Did You Back Up??

"I never met a hard drive that didn't want to crash."  --Linda Fayerweather  

Getting Ready for the Holidays

Sometimes, practical tips are just what is needed in this busy season. I talk about Lean Office, Lean Management and two big "take-aways" of lean are:
• The customer IS why you are in business
• Waste is the ultimate profit stealer


So, two of the biggest times wasters that don't add to the customer experience are Looking for Something and Fixing Something that should have been Done Correctly the First Time.


This leads to two tasks we really need do before the New Year if we are not already and making sure we have a system in place going forward.
1. Back up our computers.
2. Create an Internet Password Journal that doesn't rely on our memories.


These two jobs can save countless hours. I actually create a clone of my hard drive so that when a crash occurs, I will be able to plug in a drive that is ready to go with all my data and programs.


Although most of my passwords are stored in a database, I also keep an old fashioned written record. I use a simple spiral journal that was actually designed for this to make sure I capture everything. I can't tell you how many times I refer to it in a week. Here is a link to one: Internet Journal.


Create a schedule so you are backing up regularly and do try to restore a file occasionally to make sure the backups are working .


Happy Holidays and time spent now will save in the future as I've never met a hard drive that didn't want to crash. . .eventually.


Copyright 2010 Linda Fayerweather MBA EA
http://www.changinglanes.biz/
419-897-0528
linda@changinglanes.biz
Consider working with a coach or a MasterMind Team to make 2011 the year of your dreams!




Put Your Plan in Action!
Who said, "If you want to eat an elephant, do it one bite at a time"? Whoever it was is a genius! I've recently discovered a piece of software that takes your marketing initiatives and delivers them into bite-sized chunks which you can do daily. The product is called Marketing Mentor ToolBox. Although it's designed for small marketing firms like mine, the product is so good that I'm recommending it to you. It works with your Calendar and keeps your marketing projects top-of-mind. What's better yet, the "to dos" should take you 5-15 minutes a day. Here is a smattering of the bite-sized pieces:


Daily:      Social Media Break
                 Prospecting - Research/Calling/Doing
Weekly:  Attend a Networking Event
                 Proposal Follow-Ups
Monthly: Monthly Recap


By actively working your calendar, you should be able to create a banner year for yourself. Let's toast to new year that's filled with unlimited possibilities! Enjoy!!


Copyright 2010 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
419.855.3399
Celebrating 10 years of delivering results for our clients.
www.rebeccaboothmarketinggoddess.com
www.marketinginabox.biz

Getting Ready for 2011 -- Part 2
Last week we talked about SWOT analysis specifically related to your business (see webinar below) . This week, I want you to think about what you can do to make your personal life what you dream it should be.

Options:
1. Work really really hard and never make it.
2. Work really really hard and squeeze out a living.
3. Work really really hard and make lots of money but at the expense of not having a life.
4. Maximize your work so you have a life you can live.

Being an entrepreneur means many of us have or will live in all four options at some time. Being in and living number four means we need to KNOW and LIVE what our values are for ourselves and our business. Then make a vision and plan to get there . . . oh yes, then work the plan. Sometimes we only bang our head against the same wall over and over again when we could go around it OR make and implement a new plan.

Our own personal core values should be consistent with our business core values and will guide us in our business decisions. Defining our core values gives us purpose and will guide us to the correct decision. They just make life simpler.

This time of year on most any given night you can see some version of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol on TV. As old as it is, it is a seasonal reminder that core values do percolate through our entire being and business.

What three core values will you live by in 2011 to magnify your business vision?

1.__________________________________________
2.__________________________________________
3.__________________________________________
Here are some sample business core values:
Zappos
Whole Foods Market
National Park Service

Copyright 2010 Linda Fayerweather MBA EA
http://www.changinglanes.biz/
419-897-0528
linda@changinglanes.biz
Consider working with a coach or a MasterMind Team to make 2011 the year of your dreams!


New Year's Resolutions and Networking
By TR Garland

In less than 30 days, we're all going to be faced with the same thing we're faced with every single year.

No, I'm not talking about keeping a smile on your face while spending the Holidays with your in-laws (wink-wink). I'm talking about setting your New Year's Resolutions.

Every year, one of the top resolutions is to "get in shape". The truth of the matter is that most of us already know how to "get in shape".
1. Design a nutritional plan
2. Stick to that plan
3. Design a workout schedule
4. Stick to that schedule
5. Track your actions and results daily
6. Re-calibrate if needed

The problem is that a large percentage of people don't reach their goals because:
1. They don't write out a formal nutritional plan or workout schedule
2. They don't hold themselves accountable

In other words, life gets in their way. There's something about human psychology that pushes us to not let someone else down. So...people who have invested in a personal trainer to help keep them accountable find results much more consistently than they ever could achieve had they simply attempted to get in shape ON THEIR OWN.

Well, the same holds true for Business Networking and Referral Marketing.

Many people are spending a lot of time networking by just chatting away with others and maybe grabbing their business cards. And, they expect results from this! They expect people whom they've met and handed their card out to eventually pass a referral to them.

This mindset is called being REACTIVE...and hoping for the best.

Being REACTIVE is an employee mindset or mentality that, in my opinion, gets placed into the same category as punch cards, guaranteed smoke breaks, assembly lines, benefits entitlement, and cubicles. In other words, concepts that aren't really that viable anymore in today's economic environment.

What? Don't believe me. Please look around and see which businesses are hiring and thriving. Yep. You guessed it....entrepreneurial minded businesses.

An entrepreneurial mindset is one that takes ownership and focuses on being PROACTIVE versus REACTIVE.

Just like the "getting in shape" example above, being PROACTIVE in your Business Networking and Referral Marketing efforts is a sure fire way to get results - plain and simple.

So, when you are out attending Holiday Parties this holiday season with your spouse, significant other, and friends please keep in mind to be PROACTIVE with your networking efforts. Go to each event with a purpose (in addition to having fun).

Do you want to leave these events with everybody's business cards? No, that's not what I'm talking about. Set relevant and realistic "networking goals" and ask the person you went with to hold you accountable to them.

And, of course, there is a time and place for everything. If the environment doesn't warrant you achieving your "networking goals"...then grab a cup of eggnog, a handful of homemade cookies, and be prepared to laugh and smile with the rest of the party-goers. There's always next year!

Paula Frazier
Executive Director
BNI
(540) 793-0622
paula@bniswva.com
http://www.bniswva.com/

Get Ready for 2011

Let's go on a trip. . .a trip to 2011! As a business owner, think of this as taking a vacation WITH your business. If I am going on vacation, I would first look in my past and answer some specific questions about that vacation. What was fun? What didn't exceed my expectations? Was the airline great? Was the hotel chain one I'd use again? Getting ready for 2011 with your business means looking back at 2010 and asking some thoughtful questions.

1. What worked great in 2010? What did you learn new about your business? What big WOW did you have? What inspired you about your business? Was there a book or author that really made you think about the future of your business?

2. What didn't work well in 2010? Were you less profitable because expenses were up? Or sales were down? or a combination of both? What customers were NOT profitable?

3. What is changing in your industry? What are your colleagues doing or not doing differently? What is new in your industry or on the horizon? Jack Welch noted that at GE, 50% of all product and service sales come from business that did not exist five years before -- how current are your offerings?

4. What is changing in your business? Are there opportunities in your local market, in your business? Are you maximizing all your internal potential?

If this sounds a lot like SWOT analysis, it is and should be done at least once a year - Make 2011 awesome by planning to NOT repeat what didn't work in 2010.

"Getting ready" is something that athletes understand because if you are not ready, life just rushes past you. To help business owners "get ready" and stay on track, Changing Lanes LLC is starting TODAY and on the First Monday of each month a business Chat on Facebook for those that choose to "Like" Changing Lanes LLC.

Noon to 1PM EST - First Monday - Join me today! Just go to http://www.facebook.com/Changinglanesllc  and "Like"

Copyright 2010 Linda Fayerweather MBA EA
http://www.changinglanes.biz/
419-897-0528
Consider working with a coach or a MasterMind Team to make 2011 the year of your dreams!

Dream Big, Take Small Steps
December is the perfect time to consider your goals for the next year. In between servicing your clients/customers, closing your books, and enjoying the holiday, take some time to contemplate the upcoming year.
• What do you want to accomplish?
• What do you want your business to look like next December?
• What one thing that you have control over could change or shift and make a huge impact on your business?

Once you've spent some time with these questions, begin to formulate your goals and intentions for 2011. Dream big! That reminds me of Les Brown's quote: "Reach for the moon; even if you miss, you'll be among the stars."

Many of us are afraid to dream big. Here's why and what to do about it:
1. Those big dreams bring up our doubts and insecurities. Many of our limiting thoughts, such as, "who am I?", "why would I think that's going to happen to me?" show up. That's just fear talking! Big dreams always us the opportunity to push through our fears and expand what we believe is possible.
2. We wonder HOW we could pull it off! Don't worry about the how. Instead create a plan. Take Linda's One Page Plan for Success workshop and you'll learn how to create projects with small action steps. Those small steps are all you need to focus on. As you complete those small steps, with the big dream in mind, you might be inspired with new actions to take. Repeat! Before you know it, the path to the big dream will begin to take shape.
3. We aren't totally committed to our goals. Sure, we've all heard that the truly successful people write out their goals and review them throughout the year, but that's not how some of us operate. Instead, we write out our goals and never think about them again. Or worse yet, we keep changing what we are dreaming about, so nothing ever gets accomplished! Are you passionate about your big dream? Are you excited when you think about accomplishing that this year? If so, then find a way to hold yourself accountable, all throughout the year, to take the necessary action steps, so you don't fall into bad habits like procrastination, analysis/paralysis or distraction (chasing after another dream). Some ways to stay accountable are to find some accountability partners, perhaps join a mastermind group or hire a coach, or create a way of holding yourself accountable using a tracking system.

Enjoy dreaming!

Pat Altvater
Transforming Bodies and Minds
http://www.outsmartweight.com/
http://www.ignitethepowerwithinbook.com/
419-344-6613



Business Planning for the Growing Business
Business Planning is not Just for Startups. In fact, most major corporations have a plan and it is written! It has Goals that are used to keep shareholders informed.

Join, Linda Fayerweather on December 15, 4-5PM on a live webinar for tips and tricks to get a plan in place for 2011. You will Learn:
• How to use a SWOT analysis to build a plan;
• What a plan must have - any plan - personal, business, marketing, strategic;
• Keys to a successful goal.

If you are interested - Like http://www.facebook.com/Changinglanesllc and check out the events for details - This is a free event.

Got Mobile & Social Media

Got Mobile?
Shopping is changing. The market place is changing. What was new 2 years ago gets old very fast!

All this has to do with mobile devices. About a month ago, I was in a bookstore on a mission to get several copies of "Strength Finder 2.0" by Tom Rath. I use this with new clients and groups - great book. While wandering the store as all old librarians are destined to do, I spied an interesting fiction title, started reading and was hooked. Since I was given a Kindle a year ago, I've made it a habit to purchase fiction on the Kindle. So, I grabbed my mobile device, did a quick internet search at Amazon found the book was indeed Kindle available, purchased it and within seconds not only was it waiting on my Kindle when I got home, it was also on my mobile device if I wanted to start reading after making my business purchases.

Mobile devices are becoming the ubiquitous tool for customers. It took 100 years for telephones to reach 80% of the countries in the world - wireless has just taken 16 years! The phone in your pocket is 10 times more powerful than the desk top commuter that was on your desk in 1999. Many of us have our devices with us 24/7 - I've been using mine as an alarm clock since 2006.

How are your customers using their mobile device to work with your business? And I don't have the answer, yet, but it sure it is fun to think about it! Look for QR Codes (sample below) as the next wave for mobile devices to learn about your business or get a coupon. Maybe you should do a SWOT analysis to get thinking about the future - that is where you will be directed with your mobile and the below QR code.

Copyright 2010 Linda Fayerweather MBA EA
http://www.changinglanes.biz/
419-897-0528
linda@changinglanes.biz
Business Plans Make Profit!

Scan with Your Mobile Device

Social Media and Your Business
So how does the social media space look for business as it stands at the end of 2010? If you are looking to really drive new prospects and lead generation you may be disappointed. Some of the larger multinationals who already have a strong established brand throughout world markets have been able to extend their share of wallet with Social Media campaigns, BUT, for small to medium business, at this stage Social Media really kicks the biggest goals in terms of building brand recognition, brand loyalty and extending customer service avenues to new and existing customers through additional 2 way communication channels.

That being said, Social Media is here to stay for all size business and in the near future will represent a channel for driving additional revenue. In the interim, plan your entry into the social media waters and take a well executed dive but before you do remember some final points.

• Social Media is exactly that. Don't look to automate your involvement where possible. Be a real person and communicate directly with your customers and prospects. Automated responses are like Voice Response systems, --Press 1 if we have just lost your business:-)

• Marketing in this space is the same as all other forms of Marketing. Don't just hire someone to manage your campaigns because they are 'good at using Twitter & Facebook' and or 'has a lot of followers'. Make sure whatever resource you hire or allocate to your campaigns understands your products and business and that you are confident can represent your brand in the best light possible.

See you out there in Social Media Space:-)

Brent Lupton
Internet Marketing Manager
Essential Brands Group