputation firms and the number of firms with online defense in their names mounts daily. Even the medical profession has joined the trend. Reputation.com, for example, services medical professionals who want to know what their patients might be saying online about them and their bedside manner.

7. Reputation rankings are not letting up. With the race for reputation red hot and the crush of information tiring us all out, people need fewer choices. Top 10 lists made our lives simpler. They served as filters that let the so-called best product or most reputable company rise to the top. But being among the top 10 is no longer good enough. In the coming year, being among the top three is where companies must be if they want to get on customers' consideration lists.

8. Social contributes to reputation. In our recent research, we learned that nearly one third of a company's reputation is attributable to the quality of its online presence. Perception that a company is interested in communicating and engaging online adds a favorable dimension to how people perceive reputation. Lack of online presence sends a signal that a company's preference is to be anti-social. Business will turn increasingly and impressively social, for sure.

9. Brand and reputation will continue to merge. Companies will increasingly realize that their corporate or enterprise reputations provide credible assurance to consumers that their products are desirable and safe to purchase. As consumers find it easier to learn about a product's lineage, the parent brand or family name will be more critical in the purchase-decision process.

10. Face to Face becomes the precious commodity. As the entire world increasingly interacts online, face to face communications, particularly among CEOs and top executives, will build relationships like never before. Going out of one's way to meet one-on-one will evidence the importance of discussion. It will become the gold standard in building reputations. The more that CEOs engage in person with employees, customers, legislators, investors and top tier media, the more credibility that they will be able to accumulate and the more that they will be able to minimize reputation loss when setbacks inevitably occur.

11. CEOs will be more social. Expect to see more CEOs use video for their websites and corporate YouTube channels. They might not be on Twitter or Facebook, but an increasing number of CEOs will adopt video to humanize their reputations. They will recognize that being social, like the rest of humanity, is a reputation plus.

12. Inoculate or evaporate. Leaders must and will increasingly employ all the resources they have at their disposal to inoculate themselves against crisis or issues that shatter their reputations. They must admit mistakes, build allies, listen to detractors, create great cultures and protect themselves from reputation antagonists that lurk in the shadows. Building a great reputation is not for the faint-hearted.

Learn More about Yours and Your Business online reputation

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Fear Of Risk Can Hurt Your Small Business Growth

So many people have the opportunity to run their own business, but they are so involved in DOING that they don't take the time to learn how to be a manager as well. The risk of NOT continuing learning and trying new things will mean that they will not have a successful business, but will close their doors without gaining their dream.

If they see the value and open themselves to the possibilities, they gain the ability to grow, expand and flourish. Unfortunately, the environment today biz is one so heavily hit by the recession that people are afraid to step out of their comfort zone and accept the benefits offered through programs such as training/education, networking, masterminding and more.

Hey, not every one is P.T. Barnum...networking doesn't just happen for most.

Small business is as close to a personal experience that a consumer can get today. All this mega conglomerates just takes the "people" out of the picture and make it about profit.

Small business has a unique opportunity to gain and share personal experiences that some people are paying top dollar just to experience again.

You can lead a horse to water...and so on.

But to enable, empower a small business person you kind of have to show them what their vision of success could be and allow them to naturally gravitate to it.

I often get asked. “What is the major cause of failure in business?” The main reason for failure in any business, or in life for that matter, is that people are afraid.

But my question is: afraid of what? Afraid of success? Afraid of failure? To me the greatest failure is not taking action to change.

The only real conflict any of us have is self-conflict…we have conflict with our own comfort zone…our own fears and doubts. That’s the only thing that stops us.

Having the courage to take action…to step out of your comfort zone…or letting fear run your life…well, I suppose that’s the battle we all face in one way or another.

And I think often times the skeptic inside asks other skeptics what to do, and we get talked out of our freedom by someone who isn’t free!

The number one component of being successful in any business, is to investigate possible opportunities, make a decision, take action and then let go of the need to control the outcome.

Bottom line .... be bold not fearful.

The Importance Of A Business Plan

Having volunteered with SCORE and Micro Mentor in this venue for several years, I am convinced that the value of a business plan as a means to assess and manage risk is the principal answer to "how to be successful".

I urge small business to test the water, and try out the business model before launch by taking it through the proof of concept offered at the links below.

I have heard many critical of business planning say that it is cosmetic, drives more work than it is worth in terms of obtaining financing and similar commentaries.

The fact remains that among the 5,000 plus cases I have handled in the last 7 years the vast majority of those who plan succeed and many who fail to plan do not.

I ask the simple question, "How are you going to do it if you cannot plan it?"

I have not met many small business owners who have enjoyed the business planning process in answering my question but I have not met any who have regretted it once they have completed their plan.

This is especially true when the plan yielded a road map they had confidence in, a communicative vehicle to slide with confidence across the table to a banker or an investor and a risk reduction process of genuine value.

Writing A Business Plan

Sample Business Plans

Courtesy Of Kenneth Larson

Frustrations Of The Female Entrepreneur

The hard thing about any entrepreneur can be the ability to get your ideas heard and then be taken seriously. My advice would be don't give up - keep going and if you truly believe in your service and product and have an ability to try out innovative ways of promoting them GO FOR IT!

For a female entrepreneur who balances a work and family life there can be the issues of making time for each sector of your life whilst remembering to take some time out for yourself. Its not the easiest juggling act in the world but use your planning skills to prioritise.

There is no space for sexism these days, in any shape or form and this question more than alludes to it. I have hundreds of female clients, all entrepreneurial and most of them are more switched on than their male counterparts but all experiencing the same commercial frustrations.

So, is there really a difference between males and females concerning the frustrations of an entrepreneur?

feel free to leave a comment on the subject. I'm sure our readers would benefit from your insights.

MOJO For Small Business

Marshall Goldsmith says "Mojo is: that positive spirit--towards what we are doing--now--that starts from the inside--and radiates to the outside. Mojo is at its peak when we are experiencing both happiness and meaning in what we are doing and communicating this experience to the world around us."

How important is this idea for small business? Should they spend a serious amount of time being concerned with it or are there simply more important things to think about?

In my opinion MOJO is not something that you directly work for, and there spending time trying to create it is counter productive. The first, and arguably most important action you can take to have more MOJO is to do the self work you need to in order to find your passion and align it with your business and the team you hire. It’s about knowing and living your personal values, purpose, mission and vision. You can’t directly create MOJO. What you can do is position yourself in an environment where you can more easily have MOJO. You can also practice the necessary skills to that you are prepared to maximize your time with MOJO when it comes forth.

In my experience, most small business owners do possess a significant amount of mojo... it's why they started their business in the first place - they love what they do and want to spend their time doing it. I think the biggest challenge for the business owner is to RETAIN the mojo, even in the day-in, day-out stress of running their business. That's where delegating undesirable tasks, daily planning and narrow focus can really help.

Mojo as Marshall talks about it relates to living your vision and loving your work. If small business owners value having bliss in their business, then getting their mojo flowing is essential. When your mojo is flowing, you can achieve much more with much less. You can create possibilities where others wouldn't see it and you can deliver a much more authentic experience for your clients.

What Is A Micro-Business?

The European Union makes a general distinction between self-employment, micro,
small and medium sized businesses based on the following criteria:

0 Self-employed
2-9 Micro business
10-49 Small business
50-249 Medium-size business

The US make this difference:

Small Business: The Small Business Association (SBA) has extensive descriptions for what constitutes a small business, but in its simplest terms it’s an organization with 500 or fewer employees. Of the 119.9 million non-farm employees out there, 60.2 million belong to a small business.

Microbusiness: The American Association of Microbusiness considers to micro businesses to consist of five or fewer employees. According to the SBA, we had 21.7 million microbusinesss in 2007. This segment accounts for only 3 percent of revenue in the business world, yet they constitute three-fourths of commerce. Microbusinesss in this context means a firm with no hired employees with net earnings of at least $1,000 ($1 for construction firms) that are subject to federal taxes.

The term microenterprise connotes different entities and sectors depending on the country.

Generally speaking, in developed countries, microenterprises comprise the smallest end (by size) of the small business sector, whereas in developing countries, microenterprises comprise the vast majority of the small business sector—a result of the relative lack of formal sector jobs available for the poor. These microentrepreneurs operate microenterprises not by choice, but out of necessity.

Microenterprises add value to a country's economy by creating jobs, enhancing income, strengthening purchasing power, lowering costs and adding business convenience.

Because microenterprises typically have little to no access to the commercial banking sector, they often rely on "micro-loans" or microcredit in order to be financed. Microfinance institutions often finance these small loans, particularly in the Third World. Those who found microenterprises are usually referred to as entrepreneurs.

The terms microenterprise and microbusiness have the same meaning, though traditionally when referring to a small business financed by microcredit the term microenterprise is used. Similarly when referring to a small, usually legal business that isn't financed by microcredit, the term microbusiness is used.

Small Business Quotes For Your Desk

Here's a few quotes that won't be out of place prominently displayed on your desk. Feel free to offer your own suggestions as a comment reply .....

"Success is just a matter of luck. Ask any failure." ~ Earl Nightingale

Run faster and Faster to remain in same place- Philip Kotler

"For whatever is seen is temporary, but whatever is unseen is eternal"

BREATHE!

Luck is where Opportunity Meets Preparation...

If you want something done, give it to a busy Man (or Woman).

"Your future depends on so many things; but mostly on you"

There are those who work and those who take credit for the work.
It is better to be of the kind that works because the competition is less.

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.”

** " I skate to where the puck will be,not to where it has been”
Wayne Gretzky - Hockey Great

Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun

Make a Customer, Not a Sale

Intellectuals Solve Problems, Geniuses Prevent Them

"Greatness is not in where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it - but sail we must, and not drift, nor lie at anchor."
- Oliver Wendell Holmes

Always remember that when dealing with people..visualize an invisible sign hanging around their neck saying MAKE ME FEEL IMPORTANT

"Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events and less minds simply talk about people"

"Think big, think fast and think ahead".....D. Ambani

The greatest results in life are usually attained by simple means and the exercise of ordinary qualities. These may for the most part be summed in these two: common-sense and perseverance.
Owen Feltham

The future depends on what we do in the present. Mahatma Gandhi

"Always do what you are afraid to do." Ralph Waldo Emerson

If the wind will not serve, take to the oars.
Destitutus ventis, remos adhibe
Latin Proverb

You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind.

He who enters into a dispute with a fool can be comforted by the knowledge that his opponent has done the same.

Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see.

Connecting With Customers Via Social Media

Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter offer a great opportunity for small business to connect with new and potential customers. Not to mention, they are free to set up, so they offer a great way for companies to cut their costs.

Facebook fanpages present a forum for customers and businesses to communicate. Consumers can post about their experience with a product or service, they can even share pictures. Businesses can post about promotions, contests, updates, and based on the content the post, they can draw in new fans.

For small businesses that don't have the means to advertise on a wide scale, Facebook allows companies to tailor the audience who receives their internet advertising. Companies can focus on relevant demographics for their ads. By doing so, their ads gain value, without spending money on print or television ads that may not reach their target market.

Twitter acts as a live conversation. Messages of 140 characters or less are very focused. Twitter is especially beneficial for small business internet marketing, because small business can directly connect to customers who are tweeting about their products and services. It's also beneficial for small businesses looking to connect with larger business in it's relevant field. Twitter presents small business with the opportunity to build direct connections across physical boundaries.

Tips For Generating Sales Leads

Do you have a marketing budget? That will help you separate the 'possible' from the 'probable'.

Bear in mind that you don't need leads; you need customers. If you just want leads, go to the library and get a local business directory. That'll have lots of names, positions and telephone numbers - there's your leads, now hit the phone and call them.

If you want customers, the first thing you should do is define who your customer is - and who he isn't. For example, we get a lot of calls from people who have an idea for starting a business, and want us to develop their website. We pass on those - our customer profile is a small/medium marketing agency with third-party clients.

We know who we want to contact, so we go to the places they congregate. If you want to hunt ducks, you go to a duckpond, not a local zoo; if you want to find a lion, don't bother looking around the duckpond. Guess what you'll find at a local Chamber of Commerce?

Talk to your customers about things that interest them - giving your spin on it, of course. Get involved in the general conversation, get known for being the expert in your field, and the customers will come.

Generating Leads For A Small Business

Generating qualified leads is one of the most challenging processes you can go through in sales. It can be frustrating.

here's a few ideas to mull over for generating leads for your small business ....

• Website - Keep your business website clean, working correctly, and the content fresh. Make sure your Contact Us function works well. Test it. Test it again and regularly. Your website is your business face to the world. Keep it fresh and clean.

• SEO – Make sure to stay up on Search Engine Optimization techniques, which seem to shift over time. Keep your webmaster up-to-date on the latest industry key words that might drive leads on your website. Check your web pages for position in a Google search every so often. Don’t let SEO go stale.

• Conferences – Face-to-face discussions at tradeshows can generate some of the most qualified leads possible. But this can be expensive and is limited to the people you can attract to your booth. Booth graphics, give-aways, and pre-show marketing can help drive those leads. It’s also important to pick the appropriate venue and audience for your product.

• Linked-In – LI is ripe with leads. If you link-in with the right contact in an industry his or her contacts can be just the leads you’re looking for. This requires looking through your connections’ connection lists (if its public.) Pay attention to who’s linking with whom. Occasionally go through the suggested connection list. And you can join groups on LinkedIn that share common business interests. These group notifications can get overwhelming so develop as system to use them to your advantage. There is also an Answers feature that lets you create and publish interesting questions that might develop leads. Make sure your LI profile has key words that reflect your products, services, and target markets. Always keep your profile clean, professional, and with pertinent content to attract potential leads.

• Buy Lists - Purchase an email or direct mail list in an industry. This process has many variations, because privacy is of primary concern to people on-line. Usually these vendors handle your direct or email messaging for you, so you don’t actually get to keep the list unless someone responds to your message.

• News - Pay attention to news articles related to your customers, products, market or key issues within your industry. Many of these articles will note companies or even decision makers at companies that you may want to target. Get in the habit of quickly scanning articles for key contacts.

• Search Engine - Google or use other search engines to uncover lists of names. Attendee lists, target industry group memberships, or other sources. Google key customers to determine their competitors – your future customers. Use Google Alerts to comb the web news for key business issues.

• Network – Call key players in your target industries and ask them about their business. Tell them what you doing or thinking about and take notes. Usually, if you’re gentle and respectful, they will share some key nuggets and perhaps even list some key contacts. Call or email people you know to share key pieces of information about common business issues. You end up getting more than you give. And always recommend the good service people you know because the favor will be returned. Go to social media events for b2b crowds. Bring business cards, introduce yourself, and have a conversation. Follow-up with everyone you meet with a thank you email and a LinkedIn invitation.

• Advertise – Emailing or direct mailing a list is one way. Banner ads on target industry web sites can work. Make sure you have a viable, comfortable landing page that makes lead feel like they’ve come to the right place – instantly. Collect key contact info at all costs. Print Ads may be effective, but they are very expensive and difficult, if not impossible to track.

If you have other suggestions please feel to reply as a comment ....

Does Intuition Have A Place In The Business World?

Intuition is like finding a needle in a...wait...not one but 20 haystacks. A single needle. It will give you the direction you should search but until you actually have the needle in hand it's not as useful.

Similarly, intuition will give you ideas but business still operate on the principle that their sole purpose is to increase top line revenues while maintaining or widening the operating margins (as a percentage of revenues). Therefore, you need hard data to justify your intuition (or be able to absorb the risk to the business if you're wrong due to a lack of data).

As the idea in question becomes more strategic to the company, the risk / impact to the business of failure is proportionally greater so having hard data becomes similarly more important.

Weak business leaders wait until they have all the facts before making a decision.

However, in any worthwhile, often fast-moving, business opportunity, we never have all the facts, so weak business people wait and wait and wait, hoping that the next bit of information will allow them to make the "perfect" decision.

But as Voltaire said, "Perfect is the enemy of the good" and as George Patton said more recently "A good decision today is better than a great one made tomorrow."

Making good decisions necessarily relies on intuition because all the facts aren't yet known. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" largely defines intution as the sum total of all one's knowledge and experiences leading up to a decision. That is, you're not "winging it" but rather allowing your subsconcious mind to process at light speed a lot of disparate, often incomplete, information to make exactly the right decision most of the time.

So I would say that intuition not only has a place in the business world but is a core competency that needs only your trust in it to let it be a valuable guide in building value. After all, you can always make a new, different, good decision tomorrow. ;-)

Nielson Survey says 63% Check Consumer Ratings before going any farther in the buy or contact you process – Do you know how your business stacks up in this process?

Technorati Tags: reputation management,social media tools,online,online reputation

Why incorporating proactive online reviews / reputation monitoring & management into your online sales and marketing initiatives is no longer something to be ignored.

The stats show that target audiences, consumers and potential clients not only think about looking at online reputation and reviews, they use it widely in their buying-contacting decision making process

Don't take my word for it!

Look at these global stats revealed in an independent study done by NM Incite, a Neilsen McKinsey Company, the top survey company in the world

* Check Consumer ratings - 63% do before going any farther in the buy or contact process

* Consumer Reviews - 62% check them before they go any farther in the buy or contact process

* Company Facebook - 15% check it before they decide to buy or contact.

And why do folks post online reviews and comments?

The same study shows:
* 58% do so to protect others !

These stats show that ignoring proactive monitoring, management, protection, promotion and repair of the online reviews / reputation side of your online presence equation is no longer a safe option for any size business.

Reputation911 has a free "how does the Internet reveal, see and show you online and where" analysis . Please contact us for this free analysis and know precisely where you stand in the online reputation area and how to take charge of it.

Neil Licht, ndlicht@reputation911.com 1-508-481-8567 direct line

What Is A REAL Entrepreneur?

According to my own experience (and the experience of many others) 80% of all business owners and CEOs are NOT entrepreneurs.

15% (of the remaining 20%) are what I call "lame duck" entrepreneurs. These "lame ducks" are usually fairly successful and sometimes even very successful in their business (as measured by their industry's standards).

Only 5% of all business owners and CEOs are REAL entrepreneurs.

However, real entrepreneurs can also be temporarily broke (even after years of great success). So, just looking at the current state of a business doesn't necessarily tell if the business owner/CEO is a REAL entrepreneur or not.

What are, in your opinion, the traits of a REAL entrepreneur?

What is a REAL entrepreneur?

Entrepreneurs will risk almost, if not everything they have on an idea that they are passionate about.

They are passionate about what they do and cut out any naysayers or negativity and not let it stop them.

They will work around the clock on something they believe in and not even think they are working:)

It's not about the money and more about the sense of achievement.

They are constantly thinking of new ideas and also ideas to improve their existing business or project.

They love networking with other likeminded entrepreneurs because they know that networking is a HUGE key to their success.

They have charisma and can persuade most people to go their way on things.

They feel that literally NOTHING is impossible...

There are too many traits to name but these are just a few.....

10 Tips On Impressing Your Customers And Growing Your Business

1. Do not promise what you cannot deliver

2. Do not overextend your resources and get a reputation for poor performance.

3. Do not tell the customer what he or she wants to hear. Tell them what they need to know. They will respect you for it.

4. Network constantly on professional sites such as Linked In. Hit the "Answers" feature and accumulate an "Expert" rating from your peers in your field.

5. Blog like there is no tomorrow. A blog is quite different than a web site. Provide good, solid information free of charge and use blog searches for synergistic businesses to team with. Teaming is an absolute necessity these days.

6. Be prepared to provide information, samples and valuable service gratis as a marketing tool. Introduce yourself and then immediately engage the client with your presentation tools available to bring your expertise to whatever topic they are interested in. Let them take you where they want to go with their concerns and their needs. Apply your presentation tools and expertise dynamically on the fly in a sincere manner to those concerns and needs and you will be in demand for follow up business.

7. Quote and bill what the client can afford and grow with him (in content and resources).

8. Be dedicated to working yourself out of a job with a specific customer and having your client take over by training him. He will remember you and recommend you to 10 others.

9. Remember growth is a function of persistence and foresight. Know where your market is headed and get their first - then write and speak about your success indirectly by helping others. Demonstrate humility and a satisfaction in helping others succeed. They will find ways to give you credit. There are ways of tooting your horn without making peoples' lights go out.

10. Word of mouth advertising from pleased clients is a sure ticket to success.

Entrepreneur Connect Groups: Marketing Mistakes You Don't Want to Make

Marketing Mistakes You Don't Want to Make

1. Resting on your laurels. Just because you have what you think is a good marketing plan in place today doesn't mean it'll be right tomorrow. The pace today is so accelerated, you must stay ahead of the game. Constantly research what your competition is doing. Surf the Internet to see what's new out there.

2. Hype. Sooner or later hype will catch up with you. Being superficial and underestimating the consumer is first of all poor taste, and second of all, it's bad business. Avoid the jargon and the pat phrases and give substance.

3. Not having an R&D Team, focus group or feedback source. Test your ideas on others. There are some absolutely wonderful ads out there that people remember, but they don't remember the name of the product/company. For example, there was a great ad out awhile ago that talked about the Bank of the Northern Hemisphere. Very clever; everyone remembered it. The problem was, they didn't remember the name of the bank you were supposed to use instead.

4. Not trusting your marketing person. If you hire someone to do your marketing, hire someone you trust and then let them do their job. With 20 years marketing experience, I had many interesting jobs and some interesting job interviews. One corporation asked me, "Can you stick with a plan once it's in place?" Red flag. Any marketing campaign must be constantly monitored and you need to be able to switch on a dime. An experienced marketing person can titer what's working and what isn't. It becomes almost a sixth sense. Why would you throw good money after bad just because changing it is an inconvenience?

5. Not giving it time to work. It's an adage in marketing that if you're going to say it, say it at least three times. I've consulted with individuals, particularly, who send out a brochure, no one bites, and they want to abandon it. Generally it takes three "hits." People run through their emails rapidly and delete things they wish they hadn't. Make their wish come true! Give them a second, third, fourth chance. The formula is--when you're sick and tired of it, the public is just beginning to hear it.

6. Being timid. There really is no such thing as bad publicity, and things will happen. You have to have been through this to know. Several years ago I was marketing an apartment complex and the manager miscommunicated an "early bird special." The whole unfortunate event made the front page of the local newspaper with stories about parents not being able to buy school clothes for their children, because... 6 months later the apartment complex was filled to capacity. People remembered the name of the apartment and nothing else. Carry on!

7. Not being curious. If you have an ezine edition that had a large number of click-throughs, don't just pat yourself on the back, ask yourself why. Figure out what was different about it. Was it on a special day? Was there something different? More graphics, no graphics? A catchy subject line? A new layout? Don't forget, you can always ask someone who clicked-through!

8. Thinking you have to pay for marketing. Use the free options liberally. Establish yourself as an expert on a subject and let the press know you're willing to be interviewed. When a national news event breaks, make it local. For instance, I'm a coach, and when 9/11 happened, I contacted the press to let them know what coaches had to offer at such a time.

9. Leaving it at home. Prosaic, but we all do it. Your business cards and brochures do absolutely no good sitting in the office. Take them with you!

10. Following the rules. Be as thorough as you need to be. The rule is 'be brief,' but say what you need to say. One of the most effective mailers USAA ever did was a 5-page letter. Know the rules. Then break them.


Entrepreneur Connect Groups: Marketing Mistakes You Don't Want to Make

Technology For Small Business

Let's deal with the basics:

Every small business owner should have a CRM, a customer relationship management software platform. This software gives the ability to schedule e-mail to respond to essentially manage every customer and prospect that the company has. It's a fundamental. If you don't manage your customers effectively you don't have an effective business.

Secondarily, every small business owner should be on QuickBooks at least, with a professional advisor helping them set up their chart of accounts and linking this to their payroll and tax reporting. It is very simple to set up in the early stages. It's a total pain in the butt to do after the fact.

Thirdly, every business in today's world needs a website, and with the website it needs good analytic tools, the basic analytic tools are from Google,

Fourth, communication is essential in every business. Google apps are great for this.

Fifth, many early-stage businesses operate virtually. Two technologies stand out; free conference call.com, and GoToMeeting.com, which allow for virtual organization management and communication.

Sixth, VoIP, allows management of communications in a way that was not available years ago. Google voice is effective, and many of the providers now have the ability to have one telephone call routed via the Internet to whomever is appropriate.

Seventh: use guru.com, a place to find freelancers to get done all of the things that you think you can't get down at a reasonable price. It accesses the vendors from all over the world where you can receive quotes for things like logos and business cards and copywriting etc. it comes with guarantees, etc.

All of these technologies are easy to access and use.

Courtesy of Stewart Borie

Technology Tips For Small Business

Before talking technology I think it is imperative that all small business owners develop basic computer literacy. As a small business coach, I never fail to be amazed at the number of business owners who wear their ignorance of technology as a badge of courage! Statements like "I only use the Net when my kids force me to" are shockingly common. Yikes.

Being able to keyboard, surf the net and manage e-mails are the "3r's" for us the way reading, writing & 'rithmetic were for our parents.

That being said, I think the field is pretty wide open. As some others have suggested, technology needs are largely driven by the industry sector you work in.

Most of my clients are in the professional and consumer service delivery arena so the technology I'm most familiar with has a strong marketing component to it. I find that cloud services like Dropbox and Smilebox are extremely helpful for many.

Dropbox, for example, means that I can keep all my working files 'in the cloud' so that no matter where I travel I always have access to the most up-to-date versions. It also allows me to share large files with files & vendors (i.e. my PDF'd e-book is massive yet I can readily have clients download it via Dropbox).

Smilebox allows me to develop great visuals to support my retreat business and stay in touch with clients/prospects. I've got a client about to start using it to provide highly customized real estate packages for his clients.

On-line newsletter services such as offered by ConstantContact also make a huge difference in their ability to stay connected with clients.

Send-out cards ended up not working for me; I'm not that well organized. But I know several clients who love the service and use it very effectively as part of their marketing mix. I think it is definitely worth consideration by any business owner who has a need to acknowledge customers and stay connected at a fairly personal level.

On-line services like VistaPrint are not only timesavers, but for microbusinesses they can save the budget by providing high quality, low cost marketing and sales materials.

I could go on and on . . .and I haven't even addressed the social media technologies! But like someone else said, I think that we small business owners need to be ALWAYS keeping abreast of new things coming into the marketplace. It can be daunting but is absolutely essential in today's world. That's where I find that services like Twitter are extremely helpful. I follow a number of technology/social media/business specialists and their posts help me stay on top of new technology and market shifts.

Courtesy Of Gwen McCauley

Insight On Technology Tools For Small Business

It's very astute using the term "Tools". That is indeed what they are and they are proliferating. I embrace these assets and use them myself.

But as a small business counselor I always ask one strategic question of my clients "How to you select the tools to work on your car (simile for business)?"

Answer: One needs to know the make, model, the part of the auto that needs the work and the ultimate objective in working on the vehicle at all.

There is a new kind of monkey these days the technology monkey. That sucker will bury us if we don't learn to deal with him. We are so busy tending our gadgets that we lose site of priorities, get wound up in minutia and end up with a meaningless zoo.

I have noticed the symptoms of the technology monkey, particularly among the younger (Generation X and Y) entrepreneurs.

There seems to be a belief that automation, the Internet and social networking can make the business succeed when in fact the real design of the enterprise itself is lacking (niche, market base, business plan, competitive analysis and financial forecasting)

I hear from many clients who ask, "What Now?" having launched an enterprise that is going nowhere because they are driving the tools and not the car.

I take them back to the garage, design the auto to see if it can run and then apply the wrenches retroactively if that is possible. It is usually a traumatic experience and could have been avoided with strategic and business planning before launch.

Courtesy of Kenneth Larson, SCORE Advisor

High Tech vs High Touch Marketing For Small Business

There's an app for high tech, not high touch

"There's an app for that."

This marketing slogan refers to a mobile app. A mobile app converts content and resources that otherwise would have been consumed through a browser on a computer desktop, to the much smaller and variably shaped screens on the many different kinds of hand-held devices. Mobile apps are proliferating because they are almost always handier and sexier than their website counterparts.

In 1998, broadband Internet connection was in less than 4% of households and almost no businesses. Reporting on this emerging capability, I made the macro prediction that the world would change when broadband Internet became ubiquitous and broadly adopted. Well, broadband ubiquity, today thy name is mobile. The proliferation of WiFi and mobile networks we know as 3G and 4G, has spawned mobile apps which are at once exciting and disruptive.

A generation before my broadband prognostication, a real prophet, John Naisbitt, published his landmark book, Megatrends, in which he prophesied, "The more high tech we have, the more high touch we will want." In the 21st century, Naisbitt's Law, balance technology and humanity, must be the North Star for any successful small business strategy.

So, how does a small business maintain a competitive advantage in the face of pressure from high tech innovation and the primordial human desire for high touch connection? The answer, as with so many 21st century questions, is not either/or, but both/and.

If you want customers to keep your business at their fingertips wherever they are, there's an app for that. If a customer relationship would benefit from a welcoming smile, there is no app for that.

If a product tutorial video posted on your YouTube channel would help a customer in the field, there's an app for that. To be able to interpret the troubled look on the face of a customer as a clue that you haven't yet healed their pain, there is no app for that.

If customers want to check the status of an order they placed with you, whenever and wherever they are, a mobile app can be built for that. If customers do business with you because you remember their face, name and what they like, there is no app for that.

Remember Naisbitt's Law: Blend and balance the power of high-tech with the humanity of high-touch.


There's an app for high tech, but there isn't one for high touch.

Top 3 Pain Points When It Comes To Marketing Your Small Business

If you have to narrow it down to three points I would suggest the following ....

1. All good marketing starts with the customer. You must have a solid understanding of the needs of your customer and how you can deliver value to them. To get to this point you need to engage in marketing research and segmentation efforts. While these are basic tenants of marketing they are tough to do well.

2. Once you have an understanding of the customer you must have an understanding of the market. The vast majority of companies never do manage to put together a market map. A market map details the relationships and values found within your market. The market map plays an important role in helping to identify market segments, positioning, and competitive presence. All of these elements need to be understood in addition to the customer knowledge noted in point one. Completion of the first two steps helps to build a situational analysis. Basically you cannot go forward until you understand where you are.

3. With an understanding of the customer and the market in place as a startup the final piece of the puzzle is your people. Understanding where you are and where you want to go is terrific but you need the right people to get there. Hiring the right people to lead your marketing efforts is a challenge that must be met in order to be successful.