When you think of a small business plan what comes to mind-something boring and tedious perhaps? I remember Business Administration classes in college in which large text books droned on for pages and pages about pro forma statements and break even charts.

Yes; those things may be important to your future success, but I am going to make a radical departure and help you focus on the items that are most important to your immediate survival and success as a small business owner.

Perhaps you are a creative person who will be offering your artistic services as a freelancer. Or maybe you are an information technology (IT) professional with many years of experience and impressive credentials. Maybe you regard yourself as a consultant or a trainer. However, this next comment will help you avoid the mistake most small business owners make-the primary reason so many fail.

I'm going to ask you an extremely critical question: In what business are you?

You are wrong if your answer is: artistic services, IT, consulting, training or any other practice for that matter. No. YOU ARE IN THE SALES AND MARKETING BUSINESS.

This may surprise you, but there is nothing in your business plan as important as how you are going to market and sell your products and services. Nothing. In the marketplace, it is necessary to provide excellent quality and service, but that does not put money in the bank. It is merely the price of entry. Excellent quality and great service are available from a wide variety of suppliers. The ones that do marketing and sales the best are the ones that earn millions. The ones that are poor at it go out of business eventually.

You see, the profession that brings the customers in the door is the most important profession in the building. If you never understood this before, while working in some operational or production capacity, you will begin to understand it very quickly once you become a small business owner and find that everything is in place except customers.

There is a fast and very effective way to become a street smart marketer. Read books and study materials created by those who have already done it. By this, I do not mean academic materials. Typically, a person who has excelled in the academic world has not excelled in the world of application. And the top performers in the marketplace were typically not the top performers in their academic endeavors.

To succeed in creating a practical and effective plan, suitable for a small business to rollout from day one, you will need the advice of people who have already done it successfully - no room for theories.

These are successful entrepreneurs who have rolled up their sleeves and gotten into the task of attracting customers and making the sale. They have advice for you that is priceless. Seek it out, consume it and apply it.

Where will you go to find these books? Try reading the interviews that entrepreneurial type publications conduct with the people described above. Many of these people have written their own books; some will recommend the books and materials that helped them succeed. Also try taking advantage of the many free resources available. I have one available at the website in my resource box below.

After 27 years leading Fortune 500 companies to earn millions of dollars, Alvin Day now simplifies the success principles to help people achieve and prosper in business and job. Get his free eBook, Ask and You Shall Receive - visit this website: www.AlvinDay4Free.com/ebook

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How to Jump Start Your Business For 2009
By Kaya Singer

The world is full of optimism after the American election, and everywhere I go there seems to be a feeling of positive change regardless of how people voted. I listened to NPR on the radio the week after the election and people from all walks of life and in all corners of the world were asked if they felt that just the election of Obama, was already making a big difference. Some people were a bit more pragmatic and said they would need to see what he will accomplish, but most people felt it didn't matter. The change had happened on the inner recesses of people's sense of collective empowerment.

With this level of optimism floating around, it's clearly an opportunity to jump on board with your business and use this positive feeling to energize your business for 2009. It's always much easier to accomplish something when you are moving with the stream rather than against it. Right now the stream is all about belief and hope that things are getting better.

I notice that I am again reading the news part of the newspaper. For quite awhile I have skipped right to the comics and crossword puzzle. Now I enjoy seeing a photo of Obama laying on his couch using his Blackberry. I want to read all about everything he is doing which is amazing, because for the past four years I have avoided any news having anything to do with the president. Four years prior I was living in New Zealand where American news is not covered. The last time I felt this kind of energy was in 1968 when I was a young college student who believed I could change the world! I was a Hillary supporter and it has still affected me this way.

The road from 1968 to 2008 has been a bit rocky and filled with some disillusionment, however I still solidly believe I have control of my own life and I can make a big difference.

If you feel like I do, here are 5 easy things you can do to ride with the current and get your business energized for 2009. If you do all five, you will be totally plugged in and ready to go in January. Even if you do some of these, it will make a big difference.

1. Make a list of everything you have accomplished in your business in 2008. Most business owners are so busy, that when one thing is completed you are right onto the next one. Take your list and get little gold stars and put one next to each achievement. This might seem silly, but it works. I love gold stars because it means, Yes, I did it!

2. Put together a record of all the people you met in 2008 who were key relationships for you. These are people who have helped you, have provided expertise or have skills and connections you want to utilize later. Acknowledge all these people for what they have done for you or for what you appreciate about them.

3.Identify the one main thing in your business you want to change in 2009? How would this one change have a positive effect on your business? What is the main obstacle that needs to be overcome in order to make this change, and what do you need to do to make that happen.

4. Identify the areas of your business that need more energizing. Most people have at least one area they avoid or feel uncomfortable doing. This is your weak link. What do you need to do to bring more focus into this area and what would support you to do that?

5. Totally clean your office and get rid of anything you don't want to take into the next year. Even if you are a very organized person you will likely have "stuff" that is just collecting dust somewhere. Begin 2009 with your office clear and ready to move forward.

These five things will help you jump start your business into the new year and begin the year with a clearer and sharper focus.

Kaya Singer, owns Awakening Business

Solutions who offers training and coaching programs to small business owners who want to develop a sharper focus and clearer strategies to grow their business.

Kaya can be reached at 503-493-1199

http://www.awakeningbusiness.

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Do you ever get the funny feeling that you are talking only to yourself? When you try to think about strategy for your company, do you stare at a blank wall? Are the voices in your head louder than the radio?

If this is true for you, then you might have small business owner syndrome. This is most easily remedied by talking to someone else. Your best bet? A business coach.

What, exactly, does a business coach do? And, how much will it cost in time and money?

A good business coach is someone who has been trained to be a coach at an accredited coaching school. Coaches learn how to listen, ask powerful questions, give advice so people will listen and several other key skills. In addition, they may specialize in a particular type of coaching. They may be a life coach, business coach or executive coach.

When you work with a business coach, you will generally call the coach at an appointed time two or three times a month. Most coaches also work with you over email during the month. Some coaches will meet with you one-on-one rather than over the phone.

But it's not the method of delivering the coaching that's really important. What's important is what a coach can do for you and your business.

A good coach will help you strategize in your business. You'll be able to get out of your own head! He or she will help you craft a vision and strategies to get to that vision. In other words, a coach helps you close the gap between where you are and where you want to be.

Strategies are still not where the work gets done. For each strategy you choose, a coach helps you define tasks. These tasks are specific and have a deadline. You know what you need to do to get to where you want to go. A coach will hold you accountable to complete the tasks when you say you are going to complete them.

One of the most important things that a coach does, however, is help you when you don't complete your tasks. You see, when you don't complete your tasks, there's usually a reason. Sometimes the reason is right there in front of you. For example, you didn't send out your bills because you went to exercise instead. If health is one of your goals, the coach can help you understand that it was a good trade-off. He or she can also help you find a way to get both goals accomplished.

However, if you have gone to exercise as an excuse not to ask for money, a good coach will help you explore that even deeper. You'll work together to uncover the "limiting belief" that is keeping you from being as successful as you want to be. A coach will help you get past that limiting belief and surge ahead in your business. Because, make no mistake about it, whatever causes problems in your personal life will cause problems in your business life.

A coach can help you in all areas of your business, including:

Working with employees and contractors. A coach can help you figure out how to hire, fire and manage employees. He or she can help you build a team of high performance people, ready to take your business to the next level.

Marketing and sales: Developing a marketing plan and a marketing plan are crucial to the success of your business. A business coach can work with you to strategize how you want to market and sell your products and services. He or she can also help you get past any internal beliefs about selling that may be holding you and your business back.

Planning and executing growth: Do you want to have more physical space? More employees? More locations? A business coach can help you figure out how to meet these goals.

Financials: Do you look at your business numbers? Do you understand them? A business coach can help you plan and reach your financial goals. He or she can also help you get rid of any limiting beliefs about money.

These are just a few examples. Wherever you are in your business process, you can benefit from having a business coach by your side - if only to talk to someone besides your cat!

Casey Dawes helps women small business owners get on the fast track to business success through consulting, education, coaching and speaking. She makes sure that her clients don't fall into the 50% failure rate for small business by helping them avoid common business mistakes and achieve quick financial success. Go to http://www.WiseWomanCircle.com to get a free small business assessment.

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