Article - Business Tips Part 1

1. Talk, Talk, Talk ... First and foremost, talk about what you are doing with everyone...practice a short 30 second introduction.

2. Internet - visit websites and post your information and join discussion groups. Post your information on the Internet classifieds and appropriate organizational sites.

3. When you know your niche, find someone living in that niche. Find out what their needs are and how they could best benefit from a business relationship or partnership. You may just be what they are looking for or have a referral for you.

4. Mutual discovery during a meeting with the members of networking or business group you belong to.

5. When making orders for anything, be sure to include your title as part of the ship to address. I recently attracted a client when ordering wine!

6. Attract attention by adding value to every business and personal relationship you have. Give a little extra.

7. Educate people about what you do a little at a time and continue telling them and showing them your professionalism.

8. Be sure to include your web address on everything you write, including envelopes, thank you cards, etc.

9. Visit a local organization as a guest and talk about what you do without selling.

10. Send a note to a few people you haven't heard from in a while.

11. Mental Preparedness: You must take 100% responsibility for your attitude and emotions at all times. Set short and long term goals, and write them down. Visualize the end outcomes you'd like for yourself and your business, and have faith in your ability to pull it off.

12. Compete Only With Yourself: You are your biggest competitor. Never forget this. All you can do, is become better than you have ever become before, and if you reach for becoming the best that God has intended for you to become, there are few that will compare to what you will be able to achieve.

13. Your Training Environment: Does it stink? Do something about it. Increase the lighting in your area. Use warm halogen lamps instead of bright white florescent lights. Make sure you ONLY wear clothing that makes you comfortable, happy and confident. Also, if you are surrounded by turkeys or ducks, fire them and ask them to swim in someone elses pond.

14. Training Consistency & Intensity: You become successful, ONE small step at a time, building upon the last small success. If you are building your business with only 30-60% of your best effort intensity, expect it to take a lot longer to get to your end outcome. You must put in 100%+ of your best effort to build strength at your best optimal rate of return.

15. Don't Overtrain or Lose Your Perspective: More is not always better. Remember to get out of the office, and think about your business and its problems OUTSIDE of your office at least once per month. Take mini business vacations frequently.

16. Keeping a Training Journal: Tony Robbins once said, "If your life is worth living, it's worth recording." Get yourself a journal, and begin recording the best and worst things happening to you. You can use this to focus your efforts/energies as well to see that you've come a long way in a short period of time....which builds more confidence.

17. Monitor and Improve Your Eating Habits: Great eating habits are essential to a well fuelded body for a great state of mind, not to mention physical strength & stamina. If you're going to work 12-16 hour days while building your business, make sure you feed yourself the best fuel to produce optimal results from your physical vessel, called your body. This includes eating fruit in the morning, light lunches in the afternoon, and healthy snacks throughout the day.

18. Plan each day.
The last thing you should do each evening (or the first thing you do in the morning) is create a "task list" for the next day. Your list will help you set priorities and keep you focused.

19. Organize your life.
One of life's greatest time wasters is a cluttered office or messy living space. How often have you wasted valuable time trying to find that memo, contract, your wallet, or even your car keys. Follow the old adage that says, "Everything has a place and everything should be in its place!" Get your life organized.

20. Don't be a mail pack-rat.
I recently visited a friend's office and noticed several piles of mail cluttering the desk. Instead of filing, responding to, or trashing mail, he simply sort through them every few days, shifting the stacks from one place to another on his desk. Avoid this time waster and you'll accomplish more each day.

21. Utilize all of your time.
Start by taking a book with you wherever you go. When you find yourself waiting in the doctor's office, for a appointment to commence, or for your car to be repaired, try increasing your knowledge by reading that book. In addition, while driving your car, don't waste time listening to the "fluff" that fills the airwaves. Instead listen to educational or motivational tapes in your car.

22. Develop healthful habits.
The body needs adequate rest, proper nutrition, and plenty of exercise to fight off fatigue and extend life. Give your body what it needs and you'll have the energy you need to accomplish much more.

23. Avoid energy stealers.
Do you know people who sap your energy or individuals with attitudes that literally suck the life out of you? Make it a practice to avoid excessive contact with negative people.

24. Blow up your television.
If you are not willing to part with your television completely (I'm not either) then at least learn which button turns the set off and develop the courage to use it (often). Spend that time playing with your children, reading a book, or with your spouse.

25. Vision
What is your dream for your business? Clarify it in your own mind first and then write it in one or two sentences. This is the first tangible step to making your dream a reality. If you don't know where you're going, how can you ever plan to get there?

26. Mission
What will you be doing to achieve that dream? This should define the core business you're in. Write it and refine it until it's one sentence. Use your mission as the basis for your Universal Selling Proposition (USP).

27. Goal setting
Using your vision and mission as the foundation, what do you realistically think you can achieve during this period? Start with annual goals, then break them down into quarterly and monthly goals. Think through the sequence of events that will lead you toward your annual goals.

28. Strategy
Using your review of last year's operating information and your goals for the coming year, what are the major steps that you think will produce the results you want? How can you best use your resources? What else do you need?

29. Plan
What specific actions or tasks will carry out your strategy or strategies? What will it cost to carry out your plan? What sales will you have to generate to cover the costs? Create a sequence of actions and corresponding timeframe. It's not hard, it just takes some initial planning time. Use your quarterly and monthly goals as a guide. Get help if you need it.

30. Implementation
This is one of the most important, and most often missed, steps in the process. Break down your monthly plan by the week and add the specific action steps to your weekly calendar. Make sure you schedule time to do what's necessary. When planning the next week, bring forward anything that didn't get done.

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