Thrive or Survive?

One Sunday in church my Pastor asked a question: “Do you want to survive or thrive?” It got me to thinking about my life and my business.

As a baby boomer woman in business, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s never too late to set goals. So what if you didn’t achieve your original goals when you were in your tween years. If you’re reading this, it means you’re not dead yet. It means you still have a purpose and a mission to be accomplished. Just because you may have reached the “grandma age” doesn’t mean you have to cancel out those things you didn’t get around to doing. You just didn’t get around to doing them YET. As long as you’re still breathing, you still have time.

As baby boomers and beyond, we’ve been given more opportunities to accomplish the goals and dreams we’ve set for ourselves. So why can’t we take advantage of them right now?

Here are some of my tips for setting and accomplishing your goals at midlife:

1) Make each goal something you really want, not something that just sounds good: The truth of the matter is, you’re not getting any younger so you want to make what you do, from here on, mean something. But don’t do it just because. Some people like to play “follow the leader.” Because Mary wrote a book and it was a best seller, you think you can too but maybe that’s not really your calling and maybe your book won’t sell as well. Concentrate on doing something you are passionate about. Trust me, you’ll do a much better job at reaching your goal!

2) Don’t let your goal conflict with other goals: Your goal may be to purchase a million dollar home but if your salary is only $50,000 what sense does that really make? You should first focus on how you can increase your income or come up with creative ways to do some million dollar improvements on your current home.

3) Develop goals for both personal and business: If you have big dreams for your business, why not have equally important goals for your personal life. All work and no play can create something called S-T-R-E-S-S and stress kills. Develop a plan to ensure that you will spend quality “me” time to give yourself an opportunity to be renewed in mind, body and spirit. That way you’ll have more energy to continue pursuing your business goals.

4) Set high goals: The higher the goal means you’ll work HARDER but the REWARD will be that much sweeter!

5) Create a Vision Board: How do you know where you’re going if you can’t SEE where you’re going? Habakkuk 2:2 in the Bible says: “And the Lord answered me and said, “Write the vision and make it plain upon tablets…” My vision board hangs in my bedroom. It is one of the first things I see every morning. It reminds me of the goals I’ve set and what I must do in order to achieve those goals. A vision board keeps you focused.

Even as a baby boomer, who’s also a wife and grandmother, I still believe in dreams and I’m a witness that dreams still can come true!

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The Four P’s of Business

If you’re a woman in business you are probably operating on, what I call, a “low-to-no budget.”  Many of us have to wear several hats under the marketing umbrella, therefore, knowledge of each area is important to develop a focused effort.

A focus on what the customer wants and needs is essential to successful marketing efforts. This customer-orientation should go hand-in-hand with the company’s objective of maintaining a profitable volume of sales. Marketing is a creative process combining all of the activities needed to accomplish both of these objectives.

The American Marketing Association’s definition of marketing is:

“The process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.”

Providing the features and quality customers want is a critical first step in marketing. You will be facing an uphill battle if you provide something you want to produce and then try to convince someone to buy it.

Once you have a product, you need to determine a price for the product, let potential customers, know about your product and make it available to them. These are often called the four “P’s” of marketing:

Product

Price

Promotion

Place (how you distribute it)

If you cover the four P’s well, you should have no trouble achieving a fifth P: profits.

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Time for Some Spring Cleaning

Spring is here.  As a woman in business, that means it’s time for some spring cleaning.  How much dust, disorder and clutter have you allowed to accumulate in your business since the winter?

Here are some tips for cleaning up your business this spring and getting a fresh start:

1)  Clean out your email box:  At the end of 2008, I had more than 1200 emails accumulated in my email box.  Why?  I call myself saving them so I could sort them into different categories.  Of course that never happened so I decided it was time to let those old emails go.  That’s what you have to do also.  Go through your e-mail box and find everything that’s important — agreements, contracts, and legal documents. Save those in proper files on your computer (as well as print a hard copy and file it), and then hit DELETE for everything else.

2)  Update your database:  It’s time to open up your database and get rid of all of those email addresses and regular addresses that no longer exist.  You should also get rid of any names that weren’t good prospects.

3)  Review your business plan:  Take an honest look at where you are with the plan.  Are you on track to meet the goals you’ve set for this year?  Also, be sure to update your plan with realistic objectives.

4)  Clean up your work space:  If you are constantly searching for important documents or other information, it may be because your workspace needs tidying up.  A clean and organized work space can cut down on wasted time and boost productivity.

5)  Update your marketing strategy:  If you didn’t achieve the financial goals you set for yourself in the last quarter (or come close), then you may want to go back to the drawing board and re-vamp your marketing plan. It may be necessary to review your image.  Keep what’s working and discard the rest.  You may also want to ask your existing clients what sold them on your business or service and implement their feedback into a new marketing plan.

Remember, your business is a reflection of you.  How you choose to represent it depends solely on how well you maintain it.

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It’s All in The Presention

Recently my church held a business expo to draw attention to the number of small business owners in the congregation.  I was one of the participants, along with a number of other baby boomer women.

Since I’ve done dozens of these events over the past couple of years, I had a good idea of how I wanted to present myself to my fellow church members and visitors.  But what I discovered is there are some business owners who don’t understand what it means to present at a Business Expo so here are some of my tips:

1)  Table Set-Up.  Always have a table cloth (or plastic cover) for your table.  The church did provide a white plastic cover, however, I recommend you use something colorful to blend in with the products you’re displaying.  (I chose red).  Also, you might want to add a flower arrangement or some other type of decoration to dress up your table even more.  Then neatly arrange your products without making the table look cluttered.

2)  Meet and Greet.  You should make it a point to greet everyone who passes by your table or booth—even if they don’t buy anything.  There is a saying:  A first impression is a lasting impression.  You never know when you may see that person again so you want their impression of you to be a favorable one.  There’s another saying:  You can draw more flies with honey than you can with you know what.  In essence that means turn on your charm and don’t be shy about self-promoting—just don’t overdo it.

3)  Information about your Business.  Always have an ample supply of business cards, flyers, brochures, etc so people can learn more about your products or services.  One of the worst things you can do (which I did) is run out of business cards.

4)  Giveaways.  Offering your product or a variety of products in a gift basket is a nice and clever way to get people over to your table.  While you have them register for the free prize, you also give them an opportunity to browse around to see what you have to offer and it also allows you to engage them in small talk.

5)  Reasonable Prices.  Knock a couple of dollars off of the regular price for your products. You should always make the potential customer feel like they’re getting a good deal. 

As a woman in business you’re going to find that everywhere you go potential customers will make judgments about your product, your credibility and your character based on the quality of your presentation.

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Your Business Image

As a woman in business how do your customers come in contact with your business? Do they arrive through word of mouth, through direct contact with you, business card or perhaps by stumbling upon your website?  All of these methods project some image of your business. What that image is, including your business name, reflects your position in the market. Would you expect specialty chocolates to be dropped into the bottom of a brown paper bag when you purchase them? You must decide upon the image you want your business to project.

Think about how you present yourself. This is most critical if you are a service business. The impression you create in face-to-face contact must reflect your position in the market and create a market opportunity for your business every time you speak to others. People are seeking your credibility on the product or service you sell. Convincing others of your credibility requires two key elements:

1.      Knowledge – You must be seen as knowledgeable about the product or service you are selling or promoting by providing expert information.

2.      Trust – Customers must believe you will act with their best interests in mind.

Credibility and visibility go hand-in-hand. You need to demonstrate your expertise, trustworthiness, and concern for your customer’s welfare. How will you do this? Marketing yourself is an active process. It requires you to assert yourself, make your audience aware of you (even if it is only one person), grab their attention, and then focus that attention on your credibility.

Business image is extremely important to customers who have many choices in deciding where to spend their money. It also affects whether or not someone will return to you in the future. Customers will leave you for many reasons, but almost 70% leave due to a poor attitude exhibited by employees of the business. This is easily avoidable if you understand what the customer wants and then communicate the image you want to project to all of your employees. Remember to talk periodically to your customers about what you’re doing right or wrong.  This is a good way to make sure that your customers view the business in the way you want it to be seen.

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Twitter Isn’t For Everybody

This week I reached a milestone when I picked up my 800^th follower on Twitter.  Now for me, that’s a big deal because my initial goal was to have 100 when I first signed on several months ago.  One hundred friends seemed like a manageable number.  Although I never expected all of them to be on Twitter at the same time, I felt confident I could follow the different conversations and offer valuable feedback as necessary. 

But here I am now with all of these followers and I have to admit, some of them have fallen by the wayside.  That, to me, is the danger of twitter networking.  What good is it to have lots of connections if you aren’t creating some type of win-win situation for each other?

As a woman in business, I definitely see the value of a site like twitter.  Case in point:  Forty-eight hours ago, I promoted a Valentine’s Special for my book, Whatever! A Baby Boomer’s Journey Into Middle Age.  As of this writing, I’ve sold 36 copies.  My goal is 100.

Why have I been able to make these sales?  I believe it’s because I provide a balance in my business and social networking.  I’m not constantly on the site trying to sell anything.  As a matter of fact, the Valentine’s Promotion is the first thing I’ve actually attempted to sell because I spend the majority of my time on the site promoting my blogs.  I also make it a point to promote others through “re-tweeting” and am always looking for guests for my radio shows.

Here are some of my reasons why I believe twitter networking can do more harm than good:

1)  Too Over Zealous:  I have seen some Twitterers who have literally thousands of connections.  I wonder why.  What is the point?  How can one effectively communicate with that many followers—unless all they’re doing is promoting their business and trying to sell their products or services.  It’s a turn off for me—especially when you don’t give me the respect or courtesy of responding to a simple question or request I may put out—like, “Do you mind stopping by my blog and leaving a comment?”

You can be assertive in getting your message out there to the masses but if you never acknowledge your followers on a level they can identify with, then you’re really defeating your purpose for being on Twitter.  

2)  Connecting with the WRONG people: When I first joined Twitter, I was told I should follow everyone who follows me.  That was considered common courtesy.  I tried that for awhile but soon discovered that everyone who was following me wasn’t necessarily interested in me—but rather in what they could sell me.  That was a turn-off! 

Before you decide to follow a follower, take a few minutes and check out their profile and the website attached.  See what they’re all about and then determine if that’s the kind of person you really want to be connected with.  While I am a firm believer that you can learn something from everybody, I also believe not everyone is necessarily meant to be connected.  I’ve even gone as far as to ask some followers why they chose to do so.

3)  Alienate some connections:  Having too many followers may cause you to alienate some connections.  At any given time, there are dozens upon dozens of conversations going on and some conversations get overlooked. 

I’ve also noticed there are some people who only respond to certain other people so no matter what you put out there, you just won’t get a response them.  Are those people you really want to be associated with?   

5) Inactivity:  Every now and then it’ a good idea to check and see what your followers are up to.  When was the last time they were on Twitter?  If their last post was two weeks ago or longer, maybe you may want to drop them or at least send a message to see if everything is OK with them.  Their response (or lack thereof) will help you determine whether you should have one less connection.

5)  Twitter isn’t for everybody:  Unless you’re willing to make an earnest effort to be engaging with your followers, offer more than your product or service, and be able to keep up with the fast pace, then maybe you should try another social networking site. 

Once you’ve clearly determined why you want to be on Twitter and who you’re trying to reach, then actively seek those people out.  There are some people there who are strictly about business and that’s OK if that’s where you’re coming from.  But, on the other hand, don’t expect those same people to ask you about your day or share their dinner menu with you.

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Website Marketing Ideas

If you’re a woman with an online business, you undoubtedly know the challenges you face in getting the word out about your product or services.  One of the best resources I have found is Social Networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.  Some people do tend to overdo it when it comes to their business promotions, however, if you draw them to your website, that’s the first step in turning a prospective client into a keeper. 

Here are some tips on marketing your website

1.     Broadcast your website like a phone number .

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   • Include your web address on all printed material (brochures, stationery, business cards, and press materials).
   • Include your web address in your email signature file.
   • Include your web address in your Yellow Pages listing and in other advertisements.

2.      Entice customers and prospects to visit your website again and again.

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   • Update your site regularly.
   • Add new features to your website regularly.
   • Revise your site’s Meta tags; to make it easier for search engines to find. (Your website developer can embed codes that the search engines use when indexing your web page.)
   • Offer Internet specials, such as discounts for orders placed online.
   • Host a discussion group on your website with customer comments and questions.
   • Add small photos on opening pages that expand to full-size pictures only when clicked. (This saves loading time.)
   • Tailor your choice of web features to your target market – just like you would with any other form of communication.

o        Regularly view your competitors’ websites. Learn from what they do right and from their mistakes.

3.     Use your site for sales and customer service.

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   • Use shopping cart software that allows customers to shop and order online. The software also provides instant feedback of total costs, including tax amounts, to your online customers.
   • Have a secure website for Internet sales.
   • Provide a street map to your business location on the Web. (Customers can print it out.) If you have multiple locations, find a way to let customers know which location is most convenient for them.
   • Provide forms on your web page that can be completed and submitted online for customers’ convenience. (If inquiries are allowed in the forms, respond to them promptly. Most web users expect a response within 24 hours.)
   • Create a link to your email on every page in your website. That way, if something on the page sparks a customer’s response, you’ve made it easy for them to “talk” to you.
   • Make sure your customers can find you by searching with keywords. Check how easy it is to locate your site using various search engines.
   • Check your website using various versions of browsers and types of computers to be sure it loads quickly and correctly. Get business associates and friends to access your site and tell you how it looks.
   • Provide a variety of ways for online customers to contact you: by email, phone (800 number), fax and mail.
   • Offer an online newsletter. This could be an electronic version of a printed newsletter you already publish, something entirely different, or a combination of the two.
   • Feature some interesting history or suggestions about your area of business.
   • Offer to include photos sent by your customers showing them using your business.
   • Create a sense of family among your web page readers.

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Your Website Image

As a woman in business, you should be concerned about your appearance–your website appearance, that is.

Developing your web site, just as with other promotional campaigns, requires careful planning.  Produce an up-to-date, aesthetically pleasing site with valuable content for your target audience. It’s important to have accurate and timely information – don’t let your site become stale. Updating your content frequently will encourage repeat visits.

Promote your web site through various public relations and marketing methods online and off-line. Some suggestions include:

·         Print your web site and email addresses on all of your marketing materials, including business cards, letterhead, brochures, advertisements, and product packaging.

·         Include a hotlink to your web site in your email signature file along with your name, address, and the name of your business. (A signature file is a closing which automatically appears at the bottom of an email message. In effect, it’s an “electronic letterhead.”) If your email software doesn’t support hotlinks in signature files, be sure that your URL is at least spelled out.

·         Participate in discussion groups. In discussion groups, you can promote your image by contributing suitable and useful information to discussions. It’s bad form, however, to blatantly advertise your web site, company or product in these forums.

You can link your web site to other sites and develop cross-promotional relationships online. Also, regularly visit the web sites of your competitors…and even the sites of non-competing organizations your target audience might visit. Learn from what these sites do well – and from what they could improve upon.

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Do You Have a Promotion Plan?

So you have a product and have set your price. Will the world come running to your doorstep? Not unless people know about your product – you must promote it. Set the stage for sales with a thoughtfully developed promotion plan.

If you’re a woman in business you NEED a promotion plan.  Why?  because a promotion plan outlines the promotional tools or tactics you plan to use to accomplish your marketing objectives. To the new or inexperienced marketer, the promotion plan might be mistaken as the entire marketing plan because it outlines where the majority of the marketing budget will be spent. It is, however, just one component of the marketing plan – there are additional strategy and planning components described in a marketing plan.

Laying the Groundwork for Effective Promotional Tactics
When you’re deciding upon the best promotional strategy for reaching your target market, you need to:

• Do research
• Keep your customer in mind
• Be creative

Doing research includes activities such as studying your target market and finding out what other businesses in your industry are doing. A relatively quick way to learn how your competitors communicate their marketing messages is to look in trade journals. This will give you an idea of which features they believe are important and are emphasizing.

Keeping your customer in mind will help prevent wasting your money and time on ineffective promotional activities.

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What’s Your Business Image?

Your company image is your identity in the marketplace but your identity is may not be exclusive to you. A competitor may have the same image as you. For example, think about two grocery store chains that operate in your region. Both may have an image of offering quality products at reasonable prices. You might feel equally comfortable in stores of both chains, think they hire competent and friendly people and appreciate each enterprise’s contribution to your community.

Your company image, however, may differentiate you from your competition. Using the grocery chain example again, two chains may offer quality products at reasonable prices. However, one chain might not be as clean or brightly lit as another. Its employees might not be as helpful and friendly. You may choose the clean, brightly lit, friendly store because of those image attributes alone.

Interestingly, your company has an image even if you do not undertake any activities to try to build one. If you’re successful, you have customers. And, your customers have thoughts, feelings, beliefs and opinions about you and your products and services.

Even if you do not advertise, distribute flyers, pass out brochures or issue press releases, it might surprise you that the following items will quietly, yet actively, create a company image.

·         Your company logo. Does it evoke the desired thoughts and feelings in your target audience?

·         Your Web site. Is it zany and full of wild colors or conservative and designed with muted colors?

·         Product packaging. Do products from the same line look like they came from the same company?

·         The look of your business cards, letterhead and invoices. A look is created with color, paper quality and type style.

·         How you and/or your employees interact with customers in person and on the phone.

·         How your phone is answered.

Note, it is what others think and feel about your business, not what you think or what your sales literature says about your business.

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Steps to Success

As a woman in business, your success depends on you.  What does that mean?  In essence, it means you need to be mindful of what needs to be done in order to survive and thrive with your business. 

Here are some to tips to keep your mind, body and spirit on the right track:

Successful Business Women Feed Their Minds:

Feed your mind by attending personal development courses. Read self-help and motivational books, listen to tapes. Stress management levels will be much more effective when you look after yourself.

Successful Business Women Clean out the Clutter:  

You will save yourself loads of time, energy and money if you clear out your work and home environment…paperwork, books, old equipment etc. You’ll be able to find things, save money because you won’t have to buy what you already have hidden somewhere, plus you’ll be less stressed. Organize your office regularly and keep the clutter out. Eliminating clutter will help you to avoid procrastination. It’s too easy to avoid getting things done if you are overwhelmed with clutter.

Successful Small Business Owners Use a Planner to Stay Organized:

With so much to organize in your small business, you need to record your appointments and all of the other things you have to do.  Keeping an organizer is the most effective way to get things done, plan your work and your life. Balance is extremely important.

Successful Small Business Owners Learn to say “No”

To dramatically improve your productivity and do more of the things you want, you have to be firm with others and let them know if you cannot, will not or are unavailable to fulfill their requests. If you constantly say “yes” to everyone else’s requests you will never have the time to do what you really want to.

Successful Small Business Owners Do What They Do Best and Delegate the Rest

See what tasks you can delegate tasks which would suit someone else’s talents. Many small business owners are spending heaps of time on mundane secretarial tasks which would take a person who is trained in that area a quarter of the time to undertake. Stress management is an important part of running your small business. Reduce the stress by delegating or outsourcing wherever you can.

Use a bookkeeper, personal assistant or virtual assistant. Always ask yourself, who else can I get to do this? Use your time management to focus on what you do best.

 Successful Business Women Always Take Care of # 1:    

That means you must take care of YOU.  Get plenty of exercise and eat healthy.  What good is it to have a successful business if you’re too stressed out to appreciate it?

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