TheCEOMamma Blog » Business Productivity

Keeping on Track with Your Business Goals

CEOMamma — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:45:11 +0000

It’s not unusual for us to start a new year off with a ton of motivation, high hopes and big goals for our business. Then before we know it, a new quarter is here and many of us start to wonder…where did the time go?

We look back over the past 3 months and start to realize how far away we have drifted from our most highest priority goals. Did this happen to you this year?

If so, know that it happens to the best of us and it is not to late to get back on track! Here are a few tips Finance Coach & Consultant – Antonina Geer, suggests to help you reassess and get back on track with your income goals:

1.) Take note of your total sales and costs for the Quarter – which month produced the most income and profit?

2.) Are you on track to meeting your financial abundance plan (budget) and other business goals?

3.) Were there any financial surprises (opportunities or risks)?

4.) Did you make a profit in Q1? If so keep track and let your CPA know as the IRS will base your quarterly tax payment on that number.

5.) Project the remainder of the year based on Q1 results and what you have in the pipeline (those sales, costs, projects that you are aware of that will happen in future months).

6.) Think hard before following the crowd and discounting your products for “End Q1 sales” in an effort to hastily meet your first quarter goals. Discounting could negatively affect profitability and cash flow for future months

7.) Based on the story that your numbers tell you, keep an eye out for hidden opportunities and create a plan for creating services & products around those opportunities.

As a new business owner just starting out or building a business online, it can be a challenge to stay on top of your business goals, especially if you are a solo-preneur managing on your own.

It can be too easy sometimes to become distracted and lose focus but there are resources and help available, should you need support and direction.

My Inner Circle Mentor Club is a great place to start to receive encouragement and support through regular motivation and empowerment, experience growth by guidance and accountability, gain valuable knowledge and effective skills and have access to recommended business building tools and resources.

Our focus is on helping you create freedom in your business through personal development, mindset and marketing while teaching you the skills you need to run a profitable business.

To learn more about my Inner Circle Mentor Club, visit here today!

CEOMamma

Tamyka Washington is a wife, mother to six, Founder/CEO of TheCEOMamma Network, marketing strategist, coach and mentor. Tamyka empowers new and seasoned women entrepreneurs to business breakthrough by blending powerful attraction marketing methods with effective social media strategies to establish a CREDIBLE brand and profitable freedom based business online. Visit here website below, to learn more:

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How to Create a Simple Twitter Business Strategy

CEOMamma — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:36:15 +0000

Should Twitter be considered an important social media tool for business? I would have to say, yes! I have been using Twitter since 2009 but no where in the capacity of how I use Facebook. Twitter has always generated a decent flow of traffic to my blog, but even without having a strategy in place, I’ve acquired some quality clients who found me on Twitter.

In 2012, I decided to spend a bit more time using Twitter to meet more people and grow my business. I came up with a simple strategy that didn’t require much more of my time and must say, I’ve been pleased with the results so far.

By increasing my Twitter networking…

I gain a minimum of 20 new followers each day.
ReTweets of my tweets have nearly tripled.
Twitter traffic to my blogs have increased.
I’ve connected with some new awesome women in business.

This is only from being consistent daily over the last 2 months. As I mentioned before, I didn’t want to spend to much more time on social media each day so I have incorporated a few tools and strategies that are working for me.

My Twitter Strategy

Before I implement any marketing strategy in my business, I plan my process and set up my systems. I use a social media dashboard – HootSuite, to manage mostly all my social networks but use it mainly for Twitter.

I brag about HootSuite often because it has been a huge part of how I manage the amount of time I spend on social media marketing. I wrote a post a while back about why I love HootSuite and the benefits of using it for your business.

My process is simple, I add my RSS feed to HootSuite so my blog posts will automatically post to my Twitter feed. I also use it to schedule important tweets I want to go out automatically in a particular week. Having these set up allows me more time to use Twitter to engage and interact with my followers.

I incorporate Twitter into my day…as I come across great blog posts and content across the web, I tweet what I find. I also use the lists feature to keep up with some of my favorite people to follow, those in my network circle and those who share valuable information that would benefit my followers and ReTweet their posts.

I spend about 15 minutes in the morning, afternoon and evening interacting with my followers and I take advantage of my “in between time” and can jump on for awhile using my favorite mobile Twitter App – UberSocial for Blackberry.

Another great way to meet new people is participating in a Tweet Chat or Twitter Party as I like to call them. I host a twitter party the last Friday of each month using the hashtag #TheCEOMamma and we focus on different topics related to small business marketing.

Important tips to remember…

Automation is a great fill in but absolutely nothing will replace your presence and interaction with others to build relationships and solid connections.
Take time to get to know others, be a “connector” when appropriate.
Make sure your profile is public (not set to private), you have a photo of yourself and a descriptive bio letting people know what you are all about.
Take the initiative, follow people who are interesting and share great tweets and have similar interest or are in your industry.
Be yourself, be authentic and be consistent

Follow these tips and you well be well on your way to building your Twitter network and growing your business. For additional tips on how to use Twitter, check out this post by one of my Twitter Buddies – MissKemya

Do you have a strategy for using Twitter? I’d love to hear about it:

CEOMamma

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How to be a Successful Business Blogger

CEOMamma — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:00:32 +0000

Are you looking for easy to follow steps to creating a blog that will get you MORE clients & increase your income…even if you don’t know the FIRST thing about blogging?

Do You Want To:

Use a Blog to Attract Your Ideal Clients?
Generate Quality Traffic That Converts?
Fill Your Pipeline With High Target Leads?
Increase Your Profits With Your Blog?
Enjoy Less Work But Make More Money?

If you answered YES to any of the above questions, you may be interested in learning more about my Business Blogger Bootcamp Program!

Over the course of 12 weeks, you will be guided through the most effective and profitable ways for solo-preneurs, network marketers and service professionals to create and market a traffic generating, income producing blog for business.

You will be taken by the hand through every step you need to start establishing a credible brand, producing content that attracts quality prospects and start earning a steady, and increasing, stream of income. From getting crystal clear on your niche market to designing a system on autopilot – you will develop the skills to recognize the needs of your market and how to deliver compelling content that converts.

Click Here to watch a brief video presentation and learn more!

CEOMamma

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Savvy Entrepreneurs Money and Marketing CloseOut Special

CEOMamma — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 23:21:48 +0000

LaShanda Henry, Creator of Black Business Women Online, was the first, successful web entrepreneur I found when I started my business online. I have learned a wealth of information from her over the years and truly value her knowledge.

She is best known for her comprehensive library of Money and Marketing eBooks, eCourses and training tools for women entrepreneurs. For the next 5 days, LaShanda is having her annual CloseOut Special and is offering her BEST products at a deep discount…PLUS, some freebies and bonuses!

To see what savvy money and marketing specials LaShanda has to help you make a smooth transition with your business into the New Year, Click Here Now!

CEOMamma

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Women in Business 4 Ways to Position your Business for Success

Sylvia Browder — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:00:44 +0000

A client recently asked me ‘how would she know when she was finally successful.’ I explained that success means different things to each of us. To achieve success, you must define what it signifies. Success is a journey! As we sail through life, we encounter many obstacles along the way. Imagine yourself sailing the high seas; navigating your ship as it sails through calm waters. At times, it will buck in storms. If you are determined to stay the course, you must periodically adjust your navigational instruments and adjust when problems arise.

As you continue your journey, envision the serene, tranquil and calm blue water with sea gulls flying above, a light house in the far distance and several boats sailing calmly with the waves; here are 4 ways to navigate to your port of dreams!

Think Big

To think big is about planning for the future growth of your company. By aligning your mission, vision and purpose, will help you manage the growth of your business without becoming overwhelmed. In the beginning, you wear many hats… working in and on the business at the same time. As you grow, you begin to hire staff, delegate responsibilities and create systems for efficiency. This type of planning will ensure that your company grows at a comfortable pace.

Create Buzz

Creating products or services that have a BIG IMPACT on those you serve, is a great way to set yourself apart from your competitors. The goal is to get people talking or BUZZING about your business.

Here are 4 easy ways to get people buzzing:

Testimonials: Satisfied customers will gladly share their experience about your product or service. Post testimonials on your website, blog or the signature area of your email.
Giveaways: create a virtual contest. Ask a question and have customers answer by posting on Facebook or Twitter using your Hash tag.
Events: Local organizations such as Chamber of Commerce, Rotary and Women Groups need speakers. Offer to host a FREE seminar.
Pay It Forward: Share how your company gives back. Volunteer at a local shelter or mentor a troubled teen. I’ve spent countless hours as a volunteer SCORE counselor and personally mentor aspiring entrepreneurs.

Set Achievable Goals

Planning is the key to success in any business. Most entrepreneurs set goals that are too vague, thus, causing goals not to be completed. This can be avoided by setting specific and attainable goals. Determine what your priorities are and then focus on them. By prioritizing your goals, you are focusing on those that are important to the overall success of your company.

Tiffany Lymon, a personal and professional development organization and CEO of Mind over Money, LLC, say, “I have found that when you get to the root of many people’s goals, what you will find is that they really want the ability to make a different choice. I think that the ability to intentionally choose the life you want to live is what makes people feel free and successful. Some people want to reach their goals to give away all they have; some people want to reach their goals to get more of what they don’t have – either way success for both is measured by their ability to choose the life they want to live – rather than having to live by default.” By staying focused on your business goals, you will achieve the success that you imagined and more!

Don’t Give up when Faced with Difficult Challenges

Let’s face it, many of us have been faced with challenges due to a down economy as well as other major issues that make us question if business ownership is for us. The most successful entrepreneurs embrace challenges knowing that greater fulfillment, success and growth is obtained when you can adapt to any situation.

In conclusion, Ralph Waldo Emerson couldn’t have said it better. “Success: To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!” Success is achieved on your own terms!

Sylvia Browder

Sylvia Browder is CEO of Browder Consulting Group, a virtual small business consulting firm. In her role, she helps women in business grow and succeed. She is founder of National Association Women on the Rise, a membership association for aspiring and established women entrepreneurs. In addition, she is publisher of the popular Sylvia Browder’s Blog for Women Entrepreneurs.

Running a Marathon or Small Business: 3 Tips to Help You to the Finish Line

Sylvia Browder — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 14:00:19 +0000

I was truly inspired by the story of a 100 year old man, Fauja Singh, who after 8 hours of running, made it to the finish line at the Toronto Marathon. Though he finished last, he was determined, thus, earning a spot in the Guinness World Records. After finishing the article, I thought about the similarities of preparing for a marathon to that of running a business.

As a woman in business with many responsibilities, here are 3 tips to help you to the finish line:

Stay Dedicated… it’s Key

As a marathon runner, a daily workout routine is imperative to condition your body. This includes training early or late; maintaining a well-balanced and strict diet; and making adjustments in your routine to ensure your success.

In business, your focus is your company’s overall success. This includes staying focused on your mission and vision, and exploring ways to improve the operations and efficiency of your business. What works best for you will be related to your objectives; what your product or service is as well as your personal operational style.

Set the Goal… and be ready to make changes

As a marathon runner, you’ve set your goals to win! You are consistent and stick to your well thought out training routine. It is important to be prepared for unforeseen obstacles along the way. Embracing change will help you to cope with an unexpected injury, poor weather conditions preventing your workout or worse, losing a race.

In business, you must dedicate time each day to manage and grow your business. It is important to monitor your progress in case you need to make minor or major changes.

Here are three tips to help you embrace change:

When you are considering change in your overall operations, develop a clear focused vision of the outcome(s) you are striving to reach, and then proceed cautiously to reach your vision and goals.
Embrace positive change and free yourself from processes that don’t work. You are only hurting yourself and your business.
Avoid Stagnation! Change does not mean that the world is going to collapse around you. Just go with the flow and see where change will take you. Remember that you control your life so do not let change control you.

Don’t do it alone… assemble your team

As a marathon runner, you’ll need to hire a coach. A coach will keep you motivated; assist you in creating a customized training program; and cheer you to the finish line!

In business, having a staff in place is paramount. As your business grows, so should your ‘tight grip’ on controlling every aspect of your business. This attitude can cripple you! It is important that you delegate non-core business tasks to your staff or consider outsourcing.

In conclusion, whether running a marathon or a business, you must have passion, preparation and confidence in your abilities. Yes, the race is long and hard, but sweet success comes at the finish line.

Sylvia Browder

3 Easy Ways to Enhance Your Facebook Fan Page

CEOMamma — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:00:51 +0000

If you are marketing your business online and using your Facebook Fan Page as a way to build your brand and attract more clients, I want to share with you 3 ways you can enhance your page to encourage more people to become a fan.

As I searched to find ways to engage my fans even more, I found a few Facebook Applications that I really like and wanted to share them with you.

1. Wildfire’s IFrames for Pages on Facebook – Wildfire’s Iframe gives you the ability to create a custom landing page even if you are non-techie. Since Facebook no longer supports the static FBML, this is a great alternative to design a unique welcome page for fans.

Wildfire’s App is cool because you can use fan gating. All that means is that you can create a tab with specific content for non-fans and that same tab will then reveal different content once someone becomes a fan.

Here’s what my NON-Fans see:

Here is what my NEW and CURRENT Fans see:

It’s really easy to get started, just click here to install the App and follow the instructions.

2. YouTube for Pages – This is another great App especially if video is a part of your marketing. Just like the name suggests, this app will pull all of your videos from YouTube so they are displayed on a Facebook tab.

I like it because it will feature your most current video and display the rest of your videos underneath. Here is what it looks like:

3. MyWebees on Facebook – This App is awesome especially if you are concerned about sending traffic AWAY from your Fan Page. MyWebees let’s your fans visit your website without having to leave Facebook! That’s right, with this application, you can integrate your website, blog or any site you want right into Facebook. Check it out:

These are just a FEW of the many Facebook Fan Page enhancing apps you can use to brand your business on Facebook.

What are some of your favorite Facebook Apps and why? Share in the comments below:

CEOMamma

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Email List Building, Don’t Make this Costly Mistake

CEOMamma — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:30:31 +0000

Email list building is a great way to stay in touch and nurture relationships with new and existing business connections. It is a privilege that is not to be abused and should only be a way to offer information and promotional material, IF FIRST, it has been requested.

So, what does that mean?

If you obtained someone’s email address from:

Their business card
A networking event
Their mailing list YOU subscribed to
Their social network profile
Any online/offline communication

You DO NOT have the right to add them to YOUR mailing list…PERIOD!

If this is a common practice for you, I urge you to stop now. Allow me to me explain why this is a very unethical way of building your email list.

It is flat out, UN-professional. It’s almost like an invasion on a person’s personal space. As a professional business owner, entrepreneur or network marketer, the success of your business is based solely on the quality of connections you make. You cannot start a relationship – business or personal, with selfish intentions. Being a professional, you must understand the long term dynamics of your actions. Stop thinking about the first sale and instead, focus on the long term benefits that come from establishing a solid and honest relationship.

Adding someone to your mailing list without their permission shows your lack of integrity and desire to get to know the needs of that individual.

It will shatter relationships. Before you are able to even establish a relationship with someone, it is already ruined. You come off as a spammer just trying to sell me on your product, service or opportunity. How do you even know if I’m interested in what you are offering?

A much more effective and productive way to ensure someone wants to learn more about what you have, is to give them the chance to request subscription to your list on their own.

Your forcing unsolicited information. Again, when you add someone to your email list without their permission, you are in a sense, forcing them to receive your unsolicited offer or opportunity. Just because you think your business product or opportunity is amazing and could benefit that person, doesn’t mean they feel the same way.

It is much better to pre-qualify the people you want to work with and at the very least, know whether or not they are even interested in learning more. When you push your business opportunity on others, you not only ruin your reputation but that of your company as well.

Of course, building your email list the “old fashion” way, by allowing people to subscribe, or Opt-In on their own may seem like it takes to long, but wouldn’t you rather have a handful of people on your list who are eager to receive your emails rather than a ton of people who are blocking and marking you as spam?

When it comes to email list building AND business building overall, organic is always best! That means, doing the work it takes to attract and connect the right people to you. There is no way to create a sound, LONG -LASTING, solid business over night.

Don’t do yourself the disservice of believing the hype. If you choose to build a business without integrity and ethics, I can guarantee, you will not last very long.

Have you been a victim of networkers adding you to their mailing lists without your permission? How do you respond to this practice? Please share in the comments below.

CEOMamma

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You Don’t Know NICHE About Marketing

CEOMamma — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:24:46 +0000

If you are serious about building your online business quickly, the very first thing you need to do is identify your Niche Market and really get to know who they are.

Unfortunately, I had to learn this the hard way because like many new business owners, I was mislead into believing the entire World Wide Web was like “open season” and had no limitations to how freely I could market my business. Of course, this is true…to a certain degree.

YES, you are free to establish your business online however you want, NO, there aren’t any restrictions in the manner in which you choose to market yourself and by no means do you have to target any particular niche market at all.

I certainly didn’t in the beginning and in fact, I took FULL advantage of online marketing…or so I thought.

Now, I’m not telling you how to market your business (okay…well maybe I am) but it’s only to help you avoid making the same time wasting mistake I did. Because I failed to identify my Niche Market early on in my business, my “compelling marketing message”, completely missed the mark.

It didn’t matter how much I promoted my offers or what social media networks I used…I got nothing when it came to getting the small trickles of traffic I did get to my website, to actually become buyers or even to subscribe to my list for that matter.

Do you know why that was?

Well, eventually I figured out that it was because I didn’t have a clear understanding of who my actual niche market was. I didn’t know WHO they were, WHERE they were or HOW to “speak” to them when I did find them. I didn’t understand their needs, their pains or even their struggles.

It took me a while to realize that what I offered WAS indeed, in demand for a certain group of people, so what I had to do was research and reconstruct my marketing material to attract ONLY that unique group of people.

Do You Know WHO Your Ideal Niche Market Is & Do You Know HOW to Speak to Them?

If not, I encourage you to make the effort to find out. Many new business owners believe it is best to try to promote their products and services to everyone. They are eager to spread the word and start making money but don’t realize how difficult it is to market to EVERYONE instead of marketing to the RIGHT ones.

When you know who your target niche market is and who you should be speaking to, it makes it so much easier for your message to connect with them because you will know how to effectively share with them, the solution to their problem.

Once you have identified your ideal client, you can attract them to you without having to waste time trying to figure out how to find them. In turn, you will see an increase in traffic and sales because they know, you have EXACTLY what they want and need.

It wasn’t until I took the time to learn my niche market and how to attract them online, that I actually began seeing an increase in my business growth and income and at a much quicker rate than when I wasn’t focused on serving one particular niche.

If you would like to learn how to attract clients online, grab a copy of my free report: 5 NO Cost Ways to Attract Clients Online and see how I can help you, experience a dynamic breakthrough in your business.

CEOMamma

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For a Successful Marketing Campaign, 4 Essential Tools

Sylvia Browder — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:00:45 +0000

Have you ever launched a marketing campaign yet it didn’t yield the results you envisioned? Did you take the time to thoroughly research your campaign idea before executing it? Important elements to a sound campaign encompass identifying your product or service and your consumers.

The other day, I met with a client to discuss her upcoming marketing campaign. When I asked her to share her overall goals for this initiative, she looked at me bewildered and said, “I just want more sales.”

Well, that’s fine and dandy, as we all want more sales, but to have a successful campaign, you must consider what your overall objectives are. Every successful marketing campaign begins with a plan. So, in the planning process, these 4 tools are essential:

Goals
Strategy
Time
Measure

Set SMART Goals

A common reason for a failed campaign is lack of commitment. Determine what your priorities are and then focus on them. Once you identify what goals you want to achieve, you need to find a way to review and measure progress. Some goals will take time to achieve, so it is important to measure your progress regularly. Try implementing SMART Goals into your planning. These are simple tools used by businesses to formulate an actionable plan for results. SMART illustrates the 5 characteristics of an efficient objective:

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Attainable

R – Realistic

T – Timely

Create a Strategy

What is the purpose of your marketing campaign? Creating a strategy involves anticipating the future outcome, while making decisions in the present. By developing a strategy, will help you stay on track with your goals, while creating action steps to achieve them.

Make the Time

Have you considered the time it will take to manage your campaign? Time is the most common factor that needs to be incorporated in your campaign to prevent it from losing its effectiveness. So, as you plan your time, it should include the date your campaign will end.

As an example, “I want to increase widget sales by 20 percent between September and December.”

Measure your Progress

How do you determine if you marketing campaign have succeeded or not? Measuring your progress is crucial! Why? It helps in evaluating your efforts and gauge how you are managing your budget.

So, what metrics are you going to use? Here are two that I am familiar with:

Google Analytics gives you rich insights into your website traffic and marketing effectiveness.
Social Report, a social network analytics solution that gives you rich insights into your social space and marketing effectiveness.

In conclusion, by pre-planning your campaign allows you to target your market and track the results to determine your return on investment or (ROI).