The Entrepreneur’s New Year – Tips to Having the Best Year Ever in 2012

Goals, dreams, to do’s, follow-up, connecting with old and new clients, coming up with a new plan, working, working, working … AAAHHH, it all seems to be too much at the beginning of a New Year. It’s just too much to even think about and so much easier just to not do it.

You know you need to make those changes, but often get stuck in just how to do it. And everybody else you know is doing it, and doing it so successfully. Why can’t you? Well, honestly I believe most are struggling just like you and feeling the overwhelm of getting it all done. However, they are doing something right. They are talking about it, sharing their ideas, and getting it out there so that when you don’t see it happen, you go back to them and ask why. It’s kind-of a security blanket.

But what can you do to make it work? What steps can you take to really grow your business in 2012. Here are some tips I think will help.

Tips to grow your business in 2012:

1) Get Organized – Clean out the old and bring on the new. It’s so important to put away last year’s work and start with a clean start for not only you, but your clients too. I do try my best every year to do this and many years I just fail miserably. Just don’t have the time between the holidays and enjoying time with the family and work. This year I gave myself this week to do it. As I reached for the client’s folders, I simply went through them and grabbed anything I knew we might need this year and put them in the brand sparkly new folder and everything else stayed in their old worn out folder. I put all the old folders together, put a rubber band around them, and put them away in my closet marking them 2011. Now I do have a larger filing cabinet that I will eventually put the most important ones in, but this allowed me to get er’ done. In just a few short days the files by my desk are mainly empty with only the most important items in there. I also make sure that everything is in alphabetical order. Never know how by the end of the year that totally slips and the z’s are by the e’s, but it just happens. How awesome to see a-z once again. Now continue this throughout your office. Done!

2) Get a new planner. (Yes, I know you have one already – but don’t skip to the next step just yet.) This planner doesn’t have client work in it. It doesn’t have school functions and times to pick up the kids. This planner is your business growth planner. (Make sure to mark it accordingly.) The planner needs to have each day on a new sheet, divided by hours.

3) Get Planning – Set out time to work your business. In your new planner, for the next month shade in time you plan on working on YOUR business. For me it’s in the morning from 6:30 to 7:30 and then at lunch. I will probably work other times on my business, but this is the time that I have scheduled just for it. I am a morning person and this is when I do my best work. Take that into consideration for your plan. When are you at your best? For just one week write down what you are going to do in that time. Each Friday or over the weekend you are going to take that one step and plan out your next week.

4) Get writing. (You knew as a marketer, I’d say that didn’t you!) You are going to write one article a month. No excuses. With that article you are also going to send it out, add it to your blog, create a couple of tweets from it, and also add it to your newsletter. Can you see the traction you can get with just one article? And don’t forget you can hire a publicity virtual assistant to do this for you.

5) Get Social – Okay, I know you are already on Facebook and Twitter- I see you there. But this year you are actually going to get more involved. In your planner, you need to schedule time (at least several times a day) to get active on Twitter and Facebook. (Or whatever social media you use.) I am more active on Twitter with over 5,500 followers. Now I know that not all 5,550 are my target audience, but what I have discovered is when I send out #PRTips or #VATips , I start seeing other PR folks and virtual assistants want to follow me. That’s how it works. You so can do this. Schedule the time and then send great quality tweets and tips.

6) Get Help – You just don’t have to do it alone. Hire a virtual assistant or someone who can help you accomplish all these goals. If you have a virtual assistant already, start sending things over to them to do. It’s all about the action steps of getting it done.

7) Get Happy – Remember you own your business for a reason. Enjoy it! Don’t get so caught up in the to do’s and client work to not remember why you are doing this in the first place. Take some time to reflect where you are and just be grateful for being there. Commit to enjoying your business more this year and the rest of all this (the to-dos’, the client work, etc.) will just seem to fall into place.

Can you see how you can do this? You can grow your business. Yes, it will require that you make a commitment to it, but don’t NOT take advantage of that new year feeling. You will be amazed that after a short time, this will be so routine, you won’t even realize that you haven’t been doing it forever.

Diana Ennen is the President of Virtual Word Publishing, www.virtualwordpublishing.com, offering PR and marketing services as well as the author of numerous books including VA the Series and So You Want to be a Work at Home Mom. Article is free to be reprinted as long as bio remains.

So excited for the new ebook, Article Ease.  It has everything you need to write articles and distibute them.  I highly recommend it.

Click here to view more details

1. Choose the right business.
If you know you want to start a business, but aren’t sure what business is a good fit for you, don’t lose heart. Take stock of what types of things you love to do, skills that you bring to table and things you would do in life even when you aren’t paid (volunteer work, for example).  Make a list using all of these things and then look for a theme running through them all.  If you can find the theme, chances are you’re on the right path to fin ding a business that’s a good fit for you.

2. Set a timeline.
Once you’ve made a decision as to what business you’ll start, you need to start setting goals. Begin with the end – pick a date for when you’d like to be up and running. Then make a list of what needs to be done to make that happen and set goal dates for each item on the list.

3. Get a plan.
A business plan may sound like a whole lot of work for minimal rewards, but in actuality it will save you a good deal of time and effort later. Putting a plan together helps you keep focused and allows you to cut out things that aren’t a fit for where you’re headed. Search online for business plan examples and ideas and create one unique to you.

4. Get help.
None of us is a one-woman show. We may run our businesses on our own, yet all of us have people that mentor us (either formally or informally), people that we can turn to with questions. Make a list of people you can call on for different areas of expertise. Having these people in your rolodex now will save you stress when trouble comes – and it will eventually.

5. Outsource
One thing new business owners often make a mistake doing is trying to do everything themselves. Yes, it may cost to bring in help, but even a few hours a week can make a huge difference in the time you will have as a business owner to do the actual business of growing your business. There are other possibilities, too, such as swapping and bartering for Virtual Assistant services. Be creative and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

6. Make it happen.
Once you have a plan in place, you must take the plunge. Dreaming, planning and list-making are all great things, but without action nothing will come of them. What needs to be done to get your business off the ground? Do it!

You can see how easy it is to start your own business.  We also recommend that you read as much as you can to learn all you can.

Jill Hart, Founder of Christian Work-at-Home Moms http://www.cwahm.com/ and Diana Ennen, President of Virtual Word Publishing, http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com/ have teamed up to write So You Want to Be a Work at Home Mom: A Christian’s Guide to Starting a Home-Based Business http://www.soyouwanttobeawahm.com/.  Start or expand your business today with their help.  Article is free to be reprinted as long as bio remains.

1.   Back-up your system regularly.  Set it for automatic, and hopefully during the night so that your computer isn’t slowed down while it backs up.  Make this as much a part of running your business as answering e-mails to clients.

2.   Test that back-up.  Just as important as backing up your system is knowing how to retrieve that information. It does differ on the type of back-up you perform.  Test this out, before you need it.  Also, write out complete instructions on how to restore backed up data and include this in your Disaster Plan. When you are stressed during a crisis, you need things as step-by-step and easy as possible.  If you’ve already written complete instructions, you’ll be amazed how easy this can be.

3.   Save a back-up copy offsite.  It’s as easy as having a family member take your back-up CDs to work, or having a flash drive. I just feel better knowing that my hard work is going to be there when I get back, even if the unthinkable happened while I was away. I also use Carbonite so that I have a virtual back-up.  It’s only $50 a year and so worth it!

4.    Do regular virus scans.  Many feel that because they have a virus program that will alert them if a virus comes in via e-mail, they are safe.  That could well be.  However, I feel so much better after doing a virus scan and it telling me I’m AOK.  Also, set this for automatic as well.

5.    For important e-mails, copy and paste them into your word processing program.  It takes a little extra effort, but can be easily done.  Also, download files as soon as they arrive.

It’s also important to have a disaster recovery plan.  It’s easier than you think and should be done the same as your marketing and business plans.

Here are some tips for that:

1.    Business Continuity Plan – Plan ahead for all aspects of your business.  It’s important to write down all your client contact information, where back-ups are stored, who your subcontractors are, the work normally done, etc.  When you think about it, if something were to happen tomorrow, how good would you feel if you knew your clients, subcontractors, and business operations would be taken care of.  It just provides the peace of mind you need.

2.    While you’re writing, include a breakdown of family members, phone contacts, close relatives with complete contact information.   We recommend additionally putting this on a 3 x 5 card for your younger children.  And honestly, this isn’t just for us Floridians who experience hurricanes.  The unexpected weather over the past months should tell you of the importance of this.

3.    Keep an inventory of all your business furnishings, business equipment, software programs, passwords, etc.  Also, keep receipts and photos. You’ll be amazed how once you do this and have it set up, it’s automatic when you get something new.  You simply add it to your recovery plan.  I make copies of all receipts and simply add it to an envelope in my plan.

4.    Insurance information. Write down all your policies and coverage.  In addition to having this information if you did need to file a claim, it also helps to see if you have enough coverage.

5.    Medical information.  The well being of yourself and family is of utmost importance.  You need to write down all of you and your family’s medicines, doctors, medical conditions, etc.  This section can literally save your life. Don’t forget to include drug dosages.  Now you’re wondering why this is part of a business disaster recovery plan.  But when you think about it, aren’t you the most important part of your business.  That’s why this is so critical.

I hope you have found these tips helpful.  Prepare now and have peace and security for years to come.

Diana Ennen is President of Virtual Word Publishing, http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com, specializing in publicity and marketing.  Ennen is also the co-author of The Home Office Recovery Plan:  Disaster Preparedness for Your Home-Based Business.  Article is fr ee to be reprinted as long as author’s bio remains.

If you’d like a sample copy of the Home Office Recovery Plan … email me at diana@virtualwordpublishing.com

We were thrilled to get a great review for one of our client’s books, Fetus to Fifth Grade.  We truly feel it’s one of the best parenting books out there and were so glad to see they agree.  Here’s the review.

While I was pregnant, I was disappointed in the quality of most pregnancy books out there.  Most use fear-mongering and make you believe that if you eat a slice of lunch meat your baby is going to come out with three heads and scales.  They also don’t provide you with any scientific evidence to back up their (sometimes baseless) claims.  As a science geek, I found this to be truly disheartening.  I want to know the research behind the current recommendations when it comes to pregnancy and child care.  For example, have studies shown that playing Mozart through headphones placed on your pregnant belly actually has a benefit?

 

For the full review please go to “Growing Up Geeky”

 Mastering Press Release Writing and Distribution

Join us for an information-packed 90-minute teleclass with Publicist, Diana Ennen.

Academy of Virtual Professionals Director, Kelly Poelker, has teamed up with her co-author, Diana Ennen to bring listeners everything they need to know about writing and distributing press releases.

During this teleclass Kelly will drill Diana on the:

• Importance of regular press release distribution

• Key points to include in a press release

• Secret to making a press release rock

• Common press release writing mistakes and how to avoid them

• Best ways to distribute press releases

• Keys to repurposing your press release for multiple things

• Results you can achieve from your press release campaign

• Importance of including press release distribution in your marketing plan

This 90-minute class will provide the information you need to master press release writing and distribution.

Date: June 28, 2011

Time: 2:00pm CST / 3:00pm EST / 12:00pm PST / 1:00pm MST

Click here to read more or register online

Did you miss one of our prior teleclass offerings? Check them out here

Sign up here

http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com/blank.htm

Don’t worry if you can’t make it, it will be recorded.

“Do Free Press Release Posting Services Work?

“We send out a lot of press releases. I personally am a huge advocate of doing both. They each have their own benefit. The free ones tend to get my keywords in better and show up on Google’s front pages, but the paid ones tend to get the attention of major media better. I absolutely love the results I get with eReleases. That is perhaps my best paid service. Oftentimes I can have as many as 200 major media places pick it up including Forbes, BusinessWeek, tons of Business Journals, TV stations, newspapers, etc. Not only do we get the pick-ups, but we get the results. It’s well worth it. It’s more expensive, but pays for itself.” ~Diana Ennen, Virtual Word Publishing