Jeanna Pool from Catalyst Creative writes a great ezine on
marketing each month. In January she shared 5 Great Marketing
Tips for 2006. Number 1 was "Stop Focusing on You".
She declares 2006 the year of the client and exhorts you to
focus totally on your clients and their needs. I think she's
right on. And I think she's completely wrong. Why right and
wrong?
Because if you've been in business for a while and have great
products and great services and aren't getting the results
you want, you may be too focused on your clients and not focused
enough on yourself. Last week, I encouraged your to revisit
your vision of your business and ask yourself why you started
your business in the first place. Now I want you to focus
even more on what you want. What exactly do you want out of
your business? Do you want more money? If so, how much? Write
down a number. Do you want more flexible hours? If so, write
out exactly the schedule you'd like. Do you want to change
the world? If so, write out specifically how that would look.
Why all this focus on you? Because if you aren't absolutely
clear on what you want, how are you going to know if you are
successful? How are you going help your clients if you aren't
taking care of yourself as well. Maybe you need to be making
$150,000 a year to provide your family with the life that
you wanted. You want to send your kids to college. You want
to retire while you are still in active and in good health.
Or maybe you want to just make an extra $20,000 a year working
part-time while you take care of your children until they
are in school. Or perhaps your goal is to make a million dollars
a year and live a really incredible life. Defining this is
very important. Why?
Because what you want will shape your business. It will determine
who your customers are and how you will help them. If you
want $5,000,000 in sales, your products and methods are going
to be a whole lot different than if you want $50,000 in sales.
If you want to work only afternoons, that is going to shape
your business as well. If you want to sell your business and
retire in five years, that's going to affect your decisions
as well. So right now, get out a paper and pen and get ready
to write.
Did you get your pen and paper out? Answer the question, "What
do I want out of my business?" Write in as much detail
exactly what you want your business to give you. Be as specific
as possible. Write as much as you can. Think income, lifestyle,
schedule, partners, travel, location, employees. What exactly
do you want? Throughout the week, add to this and revise it.
Compare where you are right now to what you really want. How
large is the gap? Next week, I'll help you create a plan to
narrow the gap with:
Why Business Plans Don't Work - How to Create an Effective
Action Plan
Start up business resource guide and consultant, Michael
Clark has been teaching best small business ideas for
over 20 years. Michael is a serial entrepreneur having opened
multiple successful small businesses over the last 12 years.
For more small business success stories and business resource
groups, visit his web site at http://biznbeyond.com.
