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Browse published articles attributed to Jan Marie Dore, with full-archive search.
One of the planning tools I use for my business is the SWOT analysis. It’s a great tool to be familiar with, and it has many applications. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Here are some tips on how you might use it for your small business.r
Ongoing marketing is an important aspect of any business. If you can 'systematize' your marketing, this will leverage your time more effectively, so that you can focus on what you do best, and still get the word out. There is a myth among self-employed professionals that if you are really good at what you do, clients will automatically contact you. It's just not so! Ongoing marketing is an important aspect of any business. If you can 'systematize' your marketing, this will leverage your time more effectively, so that you can focus on what you do best, and still get the word out.
Narrowing your niche means positioning yourself more closely to the people or companies who could most benefit from your services. Choosing your niche market has many benefits... For far too many years in my business, I struggled with narrowing my specialty and choosing a niche. I believed that fine tuning my niche would keep away much needed business and clients. I have found the opposite to be true. Now my niche has become more like a beacon that attracts just the right clients without as much effort on my part.
We are all born with intuitive abilities, which can be improved with attention and practice. Here are some steps you can take to make friends with your intuition, learn its language, and deepen your relationship with your wise inner self. There is so much information available to us now that we often get overwhelmed and have trouble making decisions - even small decisions. We have lost the art of trusting our intuition to guide us in making good decisions quickly.
Everywhere you turn there is a new technology to learn. Web logs (called blogs for short) are among the latest developments that have become very popular in the past few years. Blogs are the biggest outbreak of information since the internet began. According to Business Week “Blogs are a ...
Conventional wisdom tells us to think big. Having coached hundreds of small business owners, I find the ones that have the greatest success tend to think small. What do I mean by 'thinking small'? I mean choosing a narrow micro-niche where they can stand out and get noticed. A niche where they get to do what they do best every single day - and nothing else. A specialty they can excel at because no one else offers the unique approach or specialized expertise that they do.
In these times when business may be slow and people don't seem to be spending as much, it's easy to hide out and lay low thinking you'll just wait till it all ends. You may think that's a good strategy. I know I considered it. But, if you have a purpose in life and a passion for helping people, then what is called for in these times is just the opposite of what you might be doing. Are you hearing the call to step into your brilliance, or are you standing on the sidelines hoping this will all go away?
Here is a simple exercise to get you started on the path to running your business and living your life focused on your top priorities. Do you feel you have clarity about what's most important to you? Most people don't - often because they just don't spend time thinking about what matters most. Here is a simple exercise to get you started on the path to running your business and living your life focused on your top priorities.
Here are seven key marketing strategies that work best for women entrepreneurs to market yourself and your services. Take action on any one of these items, and watch your business start to grow. Women entrepreneurs work with me as their business coach to learn easy marketing systems to grow their small business. Over the years, I have identified the seven strategies that work best to market your small business: 1. Choose a narrow niche to dominater
Personal Branding is about honing your skills, narrowing your focus, and getting clear on what you're passionate about. Here are seven powerful benefits of creating a strong personal brand. Personal Branding can be a powerful tool for success. If you are marketing yourself or your professional services, a strong personal brand will draw people and opportunities to you like a magnet. Personal Branding is about honing your skills, narrowing your focus, and getting clear on what you're passionate about.
Some of the work I do with my clients involves mapping out their strategy to add information products to their existing services. If you provide professional services, did you know that it may be hard for you to achieve the kind of financial freedom you might want without having passive income in your business plan? I have some tips for you today about how you can map out your strategy for a more leveraged business model. I have learned some very good strategies to build a profitable business that I’d like to share with you.
I was teaching a marketing class recently to a group of coaches and consultants and said to the participants that you need to do just three things to grow your business: specialize, simplify and systematize. Here are my tips on these three steps that you can implement right away in your business to increase your profits while working fewer hours. Step 1: Specialize People look for the best in a field when they need advice and solutions. If you strive to be the best you can be in your area of specialty, so you’ll stand out as the top service provider in your marketplace.
What I have noticed with many of the service professionals I coach is that when I start working with them, they have only one source of income - and it usually means they are giving up all of their time to bring in the amount of money they want to make. They are stuck in an old business model that no longer works!
I work with women to fulfill their purpose and potential through entrepreneurship. Yet many of these women lose sight of why they went business in the first place, and start to lose their passion and enthusiasm over time. One client I'll call Sharon, came to be because she was at her wits end drowning in paperwork, emails, and to-do lists. She felt drained, overworked, and uninspired. She was in a place of not remembering why she had started her business in the first place or what she felt called to do.
Do you have a big vision for your business? It's a good idea at least once a year to set aside time to connect with your vision for your business and your life. An activity I do with friends and colleagues at the beginning of every year is to make a collage of my new vision for the year. It helps me tap into my intuition and get in touch with what's most important to me. I keep this visual collage of those things that are most important to me where I can see it all year to keep me focused on my goals. Here's how you can do the same: Set aside a day to dream bigr
Personal Branding is vital to your success in the new Creative Economy. Personal branding will bring you more recognition and respect . . . and more income. When lots of people know who you are and what message you stand for, you are in a much better position to be more fulfilled and more profitable in your small business. Here are three powerful things a unique, strong personal brand will do for you: 1. Define the impression you want others to remember about you.
Visualizing your goals and desires is a very powerful way to attract what you want into your life more quickly. Before visualizing, the first thing you need to do is to make a decision about what you really want. You need to get crystal clear on exactly what you want to experience or have in your life six months, one year, and three years from now. You need to set some goals, write them down, and add dates for when you want to achieve them.
One of the questions I’m often asked by my clients is how to fill their workshops, seminars and teleseminars with more people. I taught a class on this topic recently to my Marketing Mastery members. I have noticed that too many women struggle with empty seminar rooms and low attendance at their workshops. And that’s a shame, because they have a wonderful message they want to share with more people.
Typically, at the start of a new year, many of us feel the urge to set new goals. The slate feels as if it has been wiped clean with the sweep of the clock into a new year, and we are inspired to imagine we can accomplish great things. This upcoming year, why not try a new way of 'going goalless'. Focus on who you are becoming rather than any tangible, specific goals. Make a plan to develop qualities of your SELF that will shift you into a new space and direction in your life and your business.
There are seven things you need to do to shift from ideas into action. These are my tips on how to nurture your creative ideas into reality. Can you relate to this? Do you ever get thinking about new ideas for your business, then get so caught up in talking about those new ideas and researching them that you get totally overwhelmed and never take action? Analysis paralysis! I have often suffered from this. Started my day feeling energetic and creative and full of vitality, and got so mired in detail that all of the joy and enthusiasm leaves me. Then, nothing happens.
Exceptional achievers make sure their surroundings reflect their commitment to perform at their best. Decide how to change your space so you feel more inspired, and watch your productivity and satisfaction levels soar. The environments we surround ourselves with are often overlooked as a potential nurturance for both our work and our daily lives. Our surroundings shape the way we think and feel. Exceptional achievers make sure their surroundings reflect their commitment to perform at their best.
You might be just one fundamental element away from building the business and income you dream about. Web 2.0 has changed the playing field for marketing online and many old tactics that used to work well are no longer working effectively. Many professionals in private practice are struggling to grow a successful business. They are smart and dedicated people. Often the problem is that they don't know enough basic business and marketing skills.
The Marketing Funnel is a basic marketing concept that can have a huge impact on your profitability and the success of your business. It makes it easier for prospects to make the decision to buy so your business becomes more profitable and you don't have to work so hard to make sales. A basic marketing concept that can have a huge impact on your profitability and the success of your business is 'The Marketing Funnel'.
Do you know how much information you should give away for free as a marketing strategy to attract more clients, and how much you should keep for you paid products and programs? This question came up recently with one of the participants in my program for creating information products. How much is too much to give away?
Marketing in this day and age needs to be a two-way communication. In a professional service business, it may make more sense to focus on the four C's of marketing rather than the more traditional four P's. They are much more customer oriented – and you need to think like your clients to do your best marketing.
Eighty-five percent (85%) of all new businesses fail within the first 5 years. Why? Because most entrepreneurs fail to plan, focus, delegate, and create systems. As a result, they suffer from overwhelm, fatigue, burn out, and lack of sustainable income. Over the past ten years, I have coached and mentored hundreds of women entrepreneurs to help them attract more clients, build profitable businesses, and develop a quality lifestyle they desire.
If you're in business today, it's all about relationships. I have noticed that the more I focus on adding value and deepening relationships with potential and existing clients, the more effortlessly my business grows. I'd like to share a few tips with you that I've learned about developing relationships through web-based marketing.
A client came to me recently saying that she had several big goals she wanted to achieve in a short period of time - including increasing her income substantially. We brainstormed several ideas and worked out a strategy she could begin to implement right away to attract more clients and ramp up her income. Her strategy included actions such as: • contacting former clients with a special offer • giving a talk or a teleseminar once a week • offering regular workshops • creating a workbook and audio program so she could earn passive incomer
I've noticed that many women small business owners experience the same challenges in growing and running their businesses, such as feeling overwhelmed and isolated, having difficulty keeping focused, not enrolling enough support, and not planning for growth. Here's a summary of my best advice for any woman running a small business - my top seven tips for women entrepreneurs:r
A large subscriber list can keep your business consistently full with clients. Six key ways to promote your ezine and build your subscriber base. If you publish a regular newsletter, you know that it's a great way to keep in touch and develop relationships with clients and prospects. My clients tell me that once they have started sending out an ezine, one of their biggest challenges is how to grow their list. A large list can keep your business consistently full with clients. Here are six key ways to promote your ezine and build your subscriber base: 1. Send a Sample Copyr
Of all the issues that can sabotage your success, lack of focus is near the top of the list. In order to be really successful, you may have to have to whittle down and sharpen your focus so you can give more effort to fewer things. Here are some tips to help you focus on fewer things to be more productive.r
In these times of tight budgets, many of my clients are looking for low cost and no cost marketing strategies to promote their services and make more money. We still need to get the word out about our business and continue to be visible, and there are many ways to do this even on a limited budget. Here are four no cost ideas to promote your services and increase your income:r
Chances are that you've attended a teleseminar lately. Why not create your own? Teleseminar events are very easy to produce because all you have to do is send an email to your list and invite them to participate. These seminars by phone are easy to do and can be very profitable. Wouldn't it be great to offer your clients a teleseminar where they can learn your latest ideas, strategies, and expert information? I regularly do teleseminars for free so that I can build rapport, offer value, and maintain good relationships with my clients.
If you would like to write to promote your business and are perhaps stuck for inspiration and ideas, here are some tips to get you started. Writing can be a very effective tool for attracting clients and opportunities and growing your business.r
I was at my regular Friday morning yoga class recently and had a flash of inspiration about applying practices from yoga into business. I’ve been taking yoga classes for many, many years – long before it was as popular as it is today. I’m a certified yoga teacher and have taught yoga for several years. I’m also a certified business coach and professional accountant. So I thought – what better than to mix the concepts of yoga and business together?
If you're not using the internet to market your professional services, you're missing out on expanded opportunities. Using the internet to promote your business will help you make the most out of your marketing efforts. Here are several very basic online marketing strategies to establish a presence online that will expand your reach to the global marketplace and grow your business substantially.r
One of the keys to living a life of passion and purpose is discovering your unique brilliance and living it. The following are some of the most thought provoking questions I ask my clients to consider. One of the keys to living a life of passion and purpose is discovering your unique brilliance and living it. Many of us have wondered 'what is the meaning of my life' and 'what am I here to do'.
Personal Branding can be the most powerful tool for success in your self-marketing toolkit. Here are three key things you need to develop a strong personal brand. The internet has sparked a trend called 'Personal Branding'. Branding identifies and differentiates you, your business, and your products and services so you stand out from the crowd, get noticed - and get hired.
An email newsletter is one of the best ways to market your professional services using the Internet. It's a great low-cost way to keep in touch with prospects and clients who want to create or expand a relationship with you. Here are six secrets to ensure the success of your email newsletter. 1. Have a compelling subject line for your email message to encourage subscribers to open and read your newsletter.r
Writing articles is one of the best ways to market your professional services. Listing your articles online at article directories and article banks will drive traffic back to your website. Writing articles is one of the best ways to market your professional services. Listing your articles online at article directories and article banks will drive traffic back to your website. Here are twelve simple tips to get your started writing articles: 1) Treat Article Writing as a Creative Processr
Conducting teleseminars, or group learning conference calls, is a very effective strategy to promote your small business or professional practice and create additional streams of income. Teleseminars offer a very versatile and efficient way to deliver your services and build your business. I have been leading teleseminars for many years as part of my service offerings in my coaching business. I use them to attract new prospects, collaborate with colleagues and partners, and increase my income.
If you're not using the internet to market your professional services, you're missing out on expanded opportunities. Using the internet to promote your business will help you make the most out of your marketing efforts. Here are several very basic online marketing strategies to establish a ...
I'm a big believe in mastermind programs and success teams. A business mastermind team is a group of entrepreneurs who get together to support each other in growing their business, in moving through stuck places, and in brainstorming ideas for new opportunities.
Are you missing out on one of the most powerful strategies for attracting more clients? Writing articles on the web is one of the best ways to attract attention to your business and establish yourself as an expert. Here are four great ways you can use your articles to drive traffic to your website.r
If you are an independent professional or small business owner providing services, here is a simple four step sales process you can use to close more sales and expand your business. If you are an independent professional or small business owner providing services, here is a simple four step sales process you can use to close more sales and expand your business. 1. Generate Leads
It's a fact that experts can command higher fees in their field than generalists. Specialized knowledge or services are more highly valued than general information. It takes time and planning to position yourself as an expert or specialist in your field, but it's well worth the effort to make this approach a part of your long-term marketing strategy. The media will call you, associations will ask you to speak at their events, and you will start to stand out, get noticed, and get hired. Here are seven advantages of declaring expert status in your micro-niche:
Attracting clients can be effortless when you focus on your strengths rather than trying to improve your areas of weakness. There might be something you are already doing that comes easily to you, something you might take for granted, but which could be the best way for you to connect with potential clients. If you spend more time doing that, rather than trying to do all the various marketing activities that are possible, over time you'll achieve success. Here are some ideas for growing your client base if you're in the early stages of your business:
How can you make more money and have more time off? My seven step success plan to enjoy your business more, work less, and boost your bottom line gives you a clear path to follow to get you on the road to financial independence. Practice the following seven steps every day, and you'll be well on your way to perpetual prosperity and true enjoyment in your business. Trading hours for dollars in your professional service business will never bring you wealth or freedom. How can you make more money and have more time off?
Attracting and retaining prospects and clients is the lifeblood of any business. Yet one of the biggest challenges most of the entrepreneurs and self employed professionals I work with say they have is getting a steady stream of new clients. Is this a challenge for you?
In these times of tight budgets, many of my clients are looking for low cost and no cost marketing strategies to promote their services and make more money. We still need to get the word out about our business and continue to be visible, and there are many ways to do this even on a limited ...