Management consulting is the practice of helping organizations improve their overall performance by analyzing the problems they are facing and by developing action plans for improvement. This is one of the most lucrative fields in the business world today. If you want to start a career in management consulting and later on, succeed in this field, it’s imperative that you possess the following skills:

1. Listening skills. As a consultant, you’ll be expected to work closely with your clients. To easily understand their needs and demands, make sure that you listen to them intently especially when they are talking about the existing business problems. Take notes if needed and encourage your clients to go on details. It’s important that you get all the angles of the problem so you can offer the best solution.

2. People skills. If you hate working or meeting different people on a regular basis, management consulting might not be right for you. This endeavor will require you to mingle and collaborate with different individuals. Its better if you are comfortable having different company from time to time.

3. Confidence. As a consultant, you’re supposed to be someone who knows the ins and outs of the industry. Someone who can offer solutions or recommendations in a heartbeat. If you don’t want your clients to doubt your expertise, make sure that you project confidence each and every time. You must be certain on everything you say or do.

4. Problem-solving skills. Obviously, you need to have the capability to analyze and resolve problems being faced by your clients. You must have the ability to understand the pressing issues and you must know how and when to resolve them.

Management consultants are usually hired by organizations to improve their profitability and efficiency. Consultants are expected to identify the problems (and solve them) and sometimes they help in streamlining certain procedures to help their employers save some money from their day-to-day operation. Alternatively, their role maybe broadly defined and might include reorganizing a multinational corporation or giving expert advice in creating new jobs and eliminating some.

Management consultants are expected to be accomplished analysts in order to excel in this field. Also, they must be tactful communicators and great listeners. They must be able to think on their feet and they must have that convincing power to get people to change if it is needed.

Depending on the projects that they are handling, consultants may visit their employers’ site on a daily basis so they can get a feel on how the business is being run and so they’ll become more familiar with the existing processes. They maybe also asked to talk to management staff and their subordinates to get a clear picture of the problem or areas of opportunities.

There are no specific academic requirements for people who are aspiring to become management consultants. However, nearly all employers are leaning towards hiring those people who have at least a college degree in mathematics, business, computer science, economics, and logic. They also prefer those people who have already proven track record in this field and who have attended numerous relevant trainings. Obviously, these organizations will not settle for anything less as they would want to get great value for their money.

In my life I have never attempted to repair an automobile. I have no facility for mechanics, no interest in fixing things and no curiosity about what makes engines tick. I have simply recognized my limitations as a backyard mechanic and take the wounded vehicle to professionals for proper care.

Most people are similarly limited in certain skill areas, while gifted in others, much like me. My career as a Marketing Consultant and Consumer Product Development specialist has introduced me to 1000′s of potential clients. Most have never undertaken the challenges inherent in Marketing a new product or service, or starting a new business. They often recognize that they need help, but they often need to ask: what is the best way to uncover the right consultant for a specific project?

Here are several tips for securing talent that will save your project time, mistakes and money when choosing a Marketing Consultant:

- Meet Face-to-Face
- Look at their work product, PR, past strategies, designs
- Ask about the products they have launched themselves
- Ask about patents they might have owned
- Only deal with specialist firms-if you have a consumer product, do not hire an agronomist or civil engineering consultant
- Have they won industry awards
- References are nice, but really, who gives bad references
- Quality Consultants are Fee Based, discover pertinent fees
- Make sure they will sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
- After signing the NDA, describe your concept, prototype, etc.
- What specific, off-the-cuff strategies does the consultant propose
- Do the strategies proposed seem cogent, offer fresh perspective

After conducting the above due diligence, repeat the process with at least two more candidates. Keep notes, even record the meetings. Do not allow any high pressure, walk if this occurs. Then collate your thoughts, confide in trusted advisers and weigh the best features of each firm. The choice will be most obvious in every case.

Geoff Ficke has been a serial entrepreneur for almost 50 years. As a small boy, earning his spending money doing odd jobs in the neighborhood, he learned the value of selling himself, offering service and value for money.

After putting himself through the University of Kentucky (B.A. Broadcast Journalism, 1969) and serving in the United States Marine Corp, Mr. Ficke commenced a career in the cosmetic industry. After rising to National Sales Manager for Vidal Sassoon Hair Care at age 28, he then launched a number of ventures, including Rubigo Cosmetics, Parfums Pierre Wulff Paris, Le Bain Couture and Fashion Fragrance.

I recently received an intriguing comment on my blog. It raised a question I’ve asked myself many times over the years, and I continue to fine-tune my answer.

First, an excerpt from the comment:

Based on call results, how do you know you’re either working with the wrong list or giving the wrong pitch? I’ve just started using your methods and have done only 20 calls. I left about 19 voicemails. I don’t know how many will call back. If I get one callback, or none, or a bunch-what does that tell me? Should I modify the pitch? Is 100 calls enough to know?

Three steps to success
Before I get into specific answers, let’s review the three steps of the Stand Up 8 Times system:

1. Go after assignments similar to your last good job
2. Approach the best prospects directly, most likely by phone
3. Get real! Define “quickly” as 30 days, not 30 minutes.

Going for the large numbers

For this system to be most successful, it depends on large numbers.

That’s because the system is proactive. You select people to call because they meet your criteria, not because you know that they need your service at this time.

You select the best person at the best company in your industry to call. But that in no way means that they hire freelancers or consultants to provide your service. And even if they do, it does not mean they need your service at this time.

The specific large number I recommend is 1,000. That’s right. Three zeros!

The way to accomplish this is to call 50 people per day for five business days per week for four weeks. In other words, it’s 20 days of calling. The system also works as an ongoing business builder, but the fewer calls per day, the slower the results.

In practice, I have never made this many calls. Work always kicked in long before I reached that number, at which time I modified my calling routine to fit it into my busy workload.

Still, when you extend your time horizon to 30 days, you inject an element of reality into your expectations. In fact, your results may well exceed your expectations.

It’s like when the airlines improve their odds for on-time arrival by extending the scheduled time slot for the flight.

The 1,000 number is for those who are highly motivated to earn money quickly. Alternatively, it is for those who are desperate. (The two situations can be pretty similar in real life.) Either way, it is a course of intense action to obtain paying results soon.

The two questions you should ask

Here are two better questions to ask in evaluating your efforts:

1. How long in calendar time will it take to get results?
2. What else would you do with your time to get work if you were not making these phone calls?

How long in calendar time will it take to get results?

We would like to think that potential hires are sitting at their desks shuffling papers until we call. When we suggest our services, they spring to action, relieved to find the answer to their prayers. So of course, they take our call. Unless they are not at their desk. In which case they call immediately after their 3 p.m. run to Starbucks.

Believe it or not, the people we call do not have returning our call as their top priority. A few are curious and will call back immediately. Some are interested, but having no need now, they file our names away without getting back to us. Some are out of the office for two weeks and won’t pick up our message until the following week. Some may refer us to others who need our services without letting us know. (Yes, it has happened to me. The person I was referred to called about a year and a half later.)

The first days of phoning are the most frustrating. You mostly talk to voice mail and no one calls back. Several days into the process, you start to get a few callbacks, soothing your fears that your calls are not landing with anyone at all.

So it takes days or even weeks to get positive responses, regardless of how many calls you make on Day 1.

What else would you do with your time to get work if you were not making these phone calls?

If you have something more effective in mind, take a break from phoning and try it out.

Or are you considering any of the following?

Giving up on freelancing / consulting and getting a “real” job. If you hate marketing of any sort, this may be just right for you. Face it. Freelancing and consulting will require eternal marketing. Or until you retire. Whichever comes first.

But what if you are trying to freelance because you can’t get a job? Giving up on freelancing / consulting doesn’t automatically solve your employment problem.

Instead, if you want a regular job, keep applying while you phone. There’s no conflict between the two.

Networking, either in person or online through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

I assume that if you have started on any of these or similar services, you’ve already used these channels to publicize your freelancing / consulting. Maybe not for hours every day, but you have emailed family and friends and posted update notes to your online profiles, haven’t you?

These channels are built on know, like and trust. They’ll take much longer than 30 days to generate income, most likely.

And if you are going to switch over totally to these channels, what are you going to do differently to get business and convert social connections into paying assignments?

Watch TV?

Many people have taken this route. I confess, I’ve done it too.

My favorite diversion is America’s Next Top Model marathons. What’s yours?

The days will pass whether you phone or not. If you don’t have a more effective marketing technique, stay with the phoning.

Now let’s back up to the original question:

How do you know you’re either working with the wrong list or giving the wrong pitch?

You know if you are working with the wrong list or giving the wrong pitch because you are going after assignments similar to your last good job. You don’t have to talk to prospects to determine their needs because you have spent years toiling in their industries and in their functional areas.

You already know what they need and how they perceive their problems and what keeps them up at night. Sit back and remember what your boss used to complain about over coffee. What he or she requested more of in performance reviews and annual objective-writing sessions.

The voice mail messages you leave and to which no one has responded teach you nothing. Unless you are a mind reader.

There are a few people who will talk to you but do not need your services. Because this number is small and because they have talked to you, it is very possible to put too much credence in what they tell you and overly rely on it. And since their answer contains a “no” or at least a “not now,” it is easy to become unreasonably discouraged.

They may say they don’t need you because they do the work themselves. Or they laid people off so why would they hire a freelancer. Or they have no business coming in. Or they can’t spend the money.

However, the next person you phone may hire you because they are too busy doing the work themselves. Or they need a freelancer because they had to let their employees go. Or they want to expand their marketing, product development, etc. to generate more business. Or they have to spend the money because they have an intense need for your services.

You will get assignments, or at least questions about services they may need within a few months. This is the input that most helps you shape future marketing.

I know, kind of frustrating that you don’t get the input you need until you get assignments that somewhat relieve the intensity of your questions. That’s life.

Sometimes businesses have very specific problems. When they have these particular problems they look for experts to solve those problems. Those experts are called consultants. As a consultant, while you continue to promote your business, there are already people looking for knowledge you know that will help them solve their particular problems. When you share this knowledge you increase profits. Revealed – 5 top steps to accelerate your consulting sales.

1. Make your ex-boss your customer. Your ex-boss already knows your capability levels. Perhaps you could convince him or her to outsource some work to you using your skills that can benefit them.

2. Volunteer in the community using your consulting skills. This is an easy way to connect with people who can perhaps be a future prospect for customer. When you volunteer in some community event using your business skills, amazing things can happen.

3. Offered to conduct a community education class. This is a good way to get publicity through the community college or facility sponsors a community education classes. They often publish catalogues to thousands of homes and businesses in your community. This stays you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in advertising costs because your name is in the catalog.

4. Be approachable. People like to work with business people that are down to earth and easy to work with.

5. Create a marketing plan and follow that plan. As you create a reasonable marketing plan for yourself to promote your business, you can see which sales approaches benefit you the most in increasing your consulting sales.

No matter what kind of business you have — whether you sell products or a service online, from a home office or a traditional bricks and mortar store, as the saying goes, “if you fail to plan, then you’re really planning to fail.”

On a scale of one to ten,Guest Posting having a good business strategy rates about a fifteen!

Creating a strategy can mean the difference between you working 60 to 80 hours a week all year long — and then breaking even, or worse, losing money.

A plan is your roadmap; you would rarely take a road trip with no plan on how to get there or where you wanted to end up (except for those romantic ideals of jumping in a car and taking off anywhere ahh…)

I have worked with many businesses and in many industries through my time in consulting and there are usually two categories-:

(1) No Plan

With no plan and no structure these businesses never end up going anywhere quickly and chase themselves around and around in circles. (No Chance of taking themselves on the road to anywhere at anytime they feel)

(2) With a Plan
On the other hand, many successful entrepreneurs who have a strategy work fewer hours and make piles of money — and they usually attribute their success to having a strategic plan and following it. (The ability to take off and follow their hearts on one of those romanticised road trips)

So what is strategic business management? Very simply, it’s the process of defining the goals and objectives for your business, creating an action plan so you can reach them and then following the plan in a nutshell a strategic business plan.

So how do you create a strategic business plan for you business?

1. Know what your vision for your company is. If there were no barriers, nothing stopping you from taking your company as far as you could — what would that look like? THINK BIG, this is your dream, your vision!

2. What are your company’s core values? What are its guiding principles? What is your culture? In other words, why are you in business and how do you do business?

3. Create a 3 to 5 year plan. Your long-term plan is based on the broad objectives that will help you get from where you are now, to where you want to be.

4. Develop a plan for this year. These are the specific objectives you plan to accomplish this year that will lead you closer to your long-term goals. Remember to be “SMART” when setting your annual goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Oriented). Include a list of the barriers that are stopping you from getting where you want to go. Figure out what resources you’ve already got, and what resources you need to get you past those barriers. Then create an action plan that clearly lays out how you will achieve your goals. Involve key employees with this part of the planning process.

5. Create a set of milestones or benchmarks. This is very important, so that you can measure your progress. If you can’t measure it you can’t manage it and you won’t know if you have achieved your desired outcomes.

6. Share the plan with your employees, and anyone else who will be involved in the process. Your annual strategy is the roadmap that will make sure everyone ends up at the same destination — but to be effective, everyone needs the same map!

7. Put the plan into action. Now that you have the roadmap, it’s time to begin the journey.

8. Check your progress. Just like any trip, you need to check the map every now and then; to be sure you’re still on the right road. If something isn’t working, the sooner you figure it out and make the necessary adjustments, the sooner you’ll be back on track. Strategic Business Plans should be well loved not a nice to have done and beautifully bounded on the shelf never to be looked at again.

9. Follow the same cycle next year. (Dream, Plan, Act, Check).

Creating a business strategy and following it will ensure that you enjoy the journey as much as getting to your final destination.

Most family business owners want to keep the family business in the family. This article addresses how life insurance plays an important role in business succession planning.

A key part of estate planning for business owners who want to keep their business in the family is deciding when and to whom to transfer the business. The particular tools and techniques used in a business succession plan will vary based on the goals and objectives of the four groups affected by the plan: the senior generation business owner,Guest Posting the junior generation family members involved in the business, key non-family employees, and family members not involved in the business. It is important to examine how life insurance plays an essential role in the typical family business succession plan.

1. Estate Liquidity

While there is a present lapse in the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes, it’s likely that Congress will reinstate both taxes (perhaps even retroactively) some time during 2010. If not, on January 1, 2011, the estate tax exemption (which was $3.5 million in 2009) becomes $1 million, and the top estate tax rate (which was 45% in 2009) becomes 55%. However, it is the author’s opinion that the estate tax exemption will be at least $3.5 million once Congress acts.

Some business owners will wait until death to transfer all or most of their business interests to one or more of their children. If the business owner has a taxable estate, life insurance can provide the recipients of the business with the cash necessary to pay estate taxes. Using life insurance to pay estate taxes is particularly useful for business owners because their ownership interests cannot be readily liquidated. The children receiving the business may also need life insurance to pay estate taxes. Usually, the insurance policy will be owned by an irrevocable life insurance trust so that the beneficiaries will receive the death proceeds both income and estate tax-free.

2. Buy-Sell Agreements

A properly designed buy-sell agreement guarantees a market and fair price for a deceased, disabled or withdrawing owner’s business interest. It also ensures control over the business by the surviving or remaining owners and can set the value of the business interest for estate tax purposes. Life insurance is the best way to provide the cash necessary for the business or the surviving owners to purchase a deceased owner’s interest. In many instances, the cash surrender value in a life insurance policy can also be used (tax-free) to help pay for a lifetime purchase of a business owner’s interest.

3. Estate Equalization

A business owner can use life insurance to provide the children who are not involved with the business with “equitable” treatment. Leaving the business to the active children and life insurance to the inactive children equalizes the inheritances among them. In addition, it avoids the need for the active children to purchase the interests of the inactive children, perhaps at a time when the business may be unable to afford it. Depending on the particular facts and circumstances, the insurance may be owned by an irrevocable trust for the benefit of the inactive children, and the insured may be the business owner or the business owner and his or her spouse.

4. Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans

A nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plan can be used by a small business to provide members of the senior generation with death, disability, and retirement benefits. A NQDC plan may be particularly useful in situations where the senior members have transitioned the business to the junior members and are no longer receiving compensation. A NQDC plan also ensures that key employees remain with the business during the transition period — a so-called “golden handcuff.” Because life insurance offers tax-deferred cash value growth and tax-free death benefits, it is the most popular vehicle for “informally” funding NQDC plan liabilities.

5. Key-Person Insurance

Many family businesses depend on non-family employees for the company’s continued success. To guard against financial loss due to the absence of a key employee, and to ensure that the business stays in the family, many companies take out “key-person” life insurance, disability insurance, or both.

6. Section 303 Redemptions

Internal Revenue Code Section 303 enables the estate of a business owner to remove cash from a corporation with no tax cost. To be eligible for a Section 303 redemption, the stock’s value must exceed 35% of the shareholder’s estate. Also, the maximum amount that can be redeemed is limited to the amount of the federal estate tax, state death taxes, funeral, and administrative expenses. The corporation can purchase a life insurance policy on the shareholder’s life to ensure that the corporation has sufficient funds with which to accomplish the Section 303 redemption.

7. GRATs

With a Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT), the grantor transfers a business interest to the child or children active in the business (the “remaindermen”), while retaining the right to receive a fixed annuity from the trust for a stated term of years. The longer the stated term and the larger the annuity, the smaller the taxable gift. At the end of the stated term, the balance of the trust property passes (gift-tax-free) to the remaindermen. The risk with a GRAT is that if the grantor dies during the stated term, all of the assets in the GRAT are included in the grantor’s estate for federal estate tax purposes. But, in such case, by funding an irrevocable life insurance trust for the benefit of the GRAT’s remaindermen, the grantor can leave the business interest to the GRAT’s remaindermen who can then use the life insurance proceeds to pay the federal estate taxes due. Alternatively, a married grantor might qualify the assets in the GRAT for the marital deduction and have an ILIT (for the benefit of the GRAT’s remaindermen) use the life insurance proceeds to purchase the assets from the grantor’s estate.

8. Asset Protection Planning

Businesses assuming the risk of potential environmental contamination (i.e., waste hauling, landfills, chemicals, etc.) are subject to liability under federal and state pollution laws. Moreover, such liability is not limited to the business itself, as the business owners also may he personally liable under such laws. As the business passes to the next generation, so does the potential liability. Life insurance is ideal in this situation. The business owner can establish an irrevocable life insurance trust to run for the maximum period permitted by state law (i.e., at least 90 years in most states and in perpetuity in a handful of states). The trust would provide the business owner’s descendants with income and principal as needed for health, education, maintenance and support. If properly structured, the assets in the trust cannot be reached by the beneficiaries’ creditors, including state and federal environmental agencies.

9. Private Annuities and SCINs

With a private annuity, the business owner (the annuitant) sells the business interest to the child or children active in the business (the purchaser) for an unsecured promise to make periodic payments to the business owner for the rest of his/her life (a single life annuity) or for the life of the business owner and his or her spouse (a joint and survivor annuity). Because the private annuity is a sale and not a gift, it allows the business owner to remove the business interest from his or her estate without incurring gift or estate tax. The child or children purchasing the business interest can fund an irrevocable life insurance trust for his/her/their family’s benefit in order to have the cash to continue to pay the annuity should he/she/they predecease the business owner. Conversely, the business owner can fund an irrevocable life insurance trust for his/her family’s benefit as a hedge against the business owner’s premature death. In either case, the amount of life insurance needed would be based on the present value of the future annuity payments.

When a business owner decides to sell the business to a child in installments, the promissory note may be a self-canceling installment note (SCIN). With a SCIN, upon the seller’s death, all remaining payments under the note are canceled, similar to a private annuity. The purchaser must pay a “premium” for this cancellation feature, either by a higher interest rate or a higher purchase price. Like a private annuity, a SCIN avoids estate and gift taxes. Unlike a private annuity, a SCIN allows the seller a security interest in the transferred business. When using a SCIN, just as with a private annuity, the business owner can fund an irrevocable life insurance trust for his or her family’s benefit as protection against the business owner’s premature death. Conversely, the purchaser can fund an irrevocable life insurance trust for the benefit of his/her family so that they will have the cash to continue to pay the SCIN should the purchaser predecease the seller.

10. Family Bank

When the decision is made to leave the business to both active and inactive children, it is usually advisable to leave only the active children with voting interests in the business. In addition, “put” and “call” agreements should be entered into. Usually, a put option requires the business to purchase all or a portion of the inactive children’s interest in the business upon a set price and terms. Without a put option, there may be no practical way for an inactive child to benefit from owning the business interest unless the business is sold. On the other hand, a call option allows the active children (or the business itself) to purchase the business interests of the inactive children upon a set price and terms. Without a call option, there may be no effective way for the active children to avoid conflicts that can occur between the active children who are receiving salaries and bonuses, and the inactive children who are not. By having the active children own life insurance on a senior family member’s life, a “bank” is created to provide the funds to satisfy any such puts and calls. Usually, the policy will be owned outside of the business entity, such as in a trust for the benefit of the active children, or by a limited liability company owned by the active children.

Succession planning seeks to help a business owner confronting many issues. There is no “one size fits all” approach to keeping the family business in the family. The tools and techniques best suited to a particular business are fact-specific. Life insurance plays an important role in helping a business survive and thrive as it moves from one generation to the next.

The Almighty Business PlanFrom the ebook, Micro Loans: Finance Your DreamsBy Darrin F. Coe, … to Richard Greene, in his book, From One … to … to Start, Manage, Grow and

The Almighty Business Plan
From the ebook,Guest Posting Micro Loans: Finance Your Dreams
By Darrin F. Coe, MA

According to Richard Greene, in his book, From One Entrepreneur to Another.How to Start, Manage, Grow and Exit Your Own Small Business,

“The business plan is a guide toward achieving profitability
as quickly and economically as possible. It is a plan for
orderly growth. It is designed to help you raise capital.”

And according to the Black Enterprise Guide to Starting Your Own Business by Wendy Beech,

“Every business owner should craft this important document
before hanging out a shingle, but few do. Instead, many business
owners fly by the seat of their pants and manage to successfully sail
through the first few years of their operation without a plan.
However, when major problems crop up and threaten the life of
their company, the owners must scramble to find and apply
quick fixes.”

According to the Oakland Business Development Corporation, a micro loan
application should include a business plan that incorporates the following information

– use of funds requested
– cash flow
– income statements
– balance sheet
– assumptions as to how you arrived at your numbers

Wendy Beech again writes,

“Creating a business plan will force you to think through all of the essential
factors that will impact the success of your operation . . . Drafting a written
plan will help to ensure that you have not omitted any significant factors
that could kill your business. With a plan, it will be easier for you to
communicate your ideas to potential investors, suppliers, partners,
corporate boards of directors, and employees.”

Before you write your business plan

1. Identify the audience to whom you’re writing
– Internal audience
– employees
– co-owners
– board of directors
– partners
– External audience
– MICRO LOAN LENDERS
– bankers
– venture capitalists
– vendors/suppliers
– family members
– friends

2. Specify the type of business that you’re seeking to start

–will your business be providing a product?
– develop statements concerning the uniqueness of
your products
– why is your product worth caring about?
– what is your product’s unique selling point?
– will your business be providing a service?
– consider customer service
– consider presentation of services
– will your business provide both product and service?
– consider what makes your combination of product
and service unique and superior to the competition
– consider your market niche

3. Gather available resources to help you write your plan

– marketing research
– business records
– review your personal circumstances
– analyze personal assets and liabilities
– analyze financial assets and liabilities
– do you have or can you develop collateral?

4. Set a planning timetable
– beginning plans generally take a five year viewpoint
– develop a system so that you can review and modify you
plan every 3 to 4 months.

5. Consider possible outcomes about your business
– research all possible types of sources of information about your
type of business
– consider the external factors that will be beyond your control

6. Schedule time to write your business plan
– identify a writing start date
– set aside 15 to 60 minutes per day, at the same time everyday
to develop your plan

== Note ==
A personal friend of mine, Mike Phillips, started the company Rock Solid Health and Fitness. He spent hours everyday writing his business plan and it took him about 2 months to complete. It was easily over 50 pages long. So expect to put in some effort when developing a great business plan.
== Note ==

In conclusion, business planning is vital to the long term success of your entrepreneurial endeavor. Whether you’re planning a small home business, an internet-based business, or a larger project, business planning will help you develop that project and protect the success of that project for the long term.

At this very moment there are AT LEAST 9 other companies competing for YOUR customers. How will you convince them to buy from you?The success of any business depends upon its ability to attract, and retain, customers. When you started your company you decided many of the marketing strategies needed to bring a product or service to market. We show you how!

Getting Out the Word Small Business Edition by Linda Lullie,Guest Posting Inspired 2 Design, LLCAt this very moment there are AT LEAST 9 other companies competing for YOUR customers. How will you convince them to buy from you? Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers – ever wonder what did he do with them once he’d picked them all? Marketing is the process of picking, preparing, and pricing a product (or service) to promote for purchase. Peter may very well have gone into the salsa business, opened a produce stand, or a restaurant. But how did he draw customers in and get them to buy his spicy product? The success of any business depends upon its ability to attract, and retain, customers. When you started your company you decided many of the marketing strategies needed to bring a product or service to market. These strategies include how your business solves a problem or fills a need, and who your target market is, then you open the store. Now it’s time to drive traffic to your front door. Promotion is the process and the product of “getting out the word”. Rarely does a product or service arise that does not require some type of promotion to generate sales. There are three major strategies to connect with customers. Although each method can be effective independently, utilize a combination for a well-rounded marketing plan. A multi-channel approach utilizes Advertising (the production and placement of ads) with the personal interaction of Sales, and the least expensive – yet least controllable channel, Public Relations. Armed with all three, savvy business owners construct an arsenal of promotion tools. Your must determine which form of which method to use when and with whom – then evaluate cost effectiveness by a cost per response ratio. Advertising is, in its most simple form, the practice of informing the public about your goods or services – and compelling them to make a purchase. You control the message – which should be consistent with your identity, the placement – which should be targeted, and the frequency and timing – which should be often enough to remind your customers of who you are and what you do. Many believe that the average person must be exposed to an ad piece seven times to be motivated by it. The message should produce awareness and effectively maintain a positive image of your company, goods and services – while persuading the public that your goods or services outperform competitors. Getting the 411 When it comes to deciding where to spend advertising dollars, start with the basic Yellow Pages ad. All directory ads have one thing in common – they supply information to a consumer who is ready to buy a product or service. Therefore, directory ads represent the one time when you need not convince the consumer to buy – you just need to convince them to buy FROM YOU. Your ad will be surrounded by competitors’ ads for the same or similar goods and services. So, how do you convince the customer to hire you? First, your ad has to be seen. Second, your ad has to scream experience and reliability. Getting noticed is priority, so make sure your ad is under the heading that is most commonly sought after for your product or service. You don’t want an Air Conditioning business listed under Retirement Homes. Often there will be multiple categories for an ad under, so look through the book before you place the call. Multiple listings should also yield a discounted rate. Size matters! The bigger the ad, the more noticeable it will be, and the more information you can include. Look at competitors, look at your budget and then purchase the largest space you can afford. Content must-haves include products/services offered, years in business, licensing, any seals or other reliability sellers, logo, location, phone number, hours and website address. As with all your advertising monies spent, keep a record of which promotions return the best – so make it a point to ask new customers how they heard about your business – track and repeat the winners, dump the losers. The directory ad is just the beginning. What’s black, and white, and read all over? That old riddle is not far off the mark. Truth is, newspaper ads are location driven, and reach a broad audience. The broader the audience, the more difficult it becomes to target your specific customer. Difficult, however is not impossible and newspapers are often a fine tool for getting out the word. Carefully select the title, section, size, frequency, content and design of your ad – and the offer is crucial, so test a few different ones. Remember that dailies are short lived – today’s news is tomorrow’s recyclable. Frequency is often the solution to this challenge. Repeat ads build recognition and credibility. As the number one media for local advertising, competition in the newspaper arena is nearly as fierce as in the case of directory ads, so consult a marketing expert for help with the intricacies of newspaper advertising. A professional advertising agency will design and place ads for you. Leaving the important design decisions to your newspaper sales rep is NEVER a good idea.Local Yocals Local magazines, co-op mailers, and freebies are usually mailed or made available on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis. They target convenience by hitting small segments of households or businesses within a limited radius – and they’re usually more affordable than daily papers. If your product or service is location reliant, this type of ad should be in the mix. Include an incentive coupon or such to drive initial sales. If you live close to your business, watch what comes in the mail daily – examine each piece and think like a buyer…is it something you normally open and read? What prompts you to buy? If you’re not interested in a publication, others may feel the same. Be critical and be selective. Most mailers of this type are printed on a higher quality paper stock than newsprint, and color reproduction is often improved to give you more options for creating an attention grabbing ad. On the downside of these publications, they’re often unsolicited and therefore readership numbers are harder to gauge than subscription publications.Hitting the Big Time Regional and national consumer magazines and trade journals have a longer shelf life than newspapers. Major magazines have extensive reader demographics, and allowing extremely targeting placement. If you’re a local business, most nationals have small target ranges, and if you have a website, in many cases you don’t even need to remain local only! Keep in mind that the audience size you select will impact the ad cost just as much as the size and type of ad you place. One drawback to monthly publications – lead time. Often you may wait months to see your ad in print. Research a few publications, compare rates and readership, then decide if your budget allows for magazines – the caviar of publication ads. Get To the Point, Please Targeted, response rate driven, and design unlimited, direct mail is often the most attractive form of print advertising for any size business. Costs are controllable and response rates measurable, and repeatable. Choosing your mailing list is the first step. If you’ve developed a list of prospects, and repeat customers, start there. If not, renting a list is as easy and affordable. Most direct mail packages include an envelope, sales letter, flier and a response card. The complete package cost will depend on quantity, paper, ink colors, and level of personalization. Professional design is a great way to ensure a consistent look, effective copy, and a better deal with the printer. Most design firms will have a relationship with a local printer. Advertising pros can help ensure your mail pieces are cost-effective and achieve results. Direct mail doesn’t have to cost a small fortune. Numerous formats of direct mail pieces offer low cost without sacrificing creative options. Postcards are the most inexpensive form of single mailing, offering a multitude of paper and design options. Self mailers also offer significant savings over the four piece mailer package. Three or four panel fold outs can be designed to include a letter, response card, flier and envelope all in one. While economical in production and printing costs, one drawback to self mailers is their uncanny ability to resemble junk mail. Make sure the outside copy compels the prospect to open the mailer. In this arena especially, it’s highly recommended that you test a small portion of your list, no more than 10% of your names, with any one content. Changing your outside copy can be as inexpensive as a black plate change. Code your tests and mail several at once to different random samples, then record the response rates, analyze the results and go with the most effective. You’ll want to see response rates in the 3-5% range to judge any direct mailing a success. Before responses start coming in, make sure you’re prepared to follow up leads quickly. Fulfillment, whether it’s information, a sales call, shipping a product, or performing a service, will indicate your company’s level of customer service. Don’t create a fantastic piece, mail an expensive list and then, fail to follow through. Scale your mailings to fit your company’s capabilities. When creating a brochure or catalog, professional photography and copy writing are critical. Once you gain the interest of a prospective customer, you now have the responsibility to wow them with a fast following of a great piece. Brochures can be bi, tri or quad folded, printed on paper that looks and feels good, and must be designed to close a sale. Testimonials, examples, locations, service guarantees, everything that’s good about your company product or service is here on the brochure. Catalog page counts, paper quality, overall piece size, image quality, four color vs. black and white, photos vs. illustrations must be decided prior to design. It’s an extension of your brand, so be consistent. New Tool of the Trade The Internet is the most required form of advertising in the new economy. The internet affords even the smallest company the opportunity to compete with the big boys by increasing access to otherwise unreachable markets. When you’re really ready to get out the word about your business, there’s no better tool for advertising across town, or around the world, than a website. You cannot grow your business exponentially without a web presence. It doesn’t really matter what type of business you’re in, a website will work for you. Your competition is or will be there, so decide now – will it be your place or mine that customers visit for information, service and convenience – and ultimately, to spend their dollars. The capabilities of the web for instant gratification, visual stimulation, and information make innovation achievable for even the smallest of businesses and tightest of budgets. Whether you operate a restaurant, retail store, wholesale company, a hotel, or any product or service oriented company, there is an effective, online marketing plan for you. Look at your goals for the next year, next two years, or next five years. If they include opening new markets, improving customer and vendor communication, or reducing overhead, while increasing sales, then you have no choice but to include the internet in your plan and budget. A professionally designed website will help you achieve your business goals. Setting goals will help ensure your web development dollars are well spent. You can expect increased revenues to recoup the cost of developing and maintaining your site if you plan wisely. A dynamic, up-to-date site will receive more traffic, and achieve its marketing goals faster, than a minimalist or non-existent web presence. The value added by an internet presence is unmistakable. Many firms stimulate in-store sales via their website, or encourage a completed sale via the site or by Email, fax or phone. Plus you’ll increase your customer base via exposure to new markets and via viral marketing. Your site will enable you to respond faster to market trends, new products, customer requests, vendor confirmations, and keep your company on the cutting edge. In today’s new marketplace – customers demand this level of response. The possibilities are endless, and the technology is constantly changing, as are the preferences and tastes of the market you serve. Call on a professional to tie together your goals with the latest technology and trends. A professional advertising agency will take the time to discuss your goals, business model, customer base, and budget with you – and develop a complete plan that is consistent with your brand identity, in line to meet your future expectations. Back IN the Box Once you’re online presence is established, the natural progression is to incorporate Email marketing. Now deemed as one of the fastest growing and best performing advertising forms, Emails can accomplish a multitude of tasks. As a customer service tool, it provides many of the functions of a traditional call center: order summaries, confirmations, shipping updates, billing info, past due and backorder notifications. Customer inquiries can be handled via incoming Email. As a marketing tool, they should coordinate with your marketing mix. First, keep it all in the family. Don’t prospect for customers with Emails and run the risk of blacklisting yourself. Develop your own permission based list of addresses. ALWAYS have a Reason for the Campaign – while it’s important to be in the spotlight with customers, be careful you’re not wasting their time. Consumers want information that is useful. So whether you’re sending a Newsletter, Coupon, New Product Announcement, or an Order Confirmation – make sure it’s news they can use. And try to sweeten the offer – keep Emails specialized and offer deals, info and specials not readily available through other means. Offer “Secret Sales”, “Limited Editions” and “First to See” promos. Always offer your best products or your top selling services. When designing and writing your Emails, mix it up. Keep graphics and layouts ever changing to add interest. Be sure to keep the images small so they’re quick to open and draw on the screen. Pay special attention to your subject line. Avoid SPAM trigger words, and write a subject line that’s broad and clever. Personalize your messages: use buying habits or preferences to target your efforts. Or, at least use their name. Be clear with your call to action by providing “Click Here” links. Test – Test – Test different ideas and keep track of responses. A professionally Email is critical, employ the services of a writer and graphic designer. Emails greet your customers just as a salesperson would. So, put your best face forward. Taking Up Cyberspace? Just like opening a retail store on a busy highway or in a crowded mall is important for traffic and sales, optimizing your website and advertising it on busy, crowded search engines is important too. You pay top dollar rent for prime commercial real estate, and search engine marketing may cost you some coin as well. But if you design and host your site with a professional team, you can bank on high level marketing tactics for drawing traffic to your site. The use of keyword optimization within your site, and externally via pay-per-click ads, viral marketing techniques, and a full-service, well-rounded, marketing plan will ensure your site is not just taking up cyber-space. SEO (search engine optimization) is cost-effective when handled correctly. The challenge is to find prospects who are thinking about your product/service at the exact time that you’re there to sell. Search engines make it possible to target prospects at that very moment. Develop your website with keywords, meta tags, titles and descriptions that coincide with your content, and then submitting to search engines and directories is important to get you noticed. Add content that’s useful and specific to your industry. Search engine spiders will read through all the content and other data to index your site for display when a person types in a search term or phrase. Selecting the top terms is part of the challenge, placement is important and relevance is a must. Purchasing Pay-Per-Click or Search Words on an engine can be as complicated as brokering stocks, but your professional ad team will weed through the mix and prepare a plan for your business and budget. Ride the Wave of Air Any discussion on marketing is not complete without the queen and king of advertising mediums: radio and television. While these venues have long been out of reach for small business owners, the growth of cable TV stations, and satellite radio have opened up more market possibilities and makes these venues more affordable than you might think. Before exploring each medium individually, let’s point out two golden rules for the success of radio or television campaigns. First, place ads when people are listening or watching. Second, keep ads placed tightly together for the best results. Repetition is important as it’s so easy to switch the station or leave the room during the commercials. Plus, if the audience misses the address, phone number, or web address, they just can’t replay the ad. Make sure commercials run close together in a time slot that has an audience in your target demographic. Radio often allows negotiable rates for ads. You may be able to barter airtime by offering your products or services as contest prizes. Radio listeners are often quite loyal to their favorite DJs, making endorsements very effective – having the personality read your commercial is equal to an implied endorsement and often as effective. Use your radio campaign to support your print campaigns. For example, announcing your coupon in the newspaper or watch your mailbox for our offer. Since radio is not very effective with in-depth, complicated ads, it does boost other marketing techniques quite well. Placement is key, so be sure you know who you want to reach with your ads. Radio sales people will try to sell you a package plan that splits your ads up – BEWARE! Just as placement is key, frequency is super important as well, so although you may be tempted to go with their package since you seemingly get a lot of ad space for the dollar, look very closely to be sure your ad will be heard by the same audience four, five or six times . Concentrating your ads around the same run times on the same station within a short time span will not only get your message heard, it will also make your company look bigger than it is since the audience assumes you’re running ads even when they’re not listening. Once you’ve decided on a frequency plan, get your commercial written. Simple, creative, conversational ads with clearly defined benefits and a crystal clear call-to-action are a must for an ad. Stand out commercials get your message across and get the audience motivated.All Hail the King TV – the great American pastime is certainly the golden child for advertising campaigns. More people spend more time watching television than pay attention to any other medium. TV offers proven persuasive power – it simply works. But with most golden opportunities, there’s a cost involved. And with TV, it’s a big cost! Let’s summarize what you should expect for your money: 1. Instant validation2. Target audience reach3. Diverse audience reach4. Creative opportunities Now about the cost…a 30 second commercial during prime time may cost 10 to 30 times more than a comparable radio spot. That’s just the cost of the spot, that does not include writing, talent, set design or location, filming, and editing services. Cable TV may offer some bargains as compared to broadcast television. Often you can target a specific niche even better in the cable arena. When you advertise on television, you open up a world of creative possibilities. You’re competing with other stations, the refrigerator, the rest room, and umpteen other distractions during the commercials of any show, so it pays to create an ad that grabs attention instantly and remains in the mind of the audience. Don’t settle for the TV station’s in house production, get a professional agency to help you create the best ad for your money, one that not only captivates, but is in line with all your other marketing. Like radio, TV ads are fleeting, and you have to repeatedly hit your target market. Count on five to seven exposures for it to stick. Make sure to buy spots during times and programs that suit your product or service. Most stations offer packages, “fringe” time spots, and adjacencies for less than pick and choose times – these may work for you. If your budget allows the addition of television advertising, by all means, contact a professional. Properly executed, your TV ads can and will be the crowning achiever in your marketing arsenal. Get Directly to the Point One tried and true method for growing a business is to employ a sales force. Of course, as the business owner, you are constantly employed in direct sales for your business. You talk to family and friends, people who enter your storefront, or call you on the phone, you pass out business cards to anyone who will take one. What you do every day is a combination of sales and networking: the practice of connecting. Let’s say your brother needs his house painted and one of your customers is a painter. Your painter’s wife wants a new puppy, and you uncle owns a pet store. These types of personal connections are the backbone of the small business.Make the Connection Formal networking starts with joining a club, association, or business group. Some groups are designed specifically for networking, others for business to consumer relationship building, and still, some others are service oriented, so choose with care. When you consider the groups in which to invest time and money, consider who your target market is and whether you will reach that market via that group. Once you join, explore every opportunity to make connections. When attending events, focus on the quality of relationships rather than the quantity of contacts. Grow relationships since the better contacts know you, the more apt they are to recommend you. A good first impression – firm handshake, good eye contact, active listening – is as important as fast follow up. Show an active interest in the contact whether they’re a potential customer, or a potential referral source. Build your network of connections this way and as you do, continue to connect via a newsletter, Ezine or postcard mailing. Send connections timely and business appropriate clippings, or news stories. Build your network well and you’ll have an ever increasing sales force at work.The Host-ess with the Most-ess Business Hosting events is a fantastic way of keeping in touch with existing contacts and for making new ones. When you look at the cost of hosting an open house, seminar, sporting event, or party, and the buzz it can create in the marketplace, it’s a surefire advertising method that’s sadly too often overlooked. Seek out co-sponsors and donations of goods or services from contacts. This will not only cut your costs, but it strengthens relationships. When planning an event, keep track of costs and be ready with a follow-up campaign for converting the leads into sales. There’s No Business Like Trade Show Business… Trade shows are another good way to make sales happen. If you plan to exhibit, you must plan well, execute well, and finish well. Pick the right show, set clear goals, create a dynamic display, and man your space with people who are aware of your goals and can engage the show visitors. Draw a crowd to your booth with demonstrations, contests, and giveaways. Have plenty of attractive, accurate printed materials on hand, and be ready to do business. An advertising agency can help you create the right display, promotional pieces, and printed collateral to make your company shine at the show. As with all forms of networking to build sales, follow-up is key to your success. Make sure you’re getting the names and numbers of the prospects at the show, and contact them immediately after the show concludes, whether by email, phone or mail. The better you follow through, the more successful your trade show marketing investment will be.Use the Force… Every business needs to gain a edge over the competition. The statement “there’s enough business to go around for everyone” is often made by a soon to be out-of-business owner. Sales don’t happen by accident. Good salesmanship is critical for the small business owner, since in many cases, he or she cannot compete with big business on selection, price, or delivery. Training a sales team to represent who and what the business represents is critical. Every person who represents your company is a salesperson for you. They must know the company mission, philosophy, rules, policies, merchandise, services, pricing, delivery standards, and target customer. Businesses should employ creative techniques when training for sales. Stepping away from the traditional, expected method of “May I help you?”, and into a new, out of the box method of customer contact is crucial to getting the edge. Become memorable, go beyond expectations, adapt the message, use showmanship. The best part of a sales force is that they’re people. And people are flowing and adaptable. Once you print a business card, produce a commercial, host an event, it’s done. But with person to person contact, each situation can be customized to fit the customer – right at that moment – making your sales team a force that can make your business stand out above and apart from the competition.Stop the Presses! While direct, personal sales may very well be the most controllable of all marketing techniques, Public Relations is likely the least controllable, but arguably one of the cheapest ways to get out the word you want people to hear. That’s because public relations, by definition, is all about influencing opinions. As a business owner, the opinion you want your buying public to have is that what they need, you have, and you have it faster, better, cheaper than anyone else. Relating to your buying public is part of what you do everyday, but there are some important tools that a PR firm will use to create positive buzz. Just the Facts Probably the most basic tool in your marketing arsenal is a press kit. Think of it as a company introduction and overview. Use it to introduce your business to the media and to potential investors and employees. Post a copy on your website. Your kit should be current, accurate, and should include: company statistics (years in business, number of employees, locations, sales figures, client list), history, owners/shareholders bios and photographs, a press release, contact list, and a cover letter. You may want to use your kit to introduce your executives as experts in a particular field, and therefore make them available to the press as a source.Extra Extra Read All About It More than just a part of your press kit, press releases are good ways to keep media contacts current on what’s happening at your business, and to announce important, timely and newsworthy events. It’s important that press releases are written properly. Your subject should be newsworthy, meet the needs of the target paper or reporter, and remain somewhat neutral in tone. Being pushy or self-serving will not get your news published. Keep your information basic, accurate and on one page. Once you have your press release completed, send it to newspapers, magazines, trade publications, TV and radio news sources, and to the publishers of newsletters that cover your industry. Used effectively, press releases are a powerful public relations tool for marketing your business. It’s in the Air Public relations involves many different ways to promote a positive spin on a product, service or company. Yet one thing these methods have in common is their cost. For the most part, gaining a positive public image can be one of the least expensive ways to market. Attaining news coverage by supplying information is one way, but actually creating the news is a great way to get the word out about your business. Companies and individuals create news every day by using publicity stunts, authoring books, appearing on talk shows, making public appearances, performing community service, and sponsoring events and teams. Most of these methods are free, or inexpensive ways to get publicity. Tying it All Together The success of a business depends upon its ability to attract, and retain, customers. We’ve covered the three major strategies Peter (and you) should be using to connect with customers. However, before you start throwing time and money into advertising, direct sales, and public relations efforts, you have a little more work to do. Your company, products and services are identified by your brand. Your brand identity includes your logo, your color scheme, your packaging, your trucks, invoices, your store or office environment, and all of the elements that the public sees. It’s your image. And in keeping with your brand image, consistency across each and every marketing effort you put forth is vital. Your customer must see your company as a cohesive, well oiled machine that has its act together. Everything from employee uniforms to advertisements, to labels, must portray a consistent look and feel. A consistent marketing strategy across all channels boosts confidence, and revenues. That’s exactly what a full service creative advertising agency offers clients — consistency of brand identity across all marketing efforts. When a company picks, preps, prices, and promotes products and services using cohesive, targeted advertising, a trained, creative sales force, and grasps every opportunity to encourage positive public opinion, that company has constructed a well-rounded arsenal of promotion to get out the word. Get the customer in the door, deliver what you promise, do it better, faster and more memorably than your competitors, and customer retention levels will soar, as will sales, and profits. A happy customer is a repeat customer. And a loyal customer will tell others about you… and now…you’re getting out the word.Peter, with all his peppers, would be proud.

Because diverse entrepreneurs have different definitions of success, they also have unique needs when it comes to planning for their business’ future. This article outlines the steps that three types of female entrepreneurs might consider taking to develop plans for their business’ future.

Every business owner creates her own definition of success. Whether she strives for growth over time,Guest Posting or just wants to maintain what she has well into the future, one key aspect of achieving success is planning. Just as every business owner creates her own definition of success, every business owner must also create her own plan to take her business from where it is now, to where she wants it to be.

A recent study from Jane Out of the Box, an authority on female entrepreneurs, reveals there are five distinct types of women in business. Based on professional market research of more than 2,500 women in business, this study shows that each type of business owner has a unique approach to running a business, and therefore, each one has a unique combination of needs. This article outlines three of the five types and provides advice about planning steps that meet the needs of the business owner and the business, now and in the future.

Jane Dough is an entrepreneur who enjoys running her business and generally, she makes a nice living. She is comfortable and determined in buying and selling, which may be why she’s five times more likely than the average female business owner to hit the million dollar mark. Jane Dough is clear in her priorities and may be intentionally and actively growing an asset-based or legacy business. It is estimated that 18% of women entrepreneurs fall in the category of Jane Dough.

Of all five types of entrepreneurs, Jane Dough is the most likely to have a plan for her business. She is driven to create a large business that has a life beyond herself and her own needs and interests. She enjoys strategizing and planning for long-term growth, and is great at delegating smaller tasks so she has the time she needs to do that. One of Jane Dough’s challenges, though, is that her visions are often on a large scale, and she doesn’t communicate them effectively to members of her team. They may be scrambling behind her, talking to each other in an effort to figure it all out. Each person may receive only parts of the story, and they speculate about her expectations and what she is doing, in an effort to anticipate her needs. This speculation and confusion can create havoc for Jane Dough and her business, and can slow down the progress of the plans she is making.

Here are some tips for Jane Dough on better communicating her vision and more effectively carrying out her plans:

· Schedule semi-annual business planning retreats. Not only will semi-annual planning retreats keep Jane Dough focused on the gap between her current situation and her goals (which naturally shift as time passes), it also will provide her with regular, specific opportunities to communicate her vision to her team members – all at once. Communicating that vision provides team members with a cohesive overall landscape of the anticipated future. Also, giving team members the chance to brainstorm about challenges, new product or service ideas or strategies for improving operations provides Jane Dough with insight from the people on the front lines.

· Create a hiring plan for the longer-term vision. Breadth and depth on a team will help a Jane Dough business owner realize the kind of growth for which she strives. A hiring plan, then, will allow Jane Dough to be effective in building strength into her organization. A well-constructed hiring plan takes into account the types of personalities a business owner enjoys working with, as well as the specific set of skills she needs in order to move her business to the next level. Draw an organizational chart detailing how each position fits with the others, and list below each position, the personality traits and skill sets it requires. With this plan at her fingertips, Jane Dough will find it easier to locate opportunities for the right people.

· Systematically track key performance metrics. To grow her business quickly and long-term, a business owner must understand the gaps that exist between where her company is today, and where she wants it to be. To gain that understanding, it is imperative to create clear, measurable goals, and to track the company’s performance against those goals. For example, if a Jane Dough wants to grow her business 10 percent in the next year, she may use several strategies to meet that goal. She may change copy or design elements of her web site to sell her product more effectively. She may advertise to increase traffic to her web site. She could also test a direct mail campaign to prospects who have opted-in on her web site, but haven’t followed up with a purchase. Each of these options is measurable, and Jane Dough can track each one to determine whether it is contributing to growth – and if so, by how much. She then can direct resources to the most effective strategy.

Go Jane Go is passionate about her work and provides excellent service, so she has plenty of clients – so much so, she’s struggling to keep up with demand. At 14% of women in business, she may be a classic overachiever, taking on volunteer opportunities as well. She’s eager to make an impact on the world and she often struggles to say no. Since she wants to say yes to so many people, she may even be in denial about how many hours she actually works during the course of a week. As a result, she may be running herself ragged and feeling guilty about neglecting herself and others who are important to her.

Undoubtedly the busiest type of business owner, more than a quarter of the original 2500 researched reported working more than 50 hours per week. For most Go Jane Go entrepreneurs, business is thriving – so much so, it can be overwhelming. At first glance, it may appear that Go Jane Go doesn’t really need to plan – business is booming, her income is high, and she has (almost) more customers than she can handle. However, creating a plan may help Go Jane Go feel less overwhelmed and therefore increase her personal satisfaction.

Here are some planning tips for Go Jane Go:

Get clear on personal priorities. Taking care of oneself isn’t selfish – it’s essential to high performance. It might benefit Go Jane Go to create a vision board. Here’s how: set aside a few hours to sit down with a poster-board (or a smaller piece of blank paper) and a pile of magazines. Go through the magazines and cut out images or words that represent “the dream life,” whether it’s a picture of a woman with an umbrella drink sitting poolside, a woman running in the park with her dog, or a woman sitting in the spa … getting absolutely clear on personal priorities gives Go Jane Go an idea of exactly where she wants to be – and she can then determine how to adjust her business accordingly.
Create a parking lot. Go Jane Go entrepreneurs often have long lists of desired future accomplishments. For many, those lists cause guilt or frustration. By giving those lists a specific place to “park,” Go Jane Go entrepreneurs will find they feel less stress because they know their dreams, in written form, are right there in the parking lot – waiting (and they won’t be forgotten). Go Jane Go can keep a shorter-term list of ideas and projects in a visible place at all times, and she can file longer-term lists in her drawer for regular review. This allows her to keep track of her plans, short- and long-term, and to feel at ease knowing those plans are always accessible.
Consider narrowing the focus of the company’s marketing campaign. If Go Jane Go feels overwhelmed (it is one of the primary factors in our research’s classification of Go Jane Go), then she might consider actively seeking clients who more ideally fit in with what she enjoys most about her business. For example, let’s consider a Go Jane Go jewelry designer. Currently, she’s designing wedding sets, necklace and earring sets, and jewelry for mothers. Let’s say that she most enjoys creating wedding sets – working with a couple to design a set of rings they’ll wear forever truly meets this Go Jane Go’s desire to help people, while using her creativity. Maybe it’s time she considered planning for a slightly different future in which she designs only wedding sets. She could narrow her marketing specifically to target people looking for wedding jewelry. It may be a future different than what Go Jane Go originally intended, but she’ll find more joy in creating jewelry that brings her together with clients who want the same thing she does.
Merry Jane is an entrepreneur who is usually building a part-time or “flexible time” business that gives her a creative outlet (whether she’s an ad agency consultant or she makes beautiful artwork) that she can manage within specific constraints around her schedule. She may have a day-job, or need to be fully present for family or other pursuits. Representing about 19% of women in business, she realizes she could make more money by working longer hours, but she’s happy with the tradeoff she has made because her business gives her tremendous freedom to work how and when she wants, around her other commitments.

A majority of Merry Jane-run businesses serve as outlets for expressing creativity and skills, and staying connected to professional interests, regardless of bigger priorities. Merry Jane business owners tend to judge success by different standards than other business owners. For example, Merry Jane appreciates the flexibility to work when, where and as much as she wants. She strives to meet all her obligations well, enjoys being recognized for her gifts and talents, and relishes the freedom to say no. And when this entrepreneurial type talks about making a contribution to the household, she’s talking more than money: from running her house to running her business and everything in between, Merry Jane’s systems-oriented style keeps her busy and on task – and gives her less time than most other business owner types to work on her business. So for Merry Jane, planning is a function of balance: she wants more customers – but not too many.

Here are some tips Merry Jane may consider when planning for her future:

Find a marketing method that pumps up business, just the right amount. Research shows that most Merry Janes would like to make more money. About 57 percent of Merry Jane entrepreneurs draw less than $25,000 per year, and 75 percent draw less than $50,000. So while Merry Jane likely wants more customers, she knows that a huge marketing push might generate so many customers, her time freedom is compromised. The first step is to hone in on a very specific target with a clear message, that will attract more ideal clients. A quick and easy way to identify the target market is to survey existing customers. Merry Jane can target more similar customers when she gets the answers to questions about how customers originally heard about the business, what attracted them to the business, what set the business apart and what the business’ biggest benefits are to them. Then, Merry Jane can find a marketing system that creates a steady stream of customers, such as network marketing, affiliate marketing, or referral marketing. By creating a low-investment marketing strategy directed at ideal clients, Merry Jane can plan for more customers, and more income, in the future.
Evaluate pricing – and consider raising it. Several factors contribute to a situation in which an entrepreneur simply isn’t charging enough. Maybe she “started low” to win business and never increased rates. Maybe she didn’t know what to charge and isn’t charging rates comparable to others in her industry. Maybe she overestimated her profit margin before she actually started running the business. Several strategies exist for evaluating pricing. The first is to determine what it costs to make a product, and then add a standard markup that represents company profit. The second is to “play the numbers” with the business owner’s desired hourly rate. For example, let’s say a business owner wants to gross $50,000, working 20 hours per week (remember, most Merry Jane business owners are part-time business owners). Take $50,000, divide it by 52 weeks and multiply it by 20 hours. The result: $48.07 per hour. However, consider tweaking the numbers to add in vacation and holiday time – make it 48 weeks. Plus, an entrepreneur must keep in mind the number of billable hours she works versus the number of other hours she works. Consider that paying bills, checking e-mails, reading the mail, marketing, planning and sending invoices aren’t billable tasks. So if a business owner figures that she spends 60 percent of her time working on billable tasks, she needs to adjust her equation again. Let’s take 48 weeks at 12 billable hours per week. To reach $50,000 in a year, Merry Jane would have to charge $86.81 per hour. By playing with the numbers, an entrepreneur can figure out exactly how much she needs to charge to make the money she wants – and if she’s not charging that much now, then increasing her rates could be part of her planning steps. By increasing her income, Merry Jane would have a little more freedom to stretch the creative muscles she so loves.
Planning for a business’ future means different things for diverse entrepreneurs. Not every entrepreneur wants rapid growth, and not every entrepreneur feels overwhelmed. The key is to evaluate the current situation, carve out a plan, and design the future.