Melissa Barton Consulting

Special Help for Creative Folks and Others

2011-10-11T22:48:00.000-07:00

That title is a bit tongue in cheek, but it is true. There's often something like the fear of a dentist when it comes to dealing with numbers for some folks. Especially the "right brained" ones.

Being creative or operating a bit on the "fringe" or out the the box doesn't mean that your financial life needs to be disorganized. Bookkeeping isn't that scarey. it's about organizing information more than math. Today's bookkeeping software does most of the math. You just need a little help in learning the way things need to fit together to file your taxes and see where your money is going.

I seem to have (nearly) infinite patience for wading through your paperwork and holding your hand through getting your year end stuff in order. I'm happy that I can provide that service to those who find it intimidating or frustrating.

Don't wait any longer! I'm here to help.

Back in the City!

2011-09-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

So glad to be back in Portland and seeing all my friends. Just a quick post here to tell you all that I'm looking forward to helping you in person with all your small biz and (especially) bookkeeping queries.

I've spent the past 5 months with a deep focus on inventory management. t I've come to understand more clearly that the type of system you need is very much based on how much inventory you have and how much you intend to grow your inventory. One of the biggest issues I see out there is folks not preparing for growth and using a cobbled together system.

Lots to think about here and I'd be happy to share more insights with you and see what we can get going for your small to mid-sized business.

What I've Learned Lately

2011-08-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

Hello stranger!

Yes, this blog is still active and I am still active as a consultant as well. I've been spending more time on the finance side of life these days and that's just fine. The pendulum swings again.

I hope that everyone has had a chance to get away from the usual routine this Summer. Travel is my favorite way to gain perspective. Whether you live in the city or the country, they way you do business is very much influenced by your immediate environment. Taking a break can give your brain a wake-up call to think of new possibilities. I do some of my best thinking on trains.

I'm heading back for Portland in a few weeks and these were some of my thoughts as I was taking the train back from my apartment hunting trip:

Be proactive. If you see a trend, be prepared to hop on it before it's too late.
Stay up to date on new technology. It can be a bit hard to play catch up.
Don't be shy about connecting with old colleagues. That's what social media is for.
Stay open minded. You may have to shift gears quickly and holding onto old ideas will really slow you down.
And conversely, don't hop onto the newest thing just because it's new and shiny!

I'm sure that being in a new home will shake some new ideas loose and I'll look forward to sharing them with you soon.

On the Side

2010-10-28T15:56:00.000-07:00

Hey there folks.
I haven't posted to this blog for a while as I've become a full-time owner of another business, Krafti-Kit. I'd like to say to anyone reading here, if you have topics that you'd like more detail on, let me know. I get a fair amount of hits to financial reporting topics. If that's something you'd like to read more about, let me know. Perhaps it's the joy and hazards of working at home?

I'm still here and stay tuned for future posts! Happy Fall.

Better Late Than Never

2010-07-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

That may be true in life...sometimes...but not in business. I think it's okay in blogging.

As you can see, I've taken a couple of months off of actively blogging here. I'm planning on taking off a couple of more months and wanted to let you all know what's going on.

I am a bit of a news "hound" to say the least, but you may have noticed that my blog is more focused on giving practical advice that's more "evergreen". I write less about the business news of the day and more about what you may be going through in your business right now. My idea is to create a body of knowledge for the small business owner that can be used, ongoing.

The one thing I continually see is that a person's ability to realize their goals is connected very much to their personality, their ability to be flexible and to handle the ongoing stress of going it on their own. In the past year, in particular, I've met a lot of wonderful folks who are doing just that. Meanwhile, my own practice has become more and more fluid and flexible as well. I've been focusing more and more on design: web, advertising, knitwear and a bit less on mentoring. I don't see that part of my work ending anytime soon as I really love it and it seems to find it's way to me again and again.

With these changes comes a bit of a brain shift. I suppose I'm in less of a mindset to write practical blog posts for the small biz owner right now. So, I'm giving myself a couple more months off on the blog and will return at the end of the Summer for more of what I do best here. Meanwhile, I hope you'll pass this blog on to folks who are small business owners so that perhaps they can find some use from my words.

Always, please feel free to contact me directly with your inquires into my mentoring practice.

Barter or Not

2010-05-07T14:35:00.000-07:00

There's been some humor lately generated by the woman who wishes to be a Nevada Senator regarding paying your doctor with chickens. Yeah, it's not something I recommend, but there are those times for all of us when we wonder if bartering is the way to go.

There's two main kinds of bartering, goods and services. Chickens would be "goods".
I would add two other categories:
Too Much Work to Be Worth it and
Great Because I'm Already Doing it.

Things to ask yourself about a bartering deal:

Can I afford to not make actual money on this?
Will the trade be an equitable one?
How long will the trade last if it's for services?

Some things you may not have thought about on the plus side:

Is this a good way of introducing someone to my goods or services who will hook me up with work in the future and be a good networker?
Does this person have something I really want to promote to help them?
Would you not be able to afford their services any other way?

Some down-sides:

Are you unsure that they will hold up their end up the bargain?
Is the trade or barter vague in some way? (scope of project)
Do you not know how long it will last or if it will recur?

Bartering can be a great way to get yourself out there. For instance, I have a friend who places flowers at a store, weekly from her floral shop with some business cards. In exchange she gets custom made clothes, dollar for dollar.

Goods are an easy barter and should clearly be on the books. Meaning, you want to set up a barter account as a liability for each barter that you're doing. When you get an invoice or send a "zero" invoice, it should be posted to this account. Whatever money is sitting in that account on your books should reflect the barter "dollars" as they move back and forth.

Services can be a bit more tricky, and I won't go into the bookkeeping for that, but it's basically the same. Just consult your accountant. The most important thing to keep in mind with bartering your services is that you "feel" a sense of equity. Of course, equity on paper is crucial, but so is the sense that what you are receiving in return for your services is a good trade.

I've been very lucky and bartering has been a great way to make contacts with folks I would normally not come to work with. Just make sure that your business is "balanced" as well and that you have cash income coming in as well. Until the telephone company takes a barter, you've gotta run a cash operation!

Enough with the chickens, already...

To the Core of the Matter

2010-03-31T09:48:00.000-07:00

This is one of those questions I get all the time:

I've had this job for years and now I want a change. I've always dreampt of X business, am I crazy to try it?

This question has everything to do with "core skills". Those are the skills that you already have a firm grasp on. Skills that you have acquired in some way or other, in your life, that give you an understanding of the business that you want to start.

For instance, if you want to start a retail store, some of the skills that would be important would be:

Sales experience
Outgoing personality
Organized
Knowing a bit about the product that you want to sell
Having connections with people who want to buy this kind of product if it is "niche"
A grasp of basic bookkeeping
Physical ability to lift and carry merchandise
Ability to negotiate!

A retail business if a physical thing. It requires long hours, hauling of merchandise, moving things constantly. As muchtime as one spends talking to customers, one is also dealing with vendors, if the product is bought wholesale. It's a taxing thing! Take that same business online and you may have taken our the customer contact and the physical environment of a store, but you still need all the other skills.

What are your core skills?

Folks who work in one industry and find a "void" somewhere that they want to fill as a business person have a good way to enter self-employment. They already understand the industry from the inside out! Sure, there are still going to be lots for them to learn, but knowing the key players, what the industry requires and the "lay of the land" are huge benefits.

This is not to say that if you want to retire into something entirely different than what you did for your life's work, you won't succeed. What I would say is this, though: Talk to people who have stores if you want to open a store. Talk to people who offer a service to a niche market if that's your dream.

We all have "core skills" and your chance of success lies directly in the path of those skills. You can develop those other skills you may need to expand your business to the dream that you have. Start out with the ones you already have to build a firm platform or base in which to work from.

Having the business of your dreams may very well be a series of steps, instead of one giant leap from where you are to where you want to be.

Keeping it New

2010-02-25T12:07:00.000-08:00

There's a fine line between keeping things "fresh" and looking like you're becoming a new company everyday. What's the difference? We're talking product-based businesses today.

When you walk into your favorite store, you probably notice two things: It looks like your favorite store. There's something new and exciting or a new energy going on.

That's a tall order as soon as you read it from the standpoint of that business owner, isn't it? You're got a lot going on. You probably don't have a merchandising department or much of a budget for that kind of stuff.

There are a few challenges you have if it's just you and maybe a partner looking at your business:

Small changes seem HUGE to you, but your customer may not perceive them.
The way you present things is the way YOU see them, not someone new to the store.
Perhaps you get ideas of changing things but it would be too great of a departure from what you're already doing.
Time slips away and you don't have a plan on the calendar for when you make changes.

There's plenty more, but let's look at these for now. One of the most obvious things is all about working in the bubble that is your brain. How do you gain perspective on what kinds of changes will actually affect your new customer and your regular customer in the best way?

The best case scenario is to really bring in a specialist on a contract basis to give you pointers and set you in the right direction. Instead of hiring a staff person, bringing in someone who really knows merchandising can give you a big lift.

The next possibility is to get to know biz folks (who's stores or sites you like) in non-competing markets and let them take a look and give you feedback.

Have a calendar ready with some idea of when new merchandise is coming in and when you should be doing a big change up and when you're just doing some freshening up. One of the things I see folks wasting a lot of time on is trying to figure out what to do with the cool new stuff that just came in. You should put some time into that, but if there's more of that cool stuff on the way, then make a plan for a bigger change when the rest arrives instead of sweating the little arrival. Basic time management on this one.

I could write loads of posts about image consistency. There are plenty of folks who work only in this area. You have your colors, your logo, your "look", etc. Make sure that whatever else you do is an extension of this in some way. It doesn't need to be "matchy matchy" but it needs to blend and be subconsciously palatable.

If a bigger change is in order, again, think about bringing in a consultant. Instead of giving the consumer whiplash as you flip from one style to the next, plan your moves and find ways to keep it fresh on a monthly basis.

One blog I really love with lots of great retail advice is Nicole Reyhel's Retail Minded. Invaluable stuff on a daily basis.

Step out of your bubble, know who you are, know who your customer is, follow trends and keep it fresh!

Insecurity

2010-02-02T15:21:00.000-08:00

I see there are a lot of folks searching the word "recession". I know I haven't focused much on that, and I know why. To me, it's business in any climate in still business. In as much as I prefer not to focus directly on the recession, I will focus this post on the "feeling" of insecurity. Whether there is eminent danger or not, the sense of insecurity is pretty much the same from a strategic standpoint.

Making any decision in a moment of fear is a bad idea.

On this, I know of what I speak, people. I struggle with this one daily, myself. The thing is, chances are, we have more time than we think to make a decision about something. I'm not telling you to procrastinate, as that has it's own set of issues. I'm telling you to step back, analyze the situation when you can actually breathe.

In this breathing, weighing, analyzing moment, write down exactly what you think your choices are in a given situation. Let's use the example of marketing when you're in the red:

You can...

Spend more than you have now if you think you have money coming in the near future.
Spend nothing and put marketing on hold until you're doing better.
Spend all the money you can on one big print ad.

All of the above are based on "spend or not spend" because your core issue is about money. Generally speaking, the one thing you probably have more of when things are lean is time. So, take the money out of the equation and ask yourself how can I spend my time to keep up my marketing efforts?

If you stop marketing when things are good, you won't have business when times are less good. If you stop marketing for lack of money, you've just bought yourself a self-fulfilling prophesy.

So, let's put in a couple of more options for the marketing effort, sans cash, or very little cash:

FOCUSED online networking.
If you have a retail environment, consider hosting events there for free to groups as a way to expose your biz to more new eyes
Offer free seminars on what you do for your service-based biz.
Host your own events and bring in like-minded folks. It's not competition, it's cooperative marketing.
Reach out to existing clients/customers and offer them an incentive for sending you sales or leads.
Offer to write articles on blogs in your area of expertise.

If you are committed to your business, to your dream, just don't stop. Everyday your business NEEDS you to show up. Recession or no, all of the points above apply to the long run of this business of yours. Stop waiting for things to "free up" and make things happen!

Still About Me...

2010-01-01T11:37:00.000-08:00

Thanks for indulging me, folks...

It's a new year, a new decade and I've been rethinking my Twitter name a lot. For me it's been an interesting experiment. I've kept it as "Knitfemme" because that's how so many in the cyber world know me. But, after a year of activity on Twitter and somehow many folks finding me and hiring me as a consultant, I've decided to open things up a bit.

I've kept my fiber-arts and biz identities very much tied because it's occurred to me that perhaps it would keep me a little bit more "warm and fuzzy" (pun intended). I think it worked. over 2,550 followers later, I realize that I'd like my identity to make a little more sense to folks who don't "get me".

Laura sent me this list from Forbes of the Top female entrepreneaurs on Twitter and first: I wasn't on the list. Second, my name didn't "fit" on the list.

I have chosen @MelissaThinks

When was I playing around with names and seeing what was available, there was some serious soul and ego searching going on. Can I just say, "I" think? Well, in many ways it's what I get paid to do. Most people who have jobs do, but in my case, perhaps it's more literal. The bulk of the work I do is based on two questions:

What do I do now?
What do I do next?

Pretty much! So, at this time in my life as a consultant I think I can absolutely "own" MelissaThinks. But that's because it's not "MelissaIsPerfect" or "I'mAlwaysRight" or "TrustMe" (Although I do in fact say that a lot).

So, do trust me and although I don't post to this blog as much as I have in the past, Melissa is really busy...thinking.

It's All About Me

2009-12-15T19:59:00.000-08:00

As I was composing this post in my head, I wondered if I should post it here... or here or here. Well hey, if it's all about me...?

This is actually about the fear of failure and the expectations we have of ourselves.

I had a knitting experience today and if you know me, knitting is the single analogy for everything in my life.

I was taking a knitting break and making a pair of mittens from a pattern I've been holding onto for a while. I started it with some yarn that I didn't like and then I started them over again after being into them about 5%. Now I'm about 30 % into them with the "right yarn" and I get to this part and I think:

Holy Cr*p, I don't think I know how to do this part. This looks all wrong. I can't do this. I remember that I can't do this!!

Who can't relate to that? Even in the position as mentor to others, this comes up for me often enough. It's like the therapist who has all their own woes and doesn't want others to make the same mistakes, I suppose. I have a good dose of self-esteem going on, but there are those moments. Those quick-as-a-flash times when a choking panic comes over me and I think I haven't a clue about what to do next.

You know what that makes me? Human.
You know what else that makes me? Passionate.

It's my passion for what I do that takes to daily into uncharted territories, in my mentoring, my fiber-arts, my relationships. Wow, that's a relief! I you thought I was just crazy for a minute, didn't you? Ha!

Back to the knitting:

Seven years ago I was at my first really big knitting....uh...convention. I had been knitting for a while and had covered all the basics. I turned around in this huge convention hall and saw all these really well-heeled women showing their cashmere yarn and it was all knit into lace shawls. Cashmere lace? While briefly hyperventilating at all the goodness before me I talked myself down like this:

Melissa, when you are old, like 20 years from now, you will knit cashmere lace. You'll be good enough, you'll be able to afford it and heck, it's something to reach for! No rush, you don't even have to worry yourself with attaining that level of expertise.

It's 6 years later. I now knit cashmere into lace, that is, before I spin it myself. I didn't know I would be able to really knit lace, or become a spinner. None of it. What I've done is let my passion take me on this journey. At any point my fear could have gotten a hold of me. Stopped me in my tracks with some reminder of who I "think" I am.

I am what I do, what I say and what I create, everyday. You are too, but you know, this is all about me....kinda.

Adventure or Crisis?

2009-11-28T14:15:00.001-08:00

I was just saying the other day that I have a hard time deciding which posts belong in what blogs I write these days.
This one is clearly economy related.
You also may not want to hear it.

Oh good, you're reading!
If you think that you can "console" yourself with: But the economy sucks and everyone is having a hard time.
Think again. Literally:
THINK AGAIN

How is it that "even in this economy" you're most likely still going to stores and buying stuff and paying for services? Because you believe they have value to you. We live in a capitalist society that, for better or worse, attaches monetary value to almost everything. You know, the commercial that goes something like, "box seats at Yankee Stadium, $500, four hot dogs, $20, the look on your kids face, priceless."

The last part is what people seem to be more interested in today. The experience. The look on your kid's face, the feeling that you get, the "experiential" part of what you're purchasing. So why do folks buy a lot of stuff online still? Two reasons I believe:

The kind of store that they would buy this in doesn't exist where they live.
The kind of store that they would buy this in doesn't have an experience that excites them.

Back to the value thing.

If you think that everyone is doing really badly then why is the latest technology still selling? How is it that we even KNOW what's popular? People are talking about it. Why? It's cool, it's new, it's really really good or it keeps getting better.

These are all keys to long term success for your business:
Quality of product AND experience.

I know that what I've said here is a gross generalization in many ways, but I'm here to kick your butt about accepting "the ways things are" as a way to operate in your head or in your company. Work harder! Throw more passion at what you're doing.

I knew a fella who wrote for an Outdoors magazine. He said: When you're going through it, it's a crisis. When you tell the story of it, that's when it becomes your adventure.

Why don't you begin your adventure now?

What Were You Thinking?

2009-11-10T09:51:00.000-08:00

You may be already jumping to a conclusion with the title of this post that I must be addressing you with this rhetorical question. The "you" is really me and perhaps us all at some point.

I had a conversation with someone today about the fear of making the "wrong" decision. Rather than tell you her story, let me turn to my own. Every day I give folks advice on what next move to make, or how to move forward. I work with the information I have at the time. Every time I do this I am working with several elements:

Knowledge of their "landscape" or situation as they present it to me,

Knowledge of the different elements in play (i.e. the creative process, or monetary concerns)

Then the last and least quantifiable:

My intuition.

What I am thinking, feeling and perceiving about what client might do changes as the information changes and "updates". Therefore, what I am thinking at any given time is subject to change. Scary? It shouldn't be for you and it's not for me. If my ability to change with you and your scenario is not flexible and my approach fluid, you'll be getting yesterday's news.

The part that I am still learning myself everyday is to have less "sentimentality" about my ideas and plans. Letting my ego take the back seat on what I thought was such a great idea "before". I believe that in order to succeed you need to have a balance of the ability to go with the flow, but to work like all get-out to make real your dreams.

The visual for me on this one is from years of canoeing:
When you're going down a river and there's some white water, you're moving pretty fast. The boat actually goes down the river on a diagonal. The person in back is steering and the person in front calls out rocks that appear as if from nowhere. We call them "sucker rocks" the water flows smoothly over them, making them virtually invisible.

What happens when the person steering is caught off guard and needs to make a quick correction in order to not get hung up on the rocks is some crazy-fast reverse paddling. Your heart's pounding. The boat (hopefully) grinds to a halt in the fast water. You quickly yank the canoe around the obstacle with sheer brute force of paddle. There is no room for a second thought or a delay in action. No halfhearted attempts allowed. No time to blame the river, the paddle or your partner up front. You just have to do it.

Sound familiar? I hope it does. What was I thinking? Depends on when you ask me. Depends on how I'm reading that river. Depends on what the person in the front of the boat is telling me. Depends on what I'm seeing for myself, up ahead.

Don't spend your time weeping over your last wrong move. Keep moving!

Midstream Turn About

2009-10-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

Yes, you wrote your business plan, things are moving along and....
Oh no! Everything's changed again!
Ah yes. It has, it will and it must.
What you do right now is crucial. Let's talk.

Sometimes our initial business model has...flaws. It may address what you think the scenario of your marketplace is, but no. It's just not right. What does that mean?

You're probably just like everyone else in the beginning
You should re-brainstorm your whole business idea and see if there are other ways you could deliver the same product or service.
You may have just found a new niche market that you'll want to take advantage of.
It's time to dig a little deeper because there may be a "secret" that you don't know about what you're doing.
You should get a grip and stop thinking about quitting your idea. It probably just needs an adjustment.

Often, we have a rather narrow idea of what our business is supposed to be. These ideas are formed by our experience in that market, perhaps working for someone else. They could be concepts formed that are void of some things you just couldn't have known. Trade secrets.

Instead of focusing on what seems in the moment to be a "dashed dream", just take a breathe, re-adjust a little, do more research and keep an open mind. The business that is meant to work for you, the business model that will succeed is there. You just have to uncover it.

You may feel a little bruised by the rock you just slammed against in that river, but give yourself a minute and you'll be just fine.

Each Day

2009-09-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

Erica Marshall muddyboots.org

I've written a few posts here about what I can do for a small business.
I probably write less about what I am doing. Today is one of those days where I am simply teary about the kinds of connections I make in the work and how it all somehow meshes together to create this amazing thing I call my life.

People come to me with a vision. Maybe they are in it or maybe it's just a dream. For me to do what I do best, I have to understand and actually feel their passion. I get drawn into the details of this thing they want so badly to do. I see it from behind their eyes, or nearly so. I get the excitement of their dream to propel that dream forward.

It's a morphogenesis state I'm in when I immerse myself in the lives and visions of my clients. To say "vision" is to say that we are looking into the future. It's that balance of being clear about exactly where we are and where that vision is going to take us. That's the line I walk. That's the "space I keep" for each and every person I work with.

I cannot tell you how many times I say, "If you really want to do this, I'm here to help you make that happen". I will take them through the steps to get them there, but ultimately it's about a client's commitment to their own dream.

Ultimately, I'm coming to a place where I think that we should all have mentors for everything we want to do. It takes a measure of humility to come forward and say, "I don't know how to do this. Will you show me?" I honor those people who can come to me and ask and listen and work with me. I value their dreams and visions for what they see as possible and I ask them to dream it even bigger. For all of us.

What is it Again?

2009-09-04T22:25:00.000-07:00

image by Kevin Zim

The question that I find myself asking people a lot lately and gets asked of me in return is:

What is this?
What is this thing you have that you want to sell to people?
What is the reason you feel compelled to do this?
What makes this important to others?
What do you have that no one else has?
What are you bringing to this table of commerce?

I deal in ideas more than objects. Ideas are still things. When ideas stop being things, like the flow of so much information, it starts to get abstract. New rules apply. It all gets way more complicated. Except for this:

What do you value?
What do others value?

Nothing changes because we're in the "Information Age". We still mean that we need to find a way to quantify things. There are enumerable ways to quantify this ether in which we communicate our ideas. Don't let it get the best of you. The clicks, the impressions, the bytes.

There are mathematicians who understand things we cannot see. Too complex for the rest of us. That doesn't mean those things don't exist, but our ability to grab those concepts or not is very much the basis of our ability to function and succeed with our business. How long ago was the dot com crash? And still, especially in marketing and social media we are getting lost again in vague notions that we are banking on to build our businesses.

Sometimes we need to hire and trust people who understand things that we cannot. Just make sure that from time to time, you ask yourself those basic "what" questions. Keep the spirit of those questions alive when you're talking SEO, or numbers with a CFO. It's still stuff. Hopefully it's stuff that you really care about, are even passionate about. That's what makes you an entrepreneur. No one's making you do this. Remember the passion. Keep that with you.

The Security of a Paycheck...

2009-08-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

image by Tyson Crosbie

...NOT!
Is that what we're learning in this recession? It's been at least 20 years since I read about the nature of the "Modern" business world. Our country is still suffering from the non-education of our workers. A person learns a job and the incentive to pick up new skills can be nil. It's been said that the responsibility of the Employer in today's business world is to give their employee the opportunity to have a job for "some period" of time. The responsibility of the individual is to learn as many new skills as possible to jettison them into the next job.

Even though this was stated as the new world of business some decades ago, it clearly has not been adopted in many failing industries. So, when I ask people what they have to lose by striking out on their own, they talk about that paycheck security, or that Health Insurance security.

At this time when we have been debating the heck out of the current state of healthcare, I was recently interviewed by BusinessWeek about just this topic. If you're not starting your dream business because of needing health insurance, we really do have a crisis. This is something that I've heard very little debate about. Considering the fact that our government touts our ability to innovate and the power of the Entrepreneur, this surprises me.

Inasmuch as I don't really like posting rants, this one is a long time coming, people! To say that you see the future is all about the Entrepreneur is just great, if you give us the incentives to do our thing. The New York Times sees yet another trend, the Accidental Entrepreneur. Given the right support from mentors like myself and our society, there may still be an upside to the downturn in our economy.

Here's hoping!

What Should You be Asking?

2009-08-17T10:44:00.001-07:00

Sometimes my personal experiences of doing business fall right into my lap as blog posts. As I have said many times, we all need a mentor. This one is as much about me as it is you.

The question I would like to hear more of my clients asking is: What do I need to do to make my business more successful?

Often my initial sessions with folks focus on things that they feel have gone wrong in the past months or the past years. What I hear a lot of is:

I guess people don't really want the good stuff any more because they're rather shop in a big store.
Everyone wants something for nothing!
All I do is work and I feel like no one gets how much work goes into what I do!
Things just aren't the way they used to be...

What pattern do you see here? I see blaming outside sources.

Another way of looking at all of their situations is:

How can I find the people who want the good stuff I make?
People value what they pay for. How can I rise to the level of getting those folks to pay me?
How can I tell the amazing story of what I do that will build my brand and what I do?
Things change all the time. How can I be light on my feet to RESPOND to the constant change?

See the difference? One is taking responsibility and one is blaming. I know this isn't a couple's therapy session here, but finding a solution is what I'm all about. I can hear your pain about what's not working and how that's hard for you. I am about making the changes to get you where you want to go.

Change takes work. Having your own business takes an enormous amount of work. The upside is that when everything is going well, you made it happen. It cannot be a one way street: When things go poorly it's everyone else failing you and when things go right, you're a star. Nope. You get both sides, that's the deal.

How am I Different?

2009-07-29T11:05:00.000-07:00

I spend hours talking to my clients about one of the basics of Marketing: Differentiating. I ask how they are different than other people who seem to be doing the same stuff.

15 years ago when I started working as a consultant, I really didn't think very much about that for myself. My main focus at that time was setting up financial systems and processes for very small companies and I didn't have much competition in my market.

Now, as a business mentor I have plenty of competition. I started this blog as a way for you to all get to know me. I ramped up my social media marketing and published articles elsewhere as well. In all this flurry of activity, I've been following many other folks who market themselves under this or a similar label. As I've ready their advice and watched their approach, it's been hard for me to pin down exactly what it is about me that's different. I was, like my clients, in that moment, unable to see the forest for the trees.

When posting a comment on small biz on Linkedin, it came to me: I've come from a family of entrepreneurs. It's all I've really ever known!

Many professionals enter the world of consulting after leaving the corporate world. That, for the most part is my competition. I have in fact worked in the corporate world, as a GM, CFO, CEO, all on a contract basis. The "lure of the paycheck" has never really worked on me. It's taken me quite a long time and many conversations for me to realize because from childhood, my vision of the world was shaped by the entrepreneurial lifestyle.

My first business at around age 7 was to collect wildflowers and make miniature arrangements and sell them door to door in my neighborhood. I remember this clear as day, but honestly cannot explain it given my self proclaimed identity as an introvert. (Uh, until recently...)

My first "real job" at 17 was helping this woman, who had been away from her brownstone for 10 years, renting to grad students. I keept her cool and calm and sorted through 10 years of her life and organized a sale. It was exciting and I felt like I was using all my abilities. When I headed off to college late that Summer, it was confusing in comparison. It seemed to unfocused to me.

So here I am, all these years later, telling you a bit more about how I might be able to figure out your situation and help you along the sometimes rocky road of small business. I'm not matching it to a certain business model or "ideal". Instead, I'm finding a way for you to do what you want to do and have it support you. It's what I know, down to my bones.

Shall I be corny for a moment? Your dreams are my business. Bring them to me and let's see what we can do.

Tides

2009-07-23T12:20:00.000-07:00

Is it just a tidal change that will reverse itself naturally or a drought on the way?

Yeah, I get that we're in a recession. But your business will have it's own tides in addition to the tides of the greater marketplace. How do you tell your own from the ocean's tides? To some extent you can't. That is, if you haven't been keeping really clear records of your sales income from previous periods.

Most likely you may know exactly what you're sold in the past, but to whom and why are two more questions you may be less clear on. When you wrote your business plan you were asked to project income in different market sectors and income in different price points. Then you projected that further down the line for 3 or more years. Have you gone back and looks at those budget vs actual numbers?

When there's a crisis afoot in business, folks can be very quick to make changes. After all, agility and flexibility is what it's all about. But, if you don't go back and take a really close look at what's going on, putting your assumptions aside, you may be moving in the wrong direction.

Moving your whole fleet of products to take advantage of a little change in wind direction is a very expensive ordeal. It maybe a passing trend and perhaps holding right and developing the good thing you have to make it better might make more sense. Just like the captain of a ship, one needs to keep on eye on the horizon and the icebergs to your side. It's not an either/or proposition. Both must be done, simultaneously.

How well do Captains sleep? Maybe not so well, but such is the life of someone navigating the ever changing tides of business

Creative Business

2009-07-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

Next Monday, July 20th, I'll be doing a tele interview for the blog Woman on Quilts at 5pm PDT. The focus will be creating and business. Call in and have the opportunity to ask questions on the many different facets of this topic!

Not Your Mother's Career Counselor

2009-07-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

www.imageabstraction.com

When, if ever did you go to your first Career Counselor? After High School? During a mid-life crisis? After college? Chances are, there has been someone along the way with some opinions about what your life's work should be. They might have given you tests or asked questions and in the end, they were looking for a box to put you and your skill set into.

"Life's Work" is now an outdated concept for many of us. There will be many times we change what we do, how we do it and who we do it for. My last post was about the lifestyle connected to different professions. That's one example of some of the points that don't get covered in some career counseling.

I like to start all my new folks out with this question: What do you want your perfect day to look and feel like?

It's a kind of reverse engineering. Instead of asking a series of questions about what you're good at, I'd rather know what you'd like to do, day to day. Because when it comes down to it, you may love the "idea" of doing something, but the collection of tasks that make up that job really don't interest you.

Are you a musician who loves to be on stage but hates to practice? Are you a musician who loves to play in their bedroom but hates the stage? Ok, so that's an easy one. I love textile design, went to school in my late 20's to study it. I got my degree from Parson's School of Design, went out and started looking for a job. I was told it was going to be tough and not much pay. I really thought I was ready. I was training with professionals in the field! Two days into my first job I felt like I was in hell. A kind of hell I didn't even know existed.

I can laugh about it now, but at the time I was seriously doubting my sanity. No one asked me if I could work with no direction in a sweatshop-like environment using a set of skills I never actually learned in school. Oh, and for pennies. I've taken what I learned at Parson's and have used it a million times over in other ways. I have no regrets, except perhaps taking a tour of a studio with one of my instructors.

That experience has really shaped the questions I ask as a small business consultant. It's about all the moments that make up your day. As they say, it's more about the journey than the destination. Put yourself back in the sandbox, as it were, and ask yourself.

Your Business Lifestyle

2009-07-01T12:23:00.001-07:00

www.imageabstraction.com

It's not unusual that I meet someone who starts a business in an industry that's new to them. For example, someone who has been in social work but has always dreampt of having a little gift shop. Six months down the line I hear them say, "But I didn't really understand how I'd never have weekends to myself!".

Every industry has it's own particular lifestyle. It's an important thing to factor in when you're considering starting your own venture. There are decisions you can make about the structure of your business and the culture you can create and then there are things that are inherent to that industry. A great example is a restaurant. Unless you're running a breakfast and lunch cafe, chances are you'll be working nights. The most important time to be in your restaurant will be the nights. It's a complete lifestyle. That may not go over well with your family.

"If I knew then what I know now..."

Do a little research in advance and see what kind of lifestyle, folks who are doing what you want to be doing, have. Even a consultant, like myself, the lifestyle varies person to person. Not everyone works this way but many do. Now that I'm working nationwide, my day spans both coasts and continues into the weekends. To some folks, that sounds like a nightmare. For me, it's what I'm comfortable with. I know myself professionally. I know how much I can handle and how to naturally structure my days. It works with my natural flow.

It's not just about starting your dream business, but making sure that the lifestyle of that business if compatible with your personality. I may have dreams of having a sheep farm, but there's no way I'm getting up that early, or giving up my city life. Know what you want and know yourself.

Some related posts here from the past are the series' on working at home, or working with your spouse.

Why Isn't it Working Anymore?

2009-06-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

Erica Marshall www.muddyboots.org

You've been going with the flow but pretty much working off of your original business plan. It's been working for you! Then something, or a series of somethings have happened. What's going on? You lay awake wondering if it's you or the economy or both. Does it matter? I mean, it's not working now.

One option is to do nothing and hope it passes, kind of like a bad cold. But maybe things are not working as well because something big has changed, like you've moved or you lost your business partner or perhaps your office manager. You feel adrift and the money is just not coming in.

If you were to take stock of exactly where you are, that would be a good place to start. Then:

Look at how things were when they were last "working"
What has changed within your business?
What has changed in your particular industry?
What has happened to your physical location is that's something that has been a benefit in the past.

Sometimes we, as business people will look at something and say, "It's a phase!" What if everything were a phase? Serial success? It's a half empty, half full kinda of thing. Every business will at some point (if it's around long enough) will be in a recession.

Planning for the best case scenario is what we tend to do. It's hard enough to write a business plan that succeeds, writing one that assumes some failure is a pretty tough order. At least think about it now. Think about how to identify the signs of faltering that could make or break you:

Having most of your income coming from one customer/client
Being spread across too many markets and not one of them is stable
Having no alternative sources for your raw goods

Watch for some of these warning signs and in another series I'll go through some things that can make your business more "recession proof."

Thanks Everyone!

2009-06-19T22:38:00.000-07:00

Art by Anglelia's Art

The contest is over and we have a lucky winner, Elizabeth in Austin, Texas. Yahoo!
So...if this whole contest thing has made you think more seriously about having a mentor, drop me an email and let's talk!

To Blog or Not to Blog

2009-06-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

I have a copy of this magazine here, Wearables published by ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute). This particular publication focuses on sellers and buyers of "wearables" that are customizable with advertising or corporate logos.

A couple of months ago I was contacted for an interview about the value of blogging for business. The interview went well and eventually I was notified that it had gone to press. The fella who interviewed my found me through my business blog. Interesting.

As you can see, if you click on the above image and view it full size you can read the full interview. You might also notice that there is no mention of my blog address, nor anyone else who was interviewed.

I went to the online version of the magazine and found a feature called "Business Toolkit". If you click on the web subject, up pops a window with an image of the print page using a application called "Flash Paper", which in not unlike a PDF. There you can read this same article, still with no live links.

So, a publication that is trying to educate their readers about the value of blogging for business is not actually using that technology or any other ability to "link" to resources outside it's actual print magazine. I was shocked!

I did not want to appear ungrateful but I had initially taken the time for this interview because I believed it would drive traffic to my blog. I interview people all the time and this is the exchange: You answer some questions to me and I'll put you out there! Yes, folks can find me easily if they google my name. In this case though, I wonder how you can talk about a technologies' worth and then not actually use it. Hmmm.

I contacted the editor via email and asked what has happened with this. The response I got was:

"Melissa,
You're right, it wouldn't have done much harm to include the links for the blogs. Just chalk it up to a simple oversight between writer and editor. Thanks for your help
C.J. Mittica"

Alrighty then!

What tells me is that there is a fear of technology in some business sectors and a sense of "self-protection" as well. A thought that perhaps if you like to someone else, you can giving them a change to leave your site. There are ways around that like a second browser window opening with the link so that you can easily go back if you wish. It's not rocket science but this example was simply astounding to me.

Blogging for business makes sense. If you actually read the above article, you'll get my take on it. (!)

Win a Session!!

2009-06-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

This next week, Friday June 12- Friday June 19th 9PM PST. Make a comment on any post in this blog and I will randomly choose someone for a small business 50 minute consult, anywhere in the US by phone.
Comment now for your chance!

The fine print: This offer is for new clients only, I will call you on my dime and will only announce your winning if you choose. Your privacy is my concern.

Taking off

2009-06-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

Painting by Angelia's Art

There are several metaphors that can used to describe the life-cycle of a business, but the two that come to mind involve "rebirth" as in a cat with nine lives, or reincarnation. But first, let's go through the stages that lead up to that rebirth:

A Sparkle in Someone's Eye
This is known as the "dream" state in which everything and nothing is possible. It's a thought. If you do something about it, you get to the next stage.

Pregnancy
All your ideas are "gestating" and it's the start of your business. You have taken some first steps, like writing a business plan or talking to people or maybe even thinking about a name.

Labor
This is when you know WHEN your business will start but you have very little idea of how it will all get done. It's "hurry up and wait", it's reading all the "what to expect" books but knowing that it's going to all be a surprise when you really start doing business.

Birth
Well, all the "heavy lifting" of the labor ends, the first day is over, the opening party is over and you have this small being that is now alive and needs to be cared for. It is your business. It cries your name in the night and is relentless in the attention needed to keep it alive.

Infancy
There's steady growth, things are changing everyday but your business still needs constant attention. Perhaps you've taken your first bit of time away from it since you started. Hired a "sitter" for your first night out. This is often the time when it becomes abundantly clear as to whether you can really work with a partner if you have one. Maybe you need to bring in more help?

Childhood
This is the somewhat predictable early growth stages that you've heard about. There are days when you love you business and days when you think you'll not come back from lunch. Ah, then you remember it's YOUR business.

Adolescence
A period of defiance in kids, in a business it could be the time when your vendors and customers and all that has been in place from the start, are not. The steadiness you got a little used to has ceased to be. You are now experiencing "growing pains" as you try and bring more folks into your business in some way. Perhaps you've outgrown your current technology? It seems like you need to throw a lot of money at the situation but it may not be the most responsible response.

Adulthood
Ah, you've seen most all of it. You've done most all of it. You have a confidence in what you're doing and how you're doing it. Sometimes you do get a run for your money from the new kids on the block. There's the re-education that you need to do to keep yourself on top of things.

Aging
Now the question is: Can you can truly keep up? You've been doing this a long time and your long range plans have not necessarily accounted for things like just being a bit tired of what you're doing. This time it's more than a "mid-life crisis". This time it's a matter of thinking about what's next: Passing the baton or calling it a day. Calling it a life and a business and moving to the next stage.

Death
You're done

Rebirth
Maybe not. Maybe there's a way to reinvent this thing. Ah, a spark in the eye!!!

I hope you all had as much fun reading this humorous take on the business life-cycle as I did in writing it. Of course, stages and come and go several times. I'd love to hear about yours.

Patterns of Success

2009-06-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

I found Sarai though Neighborhood Notes and thought she'd be a great interview. Sure, this sort of thing is right up my alley, but I was particularly impressed with the quality of her product. How beautifully it's executed!

Sarai Mitnick is the founder of Colette Patterns, an independent sewing pattern company focused on beautiful and timeless styles for design-oriented sewers. Her background in User Experience and design has instilled a passion for simplicity, beauty, and ease of use that is reflected throughout her company and products. She resides in Portland, OR.

Q:What kind of market research did you do before starting your business? Was it just your experience as a consumer or something else?

I actually have a background in User Experience Research, which is something like a cousin to market research, so it was really important for me to understand my potential customers' needs and context. I spoke directly to a number of sewers, designed a small survey, and read through a lot of product reviews on the web. I also relied on more traditional forms of existing market research to determine things like market size, demographics, income.

I find it really helpful to combine quantitative and qualitative research because neither can give you a complete picture by themselves. For example, market stats told me that my target market was small but growing, and what they're demographics were. From there, it became easier to find people that matched that description and actually learn about their needs in a meaningful way, and what they found lacking or missing from current offerings.

Of course, if you're working on something you're passionate about, your own experience will always be a factor. I often find that's the best starting point for research! It's very powerful to start with a problem you have, then learn more about how it might also affect others and how you could meet those needs.

Q:What has been the easiest and alternately, the most challenging part of understanding how to start a business?

The easiest and most enjoyable for me has been adapting to working for myself. I love managing my own time and I'm very independent and self-motivated, so getting things done is never really a problem. I think I'm pretty good at the whole balancing act, although there's always room for improvement.

The most challenging for me was probably figuring out where to start. There is an almost unbelievable amount of work involved in starting a small business, so much that's not apparent from the outside!There are just a lot of aspects to manage. It really helped me to write a business plan to focus my energy and come up with a coherent plan and timetable.

Q:How extensive would you eventually like your pattern line to be and what kind of timeline do you imagine for your growth?

Eventually, I'd like it to be extensive enough to cover a range of categories.I love designing, and would really like to branch out into things like outerwear, lounge wear, etc.

I'm planning for slow and steady growth. This first year is all about investing in the business and making it sustainable. My goal is not to grow the business into something huge, but to have a wonderful company that supports me and that my customers love. Right now, I'm planning for another small line for the latter part of the year, investing in some infrastructure, and seeing where it goes from there!

Going it Alone or Not

2009-05-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

Photo by Kevin Zim

Business Partner or just help along the way?

I have a lot of business friends who believe that business partners are the worst idea ever. It's kinda like those who have "lost in love". The business Lonely Hearts Club, so to speak. There are always going to be points when we need a community, a friend, or certainly a Mentor to help us with our business. Making a legal commitment to having a business partner is very much like being married. What are some of the reasons you might think about having a business partner?

You and another person came up with a business idea together.
You consistently need another set of skills.
You can only work half time and you need someone else to Captain the ship with other half.
You've met someone with great connections and they want "in" on your gig.

Just because these are reasons you are considering a business partner they are not necessarily the reasons why you SHOULD have a business partner. Some other options are:

Allow the person who came up with this idea with you to have a "silent" stake in the business.
Build up that skill set that you're lacking within yourself.
Find someone with that skill set and hire them as a consultant until you learn the ropes.
Take that person who you are considering as a partner and make them an employee so that you are the one taking the risks and they have a share in reaping the rewards.
Find a way to "promote" this person with the great connections in a way that would benefit them or allow them to invest now to earn future income rewards.

I'm not going to talk you in or out of having a business partner. I would suggest getting an opinion though from a Small Biz consultant though because it creates a specific kind of business model that your plan needs to reflect.

Then, there's always the business partners you're married to and I've written quite a bit about that!

Making Things Happen

2009-05-22T11:55:00.000-07:00

Everyday I sit down to Twitter or Facebook or any list of blogs out there I wonder, What's everyone REALLY doing?

There is such a huge trend of people telling you how to do your business and how to reach more people and how to make more money that I am at times reticent about identifying myself as a "Mentor". By now, you all know what I really do but I kinda wonder what everyone else is doing!

This trend seems to be about selling a product that will "guarantee" certain success through greater visibility. If that's what success is about, I guess I don't have a job at all. All day I see people with less than fabulous products or services trying to have more hits to their website and become a household name. 99% of those people still need a lot of work on their product. (That's where I come in).

This is not a downer post. This is a reality check, people! We need to be a culture of "doers". We're turning into a culture of "tellers". In theater and movies and literature we say, don't tell them, SHOW them. What this means is that there shouldn't be a narrator telling you what the character is thinking. You should be able to see through their actions and emotion what they are thinking.

In business we need to express who we are by doing. By making cool products that will be better for our environment, or writing things that move us and make us laugh, by making art that moves the soul, we create change. Change is not a better search engine. Doing is not selling an "idea".

Smite me if you will, Consulting Universe, but this is the part of me speaking who spends hours at a spinning wheel, just to make something. This is someone proud to be part of a nation of Makers. I am a consultant but I seek to support in any way I can those who are doers and those who have something to say and contribute to our culture.

This is my rant before a holiday weekend. This is my cry to those trying to sell me an idea, to sell me a "thing".

Do I Need Branding?

2009-05-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

Or perhaps, do I have a brand?
What is a brand?
How do I know if I have one?

Here is a view from another direction, yet again:
- why do you need to define your brand?
To ensure that you have a fresh, compelling and competitive proposition to ensure that your brand works strongly at an emotional as well as at a rational level to ensure that your brand can be delivered consistently and in full by all its stakeholders.

Well put, I think. Something happens in the marketplace when a word like "marketing" and "branding" become so popular, we really cease to know what they mean. Even I get stuck in a "loop" when I hear that word "brand".

One of my favorite, if not my MOST favorite words is compelling.
Sit with that word for a moment. What is compelling to you? Do you seek to be compelling yourself? Do you want what you do to be compelling to others?

So, to me brand is about a specific identity that compels one to do something. Buy it, believe it, dream it, want it, trust it. How we achieve that is another matter altogether. It's this first question that cannot be rushed, at any cost.

Stir the soul, the spirit, the intellect, create desire.
Start there and then think about brand.

Spouse AND Business Partner Part 3

2009-05-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

You need to think about how you communicate in front of others

In Part 2, we talked about how you "identify" to those around you regarding your business relationship. Now I'm going to talk about how you speak in front of others. I bet you know where this is going...
How to keep your personal life out of your business life!

It's not possible. What is possible is to keep it out of the way you appear to others and how you manage tasks.

Call each other by your first names instead of "honey" or any other endearment
Be aware of the "tone of voice" you use, people around you are!
Make sure that your personal relationship doesn't "trump" your business relationship
Don't argue in front of the "kids". You'll have conflict, but speak as if you are speaking to anyone else in your company with the same level of respect.
If things do get heated in a conversation, take it outside.

I have worked with many successful couples who work well together. The main key to success that I would derive from observing them is that their jobs were very separate. Little to no overlap in the jobs they performed. Each saw the others value and had respect for their partner's abilities.

Of course when you live with someone or are very close to them, the "other stuff" that is your life will not just automatically disappear because the work day starts. The part you can manage is how others see you and WHEN you deal with conflict.

I Stink at Networking

2009-05-07T22:45:00.000-07:00

photo by erica marshall www.muddyboots.org

I used to say this. Now I just do it. I network, I chat people up, I try to connect people and wonder how they might connect me to others. Mostly what I do that really works is help others when I can.

When I see that word, Networking, a picture of a restaurant filled with people in suits and ties comes to mind. The fake smiles, the drink in hand, the business cards at the ready. I nearly get hives just writing about it.

Yes, these scenarios still exist, but not in my life. I avoid them. I'm not sure it's the best thing but the kind of desperation in the air these days because of the economy makes me nervous. I saw a thing on TV recently that was "speed dating" for networking. I might handle that a bit more because of the rapid style and no-nonsense of it all. That's really the hardest part: following the implied social rules.

That's why the online social networking scene works a bit better for me. I feel like I can describe myself and what I do in a way that's true to my real personality. I believe this has a lot to do with what will work for you as a small business owner. If you feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable putting yourself out there online, that's ok! You work on that and stick to the face to face opportunities. There's something for everyone out there. If you don't do something well, kick back and get some new skills and try something else.

You might notice that I don't really spend a lot of time passing on info in this blog via links. I read a lot of other small biz advice out there and tend to just 'blend it in' with what I say. I do read of lot of other coach and mentor advice, I just tend to like my own brand the best!

There have been and continue to be a lot of folks who have helped me along the way. Every day I try to "pay it forward". Keep giving and at the same time value what you have to give and it'll all work out. I really believe that.

Spouse AND Business Partner Part II

2009-05-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

This original post cried out to be a series right off. I came to realize that many more of my business contacts were in business with their significant other than I had originally thought! Hot topic because it IS your whole life. You work and live and often socialize together. Where's the line? And, in this post I ask the question about how to "come across" in the world.

You have to decide how to appear to others: The Madison's vs Dan Madison and Ann Madison

Maybe you don't have the same last name at all, but no matter what, this issue will arise. When we say, "we're partners" you can mean business partners or life partners. You can say you "work together", you can say, "Ann owns a business and Dan is her Sales Manager".

How you describe your business relationship should be consistent. It will likely also bring the kind of conversations people have when they're going to get married and are deciding on hyphenation or not, etc. Being sensitive to each others needs for a clear identity is key to making this part of working together work.

How you word this partnership is also a huge cue to your employees, vendors and customers on how to treat you. If every time the phone rings and they ask for Dan and if he's not in they ask for Ann, it's gonna get old. Chances are, you're in very different roles and are not interchangeable.

It's funny the assumptions that come just with people who are in business together who have the same last name but are not spouses or not related at all! So, assumptions are being all the time. It's up to you to set the boundaries for yourself AND others.

Spouse AND Business Partner

2009-04-30T11:57:00.000-07:00

photo: Erica Marshall www.muddyboots.org

This is going to be a series, I can tell.

Over these many years, I have worked with quite a few couples in business together. It's always been interesting, sometimes it's been great and on a few occasions it's been impossible. First, lets talk about how couples end up in business together:

The have a complimentary skill set
One person starts the business and the other finds themselves "helping out" all the time
There are two distinct parts to the business and each takes on a piece
An employee leaves and a spouse ends up taking on that role, unplanned

What makes it especially interesting to work together is:

You don't get the same amount of "alone" time
You have to decide how to appear to others: The Madison's vs Dick Madison and Ann Madison
You need to think about how you communicate in front of others

If we were to just take these three points they would probably feed into all the other possible issues and concerns that people have when they're in business together. Let's just start with the first point:

You don't get the same amount of "alone" time

I know many couples who love the idea of always being together and working towards a common goal. In a way, that's something that I, myself have grown up with. It makes sense to me in many ways. It really solidifies a relationship. But, if it's the only life you have, and you tend to not have many friends and interests as an individual, this can be problematic.

Men in fact have many more complaints about not having a life on their own in this situation. From my experience, they men have a harder time making friends outside of their professional life. It's not completely down gender lines. I think that when two people find themselves in business together, you can pretty much count on the fact that one is much more social than the other. That's the "normal" polarizing that happens in any intimate relationship. If you are the one who has more of a social life outside of the business and relationship, you may get a lot of resentment from your partner who does not. Instead of getting caught up in that, try and support then in having their own outlets, of their choice.

Without time alone for each partner, whatever personal conflicts you have will have no place to be worked out. We all need other people to talk to about what's going on. That's what a best friend is for!

The Small Things

2009-04-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

...That Get in The Way

I write all the time about how you cannot "see the forest for the trees" when you're right in the middle of the FOREST. Are you on a path or are you walking in a rut? There can be a rut, worn into your path by the way you do things. Some of these things you do well and they do well for you. Some of these things, not so much.

Most of the time, when I meet a new client they have some idea that "only if..." something were different, they'd be doing so much better. It could be postage costs, unruly suppliers, or an office space that's costing them too much. I can confidently say that I never agree with their assessment of what's wrong. Sure, what they identify as not working in their favor is probably not helping their situation, but it's not THE thing.

THE thing that's not working for them is something that is much more in their control. That's the good news. The bad news is that sometimes THAT thing is something they really had not seen an issue with. They feel blindsided and a little disoriented.

The most common: The message of who they are and what they do or sell is not well expressed to their market.

When you know what you do, and you tell people about it, chances are you're entering the conversation mid-sentence. It's because you do it all the time that you don't really know the starting point of your consumer. You may have identified who they are but perhaps you are trying to read their mind instead of just laying it all out there.

When I studied Art History, I learned about looking at a painting with the awareness of where the "entry point" was. What was the route that your gaze traveled as you looked at the canvas? Do you know where that "point of entry" is for your consumer? Do you know what it really looks like to them? Do you see what they see?

No. You cannot truly see what others see. You can however, work with people who see things differently than you, so that you can see more of the available choices. Every choice you make in building your business adds up to the sum. Many of those "small things" may carry more weight than you realize.

Life is a constellation of choices. Let's take a look at the choices you're making now.

But How do I Get There?

2009-04-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

photo by Erica Marshall www.muddyboots.org

For business owners who are about to hire me, this is generally where they are. Let me give you a look inside our process...

Step 1 Where are you now?

Take a full inventory of where exactly are you in your process.
Pull out your original business plan (hoping you have one)
Pull out your financial statements

Step 2 Clearly define where you think you want to go.

Make a list of changes to your current offerings
Define what elements have not worked for you as well of those that have
What are the new services or products you want to offer.

That should keep you busy for a while! Yes, those who do not learn from the past, will be doomed to repeat it. Starting with NOW before moving to TOMORROW may seem like a "no-brainer" but in our excitement to move to the next level it can be quite easy to gloss over some essential points like:

Did I ever reach my target audience?
Why not? Was it not the right audience?
Was my product not priced correctly?
Did the market change?
Was my cost structure flawed in some way?

Sometimes I see a product or service out there that is just slightly missing its mark. Is that you? Yes, even when someone is not my client, I do find myself asking some of these questions. I can think of clients from 15 years ago that I worked with at different times in their process. I would get them up and running and then 3 years down the line I'd step in again to help get them to that next place. That "middle place" of getting to where you want to go need not look like confusion to the outside world.

Every company goes through changes and needs to re evaluate. Do it fully informed, without assumptions. This will prove to be the most essential tool in getting you to that next level.

Sentimentality and Business

2009-04-19T14:22:00.000-07:00

www.imageabstraction.com

Does it have a place?

I put this idea of "sentimentality" out there in Twitterland and I asked what people thought I might be blogging about. Most folks thought I would be talking about the value of respecting the past. I'm not going there.

I want to talk about how sometimes we hold onto parts of our business that aren't working for us, just because we really "like" those parts or they hold some personal significance for us. What are those parts of your business that you hold dear, that you would never give up?

Your business name?
The color scheme on your website?
Your pricing system as it related to what you see your competition charging?
What YOU do in the business?
What you DON'T do in the business?

I know of a store owner that spent a great deal of money on "the best" merchandise, beautiful remodeling, a killer staff and prime location. It was only 6 month after they opened that they realized the bulk of what they bought, what they thought would be the "hottest" thing, simply wasn't. They hit the back end of a trend it NONE of it was selling.

This very smart business owner sold all that stuff off, close to cost, in a huge sale. But, they didn't close. They took that money and bought new merchandise that (upon second thought) they believed would sell. They are now a VERY successful shop with the "best stuff" and loyal customers and in this economic downturn are still doing strong.

The lesson here? The business owner didn't take the first wrong choice as an ego blow. He did new research on his customer, changed it all up and didn't lose a beat. There was no sense of "failure" vibe coming through. All the customers were just thrilled with the changes.

I know it's really difficult to keep your ego out of the equation when your business is "your baby". When someone starts talking to you about really big change in your business and you feel like your head is about to explode, talk yourself down. If you really want to move forward, sometimes you need to toss stuff overboard to get that boat sailing.

View to an Entrepreneur-Volunteer

2009-04-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

Lending a hand!

One of the most common questions I get from folks looking to start a career, change careers or add to their skill set is: How do I do it is I haven't done it?

Getting someone to give you the chance to learn something new, or prove yourself in a given field can be quite a challenge. The marketplace is competitive and taking a chance on someone who isn't showing their experience in a given field is more than most employers are willing to extend to a newcomer.

Volunteering is a great way to get your chops in a new field or to develop that new skill set. You may already have a degree in that area, but without "real world" experience possible employers may not give you the time of day.

Perhaps you may want to work for an employment agency or in HR. A possible connection would be any position where you are interviewing people, managing people or being a "group leader". In the business world, managing other people really puts you further up the ladder and takes you from the front desk or back office. In a non-profit, managing other volunteers is often a position you are find yourself in if you've been somewhere longer than 6 months.

This doesn't just apply to working onsite with a non-profit. If you are looking for work in website development, you probably already know that offering your skills up for free or small bucks to the kind of future clients you'd like will give you the portfolio of work to help you win those clients in the future.

It may take a while to find the perfect volunteering match, but take it from someone who's entire business was influenced by ONE volunteering experience 15 years ago, everything we do can be a learning experience. Go for it. Try some new skills of for size and help others on the way.

Some resources (not personally vetted by me)

Volunteer Match

Volunteers of America

Idealist/Action Without Borders

Too Much Noice or in a Vacuum?

2009-04-06T12:08:00.003-07:00

Photo by Mondomuse

I personally feel different about this question every day. I can be and feel both ways all the time. I chalk that up to technology for the most part. We spend our days on a computer, with information coming at us from all directions, but there we are in our own space, working alone or in a small group.

Other than the obvious suggestion of "we've gotta get out a bit more", I think the other best suggestion is to not just surround ourselves with people who are doing what we're doing. It's so easy for that to happen, in our desire to have and create community but there comes a point where it does become a vacuum. We validate each other: "Oh yeah! Things are really rough out there and no one appreciates what we're doing!" or "This is the next happening thing. Don't you see everyone on about this right now?"

The people who see trends coming from a distance are the Visionaries for a reason. They put together all the elements of what's going on in a particular market and blend it with the overall trends in lifestyles and consumerism. Visionaries have a place in our society and it is very often NOT creating new products and services, but inspiring them.

Whatever your business is, chances are, you're going to see the world through that 'lens'--the lens of YOUR world. That's fine, as long as you know that and see that there are other ways to see the world that will inevitability affect you as a business owner. It comes down to balancing your time every day, or every week with the kind of information you let into your stream. If you're on a social media marketing site, try and follow folks who are in very different businesses in other parts of the US and the world as a way to broaden your perspective.

You don't know what you don't know! Keep an open mind.

Who is My Competition?

2009-04-06T12:05:00.000-07:00

Erica Marshall/ www.muddyboots.org

...And how am I different?

Someone asked me the other day if and how they should engage with their "competition". I'm putting that word in quotes, because when she wrote it, I tried to not make any assumptions about what she intended because what defines someone as our competition?

They sell the same thing we do
They provide the same service that we provide
They advertise something the customer views as similar

That last one is particularly interesting to me as a Business Mentor. In my case, folks may not even know what I do, but lump me together with folks providing a variety of small business services. This means that unless you differentiate yourself in the marketplace, you may not have an even be reaching your audience.

20 years ago, or even 10 years ago it took a lot of work to figure what you were up against in the market. Perhaps you "shopped" someone else's product or service. These days there's so much information available as internet marketing is everywhere. We can see the mission statement of almost any company within a matter of seconds. That's a great thing! If we are on a social media site we can see those other folks interacting, know when they are posting new items to their store or writing a new blog piece.

All of this information can benefit us in at least 3 different ways

We can see trends in real time
We can find clearer ways to differentiate ourselves
We can see other's "mistakes" and avoid them

One of the downfalls of having all of this information is that you assume that your customer has it too. Perhaps your marketing is starting "mid sentance" in a way, believing that they have the same knowledge base as you do. Chances are they don't.

When I work with a new client, I come to them and their product as a consumer. I look at it from the outside before I get to the inside. I take them at face value and then as a Mentor, unlike your average consumer, I don't walk away but walk towards them with this information. Even though after I look deeper I can see they have a great product, I let them know that perhaps I just wanted to walk away after opening their door (real or virtual). It's hard stuff to hear but it's also the answer to the query: I just don't know what's going on with my customers.

I started this with talking about your competition and have ended it with looking at yourself from the perspective of a consumer. That makes sense. That's exactly what your customer does as they see you and your competition in the marketplace!

Information is your friend, as long as you don't spend too much time looking to the left and the right. A balance of seeing your surroundings and seeing your way forward at all times is what you need.

Tipping Point

2009-04-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

Photo/Erica Marshall www.muddyboots.org

I talk to so many people who are a tipping point in their business:
They are working as hard as they can to fulfill the needs of their customers and they're really happy that things are going well. They just don't know how to get to the next level

What that next level looks like can vary:

Servicing more clients
Making and selling more product
Expanding to new markets
Selling higher price-point items/services

It's always an educated risk to try something new, moving to the next level. Of course the key word here is Education. You need to alter your original business plan to incorporate these changes.

Let's say that you're flat-out, doing what you do. You can only make as much money as there are hours in the day. That is, if you're the only one doing the work. But, if you have someone else help, you that means that you're going to take time out to train that person to help you. How can you do that??

If you re-evaluate your work-flow, perhaps you can get someone to help you get orders out at a reasonably low cost and that may be the same person that you train to assist you. We used to have a word for this and it was apprentice.

One of the biggest reasons people do not train someone new to help them move to the next level is TIME. How can they possibly take the time to do this, when they are already so tapped out? I know it's not easy, but it needs to happen. Re-working your plan on a weekly basis, a DAILY basis is what needs to happen to get your through this time to that next level. Even if you have a service-based business, look at all the things that are eating up your time and not bringing in income. If you have someone else do those things, you have a pretty good chance of moving forward.

In our heart of hearts we often doubt if we can really pull it off. If we no longer have the excuse of time and not enough help, will be really be able to build our businesses to that next level? The weight is suddenly all on you. It can kind of be like writer's block. The writer gets a grant to work on a book for an entire year and what if nothing comes to them? What if they can't produce?

In this place of tipping point, our success very much depends on what we believe we can or cannot do. That's natural. With a sensible plan to get to that next level you have a really great chance of getting there. And, there will new next levels after that and you will know from your experience of this one that it can be done. You will remember what it was like, talk yourself down from your fears and move forward with a bit more fortitude.

Like a child, a fledgling, we can all expect growing pains, and I think that's just part of the process. Pain doesn't mean that something's wrong, it may just mean that you're growing and changing.

Cross Pollinating

2009-04-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

For the first time since I've started this blog, I'm going to cross-post something from my knitting blog because I think it speaks so well to the entrepreneurial experience. So, instead of posting it here as well, I'm gonna just send you on over to meet
Brenda Dayne:

If They know who I am... Part II

2009-03-29T20:53:00.000-07:00

photo by Erica Marshall of www.muddyboots.org

...Will they still like me?

Here we go with the second installment of this topic.
We may laugh about the topic, but really it rings true. Who are we when we post to our blog? What side of ourselves are we showing? For consistency sake, thinking about this before you start a business blog is a very good idea.

How often to post?

The general rule of thumb on this one is around 3-5 times a week. I think you should post as much as you possibly can. If you are promoting your posts, you don't always have to promote the most recent one. If you have them well organized in your archive, you can pull out blog posts to send to people if they have questions about a particular point or product. Even though this is a moving log of information, it can also serve as a FAQ that you and your readers turn to for information in the future.

Sparking conversation

Ask questions! You don't need to have the answer, but you can gauge what you readers are thinking about by directly asking questions or by having a poll on your blog. A poll is generally a question with a yes or no answer that folks can just click on without logging in a comment. This can also be a way to get readership. If you put it out there that you have a poll that you want votes on, this can in it's own way draw new readers.

Photos?

Yes, yes, yes AND YES!
You know I have design background and images are important to me. Everyone is drawn to an eye-catching image. Having a "dry" blog with only text is just what it sounds like. It lacks life. Not everyone is drawn into the "magic" of your words. Chances are, it's the image that will get them to stay beyond 5 seconds.
Beyond the images, having a clean, nicely designed, uncluttered blog it pretty important. Ask people you don't know to take a look at your design before you go live. If you need help, get it. This is another area of your professional image stepping out into the world. Take that seriously.

Links.

Having a sidebar with links of related interest is an important element, but not an absolute. What is pretty important is to use links when you are speaking about another entity that has a site that folks can go to. Don't worry about losing them. So, if you are mentioning something about the SBA, you should have a link to the SBA!

One last thing: Once you're up and running, make sure you are using something like Statcounter so that you can see who is coming to your blog, how long they are staying, how they found you and where to go to after they visit you.

If They Know Who I Really Am... Part I

2009-03-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

...Will They Still Like Me?

Photo by Scott Beale Laughing Squid

People, this is about blogging for business.

I just got off the phone for an interview about the use of blogs in business, and these are some of the topics we covered:

Can a blog take the place of a website?

Yes, if you're not selling product. If you are selling product, you can link to that place, but a blog is a journal. When you post something new, the last post moves down below it. Looking at a blog is looking at a snapshot in time, unless you look at past posts. This is the up-side of blogs: They show you moving and shaking! It proves that you are doing things on a daily basis to move forward with your business and that creates trust from the consumer.

There is a way to have some elements of your blog remain stable as your posts drift on by. So, you would want a profile that is always there that talks about who you and what you do. You would also want to have your contact information there as well.

What kind of personality to you need?

I think this is a pretty interesting question. On one hand, we read many different types of books and listen to many different types of music based on the mood we're in, but this is a business blog. This is a place for your customers and potential customers to come and find out who you are and what you're up to. You can be a shy type and you might find is as a safe way to come out of your shell a bit. Anyone can show a "different" side of their personality and therefore reach more new folks who might not 'normally' be drawn to you.

Be yourself. I mean, a perfectly edited version of yourself. Yeah.

What to leave out?

It can become natural for a lot of people to not know what the boundaries should be on a business blog. It's become very fuzzy on the web in general. I think a good rule of thumb would be: If you wouldn't say it or show it to a potential customer, don't do or say it on your blog!!!

So, this would mean, keep the pictures of the kids off, and personal distaste for pretty much anything. (You never know who you might offend.)

What do folks want to read about?

If you have a retail business, your audience wants to see the "backside" of what you do. But, make sure it doesn't look like a backside. Bad pun. Let's say, Back Office! Your readers want to know what's new, what's on the way, what are you buying for next season, what's entered into your shop and what you think next cool thing is.

If you have a service based company, you are educating your reader quite a bit more but still linking them to trends in the marketplace and to what you see going on in your little piece of the world. Keep it upbeat. Keep it on an informative level.

I'm going to leave the next part of this conversation for another post.

How often to post?
Sparking conversation
Photos?
Links.

If You Start it Will They Come?

2009-03-25T10:10:00.000-07:00

photo by Erica Marshall of muddyboots.org

The short answer is: Only if they know you exist!

Isn't that the truth. Such noise out there!

Do you shout above the rest?

Do you find only the people who you think you want to talk to?

Do you take the attitude that the right people will "somehow" find you?

In as much as Social Media is restating the questions, I think the answers are coming up surprisingly the same. Finding your target market and keeping them engaged it the only way to make a business successful.

How to get someone's attention may be the flavor of the day, and human behavior as experienced on the internet may be a moving target, but there are some things you can count on:

People are always buying more than a product.

If the product you have isn't selling, don't assume the product is wrong.

If the product you have is selling and then NOT, don't assume it's your marketing.

We live in a very "reactive" culture. One minute you're up, next minute you're down. We've been making movies and jokes about this for decades, but it's funny because it's true. So yes, if you start it they may come, but will they buy? Will they tell their friends? Will they come and buy again?

This brings us back to a more "scientific" notion about business plans and experiments. We don't want to waste our time on either without a pretty good notion of what's going to happen. But, if things don't play out the way you hypothesized, re-evaluating with a professional is the next best step.

Be a Smarter Computer User

2009-03-21T10:07:00.000-07:00

Photo by Erica Marhshall- Muddyboots.org

Today, we have Guest Blogger Sam Kleinman giving us the in's and out's of how to do better what we do on computers. Something we can all use a little help with!

Desktop computing, and (relatively) economical technology (not to mention high speed Internet connections) are ubiquitous in the world today. But if computers themselves are a given, how we use them is less of a given. In this post, I hope to go through a few (hopefully non-obvious) things you can do to be a more efficient and effective computer user.

Learn short-cut keys if you don't already know them
While we've been using pointing devices (mice) with our computers for 25 years, the truth is that, keyboard based interfaces are more efficient and ergonomic, and most programs provide a host of key bindings that you can learn as you work, so that you don't have to reach for the mouse. Control-C and (command-c on OS X) control-v (command-v) to paste. Alt-Tab (command-tab on OS X) to cycle between open applications, and so forth. There are even desktop environments and editors that avoid the use the mouse very minimally, if you find you like this kind of interface.

Command Lines
An evolution of the above point, but there are an increasing number of text-based interfaces for communicating with your software. The address bar in Firefox, programs like Launchy, Quicksilver (OS X), and traditional console environments give you a powerful text-based interaction method that can save you time.

Develop a Backup Strategy
Whatever you're doing on your computer is important, and the fact is that computer storage methods aren't permanent. Drives fail for many different reasons (electrical, mechanical, age, etc.) and data can be lost. Backup strategies should include provisions for a few contingencies. Basic backup logic recommends protecting against drive failure (with disk arrays, multiple copies, etc.) and catastrophic environmental situations (earthquake, flood, and theft) with off-site backups. In any case, your backup strategy should be tailored to the kind of data and how you use this data.

Use Open Computing Practices
When possible use open systems, and open data storage techniques so that your data will be accessible and useful in the long term. While I enjoy GNU/Linux systems and would love to recommend that you give it a try, what I mean here is that you should save your data in formats, and use software that is freely available. In addition to plain text (.txt) Try Open Office, but also use plain text derived formats like "rich text format" (RTF) for textual documents, and CSV (comma separated values) for tabular (spreadsheet) data. These formats are universal, and will be readable on nearly any system with nearly any software.

Outsource When Possible
Your time is valuable. There are some computing tasks that are defiantly worth paying someone else to for their skill and knowledge. Graphic design work, is almost always worth paying a pro for: the software is highly technical, and amateurish work always looks it. Similarly, I think most networking tasks (setting up networks, wiring, etc.) is worth letting someone else figure out.

Less is More: Hardware
The "netbook" phenomena (very small,moderately/low powered laptops) has shown us that for most of our computing tasks we don't need very powerful computers. While there are some hardware that will greatly improve performance (RAM, display quality/size), most features in computers these days aren't the kind of thing that you're likely to need in daily use. Get an extra gigabyte of ram (or two), and a bigger display because these are features that will matter to you moving forward, but the chances are you won't really benefit from the second processor-core, and beyond a certain point additional storage shouldn't be located in your machine anyway (see above, regarding backups).

Less is More: Software
There are thousands of very cool, very problem/task specific applications out there, and many of them won't help you work more effectively. Try new software, and experiment, but be skeptical of new programs: they add complexity and take system resources. Make sure that any benefit that a new program offers is worth the cost. Also, consider regularly auditing the software you use, and don't keep around software that you no longer use.

Less is More: Organization
I, and I suspect many other people, am tempted to name files creatively, and organize them into complicated hierarchies of folders/directories. This is an unproductive impulse as it makes things hard to find later. To combat this: name files so you can tell exactly what's in the file by the title. File names should include: draft information, title, file type (notes, draft, references, part information). File names should also (generally) include only lowercase characters and either hyphens `-` or underscores `_` rather than spaces, and information should be arranged from least to greatest specificity. Similarly, once you establish folders/directories for a series of "domains" or projects (eg. marketing, blogging, correspondence, references, etc.) don't create sub-folders below this level.

Think about the Future.
If you're naming files, or buying a new system, my general advice is that you think about the future in the longer term. Consider if your file organization is going suit your needs in six months, a year, or five years. Think about the developing needs of your organization and what kind of technical projects you currently have and are likely to have when you're by a computer. Support all technological practices with experiments: keep records of how you've used computers, of places where you need something that you don't have, times when you've lost, or been unable to find data, so that when you adapt your computer usage later, you'll be ready.

---

Sam Kleinman is a technologist and "open source futurist," who thinks and consults on issues of information management, human/computer (cyborg) interaction, and strategies in cyber-cultures and spaces. He writes as *tycho garen,* and maintains the blog tychoish.com where you can find more of his ideas about technology, open source software, and other minutia. He is also a science fiction writer, knitter, and Morris Dancer.

Not Lost in Translation

2009-03-20T14:03:00.000-07:00

I've been doing this "thing" for years and years and it has been through a couple of conversations that I realized I needed to define "it" for my audience here.

The "thing" I do in my business consulting/mentoring for creative professionals is this:
I translate Business-Speak into Art-Speak.

I bridge the gap between these two worlds to help creative people figure out how the heck to navigate the business world. This gal was born lucky with both the right and left sides of her brain pretty equally developed. It took me a while to see this in myself, but I can take a creative person and "spoon feed" them the business information they need to make their dream happen.

Now for the back story:
When I was in my twenties, I was a custom clothing designer and I realized soon enough that my language for form and color did not necessarily match the language of my clients. Did an accountant know how to tell me what they wanted to wear? No. Mostly not.

I started pulling pages from magazines, mostly fashion, and asked my clients to tell me about the person in each picture. From this Q&A I was able to glean some crucial information about that person's language of color and design. From there I asked them some questions about how they wished to be perceived in the world (in really specific circumstances, like a job interview, first date, etc.)

By asking these questions I was able to figure out what my client wanted to wear and then I could create it for them. All these years later, what this exercise in communication styles and perception styles taught me was the way various personalities learn and perceive. What I didn't know back then, is where it would take me to, so many years later.

Today I take many of these same skills (plus some) to see where my client wants to go in their life and career. From there, I create a plan and most importantly, at each step, I am communicating with them in a language that they understand, about what's going to happen and how they are going to get there.

Many of my first forays into this was when I went with my clients to visit their accountant or lawyer and acted as a translator. I was able to make sense of the legal and accounting terms bantered about and helped them make some really crucial business decisions. Suddenly their stress level went down and they no longer walked out of the door, not really understanding what just happened and what they paid this person for. Now they knew! Now they had the power of information in a way they could properly digest. I still get excited every time this happens!

In this age of "do it yourself", there are many things that new entrepreneurs try to do and fail. At that point, many just give it up. They truly think that they are not capable of "dealing" with the business world. It's like going to Japan, not understanding the language and feeling like it's your fault that you ordered Vanilla ice cream and you got Chocolate. It's not your fault!

I am so lucky to have the opportunity to do this kind of work and I truly hope I get the chance to share it with some of you, beyond this blog

Is it a New Business or The Old Business in New Clothes?

2009-03-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

And why does that matter?
Old, new, revamped, re-branded.
How do I know when I have a new business?

For a change, I'm going to answer that one first from an accounting perspective:

Does it have it's own expenses?

Does it use different staff?

Does it have a different client base?

So let's say that you answered "yes" to the questions above. Next comes:

Do I have enough time for another business?

Am I already doing this but not considering it another business?

Will it be more complex if I pull this thing out into another business?

Can it wear "training wheels" for a while longer so I can figure all the other questions out?

In most ways I could say yes and no to the above questions. All of them will depend on what else you have going on. I've seen folks add another business that was as high-powered as the one they started with and it was always a fight for attention. I've seen folks that have that split in a really comfortable way. I've also seen the first business completely fade after the second one is started and vice verse.

The bottom line is "Do not attempt this without professional help".
You will need legal and accounting help for sure to figure out where all the lines are and how to play safely within them for each entity. You will want to know how to organize the entities, and like with a doctor's opinion, feel free to get a second one.

Just like a relationship, your idea may be the next fabulous thing for your life, or it could be a distraction from making your primary business really work. If your first business is not functional, why would your second one? Yeah, a little tough love is needed here for the short-attention-span-impaired amongst you. Starting a new one when you're not in love with the old one anymore should done after a lot of soul-searching.

Don't let me steal your thunder though. This new business may be exactly what you need, and what happens as a result will be a surprise to us all! Look at the questions above and when you're ready, reach out for some help answering them.

Let's Do it

2009-03-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

Photo by Erica Marshall www.MuddyBoots.org

I've just spent four posts talking about why you need a mentor.
Now I'm going to go back and tell you again, (or more) HOW I do what I do.
Give away the store?? Not really.
You're doing the work. What do I do?

Conduct an overview of where you are right now
Determine the true cost/benefit of what you're doing now
Decide with you where you want to go
Create a plan for a certain amount of time, say 6 months to get it all done
Walk you through the steps, weekly to get it done

This post is short for a reason. I wax on and on about the details of lots of stuff, but really, this is what it all comes down to: You need to try this process and then commit to it to see results. If you really want to do "this", it can be done and I am committing to doing it with you.
Let's make some cool things happen.

Why Do I Need a Mentor? Part IV

2009-03-13T11:26:00.001-07:00

Photo by Erica Marshall /MuddyBoots.org

You may have issues with prioritizing your time and don't know how to start over to fix it.

I don't think you need to start over to fix it. What you do need to do is call a time-out.
That time-out could be an afternoon with the cellphone turned off, out of the office with a mentor or it could mean pulling your "group" together in a mini retreat with a mentor.

That brings us back to why you're going to need help with this, and really, it's the most common reason people hire me: You're working as hard as you can and everything is not getting done and you fear your head may explode.

If you're at this point, there is no way YOUR customers are not feeling it. If that's not incentive, I don't know what is. If there are people who you are not getting back to in a timely fashion, if things as slipping through the cracks, it's time to take a serious look at what's going on.

Even if you've gotten all your ducks in a row with your processes, if you're being pulled this way and that by whatever hits your desk or phone or computer next, you're not going to be affective. How that all gets fixed is Magic. The Magic is in another set of eyes. The Magic is in someone else giving you permission to change things you're afraid to change. The Magic is in asking my favorite question: "Is the house burning down?"

It's so hard to prioritize when you're surrounding with today's technology. It's so easy to be drawn to attend to the next message coming at you. If the big picture of what you need to take care of is dealt with, of course you can have some flexibility in how you deal with social media or other minute by minute communications. If the big picture is not under control, you may have to take some serious measures to get them under control.

A mentor will give you tasks weekly and see if you complete them. If you don't complete them, then you'll have to look at what's going on. It could be your home life, some other interests, a difficult customer or your tendency to procrastinate.

A Mentor is not a bully, They're your new best friend who won't let you get away with sh*t.

Top Ten Things You Should Know About Your Business Website

2009-03-10T21:20:00.000-07:00

photo by Erica Marshall/Muddyboots.org

The following post was written by a very smart woman (not me) and although it's long, I beg you to read it, bookmark it and pass it along. It will save you and your company lots of money and your sanity. With that, I give you Sadelle Wiltshire:

People usually end up in my office because of word of mouth, and because it's well known we're reliable. responsible web people who explain things in plain language. Often times folks come to us with a broken site... or they've lost access to their site and don't know what to do. I can't tell you how many times we've gotten a new client who came to us because their web developer/designer "disappeared" and left them with a either a broken or un-updated website.

Melissa brought up the topic of the web-developer-gone-missing on Twitter recently so I thought I'd write up some words of advice for business people, hard-learned from helping out clients who were abandoned by their former webmasters.

1. Who set up your Web and Domain accounts?: Make sure YOU are the admin contact on both your DOMAIN REGISTRATION and your WEB HOSTING ACCT. If the admin contact, registrant for your domain is your web developer... get it fixed NOW. Be insistent. Know WHO both your Domain Registrar and Web Hosting company are!

2. A Consistent Email address that you use and check: Make sure you know WHICH EMAIL ADDRESS your domain and your webhosting were registered with. If it's an old email address... CHANGE IT TO ONE YOU RELIABLY CHECK. (So many folks have lost their domain name because they never updated their account to their new email, or never checked their email, or didn't know WHO their registrar or host was and threw it out. If you miss your renewal, the domain name becomes fair game and often these days is snapped up by unscrupulous domain brokers, ready to sell it back to you for thousands of dollars.)

3. Passwords: This really ties into tips #1 and 2 Make sure you know, and have recorded somewhere safely: ALL USERNAMES and PASSWORDS associated with your website. This includes:

Domain Registrar account username and password

Web hosting account username and password

Web Control panel username and password if different from the first.

FTP webhost, username and password if different from above, and directory name where your web files are stored.

Any database names and passwords associated with your account.

All email account usernames and passwords associated with your account.

Blog (if your webmaster set this up for you) Admin Username and Password.

Shopping cart usernames and passwords, if more than one.

Online merchant gateway usernames and passwords. (See tip #2 and make sure your email address is up to date with your shopping cart and blog too!)

Google Local, Adwords, Analytics, etc accounts sign in email address and password.

Any other SEO service that the may have signed you up for.

4. Domain Names: Do you know ALL the domain names you've registered? When they expire? And if you registered them w/ different registrars or hosts.. where they are? And of course, refer to points 1. 2 & 3 for all of these!!

5. Custom Programming: You might have had custom programming or scripts done for your site. Ask your webmaster to detail the programming done to make your site function, and if they used an outside programmer, make sure you have their contact info as well. If the script breaks, and the webmaster isn't around, you can go directly to the programmer.

{Be aware that more programmers fly the coop than even webmasters. So check the reliability of the programmer your web designer works with. That's a good tip for web designers too!}

6. Do you know who your web developer IS?: This might seem silly, but when you contract to work with a web designer, GET THEIR FULL CONTACT INFO. Yes, that means you know where to find them: their address, their phone number, their IM or Twitter id. Ask if they're on LInkedIn and connect with them. Have multiple ways to find them if you need to!

7. Web Files: Ask who owns the files if you end your business relationship with your webmaster. Make sure you get a full copy of your website on cd. Some designers are picky about what they'll give you.

8. Copyright: Be in the know. If you don't provide your webmaster with photos for your site, find out what the source of the photos they use are, and make sure they prove to you that no copyright laws have been broken.

9. Safekeep your original photos and logo art: Make sure you have hi res versions of any logo or photo on the site that you might need to use for print purposes in the future. You never know when you'll need it.

10. Search Engines: Do not assume that your webmaster knows about optimizing your website for search engines. Most webmasters don't have the time to do full-on SEM (Search Engine Marketing) work, however they should at least be familiar with the basics of "Organic Search Engine Optimization". Depending on your site, and how much competition you have, you may have to dip in and get your hands/mind dirty a bit and read up on SEO stuff. Or find a firm/consultant to work with that you can afford. And if ANYONE promises you #1 rankings, run away quickly and do not hand over any money. Getting good search engine rankings will take a lot of hard work, and over time.

Get a book on the subject and do a little reading. Or read Jill Whalen's newsletters: http://www.highrankings.com

Just one more thing! My favorite site for reading about search engine doings is http://www.searchengineguide.com

Sadelle Anne Wiltshire, (@sadiavt on Twitter) currently of Bennington, VT, is a Web designer, developer, web manager, social media consultant (specializing in the arts), web and software instructor , tech teacher, fiber artist, spinner, knitter, and folk music lover who was dragged into the world of web authoring 15 years ago thanks to her textile art and jewelry. She landed a full-time web management and design job in 1998 with Spectrum Design when she told her soon to be boss how 'evil' frames were, and the rest was history.

She can be found via her arts website and blog, www.pumpkinspun.com/musings/ and at Spectrum Design http://www.spectrumwebworks.com

Why Do I Need a Mentor? Part III

2009-03-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

photo by www.Imageabstraction.com

You may not have "branded" your business in a way that gives you enough exposure to the right clients.

You may have lived with your professional identity for a long time. Time does not equal effectiveness and accuracy of statement. You could really be missing out on a lot of business because folks can't find you or just aren't drawn to you. This makes me think of people naming their babies and how it affects that child's life forever. It's no wonder a lot of people change their names at some point to greater reflect who they are. That's actually a lot harder to do as a person than as a business.

Even if your business identity isn't something you actively think about, it still needs reevaluation. It's another "forest for the trees" situation. I find that folks can act pretty defensive on this one by mistaking their identity with their product's identity. Yes, they can be very linked. I can definitely think of several cases where my client was the product in many ways. Even if we share a name with that product, as I do with mine, it's still not me. It's what I do. I provide and stand behind my consulting practice of course, but if I change it's name, that doesn't mean it ceases to me mine. Owning vs. Being.

On a less esoteric note:

Who can afford to change their brand? Pretty much everyone. I would say though, you should really choose carefully and not do this more than once. If your business changes so much that you need another identity again, perhaps you need a new business. I'll cover that in another post. Bottom line, with the right steps taken, your "old" people will find you and new people will find you in an effective re-branding.

Things that need to all be on the same page

All collateral, marketing, etc.
All PR done in your name
All interactions

So where does a mentor come in? One of the big things is brainstorming new ideas with you about your new image. I do my homework and then come back to you with a bucketful of stuff and we hash through it. I'll tell you what I think will or will not work. Then we hook up with a designer and I run interference for you to get this new ball rolling. When we have cohesive imagines for you to look at, I show them to you, we tweek them a little and then have one more go round. That's generally what it looks like.

This can be really fun stuff. Just don't take it lightly or you're likely to wake up with something like a tattoo that you regret after a big night out.

Why Do I Need a Mentor? II

2009-03-07T16:00:00.000-08:00

Photo by Erica Marshall

There may be big issues with the way your system works that is making things WAY harder for you than they should.

Does this look like your desk?

This is not going to be fixed with another cup of coffee. But, go ahead and have one if you want. The thing is, Just like anything, we can't see the details as clearly when we're standing too close. That's why editors exist. That's actually a really great metaphor for what a Mentor does in this particular situation. They "edit" your systems by looking at every letter, every sentence, every page to see that it all works as a book. That's the point too, you can't edit your own book. So many times folks don't ask for help because they feel "guilt"around what's become of their business organization. A writer has no "guilt" about having their books edited. Some fear perhaps but they know it's something that someone else has to do. They cannot possibly see clearly in this way about their own business.

Here's what the process looks like with me:

When I'm able to actually work on-site with a client, I interview everyone in their company about what they do and how they do it. I create a sort of map for the way things work as a whole. Then I see what links I don't have, see if there's something I've missed. Then comes the part where I figure out how to connect the missed links and smooth the rough edges into a well oiled machine. With people inside it...doing the real work...uh, I'll stop now with that metaphor.

So, when I work via phone it's generally regarding a one or two person operation. I spend time once again, learning what their processes are for doing what they do. Even though they may come to me with one "ailment", like a good Dr. I still try to get the whole picture. Often the thing that's not working for them has something to do with the way it integrates with another process.

An example of this would be: They are having trouble fulfilling orders and complain that their computer system isn't working very well and are thinking that they should perhaps go another route. On further examination, it ends up having to do with the way they are getting or (not getting) their information from their business partner. Instead of jumping to: "Let's look at new computer software because you say this one is not working for you", I'll start with: "How exactly does this all get done now? Let's connect the dots."

"Connecting the dots" is very much of what I do as a Mentor. We liked it as kids. Let's learn to have patience with the process as adults.

Why do I Need a Mentor?

2009-03-04T22:11:00.001-08:00

Photo by ImageAbstraction.com

Here's the part where I tell you all the fabulous reasons why you should not only read this blog but also hire someone (like me) to help you.

I could have a picture of two hands meeting in a handshake, or two business people sitting down to chat. Oh no. I've chosen something a little "edgier." Broken glass. 'Cause ya know, that's just what you may be feeling like you're walking on. (Hmmm...a song coming on?).

People generally come to me when they are starting a new business, contemplating change, in the middle of change or in a crisis.

We're going to take some points here:

There may be big issues with the way your system works that is making things WAY harder for you than they should
You may not have "branded" your business in a way that gives you enough exposure to the right clients
You may have issues with prioritizing your time and don't know how to start over to fix it.
You feel like you need to clone yourself (see above).
You're thinking about starting an entirely new business.
You don't know if you're in the "right" business for you.
When you come across either a roadblock or a new opportunity, you ask the person sitting right next to you what they think.

I'm going to start with that last one because it's really the heart of the matter as far as I'm concerned:

When you come across either a roadblock or a new opportunity, you ask the person sitting right next to you what they think.

This is about getting advice, playing ideas of of another person, venting and looking for solutions. Depending on your personality type, you may go to another person to seek help or you may just ask yourself these questions and lose sleep. Even if that other person is your business partner, you may still need another ear. It's like a marriage where the two of you are used to a certain dynamic and you may need a third person to shake it up and point things out to you that you may be too close to see.

Personally, I know that if I ask my circle of friends and colleagues about something, I know what angle they're going to come at it from. In the back of my mind, I know what their approach is going to be. "Jane" who is a retailer will be talking about it from a retailers perspective, etc. The perspective of a business mentor is way more balanced. We work in many different industries and see some issues as industry specific and some as "you" specific. We get to know your way of doing things, see where you want to go and then find a way to get you there.

The more I look at the image I've chosen for this post, the more I do see how it directly relates to this topic. Glass ceilings, pushing out the windows, pushing beyond our confinement to get to the place where we want to be. Meanwhile, there's a bit of broken glass between here and there.

I'm not saying it won't be a little painful at times, but allow me to lay my cloak down for you...here...walk over here....

Working At Home Part IV

2009-03-03T09:23:00.000-08:00

photo by Erica Marshall of Muddyboots.org

I'm not a Doctor, I just play one on my blog.

Yes, this whole topic makes me feel like a shrink, and if you'd ask my clients, they'd say that's pretty much right on. A lot of business issues have an emotional component, but the way our relationships revolve around our work lives is especially touchy. It comes up nearly every day for folks. I, personally have been on both sides of this one. For now, I'm going to keep out the third element which would be kids.

I'm going to take this from two sides of this equation:
The issues of the person working at home:

I get interrupted all the time by my Partner (Significant other).
I experience most noise as a distraction.
I need more flexibility to attend to so many tasks.
I need a room of my own.

And now we have the Partner's issues:

NO time is a good time for questions.
I don't know when they're working or "playing" on the computer.
When we are due to be somewhere, I feel like I'm "nagging" to bring it up when we're running late.
Partner talks loudly on the phone and walks from room to room.

And then we have both people working at home: Take list A and B and mash them together willy-nilly. Yeah. Pretty.

There is no way around a kind of "couple therapy"approach. Sorry. Both people need to find "rules of engagement" and stick to them. The interruption one is rough for both people. No matter which side you're on, this is going to drive you nuts and create problems elsewhere in your relationship.

The question: "Are you working now?" is not a threat, not a nag, it is simply a way to determine if you can be communicated with at any given moment. Take a breath and say either "Yes" or "No" and then whether it's an okay time to take a question. Just saying: "What??" doesn't work very well. It does not answer the initial question. Neither does muttering under your breath.

Find a language that works for both of you and triggers neither. There are no shortcuts on that one. If you create these channels and rules, you are much less likely to feel nagged and interrupted. That is not to say that big stuff doesn't happen and you'll just have to deal with it. Just like in an office, a call will come in that you really need to deal with and it won't be in the schedule. Your kid or dog needs medical care or the plumbing blows up....life.

If things do come up during the day that are not working for either of you, wait until the work day is over and have a special talk to figure them out. Do not attempt to discuss in the middle of it. Cool down.

That brings me to: Does the work day ever end???

For some people that answer is no. They work with multiple time zones and who knows when it's going to be done for the day. That said, that person also needs how impossible it can be to maintain a relationship in that environment. It's going to require even MORE communication. It's going to mean going to your Partner and saying something like:

Hon, I know we were going to watch this movie together, but I have an urgent call with London. It will take less than an hour. I'd like you to wait for me because I'd still like to spend that time with you. If you don't want to wait, I'll get back to you as soon as this call is over.

Less effective would be:
Hey, I've got this call suddenly, don't know when it'll be over. Sorry.

Less is not more. MORE is more.

It's completely possible to have a great life working at home. It just means that if you don't live alone, you've got to consider the other person or neither of you will be happy. I know I didn't touch on space considerations, but it also comes down to trying different things out. Move around for a while to figure out what will work.

Last word: Just don't remodel your home in the middle of this. Seriously.

What's Your Inspiration II

2009-02-26T19:46:00.000-08:00

Lou Bortone

Lou Bortone is a long-time marketing consultant and branding coach who helps entrepreneurs build breakthrough brands on the Internet. As an online video branding specialist and award-winning marketer, Lou provides services such as video production, brand development coaching, creative support and web copywriting.

Lou is a former television executive who worked for E! Entertainment Television and later served as the Senior Vice President of Marketing & Advertising for Fox Family Worldwide, a division of Fox in Los Angeles. Lou is an author and ghostwriter of six business books, a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach and a Book Yourself Solid Certified Coach. Lou also produces a light-hearted videoblog called LouTube and a website .

What was the inspiration for starting your business?

For me, the reason to leave the corporate world and start my own business was not a question of why, but why not?! I’ve had the entrepreneurial bug for years, but the timing never seemed right. Finally, two years ago, when my contract with a local radio station was up, I figured it was now or never! I had been freelancing for years, but I wanted to give it a go full-time.

I was one of those freelance writers who always talked about writing a book, but never made the time. Once I went into business for myself, I was able to write and ghostwrite extensively. In fact, in the two years I’ve been “out on my own,” I’ve ghost-written four full-length business books, and co-authored another.

In the meantime, I’ve been helping other entrepreneurs and solo-preneurs brand their businesses with copy writing and online video production. These days I’m doing less ghostwriting, but a lot more online video and brand development. My only regret about going into business for myself was not doing it sooner!

Working at Home Part III

2009-02-26T10:37:00.000-08:00

ph0to courtesy of Erica Marshall of Muddyboots.org

And just when you think I couldn't talk about this any further:Still more to say.
Why do I have more to say? It's because there are so many people working at home, I'm always hearing about their issues, just in casual conversation.

Top 3 conversations:

I feel like my spouse is on the computer all the time. I don't know if he/she is working, hanging out, or playing. If I interrupt at the "wrong" moment, I'm in trouble. On the other hand, do I always have to prioritize my needs every moment of the day before talking to him/her? It never ends. Any time of day or night!!!
What's going on with the actual "space" I'm working in? It's becoming a dumping ground! Should I move to a more private area and try to keep it together?
I walk by the computer and keep getting pulled in. I know I'm not taking enough breaks. I thought that by working at home I would actually get more breaks. I think that I work until I crash and then the breaks are too long.

I can personally relate to 2 and 3.

If we were ALL completely wireless, it would be so much easier to keep trying new places around the house to work. When you want to move your workspace or try something new, it can look like wrestling with snakes.
You may not have enough space to be really choosy about where you work but when all else fails, leave the house. I mean go to a cafe down the street if you can to just get that time to focus on occasion. Come home, see the empty place were your laptop lives and think about what you want to do with all that junk that surrounds it.

Someone just told me that because the technology of your LCD computer screen is different than the old kind, it wears on your eyes more. Even if it didn't, how may of us sit down before even the first cuppa and find ourselves transfixed. Let me tell you, my cats have become my conscience on this one. They look at me, like "What, you're kidding! When ARE you going to get up??"

The first point about relationships and working at home needs more input still. Please comment and I'm going to put it further out in the cyber community to see how folks are making it work.
Later, folks. My cats are about to take over this blog...and me.

Working at Home Part II

2009-02-25T09:50:00.000-08:00

Last post I touched on a bunch of questions you should ask yourself about what it means or would mean to work at home. The life/work balance thing could really go both ways, and for each of us it may do that over and over again. We may find ourselves back and forth on that spectrum.
Let's say that each of us is working on a computer. That in itself is so many things to us now:

Communicating with friends.
Business communication
Web-surfing for work or pleasure
Socializing on networks like Facebook or Twitter for business or pleasure
Bookkeeping
Creating for work
Watching video for pleasure
Documenting our lives through blogs.

As I write this, I am being drawn in different directions. A problem? Sometimes, sometimes not. Honestly, if I had to do all the writing I do, just straight up, over a period of many hours, it wouldn't get done. The downside is that I am fostering a short attention span.

So, we would get more done in an office outside the home? Probably. Would we be happier? Probably not. That's where the balance comes in.

If you answered my first questions way back when about what it takes to be in business for yourself, you realize that discipline is key. How that looks can vary a great deal, but in the long run you need to get certain things done in a certain amount of time. I want to preface this also with saying that these are the needs of running a business. This is not about other parts of your personal equation like your spousal/family needs, etc. That's another post.

Make a daily list of to-do's for your work and realize that if something doesn't get done, it lands on the next busy day.
Be aware of your own energy levels and pattern of working. If you know that your attention span for detail work is at 8AM, do the bookkeeping then.
Give yourself little rewards for getting things done on time or ahead of schedule.
If you are prone to being sidetracked by personal interactions and you have a deadline, don't answer your phone without checking the caller id.
If you need a routine to make it feel like your work day has started, build one. Just like your body needs certain "cues" to know it's time to go to bed, it need's some direction to know it's time to get down to work.

Being in business for yourself means sticking to a plan, but not being inflexible. You know, kinda like the President. Yeah, like that.

Working at Home

2009-02-22T14:55:00.001-08:00

The idea for this little series has come from some readers. For many of us, having our own business means working at home. On the other hand, if may be the one reason people do or do NOT want to have their own business. There's some questions about how this will affect discipline and work/life balance. Here are some things to consider:

What kind of room do I have available and would it physically work for me?
How will this affect the people I live with?
Do I have the discipline to stay focused at home?
Do I have a hard time creating separation between life and work?
Will I have clients coming to my home office?
Will I meet clients at their workplace or a neutral environment?
How does this change my professional identity (if at all)?

Our homes are most often the incubators for our business ideas and sometimes they turn out to be a great first home. Whether they continue to house our business as we grow and change is up to you and your business and personal needs.

I'd love to hear some personal feedback and stories on this one!

What's Your Inspiration?

2009-02-20T11:56:00.000-08:00

Ken Kaufman

Ken is the Founder and CEO of CFOwise, the premier CFO firm for start-up, emerging, and medium-sized companies. He is a proven senior-level executive experience who enjoys helping companies grow and improve.

What was the inspiration for starting your business?

My initial inspiration to start my business came from three different sources – my boss, my wife, and entrepreneurs in general. Allow me to explain…

I was serving as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for a $100 million dollar company when I approached the President and asked him to allow to take over and turn around our only struggling division. I was confident it could be done in 6 months or less, and I would be able to keep many of my CFO duties through the process. His response became one part of my inspiration: “You are too valuable where you are.” I was looking for a challenge, and he was looking for stability. I knew I would not be happy there long-term, and this became part of my inspiration.

The second part of my inspiration was my wife. I started a business when we were first married that I had to abandon before we could get it off the ground and profitable. I had not returned to entrepreneurship since then, although it is where my heart really lies. I needed the full support of my wife, and I received it. She is a major source of my inspiration to succeed.

The third part of my inspiration is the passion I have for helping business owners, CEOs, and entrepreneurs. I have served as an executive for two entrepreneurial companies that have grown to in excess of $100 million in annual sales. I know the day-to-day challenges these owners, CEOs, and entrepreneurs face, and I was experienced at solving the cash flow, profitability, operational, and other challenges inherent to high growth firms. I had also seen the results of mistakes made by this same group. I was confident that most start-up, emerging, and medium-sized companies could use the perspective of a seasoned executive, and I was committed to delivering that service at a price they could afford.

What's Next?

2009-02-18T20:54:00.000-08:00

That seems to be the big question with everyone I'm in contact these days. There's this ultimate goal in the distance and then there's the here and now. The energy balance between those two poles is the place that I am most frequently working between. I really want to start out by saying that this is always going to be the case. These days though, it's a struggle to make peace with those two places.
I suggest a good old pie-chart. Two, really. One is a chart of what your values are. The second pie-chart is a graphic representation of how you spend your time. Ideally of course, they would be the same. They won't be. Just having those two charts around is going to give you a daily reminder of where you are and where you need to be.

Are Your Ears Burning?

2009-02-15T11:01:00.000-08:00

You have a business and things are kind of okay but employees are nervous and so are you. You wonder how you can streamline and get your "back burner" marketing plan back up to the front.

You're not sure if your systems are working anymore.
You finally admit to 'yourself and another person' that you may not be reading your P&L correctly.(!)
You've stopped having regular Company/Employee meetings.
You wonder how your physical space is working or not working for you
Since when did your marketing plan end up on the back burner???

Are your ears burning? Well, they should be! Give 'em something to talk about!
This post is coming on a day when I am particularly fired up about this. (Puns everywhere folks)
For those of you who know my other blog, you know that I'm trying to mix things up in the marketing department right now.

A marketing plan is the thing that needs to being going on, no matter what. One of the biggest downfalls in the business world is when you get busy, you concentrate on doing the work at hand and stop focusing on getting new work. If you're really busy and pulling in the dough, go hire someone to bring in even more. If it's slow, step out of crisis mode and do it yourself with a little help from, ummm, you know....a mentor.

Many of you know about this blog because of Twitter. I've already spoken about that in a previous post, so I won't go there now. What I will say is that people like to buy goods and services from people they know because they want to be assured of the content and quality. Yes, perhaps if you are selling electronics you are going to be dealing with competition of the big-box stores. But, that brings us back to the original point. Personal contact.

Marketing is a lot of things:

Connecting with people and networking in your social life
Being connected through social media online
Having promotions for new customers/clients
Giving incentives to your existing clients to bring you new business
Offering your products or services to those in need.
Sponsoring Charity events
Going to trade shows and (sharing space if you can't afford the whole thing yourself.)

Notice I didn't list advertising? I have serious doubts about advertising right now. It used to mean putting an ad in a newspaper of magazine. It's a much broader concept right now that includes all of the above. At a time when money is tight, it's my opinion that an outlay of big bucks for print advertising should not be taken lightly. 'Nuf said.

This is not directly under the heading of "marketing", but I think it's really important to all business owners: You and your image is The Company.

You cannot afford "bad press" because of small quibbles. You cannot afford to mis-speak in any big way through social media. If you are having a "bad day" do NOT put it out there on the internet. Be real, but step back from the computer or client contact in moments when you know you're not at your best. When you're feeling down about your business and you're about to do some marketing, find a way to get excited. If you're not, no one else will.

One last comment on Networking and putting yourself out there:
The best way to get is to give.

Meeting our Challenges

2009-02-13T10:26:00.000-08:00

This is the start of a new series that will appear from time to time. I'm asking professionals in various fields what their challenges are on a day basis. I'd love to hear what other questions my readers would like to hear covered.

Meet Anne Bean

Anne Bean is the owner of AnneBeanVA.com, which assists retailers, designers, and manufacturers in the NeedleArts industry with their marketing and technology needs. Formerly a public school band and choir director, she has turned her knitting and computer expertise into a profession. She lives in rural Paris, Arkansas, with her husband and an elderly dog. Anne enjoys being with her sons and their families, music, knitting, being on the internet, and traveling with her husband.

What is your greatest daily business challenge?
I challenge myself every day to use my time wisely. When I don't have a clock to punch, it's easy to get sucked into spending too much time on one task at the expense of another. Along with that is the challenge to organize tasks well so that I'm getting each thing done in the most efficient manner possible.

What is your greatest career challenge?
I left behind a previous career due to burnout. Even though I'm loving every moment of this new profession, I'm being careful to pace myself and be very deliberate in my actions, because I really don't want to experience burnout again. I also feel challenged to establish my credibility in an industry where I'm creating my own job description; very few, if any, people are doing what I'm doing in the NeedleArts industry.

Meet Christian Messer

Whiplash Design is the home of Fresh, Succulent, and Organic identity and branding solutions. Created and launched by Christian Messer, Whiplash Design has thrived and succeeded in carving out an identity and branding niche for itself. Working with small to medium sized businesses, Messer has assisted companies strengthen their current branding, or create brand-new identities for them. Whiplash Design has been featured in many publications, including Jeff Fisher’s first book, “The Savvy Designer’s Guide To Success: Ideas and Tactics for a Killer Career.”

What is your greatest daily business challenge?

My greatest daily challenge hands-down, time management! I was fortunate to run across David Allen’s Getting Things Done book and system, but even thought I have it in place and try hard to follow it - I falter somewhere along the way. My weakest link I discovered is the “Weekly Review” where you really look at the upcoming week, and review all that you’ve done etc. It doesn’t help when you have what he calls “Work as it Appears” - which means things that come up and screw up your days timeline and productivity. These can be triggers like a phone call from a client, and unexpected demand from a client or something that happens personally (like falling off your porch while getting the paper. Hasn’t happened to me, but I have colleagues who’ve experienced this!)

What is your greatest career challenge?

Cash flow! It is the one thing that just happens to be part of going out on your own and being an independent business person. My profession is graphic design, both web and print. Like everyone else, I experience the revenue roller-coaster ride when it comes to projects consistently coming in. To combat this, I have scouted out several opportunities for passive income and will implement them soon. This is really the only way to be certain that money is flowing. Passive income works whether you are working, sleeping, or scuba diving!

Meet Todd Chandler

Focused on learning and performance for over 18 years, Todd is passionate about creating the ultimate customer experience. His blog is at http://toddchandler.blogspot.com/

What is your greatest daily business challenge?
The greatest daily business challenge I face is communication. Different departments operate in silos and often communicate only when they need something. I know that sword has two sides in that I don't always share everything I should, not because I don't want to, but because I don't think to. One recent example involved a change I made to a process that I didn't realize impacted another department. It's tough to foresee all the cause and effect relationships of every decision and communicate them properly.

And if that's not enough of a challenge, even though I don't get all the information I need, I do get a ton of it. So I have to weed through it to get to the stuff I need. And, yes, that works both ways too. I push out unneeded information at times as well. Honestly, that's usually just to cover myself, not to truly inform. With those two issues going both ways, I'm sure there is a quadrant model to be created in there some where. I need a Google-like solution that would allow me to get the right information in the right amount at the right time.

What is your greatest career challenge?
My greatest career challenge is figuring out what my career path is. I've reach the top of my specialized pyramid and want to keep growing. There's not an obvious next step to take within my current environment. I love the company and the people I work with, but there is no where to advance to. So the choice becomes to stay put in a place I love and not move up; or risk another environment in search of additional responsibilities. On that issue, I simply procrastinate the fork in the road by taking a Candide approach to my work and remind myself to tend to my garden.

That's a great note to end on and I want to thank all my professionals for their time in answering these questions!

Twittering About Twitter

2009-02-12T15:36:00.000-08:00

I spend a lot of time on Twitter these days and everyone has something to say about the new Social Media. They're all experts. I'm not. I'm just going to tell you what I'm doing there, how I do it and what I'm getting out of it so far.

The software I use for my interface is Tweetdeck. It allows me to track various levels of conversation in columns.
I run Tweetdeck in the background of my day, everyday and at different times of the day, and when I can, I devote time to being "active" on it.
I follow people who I can help professionally, who can help me, have valuable information, expand my notion of the world or who I find entertaining.
I maintain a positive "face" on Twitter without being inauthentic. If I'm not in a good place, I read and keep quiet or retweet other people's content that IS worthwhile.

I find people to follow a variety of ways:

I run a search on a phrase like "business plan" to find everyone who's talking about them.
I devote a certain amount of time each week to do the above.
I find people I know I want to follow and then choose to follow some of the people they are following.
If I'm notified that someone is following me and they seem interesting to me, I follow them as well and thank them for following me.
I read the RT (retweets) and check out the original author of content that interests me.

I am aware of my timezone, and tailor my tweets accordingly.
I post my knitting and business blog posts everyday to gain more readership.
When I notice a particular persons "tweets" are really negative over a long period of time, I stop following them.
I follow people in three different areas: Small biz development, Fiberarts, Friends.

Now come my generalizations about what I'm seeing out there, but it could just be me and probably is!:

There are a LOT of life coaches.
There are folks who are interesting (most likely) but only post about what they just ate or what they are going to eat next ;-)
There are a lot of people selling other people's perceptions instead of their own.

What I'd like to see more of:

Interesting people creating things and taking pictures of it.
People talking about why they do what they do.
"Famous" people realizing that they are talking to a vast audience and not everyone will understand their acronyms, etc.
Generosity (there is a lot, but still...)

And now, my friends, the circle is closed. I'm going to post this now on twitter....

Don't Get All Spacey on Me!

2009-02-10T10:24:00.001-08:00

You have a business and things are kind of okay but employees are nervous and so are you. You wonder how you can streamline and get your "back burner" marketing plan back up to the front.

You're not sure if your systems are working anymore.
You finally admit to 'yourself and another person' that you may not be reading your P&L correctly.(!)
You've stopped having regular Company/Employee meetings.
You wonder how your physical space is working or not working for you

This one can speak to your employee issues or you working at home. I'll take the first one right now. Some questions to ask yourself:

Is your space too big because you have to walk too far to see other people?
Is your space too small and it's too noisy to have professional phone conversations?
Do you generally find your space a little sad but believe it's the least of your priorities?
You know you want to move but how can you afford it?

Stop me here if I'm off-base, but generally woman are more concerned about the way things "look" in a work space. The word here is concerned. Everyone is affected.

Because I'm a consultant I get the opportunity to visit a really broad variety of workplaces. It's truly amazing to me how some folks just see what they have in terms of workspace as a given. What? Move the furniture? Time away from "real work". Yeah, and then there's the employee issue of coming up with a consensus regarding the changes.

Having standard issue generic office furniture does not make you more of a real business. Neither does letting employees do ANYTHING with their space make you a better boss. At the very least, providing a positive workspace is the least you can do to give yourself and your folks a positive hand-up.

The cost part of making an office a happier place may be the cost of a painting party over the weekend. It may be a big trash day where everyone gets rid of stuff they don't need that's taking space. It may be taking suggestions in a meeting with everyone about where they would like to be in the space that would make things easier for them.

Whatever it is that you and your folks need to make your space work for you, it will pay off in spades. This place that you spend 8+ hours a day needs to be a happy place. Sometimes a change (like moving the couch at home) is all you need for a new perspective.

No News is Good News?

2009-02-09T07:58:00.000-08:00

Don't jump!

You have a business and things are kind of okay but employees are nervous and so are you. You wonder how you can streamline and get your "back burner" marketing plan back up to the front.

You're not sure if your systems are working anymore.
You finally admit to 'yourself and another person' that you may not be reading your P&L correctly.(!)
You've stopped having regular Company/Employee meetings.

Oh, this is a huge one right now!
Quite often what I do with companies is help them rebuild their relationships with their employees. Especially in the case of their being one "Captain" at the helm, the relationship with one's employees can be the first thing to go in a stressful situation.

When things are difficult or not working well within a company, I've found that owners often shy away from employee meetings. Perhaps they want to wait until they have "good news" for everyone. Thing is, people just want news! Any information is better than no information. Imaginations run wild with worse-case scenarios.

Even when things are going well for a company, the need for regular meetings is never something that should be neglected. There have been several times that company owners have come to me said "I'm having these monthly meetings, everyone seems fine by the end but then nothing ever changes!" I talk to their employees and I hear exactly the same thing: "nothing ever changes."Have you ever noticed that sometimes it's easier to talk to your friend about your spouse/partner about what's bugging you? Yeah!

This is when a little mediation can be in order. I love having these meetings where I meet with the employees without their boss and they can tell me everything they think is wrong (and right) about the business and their boss. They share their frustrations, we as a group come up with an outline of things that they would like to address. I knock the points out that are frivolous, too personal, not best dealt with for whatever reason and come up with a basic game plan.

I go back to the business owner, talk to them a little bit about the content of the meeting and ask them to now meet with all of us, and I will host the meeting this time. Without holding the owner's feet to the grill, I am able to create a middle ground for everyone to have a chance to go over the points we brought up in the previous meeting. I can put issues out there in an anonymous way, but the owner is answering to everyone on these points.

This may sound scary to some of you, but I've never had one of these "interventions" that didn't end with a group hug and a sense of moving forward. Sure, not everything gets fixed, but everyone certainly has a sense of what needs to change. Then, regular company meetings generally move a lot more smoothly and things do begin to change, for everyone.

Even if you don't have employees, this may give you a sense of how to deal better with sub-contractors or others. For the most part, no news is NOT good news...

Go dream!

Those Tricky Reports

2009-02-06T09:54:00.000-08:00

You have a business and things are kind of okay but employees are nervous and so are you. You wonder how you can streamline and get your "back burner" marketing plan back up to the front.

You're not sure if your systems are working anymore.
You finally admit to 'yourself and another person' that you may not be reading your P&L correctly.(!)

We can replace P&L with any financial statement. Are you asking yourself if there's something wrong with your ability to read a statement or is it the way it's constructed? Well, it could be both. Every business owner tells me that they have a sense of how they're doing financially without the reports, but it acts as a confirmation.

Your financial reports and how they are constructed are important for you, possible investors, and lending institutions. Making sure that all of your assets are in there will help tip the balance, in a Balance Sheet. (Ummmm.... that's poetic justice here, you can never unbalance a balance sheet).

The information that people are often missing from their reports are:

Personal equity spent.
All furniture, fixtures and equipment
Investments in websites
Correctly detailed Credit Card expenses.
Leasehold improvements

If you are not making something an asset, you are saying that it's an expense that will not affect your net worth. So, if you're looking for credit or thinking about selling your business, it's not going to show up. Re-think your assets.

A "Cash Flow" report is always going to be theoretical. It's based on the assumption of money coming in and money going out. The second one you can control, the first one you can't. Having a report of your expected receivables for each 2 month period can give you a basic idea. I don't have to tell that's it's not something you can count on.

Look at your receivables. Do you have invoices in there you pretty much know you're not going to collect on? Talk to your Accountant this year and write those babies off. They are doing you little good where they are. Sometimes it's better for you to take the loss.

Yes, Accountant! Do you have one? Do you love them? You should on both counts. In the same way you run things by your lawyer before signing contracts, having the same relationship with your accountant is very important.

My main point here is that if you don't "get" something, make sure you find the answers to your questions. It's your business, you should make the most of what you've got by understanding the best you can.

Moss Growin' on You, Part II

2009-02-05T09:58:00.000-08:00

As a prelude to my post, let me tell you first that my Peach of an Offer is Still Available. I am offering incentives for free sessions for referrals as well. Ask me!

You have a business and things are kind of okay but employees are nervous and so are you. You wonder how you can streamline and get your "back burner" marketing plan back up to the front.

You're not sure if your systems are working anymore

Yesterday I took one case study and today I'm going to take another, dramatic example:

This particular company brought me in during the Mother of all Crisis: Embezzlement. Yes, the CFO ran off will a million dollars by cooking the books for two years. I was brought in to find out what the "real" books were by re-creating 2 years of activity for a multi-million $ company. Yeah, fun right?

The owner then 'fessed up to allowing himself to not know parts of his business because he'd rather be selling, and hey, that's why there's a CFO. This was a sort of family run business and that there were all kinds of exciting high jinks and drama, like having my office broken into and the computer stolen, etc. But after the dust settled a little, I decided to take this once in a business lifetime opportunity to create a manual for them that described the way everything in the office was done.

This manual was created by interviewing the employees, compiling all the information and finding the blanks and filling them in with something that pulled the components together. When I had the first draft, I had those same people go through the processes and edit the manual to make it more accurate. Can you see where I'm going with this? Cross-training. Yep, now there was no Big Magic behind each job. It all made sense and the owner and everyone else could use this manual whenever they were not quite sure what should happen next. And, of course, before I left, I reminded them that this needed to be updated every time they made a new decision on how to operate. (We can only hope for these small miracles...)

Change often comes as a result of a crisis.

There are always things that are working and not working for you. What gets pushed to the front burner is the thing that's making the most noise. Just like the squeaky wheel, it may not be the most crucial thing to be dealt with.

When placed in a business crisis that lasts more than a couple of days, our thoughts can start driving us through that rut over and over until we are only responding to the crisis at hand. This is how many businesses lose their way. The 'trance of fear and crisis'.

It's takes more than a "snap out of it!" I think we can work on that one together, though.

We awake, be well and dream!

You've Got Some Moss Growin' on You?

2009-02-04T11:25:00.001-08:00

You have a business and things are kind of okay but employees are nervous and so are you. You wonder how you can streamline and get your "back burner" marketing plan back up to the front.

You're not sure if your systems are working anymore.

I can guarantee there's at least ONE system that you have running that's not working for you:
Are sending your office manager out to the post office?

With that example, some of you will shudder, some of you will say "what office manager?" and some of you will say, "please, that's stupid." I have a feeling that most of you are going to be relating to the first two comments. There's always something. Some weird little process that only one person knows how to do, doesn't want to teach to someone else and it's inefficient and costing you time and money.

You quite possibly may not know what "systems" you have. Let me give you an example of what you can do to identify and update what you have going on. I'll use an example of a recent client:

Small office (5) but used to just be the owner and perhaps an assistant. As soon as two more people where brought on to help with the revenue stream and create more space for the owner to work on other things, it became clear there were issues.

What we did:
1.5 days together in an on-site retreat. We turned on the voicemail, notified the clients and every 2 hours took 15 minute call-back breaks so that things didn't crumble on the front side. We went through everything that happens for each person from the minute they walk in the door. What is their process?What is the process for dealing with a new client? What is the existing paper-trail?, etc.

In that amount of time we:

Realized that new and better way of doing things were going to make money and save time.
We needed to move to a different space to grow the business properly.
The business owner needed a schedule too.
There needed to be a "hub" person for all client information until there is a database created.
There needed to be a "lunch break" for the entire staff with the phones off.
A hundred more things, but most importantly, the world will not fall apart if we take some time to figure things out!

So, on that Friday everyone quit that 'old' business and on Monday when they came to work, it was for the 'new' business (not my idea but a great one).

This is such a great topic and my favorite one that I think I'll go into another case study tomorrow. Till then...

Where Are You Now #2 Rocky?

2009-02-03T11:35:00.000-08:00

You have a business and things are kind of okay but employees are nervous and so are you. You wonder how you can streamline and get your "back burner" marketing plan back up to the front.

You're not sure if your systems are working anymore.
You finally admit to 'yourself and another person' that you may not be reading your P&L correctly.(!)
You've stopped having regular Company/Employee meetings.
You wonder how your physical space is working or not working for you
Since when did your marketing plan end up on the back burner???

Let me know if I left something out!
Seriously, I think there are very few small businesses, even the ones who are "flush" right now who are NOT asking themselves some of these questions. Each one is indicative of yet other issues. They may all play out differently, but one thing is certain, the road continues to move beneath us and how ready we are for the speed bumps has to do with how we have the everyday under control.

What I hear a lot of is: I spend the day doing all this stuff and yet there are piles on my desk and I don't really have any new business coming in. Where is my time going and how can I stop the bleed?

If out of your 40-50+ hour week you were to spend 2-3 hours on re-evaluating you could make some huge changes. Having that two hours being focused is what I'm all about. That's where I can draw you to the crucial issues and away from the mosquito buzzing in your ear. The buzz you're hearing and swatting at is probably not your core issue. Let's identify it, get it dealt with and move on.

A Peach of an Offer

2009-02-01T22:16:00.000-08:00

I'm going to take a little commercial break here between topics.

I'd like to offer new clients a deal: Book two 50 minute sessions with me and get the second one free. Two hours for the price of one! The calls can be from anywhere in the US or Canada and you can contact me Monday via email to set something up.

I guarantee you, it will be cheaper than therapy and perhaps more of what you need right now!

To quote my mother, "But that's just me, Dear...."

What? In This Economy???

2009-01-31T10:53:00.000-08:00

Today, BusinessWeek was out there with this same topic, but to tell you the truth, we're back to the same place I continue to address. It's easy to read these kinds of tips, but unless you have a mentor holding your hand through the steps, chances are you're going to "cave" in the pressure, or rush some important steps. I have to admit I got a little uncomfortable "flutter" reading through their points. I can only imagine how some of you might feel.

So, to the last point in my list:

You just got laid off and you're thinking about starting your own business...

You don't know if working for yourself is something that fits your personality
You're not sure how feasible your business idea is.
You may not have a clear business idea.
How much will it cost?
What? In this economy????

One should not start a business because they got laid off from their job, but perhaps because the lay-off has made them realize that they truly might have it within themselves to realize their dreams.

If you've gone through the self-exploration outlined in the previous steps above, you're now going to have some idea of what you need to pull this off. Here you are, in this economy with it's challenges and you want to do something different. I believe that the US is the best place to start a new business. For better or worse, the lack of stringent regulation for the average small business owner makes more possible. It gives us a hand-up to try that new thing. I know I'm making a generalization here on the regulation but seriously, how many of you spoken to people in other countries who want to "hang a shingle out" and just start doing something. We've got it made it the shade in comparison with many countries.

This kind of laissez-faire attitude can go in the other direction. Intuit tells us that all you need is a copy of Quickbooks and we're on our way. For many of my 15 years of consulting I've done "forensic bookkeeping" to uncover and fix years of mistakes of the small business owner. The one's who just started up and kept going, asking non-professional friends to help out with crucial financial organization of their books. In the end, it cost them crucial 'bucks" to get it all straightened out.

If you folks have questions about where you need help and where you might be able to go it alone, please email me at melissabartonconsulting@gmail.com or post here to this page with a comment.

How Much Do I Need?

2009-01-30T16:33:00.000-08:00

You just got laid off and you're thinking about starting your own business...

You don't know if working for yourself is something that fits your personality
You're not sure how feasible your business idea is.
You may not have a clear business idea.
How much will it cost?

Let's all just have a good, nervous laugh here...
I was actually putting this post off today because I had a lot going on. If I remembered what I was supposed to write, I'd have put it off anyway! (But I did not watch CNN all day...)

So, let's get to it. I'm going to cover both bases in this post, service and product-based businesses because the first one is pretty easy. I will start though with a quote that I'm afraid I cannot correctly attribute, but it goes like this: "When you're a consultant it's like you're 'renting your brain'."

What this person was trying to say is that you have a limited amount of hours in your day a limited amount of days in your year to bill. The big "B" Billable Hours. That's fine. You can start there. You can think about these things:

How many hours do I want to work?
How many clients do I want to serve?
What is the standard rate in my community for what I do?
Can I do any of this or all of this from a home office?(sub-topic to be covered later)
Does this all tally up to the amount of money that I need to bring in or do I need to re-hash the numbers?
What will be my goals for all of the above on a monthly or quarterly basis for my first year and can I live with that?

Okay, the next set of issues to think about is for a product-based business:

Am I creating this product or is someone else?
Do I have the numbers on how much production will cost?
Do I have the numbers on how much inventory I will need (if any)?
Do I know what my overhead will be on a monthly basis for the first 6 months?
Do I need to hire other folks right out of the gate?

As you already know, the product-based business is going to need some up-front money. You really need to think "worst-case scenario" here and assume little to no income for 6 months to be safe.
Remember again that you can choose to not pay yourself to work in a store that you own, but you must pay yourself something to produce a product or your business plan will never work in the future.

When you get someone to help you with a business plan, this is really going to be the "meat". And, this "meat" changes all the time. Leasing rates change, credit possibilities change :::clearing throat::: And lastly, your competition and what the market will bear will change. Make sure your plan is up to date!

A PR specialist asked me yesterday what would I expect from a PR firm as a new business owner, hiring a firm for the first time. I said that I would want a great article about my opening business in the local business journal and some ideas about what kind of event to hold and who I should invite (and how to get them there) would be a start.

I thought I'd share that with you as a thought about marketing. Now, one last thought:

Sometimes we spend an awful lot of time doing the things that are easy and comfortable for ourselves, even when we're starting something new. I'd like to challenge you (and me) to work on that a bit and try a new "something" every day to get us closer to where we want to be.

Class is at Recess!!!

2009-01-28T13:45:00.001-08:00

...or "it's a snow day!" "first day of Summer vacation!"
I hereby give you permission to dream.
Shut up all the doomsday people in your life.
Take a break from what some people are calling "the reality".
Start making your reality.

No class today. I hereby declare this a holiday from seriousness.
Hey, if you can't play, you can't dream and what am I always saying??
Yes, Class.
Go dream.

What's my Business Idea?, Part II

2009-01-28T09:50:00.000-08:00

You just got laid off and you're thinking about starting your own business...

You don't know if working for yourself is something that fits your personality
You're not sure how feasible your business idea is.
You may not have a clear business idea.

Everything written yesterday about doing what you love still stands, but today I'll focus on a product-based business:

What events do you go to where products are sold (e.g. fairs, conventions)?
What products related to past jobs do you see a need for, done better?
Have you "mined" your current connections for people who are making/doing things that interest you?
Are you an inventor, crafts person or promoter or visionary (really!)?
What gets your heart pounding when you talk about it?

I love that last one. So overlooked. I, myself thought for years that I had no passion for "doing something." To those who know me, that would be pretty funny. I think that perhaps I looked at other people and saw them already in business or professionals realizing their dreams, and thought that because I wasn't at that place yet, I had no passion! It's the seed, people!

If you jump really quickly into the feasibility question, you can lose some of that creative energy that you'll need to use in brainstorming ideas and possibilities. Let your mind go. Just start writing down lots of notes about what "stuff" the world wants or needs from your perspective. Write down the people you know who have "cool stuff" that really interests you and why. And write down how you see yourself in the process of creating a project.

Go dream!

What's My Business Idea?

2009-01-27T10:18:00.000-08:00

You just got laid off and you're thinking about starting your own business...

You don't know if working for yourself is something that fits your personality
You're not sure how feasible your business idea is.
You may not have a clear business idea.

We all think about possible businesses according to what we're naturally interested in. I'm not going to talk you out of that. That's a good way to go for one big reason: If you don't love what you do, you won't do it well.
I could tell you so many stories of people going to franchise conventions or googling trending sites to see what's hot right now. I'm sure that must work for some people, but chances are it's not going to work for you. What will work is if you look at all the possibilities of what is connected to all the things you love to do.
I'll pick one out of my hat: You love Pilates and are an instructor. You see a trend in healthcare. Start a business catering to healthcare professionals at your local hospital and clinics at lunchtime!
Okay, another one: You're a PR professional (and probably have so many contacts you don't even need to read this) and you decide to help other small businesses get their first press release out to the business journals, etc. You find a list of new businesses that have started up in your town/city in the past 6 months.

Both of the examples given above are things that you can do with little to no capital (will be covered more in depth tomorrow) and can grow in different directions. Either going too broad, or too narrow in your idea will be problematic. An example of too broad may be, "I want to teach Fitness." Too narrow may be "I want to teach fitness to woman aged 20-40 who live in my neighborhood." I'm not saying that either of these will not eventually end up being your reality, but if you want to start that business plan, you're going to need something that you can research the feasibility of.
Today, I just want you to think about these things:

What am I good at?
What do I love to do?
What do other people compliment me on?
When I get up in the morning, what would be the thing that I might most like to be doing?

On this last one, you can think more broadly, like are you a morning or night person, or I like to go to the computer first, or I hate being on the phone, etc.

These are the questions I give my clients. What it would mean to work with a "mentor" like me is that I can guide you through these steps quickly and perhaps hear and see things in your answers that you don't perceive yourself. Even if I only spend an hour a week on the phone with you, it can help clearly define what it is perhaps that you're really wanting to do and "cut out" to do.
Tomorrow I'll talk about this again from a product-based business.
Start dreaming!

Business Plan for Service-Based Company

2009-01-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

You just got laid off and you're thinking about starting your own business...

But, you don't know if working for yourself is something that fits your personality
You're not sure how feasible your business idea is.

Yesterday we covered the above quandary with a product-based model. Today let's talk about a service-based model.

We should still think in terms of the business plan and if people need your service(s). All that research is very important. It can be a little less straightforward when it comes to the fee structure. You may employ one, any or all of these fee structures over time or with different clients. What works in one situation does not always work in all.

One of the first things a client will ask you is "How much is this going to cost?" This of course is a very tricky question because most of the time, you will have no idea what "this" actually is until you go in and get your hands a little dirty. I would always recommend a free evaluation lasting an hour on-site. It's really only when you see a situation for yourself that you can make a clear "estimate" .
If you are offering services that do not relate to a particular situation, like an hour of phone consultation or office consultation this would not apply to you. If you are about to repair something like a computer system for an entire office, seeing the situation may not be crucial, but it may change the way you choose to bill because of the organization or (lack of) that you see on-site.
Here are some options for fee-based services:

Hourly (with a mininum)
Daily (with or without expenses)
Value-based (based on what is produced by your service)
Retainer and monthly fee
Subscription (a range of time put in, say at least 20 hours monthly at a flat rate paid in advance.)

I'll speak to this last one a bit because it's a little more unusual but can work in a difficult economy or with a nervous client. What you're saying is:
"I will work at least X hours monthly and probably more by being on call for you. These are my hours and you (or your staff) may call me during those hours for immediate assistance all month long."

You may wonder how that could work for you?! Well, if you know the client and have worked a little with them, this may be a sort of maintenance contract. Because the money is paid up front, monthly you have certain income. Because they are not watching the clock all the time, worried, they get a sense that you're really there for them.

What you need to do to make this work is to have a flexible schedule and fit them in so that they are not taking away from your other clients, but are actually filling time that you might otherwise not be working. Of course the hours and fees would still need to be negotiated, but having at least one client on this kind of plan may create some security for you and keep you easily engaged with their process.

Contracts like this can also be a stepping stone to bringing on other folks into your company. If you do the initial work, having others do the upkeep may be a way to increase your income.

Someone once said to me "Being a consultant is like renting your brain." What she was eluding to is the 24 hour day and how to make more of it. You can be sure I'll talk more about this in the future as well.
Good day, folks!

How Feasible is My Business Idea?

2009-01-25T13:54:00.000-08:00

This is the first in a series of scenarios described to help you find where you are and how you might benefit from a little professional mentoring.

You just got laid off and you're thinking about starting your own business...

But, you don't know if working for yourself is something that fits your personality
You're not sure how feasible your business idea is.
You may not have a clear business idea.
How much will it cost?
What? In this economy????

The first words that come to mind here for most people is Business Plan.
Let's take a step back and do a quick evaluation. Business plans can be very intimidating to the uninitiated and even the seasoned entrepreneur. It's true that this is one of the big elements of a business plan. Before starting that process, let's cover some basic questions to get your head in the right place.
Before I start this though, I'm going to tell you that there are many different formulas for many different kinds of businesses. The market place we're in is changing so quickly with the advent of the internet. These questions are just a starting point to head you in the right direction.

Let's assume you have a product, not service (we'll cover that later)

What can my product bring on the retail market?
Can I produce my product for one quarter of that price (excluding overhead)?
Will I or someone else make this product?
If I am to make this product, am I clear about the cost of my time to make it?
If someone else is to make this product, do you have a manufacturer in mind and know what their minimum orders are?

In the second point here, I'm covering something that I run through quickly when I look at any product. It's a fast calculation. This calculation doesn't include overhead because those are the elements that are ever changing in our marketplace right now: advertising, rent, etc.

The elements that are something that you can quantify now are materials and labor. We can assume a 100% markup of a retail product. So, that means you're going to charge the retailer half. If half of that again is the production of that product, does that mean the other half of that (one quarter of the final price) is my profit? No.

The other half of what you are payed for your product is your overhead: Everything that is not directly related to the production of your product.

This is where a lot of folks go astray: They think that if they are making this product themselves, they are saving on production. NO! You must pay yourself to make this product. If you don't, you will never be able to afford to pay anyone else to make it and therefore your business model is flawed.

The one place you can afford to push yourself here is in perhaps time spent marketing. In the beginning, when you are just finding your way, you can expect to spend way more time doing this than ever. It's okay to "over-spend" this time. You just can't over-spend your production time.
If you are over-spending on your production time, perhaps you didn't spend enough time on R&D (research and development). Take the time then and figure out how you can make it faster, better. That is time well spent. VERY well spent.

Next, we'll step up to the same question from a services perspective!

Where Are You Now? #1

2009-01-23T23:20:00.000-08:00

This is the first in a series of scenarios described to help you find where you are and how you might benefit from a little professional mentoring.

You just got laid off and you're thinking about starting your own business...

But, you don't know if working for yourself is something that fits your personality
You're not sure how feasible your business idea is.
You may not have a clear business idea.
How much will it cost?
What? In this economy????

I'm going to take these issues one at a time and shed some light on them.
#1 is really about temperament, isn't it? Everyone's personality needs a little objective observation from someone like myself, but I'll give you some guidelines to think about:

Do you feel most comfortable with an office to go to and a regular check?
Do you feel most comfortable working in a team member or a leader?
Are you curious?
Do you do well in interviews?
Do you know someone well who works for themselves?
Do you know what you want your day to look like/feel like?

You may not know how to answer some, or even all of these questions right now. Not one of them is the sign of an entrepreneur unto themselves, but each one signals an aspect of personality that comes into play.
Working for yourself if you have it in you can be a great adventure. Learn to separate your fears from your actual nature and what makes you tick.

Keep reading as I move through the different phases or deciding whether or not to strike out on your own!

Blog vs. Web Page

2009-01-23T18:03:00.000-08:00

As a small business person myself, I came to this fork in the road as I grow my business again. I've done the website thing in the past, but one thing that strikes me in this climate of instant everything is that a blog seems much more alive to me. It's actually the case for me that when I look at a website now, I'm thinking, 'Gee, I wonder the last time this was updated?'
So, I've decided to just not go there. I'm making the commitment to you and myself to stay out there and give you a place to see just what is going on. Just what news I'm coming across that I can pass along and what my finger feels as it points in the wind.
Many of us are on Twitter and Facebook, but it's about finding those resources that really work for you and where YOU are right now. That's where you'll come back to, to bookmark.

Please comment to your heart's content! I want to hear from you and know what kind of guidance would be useful.

I can do mentoring via the phone for those long distance and for those of you who are in the Portland, OR area, I'm here for you in person.

Thanks for joining me,

Best,
Melissa