Why should you have a mentor? A mentor is someone who can offer you a different perspective. A good mentor does not offer you specific advice, instead helps you to find the answers yourself. A good mentor will encourage you; tell you the truth even when the truth hurts and will also celebrate your success. A good mentor can help you through tough decisions and can be a sounding board for new ideas.

Mentors genuinely enjoy helping others, seeing others reach success and helping others not make the same mistakes they might have made. A good mentor/mentee relationship gives both parties a reward. You can pay a mentor for their services or you can always give your mentor gifts, or pay for lunch when you meet up as a token of your appreciation. Or you can help them in their business by referring clients. Finding a good mentor requires some planning and thought.

1. Identify some possible candidates. They might be friends, family or simply someone you respect in the business world. If you are choosing family or friends, be careful. Business and pleasure do not always mix. But if you are sure they are far enough removed from you then go for it. When asking around, other people may suggest contacts who you can consider asking.
2. When you do approach someone to ask if they would be a mentor, ask nicely, be polite and say why you thought of them. If you admire their skills, tell them. This is the best way to get someone to say yes, as well as check that they are a good fit.
3. Consider how the relationship will work. What are you looking for? Try not to be too needy. Define whether you will meet in person, or over the phone. Once a month or once a week? Your arrangement should suit both parties.
4. Try to find a mentor that while does think in similar ways to you, also pushes you to think about things in a different way. Your mentor should be someone who you occasionally disagree with, can have a mature debate or discussion with as well as someone who has a broad view. Yes you want someone you can gel with and enjoy their company, but you also want someone to push your boundaries.
5. Keep honing your own gut instinct. Don’t get too dependent on your mentor for every little decision. And remember, you don’t have to take every bit of advice your mentor gives you.
6. Have more than one. Yes you can have several mentors if you like. Each mentor will bring a different point of view and come to topics with varying opinions. They will also have different expertise and experience.
7. Say thanks and make sure your mentor knows they are appreciated. Share your successes with them and for goodness sake, pay for lunch if you meet up. Know their birthday and send them a card every year.
8. Finally, know when to stop. If someone can no longer act as your mentor then do not stress. Thank them for their time up until now and move on. Change is good.

No matter what stage you are at with your business, start 2013 in positive circumstances and open to success. If you have been in business a while now, it is time to do some reflecting. If you are just starting out, then get ready for all the wonderful challenges that lie ahead.

Here are some tried and tested methods that work wonders to get you in the right frame of mind, and ready for success.

Get cleaning

This is meant literally. Wherever you work, clear out your desk and work space. It is just amazing how much clearer you can think when you de-clutter. Even if you are just starting out, make sure your desk is organised.

Create a vision

If you have been going for a while you might already have a vision. Think about if it is still relevant. If you are a new business owner, then write down some ideas for a vision. Then set goals too. Creating a plan for the next 12 months can be incredibly motivating. Don’t worry if some goals seem too big. You have to start somewhere.

Update your network

Get in touch with contacts you haven’t seen for a while. See what they are up to and if there is any way you can help each other out. Register for some new networking events, and meet new people. Remember, networking is not about selling your business there and then to all you meet. It is about cultivating relationships, long term, and seeing how you can help others.

Plan for growth

You may or may not be expecting to grow this year. Even a very small, one person business can expect work flow to ebb and flow. Nothing is certain and life throws out funny things but as much as possible, try to plan for any growth, or busy times, as well as any predicted quiet times. Being prepared now means the year can be a smoother ride.

Identify your A-class clients

A true A-class client is not necessarily the one that pays you the most money. A true A-class client is one that pays well, sure. But also one that you enjoy working with, and who are easy to deal with. Then, once you identify the clients that make you happy, thank them. Send them a gift. Discount their next invoice. Refer them a client. Do something to show your appreciation. Next look at all your other clients and identify which ones you want to work with in 2013, and how you can get more of these A-class clients in the future.

Separate work and personal

If you run your own business, you probably work long hours. When you are not ‘working’ you are probably thinking about work. If you enjoy what you do, it’s hard to switch off. And that is great, it’s great that you are so passionate. But taking time out for you is vital. Family and friends who support you want to see you happy. So try to carve out set work hours or designated work places around the house. Don’t neglect your personal life, after all running your own business should allow you to have the perfect balance.

Time management: not just fancy corporate speak, but actually a very important part of life, especially if you are setting up your own business or working for yourself. Your job can be easier. Achieving the perfect balance between your work and personal life is also possible. Time management has nothing to do with working harder. Concentrate on working smarter.

Reward yourself for hitting deadlines. Setting yourself goals and deadlines is one great way to manage your time effectively. When you achieve your deadlines, reward yourself with a pat on the back. When you achieve your goals, reward yourself with something more tangible! It may be a massage, a day off, or a round of golf. As long as it is something you enjoy, it will motivate you to work smarter and manage your time.

Do what needs to be done. The Macquarie Dictionary definition of important reads “of much significance or consequence”. The definition of urgent is “pressing, compelling, or requiring immediate attention.” Every night when you leave your office, write down your ‘to do list’ for the next three days. Identify which tasks are urgent, which are important and then work from there. Then each morning, review this list and check you are on track. As new things crop up, you need to asses them the same way and decide where in your list they slot into.

Paperwork and emails: Both are necessary parts of running a business but can also be substantial time wasters. Don’t double handle paperwork or emails. If you open an email, then action it right away. If you open the mail, do something with it. Even if this is just red flagging it for later, it saves you having to go back time and time again.

The 10% rule: When planning your week, allocate 10% of your time to deal with unexpected issues or work requests. Often, it is the stress of too much work, or running out of time to meet a deadline that can cause the most worry and can actually waste time as you fret. Being flexible with your time allows for better time management.

Know yourself: Identify your best and worst working conditions. Do you work best in the morning or the afternoon? Do you prefer background noise or silence? Are you a reflector or a quick decision maker? If you can plan your day, and know when you are more likely to get work done, and when it’s better for you to take a break, then you can become a great deal more productive, and you will also spend less time procrastinating.

With a few simple strategies you can take control of your time and reap the rewards. Good luck!

.

Three Essential Tips For Starting a Business In 2013

Anyone starting a new business will go through a similar internal pondering. Questions about income, cash flow, client base, risk and profit will go around in your head for hours, days, weeks, even months or years. But for those of you bravely stepping out in 2013 to start a new business, here are the best three tips I have learned.

Help me if you can….

One of the best ways to ensure success in your new business is to know where to look for help. Try to swallow your pride and ask friends and family for their opinion, and their help. Sometimes those that know you best will give the most honest answer. And sometimes it helps to just have the support of loved ones.

Then move further out and get advice from professionals. Consider getting a mentor accountant, marketing specialist or sales coach to help you along the way. Find out what local government schemes are available. Often there are small business grants and free resources available to you so use it to your advantage.

Focus on the goal

Focus and determination are your two new best friends. Chant the words every day; write them down and stick it to your laptop… anything to make you remember these two “friends”. Do not give up at the first hurdle, or the second or the 10^th! Instead, keep focused on the goal. Why are you setting up this business? What are you willing to sacrifice to make it work? Do not get distracted by trivial things. Stay focused and you are more likely to make great decisions and be successful.

Walk the talk

Produce great work, great service and even better outcomes. Simply put, if you impress your first client, then more will come. Also be careful not to promise what you can’t deliver. Whatever your business is, make sure you deliver the best work to the client. If you are starting your own cupcake business, make sure those damn cupcakes are delicious, look good and are hand delivered for the first order with a big fancy bow and a voucher for the next booking. This might sound over the top, but wow-ing your first clients will ensure that positive word of mouth spreads, and that you gain a great reputation that you can build on in other forms of marketing.

There are countless bits of advice people can give you and lessons to be learned. But follow these three points and you are on the road to success already.

Branding your business with a sharp business name is important

Congratulations on deciding to start a new business! There are many things to consider now, lots of ideas and strategies to put in place, but first, you’ll need to get ahead of your competition by considering some catchy business name ideas.

Choosing the correct business names is a process. Your company name can be carefully chosen to assist your marketing efforts and can be used to attract new clients and prospects and also to entice them to explore what you can do for them. Business names should be simple enough to stick-and- stay in customer’s minds. Experts suggest two, maybe three words maximum.

Sound good? Are you wondering how you can come up with company name ideas that are simple, but still pop? First, let’s explore a few unwritten laws that could spell the end before it’s begun!

Law #1: Kutesy Spelling

Of course, “cutesy” isn’t spelled with a “k”. This example points out a common mistake people make when naming companies.  Don’t you make it! If you get too cutesy with spelling, potential clients may wonder if you’re just plain stupid.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Get plenty of feedback before you make a final decision.

Law #2: Naming after your Town, City or State

Let’s suppose you’re establishing a lawn care business in ‘Townsend village’ It’s tempting to just slap the name “Townsend Village Lawn Care” on 5000 business cards, isn’t it?

This is self-limiting and could possibly give the wrong impression before you even start!

Why?

In a city the size of Townsend village, probably dozens of lawn care businesses already exist with that name. Also, at first sight, your business would be limited to Townsend village, disregarding the surrounding areas.

Law #3: Too Many Names

Consumers have a short attention span. Let’s presume your family is opening a health food store. Should business name ideas include everyone in your entire family? If so, it might end up looking something like this – Bob’s, Susan’s, Enid’s, Angela Sue’s and so on and so forth Health Foods.

Don’t do it! Aim for short, sharp, snappy business names that your customers will remember easily. As a general rule, names should only be used when a personal brand has been built up beforehand or is key to the business.

So, how can you start to generate some great business name ideas?

#1 Make a List

To begin the process, put pen in hand and write about what you will sell or service.

Let’s do a practice run with the intention of naming a pie shop. What words come to your mind to describe pies? For example: baked, pastry, crust, fruit, chiffon, crème, flaky, etc.

Next, what would you want customers to say about your pies to family and friends? What makes your pies magic? What compliments have you received in the past? “Angelic! Makes me smile!”

#2 Getting Company Name Ideas

Once you’ve exhausted your list of descriptive words and statements, experiment with word combinations to see what grabs you. Look up synonyms for the words you’ve listed.

Alliterations (words beginning with the same letter) make catchy business names. Rhyming names are attention grabbers.

Be patient! It may take a while to find the perfect fit.

Take a look at your testimonials or feedback from any beta testers of your product or service. You’ve already got two potentials for business name ideas: Angelic Pies, Smiley Pies.

#3 Business Name Generator

So, what if you explore hundreds of potential names for your start up business, but none possess that WOW factor? Maybe you could benefit by using an online business name generator.

Here are a couple of great examples you can use;

Namethingy

Wordlab

Free, sophisticated services use high-tech investigative tools to help generate dozens of possibilities for your product, company or service..

Eventually, one of the business name ideas will just click. Then, it’s time to celebrate and start branding!

A couple of good examples of quirky business names that I came across recently were Peerius: Recommendation Software –  Their product enables businesses to provide recommendations to website users, powered by behavior which allows true, personalised product suggestions to be shown to each individual web user. The name Peerius just invokes curiosity.

How did you determine your business name?

I would love you to share your story for generating business name ideas or how you made the final decision on your business name below.

Top 5 Mistakes Owners of a Business Start Up Make

With a business start up, you will not always get everything right. You may encounter a few bumps along the journey, however they do not have to derail you from your goal. Knowing the top five mistakes that are made by owners of a business start up will be useful during your company’s establishment.

Seeking advice from inexperienced people. It’s important that you seek advice from those who have several years of experience in the business arena.

Oftentimes, owners of a business start up put their trust in business persons who lack the expertise to carry them from point A to point B.

These very people you seek advice from may have been able to set up and conduct business for one to two years.However, their businesses ended up failing because they either lacked the experience or capital to move forward. Make sure that the persons providing you with advice are not only knowledgeable in the field of business, but also have proof to back up such knowledge.

Mismanaging funds. Owners of new businesses tend to allocate funds to resources that are not necessary during the inception of business. Some owners may spend money on renting office space. They may have income for rent set aside for six months to year without having any idea of how the rent would be paid after its first year of operations. In such cases, the company may have to forfeit its lease if its for more than one year which may end up costing the business more than anticipated. Another scenario may involve the company losing the office space and having to shut down business or move into the owner’s home. Before setting out to acquire office space or any other business-related resources, make sure that adequate funding has been allocated to each area. You may have to place certain projects on hold until you’ve acquired the capital to proceed with that venture.

Setting up the wrong legal entity. Some business start up owners may end up selecting the wrong legal entity, or choose to set up shop without legally registering their businesses with the respective authorities.

Choosing a legal entity for your business boils down to the advantages and disadvantages of that specific legal entity. While some businesses may thrive as a sole proprietorship, others may thrive as a partnership. Seek professional assistance when selecting the legal entity for your business. On the other hand, if you choose to operate your business without legally registering it, this approach may be detrimental to your company’s success.

Believing everyone shares your passion for the business. Be prepared to encounter skeptics or those who may not have the same level of enthusiasm that you exude for your business. While such persons may not share in your company’s vision, this does not mean you’ll have to place your business on hold until you find those who will support your endeavors. You may have to go through several unenthusiastic people to get to those who are passionate about business’ vision.

Pricing your products and services too low. As a business start up, you may be hesitant about placing high prices on your products and services. However, selling your products and services at a cheaper rate may only downplay the superior quality of your offerings. If your products and services are worth a specific price, make sure that you retain that price. People generally prefer quality over quantity.

Once you take these top five mistakes made by owners of a business start up into account, you’ll be able to avoid major setbacks in your company.

4 Common Marketing Plan Mistakes to Avoid

A marketing plan provides business owners with insight into which strategies and techniques are the most efficient for conducting their marketing efforts. Despite its simplicity, the process of developing this plan may be overcomplicated or completely ignored by some business owners. Knowing the four common marketing plan mistakes to avoid can decrease the number of bumps in your business journey.

 Fails to develop a marketing plan. Although this is an essential aspect of starting your business, many business owners often find themselves skipping over this step.

Once they’re ready to move forward with their marketing efforts, they’re unable to do so because the most important piece of the puzzle is missing. Venturing into the market without a strategy for attracting potential customers to purchase your goods or services is a recipe for disaster. Take the time to develop a marketing plan with the process by which you intend to present your business to its potential market. You may not get it right the first time. However, as you move forward with your marketing efforts, you’d be able to fine tune different areas of your plan.

Omits valuable information. Your goal is to present as much information as possible without losing the essence of your marketing plan. Many business owners focus on achieving the end goal, instead of paying attention to the contents of the plan. Providing general information may only allow you to get a foot in the door, however a detailed-oriented plan will allow you to zoom into your potential market. Targeting everyone may bring you little to no success, however finding your target market will allow you to achieve the best results.

Limits marketing to advertising only. If you plan on taking the advertising route only, you’ll be in for a pleasant surprise. Marketing does not only involve putting out advertisements. It requires you to conduct market research; brand your business; develop a sales strategy; network; and provide customer support. If these elements are missing in your marketing plan, you may have to go back to the drawing board. Make sure that you do not have advertising as the only source of achieving your marketing efforts. While advertising is the means by which you connect with your potential market, you must establish a foundation on which you can implement your advertising strategies.

Does not keep track of marketing efforts. With all the excitement in the air about establishing their business, some business owners tend to go full speed ahead with their marketing efforts without realizing the importance of assessing their results each step of the way. For you to gain a better understanding of where your business is heading, you must keep track of your results. You may have placed advertisement in the newspaper and received several hundred responses. Would you consider this a success? It may be a successful ad campaign depending on the number of people who were converted to customers. On the other hand, it may be a total failure because no one was converted to a customer. The amount of money you spent on your ad and the amount of money you received in sales will determine the success of your ad campaign. Moreover, you may have used other forms of marketing.

How does your newspaper ad compare to those techniques? Make sure you conduct a thorough analysis of your marketing plan to gauge which are the most efficient and successful marketing strategies.

Avoiding these four common marketing plan mistakes can give you an edge over your competitors.

4 Simple Steps To Build An Email List For Your Business

Find Out Exactly How To Build An Email List and Why You Need To.

There’s alot of information available about how to build an email list, list building techniques  and creating a database of customers, but what is it exactly and how can you do it?

You Can Read On Or Watch My “Build An Email List” Presentation Below;

What Is An Email List?

An email list is a subscriber list, containing the details and email addresses of people who have chosen to give you their email address for one of the following;

• To be kept up to date with your products or services.
• To be notified about specific events in connection with your business.
• In exchange for a free download, coupon or other offer.

Why Should I Build An Email List For My Business?

With the latest wave of social and digital marketing platforms online, increased smartphone users and with e-commerce users on the rise, a large number of consumers (I would say the majority!) now use their email address to purchase and keep up to date with companies, friends and brands.

As a business, you need to know how to build an email list, and take advantage of the latest email marketing software available to help you keep on top of your database, and ensure that you keep in touch with your customers on a regular basis with news, updates and offers.

Traditionally, this would taken the form of good old fashioned printed material – brochures, adverts, coupons etc would have been sent via snail mail and delivered to the customer at home.

Nowadays, the customer demands digital information. Newsletters from all the major brands and companies are delivering their updates via email, so building an email list has become an essential and integral part of your business marketing strategy.

The Advantages of Building An Email List

One of the greatest blessings of using an email list for your business is having the ability to send direct links within your email for your readers to follow straight to your website offer or page.

Other awesome advantages when you build an email list include:

• It’s personal
• It’s targeted
• It’s a very fast way of getting in touch with your customers
• Running an email list is cost effective
• You can monitor marketing campaign effectiveness

How To Build An Email List In 4 Simple Steps

Step #1: You will need an autoresponder platform or email marketing software.

Using your own email service provider may seem a more economical way of building a list, but I can assure you, it will be extremely difficult to maintain, sending too many emails can result in your email account being shut down completely. With no reporting tools, you will also miss out on the opportunity for campaign monitoring.

I currently use AWEBER and MAILCHIMP to build and maintain my email lists, and can recommend either of them as suitable for you to use to build an email list for your own business.

When you sign up to either service, you will get a free trial period. Aweber charges around $19 per month after a trial, and Mailchimp is free for life – at the time of this post, Mailchimp allow you to keep up to 2,000 subscribers and send 12,000 emails a month free.

Both services provide excellent video tutorials, showing you exactly how to build an email list and how to tweak all the settings to suit your requirements.

Step #2: You will need to create a sign up form on your website

To collect your customers email addresses and start to build your list, you will need to create a web-form. Now, I won’t get too technical in this post, but if you are using WordPress, there are some amazing plugins for creating email list subscription forms. One of my favourite choices is pop up domination, which creates the pop up form that you see the first time you try to exit my site. The great thing about it, is once closed, your remaining session will remember and so the pop up won’t keep showing.

Select carefully where your form will appear on your site. Homepages and sidebars are firm favourites. Choose colours wisely, make sure they compliment your site, and try to make the submit button stand out and make it a real call to action.

Ensure what you offer in exchange for your customers email address is relevant. I find offering free ebooks or guides always works well. If you sell products, perhaps a discount voucher or offer would work well. As your customers are asked more and more every day to provide their personal details, you can increase the chance of gaining an email subscriber by showing them you value their details and offer them something in return!

Step #3: Think of Interesting Content To Share With Your Email List

This is a very important step when you start to build an email list. In order to build a strong relationship with customers, you will need to share interesting and relevant news and updates, some ideas for this can be:

• An introduction to your company
• A personal introduction from you
• Your social media pages on twitter, facebook, google etc
• Ways to contact you
• Special offers
• Discounts and coupons
• Latest industry news
• How to guides
• Free resources

Keep your list engaged, entertained and up to date with your business. This will help build loyalty, will give your customers excellent reasons to buy from you, and should encourage interaction on the various social platforms your business uses.

Step #4: Create A Series Of Auto-responders For Your Email List

It’s always nice to run your business on automation! Take the headache of responding to new customer sign ups by setting up a standard series of emails that are sent at intervals decided by you.

Once you have decided on the content you wish to share with your customers, you can put that into a one-off email series that all new subscribers receive.

For example: Here is the follow up sequence (auto-responders) for one of my email marketing lists. Once a subscriber enters their email address on one of my forms, they are automatically sent the first message after confirming their subscription, and then they will receive a series of follow up emails with useful information and news. My auto-responders cover the first month of subscription, after which I send blog updates and regular newsletters.

SUMMARY How To Build An Email List

Do you use email marketing for your business? I hope this short guide has given you enough information to get going and start to build an email list for your business.

5 Steps to Writing a Simple Business Plan

When it comes to writing a business plan, many people often overcomplicate the process. You don’t have to get caught up in that web. Use these seven steps to create your own simple business plan.

Simple Business Plan Step #1: Create a name for your business.

Coming up with the ideal name for your business will require you to place yourself in the shoes of your target market. As an example, you’re a customer seeking scenic paintings. You come across a business by the name of Findings Galore which carries a wide range of prized possessions such as trophies, plaques, clocks, glass, silver, and landscape paintings by well-renowned artists. Although the business has what you’re seeking, your immediate thought based on the business’ name is that they stock items that other persons find useless. If the name were changed to Scenic Arts Central, the name in itself would capture your attention, since it identifies with your need. While it is important to select a name that aligns with your business’ purpose, it is just as fitting to have one with brand durability.

Simple Business Plan Step #2:Use plain language. A simple business plan wouldn’t be one without unembellished language.

Remember your reader is seeking to understand the nature of your business. Using technical language will not achieve such an outcome. You want to inform your reader in the shortest possible manner about the purpose of your business and how it intends to fulfill it. Besides being succinct, use bullet points. With this approach, your reader will be able get through the information easily. Provide brief explanations with each point. Moreover, ask yourself this question. Would my readers be able to skim through this business plan in five minutes or less and get the gist of the matter? If your answer is no, you may have to go back to the drawing board and make some tweaks.

Simple Business Plan Step #3: Get to the point. Ideally, your simple business plan should be 20 to 30 pages long. If you have appendices, this may take up an additional 10 pages. Business plans more than 40 pages long tend to go into greater details than required. Such business plans diminish the true essence of what you’re seeking to convey.

Simple Business Plan Step #4: Describe the vision, mission, and goals and objectives of your business. Your vision should highlight what your company will look like several years from its inception. Will you have employees on staff when you start? How many employees will you be hiring? Is your business going to be in one location? The mission of your business will focus on the work your company performs as well as what sets it apart from its competitors. The goals and objectives of your business will be an elaboration of the mission and vision of your company. Include a specific timeframe for achieving each goal. Once you’ve established your vision, mission, and goals and objectives, develop a SWOT analysis to evaluate your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Such information will be useful in determining your business’ capacity to thrive under positive and negative conditions.

Simple Business Plan Step #5: Develop a financial plan. Your financial plan includes information pertaining to your company’s current or projected budget. Having a budget will allow you to control your cash flow in an efficient manner. You can use bar charts to highlight your sales, gross income, net profits, and other related expenses.

Once you focus on the key components of your business’ purpose, you’ll be able to write a simple business plan in two hours or less.