As I wrap up Week #1 of this fabulous brand new year, I thought I would check in with all of you….

Have you set your Main Goal(s) for 2012?

More important, How do you plan to hold yourself accountable to your Goal(s)?

That is the kicker with goals.  You can make as many goals as you want, but Accountability is what makes goals actually count.  A Goal is only as good as the plan for holding yourself accountable to it.

I have found a number of ways to infuse accountability into your plans and goals:

Incorporate a Mastermind Group. A Mastermind Group is a small group of other professionals that meets together (in person or virtually) and helps promote one another’s success.  If you are not in one, think about forming one!  Look at it as a circle of Business Best Friends.

Hang a Written Mantra or Vision Board. A mantra is your very own words or goals that you want to keep repeating to yourself.  If you are more visual, create a picture, drawing, or roadmap to hold you to your goals.  Tape this vision high above your workspace to keep you motivated.

Set Alarms in your calendar. Program your computer or phone to ding on particular days, times, etc when you WANT to remind yourself of checking your progress on goals.  This is useful when you get stuck daydreaming about the possibilities because it makes you get back to reality.

Engage a Business or Life Coach. If you find yourself really struggling with holding yourself accountable, hire someone to help you.  This will cost you some money, but if you match up with the right coach, he/she will certainly help you monitor progress.

……Still looking for some accountability inspiration?

Check out what some other amazing Entrepreneurs are doing in 2012!

Nicole Fende is a credentialed actuary with experience as a Chief Financial Officer, Investment Banker, and successful entrepreneur. Nicole (a.k.a. The Numbers Whisperer™) helps her clients learn how to effectively and enjoyably run the financial side of their business.

Main goal: Killer launch and sales of my first book, How to be a Finance Rock Star.

Plan for Accountability: As an entrepreneur, my bank account balance keeps me accountable.

David Shirey has been training, inspiring, and leading sales teams and workforces to incredible new heights for two decades, and now is the author of the new book, Rare Confidence.

Main goal: Spread the message to as many people as possible that the secret to attacking your dreams is CONFIDENCE!

Plan for Accountability: Doing the right thing is not a some of the time thing; it’s an all the time thing!

Heather Allard is a mother of three kids and the founder of The Mogul Mom, a free daily email for moms who run a business, raise a family and rock both.

Main goal: To grow The Mogul Mom’s free daily email for mom entrepreneurs to 25,000 subscribers.

Plan for Accountability: Through a small group of peers who know my goals and hold me to ‘em. I hold myself accountable by sharing my goals and actions taken with a couple of mentors who’ve accomplished what I’m trying to accomplish.

Haralee Weintraub is CEO of Haralee Sleepwear, ‘Cool Garments for Hot Women.’

Main Goal: Have 2 National exposures on our company.

Accountability: Target the avenues where I think this goal can be achieved, and work on it every week.

Now, let’s hear your Goal and Plan for Accountability!

Looking forward to sharing your Goals and Accountability in 2012, Rachel

http://backngroovemom.com

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The start of the New Year is always filled with bucket lists and LONG lists of resolutions.  If you think about these two lists, they are essentially polar opposites.  One is a list of long term goals, many of which are far reaching.  The other is a list of everything we want to deny ourselves from doing or enjoying.

Last year, I rejected the notion of resolutions (I did have a bucket list that will probably be my bucket list for the next few years).  Rather than constrict myself with numerous resolutions, I decided to make a list of behaviors, habits, and items that I wanted to partake of in ABUNDANCE.  I listed all the healthy and positive aspects of life that I would take part in abundantly.

When you think about resolutions and lists of things that we CANNOT do, what normally happens?  We uphold the resolution for a short while and then GO WILD when we decide not to maintain it anymore.  Just thinking about giving up Pizza, makes me want to call for delivery.  The same can be said about our businesses and resolutions we may create related to them for the New Year.

Resolutions are constricting, and almost beg for non-compliance.

Why not think about our plans for the upcoming year in ABUNDANCE?  What feels better than permission to partake of what we like most in EXCESS?

Here is what I propose:

• Take a look at your business over the last year and identify the areas in which you were successful.  Evaluate Sales, Networking, Leads, Growth, Profits, and all the other Goodies that we like to evaluate at the end of the year.

• After you have identified the areas in which you were successful, make a list of what you employed to achieve that success.  Did attending local networking groups achieve higher leads?  Did running particular ads generate particular sales?  Did the gift with sale increase sales and profit?

• Now the easy part, when making your goals for 2012, employ these techniques in abundance!  Think about how you can translate some of these techniques to areas that you need better results.  Rather than make a resolution in which you state that “I am NOT going to do such and such in 2012,” make it a point to utilize your successful tactics in abundance.

It is Holiday Season, let’s give something to one another: What is one extremely successful tactic that you employed in 2011?

(AS for pizza, I am not giving it up…and to stay tuned with my bucket list, join me at http://backngrooovemom.com)

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Where am I going with this?

I say “Bless You” to the dogs because they are loyal to me and I am loyal to them.  We all strive to be Loyal to our loved ones in our personal lives, but Loyalty is also good business practice and a two-way street.  In my opinion, Loyalty is a cornerstone of small business.  As small or start-up businesses, our budgets are limited and we rely heavily on word of mouth, the passing on of good experiences, referrals, and return customers.  What generates all of this? - Loyalty.

Here are a few ways that we can be Loyal to those that are Loyal to us….

Sometimes all it takes is actually telling someone you will be true to them in order to display Loyalty.  A few months ago, I connected with an amazing biz-to-biz resource for me.  Also, another small biz, I was excited to connect.  However, at the moment I could not afford their services.  After a few months of building rapport and the other biz hearing from me that I would continue to be loyal to them, we were able to work out an “improvised” payment schedule.

Another awesome way to show Loyalty is to give a recommendation on behalf of that particular biz or person. I take my boys to a small locally owned franchise to get their haircuts.  I know that this biz has the support of the larger franchiser, but they still want to stay ahead of the curve and provide excellent service.  One day following a haircut, I wrote a recommendation for the shop and sent it to the headquarters.  I assume that the feedback trickled down to the individual owner because the next time that I went in, the employees could not be more thankful.  When I missed a sale by one day on hair products, guess what?  They extended the sale for me by a day!

The greatest form of Loyalty is the referral.  Nothing says that you connected with a small biz better than sending them MORE business.  Recently, I approached a fellow mompreneur about some referrals that I had for her business, and she was so excited!  In return, she provided me with a free service to show her appreciation.

In all of the examples of “how to be Loyal,” you can see the 2-way nature of the relationship.  The fundamentals of Loyalty rely on partnership and collaboration in small business.  AS women entrepreneurs and small business people, we benefit from collaboration and Loyalty … we cannot isolate ourselves.  AS a community of small biz people that is Loyal to one another, we are much stronger!

So, just like I am Loyal in my daily life to the people & pets that surround me, I try to be Loyal in my biz pursuits.  It has been a great community building tool for me in my adventure. To read more about my adventure and how I discovered my entrepreneurial groove, check out http://backngroovemom.com

How have you been Loyal today?

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Guy Kawasaki is no stranger to entrepreneurship, having co-founded several businesses including Garage Technology Ventures, and Alltop.com, which is, as he describes, an “online magazine rack” of popular topics on the web.  He’s written ten books including The Art of the Start, The Macintosh Way, and his latest, Enchantment, The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions, releasing March 8^th, 2011, available on Amazon.com, and in bookstores everywhere.

I’ve read hundreds of business books, but never have I read a book like this.  In a nutshell, Enchantment is all about how to make people fall in love with you, and when people fall in love with you, you can accomplish anything.

This book is part inspiration, part motivation, and part practication (I just made up a new word).   With inspiring stories and practical steps, Kawasaki explains all the tactics you need to put together and launch your own enchantment campaign.  Kawasaki’s lessons are taken from his experience at Apple, but many of the stories are very personal stories from average, every day people.  (These stories happen to be some of my favorite parts of the book.)  Buy the book on Tuesday March 8^th, or any day and you will be able to experience “enchantment” for yourself.

In honor of the release of Kawasaki’s new book, I asked him to give us his perspective on small business marketing today.  Here’s his insightful and unedited response.  Enjoy!

What do you see are the biggest challenges for a small business owner today?

Sales, sales, and sales. My saying is, “sales fixes everything” because as long as you have cash flow, you’re still in the game. As a friend once told me, the leading cause of failure of startups is death, and you die when you run out of money.

Is that different than what it was a few years ago?

It’s been like this since the recession hit. Every day, I wish for just one more bubble because this time I’ll know what to do!  But I believe that business is cyclical, so it’s not wise to panic. A rising tide floats all boats, but a receding tide makes the big, bloated boats hit rock bottom.

How have you seen business owners overcome these challenges?  (What’s working?)

More than anything else, these times are a test of will–how much are you willing to gut it out and grind it out. If you can survive these times, you’re pretty set to take on anything. I have great admiration for the companies that continue to put out great products and services with less money while maintaining high levels of customer enchantment. It’s much easier to write the book and make the speech than actually deliver results.

As far as marketing, what strategies do you use to market your business?

Right now, I’m mostly marketing my new book. To do this, I believe that “nobodies are the new somebodies.” That is, I don’t focus on only the so-called experts and powerful people. I like to work with as many people as possible because it’s impossible to know who will really make you tip.

Is there a strategy that doesn’t work?

I’ve never been one to throw money at a problem…for two reasons, I never had the money to throw and I hate wasting money in any case.

What advice do you have for business owners who are just starting out?

Prototype, prototype, prototype. Get to market. PowerPoint and Excel are secondary or even tertiary in importance. Get to market and get cash flowing.

Other than StartupNation, Entrepreneur Magazine, Alltop.com, what other resources do you recommend for startups?  Books? Websites, etc?

These are primarily information sources. Startups also need ways to reach and serve customers. For this, God provided Twitter and Facebook. These two sites are entrepreneur’s dreams because they are fast, free, and ubiquitous. The book that I recommend to startups is If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland. This book provided the inspiration that changed my life. It’s not solely about writing–it’s about the human spirit. Every entrepreneur should read it.

Bonuses:

Online Quiz:  How GREAT Are You?

Online Photo Contest:  Submit your Most Enchanting Photo for a Chance to Win!

“Like” Enchantment on Facebook

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.

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Great! Now, what do you do?

A.     Sit back and watch who signs up.

B.     Communicate with your new registrants right away.

C.    Send valuable information to your list on a regular basis.

If you answered B and C… Ding, Ding Ding! You are right!

Newsletter Set Up is Just the Beginning.

The whole reason you have an online newsletter registration
is so that you can collect the contact information for potential
customers.

Once you get their names and e-mails, the real work begins…

• Send a thank you.

Immediately after people register for your newsletter, send them
a personalized, e-mail thank-you note. It should include a welcome
message, all the benefits they will be receiving and any kind of
free e-report, survey, white paper, etc. that you agreed to send
them if they registered.

• Schedule e-mail auto-responders.

What are they?

Well, after you send out your initial thank-you
and welcome e-mail, you need to communicate with your
list on a regular basis.

With e-mail auto-responders, you send e-mails to your
audience to remind them about your business. And these 5-10
e-mails are scheduled for automatic delivery over a matter of weeks.

However, you want to ensure these e-mail messages are personal
and provide value to the readers.

Perhaps, you can share a story about something that happened
to you recently, provide a business tip or talk about a current,
news story?

At the end of your e-mail, you remind your list about
a particular product or service that you are selling.

This way, you communicate with your list in a way that provides value,
reminds them you are around and allows them to get to know you
over time.

It is a fantastic way to build long-term, customer relationships.

• Are you blogging and using social media?

In addition to sending out the e-mail auto-responders mentioned above,
you also want to let your list know when you have a new blog entry,
article, sale, etc. And this is just a simple process of scheduling an
e-mail to go out whenever you have a new entry.

For these services, check out:

http://aweber.com/?324776
www.constantcontact.com
www.icontact.com
www.myemma.com
www.verticalresponse.com

This way, you can easily stay in touch with your list on a regular
basis and keep your products and services top-of-mind while
providing value.

• Monitor e-mail auto-responder results.

Once your newsletter-registration and e-mail auto-responder
process is in place, be sure to monitor it regularly.

By checking your e-mail service, you can see how many people
opened your e-mail, the most popular content and clicks,
the best subject lines and send times, undeliverables, spam notices,
and more.

This is valuable information you can use to get the best results
for your e-mail efforts. Plus, you can use this data to discover key
trends with your list members, conduct follow-up, stop issues before
they become big problems, and create new content to meet their
specific needs.

Take Advantage of This Process.

Having a newsletter registration allows you to create and
grow your own list of customers. But this is just the beginning.

Once you offer your newsletter, it’s important to provide
personalized information  to your list on a regular basis via
an e-mail auto-responder series.

Now, you may think that your customers will turn away if you
send them too many e-mails. And sure, you will get some
unsubscribes. But you do not want these “uninterested” people
on your list anyway.

Just be sure to send valuable information your customers can
use. And note that there is an art to the content and timing of these
e-mails… so I strongly advise that you hire an experienced, SEO
copywriter to help you write and send them.

But it’s well worth the time, cost and effort. With good, e-mail
auto-responders, your list will actually look forward to
receiving  your e-mails.

And this means you can build valuable,
long-term customer relationships that will catapult your business
above the competition and dramatically increase sales.

Do you need assistance setting up your newsletter process and
e-mail auto-responder series? Please write to me here or at
www.rembrandtwrites.com. Your site traffic will increase!

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Perhaps, you spent hours writing the copy yourself?

Or maybe you hired a big, Web company to design a site with all the bells and whistles?

Either way, you are not finished…. unless, you did this one, key step…

Did you have outsiders give you their opinions of the site?

After all, you are probably too close to it… and you’ve spent so much time and effort (and maybe money)
preparing it, that you may miss some important errors.

With this in mind, have some outsiders and potential customers answer these questions (and your Mom or spouse doesn’t count)!:

1.       What is the first thing you look at when you open the site?

2.       What does this business offer?

3.       Does the site provide a solution to your problem?

4.       What are you supposed to do when you visit the site? What is the call-to-action?

5.       If you want to purchase something, do you know what you are supposed to do?

6.       Is it easy to find what you need on the site?

7.       Does the site have too much going on, or is it easy to get the information you need?

8.       What did you like most about the site?

9.       What did you like least about the site?

10.    What suggestions do you have to add value this site?

Once you have a good collection of responses, review them carefully.

Are you surprised at the answers?

You may discover blatant mistakes and key data that you overlooked. And while you may be disappointed, it’s great that you have this information.

Now, you can use this “insider” insight to help you create a site for your customers that works. Once you make the changes and update your site, run this test again.

Did your updates work?

If you receive the responses you are looking for, move forward with a big launch for your site. But if information is still missing and potential customers are not getting the value and data they are looking for, your site still needs changes.

Take the time and effort to review what your customers want on a regular basis. Then, provide the appropriate information they are looking for. After all, you may think you have a great site, but if it doesn’t meet the needs of your target market, you don’t!

Yes, this may be time consuming. But think what will happen if you don’t take action. Your site will not be the best it can be, and sales and site visitors will go to the competition.

Do you need help with a site review and search engine optimization to boost awareness, visitors and sales?Please let me know here or at www.rembrandtwrites.com.

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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.

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I can’t help but laugh since I was asked those exact same questions when I launched Glamajama. People thought I was crazy when I admitted to wanting to do more than just local craft shows. I guess I couldn’t blame them. After all, I had no experience, no support, and no financial resources. All I had was my hopes, dreams, and a fierce desire to fulfill my passion.

Seven years later, Glamajama is a leader in the childrens industry with national distribution in retailers such as Target and JCPenney. I’ve received thank you letters from Halle Berry, seen our clothes grace countless magazines, watched the hosts of the Today Show excitedly introduce the line on live TV, and helped the design team of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition build a house on primetime.

I could go on for hours with all the amazing things I’ve been able to see, share, and accomplish as the CEO of Glamajama, but I won’t. What I will say, however, is that all those things were possible because of my PASSION. Nothing more, nothing less.

I never had a silver platter, rich Uncle, or even a clue at a few critical moments along that journey. What I did have, however, was a vision for my ideal personal and professional life. Instead of focusing on what I couldn’t do to make it happen, I focused on what I could. I may have gotten knocked down, discouraged, and even doubted my sanity at times (many times), but that’s natural. At the end of the day…

It’s not how many times you get knocked down that count, it’s how many times you get up that matter.

I’m reminding myself of this today as I hear the doubts in people’s voices when I talk about FitandFearLESS, miss my “video view counts” goal for the day, or fail to get a response from a media pitch. The best things in life aren’t easy and it just makes winning that much sweeter. The joy is always in the journey, not the end.

So what does all this really mean? Does passion pay? I say YES. Our passions might not always pay dividends to our bank accounts, but they will always pay dividends to our heart and soul.

Are you losing HOPE in your small business? Hire me. I will FIGHT for your company’s success. Click here to learn more.

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Before opening Visible Logic, Emily worked at several successful studios in the Chicago & Boston area. At these full-service studios she completed a broad range of design work, including B-to-B marketing collateral, annual reports and identity projects. Early in her career Emily worked in print production and as a print buyer in the book publishing industry. This foundation in print management allows her to troubleshoot the production side of projects.

“I always knew I’d start my own design firm, but I had to get the right experience before going out on my own. I got laid off in the summer of 2001 and decided it would be better in the long run to start my own business rather than search for another design job.” – Emily Brackett

What interested me most about my interview with Emily is her authenticity in reflecting that she didn’t start out with a plan to land where she did. She had always enjoyed art, color and type—but didn’t know what to do with it. Like many people, she wasn’t really aware of what a graphic designer did. So, I took the long route getting to where I am. I have a liberal arts degree, then I worked in book publishing. That’s where I realized exactly what graphic designers did and finally figured out where I belonged. Then, I went back to school at Massachusetts College of Art to get a degree in graphic design. Best decision!

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There is another option to challenge those big brands and the answer lies in the question – COMPETE! Find out if local media, analysts, industry magazines or bloggers have any scheduled product shoot-outs or competitions in the coming months. If not, maybe someone will consider doing a review of your product against a competitor and featuring the review on their site, show, or in editorial.

How do you make that happen? Make a few calls or send a few emails to the experts and ask what they have planned for competitions, reviews, etc that you can submit your solutions or products to compete head to head with the big guys and win. Hint: the summer months are a great time to submit any consumer products for features on holiday gift ideas, favorite things, and what-to-buy lists.

If you don’t come across any formal challenge or award in the short-term that will provide a stage, then try submitting your products to people that may be willing to feature a head to head comparison or editorial highlighting their findings. Recommend the two to three competitors you would like them to consider for a review and provide them with basic information on what you believe the differences to be. Now, you’ve created a story idea that can help them make a name for themselves and for you to shine.

Remember, you must surrender yourself to their final opinion, but even if you don’t get the top nod in the final edit you’ve earned the position of being mentioned in the same article and you’ve proven to be a real contender.

Follow VerticalResponse on twitter @VR4SmallBiz

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