I say this not to come down on you, but because it’s the reality. Most entrepreneurs, particularly solo-entrepreneurs, are so strapped for time and money their marketing gets the short end of the stick. And their business growth is too slow as a result.

All too often, when I talk to clients, I find out they know what they really should be doing to market and grow their business – whether it’s writing regular blog posts and ezines, doing social networking, attending live networking meetings, or even just calling past clients to check in.

The problem is they have a whole list of “reasons” for why they can’t do whatever it is.

It might be lack of time, money or know how. But you can get around all of these hurdles with a little creativity and effort.

The truth is, most people have some kind of internal blocks that keep them from taking action consistently. So they come up with reasons why it won’t work or they can’t do it.

Reasons like…

• “Oh, I could never email people a regular newsletter…That would be rude and intrusive.”
• “I just don’t like social networking.”
• “I don’t understand Facebook or what it could possibly do for my business.”
• “Fliers would never work with my type of clients.”
• “I can’t stand going and selling myself to a bunch of strangers who aren’t interested.”
• “I don’t have time to write a regular ezine, let alone blog posts every week.”
• “My employees would never get on board and do that.”

This list could go on and on. But what it really boils down to is, whatever the reasoning, you’re holding yourself back from success. And you don’t have to.

Below are two simple steps you can take to move past your marketing roadblock in a jiffy…

1) The next time you find yourself thinking, “That’s a great idea, but I could never do _________ because…” stop yourself. Because if you say you can’t do something then you’re right.

2) Then ask yourself “How could I make that happen?”

When you reframe the statement into this question you open the doors of possibility and a solution can be found.

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I’m regularly amazed at the difference between what I think I can do, and what I can actually do. This has become even more apparent since I started doing Crossfit a few months ago.

Crossfit is an amazing cross-training workout that uses everything from kettle bells to tractor tires and a good bit of barbell work to get you in shape. The best part is the workout changes dramatically every day.

One day might be a long, slow 30 minute workout. Another day might be what I call a “6 minutes to puking” workout involving loads of reps in a really short amount of time.

Now, I’ve never really lifted weights or done most of these exercises. So on more than one day I’ve looked at the proposed workout and thought “There is no way I can do that!”

The incredible thing is I’ve managed to complete them all.  Who knew a little thing like me could lift 55 pounds overhead 35 times, plus do 35 burpees (crazy, whole body to the floor followed by jumping pushups) in 7 minutes?!?!

I sure didn’t until I did it. And I still wouldn’t know—and I’d be holding myself back—if I had never tried. Sure I might be sore and tired after, but the sense of accomplishment and feelings of mental and physical strength are worth it.

Okay, so what’s this got to do with growing your business?

Let me ask you a question…

When was the last time you really pushed your own boundaries, stepped out of your comfort zone, and found your limit? We’ve become a culture of convenience and comfort, so chances are the answer is “not recently” unless you’re an athlete.

The problem is, all too often we assume we can’t do this or that—especially when it comes to marketing and growing a business—without really knowing what we can truly do.

My clients regularly say things like “Oh, I could never come up with enough content for a blog or newsletter.” Or, “I don’t have time to call my new clients or patients and follow up.” Or, “I could never create videos…Or speak in public…Or sell my knowledge as a consultant.”

Or my favorite… “I could never ask for that kind of money.” This one usually from clients on the verge of going out of business because they aren’t making enough to survive.

Remember, if you think you can’t…You’re right!

The reality is, you’re capable of a whole lot more than you realize. And the only way to find out what you can do is to go for it. Try to find your actual limit, instead of the one you’ve imposed on yourself for no good reason.

If you don’t, you’re discounting your abilities and holding back your business growth.

Are you a boundary pusher? What do you think of this article, and the power of finding your personal limits?

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But unless you find ways of creating a bit of that elusive work/life balance, chances are you won’t last long owning your own business. Or at the very least you’ll be very unhappy doing it. Because you simply cannot work 60-80 hours a week, month after month, without burning out.

To help you become a successful AND happy entrepreneur, I recently solicited tips from more than 100 experts on productivity, time management, business/life balance, mindset and more. Below are a few more I thought were worth sharing. Enjoy!

Schedule your leisure and family time.

“Some entrepreneurs are so immersed in their businesses and are such slaves to their blackberries that they can never find time for “life”. For many people like this, the best way to begin to tackle that problem is literally to SCHEDULE your leisure and family activities so the time is blocked out, i.e.: Mon – Fri 6 – 7 pm family dinner Thursday 5 pm – mani/pedi Sat. 1 – 4 pm, art museum w/ kids Sun. 5 pm call parents Like that, or they will never make space in their day. Sounds a little nuts, but it works.”

Lizzy Shaw, Owner/President – Lizzy Shaw Public Relations http://www.lizzyshawpr.com/

The best way to maintain business/life balance is to stay organized.

“The best way to maintain business/life balance is to stay organized. If you can get to the office and work effectively, you can leave when you need to with peace of mind that your day was productive. I write a list before I get to work so that I’m prepared and know what my day will hold. I try to avoid getting side tracked and I work hard to stay on task. There are always things that come up when you run a business, but referring back to the list gets me back on track.”

Deborah Sweeney, CEO – My Corporation http://www.mycorporation.com/

To avoid personal/professional burn-out, you must compartmentalize.

“There’s no such thing as an underworked small business owner. You put your career on the line daily; you’re predisposed to care about every detail of every issue. But to avoid personal/professional burn-out, you must compartmentalize. Billing and collecting aren’t the best parts of the job, but you have to do them. Marketing and filling the pipeline may not show immediate results, but without them your business stalls. Be GREAT at delivering your product or service first, but then make time to be good at everything else as well.”

Cheryl Heisler, President – Lawternatives Career Consulting www.lawternatives.com

Get an iPad!

“While growing a successful startup over the past four years this tip has started to reverse the effects of my countless 80 hour work weeks in the past. Are you ready for the tip? Ditch the home computer and get an iPad. Seriously. It forces you to prioritize what you can accomplish in and out of the office. As a result, it empowers you to spend more time, less distracted, with what matters the most, your family.”

Paul Burke, CEO – TicketDerby, Inc. http://www.ticketderby.com/

You have got to start putting your “Life” before business…

“You have got to start putting your “Life” before business, or you will always be spinning your wheels, thinking “If only……, then everything will be okay” —————-the universe will not cooperate with you if your head is in the wrong place. You take care of business, but you absolutely make sure you are giving an appropriate amount of time to your “life” which certainly, I hope, consists of a lot more than the “office or shop”. The better you will feel about your own life, the better your business will shape up…….the business does not run you – you run the business”

Harris Glasser

What do you think about these tips? Got more to add? Please do share by leaving a comment below…

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While on the one hand no small business owner wants to be lacking in clients or sales. On the other hand, slow times are a gift because you finally have time to focus on all those tasks you’ve been putting off.

That also means it’s a perfect time to take a long, hard look at your business…To review what’s working and what’s not…And to determine if you’re happy with the business you’ve built, or if you’d prefer it to be something different.

Because when you’re busy, it’s easy to get so caught up in the day-to-day you never have a moment to breathe—let alone do any serious thinking, review and assessment. You’re just charging forward as fast as you can while juggling as any balls as is humanly possible.

Typically, the result is expense creep that results in lost revenues. Or task creep that results in loss of personal time or general unhappiness with running your business.

So today I thought I’d share a few key questions you can and should ask whenever business is slow AND when business is good…

1. What are my current expenses and how can I reduce them? I’ve found phone and Internet bills, Web hosting, and outsourcing are areas that can almost always be trimmed.
    
2. Which marketing strategies or tactics provide the best and worst Return on Investment (ROI)? Remember, just because a tactic brings in leads, sales or clients does not mean it’s making you money. You have to consider the costs as well.
    
3. Which products and/or services bring in the most and least net revenues (IE revenues remaining after expenses)? Sometimes a product or service is a big seller, but isn’t actually a money maker. So you end up spending too much time or money to generate that revenue.

    

4. What tasks take up the majority of my time each day, and is this the best use of my time? There is a big difference between having a busy business, and engaging in a whole lot of busyness. It’s important to track where you’re spending your time and make sure you’re focusing most of your time on the tasks that grow your business or bring in revenues.
    
5. Am I happy with the people I work with and the way my business is going? It’s always easier to stick with the status quo than make changes. But it’s your business and your life. If you’re not happy you need to recognize it then make a plan to improve the situation.
    
6. How can I streamline and simplify what I do, what I sell, or how I sell it? Less is more. For those of us who really want to deliver tons of value this one can be tough. But especially in these days of info overload and never-ending to-do lists, it’s worth focusing on.

    

7. What could I be doing better or differently?

While I know on the surface these might seem like obvious questions, few entrepreneurs ever stop and take the time to answer them. Yet if you do, you may discover that you could have a much more profitable business with much less effort. And we all love that!

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The big one I want to talk to you about today is where you’re looking. Because I know as a busy entrepreneur how easy it is to get all focused in on where you are right now…And the possible problems you see directly in front of you.

But if you do that you’re going to go right into the thick of those problems instead of towards where you really want to be. So instead I want to share a specific system I use in all my sports, and my business, to make sure I’m always focused on the right things.

Now, if you’ve ever skied, you probably noticed a natural tendency to want to stare at your ski tips. It feels safer to look at what you’re currently skiing over, and it feels incredibly uncomfortable to look down the hill.

The thing is, if you’re always looking right down at your feet you can’t see what’s coming. So you end up hitting an unexpected bump or pile of snow and losing your balance. Or missing a turn you meant to take and ending up somewhere you didn’t want to be.

Instead you need to stay focused down the hill the majority of the time so you can see where you’re going and what’s coming at you. That requires trusting yourself to handle the little stuff that inevitably comes along without giving it too much of your attention.

Sounds counterintuitive I know. But it really works. I do this in skiing, whitewater kayaking, mountain biking, and in my business.

Here’s the system I use to make sure I’m always focused on where I want to go…

First I look 200 yards ahead, then I quickly look 100 yards ahead, then 50 then 10. Then I look 200 yards ahead again and start the process over. So the majority of my time I’m staring way out ahead of where I am currently.

This lets me see what’s coming in the distance and make solid big picture decisions. While at the same time taking a quick glance at what’s coming at me right now to make sure I haven’t overlooked anything critically important.

Notice that I’m never looking at my skis (IE: Where I’m at right now) because I trust that I can handle whatever I’m going through. After all, I saw it coming. So I’ve already had the chance to make any course corrections or adjust my balance.

Same thing works in your business, because if you spend all your time focused on what you’re doing today, it’s hard to see where you’re going or what’s coming your way. This kind of focus becomes even more important when you’re heading into an area with a lot of potential problems.

To go back to my skiing analogy, when you start learning to ski the trees, the cardinal rule is, “Look where you want to go.” That’s because if you stare at the tree ahead of you you’re going to be drawn towards it like steel to a magnet—and probably hit it. So you have to look at the spaces between the trees instead.

When problems or difficulties arise in your business—and you know they inevitably will—you can put all your attention on the problem. Or you can focus on the solution. Do the former and you’re only going to dive deeper into the problem and end up banging your head against a wall.

Instead you need to focus on the way around the problem (IE: the spaces between the trees). Keep your eye on the solution and you’ll move through it much more smoothly. And need I say that you’re going to have a heck of a lot more fun along the way!

What can you do right now to change your focus?

1) Set aside a few hours to think about where you want to go in your business. Don’t just look at today, next week, or next month. Remember you want to spend most of your time looking 200 yards down the hill.

2) Write down your 6 month, 1 year, 2 year and 5 year goals. Then post these where you have to stare at them every day. That way you’re always looking where you’re headed.

3) Anytime you’re faced with a problem, as quickly as possible stop focusing on the problem and start focusing on the solution. You want to look at the spaces between the trees, not the trees themselves after all. Then keep going in that direction.

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It’s not about the brand—though this can indeed make a big difference, I’ve seen plenty of entrepreneurs with ho-hum branding land client after client.

The reality is, much of the success of any piece of marketing is determined by the copywriting, or written content. Yep. It’s the words that really do the trick!

Because it’s the words that actually speak to your prospect and convince them to take action—whether that means subscribing, registering, picking up the phone, or busting out their credit card and buying from you!

This ends up being a real problem because for entrepreneurs on a budget. Because, since most people can write, they end up writing their own marketing materials.

But there is a HUGE difference between the dry, boring, academic way most of us are taught to write in school and the way you need to write to actually make sales.

So most entrepreneurs sit down to write their Website copy, a promo email, a sales letter, an ad or whatever with no clue how to do it right. And then they end up with boring, third person corporate sounding marketing that talks all about them, their experience, their products and services and so on.

Well I hate to say it, but, your prospects don’t care one bit about any of that—at least not up front. Chances are they aren’t even going to read it.

They simply want to know that you understand their wants, needs, goals or problems and that you have a way to help. And they want to know how your products or services are going to benefit them.

Given that everyone has the attention span of a gnat these days, you’ve also got to get their attention and communicate all that in no more than a couple seconds. If you don’t, they’re gone.

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The big question is, is your business keeping up? Are you leveraging all the new tools available to grow your business like never before? What about the new business models that have cropped up?

If not, you should be. Because it’s not the same world my parents launched their business into, that’s for sure. That’s also a good thing!

It’s never been easier or less expensive for a solo entrepreneur to launch a business and grow it to 6-figure in revenues from a home office. Some smart entrepreneurs are doing this in under a year without spending a fortune on marketing and advertising.

So today I thought I’d take a look at some old business and marketing models and compare them to new ways of doing business. Now, keep in mind, I’m not saying you need to throw all the older methods out the window. Many still work well.

It’s just that if you aren’t embracing some of the new models and methods, chances are good you’re working harder than you need to for less than stellar results.

Face-to-face coffee meetings – Yes, it is wonderful to meet people face-to-face. But your time is the most valuable thing you have, and it’s in limited supply. So be choosy about when you give your precious face time.

If it’s a get-to-know you coffee meeting just say no and schedule a phone call instead. If you must see the other person, try using SKYPE to make video phone calls from your office.

Because you and I both know that 30-minute coffee meeting is going to take two hours or more out of your day. Once you’ve chatted on the phone you can always schedule coffee for another day if it still makes sense.

Consulting by the hour – Absolutely this is still a good thing to offer. But you can make the buying decision easier for your prospects by offering your services in packages. So put together three different ones that offer different amounts of access to you. Be sure to give them sassy names. Then enjoy more ongoing relationships with your clients.

Local print advertising – While newspaper and magazine ads still absolutely have their place, nowadays local online advertising can often do a lot for you for less money. So get your business on review sites like Yelp.com, and of course add it to the Google business directory. Online coupons like those offered at Groupon.com can generate a ton of business too depending on what you sell.

Print brochures – Unless you work with corporate clients you can pretty much skip this. Heck I’d probably skip it no matter what. You can always put together an info packet using one-sheets that can be repurposed. And these days your Website should be the hub of your marketing efforts and offer a whole lot more than any brochure ever could.

Brochure-style Websites – On the subject of brochures and Websites, this is another type of brochure that dead. A generic site with general information that’s basically an electronic brochure does not engage prospect and move them to take the next step. You need a site designed to: get their attention, give them all the info they need to make a decision, collect their contact info so you can stay in touch, and move them to take action.

Email Marketing – The silver bullet for every small business my have hit something it can’t penetrate…Overstuffed inboxes. With everyone suffering from email overload this is the next marketing trend to have started losing effectiveness.

While it still works, it doesn’t work like it used to. So you need to use mixed media to get the message out. Many entrepreneurs are offering their content via blogs, social networks, and now even text message on their mobile phones.

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Even better, she’d already started leading a test class and it was going great. When she hired me, she was struggling with the best way to deliver content and keep participants accountable. What she really wanted was an automated online tool that could track when someone had completed their homework.

At the time online teaching tools were pretty limited. But I knew to start out she could use teleconferencing and a system of email autoresponders to deliver content, then just monitor homework manually.

It would be relatively easy and inexpensive to set up. And let her get started quickly with minimal investment. Then, if her business grew so big she couldn’t handle monitoring the homework manually, she could invest in a custom online system.

The next thing I know, she tells me a Web developer is going to build a custom system for her for only $25,000! That was on top of her Web design fees and what she was paying me as a marketing consultant and copywriter.

I advised against this for a number of reasons (cost, maintenance, bugs, etc.). But she wanted her entrepreneurial dream in all its glory right now.

The end result? With no money left in her marketing budget she struggled to get her business and its fancy Website off the ground. And she put herself in a good bit of debt to boot.

The saddest part is; it didn’t have to be that way.

Now, I believe in playing big, offering tons of quality and value in everything you do, and setting big, fat, hairy goals…

But whenever it comes to launching something new I don’t believe in jumping in whole hog. And I rarely launch anything in the full-blown, state-of-the-art fashion I might ultimately be dreaming of without testing the waters first.

[baseball swing]

The key is to start small but make sure whatever you do is scalable. Then, as you start seeing success, you reinvest in rolling out in a bigger way.

Because, in the immortal words of my good friend Mike Glavin,

“If you’re gonna swing, swing hard…
But be prepared to whiff.”

So I always swing hard, but I make it so it’s not such a big deal if I miss the ball entirely.

Let me give you a few examples of how I do this, so you can do this too…

1) I did monthly free teleseminars for almost two years before holding my first Telesummit.

2) I’ll test a concept first as a speaking topic to see if it gets interest. If I get booked to speak on the topic, then I might create a live small group workshop. Or write an ebook on the subject.

3) If the live workshop is popular, I may record it and turn it into an audio product—one that I already know is likely to be in demand. Or turn it into a virtual coaching program first then a product.

4) If I decide to launch a virtual coaching program, I’ll launch just to my list initially to gauge interest before investing in a full-fledged online launch (complete with video, press releases, social media push, etc.) to a wider audience.

5) I always search for no-cost or low-cost tools that already exist, like email autoresponders, conference call lines, Facebook groups, Moodle sites, simple Web pages etc., to deliver the content. If it’s a hit then I can invest those revenues into having a custom site, program or app built—if it even still makes sense.

See how this works?

* By starting small you might lose a couple hundred to a couple grand if you whiff, but that sure beats being $30k or more in the hole.
* If you think about how you can scale up in the beginning, it’s easy to do later.
* You get the chance to refine your program or product before going big with it.

* Because you’re testing as you go, you have a much better chance of success with each new—and larger—launch.

Yeah, I know a lot of the mindset gurus say you shouldn’t even consider failure as an option. But you know what? Not everything you do, or launch, is going to be wildly successful. Sometimes you’re going to whiff.

If you’re not prepared to miss the ball completely you could be setting your business, and yourself, up for some serious financial difficulties.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you go whole hog or do you test the waters before you launch big?

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This is the second time I’ve made it to this event, and once again I took home a ton of fantastic ideas. So for the last month I’ve been going through my notes and getting started on some of the new products and services I was inspired to create.

Of course, there’s ton of information on marketing and small business success in general. So I thought I’d share a few of the killer tidbits of business-building wisdom I picked up.

Today, I’ve got a really interesting way for you to look at your target customer and why they buy. This comes from the copywriting workshop Dan Kennedy presented on the first night…

According to Dan, you can put your customers in one of 6 categories…

1) Slight Edge Buyers – These folks are always eager to do better. They’re constantly looking for ways to improve and get a slight edge over the competition, or bring just a little more to the table. If you sell information in any way, shape or form (consultants, speaker, authors and coaches take note) these are generally your best customers.

2) Junkies and Addicts – These people are passionate about or have a deep interest in a subject or subjects, and/or a strong attachment to a particular author(s). So they buy everything on the subject, or everything that author puts out.

3) Reinforcement Buyers – Unlike the last two categories, these people aren’t really looking for new information. Instead, they want to buy things that reinforce the opinions and conclusions they already have…Sometimes because this gives them the courage and conviction to finally move forward with their ideas.

4) Unplugged Joiners – Some people are joiners who feel compelled to always belong to or be a part of something. So if they are unplugged from one thing they go in search of something else right away. This is why “recent expired lists” are so valuable in newsletter business…Because if they’re subscription or membership to one thing just expired they may very well be itching to “belong” to something else. Also in this category are the chronically unsatisfied, the legitimately disappointed, the people looking to move-up, and the lonely.

5) Desperate/Life Raft Grabbers/Magic Pill Buyers – This group of buyers is typically confronting new or unexpected adversity, sudden change or marketplace disruption. So they’re desperately in search of a solution. Also in this category are the perennial losers who buy lots of stuff but never use any of what they buy.

6) Life Event Driven Buyers- As life changes, so do your wants and needs. This has a tremendous impact on this type of customer. A couple great examples of folks in this category would be anyone going through a mid-life crises, or whose kids just went off to college. These events weren’t surprises, but they definitely impact what and why someone will buy. This is one reason why baby boomers are such a hot target market.

Chances are, whether you sell products or services, you have clients from a few of these categories. Which of these do you recognize in your business?

How could you market to them more effectively now that you know what motivates them to buy?

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Turn off your email alerts. Yep. You heard me right. Turn off that little box or bell that signals you each time an email arrives in your Inbox. That way your concentration isn’t broken and you’re not tempted to stop what you’re doing to respond.

Even if you don’t always read emails when they come in, you know you stop and look to see who it’s from when that alert shows up (admit it). This breaks your concentration and can suck you away from the task at hand.

Once you’ve turned off the alerts, set specific times to check email, say twice a day. Because let’s face it, for most of us very few emails need immediate attention. Taking a half-day or day to respond is perfectly fine.

It also helps to NOT check email first thing in the morning. Do that, and you lose control of your day because you’re now attending to everyone else’s wants and needs instead of your own. I find checking them at midday and end of day works perfectly for me.
To turn those pesky alerts off in Microsoft Outlook:

• Go to “Tools” at the top and click “Options.”
• On the Preferences tab under Email, click “E-mail Options.”
• Now click “Advanced E-mail Options.”
• In the section titled “When new items arrive in my inbox” un-check all the boxes.

After a few days you won’t miss those little alerts one bit. And chances are good you’re going to feel relieved to get that email monkey off your back!

Are you overwhelmed by email?

Have you already done something about it?

Please do share you thoughts by leaving a comment below…

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