Category: Business Ideas

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3 Things I Did Right to Start Seeing Consistent Business Growth, Income and Success!

Last year I hit a big financial milestone in my business.

Now, I’m not telling you this to brag. I’m telling you this because I want this for you, and I believe you can do it too.

Look, I made every mistake in the book (and probably even a few that aren’t in the book). I also probably started my business exactly the way you did — as a solopreneur.

In 1998 I started out as a freelancer copywriter, which basically meant I created a job for myself. The problem with that is because I was the one actually doing the work, the marketing part of my business was hit or miss (sound familiar?). I created a horrible feast/famine cycle for myself and that was my life for years.

It was 2005 that I finally decided I needed a different business model. The problem was I had no idea what it would look like or how to do it. Other writers were no help, they had the same business I had.

So after a lot of struggling and flailing around, I finally got it together and started generating the success and income I had always dreamed of.

So how did I do it? Here are the first 3 things. (Stay tuned for more!)

1. Took Einstein’s quote to heart. As a reminder, it’s the quote that says “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

In December 2004, I made a horrible discovery. For some reason, I’m not sure why, I went through my Quickbook statements and started comparing how much I made each year. To my disgust, I discovered that I basically made the same amount of money each year ($40,000 to $50,000).

You see, over the years when I was in the “feast” cycle of my business, I would proudly tell people I was “growing” my business. Never mind the “famine” cycles were completely wiping out any gains from the “feast” cycle. I had also raised my rates over the years. And yet, nothing had changed. In fact, my best year was one of the years when my hourly rate was the lowest.

All of a sudden the realization hit me. I wasn’t growing a business. I had reached a plateau and I was stuck there.

At about the same time I saw the “Seinfeld” episode where George decides he doesn’t like his life right now (broke, jobless, living at home, no girlfriend) so he decides do it the opposite of what he always did. And it worked, by the end of the show he had a girlfriend and a job with the New York Yankees.

So I decided to also do the opposite. 2005 became the year I did the opposite of what I always did. Which leads me number 2.

2. Hire a coach or a mentor. Once I discovered that I was stuck, I realized that I probably needed some help getting unstuck.

You see, there are 2 issues going on. The first one is realizing you’re the reason why you’re in this situation in the first place. The second is actually doing something to change it.

And it’s not as easy as it sounds to change things. Your perspective on yourself, your thoughts, your actions, etc. are cloudy at best. Now there’s no question you can change things, but it’s a lot more difficult without someone to point things out to you.

There are also some other benefits to hiring a coach or a mentor for yourself. When you do, you’re telling yourself (and the universe) that you’re ready to take yourself seriously and do what it takes to be successful. You’re also saying you’re worth the investment. (Because that IS what you’re doing — you’re investing in yourself by getting coaching, mentoring and education from someone who has been there so you can get to where you want to go a lot faster and with fewer detours.)

Now you do need to make sure you hire the right coach or mentor — not all are created equal (I’ll talk about that more when I get to mistakes).

3. Make sure your business is the right entity for tax and legal purposes. I can tell you as soon as I incorporated, I felt like I actually had a business. There was something about going through that process that made me feel like I finally had a “grown up” business.

I’m not an expert on this, so what I would suggest is making an appointment with the experts (i.e. a CPA and an attorney) and discuss it with them.

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Business Ideas

3 Biz/Marketing Lessons to Learn From Attending an NFL Game

Over the years I’ve attended my share of live sporting events, but I must say there’s a lot to like about live NFL games. In fact, I’d like to share 3 of those lessons below that you too can use to build your business.

1. Know what business you’re REALLY in. Think the NFL is just about football? Think again. The NFL is in the entertainment business and yes the NFL is well aware of that.

At least for the Arizona Cardinals (it might be different at other stadiums) but along with the cheerleaders and a big red bird running around, they also have lots of scheduled little skits throughout the game. Considering how many commercial breaks you sit through when you watch a game on TV, it’s remarkable how little downtime there is during a live game.

So, what business are YOU really in? And chances are, you’re NOT in the business you think you’re in. For instance, you may think you’re a coach and you’re in the coaching business, but truly, do your clients really want a coach? No. They want the results they’re getting from your coaching. (Think about it, people are busy enough, do you think they really want to carve out the time each week or month to talk to you? They’re doing it because they see the value and are getting the results. They’re certainly not doing it because they have an extra hour laying around they don’t know what to do with.)

Focus on what business you’re really in, and you’ll have a much easier time attracting clients.

2. You can’t bore anyone into buying your products or services. Now, I agree the NFL has it a little easier since they’re in the entertainment business. But what about you?

I’m not saying you need to dress up in a red bird costume and run around acting silly. But you do need to be at the very least interesting to your ideal clients so they want to stick around and listen to what you have to say. If you bore them, they won’t be sticking around.

What can you do to more interesting (or, better yet, entertaining) in your marketing?

3. Pay attention to the little things. Again, this just might be Phoenix, but I must say this city has it together when it comes to moving large numbers of people around. (I also experienced this during my marathon participations.) I’m amazed at how fast you get in and out of the games and the parking lots. (They even set up a row of additional bathrooms next to the parking lot in case you didn’t want to wait in line inside the stadium.)

While that may seem like a small thing — after all, you’re not going to a game because it’s easy to park — it really does add to the whole experience. How nice it is to know you can attend a game without being stuck in traffic for hours having to go to the bathroom.

So what “little” things can you offer your clients? What intangibles can you give them that seem small but make a big difference? Maybe you have some great forms or templates you can gift them. Or maybe you attract a wonderful community and you allow your clients to network with each other.

Think about some things you can offer your clients that don’t cost you much in time or money but can really make a difference in how they feel about working with you.

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How Small Business Owners Can Go Green and Save Green!

Article Contributed by Karen Kobelski

It’s all the rage to talk about green cities, green businesses, and green policies. It makes sense in the big picture to take care of the planet we’re on. But what does “going green” really mean to the average small business owner?

Fortunately it’s not all about expensive equipment and complex retooling. Many green practices are just about using what we have more efficiently. And greater efficiencies translate into reduced costs and an improved bottom line.

Suddenly the small business owner has something to get excited about!

The Easiest Way for Small Business Owners to Go Green

The easiest way to get started on a green program is to look at your energy consumption as a source for potential savings. Most small businesses consume more energy than necessary. Reducing your energy bill gives that double benefit you need, conserving not only natural resources but financial resources as well.

U.S. businesses consume energy in a variety of forms: liquid fuels, natural gas, electricity, coal, renewable fuels (including solar, wind, and ethanol), and nuclear. For most small businesses, electricity tops the list. For others, it’s gasoline. Energy costs of all kinds have been rising faster than most sectors of the economy.

But there’s good news…

There are new and innovative means for using energy more efficiently and new sources of energy are being developed. The Energy Information Administration estimates that total expenditures on energy across all industries peaked in 2009 and are now coming down rapidly as renewable sources become more popular.

The two simplest pieces of advice for conserving energy are to turn off the lights and to turn off your computer (or computers) at night. According to a study commissioned by Sun Microsystems, Inc., only 42 percent of workers turn off the lights and only 34 percent turn off their computers when work is done. If they did, according to Go Green, Live Rich: 50 Simple Ways to Save the Earth and Get Rich Trying by David Bach and Hilary Rosner, $43 billion in energy costs would be saved and CO2 emissions would be reduced by 32 million tons. Again – going green and saving green.

That was easy, right? Now consider these:

7 Ways Small Business Owners Can Reduce Their Energy Consumption and Their Energy Bills…

1. Replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents. A 25-watt compact fluorescent bulb produces about as much light as a 100-watt conventional bulb but uses only one-fourth of the electricity. And if you’re thinking they are too expensive, you probably haven’t checked lately. It used to take a year or more for compact fluorescents to pay for themselves. Now many pay for themselves in energy savings in the first month. After that, it’s pure profit.

2. Turn off your lights at any time during the day when you aren’t using them for 15 minutes or more.

3. Set your computer to go to sleep automatically during breaks.

4. If you charge electronic devices, unplug the adapters when you’re not charging the device to avoid continual bleeding of power.

5. Set your thermostat lower by a few degrees in the winter and higher by a few degrees in the summer. Even small changes can make a difference. For every 1 degree reduction you make in the winter, you can save 3 percent in total energy use.

6. Consider getting a programmable thermostat to reduce energy output overnight.

7. Keep blinds open to reduce the need for artificial light in the winter and closed on warm days to reduce the load on your cooling system.

We haven’t even moved beyond the simple steps, and already you’re saving some serious money. Put these ideas into practice, and then sit down with your power bills after a month or two to see whether it’s been worth the modest effort. Odds are you’ll see real savings and start looking for next steps.

About the Author
Karen Kobelski is the general manager of BizFilings – a leading online provider of incorporation services. Karen has more than 20 years of experience leading professional services teams and has spent the past 7 years leading incorporation and registered agent organizations. Now, get her free Guide to Incorporating Your Business at http://www.BizFilings.com. To get your free guide just click on the Learning Center.

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3 Tips to Breaking Through Your Business Plateau

There are few things more frustrating than being stuck at a plateau — whether it’s a losing-weight plateau, a business-growth plateau or any other plateaus.

So what do when you ARE stuck at a plateau, more specifically a business-growth one? Well the below 3 keys should put you on the right track to busting through.

1. Are you ready to grow? The first thing you need to look at is your mindset. A lot of times the reason why you’re stuck is because you’re just not ready to grow. It could be any number of things. You’re hiding out. You don’t want to be more successful than your spouse and/or parents. You’re afraid people won’t like you if you’re too successful. Only evil capitalist pigs are successful. You get the idea.

If you have a block like that standing in your way, it really doesn’t matter what you do or don’t do you’re not going to bust through your plateau.

So how do you know if you have a block? Well if you haven’t done any self growth work, I suspect you probably have a block or 2 lurking around. It’s nothing to feel ashamed about — it’s very common. In fact, I would venture to say every entrepreneur, even the most successful ones, encountered a block or 2 in their business growth. It’s just the successful ones had a way to get around it.

One place to start is by doing a little journaling. Take a piece a paper and draw a line down the middle so you have 2 columns. In one column, write down all the reasons why you want to break through this plateau and reach your goal. Then in the second column, write down all the reasons why you DON’T want to reach your goal. Yes, something will bubble to the surface if you don’t brush this off as being silly. And whatever bubbles to the surface will give you the next clue as to what you have to do to get rid of the obstacle.

The other thing you can do (which is my fave) is to hire a coach. Coaches are great for helping you get past your blocks.

2. Do you know what you need to do to grow? You can get past all the blocks you have, but if you have no idea what you need to be doing to be successful, then you’re not going to get very far.

Some of my most successful partnerships are with clients who have their mindset in order and they’re looking for copywriting and marketing expertise. When that happens, look out! Their businesses end up taking off in a really big way.

So how can you tell if you’re in this camp or if your mindset is blocking you? Well, I agree, it can be a little tough to do on your own — there are clues (which I can spot when I’m talking to people but it’s more difficult to explain). One clue is you’re ready to do what it takes to make your investment back. You might be really worried or scared about making this investment in yourself, but you feel confident you’re going to follow through and do what needs to be done. If you feel like you won’t do it, or it doesn’t matter what you do, you’re only going to get X people buying because that’s all you ever get, then you have a mindset block.

Another way to know is if you feel like you’re ready to step out in a big way and this is the next step.

3. You’re in that “uncomfortable” space right before you’re going to breakthrough your plateau and you just need to go a little further. What happens to water at 212 degrees F? It’s turning to steam. What happens at 211 degrees? It’s still liquid.

If you know you’re doing what you need to do to be successful and you haven’t broken through your business plateau yet, it could be you’re about to and you just have to keep doing what you’re doing. You’re at 211 degrees and you just need a little more umph to make it to 212.  (This one is probably the most frustrating of all. I was here so I know what you’re going through. It’s like you’re at Mile 23 of a marathon — which is 26.2 miles — you’ve done all this work to get to mile 23, you just need to walk 3.2 more miles and it’s some of the hardest miles you’ll ever walk. But keep going, you really are almost there.)

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What Airplane Stewardess Can Teach You About Business Success

If you’ve been on an airplane, you’ve probably heard the airline stewardess give you the little safety spiel. How you buckle your seatbelt. What to do in case of a water landing. And what happens if those little oxygen masks drop down.

What you’re supposed to do is put your mask on first then put the masks on your children. That order. You, then your kids.

Why? Because if you pass out while trying to help your kids, you’ll help no one, least of all yourself and your kids.

Which is the point of my article today. Are you putting your clients’ needs above your own?

Now good customer care does require us to go above and beyond the call of duty. And sometimes we do have to work late or on weekends to help a good client out. That’s not what this is about. What this is about is if you’re consistently doing everything for your clients and nothing for yourself.

Let me give you some examples —

1. You’re never not available. Clients or prospects can call you anytime of the day or night and you’ll answer.

2. You don’t take a vacation (a real vacation) again because you want your clients to be able to get in touch with whenever they want.

3. You don’t spend anytime growing your business — the only time you do any sort of marketing is when your business is down. Otherwise you put your client work first. (Note — this can extend to other business tasks as well, such as getting your invoices out or doing your filing.)

This last one probably doesn’t seem so bad. “But I’m working on my clients’ projects, I can’t possibly spend time on my business when they’re paying me to work on stuff for them.” While on one hand that sounds good, it really isn’t.

Think about it. If your business is a mess because you never spend anytime on it — you’re late collecting on your invoices because you don’t send out billing, you’re stressed about cash flow and where your next client is coming from, etc. how can you possibly be taking care of your clients at the highest level possible? Only when you have your own house in order can you fully take care of your clients’ needs. (In other words, you have your oxygen mask on instead of being on the brink of passing out.)

And it’s the same with the first two as well. You need to take care of yourself first, and the only way to take care of yourself it to give yourself a breather every now and then. You need some time off to take care of you — else what good will you be? Do you think your clients really want to be working with an exhausted, stressed out version of yourself or do they want to work with someone who is excited and passionate about what they’re doing, even if it means they can’t reach them 24/7 and have to give them some unplugged time every now and again?

Look if this is you, don’t feel bad. I made all these mistakes myself when I was first starting out as a freelance copywriter. But over the years I realized the better I took care of myself and my business, the better I took care of my clients. That sounds counterintuitive but it’s true. Because I take time off, I’m healthier and have more energy. Because I treat my business like I would my one of my clients, I feel like I’m in integrity with the marketing principles I teach, plus I can share with my students and my clients what is working RIGHT NOW. I teach real-world tactics because I’m right there in the trenches with them.

I invite all of you to take a look at your relationship with your clients. Is there something you’re doing for them you’re not doing for yourself? Do you think it may be time to change that?