When you have a very small business, or a microbusiness, you are often responsible for many tasks.

1. You are the Communications Officer, meaning you answer the phone and you answer all the emails.
2. You are often also the bookkeeper, so you must keep track of every dollar that comes in and goes out.
3. You also make all the decisions on the budget, so you are the Finance Manager.
4. Do not forget that you are also in charge of all technology, so that makes you the CIO – Chief Information Officer.
5. One of your biggest responsibilities is being the V.P. of Marketing. Not only do you have to decide which strategies to use, but you have to learn how to do them all AND figure out which are the best strategies for you and your business goals. And then you have to execute them – often all by yourself!
6. Oh yes – let’s not forget that you are also the Operations Manager and Customer Service Manager – in charge of fully servicing your clients.

These responsibilities do not fit nicely into a schedule. Your clients may need you at all different times. You will get urgent emails when you scheduled times to make phone calls, and you will get urgent phone calls when you scheduled time to work on email.

And you will get a ton of email that cries out for your attention all the time.

If you really like schedules, or if you just feel like having one is very helpful, I can offer some suggestions. Good and consistant planning is the key.

First, you must have a comprehensive, written action plan. This plan needs to include your goals, naturally, but also how you plan to achieve them along with specific actions. This must include quantities and timing/deadlines.

For example: Close 1 sale per week for at least $2,000 (goal)
Action step: Set 5 sales meeting appointments per week and close at least 1 sale; Call at least 40 leads per week to get at least 5 sales meeting appointments per week.

Next, set time aside weekly for planning. At the end of your workweek, Friday afternoons for most people, set aside about 20 minutes for planning and analysis. Take out your plan and your calendar and evaluate how your week was. Did you make your calls? Did you set appointments? Did you close sales? What else did you do well or not so well? What do you need to do next week?

After doing this quick analysis, write into your calendar for the next week exactly what you need to do. Around any appointments that are already set, block out some time for making your calls and make sure you have recorded all client and networking meetings.

This may be all you need, but many people have more complicated businesses and lives for this to work consistantly. If you are a wedding planner or real estate agent, for example, you very likely work nights and weekends. My biggest worry for you is that you work 7 days per week. Not only is this not healthy – you need at least one day off per week – but it actually leads to more disorganization.

Then there are parents. If you have children at home, especially if you are a single or only parent, sometimes your children will need you during your work hours! They will have doctor appointments, ballgames, exams and much more.

Besides those logistical interruptions, you have a responsibility to them to be a good, present parent. Make sure you have your priorities firmly in place as you plan your schedule. Also, have your expectations in line and resist the urge to compare your own success against others in your same industry. As long as you have your priorities in order, you will be happy with all of your success, and you will have the added bonus of being a great role model for your kids.

The life of an entrepreneur can be messy. Often, that is part of the appeal! It may never be the same two days in a row. Setting appropriate priorities, flexibility and good, consistant planning will keep you sane.

Copyright © 2010 Audrey Burton

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A lack of skill, ability and experience in certain business areas need not be a barrier to success and starting your own business. The personal qualities exerted by a small business owner overcoming deficiencies over and over again are vital and present in many entrepreneurs much more so that specific technical knowledge.

Not everyone is a master of all business attributes in fact very few are. Certainly being a master of all is a fantastic position but unrealistic while certain personal qualities are essential to fight the inevitable battles to come. Business battles the successful entrepreneur wins.

Businesses that have grown and become medium sized and bigger are not reliant on the business owner entirely. Employees are engaged with specialist skills and abilities to develop and grow the business. A sole trader just starting out has to settle for a comfortable living or have the ability to grow the business to the point where more specialist abilities can be added to the business.

Most small business owners who start a new business do so in an area where that small business owner has some knowledge, experience and skill. It is a natural progression having acquired the business knowledge and experience to use those abilities to build the business under self employment rules rather than earn profits for an employer.

The personal qualities a small business owner possesses are more likely to determine the level of success. Abilities such as hard work, determination, persistence, intuition, tolerance and aggression can be the bedrock of success. But the road to success is not all slam wham bang for the entrepreneur. Small business owners invariably work longer and harder than employees. An employee works for wages and an adequate work performance is enough.

A small business owner is more likely to be on the job at first light, miss the coffee and dinner break and twelve hours later announce he has to finish off for the day because he has to go home and do the business accounting books that he started on Sunday. Determination and persistence go hand in glove with success. Every new business runs into problems at some time or reaches a stage where the business owner needs to be completely focused and stick with a strategy to make the plans work.

Things go wrong from time to time; its normal, determination and persistence are valuable qualities to see through these times. Aggression in forcing through a business plan may sometimes be the only viable option. Not physical violence but the heightened state of anxiety to push through the plan and make it work with controlled aggression and passion. On the other side of the coin there will be times when the small business owner has to exercise tolerance and just go with the flow.

Many small start up businesses go out of business within 2 to 3 years of starting a new business. A major cause is under capitalisation which basically means they run out of money. Liquidity is a major area of concern for every small business entrepreneur and a cautious approach to a new business can be of considerable value.

There is a strong tendency for a new business start up to borrow money and buy new equipment just to get started. Such businesses are taking a major risk the plans will work. Some plans do work but rarely it is a smooth path and a better option is to build the business and reinvest profits made.

A more cautious approach would be to start a new business without borrowing substantial funds because if the small business owner has the ability to make a success of the business and make money then they can usually do so without external funding and use the profits made to build the business in the future.

The sound reason for a small business or a start up business to borrow money is to already be showing a good financial performance and use extra funds to speed up future success while borrowing funds with no track record is a gamble and a gamble which fails only too often.

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Living and running a business in the San Francisco Bay Area, it seems we are often subject to the mixed blessing of rising faster and higher during the good times, and falling further and harder during the bad. This certainly seemed to apply to our real-estate market among other things, but it was not consistent with my experience doing business locally. Sure, there are certain segments of our economy that are struggling, and some serious pain for families suffering layoffs. However, among the entrepreneurs and small business owners I have encountered, most have resolved themselves that business must go on and many are finding creative ways to conduct theirs. I wanted to see if this was the case as we worked our way across the country.

Our chosen method of transportation was an older model, semi-reliable, borrowed RV. Taking a northern route to avoid the summer heat, we left our home in Walnut Creek, CA and headed North to Portland, OR. We visited my wife’s brother and his family there. He had worked for years in the mortgage industry of all things and had, in-fact, recently been laid off when his company closed his division. We were curious to see how this development had impacted their lifestyle.

By the time we rolled into Portland, he had already found a new job and started work less than 2 weeks after being laid off and before his severance had even expired. They took us to a local farmers market on a sunny Saturday afternoon. It was packed with vendors selling a variety of farm-fresh wares and the majority of booths had customers lined up three deep waving their dollars in the air for service. Business was brisk.

Heading East from Portland, we ventured through Idaho and could not help but notice the plethora of other RV’s on the road, most significantly more modern and well equipped than our humble bus. Chatting with some RV owners on the road, I learned that many of these vehicles sell for well in excess of $100,000 and qualify for a mortgage and a tax deduction as a second home! Interestingly, the RV crowd did not strike me as highly compensated top executives either. These were folks of relatively average means that had left their primary homes behind and took on a second mortgage to hit the road for the summer. They certainly didn’t seem to be suffering too badly from this recession.

As we passed through Idaho Falls in route to Yellowstone National Park, our semi-reliable RV suffered a bout of unreliability forcing us to seek out service on the road. Not wanting to fall behind on our itinerary, we called around looking for same-day service. The first mechanic shop I called specialized in RV’s and told me they were so busy they couldn’t get us in for three days! Finally, I found a shop that could take us and they did a great job getting us back on the road later that same day. But it sure didn’t seem like these small mechanics shops were suffering.

We arrived at Yellowstone the next day relieved we had made a reservation as all the RV sites were completely booked. Perhaps it was RV owners that had found a way to steer clear of recessionary forces. Leaving the RV parked, we boarded an all-day bus tour of Yellowstone with a knowledgeable tour guide who shared much insight and history into the park. As part of the tour, and completely unsolicited, he shared that June of 2009 was the busiest month in the history of Yellowstone Park. These were visitors from all walks of life and all areas of the country and the world, not just RV owners. I guess the recession was not hurting vacationers too badly.

But what about Main Street USA, those hard working local folks who surely were suffering the most? Our next stop was the small Western town of Cody, Wyoming where we discovered a beautiful new restaurant facility hosting a cowboy cookout and western music festival. This hall was huge featuring a stage and rows of tables to accommodate some 500 hungry cowboys of which I was one. The show was great and during our meal, the emcee asked the crowd who was from out of town and who was local. Nearly half the crowd on hand identified themselves as locals out for a night on the town. It seemed like half the population of the town was in this place. Later we were greeted by the owner who shared that he had just recently opening this gleaming new facility and that business was good. Hmmmmmm.

Coming down from the mountains, we enjoyed stops in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Everywhere we went where business was being done (there’s whole lot of miles of nothing in between), business was brisk and crowds were large. So here I sit in Chicago where I just learned that demand is so strong for some theater shows that they have added performances on Monday night, which historically is the dark night for theater goers.

While my evidence is anecdotal and our trip not quite complete, it brings to mind the famous quote from FDR at his inauguration, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Surely my experience has been that this recession is playing out primarily in the media and the minds of business executives and consumers whose own fear actually exacerbates what is otherwise a fairly mild and certainly transient situation. Whether you’ve been personally impacted by this recession or are just looking for ways to jump-start your business, start by putting on your best positive attitude, get out there with your marketing and begin your own quest to get your share of consumer’s dollars because they’re spending them.

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While everyone else is playing the blame game on the economy, you can quickly jump ahead of the game and get more clients than you’ll ever need. And the best thing – you guessed it — no marketing budget required!

I bet you’re great at what you do and you just can’t wrap your brain around the marketing thing. You don’t need fixing and it’s not your fault. Because you’re so good at what you do, you’ve just not had the time to study the marketing part. This will be so simple and the fix is fast. You’ll make success of your small business in the snap of a finger. You’ll be able to experience marketing success in no time. I promise!

If you really want to know how to have more business, bigger success and greater satisfaction, let me show you 10 marketing solutions that will do the trick for you:

Marketing Success Solution 1: Get a crystal clear vision of what you want for your business. Have the following in that vision: How many clients do you want? How many hours a week do you want to work? Better yet – how many vacations do you want to take? What does your new home look like and where do you want to live? What is your client’s biggest problem? How did you get the clients you have now (but ONLY your favorite ones)? What is your definition of success? What income do you want to have in the next year?

Marketing Success Solution 2: Now is the time to take all the information in your head and write it down in the form of a plan. Think of it this way… you wouldn’t leave on vacation without knowing where you’re going would you? Not to worry, I’m not having you create one of those 30 page dossiers – because I stand behind the simple, fun, fast way to get the job done and get more new clients. Along with your vision and a simple written dynamic plan you’ll know when you’re on track. Now, you get to start making decisions about how to spend your time and energy so you’ll hit your mark.

You’ll make a success of your small business in no time flat, by including the following: the services you offer, the products you offer, the packages you offer (people love buying packages), what income you want to achieve, and how many clients you want (make sure you go after the high paying clients), and what you’ll be doing to market your business. Your bank account will love you for this!

Marketing Success Solution 3: For business success, you need to be able to communicate the value you give to your prospects and clients. So, ditch the ‘big title’ because everyone already has a coach, massage therapist or whatever it is you do. The truth? Talk about what you can do for them. This is what I call the transaction trigger for what you do. Prospects and clients care about ONE thing and that’s what you can do for them! So let them know what you can do for them by educating them. This answers the BIG question “what do you do”? And your prospect or client is translating this to “what can you do for me”?

Marketing Success Solution 4: Trying to grow your business is a tough one to do on your own. This is the number one reason of business overwhelm. It’s important to have the support you need to get where you want to go. Get into a mastermind group. Having a group of people that are dedicated to growing their business helps keep you in the mindset. These people are supportive of your goals and sincerely want to see you achieve them. You also receive ideas, and feedback that helps keep your energy and momentum up. And if the going gets tough, they’ll provide you with the strength you might need. Let’s face it Frank Sinatra didn’t move his own piano!

Marketing Success Solution 5: Start valuing yourself and what you offer for prospects and clients. When we go into business for ourselves, what we’re really good at comes so naturally to us and we think everybody can do what we do. That’s our gift to humanity and our blind spot seems to work against us. If you need feedback and to really hear your value, ask your friends, or better yet your mastermind members. Set your intentions for the high paying clients?yes, right off the bat! It sends a message that you’re willing to accept your level of expertise and when you’re willing, others are willing to accept it, too! So raise your right hand and say out loud? NO more excuses. Now growing your business becomes an excuse free zone!

For your FREE Audio and all the FREE goodies others don’t get, go now to http://www.IleanaKane.com

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It may seem counter intuitive, but it will not cost small businesses more to be green. Green thinking is about cutting costs. It will save your small business money in both the short term and long term; but especially in the long term. In addition to this, it will boost your social responsibility ratings and increase customer loyalty. That in turn will boost your bottom line.

If your small business barely exists in survival mode, the best things you can do to think green is to act green. You and your employees can turn off lights that are not being used; unplug appliances that are energy hogs (even when not being used); raise the temperature on the thermostat (in the summer and of course reverse in winter); buy goods in packages that can be recycled (and meet the recycling criteria of your local recycling center – many of which are unable to process some types of packaging even though the recycle symbol is on it); reuse things through repurposing (get creative here), and consolidate driving trips. These activities are just a few examples of the free things you and your employees can do to go green and save.

Small businesses that have more resources will benefit from investing in green strategies which will have longer term cost savings. This includes buying energy efficient light bulbs, windows, refrigerators and other appliances with the energy star seal of approval. These do make a big difference in the long haul. Energy efficient windows cut down glare and heat in the summer and the effect is noticeable immediately.

Green thinking is most effective when your small business creates a culture of green. This means that employees are involved and given the go ahead to be creative participants. This has a number of benefits including: promoting innovation, being more effective in cutting costs because of full participation, and most importantly, increasing employee loyalty and productivity because their input is valued. Cutting back is much more bearable when everyone is on board. The message should be that your small business is going lean on “things” rather than on people. This is an important morale booster.

Small businesses will always fare much better in tough times when employee morale is high. The attitude of your employees always comes through to your customers. Positive employees are able to be genuinely interested in customers instead of just wearing a phony smile that masks their displeasure at working in a stressful environment. Customer loyalty increases when customers feel better served. This again is an example of how people, environment and economics need to be in balance; the essence of green thinking and sustainability.

One of the most important work trends today, telecommuting, reflects this balance. It considers the needs of workers and saves energy in terms of reduced commuting and office space requirements. Small businesses that are able to use virtual administrative secretaries and other virtual assistants (e.g. for outsourcing SEO and other activities that require expertise) will save significantly because they will not have to incur the costs of hiring and maintaining a large staff (in addition to the savings realized from reduced commuting and needing less office space). They will save because outsourcing will enable them to find expertise at prices that may not be available to them in their local areas. Small businesses who do this will be embracing green thinking, cutting costs, be more socially responsible and be more successfully positioned to emerge from the economic downturn.

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The problem though is that getting your clients, the ones who know your greatness, to sit down with a blank sheet of paper and crank out a glowing testimonial can be a bit of a chore. It isn’t that they don’t want to do it; it’s just that there are other priorities calling to them as well.

I accidentally stumbled on a way to get clients to systematically write testimonials. And, I found that this method actually produced far better, results oriented, copy than anything I had done on my own in the past.

Here’s the system.

When you are presenting your wares to a prospect include a page that simply lists four or five references for contact instead of your traditional glowing testimonial page. Urge your prospect to contact each for more information on how you or your product performs. (I’ve even gone as far as writing a list of suggested questions they might ask the reference – it helps them focus on benefits) In some cases your prospect may request this anyway.

What I have found is that when your current client is contacted for information (often by email these days) they will generally and immediately feel compelled to put in writing what amounts to a well-written testimonial. The key here is that, when approached by another business, they will write as they are speaking to a prospect. The copy will almost always be over the top selling you and in the perfect voice for you to re-use as a testimonial. (When a client writes a testimonial in the traditional way they often write is as though they are speaking to you. Many times this doesn’t have the same marketing pop to it.)

Now here is where the fun part comes in. What I have also found is that quite often your existing clients will copy you on the communication they sent to the prospect. Bingo, instant testimonial, written exactly as you need it for your marketing materials.

Actually, using this strategy can be even stronger than just printing written testimonials as it involves your current clients in the active process of marketing and has the tendency to resell them on their decision to do business with you as well.

The only caution is that you spread the love around to as many of your clients as you can so that no one group of clients becomes burdened in the process.

This tip is taken from – Referral Flood – How to generate a flood of new business without spending one dime on advertising – by John Jantsch

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Most of us have been coached at one time or another in our lives. For many of us it took place in grade school and high school. You may have been coached in athletics, dance, drama, debate or some other area. Regardless, coaching is about creating a winning performance strategy and a successful outcome.

Business life coaching and business coaching are no different. Their goal is to help you create your own performance strategy and design the successful outcome you desire. Business life coaching may differ from business coaching in some cases. Ultimately both are about the individual who is being coached. One may have a slightly narrower focus on business outcome but regardless, the success of coaching rests on the individual being coached embracing personal growth to change their thinking.

How do you create that winning performance strategy? Whether you have a small business coach or not there is one essential ingredient that can help you to move to the success you desire more quickly. You must have a finished picture of the future in your mind. Once you do then it will become clear as to what you have to do in the present to have the future you desire.

And, to have the future you desire you must embrace change. Only when you change your thinking will you change your habits. When you change your habits you will change your activity. It only follows when you change your activity you will change your results. And, when you change your results you will change your life.

How do you find the right coach for you? It is a question with no easy answers because there are coaches for virtually any area you can think of. Are you the entrepreneur successful in many ways but wanting to upgrade areas of your life? Are you in a corporation looking for executive business coaching? Do you have a small business running well yet you want more small business growth?

Here’s a specific example that may help. Let’s say that small business growth is your main concern. In this instance, it might be best to find a business life coach or business coach with a small business background along with a strong emphasis on personal growth. Why? In small business the business will grow only to the extent of the personal growth of the owner and key employees. Ultimately, the best coach for most is the one that can help you design pathways to your success. Understanding and good chemistry are essential for a successful coaching experience.

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