North San Diego Business » Barbara Eldridge

Strategic Planning Webinar, Part One

Debra Simpson — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:47:44 +0000

On Friday, June 6th Barbara Eldridge, Mind Masters was my special guest in Conquering Digital Divide, presenting "Strategic Planning for Your Business, Part One".

Take a listen and let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Visit The Digital Divide page for upcoming Free Friday webinars.

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Get Customers to Talk for You

Barbara Eldridge — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:39:34 +0000

When was the last time you asked a customer/client for a referral? So many times I hear that as a business owner it is uncomfortable asking for a referral. Yet last week I listened to three rookie insurance/financial advisors talk about how they began their businesses and what were the important keys that have made them successful. Asking for a referral was right up on top. Your current customers can be your best influences on prospective clients. So what can you do to break through the "discomfort" of asking for the name of someone they know that could use your product or service?

If you had to guess, what percentage of people are visually oriented: that is, they need to see something before buying it – you know they need to drive a car, feel the material of a suit/dress or preview a house before purchasing it? More then 95% of people are visual consumers. So how do you a service provider create this opportunity?

Why not start with a testimonial from a client who has had a very positive experience working with you? How many times have you heard, "I don’t know how to thank you"? That is the perfect time to ask them to put their gratitude in writing. Testimonials can become part of your powerful arsenal for opening the door to new prospects. Something magical happens when you read those testimonials, a special relationship develops with that customer opening the door to relaxing the "discomfort" of taking the next step and asking for referrals.

Testimonials should be used in all of your promotional materials, they can be developed into case studies that you can verbally convey when someone asks, "how do you do that?". Testimonials are one of the most effective and powerful strategies, they create an air of credibility for your business and gives you confidence when approaching new prospects.

The Challenge: Review your marketing strategy and begin asking for testimonials! Let us know if you have any concerns.

For more than twenty-five years Barbara Eldridge has been contributing to other people’s business success. Her many years experience in the corporate world provided her with knowledge, insight and presence to help thousands of entrepreneurial men and women nurture their business ventures into thriving successes.

Barbara founded Mind Masters in 1991 as an organization for entrepreneurs to master the challenges they face in an ever-changing market place. Barbara has a vision of Mind Masters to provide a value based program so that business owners could harness the power of each members’ success, make wise business decisions and realize their dreams. Visit Mind Masters for a meeting location near you and start on your path to business success.

Speaking Your Brand

Barbara Eldridge — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:27:53 +0000

Customers make the heart of your business beat with their desire to choose products, services and experiences that meet their needs, fit their values, engage their emotions and respond to their desires. Your role is to transform prospects into customers and customers into fiercely loyal advocates. As your own marketer you have to be heard over the marketing noise that is everywhere, (TV, newspapers, on every street corner, now even at the movies). You then have to overcome the skepticism of the more sophisticated consumer.

Many of you have taken one of our "Personal Branding" workshops to learn more about standing out, creating interest so that people take action. It is important to understand that all of this starts with what you say about who you are, what you do, but most importantly what is the outcome you deliver that satisfies someone’s desire to buy.

I would like to suggest you start by asking yourself some questions that can flush out the things you need to know about your customer, and what your customer needs to know about you. If you have targeted a market, what is their challenge, issue or problem. The better prepared you are to answer that question the better prepared you will be to know what your customer needs to know about you.

What is the value of your product or service in terms of saving customers time and effort? Does what you offer add value by offering an enhancement – beauty, status, advancement or guarantees? Can you demonstrate that your product or service is not a cost but an investment? How about your competition, why do people buy from you rather than your competition? What makes you different? What do your customers tell each other about your product or service?

Amazon.com and eBay have capitalized on this by giving buyers a chance to comment and/or review what they purchased and in the case of eBay how well the seller fulfilled what he sold. You need to be able to tell the stories and quote the testimonials of happy customers so others can see how you are different.

Few products or services are unique, you make them unique by looking at your strengths to create your competitive edge. What strengths do you have that you can effectively capitalize on? When you have answers to the questions that apply to you, you must be able to deliver that information verbally and in all your written and hand out materials. Remember people want to know "what’s in it for them." So what is the outcome and value you deliver; this is not the how, but the what, that will keep them coming back over and over again.

Make Yourself Known in the Market Place – Carve Out Your Place

Barbara Eldridge — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:37:49 +0000

According to Alan Kay from Disney’s R&D Department: "When you … offer unique value your competition cannot, then you … make headway by giving your ideas away."

You can expand your visibility by disseminating information as one of your prime marketing tactics. Don’t make the same mistakes most small business people do, and think that the knowledge and experience you have is widely known, on the contrary, you are the owner of a capital asset that others do not possess and have no easy way of possessing it.

There are many avenues available to you to present what you know. Trade association journals and newsletters are always looking for articles. What organizations are you associated with? Approach them with a suggested topic.

On staying current with your clients, you need to create information tools such as newsletters or e-mail newsletters that will give you consistent visibility. Clients start to see you as a valuable resource.

Seminars, workshops and talks to groups and organizations put you out ahead of the competition. Your exposure to your market place helps you to build credibility.

When you make your information available to your market place, you position yourself as an expert. Experts produce and sell information. This lets clients sample your information and expands your market to people who can’t hire you. Products can be given away or can bring you significant incremental revenue.

The market place of today wants concise information, whether you record it or put it in print, it will create a definite advantage over your competition. Where do you want to be in the market place? You must put yourself there. The next time a client asks you a question, make note of it – others want that answer too.

When Do You Incorporate?

Barbara Eldridge — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 20:14:17 +0000

One of the questions I often get from my members is, "when is the right time to incorporate"? The answer is often the question of liability that one needs to take into consideration before deciding which entity best suits ones business needs. Do you have employees that put you at risk driving your business vehicle or dealing with customers? Each business entity has its advantages and drawbacks, benefits and tax consequences.

Picture a situation where an employee is driving with you in your vehicle and you are in an accident. The accident is not your fault but your employee gets injured. You are now in a position where the employee’s lawyer decides they need to sue you too. What kind of protection do you have?

Most small businesses are started as sole proprietorships to allow an individual the independence, flexibility and minimum government red tape giving him/her absolute control. Taxes are filed on a regular 1040 form with a schedule C attached. Employee benefit premiums are deductible. However, Linda Harris of Harris Insurance and Financial Services says that the disadvantages of the sole proprietor are so profound that I will quote her explanation.

"The sole proprietorship is limited by the personal financial resources of the owner and the ability to obtain credit and borrow money. The sole proprietorship is also limited in terms of business talent and ability and the success of the business generally is tied to the ingenuity, initiative, resourcefulness and managerial abilities of the sole owner. "

Without proper planning the employee in the above scenario could wind up owning the assets of the business and other personal assets as well. Creditors may attach personal resources (home, bank accounts, retirement accounts, etc) in the event of a business failure. Also what happens to a sole proprietorship upon the death of the owner? In general, state laws provide that all of a sole proprietor’s business activities cease at the owner’s death.

Without getting over my head in legalities, let’s look at the General Corporation advantages that could offset the sole proprietorship disadvantages. There is limited liability as all responsibility for debt and liability fall on the corporation. That means creditors cannot attach personal assets of the share holders. Financing is generally more easily secured, as corporations have a more stable appearance, whether or not it is true. Unless there is a restriction on the transfer of stock, shareholder’s interests are freely transferable. As a separate legal entity, a corporation enjoys perpetual existence.

Often small business owners fail to value their sole proprietorships and do not adequately plan for its security or continuance. It is important to review all of the benefits and drawbacks of incorporating with your attorney, CPA and financial planner so you understand the financial impact on the business and your family.

Keeping It All Together – Managing Your Priorities For Business Success

Barbara Eldridge — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:00:43 +0000

Here we are in the second month of the year, are you already finding yourself coming and going, wondering how to get done all the things your business demands of you? Is it more like being in a batting cage with things coming at you, rather then in the game playing to win? Over the years I have experienced my clients suffering through those long lists of "got to get done" things, but what I have come to understand is most of those "things" are not focused, nor do they consistently support the things that really matter, your dreams and goals.

But, you ask, when the list is so long what does really matter? That sounds more like you are striking out instead of scoring. So let’s think about your game – how many up at bats have you skipped this week? This month? Managing the high priority, high pay off areas of the business means first having a clear focus on the mission and goals of the business. Anything that distracts you from realizing those goals is likely producing inconsistent results. The question to ask yourself to stay focused is, "is this activity helping me reach my goal?"

Weekly you must carefully define your work and break it down to essential tasks which will give you a game plan. Growing a business means having consistent up at bats, i.e. activities that produce high pay off results, that means prospecting for new clients, calling for appointments and having face to face encounters with them. In addition it means staying in touch with your "centers of influence" who recommend you.

Paul J. Meyer, Founder of Success Motivation Institute once wrote "There is a world of difference between mere action and constructive action." So instead of just adding to that "to do" list, take time to plan a week of constructive action, focusing on the things that hit the mark consistently. I recommend that you break your activities down to Business Development, Contract Fulfillment/Work to be Completed, Follow up, Personal/Home, and Administration. When you have your goals in front of you it is easier to see what needs to be done.

Challenge: Take one half hour each week to review your accomplishments and plan for the next growth steps for your business.

Make It Happen in 2008!

Barbara Eldridge — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:49:56 +0000

A New Year, new goals, new opportunities! Now that you have things sorted out and put together, put last year behind you, scrap the old plans and get ready for a new start. New things require new strategies, new tactics and new plans. There’s an old saying – if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. Einstein may have put it better when he defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over, while expecting different results.

Over the last 15 years as I have worked with business owners who had dreams and big ideas, many would set out ignoring the previous year’s sales and profitability results. Success in anything means you have overcome the obstacles, made adjustments to the plan and strategized a new focus.

I’m suggesting that you take time now to review, revise or better yet create a new plan of action. Outline some new tools and tactics for managing, marketing, financing and leading your business and how you are going to balance your time to handle it all.

Investing the time to reflect on which strategies worked and which didn’t last year, and then carefully mapping out your next actions based on this information, will pay dividends. Be realistic about your time, define the roles that you play along with action steps in order to plan your time reasonably. But remember to give yourself the boundless encouragement, kindly patience and unqualified support that you give to others. Much success in 2008, make it a GREAT Year!!!!

The Challenge: Stop! Take some time now and review the plans and action steps that truly answer the question, how can I achieve that goal?

Small Business Planning Summit

Debra Simpson — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:56:45 +0000

Strategic planning is like a chess game. You need to be two or three moves ahead. As a solopreneur, how do you stay ahead, how do you keep up with all the hats you wear?

Many big CEOs have plenty of other CEOs with whom they can brainstorm their businesses. As a small business owner, we too have places we can find the support and help we need to grow our businesses too. Mind Masters Planning Summit is one such place.

The Mind Masters Planning Summit is an annual strategic planning event designed specifically for solopreneurs and small business owners. It’s a day long event that will take you through your overall annual plan and break down the action steps needed to achieve your goals for the first quarter of 2008.

I had a chance to sit down with Barbara Eldridge, founder of Mind Masters, and ask her about strategic planning and how the planning summit works. Let me know what you think by posting a comment!

How Do You Set Priorities?

Barbara Eldridge — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:57:29 +0000

As a business owner, it’s easy to get caught up in the bustle of day-to-day business. In the drive to make sure you will reach your monthly financial goal, it can be tempting to spend a significant portion of your time fighting the myriad fires that crop up every day. Instead, take the time to step back and set "laser-sharp" priorities to focus on what’s really important – and keep yourself from spending time on what’s not.

When you have set goals for the business the priorities should be unmistakably clear and specific, you know what to focus on and, therefore, what should get your attention, resources, and follow-through. "The right priorities, combined with appropriate follow-through, keep the truly important things from being driven off the radar screen in the day-to-day hurly-burly of life at work where everything can seem urgent and important.", says Ram Charan, author of Know-How: The 8 Skills That Separate People Who Perform from Those Who Don’t.

Think of priorities as the pathways to your major goals. Which if you have truly chosen goals that are important to you, their achievement would have a significant effect on your business and your life. Haphazard planning of priorities is a result of following established habits in response to circumstances. Habits are actions taken without conscious decision. Your goals are too important to leave to chance.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you set priorities:

A crystallized program of goals provides a sound basis for setting meaningful priorities.
Get in touch with where you are spending your time; check to see if you are working in high priority, high payoff activities.
Daily identify specific periods of time for activities that produce high payoff, everything else gets worked in around them.
Set deadlines. They exercise a subtle effect on your attitude.
If your priorities seem overwhelming, procrastination can set in, break each project or situation into smaller steps.
Learn to delegate, and get agreement from everyone you need support from, as to what the priorities are.
Take one half hour per week to plan and regroup, it can be the best priority activity you can give yourself.

The Challenge: Re-evaluate your priorities in relation to the goals you set for yourself, are you making the progress you want to make? Let us know if you need help.

Business Relationships That Work!

Barbara Eldridge — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:15:03 +0000

Business is all about relationships. In the rush to get something done, small business owners often find themselves with less then perfect outcomes. Too often I hear the complaints and laments of clients because doing business with a vendor, independent contractor or performing the work themselves required accountability on both sides but somehow got overlooked. Relationships are built on trust, trust is built when commitments are fulfilled to the satisfaction of all parties. Creating the agreements that go with the commitments is a fundamental skill. Unfortunately, most people have never learned how to articulate their desired results.

Recently a client of mine decided to hire a public relations professional. Three people were being considered for the project. I was invited to sit in on one of the interviews. The PR contractor spoke only in very general terms, used the daily news to see where my client might be able to “fit” in and could make no commitments for positioning the client. The result was, my client moved on to the next 2 people.

The contractor hired presented a complete PR program outlining areas she would pursue and what my client needed to do to support the program. Together they developed a document accepting full responsibility for performing the required work and achieving results. With the agreement in place my client has a roadmap for things to go right.

In all of our business relationships we hire people or are hired to perform a service or deliver a finished product. Usually the cause of challenges is a lack of clear agreement; agreement of the work to be done and the results to be achieved.

In my experience I find small business owners are so eager to make the sale or get the work done, that they do not take time to do the due diligence. Important for creating relationships that work:

Decide what the Goal and end result will be.
Agree on When it is to be done.
Agree on How it will be done.
Be prepared to resolve any issues that arise

When you have policies in place and are consistent in how you work, business grows because people know what to expect from you and trust you to fulfill your commitments.

The Challenge: Review your own policies and procedures, make sure they are clear and visible to your customers and before hiring an outside company use that same criteria for choosing them.