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Smart Women Use 5 P’s of Successful Goal Setting

Posted by Sylvia Browder on June 15, 2012 at 8:00am

Smart women understand that setting clear goals create a road map to follow and drastically increase chances of success in business. Regardless to where you are in your business cycle, the success of it is dependent on long and short term goals you’ve set and how a roadmap to getting there. What goals have you set for your business? Better yet, what actions have you taken toward accomplishing them? If you are not sure, here are 5 P’s of successful goal setting.

Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.” Tom Landry, football coach


PASSION

Why is passion an important ingredient in business? Starting and running a business is extremely challenging. It takes endless time and attention. When you absolutely love what you do, then you will be able to face every uphill battle to overcome difficult obstacles as you work your way to the top. That passion will enable you to see your goals to the end.

 

PRIORITIZE

Women are notorious for putting others first, especially their family and business. Unfortunately, doing so often causes stress, exhaustion or illness… if you are not careful!

Taking care of you should be priority! In setting your goals, it should be first about you, and then your family and business. Ultimately, you are in control of the ‘how, when, where and why’ of achieving your goals. Your goals must align, personally and professionally.

 

PLAN

If you take a road trip and fail to plan your route, how likely will you reach your intended destination? Just as planning your route is critical; determining what goals you want to implement and creating a plan to review and measure progress is also.

Your goals need to be specific and attainable. Just saying you want ten new clients in the next six months is not enough? A great way to measure your progress is by implementing SMART Goals. SMART Goals is a simple tool used by businesses to formulate an actionable plan for results. SMART illustrates the 5 characteristics of an efficient objective:

  • S- specific
  • M - measurable
  • A – attainable
  • R – realistic
  • T – timely

PERSISTENCE

Persistence is the key to success in business. It is the ability to remain steadfast when faced with adversity or opposition. Accomplishing your goals require consistent action. It’s easier said than done… but you must remain tenacious and push ahead! If you make a habit of tracking your progress and achievements so you can see how much closer you're getting with every step forward.

For example, instead of setting a goal to increase your internet marketing presence, you might want to list several specific ways you plan to do so, such as:

Pod casting: delivered via an RSS FEED and available via audio content.


RSS Feeds: Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is an easy way to send information directly to online subscribers without using e-mail.
Article Marketing: Short articles written pertaining to industry related to a website. Articles are syndicated on the web and contain a back link to the website.
Press Releases: submitted to journalists in order to encourage them to develop articles on the subject.
PROFIT

Ultimately, people are in business to make a profit. This is extremely important for the health of your business. As a new or growing business, you need to be diligent about your finances. Some experts suggest reviewing your profit and loss statements, balance sheets and cash flow reports on a monthly basis. In addition, hiring a CPA or bookkeeper can be a wise investment.

Assess your present expenditures and establish goals that take into consideration your short and long-term financial objectives. Here are 3 helpful tools:

Goal Tracking Tools

  • Goals On Track - This goal tracking software does so much more than just assist in tracking your goals. It will help you prioritize, visualize and stay focused on what matters most.
  • 43 Things - An online tool to help you track your goals as well as motivate you through fellow member recommendations.
  • Joe’s Goals - An easy to use and extremely efficient online tool that is great for tracking your everyday goals.
  • Lifetick - a web based software that brings together goal setting and achievement like you've never seen before through its intuitive and easy to understand process.

In closing, goal setting is vital to remain successful and competitive. Your goals are extremely crucial to your roadmap to business success!

Download your FREE SMART Goal Setting fillable worksheet!

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Other options

Posted by Dana Neal on March 29, 2011 at 9:00pm
The current economy is causing business owners to find ways to help others learn a skill. Well, at least it is for this business owner! I am struggling with my emotions with various families and friends being out of work. My mind says why don’t you open your own business my heart says not everyone is as entrepreneurial as I am.



So, now what?




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Small Business Bill Signing TODAY... hot off the press!

Posted by Vanessa Wilson on September 28, 2010 at 9:58pm

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


September 27, 2010



BACKGROUND ON THE SMALL BUSINESS BILL SIGNING TODAY


Today, President Obama will sign the Small Business Jobs Act, a bill that will give our nation’s small businesses support and incentives to help them grow and hire. The bill includes a series of small business proposals that the President put forth earlier this year, and small businesses will start benefiting from the bill on day one.

The President will be joined at the signing today by a group of small business owners who will benefit from the new legislation, some of whom the President has previously met with as he fought to pass this bill (their bios are below). He will also be joined by Small Business Administrator Karen Mills, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and Members of Congress. The signing is today at 1:45 pm ET in the East Room at the White House. The signing is open press.



The Small Business Jobs Bill Will Provide Immediate Support for Small Businesses:

The bill immediately extends successful SBA Recovery Act provisions, meaning that within a few days, it will restart the SBA’s Recovery lending, beginning with the more than1,300 small businesses that have been waiting to get the credit they need – with thousands more benefiting in the coming weeks.


Andthe bill includes eight new small business tax cuts – all effective as of Monday, and applying to small businesses’ taxes for this year – providing an immediate incentive for businesses to make new investments and,expand.

For example:

· if you are a small business and you buy new equipment, you can immediately write

off the first $500,000 of your investments;

· if you are one of over one million eligible small businesses, key long-term

investments in your company will be subject to zero capital gains taxes;

· if you are an entrepreneur and take a chance on a new idea, you can deduct the

first $10,000 of your start-up costs;

· and if you are self employed you can deduct 100 percent of the cost of health

insurance for you and your family from your self-employment taxes.



MORE DETAILS:

Eight Small Business Tax Cuts – Effective Today, Providing Immediate
Incentives to Invest: The President had already signed into law eight small business tax cuts, and on Monday, he is signing into law another eight new tax cuts that go into effect immediately.



1. Zero Taxes on Capital Gains from Key Small Business Investments:
Under the Recovery Act, 75 percent of capital gains on key small business investments this yearwere excluded from taxes. The Small Business Jobs Act temporarily puts in place for the rest of 2010 a provision called for by the President – elimination of all capital gains taxes on these investments if held for five years. Over one million small businesses are eligible to receive investments this year that, if held for five years or longer, could be completely excluded from any capital gains taxation.

2. Extension andExpansion of Small Businesses’ Ability to Immediately Expense Capital
Investments: The bill increases for 2010 and 2011 the amount of investments that businesses would be eligible to immediately write off to $500,000, while raising the level of investments at which the write-off phases out to $2 million. Prior to the passage of the bill, the expensing limit would have been $250,000 this year, and only $25,000 next year. This provision means that 4.5 million small businesses and individuals will be able to make new business investments today and know that they will earn a larger break on their taxes for this year.

3. Extension of 50%Bonus Depreciation: The bill extends – as the President proposed in his budget a Recovery Act provision for 50 percent “bonus depreciation” through 2010, providing 2 million businesses, large and small, with the ability to make new investments today and know they can receive a tax cut for this year by accelerating the rate at which they deduct capital expenditures.

4. A New Deduction ofHealth Insurance Costs for Self-Employed: The bill allows 2million self-employed to know that on their taxes for this year, they can get a deduction for the cost of health insurance for themselves and their family members in calculating their self-employment taxes. This provision is estimated to provide over $1.9 billion in tax cuts for these entrepreneurs.

5. Tax Relief andSimplification for Cell Phone Deductions: The bill changes rules so that the use of cell phones can be deducted without burdensome extra documentation – making it easier for virtually every small business in America to receive deductions that they are entitled to, beginning on their taxes for this year.

6. An Increase in theDeduction for Entrepreneurs’ Start-Up Expenses: The bill temporarily increases the amount of start-up expenditures entrepreneurs can deduct from their taxes for this year from $5,000 to $10,000 (with a phase-out threshold of $60,000 in expenditures), offering an immediate incentive for someone with a new business idea to invest in starting up a new small business today.

7. A Five-YearCarryback Of General Business Credits: The bill would allow certain small businesses to “carry back” their general business credits to offset five years of taxes – providing them with a break on their taxes for this year – while also allowing these credits to offset the Alternative Minimum Tax, reducing taxes for these small businesses.

8. Limitationson Penalties for Errors in Tax Reporting That Disproportionately Affect Small Business: The bill would change, beginning this year, the penalty for failing to report certain tax transactions from a fixed dollar amount – which was criticized for imposing a disproportionately large penalty on small businesses in certain circumstances – to a percentage of the tax benefits from the transaction.






Extension of Successful SBA Recovery Loan Provisions— Immediately Supporting Loans to Over 1,300 Small Businesses : With funds provided in the bill, SBA will begin funding new Recovery loans within a few days of the President’s signature, starting with the more than 1,300 businesses
– with loans totaling more than $680 million – that are waiting in the Recovery Loan Queue.


· In Total, Extension of Provisions Which Have the Capacity to
Support $14 Billion in Loans to Small Businesses: Extending these
Recovery loan enhancements – which increase guarantees for SBA’s largest loan
program (the 7(a) program) to 90% and reduce fees for the 7(a) and 504 program
– has the capacity to support $14 billion in lending to small businesses.
Already, SBA Recovery loan provisions have supported $30 billion in lending to
over 70,000 small businesses.


· Within Coming Weeks, the Bill Will Allow SBA to Support
Larger Loans As Well: The bill also increases the maximum loan size for SBA loan
programs, which in the coming weeks will allow more small businesses to access
more credit to enable them to expand and create new jobs. The bill:


o Permanently raises the maximum loan size for the SBA’s two largest loan programs, increasing maximum
7(a) and 504 loan size from $2 million to $5 million and the maximum 504
manufacturing related loan size from $4 million to $5.5 million.


o Permanently raises the maximum loan size for SBA microloans, increasing it from $35,000 to $50,000 and strengthening a critical tool for entrepreneurs and business owners in under-served markets to access start-up capital.


o Temporarily raises the maximum loan size for SBA Express loans from $350,000 to $1 million, providing greater access to working capital loans that small businesses use to purchase new inventory and take on their next order – allowing them to create new jobs.


· Treasury Is Working to Quickly Implement the Small Business
Lending Fund and State Small Business Credit Initiative: In addition
to these SBA provisions, Treasury is working to quickly implement two new
programs designed to support private-sector lending to credit-worthy small
businesses, and expects to release further details in the coming weeks
concerning applications for these programs.


o The Small Business Lending Fund would make available $30 billion in capital to
small banks with incentives to increase small business lending, potentially
supporting several multiples of that amount in new credit.


o The State Small Business Credit Initiative will support at least $15 billion in
new lending by strengthening state small business programs – many of them
facing budget cuts – that leverage private-sector lenders to extend additional
credit.



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"The Secret" vs. "The Check-In" the REAL Missing Ingredient of Your Business

Posted by PaulaNQ on December 1, 2008 at 12:54am
I am writing this post over sheer concern about an alarming trend I am seeing in business start-ups today.It all starts with "The Secret," that little book that brought the Law of Attraction to the forefront (although there were many of us who were familiar with this concept going back to the 60s and even before that). Very simply, The Law of Attraction states that what you think about, you bring about or we attract into our lives that to which we give our energy, focus and attention.The result has been an explosive industry with books, tapes, courses, seminars, et al all based upon "if you wish it hard enough it can be so" and "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can." And certainly there is nothing wrong with maintaining those positive attitudes as negative thinking gets us nowhere.But there is a flip side to this. I have a friend who owns a business that is in trouble for a variety of reasons. Having been involved in several business startups that I have seen tank like a sinking ship (and having to make adjustments in my own business methodology) I am all too familiar with scenarios where a business pin prick turns into a cut and then a cut into a full-fledge hemorrhage.For sure we need to encourage each other. But when something is blatantly hemorrhaging, you almost have to hold a mirror up and say you see, your business needs triage. In fact, maybe you just need to admit it into the ICU until it can get well again. To keep encouraging someone to stay in a particular business when maybe they just need to admit that it is time to move on isn't really fair or honest with your friend or acquaintance.It doesn't matter how great your business idea is, but it requires time, money and marketing to make it work. Yeah, you can get into some network marketing companies on a shoestring, but I have seen it time and time again where a brick and mortar business owner is complaining about lack of customers and they are putting zero dollars into marketing, zero time time into networking and they expect their business to flourish. Of course, some entrepreneurs for whatever reason may hit the sweet spot right off the bat and their business takes off like gangbusters, but that isn't the norm. Most people are trying to figure out how to bring in more customers (and quickly,too) and therefore the proliferation of social network sites. Make friends and get customers.The other side of"The Secret" and all the positive thinking is what I call "The Check-in." For example, have you identified and written down all the reasons why you want to have a successful business so that you can build upon and rely upon your commitment to that decision -- especially during challenging times? Do you have a well-formulated strategic plan with objectives, goals and related actions? Do you have adequate financial reserves in place, available to invest in the growth of your company? Are you REALLY following your heart or are you too proud to admit that the business just isn't working and you would rather do something else? These are just some of the questions that any business owner should always be asking himself or herself.Know that when some of the components of your business building system are missing or not working at peak capacity you will not achieve the optimal results from your business building activities. This can manifest itself in several ways depending upon what needs fine-tuning:*Lack of focus, motivation, or confidence*A low converstion rate*Fewer new opportunities and clientsNo amount of positive thinking or over-encouraging from well-meaning friends and family will fill in your business building gaps. Even from a spiritual standpoint, God requires that we take action., e.g. "My people perish for lack of knowledge," "write the vision, make it plain."It is imperative that you do "The Check-In" or a regular basis, especially during these challenging financial times.If you would like to know more about "The Check-In" and how it can help your business I am only a phone call/e-mail away at quickcoach4u@aol.com or call 1-888-364-9529.Are your tired of coming up against brick walls? Are you tired of trying to figure it out by yourself? When will YOU do "The Check-In"?
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Our Path to Greatness

Posted by Andrea Fields on October 5, 2008 at 5:33pm
If it is true that what we love is our path to greatness – then it is also true that everyone who is working for barely makes do wages or less doesn’t have to. It also means that people who feel trapped in well paying jobs don’t need to. The question now is: How do we transform what we love into cash.I once heard a story of a man who had an infinity for fixing small electrical things. Radios, mixers, sewing machines; whatever – he could fix it. He never had any formal training in electronic or electrical repair. It was just something he instinctively knew how to do. Friends and family members often brought things to him to repair. Eventually his wife got sick of all of the money he was spending on tools and repair parts and him not making any money for his efforts. Finally he decided to rent a small room so he could continue to indulge in his love; but keep peace in his home. So to pay for his work space, he started charging people a nominal fee to do their repairs.As fate would have it, a time came he got laid off from his job and his wife didn’t make enough to support them. So, he began to call to check on a few offers he had received from customers to teach, to be on call to properly set up major appliances etc. Within a month he was making more money than he had ever made at his job.The answer to the questions: How do we transform what we love into cash is: For some people, transforming what you love to do into cash is a matter of making some decision and following through on them. For some it will take a business plan, investors . . . . Still others will simply stumble into their gift. The key however is to take the time to regularly work at that which brings you joy and a sense of fulfillment.Armed with this information, I finally put aside all of my reasons, excuses, meanderings … and dove into one of my favorite activities. At first it was awkward and felt strange – like I had never made a good living sewing before. As I moved forward and started on my second piece it began to feel good. Wonderful memories of past accomplishments began to appear in the forefront of my mind one by one. As I worked on my third piece, I began to relive the emotions that made me decide to become a seamstress in the first place.I’ll keep you posted on the outcome.
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The Business of Being a Mother

Posted by DawnKA on May 11, 2008 at 2:11pm
Being a mother is no easy task - it's filled with challenges. As I reflect on this position that I have held for the past 22 years I realize that I have every right to run for the president of the United States of America if not the world.Culinary ExpertI have fed the kids when they have declared there is nothing there to eat -miraculously I managed to whip up meals without leaving the house.Office of AdministrationTime management - scheduling various appointments,parties, attending recitals and other related events while maintaining my own.Reviewing papers, filling out forms, signing permission slips, attend meetings.AdvocateI have served as a strong advocate on behalf of their education.Domestic Policy/Homeland SecurityI have successfully mediated and at times end major wars.Event PlannerSlumber Parties, Birthday Parties, Museum Trips, Broadway Shows, Amusement Parks, Vacation/Traveling Abroad, After Christmas Shopping, Concerts and more.Economic Council/AdviserI have had to balance budgets with next to nothing leftHealth CareOffice of Drug ControlI have experience in taking care of the sick children bringing them back to health without having to run to the emergency room and calming their hysterics at the sight of blood when they merely have a bruise.Official Spiritual AdviserVery close connection to God for the ultimate guide that I do not mess up this position.Office of Mental HealthListen to the constant reasons why the other person is stupidListen and counsel on having compassion, the importance of caring, being kind, and knowing when it's time to hit backEducation/Guidance CounselorSelecting the appropriate educational materials/courses/path/programsFilling out Financial Aid Forms for CollegeI can go on and on with the other duties but it may appear to be bragging. Well, I wont be running for anything as being a mother is a life term position and that's a major position that I wont trade for anything.I must go and celebrate this day although I am still on full duty..............
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