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Barriers to effective planning
Communication policy essential for the growing SME This is a summary of a talk given by Martin Kuhne of Ibis Associates in Bremen to an audience of small business advisors in September 2004. Background One of the most serious barriers that a...
Does Your Customer Service Suck?
As a customer, I know what it's like to be on the customers side
of the counter. You want to turn over your hard earned money for
goods or services. You are then confronted with attitude,
rudeness and utter disregard for just how hard you have...
How to Overcome Procrastination
Most of us have experienced the effects of procrastination at some time, even with the simplest of tasks. Procrastination can manifest itself in ways as simple as taking too long to write a thank-you letter, putting off weeding the garden or...
Top 7 Ways to Succeed in the Business of Speaking
How attractive are you as a speaker? No, your looks, but your consistent ability to provide a quality presentation, attract clients, and be irresistibly attractive to meeting planners and speaker bureaus? Below are some useful tips that I...
We Are Exactly Where We Choose to Be
The idea for this month's newsletter came from an unlikely encounter: I recently had lunch with a new friend named Rick Rockwell. You may remember him as the bachelor from the first-ever reality TV show, "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?" ...
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The Five Ingredients for Success...No Matter What Business You're In!
1. Have a plan. There's a reason you've heard that line repeatedly - because IT WORKS. There's an old expression that goes like this ... "If you don't know where you're going, ANY road will take you there." Doesn't that make sense? It makes a LOT of sense not to try building a house before you lay the foundation.... so why do so many people start a business without a plan for it?
Even if you've already started your business without a plan, it's never too late to begin one. Sit down with a pad of paper and a pen, and start by writing out the months of the year - beginning with next month. For each month, decide where you'd like to be by the end of it - and write it down.
2. Set deadlines to accomplish your plans. Assign 'completion by' dates to each of the different goals you set, and try not to let anything interfere in the completion of these goals! In addition, if anyone else is going to be involved, make sure you decide in advance who will take responsibility for each part of the project.
3. Pay attention to how you spend your time, and be prepared to account for it - not to anyone else, only to yourself. The reason for this is simple - if you have a plan, and you've set goals to reach in order to fulfill that plan, you need to know if your time is being spent accordingly. If you are spending too
much time on tasks that take you away from your plan, you may need to re-think what you're doing.
4. Have fun -- enjoy doing whatever you are doing in your business. Of course, in order to be working for the fun of working, you need to be doing something that is fun to do!
If this isn't true for you, maybe you need to start back at #1 on this list. When you're dedicated to building a business in something that you love to do, even the long hours and occasional setbacks will be like 'water off a duck's back' if you're having fun!
5. Keep a positive attitude, even in the face of difficulties. The road to success is littered with obstacles and errors, and it is very likely that you will make some mistakes or run into unforeseen troubles. How well you 'keep your head up' is bound to determine how clearly you'll SEE ahead of you! And one more thing about attitude -- don't start tomorrow, or next week, or next month. If you're feeling depressed about your business, or discouraged, what can you do to change your attitude RIGHT NOW?
About the Author
Bill Shands is using these very principles to build his home-based business beyond the five-figure-monthly income level he originally planned for. Find out more about how he does it at http://www.mystreamline.com/home.asp?ref=4677615B2
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