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4 Things All Entrepreneurs Should Do On LinkedIn

By Melinda Emerson on May 31, 2011 in Ask Smallbizlady, Become Your Own Boss Tips, Branding & Marketing, Business Inspiration, Featured Post, Grow Your Business, Social Media, Solopreneurs, Starting A Small Business, Women in Business, Your Small Business

Linked in Logo

LinkedIn is important! 75% of all professionals in the US have a LinkedIn profile, which means if you want to do business you must have one too. LinkedIn is powerful tool that you can use to promote yourself if you are an individual consultant or a company with 2 or more employees. Here are my four tips that all entrepreneurs should do on LinkedIn.

Make sure your profile is 100%: If you do not have a headshot, please add a profession one. Typically, business owners who are not 100% lack recommendations. Look at your connections and ask at least three people to write why they love doing business with you. To make it easy, write the recommendation for them. This might be rough, but go ahead and do it. Actually, you should get in habit of asking anyone you interact with to give to a recommendation. I have over 47 recommendations and counting, you can never have too many.

Know Your Keywords: Your keywords should be spread across your profile. First your description of who you are should include keywords that your target customer would use to find you on the internet. Your summary and skills should also be peppered with keywords. This will also help you appear higher in Linkedin searches for experts.

Join LinkedIn Groups: You can join up to 50 groups on LinkedIn. You should join at least 10 groups that have your target customer in the group. You should have a strategy for how you will engage and attract members of the group to connect with you. Many groups allow fellow members to connect even though you do not know each other.
Answer Questions: One of best ways to standout in LinkedIn is to answer questions. It should become a part of your social media routine. Try to answer two to three questions a week and see how many new connections you will make for your business.

LinkedIn is a powerful tool and a great way to connect with decision makers. Make sure you are in the best position to promote yourself and your business online. Do you have any other LinkedIn secrets to promote a 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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Should I put my picture on my business card?

By Melinda Emerson on May 20, 2011 in Ask Smallbizlady, Become Your Own Boss Tips, Branding & Marketing, Business Inspiration, BYOB2011, Customer Service, Grow Your Business, My Recommendations, Q & A Interview, SmallBizChat, Solopreneurs, Your Small Business

Ask @SmallBizLady: Should I put my picture on my business card?

Every Friday, I answer your small business questions in a video blog segment called Ask Small Biz Lady. This week, we are taking on the question: “Should I put my picture on my business card?”

Here’s the answer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKXIfQM-Kn4

If you are a solopreneur or a brand of one person with a business you can use your picture on you business card. Particularly if your business involves visual branding such as photography, make-up artist, stylist it could make sense to use your photo on your business card to promote your business. It could also work will for speaking and coaching businesses, financial services or if you a real estate agent. You just need to have a reason for using your photo on your business card.

For the record, I do not use my photo on my business card. My book is on my business card instead.

If you have a question for Melinda Emerson, Small Biz Lady, leave a comment on this blog using the contact us page or send me a note on Twitter @smallbizlady, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/smallbizlady or you can hit me up on www.linkedin.com/in/melindaemerson

I’m always here as a resource.

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Make This May The Month You Become Your Own Boss

By Melinda Emerson on May 11, 2011 in BYOB2011

Contact: Sonia Schenker
(E): sonia@melindaemerson.com
(P): 347-766-4289
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PHILADELPHIA, PA (May 9, 2011) – Melinda F. Emerson, SmallBizLady is a small business expert and bestselling author who has been featured in The Washington Post, Forbes, Fortune, Essence and Black Enterprise magazines. Known for her savvy approach to ending small business failure, she is crossing the country to coach small business owners through the Become Your Own Boss (BYOB2011) national tour. The conference is designed to give entrepreneurs a healthy slice of the reality of starting and running a successful business.

The half-day program sponsored by http://www.corpnet.com/, will be held in the nation’s capital at Busboys and Poets, 14th and V Streets NW, Wednesday May 25th, 2011 from 8-1pm. Registration is now open for area entrepreneurs seeking to ditch their paychecks and start or grow their own small businesses. All attendees will receive a free copy of Melinda’s new workbook as part of their registration. Seating is limited; tickets are $99 and are available online. Continue Reading →

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Ask @SmallBizLady: What if you don’t have 12 months to start a business?

By Melinda Emerson on April 22, 2011 in Ask Smallbizlady, Your Small Business

Every Friday, I answer your small business questions in a video blog segment called Ask SmallBizLady.

This week, we are taking on the question: What if you don’t have 12 months to start a business?

Here’s the answer:

To get your small business rolling right away follow these steps:

Answer these key questions

What do you know that you can sell?
How much cash do you have on hand?
How much money can you afford to invest in your business?
Develop a Target 25 list of people who can give you a contract or refer you business.
Contact 5 people a week until you get a contract then repeat this process often.

If you have a question for Melinda Emerson, Small Biz Lady, leave a comment on this blog using the contact us page or send me a note on Twitter @smallbizlady, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/smallbizlady or you can hit me up on www.linkedin.com/in/melindaemerson

I’m always here as a resource.

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

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Getting Started as a Work At Home Mom Business Owner

By Melinda Emerson on April 11, 2011 in Become Your Own Boss Tips, How to Start, Mompreneurs, Starting A Small Business, Women in Business, Your Small Business

If you’re a stay at home mom who’s ready to get back into the workforce as a work-at-home mom small business owner you are in for quite an adjustment. I believe you should plan your business at least 12 months prior to starting your business as you already have two full-time jobs as a wife and mother. As a small business owner you are now about to take on a third full-time gig. Talk about a juggle!

Here are 5 steps that will help you get started so that your juggling act won’t make you feel like running away to join the circus:

1) START RECONNECTING WITH FORMER CO-WORKERS

Your network IS your net worth went starting a business. Start reaching out through social media. Everyone should have a LinkedIn Account. If you haven’t had a picture done in a while invest in a professional headshot. Facebook is another great way to connect with former work colleagues and potential customers. Once a week try to schedule a lunch meeting with a former co-worker or mentor. They will be able to give you valuable insight about getting back out there and pounding the pavement for business and quite possibly give you a lead or two.

2) GET YOUR BABYSITTING SUPPORT LINED UP

If you are going to work from home, you need be in the position to really get work done at home. I can’t imagine being able to work with children at home all day, without them developing some addictive TV watching habits. Prepare a budget that includes taking your kids to day care at least three days a week. Line your night time babysitting support too. You’ll need to make sure that you can attend evening networking events, and you don’t want to get stuck if your hubby is traveling or has to work late.

3) EVALUATE YOUR SKILLS

When you start a business you immediately take on 10-13 jobs at once. Be sure that you really know your strengths. Have an honest conversation with yourself and list your core strengths and what you like to do. Then list what skills you’ll need to have to run your business. This will help you understand what kind of support team you’ll need to have to run your business. Continue Reading →

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How to Buy a Small Business

By Melinda Emerson on April 7, 2011 in Become Your Own Boss Tips, Q & A Interviews, SmallBizChat

Each week as Smallbizlady, I conduct interviews with small business experts on my weekly Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. This is excerpted from my #SmallBizChat interview with Andrew Rogerson @Andrewrog Andrew is a 5-time business owner that loves helping entrepreneurs exit or enter business ownership. His services include business brokerage; helping owners sell and/or buyers purchase a business. He also provides consulting on purchasing a franchise, certified machinery and equipment appraisals and business valuations. To ensure this is done to the highest standards, Andrew carries the CBI designation from the International Business Brokers Association and the CBB from the California Association of Business Brokers. For more information www.Andrew-Rogerson.com

Smallbizlady: What is the first thing to consider when you want to buy a business?

Andrew Rogerson: The first thing to consider is you, your family and your lifestyle. Becoming a new business owner is a major change in everyone’s life so make sure you have the time to learn new skills and responsibilities and that you have support from your immediate family. It doesn’t mean they have to or will agree with you every step of the way, but make sure their thoughts and concerns have been considered and there is an agreement to move forward.

Smallbizlady: How should you prepare personally to buy a business?

Andrew Rogerson: Do an assessment of your strengths and weaknesses. Most business buyers rush out to see what’s for sale but this approach is flawed. What’s the point in falling in love with a business if it’s in the wrong location, is too expensive, you lack the right management skills or you wouldn’t qualify to buy because you can’t get a loan. Sit down and decide how much you have to invest, refresh your resume to highlight your management and industry experience, decide how far you are willing to travel to a business each day and other questions. I normally have a potential buyer complete a Buyer Qualification form so it draws out the buyer’s strengths and weaknesses. I want the buyer to do things from strength, not because it seems the best idea at that point in time. With the Buyer Qualification form complete, we pull out the nuggets to arrive at their key search criteria.

Smallbizlady: What should happen once you find a business that you are interested in?

Andrew Rogerson: Once a buyer finds a business that meets their key search criteria they tend to want to rush the process. They are concerned the owner will sell to somebody else or they want to move from what they are doing and get on with the process of owning a business. However, before you get too far and if the owner knows what they are doing or is using a business broker to help with the sale, the first piece of business will be to have you sign a confidentiality agreement. Most brokers will also ask the buyer to complete and provide a personal financial statement that shows they have the ability to buy the business.

One of the things a buyer should look for is an Executive Summary or Confidential Business Review of the business. Either of these documents provides a summary of the business and provides a lot of information that allows the buyer to research industry trends and drill down to important questions. If the owner of the business is motivated to sell, they should be willing to sit and engage you. As the buyer, you will be looking to see how you connect with the seller and if you feel comfortable doing business with them. Just be aware, they are doing the same. The seller doesn’t want to disclose a lot of information to you if they feel they can’t trust you or don’t think you have the capacity to buy the business.

Smallbizlady: How long should it take before a new owner takes over the ownership of the business?

Andrew Rogerson: There is no set answer to this question as it varies with each person. This is part of the reason I ask a potential buyer to at first invest in themselves. Once they get the basics worked out, now it’s time to see what is available that meets the search criteria that you’ve set. Finding the right business will take what it takes. Once you find a business that’s of interest to you, and you get to the point of making an offer and negotiating it, once both parties agree on the price the buyer now moves into the due diligence process. The due diligence process is where the buyer can verify all the representations made by the seller. If the buyer is comfortable with all the representations it now moves into the escrow process.

Smallbizlady: What kinds of due diligence should you do on the books of the existing business? Continue Reading →

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12 Things to Tweet About on Twitter

By Melinda Emerson on March 28, 2011 in Social Media

Twitter is a very powerful way to build a social media brand and one of the most common questions I get is, “So what should I tweet about?” Here are four basic tips: find news articles helpful to your target audience, tweet other people’s stuff at a 4:1 ratio of your own, tweet your own helpful content, and send personal tweets so that people can get to know you on Twitter. 140 characters is a short and sweet way to communicate with your target market, network and get instant feedback. You can develop relationships and promote your events or your business, but keep in mind it takes 7 contacts in social media to build trust, so go slowly. It’s important to avoid being seen as someone who just self promotes. Keep in mind that every tweet counts; no one cares what you had for breakfast, so don’t just tweet useless stuff

Twitter is all about Give to Get. Most of your tweets should be helpful. Be sure to inject some personality, so that people can feel like they know you.

Here are 12 ideas for what to tweet:

1. Teach something – Highlight your area of expertise by teaching how to do something.

2. Ask for advice: The Twitterverse is great for quick responses. You can also ask questions that encourage responses.

3. Become a Twitter news source: Announce news from your industry and local news from the city where you do business.

4. Share good information: Develop a list of 10 sites or blogs that your followers would be interested in and share links regularly. Be sure to comment on the articles before retweeting them to get the link back to you.

5. Offer free advice: Use Twitter Search www.search.twitter.com to find potential customers asking for advice in your area of expertise and then offer them help. This is a great way to build followers.

6. Create a Twitter lists: Highlight awesome contributors in your industry. My post on 25 Business Women To Follow On Twitter is still a major link 9 months after it was originally posted. http://succeedasyourownboss.com/07/2010/25-business-women-to-follow-on-twitter/

7. Book and product reviews: Tweet any reviews for books/products relevant to your target audience.

8. Give Thanks: Be sure to thank anyone for mentioning you on Twitter or RT’ing your posts.

9. Quotes: Everyone loves to read a quick inspirational quote that makes them think or say me, too.

10. Market your latest offers: Market yourself but be careful about not to be saying “Buy my stuff” too much.

11. Give Twitter luv: ReTweet other people’s stuff. It’s a great way to widen your network, and build relationships with other professionals.

12. Be Personal- Post at least one personal Tweet every day. It will allow people to see that you are not just all about business. I have a 5 year old and he gives me great material to tweet about.

My bottom line with Twitter: Be real, useful and helpful. Make sure you have a good picture and sharp Twitter bio that explains how someone can hire you. Remember, the give to get principal. It’s not all about you. Your followers need to understand your thought leadership as well as whose stuff you like to read. Follow everyone who follows you, unless they have no photo, no description or have locked their Twitter account. It’s ok to repeat your tweets. I typically repeat new blog posts four times the first day of a new post.

Do you have any more secrets of using Twitter to share?

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, Starting A Small Business

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?

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Are You Ready to Get Serious About Your Business?

By Melinda Emerson on March 16, 2011 in Business Inspiration, Grow Your Business, Your Small Business

I meet people all the time who will offer me their business idea as soon as they hear I’m a small business coach.

I have heard it all, and here’s a secret – everyone has good ideas. I rarely hear a business concept that I think is terrible. Most people walk around with those ideas without a real plan to start their business. And in the rare case that they’ve already started their business, chances are the business is running them, for without a plan they are surely not running it. If you are anywhere near Philadelphia, you need to come hang out with me April 2, 2011 for BYOB2011.

You know as Smallbizlady, my mission is to End Small Business Failure and now I’m hosting BYOB2011, a live conference in Philadelphia 9am-3pm at Community College of Philadelphia to get you on the right track with your small business. I’ll walk you step-by- step through the Emerson Planning system: Life plan, Financial Plan, Validating the Business Concept, Marketing Plan and Business Plan. I also have some special guests stopping by to help you launch and reinvent your business the right way.

Lolly Daskal @LollyDaskal will kick off the day talking about how to lead from within, with the right mindset to start your small business. Lolly believes that each of us is gifted with an inner voice that leads us. She believes that each voice, when heard, allows our true gifts to surface, to empower us, to lead us to our best life. Lolly affirms with those she works with that they indeed have what it takes to reach the next level.

Amy Larrimore @AmyAllStar from SCORE will talk about the financial aspects of starting a business. Amy’s specialty is getting to A from B efficiently, effectively, accurately while getting the most bang for your buck. Her expertise includes all manners of strategic business analysis and technology solutions. You’ll love her.

But wait, there’s more! Stay tuned, I have other special guests who will join us; look for another announcement here on Friday.

Special Bonus: The next 10 people who register for BYOB2011 will get a free copy of my life planning journal http://bit.ly/dWc4H5

No joke – we’ll be hanging out at our Tweetup on April Fool’s Day– April 1^st at 6pm at TGI Friday’s on Ben Franklin Parkway.

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Time For Your Small Business Checkup!

By Melinda Emerson on March 15, 2011 in Grow Your Business, Guest Articles

During the year, you go to the doctor for a checkup and you also bring your car to the mechanic for a tune up. But what about your small business? Have you thought about giving it a checkup also? You should always know the status of your business’ financial health, how well it is doing in other areas and what aspects need to be tweaked.

With an entire year to assess behind you, and a new year for implementation ahead, this is an opportune time for your business checkup!

The Examination During this stage, you want to accumulate all the data about your business from the past year. So here are some questions to help you get to the bottom line:

How do your assets compare to your liabilities? How is your cash flow? Gather your financial information to help you answer these questions. Have your financial statements for the current year ready along with those from the prior year for comparison. For areas where you notice significant fluctuations, be ready to answer what gave rise to these.

Are you still on target with your vision, mission and strategy? Pull out your business plans to help with this.

Do you still own your niche? Are you still an expert? Do you know what you don’t know? Surely, these aren’t easy questions, but it will benefit your business to answer honestly.

Is your brand still relevant? Is it time to revamp? It is important to remember that brands are shaped upon creation and have the ability to evolve. Additionally, they are not mutually exclusive from the business environment which is constantly changing. So with outside factors considered, does your brand need a boost?

Are you still meeting your customers’ needs? Are your solutions still needed? Are there new solutions you should provide to customers? Business is all about satisfying needs in the marketplace so you should know where you stand and what opportunities exist. Your business should be adaptable to keep up with your customers’ changing preferences.

Did you meet your goals that are outside the scope of your business? For instance, were you as involved in the community as planned? How did you give back?

Are your marketing efforts focused in the right areas? Did you notice different results from online versus offline marketing?

The Diagnosis Analyze the answers to the questions above. What information did you gather? What does it tell you about your business performance during the year? Did you notice any trends in your responses? Do you notice any inconsistencies? What are some areas of improvement? What should you continue doing?

Your assessment shouldn’t begin and end with you. Customers are vital to your business, so seek their input. Not only can your customers speak on your performance, but they can also provide insight as to what moves competitors are making.

And don’t forget your employees. The perception of those who aren’t making the decisions may be very different from those who are.

Altogether, these responses should help you identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. You will be able to determine what you want to accomplish as you look forward.

The Prescription As a business owner, you know that taking action is key to the growth of your business.

So in this step, you want to identify how you will accomplish your new goals. Here are some suggestions:

Writing down each action item and for those that require more elaboration, be specific about your plan
Know what resources you need to commit. These can be in the form of money, time, etc. In addition to that, you want to work on a budget and timeline.
Assess your progress periodically. In addition to annual, monthly and quarterly assessment can provide you with timely feedback which allows the opportunity to make changes quickly.

In summary Make the idea of a checkup for your small business work for you! Start by accumulating all the relevant information you’ll need, conduct your assessment, and decide what you want to implement. Along the way, don’t forget to monitor your progress and how it compares to your initial goals. Based on these results, revise your approach accordingly.

Dasanj Aberdeen is an entrepreneur, businesswoman and artist. She founded Theafter5edge.com and is a graduate of the Wharton School of UPENN. Follow her at @TheAfter5Edge

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Ask Smallbizlady: Why Do Small Businesses Fail?

By Melinda Emerson on March 11, 2011 in Ask Smallbizlady, My Recommendations

Every Friday, I answer your small business questions in a video blog segment called Ask SmallBizLady.

This week, we are taking on the question why do so many small businesses fail?

Here are the 5 Top Reasons Small Businesses Fail

No Life Plan
No Network
Not Saving Enough Money Upfront
No Niche Customer
No Fiscal Discipline

Like I suggest in my book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, you need to think about what your life is going to be like as an entrepreneur first, and then build a business that supports that vision. Start a good business that is good for you and your family.

If you have a question for Melinda Emerson, Small Biz Lady, I’m always here as a resource.

Leave a comment on this article, send a message using the contact us page, tweet me – @smallbizlady, on Facebook or you can hit me up on LinkedIn.

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Are You Confusing Target Market With Niche?

By Melinda Emerson on March 7, 2011 in Branding & Marketing, Your Small Business

It’s so easy to confuse your target market with your niche, but it’s one of those things that once you get it straight in your own head, it will be so much easier to develop a message that resonates with your target audience. Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of targeting too broad a pool of potential customers. If everybody can use your service, it’s likely no one will.

Remember, you have limited time and limited resources when starting out in business. If you narrow your focus, you can target customers who are most likely to use your product or service. According to Jennifer Sander, co-author of Niche and Grow Rich, “Niche businesses have a 25 percent better chance of surviving over ten years than more general types of companies.”

What are the three things that make a good niche?

1. Your target customers have a strong desire for what you offer.
2. The customer pool is big enough to produce the volume of business you need.
3. The customer pool is small enough that your competition is likely to overlook it.

Think about your business this way to keep things straight in terms of your target market vs. niche:

I provide (X) to (Y) who does (Z).

X = Your solution. What is the result to generate for your client? It could be more time to focus on being the talent, more time to develop a new business venture, more family time, get the dog taken care of, etc.

Y= Your target market. Who is your target customer? Be as specific as possible. Professional women 35+, Stay at home moms, Under 30 entrepreneurs, Single dads, Baby boomers, C – level executives, etc.

Z= Your niche focus. You must narrow-down the piece of the market you want capture. What do you do that helps you stand out in the marketplace? People want to hire specialists.

Here are some examples: If you have a graphic design company how about you focus on doing work for educational institutions? If you are a virtual assistant, why not focus on professional speakers and thought leaders who are often overwhelmed with the constant need to develop content and handle logistics? If you are an accountant, how about focusing on providing services, exclusively to restaurants?

Here’s mine: I’m a small business coach who specializes in helping people transition from a job to small business ownership

X= My solution. Small Business Coach

Y= My target market. People in Transition

Z= My niche focus. Go from Corporate to Entrepreneurship

To find your niche, look at the customers you already have. Is there a common customer? What work fills you up the most of your time and what work IS the most profitable? Figure that out and then define your niche around that. Then, develop a killer sales message that speaks to the specific interests and needs of that niche market. You’ll see an immediate increase in your sales and repeat business. You will build your riches in the niches.

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. She has been featured on NBC Nightly News, in Forbes, the Wall Street Journal and Black Enterprise Magazine. 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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Great Resource for Aspiring Authors

By Melinda Emerson on March 2, 2011 in My Recommendations

Stephanie Chandler @bizauthor, has written and published a new book, Booked UP! How To Write, Publish and Promote a book to Grow Your Business.

I must admit that I am a big fan of Stephanie’s from her publication From Entrepreneur to Infopreneur Make Money with books, E-Books and Information Products (Wiley & Sons, 2006)

In Booked Up!, Stephanie breaks down the pros and cons of the traditional book deal and self publishing. She’s done both, and does a good job of laying out the case for either approach. I think the fact that she self published this book tells you that she believes self publishing is the best option.

Part Three – How the write a book—FAST! is a real gold mine for developing an action plan to get your book done now. In Part Four, her book is all about developing an author platform, and she goes in depth with social media in Part Five. I found her advice about article marketing and virtual tours especially helpful.

The resource section at the end of this book is terrific, as well. I even learned about some needed resources and associations from reading this book.

My only critical comment is that I wish the book was a bit longer. At 138 pages, you’ll whip through this book in no time.

If you always wanted to write a book and don’t know where to start, Booked UP! is a great way to start.

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. She has been featured on NBC Nightly News, in Forbes, the Wall Street Journal and Black Enterprise Magazine. 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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Smallbizlady Help! I Need A Business Mentor

By Melinda Emerson on February 28, 2011 in Grow Your Business, My Recommendations, Women in Business

Dear Smallbizlady, I know how important it is to have a business mentor, but I don’t know many successful entrepreneurs. What’s the best way to go about getting one?

You’re right about the value of having a mentor, especially today. Choosing a mentor should be a real process of identifying the best person to help you get where you want to go in your business. You should cultivate a strong enough relationship so that asking to become your mentor becomes a natural request with clear mutual benefits.

If you want a mentor, you want to identify several people in order to hedge your bets. Your selections should be based on who would be best positioned to help you, their time availability and their influence. Then you want to establish a relationship, perhaps by volunteering to work on a nonprofit they support. It’s also worth developing relationships with people around this person, so that you become even more of a known quantity.

Your goal is to present yourself in a very professional way. Make sure that they know you are worth their time. Bear in mind that mentors don’t take on mentees out of altruism–they’re looking to take on valued contributors who they can grow as well as help them down the line.

Establish a rapport by trying to secure a lunch or coffee appointment at first. If that goes well, ask him or her to become your mentor. It should be a natural discussion to have. Be prepared with your paperwork—often times mentors ask for business plans and the latest financial statements.

Be sure to express–a clear idea of what you want your potential mentor to help you with in your business. This gives your potential mentor a way to assess whether or not they can truly help you.

Many people who want mentors fail to communicate a strong sense of what it is they want out of the relationship, and that can be an obstacle to both getting a mentor and having a successful relationship with them down the line.

Another great resource for finding a business mentor is SCORE, the organization provides free online and face-to-face business counseling, mentoring, training and advice for small businesses just starting out or hoping to take their business to the next level. http://www.SCORE.org

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. She has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Entrepreneur, Wall Street Journal and Black Enterprise Magazine. She hosts #SmallBizChat weekly on Twitter for emerging entrepreneurs and 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)