Planning For Small Business Success
Planning For Small Business Success
the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations
beforehand." Sun Tzu
What is one of the critical differences between successful businesses owners and
unsuccessful businesses owners?
It’s not how much money they start with, or where they come from…
It’s not their level of education...
It’s not who they know…
The majority of truly successful business owners have one thing in common…
They are really good at deciding exactly what it is they want, creating a detailed plan for getting it, and putting that plan into action.
You see, successful people don’t just wait around for things to start happening…they
make things happen. And not just any old things—the right things.
So how do you know what those “right things” are?
I like to say “The road to success is paved with clear intentions.”
I know I’m taking a few liberties with a well-known (and not nearly so positive) phrase. But I just couldn’t resist…
Besides which, it’s true.
In order to reach your goals, you first have to have some. And they have to be crystal clear.
Because if you don’t know where you are going, who knows where you might end up??
Sounds logical enough, right? Yet it is amazing how many people don’t follow this simple rule when they’re trying to start, or grow, a business.
Yet once you know exactly where you want to go, it’s much easier to develop a roadmap to get from point A (where you are now) to point B (where you see your business in the future).
Here’s a simple example: Let’s say you want to make more money.
Ask yourself…How many clients do I need, and how often? Who is my ideal client and why? Where could I find them, what would they want to buy, and why? How much do I need to sell to meet my financial goals?
Then take it one step further…
Imagine what your business would be like once you reach your goal. Would you have more employees or an office manager? Would you develop new products or services? Would you have a bigger office or more time off? What would you do with the extra cash?
Whatever the end result would be, try to imagine every possible detail.
Good so far? You’re half-way there.
So, here comes the most important, part…
Write down what you want.
And don’t just nod your head and say you will (which is what far too many—generally unsuccessful—people do). Grab a pen and a piece of paper right now!
You don’t have to include all the details here as long as they are in your head. Just write a simple, one-line statement like, “I want to develop a steady stream of 30 sales per week through referrals, a newsletter and my Website so that I can make $3000 per week.”
That’s it. Easy as pie.
Now start listing all the ways you can think of to turn that goal into your reality. This is the basis of a good plan.
Best of all, just doing this simple exercise is often enough to make things start to happen. Because now you can make all your business, sales and marketing decisions with your goal firmly in your mind.
In other words, whenever you have to make a business decision, you can (and should) ask yourself, “Does this take me one step closer to my goal, or one step further away?” If it takes you one step closer, then chances are it is the “right thing” to do.
©2002-2007 SuccessStream. All Rights Reserved.
Planning For Small Business Success - To learn more about this author, visit Stacy Karacostas's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
"The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before
the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations
beforehand." Sun Tzu
What is one of the critical differences between successful businesses owners and
unsuccessful businesses owners?
It’s not how much money they start with, or where they come from…
It’s not their level of education...
It’s not who they know…
The majority of truly successful business owners have one thing in common…
They are really good at deciding exactly what it is they want, creating a detailed plan for getting it, and putting that plan into action.
You see, successful people don’t just wait around for things to start happening…they
make things happen. And not just any old things—the right things.
So how do you know what those “right things” are?
I like to say “The road to success is paved with clear intentions.”
I know I’m taking a few liberties with a well-known (and not nearly so positive) phrase. But I just couldn’t resist…
Besides which, it’s true.
In order to reach your goals, you first have to have some. And they have to be crystal clear.
Because if you don’t know where you are going, who knows where you might end up??
Sounds logical enough, right? Yet it is amazing how many people don’t follow this simple rule when they’re trying to start, or grow, a business.
Yet once you know exactly where you want to go, it’s much easier to develop a roadmap to get from point A (where you are now) to point B (where you see your business in the future).
Here’s a simple example: Let’s say you want to make more money.
Ask yourself…How many clients do I need, and how often? Who is my ideal client and why? Where could I find them, what would they want to buy, and why? How much do I need to sell to meet my financial goals?
Then take it one step further…
Imagine what your business would be like once you reach your goal. Would you have more employees or an office manager? Would you develop new products or services? Would you have a bigger office or more time off? What would you do with the extra cash?
Whatever the end result would be, try to imagine every possible detail.
Good so far? You’re half-way there.
So, here comes the most important, part…
Write down what you want.
And don’t just nod your head and say you will (which is what far too many—generally unsuccessful—people do). Grab a pen and a piece of paper right now!
You don’t have to include all the details here as long as they are in your head. Just write a simple, one-line statement like, “I want to develop a steady stream of 30 sales per week through referrals, a newsletter and my Website so that I can make $3000 per week.”
That’s it. Easy as pie.
Now start listing all the ways you can think of to turn that goal into your reality. This is the basis of a good plan.
Best of all, just doing this simple exercise is often enough to make things start to happen. Because now you can make all your business, sales and marketing decisions with your goal firmly in your mind.
In other words, whenever you have to make a business decision, you can (and should) ask yourself, “Does this take me one step closer to my goal, or one step further away?” If it takes you one step closer, then chances are it is the “right thing” to do.
©2002-2007 SuccessStream. All Rights Reserved.
Planning For Small Business Success - To learn more about this author, visit Stacy Karacostas's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
|||
Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|||
Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
|||
John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
|||
Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
|||
John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
|||
David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Stacy's articles
 |
|
Marketing Junkie - Offers tips and strategies on how to market your small business.
|
|
 |
 |
|
Stacy Karacostas Video - Stacy Karacostas brings you another free small business marketing tip. This time Stacy shares important statistics on marketing through a recession or poor economy, and a few more reasons to keep your marketing machine cranking no matter what!
|
|
|
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
|
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Universal Search Future Networking Balance chart Telemarketing Success EQ SUCCESS STORIES |
|
 | ||
 |
The Top 10 Guy Kawasaki Posts
Best Posts for Entrepreneurs | |
 |
Top 50 Blogs For Startups
Top Blogs To Watch In 2009 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
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 and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||