Small Business Success Strategies

Low Cost Networking Techniques That Work

Business networking isn’t just for sales people anymore. In fact, it can be a savvy marketing strategy for virtually any entrepreneur. Whether you’re looking to land new clients, form strategic alliances or swap ideas with other business owners, it’s all possible when you get out and meet new people.

Where to Network You have the chance to network whenever you meet someone for the first time. This can happen in line at Starbucks, at your kid’s little league game, or when you’re sitting in the doctor’s office waiting room. But if you really want to increase your exposure, your best bet is to attend networking meetings on a regular basis.

Read Stephanie's entire article Low Cost Networking Techniques That Work

Stephanie Chandler, our official Entrepreneurial Expert

Transform Your Business Name into a Brand Name

It's easy to think that because you have a name, logo and tag line, that you have a brand. But corporate identity is just the first step of building a brand image. The name, logo and tag line are two dimensional elements in a three dimensional world. And to become "real," to become a living, breathing, brand name, companies must possess three dimensional attributes. In other words, they must possess the same qualities that people do -- specific, consistent traits and characteristics that customers can easily identify, remember and relate to.

This is where most companies fall short. In an attempt to be all things to all people, they have no identity. They try to compete on every level... price, quality, service, selection and so on. It sounds like a good strategy but it fails nearly every time.

Read Phil's entire article Transform Your Business Name into a Brand Name

Phil Davis, our official Branding and Naming Expert

The 10 Profound Breakthroughs That Created My 6-Figure Business

Recently I offered a free tele-class called The 10 Profound Breakthroughs That Created My 6-Figure Business. It was the first time I truly opened up about the underlying breakthroughs that have been responsible for my business success and that I've passed on to my small business clients.

I was amazed at the response. So many people have listened to the audio that each day we've had to purchase additional bandwidth. Although I can't include all of the content of this groundbreaking class here I wanted to share a brief summary of the 10 Breakthroughs with you. Here we go.

1. Passion -- you can make money without passion. People do it every day. But you will not find joy in your work and you won't look forward to work each day. And eventually you will burn out.

Read Janis' entire article The 10 Profound Breakthroughs That Created My 6-Figure Business

Janis Pettit, our official Small Business Strategy Coach Expert

10 Common Challenges Life Coaches Face and How to Solve Them

10 Common Challenges Life Coaches Face and How to Solve Them
Posted on December 04th, 2009 in Niche Marketing for Coaches · Print Article Print Article · Tweet This

Finding true success in coaching presents some significant challenges. All are solved with pinpointed focus on one target market, plus a handful of winning strategies and a bit of patience. No joke. Targeting your attraction energy on one viable market is where leverage begins.
10 Common Challenges Life Coaches Face

Recognize any of these?

    * Prospects can’t seem to justify your fees.

    * Your confidence is flagging.

    * You’re getting too few referrals.

    * You’re not filling your groups.

Read Rhonda's entire article 10 Common Challenges Life Coaches Face and How to Solve Them

Rhonda Hess, our official Coaching Business Expert

Finding Your Home Business Niche

When some folks begin to think about a business of their own, they know in that very moment what kind they are going to start. Then, there are the rest of us...

Knowing that we want to have a business of our own is not enough. Many of us have struggled with the important question of what type of enterprise we would like to start.

Franchises offer a simple pre-packaged money making idea, but the cost of a franchise often makes it a prohibitive option to most folks who contemplate going out on their own.

Read Stone's entire article Finding Your Home Business Niche

Stone Evans, our official Home Business Expert

Does Your Office have an Organizing DIS-ease?

For me, technology is a “love/hate relationship”….

I was so excited to (virtually) come to your house/office yesterday via a new video. This morning we discovered that the link in the email broadcast was blocked (or something like that). Anyway, bottom line is some people couldn’t watch the video. (sob, sob)

But so as not to disappoint anyone, I have pasted the bit.ly url here so you can see what office DIS-EASE I am talking about. I’m willing to bet you can identify with it! I can’t wait to “prescribe” a “cure” for this ailment that plaques creative types. Are you one?

Read Debbye's entire article Does Your Office have an Organizing DIS-ease?

Debbye Cannon, our official BusinessMom Mentor Expert

Information Product Marketing Strategy: Give Away What You Know (and Lots of it!)

One of the best ways to generate more income is to stop selling your expertise by the hour. Your expertise -- knowledge, skills, methods -- are your most valuable assets. By taking your expertise and packaging it in various information products, you can sell your expertise 24/7/365.

So if your knowledge, skills and methods are your most valuable assets, why in the world would I suggest that you give it away as a marketing strategy?? Because giving away your expertise lays the foundation for multiple streams of income. Why this works:

Access to lots of free information is already available and potential customers expect to find it.

Read Terri's entire article Information Product Marketing Strategy: Give Away What You Know (and Lots of it!)

Terri Zwierzynski, our official Solo-Entrepreneur Expert

Living Large: How Some Enterprising Souls Are Turning a Trend

You want to work for yourself but you're not sure what kind of business to start. Assuming you've already 1) taken stock of the larger question (one that traditional career counselors rarely ask) which is, "What do you want your life to look like?" and 2) identified your personal gifts and interests, the next question of course is how do you put it all together in the form of a business?

A great place to look for ideas is trends. In fact it was trend expert Faith Popcorn's 1992 book "The Popcorn Report" heralding the coming phenomenon of people "cashing out" of the corporate world to work at what they want, where they want, and how they want, that inspired me to launch the original pre-internet Changing Course Newsletter.

Read Valerie's entire article Living Large: How Some Enterprising Souls Are Turning a Trend

Valerie Young, our official Career Change Expert