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Studies have shown that every one minute you spend planning saves you 10 minutes of execution.

Do you look at your office or home and feel totally overwhelmed by the clutter, piles, and stuff? Do you wonder where to start? Do you want to run out in terror?!

I know what it’s like to feel like your home or office is totally out of control instead of you being in control. I know that this feeling causes stress and anxiety. And, can make you a not very nice person to live or work with!

There’s hope. I work with overwhelmed people every day and help them get focused, organized, and productive in their home and office. But, you need a plan.
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The starter’s pistol has gone off, the rest of the field has taken off, and you’re still frozen in a kneeling position, head down and bracing for the race to begin. As your fellow competitors race to the finish line, you rise slowly and try to convince yourself that this race was not really for you. You console yourself by saying that the risks were too great and ask yourself such self-doubting questions as, “What if I had fallen?” or “What if I’d started and couldn’t finish?” and “Who was I kidding? I had no business even thinking about entering that race.”

Starting a business is very much like running a race: Preparation and practice are key success factors. The following 10 tips, framed in the context of getting physically prepared for a race, might help you overcome the hurdles that entrepreneurs are sure to encounter on the road to startup.
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Almost every business start-up checklist that aspiring entrepreneurs will read, refers to “must know” information about legal issues, money management, sales, marketing and operations. In fact, success as an entrepreneur not only relies on your knowledge and effective execution of these fundamentals, but also requires a constant commitment to keep growing and gaining knowledge in these areas. Fortunately, there are many resources available for small businesses in the form of professional services or public agencies available to help us augment our own skills in these areas at affordable rates. As we busy ourselves getting on top of these business-technical skills to manage day-to-day operations, it doesn’t take long for us to realize that these skills, although essential, might not be enough to make your business start-up succeed.

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Did you read that? A Distraction is a Distraction!

I don’t know about you - but my story could be this.

I get up early, 5 am before most of the world gets turned on. Before God turns the lights on, outside! I have plans, I have a project scheduled to do before the world wakens.

Coffee is perking, I turn my computer on, the project to work on is on my desk, which is also giving a yawn and waking up to the smell of coffee.

Distraction.

My computer tells me there is an important email from a colleague. Read it now. I do. He has given me a link to another website I really need to review - now. I do.

Distraction.

It is now 9 am, time for another cup of coffee. And to make my wife her breakfast cup of tea. She loves her cup of tea while doing the bathroom getting ready for the day stuff a wife does.

Distraction.

It is now 9:45 am - must finish up the project that my colleague directed me to before he calls me about 11 am to review.

My personal to do project is patiently sitting on my desk taking another stretch and smiling knowing that sooner or much later I will get to her.

Distraction.

An hour with my colleague on his project well that was not the plan for today. However, it was important.

Distraction.

Noon and I always eat lunch right at 12 noon. Never a minute late either.

This day is going by quickly and really so far all I have accomplished were the Distractions.

Distraction

Afternoon, Oh, the ballgame is getting started. This is a very important game this season. I know I have a priority project sitting on my desk ….. but…….

A Distraction is always a distraction.

My success is following a system and being focused on “this one thing I do”.

Life quickly passes by – with Distractions unless I make certain that PRIORITIES supersedes the Distractions.

How do you measure success? It’s probably not exactly the same for any two people. While athletes measure success by wins or their personal best, a business owner may measure success by the amount of money their business nets every year.

Successful Christians do not measure success by the amount of wealth or physical possessions that they acquire but by the depth of their relationship with Christ and the understanding of God’s Wisdom, The Holy Bible.
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Most people understand the word ‘entrepreneur’ to mean ’someone who starts new businesses.’ This is only partially true. If this were the case, according to statistics, 80 % of all of the ‘entrepreneurs’ in the world would be unsuccessful. The dictionary defines the word ‘entrepreneur’ as “someone who organizes a business venture and assumes the risk for it”. When we take a close look at this definition, it gives us a key to attaining the success that we search for when starting a new business or venture.
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There are several concepts and misconceptions about marketing that need to be addressed before we get into the meat of this article. The basic concept of marketing is ‘the range of activities involved in assuring that you are meeting the needs of your customers and that you are getting a valuable response in return. One of the major misconceptions of marketing is that it is only advertising your product or service. Even though advertising is important, it is only one component in the process of marketing.

We can define the essence of marketing as understanding your customers’ needs and wants and then developing a plan that addresses those needs. Anyone who owns a business has a desire to ‘grow’ his business. The most effective way to grow or expand a business is to focus on ‘organic growth.’

What do I mean by ‘organic growth?’ We need to realize that a business is a living organism. As a living organism, it must be nurtured. We can let it fend for itself or we can determine what it needs and what we need to do to make it thrive.
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The holy grail of online marketing is keyword rich backlinks. Everyone has their own ideas about the best way to get it done. You could use a service or you can use articles, but most people overlook the simplest (and cheapest) way to generate good quality incoming links is by telling your visitors how to link to you by creating a ‘Link To Us’ page.
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by Steven Lohrenz

There’s a quote: “A failure to plan is a plan to fail”. I’ve found it to hold true. When things are done ad hoc or willy-nilly, they almost always end up in the wrong place. A marketing plan can give your online business focus and resolve to accomplish the important things while leaving out the unimportant. If you don’t have a marketing plan, it’s very likely you’re struggling to make money and make your business a success. In this article, I’m going to cover the basics of putting together a marketing plan that will work for you.
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by Teresa Carnes

I remember the days before cheerleading uniforms and karate tournaments consumed a large portion of my expendable income - you know the days when you could afford to purchase your wardrobe and makeup from department stores like Macy’s, Dillard’s, or Foley’s. It was at that time that I became Dillard’s Department Store’s number one fan! I was a firm believer that there was no better mascara than Estee Lauder’s More than Mascara, which I faithfully purchased from Dillard’s every few months, and that you could not find a more fashionable, classy, and high quality suit anywhere other than Dillard’s. So, when Dillard’s was included in an upcoming career fair in Tulsa, I was certain a career with Dillard’s was in my near future. I was teaching Business English and Professional Development courses at a small business college, and because I was working evenings, decided a change of pace was just what I needed.
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