Tweet

6 Crucial Steps You Must Take to Make Your Business Soar

Guest post by: Janis Pettit

Article Overview: This is the time of year when you need to be spending lots of time on your small business strategy looking at what worked and what didn’t work in your business this year and what you will eliminate, add or change next year to really make it soar.

6 Crucial Steps You Must Take to Make Your Business Soar



If you've been floating year to year with no real plan, you've probably experienced frustration and lack of progress because planning exactly how you will grow is crucial. The shot-in-the-dark approach just keeps you stuck.

Here are 6 business planning steps you must take--

1) Identify the current level of your business

Small businesses fall into one of two levels. Level 1 is a business that is still in the foundation stage. If you own a level 1 business, you may have a basic website, you may have some clients, but you are still not standing out in the crowd and you're not making enough money to support your lifestyle. You could have been in business one year or five; if you're still not where you want to be, chances are you're at Level 1. This is important to know because it tells you that you have more foundational work to do, like developing a signature, branded process, building your following, working on making your website a virtual sales tool and product development so you can escape the time-for-dollars model.

Level 2 businesses are those that are making a solid income, but who are ready to expand and are just not sure how. You're likely working long hours and you don't want to add to the work load. Where you need help is in developing a strategic expansion plan with more automated and complex marketing strategies and in developing a stronger outsourced team and planning for much bigger income growth.

Knowing your business level is crucial because if you are trying to expand like a Level 2 business when you don't have the infrastructure or foundation and you're still at Level 1, you'll be disappointed in the results. That's why all of our coaching programs are now designed with this two level approach. .

2) Set clear, authentic goals

You need to decide how much income you want to generate in the next year and how much you would need to generate in sales to meet your income goal. Many women sell themselves short and set an income goal well below what they are capable of creating. Be bold, but realistic. Then make a list of how your life would change if you met that goal. Be specific. This is where it becomes exciting. How would it change your life? How many more people would you serve? How would it increase your sphere of influence? How would you feel? Free? More secure? Exhilarated?

3) Create a deep strategy and specific plan

You need to create a detailed strategy that spells out how you will make every dollar of your sales goal. Map it out. Take an honest look at where you need to create new products that meet your clients' needs. Look at where you need to raise your prices or create packages that can be partially automated. Figure out how you can create more passive and recurring income. Map it all out on a yearly calendar so you know what needs to be accomplished every week.

4) Create a plan to outsource and systemize

Your business can grow painlessly if you get some tasks off your desk and outsource them. And anything that can be developed into a system or can be automated should be. You won't believe how much time you'll free up. Bookkeeping, rote marketing tasks, technology, website updates and more can be outsourced easily and affordably. Start paying an assistant just a few hours a month and add on as you expand.

5) Create a powerful marketing plan

Without the RIGHT marketing your plan won't fly. Work with a coach or mentor to learn the marketing strategies, right action steps, proven systems and marketing timing that will make it easy to meet your income goals.

6) Build a support network

I run a successful business coaching and mentoring hundreds of small and solo business owners, but I still work with a coach, attend live events where I can participate in high level networking, and belong to a mastermind group of sharp, motivated people. I learned the hard way that you can't sit alone behind your computer and expect to experience sustainable success. So build your network of people who are where you want to be and who will teach and encourage you.

Related Articles
  Practice no matter how good you think you are
  The Millionaire Mindset Part 4 of 4
  Stuck in a Pigeon Hole
  If Your Salespeople Can Spell They Can Sell
  Article #28 Looking For A Business That Works Fast In As Little As Six Months?
  Article #47 “7 Crucial Things Every Entreprenuer Should Know Before Starting An Online Business”
  Rats and Body Odor
  Search Engine Positioning in Three Steps
  KATHRYN KATES' PHILOSOPHY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
  10 Essential Steps You Need To Take To Succeed With any Affiliate Program
  Am I in the Right Business?
  Top Strategies to Find Profitable Keywords
  A,B,Cs of Business Development: Strategy for the Non-Complex Sale
  The Millionaire Mindset Part 2 of 4
  Training and Support are the keys to your Internet Marketing Business
  Stop the Drama
  7 Steps To Dealing With Fear
  Commitment
  Is Your knowledge an Obstacle to Selling More?
  How to Get More New Clients. Quickly. Easily. With No Cold Calling

Article Tags: small business coaching, small business plan, small business strategy



Related Forum Posts
Top 19 Copywriting books - 1. Ogilvy on Advertising. David Ogilvy. Wiley. 2. Positioning: The Battle for your Mind. Al Ries and Jack Trout. Warner. 3. The New Positioning. Jack Trout. McGraw-Hill. 4. Tested Advertising Methods. John Caples. Prentice-Hall. 5. How to Make your Advertising Make Money. John Caples. Prentice-Hall. 6. Guerrilla Advertising. Jay Conrad Levinson. Houghton Mifflin. 7. Direct Mail Copy that Sells. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall. 8. Sales Letters that Sizzle. Herschell Gordon Lewis. NTC Business Books. 9. Herschell Gordon Lewis on the Art of Writing Copy. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall. 10. Romancing the Brand. David Martin. American Management Association. 11. The Art of Writing Advertising: Conversations with William Bernbach, Leo Burnett, George Gribbin, David Ogilvy, Rosser Reeves. NTC Business Books. 12. Confessions of an Advertising Man. David Ogilvy. NTC Business Books. 13. My Life in Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books. 14. Scientific Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books. 15. How to Become an Advertising Man. James Webb Young. NTC Business Books. 16. The Lasker Story as He Told It. NTC Business Books. 17. Advertising Concept and Copy. George Felton. Prentice Hall. 18. The Copy WorkShop Workbook. Bruce Bendinger. The Copy Workshop. 19. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads. Luke Sullivan. Wiley. This should keep you busy for at least a year. Enjoy!
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Re: Quote of the Day - "The only people witho - Thanks for sharing this Evan, there are some very powerful quotes in there, I particularly like this one:- You are now at a crossroads. This is your opportunity to make the most important decision you will ever make. Forget your past. Who are you now? Who have you decided you really are now? Don't think about who you have been. Who are you now? Who have you decided to become? Make this decision consciously. Make it carefully. Make it powerfully. regards, Mal.
List of a few legitimate online business - Well My main methods to make money so far are adsense,affiliate marketing and freelancing and I think these are some more sites that can help me to make some more money.Your reviews are welcome: ::linkworth dot com>This site is awesome and offer lots of ways to make money. ::mturk dot com>complete simple mini task and get paid ::microworkers dot com>complete simple mini task and get paid ::shorttask dot com>complete simple mini task and get paid ::istockphoto dot com>sell stock photos ::eHow dot com>Make money writing ::Bukisa>Make money writing ::Associate Content>Make money writing ::Triond>Make money writing ::fiverr dot com>$5 freelancing job ::cpalead dot com>make money by completing offer ::peerfly>make money by completing offer
Exclusive: Interview with Results - Hi Forum Members, I'm helping start up a Business Coaching and Consulting company here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (a Subsidiary of RSC Business in Los Angeles). As a Research and Development Intern I am required to practice my listening and interview skills by surveying Small and Medium Businesses on thier Business. This Survey is designed by RSC Business to also assist the Business being interviewed more insight into their own business. I am looking to interview about 30 businesses across North America over the span of 3 months. At the end of these interviews I will be publishing a report of the results and they will be made available for free to the Interviewees. The Report data will include responses from a minimum of 100 interviews. I would like to extend this opportunity to members of the Forum. If you would like to have this short 20-30 minute interview conducted on your Business and you reside in North America please send me an email or PM. Please contact me at andy[at]jvprosperity[dot]com to arrange our interview and to get free access to the results when they are published.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Life, Conflict and Work

Ten Steps to Go from Idea to E-book for Sale

If I Were Starting A Network Marketing Company...

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.