I’ve lived through a number of economic downturns and recessions and after a while you start to accept the up and down cycles as normal. But the most recent developments regarding Lehman Brothers, together with inflation, the mortgage mess, gas prices-well you know the rest-is really a bit much.

Will things get better? Yes, but most likely after the election. Will there be some discomfort? Yes, there always is. I can remember waiting over an hour in the freezing cold in gas lines back in 1974 when I was barely out of college. Things got better then when it seemed they never would, and they will now. But at the moment it may not feel that way. So here is what you need to do to keep your business prospering.

• Don’t hunker down by resisting change and thinking that if you keep doing things the way you always have you’ll be fine. Be creative in developing new ideas, products and services
• Do increase-yes, increase your marketing. But only do marketing that gives you a direct return on investment. No marketing just to increase visibility or for branding purposes.
• Think strategically. Plan exactly how you will make money over the next year and make a plan including details like marketing, budget and financial projections. Sound hard? It’s really not. Every small or solo business that does this out performs their competitors by a mile.
• Be conservative with your cash-make sure your cash flow is good. No impulse buys right now. Spend money on marketing and necessary marketing materials, mentoring to learn ways to fastrack your business, and product development.
• Take higher priced services and information products and break them down into sequential, lower priced services and “knowledge nuggets” to increase sales, as lower ticket items will sell better right now.
• Work hard to increase customer service and customer loyalty by following through on what you say you’ll do and producing stellar results. Also provide personalized customer support.
• Develop strong referral and joint venture systems and strategies that will dramatically increase sales.
• Stay optimistic and focused - it won’t serve you well to spend time worrying and then going in ten different directions trying out would be opportunities. It’s a recipe for failure

If you want to know exactly how to implement this “recession proof” business advice, go to Maximize Your Profits Now and learn about a business mastery system that will help you create a solid 6 figure income and sail through this tough period with flying colors.

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Up until about 10 years ago, if a product wasn’t available in your local area, or at best in a catalogue it was hard to find at all., making certain products more unique or valued. We all know those days are long gone. As it gets easier to create, find and sell almost anything, the marketplace becomes so overcrowded it’s mind boggling. In fact, it’s been proven that too many confusing choices can paralyze consumers. They want simple, specific solutions.

A few weeks ago I went to shop at Kohl’s department store. I was searching for a classic, solid colored nice looking, fitted t-shirt. What I found were racks and racks disorganized and overflowing with every possible type of big flowery print tops that looked like they belonged in the maternity department (that’s the style now and what were they thinking?). Several other women (all of us over 40) were commenting on the fact that they wouldn’t be caught dead in any of these tops. What I wouldn’t have given at that moment to see a nearby store that specialized in solid colored, simple t-shirts, shirts and sweaters! I suspect they would have been busy with people like me.

Want to stand out in an overcrowded marketplace? Keep it simple and focused. Pick a pressing need in a specific area of expertise and provide a stellar suite of solutions that works. Instead of providing a little of this and a little of that and trying to please everyone, dig deep and give your clients everything they need in your specific niche. This way people who want what you have will consider you the expert go-to person.

Identify the need or want.

You can do this by observing what people are searching for on the web when you do keyword research. You can keep a log of what prospects and clients ask for that you don’t currently provide. You can do a survey.

Plan a strategy to develop a series of products or services that provide solutions to different facets of this target client’s wants or needs. In the example above, my dream store wouldn’t sell just t-shirts, they would also sell other articles of clothing that had clean, simple lines. Now it’s a customer driven marketplace, so I simply need to do some web surfing and I will find what I want. But it would have been nicer to have it right there when I needed it.

Develop a strategy that will lead your client from an initial purchase into other purchases through building trust and by using up sells, coupons, and strategic marketing.

Rise above the confusing clutter by keeping is simple and going deep. You will create a loyal group of fans who will spread the word to other people who have the same need they do.

Recently I’ve heard painful accounts from start ups as well as established small business owners about how they are afraid.

They’re afraid because they feel that they have no money to grow, or they’re
overwhelmed or confused about how to get out from under the load of work that is keeping them stuck from breaking through to the next level. Is any of this true for you?

Are you truly ready for strategies, tools and ideas that could easily catapult you to
a healthy 6 figures a year? Some people say they’re ready, but they don’t have that burning desire to do the hard work.

If you’re truly motivated and looking for help, I’d like to give you a boost by introducing
you to some of the best proven strategies I know of that will help you reach 6 figures in personal income as soon as possible. It’s time to feel energizedand motivated.

Time to change and shake things up.

I’m opening the vault to release 5 audios that cover these topics:

==> Bootstrapping: What You Need to Know to Save Money on Marketing and Advertising

==> How to Promote and Market Your Small Business Websit to Make 6 Figures a Year

==> How to Build Your Expert Status So Ideal Clients Come to You

==> How to Move from Self-Employed to Financially Independent Entrepreneur 

==> How to Dramatically Increase Sales by Re-Purposing and Re-Packaging Your Products and Services   

This 5 audio package along with the written versions of each is available for download to my subscribers and blog readers for a short time only .

http://smallbusiness-bigresults.com/6-figure-audios.htm

BONUS: The first 50 people will also get a copy of 

**Create Your Own E-book Without Ever Writing a Word**

This 80 page e-book, written by a very successful Internet Marketer, will show you how to quickly create a revenue-generating e-book, even if you hate to write.

http://smallbusiness-bigresults.com/6-figure-audios.htm

Warmly,
Janis

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I have a lot of respect for fellow marketer Robert Middleton, author of The InfoGuru’s Marketing Manual. He is truly a marketing master and small business growth expert. I read his weekly newsletters with interest. This week he wrote about a subject that I think we all have dealt with–playing it safe.

How many times have you made a decision based on what was most comfortable instead of challenging yourself to do something incredible even though it was scary? Those who do are the ones who get what they want from their business and life.

Here’s an excerpt from Robert’s newsletter: 

” Please don’t read if you don’t like being challenged. You have been warned.

If I lined up ten of your friends and associates, would they all report that you are passionate, even fanatical about the work you do and the difference you make?

My observation is quite the opposite.

Most business owners may love what they do, but more often than not, they come across as tepid, hesitant, and uncommitted. When they talk about their business they are about as inspiring as a wet sponge.

Look, I’m not out to insult you, but to challenge you.

If you are not passionate about what you do, excited by the difference you make, eager to share with others, inspired by your clients and moved by the abundance of opportunities and possibilities afforded by your business, you are missing the boat.

And what’s perplexing to me is that this is the very last thing that business owners focus on.

Many people will do very little to nothing. Others will study everything they can about marketing. Still others will work hard to make external changes to their marketing. But very few will do the thing that makes the biggest difference of all:

Expressing Authentic Excitement About Their Business!

Excitement, enthusiasm and passion are contagious. Certainly more contagious than “knowing it all” or having a perfect marketing message or even a beautiful web site.

Those things (and many more) will emerge naturally out of your enthusiasm and passion. You don’t do all of that stuff and hope that it adds up to excitement. You come from excitement and all your marketing will come together effortlessly.

But you say:

“But I can’t act excited, Robert, if I don’t feel excited! You might be enthusiastic and passionate about your business. That’s great, but my business is not inherently exciting. And besides, that’s not my style. When you talk about having marketing breakthroughs, I just can’t relate.”

I hear this kind of thing a lot. And it sounds very reasonable. In fact, most people would nod in agreement: “Yes, don’t get too excited, you might be disappointed and you’ll probably turn people off. Better to be low-key and play it safe.”

Ah yes, the mantra of the mediocre: “Play it Safe.”

What you may not realize is that playing it safe is killing your business, eliminating your future, suffocating your soul. Playing it safe has become more important than being fully alive.

When you are fully alive, you don’t think about yourself much or how good you look. You think of those you can serve, those you can make a difference with, those whom you can contribute to. And what more natural outlet to do this than through your business?

Ask yourself, “What is the deadly cost of playing it safe?”

And then ask, “What’s really the worst thing that could happen if I let myself be excited, enthusiastic and passionate about my business?”

Finally, ask, “What breakthroughs might happen in my business if I allowed myself to express this excitement, enthusiasm and passion?”

Are you ready for this kind of breakthrough?”

Kudos to Robert Middleton for making us thinking honestly about what we need to do to breakthrough to a whole new level.

Janis

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If you don’t know who Jay Abraham is, you should. He’s one of world’s best-known marketing “gurus”  (http://www.abraham.com) . More importantly, he seems like a genuinely nice man who generously gives of his time and energy to teach others how to make gobs of money by helping their clients make gobs of money at the same time. He truly believes in win-win.I started taking a course with Jay last summer to learn joint venture marketing from a true master. The course is intense, enormously content rich and goes on for more than a year. At the monthly live two-hour classes, Jay assigns homework-lots of homework. And he expects you to do it.

Now when my daughter has homework I expect her to do it. No excuses accepted. But I have to confess that when Jay “called on me” last evening, I had not completed all of my homework. Neither, it seems, had a number of other people. Jay, needless to say, was not impressed with us.

At first I clung mentally to my excuse that I’d been way too busy servicing my small business clients, doing marketing and joint venture projects, and since I’m a widow and singe mom, taking care of my 13 year old. Then there’s the house, shopping, laundry, church, and on and on. You get the picture.

Oh, poor me!

But the truth always makes itself known sooner or later. Luckily very soon I came to see that I had chosen to participate in this amazing course but that I wasn’t making it a priority, I was kind of winging it-just the thing I tell my daughter is unacceptable. What an “aha” moment.

Jay said he had our best interests at heart and knew from experience that if we didn’t do the work we would never really succeed at this. I know that’s true because I’ve had a few clients that, in spite of my guidance and encouragement, didn’t follow through and that self-sabotage lead to them not reaching their goals. And here I was going down the same path!

At the end of each classs, Jay asks us to share insights we got from the class. Well Jay, you gave me a wake up call. I get to choose how I prioritize and spend my time. So I can’t make excuses if I choose not to follow through. So I admit it, I made a poor choice and in this case I’ll be changing that.

What about you? How are you choosing to spend your time?

Have a productive week,

Janis