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Managing The Stress In Your Small Business

By Melinda Emerson on May 15, 2012 in Guest Articles, Your Small Business

Manage Small Business Stress When you put out your shingle that says open for business, you immediately take on 10-14 jobs all at once. Even the best multi-tasker, can become a spaghetti brain at times, especially when everything happens all at once. How you handling stress is a key ingredient in your long-term success in business. Here is a list of techniques that a small business person can use to help manage their daily stress.

Take a deep breath: If your to do list is out of hand, take a deep breath and try to find something to do for a few minutes to get your mind off of the problem. A person could take a walk, listen to some music, read the newspaper or do an activity that will give them a fresh perspective on things. Stress and anxiety are very common when you work in business.

Break it down: When facing a current or upcoming task at your job that overwhelms you with a lot of anxiety, divide the task into a series of smaller steps and then complete each of the smaller tasks one at a time. Completing these smaller tasks will make the stress more manageable and increases your chances of success.

Challenge your thinking: Challenge your negative thinking with positive statements and realistic thinking. When encountering thoughts that make you fearful or depressed, challenge those thoughts by asking yourself questions that will maintain objectivity and common sense. For example, you are afraid that you will not get that contract you’ve been working on for over a year –do not give into the fear. This will depresses you. The fact of the matter is that there all are kinds of opportunities available and just because you don’t get this contract doesn’t mean that it’s the end of the world. It just wasn’t meant for you.

Practice stress relief: Do something regularly to help you manage your stress. Try starting an exercise routine or running. Some people enjoy yoga and team sports. Do not just sit in your office and worry all day. Surround yourself with mentors and others who can give you good advice. Running a business is all about making the hard decisions, but you can’t let the stress get to you or drive your decision making.

Take it one day at a time in your business. Remember, that you want to make decisions based on facts and not your emotions. There are usually other factors that cannot be anticipated and can affect the results of any situation. Get all of the facts of the situation and use them to your advantage. The more control you have over how you handle stress, the better off you will be in the long run.

Managing stress in your small business Managing your stress takes practice. The more you practice, the better you will become.

About the author: Stan Popovich is the author of “A Layman’s Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods” – an easy to read book that presents a general overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. For additional information go to: http://www.managingfear.com

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Are You Doing Your #1 Job as an Entrepreneur

By Melinda Emerson on April 23, 2012 in Business Inspiration, Grow Your Business, Melinda Emerson @SmallBizLady

Your skills as an entrepreneur can make the difference between a booming enterprise and closing your doors far too soon. Your #1 job as a small business owner is to sell. Your job is to motivate, inspire and convince customers, potential investors, and often family that your business idea is worthwhile. It typically requires passion for your project, a coherent message, and most importantly, a confident delivery of that message. This can be a tall order if you don’t have a sales mindset. Do you have discomfort speaking to strangers? Are you unable to convey enthusiasm about your business? If you have a tough time getting into the sales mode, your solution might be to hire or partner with someone and let them do the selling, but then you can get into a mine-field of issues around control of your message.

How do you build your sales confidence? First, you need to understand where you are today. If your venture is a side-hustle in addition to a main job, and your business passion is on “low” and you just want to keep working your flea market stand, or selling cosmetic products to friends, you probably are where you want to be from a sales energy standpoint. The stakes grow considerably, however, if your venture is a full-time effort. The pressure to generate enough revenue to support yourself and your family will make you become laser focused on selling. Not to mention, if you have goals to grow your enterprise, this means a stepped up selling effort, too.

The Flawless Pitch – First you want to create a “flawless pitch”, telling your company’s story in one minute or less – what you do or sell, who you specialize doing it for and what makes your business special. For example “My name is Bob and I own Bob’s garage. We specialize in the repair and maintenance of luxury car transmissions at far less than dealer prices and all work is guaranteed”. You have a story to tell both potential customers and prospective investors which will get them to ask “Tell me more”.

Give it a Test Run – Practice is not just for baseball and dance class. You need to practice your pitch in the mirror, with your family and friends, and with anybody else who will listen. Ask for hard questions and honest feedback. This will keep you from looking foolish later. If you open a dry cleaning store, and a customer asks you about the chemicals you use for cleaning, you should be informative and give that customer good reason to do business with you. In the restaurant business it is about tasty, quality food, well presented in a clean environment. As proprietor, you and your staff will be touting signature dishes, great service, and satisfying portions giving customers great reasons to return by delivering on what you promised. People need and want to be convinced to buy stuff. You must be able to tell them why they should buy from you.

People should be able to feel your passion – Your enthusiasm and positive spirit are absolutely essential to selling. Whether you are selling to customers, selling your business concept to potential investors or trying to borrow money from your local bank, don’t minimize the excitement of your passion for your business and your absolute belief in its success. If you are short on enthusiasm for your enterprise, you need to take a hard look at whether being in that business is for you. Your ability to sell is key. Introspection today should set your expectations for tomorrow. Once you get the hang of power selling, closing a sale will be thrilling and more fun than work.

Do you have more ideas to get over the fear of selling?

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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Five Reasons Your Company Should Have a Platform

By Melinda Emerson on March 13, 2012 in Guest Articles, Social Media, Starting A Small Business

These days, you can’t go five minutes without hearing someone talk about platforms. The term is almost a buzzword. As I explain in The Age of the Platform, a platform is merely a structure made up of “planks,” or integrated features. For instance, Google in 1998 wasn’t a platform; it was a really neat search engine. By adding planks such as Gmail, Maps, Docs, Voice, YouTube, and countless others, it became a true platform.

By comparison, a traditional business based on a 20th-century model produces one or more closely related products or services, then uses marketing to try to attract customers. This business model can no longer compete with 21st-century, platform-based companies that have learned how to integrate an ever-widening universe of consumers and partners into their ecosystems. Consumers are driving today’s economy—not enterprises. Consumer-driven platforms matter more than ever.

Wondering whether to investigate — and invest in — the platform as your company’s business model? Here are five benefits that may motivate you:

Increased Innovation

All companies face limits; not even Google has infinite resources. But you can dramatically expand those limits. Building a powerful platform lets you cultivate an ecosystem of developers, partners, users, and other collaborators who contribute to — and may drive — innovation at your company.

Think of Apple’s app tsunami. By inviting thousands of users to develop apps for its iPhone and iPad, the company generated billions in new revenue. It has tapped into an endless stream of inventors and innovation.

Tip: Offering tools such as application programming interfaces (APIs) and software development kits (SDKs) only gets you halfway there. You have to create incentives for prospective partners to extend your platform and build different planks for your mutual benefit.

Quicker Response Times

Platform companies move faster than their traditional counterparts. When your core products and services frequently change, it forces your employees and your organization to embrace change quickly. Bad habits are less likely to get ossified.

Think of Amazon. First it sold only books. Soon it started selling virtually everything. In 2007 the company launched the Kindle. In 2010 it started publishing books to read on the Kindle. In 2011 it introduced the Fire, to compete with the iPad. The Fire brings everything together — shopping, reading, and consuming media — and introduces more e-commerce and social networking opportunities. Can the company handle all this change? No problem!

Tip: Find employees who are comfortable with change. To build a platform, you can’t rely on people who consistently resist new ways of doing things.

Reduced Risk

What if your company only does one thing, as mine did in 2008? What if the market for that thing suddenly dries up? Platforms encourage diversification and thus reduce risk.

Imagine if Apple had remained only a maker of stylish but expensive computers? Chances are it would be struggling for its very existence right now. But with its multi-pronged platform extending into music, telecommunications, media, commerce, entertainment, and education, Apple is beautifully positioned to withstand any surprises the market sends its way.

Tip: Try to find potential partners with complementary interests—and don’t be greedy. Grow the pie together.

Greater Brand Awareness

Platforms and ecosystems mean that customers are out there extending your brand in innovative ways.

Facebook is a beautiful example. Although it began as a social networking site for college kids, Facebook, through continual growth and invention, has expanded its offerings to include business and marketing sites, community gaming sites, email, instant messaging, groups, blogs, advertising, consumer data mining, and much more. More than 50 million Facebook “likes” are clicked daily, and by some estimates one out of every eight people on the planet will be a Facebook user soon.

Tip: Think about innovative ways to extend your brand. Survey trusted customers and clients to find out what services or products they wish you offered.

A Bigger Customer Base

This one is simple. More products and services mean more customers.

Tip: No, a local butcher can’t also offer ballet dances. But what if he creates an app? What if he blogs about recipes and cooking tips? What if he cultivates a tribe?

About the Author

Phil Simon is the author of four management books. His fourth, The Age of the Platform: How Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google Have Redefined Business, is his most ambitious yet. A recognized technology expert, he advises companies on how to optimize their use of technology.

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7 Great Digital Tools to Help Your Small Business

By Melinda Emerson on February 27, 2012 in Melinda Emerson @SmallBizLady, My Recommendations

Small Business Technology Tools Most small business owners have a to do list that is way too long. Let’s face it, running a business has become more difficult than ever. The good news is that technology is now making some things about running a business a lot easier. There are a number of free and low-cost digital tools that can help you meet your business goals. Here are 7 tech tools that could help you save time and money.

http://marketing.grader.com/ by Hubspot, is a free tool to evaluate your marketing through your website. You’ll know what marketing activities are working (or aren’t working). You’ll get answers to questions: Are you doing enough to bring visitors to your website? How is your content creation working? How are your optimization and website promotion skills? How do you do when it comes to converting traffic into leads? Do your landing pages, conversion forms, email marketing and social media efforts compare?)? This free tool is completely worthwhile.

Lexity.com: is a real time analytics application that provides online retailers with a live window into individual visitors’ shopping activity in their online store. This free app gives merchants the tools to better understand their customers’ shopping patterns – what they buy, browse and ignore.

Enloop: is great free business plan software. Enloop can work for seasoned entrepreneurs working on reinvention or a student working on their small business hustle in a dorm room. You can quickly build an investor ready document that will make your business shine. Enloop offers a paid version, but most entrepreneurs can get what they need from the free version.

AIM: Lets you share photos, links and documents in messages more easily and collaborate better with more sophisticated group chat. Plus, the app for smartphones and tablets syncs conversations so you never miss a message while you’re running from meeting-to-meeting or travelling back home from a trip.

Evernote: Manages your digital to-do list and keeps random notes all in one place across all of your devices to help you stay on top of regular tasks and reminders.

About.me: Make it easy for people to find you by building a free page on about.me. The site makes it easy to connect your online identity from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. in one place so potential customers or clients can learn more about you. Take control of your online identity and breathe new life into networking and personal branding to make sure you make the right first impression.

Freshbooks: is online accounting and invoicing software that is easy to use. You can send an invoice a few seconds after creating your account no matter what level of experience you have. You can send invoices via email and snail mail if you wish. The account starts out free then there’s nominal monthly fee for use, which increases depending on the features you need. Accounting is tough for most business owners and you need to know all the options available.

Do you have a new digital tool for small business to suggest?

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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10 Things to Grow Your Business This Summer

By Melinda Emerson on June 22, 2011 in 10 Things Lists, Ask Smallbizlady, Become Your Own Boss Tips, Branding & Marketing, Business Inspiration, Customer Service, Featured Post, Grow Your Business, My Recommendations, Social Media, Technology

Summer is here! Now that the kids are out of school, you might be thinking about how to reduce your work schedule, but that’s the worst thing you could do. It’s time to turn up the heat in your business. Third and fourth quarters are critical times in business. You may have customers who are in budget planning cycles, or have excess budget to spend. Now is the right time reach out to your existing customers and get your house in order to make your revenue goals for the rest of the year.

Here’s 10 Things to grow your business this summer.

1. Take a break. Even if all you can afford to do is a staycation, take a break from work for at least 7 days. You need to recharge your batteries so that you can go hard the rest of the year.

2. Attend a conference. The Summer is a great time to sign up for a course or attend a conference in your industry to learn the latest trends and techniques.

3. Read a great business book. Pick a book that’s you have been meaning to read and learn a few techniques that will help you grow your business. I really like 201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business by Jane Applegate. http://www.amazon.com/Great-Ideas-Small-Business-Bloomberg/dp/0470919663/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

4. Revisit your business plan. In the first few years of a business, you should be updating your business plan every 90 days. When is the last time you reviewed your marketing plan and how well it was working to drive sales. Make sure your budget and revenue projections are up-to-date.

5. Organize a Business Retreat. Take your team offsite treat them to some good food in a lush environment. Brainstorm with them to solve the top three issues in the business. Bring in a trainer.

6. Ask for testimonials. Go back to all of your customers that you worked with over the last six months and ask for testimonials. Get them in writing to update your website and ask them to post recommendations to LinkedIn.

7. Refresh your website and marketing materials. Take a look at your website and marketing collateral including your blog header, business cards, and newsletter template. If something was just thrown together just to get some out or you’ve been using the same template for a whole, take the time to clean up your design elements to make your brand shine.

8. Update your personal bio and profiles across social media. Every small business owner should have a professional biography. Take this time to update yours with any new marquee clients, non-profit board service, and speaking opportunities. Be sure to update your profiles on your social media accounts as well.

9. Do a waste walk in your office. Summer is a great time to chuck the clutter. The shredder is your friend. Get rid of stray paper, conference bags, direct mail, magazines, equipment that doesn’t work, and giveaways you really didn’t want anyway.

10. Develop a special offer. You need a reason to contact your customers. Nothing is better than a discount, coupon or special offer. You use this as your excuse to call, email or snail mail your existing customers. They are the most valuable asset in your business.

Do you have any other tips to keep a small business growing over the summer?

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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6 Things Oprah Winfrey Taught Us About Business

By Melinda Emerson on June 5, 2011 in Become Your Own Boss Tips, Branding & Marketing, Business Inspiration, Customer Service, Grow Your Business, How to Start, Starting A Small Business, Women in Business, Your Small Business

Oprah Winfrey is my hero. I never thought about being an entrepreneur until she got on my radar when I was in college in the early 90’s. It was around that time that she opened Harpo Studios in Chicago, making her the third woman in the American entertainment industry (after Mary Pickford and Lucille Ball) to own her own studio. She immediately went from being just a daytime talk show host to becoming a media mogul. And it was awesome to watch. The biggest thing she did for me was show me that I could do it too. I have studied her every move in business. I had an Oprah file for a year before starting my production company in 1999. Any article I could get my hands on about her business I would devour, print and keep. What I love about her most is that she has never been about goals. Oprah Winfrey has always been about growth. She has constantly evolved. That and her business acumen will leave a lasting legacy to all business owners to come. Here are 6 Things Oprah Winfrey taught us about business. 1. Find your calling. Oprah said in her final show that every day she walked on stage she felt that she was exactly where she was supposed to be. If you have no life plan, you are most likely following someone else’s agenda for your life. Live on purpose! Don’t be one of these entrepreneurs with an endless to do list, exhausted at the end of day– getting nowhere fast and not making any money. Oprah urged us to follow our own truth. God speaks to us though visions and dreams. Pay attention to what he is showing you about your destiny and build a business around that. 2. People show you who they are the first time. If a prospective customer approaches you, acting like an impossible nightmare, that is exactly who they are and how they will behave if you move forward in business. Do not allow your need for money or a contract force you to tolerate someone who does not value your professional expertise. You will never be paid enough money to make it worth it. 3. Oprah owned a broad niche. Oprah targeted a demographic that was women of all ages and income levels. She developed shows that would appeal to career women, working moms, stay-at-home mothers, grandmothers, retirees, high school and college students. And her audience was loyal because she helped them be better, live better, and find a correct fitting bra. 4. OWN your mistakes. In the wake of disappointing ratings at OWN, The Oprah Winfrey Network, Oprah’s latest venture in partnership with Discovery Networks, Oprah made a change at the top. Network head Christina Norman, abruptly left the 4-month-old cable channel at the beginning of May. How many of us wait until it’s too late to make changes in our businesses? Evaluate what is going on in your business and do not be afraid to change course if you need to. 5. Know that you are worthy of success. Often times we know what we deserve, but the thing that keeps us from truly capturing it is internalizing that we are worthy of all God has for us in our lives and businesses. 6. Be willing to do what it takes. Oprah never missed a day of taping on her show in 25 years. She knew that showing up was the most important element in her success equation. Are you willing to do all that it takes to make your business a success? I have begun to reach major success in my business, but I started being your SmallBizLady in 2007. There is no such thing as overnight success. What lessons have you learned from Oprah 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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4 Tips for Listening to Your Audience Online

By sss4success on May 24, 2011 in Grow Your Business, Social Media, Your Small Business

One of the first pieces of advice you’ll find about using social media for your small business is to “listen to your audience“. By creating a listening strategy you’ll find out what conversations are happening among your customers (or potential customers), before you dive in and try to become part of the conversation and ultimately sell your wares.

A good Social Media Marketing Strategy starts with an active monitoring and listening plan that helps you learn what’s going on in your industry, as well as what people have to say about your brand. It allows you to plan exactly how you’ll enter the conversation and what valuable content you’ll use to make yourself a valued asset and not just another person shouting about their brand in the already overcrowded social media space.

The following 4 tips will help you formulate a listening strategy to hear what your audience is saying and find out what you can bring to the conversation:

1. Use Google Alerts: Google Alerts lets you get email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on the topics of your choice, where you can choose your topic and have the results delivered via email or RSS feed at the time you specify. The great thing about Google Alerts is that you can set up multiple alerts for your name, company name, competitors’ names, and relevant keywords or search terms for your industry to keep up with the information that you need. This intelligence will be delivered to you regularly, instead of heading to a search engine and running queries yourself.

2. Try Social Mention: Social Mention is a social media search engine that searches user-generated content such as blogs, comments, bookmarks, events, news, videos, and microblogging services. It’s like Google Alerts, but for social media platforms. It works similar to Google Alerts, where you can set it up and monitor your brand and competition in the social media space.

3. Search Twitter: With over 200,000,000 million users, tweeting 155,000,000 tweets a day, Twitter has become a real-time information network that connects you to the latest information about topics you’re interested in. Searching Twitter is a great way to find out what people are talking about NOW, and using a Saved Twitter Search is the best way to monitor topics relevant to your brand and industry.

4. Create Surveys: Regularly polling your customers and prospects is a great way to find out what topics are of interest to them, and what kinds of products and services will meet their needs. Services like Survey Monkey make it easy to gather information from your customers first hand by asking them what you want to know. For the cash-strapped entrepreneur, Survey Monkey offers a basic plan that lets you have up to 100 responses on a 10-question survey, thus providing an excellent tool to learn more about your stakeholders.

Have you tried any other listening strategies that have brought you success in the online realm?

Kindra C. Cotton, Serial Entrepreneur, Technology & Social Media Specialist, and Jill of All Trades (and a Master of Two), channels her energies into her small business consulting enterprises specializing in brand marketing, market research, and strategic information consultancy. A transplanted Nashvillian with years of expertise with the Internet and web-based technologies, she channels her passion for entrepreneurship, information technology, and social media into being an excellent resource for online marketers and people looking to promote their brand on the web as Examiner.com’s National Online Marketing Examiner. Her flagship brand “SSS for Success (Small Business Survival Specialists)” specializes in preparing small and medium-sized organizations to take advantage of the free and low-cost marketing avenues that exist in the online arena.

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When It’s Gut Check Time in Your Small Business

By Melinda Emerson on May 17, 2011 in Guest Articles, Your Small Business

From time-to-time things may not go the way you need them to in your small business. When that happens, you need to take a deep breath and figure out what you are going to do. You can always seek the advice of mentors, but ultimately you need to do a gut check with yourself.

Here are 5 things to consider when your business is not going well:

Don’t be an ostrich: A major failing of many small business owners is in not taking their head out of the sand to give their business an overall strategic look. It is vital that you step back and research – look for trade association analysis, economic marks, and consume as much information as is published about your information. But you can’t rely solely on what is published – you need to venture into the real world to ensure the data you’re finding is valid. Networking is critical – go to tradeshows, join your local chamber of commerce, and talk to other business owners in your industry. Talk to different sources to make sure the information you’re receiving is consistent. You can spot trends by speaking to manufacturers and vendors that service your industry – they’re the ones that see what’s coming down the line.
Prepare for battle: Take a coldblooded look at where your market is in terms of how you think it will uptick. Then, look outside of your market to see how the larger picture as the buying habits of your target customer may have changed. Use what you learn to formulate a 6-month and a 12-month plan of action, which should include milestone markers that will be used for you to assess your plan as you execute it. But, don’t panic if it takes a little longer than you expected it might– there are frequent delays and changes in the market, and you have to give your plan time, and keep the faith. It’s important to balance belief in what you’re doing with outside data that confirms you’re on the right bath – large companies have teams of people that do this full-time, but for small business, it falls on the business owner to do so.
Call in backup: Every business owner needs a group of people that they truly trust, but whom aren’t involved in the day-to-day operations of the business. Business owners should seek to create an advisory group of individuals that understand your sector, but aren’t in the trenches with you, to bounce ideas off of and then triangulate accordingly. Small biz owners tend to be isolated, and forget the value of having outside perspective. Large companies have investors and boards of directors, and meet quarterly to get that perspective, which gives them a leg up over small businesses that don’t take the time to connect for insights.
Low, slow, or no cash flow: In order to sustain delays in the market, smart business owners will build in a financial cushion. It is vital that business owners go beyond living week-to-week or month-to-month – you need to think about your plan and how you’re spending your cash. What if several customers are suddenly unable to pay in the set window of time? If multiple accounts receivables are coming in slow, instead of waiting for crunch time, prepare ahead – can you tap a line of credit? Contact your vendors to extend payment terms? Order stock/supplies less frequently? Take a close look and do a cash flow projection to make sure you’re prepared to weather the worst.
The laws of (funding) attraction: Investors are largely still on the sidelines and, unless your company has an Internet play (retail or service), they’re going to evaluate you based on traditional models of revenue and profitability. If you go out for funding, you must be able to allocate time away from your business – and it takes a lot of time, and you have to put together a written plan with backup on financials. For small businesses right now, banks are still very tight. Unless you have perfect credit and a stellar background, the bank’s return to traditional lending guidelines means that your best bet is to go after small business loans backed by the SBA (federal government). If traditional lending sources are not an option for your business, don’t give up hope – there are more large groups of angel investors than ever before, and many businesses survive by reaching out to friends and family.

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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Problem-Solving Through Challenges in Your Small Business

By Melinda Emerson on May 10, 2011 in Grow Your Business, Guest Articles, Your Small Business

While entrepreneurs are certain to face challenges from clients, one of the keys to being successful in business is the ability to face problems fearlessly. The three most common problems in business are managing deadlines, managing expectations, and dealing with a changing marketplace. Below, I’ll share with you some of the most common obstacles facing small business owners and some tried-and-true secrets and solutions.

Problem 1: The Late Project

Business is more or less about multitasking. Especially as an entrepreneur, us businessmen (and women) inevitably juggle a lot of things at once – whether it’s juggling advertising work with filling client orders or juggling the many obligations we have in our lives as a whole. With this in mind, one part of business planning is crucial: Having a “game plan” for when something comes up.

For example, let’s say you have a translation job. You also know that you have a meeting with a PR representative, a few advertising-related errands, and a family event that same week. Or let’s say you don’t know about all of them, but you can easily estimate some setbacks – even if it looks like an easy project. If you have a translation job, and you need three days to complete it, tell the client it will take you five days.

Another example: Have you ever noticed how an airplane always manages to leave late—and arrive early? Very simple. It’s just a matter of playing with the math. If they tell you that are going to leave at 8 o’clock, and arrive at 4 in the morning, and really, if you left at 8 and landed at 3, by simply playing with the numbers on the slip of paper that come with the ticket, you are happy that you got in 15 minutes early instead of annoyed that you came in an hour late.

The Solution: Overestimate how much time it will take you to complete a project. Give that date to the client from the beginning. Continue Reading →

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Ask @SmallBizLady: How do I get started with social media?

By Melinda Emerson on May 6, 2011 in Ask Smallbizlady, Your Small Business

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: How do I get started with social media?

Here’s the answer:

If you want to start using social media as a lead generator for your small business here’s 4 steps to take to get started:

Develop goals (how many prospects, subscribers, website hits, etc.)
Conduct a listening strategy (know where your customers are hanging out online)
Have a great website that solves your customer’s problem within 3 seconds!
Start using social media by setting up a personal profile on LinkedIn

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.

Melinda F. Emerson, SmallBizLady, is one of America’s leading small business experts. She is an author, speaker, and small business coach whose areas of expertise include small business start-up, business development, and social media marketing. As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to End Small Business Failure. She publishes a resource blog at: www.succeedasyourownboss.com and hosts a weekly talk show on Twitter called #SmallBizChat for emerging entrepreneurs. Forbes Magazine named Melinda Emerson one of the Top 20 Women for Entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. Melinda has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Fortune, and Black Enterprise. She’s the author of the bestselling book “Become Your Own Boss in 12 months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works”, and she writes a column for www.secondact.com and is an instructor for the Black Enterprise Small Business University.

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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Ask @SmallBizLady: How do I get more lunch customers?

By Melinda Emerson on April 29, 2011 in Ask Smallbizlady, Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business, Your Small Business

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: How do I get more lunch customers?

Here’s the answer:

If you want to get more customers into your retail establishment follow these steps:

Communicate with your customers
Change the menu
Advertise weekly lunch specials
Start using social media such as a Facebook fan page
Offer discounts after 2pm
Develop a contest

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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#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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11 Great Technology Tools for Small Business

By Melinda Emerson on April 27, 2011 in My Recommendations, Technology, Your Small Business

As SmallBizLady, my mission is to end small business failure. To that end, I love to share great free resources that can help small business owners save time and money. Here are my 11 favorites that I am sure you’ll find beneficial to your business operations. If you embrace these technology tools you’ll be amazed how much more efficient you will be each day in your small business.

Here’s my best small business finds:

1. Gmail.com

Google provides a great free email solution which also integrates seamlessly with Google calendar. Some of the features of Gmail include: You don’t need to have MS Office to download attachments—you can download any file into as a Google document. Gmail comes with 5GB of storage and can be accessed from any computer. It also saves every email address you send messages to, and has one of the best spam filters around. Even if you have a branded email address you should have a Gmail address too.

2. LinkedIn.com

LinkedIn is one of the world’s largest professional networks with over 100 million members. LinkedIn allows small business owners to connect with old and new contacts. This allows you exchange knowledge, ideas, and search for prospects across a broad network of professionals. In today’s professional world, people change jobs and locations constantly. By connecting on LinkedIn, your address book will never go out of date. Every small business owners needs a professional LinkedIn profile to make sure that potential business leads can search for you.

3. Facebook Fan Pages

Think of a Facebook Fan Page as a secondary website for your small business. The tabs at the top of the page are like site navigation. You can have a tab for your newsletter sign-up, a tab for customer testimonials, and a tab for products & services. One of nicest thing about fan pages is it allows the business to communicate directly with a small group of people who like the fan page. In order to have a successful page you must provide regular content and interact with your fans. Showing up every few weeks won’t cut it. It’s best to post every day or even several times a day to make sure your fans know you care.

4. Twitter.com

Twitter is a social media tool and microblogging website that demands that you only use 140 characters or less to communicate with your followers (think text messages). Twitter is a great way to monitor your clients and your competition. You can also get instant feedback on your latest offers in real-time. One of my favorite uses of Twitter is to get answers to questions or find resources and vendors. Twitter allows to follow the most compelling conversations. You can also create the conversation. Every Wednesday 8-9pm ET, I host #Smallbizchat on Twitter to answer questions for small business owners.

5. Hootsuite.com

Once you have all of your social media accounts set up, the next thing you need is a way to stay on top of all of the status updates. Hootsuite is a web-based application containing an entire set of tools to manage, track, analyze, and schedule your social networking campaigns. Not only does this web application let the user post to multiple social media sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn at one time, it also allows you to schedule tweets and updates in advance. If fans and followers should be updated about a special sale for tomorrow, the message can be scheduled today.

6. Bit.ly

Once you create your content you will want to keep your links short so they can be shared easily. Bit.ly shortens your long links so you can share your content on Twitter, Gmail, Email, or Facebook. It also allows you to develop custom links and get personalized stats on the open rates for your Bit.ly links. This is a really useful tool.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. Skype.com

Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice calls over the Internet. Calling other computers is free. Calling other phones is really cheap. You can accept calls with Skype or set up voicemail. You can also connect to more than one person at a time to do conference calls. It’s all very simple. Additionally, you can use Skype for instant messaging, sharing files, and video conferencing. One of the best features I like is that it records all conversations that take place using instant message.

11. Delicious.com

Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage, and share web pages from a centralized source. It’s a great way to remove paper from your desk. When you find a great article on the internet that you want to save but don’t want to kill a tree to print it, now you just save it to your delicious file and you’ll always know where you can find it when you want to refer back to it. You can make what you save in delicious public or private.

You may not need all of these software options in your business, but if you find yourself in need of a resource refer back to this list of free options first.

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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.