Saturday, August 16, 2008

Step 6 ~ Be Mindful and GROW!

In today's business climate, one of your greatest assets as an entrepreneur is being AGILE, able to easily shift when a new economic environment or opportunity shows up.

Keep on continually upgrading your daily operating system – that is, the activities that run your business day after day. Become better at what you do as your business evolves and grows. There are lots of books that can help you at this stage of the game, and here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Manage your business by keeping statistics. You will first decide which statistics you will track …obvious ones are the amount of income flowing in, your dollar amount of expenses going out, the number of new customers, and number of continuing customers. Monitor these numbers at least weekly and monthly. You can even put them on a graph if you want to keep a visual representation.

2. Figure out which of your marketing avenues are producing the most amount of business. Whatever you are getting business from, continue to do more of that. Eliminate avenues that after 6 months are not generating sufficient business for the amount of energy (time and or money) you are putting into them.

3. Set new targets and goals. Celebrate when you hit a target, and adjust your course as needed when you don’t.

4. Make new contacts and add to your list. Find good new resources. Evolve!

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Would you love to stay informed and receive more tips and strategies to support your unjobbing experience? Join Your Unjobbing, Entrepreneur Support Network on Meetup.com® at
http://unjobbing.com/

~ Devin & Maria

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Step 5 ~ Deliver Beyond Their Wildest Expectations

Amazing service will give you something you cannot buy.

It will provide you with an endless buzz that passes on from person to person, and does not rely on any of your own marketing. Your goal is to whenever possible, deliver MORE than what is expected from your customers or clients, which will accelerate the buzz you most desire. Your outcome vision is to have your customers or clients telling their friends about you because they had such a great experience!

Maximize this energy by getting referrals and testimonials from happy and enthusiastic customers. Include these testimonials in all of your marketing, especially on your website and in your emails to other customers.

You can also create a monthly newsletter to provide new, helpful or interesting information to send out to your existing customer base. Find ways to show your appreciation of them, and include them in Polls and Surveys to solicit their input in order to fine-tune your systems and services.

Here are your primary keys to establishing a strong, ongoing base of happy and loyal repeat customers:


- Promise them something they strongly desire.
- Deliver it beyond their expectations.
- Keep them coming back by giving even more value beyond their “purchase.”
- Inspire them to refer new customers to you!


Rock their world!
~ Devin & Maria

Monday, June 30, 2008

Step 4 ~ Get Ready to Rumble!

Congratulations!
You are getting so close to generating money in your business that we bet you're in a state of eager anticipation! You've already figured out WHO will buy from you (your market) so now it's time to roll up your sleeves and get ready to offer your product or service by establishing your basic Marketing materials and systems.

First you'll need your Marketing materials, and unless you're a graphic designer you will hire someone for much of this part. Here is a checklist of basic marketing materials:
___ A unique LOGO that gives your business a "brand"
___ Business cards
___ Letterhead / envelopes
___ An Introduction letter
___ Postcards or brochures
___ A Report on your topic or industry that can be printed or emailed
___ Flyer with a list of your Services and Prices
___ Your business website

Your marketing should consist of multiple approaches to connecting your message to your potential buyers. These approaches will range in cost from $0 to several hundred dollars or more. If you currently have more money than time, consider investing in the approaches that don't involve much time; if you currently have more time than money, your best bet is to invest your time in the approaches that are no-cost or low-cost financially.

Less $$ / More Time
1) Face-to-face meeting with people
2) Networking in groups who can be referral sources for your business
3) Set up an online "blog" and write helpful information about your topic or industry
4) Introduce yourself with phone calls
5) Introduce yourself through email
6) Hand write a short note to introduce yourself and mail it
7) Write some advertising copy and post it on free sites such as Craigslist
8) Join Google or Yahoo groups that are pertinent to your topic or industry and get involved in the conversations (link to your Blog so interested people can learn more)
9) Create a monthly newsletter about your topic or industry and email it to your list.

More $$ / Less Time
1) Hire a professional web designer to create your website
2) Have someone create videos and audios to add on your website, your Blog, and other sites like YouTube. Always link back to your website for maximum exposure potential.
3) Hire a graphic designer to create postcards or other marketing materials for a focused direct mail campaign.
4) Hire a marketing coach to help you target effective ways to bring you business. They will be able to walk you through every marketing approach you're interested in, and can work with you to strategize and prioritize depending on your time and budget!

There are many advanced marketing options that you can explore as your business grows, both online and offline. Many books, workshops and trainings are available to help you market, so as you take your next steps to "successful unemployment" remember to watch what other people are doing to promote and keep a journal of ideas!

your partners in unjobbing success,
Devin & Maria