Many of you who follow this blog are aware that I believe that the best thing you can do for your small business is pray over it every day. The most popular post on my blog this year was this one I wrote last January on the top 10 Bible verses that I thought could strengthen and encourage small business owners along this rough road we call entrepreneurship. 10 Bible Verses Every Small Business Owner Needs http://bit.ly/8XSFBf
Do you want to know if you have what it takes to be a small business owner? It takes enthusiasm and energy for starters. Then you have to grow your business into a profitable and sustainable enterprise. If you think you work hard now in corporate America, you are in for a real awakening once you launch your small business. Your paid support staff will no longer exist. Do you think you can hack it? This is a Two Part series on what it takes to be an entrepreneur. The Entrepreneur’s Job Description — PART I http://bit.ly/i7WLCk, PART II http://bit.ly/gXcBma
Regardless of the entrepreneurial idea, it all starts with a dream of the kind of life you want to have as a small business owner. In order to be successful, you must have a big picture vision for your life. You need a life plan first, then build your business around that. You need to know how much money you need to make to be happy, and how many employees you want your business to have. Do you just want one great pizza shop or a chain of bakeries with wholesale and retail operations? Regardless of your business goals, you need to understand what kind of resources you would need to start a business like that. Be careful that your dreams do not convince you that you will be an overnight success; there are not many of those. The formula for small business success is dream + plan + pray + hard work = success, 4 Keys to Small Business Success: Dream, Plan, Pray and Hard Work http://bit.ly/cYuK3X
Are you afraid of the financial side of your small business? It’s great to have a nice blog, an email marketing list, a sales process and glossy business cards to drive sales in your business. You must look credible in order to do business with anyone especially a corporation. Having key relationships is essential to generating business, but how are you tracking your profits? Are you using up-to-date financial information to manage your business? It’s not about revenue, it’s about profits. How Do You Make Business Decisions? http://bit.ly/9aov1P
As this year winds down, it is my hope that you go into the New Year with an updated business plan. Successful businesses are run based on a budget and sales projections. In order to make your business plan turn into a document that you can actually use to run your business, there are 5 common mistakes to avoid when writing a business plan. Top 5 Business Plan Mistakes http://bit.ly/buMEqi
This blog post was ripped right from my client work. I have a set of clients who have been in business for a while — 7 years +, and all this change going on in the marketplace has them significantly losing business. The recession has changed everything, and some business models are obsolete. Everyone these days wants to hire specialists. And, competing on price in the computer age is a bad idea, for competition is world-wide. If you are ready to reinvent yourself and your business, now is the time. Start with these 7 steps and get your business back on track. 7-Steps to Course Correction in Your Small Business http://bit.ly/cGhY2b
The goal of this blog is to end small business failure. If you think there’s another blog post from the year that should be on this list let me know.
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. She has been featured on NBC Nightly News, in Forbes, the Wall Street Journal and Black Enterprise Magazine. Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)
Great work Melinda. I appreciate you. Just visiting your blog. Found you on twitter from Michael Hyatt’s interview. I am impressed with your drive and passion which I can see clearly on your blog. Thanks so much for the great work.