Delegation is an important skill for any business owner to master, but it’s especially important for small business owners who have very little time and extra money to devote to bottlenecks, accidental duplication of efforts, and missed deadlines. If you learn to delegate well, you’ll have more time to devote your energy to more important tasks, provide employment for another person, and (since it’s likely someone else can do the tasks better than you) make yourself look even more amazing due to the good choices you make. Identify Blocks to Delegation One of the first things to do is figure out what causes you to be fearful of delegation. Usually…

Creating a solid marketing plan takes a little time and effort, but the simpler and more direct your plan, the more likely you are to implement it. If you make it too difficult and convoluted, you’re going to be unlikely to put it into practice. But if you create a solid marketing plan that is to the point, you’re going to implement it and improve your business. In order to create a solid marketing plan you’ll need to gather the following ingredients. Identify Your Target Audience You should be able to write a short two- or three-sentence synopsis that works as a profile of your potential customer. Such as: “Susan…

Does anyone really like business meetings? If you ask anyone randomly on the street they will laugh and say no. There are ongoing jokes at many companies about the uselessness of meetings and how meetings are created just to make people feel busy. Some businesses have meetings to discuss meetings. Having said that, if you really want to have useful and productive meetings, you can if you follow these ten steps. 1. Have a Purpose If you don’t have a singular purpose for a meeting, you shouldn’t need to have one. You should be able to state in five to eight words exactly why you are planning a meeting. If…

When using social media to market and promote your business, it’s important to look at the effect you’re creating from your efforts. You want to be sure that your efforts are producing the exact results that you are shooting for. Otherwise your business is being performed in a blind spot, without a plan, and you will not end up where you want to take your business. Know What You Want to Accomplish You can’t analyze things that matter if you aren’t sure what you want to accomplish with business marketing. Are you trying to get more readers? Are you trying to get more email list members? What exactly are your…

Many people wonder if they still need email marketing now that we have interactive social media. But, there are many reasons that point to why you should still be email marketing, and in fact email marketing is still more effective and preferable if you have to choose one over the other. It’s a Numbers Game More people have email accounts than they do social media accounts, and more people still purchase through email than they do through social media messages. Plus, the truth is that social networks are still limiting your ability to get to your audience even when they have consented to receive your messages by liking your pages.…

One of the many ways to market your eBook is to partner with eBook blogs. There are several to choose from such as Goodreads.com and Kindlenationdaily.com. These blogs allow you to get your book in front of more readers, get reviews, conduct research, join groups, create groups, and expand your author presence while connecting with people who are interested in your work and more. Here’s how to maximize the use of these blogs to get yourself known as an author. Create an Excellent Author Profile Making your author profile stand out on eBook blogs is the first step to getting started with partnering with eBook blogs. Use a professional headshot.…

Project management isn’t just for big projects; it can actually be used for everyday work tasks. In fact, if you plan to run a successful business then it’s imperative that you do use project management to help you with your everyday work tasks. Here are ten reasons why. 1. Helps You Understand Your Daily Scope The scope of a project is what has to be done to call any one project complete. It’s the explanation of the deliverables. When you look at your day there are many tasks that must be done on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to consider your work complete. Using project management will help you…

One type of content marketing is giving away freebies. Free reports and eBooks can build your business fast by helping you spread your knowledge, establish your expertise and most importantly, collect email addresses for your mailing list. Because, hands down, email marketing is still the most effective method of online marketing that exists. Make It Laser Targeted for Your Audience Be careful about the reports and eBooks you create to give away for free. It’s imperative that they are highly targeted toward your audience. You only want to attract the right audience. Giving things away to too wide an audience can create an email list that is not as valuable…

A key to selling your eBook to as many people as possible, besides the content inside, is to highly consider the price you will sell your eBook for. Don’t just slap a price on the eBook without giving it some consideration. Take the time to do your due diligence before pricing your eBook. To price your eBook right, think about all of the following: Do Your Research Look up what eBooks are selling for in your niche. Don’t just look up their prices but find books that are actually selling by looking at the top 100 books as well as the ratings and reviews of the books being offered. Know…

As an entrepreneur you’re often asked to estimate how long a particular task or project might take. Whether you are doing projects for yourself or for others, it’s important to get this time estimate right. You want to overestimate or get it just right, but you never want to underestimate. Clients are thrilled to read an invoice and discover that something you quoted was less than they thought it would be because it took you less time. But, they are never excited to hear that you underestimated the time and you’re going to have to charge more for the project. Even worse for you is if you charge by the…