December 14 02 SBC Small Business Newsletter

December 14, 2002

Table of Contents

Staff Article - A LOOK FORWARD FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
Guest Article - DON'T SET NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS - TAKE ACTION IN THE NEW YEAR
Parting Comments

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Staff Article

A LOOK FORWARD FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
by: Cary Christian

With the holidays coming up I know most of you are probably not going to spend a lot of time reading ezines, so I'm going to keep my articles short the next couple of weeks. Tonight I want to give you a few items to think about for the coming year. I won't call them "resolutions" because I believe small businesses should always be planning ahead and modifying their plans as needed. Once a year just won't cut it.

Here are a few things you need to build into your plans if you haven't already.

1. Get listed in the Open Directory.

Search engine positioning can be a very difficult thing for small businesses to do well. It's a full time job and few small businesses have the resources to properly manage and maintain their positions in the engines. I understand that. But ignoring the engines altogether is not the answer.

I'm not going to sit here and recommend you shell out the big bucks for a Yahoo listing. If you can, great! Do it. If you can spare the time to monitor your position and work to maintain a high listing, even better!

But if you don't have this luxury, the next best thing is to get listed in the Open Directory in the categories that apply to your web site or sites. By doing so, you'll find you start to score better in several other search engines since many of them obtain their results, at least partially, from Open Directory.

In a few weeks, I'm going to do a full article, or maybe an article series, on preparing your site and submitting it to the Open Directory. We'll take it step by step and get you submitted properly.

For now, I just want you to make the commitment that you will work through this process with me and get your site submitted. We'll start the new year off with a bang!

2. Start building your list.

By now you know my thoughts on Internet marketing in general terms. There are no "big secrets" to be uncovered. All you need to know is out there for you to study and learn. Of course, it changes all the time, but that just means you have to keep on reading.

The most important part of Internet marketing is getting the basics right. One of those basic things you must have, and must build properly, is a list. A list of people who are interested in what you have to offer.

You don't have to start an ezine. You all have something to offer others. Perhaps it's just a little advice on a particular subject, or tips on new ways your products can be used to make life better. Maybe its news that affects your niche market. Whatever it might be, it's a reason to build relationships with people who have similar interests. And that is the key.

Customers come from this process. Good ones. Those that come back and buy from you again and again. An asset that keeps repaying the investment you've made to build the relationship.

If you haven't begun to build your list, commit to exploring how you are going to build it and then get started. It's an asset you can't do without, so procrastinate no more! If you're really lost on how to get started, send us an email and we'll help.

3. Begin the coming year with a reasonable written plan.

If you haven't got a business plan, write one. It doesn't have to be fancy. It doesn't have to be long. Take stock of where you are and what you believe you can reasonably accomplish during the next few months with the resources you have to work with.

You think about these things all the time. I'm sure you do. You will be surprised what a difference it makes to actually write these thoughts down. Writing forces you to give structure to your thoughts. This structure enables you to identify opportunities and problems you might not have ever noticed otherwise. It will be worth your time.

There you have three simple things to think about going into the new year. If you give these three ideas the weight they deserve and do nothing else new, you'll still be way ahead of the game

Copyright (c) 2002

Guest Article

DON'T SET NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS - TAKE ACTION IN THE NEW YEAR
by: Wendy Hearn

It's that time of year again when we start talking and thinking about New Year's Resolutions even though they're old hat and we instinctively know they don't work. Because your friends, family and colleagues may chat about what Resolutions they're going to make, do you find yourself wondering whether to make any? We know that within a few days or weeks, the Resolutions will be forgotten, nothing will have changed and yet for some
reason most people still worry about them. So why do we still bother with New Year's Resolutions? First, they're a custom and a New Year ushers in a new start, so what better time than now? There's even a small chance that we may stick to our Resolutions this year, so we have a go. The main reason some people think about New Year's Resolutions is because they want to change things in their life.

There's the usual New Year's Resolutions, such as I want to lose weight, change jobs, or earn more money but they tend to be the same ones you've had for years and they're still incomplete. These types of Resolutions are too vague. It's this vagueness, coupled with a lack of action which means that most people don't achieve their New Year's Resolutions. For Resolutions to work, they need to be well thought out and have real meaning. If not, they become a vague item on your "wish list" instead of actually doing something concrete about them.

The word resolution comes from 'resolve' and means to make up one's mind or decide firmly. Prior to New Years Day you may think of Resolutions you want to make and probably feel you've made up your mind, but what happens? Probably, very little or even nothing at all. Even though you know that Resolutions don't usually work, it seems that most us still want to make them. Perhaps that's because other people around you do it, so you feel you should follow suit because there are things in your life which you want to be different. The end of a year is a time for clearing out and completing things, to leave us with a clean slate ready to start a new year. There's something about a new year, a new beginning, and a fresh start which encourages us to make New Year's Resolutions. It's a powerful feeling to
know you have a year ahead of you and you can choose what you do with it. It's a time for reflection about where you want to go next.

What about committing to New Year changes and actions, rather than Resolutions? The key to achieving what you really want in life and business is to take action to achieve those changes. It's the lack of action which stops us from having what we most want. What you want will be different for each individual and may include

· More time in your personal life
· Less stress and more fun.
· Greater business and career success.
· Balance between work and home
· Altering your management or leadership style.

You may think I'm talking about life and business separately, yet they're inextricably linked. The key point is that you may want to focus on your professional life, yet this is directly related to your personal life.

Thinking about New Year's Resolutions may have made you aware that there are some changes you want to make. I encourage you to take steps on a consistent basis to make these changes, rather than vaguely tossing Resolutions around and not doing anything about them.

--------------------------

Wendy Hearn
Personal and Professional Coach

She works with business owners, professionals and executives to
discover and unlock their own inspiration, to effortlessly take the actions required to have the success they desire.

To receive Wendy's free newsletter, send an email to:
mailto:newsletter@wendyhearn.par32.com
http://www.Business-Personal-Coaching.com

Copyright 2002, Wendy Hearn. All rights reserved.

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