Business Consultants

Archive for March, 2011

1) Approach finding a job as if it were a full-time job, because it is. If you had a job, you would report to work at the same time each day (like 8 am), take an hour (or less) for lunch, and quit at the same time each day (like 5 pm). You would work five days every week. And you would work hard to accomplish as much as you could because your career depended upon it.

When you are searching for a job, you should follow the same type of schedule because your future depends upon it.

Treating your job search like a part-time hobby guarantees that it will take longer.

So, begin tomorrow by reporting to work and spending the day on tasks that lead to a job.

2) Approach finding a job as if it were a project. That means you should set goals for yourself, make plans, and monitor your progress. You should apply all of the tools and skills that you used in your last job to the project of finding your next job.

As you must expect, this is an important project. The sooner you complete it, the sooner you gain a promotion into a job.

3) Be your own boss. Set expectations for what you need to accomplish, provide direction, and monitor your work.

Meet with yourself once each week to evaluate your performance. I recommend doing this by writing two reports. The first is a candid evaluation of what you accomplished during the previous week. The second is a description of your plans for the coming week. Your plans should include your goals, actions, and priorities.

The first time that you write these reports, write an evaluation of what you have done so far. Describe the results that this effort has produced. And compare these results with what you wanted to have.

Next, map out a realistic plan for the next week based on achievable goals. For example, you could set goals for the number of people you will call, the number of networking meetings you will attend, and the research you will conduct.

In the coming weeks, compare the results that you obtained during the previous week with the goals that you set. For example, if you planned to attend twelve networking meetings and you attended only two, you should a) explain why this happened and b) plan actions that will correct such a difference. You should also analyze why you missed your goal because this provides insights on what you need to do differently. For example, Your goal (e.g., of attending twelve networking meetings) may have been set too high. Or maybe there are things you can do that will make it easier to achieve your job search goals, such as car pooling with a friend who is also looking for a job.

Finding a job is a full time job. Work through it with a plan and the support of a good boss (yourself).

I wish you the best of success.

One might link home business opportunities with personality, but the fact is you have to have a specific character to go it solo. Not everyone can be a home business owner. But there are some personality traits that are common in the self-employed that out do education, who knows who, skills and experience. Those who choose home opportunities that best fit their true personalities have a higher degree of success. Every personality type has the potential for success in the right opportunity. Most self-employed people are natural leaders, excellent problem solvers, and are great under pressure. The key to success is finding the business opportunity that best suits you.

1. The trailblazer is very competitive, ambitious, and goal oriented. They steam roll over everything and can be quite aggressive. These people are restless and very energetic and run on fast and faster. Great fields for these people are medical, technology, money, legal and consulting.

2. The go-getter has more than normal amount of dominance and social ability. These people are great leaders and really care about others. They are very independent and can be a great motivation. They have a flare for retail and can also make good in any business type due to their excellence in the unfamiliar.

3. The manager is dominant and independent. These people are extremely analytical and take a more relaxed approach to make sure all is done correctly. These peoples strong areas are working behind the scenes on the technology, ideas, and marketing concepts.

4. The motivator is dominant and extremely social. These people work well under pressure. They are at the forefront of collaboration, building, and change. Any field that deals with people is their place of action. They are very convincing and can persuade anyone with their emotional argument. They can see both sides of every situation and are excellent at customer service.

5. The authority is that person who is the backbone. They are the workers of the world who do it right. These people exceed in the area of franchises and owners to already up and running businesses. These people look at the detail and tactics involved in all areas and do things the right way. They are very patient and accommodating and usually find themselves self-employed by accident.

6. The collaborator has the gift of sociability. It is all about the people for them. This type always get what they want and make the best sales people. They are warm sellers, using advertisements and/or e-mail to contact prospective buyers. Once the consumer initiates an interest, they will sell their hearts out.

7. The diplomat is very restless and enjoys a certain amount of pressure. They have a deadline to meet and they get work done quickly. They deal well with change and new situations. They do things right and love variety. These people are the multitaskers and are usually doing many things at once. These are the people who get the business and keep them coming back for more.

Perhaps you have followed the trend in business to create an internet web site for your business that can be used to supplement your marketing efforts. If so, you have joined the momentum to create a corresponding “place” in cyberspace that can be used to reach customers online. The need for such an internet presence is entirely market driven. Internet sales have soared, particularly in certain market segments and more and more, the first place people go to in order to learn about your business is the internet. If they find a well designed web site that is full of features, that works fast and draws them in, that can be a tremendous tool for promoting your business.

When you set up a marketing tool outside of cyberspace, the first concern is how will that new marketing effort get noticed. So we are drawn to places where there is already an active traffic of people who would qualify as our customers. That may mean putting up a billboard where it will be seen by people going to work. That target audience may be the best population to respond to your message. Or if your business appeals to youth, advertising on MTV or on popular radio stations is a natural place to put your marketing money because the traffic is already there.

We have to approach the internet differently. Yes, the traffic is already there but we have to enter the world of cyberspace marketing with a different kind of strategy so we can reach the customers who are traveling certain “internet roads” and make sure those roads lead to our web site.

There is whole a cottage industry that has sprung up around the need for knowledgeable internet marketing gurus. And, yes, it’s a good idea to use their talents to make sure the search engines put your web site in front of the right kind of client or customer. These talented internet geeks can put your business web site into the flow of web surfers so you get your fair share of that traffic.

That said, you don’t have to wait for the internet marketing experts to make your web site more successful. If the business has made the effort to put that web site up, you want to see it start to pay off right away. That is why you should consider some creative ways to drive people to your web site from your traditional markets thus educating your current customers, clients and partners about the site. Ways to do that include…

§ Promote the web site at the retail level. Some creative signage at your retail locations can create some momentum and interest in customers to go see your exciting new web site.

§ Put the link on all correspondence. If you have flyers, a magazine or other current means of communications, your URL should always be listed there. Add your URL to your email signature and on business cards and all other forms of communication so your community of clients, customers and partners get used to associating that web site with you as much as they do your business name.

§ Create excitement. It is easy to operate a business contest from your retail sites that drives people to the web site for clues or to claim their winnings. That kind of momentum can create huge surges of traffic through your web site with the corresponding surge of sales and leads.

The modern customer or client is used to seeing the promotion of a web site included with other forms of promotion and advertising. You are not “assaulting” your customer base with this information. If anything, when your audience sees that the business has burst into the cyberspace world in a big way, they will be thrilled and as likely to respond with, “It’s about time.”.

You know how much you depend on the internet to keep you informed about areas of interest and about businesses you like to patronize. So you can see that not only putting up a good web site but letting people know that it is there and that there are big things there for them to enjoy is doing them a favor as much as it is creating new marketing opportunities for your business.