Archive for business planning
Are You Still Excited?
Posted by: | CommentsNow that we have entered into February, you may want to take a little time to reflect on all of the resolutions that you wanted to accomplish this year. Things you might have been super excited about in Dec 2011, a time of the year when many business hopefuls become full of ideas, hope and confidence in their existing business or business they intend on creating during the new year?
How are you making out? Are you still following your plan?
Unfortunately many fall off after the excitement of the new year falls and fades away. They retract instead of surging ahead like they should. This causes those who do this, not to accomplish their intended goals.You may think this is the worst thing you can do concerning your business but it isn’t.
Even though abandoning your plans can be a business killer I personally believe that it isn’t the worst thing in the world because you do have a plan to come back to, to tweak and shape and mold until you get it right. Lack of planning is the worst because there isn’t a blueprint for your success and more likely than not you won’t achieve any success. Not having a plan is like going to find treasure without a map with clues and a big red X telling you where it is. You will have no idea where you are going.
Failing to plan really does equals planning to fail. It’s not just a saying. You can’t build a business on a whim, it takes a real commitment and hard work.
You can stop your business from being destined for failure if this is the track your business is on, by planning and following through on your plans. Success is never an accident and is always a result of prior actions taken by YOU!
Don’t build your business haphazardly because what you put into it is exactly what you will get out of it or less. You moves should be well thought out and calculated. Look at the big picture. What is your goal overall? What kind of mini goals will you need to accomplish in order to meet those goals? What is hindering you in areas where you may be lacking? What can you learn to get you over the obstacles that are slowing you down? These are some of the question you may want to ask yourself.
Knowledge truly is power. The more you learn, the more you grow as a person and it trickles down into your business as a result of your hard work and dedication.
Whether your business is MLM, Direct Sales, services, handcrafted artisan or a brick and mortar business, your job on the internet when you are marketing your business, is to gather leads, give value, gain trust and make money. If you are failing to do any of those, your business will fail or the growth of it will be severely stalled. This is turn leaves you disappointed and less likely to try harder. Small successes will boost your business ego and do lead up to the total package.
How can you begin setting up your plan if you haven’t yet? Stop and think. Get out an old fashioned pen and paper if need be and brainstorm. Write down what you intend to accomplish and all of the things that you think are stopping you from accomplishing those goals. Once you find the “what” out, you can begin to figure out the “how” which is your game plan for overcoming all of the hurdles and obstacles. Don’t think that it can’t be done. But if you don’t know what you need to do or what is stopping you, how can you expect to move foreward. It’s near impossible.
Knocking off mini goals on your list will cause you to feel good, give you a boost of confidence and encourage you to keep going even when new obstacles occur. Your business life will not be perfect. If you are waiting for perfect, you might as well give up.
Instead of aiming for unnatural perfection, you will learn to bob, weave and duck your way around things that are hindering you as you increase your knowledge in areas where you may be lacking, figuratively knocking out your obstacles. I personally make it a goal to always keep learning. The more I add to my knowledge banks, the more I can pull out when I need to. Am I or my business perfect, of course not but I’m am consistently aiming to do my best and to increase my best. My best changes over time as I change.
Keep in mind that just like with a real brick and mortar bank you can’t make a withdrawal if you haven’t deposited anything and you can’t get credit if you haven’t applied.
Have you set any goals or mini goals for yourself and your business? Have you taken time to figure out what your obstacles are ? What are you going to do in order to increase the odds of your business becoming and staying successful?
10 Marketing Tips For Running A Successful Business
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Try putting to use the following network marketing pointers to help your business reach a new level of success. These tips aren’t new but are implemented by most successful marketers.
1. Before joining any company, do your research. Is it a good company with remarkable products and a reputable owner. Better to find out in the beginning before investing your money, time and reputation.
2. Plan out what you intend to do regarding your business. You need to know the what, where, when and why of your business, you already know the who and that is you.
Plan out what you will do not if but when your business takes off. Where will you put your money that you earn? Be sure to invest some back into your business. Do you have plans for expansion? These are just two of the questions you want to ask yourself.
3. Now is not the time to quit your 9 to 5 job if you have one. If you are not bringing in enough money to cover what your job provides and pay the bills it would be foolish to do so at this point. You need money to run a successful business.
4. Start generating leads. Work on your web presence via social networking sites, your personal blog and your autoresponder. Offer a valuable freebie like a series of helpful articles or a report.
5. Make time for your business. You must work your business for it to work for you. Schedule out the time you need to work on your business. Day or night is fine. Whatever works best for you. Be sure to make it a top priority. You can always call your friends or play games online later. You need to firmly establish your business.
6. Practice patience. Rarely when one become an overnight success. Keep working your plan consistently to see growth in your business.
7. Continue to learn and grow as you work your business plan. The more you learn and implement, the more you will grow.
8. Follow up consistently with every potential lead or recruit. The one that you let go could be a winner. Are you willing to risk it?
9. Be reachable as an upline? Can your team members easily reach you when they have questions or problems? If you do a disappearing act so will any earnings you would have had as your team quits one by one. Be available, even if you have to set aside certain times of the day or week.
10. Pay attention to those who are running successful network marketing businesses and in a position you wish to be in. Their tips could prove to be invaluable to you. Sign up for their emailing lists and get ready to soak up what they have to share. Don’t overwhelm yourself. Just sign up for a few, so you have time to read and absorb what you are being taught.
Do You Have A Plan?
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Ever heard of the saying “Fail to plan, then plan to fail”? This logic can be applied to many different aspects of our lives including our home based or brick and mortar businesses.
It really doesn’t matter what type of business you are in. You could sell vitamins, makeup and skincare, candles, knitted socks, crocheted scarves or gold coins or run a small specialty shop and if you have no plan you will not earn.
Excitement only takes you so far. Careful planning and implementing takes you the rest of the way.
Think about the goals you wish to achieve. Write them down. Take a few moments to think about what you have to do to reach those goals.
Your main goal may look something like this if you are in an MLM network marketing company.
Example: Main Goal – To reach super star level in my network marketing company and make a gazillion dollars per month.
Sounds good but without a plan it will never happen. Joining a company and purchasing a kit is simply not enough.
How to reach your goal. Recruit X amount of members and have a total of Y amount of volume sales each month. This will vary depending on what company you are in.
How will you gain new recruits and customers because they are not going to magically come your way?
Even if you cross your arms, nod your head like a genie and wish really hard, it won’t happen if you are running around like a chicken with their head cut off, not knowing whether you are coming or going.
Where do you plan to work your business? Online and offline is where you will want to recruit new team members and gain customers.
Are you actively building your list? Do you have followers who are interested in what you have to say? Have you built trust with others?
What do you need to achieve all of this? You need to create and maintain an online presence.
Next, think about what you need to do to create that online presence. Blogging, social networking and social bookmarking might end up on your list.
Now it is time to implement. The plan doesn’t work you, you work the plan. Set aside a specified amount of time to work your plan. You don’t have to work 24-7 but you do need to work at it.
Try zeroing in on one thing at a time. Create a profile on a few social networking sites and groups but not too many. You need to be able to be active for people to know you are there.
Start one blog and start posting material relevant to the field you are in. You can write out several posts and set your blog to release them at a specified time or . Hire a ghost writer or purchase PLR material if you aren’t naturally inclined at writing to keep a constant flow of ideas and content on your blog.
Continue learning, while you don’t need to follow 56 different gurus it is good to learn from one or two who are in a position that you would like to be in. This is good because they have already been where you are at and know how to get where they are now. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to be successful.
Set aside a time to read and meditate on the things you learn. The more you learn the more you will grow.
Remember that it’s your business and no one is going to make it successful for you. It doesn’t matter how famous or rich your upline is or how fabulous the products are. You must have the drive, gain the knowledge, be consistent and work your plan so your business can work for you.
Does this only apply to MLM?
If you are trying to create an income without having a 9 to 5 job and think none of the before mentioned things apply to you because you are not in an MLM business, you are wrong. If you work 100% for and by yourself, that is all the more reason for you to have a workable plan.
You are your own brand and without a plan, the how, what and where of your business, you will not succeed. You may make an occasional sale here and there, but you will not have the success you desire.
If you sell crocheted scarves, handmade dresses or knitted socks, for example you still need customers just like one in an MLM company does. You also need to sell a certain amount per month to achieve your desired monthly income.
You also need an online presence if you intend to sell via the internet and you need others to trust you before they invest their money in someone they have never heard of.
Time passing should always reflect your growth and movement. If you are standing still it is time to reevaluate and critique your plan. Just as a baby doesn’t stay still in one spot and grows, so should we.
If you are disappointed, frustrated and feel let down in your business, no matter what your business happens to be, take the time to evaluate what you are doing, determine what you can change and make it happen.
Pushing Myself To Make It Happen.
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They say anything worth doing is worth doing right. Who are they anyway? No seriously, I have been challenging myself to venture into a place I have never been before. The world of PLR writing.
I have dreams and goals that I want to accomplish so this is an absolute necessity if I want to make it happen. Key words, I want. No one else is going to and no one can make this happen for me.
The same applies to you and your dreams. For me it could be setting my PLR writing shop up just the way I want it and having a grand opening and for you it could be something else.
Or it could be losing all of the weight that I am tired of carrying around. I have a long term goal of wanting to be able to purchase clothing without having to go to a plus sized store.
I have more than one dream that I intend to accomplish. Don’t feel that you can only have one dream. It’s not true, it just takes proper planning.
However, no matter what your dream is no matter how small or how big, there is something that it has in common with my dreams.
1. It needs a plan. Without a plan you will be hither and thither running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to figure out what it is you should be doing to make your dream work. Plan your work and work your plan.
A very simple concept that many, including myself at times, overlook.
2. Your plan needs to be implemented by being put to action. Without action, your dream is at a complete standstill and no more important than any other thought that flutters through your brain without a second thought.
3. Persistence is very necessary. Even with a plan and putting that plan to action, there is no guarantee that your dream will come to full achievement within a minute, day, week, month or even a year.
While we have high hopes for our dreams it is only through planning, action and being persistent that we truly make it happen.
When we let frustration take over and eventually let it break us down and stop us, it leads us right into failure.
How many people have you observed that started something only to give it up a month or two later. If you aren’t in it for the long haul you might as well forget it.
Tough times come and we need to be just as tough or strong if we want to keep a firm grasp on what we have or it will blow away from us if we open up our hand wide enough to let it go.
I am determined to make it happen. It may not happen overnight but I will work hard towards my dreams. What are your dreams and what are you doing to make it happen?
