If you’re like me, you’ve probably said this statement many times: “If I had only known then what I know now.” I understand that mistakes are part of the process, but do I have to make so many of them!?! Experience has made me a fast learner and now, more than ever, I pay attention to those who have gone ahead of me so I can learn from their mistakes and hopefully not make so many on my own. Maybe you do too.

To gain some more insight, I asked business owners who have been in business five years or more the same question, “If you would have known then what you know now, what would you have done differently and why?” Their answers were not only insightful, but inspiring and I think you will really appreciate what they had to say.

So here you go; 29 (plus one) insights from business owners like us on what they would have done differently had they known.

We would love to hear your answers too, please leave a comment and let us know, “What would you have done differently in your business if you would have known then what you know now.”

Enjoy!

1. Hire Slowly, Fire Quickly

Oh man, I wish I would have remembered this one every day when I woke up. There is little of greater importance than having the right people on your team(s) and when you find out an apple has gone bad or you have found a worm in a seemingly perfect apple, get rid of it ASAP! The old adage is often true, ’some dogs can’t hunt’.

Thanks to Ben Sayers, VoIP Supply, LLC.,VoIP phone systems, in business 8 years

2. Be More Open to ChangeTechnology and trends are constantly evolving: one day you are set in your Facebook ways and the next day Pinterest is the new phenomenon. Social media has changed the way we do business and how startups utilize it is integral to your success. However, if someone told me this during social media’s infancy, I would have called them crazy. I let all my years in business bias my first impression of social media and thought it was simply a fad. I couldn’t have been more wrong! Social media has changed the way we do business and has set the bar for the way we measure success. If companies are not willing to adapt, they will never become an industry leader or experience great successes.

Thanks to Jim Joyal,, SHIFT Communications, PR and social media agency, in business 9 years

3. Be the Boss Not the Buddy

Don’t be friends with employees. When you try to be too nice it makes it easy for others to take advantage of you, and that’s been true of about 80 percent of everyone I hired in the past. There was a time when I would give a job to almost anyone who asked, regardless if they were qualified or not, because back then I had the capital and I did not want to be the person who turned them down. Most of the money I lost when I started out was due to being overly tolerant of inefficient employees. It’s fine to be friendly with your staff, but you have to set boundaries and be willing to be a firm boss — whether you have three or 300 people working for you.

Thanks to Cathy Ward, BridesVillage.com, wedding accessories e-commerce retailer, 11 years in business

4. Lock in Your Location

Had I known then what I know now, I would have done everything possible to purchase my own business property. Last year, the rent for my original office, located in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn doubled, necessitating my having to move during my income tax preparation season.  If I had to rent a property, the lease would have included a “lease to own” clause and have a termination date during my slow season.

Thanks to Eustace L. Greaves Jr., Greaves Financial Services, Insurance and Income Tax Preparation Services, 17 years in business

5.  Start with Sustainably in Mind

In hind sight I would have focused much more deeply on a sustainable way to generate deal flow and new leads. No matter how large you think your network is (mine is large) it is not large enough and although power networking/word of mouth is the best source of leads of all the advisor/coach /consultant/soloprenuers I know almost none are reaching their personal income goals. What I am doing differently is focusing on the internet. I have just launched an e-commerce site and hope to launch a content site in the next 90 days. Historically my advisory services were delivered on site at companies located regional. I will continue with my advisory work with about 1/3 of my time, but focus on national and to a lesser extent international clientele via phone or Skype.

Thanks to Ajax Greene, On Belay Business Advisors Inc., business advising, 7 years in business

6. Know the Value of Vision

I would have placed an earlier emphasis to define the vision, mission and values of our company. It is important for the value of our employees to be aligned with my vision for our Company.

Thanks to Jason Maxwell, MassPay Payroll Services, payroll services company, in business for 8 years

7. Eliminate Distractions

Having owned several companies, I would have eliminated my distractions sooner than I did, e.g. real estate investments (rentals), buying and selling a laundromat, renovating homes, etc. While all the ventures were profitable they took away from focusing on building a brand that ultimately would have had more value than the combined profits of each transaction not related to directly building that brand.

Thanks to Joseph Carvelli, Retail Ingenuity, retail inventory and sales forecasting, in business for 12 years

8. Set Aside Significant Saving

I assumed if I built a good product, they would come! I had no idea how costly being in business would be, the amount of money I needed to succeed, or the toll the financial strain would take.

I am blessed that I had the tenacity and the strength to succeed despite overwhelming odds. If I could go back to the beginning, I would make sure I had significant savings set aside, or capital from another source. I cannot overstate the importance of being properly funded!

Thanks to Regina McRae, Grandma’s Secrets, dessert delivery, in business for 18 years

9. Put More Emphasis on Processes

If I had known then what I did now I would have put a lot more time into creating processes.  I find that with the majority of businesses these fundamentals often get overlooked and sometimes ignored completely. To me this is utter madness! A company can succeed or fail just by their processes. We find that we avoid 99% of mistakes because we process them out. This not only avoids unnecessary errors and client issues, but actually makes the company as a whole more efficient.

Thanks to Ben Norman, Koozai Ltd., UK based digital marketing agency , in business for 6 years

10. Delegate, Delegate, Delegate

I would have delegated more and not tried to do everything myself. Although it does take time to build relationships with your staff, I waited too long to delegate certain responsibilities that could have been done by someone else. Giving responsibilities does much to validate a staff member’s gifts and also demonstrates a deeper level of trust in the employer / employee relationship. Letting go of certain tasks has been difficult for me but I have come to realize that the more responsibilities I entrust to others in their areas of expertise, the lighter I feel, the more confident a staff member becomes and greater things are achieved by their efforts than could have been done otherwise.

Thanks to Stephanie Ciccarelli, Voices.com, online voiceover talent marketplace, in business for 8 years

11. Let Go and Let it Grow

For many years I had to know everything and do everything. I have discovered that other people and organizations can do things better and at a lower cost than doing it myself.  Letting go has enabled my business to grow and prosper and made my life much easier.

Thanks to Bob Shirilla, Keepsakes Etc. and Simply Bags in business for 30 years

12. Avoid Delaying Difficult Decisions

My biggest lesson over the years was learning that sometimes decisions had to be made for the good of the company, which sometimes meant disciplining or dismissing employees. In particular, when the economy started going into recession, I had to fire one of my closest friends in order to keep the company going. I should have done it sooner. As a result of my delay, it took a while to regain the company’s financial stability. Making difficult decisions is part of owning a business. Owners have to be willing to do it.

Thanks to Susan Southerland, Just Marry, Just Right DM and The Susan Southerland Secret, event planning, destination management, and small business consulting, in business for 20 years

13. Start with a Solid Team

I would have started with a solid business plan, hired an account, and started with a solid team around me.  There are not many businesses that are successful with one person wearing so many hats. Do what you do best and allow others to contribute what they do best to help your business grow.

Thanks to Amore Leighton Black, Apples & Oranges Public Relations, public relations and marketing, in business 7 years

14. Charge What I am Worth

I would have charged more! I was so excited to be working for myself doing something I loved. I’ve never been a person who chased profits -that’s not why I do what I do. But I didn’t do my homework and when I started, I charged pretty close to what I was making hourly at the jobs I’d left behind. That was all fine dandy except when working for myself, that wasn’t enough to cover things like taxes, health insurance, and so on. And also, I was definitely undervaluing my services. I was booked ALL the time, yet I could never seem to get ahead. Even though my clients all loved me and thanked me for my work, I doubted my value, and that was definitely reflected in my pricing.

Thanks to Alaia Williams, One Organized Business, professional organizing and small business systems consulting, in business 5 years

15. Focus on Building Relationships

We spent a fortune of money on advertising when we started out (with unimpressive results). We then changed our focus on relationship building with existing clients and organic search maximization vs. paid ads.  Now we see incredible returns in the form of referrals, and new business at a cost that is a fraction of what we used to spend. We needed to learn the hard way but if I knew then…

Thanks to Ben Schusterman, ElJet Aviation Services - private jet charter service, in business for 5 years

16. Start with More Money, Less Friends

I would start with about three-times as much cash as I thought I needed. I’d also be cautious around hiring friends/family.

Thanks to Heidi Ganahl, Camp Bow Wow, doggy day & overnight care, in business for 12 years

17. Use a Better Business Model

If we knew then what we know now, we would have started with the business model that we changed to about two years ago. Before the recession hit, we charged $39.95 for an annual membership with no free trial, and no automatic rebilling at the end of their membership term. During the recession, the rate in which we generated new members waned and we reached a growth plateau. To combat our stagnation we decided to change our revenue model to a free trial and a monthly rebilling combination. We implemented a three-day free trial and then a recurring $18.95 monthly fee after the three days expired. We are doing very well as a company now, but in retrospect, we should have thought about rebilling from the get go.

Thanks to Ian Aronovich, GovernmentAuctions.org, providing information about government auctions of seized and surplus merchandise

18. Hire Employees Sooner

One thing I would do differently if I were starting my training business today would be to make my first hire sooner. Operating on shoestring (and a broken one at that), I originally had to do everything myself. The thrift that made it possible for me to survive and then thrive in the beginning quickly became a hindrance when I delayed hiring people who could do any number of specific tasks easier, cheaper and far better than I could.

Thanks to Barry Maher, Barry Maher & Associates, motivational speaker, leadership trainer

19. Dream Bigger

I would have dreamed bigger from the start. In the beginning, my focus was on serving clients in my own Puget Sound backyard, even though successful people who were familiar with my publicity expertise and storytelling gifts were telling me to think nationally or globally. If I had it to do over again, I would have put more emphasis on national and global reach of my message right from the start.  Lead with juicier, higher value, and leveraged offerings first. When I was just starting out, I put a lot of emphasis on creating the absolute best $10 product about do-it-yourself publicity that I could create. Yes, the Media-Savvy-to-Go Publicity Tips Booklets have sold by the thousands since debuting in August of 2006. However, it is so much easier to make a bigger impact for more people and my own balance sheet by leading with a juicer, higher value offering. Today, the Broadcast Your Brilliance Webinar Series and Bye-Bye Boring Bio PLUS! Programs deliver great value for many around the nation and the world at price points that make it a whole lot easier to make a good living. Whether you create an entry level product or something much more, you still have to create all the systems to support those offerings. By leading with a deeper offering, the rewards are greater for all.

Thanks to Nancy Juetten, Authentic Visibility, PR tools and training, in business 11 years

20. Approach Additional Services More Cautiously

I’ve been in business as a web designer for 18 years. The main thing I would have done differently knowing then what I’ve learned along the way is I would approach any add-on services very cautiously. I used to briefly check out add-on services such as hosting, domain name management, and others, and then I would jump in whole-heartedly. Most of the time, it worked out fine for me. However, the occasional missteps cost me dearly.  As I learned more about running a business, I also learned through hard knocks that it is much better to approach additional services methodically and cautiously. I don’t put a lot of funding and energy into them until I’m sure it is the right thing to offer. I’ve learned it is easier to resist the urge to jump at opportunities than it is to extract myself from the occasional quagmire!

Thanks to Jim Smith, Blarneystone, LLC web design, in business for 18 years

21. Give More Away Sooner and Speak More

Network a lot more in person (the Internet was in its commercial infancy) and hunt for in-person speaking engagements, even if they are not paid.  Good writing alone is not enough to convince clients to hire you. They want to hear you speak on your topic of expertise, and when you help business owners with their problems or concerns, they are more likely to hire you and/or to recommend you to others who hire you. I once helped a business owner write something for his church at no charge, and with another small assignment that paid very little. That led to a long-term writing assignment that exceeded $40,000 in fees. Sow seeds of good will and interest through your networking, speaking, and help. Continue to do this even after your business is successful because it leads to more success.

Thanks to Candace Talmadge, Talmadge Writing Services, writing services, in business for 29 years

22. Been More Focused on This Business

I wouldn’t have started it out of my apt.  I would have “cleared the decks better” by parsing other interests that I was juggling at the same time. I would have learned more about guarding a business (legal, insurance, LLC/Scorp/Inc).  I would not have spent so much money on a business plan.

Thanks to Todd Greene, HeadBlade men’s grooming, in business 12 years

23. Don’t Do It All Yourself

I would have gotten an assistant, accountant and web coder much earlier. I did it all myself for 8 years in my business and have only been hiring assistance for the last two years. I knew it would free up my time to hire people - and what I didn’t know was how much it would free up my mind and let me do better, more powerful work along the way. I’ve been able to create more products and do more thought leadership since getting those little tasks off my plate… and if I’d done it earlier, I can only imagine how amazing things would be.

Thanks to Erin Ferree, BrandStyle Design, branding for small businesses, in business for 10 years

24. Look Before Leaping

What I know now is the huge cost of marketing and promotion required to build demand. We started out expecting to sell retailers and distributors and attend trade shows and travel to customers and sell and spent two years on that path. Then we took a hard right and for past two years we have evolved into an Internet retailer running DRTV (Direct Response TV) infomercials with 85% of our business now direct to the consumer. Social media was never in the business plan either now it’s vital.

What would I do differently knowing what I know now? (1) Keep my old job as long as possible and not leapt off the cliff (but it was a nice feeling) (2) Anticipate 5 years to break-even, and set aside “don’t touch” money.

Do I regret jumping off the cliff? No way. As I tell my wife- don’t look down, keep looking up!

Thanks to Brad Barrett, GrillGrate, LLC, grill surface for better food, in business 5 years

25. Pick More Profitable Partnerships

I would have used deeper discernment in picking partners/vendors/joint ventures, even markets. I picked some doozey’s AND after the fact, saw all the red flags.

Thanks to Shawne Duperon, ShawneTV, media coach and production company, in business 11 years

26. Focus on Face to Face Interactions and New Technology

We learned a lot of lessons in starting our company. For example, we would never produce four-color mailers that are sent to mass prospective clients. We’ve learned that face-to-face interaction and building the business relationship is key. (This was pre-Internet). We also learned that a lot of mailing lists are not updated. This endeavor was expensive and resulted in a poor ROI. When the Internet came around, we certainly would have jumped on this new technology much earlier — developing a website much sooner. It’s an amazing tool to get your message out to the world to sell products and services with visuals. We try to make it much easier for clients to find us rather than we search for a ‘needle in a haystack’ to find prospective clients.

Thanks to Greg Jenkins, Bravo Productions, event planning and production company, in business 25 years

27. Plan For Growth, Be More Discerning in Following Advice

As the owner of a driving school in New York City, my first big regret is that I did not get all other licenses (Motorcycle, Bus, Truck license) earlier in life. I just pass my truck road test Tuesday January 17 2012.  Now I have to wait two more years before I can expand to teach Truck Lessons thanks to NYS requirement. Secondly, I was too naive and trusted many so called experts that convince me how to run my business only to find out they were wrong.  I wasted a lot of money trying ideas that did not work. 3.  In the real estate boom time I should have purchase commercial real estate to accommodate my growing business.  Now it’s impossible to get a loan.  I would have preferred to spend a bit more money to secure a property.

Thanks to Rajendra Hariprashad, Ena’s Driving School, in business for 8 years

28. Leverage People, Build a System

If I knew then what I know now I would have invested in two areas. One, I would have developed other people and brought them into the business sooner. No one is good at everything. Even Michael Jordon had a coach and team mates. One of my friends started a business five years ago and has 700 people working for him today. The more you can leverage other people and create a ladder for them to achieve what they want to then the more successful you will be. Find people you can trust and learn to work effectively with them. My business is much stronger today because I have a strong team.

Secondly, every business needs a system to build a pipeline that is consistent and measurable. I have depended too much in my business on my farming method which is delivering exceptional value to people I meet and eventually they and their friends become clients. I wish I would have understood how to build visibility for my business in my target market like I do today. I am beginning to develop a hybrid model that is both farming and hunting which I believe in the long run will deliver greater growth to my business. My approach that involves taking a prospect from visibility, credibility, and trust is proving to be highly effective. When people work with me they become more than clients they become friends because I am invested in their success. Everyday owning a business is a learning experience. I am very happy it is what I have chosen to pursue in my life.

Thanks to John Paul Engle, Knowledge Capital Consulting in business 10 years

29. Focus on Building Relationships with Customers

When I first started out, like most new veterinarians, my prime concern was my patients and their care. What I failed to fully appreciate was that each patient had an owner (aka client) attached to it! Often I would not address the needs and concerns of the client as well as I was trying to practice medicine and over time, I likely lost clients who, if I had better built my relationship with them, would still be a client today.

Thanks to Dr. James Day, Glendale Animal Hospital, veterinary practice in Glendale, Arizona, in business for 27 years

Bonus Tip:

30. Establish Boundaries With Employees

I would certainly separate “church and state” and I would have been more of a leader than a friend. As an owner and an active President& CEO of a small business- I’m in constant contact with my employees. When hiring new employees, certain requirements and credentials are necessary including: experience, expertise, and industry knowledge. Additionally, I look for multiple interpersonal skills and qualifications. That said, I’ve managed to find and retain wonderful employees who work well and who work well with one another. Formulating good friendships with my employees is nice but maintaining and stepping up as more of a leader at times, has been challenging. Establishing boundaries early on with employees is key and I wish I had known the importance of this, earlier on.

Thanks to Georgette Pascale, Pascale Communications, LLC. a healthcare specific PR firm, in business 7 years

Want to get more inexpensive and practical small business marketing ideas, grab a free e-book called “Build Buzz for Your Biz, 23 Creative and Inexpensive Marketing Strategies That Will Get You Noticed” at http://23kazoos.com.

Wendy Kenney is the bestselling author of How to Build Buzz for Your Business available on Amazon.com, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Newsday.

I admit that I did not totally unplug while away.  I did check emails a few times a day, set up a few crucial appointments, and tweeted here and there.  What I did enjoy A LOT of was walking around the beach town in the morning.  Nothing like jamming to tunes and catching some early morning ocean air while checking out the town on foot.

As I explored the local town, I was struck by one major finding - I was surrounded my small business!  Of course, there were a few chain type places in the town, but for the most part, I was literally in an ocean of entrepreneurs. This was completely fascinating and invigorating to me.  I began to think about my experience at other beaches, and I came to the conclusion that BeachTown, U.S.A. is a model of small business.

I am not sure why this phenomenon exists.  Possibly, beach dwellers are a dream filled bunch or the logistics of getting stuff in and out of the little town scares big box types away.  Nonetheless, seeing the local small businesses in action was a fabulous experience for me, and of course, I took mental notes on what I saw…….The coolest part was seeing a lot of what we discuss here on StartUpNation in action.

Here are the highlights that show small businesses know What’s Up:

• The QR Code is smoking hot among the beach retailers.  Walking by the storefronts, I saw a QR Code about every 5-6 stores hanging in the window.  With one little click of my smart phone, I could save the store’s URL for shopping back home or connect with the store on Facebook.  These individual retailers realize that this is a low cost and time-saving way to get their information out there.

• The local small businesses were swimming in a sea of Social Media.  A majority of the stores were promoting their Facebook pages and/or their Twitter Handle.  These beachside entrepreneurs were embracing the importance of social media in terms of staying in touch with the customer when they were and were not at the beach about specials, sales, new merchandise, and town information.  Growing loyalty is obviously important to these businesses.

• Implementation of Facebook and Twitter did not replace a Website.  These local businesses did not ditch their own url for social media, but rather integrated all of the above!  This provides consumers a comprehensive way to stay in touch.

• Foursquare was responsible for a stake in the sand.  Many of the small businesses were using Foursquare Check-Ins/Deals to grab the attention of beach-goers.  My sons had their heart set on a new sports bar type restaurant, and after checking in, we got $5 off the meal.  My boys were impressed that they saved me five bucks.

• We may have been on a family vacation, but many of these small businesses have made their endeavors a Family Affair.  I met so many teens working for the summer in their family business.  Not only do these teens get to spend the summer at the beach, BUT they learn about creating their own dreams.  They see the hard work behind it, but also view the amazing payoff of all that hard work.

I took a week off not knowing that it would be so incredibly inspiring to see all these small businesses and entrepreneurs making it happen in real time.  Now, I do not feel as guilty for taking a little time away AND I am re-invigorated to tackle my dreams while keeping in mind what I saw these businesses practicing.

As small business people, do you implement these practices?

To follow my dreams and pursuits, connect with me at http://backngroovemom.com

I had just finished reading through Josh Linkner’s brand new book, Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity.

Linkner’s big idea: Breakthrough creativity doesn’t need to be random or something that happens only at the inception stage of your business. Creativity can be–and must be–cultivated systematically on an ongoing basis.

Linkner provides five simple steps to help you become a creative, innovative, dynamic powerhouse - both individually and as a company.

As a long-time friend of mine, I’ve had the privilege of watching Josh perfect this systematic approach to creativity as a successful entrepreneur who rapidly grew a business to over $70 million in sales and as a legit jazz musician where improvisation has been a constant.

He deduced from his experiences that rather than waiting for a-ha! moments to wander through the door, it was possible to establish an environment where breakthrough ideas are farmed and harvested predictably, like crops.

It’s one thing to develop a system that works for yourself, but in Disciplined Dreaming, Linkner successfully packages his ideas into appealing, usable insights in a step-wise process that even at 33,000 feet, are simple and obvious to follow. Totally doable.

His five steps (paraphrased by me) are:

1. Ask - Define your creativity challenge and foster curiosity and awareness of your business opportunity.
2. Prepare - Get into the proverbial “zone” to be creatively productive.
3. Discover - Explore and reveal every avenue to generate ideas and think innovativaly.
4. Ignite - Explode your creative thinking up to the next level to create extraordinary ideas.
5. Launch - Establish a specific framework for transforming ideas into action plans.

And Josh provides specific instructions for each step.

I am so psyched to put these steps to work with my team, and I know they’ll be equally into the process. It will not only bring fresh ideas to light and game-changing strategy, but it will also be A BLAST!

With its creative prescription at just the right moment in my life’s work, I know that this weekend read will have a sweeping, positive impact on what I crank out as a visionary entrepreneur. 

If you want to take your business and personal achievements to the next level, and if you’re wondering what you should be disciplined about today, I’d say, get yourself a copy of Disciplined Dreaming and start creating your future systematically.

Amazon link for Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity

Table of contents for How to Become a Marketing Superstar

1. How to Become a Marketing Superstar
2. Advertising Your Small Business? Here’s What You Need to Know

Have you ever spent a lot of money on a traditional (print, television, radio) advertisement for your business and have it not work?  I have, many times.   And then in frustration I would claim that “Advertising doesn’t work.” But if it doesn’t work, why do companies like Geico, Coca Cola and Macy’s spend millions of dollars on advertising every year?

The truth is that they wouldn’t spend money on something that doesn’t work.  And for companies like these, it makes sense given the massive numbers of people they need to buy their products every day in order for them to be profitable.

The reason that they use these mediums is simple; because television, radio and print is a very effective way to reach massive quantities of prospective buyers on a consistent basis.

Reach and Frequency

The marketing concept we are talking about here is called “Reach and Frequency.”

Reach is the total number of prospects who hear your marketing messages.  Frequency is how often they are marketed to.

Seth Godin uses a colorful and appropriate analogy about reach and frequency in his book Permission Marketing.

Think of it this way:  Marketing is like planting a garden.  Which is better?  Planting many seeds and watering them only once, or planting fewer seeds, but watering them consistently over time?

Just like your seeds will die if you only water them once, so will your marketing messages die in the minds of your prospects if they only hear/see them once.

Frequency Builds Trust

When consulting with one of my clients recently I asked about how our marketing and advertising was working.  The question was, “Why are more people calling?  Is it because of our radio ad?  Newspaper insert?  Website? “  I was surprised by his answer.  He said “It’s not just one thing; it’s everything.”

When customers call they say that they saw our insert in the paper, but then they had driven by a few times and seen our place, but then they also heard us on the radio, and they had seen us on TV too.  And they had finally decided they needed to come in and see us.

My client says that it’s all about “Reinforcement.” Another term for this would be frequency; and frequency builds credibility and trust.   All of the marketing strategies we use on a regular consistent basis work together to bring more customers in the door.

Your reach and frequency needs will determine which advertising media will work best for you.    Just don’t do what I did and run only one advertisement and then give up.  Plant an assortment of seeds, water them regularly and then harvest bushels of success.

Always be marketing.

Related Posts:

• How to Become a Marketing Superstar
• 5 Small Business Marketing Secrets from Big Box Retailers
• 5 Easy Ways to Turbocharge Response to Marketing Materials

Wendy Kenney is the best selling author of How to Build Buzz for Your Biz, Tap into the Power of Social Media, Publicity and Relationship Marketing to Grow Your Business, available on Amazon.com.  She has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Newsday. For more information go to http://23Kazoos.com.

1.            Marketing is all I need to be successful.

I once walked into a retail store to meet with a new prospect.   I was shocked and appalled by what I walked into.  The store was a large showroom located in a very bad part of Phoenix.  In front of the store, on the sidewalk, right next to the street, they put two sample products.  The products had obviously been out in the hot Phoenix sun for months, if not years.  They were faded, warped, dirty, and even broken.  They looked like they belonged in the junkyard.    The inside of the showroom was no different; however,  was filled to the brim with this product.   It was obviously hundreds of thousands of dollars of inventory, if not a million.  And the products on display were dusty and in disrepair.    I could go on and on.  But the fact is that the prospect needed more than marketing.  They needed to get a clue.  If you market crap, it’s still crap.  And no one wants to buy your crap.

2.            My business is slow, or even failing, I better start marketing.

The truth is that marketing takes time to obtain the results that you are looking for.  And if you’re looking to marketing as some sort of miracle cure for your failing business, it’s too late.  Better get out while you can.    The most successful marketing strategies are implemented consistently over time.  The marketing you do today may not pay off until tomorrow or even next year.  That’s why you should always be marketing.

3.            If I market on social media or through free publicity, I’ll get crowds of raving fans instantly.

While social media and publicity are much talked about marketing mediums, rarely do they produce instant results.  Both of these require consistent exposure over time. While social media does bring in new customers, you have to build a following first and that takes time.  And the only exception to the publicity rule is that you could get tons of new customers by being endorsed on a television show like Oprah.  But that situation is rare.

4         If I just hire a marketing or publicity firm, it will help my business increase sales.

As an owner of a marketing firm I can guarantee you that the methods we use will get people in the door.  But nothing else.  Marketing is all about getting the word out about your business, but it isn’t directly correlated to sales.  Marketing can get people in the door, or to your website, or even on the phone.  But what happens after that is called sales and sales is up to you, your staff, or whoever is interacting with the customer.    If you don’t know how to follow up, service customers, give them what they want, close a sale, etc, all the marketing in the world won’t help.    You can’t just sit back and think that customers will do all the work themselves.  Marketing can get them there for you, what happens after that is up to you.

To be successful, marketing needs to be strategically and consistently implemented over the lifetime of a business.  On top of that, marketing can bring in new customers, but what happens after that is up to you.  Make sure that you give them reasons to buy, and give them reasons to come back.  It’s not just about the product, the price, or the promotion.  It’s about the experience, the environment, and the attitude.

Everything is marketing.

Wendy Kenney is the internationally bestselling author of How to Build Buzz for Your Business available on Amazon.com, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Newsday.

Wendy owns the company 23 Kazoos, a marketing and publicity firm in Phoenix, Arizona, that has helped companies like Culver’s Restaurants, The Arizona Farm Bureau and Tom Chambers Commercial increase their visibility through social media, publicity, and creative marketing strategies.  Wendy honed her marketing skills while working for organizations such as MetLife, WebMd, and PacifiCare.

As a Marketing Expert, Wendy speaks internationally to corporations and organizations about marketing strategy, branding, and low cost, no cost marketing.

Wendy lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her husband Mike, and three teenage sons.   Her personal goal is to visit all of the Major League Ballparks in the US before she turns 49. So far she has been to 13.

Ways to Increase Profitability and Productivity

Gene Marks, a business management expert and entrepreneur I hold in high regard (as do Forbes, Business Week and American City Business Journals where he provides regular columns), is going to walk through proven, real-world methods to increase profitability and productivity during even this rough economic climate.

This webinar will highlight 10 great ways to generate more cash from your existing resources while using new technologies to save money and produce top quality products that will help you beat the competition.

Another reason to attend the webinar? At the end, attendees will have the chance to win one of five KODAK ESP Office 6150 All-in-One Printer prize packs which offer you the ultimate printing experience and help your small business’ productivity continue to thrive. You must register and attend the webinar as well as be present at the end of the session to be eligible.

Free insights on increasing profits from one of the smartest guys in the business PLUS a chance to win a printer from our friends at Kodak.

We know your time is precious. We hope you can join the webinar and learn how to increase the performance of your business!

Here’s more info.

Employees want to do a good job. And what the boss often needs to do is get out of the way and let them perform. Of course, when I became a business owner, I fell prey to the kind of thinking that trips up so many entrepreneurs: You have to work endless hours, you have to micromanage every aspect of the business, you have to make every decision. Ack!

I don’t know if my businesses would have survived if I hadn’t come up with what I call Go Theory. (”Go” as in “just go away”.) Go Theory is not about where you go or what you do while you go away from the office. Go Theory is all about what you don’t do:

• Don’t send your employees lots of little reminders by email.
• Don’t keep checking your smart phone.
• Don’t miss the spectacular view or the interesting presentation or the quality time with friends because you were stressing out about what might be going on back at the office.

Instead, enjoy your time away. Because you’ve got great people taking care of the business while you’re gone. If that last sentence just sent a chill up your spine (“But…no one can possibly take care of my business except me!”), read on.

The first element of Go theory, its absolute essence, is hiring great people to work in your business:

• Fire quick and hire slow. Invest the time and money required to make the best choices. I don’t rely on just myself to spot the right person — I make sure that at least two other people whose opinions I respect interview the candidates.
• Hire smart. I hire people who are smarter than me.
• Pick people with a track record for doing their tasks and accomplishing their goals. You don’t want to deal with excuses.

The second element of Go theory involves what you do with those great employees once you have them:

• Give people a great place to work, including real benefits.
• Trust them to handle problems and give them room to succeed or fail.
• Get in the habit of throwing issues back to employees — otherwise, you’ll be chained to your business 24/7.
• Make your business a vibrant and healthy system and you’ll find that employees work better when you’re gone.

The third element of Go theory is at once the easiest — and the hardest:

• Give employees clear directions or goals, and leave them alone to do their jobs. A quick check-in early in the project to make sure they are on track is OK, but then…go away!

The idea is for you to work on your business instead of in your business. This forces you and your staff to create good systems that can run without you. As the CEO, you want to be useless in the day-to-day business activities so you can be proactive and reactive to markets and opportunities. Keep in mind that what puts your business ahead of the competition is not logging lots of hours at the office — it’s creativity. Ask yourself: How can you be creative if you’re spending all your time making sales calls?

Go Theory provides a lot of rewards, including a “real life” for the CEO and a stronger, healthier bottom line for the company. I find that in my absence my business thrives. Projects move forward, problems get solved, and new ideas emerge. All this — just because I learned to get out of the way and work from a beachside cafe two hours a day.

Click here or on the image below to view that advice.

Let me know if you have a cool story you’d like to share with ABC News Now or if you have a burning question to ask. Just send me a personal message at my profile.

So why have we recently launched a paid content offering (in our new Quarterly Marketing Trends eReports)? Because they’re worth it.

Our experts and co-authors spend weeks amassing research and drawing out takeaways and distill those down into clear trends and action items that could have a profound impact on your business.

For example, we just released our Q4 Marketing Trends eReport that you can download immediately and soak up quickly over the weekend or one evening this week. In so doing, you will:

1. Learn the latest about what’s happening in the market overall;
2. Get access to specific statistics that have been culled from every corner of the information universe that applies to marketing in the last months of 2009;
3. Be advised what the “best practices” are to sell to reluctant customers in this quagmire market;
4. Have the confidence that you are completely up to speed on what the smartest folks in your industry know and do to succeed.

The pricetag is $24.99. If you figure you buy the eReport and get one useful tip from it (though you should gain multiple tips you can put into action), you’ll pay for the purchase many, many times over.

I’m doing my job by making you aware of this potentially transformative resource. I hope you find it to be a valuable tool in keeping you on track for success.

Rieva Lesonsky, the partner on the Q4 eReport, is a world-leading expert in small business, formerly the decades-long editor of Entrepreneur Magazine. She’s seen it all. And you should read what she has to say.

Learn about the eReport

My feelings about this were confirmed and further fueled at a recent networking event in Phoenix where Clate Mask, CEO of Infusionsoft, presented his thoughts on the way to make following up work for you.

Because entrepreneurs like me are among the most passionate people on earth, and we love pitching to prospective customers, we often forget the importance of following up with prospects and even current customers to get more cha-ching! into our cash registers. Add to this the especially difficult market environment, which has would-be customers more reluctant than ever to pull money out of their wallets, and practicing the art of follow up becomes even more important.

The key precept of following up effectively with customers to win more business is understanding that people don’t buy when you’re ready. They buy when they’re ready. So it’s imperative to be “in front of them,” ready to do business, at exactly that moment.

Here are some recommended ways to master the art of follow up:

Build Trust. Do special and thoughtful things after coming in contact with a possible customer. As simple as it sounds, mailing a hand-written note goes a long way these days. Also be sure to be prompt. If you set an expectation, always meet or exceed it. Promptness is a simple way to build confidence and trust.

Use a Variety of Mediums. To each his own, as the saying goes. This holds true in the world of business, particularly how and where people prefer to receive their marketing messages. Is email marketing viable? Perhaps. Others may respond better to direct mail postcards, though. Yet others may be Talk Radio faithfuls. And there’s always the option of just placing a call or meeting up in person.

Be a Thought-Leader. Instead of constantly trying to sell, figure out how to position yourself as a provider of very interesting, valuable information related—or unrelated—to what you offer. This will give you lots of excuses to stay top of mind and be poised to make a sale when the potential purchaser decides they’re ready. This also builds trust, as previously mentioned.

Automate It. Because we’re all busy and often gravitate to the more shoot-from-the-hip evangelism role, you might consider leveraging new technology to automate your follow-up process. Companies like Infusionsoft come to mind. They offer a simple software-based approach that makes the art of follow up into somewhat of a science. The data we’ve looked at from Infustionsoft and other such solutions is very compelling.

Check out this resource from one of our sponsors, Infusionsoft: 9 Secrets to Accelerating Your Success