Small Business Revitalization Blog

Everywhere I look at the moment there is buzz around using social media as a marketing tool!  Twitter and Facebook are constantly in the news and the growth of 'how to' information is almost overwhelming.  It was refreshing to come across some great social media statistics today that shed some light on what's really happening out there! Over 800 businesses were surveyed by Michael A Stelzner from the Social Media Marketing Industry Report and the tangible results being achieved were very encouraging, especially as using social media is free (except for your time investment):

• Generated exposure for my business (81%)
•  Increased my traffic, subscribers or opt-in list (61%)
• Resulted in new business partnerships (56%)
• Helped us rise in the search rankings (52%)
• Generated qualified leads (48%)
• Reduced overall marketing expenses (45%)
• Helped me close business (35%)

So what is your social media strategy?  If you don't have one, now is the time to start!  Email me if you'd like my free 'Get Started on Twitter' guide! Of course, for Revive Coaching clients, there will be a much more comprehensive guide coming your way soon!

Just for the record, after being on Twitter for less than two weeks, I received my first prospective client enquiry!  How does it get any better than that?

		I come from a family packed full of entrepreneurs and small business owners. Just lately I've been to quite a few family functions and have been loving talking to people about their various businesses.  What's interesting is how often people expect a simple perfect answer when they haven't actually told me what they really want to achieve!  To be successful in any area of your business decision-making, you need to start with your objectives and goals!

For example, I am commonly asked about how to set a marketing budget: "Do you set the marketing budget as a percentage of sales or are there better options?"  My usual response is "It depends, what are you trying to achieve?" 

There are some broad rules of thumb around percentage of turnover for most industries, but if you really want to set a marketing budget that is appropriate for your business you need to ask yourself the following:

• What are the specific business objectives that my marketing budget is supporting?
• What marketing strategies do I need to use to achieve these business objectives effectively?
• How much will effective implementation of these marketing strategies cost?
• Are there other hidden costs involved?  (e.g. lots of time or resources, or compromises on gross profit if pricing strategies are a part of the solution?)
• Can my business afford this marketing strategy?  If not, what are my alternatives?

When you ask questions like these, you are setting your marketing budget strategically, rather than operationally.  You are seeing this budget as an investment which will bring a return to your business... just make sure you measure the results of your efforts so that you know exactly which 20% of your marketing budget is creating the 80% of the results!!!

Here are three practical approaches to putting a circuit breaker into your business challenges so that you can move forward…

1. Get really clear about what the gap is: What exactly are you finding impossible? What don’t you have that you need? Why can’t you achieve your vision?

2. Be willing to own the gap! Be willing to be in allowance that the gap exists. Once you see that it’s just a gap, you’ll start to find ways to fill it easily.

3. Ask lots of questions around the specifics of your gap: Who do I know that could help me here? What are the possibilities of finding…… (whatever you need). What would it take for this to happen? When you start asking questions, synchronicity will find you in perfect timing!

Here’s how it works… Last October I decided to write a book. But I kept getting stuck on how I would promote the book – (Publicity hound is not my most favourite job description!!). Eventually I decided to ask a question… “What would it take for me to attract the most phenomenal book publicist?” So I asked the question and kept moving with the book (I am writing in my ‘spare’ moments…!) Recently I realized my question had been answered – one of my new clients specializes in author publicity! So how does it get any better than that? What else is possible? Maybe I’ll get on Oprah yet!!

So, identifying and owning what was keeping me stuck was the key to asking the question that made me feel free! Ask lots and lots of questions around all areas of your business that are stuck – you may be surprised by the outcome! Magic can happen you know…

This is a really simple but highly effective process - if you use it! Some days I just ask questions because my day hasn’t been quite exciting enough yet – often I get a call within minutes with some new exciting opportunity in the offering…ask questions but don’t worry about the answers – that bit isn’t always your job! See that guy on the desert island? There’s a reason he’s stuck!

Albert Einstein was a genius problem solver (amongst other things…) – he offers some good advice: "Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."  I suspect he asked a few questions in his day...

What is your biggest challenge around getting unstuck? Share it in the comments section below. If you need to share more than just a comment, call the Revitalization Experts!

Okay, its confession time... I've been a little slow on getting into both twitter and facebook as I saw them as time-wasters rather than business builders.  I suspect my perspective is in the midst of an about turn.  Here's why...

I started playing with Twitter and realised I could send my tweets to my website - follow me on twitter from my website... and then I realised if I followed interesting people that I could find new great resources for this blog - see this great twitter talk by Evan Williams (twitter founder) at TED 2009... and now I'm finding ways to share my expertise with a wider business audience with a site whose users all have the common purpose of getting the most out of their social networking activities... check out my latest social networking adventure here...

How much fun can a curious business builder have in one day?  Clearly this is just the beginning.  If you want to take this journey with me, follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/ReviveCoaching - So far, so tweet, right?

Now for the Twitty bit - posting what you had for breakfast, your bedtime or any other inane details from your daily life are unlikely to award you a loyal following... this is the reason I didn't use it in the beginning -  was seeing far too much of that  and didn't want to bore my followers silly  (in fact early on the only tweets I made were "automatic" -  I linked my Ezine Articles to automatically upload to twitter!).

My top 3 business coaching tips for using twitter effectively are:
1.  Link to interesting content (find ways to share your knowledge).
2. Know which keywords you want to be found for and tweet about related subjects, using those keywords (you'll attract followers interested in your topics).
3. Be generous, retweet information you know your followers will be interested in - even if it comes from a competitor!!  (Karma is big online!!!)

Have fun...it's a simple way to build your list...
Lisa

P.S.  New to twitter?  Use the help guide.

+ What feedback have clients and prospects given on my pricing lately? (Were they overwhelmed by the great value offered, or were they arguing over the bill?)
+ What is the value I am delivering compared to competitors? Where is my pricing compared to competitors?
+ How do I want to position my products or services? As really amazing value for money or at the higher end?
+ If clients are asking for discounts, have I negotiated on what I'm offering them, rather than on my profit margin or prices?
+ If you are changing your pricing consider: What will be the impact on sales volume? What will be the impact on profit?

What is your biggest challenge as a small business owner? Share it in the comments section below. If you need to share more than just a comment, call the Resuscitation Experts!

Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place!  What is a smart business owner to do?

The bottom line is that action without a plan will send you round in circles faster than a one-armed canoeist! Whether it is a business plan, a project plan or a ‘to do’ list of daily priorities, it is essential to have a written reference point that will keep you focused and motivated. (By the way – your business plan needs to be strategic and action focused - forget 50 or 100 page doorstoppers – make sure you use a 5 page “door opening” business plan instead!).

Management guru, Peter Drucker got it mostly right when he contended: “Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.” Once you have a plan, you have goals and parameters for action – whether or not you make it into hard work or easy work is up to you!! The important thing is to take action.

You can use your plan to:

• Stop chasing ‘shiny new objects’ – you know what you need to focus your energy on to be successful.
• Identify and remove inefficiencies, tolerances and frustrations – and watch your productivity increase!
• Leverage the right opportunities and say no to the opportunities which don’t fit your plan.
• Prioritise daily actions that will make the biggest difference to your business success – stop running from crisis to crisis.
• Recognise and address the constraints and gaps between where you are now and where you plan to be in future.
•  Minimise procrastination and maximize motivation as you see results from your focused efforts.
• Create stability and sustainable decision-making practices in your business.

Most importantly, using your plan, you’ll quickly move closer to achieving your vision – with less effort, less mistakes, less resources and less time – all because you planned for success!

What is your biggest planning challenge as a small business owner? Share it in the comments section below. If you need to know more about door-opening business plans, call the Revitalisation Experts!

Today I’m going to challenge your thinking. To lift the lid off the box you’ve been working in. To create new possibilities for your business, and most importantly, to help you unlock your business potential by finding more time for you to focus on what really matters.

So, why do so many of us feel we don’t have enough time? After all, everyone gets the same 24 hours, 7 days a week, 52 weeks in a year. So how do some people achieve amazing outcomes seemingly effortlessly, whilst the rest of us slave away, working harder and harder and getting further and further behind?

As a business coach, I get to observe all sorts of business owners and many approaches to managing time. What I’ve observed is that the most productive and effective business owners aren’t managing time – they are managing priorities! Time management is a myth!! It is activity management that really counts. So, here’s three less obvious but simple ways that business owners can find “more time”.

1. Plan ahead and prioritise according to your plan.
2. Use systems, structure and routines to free up valuable time.
3. Practice extreme self-care - put yourself first and you'll be in peak condition to perform at your best.

What is your biggest challenge as a small business owner? Share it in the comments section below. If you need to share more than just a comment, call the Revitalisation Experts!