If you answered yes, let me first congratulate you. A decision is a goal that has been made. Next, let me ask you what clear action steps are you
 taking right now to get your goal?

I am sure you have heard the old adage attributed to Albert Einstein: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Now is the time to take new, innovative, and consistent action in order to attract new leads, clients and revenue.

If you are like many small business owners, you are looking to upgrade your sales and marketing efforts, but you are not sure what to do or how to start. Often other more immediate things get in the way and your good intentions never come to fruition.

I am sure you have lots of great reasons for not getting to your sales and marketing, including your social media activities. The truth is, however, without consistent action over time, whatever you do in any of these areas will not grow your business in any significant way.

I understand. I know it can be frustrating.

That is why I am determined to do everything I can to provide affordable and practical business development programs that will quickly and easily grow your business, including an easy solution that will provide a strong boost for your business and give you a solid foundation from which to grow and flourish.

To find out more, just go here. This is a brand new offering that I have designed with two goals in mind: quick results and making the most of your valuable time. This four week program starts this Monday, so you need to move quickly.

P.S. There is a bonus at the bottom of the page that is invaluable and worth three times the cost of the program—if you register in the next two days. Visit http://www.attractclientswithease.com/bbintensive.htm now.

I was speaking today with the head of a communications firm who has been growing her business every year for the past several years and now her revenue has plummeted. Here is why: all her clients were in the real estate development industry: that industry that has also plummeted. The question is clear- I ask it of you: Are you serving only one industry?  Is that industry suffering? Is it time to diversify your client portfolio?

I do agree with the idea of going deep in a niche, or becoming a big expert in a small pond. However, perhaps it is time to rethink the basic premise of creating a niche and instead ask if it is time to start a second niche or a second specialty. For example, if your firm provides high- end catering perhaps it is time to build a box lunch business, if your firm specializes in professional organizing for people working from home, perhaps it is time to add professional organizing for small offices.

Here is one of my big secrets- I have 3 business cards- the business is the same, business coaching, consulting and speaking, however the niches are different. It may be time for you to get a second or third card. Is it more work? Yes. Does it cost more to market to two niches? Yes.  Is it more profitable? Absolutely, and more importantly, it makes your business less vulnerable. Our world is changing ever faster, business is changing ever faster. One of the ways to ensure your business remains stable is to diversify. Let me know your thoughts.

Most groups these days do not have a requirement that you bring a lead for someone to the meetings. However, the more you look out for the other members of the group, the more they are likely to give you referrrals to people in their lives.

To find groups in your area just do a Google search
networking+(your geographic area)+ 2009

I am sure you will get lots of search results.

Otherwise start your own group. I have a innovative strategy to make this a business breakthrough strategy. I call it a Circle of Eight. Check out this concept here.

Please post a comment once you try this free networking opportunity. I would love to hear how this works for you.

For a free special report on twenty proven strategies to grow your business with ease, go here and sign up.

There are some key and fundamental business practices that are rather boring, that you must embrace in your business to reap the rich rewards that come with building a profitable and sustainable business.

#1 Evaluate The Numbers
Do you know how much revenue each of your products and services generated this year and the last? Do you know what your average earnings was per client? Do you know where most of your business came from? How about how much it cost you to close a new client? What percentage of your business is from repeat clients?

There is no place where the saying “information is power” is more applicable then in your business. Answer the above questions and use this information to determine if you should continue to offer all your existing products and services. Use this info to reduce the cost of adding new clients and to increase the amount of money each customer spends with you, and of course to increase your repeat business.

#2 Learn the Difference Between Now Money Now
and More Money Later and Develop Both
This is another one of my favorite business building concepts. Now money now is when you provide a service and get paid for that service right away. More money later is when you invest time now in developing a product or service that will pay you much more in the future for the time you are investing now, like when you write a book, or write a training program or a software program. A sustainable business needs both now money now and more money later.

In a service-based business you are trading your time and expertise for money. You want to make sure that you have other ways of generating revenue that do not involve to much of your time. With each passing year you are in business you want to increase the products or services you offer that do not involve your time. This is another key factor in building a sustainable business.

By the way this is something we cover extensively in the Business Breakthrough Program.

#3 Create an Additional Revenue Source
As you evaluate the numbers also assess what else your company can offer in the way of products or services. Determine if there are other needs your clients have that you can provide. The more ways your company has to generate revenue the more sustainable and profitable and secure your firm will be. For example if you provide image services, also consider providing company training, webinars, information products perhaps a line of accessories or even top notch briefcases for your executive clients. These ideas may or may not be right for you still you need to come up with more than 1, 2, or 3 ways to generate revenue for your company.

Again we cover shine the spotlight on this in the Business Breakthrough Program.

#4 Get Credit, Increase Your Credit
A business needs credit. Cashflow is key to fulfilling your marketing and business plan and ensuring delivery of your products and services. Too many times I have seen business owners embarrassed and paralyzed because they can not pay their bills while waiting for their clients to pay them. Also your business will be severely limited if everything has to be paid for with cash on hand all the time. Consider that most businesses have high and low revenue producing periods throughout the year and at these times you still have to keep things moving.

A lack of credit indicates a lack of professionalism and business acumen. If you need to start at getting your credit score in order do it. Then start with the largest line of credit you can get. Then use it and each year focus on increasing it. One client recently got her first line of credit for $1000.00. I told her that was fantastic- you start where you are and increase your credit line as you can. Do not over look this important business fundamental strategy.

#5 Use Value-Based Marketing
Today’s marketplace is crowded and today’s potential clients are bombarded with marketing and advertising messages at unprecedented numbers. To make your marketing messages stick and actually be welcomed you have to always be providing value through your marketing while establishing yourself as an expert. A few of my favorite value-based marketing methods are speaking, teleclasses, articles and webinars.  For more on value based marketing read The Expert Advantage – How to be Recognized as an Expert in Your Field.

By the way we cover value-based marketing extensively in the Business Breakthrough Program.

#6 Put Together a Marketing Plan, Calendar and Team
If you have been around me for a while you have heard me say it a thousand times – consistency over time creates results. If your marketing plan lacks consistency it will be ineffective. That is why your marketing calendar for what you are going to do when for the next 12-18 month is key to your success.

By the way, make sure your value-based marketing plan has variety. You should be doing at least three things consistently, plus some things added in as you can. For example, you could write your blog every week, send out a value-based email with an offer twice a month and write an article once a month for a newspaper or magazine. Then you could speak to groups of your potential clients occasionally, and do radio interviews occasionally and send out a value-based direct mail piece quarterly.

Once you have your activities, decide when you are going to do what, what needs to happen beforehand and who is responsible for what to fulfill your calendar. Again, this is not innovative stuff, and it is what works effectively to attract clients.

#7 Put Together Your Daily/Weekly Productivity Plan
Now here is a concept that any success expert since the beginning of time will tell you is a must for your business – and it’s something you know. Yet, are you doing it?  You significantly increase your productivity when you have a routine.

Decide when are you seeing clients, when are you focused on marketing, when are you focused on sales, when are you doing your business planning, when are you taking some time off?  Yes, I know that you will not always be able to stick to your plan, yet not having one at all will result in your business running you – not you running your business. You will be reactive to the challenges du jour, rather than being pro-active and moving your priorities forward.

Okay! There they are – your boring business ideas that will reap you exciting business benefits in 2009. Get busy!  There is not time to waste.

Click here to get an automatic feed.

It was held at what I thought ahead of time was an unlikely location – Uptown Body & Fender in Oakland. Turns out the place is perfect, with its brick walls and clean floors. Owner Giovanna Tanzillo has a great event space that you can rent out.

I so enjoy these networking events where I meet new people and run into women I have known in the Bay Area Business community for many years now. Are you getting out there and meeting enough people these days to expand and keep up your network?

One of the highlights of the afternoon was hearing Meagan Connolly Haupt, owner of C5 custom jewelry http://www.c5company.com Meagan talked about the importance of making sure your business reflects your values. Her other two tips for business success were to be sure to take time to plan and to get out there and network.

Her company is one of about 20 jewelry companies in the United States that creates recycled and sustainable jewelry. That means when her jewelry is made it leaves a small carbon footprint, compared to the tons (I can not remember if she said 2 or 10 tons) of mining waste that is created for each gold ring we put on our fingers. Wow! That is a shocker.

I predict that buying only sustainable jewelry which also includes gems made in a lab instead of mined, will be the next big consumer trend, just like we no longer buy animal furs or aerosol products and the latest trend you are now seeing is organic fabrics being promoted and used in clothing manufacturing.

By the way my new favorite thing is my Hanes® Organically Grown Sleep Shirt, that is so soft you will love how it feels against your skin. I got mine from my Avon lady, Dortha Hise http://www.youravon.com/dhise. The sleep shirt is on sale right now.

In our business, and with our consumer spending dollars, it is so important to be sure that the way we do business and the way we spend our own money reflects who we want to be in the world. Equally important is to be aware of the environmental impact of the way we do business. I encourage you to be conscious of what you promote with the consumer dollars you spend. The fur industry tanked because people stopped buying furs.

Something to think about.  Anything for you to do?

In this article, you will find tips that you can use when using social networking sites to build your business.

Those tips are:

•    Read the terms and conditions
When joining a social networking site, read the terms and conditions to see what type of advertising restrictions they have. If you violate those terms, then your account may be deleted or worse. Sometimes it pays to avoid heavy marketing on some of the larger sites such as MySpace and Facebook. The smaller sites such as Yuwie tend to be more lenient toward advertising. Some even encourage it.

•    Aim for smaller social networking sites
Marketing your business on the big social networking sites can be quite tempting because there are so many people on them. Thinking of that type of exposure can seduce common sense and land you in some trouble. As stated in the first tip, it is good to avoid any heavy marketing on the larger sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Sometimes you have to avoid it all together since sites like MySpace have a function where those you are marketing to can mark your messages as SPAM. There have even been instances in which lawsuits have been brought against those sending out what is considered SPAM. Even if your intentions are pure, it is good to resist the temptation.

•    Use social networking blogs
Many of the social network sites have a blog function. Some of them such as Livejournal and Blogger are centered around blogs, but offer social networking options for users. You can use the blogs to talk about your service to those who visit it. You can also use your other social networking accounts to market your blog by providing a link to it somewhere on the page. Even talking about your business in your MySpace blog is not a bad thing. That is one way you can get away with marketing on the large social networking sites.

•    Market to other businesses
You would be surprised how many businesses have created social networking sites. Market yourself to those businesses, especially if you have services they can use. Then again, they are increasing your exposure by adding you to their friends list. If you can, reach an agreement with that business for the week to list you as a top friend and you will do the same for them. That way, you can help each other out.

•    Utilize all of the site’s functions
Social networking sites provide a number of different functions to their users. As stated before, blogging is one of those functions. Other functions include networking, groups, classifieds and forums.

You can use the networking function to connect with individuals who have an interest in your services. Be sure to hook up to these available networks. You can also join groups of people with the same interests and create groups of your own. When you create a group, you can invite individuals to join. They then have the option to accept or decline your invitation. They also have the option to search for a group such as yours. This is a great way to market to individuals who have a genuine interest in what you do. You can also use the classified ads to post ads about your business. The only tricky one is the forums. You don’t want to SPAM people’s posts with information regarding your business. You want to look for posts that are relevant to your business or business in general. There may be even more features for you to use to your advantage, so be sure to explore every aspect of the site so that you can form a plan.

Despite the amount of marketing that occurs on social networking sites, these online meeting places are still largely untapped. You can develop your own strategy based on what portals the site gives you to market your business. You can also create one profile page or you can create multiple profile pages to highlight each and every one of your services. If that sounds good to you, simple Google a list of the networking sites on the web and get started utilizing social networking sites to build your business.

Paying Attention to Your Self-talk
Everything you say to yourself either serves you or sabotages you. Do you tell yourself you can do it, do you tell yourself you deserve it or do you tell yourself something different, something less supportive? Turn those thoughts around and replace them with positive self talk. Positive thoughts add vitality to your body- negative thoughts deplete your vitality- it is the physiological truth.

Take Time at the End of Each Day to Plan for The Next Day
Take 15 minutes to clear your desk and make a list of the top three-five things you need to get done tomorrow. Then once you get those done, you can go back and pick five more. The truth is our brains can’t handle more than a few main things at a time.

Focus on One Thing at a Time
Work on one project, one set of phone calls, one proposal, at a time. It is more productive. Ignore all those emails coming in and get that proposal done and out the door, or make those follow-up/check-in calls you have been putting off. Then move on to the next most important thing. Yes, I know we all (especially women) like to think that we can dance with the myriad of tasks on our voluminous To Do List.  The truth is, we can get a lot more done by focusing on one thing at a time. Also, you will be surprised at how much less time that big project will take when you put your full attention on it.

And lastly, laugh and have a little fun every day. Life it to enjoy.

Feel free to post a question in the comments area and I will do my best to respond in a future blog entry. Also, let me know what you think about the above ideas.