Rosalyn Cronin

Today we come to the final blog of the series of 303 blogs about small business actions to help you achieve greater success. The first was posted February 1st, now we are at the end of November. For those of you new to the series, I skipped January because a small business owner has a lot to get done in the first month of the year. And December is for reflecting, enjoying, spending time with family and planning for the future.

The last key I’d like to leave you with is enjoyment. Once all the rest of the pieces are in place, from money to placement of furniture, from a great brochure to a great product, you are still going to work every day. Success is its own reward, but if you aren’t enjoying your days, I’m not sure you can call yourself successful. Money, number of customers, movement of product, staff spilling out the door are all normal measures. I believe that if you have a smile on your face when you start your morning and still wear that smile at close of day, you have achieved success by any measure.

The ACT: This last Act is to take a look in the mirror. Do you have a smile on your face? Ask that person in the mirror if he is having fun, enjoying the journey and the people he is sharing that journey with. Ask her if there’s a spring in her step as the day starts and an excitement in her voice when she talks about her business.

When you share your day’s events with any special person in your life, from a spouse to a close friend, does your face light up and you can’t wait to talk about the amazing responses that make each day special? Being in your own business can be a struggle but the joy will more than make up for any little problems. Delight in the freedom to make your own choices, bring a solution to other peoples’ problems and be in charge of your own future.

I grew up in an entrepreneurial family, I married an entrepreneur and I love having my own business. I hope these blogs help you enjoy your business as well.

I plan to put the blogs into EBook format in the next month. In the meantime, scroll through the archives – each blog is in its category, waiting for you to read and implement.

As we continue to wrap up the 303 Small Business Acts for success, the second key to being successful lies in your marketing. Once you have your cash flow clear, you can focus on your marketing efforts.

When you are a small business, you need to operate on a small business budget. When it comes to marketing, you need to concentrate on your niche market and send one clear message. You want your ideal client to know what makes you different from the competition. There is little point in duplicating the message, focus on the one reason a potential client will want to choose you over the rest.

The ACT: For your twenty minute action today, write out the one salient point you want to make about your business. Put yourself into a client’s viewpoint. What one problem can you solve, making it easy and doable for here, that no-one else in your locale is broadcasting. It can be the hours you are available, the style of your product, the easy location or your special experience.

Put that wonderful message out to your target market. It doesn’t need to go to the world, just to that select few who will make your business thrive. Word of mouth advertising is the cheapest and most effective advertising available. Make a core group of influential clients love your service and watch the referrals take off.

A focus on the key client in front of you will pay in referrals when she tells the rest of her world about you.

I’m writing Blog #300. It seemed like an easy project when I started writing these blogs last February 1st. Business act blogs for small business, what could be easier? Id fallen in love with writing and I’ve been entranced by everything small business for years. Putting the two together for my book had been fun, although a lot of work. I thought the blogs would be fun and easy.

But life has a way of giving us interesting lessons when we stretch ourselves outside our comfort zone. I had a few unexpected events this year, and my new book required a more extensive rewrite then I had expected. But I persevered and am now at #300. With only three left to go.

The ACT: For 20 minutes, reflect on a project that you took on this year. Did you follow through to completion, or did other things get in the way? Now is the time to ask if it’s important to finish the project or let it go. Did you make a commitment or allow yourself the freedom to finish or not?

There were several times in this process that I thought of stopping, of just putting out a message that there would be a change in the number or the end date. Instead, I gave myself the freedom to not have to post every day, just keep the blogs coming on a regular basis. I’d committed to 303, not to one every day. And at this point in time, I’m grateful that I pushed through the setbacks and continued. The last three will be fun.

What project are you going to finish this year?

When a potential customer meets you for the first time, you want to be looking prosperous, not desperate. This goes for all the extraneous bits of you, from your car to your workplace, from your business card to your website. When you don’t perform regular maintenance on these, you will start to look a little shabby.

The ACT: For 20 minutes, review one area where you might want to step it up a bit. Is your business suit shouting 1995 or your car looking like the last bath it has was two years ago? Maybe it’s an old business card you dug out of the back drawer because you haven’t ordered any new cards for two years – you’re still using up ones you got on a special. Trust me, scratching out an old phone number won’t impress anyone much.

Look the way you want others to see you, happy, prosperous and booming.

We all know that walking into a company where people are smiling and happy to be at work, where we are greeted with a genuine smile and interest, makes us want to continue to do business there. On the other hand, a glum face and no buzz makes us want to leave and find another place to be.

Successful small business is a matter of attitude as well as having a good product and reasonable price. Marketing will get customers in the door, a great attitude will keep them there. When the economy is going through a rough patch there is even more reason to welcome all current and potential customers with enthusiasm.

The ACT: For 20 minutes, look at how you treat customers on that initial contact. I’ve said this before because it is a critical part of reception – we can hear smiles through the phone. We want to deal with companies that are successful and make us feel good.

Enthusiasm is contagious – spread some around and see what wonderful results you will get.

This Sunday is time to continue your vacation planning, but this day is for looking at how you will handle your business while you are gone. Do you need to bring in extra staff, invest in a good cell phone and get reduced roaming charges or use email to handle your incoming calls?

The ACT: For 20 minutes, picture your business without you in the picture. Decide who will be the decision maker in your absence, who will be back up for any problems and how you will handle potential emergencies.

Take the time now to image some worst case scenarios and how they might be handled. What if there is a robbery while you are gone – are there clear procedures to follow? How about a demanding customer known to wait until the last minute to place an order? Let your imagination roam free, being prepared is the best way to be able to relax when you finally get into vacation mode.

You deserve a holiday but your business deserves some forethought before you leave.