How To Achieve Massive Business Growth

 What is your ultimate business plan? Do you want to increase sales, improve profit, grow your business and create wealth? Let me outline how you might go about achieving massive growth in your business - no matter what business you are in.

Twenty five years as a business advisor across most industry groups has shown me that while most owners are fantastic at running their day to day business operations, they never spend enough time working on improving the performance of their business.

Sadly, most business owners I have worked with are just so busy working to keep the wheels turning that they never make the money they deserve. Many struggle to draw commercial wages for their efforts, many never reach their profit potential, and most never sell their business for what it could really be worth.

My question to you is - are you making enough money right now? Do you even know how much profit your business is capable of making? Perhaps even more importantly, do you have a plan of how to grow your business profit and business value into the future?

I think you will be amazed at how easy it is to achieve massive business growth if you simply focus on what is important. In fact, let me cut to the chase and show you how easy it can be - let me show you an example of a business that grew its profit by 75% after making 5% improvements in each of its 5 key profit drivers.

Before implementing a business improvement plan, this manufacturing business had 800 customers purchasing from them 6 times a year and spending on average $500 each time. This gave the business a sales turnover of $2,400,000. With a gross margin of 50%, their gross profit was $1,200,000. After paying $800,000 in overheads, their net profit was $400,000.

By understanding the 5 underlying profit drivers in this business, this business introduced various strategies aimed at improving the results of each profit driver by at least 5%:

They increased the number of customers buying from them from 800 to 840 - a 5% increase;

They increased the number of times the customers purchased goods from them from 6 times a year to an average of 6.3 times a year - a 5% increase;

They increased the average amount of money each customer spent during their sales visits from $500 to $525 - a 5% increase;

They increased the average gross profit margin on each sale from 50% to 52.5% - an increase of 5%, and,

They decreased overheads from $800,000 to $760,000 - a decrease of 5%.

As a result of these improvements turnover increased from $2.4M to $2.8M and the underlying business profit increased from $400,000 to nearly $700,000 - that is an increase of $300,000 or 75%!

Even more amazing was that the value of the business (based on a sale multiple of 3 times net profit) also increased by 75% - increasing from $1.2M to a massive $2.1M!

Can you imagine what your business would look like if you were able to increase your profits by 75% year on year? Can you imagine how much better your family life would be with that result?

Now I know what you are probably saying to yourself just now - great story, but I could never achieve that result in my business. Well I am here to say that the above 5 step growth strategy will definitely work in your business.

I know it will work for you because I have seen this 5 step growth model used successfully on all sorts of businesses, in all kinds of industries and through all economic cycles over the past 25 years as a business advisor in Australia.

If you apply the 5 step system I guarantee that you will achieve massive growth in your business. Of course not everyone will achieve a 75% improvement in their profit result - some will achieve less, and some will achieve much, much more!

The results you can achieve in your business will depend on your particular profit drivers, the opportunities to improve these drivers, and most importantly, your ability and commitment to implement the 5 step system in your business.

Craig Ridley is the Head Coach at [http://www.youronlinebusinesscoach.com] - a web site targeted to business owners who are interested in increasing sales, improving profit, growing their business, taking their business online and creating personal wealth.

Membership of our successful Online Business Coaching Club provides access to more than 5 years of business improvement ideas, eBooks, videos and workshops. Our coaching program is delivered online and designed to give you time to properly learn, plan and implement the business improvement strategies which will allow you to build a High Performance Business that delivers increasing profits, consistent growth and a better personal lifestyle.

What it Takes to Be Successful With a Home Business Opportunity is Revealed in This Article

Effective Marketing: The Key to Building a Successful Online Business

You can have the greatest business idea in the world, but if you fail to market it properly you will never build a successful online business. Just like a traditional brick and mortar business, operating a business online requires you to reach out to the people who are interested n the goods or services you have for sale. If you are unable to rea
ch your target audience-those most likely to be interested in what you are selling-you will not be able to reach the number of people necessary to truly become successful. Simple promotion of your website may generate a few sales here and there, but you need an effective marketing plan in order to bring visitors to your website and increase your sales volume.

One thing to understand is your marketing efforts need to go beyond simply submitting your website to the search engines. While this part of marketing is important-if you don't submit your website to the search engines no one will be able to find it in a search-it is certainly not the only marketing you should do. In fact, if search engine submission is the limit of your marketing efforts, it will take you quite some time to draw enough visitors to your website for you to achieve success. In fact, when you are first starting your online business, you want to reach as many potential customers as possible.

When you build your advertising platform, it is also important to identify your target audience. You don't want to waste efforts promoting your website to those who are not likely to be interested; the key to a successful online business is working hard and expanding your marketing efforts in order to reach those who are most likely to buy your products or services.

Choosing the Right Online Business Idea: Identify Your Specific Needs and Goals

In order to choose the right online business idea you have to first identify your own specific needs and goals. Do not choose a business idea because it worked for your brother, cousin, or best friend because their needs are different than yours. You need to personalize your business so that it will be able to meet your expectations; for this reason you need to analyze and evaluate exactly what you want from your business. You need to set specific and realistic goals, not just simply saying you want to make a lot of money. How much money do you want to make? What is your time horizon for making that money? How do you plan to market your business in order to meet your goals? All of these factors are important in order to identify what kind of business will meet your needs and help you achieve your goals.

It is also important to choose an online business idea that interests you and falls within your area of expertise. Many people make the mistake of choosing a business because they have been led to believe it has the potential to help them become wealthy quickly. It is essential to understand that wealth never comes overnight for anyone; there is always a great deal of work necessary for anyone to reach that level in any business. That doesn't mean it never happens-there are always exceptions. Sometimes a person just happens to be in the right place at the right time and happens to get lucky.

Choosing the right online business idea is not a decision anyone should make quickly. What you need to do is look over each possibility and compare it to your goals, aspirations and expectations before you make a decision. You also have to look at it in terms of the time you have available and the type of investment you may need to make in order to achieve the level of success you desire. Only when you have followed all these steps are you ready to make a final decision.

Finding the Right Online Business Opportunities: Read and Research First

One of the most important aspects of any online business is making sure you conduct enough research to make an informed decision. With so many online business opportunities it's important to take the time to research what is available instead of attempting to make a quick decision that may turn out to be the wrong one. It's every easy to think you have enough information about a business opportunity to make a decision, but unless you take your time and compare several different opportunities you do not have enough information to make an informed decision.

Is it really that important to research online business opportunities before you make a final decision? That depends-ask yourself another question: how important is it for you to make money with an online business? If you're looking for something to gain a little experience and earn some extra money it probably isn't very important to conduct a great deal of research. On the other hand if you are looking for an online business opportunity that will generate enough money for you to earn a substantial part-time or full-time income you will need to research several opportunities before you have enough information to make the right decision.

In order to choose the right online business opportunity you need to evaluate your own personal situation and ask yourself some questions such as:

* What are you seeking in a business opportunity?
* How much income are you looking to generate?
* How much time do you wish to devote to promoting and working your online business?
* What kind of experience and skills do you have?
* What is your educational background?

While you do not need a college degree to operate any of the online business opportunities, your educational background will allow you to evaluate your options and determine the best type of business based on your education, skills and experience. Those potential entrepreneurs with a business background will find it easier to learn the importance of keeping accurate records with any business. On the other hand, any person who has the desire to learn can develop the business sense necessary to create a successful online business.

When you finish reviewing potential online business opportunities you should have enough knowledge o choose the one that will provide what you need whether it's to replace or acquire a full-time job, allow you to earn a steady income working a few extra hours or just earn a few extra dollars to have some extra cash. Making the right decision will allow you to turn your business opportunity into whatever you expect it to be. You can't rush it or you will surely make the wrong decision.

Testing the Waters: Are You Ready for Online Entrepreneurial Success

Certainly there are many people have dreams on online entrepreneurial success, but the big question is: are they ready to pursue those dreams? The idea appears appealing when you first think about it, but the problem comes later when you find you have taken on more than you were expecting. One of the reasons this happens is because people are of the mistaken notion that they can start on line venture and do very little work. This is perhaps due to the many advertisements they read that actually make this mistaken claim.

While there are online businesses that will earn income for the owner without his or her active participation, there is plenty of work required before the business will reach that level of success. Regardless of the type of business you are interested in operating, there is a certain amount of work you must do in order to achieve online entrepreneurial success. First and foremost you must attract visitors to your website, and you can only do that with a strong and efficient marketing plan. In order to generate sales you must bring in visitors, but in order to do that you must first reach out to them and let them know you have something that will interest them.

If you have entertained the idea of online entrepreneurial success, you must first ask yourself if you are prepared to engage in the amount of marketing and promotional work necessary to reach that level. For those who are working full-time this may add additional hours to an already long business day, but at the same time it has the potential to provide financial freedom and flexibility of working hours. While you may still have to work the same amount of hours you have always done (depending on the venture you pursue), you will be able to work at home and have some control over the hours you spend tied to a desk.

Generating Online Income One Step at a Time

While the Internet has created a good many opportunities for people to make money at home, it has also caused many people to think making online income is going to be an easy undertaking. They want to believe some of the advertisements they read that tell them you can make money without doing any work, but the real truth is there is no way to make income online or offline without doing some work. You may not have to do the manual work that is necessary to become successful in a traditional business, but it is still necessary to work hard if you want to have a successful business.

Of course, this also brings up the topic of residual income, and most people see residual income as income that you earn without doing any work. While this is true, there is another thing you have to consider: when you earn residual income, this means you have already done the work necessary for you to earn that income without doing any more work. It doesn't mean you don't have to do any work at all to earn a residual income because there must be a starting point. It doesn't matter if you are working toward online income or income from a traditional business-in order to earn residuals you have to first build the business to a specific level of success.

Before you even begin trying to make online income you have to make sure you choose the business opportunity that is suited best for your needs. That means you have to first evaluate what you are seeking from an online business and what skills you have to bring into a business. It is also important to determine how much time you are willing and/or able to put into building your business. All of these factors will have a direct bearing on which business is right for you and will allow you to generate the most success.

Building a Successful Residual Income Business

While having a business that generates immediate income can be very important for the day to day expenses you incur, a residual income business has the ability to take care of you and your family even if you are no longer able to work. It doesn't matter if you don't do another day's work in your life, once you build a business that has built in residuals, you will collect those as long as your business remains operational. Of course, this also means you must do a great deal of work to promote your business so that it reaches the level of success that is necessary for the payment of residuals.

Most people think the only form of residual income is when you work some type of network or multi-level marketing business, but there are many different businesses that also offer the opportunity for you to earn residuals. In a way you might say real estate is a type of residual business because once you have the property and tenants in place you will earn money no matter where you are. However there can be catches here, especially if you do not have tenants and the money is not coming in.

Affiliate marketing programs and e-Commerce also provide ways for a person to earn residual income. The problem with affiliate programs and e-Commerce is a person must continue to promote the programs in order to make sure you continue to reach those people who might be interested in what you are promoting. While in some ways they operate with residuals, it is only in the sense that once the websites are set up and you do the work to get them before the public, you do not need to do anything more. You can still earn money when you're on vacation because your website is doing the work, but you have to do plenty of work promoting the website and your products as well.

Choosing a Residual Income Opportunity

If you are looking for something that will provide income in the future rather than immediate income, there are a number of ways you can earn residual income. Most people who think of residuals immediately think of network or multi-level marketing schemes, and while these are certainly very popular outlets for generating future income, they are not the only sources available for building future income. One of the most important things for anyone to understand before they become involved in a residual income opportunity is the meaning of residual income. For those who are unfamiliar with the terms, residuals are income sources derived from working hard to build a business-bonuses that are paid later are called residuals.

Why would a person want to invest time into a residual income opportunity instead of making immediate income? There are many different reasons that residual income is preferable to immediate income. One of the most important reasons a person may invest time into building a business that offers residuals is because it will provide income for retirement. Even if you are currently working and have a pension or 401K plan, it is always good to have an additional cushion since many retirement plans do not have built in cost of living increases-some people retire and never receive any additional pension payments in spite of increases in the cost of living.

Starting a Woman Owned Small Business - 3 Steps to Make it Happen

Starting a woman owned small business is not as difficult as it may seem. In a time dominated by the corporate world of America in a poor economy, many individuals are choosing to support a small business, which means that the worst time in our economy could be the best time for you to start a business. In order for you to succeed in this venture, there are a few things you should know and evaluate about yourself, your business plans, and the business world.

Select the Type of Business

First, you should know the type of business you would like to start. If you have been contemplating owning a small business for some time, you probably already know the type of business you want to begin. You need to ensure that your ideas are solid concepts. The purpose of your business is profit and success, so your ideas must be able to sell and support you and your business. You must also narrow down the exact services that you will provide. Know your limitations and the ideas that you are open to, and you can start the right business with the right concept.

Select a Location for your Business

Finding the right place to start your business is imperative as well. Location is a major key in the search for small business success. There are many leasing and rental options available for small business owners. It is also possible to buy a building to run your business from permanently. You may want to ensure that the location you are in will have a need for your services. Maybe your business would do better with a small office and most contact with customers done online. These are questions you will need to answer before starting a small business.

Secure Funding for your Business

Finding the proper funding is also important. Will you be taking out a small business loan? You should be aware of what your start up costs are by coming up with an effective business plan and budget. If you do not accurately know this information, it can prevent your business from running smoothly or cause your business to fail altogether.

There are many great resources to get you on your way to success. Womanowned.com has quizzes, tutorials, and programs for free on their site to assist you in coming up with the right business plans and concepts. They understand that you may be in various stages of the small business owner process, so their services are detailed and valuable.

The Ultimate Ingredient to Create Your Successful Online Business

Getting into internet business is quite tough. Successful online business involves the use of technology, budget, skill, proper training and determination to compete. Some people may think to get started on business online requires expertise in the field of website design, programming as well as copywriting. But how can you get into online business if you are not capable of doing all those things and cannot afford to hire a professional to do it?

With the help of modern technology, various amazing systems were developed to use in making online business successful. Currently, several reliable integrated system called Turnkey Internet Business are available and make things easier for you to create a successful online business without any background. So, your turnkey system helps you to leverage your time and effort to focus on your business development and not on technical aspects or tools you should develop.

Today, many people get into turnkey internet business and create their successful business online. A powerful turnkey internet business must include a complete package with everything you need to get started such as web content, design, training, support, etc. It leverages your time and effort and run for you 24/7 as you focus on your online business development and marketing. You should not have to re-invent the wheel. Invest in a powerful turnkey system and start running your own internet business focusing on the productive aspects. A turnkey internet business gives you much better chance to compete in the world of internet marketing and online business.

However always keep in mind, a turnkey system doesn't make a successful online business if you fail to create the value that will make you business attractive and trustable. Even if you use a turnkey internet business, you still need to continue aiming your goal and surpassed all the challenges along your way to succeed. The turnkey internet business will support you, will do most of the telling, calling, sorting for you, IF you create the value, the visibility that will attract prospect in your sale funnel. There is no get rich quick scheme with you staying on the sofa. An automatic system will be powerful if you are dedicated to create a successful online business and is committed to do all what it takes to succeed.

The best turnkey internet business provides ongoing training and support about the issues you could face. As a member, you need to know and understand the company's system to make sure your online business functions accordingly. You need to be enlightened about the general idea of getting into turnkey internet business from the founders of your turnkey system. This information will help you to learn the steps on how to create your successful online business.

In choosing a turnkey internet business, you need to consider certain aspects that best suit to create your successful online business. First, make your due diligence about the different turnkey system available and define what would be the most appropriate systems for you to success. Check specific features that each turnkey internet business should offer:

1. Create documented and trustable success for many members

2. Has a powerful training platform

3. Has a live business and support center

4. Propose great product in high demand

5. Propose A powerful compensation plan

6. Offer many different stream of income

7. A community of like-minded people sharing and empowering each other

Go away from those companies that promise you to make $10k the first week or after a month of using their turnkey system. They might be making tricky words just to make sure you will buy their turnkey system. Make sure you understand well the application of the system to online business, warranty services including the overall support that the company can offer to make sure that you can achieve your goal and can create your successful online business with this particular turnkey internet business.

Getting Started Guide to Self-Employment: Your Business Plan

Why you need a business plan

You've heard it before, you should write a plan before you start your business. You might be wondering why that's so important. Here are three good reasons. Writing a plan

clarifies what your business goals are so you know how to measure success,

helps you spot potential problems so you can plan for them instead of getting caught by surprise, and

shows potential investors or lenders how you will make the business profitable so they will be more likely to invest their money or approve your loan.

How detailed a plan do you need before you jump in and get started? That depends on two things-the amount of risk you are taking and how much outside financing you need. For example, if you are a painter that has been employed by a reputable contractor and you want to start your own business by taking some additional jobs on your own, you aren't taking much risk. As long as you verify that you are not putting your full-time income at risk, you may be able to just start taking jobs and plan as you go. When I started my coaching and consulting business, I used a personal credit line in an amount that I knew I could pay off to cover expenses. I did some planning to ensure that I would have a good chance of success and keep my expenses under budget. If you are planning a business start up that involves significant upfront investment, you will want a more detailed plan. Even if you plan on financing the business through personal loans, a second mortgage, or your own savings, you will want to know that you are investing your money wisely and developing a plan will help you be sure of this. If you are seeking outside investors or business loans that are not secured by your personal assets, you will need to convince investors or lenders to say yes to your request with a detailed, realistic and well-researched plan.

What goes into your business plan?

The body of a well-written business plan contains:

a description of the business

market information

financial information, and

management information

Business description

The description of your business is based on its mission, vision, and values. What will your business do and how will it generate income? Will you have employees? If so, what training, education or experience will your key employees need? Your description should clarify exactly what service or product(s) your company will offer and identify your target market. It should also indicate what business structure you will use and identify the key players in the company.

Market

After you have defined those basics, it's time to discuss the market for your business. Who are your competitors and who dominates the market? Think about the unique strengths that will allow you to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage in serving the target market you identified above. In order to succeed, you will need to identify and build upon your unique strengths. You might want to perform a SWOT analysis to help you clarify your competitive position. A SWOT is simply a collection of lists-your strengths and weaknesses (things that are inherent to the business you plan to run) and your opportunities and threats (things that are external to your business) You should only list things that pertain to your business objective. For example, if you want to be a model, an attractive appearance would be strength. If you want to be a technical writer, your appearance is probably irrelevant. Once you've made your list, take it a step further. Clarify how you can use your strengths to counteract your weaknesses and take advantage of market opportunities to build a sustainable advantage over your competitors and develop a plan to overcome potential threats.

Financial

This is the most important piece of your plan. If your business is not profitable, it won't work as a business! If it's something you love, you can still enjoy it as a hobby. If it makes a difference in the world and you want to fund it, that's fine. Just be realistic and recognize whether or not you can make a living out of what you plan to do. If you can't-it's better to know that up front.

You will start with a detailed listing of your start-up expenses. While expenses will vary depending on the type of business you plan to establish, common start-up expenses include legal work, logo and brochure design, training, and site selection and improvement. You will also include the available assets you will use to pay for start up expenses and the loans or outside capital that you will obtain. Start-up expenses, assets and funding all refer to what is needed and available before you actually start your business.

Then you will project your future income and expenses after you start doing business for the first year in a projected profit and loss statement. It's important to be as accurate as possible here. Many businesses will operate at a loss when they first open because it takes time to build up a customer base and becomes established. That's OK, if it's part of your plan and you know how you will keep the business going. It's not OK if you were too optimistic in your projections and can't find the money to keep operating until the business starts turning a profit. When I studied for my MBA, we learned to game the system by starting with the numbers that we needed and adjusting the different income and expense numbers so the end result was a profitable "business." That's OK for the classroom, but it's not really an effective or smart way to plan your business. If your projections show that the business is not likely to show a profit or that you can't afford to fund it until it does, rethink your plan. Is there anything that you can realistically do to turn things around? If not, it's better to look at a different business idea until you find one that works.

As you work on your profit and loss projections, give a detailed monthly forecast for the first year and quarterly forecasts for years two and three. Of course, these forecasts will change as your business grows and prospers, but they should be based on a realistic evaluation of the market and the competitive conditions your business faces. Be prepared to explain to lenders and investors where you will find your first clients and how you will establish and grow your customer base. In business, nothing happens until somebody buys something. Who will buy from you and what will you do to ensure that they keep buying?

Packaging the Plan

Congratulations! You've finished the hardest part of completing a business plan. If you're a solo entrepreneur and you don't need outside funding, you can stop planning and stop doing. If you need to convince lenders or investors to help you fund your business, you'll want to take the time to present your plan in a professional format.. A good way to do this is to add a cover sheet and executive summary in front of the body of your plan. The cover sheet will identify your business and the key people involved in the business. The executive summary will briefly summarize your plan so an investor or loan officer can quickly determine whether or not they want to look at the details in the body of the plan. Obviously, you want the answer to be yes, so take the time to make your summary as compelling as possible. Then, attach supporting documents as an appendix at the end of the plan. This section would include things like tax returns for the owners that are funding the business and any documentation that supports your financial projections.

Small Business Owners - Work Smarter Not Harder

The overnight success of many small businesses is the end result of many years of relentless sacrifice and hard work. It is therefore, not surprising, that many small business owners want to leave the business they have fought so hard for after they have achieved some degree of success, especially when all they can see is more of the same on the horizon. A better option may be that they take the time to develop appropriate solutions that enable them to work smarter - not harder.

The driver for many entrepreneur's, when they first go into business, is to create the freedom to do what they want when they want. To achieve this goal they need to develop the business to a point where it can operate successfully without them.

Start by reviewing your systems and to see how they could be made more efficient. It is possible that they could be better streamlined, by taking you, as the business owner, out of the process. Entrepreneurs often fall into the trap, as the business grows, by failing to assess their continued relevance in a process and continue on with the old processes, simply because that is the way it has always been done. There are some processes that the small business owner should never abdicate, but there are usually many, many more that benefit from streamlining.

In reviewing your processes, assess whether any of them would be better served if they were automated. Typical tasks that benefit from automation are those that involve repetition. Other targets, are those that take up too much time. Both the business and it's owner are better served by the reduction in process cycle times. It not only reduces the time to complete tasks but it also frees up resources.

The process review, infers you have documented all of your business processes. If you haven't formalised your business systems and created a Standard Operations Guide that is readily available to all staff, it means that you, as the business owner, are the Standard Operations Guide.

That means every time somebody needs to know something, they will need to go to the source of that information - the small business owner. By creating a Standard Operations Guide for your small business you will capture the processes and procedures for all the operations in your business in one central repository. Making this information readily accessible enables your staff to operate independently, encourages them to be self-reliant and lessens the day-to-day demands your staff have on you - so you have time free to apply yourself to more strategic matters.

Another area that needs to be considered is the redistribution of roles and responsibilities as the business grows. If a business starts as a solo affair, the more mundane tasks are usually picked up by employees along the way. Sometimes, this is done without any real thought as to how this impacts the small business owner in the long-term and the business just grows in an ad-hoc kind of way.

The better solution is to review the business in terms of the functions required to operate it. Group like functions together and allocate appropriately qualified staff the responsibility for those functions. Formalise this by creating job descriptions, and making them responsible for the strategic business goals relating to their areas of responsibility. If this has already been done, you may simply need to assess whether more of the entrepreneur's role can be delegated to other staff members.

It may also be that the current workload is more than the current staffing levels across the business can handle. If so, you may want to consider casual, temporary or contract staff for temporary increases in demand on staff (for example, short-term projects) and for ongoing growth it might require the addition of full-time staff.

Working extreme hours in your own business should not be a permanent situation for small business owners. After all, life is for living and working simply enables our chosen lifestyle. Take the time out to re-assess your personal goals and review the business in light of those goals. Then look for appropriate solutions that enable you to work smarter - not harder!

Karen L. Paiyo is an Australian Small Business Counsellor, supporting and nurturing the spirit of entrepreneurship in the Asia Pacific Region. Karen empowers small business owners by transferring to them the skills and expertise needed to help them take their business ideas from creative concept to profitable reality, faster and with less risk.

Success Secrets of Small Business Entrepreneurs - 10 Tips For Business Success

Owning and operating your own business can be a liberating and exciting opportunity. Creating your own success and mapping out your future on your own terms is empowering. At the same time leaving the comfort of employment including regular working hours, benefits, and a consistent salary can often be discomforting, if not downright scary. For most entrepreneurs the desire to be independent and create your own life outweighs all apprehensions, but still comes with associated risks.

While there may not be a bullet-proof success formula that works consistently for every business, there are common characteristics that unite all successful entrepreneurs. Continue reading to determine how many of these skills and characteristics you have mastered as well as where you may want to focus on improving.

1. Positive outlook on life and success. Successful entrepreneurs tend to be optimistic, upbeat, and look to the future as an opportunity still awaiting. Big dreams are a common theme with successful small business owners and often what propels the individual and the business to its ultimate success. In conjunction with the big dream comes the necessity to break it down into smaller visions that can be clearly articulated, monitored, and measured. Many if not all successful entrepreneurs have great imaginations and spend time mentally visualizing success. This includes thinking about specific deals, transactions, and events that will ultimately lead to personal and business success. Clarity of purpose and staying focused on the task at hand are critical to achieving business success. The more realistic the visualizations and dreams the more likely you will be to achieve. Success is ultimately birthed in the imagination and mind and translated through daily actions inspired during those visualizations.

It is widely known you must "see it before you can achieve it." Though business success ultimately lies in the physical ability to provide a product or service at a profit, the product, service, and ultimately the unique approach to these transactions are all byproducts of mental visualization. If you are an author, visualize your next book signing after your release has gone #1 and you've made it to the best-selling list. If you run an auto repair shop, visualize successful interactions with clients in which you deliver exceptional service and value during each transaction. Ultimately you must take whatever niche, product, market, service, and segment you are involved in and visualize how you will succeed at delivering value to the clients you serve while ultimately earning a profit. The most successful entrepreneurs out there visualize the success of the product or service in their mind prior to it being affirmed in the physical marketplace.

2. Passion = Profit. Personal passion is a prerequisite for any successful business. If you enter a business deal strictly looking to make money or achieve success and aren't passionate about the business, the people, or the end result, you are severely limiting the potential outcome. Passion ignites enthusiasm in those that surround you; team members, clients, vendors, etc. Profits find passion in business regardless of the market segment. Passionate about auto recycling? As strange as it may seem other people are too. Embrace your passion and look for ways to share your excitement and knowledge about a specific product or service with others who share a similar interest. Embrace your love for the product or service you deliver and follow the path that ignites passion in your daily life. Passion provides the necessary motivation that ultimately leads business owners down a path towards fulfillment of goals and dreams.

3. Compensate for weakness and focus on your strengths. Most of us have been taught through the traditional school of thought - which unfortunately restricts our ability to succeed. Traditional thinking teaches us to be humble about our strengths and consistently strive to improve our weaknesses. Successful entrepreneurs often turn this mantra upside down. Instead of spending countless hours and energy attempting to develop skills you may never master - focus on what you do best and compensate for the rest. We are all gifted with unique individual talents that are expressed naturally in our day-to-day interactions. You may be good at writing, analysis, speaking, insight, relationships, painting, interacting with kids, animals, etc. We all have inherent traits that come naturally and don't require long hours of hard work to achieve. That doesn't mean we don't improve with practice, but let's face it, some of us are specifically better at things that others aren't. Focus on those things that you do best and compensate for the things you don't. Find team members that are strong where you are weak and vice versa and you will build a synergistic team that supports each other exponentially.

4. Failure is not an option. Successful entrepreneurs understand that failure is not an option and continually look for ways to succeed. Don't allow failure to be considered at any level in the organization. Focus on success at all times and never let the possibility of failure take root in your mind or business culture. There will always be setbacks and learning lessons throughout any business venture and life, but find the opportunity for growth and success in every dilemma and challenge faced. All negative circumstances can be turned in to a positive and ultimately failure does not ever have to be selected as an option. Any circumstance can be re-framed with a positive twist no matter how bleak the situation may appear.

5. Prepare and execute the plan. Dreaming often comes naturally to entrepreneurs. Detailed planning and execution may not. In order to ensure success at moving from where you are to where you want to be, a detailed plan must be drafted and executed. Utilize the Merlin Method ("begin with the end in mind") and work backwards from there. For example, if you would like to become the next Donald Trump, start with Donald Trump as the end result. Move back from there and make a list of the traits required to become Donald Trump. What relationships, transactions, business deals, and skills are required to succeed? Which of these do you possess? What items to you need to work on? Assess where you are at, who you are, and ultimately who you need to become to get to where you want to go. Formulate a plan that enables you to move down the path acquiring the skills and building the relationships necessary to ultimately arrive at the end result you are striving for.

6. Be dedicated! Successful entrepreneurs know that a business is similar to a baby in that it will require nurturing, attention, and caring, throughout its entire life. Different stages will require different levels of input and interaction. Make sure you are serious about and able to afford the time required to ensure successful implementation of your business plan. Long hours and hard work are often part of any phase of the business. If you are truly passionate about what you do none of this will really be negative. Remember to schedule time with family and friends, and most importantly for yourself. Though many hours may be spent caring for and nurturing your business, you ultimately are not good to anyone if you burn out before the business succeeds. Be conscious of how you are feeling and the work load you are undertaking. Being dedicated does not mean you are completely consumed by the business. When at work focus and commit to completing the necessary tasks at hand. When scheduled away from work - leave the business alone. Be dedicated to your business, your family and friends, and living a balanced life and you will be more likely to succeed in all areas simultaneously.

7. Build relationships and network. Ultimately it isn't what you know - but who you know. We have all encountered this motto multiple times during our business careers, and it still rings with truth in every situation. Surround yourself with a competent team, board of directors, advisers, vendors and partners and continually look to network. Ultimately the people you meet during your daily interactions will be the ones that will buy from you, support you in delivering your product or service, or in supporting you personally in your quest for success. Opportunities will present themselves through the people you meet on a daily basis.

In business, you are judged by the company you keep - from your management team, board of directors, and strategic partners. Businesses always need assistance, more so small businesses. Maybe the lady you met in a trade association meeting can help you secure funding, or the gentleman you bumped in to at a conference can provide you with management advise. It is important to form alliances with people who can help you, and whom you can help in return. To succeed in business, you need to possess good networking skills and always be alert to opportunities to expand your contacts.

8. Desire to learn. You do not need to be an MBA degree holder or PhD graduate to succeed in your own business. Actually formal education is often inversely proportional to the amount of success achieved in small business. Curiosity and a desire to learn how to solve real world issues is what propels many business owners to success. Talk to those around you and find out what would best help the greatest number of people in your market and you will have found a winning proposition. It often isn't about how smart you are in a certain area but more specifically how well you are able to clue in to what other people are telling you and how you can help them solve problems.

9. Keep the faith. The road to success will often contain detours and potential pitfalls. Keep faith in your original dream and vision and ultimately good things will arrive. Realize that one of the biggest factors in determining your future success will be in how you deal with temporary set backs. Stay focused on the ultimate end result and have faith in your ability to succeed. Setbacks are strictly learning lessons that ultimately teach you how to be better at what you are attempting to do. Each setback enables you to pick back up and potentially increase momentum in your business by utilizing the learning lessons from the experience.

10. Practice discipline. Thomas Huxley once said, "Do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you like it or not." Do what others are unwilling to do and ultimately you will have opportunities that others won't. Realize that you are on a mission that requires faith, commitment, and discipline. Find those traits and behaviors that support success and practice the discipline required to hone those skills day-to-day.

Local Search Is Enhanced by Business Listings

Business Directory Listing is one of the best sources of free advertising for local businesses according to the Silent Seller, an internet marketing firm that can get your site web noticed. By doing business directory listings on multiple business directory sites you can get more customers through website optimization. This should be a part of your local internet marketing. The Silent Seller can provide you with photo uploads, video testimonials, and viral videos featuring your business

One of the best ways to get free advertising today is via the listings to the search engines Google, Yahoo, Bing that are fed by a Universal Business Listing to mobile information providers such as Onstar, Telematics for In-Car GPS, 411 Listings, SuperPages,Mapquest, FourSquare, Gowalla, AOL and CitySearch, that provide for basic business lookup listings you can find on your mobile devices such as the Iphone, Blackberry and Androids smartphones. The business to business listings on UBL are used as the basis of the underlying business directories. You can find local businesses when you are also searching on the web in a variety of business directory locations such as YellowPages.com and Google Places.

It is important that you maintain a consistent business listing on Google and other web properties. It is a wise move to have the listing contents EXACTLY the same everywhere as you have in your Google Places (Maps) Listing and UBL Listing for consistency in spelling, punctuation in Universal Business Listing as your linking and ability to be found improve dramatically, especially for citations in local search which tend to let you rank higher, the more citations and customer testimonials and comments you have.

The Universal Business Listing gives your business the ability to list your business profile one time, and UBL will then submit your business directory listing information to various local search engines such as Yahoo! Local, YellowPages, Super Pages, Google Places, in fact all the major online directories, search portals, data aggregators such as Acxiom and Info USA, and to the national 411 database. Unlike traditional business listings that require a business phone line, UBL let's you list your part-time or Internet business, your cell phone, your website and email. Getting your site listed on many business directories guarantees that your information in your local business directory is accurate, timely, and is all you need to get your business visible on the internet.

With this distribution you will be able to get the best possible exposure for your company's public business information and contact points. This includes full product & service description, locations, web site URL, email contacts, certifications & awards. UBL is perfect for those who need to have mobile phones listed in local and national 411 Directory Assistance.

Don't spend all of your time registering with Search Engines, Portals and Online Yellow

Pages when you can get multiple business directory listings free through one source that is easily updated. This is unlike the traditional print Yellow Pages where businesses are restricted in the type of information they can submit and in turn how they can be found (Business name, address, telephone number, fax number, URL and category) and restricted to annual publishing. Success in online local search requires that more multimedia and opportunities for promotion and customer engagement are provided.

Interactivity by way of reviews, videos and photos is especially important when you consider how online and mobile users are searching for local information and how the local search algorithms work on the search engines. Your listing becomes the information tool that Yelp, City Search, Facebook Places, Zagats and other location based systems are using. That is the true value of a business directory listing.

Do Home Business Owners Need a Small Business Marketing Consultant

Ideas are at the core of your business. It is what drives profits and enable you to build the foundation of your company from. The resurgence of home businesses today has enabled lots of budding entrepreneurs generate their own income even when staying at home. But this process is not as glamorous as it seems because this actually involves a lot of work. There are several instances wherein a home business owner will contemplate into hiring a small business marketing consultant. But is it really worth it? Or will it be an unnecessary business expense?

Home business owners look into various options to generate ideas or motivate them to get their business to the next level. Some even attend workshops in order to figure out new ideas. At the start, most business owners do just fine working on their own. But over time, they will struggle to look for fresh ideas to maintain their business performance. This is true with coming up with marketing strategies for small business because you need to think of ways to keep up with larger businesses.

The one-on-one mentoring of a small business consultant can help you overcome these minor but critical challenges. When you are working alone, you can be so engrossed or too busy with handling various aspects of your business that you do not notice it when ideas pass you by. Hence, you are losing out on an opportunity to explore a new way of looking at your business so your loyal consumer base will continue to do business with you.

A business consultant will not only help you with building marketing strategies for small business. They can also help you organize cost cutting ideas, managing your website design and features, building relationship with clients, tax handling issues, among other components needed for your business operation. A consultant is also emotionally detached from your business. Thus, you can leverage their objective point of view to make accurate assessment of your business' current status and whatever steps it need to take in order to achieve your goals.

Another reason to get a consultant for your business is when you are trying to explore a new direction. Most home business owners rely too much on their ability to run their business and keep the operation smooth. But after a long time, it will require some sort of motivation and that extra drive to take that next big step. You can therefore consult various ideas with them while leveraging the consultant's expertise in the business industry to understand which will promise better results. Additionally, they can help you cope with the day-to-day operation and analyzing the system you have in place.

The final reason why a home business owner should hire a small business marketing consultant is to stay abreast on latest marketing trends. It is up to you to decide if you want to quicken your business' ability to see results, or if you just want to incorporate new ideas for running your business. The expertise of a professional consultant will provide you with additional motivation for success, especially with unique challenges that are involved with running a home business.

Internet Marketing for Small Business - The Vital Truth

As a small business owner it's our natural tendency to approach everything with a hint of skepticism. There are so many 'next big things' that it's oftentimes difficult to distinguish between a passing trend and a legitimate evergreen marketing strategy for a small business.

Skepticism or no, I'm willing to bet that by now you've started seriously eyeing Internet marketing for small business as a viable addition to your advertising repertoire; you're starting to realize that this is something worth jumping on.

Let's face it - Your competitors are doing it, so you should do it too lest you unknowingly give up a foothold in your niche.

Wait Just a Minute - What is Internet Marketing, Exactly?

Before we go any further I think it's worth taking some time to clarify exactly what we're referring to when we say 'Internet Marketing'. If you've done any research at all on the topic of small business online marketing, you've probably seen a wide array of terms thrown about. It can be very confusing to learn anything at all about Internet marketing with a seemingly endless amount of ideas out there... How are you supposed to know what's what? Well, below I'd like to briefly go over a few of the most common terms and methods that you should concern yourself with:

#1. Small Business Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Small business search engine optimization refers to getting your business' virtual property listed on the first page of search engine results (most commonly in Google) for a select group of keyword phrases. Whether it's a Google Places page, a YouTube video, a Facebook page or even your own website, the goal is to position yourself so that local searchers see YOU before your competition.It sounds complicated, but that's why we're here. The results of a successful SEO campaign can be enormous.

#2. Small Business Email Marketing / List Building

Small business email marketing is without a doubt one of the most powerful forms of lead generation out there. Imagine having the power to reach your loyal customers any time day or night with your newest and greatest promotions? Imagine being able to send your customers coupons, newsletters and other interesting content so that you're constantly in contact with them, remotely building your brand in their mind's eye? I'm sure with a little imagination you can start to see the possibilities... Email marketing is one of the most viable long-term marketing strategies for small business owners to consider. Your customers aren't going to stop using email anytime soon, and the ability to stay in frequent contact with a customer even if they're not visiting your actual place of business is too good to pass up. If you take nothing else away from this article, at least learn more about small business email marketing.

#3. Social Media Marketing for Local Businesses

This is the newest and greatest trend in the world of Internet Marketing for small businesses. Facebook alone has over 800 Million users worldwide, and most users spend a minimum of 6 hours per month on this website. As Facebook grows it's an increasing amount of time YOU could be using to further your business. Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites are going to be some of the greatest marketing mediums of 2012 because they give you the ability to keep up with interested customers on a daily basis through websites that they're spending lots of time on anyways. Why not take advantage of this opportunity?

#4. Pay-Per-Click Advertising for Direct Marketing

The next time you're searching for something in Google I want you to pay attention to the right side of the screen. You should notice a few small ads that are separate from the search results. These are actually paid advertisements from Google's AdWords program, and they're a crucial aspect of small business online marketing.

The pay per click advertising (PPC) works is a simple 3 step process:

• Write a small ad for your business

• Pick keywords or locales to target

• Pay per click for traffic directly to your business' website

Pretty easy, right?

This is a great way to start off your Internet marketing campaign because with Pay Per Click you get exactly the results you pay for. Want to give 100 new customers the chance to fall in love with your business? Pay for 100 clicks to your website... Done. I'm sure you can see the value in this kind of cost-per-lead advertising. Through proper lead generation and analytics you can have yourself quite a profitable campaign that runs virtually on autopilot.

And hey, want to really explode your customer base? Why not use PPC advertising to drive targeted traffic to your email newsletter so you can stay in contact with your new potential customers?

Why Internet Marketing for Small Businesses is a Good Investment

What holds back most small business online marketing campaigns that the business owners fail at marketing automation.

We've all learned this lesson: When you try to do everything yourself you inevitably fall behind in the areas you're best at, and don't get far enough in the areas you're good at. The result is that your business slows down, and you don't see as much revenue as you should / could. If time is money, then you can't afford to spend an increasing amount of time on something that someone else could be doing faster.

That's why when approaching Internet marketing for small business I recommend enlisting the assistance of a trained professional.

Time and time again we've seen a much greater ROI when the business owner focuses on running an outstanding business, while the Internet marketers do what they do best - Capture the interest of potential customers. Whether you decide to pursue small business search engine optimization to bolster the rankings of your website or social media marketing to get the word out through Facebook / Twitter, you can rest assured that you'll see better results from someone who's done it before.

Internet marketing for small business doesn't have to be time consuming, and it's certainly doesn't have to be expensive. In fact, an Internet Marketing campaign can be relatively cheap when compared with other marketing strategies for small businesses! As a small business owner you'd be giving up a lot if you limited yourself to offline marketing only, so I urge you to consider the techniques and methods outlined in this article. I'm sure you can find an Internet Marketing company or service provider who would be more than willing to help you with these internet marketing services so you can start finding new potential customers on autopilot. What are you waiting for?