Do You Have a Plan B … and Plan C?

Do You Have a Plan B … and Plan C?

by Judy Dahl

Small-business owners have to be ready for anything, be it a change in your personal financial situation or an outside trend that blows you out of the water. You have to forecast events as much as possible and have a plan B. Even more important, you should have a business model that gives you the flexibility to adapt when the unexpected happens.

Too many eggs in one basket

To my chagrin, I’ve learned this lesson the hard way—twice—in recent years. I don’t blame myself for not predicting the recession. If top-notch economists didn’t see it coming, how would I?

In 2008 my solo freelance writing/editing business was sailing along. The previous year, my fifth in business, had been my best ever. I was busy and confident, adding new clients, serving existing ones, and planning my growth strategy. Then, boom. Economic Armageddon.

Hmm, let’s see. When businesses take a financial hit, what’s their first step? Cutting discretionary spending, of course. Things like training, travel, and communications. Oh no.

I would have been OK if two clients hadn’t comprised nearly 75% of my business. About halfway through the year, one “revamped” its communications plan to send fewer, more targeted pieces. The other stopped using freelance writers altogether through year-end.

I belatedly started an aggressive search for new clients—marketing, networking, you name it—but most, if not all, businesses were in the same boat. Our family cut back spending—no easy task with a graduating high school senior about to head off for college and a high school junior who played (expensive) hockey.

After exhausting cash reserves, we turned to our credit card (we only have one, thankfully), our home equity line of credit, and even our overdraft protection accounts. That sentence bespeaks another article about the bad financial behavior one finds oneself indulging in when under stress. Why didn’t I call a nonprofit financial counselor and get a real plan in place? But I digress.

Fortunately, by mid-2009 both clients were better positioned financially and using my services again. At home we put in place a strict budget and dug out of the hole. But—lesson learned—don’t concentrate too much of your business with too few clients.

No benefits, no business

By 2011 it was again smooth sailing for my business. Then, without warning, my husband lost his longtime job and its sweet, sweet benefits. I was sure he’d get a new one very shortly, with his statewide and national connections and stellar work record. But that hasn’t been the case. Know anyone who wants to hire a good—strike that, GREAT—entomologist?

Anyway, as time passes I realize my business model doesn’t work long-term if we have to buy our own health insurance, especially with our two young-adult daughters still dependent on us for health care.

So, we pay $800 a month for catastrophic care, go to the doctor only in grave emergencies (knock on wood), and cut spending. Again. (No loading up the credit card, etc. this time, though. Ahem.)

And, I’m looking for a job with benefits. I’m excited about it, really. One reason I went into business was to be available to my daughters, and they live across the country now. The dogs (my interns) and I get a little lonely in the home office. And I miss having coworkers. I figure I can work fulltime and still keep the freelance business going—but only with my favorite clients.

Lesson learned again: Structure your business model so that if something out of your control changes, you have a way to stay solvent. So I had to learn the same lesson twice.

It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks, you know?

Judy Dahl is a small-business owner in Madison, Wis., who now has a Plan B, C, and D, and three accomplished canine interns. Also an entomologist husband and two New York daughters.

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DSEF & CBBB: Always Getting Better: Applying Sports Theory to Business

DSEF & CBBB: Always Getting Better: Applying Sports Theory to Business

Continuous Improvement and the 2012 Olympics

Top Olympic athletes and their trainers achieve continuous improvement with constant examination and measurement. The proof of their success can be measured in seconds, inches, pounds, or, in the case of the 2012 Olympics, in personal improvements and world records: 44 new world records, 117 new Olympic records. In business, teams can adopt a similar philosophy in order to identify and confront key issues.

Kaizen vs. TQM

Kaizen is a Japanese word that translates to “continuous improvement” in English. The Kaizen philosophy points to a disciplined process of systematic exploration, controlled experimentation, and adopting new procedures.

The Kaizen philosophy is only the Japanese version of what business professionals the world over call Total Quality Management (TQM).

TQM incorporates continuous improvement though increasing quality and performance in order to meet (or hopefully exceed) the customer’s expectations. This is done by integrating key functions and processes throughout the business and examining overall quality measures used by the company.

How is this done? Lots and LOTS of data. Big Data.

BIG Data

Today’s Olympic athletes are “big data,” in that every facet of their health, diet, and performance are measured to the smallest increment. They are the most quantified athletes in history; the so-called quantified self.

In business, recent advances in technology provide easier access to more robust data and different kinds of digital dashboard software available. You can measure your company’s health and performance too: it simply comes down to choosing the right software in order to measure your data.

The more data you have about your company, the more you can drive a culture for continuous improvement. The more you measure your business processes, the more you learn about how the customer is affected by each process.

Bring it on Home

TicketPrinting.com utilizes a number of different techniques for managing and improving our customers’ experience such as call center software, emails, and live chat. Each one can be measured in terms of success and overall customer satisfaction.

Measuring our customer’s satisfaction with surveys provides customer-specific feedback and allows us to take into account specific issues that matter most to the customer and improve them to provide the best possible experience. Just like a professional athlete, we measure our success and then strive for perfection.

Record-breaking 2012 Olympics

Over the course of time, we can see that athletes who compete in the Olympics are getting better, stronger, and faster than their previous counterparts. For example,Usain Bolt’s incredible 100m world record breaking time was worlds away from any gold medal winner’s time back in the early 1900s. In fact, today the top U.S. sprinter in the 8 year old age group, would handily beat the gold medal winner from the early 1900s’. Amazing.

The 2012 Olympic competitors broke 44 world records and 117 Olympic recordsthroughout the games. This would not have been possible without a philosophy of continuous improvement. Every four years, records are broken and new ones are set, which means, Olympic athletes are only getting better and better.

To continuously improve your business, you must think like an Olympic athlete in terms of getting better. Nothing is more indicative of ways to improve then measuring your own performance.

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How To Manage Your Time on Social Media

How To Manage Your Time on Social Media

As a business owner, social media marketing is an important element of your business. It’s a way to generate conversations that may attract more people to your business, and it’s an easy way to let people know what’s going on with your business in a social setting. Yet there are many activities you need to do to run a successful business, and social media is only one of them. How do you put in the time that is required to maintain an effective social media presence, while still running your business? Here are some tips:

Start From the Results You Want: Instead of just jumping online, spend a few minutes thinking about what you want social media to do for your business. For example, if you are hoping to introduce new customers to your business, you’ll want to spend time planning posts that encourage existing customers to tell their friends about your business. As a result, you might decide to run a contest that rewards people for sharing. If you would like to encourage existing customers to purchase again, then you might focus on offering Facebook-only specials on your Facebook Page, and creating lots of conversation with people who already know what you have to offer. Knowing what you want can help you decide what to do online.
Plan Ahead: Nothing is a bigger time waster than sitting at your computer wondering what you’ll post that day. Create an editorial calendar for your online business presence, writing out your main posts at least a month in advance. By writing them all at once, you’ll get the creative juices flowing so that the posts come easier, and you will also be able to get a sense of the overall flow of your content. Are you too salesy? Not enough? Looking at an entire month’s worth of posts will not only help you be more efficient, but will also make your content better. (Also spend some time looking back at previous months’ posts. Did a particular type of post generate results? Then create more posts like it!)
Go Mobile: Don’t limit your time on social media to the minutes you can steal away to sit down at a computer. Use your mobile device to check in on your sites regularly, and jump in on conversations often. Instead of one block of time, you might spend a few minutes several times a day. Your customers will feel like you’re more responsive this way.
Avoid Spreading Yourself too Thin: Ask your customers where they spend their time online, and then set up one or two social media presences on the sites they use the most. One of these places is probably Facebook, but should you also be on Pinterest, Instagram or Twitter? By understanding how your customers want to connect with you, and where, you’ll use your time most efficiently instead of doing more than you need to.
Stay Focused: It can be very easy to get distracted on social media sites and waste time. Keep a list of the activities you want to accomplish that will help you reach your goals online, and when you’re using social media for your business, stick to the list. This will help you avoid distractions that take you away from your primary purpose.

By being strategic about your use of social media, you can use these highly effective tools in a way that helps you build your business and reach your customers.

How do you manage your time on social media? We would love to read your thoughts in the comments below!

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How to Handle Daily Stress

How to Handle Daily Stress

Everyday stress is a normal and inevitable part of modern life. If not handled appropriately, however, it can hinder your achievement of personal and professional goals. In order to avoid this, take a look at the following list with ideas about how you can better react to daily stress and even use it to improve.

Be prepared by anticipating what can go wrong. Almost worse than an actual setback is the feeling of being blindsided. Prepare yourself for such obstacles by anticipating what could go wrong, and then putting into place plans to overcome those challenges. This could mean having a “rainy day fund” set up for financial security or possibly a new marketing idea you’ve been sitting on because you haven’t seemed to need it. Think of the “what-if’s” in your business and have simple backup plans to quickly recover from setbacks as painlessly as possible.
Take small breaks throughout your day. Stretch, breathe deeply, go outside for some fresh air, or simply think of something fun. Your brain needs a little down time, and you’ll be more productive overall by giving yourself those much-needed breaks. Furthermore, you’ll increase your “work stamina” by pacing yourself and prevent midday burnout. Find a way to spend five or ten minutes a few times each day that refreshes your body and mind in an enjoyable way.
Visualize a great day where you handle everything well and accomplish your goals. Use your mind’s eye to give yourself the confidence that you can stay on top of your responsibilities, handle them with grace, and best of all, complete your daily to-do list. Visualization is a very effective tool you should be using to improve yourself in any area of life. If you see yourself accomplishing something, you are more likely to make it happen.
Learn from close calls and past mistakes. Think back to when you first learned how to drive. Most likely, you had some close calls when you accidentally cut someone off while changing lanes or perhaps nearly rear-ended someone while not paying close enough attention to the road. Now that you have been driving for many years, you don’t make those types of mistakes anymore, and you’ve become a safer, more capable driver. The same goes for your business. What close calls and mistakes have happened in the past and how can you learn from them? Answering such questions can ease your mind and reduce stress because remembering mistakes can actually help us grow.
Focus on how good things are right now. An important part of handling stress is not to make it the center of your day. Focus on the good things in your life: you are your own boss, you love what you do, you’ve already accomplished a great deal, and you provide a product/service that helps others make their lives better. Remind yourself of what is positive in your life right now to more easily handle daily stress that arises.

Coping with daily stress effectively is a skill that can be practiced and improved. Recognize the significance of handling stress well and make the effort to work on it. Your attitude and overall well-being will benefit from your efforts.

How do you handle daily stress? Please share your comments below!

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Developing Business Support Groups and Masterminds to Help You Succeed

Developing Business Support Groups and Masterminds to Help You Succeed

In your quest to meet and even surpass your professional goals, you will no doubt need and want some help along the way. A business support or mastermind group can serve as a valuable tool to help you generate innovative ideas and deal with the challenges you may face as a small business owner.

When forming such a group, it is important to find the right kind of people to maximize the effectiveness of the group as a whole. Look for like-minded people whose ambitions and goals are similar to yours.

Find people who:

Share your level of passion and goals. People in business support groups don’t have to all be in the same industry or come from the same field of experience. However, they should all have a strong passion for their business and an equally strong commitment to achieving their goals. This ensures that each person will contribute value to the group rather than holding it back by being the weak link. Create a list of questions to ask a potential group member that he or she can answer to give you a good idea of what drives this person to success. Ask about what the person hopes to get out of the group, what the person can contribute, and where the person sees him/herself in five years. If you can relate to most of the answers, then this person could be the right fit for your group.
Can get together in person. Conference calls and Skype sessions are very useful and efficient when in-person meetings are not possible or practical, but don’t overlook the benefits of meeting as a group in person. Non-verbal communication is just as powerful as words, and it’s imperative that the people in the group have a certain level of trust among each other. Meeting in person also allows you to more easily share materials in a tactile way. Holding something in your hand is always more effective than seeing it on a screen. If at all possible, form a group who can commit to regular meetings in person, or at the very least commit to in-person retreats annually or semi-annually.
Will motivate each other. Business support groups are not just about exchanging ideas and feedback. Be each other’s cheerleaders. If someone in the group is experiencing a difficult time such as an unforeseen financial setback, be encouraging, attentive, and empathetic. Point out to the person what his or her strengths are, especially because during times of personal failure, we seem to forget those. You can also be objective, and point out steps the group member can take to move forward, that he or she may not see because the failure has clouded his or her view. Motivate each other in good times and bad and develop a rapport that allows group members to count on each other as allies. A good morale will increase the effectiveness of what a support group can offer.
Complement your strengths and weaknesses. Find people who support your strengths and fill voids of your weaknesses. For instance, if you are an idea person, but have trouble mapping out a plan of action, look for someone who is detail-oriented and can help you execute your ideas. Or if you are a creative mind when it comes to advertising but don’t have a head for numbers, look for a person who can help you maximize the limits of your budget. A group whose members have a variety of strengths and weaknesses will be able to offer the most support and assistance to each person involved.

Although forming and participating in a business support group or mastermind can be time-consuming, it is an important investment of time. Such a group can help you meet your goals, grow your business, and achieve success.

What else should you look for in a business support group? Share your ideas below!

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How to Overcome Failures

How to Overcome Failures

Those that succeed often deal with their share of failure along the way. It is a good idea to actually expect and prepare for setbacks so that you can quickly overcome them and move on toward your ultimate goals. If you use failures and mistakes to your advantage, you can more easily bounce back and from them, and even find success that much faster.

Here are some tips for overcoming setbacks, and using them as stepping stones towards success.

Take responsibility for your failure. Your initial reaction might be to play the blame game. “This person didn’t give me a fair chance,” “The economic climate is holding me back,” or “My staff didn’t work hard enough,” are all common ways to avoid taking responsibility for your mistakes. Take some time for self-reflection, figure out where you went wrong, and identify what you need to do differently next time. The empowerment you create by holding yourself accountable for failures will strengthen your resolve and allow you to move ahead.
Surround yourself with the right people. Look around at those in your inner circle; if you’re the most hard-working and successful person, then you’re probably in the wrong circle. It is crucial to position yourself with likeminded people who will motivate you through their hard work and ambition. Avoid the temptation to commiserate with others about your failure because it will only slow you down and hinder your efforts to move past your mistake.
Take action now. No matter what it is, don’t stop until it is done. Procrastination will wear down your motivation and determination to overcome your failure. For example, if your goal was to partner up with another local business for an upcoming event, and the owner declined your proposal, your first instinct might be to pack it in for the day and deal with it another time. Do yourself a favor and take immediate action instead. Rework your proposal for a few other local businesses and make appointments to meet with them as soon as possible. By taking immediate action, you can rest easy with the knowledge that you’ve already moved beyond your failure and are working towards your goals.
Live up to what’s expected. People may have a lot of expectations of you, and this can create a fair amount of pressure to live up to that expectation. No one can predict the future, but you can live up to expectations by adhering to a few business basics: Treat others fairly, conduct business ethically, build meaningful relationships, and use your success to pay it forward by giving back to the community. No matter how many rough patches your business may experience, you can be proud that you will have already lived up to your potential by conducting yourself appropriately.
Volunteer to create opportunities. After any failure, you learn something about yourself or the business. Why not use your newfound knowledge to help others who may be dealing with the same kinds of obstacles? Volunteer within your community to help others avoid the same kind of mistake. Teaching a workshop at the local library, or hosting an event for young people interested in entrepreneurship are ways that you can pass on your experiences to others.

Overcoming failure requires a certain mindset. You need to be able to analyze your mistakes, move on quickly, and plow ahead using what you’ve learned. How do you overcome failure? Please share your ideas in the comments section!

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How To Be Better in Business

How To Be Better in Business

The conscious choice to improve the way you do business is necessary to grow your business and move it forward. It is always a good idea to focus on one small area at a time so as not to spread yourself too thin. Consider the following suggestions for improving the way you do business.

Always look for new and better ways to do things. Sometimes we just get stuck in our old habits without thinking of better ways to do things that might be more efficient. For instance, even though you have been paying your bills online for years, you still find yourself with paper statements and an overflowing filing cabinet that needs to be cleaned out at the end of every calendar year. An easy solution would be to sign up for e-bills through your bank’s online bill paying system and/or paperless statements through your vendors themselves. Create an online filing system that works for you, and back everything up on an external hard drive or via cloud storage such as Norton or Carbonite. New and better ways of doing simple things are becoming available all the time, so take advantage of accessible resources.
Think of “no” as “not yet.” Perhaps one of the hardest things about owning a business is hearing the word, “no.” It may be from a potential customer, a recruit, or an existing client. Instead of taking “no” as the final word, think of it as, “I’m not ready for this yet,” or “I need more information about why I need this.” Adjusting your mindset when wearing your salesperson hat will prevent you from giving up too easily or shrugging off the follow-up questions you should be asking. Even if you only acquire one additional sale out of 5 or 10 by adopting this approach, it will be worth it to your confidence and to your bottom line.
Build lasting relationships to grow your business. Relationships with everyone you work with from colleagues to clients are the heartbeat of your business. Build new ones, nurture existing ones, and always demonstrate sincerity. Make an effort to learn something personal about your customers, especially something to which you can also relate like hobbies and family life. Find out from your staff what you can do to enrich their experience working for you or help them with something they’d like to improve. When others know you truly care, lasting relationships can be built.
Continue taking calculated risks. When considering taking a risk, make sure you are fully informed about the pros and cons and have a backup plan ready for the worst case scenario. Don’t fear risks so much that you never take them, as that can cause your business to remain static. Use your existing knowledge and skill set, research necessary information, and weigh the advantages and disadvantages of your decision.
Develop a reputation for excellence. It is better to do one thing extremely well than to do several things at a mediocre level. Focus on one aspect of your business, and strive to be the best at that one thing. For example, your bakery offers everything from freshly baked breads to custom made cakes. Your real strength, however, is that crumb cake that everyone raves about. Promote that particular product and consider creating new ways to use it, such as in bite-sized packages for gift baskets or kids’ parties. Your customers will always be able to count on your excellent crumb cake and because of your consistently high quality, they’ll branch out to your other offerings as well.

Don’t be overwhelmed by all the things you want to improve about your business. Just a few simple changes here and there can make a significant difference. What else should be added to our list? Please share your ideas below!

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Leadership that Motivates

Leadership that Motivates

For small business owners, leadership skills are often a required part of the job. You may have to lead a group of employees new to your business, become active in civic organizations and help with new projects, or even train other entrepreneurs in professional development situations. Whatever the situation, people will look to you for advice and motivation. Keep the following characteristics in mind when deciding what type of leader you want to be.

Effective leaders…

focus on making others successful. Instead of emphasizing the importance of your role, concentrate on how you can help make others successful. What tools can you offer? What past experiences can you pass on? For example, one of your newest sales reps has continually failed to meet his monthly goals. After a discussion with him, you find out that he meets with plenty of prospects, is an expert in the product and its benefits, and has great communication skills. However, he lacks the confidence he needs to actually close the deal and make the sale. Give him some tips on closing, offer to role-play with him as the customer, and prepare him for potential objections. Giving people what they need to succeed will demonstrate your competence as a leader and motivate them to do their best.
are deeply grateful. It’s important to show others how appreciative you are for their hard work and contributions to your business. Doing so not only helps you connect with your team/staff, but also motivates them to work harder because they know it will not go unnoticed by you. Always strive to maintain positive staff morale. The happier people are in their jobs, the more successful they will become.
have strong convictions. It is not necessary for you to preach about your philosophy on business to your employees, but everything you say and do should demonstrate your strong convictions. If you are someone who is committed to excellent customer service above all else, then you should lead by example. Train your staff to provide the level of service you deem essential, let them see you doing the same, and demonstrate how your high standards allow your business to succeed. Anyone who works with you should be able to identify what is important to you.
are very positive. People generally respond better to positivity than they do to negativity. Adopt and maintain a positive attitude, and strive to see the best in yourself, your staff, and your customers. Don’t hesitate to give someone a deserved pat on the back. Positive actions yield positive results, so don’t underestimate the power of optimism.
truly care about others. Sincerity is essential to effective leadership. Most people can sense and are turned off by false niceties or empty compliments. Recognize the value of others’ hard work and ask yourself how you can enrich their lives through your leadership. It can even be as simple as asking an employee what you can do to help when you notice she is having a rough day. When you show others that you truly care about them, they begin to truly care about you in return, and therefore are more motivated to achieve.

Leadership styles vary greatly from person to person, but adopting these qualities will maximize your ability to motivate others. What else do you think should be added to this list? Share your ideas in the comments section below!

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How to Empower Yourself

How to Empower Yourself

There is so much in life that we can’t control, and you may sometimes feel powerless when things don’t go as planned. However, by learning to empower yourself, you can begin to have a more positive outlook on life and enable yourself to succeed. The following suggestions can help you feel more in control, and allow you to better enjoy both your professional and personal life.

Remember that your past failures don’t predict the future. Think of that big test you failed back in high school; did it prevent you from graduating? Did that time you knocked over the cone while parallel parking stop you from becoming a good driver? Past failures are nothing more than learning experiences. Instead of dwelling on them, figure out what you can actually learn from them. That test you failed probably taught you how to study more effectively for future tests, just as that parking incident helped you realize that you need to adjust your mirrors differently. Learn from your mistakes and move on. Empower yourself by taking control of your past to succeed in the future.
Lower the threshold for good things and raise it for bad things. Don’t make mountains out of molehills, but changing your perspective can show you what’s really important in life. This morning, for example, you woke up healthy and able to take on your day. Realize what a great thing that is, and don’t take it for granted. On the other hand, remember that spilling your coffee on the way to work isn’t the worst thing that can happen; your house catching fire is more along the lines of something really bad happening that can change your life. Empower yourself by taking a moment to be grateful for all the positive things you have, big and small.
Eat healthier and exercise. A nutritionist wrote on her blog, “Note to self: when I eat badly, I feel badly.” This couldn’t be more true. Of course we all indulge once in awhile, but implement a healthy eating regimen if you don’t have one already. Additionally, make sure you are getting at least 30 minutes of exercise 3 times a week. Do something you enjoy, like power walking, taking a kickboxing class to relieve stress, or play some Wii Fit in the privacy of your own home. The better you treat your body, the better you will feel. Empower yourself by being as physically healthy as possible.
Make a list of everything good in your day. This is especially important when you’re feeling like everything is going wrong. For example, did your children wake up smiling and happy to see you? Great! Add it to the list. Did a customer express her satisfaction with your service today? Put it on that list. Empower yourself by recognizing and appreciating the positive.
Look for and expect something great each day. Every day will have something good in it, so be on the lookout for it. If you expect greatness in your life, you’ll find that it comes more easily because you will be open to recognizing it as it happens. Being a business owner is something most people don’t have the courage to undertake, so at the end of each day, if nothing else, take a minute to pat yourself on the back. You completed another day, achieving your dream and doing what you love. Empower yourself by developing an upbeat attitude and an optimistic point of view.

By making some adjustments to your mindset, you will feel more empowered to take on your world and reach your goals. How do you empower yourself on a daily basis? Please share your ideas below!

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Tips for Making More Money in Your Business

Tips for Making More Money in Your Business

So you’ve established a successful business model, built up a loyal clientele, and have begun enjoying the fruits of your labor. Now it’s time to increase your profit.

It may seem difficult or sometimes impossible to increase your income stream as a small business owner or direct seller. However, making more money doesn’t always require spending more money. The following tips can help you make more money for your business.

Have a detailed plan, but be ready to adapt. Anything in your business that you want to change should be carefully planned, including dates, deadlines, numbers, etc. Be aware, however, that you can’t always anticipate every circumstance, so be ready and willing to adapt if necessary. For example, a business owner decides she wants to add more clients to her business in order to make more money. She plans for increased costs in advertising as well as increased demands on her time. Soon she realizes that adding more clients takes too much time away from her family, so she changes her plan to one that allows her to increase her fees for her existing clients by adding more valuable services instead. By being adaptable, she was able to achieve her goal and avoid burning out.
Be a creative problem solver. In what area is your business lacking that is preventing you from making more money? Think outside the box to solve problems creatively when answering this question.
Persevere. Remember that old ketchup commercial that stated, “Good things come to those who wait”? This old idea has a great deal of truth in business. The road to success may have rough spots and roadblocks, and you may not see the results of your hard work right away. If you really want something, though, it’s worth staying the course. Perseverance is an admirable and valuable quality to cultivate in yourself.
Have mentors. No one succeeds without some level of help. Seek out mentors who have succeeded in their own businesses. Pick their brains for ideas you may not have thought of. Most people are happy to share their success stories with others and pay it forward. Mentors can be people you already know, other business owners you meet through networking, or even authors of published materials that are inspiring to you. Never stop learning from those who have already done what you’ve set out to achieve.
Stay lean with your budget. Be very careful and deliberate about how you spend money. As the owner of your business, you should be aware of every aspect of your cash flow. Without sacrificing service or value, find ways to decrease spending where possible. Buying used equipment instead of new, focusing on one marketing method at a time, and increasing use of free resources like social media are examples of how you can tighten your budget.
Believe in yourself. If you don’t think you can do it, then you won’t. Remember that more success requires more hard work, so make sure you’re up to the challenge. How badly do you want to achieve this? If it’s in your heart to succeed, you will always find the motivation to continue. Confide in people you trust to help boost your self-esteem and look at your previous accomplishments when facing self-doubt.

Your quest to increase your bottom line may be difficult and take many unexpected turns, but with a bit of preparation and self-confidence, you can achieve your business goals. What else do you think should be added to our list? Please share your ideas below!