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In Just 365 Days You Can Become Your Own Boss

By Melinda Emerson on January 9, 2012 in How to Start, Starting A Small Business

If you have always wanted to become your own boss, now is a great time. I realize that you are probably saying to yourself a year, Really? But trust me, 12 months is a reasonable and realistic timeframe to make your transition from employee to entrepreneur. You will want to take the time to plan your success; otherwise you could create a business that feels like a noose around your neck. You can mess around the kill the thought of something you used to love to do. I know that it is so tempting to just quit your job today, but try these steps first before jumping into the shark infested waters known as small business ownership. The reason why I call the waters shark infested is because when you are an entrepreneur, you must kill for your dinner everyday. Here are 6 steps to Become Your Own Boss in 12 months. I also call it the Emerson Planning System.

Develop a life plan: You really need to spend some quality time with yourself. Create a life planning journal so that you can examine how you life, what you love, what makes you laugh, and what you need to learn. Get clear on how much money you need to make to be happy. Find out what you want out of life and build a business that aligns with that.

Examine your personal finances: Develop a financial plan. Your ability to save has everything to do with your ability to start a business. BYOB stands for be your own bank. Make sure your credit score is 700 or higher and get rid of any debt. You will need to have money to live on while you pursue your entrepreneurial dream. And you need money to launch the business too.

Validate your business concept: Make sure there is a paying customer out there willing to buy your product or service. Test market your idea. Do not start a business people need, start a business people are willing to pay for. Be sure you know what skills you have and need to run your business as well. Don’t start a restaurant if you have never worked in one.

Start with a marketing plan: You need to make sure you know who is going to buy from your company and why? Develop a niche target customer. People want to hire people who specialize in solving their problem every day. If everyone can use your product or service no one will. Pick a niche and own your niche.

Write a business plan: If you want your business to have the best potential chance for success, you need a plan. The best way to create a business plan is with software. There many free options such as www.enloop.com or you can invest in top the line solution such as businessplanpro.com. After you take a crack at it, sign-up for a business plan course make sure that you can complete it. The finances are usually the toughest part, the course will help you get your initial costs and budget done correctly. You want to make sure you understand how much profit is in every sale.

Start your business as a side-hustle: Start your business while you are still working, if you can. It takes 18-36 months to breakeven in a small business. If you start before you quit your job you’ll be closer to making money before your cut off your paychecks. Learn on someone else’s dime. If there are skills or connections you need to learn to run your business such as computer skills or gaining key industry contacts many times you can get those from your current employer. Plan your escape from corporate America.

If you follow these simple steps, this time next year you’ll be open for business.

What three things will you do for your business today to make sure you eat tomorrow?

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 Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #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 http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

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5 Tips to Create a Successful 2012 Marketing Budget

By Melinda Emerson on December 6, 2011 in Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business, Women in Business, Your Small Business

It isn’t 2012 just yet. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be planning for it. For any business to be successful, it’s necessary to have a marketing budget. And while next year seems like a far off notion today, there is no better time to start establishing how you’ll invest your marketing dollars. Below are five tips to create an effective marketing budget (whether budgeting is your thing or not).

Start planning now. Waiting until the start of next year to do a 2012 marketing budget is a great way to have a disorganized budget that leads to mishaps. You need time to walk away from your initial budgeting ideas so you can come back to them with a clear head. And when the numbers don’t add up (and often they don’t) you need time to develop a solution.
Assess this year’s budget. One way to get started with next year’s budget is to have a grasp of what was hot and what was not during 2011. Were there areas you went well over budget? Were there categories in which you never spent a dime? Although this year’s activity isn’t an exact prediction of next year’s results, looking at your current expenses let’s you know where to make adjustments.
Include an income column. Not all marketing is an expense. When you host a webinar or luncheon and charge people to attend, you are not only marketing your business but also deriving income from that activity. Knowing what efforts bring in money is a great way to assess their impact on your business. It also shows what is worth continuing and what needs to be scrapped. If none of your marketing activities include income, it’s time to strategize a few income-producing endeavors.
Expect the unexpected. Keep in mind your marketing budget has many of the same characteristics as your personal budget. No matter how well you plan for every eventuality, something will come up without notice. Leaving a little wiggle room in your marketing budget for unexpected expenses lets you make sound decisions. Label a special column for emergencies so the wiggle money doesn’t get needlessly spent on something frivolous for the office.
Know the difference between a sound marketing strategy and a fad. You may have your heart set on a marketing tactic, but if it doesn’t support your overall business or the numbers just aren’t showing, it’s time to let go. If it seems that this tactic is being used by everyone else, keep in mind your business is different. What works for one business might not work so well for another. Know what your business needs so you can develop a unique, hard-to-copy marketing approach.

Creating a marketing budget (or any kind of budget, for that matter) is often NOT at the top of someone’s “favorites” to-do list. But with persistence and a willingness to get started early, the process can help you build a solid foundation for the upcoming year.

By day Morgan Leu Parkhurst helps individuals put the pieces of their marketing puzzles together. By night she teaches marketing to entrepreneurs. Morgan is also producer of the Magnetic Biz-Building Online Summit. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

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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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How To Develop a Marketing Plan for Your Small Business

By Melinda Emerson on September 9, 2010 in 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 @KindraCotton Kindra Cotton owns SSS for Success (EASY Brand Marketing Specialists), a company that promotes Small Business Survival through EASY Sales using the specially designed EASY Brand Marketing Program. She is also the creator of The MiniMarketing Survey, and she channels her energy into multiple activities that are geared towards helping small business grow. Visit her website at: KindraCotton.com. If you’re a small business owner, please help Kindra with her own market research efforts and fill out this brief survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SVSC7M2

Smallbizlady: How do you get started with a marketing plan for a small business?

Kindra Cotton: First, know your audience or “target market” and understand their needs. Second, position yourself to meet those needs with a solution-oriented marketing plan. Decide on how you’ll connect to customers and begin developing your brand.

Smallbizlady: What is the best way to learn your audience or “target market”?

Kindra Cotton: You must conduct market research: both primary and secondary research. Primary research is research you do yourself. It’s a good way to learn more about your specific market. Secondary research is research such as statistics and information from other sources like libraries, Chambers of Commerce, local and federal government publications, etc. This is best for getting a general overall view of the market or industry you’ll be operating within.

Smallbizlady: What is the best way to conduct market research?

Kindra Cotton: You can conduct primary research by reaching out to current, former, or even potential customers and asking them pertinent questions about their needs via surveys, focus groups, or in-person interviews. If your budget allows, you might consider hiring a market research firm who might conduct telephone polls and focus groups. Secondary research (the least expensive of the two) can be conducted by visiting libraries, internet searches on sites of the U.S. Census, Department of Commerce, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Small Business Administration, Chambers of Commerce, and local governments.

Smallbizlady: Once a business owner knows their target market, and how to meet their needs, what should be the next step in the development of the marketing plan?

Kindra Cotton: Defining your brand and tailoring your products and services to your target audience are the next steps. This includes developing your brand’s vision, mission, and company message in ways that are meaningful to your core audience, and this includes branding your company’s insignia on logos and creating websites. Armed with what you learned from your market research, tailor your product and service offerings catalog to meet the stated needs of your target market.

Smallbizlady: With a defined brand, targeted market, and products or services ready to sell, how do I put my marketing plan into action steps?

Kindra Cotton: Start by clearly stating your goals (e.g. attracting new customers, retaining old customers, encouraging repeat business). Prioritize long and short-term goals (set time limits and stick to them). When describing how you plan to achieve your goals. Be specific; break it down by activity (branding, promotion and sales strategy, email marketing, affiliate marketing, networking, etc.). Create monthly and weekly sales goals and activities to execute your strategic marketing plan and achieve your revenue goals.

Smallbizlady: What is the best way to execute my action plan?

Kindra Cotton: Start by reviewing your priorities and the timelines you’ve set, and address each priority in order of importance.

Smallbizlady: How can I implement a small business marketing plan on a limited budget?

Kindra Cotton: Maximize your dollars spent and look for creative ways to implement marketing steps that don’t cost money (e.g. social media, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), blogging, podcasting, video blogging). When hiring someone for marketing help, use your hourly rate and time saved as the litmus test and price threshold for what you’re willing to pay. For example, if you charge $100/Hour as a Consultant and you estimate it will take about 10 hours for you to review your customer records, could you find someone to effectively do the work for you for $1000? If so, then it’s definitely worth it to use them, since it will free up your time and you can continue running your business and servicing your customers.

Smallbizlady: If my number #1 priority is getting new customers, how can I do that?

Kindra Cotton: To attract new customers, you could offer an incentive or free giveaway for them to sign-up for your newsletter (e.g. 10% off first purchase, special report, or free sample.) Then use the newsletter to keep in touch by providing helpful information and informing them on new products and services. Use a blog and/podcast series with topics of interest to your core audience. You could also begin an affiliate marketing program with a complimentary business that refers business in exchange for a commission of sales.

Smallbizlady: What are some other ways that I can creatively market to my business?

Kindra Cotton: Contact the media to pitch stories about your business or your customers who have been successful using your product or service; Offer to speak for free at local speaking events (e.g. Rotary Clubs, Chambers of Commerce, Women’s groups etc.); Start a community for your core customers on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Smallbizlady: What are some of the big mistakes entrepreneurs make in small business marketing?

Kindra Cotton: Be sure to track marketing efforts. Make note of where customers learned about you and how they found you. Conduct ongoing primary market research by asking for customer feedback; Use surveys as another marketing tool in your arsenal (e.g. The MiniMarketing Survey). Be sure to offer customers an incentive to complete surveys (e.g. Free item/service). Use feedback to help shape future marketing efforts.

Smallbizlady: What’s the most important thing to remember in small business marketing?

Kindra Cotton: Be flexible and adaptive; Continue to tweak your strategic marketing plan so that it stays responsive to your market and industry.

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter.

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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Your GPS To Start a Small Business

By Melinda Emerson on March 15, 2010 in Become Your Own Boss Tips, Starting A Small Business, Women in Business

Most people dream about owning a small business. You may have had a “notion” for years that someday you would be CEO of a company, successful beyond your wildest dreams. Turning that dream into reality is an evolutionary process, involving not only having a solid business idea, but also understanding the “business of running a business.” Then you must ask yourself: Do I have the guts and skills I need to make my dream a business reality?

You will need to get your arms around tasks like accounting, legal issues, operations requirements, branding and financial management skills, banking relationships and processes, and needed human capital.

On top of that, do you have the courage, persistence, skills, work ethic and focus needed to succeed? Can you do all the jobs entrepreneurs must do? These jobs include chief salesperson, secretary, payroll clerk, IT technician, HR manager, collections agent and once you get a sale – you must service the customer, too.

Don’t put your dreams at risk by not doing enough research and thoughtful planning. I have developed an approach that will help you plan your escape from corporate America. It’s called the Emerson Planning System or E.P.S. I have written about how to use this system in my new book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months.

It is a six step system.

I. Life Plan – A life plan is a way to identify your motivation, skills, and personal goals and how you figure out what you really want out of life. You must develop a plan for your life and build a business around that business. Examine how you live now and then how you want to live. What do you love? What makes you laugh? And what do you need to learn?

II. Financial Plan – You must be able to support your household for up to two years before you can afford to cut off your paycheck. You also need funds to operate your business for the first year. Use a strict budget. Too many small companies operate at a net loss and do not realize it until it’s too late. There are many money-draining traps that can snare small business owners. If you are not thinking about your enterprise making money every day, then instead of a business, all you really have is an expensive hobby.

III. Validate Your Business Concept — You have already considered your personal goals, motivations, and whether or not you can afford to become an entrepreneur. Now you need to examine the basic business concept and what skills you have and need to run this type of business. It’s time the start writing down how you will get things done.

IV. Marketing Plan — Who’s going to buy from you and why? This is the stage where you do your in depth market research, competitive analysis and target market analysis. It’s also very important to develop a signature that will set your business apart.

V. Business Plan—You must write a business plan. You would never take a trip without planning how much money it was going to cost for travel, what you were going to do during your trip and where you were going to stay. You need to give your new business the same level of attention. It’s also important to have realistic financial projections that reflect three years of operations. Be sure that you understand how much money is in every sale for you.

VI. Start Your Business –It is best to start your business while you are still working. Yes–You will be tired, but it’s best to keep those paychecks rolling in for as long as you can.

The Emerson Planning System starts with getting your personal house in order so that you can start your business that nourishes your soul and minimizes the financial hardship for yourself and your family.

Business success is rarely a straight line to the top. It is not enough to have a plan “A”, you must be flexible, meaning you need a plan “B” and even a plan “C” to side-step obstacles in your business. Problems are inevitable. Anything can happen—from needing alternative suppliers, having to change your product mix, adjusting your prices to the competition or having to create a new value proposition if the old one fails. “Solution” thinking is the only remedy. When you are a start up business, there are two things that can take your business down on any given day: lack of planning and lack of experience.

Don’t let this happen to your business. Plan for success!

Tell me how long you planned before starting your business.

Melinda Emerson “SmallBizLady” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Expert and Social Media Coach who hosts #Smallbizchat on Twitter. #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business. Melinda’s first book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-By-Month Guide to a Business That Works was released in March 2010 by Adams Media.

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