Startup Success

Jump-Start Your Small Business Growth

If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you’ve got your nose to the grindstone all the time. But when you’re always busy working you don’t notice what’s changing in the marketplace, or what’s new that you could be taking advantage of to better market your business.  And these days, thanks to the Internet and the economy both of these things are changing at an incredibly fast pace.

 

So if you’re always busy putting out fires and taking care of clients and customers, you’re likely missing out on one of the most powerful ways to grow your small business… Attending events!

 

One of the best ways to stay inspired and on top of the latest trends and opportunities is to regularly attend conferences, events and workshops outside of your industry. Because, while reading about the latest and greatest online or in books is great, nothing substitutes for hearing experts speak live about what they’re doing and what’s new.

 

But let’s face it, spending a few thousand dollars and taking a week off work to go to a conference or seminar isn’t always possible. So I’ve got the next best thing for you!  

 

I’ve been invited to speak as one of 12 small business experts at the upcoming FREE 3-day “Small Business Success Telesummit.”It’s all done by phone, so you can attend every session, or just one or two, from the comfort of your own home or office.

 

Topics include everything from using social media and other online tools for marketing, creating a more compelling personal bio, mastering in-person networking, how to market your expertise using tips booklets, time-management techniques, outsourcing secrets and more. There’s even a live Q & A segment with the experts at the end of each call.

 

Here’s a list of all the amazing speakers scheduled for the three-day event:

social media expert Nancy Marmolejo, PR experts Shannon Cherry, Diane Ennen and Nancy Juetten, Time Liberator Susan Lannis, The Tips Booklet Queen Paulette Ensign, Savvy Networker Zita Gustin, Results Coach Leanne Hoagland-Smith, Founder of the HUBstreet social networking site Nancy Fox, New Business Mentor Leah Grant, Internet Marketing Strategist Erin Blaskie, and Practical Marketing Expert Stacy Karacostas.

 

Plus, everyone who registers receives a bonus ebook packed with helpful articles from these experts.

 

Now you can get the info you need to transform your business without spending a penny or traveling anywhere!

 

So what are you waiting for? While the event is totally free to attend live, phone lines for the calls are limited.

 

If you’re ready to take your business to the next level go hereand register for the Telesummitright away.

 

What’s the biggest ah-ha moment you’ve had listening in on a teleseminar? Please do share by leaving a comment below…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Each New Year I like to come up with a theme for the year and then plan my goals around that theme. 

For 2010, I have chosen TRANSFORMATION as the theme.

My intention is to make a major transformation in three key areas of my life: business, health and relationships which I am dubbing the three B's--business, body and buddies.

I don't believe in making resolutions because it's the beginning of the year and there's pressure to do so.  Instead I view the New Year as a fresh start or reset point.  I choose the things I want to be, do and have during the coming year and look at what I'm willing to do and what I must do to attain those things then put a plan in place and execute. 

Some years I stay on plan and some years I have allowed other things to distract or divert me.  The distractions weren't so great, but many of the diversions led to even bigger things than I had imaged.

This year I also chose to create a different theme for my coaching; something to inspire me and my clients to go to even higher levels than they already have achieved. 

In reviewing notes from many of last year's coaching sessions I noticed a lot of my clients were much more fearful and more calculated about their risk taking than they had been in previous years.  Some even removed themselves from the main stage of their goals to regroup in other areas. 

Reading all the notes in one sitting left me with an overall feeling that they were surviving the down economy and in a sense that they were playing not to lose.

That is why for 2010 my coacing theme is "Playing to win in 2010."

My intention for this theme is to challenge and stretch my clients more, to help them set-up grand prize winning environments and to surround themselves with people who are champions many times over.

I am excited about the ideas I have had to support this theme and look forward to sharing them with my clients.

Until then I'm going to enjoy the rest of my time in Colorado hanging out with family and watching sunsets over snow-covered peeks.

What I want for you is a fabulous end to 2009 and an inspiring and joyful beginning to 2010. 

CHEERS!

NOTE: Leah will be back in the office on January 4, 2010.  She has three one-one-one coaching slots available on a first come first serve basis beginning in January.  If you are interested in being interviewed for one of these slots, please send an e-mail to info@leahgrant.com.

Recognition & Appreciation

Monday's Motivational Quote:

"One of the most grounding and empowering feelings for all human beings is to be recognized and appreciated for who we are, for our core selves, separate and apart from what we do."

                                                                                      -- Julia Morgenstern

Be Unique

Monday's Motivational Quote:

"Don't let anyone tell you that you have to be a certain way.  Be unique."

                                                                                      -- Melissa Etheridge

Gift Ideas for Small Business Owners

In the first few years of business, small business owners are often focused on the practical things they need to get their business off the ground.  Here are some ways you can show the small business owner in your life that you support their endeavor!

1. Starbucks gift card – I don’t even drink coffee, but they have tea and pastries also and Starbucks is still a hot spot to meet prospects and clients or just get out of the home office for a change of pace.
2. A massage-- All those long hours at the computer can create a stiff neck.  A massage can relive pain and decrease stress, just in time for starting a New Year!
3. Amazon gift card – It seems that every time I talk to a client or hear a speaker they are mentioning a new book or resource that would be good to read or reference.
4. A house cleaning -- Let someone else clean the house while the small business owner focuses on work.
5. Staples or Office Max gift card – Office supplies can be a costly expense for a small business, a gift card can help ease the burden.
6. Monogrammed cards -- Best used as thank you cards, it'll give your small business owner a sense of class.
7. Stamps – If they're writing thank you cards, they need to send them.  I go through a bunch every month.
8. Car detail-- This expense can get squeezed out of a tight budget, but having a clean car, especially if your business owner needs to transport clients is key to projecting a successful image.
9. Gas card – Getting to those client meetings, seminars, conferences and prospecting events requires driving and gas can be a hefty expense.
10. Nordroms or other department store gift card-- Sprucing up one's business attire for the New Year can add self-confidence.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE?  You may, as long as you include this entire blurb with it: New Business Mentor Leah Grant publishes Startup Success, a weekly enewsletter.  If you're thinking about starting a new business or are in the early phases of entrepreneurship, get your FR.EE New Business Startup Kit including the Secrets of Successful Business Ownersaudio at www.leahgrant.com

Do Everything

 

Monday's Motivational Quote:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover."

                                                                                      -- Mark Twain

Focus

Monday's Motivational Quote:

"I think focus is what has enabled me to excel in life.  When I play basketball, there is absolutely nothing else on my mind but basketball.  When I'm modeling, I'm focused entirely on modeling and doing the best I can.  I also like to show girls that you can be tough and feminine too."

                                                                        -- Lisa Leslie, WNBA's center for Los Angeles Sparks

Income Double, Half the Trouble

Income Double, Half the Trouble by fellow coach and friend Jonathan Flaks is now available!

Are you ready to stop running around like crazy and start enjoying the money, free time and hassle-free life you truly deserve?

If you're an entrepreneur, executive, consultant or professional who is serious about a having a giant shift in your success, "Income Double - Half the Trouble" will help you:

• Replace beliefs that stop you with confidence that propels you.
• Eliminate the obstacles that interfere with your success.
• Enjoy higher standards and more meaningful relationships.
• Attract and manage the lifestyle you truly deserve.

Pick up your copy from Amazon: Income Double, Half the Trouble

New Affiliate Rules!

Many small businesses make a little extra cash by sending clients and prospects to purchase resources they believe in.  In e-mail and on websites this promotion is usually done via affiliate links.

 

In the past, anyone could place these links anywhere they wanted--on their website, on their blog, in their newsletter, in e-mails, in FaceBook status updates, etc.

 

However, there are now NEW Federal Trade Commission rules concerning affiliate income and disclosure.

 

The rules contain a lot of legal jargon, but it's important to understand them if you are an affiliate of anything.  The consequences of not knowing the rules, or not following them, are fines and possibly legal action.

 

Instead of writing the details of the ruling out myself, I found this article and accompanying videos that describe the rules perfectly:

 

http://www.techbasedaffiliates.com/important-affiliate-terms-update/603

 

Thank you to Lynette Chandler of TechBasedMarketing.com for letting me direct my readers to her page.

Heart

Monday's Motivational Quote:

"You are only as good as who you are at heart."

                                                                                      -- Tyra Banks