Category — Business

I am part of a wonderful group of women on Facebook called Atlanta Women Entrepreneurs. One of our members, Allison Babb Phillips, asked this question:

I’m curious to hear from other biz owners…. when you hesitate or forget to follow up with a prospect, what’s typically going on that’s causes this? I just taught a ClientsOnABudget.com session today on “follow up fortunes” and thought I’d ask the question. You know… the stack of biz cards we were meaning to connect with, referral we got but never contacted the person, interested prospect we should call but haven’t etc. Why’s that?? And do share your ideas for conquering persistent “follow-up failure?”

There were so many wonderful answers, I decided to create a series of blog posts around the tips so that the discussion didn’t get buried. I also wanted to have somewhere that I could easily reference the answers in case I got stuck with the same thing.

So here is one of the tips given by the original poster,Allison Babb Phillips:

what’s worked beautifully for me is what I call a “prospect magnet.” Shhhh… you didn’t hear me call it that. It’s basically an educational marketing tool carefully structured to be powerfully “client magnetic.” Enter a room with ideal prospects using this and you’ll never have another prospect slip through your fingers. Works every time for me. In addition to getting a biz card from an interested prospect, they literally come to you to ask for what you have which then opens the door to gracefully following up. See more in this video: http://ow.ly/7KbjR Hope that helps!

That was just one of the answers given to this question. Stay tuned to this blog to see what else develops. Also be sure to join the Facebook group if you are a female entrepreneur at http://www.facebook.com/groups/AWEINFO/

Before a doctor diagnoses a specific disease, his patient must undergo a series of laboratory exams and assessments. He has to know the history of his patient and how lifestyle affected his present health problem. As results come in, that would be an indication of the time when a physician gives specific drugs and therapies for maintenance. This will eventually contribute to the level of optimum health for that individual. If all else fails, the process will be repeated again.

Similar to what the abovementioned situation has stated, an entrepreneur’s responsibility would be pretty much the same. It’s just that, he should see his customers as his patients and what they must have to survive a present predicament or a need. He must follow certain steps before doing anything irrational that could contribute to the downfall of his business. He should have certain characteristics innate in his personality for if he lacks one of these, he’s most probably doomed to fail.

Entrepreneurship is collectively defined as exhibiting one’s vision, taking action, and pursuing that vision as a goal to be achieved in life as service to reality. In the meaningless definition, it’s getting your butt out of that couch and doing something rather than fulfilling your life’s destiny of being a couch potato. Stated below are some of the distinct attitudes an entrepreneur should positively have:

• Optimism – is foreseeing things in a positive way notwithstanding any circumstances that may hinder progress. The assertiveness of an individual depends on his knowledge of how to handle a difficult situation

• Creativity – is thinking outside the box. Expanding one’s mind of what is beyond the ordinary through fine research and collection of data.

• Stability – either physical, mental, social or emotional, a leader must possess a stable life which means he could handle tough situations during tough times

• Charismatic – intelligence of communicating with different walks of life. Who says a charming man is less than an intelligent one? A good entrepreneur must have the certain magic glistening in his eyes and could convey enchanting words to get hold of that convincing power no one dare resist.

• Risk-taker – as someone beginning his own dream, he should be stern and must have the guts and the balls to take the big leap of plunging into his own doom or success. He should not be afraid of taking chances when opportunity strikes.

• Energetic – willing to do whatever it takes to reach to the finish line. His drive must always be at its highest level for being an entrepreneur would make you work overtime. His enthusiasm must prevail the next best thing.

• Time bound – like a written report in a newspaper, an entrepreneur must be on the top of every innovation. By looking at our past, we could predict our future.

Small businesses, in time, would turn out big if the scope of management exceeds what is expected. So it is necessary for a beginner to be positive about his endeavors. He must be very observant of what his environment lacks and needs. He should have sturdy shoulders to put on extra weight of carrying a responsibility that could change his or her life.

One’s greatest failure is sticking with the mentality of being conventional. This would be one of an entrepreneur’s greatest downfalls. Think big. Act. Make your business dreams come true.

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I always complain about how google does stuff. However, this time I think they are on to something. They are rolling out this priority inbox feature for select gmail users (don’t ask me how they determine who gets to test it first). I saw the notice when I went to check my email earlier today. They have even created a cute youtube video explaining how to use it. Here is the video. I just had to share it as an example of a good way to use video in your business.

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I found this article on twitter today while I was trying to figure out what to write about. This got my attention because there are so many self proclaimed gurus trying to get you to buy into their methods, it’s downright scary. This article gives you some ways to know if the person you are dealing with actually knows what she is talking about. Here’s the link to the article: http://darrenhardy.success.com/2010/08/dont-trust-experts/

What do you think? Leave your comments in the comment section.

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School starting this early has gotten me behind schedule with my blog posting. Hopefully I’ll be back on track next week. Enjoy today’s post.

Small business owners worry about cash flow when times are tough like everyone else. This is a valid concern because small business owners have more responsibility than people that are just employees. Entrepreneurs are sometimes responsible for payroll, supplies, and benefits for their employees. In addition to these responsibilities, they have to buy the things they need for their own household to run smoothly. Just like you can save money on your household purchases, you can save money on the purchases you make for your business. The rest of this article will show you how you can save money on your daily small business purchases.

Save money by buying secondhand clothes.
Since you are working from home now, your wardrobe needs have changed. This is because you aren’t in other people’s faces everyday. You don’t have to have brand new clothes all the time because no one is going to see you. Now you should have one or two power suits for the rare times that you have to meet clients. You can get decent suits from consignment stores in your area.

Buy used equipment
As long as no safety hazard exists, there is no reason why you can’t use pre owned equipment. As long as whatever it is you are buying does what it is supposed to do, there is no reason to buy it used. You can usually find used office equipment by going to auctions. Sometimes when business fail, they sell their equipment at very low prices.

Don’t skimp on professional services.
There are some things that you don’t want to shortchange yourself on. You don’t want to use cheap attorneys and accountants. You will wind up paying double just to fix whatever it is they screwed up. Also don’t fall for using these cheap virtual assistants out there. Once again you will wind up spending time fixing their work. Some things you need to spend good money on. Decide what is in your budget for such services and go from there.

Whether you are making money or not in your business, it is a good idea to control your expenses. You don’t want to spend all of the money you worked so hard to make frivolously. Use some of the tips in this article to help cut down on your spending the right way. You don’t want to cut back on things that are important to the survival of your business.

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