Inspirational Video to Start 2009

I was checking in on Facebook this morning, and I ran across this great video. It's nicely done....and very inspirational. It made me think about what I want for the next year. The title is "Break Free in 2009," and it challenges us to become what we want to become in this next year.

Take action.

Become a do-er. Be someone who finishes what she starts.

Say goodbye to the past.

Make a change.

Break free from all those negative thoughts that limited you in the past.

Change your life!

8 Marketing Bloggers to Watch in 2009 - by Chris Brogan

I was trying to find some new marketing blog sites to share with you, so I went to Twitter (as I often do) and I posted the question. before I even got a response, I started searching Chris Brogan's website (one of my favorites), and I found 8 Marketing Bloggers to Watch in 2009.

I found some new ones...and I'm always looking for fresh new ideas. of course, there is so much trash out there that it's really helpful to get some tips about the good stuff. This is the good stuff.

More Business Card Tips...from Seth Godin

Seth Godin writes the most popular marketing blog in the world. Yes, you got that right---in the world. Since so many people are reading it, you may want to pay attention.

I have written about good uses of business cards several times - here, on the Your Small Business Guide website, and in a few different articles that have been fairly widely distributed. I was perusing Seth Godin's most read blog posts for the last year, and I came across this little ditty about Business Card Mistakes.

Enjoy!

Radio Shows Planned for This Week

There are two Your Small Business Guide radio shows planned for this week.

The first will air at 10:00 a.m. PST on Tuesday, December 30th - Ten Tips for Jump Starting Your Online Business.

The second will air at 3:00 p.m. PST on Wednesday, December 31st - Why 2009 is a GREAT Time to Start A New Business.

You can listen live by clicking on the link below (or elsewhere on this page).

If you miss the live shows, don't worry. You can catch the archived versions by clicking on the same links...and don't forget that the most recent show will always play directly from this page!

Jump Start Your MLM Business in 2009

This time of year, people start thinking about making New year's resolutions. A common resolution is to refocus on your home-based business. It's not uncommon to start out well, and then flounder several months later. Don't beat yourself up, but don't just it there either.

If you are like many others, you really want to recommit to your mlm business, but you're not exactly sure how you can jump start it again. Where should you start?

Start by reading this page from the Your Small Business Guide website about Jump Starting Your Network Marketing Business. You will undoubtedly pick up some tips that can help you!

Building Your Web Presence by Gaining RSS Subscribers

Several weeks ago, the topic of one of my BlogTalkRadio hows was Building a Web Presence. I discussed a bunch of ways you can get your message out there to the world through the web. That show stopped short of really focusing on how to build traffic to your websites, landing pages, and blogs. That topic will absolutely be covered in one of my radio shows soon, but one of the traffic building techniques that many new internet marketers forget is the use of RSS.

When people subscribe to your site(s) through RSS, they are expressing an interest in your site (and in you!) and the likelihood tat they will be back regularly increases dramatically over the more casual reader who simply bookmarks your site. Don't get me wrong, bookmarking is great - and some of the social bookmarking sites can really help you increase traffic to your site or blog - but the daily or weekly return of people who are following what you have to say is really valuable.

DailyBlogTips had a post this week week about 50 Simple Ways to Gain RSS Subscribers. It included great tips, and while some are simple and based on common sense (keep your blog focused, offer email subscriptions, etc.), others are based on experience and research and a re probably not as obvious to newcomers (use a large RSS icon, offer a comments feed, use cross feed promotion, etc.).

There is something there for just about everyone. Even if you are pretty experienced and driving traffic to your sites, sometimes a few reminders can really help.

The Biggest Mistakes People Make on Twitter

Mike Smith had a great post this week on The 10 Biggest Mistakes People Make on Twitter. As I read his post, it got me thinking about some of the mistakes I see people make on Twitter...and some of the mistakes I have made myself.

While I certainly agree with Mike's list. Here are a few thoughts of my own about Twitter mistakes:

• Forgetting that your are posting to a public forum. I have recently un-followed a few people who are really rude on Twitter. They purport to be business people using Twitter as a marketing tool, but they actually hurt their business reputation by making rude personal comments about others. Nobody likes that. Not in person and not online.
• Mixing business, personal, and political messages. Mixing business and personal is one of the things I really like about Twitter. I especially like learning more about the personal lives of some of the business and marketing gurus that I follow. I'm not talking about acquiring stalker level knowledge about their personal lives, but just enough to know they are human. However, in the months leading up to the recent election, some folks used Twitter as a forum to push their political views, which is fine, of course. But if you are developing a business relationship with people via Twitter, do you really think it's wise to post a bunch of obnoxious politically motivated tweets?
• Tweeting about your every move. Mike covered this in his post, but it is worth repeating here. The fastest way to get me to hit the un-follow button is to post 30 tweets throughout the day all about every move you make in your personal life. Going to the grocery store now. Picking up my son from school. Taking a shower. Watching Leno. Enough already. Getting to know business associates on a personal level is good, but there is a limit, ya know.
• Tweeting private messages to the public forum. This is a common error for newbies (and yes, I have made this error myself). If you want to send a private message, or respond privately, don't use the @+ command (as in @veronicarobbins) that's for calling attention to individual tweeters in the public forum). Use the d+ command (as in d veronicarobbins). That will send your message directly, and privately, to the intended recipient.

Twitter is great. I love it. Use it, but be courteous, ok?

By the way, feel free to follow me and check out some of the great folks I'm following, too.

Learn more about Using Twitter as a Marketing Tool.

Twitter Haiku Contest - Win a MacBook Air!

How would you like to win a MacBook Air?

Well, copyblogger is hosting a Twitter Haiku contest! If the first prize doesn't thrill you, you might be interested in the second and third place prizes, so click on the link here for details and rules.

And hurry -- submissions will only be accepted until Midnight Eastern Standard Time, Sunday, November 16, 2008

Once Again, It's All About Attitude

I have posted about the importance of a positive attitude before. A positive and winning attitude is one of the common characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.

I was scanning the feeds of my favorite blogs (as I do every day) and I came across this great post about "The Marketer's Attitude" on Seth Godin's Blog.

In it, he writes about what he would be looking for in a marketer. Some of the characteristics he highlights include:

• Relentlessly positive (Did you get that? Not just positive, but relentlessly positive.)
• Intellectually restless
• Charismatic
• Self-motivated

Are you the best in the world at something or just good at following directions?

Do you find satisfaction in reaching self-imposed goals?

As I was reading his post, I found myself using his "job description" as a yardstick against to measure my own progress, energy, and behavior.

A little self-reflection can be a very good thing.

The Rebel Woman Show

Consider checking out The Rebel Woman Show. Jann Taber is an experienced and successful public relations specialist and author who has created this television show (viewable online) to help women succeed in business.

The Rebel Woman Show episodes (or, more accurately, "webisodes") are brief (approximately 15 minute) broadcasts featuring successful women and topics of interest for women in business.I met Jann about a year ago as she introduced me to a new business venture.

My experience with her is that she is a woman of integrity, full of energy and commitment to help other women succeed.

Take a peek at her show. I think you'll be glad you did.

List of Internet Marketing Top Blogs

On Twitter yesterday, I saw a post about a list of the web's best Internet Marketing Blogs, so I took a peek.

I was not at all surprised to see some of my favorites there high on the list, like ProBlogger, Copy Blogger, Dosh Dosh, and ShoeMoney. What did surprise me were the many otters I found there.

So, I spent some time yesterday afternoon subscribing to feeds and reading great writing to my heart's content. I now have a whole new set of ideas to act on right away.

Do yourself a favor and check out some of these great blogs. We can only win by learning from those who have been successful.

And when you learn some things that work for you, share them. That's how it works.

Tips for Twitter

If you are interested in using Twitter to spread the word about your business, take a look at Darren Rouse's TwiTip site/blog. Darren Rouse is author of the popular ProBlogger blog.

On TwiTip, Darren gives tips about day to establish a successful Twitter presence and how to engage your followers in meaningful and mutually productive conversation.

You'll get even more useful information from Darren by becoming one of his followers on Twitter (while you're at it, follow me, too!)

Tomorrow's Radio Show - All About Mini-Grants

Tomorrow's Tips from the Grant Goddess BlogTalkRadio show will focus on "Getting Started with Mini-Grants." If you have been thinking about getting started with grant writing, mini-grants are a great way to get your feet wet and start to learn the trade. Even if you don't plan on doing much grant writing in the future, but your organization needs some grant funds now, this show can help you.

We'll be talking about the basics you need to know about mini-grants, how to find mini-grant opportunities, and some tips for being successful writing mini-grants.

The show will air at 3:00 p.m. (Pacific time) tomorrow, October 31st. You can access the show at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Veronica-Robbins.

As always, if you miss the live show, you can catch the archived version right here, or by visiting the BlogTalkRadio link, above.

A Quick Way to Make Your Business Card Memorable

There are many ways to supercharge the marketing power of your business cards; however, there is one thing you can start doing right now that definitely make your cards more memorable and dramatically increase the likelihood that the person receiving your card will remember you. . .

As you hand your card to someone, grab a pen and write a brief personal note on the card (front is best, back is OK). It can be related to your services or simply a call to action.

Here are some examples of mini-note calls to action:

"Call me!"
"Loved your great idea."
"Let's talk more."
"Thanks for the tips."

Then, be sure to sign your first name. Seeing your name in your own handwriting sends the message to the person later that you are a friend and someone they want to call.

Free & Cheap Marketing Tools for Your Small Business

Yesterday's BlogTalkRadio show on Free & Cheap Marketing Ideas for Your Small Business was a huge success! Not only did we have more live listeners than I had hoped for, but the archived version has been accessed quite a bit, too. I have also received some great questions by email from folks since the broadcast. Thanks!

You can access the archived version of the 30 minute broadcast (ad listen over the internet!) by clicking on the BlogTalkRadio link to the right. You can also access other archived broadcasts from there.

Also, if you are looking for inexpensive marketing ideas and you want to read, rather than listen, visit the Really Cheap Marketing Strategies page of the Your Small Business Guide website. I have no doubt you'll find some great ideas there that can help you.

Taking Care of Business

I'm sitting here at my desk on a Sunday afternoon, taking a few moments away from my tasks for the day to jot a few words down. Why am I sitting here on a gorgeous California Sunday afternoon? Why am I not at the park with my kids, or at home doing any one of a hundred more exciting tasks? Because I have to take care of business. Yes, like anybody else, I have bills to mail, mail to open, records to organize.

Small business owners find it easy to get excited about the sales and marketing part of business. When you make a sale, you see money come in. That's exciting!

Dealing with the paperwork is not exciting. That's why most new small business owners tend to let it go.....and that is a terrible mistake.

Not only can you get caught watching money go out (late fees, penalties and interest to the IRS, etc.) if you don't take care of business, but if you don't stay on top of your financial records, it's very difficult to make appropriate decisions for operating your business.

I struggle with this side of business a lot. I have learned some important lessons the hard way.

This might be a good time to read some articles I have written on staying out of trouble with the IRS. The first one is called 10 Ways Small Business Owners get in Trouble with the IRS. The second is a page from the Your Small Business Guide website that focuses on what you need to know as you start a business.

Do yourself a favor. take a few minutes every day to stay on top of the business side of your business. You'll be glad you did.

Your Small Business Guide is Now on BlogTalkRadio!

Starting this week, Your Small Business Guide will be hosting a series of talk radio shows on BlogTalkRadio!





The schedule for this week includes:

• Tuesday, Sept. 16th - 12:00 noon PST - An Introduction to Starting a Business Online
• Friday, Sept. 19th - 12:30 p.m. PST - Building a Web Presence
• Monday, Sept. 22nd- 12:00 noon PST - The Marketing Benefit of Writing and Distributing Articles on the Internet.

You can access full descriptions by of each show by clicking on the BlogTalkRadio button above or the one to the right.

Remember, the times are all Pacific Standard Time.

If you listen to the shows live, you can also call in to ask questions! If you miss the live shows, you can listen to the archived recording. The player will be here and on the Your Small Business Guide Radio Show page.

MLM's Dirty Laundry on Display

Recently Randy Schroeder and his wife, Tara, left AGEL to pursue a business opportunity with MonaVie. You may not have been aware of this development. You may not care, but you should.

Why?

Randy Schroeder was one of AGEL's big names. As a successful and inspirational leader, he also became a powerful force in the multilevel marketing (MLM) industry as a whole.

It has not yet been made clear publicly exactly why Randy left AGEL for a competitor, but we do know that AGEL has filed a lawsuit against him for Trademark Infringement. While Randy once spoke against MonaVie, he now embraces its business model.

Which brings me back to why you should care. . .

People move around among mlm opportunities all the time. The moving and shuffling usually happens among the lower ranks in company organizations, as people who are relatively new search for more lucrative compensation plans or easier to sell products. What is unusual in this case is that someone so respected and so high up in the organization has made the decision to move. As a result, the stakes are higher for everyone. So people (and companies) start to get ugly as the dollars at stake grow higher and higher.

I am sure that the folks at AGEL are concerned about how many distributors will move to MonaVie with Randy. He is, individually, not the big loss for AGEL - the loss is the portion of the organization that will go with him.

Of course, AGEL needs to protect its brand and trademark, but the dirtier and uglier the "divorce"gets, the more mud gets splattered on the MLM industry as a whole.

The general public already has a baseline level of distrust for network marketing. It seems like everyone knows someone who has tried an mlm opportunity at some point and failed (which is not surprising, since 97% of people who start out in network marketing don't succeed). Many of us have been duped into attending a business opportunity pitch by an eager friend or family member who learned the wrong way of recruiting prospects. Many have been turned off to network marketing forever by these experiences.

Given this environment and existing levels of caution about the mlm industry, none of us wins when a big name in the industry has a public battle with a company. The parties in the dispute both lose (regardless of what the courts rule) and the whole industry ends up looking a little sleazier.

The end result is that people who really may have done well and benefited from an excellent business opportunity may be even less likely to give it a look now because they see the dirt and don't want any part of it.

No one should be celebrating this turn of events - not Randy Schroeder, not AGEL, not MonaVie - no one.

Tips for Getting Over the Frustration Hump in Your New Online Buisness

Building a Successful Business is a Long Journey

I chatted with a man yesterday who is about a year into his small business, and he is frustrated because of his lack of sales and income.

I understand his frustration completely. When he started building his new online business he was full of hope and excitement and sure that it would be a success. A year later, he is frustrated, tired, and ready to quit.

He was not expecting to "get rich quick," but he wasn't prepared for doing it slowly either. Here are some tips for him, and any of you who may be experiencing what I call, "the new business frustration hump." This is the plateau many new business owners hit after their initial flurry of set-up and activity.

1- Remember, it takes most small businesses five years to really come into their own. You may say that you haven't fallen for those get rich quick stories, but if you are expecting riches in a year or two, you really have fallen for them. It takes time to build a business.

2- Go back to basics. Take another look at your business plan. Review your marketing strategies. See what you may have missed during the flurry of start up.

3- Get some training. There is so much online training available now that there is really no excuse for learning some of the skills you need to succeed. If yours is a new online business, there is no doubt that you have some additional skills you need to develop. Get to it!

4- Focus on income generating activity. If you have been following my blog or my website for a while now you have heard me say this over and over again. There is activity and there is income generating activity. You want at least 80% of your activity to be of the income generating variety. You should have developed an action plan for achieving your short and long term goals. Take a look at those plans and focus on those activities that are closest to generating money.

5- Stay active. This is especially important for people who are starting their business part-time. It is easy to think you are working on your business "all the time" when, in reality, you are not devoting much time to it at all. You should be doing something every day to grow your new business.

6- Log your activity. Try logging your activity for a month. the simple act of writing down what you have done for your business each day actually leads to an increase in activity, and it can help you get a clear picture of how you may need to refocus your activity.

7- Ask for help. Too many of us are afraid to ask for help because we think it will indicate that we don't know what we are doing or that we are somehow not as advanced as we should be. That's just not true. If you need help, ask for it! Send me and email or post a comment here if you'd like. I'd be glad to give you some personalized advice. That's what Your Small Business Guide is all about!

8-Remind yourself about why you started your own business. Remember when you first started and how excited you were? What were the reasons you wanted to do it? What were your goals then? What are your goals now? Write down your goals and post them around your house or office.

9- Be prepared for the long haul. This business of building a business is a marathon, not a sprint. The winners are those who stick with it with consistent effort.

Read more about this in my Hub on the Not-So-Secret Keys to Business Success.

Reputation Matters

I'm having some renovation work done on a building I bought a little over a year ago. It is a gorgeous little cottage in the downtown area of the town where I live, and my plan for the building is to convert it from residential use to commercial use - and relocate my office to that building.

I have spent the better part of the last year dealing with the city, and permits, and contractors.....and we are very close to being finished. However, something has frustrated me through this whole process.

It seems that my general contractor and at least two of the subcontractors we have worked with keep having, as my husband calls it, "misunderstandings to their favor." This is to say that their memory of things we discuss seems to fade when "forgetting" will benefit them financially. We have conversations about detail work being included in their bid, and then later they charge extra for it, or they don't do it and claim that we never had the discussion.

Funny, though - we have never had a single one of these "misunderstandings" that was in my favor. For example, none of them have gone the extra mile or added a little something extra and then said later, "Oh, didn't we agree that would be included?" No, it's always in their favor, which of course, makes it very, very suspect and sleazy.

I was discussing this with a friend today and he mentioned that this very thing has been the reason why the reputation of the home building and repair industry has replaced used car salesmen in terms of public distrust.

I know exactly what he means. In fact, we have bought our last few cars from the same guy at the same dealership, and you know what? He was a very trustworthy and honest man. He pointed out things we might not like about vehicles that he could have easily sold us. In fact, in several lengthy transactions, I cannot recall any "misunderstandings" that worked in his favor or the favor of the dealership. In fact, communication was terrific, and there were no misunderstandings at all.

I have actually referred quite a few people to my car salesman, and his dealership. Will I be referring anyone to my contractor and his subcontractors?

Absolutely not!

(O.K., I'll keep an open mind. If they do something to come clean and demonstrate some integrity between now and when we finish the job, I'll consider it, but it is extremely unlikely at this point.)

So, what is the point for small business people? These contractors and subcontractors are small business people themselves, but they seem to have forgotten that in the small business world, reputation is extremely important. Word of mouth travels like wildfire.

You have heard that "the customer is always right." I have bent over backwards to make something right when a customer was not satisfied because, in terms of your reputation, the customer is always right. They will relay their perception of you to their friends, families, and associates regardless of your opinion of the "misunderstanding" or issue.

It is definitely in your interest as a small business owner to make sure your clients trust you and have no doubts about your integrity. The extra dollar or two you may be able to make now by being a little sleazy is absolutely not worth it in the long run.

The loss of your good reputation will cost you a lot more.

Marketing Is Like A Big Umbrella

I was surfing through ezine articles tonight, trying to find something to inspire an idea, and I came across this very cute and helpful article by Lisa Almeida entitled How to Give Your Clients Exactly What They Want.

In addition to the cute imagery she uses in the article, she gives some simple and useful tips for sorting out all the marketing choices you have and focusing on who your customer is and what (s)he wants.

Of course, those are exactly the things you need to know if you expect any of your marketing techniques to be effective.

Take a few minutes and read her brief and informative article.

Attention to Detail

Some events have transpired related to my business in the past few days that have me thinking a lot about attention to detail.

I have known people who became so caught up in detail that they lost sight of the big picture. I have known others who had a great view of the big picture, but they couldn't see the details.

When people hire consultants they expect a certain level of attention to detail. Mistakes happen, but they shouldn't be the norm. If mistakes have become the norm, maybe you need to slow down and refocus.

That's what I am doing with my business right now - refocusing.

I called my staff together today and we talked about attention to detail. We discussed how important it is and how much some recent mistakes have cost us - in real dollars.

Sometimes that's all it takes to get back on track.

Motivation

It is Friday night and the kids are in bed. I'm at the computer, trying to get a few more hours of work in before I collapse. I have my "to do" list at hand, but here's the catch - I don't want to do anything on that list. I want to read some of my favorite blogs and news sites. I want to catch up reading some Twitter updates from the hundreds of people I'm following.

The Olympics is on TV in the background and I stop from time to time to watch a race or a match. I am overwhelmed and impressed at the capabilities of the athletes I'm watching.

Then a thought occurs to me.....

For them to achieve the success they have achieved, how many times did they force themselves to tackle the task at hand, even when they didn't want to.

Winners don't just do the hard work when they feel it. They do the hard work whether they feel like it or not.

Time for me to get back to work and start crossing items off that "to do" list.

The Not-So-Secret Keys to Business Success

Are you as tired as I am of pitches from people who want to sell me their "secrets" for success?

I have had enough, so I wrote a hub page about it. In the article, I give away some real keys to business success - for free.

Enjoy!

The Connection between Marketing and Customer Service

You may not feel like you are engaged in marketing activities when you are in the middle of a sales call or a customer service activity, but you are. The connection between the two (marketing and customer service) is really strong.

You probably already know that word-of-mouth marketing is just about the best there is. If people love you and your product and/or service, and they are telling others how much they love you, they are like marketing ambassadors for you - spreading the good word about your products and services.

Of course, the opposite is also true. If people are unhappy with your service and/or product, do you really think they will keep it to themselves? Nope. They will tell their friends. Why they are unhappy really won't matter later when one of their friends (or the friend's friend, or one of the readers of their blog or website) chooses not to work with you. The damage will already be done.

So, before you put off providing good customer service, think about the effect that will have on marketing. Good customer service can lead to more business. Lousy customer service can cost you more than you think.

A Few Thoughts on Customer Service

I just came back from a wonderful weekend in San Francisco. My family stayed at a five star hotel, so I expected that we would get only the best in customer service.

Interestingly, everyone who worked for the hotel was friendly, and they said all the right things, but follow-through was sorely lacking. Promises were made that were not kept. When I tried to politely follow-up myself to get what we had been promised (everything from access to our room to a surge protector for more electrical outlets) the staff acted like it was the first time they were hearing the requests. They were friendly, said they'd get right on it....but nothing happened.

It was a great reminder for me that follow-through is of critical importance in customer service. The customer really doesn't care what we say, but what we do (or don't do) will not soon be forgotten.

Important Business Reminders

I just finished reading my favorite e-zine. It arrives in my inbox every Tuesday morning and I read it religiously. Without fail, I am reminded of several important sales and marketing principles.

This week, the things that struck me most were:

1) It's all about them. Who are they? Your clients. Your customers. Your prospects. Knowing their business, what matters to them, what motivates them and what they need is ultimately more important to sales even than knowing your own product. If you are focusing on yourself, you have your focus in the wrong place. Be customer focused.

2) Attitude is really, really important. The author of this e-zine goes so far as to say that you should train your staff in the proper attitude toward customer service before doing anything else. In some of this author's other writings, he has written about the importance of getting your own attitude right first thing in the morning before you attempt to do anything else.

3) The real value of networking events is that they allow you get to know existing and potential customers in a relaxed atmosphere. It's not about selling yourself, or working the room to make sure that everyone knows you. The cornerstone of the growth of your business is the relationships you have developed. Networking events help you develop important relationships. Relax. Don't try so hard to sell yourself.

If you have been following this blog or my website, you know that my favorite e-zine is Jeffrey Gitomer's Sales Caffeine. You can subscribe by going to Jeffrey Gitomer's website. You'll also find many excellent sales resources there. Check it out.

Newest Additions to Website

If you look at the widget on the right side of this page - "What's New on Your Small Business Guide" - (you may have to scroll down a bit), you'll see the newest articles added to the website.

That's the place to look to see the newest pages and articles added to the site. If you see a page you have already read listed at the top (or near the top) of the list on the "What's New" widget, then you should check back to that page again because something new has been added.

There's another way you can keep up with what's new on the website. Go to the Your Small Business Guide Home Page and subscribe to the RSS feed. The RSS subscription buttons are on the left of the page, just under the navigation bar. If you want to know more about RSS feeds, you can click on the information link there.

Resources for Writing and Publishing E-Books

E-books are a great way to make money online and spread the news about your expertise. Of course, most small business owners (especially those who are new to business) are so busy that the thought of writing an e-book is simply overwhelming.

I have found some e-books that have some terrific tips and tools for making the process fast and easy. Even if you think that the world of writing and/or selling e-books is not something you want to get into at this time, you owe it to yourself to spend a few minutes with this research.

Click here to jump to my web page where I describe the tools and show you how you can learn even more.

By the way, did you know that you can very easily make money selling e-books without writing them? It's true!

The Lazy Days of Summer

O.K., I'll admit it. I have been on vacation for the better part of the last month...and before that I was really busy finishing up some major projects so I could go on vacation. What does that mean for you? It means I owe an apology for neglecting the blog and website a bit.

But I'm back now!

I'll be starting to blog regularly again, and I have already started making some exciting additions to the www.your-small-business-guide.com site.

In the coming days and weeks, you'll see more helpful pages, along with links to useful articles and online tools to enhance your business success.

Here's to a terrific and prosperous 2008-09!

My Favorite E-Zine

I hate junk email as much as the next person. I have signed up for what I thought would be useful e-zines only to find out that they were just thinly veiled sales pitches.

Then I found one that I absolutely love.

Every Tuesday my favorite e-zine comes to my email inbox. It is Jeffrey Gitomer's Sales Caffeine.

Now, before you click away, please be aware that I do not get any money from Jeff Gitomer for recommending his website, e-zine or books. I don't belong to his affiliate program. I have never met him in person. Therefore, consider this an honest recommendation.

I love Sales Caffeine for a number of reasons. First, I love Jeff's weekly "Sales Rant." These are short (just a few minutes) videos of Jeff talking about a particular sales technique. They come from his online training library, but you get the weekly "rant" for free in the e-zine.

I also enjoy the helpful articles and success tips that others have sent in.

Yes, the e-zine is also a forum for selling his books (which are all excellent and worth owning, by the way), workshops, and training tools, but it also stands alone as a source of great information.
You can sign up at Jeffrey Gitomer's website (and no one paid me to say that).

Book Reviews

I just published two new book reviews on the Your Small Business Guide web site. They are for:

• ProBlogger: Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income, by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett, and
• Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Black Book of Connections, by Jeffrey Gitomer.

You can check them out by clicking on the link above, or go to the Your Small Business Guide home page and select the Book Rview tab on the navigation bar.

The Importance of Follow-Up

Imagine this---

You walk by a table in the table in the park and there is an envelope with your name on it. You open it, and inside there is a note that says, "Come back in 24 hours and there will be a red envelope on this table with your name on it, with a $100 bill inside. Come back and the money is yours."

What would you do?

Maybe you'd be a bit skeptical that there would actually be an envelope tomorrow with $100 for you. Would you be so skeptical that you wouldn't even come back?

Would you come back, but just keep walking by the table, looking at the red envelope, but not taking it?

That's exactly what sales people and network marketers do when they fail to follow-up. Your website, or sizzle line, or sales materials have whetted the appetite of your potential customer or business partner, but if you don't follow-up and actually seize the opportunity by asking for the sale or closing the deal, it's just like leaving money on the table.

Sure, maybe you follow up and it doesn't work out (sort of like the equivalent of coming back to the park the next day and seeing no red envelope on the table), but wouldn't you hate to lose out on the opportunity just because you didn't follow-up?

5 Business Website Turn-Offs

I do a lot of web surfing, looking at different business websites. Sometimes I'm searching for information for my own business. Sometimes I'm looking for opportunities. It always amazes me how many websites just turn me off immediately.

Here's my list of my top 5 business website turn-offs:

1. Audio (or video) that comes on as soon as you load the page. This is more than annoying; it's a real intrusion. So many sites have started doing this that I really have to keep my speakers turned off most of the time, lest all my employees be bombarded with an annoying audio in the middle of the work day.

2. Blatant sales pitches. I don't mind a nicely crafted sales letter, but sites that push the hard sell with a bunch of razzle-dazzle remind me of the worst used car salesman stereotypes. The number one criteria for me for doing business with someone is trust. If your site is pushing a hard sell, you won't be getting my trust.

3. Too many graphics and colors. Some people think that a whole bunch of graphics and big print in wild colors is attractive. It's not. In fact, too much glitz distracts from the message of the site, and there are just too many sites out there for me to spend much time on a site that is just visually overstimulating.

4. Anonymous sites with very little information. If someone wants me to buy something (or join a business opportunity) they should tell me who they are and give me some basic information about the product or service. The whole attitude of "Our product is just too complex for you to fully understand it from a website, so you have to leave your information so I can call you an tell you all about it," is just insulting. When I see a site like that, what I hear is either "I don't want to invest enough time in this to develop a good site with enough information," or "I really just want to get you on the phone so I can try my hand at convincing you to buy something you don't need or want."

5. Sites that have a "please don't go yet" popup that comes up when you try to leave the annoying site. It feels like the equivalent of a salesman following you out the door. If the salesman had done a decent job of providing information in a respectful manner in the first place, you might not be leaving. Grabbing me on the way out is the best way to ensure that I will never do business with them in the future.

As I develop my own marketing sites, I try to keep these things in mind. My goal is to develop trust and convey the genuine respect that I have for my customers and prospective business partners.

What are your thoughts on this?

Blogging Lessons

Here are some valuable blogging lessons from Darren Rowse, founder of ProBlogger.net.

Blogging is an excellent marketing strategy, and getting good at it is certainly worth your while. Take a few minutes to read what Darren has to say.

Finding the Time

I know I have posted about time management and written articles about time management, but I am constantly amazed at how simply finding the time for marketing activities remains one of my biggest challenges.

Like many people, I have a categorized "To Do" list that I use each day to help keep me focused on income generating activities for the business (and my highest family priorities for home). Still, I seem to push the marketing activities aside when other income generating opportunities are pressing - and more likely to produce immediate income.

Of course, I know that not staying focused on marketing activities on an ongoing basis is absolutely critical to ongoing and long term income.

So, I am working on disciplining myself to do something on that marketing "To Do" list each and every day. Sometimes the activities are small, but the act of doing something every day will soon develop a habit.

If you experience the same time pressures, please know that you're not alone. Juts keep moving forward.

A Great Tool for Network Marketers

If you haven't checked out Renegade University, you should check it out right away. It gets you started with the information and tools you need to use the internet to 1) generate qualified leads, and 2) sell e-goods that make you money while also generating qualified leads for your primary mlm business.

What I like most about Renegade University is that it takes you through what you need to know to set up the online systems in a step-by-step way. There a video tutorials that literally walk you through even the simplest of processes, click by click. If you are more advanced, you can buzz ahead. If you are new to the online world, you can use the video tutorials to jump on board with the best of 'em.

The university gets its name from Anne Sieg's book, The Renegade Network Marketer, but it goes far beyond the book to show you how to implement the ideas contained in the book, and more.

You can learn more about what it takes to be a success in network marketing by clicking here to review the page devoted to that topic on the Your Small Business Guide website.

10 Ways Small Business Owners Get in Trouble with the IRS

Since we're in the middle of tax season, I thought I'd write an article about some common tax-related mistakes made by small business owners. The article also includes some very handy links to a variety of IRS publications that small business owners should read.

When I started my business, it didn't take long for me to get into deep water with the IRS. I was not trained in business or finance, and most of my mistakes were made through ignorance. Some of the holes I dug for myself took years to climb out of.

If you're thinking about starting a new business or if you have already started a business, please learn from the mistakes of others who have gone before you. You can spare yourself a lot of heartache - not to mention thousands of dollars in penalty and interest!

Relationship Marketing

I created a whole web page with information about relationship marketing but I thought I'd expound on some of the thoughts I shared in that page.

It never ceases to amaze me how many times I end up getting business as a result of relationships I have cultivated over the years. In many cases, those relationships were not officially about business when they started, but they develop over time into great business relationships. In some cases, I never do business directly with the person I met at an event, but they refer me to someone who becomes a terrific long term client.

The important thing to remember is that you never know if the conversation you are having at any point in time is going to turn into business later. Here are some tips for maximizing relationship marketing (these are in addition to the ones on the web page!):

1. Always be prepared. Have those business cards and your 30 second "elevator speech" ready. be ready to talk about what you do at any time.

2. Remember that you are a walking billboard for your business. Whether or not it's fair or right, people are judging you every day. They judge you by how you look, how you talk, how you present yourself overall. Within a few minutes people make a determination about whether or not they think you are trustworthy. What determination are people making about you?

3. Treat people with respect. This is related to what I just said, but I think it is important enough to emphasize. As a small business owner, you are your business. If you treat people well, they will assume that you will treat them well in business, and they will be willing to refer friends and family to you. If you are rude and disrespectful, no matter how good your prices or service may be, they will not want to do business with you and they certainly will not refer those they care about to you.

4. Listen more than you speak. The key to developing positive relationships that lead to good business really is listening. That doesn't mean being quiet while you wait for your turn to speak in the conversation, but really listening. Hear what the other person needs, and respond appropriately.

5. Refer people to other businesses. If you want others to make referrals to you, you should be doing the same thing. Communicate the referrals you have made to the business owner. That will let them know who to expect to come calling, but it will also make them more inclined to do business with you and to refer others to you.

Postage with Your Picture!

I just discovered this recently -




You can upload almost any picture - a photo of our kids or grandkids, your company's logo, an advertisement - and have it printed on real U.S. postage! How cool is that?!

Click on the banner to check it out for yourself.

I just made some with my son's picture. Now I'm going to make some with my company logo.

It was just so cool, I wanted to share it.

Promoting Your Business at a Conference

You probably have already heard about promoting your businesses at conferences and trade shows by purchasing advertising and exhibit hall space, but how can you promote yourself if you are merely attending the conference and you don't want to spend the extra money for exhibit space? Here are a few ideas:

1. Pass out your business cards! As you go from booth to booth in the exhibit hall, introduce yourself and hand out your card. Tell the person you are talking to who you are and what you do. Look for opportunities to develop mutually beneficial partnerships between your business and theirs. If you attend a workshop or seminar, introduce yourself to the people sitting around you. Give them your card.

2. Put your website on your name badge. If the conference promoters won't pre-print it for you, hand write your URL on your badge.

3. Take pictures and tell people you'll be publishing them on your website. Get their names and their permission., and give them your card so they can find your site to see their pictures.

4. Be prepared to talk about your business with others at the conference. Some people go to conferences as if they are on vacation. They are not prepared for conversations about business. Always remember that, as a self-employed business person, you are never "not working." You need to always be prepared to discuss and promote your business.

Be open to opportunity!

My Marketing Plans for This Week

I promised I would give you some day-to-day information about my own business experiences, so here's your first.

I have three marketing plans this week. First, I ordered some "sizzle cards" last week and I they should arrive on Monday or Tuesday. These are small cards (a bit larger than a business card) in bright yellow that have a simple purpose - to direct people to call my 800 number (1-800-884-0310) to learn about a business opportunity. Very simple. I'll be passing some out this week and hiring some folks to distribute them around town and at a local university.

Second, I will be finalizing my ad for our local Consumer's Guide tomorrow. It will appear in the April issue and will be delivered to 50,000 homes.

Finally, I will be working diligently on my SBI site. My goal is to add one page of content per day this week. My website ios already getting terrific results, so I really want to keep it going. You can get the same great results, too. You owe it to yourself to look into it.

Marketing Happens Everywhere

I had the most interesting experience yesterday. I was meeting with a marketing consultant about getting some ads developed and placed in our local Consumner's Guide (a direct mail mini-magazine full of ads sent to all homes within a particular postal market). It was a great conversation. I got information about pricing and ad placement. We developed my ad and discussed the potential of future ads. Then the magic happened.

Through this whole process, we were talking about my business, my target audience, how it links to a secondary business I operate. The consultant started asking me questions about my business after we were finished with our ad work. I answered his questions, and asked a few of my own. Somewhere in the middle of the coversation it became clear that a conversion was taking place, and I was ready.

The end result? I think I picked up a new customer! I'll know for sure within a day or so.

Wow! Marketing really happens everywhere!