Duct Tape Marketing

"Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action." -- Napoleon Hill

When starting out in business, many small business owners want to get everything *right*. They spend hours upon hours designing a logo, picking letterhead and envelopes and focusing on their brand.

Is this important? ABSOLUTELY!

My sister told me recently that, in a conversation with her in-laws-to-be, her almost-mother-in-law was speaking about how she felt so drained as a result of all the negativity she was exposed to that day.

I recently needed to contact a vendor regarding a delivery question. Without naming names, I can tell you that the vendor is a small business and I do a not-insignificant amount of business with them.

The person who answered the phone (not the owner) sounded as if my call were an interruption in her day (ever have this happen to you?). She was not pleasant and wanted to get me off the phone as quickly as possible. She was able to answer my question and off I went - not feeling appreciated and not feeling valued.

The book "Who Moved My Cheese" by Spencer Johnson and Kenneth Blanchard is a 98-page look at the various ways that we react to change. In the book, there are two mice and two mice-size humans and we see how each reacts when their cheese has been moved -- not just moved, but no longer in sight.

If you were a fly on the wall during a powerful mastermind meeting, you'd quickly realize how the sooner you learn the following lessons, the faster your business will grow. Knowing and implementing the following business lessons will exponentially propel your business forward:

Several years ago my husband comforted me as I lay in bed terrified my business was going to fail - not from anything I'd done, but because none of my clients could pay me.

Or had I done something?

"Build it and they will come" is a phrase made popular by Kevin Costner and the movie "Field of Dreams". It may have worked for the movie, but flops when it comes to websites.

Successful websites have several things in common, not the least of which is that they are marketed to the proper audience. They are not designed and left sitting out there with the hopes that someone, anyone will stumble across them and hire you, buy your products, etc.

I received an email from a struggling business owner the other day. She's good at what she does, but is in danger of closing her doors after being in business for over 3 years due to a lack of long term clients.

If you have a website and you publish an email newsletter, you need a squeeze page.

If you aren't yet *consistently* publishing a newsletter or "tipzine", that needs to be your #1 priority, regardless of your business!

It wasn't long ago when a friend asked me what I was tolerating in my life.

Tolerating? Me? I have a husband I adore and who adores me, 6 fabulous pets, a house we're comfortable in, supportive friends and family and a business which fulfills me while allowing me to help others. What could I possibly be tolerating?