Accountability Partners – Helping You Get Stuff Done

Posted by Marty Dickinson on Feb 9, 2009

If you’re like most business owners, you have a long to-do list that only seems to grow each day, you have new ideas to increase sales popping in from every which way…but at the end of the day…nothing really seems to be getting done.

Or maybe it’s a new week, or a new quarter and you have written out a set of new goals..but you struggle to hit them week-to-week. Sometimes you just wish you could clone yourself – maybe even two or three times – so that you could make more progress.

One thing that I want to introduce you to today is the idea of getting an Accountability Partner. This is someone you can trust that has the ability to challenge you, expand your thinking and your abilities each day, week, or month.

Here’s how it works: You and your partner (see qualifications and suggestions below) set up a quick scheduled call or meeting once a week, or bi-weekly. Note: If you do one longer meeting once a month, it will not be as effective as shorter bi-weekly meetings/calls. The whole point of doing this in the first place is to keep each other on track – and a monthly meeting will be spent getting back “into it” instead of evaluating each others progress and creating new plans of action to get you closer to hitting your goals.

To prepare for the meeting, you’ll both want to:

• Write out a list of goals for the upcoming week(s) (maybe you want to add a custom background to your Twitter account, or learn about Social Networking and set up 5 accounts to get you started),
• Pinpoint the things that would get in your way of achieving those goals (laziness, too much on your plate, poor time management, lack of organization, etc.), and
• Address your strengths that will help you get these goals accomplished.

This way, you are both ready to maximize your time together. During the meeting or call, you’ll first want to review progress made from the previous meeting. This is the tough part – you’ll need to hold your partner accountable for the goals on their list they did not achieve. You can do this by asking questions such as:

• What held you back from achieving X goal?
• If you were to do it all over again, what would you have done differently?
• How can you take this experience, and apply it to the upcoming week(s) so you hit your goals?

You will also want to praise your partner for their success. You could even ask questions such as:

• What attributed to your successes last week?
• Do you feel you can achieve this week’s goals by using the same strategies?

Next, it’s time to review what you each prepared for the upcoming week(s), strategize how to overcome weaknesses, and motivate each other to move forward and get stuff done!

Now, how do you pick your Accountability Partner? Caution: Do *not* pick someone who will be easy on you, who will accept even your best excuses, or someone who isn’t as motivated to get stuff done as you are. This is the hardest part. You want to approach someone who will really push you to hit your goals and achieve a higher level of success. Otherwise, it will just be another “chat session” that you could have had with your best friend.

Now what? Today’s task is to pick your Accountability Partner. Then, set up your first meeting. Then, write out your goals and prepare for your time together. Then, you take action and tackle that task list to get your business on track to the next level. Happy partner hunting!

Newsletters: Design, Purpose, Formatting, Selling, and More!

Posted by Marty Dickinson on Feb 6, 2009

After you have put up a website, it might be a good idea to start thinking about a newsletter you can offer weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly to your customers. Study after study shows that newsletters can create a loyal following and repeat sales. And the good news is, newsletters are fast, easy, and can be a very fun way to let your creative side out. BUT, if you’re not creative, you don’t have to be!

So, a few things to think about before you start designing:

1. What is the purpose of your newsletter? Do you want to put together a document to keep readers updated on your industry? Do you want to make this more of a personal newsletter on your interests, recommended products, etc.? Get a good sense of your objectives and goals.
2. Sit down and brainstorm every possible component you can think of that could be included in your newsletter – tips, jokes, quotes, testimonials, video, articles, etc. Make this list as long as possible (research what others have done for more ideas) and then refine your list down to the elements that get YOU excited. If you aren’t excited about what you’re doing, it’ll never get done.
3. Think about what format you want to use for your newsletter:
   -   You can do a plain text format which is easy, fast, and has good deliverability in email accounts – but, it’s a little boring because there are no graphics or creative ways to break up the text.
   -   HTML newsletters are a little more fun because you can adjust the theme, colors, and layout – but, some email accounts only accept text emails which could hurt your deliverability a little.
   -   You could also create your newsletter in a word processor and publish it as a PDF. This can give you a little more of a professional feel and you have creative control as well. (Word even has pre-made newsletter templates available to help you get started.)
   -   Also, do you want this to be a digital newsletter that you send to people via email or post on a website? Or will this be a printed newsletter that you mail to your customers?
4. If you’ve done writing in the past for articles or blogs, you know that writer’s block can set in and deter you from producing a finished product. I suggest writing out a list of ideas – article topics that you can put into a document and pull out when you need a little shove in the right direction.
5. Frustrated with the design process or feeling a wave of procrastination in getting started? Go to your favorite search engine and type in “free newsletter templates” and bingo! – You’ve got instant motivation and a fill-in-the-blank template you can go to town with.

So, start with brainstorming, then finish up with creating the template. Newsletters can be fun and rewarding (both personally and financially). Let me see your newsletter once you’ve designed it, and then we can create a blog post around it and get you some increased exposure!! 

YourSmallBizCollege.com – The Super Saver For 2009 Businesses?

Posted by Marty Dickinson on Feb 2, 2009

Three years in development, over 10,000 hours spent turning over every rock online, and 2 partners…put all of that together and you’ve got a link www.YourSmallBizCollege.com. By clicking on that link, you will come across the most complete resource center for businesses that I have seen.

Their headline reads, “Calling All Business Owners: Finally! A One-Stop Complete Entrepreneur’s Resource Center Jam-Packed With Hundreds of Tools To Build Your Business in 2009…Even with the Economy’s Ups and Downs!”

Their subhead reads, “Over 35 Categories About To Bust Loose With Trusted Tips and Tools: Video Tutorials, Business Planning Forms and Templates, Software, eBooks, Internet Marketing Training Webinars, Social Networking Apps, Widgets, and More!” Let’s just say, I was intrigued.

I now have access to the site, and thought I’d share my review of it with you. I’m sure you’ll come across a lot of promotion for this site. It is said that by the end of their first week, over 300,00o people will have received emails about this inexpensive membership site.

So what’s in this A to Z business site?

• Over 35 categories to choose from including: Franchising, Business Coaching, Legal/Taxes, Affiliate Marketing, Real Estate, HR/Payroll, Import/Export, Non-Profit, and Private Label.
• Website Tools include ready-to-use templates, images, websites-in-a-box, shopping cart tools, blog widgets and plug-ins, logo design…so much more…
• Over 50 business coaching resources, tips, techniques, and secrets revealed.

You will even find places to take business classes at Harvard and Yale online for Free.  They’ve purchased resell/reprint rights to over 40,000 e-books and internet tools just so you could use them in your product or service promotional efforts.

They also have:

• eMarketing information to help build your brand online
• A library full of Internet Marketing and business training webinars
• MySpace, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube all explained for beginners.
• Over 100 how-to videos
• Business plan outlines, forms, letter and email templates, and more!

I’ve only just begun to crack open this site and see all there is to see. It will probably take me weeks to take advantage of all the information.

I encourage you to go to www.YourSmallBizCollege.com and watch the video on the site set-up, read their sales letter on what is included, and see if it’s a good fit for your business in 2009.

Considering what’s inside, I was pretty surprised that they only charge $27/mo. to get access. The 2 partners, Darrell Hornbacher and Client Steiner, are business associates of mine…so I had to ask Darrell, “Why only $27 a month?” He says, “We understand these are challenging financial times.  We don’t want the cost of a membership precluding a small biz owner from taking advantage of a tool that can have an impact on their business.  For less than a dollar a day and a money back guarantee what do you have to lose?”

A few of their fast action bonuses (to the first 100 sign-ups) include:

• 4 days/3 nights at Rick Raddtaz’s Entrepreneurs Retreat Network in Breckenridge, Colorado
• A “Webmaster Package” (10Gb of downloads to design and maintain your own website)
• Tips and techniques to take full advantage of Twitter

I’ve been told that a flood of people have already visited the site. To Darrell and Clint, “Great job and good luck!”

Go check it out, come back, and tell me what you think…

Getting Good to Get Ahead…Today

Posted by Marty Dickinson on Jan 30, 2009

You know, with the economy and unemployment rate as it is…I say, this is a time to “strike while the iron is hot!” In order to excel in business you want to pay attention to detail, keep your eyes and ears open to opportunities, and get help. Think for a minute about all of the “Greats” out there….Tiger Woods,  Zig Ziglar, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, Tony Robbins, Roger Federer…what do they all have in common? Perseverance, they don’t rest on the laurels of success, they KNOW that practice makes perfect, etc. How often do WE take take that approach in our business?

I have a YouTube clip of a very famous guitar duo, Rodrigo y Gabriela, here. Check it out – [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF8nhSj0WzM&feature=related[/youtube]

“Since its original release in Europe in February 2006, ‘Rodrigo y Gabriela‘ has been one of the great word-of-mouth success stories in recent music history. With over 500,000 albums sold worldwide (300,000 in the U.S.), it has helped to establish Rod & Gab as one of the most exciting live bands on the planet.” http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=520741

I bring “Rod & Gab” up because they were not born into this success. They worked hard, practiced, walked through the doors of opportunity and keep waking up and doing it all over again. When approaching your business, what are you doing every day that is productive, honing your skills, or getting your product or service more into the public’s eye?

Here are a few things to consider this Friday:

• Are you hitting the snooze button every time your alarm goes off, or do you wake up on time?
• Is goal-setting a part of your business planning, or do you want to make “as much as you can”?
• Do you keep up with the latest news in your industry, or do you only hear about it when it’s too late?
• Are there to-do’s on your list that have been there for more than 3 weeks, or are you good at getting tasks done in a timely manner?
• Do you recognize your employees and take care of them so they want to stay, or do you throw tasks at them expecting them to just do it?
• Have you bitten off more than you can chew in business, or are you growing at a steady and upward-moving rate?
• Do you have a desire to grow and excel at what you do, or do you think you mostly know what it takes to be successful?
• When you think about your business are you energized and ready for more, or are you bored and exhausted?
• Have you paid attention to what your weaknesses are and tried to improve them or get help, or do you feel they aren’t a big deal?
• Do you listen to what your client wants, or do you only do what you think is right?

Maybe a lot to think about on a Friday, but why even waste one day. In that one day, your competitor could have been more productive than you, and gained 3 new clients – clients that could have been yours. I keep saying “Do more than fine in 2009″…for a reason.

I would love to know what you do every day, or what you’ve done recently to better your business or yourself. What gets you excited to wake up in the morning. Why do you choose to excel in your industry? Drop me a comment so we can see what’s out there. Who knows, maybe you’ll inspire someone to take Action in their business!

Getting Organized Can Help Your Business in 2009

Posted by Marty Dickinson on Jan 27, 2009

WAIT! Don’t take one look at the title of this blog post and run in the other direction. The thought of “getting organized” to some is worse than chores – worse than paying bills even! 2009 is all about the little things you can do in your business to stay alive, and thrive!

First, if you understood WHY being organized can help your business, then maybe you would be less resistant to do something about it. With the downturn of the economy, people are losing jobs or their businesses left and right. “Sprint-Nextel is eliminating about 8,000 jobs in the first quarter… Caterpillar will cut 20,000 employees, contract and agency workers… Home Depot says it’s cutting 7,000 jobs and closing its smaller Expo chain as the recession continues to batter the housing market.” MSNBC.com, 1/26/2009

I don’t add those figures in to scare you. I mention them to motivate you. Now is the time to make an extra personal effort; now is the time to stand apart from your competitors. If you get organized (and I’ll give you a few tips below), then you will have a capacity to pay attention to the details of your business. If you say you are going to call your client today, then make a note, and no matter what (!), call them. If one of your best customers at one point mentioned that they liked bumper stickers about puppies, write it down and send them an out-of-the-blue thank you card with a puppy bumper sticker enclosed. How many of your competitors do you think would do something like that?

We all know that word of mouth advertising is the MOST powerful form of advertising there is. Why not use that fact to your advantage? The more you treasure your customers, and let me know it, the more they will give you repeat business. 2009 is *not* about the making “quick buck” – it’s about going back to the business basics that work…doing work.

So, how do you get organized? how do you make a difference? Well, practice makes perfect. Here are a few tips to get you started on the right foot:

• At the end of the day, no matter how tired you are or how much you don’t want to, clean up your desk. Put all of your files and papers in a stack, round up your pens and pencils and put them in a holder, and throw trash away. You will be amazed at the difference when you show up to work the next morning – you won’t dread your to-do list as much, and you will find motivation to tackel the tasks ahead.




• Do not wait to get organized until you “have time”, because guess what? That time will probably never come because you will always find something else that’s “more important” to get done.




• Hate to throw anything away? Well, you’re not alone, but there is something you can do about it. Filing papers is essential. Don’t let your contracts, invoices, and to-do lists pile up a foot tall. Office Max is your friend – or you can even find no-cost ways to get organized…you just need to get creative. Use old mail packaging boxes to store old papers and store them in a closet, for example.




• Make groups. People remember things in 3′s – and this rule will help you immensely down the road. If you are the type of worker that can’t find what you need for a meeting that is minutes away (which makes you late), then this will help. Divide your to-dos, papers, etc. into 3 stacks. (Note: you should only have to do this once, then maintenance is the key.) A stack of things to tackle *today*, a stack for the *week*, and a stack for the *month*. This will save you tons of time from having to look in all of your papers for one thing you need.




• A VERY helpful tool for those of you who are hopeless in the organization department. Go to Smead and click on the “Get Organized” button. They have a system in place to help any type of worker in any situation. You fill out a 2 minute questionnaire (no, you don’t have to give up contact info to see the results – it’s free) and the results will give you tips to get organized based on your working environment and behavior. Yay!

That should be enough to get you started. The only question left is….when will you make time to separate yourself from your competition? To make an impact on your client list? To boost your business sales?

How about today?