Business Systems

In branding-me-branding-you, I spoke about the importance of the Message – Media – Market (Match). In 15-reasons-to-niche, I followed this up with the importance of really knowing your target market (niche) Today, I want to expand on what it means to manage a congruent coaching business and why that is so important. When I visit many coaching...
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1# Get Attention The bigger the group of people you go after, the harder it is to: A) connect with their specific needs, desires and problems B) stand out from the rest of your competitors who are also grappling for that group’s attention C) reach them The odds of dominating a niche & being chosen by a client are...
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There are new regulations for internet marketing from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that go into effect on December 1st. They will impact what you do in your business if you use certain types of internet marketing. If you have testimonials on your website, and I certainly hope that you DO use testimonials, you...
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Mistake 1. Not thinking like an entrepreneur Business owners get into trouble when they have not learned to think from the point of view of an entrepreneur.  Here are some of the qualities of entrepreneurial thinking – innovative, creative, willing to take risks, motivated, and decisive.  An entrepreneur puts these qualities into action for the...
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I attended a networking event for women earlier this week in my small town.  Despite the town’s size, there were more than 50 women there.  During the event, I heard the short pitch of three different women that I might be interested in hiring to help me in various ways.  Later, during the mix...
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When most business owners think of earning money online with info products, they think about the money they’ll make from selling their first product (report, ebook, software, audio, or video package). However, while the sales that are made on the front end are very nice, you can dramatically increase your income by making additional...
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I love the quote by author Napolean Hill where he says, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.”  He then goes on to say “…regardless of how many times you have failed in the past or how lofty your aims or hopes may be.” In his book entitled Think and Grow...
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Every coaching business has a lot of information that needs to be handled, tracked, filed or managed in some way.  Successful businesses develop systems for the management of information.  Today we look at several areas where successful coaching businesses have information management systems.   1. Client Records As soon as you begin coaching, you will need some...
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Last month’s blog post began our exploration of the accounting world with a list of definitions of terms. Please reference that post here for the basics of accounting that you must know for your coaching business. Now we explore the second step of understanding accounting – this step is to be familiar with three...
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Growing a business takes diligent and persistent effort. And although many professional coaches struggle with how to effectively market their business, there is a simple strategy that once grasped and adopted can actually make growing your business a lot easier and a lot more fun.  Many coaches shutter at the idea of having to constantly...
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There is no part of my business that causes me more confusion and stress than the accounting and bookkeeping part.  Through the years, I have found this to be true with the majority of coaches that I have worked with as well.  I think I have mastered the basics by twisting my brain in ways that it...
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A colleague on another message board recently asked about metrics – measuring the success of your business by measuring time spent on marketing, time spent on other business activities, time spent with clients, time spent with potential clients, conversion rates, expenses, and of course income. This got me to thinking about another metric to...
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Considering using an electronic newsletter (ezine) to keep in front of your clients and prospects? Well, welcome to the digital age! What you may not realize is that the ezine is more than just a newsletter sent by email. There’s a whole suite of best practices that will set you up to have the...
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Writing copy is one of the most fundamental pieces of your business marketing. Yet most coaches and independent professionals do not pay enough attention to it.  It slips under the radar because “we can all write, can’t we?” Instead, you need to think about how you craft your words as the key to whether your reader...
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One of the biggest reasons people fail to start a newsletter or to send it out consistently and on time is that they don’t plan their newsletter year.  Take Frances, for instance. Frances intends to send her email newsletter (ezine) on the 15th of EVERY month. The fretting commences around the 12th. What am I...
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