In my business, I am constantly redefining myself, my
services and my products in order to stay ahead of or at
least keep up with the ever changing industry of marketing.
If I don't bring fresh new ideas and material to my clients
and contacts on an ongoing basis, then someone else will.
To stay at the forefront, I spend a significant amount of
my time working "on" my business, not just "in" it. That
means, instead of always consulting with clients, I lock
myself up with my computer and write up my ideas, products,
figure out how to market them, get them on my website or
decide how to offer them to my clients.
I wanted to bring this to your attention this week because
I see hundreds of small business owners and entrepreneurs
each month who are struggling to "get it all done".
You know what I mean.
What I've found is that most entrepreneurs are not taking
the time to work "on" their businesses, only struggle and
stress out "in" it.
These same entrepreneurs are not open to learning new
techniques about marketing, learning new industry
standards, keeping their website and marketing materials
current or even get out and meet new people to build
relationships with to further their business. Or it may be
that they're open to it but they don't see it as a
necessary enough thing to fit into their schedule.
Hopefully this doesn't sound familiar to you. But if it
does....
I'm here to tell you I've seen a large percentage of those
businesses go OUT OF BUSINESS by not focusing on the BIG
PICTURE.
We all know the stats on how many businesses go out of
business these days but with all the great info out there
now (including my own resources - some paid, some FR.EE),
it boggles my mind why they don't do something about this.
Here are some action steps you can take to work more "ON"
your business, easily and immediately:
1. Schedule 1 day each month as "Creative" Day
This day you will do nothing but sit and write down all the
ideas that come to mind about how you can update or
increase your business, who you know that you can work with
on joint ventures, etc.
2. Schedule another day each month as "Implement" Day
This day you will do nothing but put those ideas into
action - updating the text on your websites, writing and
sending out a press release, planning your next workshop
with flyer development, etc.
3. Contact 2-5 other professionals
These are people that you trust and ask them their
perception of your business and ask them for ideas or
feedback on what you could do to update it, freshen it up,
revise it, change it or add to it
There is a pretty good article I recently read on
Entrepreneur.com that might also help with your time
management (this is my biggest challenge as well, you're
not alone). It's "8 Ways to Keep Your Homebased Business
Running Smoothly - If you're well on your way to homebased
business success, these management tips will help you stay
on top of your game." Read the article now.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/homebasedbiz/worklifebalance/art
icle76888.html
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© Copyright 2008 K.Sawa Marketing
Katrina Sawa is an Award-Winning Relationship Marketing
Coach who's helped hundreds of small business owners take
dramatic steps in their businesses to get them to the next
level in business, revenues and life. She offers one-on-one
coaching, group coaching and do-it-yourself marketing
planning products. Go online now to get started with her
Free Report and Free Audio at
http://www.jumpstartyourmarketing.com !
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