I’ve been an avid country music fan since my early teens and alternatively annoyed many of my peers or converted others to appreciate country music. I’m now a huge fan of Classic Country although I still enjoy some of the modern country songs.  This morning I heard a song by Toby Keith, Country Music Superstar, that inspired my post. It’s entitled, “Somewhere Else.”   The line in the song that struck me was: If you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up somewhere else.

I couldn’t help thinking how true that could be about our online businesses.  Most offline business owners are very clear about what type of business they’ll engage in.  The lines are not always as clear for online businesses.

Many of us start our online businesses without a Business Plan; therefore, we have no clear path to follow.  We also do not have a Read the rest of this entry →

In a recent post my colleague, Lynn Brown of LearnIt2EarnitWithLynn.com made some excellent points on building a list, including offering your subscribers something of value; follow-up with them on a regular basis; and build a relationship with the persons on your list.

From the foregoing it’s clear that as entrepreneurs and small business owners it’s important that you include building your list as part of your marketing strategies.

You are encouraged to have a Marketing Plan which includes blogging, audio blogging, article marketing, video marketing, teleseminars, etc. You implement these strategies so that more people will know what your marketing message is and get to know you. They will then want to join your list and become one of your subscribers.

Once you start building your list around a particular topic, it will be made up of people who have, as it were, raised their hand to say that they are interested in what you have to offer. They also are saying that they want to get to know you and perhaps get to like and trust you.

In building a relationship with your subscribers you have the opportunity to create your community around a given topic.

Customer satisfaction has always been an important part of by own businesses, because my customers’ response to any customer service that I engage in is how I measure my success in customer service.

Is customer service, customer care, and customer satisfaction important to you? Then I invite you to become a part of my Customer Service/Customer Satisfaction community over at http://qualitycustomersatisfaction.com. I would love to hear and share you stories and experiences in this area. We will be pro-active and also highlight things that we should avoid . I will be inviting Guest Bloggers to share their thoughts on Customer Service/Customer Satisfaction. Please join me at http://qualitycustomersatisfaction.com and start receiving your 7-Day eCourse today.

As I did further research on putting together a Marketing Plan for my business I found a great deal of information on the topic.  A point that was immediately evident is that whether you are marketing a service or product one of your biggest challenges is to determine how you will reach your customers.

One publication recommended doing a study of what your competition is doing since they would already have done the research to find out what works best.

This reminds me of a study I did several years ago for a business project, which showed that two of the largest national hardware stores in the United States are often built in close proximity to each other.  The major chain built a store in an area only after careful study of the demographics, etc.  The other chain took advantage of that research and built a store in the area as well.

The following are some offline and online marketing methods that can create growth in your business:

• Blogging
• Article Marketing
• Social Media
• Affiliate Marketing
• Teleseminars
• Press Releases
• Printed Materials  – business cards, brochures, and flyers Read the rest of this entry →

In a few days it will be June, which is the end of the first half of the calendar year and the beginning of the second half. This could be a ‘new’ beginning for your business or the continuation of your momentum in growing your business.

Over the past two weeks I’ve been reevaluating my business overall to determine what steps I need to take to move it to the next level. A periodic appointment with yourself to evaluate your progress is important to determine if you’re staying on track.

An honest evaluation will reveal how you’re doing, but it can also mean that you have to revise your strategies as the path you’re on may not be producing the results Read the rest of this entry →

What do you need most to make your business grow and profit?  What do businesses in your local area need most to grow and profit?  They need the same thing – more customers or clients.

If you have been doing business online for any length of time, you recognize that ‘build it and they’ll come’ doesn’t work.  You have to let people know about your beautiful website and products or services by implementing various marketing strategies.

Many small businesses in your local community recognize that in order for them to grow and profit consistently, they too need to expand their business by getting online.  The problem is they either don’t have the time, or don’t know how.

Would you like to be the one to help small businesses in your area increase their visibility by starting an online business?  Or, perhaps you are a small business owner and like to do things yourself but just need some guidance.

The “Local Business Marketing Machine” Course by Jason C. Maxwell is a wonderful place to start.  In this training, Jason breaks topics into seven modules including , How to Get Clients, Wordpress SEO, Social Media and an Action Plan.

Jason did what I think of as a brain dump in sharing the strategies and tips that brought him much success in working with small businesses so that every step is actionable.  As I went through each module and made notes, I wanted to get off the recording to implement those steps immediately.

A truly valuable part of the course is where he makes his Resources available to all his students.  So instead of hearing what you need to do and wondering where you can find that website, he created a Resource package that is hyperlinked to free and paid resources…and there are lots of free resources so you can take action immediately.  He also includes his templates that you can just go in and make changes to meet your specifications.  Bonus reports are also part of the training be makes available.

Lastly, I’ve taken numerous courses online and very few marketers offer e-mail follow-up.  Jason does, and that’s priceless.

I highly recommend this training course, which you can learn more about at http://budurl.com/localjcm.

You are also invited to hear me interview Jason during an upcoming teleseminar.  Visit http://teleseminarsforsuccess.info to register for the call.  If you can’t make it you can listen to the replay.

If’ you’ve taken Jason’s training or heard his story, we’d love to get your feedback.

As small business owners, solo-professionals, or entrepreneurs we may feel that we have to do everything for ourselves, and admittedly it may be hard to relinquish control to someone else, especially to persons we do not know personally, like a Virtual Assistant.   We may resist the idea of outsourcing or delegating work to others.

Approximately 10 years ago in the early stages of one of my self-employed businesses I was advised that to experience tremendous growth it was essential to delegate certain tasks to others so I could focus on the areas of my business that only I could do and would bring me the most results.  Initially I did not believe it and felt that would be just spending money I did not need to.  When I finally applied the advice, I immediately saw the positive impact it made on my business.

Are there tasks in your current business you struggle with?  What are your weakest areas?  How much time do you spend trying to do things Read the rest of this entry →

The first part of your business plan takes into consideration your target audience, what they expect, and how the product or service you will be providing will meet or exceed their needs and expectations. 

The following sections will apply across the board, but keep in mind that if your audience includes investors, venture firms, and or banks, your business plan would be much more detailed.  These are ‘bare bones’ guidelines written with the entrepreneur, solo-professional, or small business owner who needs to have a written business plan to serve as a guide or track to run on.

 When organizing a business plan, break it down into sections such as:-

 1.  Business summary – The product or service you will provide.  What you will have to offer must be clearly defined.  Imagine that a stranger is reading your document.  By the end of the first paragraph your reader must clearly understand whether you will be Read the rest of this entry →

If You Don’t Know Who Your Target Audience is, You Cannot Serve Them Effectively.

The first step in creating a Business Plan is to identify who your “target market,” “target audience,” or “ideal client” is.

This is a critical first step.  By starting a business online you have become an online marketer.  Whether you’re selling a service or products you will be in the business of marketing.  It therefore means that your marketing message must be crafted to attract and meet the needs of your particular audience, in order to produce effective results.

If you attempt to target everyone, you’ll probably have very little impact on anyone as your message and methods of delivery will be diluted.  Your message must educate your audience or market on how your product/s or services will meet or exceed their expectations.  They need to know how they will benefit by Read the rest of this entry →

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

The above quote may be regarded by some as a cliché, but it is also a very true statement.

You’ve decided to start your own online business and may fall into one of these categories:

• You’re brand new to starting a business
• You’re brand new to starting on online business
• You have an offline business but want to build an online presence in order to attract more clients or customers

What You Have in Common

The common denominator  for all three groups is that in order to reach your goals and experience success, you must have a plan in writing Read the rest of this entry →

Many small business owners and entrepreneurs have a negative view of Twitter and see it as a waste of time…but is it?

Your doubts and concerns are understandable unless you take the time to do your own research.  Initially, I also wondered how much good could be accomplished by ‘tweeting’ or sending a post that is 140 characters long.  In fact, I wondered what I would ever have to say that’s of value in only 140 characters.  So for a while I watched what others did.

Twitter is a segment of Social Media that can be a valuable business tool. It provides a medium for you to reach a wide audience in a brief, Read the rest of this entry →