A R-E-C-I-P-E FOR THE HOLIDAYS

It’s that time of year. Yes, holidays, winding down – one hopes – and looking forward to the start of a new year. It’s never too early to begin laying down the foundations of a business, marketing or personal plan for 2010. Here’s a simple R-E-C-I-P-E.

Take a RETROSPECTIVE look at 2009. Look at the good, the not-so-good. You’ve lived (almost) another 12 months and you’ve experienced (almost) another 12 months. That’s a year’s worth of wisdom. You’ve probably learned much more than you realize and you can put that all to good use in your plan for 2010.

EVALUATE the successes. What were your goals at the beginning of the year? Did you have any? If not, resolve to change that immediately! How does your year end appear to be shaping up relative to those goals? What were the successes in 2009. Were they planned or unplanned? Write them down and figure out what you achieved. Plan to do it again if possible.

CELEBRATE your successes. Give yourself a pat on the back! Even the smallest achievement is step in the right direction. It’s something to build on. Experience is a success in itself, so at minimum, you’ve got that to celebrate.

INVESTIGATE the failures. I hate to use that word, but I couldn’t think of a better one. What didn’t work as planned in 2009? If you had a plan and something didn’t work out, try to understand why. Accidents happen. The unforeseen happens. The saying "the best laid plans of mice and men…" exists for a reason, as does "if at first you don’t succeed…". You now have the benefit of hindsight.

Begin your PLAN for 2010. Yes, I know 2009 isn’t over, but it’s almost December and the year end will be here before you know it. Your plan should include measurable goals (see A SIMPLE GAME PLAN). Looking back over this year, include possible pitfalls you need to watch out for. Try and add a goal that you didn’t have this year. On your calendar, put a short-term objective for each month and a method by which you can measure success. Don’t wait until the end of next year to get yourself back on track. If 2009 didn’t go as expected, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and plan to try, try again.

ENJOY yourself. It’s the holidays. Season of goodwill and time to be grateful for all the big and little things in our lives. Next year will be a challenge, but you’re going into the New Year with a plan and a whole 12 months of additional experience and wisdom. Let bygones be bygones and resolve to begin 2010 with a clean slate and a whole year of potential.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving (and Holiday Season)!

f2p=f4m : A LITTLE PLANNING GOES A LONG WAY

f(2p)=f(4m)

where

f=failure
p=plan
m=motivation

A simple little formula, a variation on the better-known “failure to plan is planning to fail”. Yet many small business owners do just that. As a small business owner, whether you’re a single (self) employee or a small group, you have all the responsibilities of a Fortune 500 company, with a smaller headcount. You still have to consider:

• Human Resources
• Sales & Marketing
• Accounting, Payroll and other “Back Office” functions
• Development and Training
• Business Planning
• Support
• Infrastructure
• Etc

Larger companies have plans and forecasts. You barely have to watch TV to know that such-and-such company’s stock lost value because it didn’t “meet analysts expectations”. But the fact that a huge behemoth of an organization can predict (within a certain target area) how much it’s going to make per share is pretty amazing.

Look a little deeper and you’ll see it’s not magic, it’s just about planning.

I meet different business owners as I ply my trade. Sometimes the conversation goes something like this…

“Hi Joe”
“Hi Dave”
“How’s business?”
“It’s okay. I’m getting by.”
“You sound a little uncertain.”
“Yeah…we’re in a bit of a slump. Somehow this wasn’t quite what I’d planned.”
“Where did you deviate from the plan.”
“Well I didn’t mean an actual plan-”

If there is no actual plan, first of all, how the heck can you deviate from it? Many small business owners make this mistake. They’re intentions are pure and they know they want to build a business, but they set off with a vague notion and little more.

Many of these fail because they didn’t plan. Something doesn’t work out. Money doesn’t come in. Second-guessing begins and it goes down from there.

Your business plan doesn’t have to be elaborate. It doesn’t have to contain lots of words that you’d need a dictionary to look up. It should have a goal or two, a method for getting there and a way to measure success. (See A SIMPLE G-A-M-E PLAN)

It really is that easy.

When setting a goal, make it tangible. “This is where I want / need to be in 12 months.”

Okay, you have a goal. How do you quantify it? Do you have to do a certain amount in sales? Yes? How many? How much? You’ll probably need some clients…yes? Alright, how many prospects can you realistically turn into sales?

You get the idea. With a goal and some simple thoughts, put down in writing, you now have map. Of course, there is more you can do. Budgeting is always a good idea. Ditto marketing ideas. I work with people to help them flesh these things out.

Now, if you’re not happy because you’re not meeting your plan goals, we have something to work with. Where are you deviating from the plan?

You can change a plan. You can’t change “nothing”. You can get back on track.

Failure to plan is the first step towards losing your motivation.

HANDS-FREE MARKETING : A SIMPLE G-A-M-E PLAN

Whether you’re considering a new mail, email, social media, advertising, networking or other marketing campaign, it pays to have a plan. Too often I’ve seen individuals and companies throw resources in an attempt to “market” their business with, at best, questionable results.

Like it or not, there is no quick-and-easy way to market yourself or your product, but it doesn’t have to involve a huge expense, think tanks or a myriad or marketing and advertising professionals.

So, here is the Dave Segrove (JDE) simplified marketing G-A-M-E plan. There are four components, each requiring their own research and producing results. Pulled together, it’s a good start…

GAME – Goal / Audience / Method / Evaluation

Goal – What are you trying to achieve? Much of the time I hear things like “more customers”. While we’d all like that, you might want to consider something a little less generic such as a growing a client base in a specific marketplace. Knowing what you’re trying to achieve will let you set a goal.

Audience – Who are you targeting. Everyone? Think again. The “how” (the next step) will determine what you can afford to spend (in resources). Is a very broad base of potential clients better than a focused group? Do you, or does your business, relate to a particular demographic? Is there a market that no one else has discovered yet (I wish)? A little bit of research here could yield dividends.

Method – How are you going to market yourself? What medium (Internet, in-person, mail, print advertisements, free samples) are you going to use? What’s your budget? By that I include time, money and resources. Money isn’t the only thing to consider when you’re budgeting a campaign. Who will do the work? Are you already putting in 50 hours a week? Can you do more? Time management is also something to think about.

Evaluation – How will you measure success? What is an acceptable return on investment? Knowing up-front what measurements you’re going to use can help you keep yourself on track. It will also (potentially) allow you to adjust your Methods in order to obtain your Goals.

So, before you set out on your next marketing adventure, consider a G-A-M-E plan…while some of this may sound obvious, I really believe a little planning goes a long way.

Any one of these criteria can be explored in depth and at length. I’m always available to help you figure out what will work best for you.

Good luck!

Dave

You can download a copy of the G-A-M-E plan process from my Small Business GENetics website, www.SBGENetics.com