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You are here: Home / Archives for planning

What Undermines Most Small Businesses?

July 12, 2010 By Melinda Emerson 7 Comments

  Lack of Discipline:  When you work for yourself, you are the engine that drives your small business. This also means that you kill for your dinner day after day. As an entrepreneur you need to stay on task daily to accomplish your business goals. Don’t believe hype about making millions in your bunny slippers. […]

Filed Under: Become Your Own Boss Tips, Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business, My Recommendations, Women in Business, Your Small Business Tagged With: become your own boss, business planning, entrepreneur, melinda emerson, planning, small business, small business info, small business tips, smallbizlady

SmallBizLady’s Business Checklist: 10 Important Tasks To Do Before 2011

December 6, 2010 By Melinda Emerson 37 Comments

At this time of year, we all have a lot of pressures. We have our families, the holidays, parties, shopping, and our travel plans. Then there’s how we make our living. We are small business owners, we do not get lots of time off. It is important for us to stay organized to manage all […]

Filed Under: 10 Things Lists, Business Inspiration, My Recommendations, Your Small Business Tagged With: become your own boss, business planning, melinda emerson, planning, small business, small business info, smallbizlady

Smallbizlady’s 7-Step Course Correction in Your Small Business

November 1, 2010 By Melinda Emerson 2 Comments

I often use real coaching situations to develop content for this blog. I recently came across three women business owners who told me that they’d been in business 10-20 years, and that they were stuck and constantly in fear of what was going to happen next in their businesses.   It occurred to me that more […]

Filed Under: Grow Your Business, My Recommendations, Your Small Business Tagged With: business planning, entrepreneur, melinda emerson, planning, restart your business, small business, small business tips, smallbizlady

How to Write a Business Plan Part II

January 24, 2011 By Melinda Emerson 10 Comments

Once you know what business you are in, it’s time to figure out who’s going to buy from you and why.  You are just someone with an idea until you develop a business plan. In other words, if you haven’t written your plan yet, your business is still in the fantasy stages.   In Part […]

Filed Under: My Recommendations, Starting A Small Business, Your Small Business Tagged With: become your own boss, business planning, entrepreneur, melinda emerson, planning, small business, smallbizlady

4 Things All Entrepreneurs Should Do On LinkedIn

May 31, 2011 By Melinda Emerson 8 Comments

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

Filed Under: Ask Smallbizlady, Become Your Own Boss Tips, Branding & Marketing, Business Inspiration, Featured Post, Grow Your Business, Social Media, Solopreneurs, Starting A Small Business, Women in Business, Your Small Business Tagged With: become your own boss, entrepreneur, Featured Post, linkedin, marketing, planning, small business, small business cash flow help, small business ideas, small business info, social media, strategic branding

Are you Google-able?

June 6, 2011 By Melinda Emerson 1 Comment

If you’re ready for a midcareer makeover, you can get new clothes and a new haircut. But even more important, you must make yourself what I call “Google-able.” That means you need to create a smart social media footprint. By day I work as a small-business coach, and I keep coming across amazing professionals with […]

Filed Under: Ask Smallbizlady, Become Your Own Boss Tips, Branding & Marketing, Business Inspiration, Featured Post, Grow Your Business, How to Start, Melinda Emerson @SmallBizLady, Social Media, Technology, Your Small Business Tagged With: become your own boss, blog strategy, blogging, entrepreneur, Featured Post, linkedin, marketing, melinda emerson, networking, online brand, planning, PR for business, social media, twitter

Ask @SmallBizLady: How do I follow-up after a business conference?

June 17, 2011 By Melinda Emerson 2 Comments

Every Friday, I answer your small business questions in a video blog segment called Ask Small Biz Lady. This week, I took a question live from the New York Times Small Business Summit. Here’s the question: How do I make a plan to follow-up after a business conference? Here’s the answer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3rKLFEkF_I   Immediately  reach out […]

Filed Under: Ask Smallbizlady, Become Your Own Boss Tips, Branding & Marketing, Featured Post, Grow Your Business, Social Media, Technology Tagged With: become your own boss, blogging, business planning, entrepreneur, facebook, linkedin, marketing, melinda emerson, networking, online brand, passion, planning, PR for business, relationship management, small business, smallbizlady, social media, twitter

10 Things to Grow Your Business This Summer

June 22, 2011 By Melinda Emerson 6 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: 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 Tagged With: become your own boss, Customer Service, entrepreneur, facebook, Featured Post, linkedin, marketing, melinda emerson, networking, online brand, passion, planning, PR for business, small business, small business tips, smallbizlady, social media, twitter

Ready to dream big in 2012?

January 4, 2012 By Melinda Emerson 4 Comments

Are you ready to dream big in 2012? This is the perfect time to get a clear sense of what you need to do better in your business.  Setting annual sales goals is fine, but you know me. I am all about the 30-day sales goal. As in, how much money do you need to […]

Filed Under: Business Inspiration, My Recommendations, Your Small Business Tagged With: 2012, clarifying questions, melinda emerson, planning, ready to dream big, smallbizlady, success plan

10 Things to Do Before 2013

December 1, 2012 By Melinda Emerson 15 Comments

2013 is the year of the entrepreneur. If you have an idea to start a business or have been in business for a while, there are now more resources, marketing outlets and technology to help you run your business than ever before.  After Thanksgiving, most people start winding down and taking time off. But as […]

Filed Under: 31 Ways to Boost Your Small Business Tagged With: #Boost2013, become your own boss, entrepreneur, planning

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In this episode, Melinda Emerson welcomes Rich Trotter, a fourth-generation entrepreneur, to discuss his journey in the food industry. Rich shares insights into the challenges and innovations he faced, particularly the transition to natural ingredients. The conversation delves into how small businesses can overcome the impact of the pandemic and adapt to new market demands. […]

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