Business Strategy
Make Your “Big Idea” into a Business
Do you have a “Big Idea” business plan that you want to use to start a business? In 2009, have you decided that you want to start your own business? Then just take your idea and do it. Don’t wait any longer1
The way the economy is changing, you never know when a “Corporate America” job could end. So take you fear and get past it. Take your “Big Idea” and go with it. Below is a simple list of things to keep in mind when you are creating you “Big Idea” together.
- Determine the need for a prototype
- Own the process of developing the prototype
- Show prototype
- Build prototype
- Sale prototype
Check out this video.
Is your business unique? Ways to standout!
Have you asked yourself, “Is my business unique?” lately? If you can’t readily say yes then maybe it’s time for you to review your business and make it standout and be unique.
What are some ways that you can make it standout? Glad you asked. Below is a short list of ways that you can make it standout:
- Develop a niche market where you can create a competitive edge
- Personalize your services so that you offer uniqueness
- Make your services easy to buy and add freebies to sweeten the deal
- Identify how you will solve the problems that your idea client may have
What are some ways that you use to standout? Watch the video below to see how MSNBC Business Answers shares how “Differentiating Your Product” can be done.
Business Makeover: Are You Prepared with an Emergency Plan
Recently I experienced unplanned downtime due to Internet outage which affected my ability to do business, receive/send email or even communicate via my social media outlets. I faced reality that I didn’t have a backup plan in case something like this happened. I didn’t have emergency procedures in place so that I wouldn’t have to go without Internet access.
So my first plan of action while I was down was to create an emergency backup plan in case this happened again. I began by looking for alternative solutions that I could have in place just in case my access was limited again. Below is a list of what I determined:
- Locate alternative external sources where I could gain access to the Internet freely (i.e., library or food establishments with Internet access)
- Obtain information from cell phone company on how I can use my cell phone with my computer to access… Continue reading →
Business Makeover: Have You Branded Your Business?
In order for business owners to be easily recognizable, one must make sure that clients and potential clients can tell who we are, what we do and how we can help them reach their goals. This means that a common look must resonate from our website, to our media packages and also our online presence outside of our website. This is termed as your branding and according to Wikipedia.org,
A brand is a collection of images and ideas representing an economic producer; more specifically, it refers to the descriptive verbal attributes and concrete symbols such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme that convey the essence of a company, product or service. Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the accumulation of experiences with the specific product or service, both directly relating to its use, and through the influence of advertising, design, and media commentary.
During my business… Continue reading →
Business Makeover: Are Your Business Processes in Order?
I’m excited to talk about business processes because I have over 15 years of experience as a technical project manager while working in Corporate America. The importance of having business processes in place is vital because they help create an organized environment. Having an organized environment can help you be more successful.
So what can be considered a business process? Good Question! According to Wikipedia.org, a business process is “a collection of interrelated tasks, which accomplish a particular goal”. In other words, it’s when you pre-determine which tasks work well together to create a seamless way to achieve what you want to do in your business.
In my business, I have many business processes in place that help me to create a seamless environment. During my business makeover, I have been able to refine my processes and become more efficient. Below is an example of a refined business process.
- Old way… Continue reading →
Business Makeover: Are You Focused Like Michael Phelps?
First, if you don’t know who Michael Phelps is, you can read more about him by clicking here. But if you do know who he is then you know that he has been very focused on winning Olympic Gold medals for swimming. His goal has been to beat World records too and so far he is doing a great job of it.
I haven’t been watching the sporting events of the Olympics as intently as others but one thing for sure is that hearing Michael’s name mentioned almost everywhere has become a norm. As business owners, wouldn’t it be great to have positive brand recognition like Michael?
Well I’ve been giving this some thoughts over the past few days and during my business makeover I have realized that I’ve become very focused on what’s best for me and my business. Having targeted goals in mind has helped me to… Continue reading →
Business Makeover: Are You Checking Yourself?
Today’s focus is going to be on checking up with my progress and seeing if I am on target with my checklist. Last week, I had accomplished everything but one task on my checklist. Let’s see how I did this week.
- Continue monitoring my social networking time frames & create schedule (Work in progress)
- Create Mind Map for my business makeover (DONE!)
- Develop strategy for implementing business makeover (Work in progress)
- Continue working on setting up daily schedule (Work in progress)
- Focus on the services that I will provide to my clients (work in progress)
- Create to do list for VA (almost complete)
Hmmm… It looks like I have a lot of “work in progress” this week on my checklist. Have I been too busy doing other things to get these done. I would say no. Just because a task is a “work in progress” doesn’t mean that I wasn’t… Continue reading →
Business Makeover: Who’s in Control, You or Your Social Networking
Does this sound familiar to you: I don’t know where all the time went to because I was having so much fun networking. Or will you admit that you spend more time social networking than you do on actually planning your business future? I will admit that I’ve been addicted to social networking and it was getting in the way of me growing my business.
Don’t get me wrong, I do believe in regularly participating in social networking because it does help you grow your business. However, if it takes over you life and controls you instead of you controlling it then stepping back and taking a look at your social networking activities is very important. So much so, I’m sure that you will agree with the following checklist that I’m now using regarding my social networking activities.
- Am I participating in social networking with a purpose in mind?
- Do… Continue reading →
Business Makeover: Using Virtual Teams
After hiring my virtual assistant (VA), I quickly realized that if I create a virtual team that I would be able to continue refining my business processes. I figured that it would a good idea to hire a team of specialist so that I could outsource to them and continue refining my business process.
As a business owner, one must keep in mind that having a virtual team in place will help you leverage your business better. Have you given any thoughts to putting a virtual team to work for you? Below is a list of areas that would be good to outsource to a virtual team:
- Managing Calendar
- Creating graphics
- Content Management (blog & website)
- Data entry
- Handling phone calls
- Organizing computer
- Research
- Creating newsletter
These are just a few of the areas that you can outsource to your virtual team. Have you been feeling overwhelmed or your projects… Continue reading →
Business Makeover: Hiring a Virtual Assistant (VA)
Wow, I actually hired a virtual assistant (VA) to help me get things organized with my business makeover. This was a hard decision because I’ve always been the hands-on business owner and releasing control is hard. Don’t get me wrong, I can delegate when the need arises but to actually had over tasks that I’m used to doing, has been hard.
To help me determine who I should hire as my VA, I chose to ask for references from my mentor Mari Smith (@MariSmith) and she gave me 5 VA names. I immediately contacted them via Facebook but the strangest thing is that only one of the persons responded to me. I thought this was strange because if you are in business and someone contacts you about your services, it’s customary that you respond. So I communicated with the person who responded and now she and I are developing a working relationship.… Continue reading →
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