Posted in Business General

There are so many different strategies I could share regarding keeping your business flowing long term. I will pick my favourite ones to share with you and will most probably write a follow on blog from this one.

• Consistency – you need to be consistent. Consistency builds momentum in your business. Without momentum you are continually pushing up hill. Putting in the consistent effort ongoing rather than stop-starting will give you better long term results with less pain.
• Passion – You need to be passionate about what you do. Not a fake excited, happy face. But really love what you do. People need to be able to see your excitement in the way you speak and also hear it without you saying anything.
• Goals/Plans – You need to be clear on what your goals are in your business. Have a business plan. If you don’t plan, you plan to fail. So sit down and really think about what you want to achieve personally and financially in your business
• Networking – If you aren’t networking you aren’t working. You need to build strong alliances and business relationships. Having a strong network is the making of a strong long term business

In summary, you want to make sure you are pro-active in your business. Not sitting waiting for the phone to ring or for the next door to open. Successful business owners don’t wait for doors to open, they build them!

Do you feel you have what it takes to be your own boss? Are you self-disciplined? Can you think outside the box? Are you determined and motivated to do what is needed and get outside of your comfort zone?

Many people go into business without a second thought thinking that having your own business is easier than working for someone else because you will get to call the shots. The one thing they forget about is all the additional work and things they will now be responsible for that they didn’t know went on behind the scenes.

Key points to keep in mind when looking to become self employed

• Consistency – You need to do all the things you need to do every day no matter what – Do not stop start or treat your business like a hobby ( I don’t know any hobby’s that make you money, just cost you money)
• Research – You want to research your competition, be sure there is a market for the type of product or service you are looking to offer
• Systems – If there is a business model you can plug into and use rather than reinventing the wheel, do that. You then can focus on building the business rather than setting up systems and processes
• Build Momentum – You need to plan a 90 day marketing plan and each 30-90 days review it and build your next 90 days.
• Invest – Investing in your business and in yourself. Money, Time and Personal Development. You need to fill your tank with positive thoughts and information. Don’t focus on the negative. It comes down to the CDI formula… Consistent Daily Improvement.
• Focus – You need to focus on the wins… Not the failures. The difference between a successful person and an unsuccessful person is the successful person has had more failures and has picked themselves up that one extra time to create success.

So if you are motivated, determined, focused and most of all passionate and excited you can create success being your own boss. As long as you can be consistent!

What are the keys to having an ever growing, ever evolving business?

There are so many things I could write about here, but I am going to keep it short and pick out the main top items that I think are very important after being in business myself for the past 10 years

1. Always make sure you are keeping up with the latest technology in your industry
People love hearing about the new, latest technology product or service. They want to know that you are up with the latest industry information and are giving them the best service, product or treatment available

2. Don’t have all your eggs in one basket.. excuse the pun
You just never know what is around the corner. What if you only had the one supplier and they supplied all the products for your business.. what if they weren’t here tomorrow? What would you do? How would it effect your business? The same goes for customers.. One big customer – gone.. This could be an absolute disaster if you don’t have a back up plan in place

3. Work on yourself and on your business – don’t just work in it
A business is only as good as the person behind it. You need to be the shining example; you need to be the positive, excited passionate goal driven leader, guiding your team to the Big GOAL! You need to have a PLAN, have GOALS and be working towards them. You need to be testing and measuring everything you do, and if it is not working, change it. Most people get too busy and forget about the planning part of their business, but it is really just as, if not more, important than the action.. (What if you weren’t planned ahead and didn’t order the buns for the burgers? This would effect your ACTION in making and selling the burgers, Right?)

4. Be Positive.. Enjoy what you do
It comes back to the BE DO HAVE principle. You need to be the person you want to become, and do the things that person would do, to have the things that you want to have. So be happy, be positive, focus on your goals, do affirmations and visualize your dreams as reality

5. Market.. Be Seen
You need to get your business seen. To market your business doesn’t mean you have to spend thousands of dollars on marketing campaigns; there are so many free ways to do this now through Social Media and the Internet. All you need is the right information and you will become a professional marketer easily and quickly. I would love to share with you our FREE Social Media Training.. visit our Facebook page today and get instant access – http://www.facebook.com/lovinglifenow2

I would love to hear any other ideas you have to add to this list..

Which way should you go?

When it comes to marketing do you promote your business or do you promote you?

It really does depend on your type of business and where you are marketing. So how do you know which is the right avenue to take? One thing to keep in mind is “People do business with People”. Here are a few key points to think of:

If you use a social media platform like LinkedIn you will find this is the place to market you… not your business. You profile will be all about you and your work experience. The discussions you have will be based around your topics of interest. It is about building relationships not marketing your business.

Facebook has the ability for both types of promotion. If you set up a business page you can promote your business and your products etc… and from your personal profile you can promote yourself, build your credibility and relationships.

I personally feel that if you business is service based – as in one on one consultation, coaching, mentoring, assistants etc, you should really be building up your brand as being YOU and not your business name. If you are more based in retail with products etc, then your marketing should be more BRAND/BUSINESS focused… apart from the social media examples above.

Of course everyone will have their own take and their own thoughts on this… I would love to hear your feedback!

So you have been in business for a while and you are feeling stale and maybe a little bored?

What are some ideas and strategies you can implement to keep your passion alive?

First of all you should write a list of the reasons you started the business in the first place. What was it that made you get excited about going into business for yourself? Was it the flexibility? Was it the freedom to do as you please, take holidays when you please? Was it the income you were going to generate? Whatever the reasons, are they still there, or didn’t they ever arrive?

Being in business for yourself is never easy, it never goes 100% to plan. There are always bumps in the road and sometimes large pot holes too. You need to ensure that you have a great support network in place for you and your business. A mentor is a great idea, as it gives you someone to bounce ideas off and they can give you some great advice on how to do things so that you don’t need to learn the same lessons they did.

So the big question is: Can you get back that exciting feeling you had when you first started your business? The answer to this question will be different for everyone.

YES – You can if you still have all the aspects in your business you wanted when you started it and maybe just you have gotten a little bored and needed to change it up a little. Some suggestions here are maybe re-branding your business; give it an image a makeover. Or maybe hire a business coach to assist you in taking your business to the next level. Mastermind it with a few key business people you know and see what ideas you can come up with.

NO – If the things you went into business for either have never been achieved or have changed. This can happen, things change, life changes, people change. Something you loved and had passion for 10 years ago may not be your passion anymore. Sometimes if the spark is gone, it is gone. It doesn’t mean that you have failed; it just means you need a new challenge, you need to reignite that spark, and it may just mean you need a new opportunity to do this.

Re-sparking that magic really is possible, but only if you really want it to be.

The key elements to any successful person and successful business is: Do what you love and Love what you do.. and if you don’t like what you are doing, change it!

You too can love your life today www.lovinglifenow.com.au