I absolutely hate it when I see smart people do dumb things!

Unfortunately, this happens all of the time in business. You see smart marketers who never leave enough time for a proper launch. Or the content provider who continually blows all their money by building out a product without any research or testing, only to find out it is NOT a sellable product. Or, my personal favorite, entrepreneurs who think they know it all and can go it alone. And to me the latter is the saddest.

Why  . . .

Because so often their ideas are great. Plus, they work hard. But, they just don't know what they don't know. So, instead of being widely successful, their business fails. Unfortunately, I have seen this countless times over my 25 years of working and watching hundreds of entrepreneurs.

So I put together a list of  . . .

The Ten Deadly Mistakes that Entrepreneurs Make That Destroy Their Profits, Morale and Reputation

1) Do Not Have Clarity of Vision: If you do not understand why your business exists, than how can your customers, your team, vendor and joint venture partners. You need to create a mission statement. Your mission says why you do what you do. Your statement needs to pass the tee-shirt test. And you can never subordinate the mission in order to get money!

2) Do Not Create Core Values for Their Company and Employees: You see your core values dictate how you do business everyday. Remember never subordinate your core values in order to get money.

3) Do Not Understand the Need for an Org Chart: An organizational chart not only adds structure and efficiencies to your business but it clarifies who an employee should go to solve a problem or present an idea. I know so many entrepreneurs that have an entire office full of employees yet the chart below still represents their hands on work responsibilities.               

4) Do Not Create Job Descriptions: Entrepreneurs tell me all the time that they need help. Yet, when I ask them what the person would do, they look at me like a deer caught in highlights. You cannot possibly hire the right person if you do not know what you want them to do.

So, before you can initiate your search, you have to write a job description. If you have never done this before, start by writing down everything you think you want your new employee to do. List their responsibilities. And next to each responsibility, write down the necessary skill. Be specific.

Once you know the characteristics of your ideal employee and can define the job and the skills that employee needs... you start looking.

5) Confusing a passionate idea for a sellable idea: When people ask for advise on what their business should be, I tell them two things:

•             Something you have experience in

•             Something you are passionate about

Once you have narrowed that down - you must confirm that your idea is sellable. Just because you love it, does not automatically qualify it as a good idea. Your idea must be sellable - meaning do people want what you are selling. Just do some simple keyword research. If you have at least 10,000 look-ups a month, then go for it.

6) Do Not Pay Themselves: Must entrepreneurs do not factor their income into their financials and business plans. They live with the attitude that they will take what is ever left at the end of each month. 

7) Do Not Know Their "Keep The Doors Open Number": Most entrepreneurs have no idea of the "real" cost to run their business. This is a big problem because it leads never understanding the health of your business. So right now sit down and write out EVERY fixed cost you have, including paying yourself.

Once you have done this divide that number by 375. And there you have it - the amount of money you need to bring in each day to keep your doors open.

8) They Suffer from Shinny Penny Syndrome: If you have a tendency to bounce from one "cool" project to another, you are not alone. However, this will break your business fatser than anything else. You see when you have several projects 50% done, that yields you zero revenue. However, one project 100% done brings money in then door.

9) Don't Understand the Value of Giving Away "Ownership" of the Company: Now this does not mean for every person. It means for someone (or a couple) that will take the business to the next level. Think about it you can't get past that 2 million dollar level. If someone could come in and take you to 5 million the first year, it would make perfectly good logic to give up to 50% away. It's a numbers game my friend.

Just remember 100% of nothing is still nothing. Don't let your ego prevent you from having a real business.

10) They Avoid Confrontation: Too many entrepreneurs are way too concerned about being liked and have a hard time being proactive when it comes to uncomfortable situations in their business. If there is a problem confront it.

Better yet, if there is a potential problem, jump on it before it comes a problem. Letting problems fester tends to lead to:

•             Bad Deals

•             Bad Employees

•             Bad Company Morale 

Remember, it is business and there are always ways to handle even the most uncomfortable situation with tact and respect. If you see yourself in even one of these items, now is the time to bring in someone to help you work through it.

When you stop making these basic mistakes you will see a spike in your bottom-line, your company morale and people will want to work with you. Let's continue the conversation on our blog or our facebook page, and share with us your thoughts around these ten mistakes.

MaryEllen Tribby is the Founder and CEO of Working Moms Only the world's leading website and newsletter for the empowerment of the working mum.  For further information on, please visit her site at www.workingmomsonly.com

Are you great at knowing what you want to achieve, but not so good at actually pulling your goals out of your head and writing them down? You sorta know what you want to do, but aren't quite sure how to do it. 

Well I want to share with you a simple process that will make this a little easier for you.

First thing is to get clear on what your objectives are for 2012.  Then begin by making a list of the objectives you want to achieve this year.  Be specific and include time-frames for each one. So an example may be:

I want to increase my list size by 10,000 and before September 2012.

From here, the second thing you want to do, is ask yourself: 

a) What are my strategies for achieving these objectives? 

b) What type of programs/services will I be selling to reach my objectives?

Take time to list all of the different strategies you can take to achieve your objectives.  The clearer you are here, the easier the next step will be.  So an example may be:

To develop a value add free offer that will capture peoples names and contact addresses.

To produce high quality content to use in promotional activities

And the final step is to break your strategies down into actionable steps, that you can track.

Your Success Assignment:

Now you know what the steps are to pulling together your Objectives for 2012.  It's up to you to take the time now and write our your objectives (if you haven't done so already).  Make them real for you, and make sure that you feel excited about what you want to achieve. If you don't then you've got the wrong objectives, and I would encourage you to go back through and look at what the best ones are for YOU!

For more accountability, why not join the conversation here or our facebook page, and share with us your 2012 Objectives.

Over the past month, have you noticed that there has been quite a bit of commentary around the humble e-newsletter making a comeback!  Personally, I don’t think it actually went anywhere.  Yes, it may have got a bad rap for a while, and might have been side-lined for the whole social media onslaught, but there will always be a market for receiving strong, practical, value-added information.

In fact, I was reading a report today by Ali Brown in which she stated “According to a 2010 study by ExactTarget, 56% of Internet users interact with brands only via marketing emails, compared to 1.3% who interact only via Twitter and 0.7% by Facebook.”  Interesting statistics don’t you think?

A well written e-newsletter really is a must have within your marketing campaign. 

Whether you are starting out, or are a seasoned email marketer, developing an e-newsletter that attracts your ideal clients and makes you sales, is what you really want to be focusing on.  Remember that you don’t want too be ‘in your face’ pushy with your clients. What you do want, is to build strong solid relationships, engage in a conversation, and increase the overall trust factor between your client and yourself.

You can do this by making sure your e-newsletters adds value, that it's practical and makes a difference.  Your clients' email addresses are valuable commodity, and they’re not going to hand them over to just anybody!   

Over the past ten years, I’ve always done some type of email newsletter.  At first it was monthly, then fortnightly, but now it’s sent out weekly to all within our community. The frequency works and we have no illusions that you read it every week, but we do know that you will read the topics that add value to you and your business, and that is really all we can ask for.

Our current format was worked out last year with my mentor MaryEllen Tribby (ME), as she had a specific strategy for successful e-newsletters. And interestingly enough, I’ve received emails this week asking me about my newsletter, after she had presented it as one to follow in a webinar she was co-hosting with Ryan Deiss.  Together they were launching their new Inbox Empire product, which focuses on the whole business of e-newsletters.  So when ME is focusing on developing a product based around e-newsletters, you know they're back on the radar.

So what are three strategies you can put in place to make sure your e-newsletter engages with your clients and makes you money?

1.  Add value with your content.

Don’t waste your clients’ time by not adding value to their day. You ideally want your content to be practical and focused on results. The best way you can do this is to be really clear about your ideal clients, because as their problem solver, you will know exactly what they will want to read.  Focus on them – your client!

Stuck on ideas? Then why not include a case study illustrating a client’s success story; interview other experts; have guest writers write for you. These are a few additional strategies you can include to add value to your content.

2.  Direct your clients to make the right buying decision.

You can be providing great content, but unless you have a sales strategy in place, you won’t make money from your newsletter.  Now that’s okay if you don’t intend it for that purpose, but if you do, then your clients are looking to you for your advice.  In fact, they will want to know what your new products and promotions are!

You’ve built a strong relationship and they know you deliver results, so don’t feel shy about sharing your latest promotion.  You don’t have to fear coming across as a used car salesman. Just keep consistent with your personality and style and they will appreciate it. 

There is a rule of thumb that for every newsletter you send, you can do two promotion emails – do you do this?

3.  Be consistent.

In your initial confirmation email, you should aim to provide your clients with the information they need to receive about your e-newsletter.  This includes the frequency of your e-newsletter, as well as what day they can expect to see ‘you’ in their inbox.  Once you’ve stated this its up to you to stay consistent. 

So, if like me, you’ve committed to a weekly format with delivery every Thursday, then you have to make it happen each week.  This is how you build the relationship with your clients and increase the trust between you and them.  If your email comes in bits and bursts or whenever you feel like it, how do you think this comes across to your clients?  

Putting together your e-newsletter will take time and commitment, but once you get going, it really is worth the effort.  There is nothing more special than when you receive comments about how your articles have impacted another person, or made a positive difference to their business. Words can’t explain how good that feels.

So what are you doing with your e-newsletter? Feel free to share with us your strategies and ideas for a successful e-newsletter.

Every once in a while, life hands you a lesson about something you teach your clients every day...

Over the past few weeks, I had been cataloging all my training audios and webinars, thinking about how I can add more value to these products for you.  One thought has been to have them transcribed, so not only will you have the audio or webinar available in audio/video form, but also as text.  I've been keeping a look out for someone who I can trust and rely to transcribe them for me.

A funny thing happened last week when I noticed a post on Facebook, where a friend mentioned that he recently had an interview transcribed by a contact of his.  Bingo – I’ve found someone to contact in relation to transcribing these into the written word.  It was a recommendation from someone who I not only respect, but trust.

It also made me think about this; How do we make purchases?  Now, I know there is a complete theory around the buyers’ journey (which I will be presenting to the North Sydney & CBD Athena Network in Feb ;-)). For now however,I'm going to keep this simple and ask: "Do you buy from people you trust, know, and like when you have a specific need?"

Let’s have a look at three ways in which people will buy from you….

1)  Current client.  If you are already satisfied with the service and experience you currently receive, you will buy again.  And you will most likely continue to buy as long as you stay satisfied. 

As the supplier of this service it is up to you to make sure that your current clients are in fact satisfied. I would take this one step further and encourage you to look at the experience your current clients are receiving.  As you have no doubt heard me say many times before, your clients will stay with you because of the experience they receive from you. It’s important to make this experience worth staying for!

2)  Referral source. This is what happened for me when I was starting to look for someone to transcribe my programs!  Normally, if I have a need for something, I will ask those within my immediate network that I trust, if they know of or have used someone suitable.  I may also send it out on Twitter or Facebook, which usually takes just a few minutes to give me a number of names I can follow up with.

A question to ask yourself:  "Are you on the top of people’s recommendation list for your industry?  If not, what can you do to be at the top of this list?"

3) Have a relationship, but have not yet purchased.  You may belong to a networking group, where other members may like you and trust you, but they have not yet purchased from you. This may be fine for the moment, but when they do have a need for your particular service, how can you make sure you are the first person they think of calling?

These are only three ways in which people may purchase from you, and I know you may have more ideas about this.  What I like about these three methods, is that there is already a level of trust involved in the purchasing process, as well as an established relationship. You can cut through many buyers' objections when you have this level of trust in your relationship.  And for me, I would much rather spend the time to develop strong, trusting relationships when doing doing business...

What do you think?

I always find the time immediately after a holiday, as an exciting time in business.  Your thinking is clearer and more creative, and you are open to possibilities that you may not have been just prior to your break.  I know this has been the case for my VIP mentor clients and myself!  There is a buzz in the air around business, and it’s as if everyone has their mojo back!  Do you feel the same?

If so, you’re ready to do things differently……

You want to know what are the core foundations you have to put in place for your success in 2011.  You know that 2010 doesn’t count anymore, as this is the New Year!

So, here are two key foundations that you will want to put in place for your success in 2011… 

1.  Taking action, without any excuses!

Taking action and being persistent is the difference between the successful and the not so successful.  It’s something that I learnt many years ago in my very first business!  After studying successful business people and then being mentored by some of these individuals, I realised that the difference between them and myself, was that they took action.  They made their decisions and acted upon them almost immediately!  They believed in themselves and they trusted the vision they held for themselves. 

Unlike myself, who at that time, would…make a decision, think about it, research it a little more, maybe do a course about it, think about it a little more, second guess myself…. (I know, you get the drift here now)…and then wonder why I was still running around chasing my tail while making limited profits!  Sound familiar?

It wasn’t until one of these mentors stopped me in my tracks one day, and said: “Deb, it’s time for you to stop thinking about it, stop learning about it, and just start doing it.  You spend too much time ruminating and not enough time taking action.  It’s time for you to take action, especially if you want to be a successful entrepreneur!  Otherwise you might as well close shop and go home.” 

Ouch!!!! Closing shop and going home, just wasn’t an option, so it was time to take action and be persistent.  It was time to stop thinking and start doing.  Time to believe in the vision that I held for myself and my business.

I want you to ask yourself:  “What do I need to do today?”  Once you are clear on the exact tasks you need to do, make a commitment to do them!

Sounds straightforward? That is until the self-sabotaging behaviours begin to rear their ugly heads, which leads nicely into the next foundation for your success…

2.  Removing Those Limiting Beliefs that are Holding You Back.

These are the stories that you tell, to keep yourself ‘safe’, to keep yourself where you are currently.  To stop you from focusing on the real action you need to take.

Removing your limiting beliefs, can be as difficult as culling your wardrobe!  You know you should get rid of some of your things, but even through much of it is totally out of fashion, not very flattering and you’ve not worn it for years, you insist on hanging on to it all.  Every time you open the wardrobe, staring back at you, is that white jacket with gold buttons and big shoulder pads!  It gets in the way of all the other great clothes that you could be wearing, if only you could see them.

We do the same with our beliefs:  we keep them when we don’t need them any more, when we have outgrown them.  Some of them have been with us for years.  Despite the fact they’re not really relevant anymore, we find them comfortable and familiar and insist on keeping them.  It’s worth acknowledging that limiting beliefs sometimes hold us back as a form of protection against the very success we are striving for.  So if you want success rather than to be a wannabe, you’ve got to get rid of these beliefs.  Make room for something new.  If they won’t go, change them so that they work for you more positively.

It’s time to put away those beliefs that are holding you back, away once and for all!  Take a moment to think about what your future will be like, what it will feel like with your old beliefs put away where they belong.  Notice again how this looks, feels and sounds for you. 

So, here are two key foundation pieces that you will want to put in place for 2011 - TAKING ACTION and removing your LIMITING BELIEFS.  If you have been thinking about doing something different, now is the time for you ACTUALLY do something different.  Step out of the sea of sameness and make it happen in 2011.

I can’t wait to support you further and hear about what you are doing different in 2011.  If you have your 'must-does', why not take a moment and share them with us here.