5 Tips That Turn A Sale Into An Opportunity

I hate pushy sales, so I always make sure a potential client is really interested, and it's so cool when they thank me for being persistent and for getting back to them. It's a nice way to open a sales call, being thanked :)

1. When I get a business card or contact information, I ask if it's o.k. to call, just to confirm.

2. I always ask, "When is a good time to call?" so they affirm it and they expect my call.

3. If I'm leaving a message ( I often don't leave messages since getting a person on the line is better) I make it clear that I don't want to trouble them, and to please let me know if they don't need my services.

4. I ask what people need, and then I shut up and listen. I get really clear about what they need. I've either got a solution or I don't, and that's all there is to that.

5. I ask what people believe they'll get from my services. If they can't answer that then why are we talking? A person needs to really be clear on what I can do for them, that's my job — to convey the opportunity effectively.

High Quality Networking

The heart & soul of great marketing for service entrepreneurs is a solid connection. If selling is about selling yourself, then what better place to be selling than where you are at your best?

Look for events where people will be playing full out. Where people are exploring new ways to lead and counsel, learning new dance forms, and where they are taking control of their relationship to their own bodies ~ that's way more interesting than golf, in my opinion.

The creators of these events are teaching us new ways to connect to our clients, our communities, and our families. They are cultural leaders who are inventing new ways to relate and connect. How cool is that?

If you want to do business with this kind of people ~the leaders and the explores, people who intentionally go out on weeknights to relate powerfully, find where they like to play and hang out with them. It's good business.

Movement Healing Workshop:

FogDragon Studios

Monday: September

28th 4pm - 8pm

505 Beach St. San Francisco, CA

$65

Weekly Practice:

Open Here Transformational Yoga

Thursdays 6:30pm - 9:30pm

2116 Berkeley Way Berkeley, CA

$20

Free Introduction:

Radical Counseling

Tuesday: October 6th 7:00pm - 9:30pm

308 Page St. San Francisco, CA
Free

10 Week Program:
Intuitive Wellness Weight Management

Mondays & Tuesdays 12:00pm - 1:00pm

(October 5th - December 7th)

3200 California St. San Francisco, CA
$200

Free Dance Class:
Satori Dance

Tuesday: September 22nd 7:00pm - 8:30pm

1015 Folsom St. San Francisco, CA

Free

Bookkeeper's Roundtable Presentation (1st of 3)

YogaVino Networking Event

Rainbow Dragon YogaVino

Tues August 18th, 6:30 pm!

Rainbow Dragon Studio

1985 Ashby Ave. Berkeley, CA 94703

Dakota here, warmly inviting you to a YogaVino celebrating the opening of Rainbow Dragon Studio, home of Rainbow Dragon Bodymind Coaching (individual sessions and packages of bodywork, White Cloud energy healing and movement/Pilates coaching).

Rainbow Dragon Studio is located in a historic turn of the century business and residential complex right across the street from Ashby BART in central Berkeley. The address is 1985 Ashby, 1/2 way between Adeline and Otis.

This is a networking social, please bring business cards, a yoga mat and your favorite bottle of wine or other beverage. Don't forget to have something with you to stow other folks business cards in.

Please arrive between 6:20 - 6:45. You can put your mat down and stretch out at 6:20. Doors close at 6:45. If you arrive after this, you may not be able to get in.

Yoga begins promptly at 6:45, winding down with a brief ritual by 7:30

This is where we open those bottles and you get to share scintillating conversation over your favorite beverage. (Or just breath and "ohm" if that's more your style.)

At 8pm Dakota and Friends will be offering:

Bodywork and energy mini sessions (Dakota McKenzie)

Astrology mini sessions (Jamie Kahl)

Tarot mini readings (Andy Davis)

(Yes, everything is "mini" so we can fit you all in. There is no charge for this. Our only requirement for any mini session is that you have not yet experienced our work...Enjoy!)

Note: This is a business AND residential neighborhood. Please respect the natives coming and going. Taking BART is a supergreat way to come as you only have to walk across the street (Ashby) and there you are. Parking can be had on Adeline and in the BART parking lot. Please try Otis St. last, as it is residential and folks will be returning from work looking to park in front of their homes. We appreciate your being a good neighbor.

Thank-you for showing up! Thank-you for helping us pilot this event! If we like it and you like it, there may be more! We might even bring YogaVino to your business! (Talk to John).

(Keep an eye out for an October YogaVino at Rainbow Dragon Temple in the Berkeley Hills, home of Dakota's MoveAlive! groups, Body Being Self Healing experiential journey workshops (on self healing, intuition and creativity in the cycle of the seasons), and Remembering the Circle Priestess training.)

We look forward to meeting you and sharing a most memorable evening!

We are all crystal light pillars of radiant beingness! The Dragon wants YOU to help change the world back to the amazing place it really is!

Cast:

Dakota McKenzie John Van Dinther

David Schlussel, Robin Sylvan, Andy Davis

Jamie Kahl

How Meditation Can Make Your Business Work

Your business demands that you wear many hats and that you juggle them constantly. Juggling hats! You have to be aware of your options, prioritize tasks, and be reliable. How can you do all that? Regular practices help.

Managing in-boxes, planning the week ahead, tracking your finances - these are all jobs that can get boring or slip beneath your radar.

Creating a regular meditation practice is the best tool you have for keeping your business house in order, here's how:

Every day, for 7 days, sit for 5 minutes and concentrate on your breath. When you notice you have become distracted, by stray thoughts or emotions, acknowledge the distraction and return to your breath. This will attune you to focusing on simple tasks.

After a week of meditating, plan to work on something you normally find challenging right after your meditation. (I find this is a good time to track my finances.) While you work, remain in a meditative state, concentrating on steady breath and returning to the task at hand when you become distracted.

Soon, you will notice that your task has simply become a set of actions. Your commitment to the meditation becomes associated with your commitment to the work. I've noticed that when I meditate right before a task I no longer judge the task as hard or boring, it's simply what I'm doing right now.

San Francisco Bay Area Networking Events Calendar

How To Market Your Small business

Thumbnail GTD

The Bare Bones of Getting Things Done

• Capture all incoming Information into inboxes:
  
• Paper
• Email
• Voice

• Empty those every day by applying the 5Ds:
• Do (like, right now)
  
• Delegate (hand it to somebody else to do)
  
• Defer (put it off)
• Deposit (file)
• Delete (don't do ever)

• The first three Ds take action and need tracking in a system of lists:
• Do (task list): If the action can be done in a couple of minutes, do it right then.
• Delegate (waiting for list): Give it to someone else and track it.
  
• Defer (calendar): No shame in doing it later. Just track it.
  

• During the day, work the tasks lists as your Calendar permits, and review the waiting for list to follow up. And remember. Never ever let an item slide on your calendar.
  

Props to Matthew Cornell for his awesome translation of David Allen's ideas.

Workshop: Why Is Facebook Important?

A Beginner's Workshop Lead by John Van Dinther

A hands on beginners introduction exploring the why and the how of Facebook. How can it help your business? What will you get out of it personally? Facebook is simple and hugely popular, making it one of the best ways to reach your community either for personal use or to help grow your business. We will explore the pages, groups, events, profiles and posting tools. Learn how to post Youtube videos and promote your blog or website. We'll go step by step through the process. Bring your laptop or share with a friend.

Details:
$10 Donation / Nobody Turned Away
Monday, April 6th
7pm - 9pm
Hosted by: Avra Organic Spa
505 beach street
San Francisco

Transcending Procrastination Interview With Chris Edgar

Chris Edgar is a coach focused on productivity through perfecting your inner game. We discuss the reasons why people procrastinate and how to overcome those hurdles through specific tools and processes you can implement immediately.

5 Steps to Making Facebook Useful

Ok, you are wasting time on Facebook already, mostly complaining about the new format change, or grumbling about how you've "...got to get away from the keyboard!". Amen to that Sister! But how about taking making your Facebook time productive?

Here's the first 5 steps to spreading the word about your business on Facebook.

1) Create a Facebook Page. A Page is like a profile for a business. It's free and everything you post on it goes to the wall of your page's fans. If you've ever "become a fan" of something on Facebook, it's just like you've become that page's friend.

2) Put some stuff up on your page. Pictures, videos, notes, anything useful that people like to see and share. The trick is putting up stuff that people will share with their friends. Add business contact information to your Info. tab and add applications that are useful to your fans. It's like you have a free website! How cool is THAT?!?

3) Invite your friends to become fans of your page. Post your Facebook Page on your status updates, invite people to check out the new place you made. Yoga Nexus posts great yoga poses and health tips. (Shameless Plug ahead) 2hats Consulting posts business advice.

4) Create a live event for all your friends and fans to come see your work and meet each other. One of my clients, Avra Organic Spa, has had fabulous success throwing parties, clothing swaps and workshops. It gets Avra's fans away from their computer and out meeting the Avra folks in person.

5) Track the page traffic. On the left menu, underneath the [more] button is an item called [View Insights] that shows you how many visitors you've had, and where they came from. Very handy.

The Last Option: Entrepreneurship

The New York Times has a great article about how Bay Area residents, faced with unemployment, are turning into entrepreneurs out of necessity. I predict that inventions will soon follow, benefiting us all.

SAN FRANCISCO — Alex Andon, 24, a graduate of Duke University in biology, was laid off from a biotech company last May. For months he sought new work. Then, frustrated with the hunt, he turned to jellyfish. In an apartment he shares here with six roommates, Mr. Andon started a business in September building jellyfish aquariums[more]

Facebook or Twitter for Marketing?

My buddy Jon sent me this tidbit from TechCrunch, discussing an interesting survey of Social Media Marketers by Abrams Research:

If you were to ask “over 200 social media leaders” which social media site they would pay for if they had to, as Abrams Research recently did, Facebook would come out on top, with 32.2 percent saying they would pay for it. (Yeah, right). LinkedIn was second, Twitter was third, and MySpace and Digg tied for last place (with only 1.5 percent of respondents saying they’d pay for those services). But if you ask, which one would they recommend for businesses to pay for (if they had to), Twitter beats Facebook by more than two to one (39.6 percent vs. 15.3 percent). LinkedIn again comes in second. Why did Twitter come out on top... [more]

I'm skeptical. I think that Twitter can't match Facebook for marketing, though I get why the social marketers think it should. Twitter delivers concise messages, via mobile applications, to hungry audiences. But it's a should thing. Twitter just doesn't mix their media with video and images. There's also more contexts like groups, events and Facebook Pages, to spread the word. The marketers like Twitter's focus, but I like Facebook's mix of options.

Once Fbook goes mobile, the way Twitter has, that's the game for Twitter. Heck, Facebook could integrate Twitter traits (threaded status updates) within the year, then what happens to Twitter's position?

What sort of fool am I to cut against the masters of Social Marketing? Join the commentary below.

High Quality Procrastination

I called my friend Scott yesterday, muttering about how I was putting off preparation for a Facebook workshop I was going to lead. I mentioned that at least I was avoiding preparing by working on my newsletter.

"Ah, you have higher standards of procrastination. You're improving, good work."

He was right. I used to put off tasks by watching a movie or playing a video game, now I can't get away with that. Right at this moment I'm putting off working out, something I promised myself I'd do before going to bed, but I'm blogging instead. I'm blogging away like a fanatic.

Entrepreneurs hit productivity blocks and, because they work alone, there's nobody around to push the action button. Overcoming procrastination isn't just a neat idea, it pays the bills. Having good work habits is critical, you know that. But how do you develop good work habits in the first place?

My friend Brad started a movement he calls coworking: People working on separate projects in one location to support each other. Here's how to set up a coworking group:

Email several entrepreneurs you know. Invite them over to tea and a coworking session. Before you get together, set up a format. How long will you meet for? How much social time you will spend before (or after) your coworking session? Exchange information on what you will be working on; just saying what you intend to do, out loud, can have a tremendous impact on follow through.

For bigger problems, you need to step back. Is there something that isn't right? Are you in the wrong business? Why can't you sit still? Chris Edgar, of Purpose Power Coaching, has developed 3 productivity solutions: Attention, Intention and Foundation.

And then there's the, "Get 'er done method" for those of you who don't buy into support groups or complicated theories. Are you one of those people? You know that it's about getting your nose to the grindstone and pushing. Well here's your solution: Write a list with pen and paper...right now. Go do it, 5 items max. Just go write it down. Okay, you got your list? Now go do the first item. ~Yep~

Workshops And Business Tips

Yoga - Network - Wine

Yes you can network in yoga clothes!

Presented By:
Open Here Yoga &
2hats Consulting

Bring your yoga mat, connect with entrepreneurs, have a glass of wine... Hurrah!
30 minute yoga practice lead by David Schlussel. Then get to know each other over a glass of wine.

Deets:
Free
Monday, February 23rd
6:30pm - 9:30pm
Location TBA

-------------------------------------


I Love You Because: A Night of Music, Art and Interactivity!

A collaborative photo project about love...the perfect Valentines Evening in SF.

Deets:
$10 Cover
Saturday, February 14th,
8pm-Midnight
The Design Guild Gallery
427 Bryant Street
San Francisco

------------------------

....Slice Of The Day

Management Slice of The Day
When an employee or a charge comes to you with a problem like, " X is broken, what should we do about it?" don't take the bait. The best solution is to turn it around by responding, " What do you think is the best solution? What would you do?". This gives them ownership of the problem and the solution. They will feel empowered and it saves you time.

Marketing Slice of The Day
To find out what search terms people are using in your industry use the Google Search Keyword Tool. You will learn a lot about what words are most important to use in blog posts, newsletters, and what industry categories you are competing in.

Financial Slice
San Francisco has a number of Tax Credits based on what zone your business is in. Check out: Buena Vista strategies. Also call the San Francisco Board Business Hotline at (415)-861-4002 for information.

Development Slice
Create a plan first. 1. Write out the measurable goal 2. Brainstorm required components of the goal 3. Organize Components 4. Break down the components into tasks 5. Assess the task list to make sure it will take you to your goal directly, then get into action!

...and a slice of Life:
Go, right now, and sign up to volunteer for an afternoon at a cause you support... I just did and I feel great :)

Three Networking Events You Could Actually Have Fun At...

Burlesque at a clothing designer's trunk show, a burlesque birthday bash at Club Sutra and the perfect Valentines art opening.

...plus 4 slices of piping hot bidness advice, fresh from the oven.

Management Slice of The Day

Before completing your work day, create a list of the next day's activities. This will get all those unfinished details out of your head and on to the page. Then, when you're taking that first sip of tea in the morning you can peruse the list with a fresh eye.

Marketing & Sales Slice of The Day

Create a leads list that adjusts anticipated income from a client depending on the chances you have of landing that client.

Financial Slice

Create a monthly budget from the last month's report of income and expenses. Then look at the same month's results from the previous year. Now you will be able to tell if your fluctuations are seasonal or dependent on some other factor.

Development Slice

Create a brainstorming group with 6 fellow entrepreneurs. Each business gets 20 minutes of floor time, exploring challenges and opportunities for your business.

Where To Connect In The City

-------------------------------------------

LoVeBoMb - A Lover's Soiree

A Valentines Day Trunk Show put on by San Francisco's freshest clothing designers!
~~ Burlesque Show~~ Starting at 5pm
Performances by:
Les Moquettes Coquettes
Cheese Puff Girls

Deets: LoVeBoMb - A Lover's Soiree
Saturday, February 7th (2Pm - 7Pm)
Club Mighty
119 Utah St San Francisco

-------------------------------------------

Tira's Birthday Bash

One of my favorite clients, Avra Organic Spa, is having a birthday party for Tira (the owner) at Club Sutra this Saturday night. Tira asked if I knew any cool people who wanted to come.

You can get in free and hooked up with the party by getting on to the invite list through this [link]

~~Burlesque attire for the ladies, suits for the men~~

Deets: Tira's Birthday Bash
Saturday, January 31st 10:00 pm
Club Sutra
443 Broadway North Beach, San Francisco
Dress Code: Burlesque
www.avraorganicspa.com/birthday

-------------------------------------------

I Love You Because... Gallery Opening

A super kewl art opening is a great place to connect and network with people. Missing Piece presents "I Love You Because . . . " Join Alex Warnow as he unveils 15 large prints at The Design Guild Gallery, We'll have wine and cheese (it is a gallery opening, right?) and many of the participants will be on hand. There will also be a limited quantity of books on sale. If you know you want one I suggest you buy it in advance.

Deets: I Love You Because... Gallery Opening
Thursday, February 5th, 6pm-9pm
The Design Guild Gallery
427 Bryant Street (at 2nd street), San Francisco

-------------------------------------------

...and a slice of Life
Find someone who doesn't share your political views, ask them about their core beliefs, and JUST listen.

How San Francisco Service Entrepreneurs Are Surviving The Recession

There are 740,000 adults in San Francisco. I'm guessing you need to connect to about 400 of them in 2009. Now honestly, are there 400 adults in San Francisco who need your services? I think the answer is yes, and the reason you don't have their business right now is because you haven't called them yet.

Your success isn't about easy times or hard times. Like Woody Allen said, "80% of success is showing up." Success depends on your ability to get the word out and follow through. Think back to 2007. Nobody was pounding on your door back then either, you still had to bring it to them and close the sale. Before, they had to choose between you and a weekend in Vegas, now people are distressed about their 401(k) being down. Nothing has really changed for you as an entrepreneur.

Consider rising unemployment, creeping from about 4% at the end of 2007 to about 6% at the end of 2008. That means you can cut about 15,000 calls from your To-Do list, as they will be busy hustling for new work. Fine. That leaves 735,000 leads for you to call. Now obviously your target market is narrower than the employed population of San Francisco, but your gumption is the limiting factor, not outside forces. There is a sea of business out there.

Yoga, Emotional Expression and Preventative Health Practices

Come Join Me this Saturday!

I will be moderating a panel discussion on "Yoga, Emotional Expression and Preventative Health Practices" this Saturday (1/17) at 1:30pm at the Unitarian Church in San Francisco. The suggested donation is $97 but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. To sign up go to: http://tinyurl.com/JohnVanD

THE HEALTH AND TRANSFORMATION SUMMIT is Your TICKET TO A FRESH START in 2009.

www.luminarysecrets.com

Discover Secrets of Cleansing and Balancing your Mind, Body and Spirit

So Easy, Affordable and Reliable that we guarantee you'll leave this event with renewed energy and passion for life.

Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed, or your money back!

Featuring over 10 Luminary Masters and Teachers including:

· Dr. Richard DeAndrea ("Dr D"), Naturopathic and Medical Doctor

· Zen DeBrücke, Master Personal Development Teacher

· The Tian Gong International Foundation – featuring Laura Koo and Anahata Sound

· Dr. Cory Reddish, Licensed Naturopathic Doctor

· Laura Ash, Clinical Herbalist

· David Schlussel, Yoga Teacher and Life Coach

· Dr. laura Wald, Licensed Psychologist

• 
  

...plus Special Guests TBA

ATTENDEES RECEIVE FREE SUCCESS KITS WORTH HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS including FREE HEALTH and WELLNESS PROGRAMS and MATERIALS for your Mind, Body and Spirit.

(Based on your choice of ticket donation levels – no one turned away for lack of funds!)

There is no other place you can get this much valuable information handed to you. You will walk away with specific structured advice and be trained on how to transform your life immediately and ongoing as challenges arise.

You will be Cleansing and Balancing Your BODY

• Secrets to FREE HEALTH ASSURANCE
• Learn Secrets to Reverse Cancer, AIDS, Diabetes, Heart Disease
• Learn SERVERAL Fast, Easy and Reliable ways to Lose Weight – and keep it off for good!
• Learn from wellness programs featured on CNN, 48 hrs, Yoga Times, and Lifetime.

You will be Cleansing and Balancing Your MIND

• Learn a Practice to Release Yourself of Fear, Stress and Worry
• Learn Ancient Techniques to Increase Your Energy and Vitality
• Receive Sound Healing Training to Restore, Replenish, and Renew Your Body, Heart and Mind

You will be Cleansing and Balancing Your SPIRIT

• Receive Introductory Practices and Activations for Tian Gong – an evolutionary School of Chi-Gong that integrates your mind, body and soul through meditation, movement, sound healing, Taoist alchemy and Spiritual Wisdom
• Learn a Reliable Technique to Find Your Highest Purpose on This Planet
• Bond with the Bay Area's Evolving Ecosystem of Spiritual Practitioners

If you want to experience these results, then please come support our community with your presence.

Remember – this one-time Summit is by Donation Only. IT WILL SELL OUT QUICKLY so please RSVP NOW.

Yes, I am ready to Reserve My Seat Now!

http://tinyurl.com/JohnVanD

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Please forward this invite to friends and family to join us in this revolutionary one-day journey to cleanse your mind, body and spirit.

www.luminarysecrets.com

P.S. You could WIN $1,300 IN DOOR PRIZES and every attendee will receive hundreds of dollars of FREE MATERIALS and SERVICES if they choose one of our top 3 affordable ticket donation levels. You benefit by booking today.

http://tinyurl.com/JohnVanD

How To Create A Leads List That Will Help You Reach Your Revenue Goals

A great tool for estimating your revenue goals is to set up a "Leads List" in a spreadsheet. List potential clients and the chances you believe you have of landing each one. This gives you an "Adjusted Estimated Revenue" from that client. In other words, if you expect $1,000 from a client, but you only have a 50% chance of landing the client, the "Adjusted Estimated Revenue" is $500 (1000 x .5 = 500). Obviously you will either be getting $1,000 or NO dollars from that client, but it's a VERY useful method of budgeting and setting goals.

Here's How It's Done:

1. Open up a new spreadsheet
2. Pick a financial goal for a period (Like $10,000 in January 2009)
3. Enter "Dates" in the 1st column
4. List clients in the "Source" column
5. Put what you expect that client to generate financially in "Potential Revenues"
6. Predict the % odds of getting that client in the "Adjustment" column
7. In the "Adjusted Estimated Revenues" column, multiply "Potential Revenues" by "Adjustment"
8. At the bottom right cell you add the "Adjusted Estimated Revenues" to get your expected income for the period

By adding up your "Adjusted Estimated Revenues" you have a pretty good idea of your take for that period. You'll get better at guessing the adjustment % as you use the tool and you can use the Google Docs revision tool to track how well you guessed.

Another great use is seeing if your income is wedged towards the end or the beginning of the month, which you can do by sorting the date column. (Tip of the hat to Sat for this recommendation)

As you contact clients you can change the "Adjustment" column % to reflect what happened.
If the client declines, change the result to 0%. If you will be talking more with the client, or they're thinking about it, change to a % that best reflects the situation. When you close, change your "Adjustment" % to 100%. This way you'll have an up to date "Best Estimation" of revenues.

How We Got Into This Mess Of A Recession

I am a fiscally (and socially) liberal entrepreneur from San Francisco with an MBA. That means I believe in socialized medicine AND the right to make money. I've never called myself a Centrist either, though Obama might be just that.

I've tended to blame the current crisis on Republicans because they're in charge and I dislike their social policies anyway. When pressed, I blame George Bush because he blew all the money on the war.

There's more to it, though, and I'm beginning to see both sides. Democrats & republicans both, are responsible for the current economic crisis. Michael Porter discussed the issue in Business Week:

"Republicans keep repeating simplistic free-market thinking, even though the absence of all regulation makes no sense. Self-reliance is preached as if no transitional safety net is needed. Some Republicans even argue passionately that the country should have no strategy [snip] Democrats, meanwhile, keep talking as if they want to penalize investment and economic success. They defend unions obstructing change in areas like education [snip] [and] equivocate on trade in an irreversibly global economy. They seem to think social progress can be achieved only at the expense of business."

Our education system really has been starved by Republican policies, but it wasn't healthy before that because of the know-nothing, tenure entrenched, teacher's unions and school administrations. Those people vote blue every time. Democratic party line insists that forcing businesses to only buy and sell US products will help our economy, ignoring the right and the advantage of doing business globally. These restrictions are a form of trade regulation but regulation has different facets, some of them quite useful, as we look into it.

Business regulation is any legal restriction that limits buying and selling. One form of regulation could be making fireworks illegal because they are dangerous. The idea is that that legally regulating these transactions will serve the interests of customers and improve our society.

Strong regulation has another byproduct, it creates a more competitive business environment, it makes companies comparatively stronger when they become international players. For example, the auto industry in Japan is heavily regulated, and while other forces are also in play, the quality regulations result in competitive advantage against Detroit's Big Three. We drive Hondas because they last longer, and they got that way, in part, because Japanese law requires high quality products.

There are banks in the US that are doing quite well because they voluntarily steered away from poor investments. If there had been a legal standard for all US financial firms, the rest of the World markets would be turning to US firms for support, rather than the other way around.

Supporting free markets and strong regulation, we see, isn't a contradiction at all. The regulation improves quality and competition, global trade creates more choices and competition. Quality - Choice - Competition. These turn out to be good for markets and the people that use them, and if supporting that makes me a Centrist then so be it.

September 2008 Marketing Trends

Start Now - Get Investors Later

Start-up capital isn't the solution for 90% of brand new start-ups, in fact it's usually a problem. Most likely, if you look at your business plan straight on, you will see that you actually CAN start your business without other people's money. Usually it's a waste of time anyway because nobody with any common sense trusts you to be able to effectively manage their money.

Here's why:

1st - You could be making the best pizza in town, but that doesn't make you a good pizzeria owner. Think about who you give your money to, they're experienced at what they do. Investors feel the same way.

2nd - New business owners blow money on stupid things. It's not their fault, they just don't know any better. You are going to make mistakes because you are new and there's no shortage of other people who have already been around the block a few times who want to borrow money. The smart money will go to them.

3rd - All your early money will be going into building infrastructures that already exists in established businesses. Again, money will flow to where it has been treated well.

Your business plan should be for you personally, it's not some 30-page advertisement. When you think you need money to complete a task, the first thing to do is to find a free work-around. If it's part of the critical path, spend from your own pocket. If you can't afford it then see if there's a barter solution available.

If you can't do it on your own, it might be a great idea to get involved with a business that's very similar and already established. Mentors and coaches are SO valuable. Swallow your pride and go learn from a veteran. It will save you time and money and grief.

So stop walking around with your hat in hand and start working on your projects. Make a plan, take action - rinse, repeat. If you do that for a while you'll start to feel pride in your abilities. People will begin to get interested in what you're doing and eventually they'll start to offer you money. Now THAT'S a nice position to be in.

Starting on your own is the best thing in the world. Believing in yourself enough to jump the cubicle and be an entrepreneur is exciting, it's fun and it proves mettle. Go for it.

The Recession Proof Entrepreneur

I was with a client last Friday, and the recession came up. When I mentioned how lucky we are to be entrepreneurs he looked startled. " You and I, " I continued, "we have the opportunity to make choices, to adjust to our environment. All those folks in cubicle-land are just waiting for the ax to fall, or not, depending on somebody else's ability to adapt to hard times."

I'm focusing my attention on San Francisco based businesses, I'm offering cost savings tools and I'm addressing client's financial concerns head on. People are feeling cautious, even when they take on a new project or go solo. Planning and rigorous assessment are important steps that I include in my offering. I'm adapting to the new market's terrain, and that's the opportunity of being an entrepreneur in a recession.

An economic downturn is like a crucible. It burns off fat and distraction, leaving our strongest values and commitments. What we gain is structure and stability once the fires have died down. We have been adding new projects: Web 2.0, the green movement and faith-based politics for the last 8 years. We will see what's truly sticky, and what just constituted big talk, after the ashes cool.

I especially appreciate the recession's effect on my fellow entrepreneurs. Relentless optimism is pretty easy in easy times, but character is revealed through adversity - it sure is true that relentless optimism is the best tool available to us now.

Small Business Networking Event In Campbell, CA 12/01/08 6pm

Chrystal Bougon is hosting a Biznik networking event (registration required) for local small business professionals. I've found Biznik to deliver as advertised - "business networking that doesn't suck".

If you're looking to connect to local entrepreneurs, Biznik really delivers. What separates it from standards like chamber groups or BNI is the attitude. This is a more tech. savvy crowd tending to be more connected and less regimented. Each event has its own stylings, of course, but I usually like the flavor.

Open Here Yoga Retreat Testimonial Video

The participants of the Open Here Yoga Retreat talk about what they got from their retreat experience. They LOVED it!

10 Steps To An Effective Web Strategy

1. Write 10 articles about your work
That's right 10. Go write them now... done yet? Just remember that you'll be writing about what you love to do. If you don't love what you do you're in the wrong line of work. You should think about keywords, but that's another article. Just be clear about what you do and the solutions you provide. Start with a list of topics that pertain to your field and that will be valuable for clients. Outlines are great for this sort of thing.

2. Start a blog on Blogspot
...or Wordpress, whatever floats your boat. Just go there and start an account. Pick a template, you can always change it, but start posting now. Remember, you can delete stuff and you can change stuff whenever - so get it going and think about details later. You don't need any web skills or anything like that.

3. Post articles weekly
The big rule is to start now, to post often, and to get all that rich content out there. Remember to add labels (sometimes called tags). I strongly recommend you get someone to look over your stuff and help edit, that second pair of eyes can be a Godsend. And you've got a ton of content - 10 weeks worth of posts. Tell people about your blog, invite them to visit it through emails. Not everyone will be fascinated, but some people will be.

4. Start a Facebook group
Your friends and relatives are on Facebook, go find them and make friends with their friends. If you don't want to waste all your time reading stupid posts from people you don't know then don't. Don't respond to vampire bites or join stupid groups whose sole purpose is to prove that we're all sorta closely connected. Facebook is the center of town right now, so there's no point in ignoring it. DO go there and start to comment about how your life and your business are connected. Respond to your friends and post interesting tidbits from your blog. Create Facebook events for people to come see you present. This is the easiest place in the world to get the word out, take advantage of it.

5. Make friends & post edited articles
Take those 10 articles you wrote and posted to your blog, edit them to fit your topic on your Facebook group and post them there too. Create links to your blog. Another great place to find viewers for your blog is on other blogs. Go comment on blogs in your field, add a link to your blog at the bottom, especially a topical link to something you've spoken about directly on your own site. People love to click-through and check things out.

6. Create Linked-In & Yelp profiles
Go join LinkedIn and start inviting people you know to connect with you. Then go create a Yelp business profile (different than a personal profile) so people can review your work. The whole idea is to get people to start finding you and clicking on you. Other good sites to make a profile on are Myspace and Biznik and Naymz.

7. Ask for testimonials
Send out emails to people that have used your work and ask for a testimonial. If it helps, you can ask them focusing questions like, "How did I improve your profitability?" or "What a three things you like about my services?". Post the testimonials to your blog and other social profiles.

8. Turn articles into email newsletters
Ok, so remember those 10 articles you wrote? Edit them again to fit into an email newsletter. Remember that people only like valuable information in their email, so stick to bullet points and pithy writing. Also, add a special offer, 10% off or a 2 for 1 introduction - anything that offers direct clear value. Constant Contact is a great tool for this.

9. Turn newsletters into an eBook
By now you've edited those 10 articles a few times, and you've gotten a second set of eyes to go over your work, right? What glues these ideas together? Is there anything else that inspires you about your craft that you haven't shared? Put it in there. This is the beginning of your eBook. There are tons of ebook directories, they may even host and promote your book for free or a sponsorship link posted to your site. eBooks add credibility and give people the big picture on what you offer.

10. Create calls to action...
By now you have begun to generate traffic. People are coming to your blog, they're reading articles, they're downloading your eBook and they're clicking back to your site from your links on other blogs. Now it's time for them to act. Do you want them to call you? Post your phone number prominently. Are you selling online? Make sure that shopping cart button is front and center. Offer discounts if they "Act Now" and be clear about how valuable that will be for them.

Farmers vs Hunters

Inbound Marketing is a buzzword that could use some clarification. What does it mean to bring people in? Isn't that the same as old-school marketing? In short, no. Think of farming vs. Hunting. Outbound marketing is about going out and hunting down customers. Cold calls, discounts, advertising. The goal is to convince people, and it can burn a lot of energy.

Inbound marketing is about creating rich content that interests your target market. It's about being a resource that people can trust. How-To manuals, instructional videos and expert opinions offered through blogs and websites. These are spread out through social networks and different media: podcasts, videos, eBooks, tweets, whatever. It's also about getting people talking, whether commenting on blog posts or forwarding links, about your topic of expertise. You are suddenly the expert who's word is passed on to others, and people are coming to you for advice, at first, and then your services. Now THAT's harvesting just rewards.

Outbound Marketing - Finding clients

• Making sales
• Promoting products
• Finding leads
• Capturing markets

Inbound Marketing - Getting found by clients

• Speaking to needs & interests
• Providing access to rich content
• Creating dialog within community
• Connecting through several channels

All The Social Media Sites On One Page

The Global Social Media Network has a comprehensive list of damn near all the social media sites and the sites with social media tools and, woah! That's a big list. This is a Swiss Army Knife of access to places where you can drop a few links and a few lines of your best content. Remember though, this isn't about places to do free advertising. Inbound media is about speaking to the buyer's interests. Be funny, be cool and, most of all, be knowledgeable about what the buyer wants to read about. Read the comments, think about what people are saying. Do you have anything to say? Most likely you do, and being opinionated is a good thing when it comes to the Internet. Then let her rip -someone out there in "The Tubes" will share your position.

How to Improve Your Self-Control

PsyBlog looks at how we can actually do those things we intend to do. Good stuff.

Temptation comes in many forms, often so potent, so animal, that it seems impossible to resist.[more]

David Meerman Scott Talks Inbound Marketing

"Focus on the persona of your buyers rather than your product."

Think like a publisher...what will your buyers want to believe about you or your company? Don't talk about the product itself, nobody cares about your product. Bring the skills of a journalist to the task of discussing the interests of your buyers in the language they use.

1. Nobody cares about your product
2. No coercion is required
3. Lose control
4. Put down virtual roots
5. Create triggers that encourage people to share
6. Point the world to your doorstep

David supports creating a bunch of different marketing efforts. Find what works and focus on that: free ebooks with lots of colors and creative commons licensing, funny videos, blogging and online news releases. He's a big fan of Hubspot.

Productivity 2.0 Means...

www.zenhabits.com has boiled down some of the best principals for reframing the way you work. It's all about working smarter rather than harder. That sounds easy in principal, but application requires commitment and being accountable.

1. Don’t Crank - Work With Deeper Focus.

Old School: Crank It Out. The old school of productivity taught us how to crank out the tasks. Each task is a widget that needs to be cranked, and the more we crank out, the better. Speed is important, and cranking out more tasks is the ultimate criteria. How many tasks can you finish in a day?

Productivity 2.0: Deep Focus. The new worker isn’t as obsessed with speed. He allows himself to slow down and work at a more leisurely pace. He clears away distractions and allows himself to focus on the task at hand. He gets passionate about important and exciting tasks and gets into Flow. This allows for a new kind of productivity — one where quality matters, where amazing things are produced at an intense rate, where there is a passion and satisfaction in completing a task.[more]

Transformational Yoga Retreat

OPEN HERE
2008 October 23-26
Expose yourself to your own divinity
Connect with your heart's essence during this four day yoga retreat at the Blue Pearl Temple in Sebastopol, CA. You will be guided through Anusara-Inspired® Yoga and Transformational Circling enabling you to...

Discover, accept, and love yourself more fully
Clarify your path through your yoga practice
Create powerful support for yourself in your relationships and your community

The Open Here Yoga Retreat is designed to connect you more deeply to your heart's essence, your chosen path, and your community by awakening your spiritual growth through Anusara-Inspired® yoga and transformational circling. At the Open Here retreat, you will practice yoga to open your physical form, and move through experiential exercises to help release any blocks to your heart, leaving you in a clear and present space to create your life as an expression of who you truly are. Circling is a practice that gives a person the opportunity to be seen by their community and supported in that space completely. You will be the center of the circle for long enough to feel deeply seen, held to your highest standard and totally loved.

This retreat will bring you home to your body and create breakthroughs in relationships, career and personal expression. You will be nourished by organic food in an exquisite location on a wooded two acre private property. You will enjoy this retreat if you are looking to discover the power within yourself and you want to relate to people in a way that is deeply fulfilling and authentic.


Visit the Open Here Site to find out more.



OPEN HERE: Day by Day

Thursday: Experience Circling firsthand and reinvigorate your yoga practice...

Learn concepts and distinctions for overcoming fears holding you back from your desires
Connect to the group, witness and share while exploring self-limiting beliefs
90 minutes of Breathwork followed by Circling

Together, we will lay the context of community, transformation and yogic philosophy. It will be a day of learning and discovery. Participants will connect to each other, sharing personally where they have been stopped in the past and what breakthroughs they desire from the course. You will discover the line that holds you within your perceived limitations. This same line exists whether exploring physical limits, emotional expression, or exploring the boundary of what is possible in your life. Discover that line, learn how to talk about it, how to be with it when it shows up, and how to hold it... rather than having it hold you.


Friday and Saturday: Go Deeper into Yourself, Yoga and Circling...

Get control back from the voice sourcing old patterns
Learn how to acknowledge and have compassion for that voice
Explore underlying needs and how to fulfill them consciously on your own terms


Friday and Saturday we will go deep, both on the mat and in Circling. You will connect to others in the group, witnessing and encouraging one another as each person shares the fears and desires held in their hearts. What makes this work possible is the power of Reflective Circling. You will have the opportunity to see yourself through the loving eyes of your community. This process will give you fresh insights that could otherwise take years to learn. People who have experienced Circling have changed career paths, created new relationships, and perhaps most importantly, changed their relationship to themselves powerfully and completely.

We have scheduled 90 minute Circles for each participant, and made room for one-on-one coaching to be available during breaks.


Sunday: A Day of Creation, Celebration and Belonging

Create a personal clearing and manifestation ritual
Express your desires through art and dance
Be acknowledged by your community

You will experience a day of powerful integration, taking what you have learned and bringing it into physical form so that your breakthroughs will be manifested in the rest of your life. We will each create a personal ritual, as well as express and celebrate through art and dance. Everyone will have the opportunity to create a plan that will act as a road map in reaching their goals. Leaders and participants will gather together to share acknowledgments. Much celebrating, feasting and dancing will be had by all.

Come join us this October for a life changing experience.

Visit the Open Here Site to find out more.

Open Here Yoga Retreat

October 23-26
Blue Pearl Temple, Sebastopol, California

Join Anusara Inspired® yoga teacher David Schlussel (www.vidanda.com) and transformational course leader Guy Sengstock (www.aretecenter.com) for four days of coaching and yogic exercises to connect you to wholeness.

Enjoy morning and evening yoga sessions focused on exploring the body as a gateway to presence. Throughout the day you will participate in group exercises designed to reveal long held, unconscious beliefs - revealing your truest essence. Each participant will receive individual attention from course leaders and the group in service of the transformation you seek. Experience true openness to love and connection through integrating transformational life coaching and yoga.

Located at the beautiful Blue Pearl Temple, on a wooded 2 acre private property in Sebastopol, California.

Deliciously decadent, organic California fusion meals.

$980 for camping or dorm sleeping (beautiful private rooms available for extra charge).

Details and directions

Register now

call: 415-515-1252

email: yogidavid@gmail.com

beginners welcome!

***A $100 early registration discount is available before September 29th. ***

Google's New Browser Lights a Fire

I haven't played with Google's new web browser, Chrome, yet but John Brandon from Web 2.0 has. I'm intrigued, yet skeptical, about his thoughts on Google's claim for Web dominance. I suspect they just want to make the rest of the horses (IE, Firefox, Opera & Safari) run faster.

Chrome is a first glimpse at Google 2.0, an effort to make cloud computing ubiquitous and the desktop a thing of the past. For anyone who has wondered whether Google will release an operating system, the short answer is: yes, they just did.

And here's the proof. When you install Chrome, it asks you if you want to use Google as the search engine. You might think, well - of course! But what Google is saying with that question is: we intend to own the Web, and when we do, we don't want to get sued for monopolistic practices. Wow. [more]

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - 10 tips

Ecommerce-gude.com has ten great tips to help get your site to the top of a Google search.

"What's a Google Sitemap and how does it help search rankings? ...Does it really matter how I handle photos at my site in regard to SEO?" [more]

Learning how to improve your website search ranking is a big task, luckily there's a LOT of information out there on the Web...just do a search.

A guiding principal to getting your site to the top of the search page: write about your interests. I'm a small business consultant who loves entrepreneurship, so I write about the needs of small businesses. I write about it often, making sure to include my service offering - management & marketing solutions. I talk about San Francisco because that's where I work, and I talk about about tools people can use for their small business - like SEO.

I think in terms of a potential client, specifically a San Francisco entrepreneur who could use some website marketing tips. The contents of this post would likely come up when they did a Google search: website marketing tips small business.

When they get to my blog, they just might say, "Oh! A small business consultant! That would be useful, let's give this 2hats a call."

Consultant - Coach - Agent

Q: What do you do as a small business coach?

A: In San Francisco, when I recommend a client focus on health & wellness to build a successful project I'm taken seriously. On that level I'm a business coach ensuring peak performance.

Q: How do you help grow small businesses?

A: SF entrepreneurs love to get out there and network, that's where I start to feel like an agent. There's SO much going on in this town that mixes well with business. Introducing clients to service professionals is fun when both parties are eager and ready to make industry connections.

Q: So where does the consulting come in?

A: When I start advising the client, either brainstorming or teaching, we get to business fast. These SF business owners want tools and action items in bulleted lists --theory earns me brisk nods but we move on quickly to task items.

Q: What makes San Francisco entrepreneurs different?

A: Maybe it's because so many people came to San Francisco from somewhere else. We're here for a purpose, and that makes us enthusiastic and focused on good business practices. It allows me to do the work I do best: Connect, Support & Inform.

Breaking it down...

A big challenge for entrepreneurs is overwhelm. So many projects, people & problems to solve. The best solution is to breathe. That's definitely the first step. Next, take out a pad of paper and get some of your cluttered thoughts on to the page... this should get you to the point where you can clearly move forward. I use a process called, "Natural Planning" named by David Allen in his book, "Getting Things Done" -- a sort of road map for discovering the components of a project. It's a 5 step process:

1st - Set a clear & measurable goal
2nd - Brainstorm the required components
3rd - Organize the ideas into fields (people to contact, things to buy or build, etc.)
4th - break it all down into specific tasks with dates
5th - Review & assess

At this point, getting it done is a matter of taking one step at a time...

Marketing Interview

Navigating The Recession Sustainably

Slate's Daniel Gross opines on the rise of the hybrid in tough auto-markets and it brings to mind my own business model. How can I provide strategies that focus small business people on conservation and opportunity?

"...during recessions, discretionary products suffer while discount products and companies thrive, which is why Wal-Mart has been doing well. But at Toyota, hybrids have been doing well. In March, a month in which total sales fell 3.4 percent from March 2007, Toyota sold 31,552 hybrids, up 19 percent from the year before. Sales of Lexus light trucks rose slightly, powered by rising sales of hybrid SUVs, even as sales of Lexis sedans plummeted. In this down market, sales of high-end vehicles that convey only status are slumping, while sales of slightly less high-end vehicles that convey status and promise gas savings are booming..." [more]

New Money

New investors are changing the definition of good business and it includes conservation. Of course many of us already look at conservation as the heart of good practices, but the money people didn't always think this way.

Traditionally, economists thought consumption pushed trade forward. So the more people consumed the more value (wealth) would be created Globally. But what if transactions weren't pegged to consumption? Perhaps trading creates wealth and what people do with the goods afterwards should be tracked in terms of environmental impact instead of economic impact? What if we just keep on trading services and low-impact resources?

From this view, conservation is no longer the boogey-man of good business practices.

Money flowing into investments on route distant from Wall Street by ZDNet's Harry Fuller -- One Silicon Valley venture capital firm announced they’ll put a quarter-billion dollars into green tech. Runs counter to the frenzied state of Wall Street and the Federal Reserve where they think a bunch of bankers missing their annual bonuses is somehow a really important economic problem. Meanwhile, energy prices continue to rise and [...]