How to figure out your revenue goals

Once you figure out your business, it's time to set some goals for making money. The problem is that no one shows you how to do that, so you just guess. Then you have no idea how to reach that goal, and you have no way to tell if you are on track.


Here's a better approach to figure out your revenue goals. Start with your available activity, and base your revenue goals on that. In other words, given the amount of time you have to work, how much revenue are you likely to generate?

For each revenue stream you plan to use, estimate how much time goes into each sale. Even if it's not a direct "sale," you have to put some effort into generating it.

Here are some examples:

• If you write and sell articles, estimate the time to pitch and sell the article, plus the time to write it. If you average one hour selling and then three hours writing each article, and you have 20 hours available per week, estimate no more than five articles per week. Multiply five by the average price you get for an article, and that's your max weekly revenue goal.
• If you sell by phone, a common ratio I've heard is six contacts for one sale. So if you only have five days available this month, and can make 12 calls each day, that's 60 calls. Divide the number of calls by six, and you can estimate that you'll make ten sales. Multiply ten by your average revenue per sale. 
• If you run a cleaning service, start with the length of time each job takes. Two hours per job, working 30 hours per week, is 15 jobs. Fifteen times the price per job is your weekly goal.
• If you are starting a store, try to estimate the average sales per day, then multiply that by the number of days you'll be open per month. Be sure this goal makes sense when divided into sales per hour, and average amount per sale. Experience helps a lot in estimating retail sales! 

Since most of us use multiple revenue streams, you'll need to try to balance them. How? Based on your experience so far, what you think is reasonable for each one, and how much time you want to invest in each.

Whatever you produce or sell, you can estimate how much time it takes, and how much will fit into your available time. That's where revenue goals come from.


[Photo of an entrepreneur selling in Peru, from my Flickr. She can estimate her revenue goals based on the number of buses that stop each day at her location.]

This article is part of the Small Biz 100, a series of 100 practical hands-on posts for small business people and solo entrepreneurs, whether in a small town, the big city, or in between. If you have questions you'd like us to address in this series, leave a comment or send us an email at becky@smallbizsurvival.com. This is a community project!


Get the whole series by subscribing to Small Biz Survival. 

How to figure out your business

Have you taken time to really figure out your business? Most of us tend to spend our time working in our business, rolling with what is thrown at us. But you can radically improve your business by spending time working on it. The first step is to really define the business you are building.

Let's take a cue from the traditional business plan by writing a business summary.

1. Describe your basic business.

• Explain your products and services. 
• What makes you unique? 

2. Identify the market(s).

• Describe the market for each revenue stream.
  
• How will you reach that market?

3. Set your financial strategy.

• Explain your pricing structure.
  
• What are your financial goals?
  

If you'll actually put in the effort to write this out, you'll be a huge step ahead of most small business startups. Really. It helps to focus your attention on areas you might be ignoring. Zane Safrit put it this way: What is the question you aren't asking yourself?

Next time, we'll talk about converting those financial goals into real world activities.

[Photo of my desk, from my Flickr.] 

This article is part of the Small Biz 100, a series of 100 practical hands-on posts for small business people and solo entrepreneurs, whether in a small town, the big city, or in between. If you have questions you'd like us to address in this series, leave a comment or send us an email at becky@smallbizsurvival.com. This is a community project!

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So, You Want to Start a Farmer's Market?

One of our readers left us a comment, with this question, "I live in a small town and I would love to start a community Farmer's Market that would be on the line of a 'Flea Market'. Where do I start?"

Great question! Here are some ideas to get you going.

First you need to decide whether you want a Farmer's Market or a Flea Market. They are not necessarily the same thing. Although, they may each have features of the other.

Try your County Extension Agent for ideas on the Farmer's Market. The Agent may be willing to work with you and can run interference with local authorities. Then try to learn who in your area is actually growing more produce than needed or who is willing to. Maybe there is a garden club devoted to vegetable growers. On second thought, fresh flowers would be a very nice addition to a Farmer's Market.

For a Flea Market, once again, you will need to find who is already doing this sort of thing. Maybe a geographic search for your town or county on one of the auction sites might tell you who has "stuff" they are wanting to sell in your area. They might be interested in a "show."

For either type, you will need to ORGANIZE.

• Find a location; map out each site; 
• decide how much rent to charge for each site; 
• determine the local laws regarding your location; 
• check your liability for accidents or incidents; get insurance if necessary; 
• pick a date;  
• advertise; advertise; advertise; 
• if your location is outside, find a "rain" location (do everything again for the optional site); 
• advertise; advertise; advertise; 
• keep good records of which seller will be where and double check their understanding of the agreement between you and the seller; 
• advertise; advertise; advertise.  

This is just a start.
Good luck.

[Farmer's Market in Frankfurt, Germany, photo by Becky McCray.]

You cannot control 100 percent of the message

During a crisis, how much of the message can you control? This question comes up because of this quote:

"Toll free numbers are not enough--people don't want to talk at you. They need a reliable way to get hold of you, and if you know how to effectively use blogs and websites, you'll control 100 percent of the message."
--Jonathan Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management of Los Angeles, quoted in Diversity Woman magazine, July/August 2008, page 25.

I agree with his first thought, greater interactivity. I choked on the last clause. Control 100 percent? In a firestorm?

So I put this on twitter, "'If you know how to effectively use blogsand websites, you'll control 100% of the message.' Jonathan Bernstein,Bernstein Crisis Mgmt. Rly?" (Remember, there's a 140 character limit on Twitter.)


Vicky H., @eeUS, a blogger on parenting and technology, replied, "100% is a lot of percent. Why not 99.99% I always say." She went on to point out, "Obviously he does not have kids. There is no 100%."

Chris Webb, @chriswebb, Associate Publisher at John Wiley and Sons EMEA (UK) and author of CKWebb.com, responded, "You only ever control one half of the conversation."


Lani Anglin-Rosales, @LaniAR, New Media Director at AgentGenius.com, was more concise, "false."

Grant Griffiths, @GrantGriffiths, Owner of G2 Web Media, made two excellent comments. "Not sure you want to control 100% of the message if you are using a blog for marketing. Comments should also control it some." And, "If you are controlling 100% how does that encourage the interaction and conversation so valuable of a benefit of blogging?"

By saying you can control 100 percent of the message, Bernstein has at the very least mis-stated his case. Even in crisis communication, you want to permit interactivity. You can control what you put out. You can influence what others might say, especially in a crisis. What others are saying can be the crisis. But you cannot control 100% of the message by understanding blogs and websites.

In Bernstein's defense, his website includes quite a bit about working effectively through such a crisis, and I didn't find any more occurrences of the claim of 100% control. So he may have spoken before he thought, or misspoken, or even been misquoted. But that's kind of bad for a crisis management consultant and trainer, isn't it?

How can a small business, especially in a small town, best respond to a crisis of communication? What's the best way to respond when you have a firestorm of gossip, or a disaster hits your business, or someone is injured in your business?

Share your thoughts, and we'll do a follow up article with all the best ideas.

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Handy Site on Regulatory Information

Business.gov, the official business link to the U.S. government, has new search features and content to help small business owners find information.

Business owners can now access information on starting and managing a business, including licenses, permits and regulatory information, on more than 9,000 state, territory, county, and city government Web sites.

The 3 Point Business Plan

Simplified business plans are a specialty here, and I've found another simple outline to share.

This is a 3 point business plan:

1) a description of the new business
2) the consumer appeal to the new business, and
3) a plan to implement the new business.

If you did no other planning, this would get you off to a great start.

I found it at Make your Dreams Come True with Mirassou.

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Small Biz Startup TV: Getting started and business structures

Networking with many new media folks, I realized that lots of people are starting businesses. Since helping people start a business is the full time job of my co-author "OkieJ" Jeanne Cole, we decided to present a live internet TV miniseries on small business startup issues.


Problem with the player? Watch it at Operator 11.

Becky McCray and Jeanne Cole live from the Small Business Development Center in Alva, taking your small biz startup questions live in the chat room or by video. Guests include small biz experts and real-world entrepreneurs. Today, Tatsuya Nakagawa tells how to start your business before you quit your job, and Bill Gregory talks about business structures. Adam Jochum asks about what to watch out for when buying a building.

Want free confidential small business counseling before or after the show? Sign up with us at http://urltea.com/1god

More episodes to follow on Oct. 22 and 29.

Links:

Tatsuya Nakagawa's article, How to build your business before quitting your day job
Adam Jochum: www.crowrivercoffee.com, www.cafn8ed.com

Our SBDC downloads
More downloads from Oklahoma Small Business Development Centers

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Small Biz Startup TV: hiring, business plans

Networking with many new media folks, I realized that lots of people are starting businesses. Since helping people start a business is the full time job of my co-author "OkieJ" Jeanne Cole, we decided to present a live internet TV miniseries on small business startup issues.

Problem with the player? Try playing it at Operator11.

Becky McCray and Jeanne Cole live from the Small Business Development Center in Alva, taking your small biz startup questions live in the chat room or by video. Guests include small biz experts and real-world entrepreneurs. Appearing on camera were Jim Long, Adam Jochum and Cammon Randle.

Want free confidential small business counseling before or after the show? Sign up with us at http://urltea.com/1god

More episodes to follow on Oct. 15, 22, and 29.

Links:

Jim Long: www.vergenewmedia.com, www.craftynation.com
Adam Jochum: www.crowrivercoffee.com, www.cafn8ed.com
Cammon Randle: www.copperrain.com
Vaspers: www.vaspersthegrate.blogspot.com
Becky McCray: twitter.com/beckymccray
Jeanne Cole: twitter.com/okiej

Hiring Resources

www.elance.com
www.guru.com
Delegate Without Hiring

Downloads:

Business Plan Guide
More downloads from Oklahoma Small Business Development Centers
My Simplified Business Plans



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Need demographic information?

Here's a nifty site. It will reveal all kinds of great, useful demographic information with only the input of a 5 digit zip code.

Want to know how many folks have a high school diploma? How about the rate of unemployment? Here it is. Whatever has been reported for a zip code seems to be here.

There is more information than I knew what to do with.

Quick business plans

Most of us agree we need a business plan, but of course, most of us don't have one. So this week, I took my own advice, and started on my own simplified business plan.

Here are four tips to help you move to start your own plan.

1. Simplify - I've given you an outline
   
2. Reuse - copy and paste info you create for the bank, tax filings, or existing lists
   
3. Start on the easy part, the part that interests you
   
4. Take advantage of variety - print it out, reshuffle, make visual parts, tell stories. Use your best skills.
   

This was kicked off by a post from Zane Safrit, referring back to Tim Berry. And Zane's link to an interview of Tim by Guy Kawasaki. And before that, it was kicked by an audio conference from the Business and Professional Women/USA.

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Simplified Online Marketing

Intro
Online marketing feels like a moving target. Just as soon as you get a website, the experts say you need a blog. Then it's pay-per-click ads, then it's something else. How are you supposed to keep up with this? That feeling of being always behind is why I want to simplify online marketing. To fit in with my Simplified Business Plan and Simplified Marketing Plan, let's break it down into a Simplified Online Marketing Plan, and explore the tools you can use to market your business.

Here's the number one principle to simplify your online marketing. Focus on having an active online presence where customers can find you, and then engage your customers in conversations online. We are going to talk about websites, alternatives to websites, and many more tools that help your business be "present" online.

Having an active online presence is 90% of online marketing
A website is just one type of presence. Are the alternatives to having your own website any good at reaching customers? Yes! Either a blog or a site profile may better fit your business than a traditional website.

Blog
A blog is just a special website made up of stories or articles, kind of like a newsletter. It also gives customers and readers a chance to comment on stories, building conversations. Special services like Blogger and WordPress offer a platform for your own blog. The platform includes all the behind the scenes software that does the work. That lets you focus on writing stories, which works about like writing an email. Feeling brave? A blog can also be made up of audio or video clips, not just text.
This is what I use for my liquor store's website. It provides all the basic contact info, plus I can update with new product announcements, articles about wines, and drink recipes. You probably already teach customers about your product every day, so you could easily add that info to a blog and share it with your new potential customers.

Site Profile
If you fill in your business information, you can let your user profile on services like JumpUp or LinkedIn serve as a website. They are designed for business, so these profiles give you room to include your contact information such as phone and email, details about your line of business, even hours or directions. You want customers to find your profile, so also check the privacy settings to make your profile public. Don't worry about people mis-using your email or phone number. The truth is that it rarely happens. If you feel more comfortable, use a secondary phone number and email address.

Important Tips
To make sure that customers searching for you can find you, include the right keywords in all your online presence. Your keywords are your name, your business name, your line of work or brands you carry, and your hometown or service area. Think of the words a customer would be thinking right before they search for a business or solution like yours.
Post and share information your customers want. Don't emphasize your business, when you could freely share tips, how-to's and other stuff relevant to your line of work. Avoid the sales pitch. If you make a mistake and offend someone, say you are sorry. This is just good human relations.


You can do much more than a website!
Right now, lots of your potential and current customers are online, but they aren't hanging out at your site. Going beyond a website means reaching those potential customers where they already are online. You want to go where they go and build your presence there. Then you can engage them in conversations. Meaningful conversations are the goal.
How do you find out what sites they use? Ask them! Ask about their interests related to your line of business, like maybe photography or cooking.
If they like to post photos, they may be at Flickr. Ask them. Then you can investigate those tools to decide which help you reach them and fit best for your business.

In order to do this, you will need to budget time daily or at least weekly to build your presence. The good news is that you can have some help. Right now, you have loyal customers who would gladly promote your business, link to you, write positive reviews and generally drive some awareness and traffic to you. All you have to do is ask them.

Online Presence tools:
Lots of different tools exist to build a presence online and more are created everyday. How do you keep up? By understanding the basic types of tools, and by picking only those that fit best with your business and customers.

• Local listings: Most search engines maintain a local section with business listings. Most of those will allow you to fill in your business info, including hours, directions, etc. These are easy to get set up. Local review sites like Yelp are a bit different. They allow or encourage people to review your business. Make sure you give them updated info on your business, but don't be tempted to do your own review! A smarter tactic is to encourage your loyalists to review you.
• Websites: When you create your own website, it's your job to keep it up to date and interesting. Customers now expect you to have some interactivity built in. Can you let customers upload stories, reviews, suggestions, photos? Can they interact with other users? Can they email you? Comment on your articles? Offer tips of their own? Tools exist for all of these, so choose at least a few to use.
  
• Blogs: Blogs are like an online newsletter made into a conversation. They can be stand alone or part of your website. They can also be you on your own or part of a regional or topical group blog. (Here's a bit more on blogs, from the top of this article.)
  
• Guides: These tools offer many different resources around a particular topic. Some will let you set up your own guide, like Squidoo's lenses. Some have existing guides that you can submit your info to, like About and the thousands of directory sites.
  
• Article submission sites: Sites like Ezine Articles and Go Articles allow you to distribute your articles to many different websites, for a link or even a small payment.
• Audio: On your own site, you can use audio to introduce yourself, teach about your products, share a story or testimonial, or lead an audio tour. By using a service like BlogTalkRadio, you can record audio just by phoning it in. You can also record with a simple microphone on your computer and post it to your own blog or web site.
• Video: Video is a terrific story teller! Ignore all the goofy stuff, and you can find wonderful videos on YouTube, Google Videos, AOL Video and the others produced by small businesses. You can demonstrate a product, share a passion, show solutions to problems, and share testimonials. If you want to get away from all the weird videos, use a service like Blip.tv to embed the video onto your own blog or website.
• Photos: Lots of businesses have great photo opportunities. Are your customers using Flickr and other sites right now to share photos? Start a group to let them come together. Upload your own pics. Encourage group interaction.
• Social Media Sites: MySpace, FaceBook, Twitter, and their many relatives give you a chance to build networks of interested folks, mostly for social non-commercial interaction. Why bother with "non-commercial" communication? Because it is the conversation and interaction that build relationships much deeper than any ad campaign.
• Ecommerce: If you want sell products online, you enter a whole new realm of tools and learning. A few simple tools that can integrate into your small business website are affiliate programs like Chitika eMiniMalls and Amazon, or ads like Text Link Ads and AdSense. Another service, Fulfillment by Amazon, lets you sell products but have Amazon manage the warehousing and fulfillment.
• Forums: You probably have visited online forums or bulletin boards. You name a topic, and there are forums on it. You can establish an active presence on existing forums or you can even start your own, if you want to build a community around yourself. It's a lot of work to maintain a good forum, but it can pay off in lively relationships.
• Text/SMS: While not strictly an online tool, text message or mobile marketing is still an effective one. Services like Mobivity let you set up opt-in marketing to customers' cell phones for contests, prizes, coupons, or any other info. "Text for more info" is appearing on real estate signs through services like CellAHouse, or even on Tshirts via Reactee.
  

Doing 'real' online marketing is only 10%
Other than building your presence online, you can invest up to 10% of your online marketing time on some additional "behind the scenes" tools.

Online Advertising
You can buy ads on many different sites that reach your target market by going directly to the site owner or manager. If you'd rather reach more than one site at at time, consider these advertising network tools.

• Pay-per-click ads: With these ads, you pay each time someone clicks on your ad. Most search engines offer ads next to search results, like Google AdSense, Yahoo! Search Marketing, or MSN adCenter.You decide how much you are willing to pay to appear next to searches for your keywords, and you can limit your total to spend. If you want quick exposure, this may be a good tool for you.
  
• Text ads: Various companies, including Text Link Ads, will help you purchase a simple text link on many different sites. The costs are generally based on the number of days and the quality of the site, rather than on the number of clicks on your ad. If you don't like big flashy graphic ads, text ads may fit your style best.
• Affiliate ads: Networks like Linkshare and Commission Junction make it possible for you to pay based on an action, like a completed sale, rather than on a click. So if a website refers a customer to your site, and that customer buys something, then you pay the affiliate commission. This tool may suit you best if you don't want to pay for people who click on your ad, but don't buy.
  

Search Engine Optimization
Because being found in search results is so important to reaching potential customers, many people focus their entire effort on changing every possible detail that can optimize their site for the search engines. From the vast field of search engine optimization, we're going to discuss two easy-to-use tools: keywords and links. You want to include the words your customers will use when they search, and you want to use them prominently, in titles, headings, and throughout the text on your site. That should be easy; it's what your site is about! What can make it seem tough is that some words are so obvious that they are only implied, not stated very often, like your town name, state or brand names. You have to make certain you've included them more than once. Links from relevant websites help potential customers to find you. Search engines consider these incoming links as an important sign of popularity. So look for chances to build links from interesting, relevant sites. One successful tactic is to guest author an article on the other site, in exchange for an incoming link.

Conclusion
The simplified approach to online marketing is to select a few tools that fit your business and your customers, build your online presence, and develop relationships with current and potential customers through conversation. Contribute useful information to the online communities. Like the best in-person networking, online relationships will connect you to new business opportunities. Don't try to do it all. What will customers think when they find that you have dozens of profiles, but they are mostly inactive and un-updated? Better to focus on just a few tools and use them well.


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Be a Specialist or Be a Generalist

Writing about The Dip and The Long Tail triggered some additional thoughts for rural entrepreneurs. Here are two basic strategies to successful small town small biz.

1. Be a generalist. This is the Long Tail, kinda. Because you are in a limited market, you have to offer a very broad range of products or services. You are selling less of more in order to pile up enough sales to reach your goals.

2. Be a specialist. This is the Short Head, one of the lessons from The Dip. Be the absolute best at something, in order to reach customers from further geographically. Usually, this also means charging more, but not always.

How does this work?

John D. Deans explained the Generalist strategy, in his case for computer consultants. Develop a skill set so broad that you can handle any situation your client comes up with. While a general computer consultancy will be mired in the competition in a big town, it will stand out as the best solution in a small town. For retailers, carry as broad of a product line as possible, given the limits your market.

The Specialist strategy reaches outside your local market. By specializing and being the best in the world at something, you can draw on business from all over.

For example, if you are an accountant, you can offer a broad line of general services to your small town. Or you can specialize. Perhaps offering audits to nonprofits, governments, and so on. Now you will need to travel outside your home area, but you'll stand a better chance of becoming well known in the larger market.

In a big city, a retailer can be a super-specialist. A fine wine shop can choose to have only the finest 100 wine selections. I don't see that working well in small towns! My store has a great selection of fine wines, but we couldn't live on just that! So we broaden the specialization to be all the finest items, relative to our market. That's the Generalist side of small town business. Carefully apply the concepts to the right parts of your business. Don't go overboard and become the muffler shop, cafe, gas station, and bait shop all in one. (I've seen it. It was out of business.)

If you want to use the Specialist strategy, definitely shoot for being the best in the world. If you are the premier maker of dulcimers in the world, you really can be based in the middle of the rural country of southern Oklahoma. (and they are!) If you have advanced education or credentials, you probably can't make a living from just the small town market, so you need to be such a world-renowned master that people will come to you as the obvious choice. You invest the up-front work in positioning yourself as the expert in your field.

Being mediocre in either strategy is a recipe for having no strategy and no direction. Hard work for little reward, and that is not what you want.



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Profitable summer suggestions

[Jeanne is off to Oklahoma City for a couple of days, but she has sent this article along to share. It's targeted at businesswomen, but applicable to all entrepreneurs. Enjoy!]

How I Spent My Summer

by Janet W. Christy


In September what will be on your list of accomplishments?

• Vacation Trip
• Tan
• Souvenirs
• Mosquito Bites
• New List of qualified Prospects for your business

Summer is a great time for businesswomen to do marketing research and planning. It is often difficult and frustrating to get things done during the summer because the pace is slower and people are on vacation. So those hot months are an excellent time to identify potential customers/clients, learn more about them to determine if they are a good prospect and develop a plan to make contact.

In my book "Capitalizing On Being Woman Owned" I provide detailed information on identifying and qualifying prospects and marketing your business using the angle of being Woman-Owned. But all Marketing and Sales is based on finding the right angle and using it effectively. Here are 6 Key Pointers for doing effective research once you’ve decided on your best Marketing Angle.

Choose one or two of your products or services

When doing research you always want to focus your efforts. Limiting the number of products or services that you will seek prospects for is a way to focus. For example, if you provide Interior Design Services, you could concentrate on design associated with renovation. Or if you provide office supplies you might focus on unique paper products or the fact that you deliver.

Choose a particular type of business to research

Even though anyone may be a prospect for your products/services, you cannot research or contact everyone at once. Narrowing your research to one or two business types will allow you to be thorough and effective in your research. This will also keep you from being overwhelmed, which could cause you to give up on this valuable process before you reap any benefits. Some examples of business types include the following:

• Local Government
• State Government Agencies
• Manufacturing
• Retail
• Colleges and Universities
• K-12 Schools
• Construction

You may even want to narrow a business type even further, depending on your specific products/services. For instance you might narrow Manufacturing down to automotive manufacturing or Construction down to medical facility construction.

Choose a geographic area

Limit your research to an area that you can feasibly research, contact and service. This might be your home county, a neighboring state or a region such as the mid-west.

Use your prospects’ websites to learn specifics about them

Learn what they do and how they do it – this will allow you to show how your product/service benefits them, which helps turn them from a prospect to a customer.

Be sure that you can actually serve the needs of your prospect before you call on them

Otherwise you waste their time and yours.

Document your research

Don’t trust your memory. You need to make notes, keep lists of websites, make record of contacts and note follow up plans.


Janet W. Christy is author of Capitalizing On Being Woman Owned and president of Leverage & Development, LLC. Used by permission of the author.

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How to create a disaster recovery plan for your small business

Your small business is susceptible to some form of disaster, probably several. But, of course, you don't have a preparedness plan or a recovery plan. As I'm writing this, more thunderstorms are blowing through, but I don't have any written recovery plans for my business! (I'm not in any danger here, but the thunder is really loud!)

No matter where you are, disaster can occur. Fires, floods, even being near a road means you could be affected by a toxic spill on the roadway. Are you prepared to evacuate, at a moment's notice, and possibly for several days? That's just one example. Every area has its own set of potential problems. Planning and preparation would seem to be obviously required.

Yet two-thirds of small business owners said they didn't need a plan, in a survey commissioned by Office Depot. But do we realize that almost half of business that experience a disaster without a plan never reopen?

So how do we get started? Office Depot is offering a free planning resource for disaster preparedness. It's a good resource for walking through the process of developing simple and inexpensive plans that can make a real difference in a disaster. Hat tip to Our Friend Anita Campbell, who wrote a great post on this resource.

Look around for local resources. You might get some help from your local emergency management group. Woodward (Oklahoma) City/County Emergency Management Director Matt Lehenbauer discussed small business preparedness in the Woodward News.

And as businesses make emergency plans, Lehenbauer said one of the major concerns should be how to get the business back up and running as soon as possible.

He suggested that business owners and managers take simple steps such as storing data off-site so they would still be able to access it if something happened. Keeping good records is also important in order to apply for assistance.

Lehenbauer said it is important to develop a disaster plan.

Start making your plans today.


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How to use a checklist to focus your entrepreneurial efforts

Success is a few simple disciplines practiced every day, according to Jim Rohn, THE business philosopher.

Let me explain by giving you my definitions of failure and success. Here it is: Failure is a few Errors in judgment repeated everyday. ... Now, here is my definition of success: A few simple Disciplines practiced every day. Do you see the distinction? A few disciplines...

You can see how this relates to an entrepreneur. Practice improving customer service daily, or let it slide, day after day. Practice keeping your books daily, or let it slide, day after day.

The number one tool to help you practice those disciplines? The humble checklist. David explains this well in Checklists for a Successful Life, at Money Under 30. He tells the story of how pilot checklists were created, and then explains the importance of each item on a checklist.

More importantly, it is a glaring reminder not to willfully neglect it.

How often do you neglect things you should do? Going to the gym, getting the car tuned-up, or taking steps to improve your finances? Every week? Every day? I know I do.

We don't want to repeat those errors in judgment everyday. We want to succeed. Here's the action for you to take.

Develop your checklist

Peter has a personal success checklist with 24 daily habits, at I Will Change Your Life.

Doing something everyday is such a powerful way to form a habit that I thought I would make a list of 24 habits that are worth doing on a daily basis (one for each hour of the day). Note: I have divided these into morning, day and night although some could obviously be under different headings.

Your checklist doesn't need to be this long, especially not at first. Start with a few. In your small business, the first items might include:

• Create a daily to-do list.
• Call an existing client.
• Write in your business blog.
  
• Produce a billable product.
  

Think of five high-value things you could do daily in your business, that would have great benefits, but that you currently tend to let slide. Does this remind you of Stephen Covey and The Seven Habits of Highly Effectively People? These are Quadrant II, important but not urgent, actions. Using a daily checklist will help focus your attention on those key actions.

So create your daily checklist, starting with just five items. Post it where you work most often, or where you sit down to plan or review your day. If you like checking things off, make copies, and check off each item, each day. Imagine the satisfaction! You can use a related tool, the Printable CEO (tm), which I mentioned before (Focus on Your IPA's: Income Producing Activities).

Finally, share your commitment. Let us know what is on your checklist!

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Tool: Government 90 Day Temperature Outlooks

Wondering what kind of temperatures to expect this summer?

If you are involved with tourists or amusement parks, if you are a supplier for a local farmer's market, if you are a grain/animal farmer, if you are planning your own vacation, or for any other reason, you can seek 90-day temperature outlooks from the National Weather Service.

Like all meteorologists, the government hedges its bets, offering only rough odds on how the next three months will compare with historical averages. Even that can be interesting.

Go to Weather.gov's climate section, plug in your ZIP code where it asks "Would you like to look at your local information?", then scroll down for temperature forecasts.

How To ideas from the rural entrepreneurship news

How to market your rural area: focus on rural strengths

For the first time that I can remember, the state's push for people to consider bringing their business and/or their family to Iowa is not apologizing -- it is celebrating all that makes it such a terrific place to live.

Found at Drew's Marketing Minute.

How to develop more successful entrepreneurs: Library taking business resources and advice to rural areas

I like this idea from York, UK. The library is taking business info out to the rural areas.

Mike Shannon, of Business Link York and North Yorkshire, said: "The service is there to help people in rural locations access business advice without having to travel miles to do so."

Read more in The Press.

How to grow your population: Helping more people work from home in rural areas

UK's Enterprise Local program combines a directory, networking events and office services. From 24dash.

Homeworking in the UK is predicted to increase at an annual rate of 18% and by 2010 it is estimated that one third of the British workforce will either run a business from home or be spending part of the working week based in an office at home.

Barriers to success in home enterprise include isolation and detachment, poor perceptions of ‘professionalism’ from customers that if the business is based at home it will be amateurish, lack of suitable work space and poor access to peer networks.

Benefits from more people working from their rural homes will include environmental savings due to reduced commuting, and social improvements due to people spending more time at home.

How to recruit physicians to rural areas: Ideas from Canada

Here's a snapshot of the pluses and minuses for the physician. You'll need to know these to recruit successfully.

While living and working in rural Alberta brings many benefits to physicians - such as practising a more comprehensive hands-on style of medicine, contributing to the fabric of a rural community and enjoying the quieter pace of rural living and the beauty of the rural landscapes - practising in small communities can also pose unique challenges for physicians. These may include higher workloads, demanding call schedules, limited access to specialists, and difficult strains on their spouses and children.

To find innovative ways to make it work,the Alberta Rural Physician Action Plan and the Alberta Chambers of Commerce are sponsoring a contest for local communities. Keep an eye on these two websites for more info: www.rpap.ab.ca and www.abchamber.ca.

How to be more like Nebraska: Copy their rural entrepreneurship programs

Southwest Nebraska News gives us a fine list of the outstanding rural entrepreneurship programs in Nebraska.

While you're at it, copy the Comprehensive Rural Entrepreneurship Program in Oregon

Connecting Oregon for Rural Entrepreneurship (CORE) is a three year project, focused on four aspects of service to the community. Social enterprise, incubators without walls, adult entrepreneurship, and youth entrepreneurship. Read more in the Newport News-Times.

Then, get your region working together on rural development, entrepreneurship, like this example in Colorado

Everything from value-added agriculture to tourism and green energy are under discussion. From The Coloradoan.

One of the goals of the rural economic development program is to identify county regulations that create barriers for rural property owners using their land to generate revenue beyond traditional agriculture, Lancaster said.

More about renewable energy potential in Colorado at Environment Colorado.

How to use urban planning to benefit your people: Connecting public spaces in small towns

Fallon, Nevada, is trying to make the most of their public spaces. They want to provide opportunities for people to gather and experience a sense of community, through their parks, Farmers Market, and local festivals. Then they are looking for ways to tie the public spaces together through streetscaping, trails, or even a public shuttle system.

"We have all these hidden gems in the community," Taylor said. "Maybe we can link them together."
"A vibrant downtown is a core component to attracting and keeping young professionals," said Juliette Taylor, executive director of Churchill Economic Development Authority. She said it's important for young professionals to have nice places to eat, drink and take their families.

From Lahontan Valley News and Fallon Eagle. Thanks to EDPro, who found it first.

How to get more rural youth to be entrepreneurs: Launch a loan fund for them, give them access to the infrastructure

To keep up the increase in demand for training for the youth, the government is also drawing attention to the cooperative extension services and infrastructure. Read about it in Mmegi Online.

President Mogae said that the money should facilitate the creation of employment through development of sustainable agricultural activities by the youth, not their parents nor government.

How to build more agri-businesses: Try a themed incubator

Networking of the compatible businesses in the incubator will hopefully boost the growth of the cluster. Read about it in the Times Argus.

[Photo of maple syrup agri-business from USDA.]

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Startup: Resources to get from Idea to In Business

So you have this great business idea rolling around in your head. How do you get it into the real world?

(What? You don't have an idea yet? You can use the four tactics in Resource: Small Business Ideas for Small Towns and check out our previous ideas posts to get started. Oh, and look at Nairobi Paul's Biz Idea, the inspiration for this article. I'll wait here.)

Online Resource Sites

From idea to a real business is the big jump. Luckily, we are internet age entrepreneurs. Even if you are in a rural area or small town, you can use online tools. Here are five no-cost sites from my favorites list.

• Entrepreneur.com: Starting a Business. This is a huge resource site. The best tools are Countdown to Startup, Stop Procrastinating!, and 75 Secrets to Startup.
  
  
• SBA: Small Business Planner: Get Ready. The interactive Checklist and the Starting a Business FAQs are the best. The Startup Guide opens a huge new list of resources by topic.
  
  
• JumpUp: Steps to Start a Business. Each step includes a How and Why, plus Tools and Services. I especially recommend Business Planning, because they pared a business plan down to five questions for business and four questions for finance.
  
  
• Startup Nation: 10 Steps to Open for Business. Articles, audio intros, templates, and resource links. The first step here is to create your life plan, then build the business to fit within it. That's better than trying to force your life around the business.
  
  

A few of our articles that will help are Simplified business plans for the real world, Simplified marketing plans for the real world, and Turn on the lights!

Pick the tool, checklist, or article that best suits your style and where you are in the process. Get started by taking some concrete action.

[Photo: Sage and Saddle B&B, a business that fits the owner's life. Jeanne helped them get from idea to in-business.]

Live, In-Person Help

What if you just want someone to talk it over with? Let's find some real people who can help you. No matter where you are, odds are that you are in the territory of some free business consulting sources.

These first two are more or less consistent nationwide in the US. No matter where you are, you can call on the nearest of these services.

• Small Business Development Centers. Our Co-Author Jeanne (OkieJ) works for the SBDC based in Alva, Oklahoma. Her job, along with all SBDC counselors, is to provide free business counseling to anyone who asks. She helps guide people from idea to startup and beyond, and she drives halfway across the state to meet with people on their own turf. Trust me, there is a SBDC and the local equivalent of Jeanne near you waiting to help, probably based on a college campus.
  
  
• SCORE. Through SCORE, volunteers with real business experience can help you develop your idea. SCORE has lots of chapters in the US, but they are pretty far apart in my corner of the state. That's why they also offer to answer questions by email.
  

This second group of resources is more general. The names and programs will vary from place to place, so you have to do more research to find them in your area. The best place to start is:

• Chamber of Commerce. The local chamber of commerce may have their own business counseling program, or may point you to other local resources. They should know all the other players in your local market. If you local town chamber is too small to help much, try the next bigger neighboring city.
  
  
• Economic Development Associations. This could be a city agency, a county group, or a regional or state organization, but many offer help directly to prospective business owners.
  
  
• Universities, Colleges, Technical Centers. Many educational institutions have some program or center dedicated to small business. The services available vary widely. You'll just have to call and find out what's available to you. Even if you are not near the campus, you are probably still in the service area of some help.
  
  
• Business Incubators. All incubators provide services to the businesses that they house. Some also provide assistance to start-ups that might locate with them or even to people looking to do something with their idea. It never hurts to ask. Some incubators worldwide are listed at the NBIA.
  
  
• State Business, Commerce, or Economic Development Department. This is usually an agency of the state government, so start looking on your state's government website. In order to get in-person help from the state, you may need to be planning a pretty large business. More likely, they may help you find a more local resource person.
  
  
• Trade Associations. Depending on the type of business you are considering, you may get some help from a trade group or business alliance. Some are semi-governmental groups, and you can connect to them through the state business agency. Some are private membership associations, and you'll have to find them through research.
  

I've given you several options, because I know that personal help is only as good as the person offering it. If you don't get the help you need from one source, keep looking.

Have an Addition? or a Fee-based Resource?

This is far from a comprehensive list; it's just some of my personal favorites that don't cost any cash. If you have another lead you'd like to see mentioned, drop it in a comment.

For example, one of our readers, CapForge Founder Matt Remuzzi, let us know about the publications and services at CapForge, some free and some members-only. One members-only item is Starting a business step by step broken down into 35 steps, starting with researching your options and ending with launching the business.

Tell me about your favorites, and I'll look them over.

Get Going!

Now you are armed. You have four free online sites, two no-cost national groups, and untold numbers of local resources to help you. Yes, it takes work to turn that idea into action, but you don't have to do it all by yourself. Tap into these resources and get going!


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Idea: Share your community plans

[Special guest author Laura Girty lives in Cherokee, Oklahoma, and works for the Oklahoma Department of Commerce in community development. She has kindly contributed articles she wrote for the ODOC Developer newsletter, and yes this article does refer to me, OkieJ (Jeanne Cole) and OkieK (Karen Payne). ]

Does your community buy into your community strategic plan? Does your average citizen even know it exists?
Waynoka Century Community member Jeanne Cole was determined that her community was not going to be able to say, “What plan?” With the help of former City Administrator, Becky McCray, she has designed a Waynoka Century Community website that features the community plan. McCray teaches web creation and design at High Plains Tech Center, Woodward.
The Waynoka site starts off with the community’s vision, as developed in their public planning sessions, and a positive call to action by local newspaper editor and publisher, Mark Carson.
The links take you back to Home or the humorously titled “What’s in it for ME?” This link tells of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce Century Community program benefits including a list of the modules available.
Next is The Plan with the history and explanation of the planning process and then the actual plan with its most current goals, objectives and action steps available for review.
One of the best things about the interactive website is the Community Comments section which has e-mail addresses of co-chairs Cole and Karen Payne as well as an invitation to leave comments in the Guest Book. Here, all citizens are invited to give input and feedback on the strategic plan.
What an innovative and all-inclusive way to involve the citizens of the community to be part of the ongoing planning process! Since a strategic plan is a living document, changing as goals are accomplished, needs are met or new ones arise, this is an exciting way to keep it alive and available for all the citizens in the community. Congratulations Waynoka!
To view Waynoka’s site go to:

http://www.freewebs.com/waynokacenturycommunity/

To learn more about the Century Community Program, visit okcommerce.gov and select Communities, Century Community Program.


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