The Silent Avatar Speaks

Ever since I got into business for myself I have come to know this one thing. The key to success is to find someone who is spectacular at business and then become their best friend.

That doesn’t mean that you want to become exactly like them, but it does mean that you want to see a similar form of success to what they have.

So why stick to them like glue? Because there is one thing that they have which you are likely still seeking – and that is… Vision.

Establishing a vision for your life and especially for your business is easier said than done! That is why getting to know people who have already achieved a measure of success will give you a much better chance at finding your own calling in the world today. Ultimately, they will make you successful.

Excellent candidates for this are Small Business Mentors. There are four different things to look for in a Small Business Mentor.

1) They need to show that they can achieve results.
Since a Small Business Mentor has the JOB of being your mentor they need to show that they can achieve some form of success on their own. I was made painfully aware of this fact when I put myself under the mentorship of a bad business husband/wife team who ultimately ended our relationship yelling at me on the phone because I had called them out for damaging my reputation to a third party for no reason at all.
Hey, that kind of stuff happens. But I have since recovered and have been made the wiser for it. So you’ll need to be weary of a Small Business Mentor because they can really cause things to go downhill for your business.

So bottom line: do your homework before you approach any kind of Small Business Mentor and make sure that they have had similar results in their own business that you would like them to help you achieve in your own business.

2) They should be helping their clients establish a vision
As I said above, one of the major keys to success is vision. If your Small Business Mentor doesn’t have some kind of emphasis on helping you to set up a vision then you are going to have to think twice before becoming their protege.

3) They should freely give of their information to grow your business.
Part of working with a mentor is the ability for them to give freely to you information which will help you grow your business and make it successful. Unfortunately, there is a saying “you can’t know what you don’t know“, and this means you are only going to get the information you need if you ask the right questions – unless of course they freely give over their information.

4) Find a mentor who has been there and done that.
Good mentors have been through the mill, made mistakes, (and plenty of them) and are now willing to not only advise you what to do, but also what NOT to do.

They can offer you a shortcut to success, based on what they know works.

If you are looking to find a mentor, you don’t have to go and pay someone. Forums abound with people who are willing to impart their knowledge for the good of all. Of course, don;t take up their valuable time with questions which have already been answered. Search the forums for answers to your question first.

If you would like a mentor which is a bit more personalised, I recommend The Internet Entrepreneur Club run by Derek Gehl. This is a membership site where you can post any questions,  include links to your site for feedback, and generally make good use of someone who knows what they are talking about.

I’ve included a banner link below for you to check out.

Until next time,

I’m the Silent Avatar… and I have spoken

Tags: Business and Management, Marketing and Advertising, Online Business, Promotion and Marketing by the silent avatar
No Comments »

When deciding on how to manage a business, many offer different types of tips for small business.

There are tips on how to use IT, Management of your business, Document management and so forth. Let us begin by looking at just three tips from the wide variety of small business management and go over them one at a time.

Our top three subjects are setting rules for your business, IT and machines in your business, and delegating tasks in your business. Each of the following tips businesses around the world sue to stay on top of their game.

Setting rules in your business.
Every business must have a defined set of rules to go by in order to operate most effectively. You need to decide what rules run your business and then stick to them. However, you will also need to allow some flexibility in the enforcement of those rules as there will always be new and varied situations that are not fully covered by your current set of rules. You need to have these rules in place when an infraction occurs. It is important to make sure the rules you set make sense and are fair to everyone, at the same time, you need to run your business as a business.

Information technology.
In small business the topic of IT or Internet Technology often becomes the topic of conversation. In today’s world it is impossible to run a business without having some form of IT for use in your company. You will need to decide how much IT you are willing to have in your office, what form it takes and what it takes to run the IT department effectively and efficiently. You want to also have a technical person to go to when the inevitable IT breakdowns do occur in order to keep interruptions to a minimum, thus keeping your business on track.

Delegating Work.
One of the tougher topics to handle in your business is delegating work and responsibility in your business. When you are an owner, it is hard to delegate responsibility as well as tasks, but bear in mind that these tasks which can be delegated will be able to teach employees certain business functions as well as the issue of being responsible for a part of a business. Relinquishing work to your employees makes them feel a part of the business and teaches them certain things that formal education just can’t offer. This lesson will pay dividends to both you and you your employees.

There are also many other sidebars of discussion of other management tips, but these really are the three most important managements tips that any small business could and does use in order to both set themselves up and keep themselves running smoothly as a small business. Any small business regardless of what type can be helped with these tips.

I’m the Silnet Avatar.. and I have spoken

Tags: Business and Management, Business Tips by the silent avatar
No Comments »

Want to make use of Christmas with some online marketing?

I know we are all busy at Christmas, but what better time than to check out the competition? Use any down time to research.

Here are some tips to make the best use if your time and reap the rewards.

1. Review your competitors website.
Just type in the main keyword in Google you are competing for with your site and browse through the results to see what your competitors are doing that you might be able to do.  Comparing your site with your competition is a quick way to bring about short cuts you may have been considering for your site.

2.  Review your website stats.
All websites should allow you to view your website statistics.  Review the statistics and make changes to your keywords and re- test for increased traffic. If you have more than one website, check which one is bringing you the most traffic. Check out the number of unique visitors to your sites and continue to monitor no less than monthly

3. Test Your website.
Go to your website and approach it like you are a customer. You are looking for quick improvements, spelling mistakes, errors. This is a way to act as a reminder for your site to see where you are at with the site.

4.  Increase trust and review your content.
Write a new press release for your site.  Fresh content is a must for sites and it shows the website is alive. Read your homepage and make a quick assessment and change the content to increase traffic and conversions.

5. Write a Quick Article
A good article that helps your visitors is invaluable. It also helps the sales process for your site visitors, and Google just loves new content! Write content which is pitched to your market. If you are stuck for ideas, write about your predictions for your industry in 2008.

6. Check out a new domain name.
Domain names with keywords in the domain name (like www.shoes.com) are easier to rank than obscure names. You may even find a domain name which is better than the one you have through expired domain names.

7. Build your database.
Collect all your business cards laying around and other email addresses and compile them in an Excel spreadsheet or add them to your Outlook contacts ready to do a mail out.

8. Write a e-newsletter
Get a newsletter ready for January by putting together content so all you have to do is hit send.

9. Tweak your Adwords
Assess you online ads and ditch those that aren’t performing. If you haven’t got your hands on a paid search marketing campaign get one from here. You can be up and running in no time.

10. Re-write your About Us page.
Review 2007 and include new products, new clients, and any other big news which happened.

11. Check your contact us form
It may be obvious, but make sure it works. Also check out your site and see if there is any other places in your site where you can out your contact us link.

12.  Plan your 2008 online marketing.
Start a wish-list of things you want to do, and things you don’t want to do. Get educated about what the latest techniques are for online marketing.

Tags: Internet Marketing by the silent avatar
No Comments »