All posts tagged goal setting

Practical Rules to Build a Successful Business

Practical Rules to Build a Successful Business

Practical Rules to Build a Successful Business from http://dsef.orgThere are countless resources out there with information to help you build, operate, maintain, and grow a successful business. The wealth of material available on such topics can be daunting to sift through, so we’ve compiled a basic list of practical rules that every entrepreneur should follow. These rules apply to small businesses in any industry, so consider each one carefully as you begin your journey as an entrepreneur.

  • Expect positive results, but prepare to overcome failure. Expecting positive outcomes has everything to do with putting yourself in an optimistic frame of mind. If you are too consumed with fear of failure then you are inadvertently setting yourself up to do just that. Make sure the tone of your self-talk is positive, find effective motivators, and remind yourself frequently that you are more than capable of achieving your dreams. At the same time, recognize that a positive mindset alone is not enough to succeed. Prepare yourself for setbacks both financially and emotionally. Obstacles are bound to appear, but with adequate preparation and a confident outlook, you can overcome them and move on, all the better for it.
  • Strengthen your skills. Never stop learning. Invest the time, and money if possible, to sharpen even your strongest skills, and improve your weakest ones. There will always be someone or something you can learn from. Don’t get too caught up in the day-to-day tasks and responsibilities and neglect to improve your own skill set. Professional development and continuing your education can increase the longevity of your success.
  • Plan for the long run. This means everything from putting money aside for a rainy day to staying on top of your responsibilities so as not to fall behind in case of something unexpected like an illness or family obligation. Also take into account the big picture. For example, while hunting for retail space, an aspiring business owner finds an affordable location with lots of foot traffic anchored by a large department store. The problem is that this anchor store will be closing its doors within the next year. Although this may not seem significant, it’s a very real possibility that the closing of the department store will cause the majority of shoppers to go elsewhere, having a negative effect on the foot traffic in the area. So even though it may be an ideal space right now, planning for the long run means taking into account that it might be a poor choice in the future.
  • Identify your competition and learn about them. There’s an old saying about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. Although your competition shouldn’t be your enemy, you should know as much as you can about what they offer their customers and how they conduct their business. Staying in the loop allows you to keep pace with industry trends and to stay on par with what your customers want and need from you. The same goes for identifying what it is about the competition that you don’t want to do. Perhaps your main competitor has a good reputation for offering frequent incentives and promotions, but also has a bad reputation for its poor customer service. Take the weakness of your competitor and make it your strength. Your customers will notice and spread the word.
  • Don’t waste money. The best way to avoid this common mistake is to create a conservative budget and stick to it. A good idea is to track each and every expense, and evaluate them all at the end of a given time period (pay cycle, month, quarter, etc.). By putting your budget and expenses in writing, you will easily be able to analyze the financial health of your business and adjust accordingly.
  • Seek opportunities. There will no doubt be opportunities available to you that will allow you to grow your business. However, they won’t exactly come with an engraved invitation; you must be proactive and seek them out. If you want to increase your following within the community, find local events in which to participate and promote your business like school fundraisers, sidewalk sales, and holiday festivities. Define your goals and priorities, and develop an action plan to find your opportunities.
  • Minimize risks. There is a certain amount of risk-taking necessary in running a successful small business, but you can minimize these risks by doing your research and making the necessary preparations. The owner of a clothing boutique has been operating successfully for over ten years, so she decides to expand her business by opening up another retail location. Of course this is a big risk, but she knows how to minimize it by taking all the same precautions she did when she opened up her first location a decade ago: research locations, look at a variety of spaces, analyze potential customer base, have a financial fallback plan, etc. Whatever the risk you decide to take, be smart about your preparation in order to minimize the possibility of a negative outcome.

Talk to any successful small business owner, and he or she will tell you how these rules have applied to his or her situation. Have you followed these rules? How have they helped you? Is there anything else you would add to our list? Please share your comments below!

Here’s What to Do if You Don’t Have a Business Plan

Here’s What to Do if You Don’t Have a Business Plan

businessgrowWhether you are just starting a small business or you are looking to reinvent your existing one, creating a business plan is the first step toward setting goals and generating your action plan. Creating a business plan can be overwhelming, but the good news is that you don’t actually need one to really get going. If you don’t know where to begin but want to take action, start with the following three tasks. These will help you define your ideas and make your business dreams a reality.

  • Have a vision and goal in mind. What do you ideally want your business to be? What will the experience be like for you? How about the customer? Answering such questions helps form a vision for your business, which in turn will allow you to set specific goals to fit that vision. Even if you can’t work out the specifics right now, having a vision and goal in mind will give you a focus point and motivation to continue. It will also help to be able to describe this vision for others you want involved in your business. So take some quiet time and figure out what you want this business to be so you can work toward making it a reality.
  • Focus on people by networking and building a good team. Don’t forget that above all else, a successful business is built by hard-working, intelligent, and creative people. Start to surround yourself with good people through networking. When interacting with others, don’t hesitate to ask questions about their own experiences launching a business. You will not only gather ideas for yourself, but you will begin to build professional relationships that will prove essential to your success. Work toward gathering a team of people who share your goals and ambitions. Collaborating with others is a highly effective way to achieve your objectives.
  • Build momentum, but don’t focus on perfection. Don’t get caught up in making sure everything is done perfectly, at least not right away. Initiating momentum in achieving your goals is more important at this stage of the game. This is the time to form good work habits like setting a consistent schedule for yourself, creating daily agendas and following them consistently, and reaching out to others for ideas and assistance. The best way to learn how to do something is to actually do it, so jump right in and get to work. Have the confidence that you’ll figure out the details along the way.

The specifics of a business plan such as tasks, deadlines, and finances are certainly an important first step for any startup. However, by creating a vision, focusing on people, and building momentum, you can be well on your way to launching your business before you delve into the details of an official business plan. Do you have other ideas to add to our list? Please share them in the comments section below!

3 Sure Ways to Stay Laser Focused

3 Sure Ways to Stay Laser Focused

beprepareBecause you are your own boss, you can usually establish your own work schedule and daily agenda. As wonderful as this can be, it can also be challenging to resist all the distractions that come your way. These distractions can stem from your personal life, the abundance of convenient technology available at your fingertips (checked your Facebook and Twitter feeds lately?), or even the feeling of being overwhelmed with how much you need to accomplish. In order to keep these distractions to a minimum, follow these tips for staying as focused as you possibly can.

  1. Establish clear and concrete goals or benchmarks. Yes, this means putting them in writing. Keep a file on your computer listing your goals along with realistic deadlines. This list can be short term (daily, weekly) or long term (monthly, yearly). Find a system that works best for you to not only make the most of the hours in a day, but also to reach your overall professional objectives. For instance, a music teacher who gives private lessons from his home studio wants to expand his business by acquiring five new clients each month for the next six months. His list of goals includes seeking referrals from existing students and giving free weekly workshops at the town’s youth center. By referring to these goals regularly, he will be on his way to achieving it in his desired time frame.
  2. Track your results and continually make adjustments to reach your target. When you do become focused, it is important to stop and evaluate your progress every so often. If you fail to do this, it’s possible you may not be using your time as efficiently as possible. The music teacher trying to acquire new clients finds that seeking referrals has been more successful in helping him find new students than his workshops have.  So he decides to cut down his workshops to once a month instead of once a week, and invest more time in following up with his referrals. Tracking your results will allow you to make the most out of your time and increase your chances of reaching your goals.
  3. Have someone hold you accountable. Even the most disciplined person can give in to distractions and lose focus. To prevent this from happening, reach out to a trusted family member, friend or colleague to hold you accountable. Find a creative way to do this that will help your cause. For example, while training for her first 5K race, a novice runner decided to post each of her morning runs to her best friend’s Facebook timeline. If she was ever late in posting or didn’t run at all, her friend sent her a motivating message via Facebook and text. This simple task kept her focused and motivated to continue because she knew someone else was expecting something from her. Increase your chances of success by holding yourself accountable.

These tips for staying laser focused can be customized to fit any of your professional and even personal goals. Establish clear objectives, track your results and make adjustments, and find someone to hold you accountable. What else would you add to our list? Please share your ideas below!

Four Paths to Success

Four Paths to Success

MP900409133-300x199There is no single path to success. Different people may make different decisions, but end with similar results. There are, however, some paths that provide a greater possibility of success than others. Here are some of these paths, along with actions you can take to follow them.

  • Build in certainty to your actions. You shouldn’t just blindly be going about your business, completing tasks and projects each day, without knowing what will happen as a result. It is comforting to know that certain actions have specific outcomes. For example, paying your bills on time will result in building and maintaining a good credit score. Use this approach in all aspects of your business when possible. What actions can you take that will have results you can count on? 
  • Take calculated risks that will have a greater chance of positive results. Risk-taking is a necessary part of growing your business. Be smart about those risks by researching possible outcomes, preparing for a negative outcome, and analyzing the results once the action is completed. Let’s say you have some extra money coming in that you’d like to reinvest back into the business for marketing purposes. Investigate different marketing methods, such as how much they cost, how well they might reach your target audience, and how effective they have been either for you in the past or for others in your field. A risk doesn’t have to be dangerous if you do your homework. 
  • Take action to follow a great idea only if others think it’s a great idea as well.  You may come up with what you feel is a brilliant idea. This feeling is unique in that it sometimes can cloud our judgment, causing us to act too quickly. Make sure that before you act on an idea, run it by several people who are knowledgeable in your field and/or in business in general. It is becoming more and more common for entrepreneurs to crowdsource before taking action in their businesses. Use your network to your advantage of their collective experiences before acting on an idea. 
  • Find something that is difficult or undesirable to do, and master it.  There is bound to be some aspect of your business or some related niche that most others won’t take on for themselves because it is too difficult. Make yourself an expert in these types of tasks, and you will be able to edge out your competitors. While scoping out the competition, one local restaurant owner noticed that most other restaurants had very limited menus for people with dietary restrictions. In response to this trend, the restaurant owner decided to learn as much as he could about dietary restrictions and trained his staff to transform his business into one that specializes in alternative dietary choices. By making himself an expert in something that was too difficult for his competitors to deal with, he was able to make his restaurant one of the most popular spots in town. 

Each of these paths requires a good deal of preparation. Find one that you can tackle right away for your business. Which path on our list will you take? Please share your ideas below!

5 Ways to Jump Start Your Business

5 Ways to Jump Start Your Business

MP900289918[1]Have you felt like your business has slowed down a bit over the summer? If so, now is the time to turn that around. The holiday sales season is coming, and what you do now can help make your holiday season as productive as possible. Here are some tips.

  1. Make sure your goals are written down, and that you plan specific, daily activities to reach those goals. Having a list of things you need to accomplish each day will help you move in a positive direction. Do whatever is necessary to keep moving forward towards your goals.
  2. Stay flexible! While it’s important to have goals and planned activities, you also need to stay alert to opportunities that come. Perhaps you are offered a networking opportunity, or a chance to team up with another business to cross-promote. Be flexible and take advantage of the opportunities that come your way.
  3. Realize that your business is a building process, and you may not have all the momentum you want immediately. That’s OK. The work you do today will bring tomorrow’s opportunities. Take it one step at a time, and be sure to manage your risk so that the steps that you take benefit your business.
  4. Get rid of the excuses. Do you want excuses, or do you want a prosperous business? Presuming the latter, get to work and develop a “no excuses” mentality. You have a list each day…keep working until it’s done. this is what will help you build the momentum you need for a productive selling season.
  5. Focus. The most successful entrepreneurs are those that stay focused on what they want to achieve. So be laser focused and unwavering. Don’t let circumstances keep you from what you want to achieve. For example, if you want to schedule 8 sales events in a month, keep making phone calls and marketing until you have them on the calendar. Persistence is what builds momentum. Don’t give up!

By making a plan and sticking with it, you will build the kind of business that you want. So stay focused on your goals, and get it done. You will either find a way to achieve what you want or you will find an excuse. Be the kind of business owner that gets it done.

What will you do today to jump start your business? Please share with us in the comments.

4 Ways to Keep Reinventing and Re-energizing Your Business

4 Ways to Keep Reinventing and Re-energizing Your Business

Have you ever reached that point in your business where things just feel a little stale? Things have been the same for a while, and the business just doesn’t feel like it’s growing? It’s important to move beyond this, because a business that isn’t growing is one that’s fading. You are always moving in some direction. Take control of the direction of your business, and help yourself move forward, with these tips.

  1. Socialize with Customers: Sometimes you need to get out of your rut. So find out where your customers hang out, and spend time there yourself, socializing and getting to know people. Find out what’s important to them, what interests them, what they talk about. Make sure you’re focused on learning as much as you can about the people you serve, and use that insight to improve and grow your business.
  2. Connect with Other Business Owners: Another great source of insights that can help your business grow is other business owners. So team up with other local small businesses and learn from them. Join the local Chamber of Commerce and volunteer your time to help improve the business environment in your town. Help promote the businesses  of others, and you may find that you increase your customer base as well.
  3. Remind People About Your Business: Don’t assume everyone remembers what you have to offer, especially if you don’t own a brick and mortar establishment that people see regularly. Marketing and advertising should be a regular part of your business activities. Make sure everyone in your local community knows what you do and do whatever necessary to encourage them to come to you with their needs. For example, a local scrapbooking consultant always sponsors her son’s sports team. For the entire season, her name and her business are on the backs of all the children playing (for all their parents to see), and it’s also listed on team schedules, as the name of her business is the name of the team. Another business buys a plaque each year at the local Little League field, and it stays up all year, reminding people about the business. Make sure you’re doing what it takes to stay front of mind for your business.
  4. Provide Personalized Service: If your business has a reputation for personalized, excellent customer service, your reputation will spread. Everyone likes to feel like they have someone who is completely committed to meeting their needs. Make it a point to make every single customer you work with feel like they are a rock star. Ask questions, learn the names of their kids, find out what matters to them. Bring these things up each time you talk to them. And try to anticipate their needs, so that they feel like you are going the extra mile for them. It will be appreciated and bring them back, because very few businesses provide this level of service anymore.

A growing business takes careful thought and strategy. Be sure you are consistently focused on what you can do to grow your business, so you don’t stagnate and go in the wrong direction! By constantly working on growth, you can enjoy a thriving business and enthusiastic customers who refer their friends to you.

How do you keep your business growing? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments below.

Maximizing Working Styles For Success

Maximizing Working Styles For Success

MP900289525[1]When you’re in a business that requires you to work with others, it’s important to understand their working styles, as well as your own. People have different approaches to work and motivation, and when you can understand these styles, you can create an environment that nurtures success.

Which of these working styles describe you, and those you work with?

  • The Doer: These are the “aim and shoot” type people. They get to work right away on the task at hand, but sometimes forget to plan. This type of person may need to team up with someone who is a planner, and who can provide the strategic tasks to the doer that will be most successful. The doer also often needs immediate feedback and positive reinforcement, so having someone who can acknowledge the doer’s effort can be helpful.
  • The Leader: The leader is someone who loves to create the vision and inspire others to follow in a certain direction. Sometimes, however, the leader can forget the followers’ perspective, so it’s important for the leader to have someone they trust and listen to who can provide feedback on how the leader’s direction is resonating with others. At the same time, the leader thrives in an environment when he or she can think outside of the box, and explore new journeys, so it’s important for the leader to have people that support the vision.
  • The Lover: The lover is the relationship person. They love to connect with others, understand where they are coming from and be supportive. Sometimes, however, the lover spends so much time on relationships that they neglect to move forward. They can lose their way a bit in the challenges of others. Therefore, this person needs to be connected with those who are passionate about moving forward and doing the work.
  • The Researcher: This working style loves to study and understand the situation, but needs help creating the plan and following through. The researcher can be exceptionally valuable to the leader, since he or she can provide important information that helps the leader set the course for the team. Researchers often do best when they receive positive reinforcement for their contributions to the team, and can be encouraged to move forward by showing them how their research can be applied towards the goal.

When building your team, it’s important to understand that everyone has unique working styles. Successful leaders leverage the strengths of each style and team styles appropriately in order to help the entire team achieve success.

What working style are you? How do you work with other styles? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments below!

Free eBook: 15 Days to Greater Success

Free eBook: 15 Days to Greater Success

What are your goals? Do you have a plan to put your goals into action?

Having a plan is very important when working towards your goals, but you need something else as well: momentum. While you may be able to get started, when there’s hard work to be done in reaching for what you want, your ability to build the momentum that keeps you moving forward is just as important as your plan.

15 days to greater success coverThat’s why we’re excited to share with you this free eBook we’ve developed called 15 Days to Greater Success. It helps you take your goals and break them down into 15-day journeys designed to help you build the momentum you need to succeed. For some goals, 15 days may be all you need. For larger goals, you can break them down into 15-day segments that lead you along the path to success. By following the plan laid out in this book, you’ll be well on your way to reaching your goals and enjoying the success you’re working for.

And best of all? It’s our FREE gift to you!

To get your free copy of the eBook, click here: 15 Days to Greater Success. You can download it from our Facebook Page. And while you’re there, you can download our other free eBooks too: Business Owner’s Road Map to Success, Creating Your Success Mindset, and Reflections on Success. They’re all designed to give you an edge in your business, and help you focus on the daily practices that lead to your goals.

Please share this link with the business owners you know: http://on.fb.me/VHcVB3

How to build the momentum to reach your goals? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments below.

5 Ways to Get More Sales from Existing Customers

5 Ways to Get More Sales from Existing Customers

MP900178800[1]Most businesses focus on getting new customers, but retaining your current customers is often even more important. Research shows that it costs 6 to 7 times as much to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. With this is mind, it makes sense to have a specific strategy in place to keep in touch with former customers, so that they continue to purchase from you. Here are some tips that can help you get more sales from your existing customers.

  1. Take the time to understand what your customers value. Keep a record of every customer you work with, and note their needs, challenges, and preferences. Then, when you have a new product or solution that meets those needs, you can reach out to that customer and let them know about it. This kind of attention is rarely given to customers anymore, and they will appreciate the fact that you remembered.
  2. Stay in touch on social media. Invite every customer to connect with you on social networks like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Share fun events you’re holding, and creative uses of your products. Don’t just post your catalog…rather, focus on providing value. For example, you might set up a customer recipe board on Pinterest, and repin recipes that your customers post that you think other customers might enjoy. Your customers will enjoy being featured, and you extend the value of your business to your network.
  3. Be a social connector within the community. Take some time to talk to each customer and get to know what they are involved with. For example, you might learn that a customer is a member of her local church choir. When you talk to another customer who is new to town and looking for a place to sing, you can introduce the two. This is a great way to help a new person get comfortable in town while naturally expressing the value your business brings to the community.
  4. Participate and donate. Most communities have local events and causes that are important to the community. Make sure your business has a visible presence in these events and causes. For example, one local community’s food bank was facing a slowdown in donations due to the economic collapse, and in the summer months donations were even lower. Local businesses agreed to host local food collection boxes throughout the summer, and some even offered discounts to residents who brought in a certain amount of cans. Some businesses even posted about donating on their social media presences. As a result, the food bank publicized the businesses in its weekly church bulletin, and posted about the businesses on its social media profiles. The church members made a point of shopping at those businesses, which increased the visibility and repeat purchases of these businesses. It was a win for everyone, and the food bank stayed full for the summer.
  5. Be seen often. As a small business, your best business marketing tool is yourself! So be present. Show up for as many local events as you can. Shop at other local businesses, dine at local restaurants, spend time at the community pool. The more people see you, the more they will remember your business. You can also use the time to get to know your customers better, so you can better service their needs. This all leads to repeat customers who come to think of you as a friend, and who go out of their way to shop with you.

The key to repeat business is providing a great initial purchasing experience, and then providing the personal attention and reminders that customers need to want to come back. Customers that feel like they have a personal connection to you are a lot more likely to make a point of shopping with you again and again. So build those connections! The result is a business that continues to grow as customers also refer their friends.

How do you keep your customers coming back? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments below.

3 Things You Must Do Now to Prepare for Fall Business

3 Things You Must Do Now to Prepare for Fall Business

beprepareSmart business owners are always thinking ahead. It’s not enough to be satisfied with where you currently are, and the business that you currently have. If you want your business to continue at the same or better levels of productivity, you need to prepare in advance. This is how you keep your momentum going, and help your business continue to thrive.

Here are three things you should do right now to prepare your business for growth next season:

  1. Stock up: Now is the time to make sure you have on hand the products and samples you will need for the next season. So find out or plan what you will be offering for your holiday selling season, and make sure you’ve got the samples and products on hand that you need to show your customers. Remember, you are most likely to sell what you show, so be sure you have plenty to show so you’re prepared to meet the needs of your customers.
  2. Make calls and appointments to schedule fall business: Even though you may still be in summer mode, now is the time to scheduling your fall sales appointments. That way, when everyone gets back from vacation, you’ve got a full calendar and are ready to hit the ground running. So reach out to both previous customers and current prospects, and get as many dates on your calendar as possible. Use your new fall product line as a reason that people will want to make sure to get their first choice of date.
  3. Plan 2-3 marketing campaigns: Most people in sales get pretty busy during the fall selling season, with the holidays approaching. So use this time to plan two or three marketing campaigns you can implement to grow your business even bigger. You may decide to hold a contest or event, or host a boutique. Whatever you decide to do to promote your business to a wider audience, get the details squared away now, and create as many materials for the campaign as possible now when you have time to focus. This way, you’ll be better able to focus on serving customers as business picks up.

Don’t run a business built on reaction. Rather, plan for fall business so that your business grows by design in the direction you desire.

What are you doing now to plan for your fall selling season? Would love to read your comments below.