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Time to Start Planning for 2012

by Melinda Emerson on September 26, 2011 in Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business

The kids are back in school and Halloween is fast approaching. People it is time to start planning your budget and marketing plan for the coming year. 2012 will be here before you know it and you do not want it to sneak up on you. Just like many of your clients are reaching out to you for budget information for 2012, you must be thinking now how you will take your business to higher heights next year. Here are 4 things you must do to plan for 2012.

Meet with your Accountant and/or Tax Preparer. You’ll want to know if there’s anything that needs to be done that could reduce your tax burden before the end of the year. For example: Do you need to purchase any equipment and lease a new delivery van to get it on the book this year. Do you need to delay a payment from a client? You also should review you projected 2011 budget vs. actual budget 2011 for your business, so that you can make sure that you are keeping track of all your costs and adjusting your pricing accordingly.
Create 2012 Budget and Sales Projections. Once you have your meeting with your tax preparer, it’s time to develop your annual budget. At the same time, you should update your sales projections for 2012. The most important thing is to understand how much money you need to make every 30 days to cover your expenses and earn a profit.
Create a New Marketing Plan. Once armed with your sales projections you should use that information to develop your marketing. Now I have written many times on this blog about how to write a marketing plan and business plan, but here is a quick refresher course. You should start with your 30 day sales goal. Then determine what it takes ie. How many calls, email, blog posts and other lead generation activities it takes to close that number of sales each month. Never start a marketing activity you can’t afford to maintain for at least 6 months. Be sure to go back a measure what worked, so that you can eliminate those efforts that didn’t pay off in 2011. (How did that pay-per-click (PPC) ad campaign work for you?
Stay Current with Your Clients. Make sure your business is still relevant to niche. Stay up on the industry trends and the needs of your niche target customer. Sometimes businesses run a course and a competitor or new product comes along and fill the need better than you. Do an annual check meeting face-to-face to make sure you are still giving them what they need. If you run a business that is not based on relationship selling, then offer your customers a free gift to take a short survey to give you the feedback you need to keep being their best resource.

Do you have another tip on preparing your small business for 2012?

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine recently named her the #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)

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Do You Have a Holiday Sales Strategy Yet?

by Melinda Emerson on September 14, 2011 in Branding & Marketing, Customer Service, Grow Your Business

Do You Have a Holiday Sales Strategy Yet?

If you sell stuff online or offline, it’s time to create a Christmas holiday strategy. Some businesses make 80% of their profit over the holidays, so you need to make sure that you get your share of the holiday spending. You should be thinking about how you will stock up to fulfill holiday orders at least three months in advance. Preparation is key. You should know the closing dates of magazines so you can get products samples to editors to be included for holiday round up features. You also want to place your orders early for advertising you plan to do on local TV or radio.

Your supplies: Look at what your sales were last year to determine what you need to have in place. Order your packaging, shipping and raw materials in advance. Be sure to order extra too.

Your suppliers: Communicate with your manufacturer and distributers about your holiday plan. Make sure you have a back-up for you main supplier in case they are slammed with other holiday orders. Also keep in mind that your manufacturer may also be using temporary help too, so if you have a product which requires a high level a craftsmanship you may want to order product early, so that your quality does not suffer.

Shipping options: Know when you need to have your items read to ship so that they arrive before Christmas. Figure out your best shipping options. If you belong to a trade organization or association you may qualify for a discount with Fedex or UPS for shipping. You can also set up a USPS click-and-ship account so that they will pickup orders from your home or office.

Contact Your Merchant Account Provider: If you are going to focus on sales over the holidays you need to make sure that your credit card processor provides a daily limit high enough to process all the transactions. If you are fortunate enough to have your product featured in the media or in a magazine you can have huge amount sales in a day which could shut down your shopping cart.

Seasonal Staff: Have your seasonal help and interns lined up in advance. Develop a training program or a step b step guide with pictures so that you brand is not damaged by a temporary worker. You can also enlist your kids, spouse, church members and friends to help get you through the holidays.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Marketing Strategy: Figure out now what inventory or specials you must push for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. You want to develop special pricing and volume discounts as well. You may even want to develop a pay-per-click campaign (ppc) for the holidays. You’ll want to develop 3-5 different ads so that you can adjust your campaign to the one that is resonating the most with you target audience.

What is your best holiday sales tip?

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

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5 Finance Secrets to Make Your Small Business More Successful

by Melinda Emerson on September 13, 2011 in Cash Flow & Finance, Grow Your Business

Being an expert in finance is not usually a top priority for someone starting or running a small business. Here are five tips to make sure you’re handling your finances according to best practices:

1. Record-Keeping

There are two main reasons to keep track of the finances of your business. First, you need to maintain compliance with government and other regulatory agencies, like filing tax returns. Second, you need to use the information to measure your performance to manage the day-to-day cash flow of the business as well as find ways to improve your business.

Rather than learn how to do bookkeeping, buy an accounting program, and learn how to manage the detailed transactions of that system, start-up businesses should look to outsource their accounting to an outsourced bookkeeper who updates the books once or twice per month on their software, preferably hosted so you can access it whenever you like. You can often get this done for $200 or less per month.

2. Banking Relationship

The last time you walk into your bank should be when you set up you business bank account. Utilize online technology to do everything else, and you’ll save a lot of time and hassle. There is certainly some value in building a more personal relationship with your bank, but that only comes in handy if and when you need a loan.

3. Customer Payments

Make it as convenient as possible for your customers to pay you. Accept checks, credit cards, EFTs, and any other way that makes it easy for your customers to pay. Any barrier your customers face to figuring out how to pay you will result in lower sales and even lower collections. Stop worrying about the costs of some of these services and accept them as a cost of running a good business.

4. Taxes

Please pay them, and pay them on time. The government and other agencies are the wrong institutions from which to borrow. They charge huge penalties, usurious interest rates, and they usually have stronger enforcement rights that allows them to price any corporate or LLC veil you’ve put in place to try and separate your business and personal affairs.

5. Benchmarking

Do not operate your business in a vacuum. What are your competitors doing? How long does it take for them to collect from their customers? What are their gross and net margins like? How do you compare? You can get this type of competitive information and more from your bank or from other online resources and trade associations specific to your industry.

Ken Kaufman is the author of Impact Your Business: An allegory of an entrepreneur’s journey to clarity, cash, profit, family, and success http://cfowise.com/impact-your-business. Ken, an award-winning CFO, has over a decade of experience helping small business owners and entrepreneurs attain the clarity they need to maximize their financial success. His has credited with creating the Six Scoreboards Every Business Needs. In addition to serving as an outsourced CFO to eleven entrepreneurial ventures, Ken writes regularly for American Express OPEN Forum and teaches New Venture Finance at a local university.

Implementing these five things will put you on the path to building a financially healthy company.

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Is Your Life Plan Working For You?

by Melinda Emerson on September 12, 2011 in Before You Start, How to Start

I am a firm believer that you need a life plan before you ever write a business plan. Your life plan is your big picture vision for your life. Your reasons for starting your business should be to fulfill your life plan. It’s also a step in business planning that is often overlooked.

Why is life planning important?

Many people dream about owning a small business. You may be one of those people who have had a “notion” for years that someday you would be president of a company, successful beyond your wildest dreams. Turning that dream into reality is an evolutionary process. It involves not only having a solid business idea but also knowing the “business of running a business.” You will need to get your arms around stuff like accounting, marketing, and operations, but before you dive into crunching numbers for your business plan, consider this:

Entrepreneurs who don’t get clear about what they want from life run the risk of starting a business that might not be a good business for them.

A life plan is your personal strategic plan for your life goals. Before you develop a business plan, you must first have a life goal. Everyone should take the time to evaluate how they live. Then, develop a plan to achieve how they really want to live. Other elements include things like “Where are you a rockstar?” “What makes you laugh?” “What do you love to do?” “What do you dislike doing?” And “What do you need to learn?” With the answers to these questions you will be clear about what your passions are and how you really need your life to work in order to be successful as an entrepreneur.

Do not make the mistake of assuming what the entrepreneurial lifestyle will be like. Not everyone is cut out to be a small business owner. You will go from doing up to 3 jobs at once in corporate America to doing 10-14 jobs overnight for your own business. And guess what? Every job is important. The best way to stay motivated in your business is to know you are working towards your personal life goal.

To really get a good picture of your life plan as an entrepreneur, answer the following questions:

What kind of lifestyle do you want to have as an entrepreneur?
How big do you want your business to get in terms of profits and staff?
Will you have employees?
How many hours a week will you work?
Do you need to meet the school bus every day or take off every Friday?
Are you willing to work seven days a week? If so, how long can you keep that up?
Will you need a partner and could you handle working with one?
How will you fund your household while you start your business?

If you still need help with developing a life plan try my life planning journal. It’s a dynamic 74 page downloadable PDF which will allow you to enter your information right in the document and then print it for your records.

You may have a great business idea, but you must determine if it’s a good business for you and your family. Do not trade a soul-sapping job for a business that feels like a rope around your neck. With a life plan you will have a goal, then you can develop a business that will align with your personal goals and professional success.

Do you have a life plan for yourself? Tell me, is your Life Plan working for you?

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

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How web analytics goals makes your online business better

by Melinda Emerson on August 23, 2011 in Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business, Guest Articles, Technology

So you may already imagine what a goal is, but if you’re still wondering how exactly does goal setting in web analytics help your business, you’re in for a treat – this post will show some basics and answer that question to make your site a working asset for your business.

How web analytics goals help my business

First of all, a goal is a web analytics setting that counts each completion of a specific visitor task on your website. Goals become helpful to your business by selecting tasks that link your site purpose relative to your business. So each task counted can indicate how well your website is contributing to your business. This is not a light consideration — according to Experian in its 2011 Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend report most customer research a business online before arriving to the store. Moreover the number of customers who are using mobile devices to discover businesses are increasing, so it is essential to understand the impression your site has on visitors when they arrive.

To start, you will need to determine what tasks are desired. Desired actions to complete tasks are called conversions in web analytics lingo. A conversion can be a purchase, a sign up, or any task that you can represent in HTML or Javascript code. The number of visitors who undertake the action to the number of site visitors is the conversion rate, so this is the metric you will use to consider. Benchmarks for a conversion rate vary from industry to industry, but most rates are usually a low percentage (see this post from Clickz, an online marketing site, for an example ).

There are typically a few goal settings in an analytics solution. Google Analytics, for example, contains the following settings:

Pages

Average Time On Site (ATOS)

Pages/visit

Event goals (This is a new feature introduced in Google Analytics version 5, as well as having been a feature in Piwik, another free web analytics solution)

You can set the value of a goal accordingly by time (Time On Site), by viewing a certain page, by pages viewed in a visit, by an action (event) such as a page download or video played.

For the Pages goal setting, the goal is typically defined by a dollar amount to show that the page has value to the business or organization. For example if a visitor reaches the contact page and fills it out, then that contact page has a value. But the value of a goal is not a sale. Instead the value is based on the number of times needs to get that sale. So if it takes 3 visits before a customer becomes a sale, the goal vale is 1/3 (1 out of 3 ) times $100 or $33.

This value sounds a bit academic, but just remember that the value is the effort to gain the sale. This type of value helps to compare which pages on a site are contributing to a conversion.

Learn how your visitors navigate

Goals also lets you identify the website navigation you expect from visitors. To do so, you set a home page as the first page of a funnel, a services page as a second and so forth, and then set the goal as the last action. Your selection is included in a funnel, another report that visually shows which pages receives visitors, and which one loses visitors prior to reaching the goal page. The funnel lets you focus on the pages that are losing visitor interest prior to your goal page. You can decide if content changes are needed, or to insert a questionnaire that ask why the visitor wants to leave your site.

Keep in mind, some other settings in your analytics solution must be in place. Filter out traffic from other employees or marketing team with the IP filter is essential for data integrity. Also, evaluate your site structure and make sure pages are named, not just with miscellaneous characters — otherwise the page names will be unrecognizable in a goals report, and you will have poor data for understanding your traffic properly.

Goals can strengthen your business by revealing where to focus on your website – be it adjusting the marketing or even adjust the code itself. Web analytic goals will effectively organize your business and help let you make the most of your online measurement to the benefit of your customers.

Pierre Debois is the founder of Zimana (www.zimana.com), a consultancy providing strategic analysis to small and midsize businesses that rely on Web analytics data. He diagnoses website and provides social media analytics data, web development and search engine optimization services.

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How to Keep the Sales Engine Rolling

by Melinda Emerson on August 15, 2011 in Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business

The day-to-day hustle in your business can make you forget to focus your marketing activities on keeping your pipeline filled. To help you reach your monthly sales goals, I have created a list of 7 marketing techniques you should revisit every 90 days. They are designed to ensure that you focus on revenue-generating activities in your small business.

1. Profile Your Customers. Who are your most valuable and profitable customers? How much do they spend with you annually? Do they fit a niche? While it’s imperative that you understand your products and services, it’s even more significant to understand what value your business brings to your customers so you can continue fulfilling their needs. Business issues can change quickly, making vendors potentially interchangeable. Be sure to thank your customers; no one owes you business.

2. Talk With Clients. If your three most important customers were sitting in a room with you, what questions would you ask them? Even with your long-time customers, schedule a quarterly face-to-face meeting to ask for feedback or just to catch up. You must stay on top of their needs and understand any new factors that influence their decision-making processes. Have 7-10 questions to ask, and then make sure you engage them around some personal small talk: kids, vacations, holiday plans, etc. The more personal the relationship, the more that relationship will allow you to obtain critical information and a strong ally.

3. Align Marketing Efforts With Sales Goals. Sales and marketing have to work together in your small business. Even if you are the only salesperson in your business, you must plan your marketing program based on the amount sales leads you need to generate in order to close the required amount of sales per month. If you know you need 500 leads per month in order to close 50 sales, then determine how many phone calls, e-mails, blog posts, Facebook ads and Twitter messages must be made, sent or posted per month to drive the desired traffic. You must establish a sales process and then proactively work your marketing efforts so that they generate the desired results.

4. Eye the Competition. Identify several competitors. Discover what benefits they provide to their current customers. Use their websites to gain insights. Compare your branding, value proposition and pricing. Based on your assessment, develop at least three strategies that you will use to position yourself effectively against them. Always think, “What is my secret sauce?”

5. Create The Win-Win. How can you develop a partnership that can contribute to your bottom line? Always go into a relationship understanding your partner’s “must have” list. It’s always best when you can find a partner who is not a direct competitor. A strong strategic alliance offers many benefits, including reducing risk, sharing costs and improving time to market.

6. Update Your Elevator Pitch. Your most important job as a small business owner is selling yourself and your business. When you can succinctly explain your business, it builds trust, but you shouldn’t use the same pitch forever. From time to time, switch it up a little. Add a brief client list; mention a recent award or media hit. Elevator pitches are designed to draw in your target and keep the dialogue going. Be careful not to talk too long. Offer just enough to get them interested in chatting with you again.

7. Use a Vision Board. All businesses have ups and downs. How you get through the tough days in your business makes a big difference in your productivity. I advise all my coaching clients to develop a life plan and then develop a vision board of your big picture goals for your life. It might include the 10 things you want out of life? Create a visual representation of your life plan. Use cutouts from magazines or clip art pictures–whatever it takes develop a visual symbol of your personal and professional goals. Post this collage to remind yourself why you work so hard. Your vision board will keep you motivated on good days as well as bad ones!

By implementing these marketing techniques, you will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing strategy and keep yourself motivated to stay on top of your sales processes.

How do you ignite sales in your small business?

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine recently named her one of the Top 20 women for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)

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Going Green is the New Black

by Melinda Emerson on July 26, 2011 in Branding & Marketing, Guest Articles

According to a recent report, there was a 59% jump last year in the number of businesses that have gone green. This is great for the environment, plus nine out of ten of those businesses experienced cost savings by going green. Going green could spell black for your business, and this is especially important for small businesses. While it requires more heavy lifting and thinking on your part at the onset, the payoff is great in that it will help you reduce waste and operate more efficiently. Here’s advice for small business owners to take stock of how they operate in order to pave the way toward greener pastures.

Just Say No to Paper: While it’s nearly ingrained within most of us to print out and send paper documents to customers, you don’t have to today. Make sure you have software to convert documents from PDFs to Word, Excel or PowerPoint, and to PDFs, and then rely solely on email for transmitting your documents and/or correspondence with others. In this day and age where everyone is on the go, moving to an “all email” practice should be an easy transition. Also try to e-file all documents versus printing papers out and filing them in a physical folder. While saving on storage space, the benefit to the environment is that you’ll save a tree and reduce the amount of paper and ink costs normally incurred when you’re printing the old school way.

Send and Receive Invoices and Bills Efficiently: Sending invoices and receiving bills electronically does more than save paper – it saves you money (think no envelopes & no postage) and will provide you with an accurate accounting of when an invoice or bill is received. As for paying your bills, using electronic bill payment services will allow you to issue payment by (and not before) the due date- most bank e-payment services guarantee payment delivery dates or pay for late penalties -which eliminates the need to buy checks, envelopes and postage to pay bills.

Outsource Your IT and Reach for the Cloud: Most large companies require vendors to set up Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) capabilities for the transmission of purchase orders and invoices. If you need EDI capabilities, I recommend using a web-based (cloud computing) EDI provider versus trying to set up your own internal EDI system, unless you already have an internal IT department in place.

Evaluate a Products’ Packaging: Pay attention to the way you package your goods. Make sure that the packaging is sturdy to withstand warehouse and transportation handling, but don’t over engineer it so it is too bulky or heavy. Consumers and retailers are not only concerned about what is in your package, but the packaging itself, so try to use materials that are both recyclable and post recyclable.

Shipping the Right Way Can Save You Money: Transportation costs, especially with today’s gas prices, are higher than ever and everyone is looking for more efficient ways to ship. The more you ship at one time, the less it will cost per pound; it’s greener, too, because it requires less packaging, less handling and less gas. Work with your customers to identify a minimum for orders to increase the amount you ship at one time; you save and they save because they too will reduce the handling cost of receiving your products into their warehouse. Ship in pallets versus cartons, if possible – this increases the order size, reduces the per pound transportation cost, and lessens the potential for transportation damage.

Evaluate your supply chain logistics and work with your customers to see if there are greater efficiencies you can deploy to become even greener while saving money.

The benefits are tangible when you seek out environmentally conscious business practices. From saving trees to your bottom line – it may not be easy, but it’s great being green!

Quincy Yu, has spent her 30+ year career consulting for big and small businesses across a variety of industries, and currently she serves as President of SeaYu Enterprises, makers of Clean+Green natural pet stain and odor removers.

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Increasing Your Online Sales Part 2

by Melinda Emerson on July 13, 2011 in Branding & Marketing, Cash Flow & Finance, Guest Articles

Last time, in Part 1 of Increasing Your Online Sales, we talked about 3 ways to increase your online sales, which had to do with building and managing your site properly. This post I’m going to share some great tools for doing testing yourself. I’ll also share some ways to collect information on your site and how to distribute your content better.

First, testing intimidates most small biz owners. It’s time consuming. It can be complicated. But these tools make it fairly easy and affordable.

Here are 11 free to low cost tools I’ve researched.

1. www.feedbackarmy.com
2. www.fivesecondtest.com
3. www.conceptfeedback.com
4. www.uservoice.com
5. www.usertesting.com
6. www.userfly.com
7. www.feng-gui.com
8. www.crazyegg.com
9. www.kissmetrics.com
10. www.usability.com
11. www.Clicktale.com

One last thing about design and testing, in general, whatever you want to be clicked, put it in the upper left corner. You can put it elsewhere, but so much research data, heatmaps, user studies, show people read in an F pattern and they scan the top two horizontal lines of the letter F first, then go down the left side. BUT, they start in the upper left corner. Hardly anyone puts their form or call to action right there. They put it to the right where it is less visible.
I’m not a fan of the so-called, Squeeze Page, where you give users/readers no choice but the back button to click out, but simplifying your copy and design to make it really clear is what I’m trying share here.

Create a way to collect customer information on your website

I’m amazed at how many companies don’t collect information. When they do, they have 20 fields they ask people to fill out. Stop. Research from MarketingSherpa and other expert firms show you should probably have only three to six (3 – 6) fields. Then, set up an autoresponder to immediately reply when someone completes the form. At the same time, have that autoresponder email a copy to the sales or marketing or customer service team to get someone engaged at your company. Automate as much as you can without losing the personal touch. I use Infusionsoft, but there are lots of webform companies out there and autoresponders like aWeber.

Distributing Your Content

Content is king, but location is queen and just about everyone listens to the queen… And the queen is keeping engaged with your customer’s problems, conversations, and challenges where they happen.

So, you start with your blog. Anita Campbell, well-known CEO and Publisher of Small Business Trends says you shouldn’t be a digital pauper living inside the castle walls of social media empires. You should have your own site, your own blog. Don’t neglect that. If one of the social media giants crumbles, where will you be?

After your blog content is consistent, then start publishing similar or excerpts of posts on Facebook and/or LinkedIn, then share those links on Twitter and at BizSugar. You can also publish your work on sites like Slideshare, Postling, and article repositories like ezinearticles, diymarketers, and many others. Create screencasts of some of your more educational content and share it on YouTube. The main goal is to use that content in different forms and point it all back to your blog or website.

Tell us how this series on increasing online sales will help you in your business.

TJ McCue is founder of TechBizTalk which does independent web-product reviews and offers a Simple Website package to help small business owners get online fast and inexpensively with a $99 website. http://simplewebsite.techbiztalk.com

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#SmallBizChat’s 100th Show: Small Business Legend Alan Weiss

by Melinda Emerson on April 27, 2011 in Grow Your Business, Q & A Interview, Q & A Interviews, SmallBizChat

For the last two years as Smallbizlady, I have conducted interviews with small business experts on my weekly Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. April 27^th was the 100^th episode of the show and in celebration if that milestone, I had the honor of interviewing small business legend Alan Weiss, PhD, President of Summit Consulting and Author of the classic bestseller Million Dollar Consulting. For more information on http://www.summitconsulting.com Alan’s Twitter handle is @BentleyGTCSpeed. In honor of my 100th show Alan has offered a special bonus. His audio training session on 10 different key moments in the sales process which are critical in securing business. For the next 7 days for this audio normally sold for $150 will be available for just $10. (Alan Weiss’s materials are NEVER this affordable.) Grab 10 Key Moments in the Sales Process Today!

SmallBizLady: What is the biggest thing holding back most small businesses?

Alan Weiss: More than one thing holds back small business owners: A lack of self-esteem of the owner; an underestimation of the value they provide; a focus on price instead of value; a disregard for the real power of small business, customer relationships.

SmallBizLady: You are known as America’s most well- respected consultant. How did you land your very first customer?

Alan Weiss: I landed my first customer from a referral. It was someone who knew me in a former life and a client employee who knew me in that former life.

SmallBizLady: Why do most consulting businesses fail?

Alan Weiss: Firsts, most consultants don’t realize this is the marketing business. They focus on their methodology instead of on their results. And second, they content themselves with low level, HR people instead of finding true, economic buyers. Add that to the self-esteem issue I mentioned before, and you have a cocktail for failure.

SmallBizLady: What is the hardest thing about building a million dollar solo practice?

Alan Weiss: Changing your mindset so that you actually work less and less while making more and more. Becoming a thought leader with a very strong brand that attracts people to you. Having zero fear of failure.

SmallBizLady: What are some ways for consultants to leverage themselves so that do not feel like a hamster on a wheel in their business?

Alan Weiss: Understand that your presence is not your value, but your results are. Streamline your methodology, delegate tasks to your client, and subcontract things that don’t rely on your unique expertise (more than you think).

SmallBizLady: What has surprised you most about running your businesses?

Alan Weiss: That I could leverage it so much and create such strong marketing gravity.

SmallBizLady: Pricing is always a challenge for business owners. What’s your advice on getting it right?

Alan Weiss: Charge on results not “deliverables,” charge based on your value not your methodology or delivery, and stay far away from trainers and HR people.

SmallBizLady: You has said that small business owners under utilize their existing customers. How so?

Alan Weiss: They don’t build solid relationships that lead to referral business, which

is the platinum standard. They treat customers like annoyances. I can get

better service in many “big box” stores than in small businesses.

Smallbizlady: What are some ways to increase the value of an existing customer?

Alan Weiss: Elicit referrals, include them in the design process of new products and services, give them discounts for repeat business.

Smallbizlady: How do you measure success?

Alan Weiss: I don’t. That’s one of the silliest things people try to do. If you have to be convinced by a metric that you’re successful, then you aren’t.

Smallbizlady: What’s your must-read resource for small business owners and Why?

Alan Weiss: Peter Drucker on strategy, which he invented in all reality; my own Million Dollar Consulting, which has been on the shelves for 20 years and four editions; and Atlas Shrugged, which, no matter what you think about Ayn Rand and her politics, tells you that you can’t allow crazed political correctness to undermine true talent.

Smallbizlady: Complete these sentence: If standing on a rooftop facing crowds of aspiring or struggling small business owners, I would shout:

Alan Weiss: How many of you would like to buy my special techniques for getting up here on the roof?

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s how to participate in #Smallbizchat http://bit.ly/S797e

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine recently named her one of the Top 20 women for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)

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#SmallBizChat Celebrates 100th Show with a Double Header of Millionaire Interviews

by Melinda Emerson on April 25, 2011 in SmallBizChat, SmallBizRadio

Real Estate Mogul Barbara Corcoran and Master Consultant Alan Weiss, Ph.D. come to @Smallbizchat this Wednesday (April 27^th) to Help End Small Business Failure.

Barbara Corcoran is a multi-millionaire businesswoman, bestselling author, and the only woman “shark” to swim in ABC’s Shark Tank. Alan Weiss is known as America’s #1 Independent Consultant and is a multi-millionaire solopreneur and author of the classic bestseller Million Dollar Consulting.

First up, Barbara Corcoran joins me @SmallBizLady live on Small Biz Chat Radio, Wednesday, April 27^th at 2PM ET on #BlogTalkRadio. If you have a question, call 619-639-4700 X1 to ask it.

Barbara will talk about her new book, Shark Tales: How I turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business (Portfolio | Penguin, 2011), and also give insight on how to be successful on Shark Tank.

And later that night on for our #100th episode of #SmallBizChat on Twitter, the ultimate solopreneur Alan Weiss, Ph.D. joins me @SmallBizLady live on Twitter. Alan is one of those rare people who can say he is a consultant, speaker and author and mean it! His consulting firm, Summit Consulting Group, Inc. has attracted clients such as Merck, Hewlett-Packard, GE, Mercedes-Benz, State Street Corporation, Times Mirror Group, The Federal Reserve, The New York Times Corporation, and over 500 others.

His prolific publishing includes over 500 articles and 40 books, including his best-seller, Million Dollar Consulting (4th edition, McGraw-Hill, 2009), Million Dollar Speaking (McGraw-Hill) , and Million Dollar Coaching. His books have been on the curricula at Villanova, Temple University, and the Wharton School of Business. Here’s a fun fact for you: Alan’s book Million Dollar Consulting has been on top of the bestseller list for 20 years!

Join us every Wednesday 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine recently named her one of the Top 20 Women for Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs, and publishes a resource blog at: www.succeedasyourownboss.com. Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)

P.S. Want an “I [heart] #SmallBizChat t-shirt to help us celebrate? It’s available! for $20.00 plus s/h sizes M-L-XL-2X

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Army of Entrepreneurs: Create an Engaged and Empowered Workforce for Exceptional Business Growth by Jennifer Prosek

Do you have an Army of Entrepreneurs in your company?

by Melinda Emerson on March 30, 2011 in Business Inspiration, Grow Your Business, My Recommendations, Your Small Business

Author Jennifer Prosek thinks that’s what you need to build long term success. She’s the founder and CEO of CJP Communications, an award-winning international public relations and financial communications firm. In her new book, Army of Entrepreneurs: Create an Engaged and Empowered Workforce for Exceptional Business Growth (AMACOM 2011) , Prosek teaches businesses how to inspire and motivate their employees to think like entrepreneurs to ensure the optimal success in the business. The two things that stood out in this book to me was how Jennifer proved with her own business how to emerge from a financial rut by engaging her company’s employees to solve problems. I was also intrigued by her Commission for Life™ incentive program. Too often entrepreneurs think they have to do all the rainmaking, but Prosek contends this is not so. Here’s a recent interview I had with Jennifer Prosek to get more insight into her new book, Army of Entrepreneurs:

Smallbizlady: What is an ARMY OF ENTREPRENEURS?

Jennifer Prosek: An Army of Entrepreneurs is an internal force of committed, creative employees. It is also a proven management and leadership model that can help business owners and managers grow their businesses by tapping and harnessing their existing workforce. There’s a replicable process for introducing and implementing the Army model in any organization and the best part is that the assets needed to initiate this new model are already in place – since they are your current employees.

Smallbizlady: How did the strategies that worked for your firm evolve into the management model you share in your new book?

Jennifer Prosek: Once I successfully deployed this on my own company, employee confidence and satisfaction soared. Identifying, nurturing, and watching the entrepreneurial spirit grow within my company has been a source of great pleasure to me both personally and professionally.

At CJP Communications, the Army model has helped to forge stronger teams, increase sales and client satisfaction, and develop employees who truly embrace the company’s brand. I know that it can do the same for other companies if they follow the roadmap outlined in the book.

Smallbizlady: How does this management model inspire and empower employees to develop an “owner’s mindset?”

Jennifer Prosek: With innovation and creativity driving the new economy, human capital has never been more important. But old management models don’t truly encourage the kind of entrepreneurial thinking needed for success. That’s where the Army model comes in. Every employee is empowered to develop an “owner’s mindset” and use his or her own resources and initiative to help the business succeed. That may mean coming up with a new product, a breakthrough idea for a client or a streamlined process. The unifying idea is that each person becomes a powerful force for growth within the organization.

Smallbizlady: What are the four key steps entrepreneurs need to take to lay the groundwork for creating a business environment and culture conducive to entrepreneurial behavior in order to increase growth and drive success?

Jennifer Prosek: The Army of Entrepreneurs model is comprised of four key components including an entrepreneurial culture; a powerful incentive program; a workforce that has a big-picture understanding of how a company works and makes money; and an ongoing program to maintain momentum. Specifically, to create an Army of Entrepreneurs business leader needs to follow the below steps:

a. Establish and nurture an entrepreneurial culture. Culture isn’t optional. To truly build an Army of Entrepreneurs, companies must have the right practices and outlook. The four elements of a core culture are authenticity, commitment to people, commitment to the business, and continuous effort.
b. Create a Commission for Life™. At CJP, any person who sets up a meeting that leads to new business – that’s it, just sets up the meeting – receives a 5 percent commission for the life of that account. While this is a cash reward, any ongoing incentive works. The idea is to create a reward that enables employees to align their own financial/professional goals with the growth/success of the company.
c. Teach them the business. While many businesses are focused on teaching employees the skills they need to do their jobs, an Army approach is focused on “teaching the business” – how it makes money, where clients come from, why they stay or go and other big-picture issues.
d. Maintain momentum. Building and sustaining an Army of Entrepreneurs and the culture that sustains it takes ongoing effort, initiative and originality. It’s critical to maintain momentum; inertia is the enemy.

Smallbizlady: You stress the importance of giving everyone in a company a financial incentive to embrace entrepreneurial behavior. Please explain how your “Commission for Life™” program does this, and why it works?

Jennifer Prosek: The crux of the Army strategy is to create an incentive that rewards the employee and helps align his or her personal and professional goals with that of the company’s. To kick-start the Army, I introduced the “Commission for Life™” program, in which the employee who sets up the first introductory new-business meeting—which turns into a full-fledged client account—receives a percentage of the revenue for the life of the business relationship. This “nudge” is essential to lighting a fire under your staff.

The reason this program works so well is that it levels the playing field and gives everyone at the firm from an executive assistant all the way up to the CFO the same opportunity to leverage their network of contacts to help drive the company’s growth. It also increases their individual financial situation and status at the agency.

Smallbizlady: Outside of financial incentives, what else can companies do to give employees at all levels a “nudge” towards embracing their entrepreneurial potential?

Jennifer Prosek: For some, the best incentive may be strictly financial. For others, it may involve more autonomy, creative control, or public acknowledgment of their good entrepreneurial ideas and behavior. The idea is to create an ongoing reward system that enables employees to align their own professional goals with the growth/success of the company.

While this book does focus a lot on what larger firms can do to become entrepreneurial, I do think there’s a lot of value for entrepreneurs. Grab your copy of Army of Entrepreneurs today.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine recently named her one of the Top 20 women for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)

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3 Technology Tools For Your Small Business

by Melinda Emerson on March 23, 2011 in My Recommendations, Technology

I love to share great free resources that can save you time and money in your small business. Here are a few free software suggestions that I’m sure you’ll find beneficial to your business.

If you embrace technology tools you’ll be amazed how much more efficient you will be each day. My three great finds are:

1) Dropbox.com – Dropbox is the easiest way to store, sync, and, share files online. There’s no complicated interface to learn. It works seamlessly with your operating system. It’s a great way to make sure you have the right version of any document, which is really helpful when you are working on a team project. Dropbox allows you up to 2GB of storage free and you can sync your files of any size and across all your computers automatically.

2) Rapportive.com – Rapportive shows you everything about your contacts. You can use this service to connect to your contacts across their entire social media footprint on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. It works right inside your email inbox. It helps you know what the web knows instantly. If you use Gmail, it replaces all those Google ads with helpful information.

3)Tungle.me — Tungle.me is a scheduling application that syncs with your existing calendar. It eliminates double-bookings and time zone mishaps. The Tungle.me application supports Google, Outlook, Apple iCal, Entourage for Mac, Lotus Notes, Windows Live, Yahoo! and connects to major social networks including Facebook, Plancast, TripIt, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Have you come across any resource lately that would help small business owners? Do tell.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine recently named her one of the Top 20 women for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)

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Your Life Plan and Your Small Business

by Melinda Emerson on March 21, 2011 in Become Your Own Boss Tips, Before You Start

In America, when you announce that you want to start a small business, most people will start talking about how you should write a business plan first. I generally agree with this advice – every small business does need a plan, however it is my belief that there are a few steps that should be taken before you invest the time and effort into a business plan.

You need a life plan before you even write a business plan. Why? Because you need to make sure that you know what you want out of life and then build a business around it. You personal goals and your business must align. Otherwise you could trade a soul-sapping job for a small business that feels like a noose around your neck. Take time to think about the entrepreneurial lifestyle first. Yes, you will have control over your schedule, but then you may need to work 16 hour days for weeks on end to get your new enterprise up and rolling. Are you ready for that?? You will need to get your arms around stuff like accounting, marketing, and operations, but before you dive into crunching numbers for your business plan, consider this:

Entrepreneurs who don’t get clear about what they want from life run the risk of starting a business that might not be a good business for them or their families.

A life plan is your personal strategic plan. Before you develop a business plan, you must know what you want out of life. Take the time to evaluate how you live. Then, develop a plan to achieve how you want to live. Other elements include things like “Where are you a rock star?” “What do you love to do?” “What do you not want to do?” And “What do you need to learn?” With the answers to these questions you will be clear about what your passions are and how you really need your life to work in order to be successful as an entrepreneur.

I feel so strongly about the value of a life plan I have developed a Life Planning Journal to help you develop one.

You will go from doing 2-3 jobs in corporate America to doing 10-13 jobs overnight for your own business and every job is important. The best way to stay motivated in your business is to know you are working towards your personal life goal.

To really get a good picture of your life plan as an entrepreneur, answer the following questions:

What kind of lifestyle do you want to have as an entrepreneur?
How big do you want your business to get in terms of profits and staff?
Will you have employees?
How many hours a week will you work?
Do you need to meet the school bus every day or take off every Friday?
Are you willing to work seven days a week? If so, how long can you keep that up?
Will you need a partner and could you handle working with one?
How will you fund your household while you start your business?

I have designed a74-page life planning journal to help you turn your personal goals into action plans, and remove any road blocks in your life. You will need to spend quality time with yourself to answer the thought provoking questions. This is an interactive, dynamic PDF where your input can be saved. My Life Planning Journal will help you develop a plan for your life and your small business.

With a life plan you will have a goal, and then you can develop a plan that will lead to professional success.

Do you have a life plan? Is it making your business planning easier?