1. My question to you is this: Does your business reflect who you are today or does it reflect who you were?
   
   Recognizing how hard it is to keep current in a changing environment my hat is off to you if you said your business reflects who you are as of today!

   If you are like the majority, however, your business more than likely still reflects the you of the past. How do you know if your business still reflects the old you?

   Here are some signs:

   1. You have skills that are not listed on your website and your current clients don’t know about these skills.
   2. You are being asked by your client to do things that are beyond your skillset and you cringe thinking about doing them.
   3. You no longer like/want your current clients (or a majority of them)!
   4. You have a static website rather than a dynamic one.
   5. Your Welcome Packet hasn’t been updated since you opened your doors for business.
   6. Your work seems like work – the thrill is gone!
   7. Your clients no longer refer you.
   8. You’ve entertained the idea of getting a J-O-B.

   If you found yourself nodding your head yes to any or all of the above questions, it’s time for you to spend some quality time working ON your business and giving it a new lift! Put some business bounce back into your business!

   Here are some things you can do:
   
   1. Take an honest look at your skillset. See what still works and what you still enjoy doing. Purge the rest.
   2. Make a list of new skills you would like to acquire. (Hint: If you find yourself putting the word ‘should’ in front of a new skill, ask yourself this question: Is it because *I* want to learn more information about this particular skill OR is it because I think I *should* know how to do this because everyone is doing/needs this?)
   3. Update your Ideal Client profile! (This is also a good exercise as it helps you to determine what skills to keep, what skills to acquire, and what skills to purge.) I’m happy to help you with this. Schedule a 3-hr Focus Day and get it done!
   4. If you can’t create a new website yourself, put on your CEO hat and find someone who can capture the new you in your new website.
   5. Do you still need a Welcome Packet? If so, update it and keep is short, sweet, and simple! Only collect the information you need.
   6. You may want to consider hiring a business coach to refresh, refocus, and re-energize both you and your business.
   7. If your clients no longer refer you, see the above 6 items and begin to work on them now!
   8. Hire a business coach to figure out if this is really where you need to be or if you are just feeling dead-ended in your current incarnation.

   It is important to continually adjust and tweak your business as the environment changes. If you don’t, you risk becoming out-of-date and obsolete. You’ll be like the food item in the pantry that has an expiration date stamped on the bottom – Best if used by xx-xx date!

There is a major switch happening right now in the Digital Publishing industry. The reality is that people LOVE their books, but more and more are snuggling up to a favorite book or magazine on their Amazon Kindle Fire or iPad (via the handy dandy iBook). While physical books may not be "exiting stage right" anytime soon, the growth of digital book sales here in 2012 is simply staggering! People are consuming their favorite publications digitally at alarming rates. In fact in 2011, Amazon digital book sales surpassed both hardcover and paperback book sales by more than double!

Digital books are cheaper, faster to receive, and more accessible then the good old hard copy. Not to mention, authors are recognizing the HUGE profit potential of digital book sales over physical books.

So, to summarize the facts….

- Digital books are selling like crazy

- Authors are chomping at the bit to create a digital format of their book

AND, Virtual Professionals have the unbelievable opportunity right now to position themselves as a Digital Publishing Specialist. Remember, Authors love to write, but they don’t want to think about the technical set-up required to publish their book on Kindle or iBook. This is a prime opportunity to build a very hot, income-building niche into your business.

VAClassroom.com has just released the brand new and hotly requested "Digital Publishing Specialist Program". This course will give you the exact steps to set-up a physical book in a digital format through Amazon Kindle and other popular online publishing platforms. This course will fill a HUGE skill gap currently preventing authors from profiting in the digital realm.

The course begins April 30th and there are still a few seats left.

Check out all the details here:

http://www.vaclassroom.com/socialmarketing/cmd.asp?af=946287&u=http://www.vaclassroom.com/digital-publishing-specialist.aspx

How many times have you read an article, attended a seminar, and/or just had a conversation with someone where all three of these terms are used interchangeably? I’ll bet by now you don’t even hear those words anymore. And if you do, do you really understand what they mean and how they apply to your business?

Unless you are clear about what these terms mean for your business, you will more than likely struggle with marketing your business.

I have a number of clients who contact me with what they call ‘marketing problems’. They are having a difficult time filling their practice. During our conversations, I find they don’t really have a marketing problem so much as they have an Ideal Client problem. They are trying to be everything to everyone. When I ask them who their Ideal Client is I am usually given a broad, vague answer such as: women, or women in transition, or Coaches, etc.. While that sounds great, it doesn’t tell me who your Ideal Client is and why she’s ideal. If you don’t know who you are doing what to, how can you do it? And therein lies the real problem: It’s not about marketing, but about knowing who you are marketing to and why at a deep core level.

Let’s talk a bit more about Target Market, Niche Market, and Ideal Client. These terms do not mean the same thing. Please don’t confuse them as they serve different functions.

Target Market – This is a grouping based on one or more common characteristics. For example, age, sex, location, occupation, product purchases, etc.

Niche – This is primarily an occupational grouping. For example, Sports Channels, Financial Planners, Coaches, CPAs, VAs, etc.

Ideal Client – This is the person (and yes I am going to refer to this as one person even though you will have several of the one person) who you connect with at your core. This is the person you know extremely well, so well, in fact, that you can list their problems as though they were your own problems. You understand their values, desires, beliefs, as well as you understand your own. It is because of this deep understanding that you are able to offer effective solutions and/or guidance to your Ideal Client.

Here’s a visual of the above:

It is this concept around the Ideal Client that will allow you to address the problems of your Ideal Client, offer solutions to your Ideal Client, and create the content on your website that speaks to your Ideal Client. In turn, this will allow you to market more effectively and easily. Once you know who are doing what to the rest of your marketing becomes easier.

Let’s take a moment and review some essential elements of the Ideal Client:

• It’s counter-intuitive in the sense that it is most effective when your Ideal Client is highly specific and narrow.
• When you try to be everything to everybody, you end being nothing to anybody.
• There is a common center of interest and/or lifestyle of your Ideal Client.
• Your Ideal Client exists in a sufficient quantity.
• Your Ideal Client has the ability to pay you.
• (Hint) Your Ideal Client is really you on some level!

What does having an Ideal Client do for you and your business?

• An Ideal Client provides you with a clear vision and an obvious focus.
• It enhances your credibility and your reputation.
• It increases the demand for your services because of the specialized market.
• It greatly simplifies marketing and increases your return on investment (ROI).
• It provides a firm base from which you can expand your business.

So, how do you go about determining who your Ideal Client is?  One way I would suggest is for you to write a story about your Ideal Client. Give him/her a name, an education, a family life (single or not), a social life, a business, and write about the problems they have in their business that you can help them solve. Get very detailed. Let me repeat that…get very detailed. I want you to know this person  like you know your family!

These questions should help you begin  to craft your Ideal Client:

1. What are the basic characteristics of your Ideal Client? (demographics, age, gender, salary, education, location, etc.)
2. Who are your clients? Are they business executives, artists, small business owners, micro business owners?
3. What kind of values does your ideal client have? Do these values match yours?
4. What exactly do your Ideal Clients do? How do they need your help? (Be very specific in your answers to these two questions.)
5. How do your Ideal Clients treat you? Do they pay on time? Do they understand you are a business owner and treat you as such?

Whether you know exactly who your Ideal Client is or not, please take the time to answer the above questions so that the next time you are asked, “Who is your Ideal Client?” you can answer them without hesitation!

Here are ten things to consider between now and December 31st:

1. Do you have boundaries around your business practices (i.e., hours, availability, rates, turnaround times)?

Boundaries are simple a way for you to say ‘yes’ to yourself and your business. Boundaries also show your clients that you take yourself seriously as a business owner and respect not only your time but their time.

2. Do you know what you are going to charge and why?

It is important that you are solid in your decision to charge a certain price. It does not matter if this price is hourly, per package, or a retainer. If you waffle on this important piece of your business you set the tone with your clients that they can bargain rates with you. The ‘why’ part of this question is important for YOU only, as you do not (and should not) feel you have to justify your rates. Just be sure you are solid and comfortable in your reasoning.

3. Do you know who your Ideal Client is?

If you don’t know "who you are doing what to" how can you expect to be successful? You can’t, and shouldn’t, be all things to all people. A Target Market or Niche Market is not your Ideal Client. You need to be much more specific in "who you do what to" in order to be more successful.

4. Do you have a website?
   
There really is no excuse for not having a website. If you are not web-savvy either use a template based website or think about hiring someone to create the website for you. The WordPress blog platform is a very popular format today. (I know several savyy VA’s who can help you create one if you need help. Get in touch with me if you need some names.) Make sure your website speaks to your Ideal Client.

5. Do you have a marketing plan?

Like a business plan (and you do have one, right?), this is an important detail! How do you know where you’re going if you don’t have a plan or a map? It’s like getting dressed up with no place to go. Take some time and lay out a plan. This does not have to be 50 pages. If you can lay out a plan in 1 or 2 pages, then go for it! As long as it makes sense to you and you have a map to follow that’s all that is important. Napkins work well in keeping it short, sweet, and to the point!

6. Do you have specific, measureable goals for 2012?

Without specific, measureable goals anything you achieve will be fine, but it is really?  Make the goal a bit of a stretch. If it’s too easy you won’t do it, and if it’s too hard you won’t do it. Find a happy middle ground and go for it!!

7. Have you identified your opportunities?

In looking at your business, do you know where the opportunities for continued success lie? If no, now would be a good time to take a look. Do you need to do something different in 2012?

8. If you answered yes to above question, do you have specific plans to capitalize on those opportunities?

Again, without a plan anything you do is fine, right? Do you need to investigate the opportunity further? Do you need to spend time creating ‘it’? Whatever you need to do be sure and create a plan of when you are going to actually DO it and not just think about it.
 
9. Have you analyzed your success in 2011 so you can continue to capitalize on those strengths in 2012?

You should always know what is working for you and what is not working for you. Always. And if you haven’t kept track, now is a wonderful time to set up a system so that next year you can answer ‘yes’ to this question!

10. Does your 2012 calendar have a day set aside each quarter where you are analyzing and planning?

You should have at least one day each quarter where you work ON your business. Plan a day out of the office where you can let the creative juices flow. Don’t limit yourself! Write everything down. You never know when a crazy idea may be the perfect idea!

To help you with your planning, I’ve attached an Action Sheet here for you.
Here’s to a successful 2012!

The term "mastermind group" apparently originates with Napoleon Hill (in Think and Grow Rich) and refers to the coming together of a group of individuals for the express purpose of developing and exchanging ideas. Behind it is the notion that two heads, three heads, etc. are better than one when focusing on a common purpose/problem. The idea quickly caught on in business .

The term "group coaching" refers to a process of coaching multiple individuals simultaneously  in a common time frame. It is an extension of individual coaching while retaining most of the precepts. The most obvious, and perhaps only, commonality is the presence of more than two persons in the process.

In both, the group size is optimally around 10. Both may include a moderator although the mastermind does not need one to function, while group coaching certainly does. The group nature is significant in both processes for the same reasons: the ability of multiple intelligences to focus on a single idea and the mutual empathy and support of other members.

The differences are multiple and critical. In the mastermind group, the primary focus is on problem solving, idea generation, discussion of the ideas, analysis of the problems, discussion of the solutions, and so on. The interactions are non-hierarchical and free flowing.

In group coaching, the primary focus is on the individuals who comprise the group and that focus is more than problem solving and idea generation (although it surely may include those). The interactions are hierarchical (the coach is the moderator, leader, and input generator) and moderated and directed.

More often than not anymore, I see folks putting together what really is group coaching and calling it a mastermind group. Each of the two groupings serves a specific purpose and both are very valuable. Be very clear which you feel you need and why, and be very sure that the program you are looking at is what you think it is!

Much has been expressed about his brilliance, prescience, and so on. Much of this was indeed mentioned during his lifetime. 

I found this quote from 1989 (from Inc. Magazine, April 1989):

"You can’t just ask customers what they want then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new".

The sense of it registered first, then the date really hit me.

Do you hear this philosophy very often? No. Quite the opposite.

What I hear from all the internet "geniuses" is that you find out what the market (customers) want and give them exactly what they asked for.

In the first case, you create something that people come to desire, believe in, utilize, and make a necessity.

In the second case you create something that people briefly embrace, than dispose of.

Therein lies the difference in the approach.

Given the past successes of both approaches, which would you choose?

I can only surmise that the biggest reason behind this proliferation of descriptors is an attempt to distinguish oneself from others offering the same sort of expertise.

But I can tell you what one of the consequences of this effort is: the devaluing of the descriptor and the resulting confusion in consumers. I don’t think this is your goal as a business person, right?

What exactly is a business goddess and what does she do?

How much conjuration is there in business?

Unfortunately, the desire to distinguish through such descriptors has only resulted in a confusing and somewhat boring sameness. What was originally thought to be clever and provide some meaningful insight now only provides non-meaning (i.e. nonsense). Much of this devaluation has bled through to products and programs so that they too are full of words of such exaggerated connotation that meaning has been largely lost.

Why not just say what you mean and what you do in clear precise language devoid of descriptors which dilute your message? Compared to some of the wild proclamations that exist, your text may seem rather bland, but ask yourself these questions: does it convey what you do, who you are, and what it means clearly, unambiguously, and concisely? If so, then you’ve covered what you need to cover! The consumer will overlook the blandness you perceive if the message is one they are looking for.

Again, if I am looking for an expert, I am not at all sure why I need a goddess, maven, wizard, etc.

Simplicity, clarity, and conciseness facilitate communication not impede it.

If your Ideal Client is looking for something…what will she hear from you?

The reality is that few people are in a position to be everything to everybody and few people are versed enough to speak expertly over a huge spectrum of knowledge. The more you offer the more you run the risk of confusing and alienating your Ideal Clients. After all, if you are so widely spread, do you really speak to them anymore? (The answer is no.)

It is far better to have products/services that fit your Ideal Client and truly represent your expertise and passion. If this means that you only have one or two items, that is just fine. Better to be well known for a few things than occasionally known for a lot of things. In fact, a valued offering that is consistent over time is much more desirable. Marketers continually tell us that people make many visits to our sites before they ever do anything. A consistency is significant as it emerges to the searchers that you stand for a few things and in doing so, you begin to stand out. Then your content can really shine once they decide you are worth looking at.

To be consistent,  you need to decide who your Ideal Client is and what it is they need from you that you are passionate about and skilled in providing. Generally, this is just a few really important concepts that form the core of the products/services you offer. What you offer may actually increase as you become really focused on your Ideal Client but what you offer should be limited in number. It helps to keep you current if you are "retiring" products/services as you update or change them. It minimizes the confusion of too many choices that affects all consumers. Too many choices either inhibits decision making or makes the closing time much longer than it need be. In reality, a confused mind always says no. Don’t take the choice of doing business with you away from your Ideal Client by offering too much!

So, yes, less is more…more for you and more for your Ideal Clients as they get what they need.

Take a look at what you offer…and rethink the quantity issue!

Recognizing how hard it is to keep current in a changing environment, my hat is off to you if you said your business reflects who you are as of today! If you are like the majority, however, your business more than likely still reflects the you of the past.  How do you know if your business still reflects the old you?

Here are some signs:

1. You have skills that are not listed on your website and your current clients don’t know about these skills.
2. You are being asked by your client to do things that are beyond your skillset and you cringe thinking about doing them.
3. You no longer like/want your current clients (or a majority of them)!
4. You have a static website rather than a dynamic one.
5. Your Welcome Packet hasn’t been updated since you opened your doors for business.
6. Your work seems like work – the thrill is gone!
7. Your clients no longer refer you.
8. You’ve entertained the idea of getting a J-O-B!

If you found yourself nodding your head yes to any or all of the above questions, it’s time for you to spend some quality time working ON your business and giving it a new lift! Put some business bounce back into your business!

Here are some things you can do:

1. Take an honest look at your skillset. See what still works and what you still enjoy doing. Purge the rest.
2. Make a list of new skills you would like to acquire. (Hint: If you find yourself putting the word ‘should’ in front of a new skill, ask yourself this question: Is it because *I* want to learn more information about this particular skill OR is it because I think I *should* know how to do this because everyone is doing/needs this?)
3. Update your Ideal Client profile! (This is also a good exercise as it helps you to determine what skills to keep, what skills to acquire, and what skills to purge.)
4. If you can’t create a new website yourself, put on your CEO hat and find someone who can capture the new you in your new website.
5. Do you still need a Welcome Packet? If so, update it and keep is short, sweet, and simple! Only collect the information you need.
6. You may want to consider hiring a business coach to refresh, refocus, and re-energize both you and your business.
7. If your clients no longer refer you, see the above 6 items and begin to work on them now!
8. If you are considering looking for a J-O-B, you really need to hire a business coach to figure out if this is really where you need to be or if you are just feeling dead-ended in your current incarnation.

It is important to continually adjust and tweak your business as the environment changes. If you don’t, you risk becoming out-of-date and obsolete. You’ll be like the food item in the pantry that has an expiration date stamped on the bottom – Best if used by xx-xx date!

Entrepreneur #1 knows who her Ideal Client is, keeps in touch regularly via blogs, ezines, and/or other methods that her Ideal Client responds to.

Entrepreneur #2 kind of knows who her Ideal Client is, starts to keep in touch with her Ideal Client, pulls back because she doesn’t perceive her Ideal Client responding to her in a time frame she’s set up, and then disappears for a while. After a few  months, she resurfaces only to repeat the process with something new that she thinks her Ideal Client wants.

Which one of these entrepreneurs do YOU want to be associated with and possibly work with? This is not a trick question…the answer is Entrepreneur #1!

The problem with Entrepreneur #2 is that she is making an assumption that no-one is listening to her. Remember we said that she didn’t have the response that she wanted in the time frame she set up? Did you notice the pattern? She, and not her Ideal Client, is the problem. Her Ideal Client is watching her, but the image she is portraying to her Ideal Client is not the image she really wants to portray.

Actually, if Entrepreneur #2 knew the image she was creating she’d be horrified! What’s happening here is that her Ideal Client IS watching her. They get excited about what they are seeing and hearing, they start down the road of knowing, liking, and trusting this Entrepreneur and then she pulls the rug out from under them by disappearing. When she reappears it’s in a new form and the process must start over again. Entrepreneur #2 has just lost the trust she was trying so hard to gain.

Entrepreneur #2′s  mistake is that she is assuming no-one is watching or listening to her. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Because she is not a magician trying to sell magician services, her appearing and disappearing only confuses her clients and makes them less likely to want to do business with her as they are not sure what they will get. Will she be around in the future? Will she disappear on them?

Remember, your Ideal Client wants to know you are going to be there when they are ready. They may spend a lot of time watching you, taking advantage of your giveaways, corresponding via posts with you, etc. That’s ok. They are working on the know, like, and trust factor and the last thing they want to see is you disappear without a reason or a trace. Don’t become a cold case!