Jim's Marketing Blog

Small business owners is a term I use throughout this site, because these remarkable people are the focus of everything I do here.  In fact, there’s a better than 9 in 10 probability that you are a small business owner yourself, such is the targeted nature of the site and its readership.  So, it’s little wonder that readers often ask me;

When you talk about small business owners, what actual size of business are you referring to Jim?

Small business owners & numbers

I have no hard and fast rule for determining what a small business is.  After all, you can have businesses with just a handful of employees, turning over millions, and businesses that employ 100 people, which hardly cover their costs.  Is it right to refer to Bob as a small business owner, if his internationally respected business is extremely profitable and turns over ten million a year; just because he “only” employs 3 people?  I don’t know.

Until recently, Twitter would have been classed as a small business in The USA and The EU; despite raising hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and having tens of millions of users.  That’s because in The EU (European Union), a small business is one with fewer than 50 employees and in The United States, the term is commonly applied to businesses with fewer than 100 employees.  Some agencies use a more effective combination of employee numbers and revenue figures, but these vary a lot in how they are used.  Getting it right is a real challenge.

The Small business owners I write for

Governments, business organizations and banks etc must have a hard limit for what THEY class as a small business, for allocation of; grants, loans, taxation, health and safety etc.  I allow myself a little more scope when writing for small business owners here on the blog.  I typically think of my readership as being on the lower end of the numbers mentioned earlier.

In short: I write for business owners, who typically don’t have access to in-house, high level marketing expertise.  These range from freelancers, trainers, coaches and consultants, to businesses employing  several hundred people.

Over to you!

I would like to know what you regard as a small business?  Do you go by employee number, turnover / revenue or another metric?  Is it possible to measure a business by the size of its thinking, or is that nuts?  What do you think?

If business worries are causing you (or a friend) problems right now, this post is written just for you!

I had real trouble sleeping last night.  I was excited.  I kept thinking about some of the plans I am working on and it seemed just as I was getting drowsy, I had another idea.  I ended up having to get out of bed, so I could write the ideas down. Twice!  Sadly, many people find it hard to sleep at night for other business-related reasons.

Business worries need a solution

Last month, a friend told me that he had been unable to sleep.  He was kept awake, worrying about the future of his business.  Apparently, he hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep for weeks and it was taking its toll on him and his wife.  I set a couple of hours aside to look at his business and share some ideas with him, and he’s already starting to see some much needed results.  He is also starting to sleep again, which will help him enormously.

We each need to ensure that if our business is to keep us awake occasionally, it is with excitement, not apprehension.  Apprehension in business, comes when we see there is a problem, and can’t figure out how to resolve it.  We then play out all the possible, often frightening scenarios in our mind.  This use of the human imagination is extremely powerful and can make us ill.  It is also the worst possible use of our imagination, when we are faced with something that needs a solution.

Business worries sometimes need additional expertise

The approach I use, is to spend just enough time learning exactly what the problem (or challenge) is.  Then, as soon as I know exactly what I am dealing with, I spend the rest of the time looking for answers.  If I can’t find the answer myself (and here’s the really important part) I start looking for someone who has the answer. When my friend came to me with that problem, which had stopped him from sleeping and was worrying him sick, we were able to resolve it over 2 cups of coffee.  I had the answer he needed.

One of the most valuable assets you can build around your business, is a network of people with expertise in all the key areas of business.  People often see networking purely as a way to find new clients or introducers, who can introduce them to new clients.  This is a myopic approach to business development and networking.

Spend time developing a group of great people, who have the resources you and your business need.  When you require expert advice, it’s always easier to discuss it with someone you already know.  (By the way, this is one of the benefits of blogging.  If you regularly “show up” in people’s lives via your blog, they feel as if they already know you!)

Connect with a great accountant and lawyer.  Get to know your bank manager too, as she is far more likely to be of help to you if she knows more about your business and your needs.  Accountants, lawyers and bank managers are also usually very well connected too, which massively expands your field of resources by association.

If you are worrying about your business right now, stop! Spend that time either looking for the answer you need, or the people you need.

Two people walk past an abandoned car park.  One looks at it and says to himself; “what an eye sore!”  The other person looks at it and says to herself; “this would be a great place to build a children’s playground!”  Confronted with the same situation, one person sees opportunity, where another sees just a mess.

Their differing attitudes determine their reality; what’s real for them.

Our attitudes determine out altitude

When someone believes that the world is conspiring against them, they find LOTS of information to support that perspective.  Each time one of their plans fails to work out exactly how they wanted, it reinforces their belief.  Conversely, when they believe that the world will reward them, so long as they do the right things correctly, they will find LOTS of evidence to support that perspective too.  When a plan fails to work out exactly how they wanted, they look for the lesson and invest that feedback in their next plan.  This reinforces their belief that if they get it right next time, they will reap the results they want.

“We become what we think about!” Earl Nightingale: 1921 – 1989

Before we decide to blame the marketplace, the economy or our past experiences for the current state of our business, it’s always worth checking our attitudes and the thoughts we have allowed to influence the development of our business, first.  These are what determine our actions, which in turn determine our results.

Attitude shifts create immediate change

Thankfully, we have the opportunity to improve our attitudes whenever we wish and the results begin immediately.  The day Bob decides to go to work with a smile on his face, rather than a scowl, is the day people begin smiling back at him.  The day Mary decides to confront her financial problems, is the day she starts to gain control over them.

When we truly understand the progress we can make, by improving our attitudes and how we think, making the changes required becomes a great deal easier.

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

Today’s post contains one of the most useful pieces of advice I ever came across.  I discovered it via a quote from Jim Rohn.  Jim simply said:

“Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better.”

We live in a society, which wants the gain without the pain.  They want the 6 pack abs, but only if they can do it using that machine from the infomercial, which promises results in 30 days, with just 3 minutes exercise a day.

Get rich quick

This is why the Internet is packed with people selling “wonder products” that claim to be able to do the impossible.  There are get rich quick ebooks that claim to be able to make you $2,000 in 30 days, yet they simply contain ineffective, generic information.  People buy the books, because $29.99 is a small investment, to get a $2,000 return.  And hey, even if they only make half the promised return, it’s money well spent. Right?

Sometimes the easy route is also the best route, but seeking only the easy route is a mistake.  Success comes from doing the right things, correctly.  One of my clients makes around $10,000 every month from her website – But only because she has worked hard for years (not months) developing a massively valuable platform.  In the time it took her to develop her business, millions of others kept looking for the easy money, and are in a worse position today than before they started.

The prescription for success is easy to write.  We simply need to focus on what we want to achieve, and then take the steps required to make it happen.  However, the medicine doesn’t always taste like honey.  In other words, it is easier said than done.  Some of the steps are extremely challenging, whilst others take time and require patience.

In my experience, it is our commitment to doing whatever is required, that ultimately determines our level of commercial success.

I had a thought a moment ago, which i would like to share with you.  It’s simply this:

The way the typical person thinks on New Year’s Eve, is pretty close to how atypical people think every day.

Like many people I know, I plan my months, weeks and days, in advance.  On New Year’s Eve, I see people all over the world, doing the same.  They call what they are doing making resolutions, rather than goal setting or (in my case) setting targets – But it’s a pretty similar thing.  It’s a determination to make changes, which will enrich you and those you love in some way.

There are millions of people today, who are happier, healthier and wealthier than they were a year ago; because of a New Year’s resolution they set back in January 2010.

Here’s a suggestion:  When setting targets just one day a year can produce such an amazing impact, isn’t it worth doing so at least a few times a year?

It’s just a thought.

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

As we ease into 2011, I have a prediction to make, which I would like to share with you.  Moreover, this prediction can help you achieve your best year ever, if you work with it!

So, here’s my prediction: I predict that all the essentials will be just the same in 2011, as they were in 2010, 1910 and 1810 etc.  In other words, the sun will rise each morning and set each evening.  The spring will follow winter.

It’s what we decide to do, with what we have, which will determine our results in 2011, as it has always done.

In business, we know that the people who do the right things correctly will continue to thrive, just like they did last year.  Thankfully, the shiny, new canvas that 2011 provides, offers us unlimited potential.  We will each receive those same 365 days, to invest in however we choose.  

We don’t need to repeat the kind of past errors, which have caused current challenges.  We can learn from the past and invest that learning into the future.  We can cease the activities that have failed us and replace them with better choices.  We can work from a better plan and achieve more than ever before.

Here’s to you!

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

Today, I would like to share a simple, yet powerful idea with you; on self motivation and the ability to motivate others.  First, here’s a quick question for you:

Will tomorrow be the start of a New Year for you and your business, or simply the chance to relive the same old year over again?

Your New Year resolutions and goals can be the spark that starts a process of change, which helps you achieve your best results ever.  However, as we know, this is very seldom the case.

Why?  Is it because business owners set dumb goals for themselves?

No!  It has been my experience that business owners are NOT dumb. Far from it!

The reason only a tiny percentage of small business owners achieve any worthwhile progress each year, is that only a tiny percentage actually follow-up on their plans and goals with the action required.

When I started out in sales as a kid of 21, I very quickly out-sold people who were twice my age, better educated and vastly more experienced than me.

Here’s how!

Although their sales conversion rates were better than mine, I was a LOT more self-motivated.  They were able to sell to 7 out of every 10 people they met, I was only closing the deal back then, with 5 out of every 10 (I was a kid after all.)  However, I was making 3 times as many calls and thus making twice as many sales. Then, as my experience grew and I was converting 8 out of 10, I was earning more than the top 2 salespeople in that company, combined.

People tend to have little trouble taking action on the elements of their resolutions and business plans that they enjoy; which is why you see so many business owners on Facebook and Twitter “networking” with people.  It’s easy and it’s fun and when done correctly, it can be highly effective too.  The tough phone calls, awkward conversations and attitude shifts required for success are a lot more challenging, so they tend to be left until last and often left completely.

By February, it’s back to blaming time-wasters and the economy for a lack of progress.

Get your plans in place, but if you want to avoid reliving the same old year over again, you must back up what you have planned on paper, with ongoing action.  Your ability to take intelligent action when required, is what will determine your progress in 2011.

How did I motivate myself and the key people whose help I needed?

If you would like to know the secrets behind my ability to motivate myself and other people, I have an audio program, which explains everything!  It has already sold into over 100 countries and is available to you now for immediate download.  It runs for almost 2 hours (111 minutes), and contains my most powerful ideas on how you can motivate yourself and others, so that you get the help and support you need from other people too.

You can get your copy here and have me coaching you on how to get your plans into action in minutes.

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

Are you in the process of developing some new ideas for your business right now?  If you are, then today’s post is just what you need!

One of the most effective ways to generate valuable, new ideas and insights, is to think on paper.  The act of committing our ideas onto a blank sheet of paper with a pen or pencil, seems to encourage thoughts to flow more freely (for me and many others I know), than simply jotting notes down via a computer keyboard.

Getting started

The challenge many people face when developing ideas in this way, is how to get started.  For me, the secret to getting great answers and ideas, is to ask great questions.  Here are a few questions to get you started and help you develop some new ideas.

If my business was perfect in every way, what would it look like?

• What would my income be?
• What would my client list look like?
• How many hours would I work each week?
• Where would I work from?
• Who would I hire?
• What would my marketing look like?
• Which of my current customers or clients would I no longer be working with?
• Which new clients would I replace the above clients with (name names)?

Then what?

Once you have pondered these questions or some of your own (or both), start writing!  Get your pen moving and jot down as many answers as you can.  Make sure you give yourself enough uninterrupted time to get as many ideas down as possible.  If you can manage an hour, great.  If you only have 30 minutes, that’s a good place to start (plus you might want to add some time management questions as well!)

Quick Tip: Don’t rule anything in or out.  List everything and decide afterwards what’s worth working on and what’s not.

Will all your ideas be gold dust?  Probably not.

Will some of them be useful?  Yes.

Might 1 or 2 of your answers lead you to a significant breakthrough, which could massively improve your business?  Yes, of course!

Everything starts with an idea

By developing new ways to encourage your creative thinking process, you can increase the number and quality of ideas you have.  By acting on your best ideas, you significantly increase your potential.  I wrote a post earlier this year on how to improve your thinking, which you may also find useful.  In addition, this post has links to OVER 140 business development and marketing ideas.

Have you been working over the past few days?

I asked this question on Twitter and via my Facebook page yesterday and got some very interesting responses.  Almost everyone who responded, said they had been working, but ONLY because they loved what they do.  In other words, they were working because for them, work is enjoyable – Rather than something they want to avoid.

A few people even questioned whether what they were doing could be classed as work.  I find myself in both those groups.  I work with fantastic people and I work on extremely interesting projects and as a result, I look forward to working.

The need for balance

As Danny Brown mentioned last month, even if we love what we do, there’s a need for balance.  When work becomes play, the temptation is to keep playing.  The challenge here, is that we risk overdoing it without even knowing it!  Now, whilst I have never experienced health issues from working too many hours, I find that it DOES help my creativity massively, when I walk away from my desk for a few days.  So that’s what I do.

When I set this business up, back in 1995, I worked for 3 years without a vacation – Stopping only on Sundays and on Christmas Day.  I was 29, had no kids and my business needed me.  Then, I took a break and realised how stupid I had been, not to have had a break MUCH sooner.  After a week away from the office, I generated more ideas and made more progress than ever.  I didn’t know I needed a break, but I very clearly did.

Working can, and should be fun.  If you find yourself wanting not to work because your work is too stressful or you just don’t enjoy it any more, change it.  You are a business owner, which means YOU are in control.  Design your business so that it excites and inspires you.  As my mentor used to say:

If you don’t like where you are – Move!  You’re not a tree!

If like most business owners you LOVE what you do, always be aware of the need for balance.  Paradoxically, by working a little less, you often find that you achieve a little more.

What are you doing right now, to ensure that your business is offering the marketplace something better than it currently gets?

More of the same

The provider, who offers a pretty similar range of services and quality of service is setting a very low ceiling on their potential.   Even so, if you randomly research a few; accountants, web designers, lawyers, trainers or recruitment providers etc, you would see little if any real difference between them.  They will all promise a great service, show some testimonials and then reel off a predictable range of services.

They then wonder why they get so few inquiries, and why prospective clients are so cost conscious, when cost is all they have offered prospective clients, as a way to differentiate them from their competitors!

Something better?

Occasionally, we come across a service provider who’s offering a legitimately better service.  These are often people at the top of the pile locally or even nationally, such as:

• The designers, who take our breath away when we see their work.
• The accountants, who really “get” the business of business, rather than just the numbers.
• The lawyers, who speak to their clients like humans, in plain English.
• The trainers and coaches, who offer more than generic workshops and a range of courses that we could buy from a million other trainers.
• The recruitment professionals, who understand the human side of recruitment and recruitment marketing.

Those who lead the field do so, by standing out for all the right reasons.  They make it easy for us to see the value of using them, rather than one of the competitors.  We don’t price-shop with them, we just hope we can afford to use them or buy their products, after learning how good they are.  This is why Apple Inc. posted record breaking profits in the middle of a deep recession; even though their goods are priced at the high end of the market.  This is also why I work with my clients, to get them out of the sea of average providers; so they can market from a position of strength, rather than compete on price.  I strongly recommend you do the same.

Moving forward

I spoke yesterday about the need for change; how change should always be geared toward progress, not simply change for the sake of it.  It’s all too easy to mistake movement for progress.  To ensure your business is progressing, offering something that’s better rather than just different, here’s a suggestion.

Examine the needs of your marketplace, their hopes, fears and challenges.  Listen to them on services like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin etc.  Work out how to help them in those key areas, with your products or services.  I assure you, if you do this correctly, they will find your products or services massively more attractive.

No smoke. No mirrors.  Just a customer focused approach to business development.

If you want better results for your business, how do you feel about making the changes required?

The challenge with change

On one level, we know that in order for us to improve, we need to change, yet on another level, we tend to find change uncomfortable.  As a result, many people stick within their comfort zones and only really push themselves when faced with some kind of emergency.

Small business owners worldwide will be looking ahead right now, hoping to improve their revenues and profits.  They want more from their business in the year ahead, than they achieved over the past 12 months.  But how many will be seriously prepared to make the changes required for the success they want?  In my experience, very, very few.  Most will prefer to stick with what they know and just make marginal changes.

Marginal changes are fine, if someone is only marginally off track.  Although marginal changes can create significant results, this only happens when the basics are already in place.  Many small business owners need to make a more significant change.  A change in their mindset.  Their businesses are often seeing little if any worthwhile growth, or revenues / profits have dropped.  They are looking to the future with apprehension, rather than excitement.  This is NOT what they started a business for!

People start a business in order to enjoy a better lifestyle; doing work they enjoy, with more freedom and a better income.  Yet, many “accidentally” develop a business that requires more of their time, offers little freedom and in many cases, a lower income than a regular job.

Intelligent action

If you are serious about wanting more from your business, you need to take intelligent action.  This means finding out exactly what you need to do and then doing it, without excuses.  Anything else is a waste of your time.  Even so, small business owners are more likely to try and develop a successful business, during the worst economy in living memory, with only a foggy idea of what to do!  These people often work hard, doing the wrong things correctly.  That’s the opposite to intelligent action and it’s why the vast majority of small businesses fail.

We all have the freedom to just make marginal changes, follow the wrong plan or have no plan at all.  It’s easier in the short term, but the long term price for that approach is horrendous.

Helping direct the process of change

Change is something that happens to us all, all the time.  By deliberately guiding the course of that change, we get to live the life we want, or at the very least, something darn close to it.

Do the right things, correctly. If you work hard but don’t know what to do, find someone with the answers.  If you already know exactly what to do, but have not been applying it into your business, start today (right now!)  When you do, the sky’s the limit.

Reignite the passion that caused you to start your business in the first place, and adjust your income up, to fit the lifestyle you originally wanted.  There’s no need for you to adjust your lifestyle down, to fit the current limitations of your business / income.

It’s always YOUR choice!

I had a call earlier today from a reader, who wants me to help her market her business in 2011.  The thing is, she called today, assuming she could start working with me the first week in January.  She was surprised when I explained that there was a 3 month waiting list.

I love working with small business owners, helping them achieve the breakthrough results that their hard work deserves.  If you would like me to work with you in 2011, my next space for a new client is in March.  As my March places will all be booked by the end of this month, I strongly suggest you get in touch with me at your earliest convenience, if you want one of the remaining March and April dates.  My contact details are here.

I look forward to hearing from you!

I spoke with a business owner recently, who told me she was in the process of developing her marketing plan for next year.  She was very excited:

On paper, I could double my sales figures and triple my profits next year, Jim.

I hope she is right, but we don’t do business on paper.  For her plans to fly, she will need to back them up with action throughout 2011.

In December, even the least motivated business owners are putting their plans in place for next year.  However, like most New Year’s resolutions, many of these business development and marketing plans will never see the light of day.  People, who will be cursing their luck and blaming the economy for their poor results next year, will have the answers they need, filed away, unused.

Success and activity

In my experience, it’s not the most educated or the most business savvy people, who make the most successful business owners.  The future belongs to those who take intelligent action.  This means taking action, learning from your actions and constantly refining what you do, making it better, leaner and more effective.  I wrote about the secret behind these successful small business owners earlier in the year.

Get your plans together and then use them.  Ideas into action.  That’s where the gold is.

I was in a store earlier, getting some Christmas presents during a lunch break.  In the queue in front of me was a lady in a wheelchair.  I’m a very chatty person, so by the time we got to the front of the line we had been happily speaking for around 10 minutes.

I noticed that when this lady was being served, the guy serving her spoke to her s-l-o-w-l-y and loudly.  She was neither stupid or (unlike me) hard of hearing.  I asked the guy serving, why he spoke with her in that way and he explained that she was disabled, so he wanted to ensure she could hear him.

Now, I have previously heard people with mobility issues, saying that when strangers see them in a wheel chair, they often talk to them differently, but today was the first time I saw it in action.  Why a leg or back related mobility issue might damage someone’s ability to hear, is beyond me. I just thought, “what an ignorant bastard!” (Ok kids, rant off)

Ironically, I am a fit and healthy guy of 45, BUT after 11 years of boxing and another 20 years (and counting) of sparring, my hearing these days is pretty poor.  In my right ear, my hearing’s just 30%.  I actually find it really helps when people speak clearly to me, yet because I look “normal” they don’t unless I ask them to.

Stereotyping is lazy and ineffective

It’s easy to stereotype people and it’s even easier to stereotype people incorrectly!  Just as the guy in the store earlier called it completely wrong with me and the lady in the queue, so we too can get it wrong with the people we interact with in business.

I’ve lost count of how many times I have heard a business owner or salesperson, claim everyone’s a “time waster” just because they were unable to motivate them to make a purchase.  And let us not forget the people who are unable to develop a successful blog, who claim that “blogging is dead!” whilst Mashable attracts millions of unique visitors a month.

In my experience, the best way to determine what someone is all about, is to be a little less judgemental, and spend some time listening.

Listening to your marketplace

Commercially, this means taking time to get to really know your clients and prospective clients.  It means studying the marketplace in general, but connecting with people on a one-to-one basis when possible too.  Social media makes this possible.  In fact, it has never been easier to listen and learn.

If you want to know what small business owners are thinking, read the comments in blogs like this, with an exclusively small business readership.  Join small business forums and groups on Linkedin and Facebook.  Follow small business chats on Twitter.  Social media becomes massively more powerful, when you use it as a highly tailored research and monitoring tool.  There’s magic in listening – Real magic.

When you know the challenges and opportunities facing your marketplace, it becomes enormously easier to develop relevant answers.  Now, being as your products or services are essentially the solution to your marketplaces problems, surely it makes sense to invest time on a regular basis gathering this key information?