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The 5 Most Important Entrepreneurial Lessons I’ve Learned in Business

By Melinda Emerson on July 19, 2010 in How to Start, My Recommendations, Starting A Small Business, Your Small Business

One of the great things about having a small business is that you get the opportunity to learn every day. Hopefully you are not learning too many expensive lessons. I thought it would be helpful to share a few important lessons that I have learned over my years in business so that you can benefit from my mistakes. Now, there are plenty more where these came from, but here’s what I would call my top 5 entrepreneurial lessons.

Be early; On time is already late. You need to be 15 minutes early everywhere you go. If you are going to a networking event, the cocktail hour is the event for you. Once the event starts you can only network with the 9 other people at your table. If you have an appointment and you only give yourself enough time to show up right on time you are asking for something bad to happen. There could be traffic or you could have a tough time parking or maybe you’re not sure of exactly where the office building is located. Being late is deadly when making a sales call. Always be early.

Don’t take a “NO” from someone who can’t say “YES”. Gatekeepers are there to protect the time of the big boss. Do everything you can to get to the decision maker, but be respectful about it. No one responds well to being talked down to. My favorite technique is to say, “I’m returning their call.” Many times mid-level managers or gatekeepers will try to block you. Make sure you have a relationship with more than one contact at a company you are targeting. If you can, turn the gatekeeper into a friend. Give them some attention and try to make a personal connection. When you are successful, they’ll help you get to the people you really want to talk to you.

Never start work without a signed contract. As small business owners, sometimes we are so enthusiastic that we’ll take people at their word and start work before we get a signed agreement. I have even delayed a vacation on someone’s word – thinking I needed to be around to do work – on a contract which never materialized. Be willing to talk to everyone, but do not spend on money on inventory and materials, and certainly don’t change your travel plans until you have a signed contract and a deposit.

Always know your next hire. I once had a mentor tell me that even your best employees will leave you someday, and when you least expect it. You should always have a Plan B person in mind that you would bring in for every key position in your small business.

Always know how much profit is in every deal. As small business owners we have a tendency to focus on revenues—which is important, but I would much rather you focus on profits. I believe that if a deal is not making you money it doesn’t make much sense or cents. You should know how much money you’re making on every sale or contract. There will be times early on in your business when you need to do work at cost so that you can get a certain client on your roster, but don’t make a habit of doing that. Also make sure you calculate a percentage of your overhead and administrative costs in your pricing as well. Every customer should pay a percentage of what it costs you to run your business.

Do you have any lessons to share about what you’ve learned in business? Please leave a comment.

Melinda Emerson, known to many as “SmallBizLady,” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Coach and Social Media Strategist who hosts #SmallBizChat weekly on Twitter for emerging entrepreneurs. #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business. Her first book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months was released in March 2010.

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Getting Started on LinkedIn

By Melinda Emerson on June 21, 2010 in Branding & Marketing, How to Start, Social Media

Developing a LinkedIn profile is a great step towards building your social media footprint. LinkedIn is a professional social networking application. LinkedIn users tend to be more affluent and very well educated. 57% of users are men and 43% are women with 72% of users over the age 35. According to a May 2009 survey, 82% of total users have a college degree and 30% of LinkedIn users are savvy networkers who earn more than $90,000 per year. 69% of users read blogs, and 9% maintain their own blogs.

Benefits of LinkedIn:

Able to build a network. LinkedIn makes it much easier to keep in touch with contacts. This is a great way to generate warm leads and access potential partners.
Access to research. Having access to your contacts’ and/or targets’ resumes and background. This information tells you not only where they have worked, but also their educational background and professional organizations to which they belong.
Acceptable self-promotion. Be sure your profile highlights your best assets and current projects to attract people with whom you would want to be associated.
Promote your events. LinkedIn allows you to put your rolodex on steroids. You can reach out to contacts all at once to promote your latest projects, activities and events.
Job leads. LinkedIn helps you develop your network, which will be key if you are searching for a job or need to post one. LinkedIn is a great source for job leads and tools to track down connections at a particular company.

Below is a step-by-step instruction sheet for completing a LinkedIn profile. The information you provide will appear on your public profile on LinkedIn. Your phone number and email addresses will only be shared with your direct contacts.

To Complete Your LinkedIn Profile

Go to LinkedIn.com.
Sign up for an account.
Choose a password.

Contact info:

Full name: (Catherine Smith) (no place for middle initial, they are not used)

Display name: (Cathy Smith) Optional: if nothing is specified, LinkedIn will use full name

Email address:

Phone # with extension:

Former or maiden name: (Optional: but helps people who know you from college or job in the past can find and connect with you)

Headshot photo: Jpeg format—This should be a nice, smiling photo of you.

Create a Professional headline:

Examples: Experienced Transportation Executive, Web Designer and Information Architect, Visionary Entrepreneur and Investor. People also often include CEO, CFO, or Consultant etc. It is one of the first thing people see in your profile.

Zip code: this puts you in a metro region – use your work zip code, unless home or other Zip code is more appropriate.

Industry: Sample Options: Law Practice, Legal Services, Lobbying, Education Management, Public Policy Expert - Other industries are available.

(All of these sections have unstated word limits, so be brief, but thorough.)

Summary: Summarize your professional experience in paragraph form. This is your chance to provide an engaging 30-second description that highlights who you are and what you do— think of it as your personal elevator pitch. (This section is limited to somewhere around 325 words.)

Specialties: The specialties field allows you to list your areas of expertise that will help potential clients find you when they are looking for a specific skill-set or knowledge-base.. 60 words max, but less is fine too.

Experience: Your position descriptions should briefly explain what the company does, and your main responsibilities and accomplishments. Be sure to include the exact time period – the month and year of your start and end date. Use clear, succinct phrases to streamline your information down to precise bullet points that highlight your talent and accomplishments.

Education: Make sure your profile lists any universities, colleges, advanced degree institutions, fellowships, and any certificate programs. Be sure to provide any additional notes on your experience at each institution. Examples: Alpha Phi Alpha, Chamber Chorale, Debate Team

Additional Information: The additional information profile element allows you to give users more insight into your professional qualifications by providing the following:

Web or social networking profile URLs – Facebook, Twitter, personal blog, groups etc. All you need is the URL http://twitter.com/username etc.
Websites: list a link to your company website
Interests: list the things that you enjoy doing, learning about, etc. These can be a mix of personal and professional interests.
Groups and Associations: list professional organizations or display badges of LinkedIn groups that you are a part of.
Honors and Awards

Recommendations: In order to get a 100% profile on LinkedIn, you will need to secure three recommendations. Start thinking about who you can request recommendations from. It can be current or former employers or colleagues, clients and or associates with whom you have done volunteer service. You must be connected to a person in LinkedIn in order to receive a recommendation.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

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! will be released by Adams Media in March 2010.

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7 Questions Hobbyists Should Consider When Starting a Small Business

By Melinda Emerson on June 14, 2010 in Become Your Own Boss Tips, How to Start, My Recommendations, Starting A Small Business, Your Small Business

This is the last of a two part series on how to turn a hobby into a small business. Sometimes people with great hobby do not have the right amount of business acumen to run a business. Everyone has good ideas — it is the business of running a business that gets some people in trouble.

Here are seven questions that one should consider before diving head first into entrepreneurship.

1. How committed are you to being a business owner? Successful small business owners are fully committed to their businesses. Are you the type of person who has lots of interests? Do you have lots of unfinished hobby projects around the house? Would you be easily distracted by the next business idea that you dream up? Successful entrepreneurs are disciplined.

2. Do you have a competitive attitude? Are you willing to charge people enough to make money from your products? Many people with hobbies have been giving away their homemade goods as gifts and presents for years. You must really change your mind set to turn into a real business person. No more hook-ups, friend discounts or freebies.

3. Are you a glass half full or half empty kind of person? Your business will live or die based on your own personal optimism. Most successful entrepreneurs are optimistic people. Can you see a positive opportunity or lesson in an otherwise challenging situation? When you don’t have optimism in your business, it is very difficult to sell to anyone or motivate employees. Most of all it is difficult to run a small business; you need optimism to survive the lean times.

4. How big of a business do you want to run? When you start a business, you also need to know in the beginning how much responsibility you are really trying to take on. It is also important to always know how much money you need to make to be happy. Do you want to make enough money to pay your bills and go on a few nice vacations per year, or do you want to buy your own island? Do you want one great restaurant or a regional chain of pizza shops? Do you want your product sold in high-end boutiques or at Wal-Mart? These are all decisions to be made up front as you are starting your business.

5. Do you like to make decisions? One of the main differences between having a hobby and running a small business is making critical decisions with financial implications. In business there are many roles you will need to take on. The average business owner does 10-13 jobs starting out. Will your accountant do payroll or will you use a service? Will you hire employees or make everyone a 1099 virtual employee. Will you hire a booker to source a foreign manufacturer or run a local manufacturing operation that will great increase your cost per unit. Will you be a home-based internet business or have a retail storefront?

6. Do you have the money to start a business? Once you’ve written a marketing plan and then a business plan, you will know if there’s a market for your hobby to become a profitable small business. The next step is to start saving to finance the launch of your new business. Will you start with product or will you need to develop a few more to generate the money that you need to sustain the business. You should not quit your day job until you have sufficient money to fund your business plan and your household. In fact, there are three pools of money you should have in place before you start your business full-time.

A) You need emergency savings for your household.

B) You need enough money to go up to two years without a paycheck.

C) You need the first year of operating expenses for your business.

Start saving 20-40% of every paycheck to save the money you need to become your own boss. Often, things do not work out exactly according to your business plan. These pools of money will be your contingency plan to ensure that the business and your family financially survive your small business endeavor.

7. Do you like to sell? As an entrepreneur YOU are the chief sales officer. You must be the best sales person in your company. Not only do you sell your products–you also sell your vision for the company and most importantly you sell yourself. And you will need to sell every where you go, and make sure that those close to you know what you do. If you love selling, entrepreneurship really could be for you.

If you didn’t have strong answers to most of the questions you might need to plan a little more or consider getting a business partner to help you make your business plan a reality. The key is being honest with yourself about what skills you have and need to turn your hobby into a full-time business.

What other questions do you think a person with a hobby should ask themselves before making their entrepreneurial dreams a business reality?

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

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

Melinda Emerson, known to many as “SmallBizLady,” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Coach and Social Media Strategist who hosts #SmallBizChat weekly on Twitter for emerging entrepreneurs. #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business. Her first book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months was released in March 2010.

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Winners of the $25,000 Entrepreneur’s Challenge

By Melinda Emerson on May 10, 2010 in Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business, Melinda Emerson @SmallBizLady, Mompreneurs, Pink Slip Entrepreneurs, Solopreneurs, Women in Business, Your Small Business

In celebration of her first book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works (Adams Media, March 2010), Melinda Emerson is annoucning contest winners featuring a prize of weekly small-business coaching sessions. “The contest brought so many worthy applicants that I found it impossible to choose one winner,” describes Emerson. “I narrowed it to two winners who agreed to share the one-on-one coaching.”

Entrepreneurs Jennifer Furr, owner of PictureThatSound in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Chris Bell, owner of ChrisBell3rd & Company in Columbia, Maryland, will work with Emerson weekly and blog about their experiences.

In 2009, Jennifer Furr decided to leave her steady job in the pharmaceutical industry to pursue a dream – bringing a product to market that she couldn’t find in the retail world.

Jenn Furr

Furr founded PictureThatSound to fill an unmet need in the US memory-keeping market. The company’s first product pairs a photo matte with a recordable device for sound. Furr describes being pregnant with her second child and wanting to capture the ultrasound image with the heartbeat sound in her scrapbook album. “There are so many sounds that we take for granted, that we think we’ll always remember. Sometimes I close my eyes and picture a sound in my head, like my toddler’s giggle, my grandmother singing, or even my husband snoring. We provide a product that allows you to capture a photo and an audio snapshot of that memory, all in one.” Visit www.PictureThatSound.com.

Chris Bell

In June 2009, Chris Bell decided to use his creative business development and technology sales expertise to launch his consultancy, ChrisBell3rd & Company, LLC to exceed sales revenue objectives on behalf of executives, investors, and owners of small to mid-sized IT software and life sciences software companies. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be coached by Smallbizlady, and I am thrilled to have been chosen. I know she will help me grow my business,” said Bell.

ChrisBell3rd & Company, LLC exercises proven best practices with the latest in Sales 2.0 technology to deliver customized business development and sales approaches that uniquely fit their client’s product-type, corporate culture, and revenue goals. His mantra is simple: “Nobody cares what you know, until they know that you care – all is business is personal.” Visit http://chrisbell3rd.com

Emerson says, “These two emerging entrepreneurs are exactly the type of dedicated small-business owners that I love to coach. I was so touched by each of their stories of starting a business.”

Jennifer and Chris will receive coaching twice a month for one year and an autographed copy of Melinda Emerson’s book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, her life planning journal, and her Audio CD: 10 Things You Must Never Forget in Business. Emerson will also coach both entrepreneurs every other week throughout the year. The winners will be required to blog twice per month about their entrepreneurial journey.

Melinda Emerson “Smallbizlady” is a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach. Her areas of expertise include small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Melinda is a well-known expert in achieving bottom line results and has helped many entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses. Melinda hosts #Smallbizchat, a weekly talk show on Twitter for emerging business owners. Melinda publishes a blog about running a profitable small business www.succeedasyourownboss.com. Her first book Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to Start a Business That Works” was released March 2010 from Adams Media. For more information, please visit www.becomeyourownbossbook.com

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Magazines and Newspapers Every Small Business Owner Should Read

By Melinda Emerson on April 5, 2010 in Become Your Own Boss Tips, Grow Your Business, Mompreneurs, My Recommendations, Pink Slip Entrepreneurs, Solopreneurs, Women in Business, Your Small Business

Every business owner should subscribe to at least one industry trade publication and local Business Journal newspapers to generate leads to stay connected with the regional business community.

Recommended publications:

American City Business Journals – Bizjournals is the new media division of American City Business Journals, the nation’s largest publisher of metropolitan business newspapers. It operates the Web sites for each of the company’s 41 print business journals. www.bizjournals.com

American Demographics Magazine – This magazine is a study of the American marketplace. It focuses on how to judge a market, and the changes that are going on in the population. www.demographics.com

Black Enterprise (BE) – This monthly business magazine is so relevant I can’t bring myself to throw one away. I keep a personal library. BE is the preeminent African American destination for information regarding entrepreneurship, technology and personal finance. Their online resources and business conferences are excellent as well. www.blackenterprise.com

Business Week - Business Week is at the forefront of the business magazines covering small business. They have a secondary publication called Business Week Small Business. This section of the online magazine has insightful articles on the small business economy and how to help small businesses. www.businessweek.com/smallbiz

Entrepreneur magazine – A solid publication with innovative solutions for small business owners. Their website also features exhaustive resources, back issues and tools for entrepreneurs. I especially like their start-up and women entrepreneur sections online. www.entrepreneur.com

Inc. Magazine – Inc. is the gold standard of small business news. This monthly publication provides timely information on industry trends, innovative small businesses, and offers ideas on how to improve your business. Inc.com provides additional information and advice covering virtually every business and management task. It also includes the Inc. magazine archives, more than 100 free tools to help you in every area of your business and has regular columnists and blogs on the site. www.inc.com/tools

Wall Street Journal – In addition to being the gold standard business publication, WSJ offers a small business website featuring businesses for sale, franchises, and other business opportunities and many other articles and resources relevant to small business development. www.startupjournal.com

Do you have a “can’t miss” newspaper or magazine for business information? Leave a comment.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

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

Melinda Emerson, known to many as “SmallBizLady,” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Coach and Social Media Strategist who hosts #SmallBizChat weekly on Twitter for emerging entrepreneurs. #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business. Her first book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months is out in March 2010.

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How is Your Entrepreneurial Literacy?

By Melinda Emerson on February 22, 2010 in Become Your Own Boss Tips, How to Start, My Recommendations, Starting A Small Business, Your Small Business

This is National Entrepreneurship Week Feb 20-27, 2010. This year‘s theme is Entrepreneurial Literacy Empowers Everyone. This is a theme that I truly embrace.

Whether you are still working in corporate America, running a nonprofit, or leading the charge in your own small business - being able to evaluate things from a business perspective will always enable you to be more successful.

So What is Entrepreneurial Literacy?

The organizers of this week-long celebration in honor of Entrepreneurship in America define it as having some basic knowledge of how a business is created and managed.

I have a slightly different definition. When you are entrepreneurial literate, you are a student of small business. You do not just rest on your idea and marketing efforts. You constantly work to refine your business model. You are someone who makes sure your passion has a profit center.

Entrepreneurial Literacy is important because too many people who want to start small businesses lack critical understanding about financial matters including budgeting, taxes, balancing a checkbook, managing credit cards or lines of credit, and developing sales projections.

Here’s a fact: if you do not manage your household with a budget you are far less likely to manage your business with budget. The best business owners make business decisions based on up-to-date financial information that is tracked against a budget.

Your journey to become an entrepreneur starts from real experiences that test your knowledge and skills and motivations.

Pursuing entrepreneurial literacy is about the research you do as you prepare to start your business. The more you learn and grow, the better business leader you will be. Real entrepreneurial skills come from your work and industry experience, and your willingness to continue learning.

Entrepreneurial Literacy is a real necessity if you have plans to Become Your Own Boss. These are the skills that empower everyone to succeed in business and fuel the American economy with 60-80% of the net new jobs.

Here are 15 Questions for All Would-Be Entrepreneurs

Do you have the career skills and experiences to become a successful entrepreneur?
What personality traits are more likely to lead to success as an entrepreneur?
What taxes do entrepreneurs pay?
What items are part of a firm’s operating costs?
How can an entrepreneur learn about what his/her customers want?
How can computer skills help with business operations?
How do small business owners deal with risk?
How does personal financial literacy relate to business financial literacy?
What factors determine where to locate a business?
Why is branding important?
How does competition affect entrepreneurship?
What percent of American firms have no employees working for them? Why is this important?
What are some sources of funding to start a business?
What should you do if business drops off?
What should an entrepreneur consider when hiring employees for the business?

National Entrepreneurship Week is sponsored by The Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education which believes that ”Entrepreneurs are not born….rather they ‘become’ through the experiences of their lives.” (Albert Shapero – OSU) For more information http://www.nationaleweek.org/

Are there any other questions that need to go on this list? Please leave a comment.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Melinda Emerson “Smallbizlady” is a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach. Her areas of expertise include small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Melinda hosts #Smallbizchat, a weekly talk show on Twitter. Melinda’s first book Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to Start a Business that Works is due out in March 2010 by Adams Media.

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The Entrepreneur’s Job Description PART I

By Melinda Emerson on January 11, 2010 in Become Your Own Boss Tips, How to Start, Mompreneurs, My Recommendations, Pink Slip Entrepreneurs, Solopreneurs, Starting A Small Business, Your Small Business

It will take every bit of enthusiasm and energy you have to grow your business into a viable enterprise and a powerful brand. If you think you work hard now with a job working in corporate America, you are in for a rude awakening once you start your small business, particularly if you are used to having a large support staff. This is the first of a Two Part series of blog posts on what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

cover_becomeboss_11-16-09 This blog post is excerpted from my forthcoming book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months! A Month By Month Guide To A Business That Works! The book will be released in March 2010 by Adams Media. Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months! is organized by month to lead you step by step through the process of how to transition from a job to small business ownership. In other words, it’s a 12 month planning guide to fire your boss and start your small business.

What Does It Take To Be an Entrepreneur?

1. Chief Visionary Officer You must visualize what you want your small business to become over the long haul. Stephen Covey’s most famous concept is “Begin with the End In Mind!” This is true in business and in life. This is the step that gets people in trouble all too often. Don’t get excited about making one initial sale. Take the time to plan out your business model and write out a business plan. Think about what you want your business to be ultimately in terms of number of employees, number of locations, and amount of revenue etc. this will dictate everything you do as you start and grow your business.

2. Chief Sales Officer Nobody should be able to sell your business better than you. You need to be a selling machine. Networking feeds the sales of your business. People do business with people they like and know. If you are known more internally at your current job than externally, spend the time to build your network before your start your business. If you are really not that great at networking, there are two options: get a partner with a great rolodex who loves to network or take some sales training courses to develop a structured system to get it done.

3. Marketing Manager Your marketing efforts are the life’s blood of your business. You must market strategically. You have limited time and limited resources. The narrower your niche market, the easier it is to focus on where to engage your customers. When you are just starting a business you should do marketing activities weekly. Social media marketing activities must be done at least three times a week. NameTag_CVO

4. AR/AP Manager (Accounts Receivable /Accounts Payable) One of the most important things you need to do to have a successful small business is to stay on top of who you need to pay, and who owes you money. You should develop a set policy for when you cut checks to vendors and payroll such as every two weeks. When you can, try to negotiate credit terms with all of your vendors. Push for Net 45 if you can.

5. HR Manager All part time, full time and contract employees will be hired by you. That means you will need to develop job descriptions for each position and conduct interviews for all positions needed. If you work with a temp agency you will still need to provide a job description. No employees should be hired until you can afford their salary, taxes and benefits for at least six months. A year is even better.

What other jobs do you think a small business owner needs to do? Please leave a comment.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Melinda Emerson “SmallBizLady” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Expert and Social Media Coach who hosts #smallbizchat on Twitter. #Smallbizchat is the trusted Twitter resource 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 Than Works! is scheduled to be released by Adams Media in March 2010.

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10 Things To Do Before Going into Business

By Melinda Emerson on January 4, 2010 in 10 Things Lists, Become Your Own Boss Tips, Business Inspiration, How to Start

The following is excerpted from my forthcoming book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide To a Business That Works! which is being published by Adams Media, March 2010.

cover_becomeboss_11-16-09 Are you tired of your boss nagging you throughout the day? Are you fed up with the small amount of pay you get as compensation at the end of the month to put up with his repeated verbal attacks? If this is the case, it is high time that you chucked your 9 to 5 job and started your own business. The best way to do this is to develop a plan for success.

Life is too short, and jobs are no longer secure anyway. When you are your own boss, you can work how and when you like in your own business. The key to launching a successful small business is to developing a firm plan, saving enough money before you quit your job, and learning the business of running a business. Below is a list of the Top 10 Things to Do before Going into Business.

Plan Your Departure 12 Months Before You Quit Your Job. Create a 12 month countdown to accomplish all the things that you need to get in order personally prior to starting your business e.g., financial resources, upgrading your technology skills, building marketing platform, business planning, office space/inventory needs, etc.
Develop A Life Plan. Decide what kind of entrepreneurial lifestyle you will lead. Do you have the energy to start a business? How many days a week will you work. Will you work 6 days a week or be off every Friday? Will you work weekends, every weekend? You should design your life plan around what your best day looks like 5 years from now.
Calculate Your Net Worth. List all of your fixed and liquid assets, such as real estate and cars, cash, stocks, and bank accounts at their current value. List all jewelry, furniture and household items at their current value. These are your total assets. Subtract all of your debts, such as your mortgage, car loan and credit card balances, from your total assets. The result is your net worth. Remember: Pay off all credit card debt! Carrying large amounts of credit card debt will strangle you financially as you start your business.
Save As Much Money As Possible. Time to tighten your belt. All too often, people go into business without any personal savings, exclusively using loan money from friends and family, home equity and credit cards. You may expect to pay the loans back right away with the profits from your business; however, it typically takes 12-18 months to generate revenue and an average of three years to break even. Please note: You will also need a separate emergency savings account just for your household.
Upgrade Your Technology Skills. 80 percent of the people know less than 20 percent of their software’s capabilities. Invest in online training or video professor to learn any software and social media marketing skills essential to your business operations. Quickbooks is a very common small business accounting software program that will be helpful to learn even if you hire a bookkeeper. Learning how to maximize your technology resources will give you skills that make you more valuable in your business.
Determine How You Will Cover Your Health Insurance. The ideal scenario is when your health insurance is covered by your spouse, but for those that are divorced or single parents, health insurance is serious business. There is COBRA, which is offered by your most recent employer, but it is only available for 18 months after your quit your job and is very expensive. You may also obtain health insurance through the National Association for the Self Employed (NASE), local Chambers of Commerce, and trade organizations.
Expand Your Network. Evaluate your network. Are you known internally or externally at your job? Make a real effort to join organizations and attend networking functions to build and reinforce relationships. When you first start out in business, many of your customers typically come from your personal network.
Get Yourself a “Kitchen Cabinet” of Advisors. Find four supportive mentors or friends who you can safely bounce ideas and concerns off of. It is helpful if at least one of these people is already an entrepreneur or a potential client.
Get Yourself a Personal Theme Song. Pick a song that always makes you feel good! Play it everyday to energize you. The journey you are about to start is hard and lonely, and your theme song will help lift you up and keep you focused on your goal – especially when you need extra motivation.
Stay Positive and Encouraged. You are the power source that will make your business a success! Find ways to keep your battery charged and sustain your optimism. Make a list of your accomplishments every day – it will keep you from dwelling on your never ending to-do list.

There are many different types of opportunities available for you in the form of a small business. If you are experienced in any field, you can make money working for yourself. Start realizing your real potential and make money for yourself by selecting the right business opportunity.

Good Luck! An expanded version of this article titled; 44 Things You Need To Do Before You Go Into Business is available as a free download on my website at www.melindaemerson.com.

This is insight into starting – and more importantly, staying – in business. I love to get feedback. Tell me if you have any other good tips to add to the list.

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 month! A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works! will be released by Adams Media in March 2010.

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

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Smallbizlady’s Reading List Part II

By Melinda Emerson on November 26, 2009 in 10 Things Lists, Business Inspiration, Grow Your Business, Mompreneurs, My Recommendations, Pink Slip Entrepreneurs, Solopreneurs, Women in Business, Your Small Business

readingglasses_ii Reading is brain food for your business. To keep your thinking sharp it is always good to read about the latest techniques for running a successful small business. One of my favorite things to do is read books about business strategy, social media and leadership.

Here’s Part II of a list of best books that I think will have a major impact on your business strategy heading into 2010. (Part I was posted earlier this week.)

Plan As You Go Business Plan by Tim Berry (Entrepreneur Press, 2008) Business owners struggle everyday because they don’t have a plan. I also see folks who create a business plan and then never use it. Without an up-to-date business plan, you put your business at a great disadvantage. Tim Berry lays out an easy to use system to get your business plan done. The value from having a written plan comes from going through the process and updating it on a regular basis to evaluate how your business is doing and making adjustments as needed. Tim has organized the book to support his “plan as you go” approach. It is designed so you can jump around and use the section of the book that you need at any given time. Don’t start 2010 without an updated business plan.

When Growth Stalls: How it Happens, Why You’re Stuck & What to Do About It by Steve McKee (Jossey-Bass, 2009) One of the biggest challenges any business owner faces is generating consistent, profitable growth. “When Growth Stalls” is all about keeping the momentum going in your business. It is a practical, hands-on guide for business owners who are struggling with stalled growth and for those who hope to prevent it in the first place. When your entire financial future is on the line – it’s not just business, it’s personal. This book is based on research that illustrates that 54.9% of companies’ growth is currently stalled. Growth can slow down for a variety of reasons including: marketing inconsistency, increased competition, lack of focus at the top, or a loss of nerve. Steve gives you the blue print to focus inward and turn things around in your business.

Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling by Michael Port (J. Wiley & Sons, 2006) Michael Port makes you think about your clients and work in a different way. He suggests attracting clients with a no-cost-of-entry offer that leads to a low-cost-of-entry offer that leads the client deeper into your solutions and offerings. He also teaches that, if you have clients who sap you of energy because they are not “your” kind of clients, you cannot do as good a job for them, and you lack integrity. This is what I believe as well. You may restructure your marketing plans based on the lessons taught in the book. This book is especially helpful for service businesses.

From Entrepreneur to Infopreneur: Make Money with books, E-Books and Information Products by Stephanie Chandler (J. Wiley & Sons 2007) In this business age, it’s all about what you know that you can sell. Stephanie Chandler does a great job of breaking down all the different ways to generate content and information products. She also illustrates how you can repurpose your content to build your expertise and brand. She profiles the biggest names in the infoproducts at the end of every chapter including my favorite self-publishing guru Dan Poynter. She also has an extremely thorough chapter towards the end of the book about how to promote a book. From Entrepreneur to Infopreneur is worth reading a few times.

ONO: Options not Obligations, Family First Entrepreneur by Marc Warnke (Morgan James Publishing 2009) Most entrepreneurs struggle with work/life balance issues. Marc Warnke challenges readers to enrich their personal lives by rethinking their financial lives. ONO teaches a wealth creation lifestyle that focuses on making a difference first and creating profit second. Family first entrepreneurs make business choices based on the potential impact they will have on their families first, and on business profitability second. I bought this book after reading an incredible review by a blogger online. This is a great philosophy to live and run your business. Try it!

Do you know a book that should be added to the list? Let me know, I love the feedback.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

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

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 Start a Business that Works! is scheduled to be released by Adams Media in Feb 2010.

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SmallBizLady’s Reading List Part I

By Melinda Emerson on November 23, 2009 in 10 Things Lists, Business Inspiration, Cash Flow & Finance, Grow Your Business, Mompreneurs, My Recommendations, Pink Slip Entrepreneurs, Social Media, Solopreneurs, Women in Business, Your Small Business

In business, reading is fundamental. It is crucial to help you grow your expertise as a business leader. One of my favorite things to do is read books about small business best practices, social media and leadership. Here’s a list of best books that I think will have a major impact on your business strategy heading into 2010. Later this week, I’ll have five more of my favorite books to share.

Small Business Cash Flow: Strategies for Making Your Business a Financial Success by Denise O’Berry (J. Wiley & Sons, 2006) The best thing you can do for your business is understand how much profit is in every sale and stay cash flow positive. Denise O’Berry writes a terrific book that explains the ins and outs of financial management in a successful small business. The book does a good job of pointing out how a small business owner can stay on top of the cash flow issue in running her business. This is an incredible resource book that I highly recommend.

Get Known Before the Book Deal by Christina Katz (Writer Digest Books, 2008) It is not often I read a book that truly enlightening from cover to cover. On a scale of 1-5, Get Known Before the Book Deal is a 10! If you want to know what it takes to get a book deal, Christina Katz gives a very specific recipe, but this book is not just helpful to people who want to be authors. This book is for anyone who needs to build a marketing platform and a brand for their expertise. This book changed my entire business model and my brand. I could not recommend this book more highly.

Customers For Life: How To Turn That One-Time Buyer Into a Lifetime Customer by Carl Sewell and Paul B. Brown (Doubleday, 2002) This is a must read for every business owner. None of the ideas in this book are ground breaking, but the authors do a great job of explaining how they translate into loyal customers for your business. This book will help you create systems in your business to avoid customer service problems in the first place. This book was originally published in 1998 and has been updated three times since, selling over 1 million copies worldwide. Every business owner should have this book, and I’d also recommend buying copies for all your employees as well.

Blog Blazers: 40 Top Bloggers Share their Secrets to Creating a High-Profile, High-Traffic and High Profit Blog by Stephane Grenier (Levac Publishing House, 2008) This is one of those books that serious bloggers will keep on their shelves. I like that this book features 40 top bloggers and not just 10 or 15 like most profile books. I enjoyed learning great techniques and about what blogs these pros read. Try reading a chapter a day, look at the blogs of the blogger featured, see what they are doing well that you can implement in your blog. Learning how successful bloggers approach their blogging is an exercise that will have lots of benefits.

Greening Your Small Business: How to Improve Your Bottom Line, Grow Your Brand, Satisfy Your Customers – and Save the Planet by Jennifer Kaplan (Prentice Hall Press, 2009) Green is not just the color of money. Going green can be overwhelming, but Jen Kaplan provides a comprehensive guide to practical, meaningful, low-cost changes that can be applied today to go green in your business. Green practices are being measured by everyone including your customers-so use this book to build an additional competitive advantage in your business and save the planet as the same time.

Do you know a book that should be added to the list? Let me know, I love getting your feedback.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

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

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#SmallBizChat Live Telesummit Recap (Part 2)

By Melinda Emerson on November 13, 2009 in Business Inspiration, Cash Flow & Finance, Grow Your Business, Mompreneurs, Pink Slip Entrepreneurs, SmallBizChat, Social Media, Solopreneurs, Starting A Small Business, Telesummit, Women in Business, Your Small Business

(Dear readers: this is the second part of a two part post. Click here to see part one.)

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. This past week, I presented the first annual #SmallBizChat Live Telesummit. The goal was to give the audience the information to create a new plan for their business in 2010. After nearly a year of communicating in writing on this blog and using Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, I wanted to interview small business experts over the phone. I also wanted our followers to have access to some experts who do not use Twitter, but who have fantastic information to share. In today’s blog post, I have prepared a recap of three key points that each expert shared with us.

Allyson Lewis @allyson7minutes is a renowned motivational speaker and business coach whose focus is on productivity, specifically developing systems to change your life. Her book, The Seven Minute Difference, grew out of the workshops she has been teaching for the past five years. For more information, please visit Seven Minutes Inc. Allyson talked to us about getting more out of your day as a business owner.

Here are Allyson’s key takeaways:
1. Use a daily written plan of action. The average adult has a 7 minute attention span. Take 7 minutes to write down your top priorities for the day. Regain your passion by doing what is most important to you.
2. Get 7-8 hours of rest a night. Stop watching late night TV and sacrificing a good night’s rest.
3. She introduced the 5 before 11am rule. Allyson advises us all to make an exhaustive list of everything in our personal lives and business lives that needs to get done. Then she suggests tackling 5 tasks per day before 11am, if that’s too tough try do 5 a week. Just get rid of the list.

Michelle Villalobos @mivi is a business turnaround expert who teaches busy entrepreneurs how to improve their sales approach through networking skills, personal branding and word-of-mouth marketing. For more information, please visit MichelleVillalobos.com. Michelle talked to us about turning contacts into contracts.

Here are Michelle’s key takeaways:
1. Reframe the typical “elevator pitch” into an “elevator teaser.” Instead of a rapid fire 30 second commercial that describes everything you do, find the core of what you do and develop a tagline that encompasses your entire brand (if you can). Done properly, it will elicit the follow-up question, “that sounds interesting, tell me more.” One therapist who helps people get over their fears and anxieties described herself as “the couchless therapist,” which makes people want to know more.
2. Business card etiquette – Avoid “premature solicitation” – which is the act of handing out business cards before even saying hello. When you give someone a business card, it is all about timing. Your goal is to develop rapport and to connect with someone. The time to exchange business cards, more appropriately, is after interaction.
3. Follow-up is important. Michelle suggests offering a free newsletter signup to people in a follow-up email. And in the monthly newsletter have valuable tips and info, all focused on the needs of the customers.

Paul B. Brown is a long-time contributor to the New York Times and author of more than two dozen books, including the international best-seller Customers for Life. He is the author of Publishing Confidential: What it really takes to land a non-fiction book deal. Paul spoke with us about becoming a published author to build your business.

Here are Paul B. Brown’s key takeaways:
1. Once you have book idea, the first thing to do is to try developing an outline for the book, and then writing 2-3 sample chapters.
2. The title of your book should tell people exactly what your book is about. Do not be afraid to talk to potential readers about the book topic to get the right words to use in your book title.
3. A book proposal is what you need to approach an agent or editor to pitch your book. It’s fine to send a query letter first, but if there’s any interest, the next request will be to send a book proposal which is typically a 30-page document. Start working on the proposal before sending query letter, so that you can respond to interest.
Paul made a special offer to Telesummit participants – he will give out a copy of a book proposal that sold. You should email Paul at paulbbrown@aol.com and use “Melinda’s Telesummit” in the subject line. His offer ends 11/13/09 at 5pm Eastern.

Lisa D. Sparks @lisadsparks is an email marketing expert with nine years of experience developing and implementing marketing solutions for small business owners. Lisa taught us how to become email marketing rock stars. For more information, please visit lisadsparks.com

Here are Lisa’s key takeaways:
1. Typical open rate on email marketing is 22%. Be sure not use language in your emails that are triggers for spam filters such as: FREE, space available, special offer, only today, !!!, and ???
2. You should have multiple ways to build your email list for your business. Using an email sign-up for your newsletter/blog on multiple pages of your website is one strategy. You can also offer a special report in exchange for an email address. Conducting free monthly conference calls is another great technique to build your list. When you go to a networking function, be sure to ask someone who gives you a business card if you can add them to your mailing list.
3. Develop an editorial calendar for your e-newsletters and all of your auto-responders. Consider writing a year’s worth of e-newsletters all at once. Email should not be the only way that you communicate with your list – using video and/or audio and are nice ways to break it up.

If you missed the SmallBizChat Live Telesummit, do not worry! We are editing and packaging the calls to make them available shortly… so stay tuned.

I hope that after you read what these experts had to say, you will be ready to tackle 2010 with some inspiration and new tricks up your sleeve. Being in business is a spiritual marathon. Hang in there.

My co-host Cathy Larkin @cathywebsavvyPR and I presented the 1st Annual SmallBizChat Live Telesummit because it is our mission to end small business failure. We will be back November 2010 to do this again.

Please follow us at @smallbizchat and join us for #SmallBizChat every Wednesday from 8-9pm Eastern on Twitter. #SmallBizChat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business.

How to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

For more tips on starting or growing your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog at www.succeedasyourownboss.com

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#SmallBizChat Live Telesummit Recap (Part 1)

By Melinda Emerson on November 9, 2009 in Business Inspiration, Cash Flow & Finance, Grow Your Business, Mompreneurs, Pink Slip Entrepreneurs, SmallBizChat, Social Media, Solopreneurs, Telesummit, Your Small Business

(Dear readers: this is the first part of a two part post about SmallBizChat Live Telesummit. Part two will post on Friday, November 13, 2009.)

Mike Michalowicz @TPEntrepreneur kicked off our Telesummit. Mike is small business expert who is known as the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur. For more information, please visit toiletpaperentrepreneur.com Michalowicz talked about using social media a build your business.

Here are Mike’s key takeaways:
1. Use a 4 to 1 ratio in your content posted on social media sites. Only promote yourself once in every four times you communicate. Always seek to add value to your audience.
2. Take a non-traditional position to stand out among other experts in your field.
3. Blogging and participating in forums is a great strategy, but using Google ad words can be effective as well.

Karyn Greenstreet @kgreenstreet was our second guest. She’s a self-employment expert who runs thesuccessalliance.com. Her website has all the resources a business owner needs to start or run a mastermind group. Karyn talked to us about mastermind group best practices.

Here are Karyn Greenstreet’s key takeaways:
1. Being involved in a mastermind group is something successful entrepreneurs do.
2. Think about the other skills you need in your business when you want to recruit members to start a mastermind group. Mastermind groups are typically four-to-ten people.
3. Develop set procedures for how your group will operate and get all participants to sign the agreement. Using an agreement is one of the best ways to get participants to commit to the terms and then fully participate.

Dr. Mel Gravely @melgravely kicked off day two of the Telesummit. Mel is the founder of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Thinking, the leading think tank on issues related to business development. For more information, please visit entrethinking.com Mel talked about how to retool your business in tough times.

Here are Dr. Gravely’s key takeaways:
1. It is more important than ever to focus on your niche market and your value proposition. Gone are the days of the generalist consultant.
2. Do not launch any new marketing initiative that you can’t afford to keep up for at least a year.
3. Business shouldn’t always be a struggle. If you have been struggling in your business for more than four years, and it’s never been profitable; it might be time to move on from that business or that business model.

Tim Berry @Timberry is president and founder of Palo Alto Software the makers of Business Plan Pro, and founder of bplans.com. He’s the author of The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan, Entrepreneur Press. Tim talked about Managing Cash Flow in a Tough Economy.

Here are Berry’s key takeaways:
1. Make sure you know how your clients process invoices. When you can, build a relationship with someone in accounts payable. When evaluating a deal with a major corporation, make sure you’ve got enough cash reserves to wait on your money, or don’t do the deal.
2. Would you walk a city-block blindfolded? Well that’s what is it like to run a business without up-to-date financial statements. You must have a current statement of cash flow, profit & loss statement, and a balance sheet every month.
3. Do not use your line-of-credit to finance marketing efforts to generate sales. Use you line of credit of finance business you have already won.

(NOTE: This is part one of the #SmallBizChat Live Telesummit recap. Part two will post live on Friday, November 13, 2009.)

If you missed the SmallBizChat Live Telesummit, do not worry! We are editing and packaging the calls to make them available shortly… so stay tuned.

How to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

For more tips on starting or growing your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog at www.succeedasyourownboss.com

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Managing Difficult Clients

By Melinda Emerson on September 6, 2009 in Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business, My Recommendations

Does this sound familiar…”How many 16 hour days is this project going to take?” “My client has saboteurs working with me on this project,” “This project started with an Managing Difficult Clients unrealistic deadline and has gotten crazier every day since.” If you have said any of these phrases out loud to yourself recently – you are not alone. Professional service businesses, particularly creative service businesses can really get abused and lose profit margin to rework.

Unanticipated hours spent trying to please a client that is never satisfied can drain you and your business like a vampire. From the countless unnecessary revisions, to the “I don’t know what I want, but I don’t want that” dance or too many people allowed to influence the look and feel of your project. Then there’s the real kicker– the client beat you up on price in the first place. After more than a decade in business, I have seen that devil more than a few times-and now I have strategies to cope.

When it seems like nothing that you do is right, forget about preserving the relationship – save your sanity instead. With a client who just won’t be satisfied no matter what you do, you need to operate defensively.

Smallbizlady’s Rules for Managing Difficult Clients

Never start work without a signed agreement and at least a 50% deposit.
Don’t accept less than your standard fee without a good reason.
Reserve the right to adjust the budget if the scope of the project changes.
Make sure the budget is significant enough to hire a project manager to help you.
Have a kickoff to meet all the key stakeholders.
Create a project timeline and then have the client sign off.
Develop a detailed project plan with assigned task and deliverables.
Praise stakeholders openly who are helpful.
State clearly in your contract agreement, and every time you send over a draft how many business days the client will have to review the draft based on the project timeline.
Insist on a single point of contact.
1 edit, 1 revision -That’s it! All additional changes are billable for time and materials hourly.
Use a signed work order for revisions. Before additional revisions are made, make the client sign a work order to approve any additional charges.
Over communicate with status reports.
Document all communication, just in case you need to prove ridiculous directives after the fact.

If you are a project-based company it may make sense to invest in a project management software/file share program such as GoPlan, Microsoft Sharepoint, or SharedPlan Central. These programs allow you to give restricted access to clients and your project team 24/7. It will also keep you from having 42 emails back and forth about the same project.

Always make time to fill your pipeline. Do not fall into the trap of spending all of your time on one extremely demanding clients to the point where you can’t devote yourself to any new opportunities. Say “no” or “that’s impossible” when necessary.

Take great care of customers, who love your work and acknowledge your dedication and professionalism. They are rare, but they are the backbone of your long-term business success.

You will not love all of your clients; not everyone is a good customer. The great thing about being in business for yourself is that you can move on from difficult clients after their nightmare project is over. Never be afraid to cut your losses and move on.

Have you ever dealt with a difficult client? How did you handle the situation? Share your story in the comments.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Melinda Emerson 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, Be Your Own Boss in 12 months or Less; A Month-by-Month Guide to Start a Business that Works! is scheduled to be released by Adams Media in early 2010.

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

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4 P’s of Small Business Success

By Melinda Emerson on February 1, 2009 in Become Your Own Boss Tips

Person carrying success. Business concept Most of us do not enjoy the feeling of rushing from one thing to the next. Starting a business can make you feel that way, particularly if you did not take enough time to plan from the beginning. It does feel chaotic at times. You might need to deal with customer requests, follow-up from networking events, there’s ongoing employee issues and responding to that last minute request for proposal, all in the same day. When you start a business without a plan there will be many days when you will feel like a chicken with you head cut off. Running a successful business has a long learning curve. It’s 7 course meal, not a fast-food experience.

Here are 4 P’s to starting and running a successful small business.

Passion – Determine your calling in life and make that your business. Determine what you would do for free and figure out a way to get paid for it. When you love what you do you are far less likely to burn out. Your #1 job is to be enthusiastic about your business. If you are not excited about your small business no one else will be.

Planning - Success doesn’t just happen by default – it’s something you plan for. You must understand what skills you have and what skills you need to make your business successful. Plan your life and your business. In the beginning you may feel like your business owns you, but make sure to take at least one day a week to recharge yourself. Plan your finances before you start your business. 98% of the time start-up businesses are self-funded. Save your money and get your credit in order before you start your business. Read as much as you can about your business. It is important to know your market including the trends in your industry and make sure you have a niche focus. Once the business starts rolling, plan for growth and a rainy day.

Perseverance -If starting a business was easy, to everyone would be millionaire entrepreneurs and no one would have jobs. When you step out on faith with the determination to earn your own paycheck that is one of the bravest things you will ever do. You will hear “No!” more than you will hear “Yes!” Your ability to stay optimistic will be what separates your business from the competition. Take responsibility when you do not keep a promise to a customer, and then work to build a better relationship with them. Give them plenty of attention. You would be amazed how a mistake can build an even stronger relationship. Stay away from negative people, and if you are married to one try not to talk about the business at home. Surround yourself with other entrepreneurs -you will gain strength from each other.

Patience - Keep in mind that you will need to be patient with your customers, patient with your employees, and patient with yourself. Things will never happen as fast as you thought they would in your business plan. Starting a business is a learning process. Do not waste time dwelling on mistakes. If all else fails, learn the lesson and know that tomorrow is another day.

If you have another P to suggest, leave a comment. I want to know what has worked for you in your business.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Melinda Emerson is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Expert and Social Media Coach who hosts #smallbizchat on Twitter. #Smallbizchat is the trusted Twitter resource to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business. Melinda’s first book, Be Your Own Boss! How to Quit Your Job and Start Your Own Business 12 Months or Less! is scheduled to be released by Adams Media in early 2010.

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