2008 was a year of really learning.  Thanks to my amazing business partner, Terry Silberstein, I was able to really learn a lot.  She has been a constant source of encouragement and learning.  She has made it safe for me to look at our business from a different perspective and constantly adapt to changes.  She has been an amazing example of what an ideal business partner is.  Through her, we have gained another amazing business partner, Marie Gerson.  Not only do I value them as close friends, I value them as smart women who are committed to our success.  Together we have been able to “leap small buildings” and overcome huge obstacles.  I am forever grateful for the lessons they continually give to me.

What I have learned in 2008:

1. Get everything in writing to the nth degree before you start working together. Be sure you have roles, responsibilities, expectations, concerns, questions, timelines and budgets thoroughly written down in detail. 
2. Budget your time and your money for everything you do.  Understand what it is going to cost and then stick to a project.
3. “Don’t get out of line”.  Meaning, stick to one thing until you can do that one thing so well you can automate it and be profitable at it.  Then start something new.
4. Simplify…..simplify…..simplify.  Everyday ask yourself, “How can I simplify….” My life, my work, my projects, my relationships, etc.
5. Choose who you work with wisely.  Make sure they stick to a specific timeline and budget for what they are taking on.
6. Under promise….over deliver.  
7. Stay focused on the big picture.  Don’t assume because you have hired a professional that everything is under control.  Make sure you understand the big picture and what specifically that professional will be handling and how that will help you. 
8. Focus on profitability not cash flow.  It is one thing to have money coming in and out and it is another thing to be profitable. 
9. Be coachable.  If you are open to possibility then you have to be open to make changes and doing things differently.
10. Surrender.  Know your limits.  Allow others to help you. Accept that you cannot do everything yourself.
11. Be flexible.  One thing you can count on if you are in business is that things always change.  Be flexible enough to adapt to changes in the marketplace, the economy and your competition.
12. Don’t spend more than you make.  If you need to buy something big, ask yourself “What would we have to make in order to purchase that?” not “Which credit line should we use?”

We all get to learn from each other.  What business lessons have you gained? If someone was just starting a business, what advice would you give them?

If you “tweet” (make a post AKA say something to the community) in a unselfish way, you can grow your business, connect with top experts instantly, find new business opportunities, learn about anything you want to and build an amazing network of fans. 

 If you are just starting here are the basics of Twitter….

1. Go to www.Twitter.com and signup.  Choose your Username wisely.  I suggest you choose your name (no spaces) or your company/organization name.  It is perfectly acceptable to have more than one Twitter account.  You would want to do this to secure your branded name(s).  (e.g. sabrinagibson and smartandsticky)   You can make one post that simply says “You can follow me @yourusername (you would fill this in with your information) so that you can have one twitter account to manage.
2. Setup your profile.  Create a great bio.  Don’t know what to put in your BIO? 
   1. Go to twitter and at the bottom, click on Search.  Type in keywords that would identify your possible target market, people you may want to follow, etc.  Check out their bios. 
   2. Here is the list of the top 50 people to follow (unofficial list but really good) from @prsarahevans  
   3. A few of my favorites are @grader, @problogger, @mrtweet, @cnn, @twinfluence along with the rest also mentioned in this post – there are so many to list.  To be continued…
   4. Read some of the bios of these people to create your own interesting bio.  Notice I did not say BORING Bio.  Your bio is how people will choose if they want to follow you or not. 
3. Choose a great website link for your profile.  You may want to consider sending people directly to a landing page on your best stuff, send them to your favorite article on your blog or a page on your website about you.  For me I want to be a resource for people who follow me so I use my blog.
4. Upload a picture of you.  Remember Twitter is about creating relationships and it is easier to connect with someone you can see.
5. Other things to know:
   1. DM = Direct Message – you will see this as a tab in your twitter home page.  Be sure to keep up with these messages as this is how you can build relationships. 
   2. RT = Retweet – if you like something someone says then copy and put RT in front of it.  Then you send it to your followers. 
   3. @ in front of a person’s username will send a message directly to them and let the entire world see it.  This is a great way to give praise to others. 
   4. Make a point to tweet a couple of times a day.  Need some things to tweet about?  Please don’t share what you are doing unless you think someone might find it valuable. 
6. Some basic ideas on what you can tweet about…
   1. Read the bios of the people you are following – do they have something interesting you like.  Share their username and the link of what you like wit the community.
   2. Do you have interesting tools, freebies, tips, etc that can make someone’s life easier.  Share it. 
   3. Read what your community is saying and reply to them.
   4. I love what @DaveTaylor tweets “My challenge to you, pick a day and only send out positive, affirming tweets and links. Can ya do it?”
   5. @JoshHinds tweets “Be interested in others and connect people”
7. A couple of helpful tools (and there are a ton of them)
   1. SocialToo.com – in addition to being able to do surveys – you can setup rules to automatically follow and unfollow people.  You can setup an automatic message to go to anyone who follows you.  TIP: You may want to send a great freebie, tool or resource you can share to add value to others. 
   2. TweetDeck.com – a great tool to help you follow keywords, conversations and find what the top “tweets” are for the day.
   3. TinyUrl.com - take a really long website address and make it tiny
8. Click on Find People to connect with others in your networks.  You can also enter emails to people you want to connect with on Twitter.  Good rule of thumb:  Find 50-100 people to follow. 
9. More great blog posts on how to use Twitter
   1. @CreativeWisdom has a great newbies guide for Twitter with images. Check out her tip on # signs and Friday follows.  http://www.1creativewisdom.com/2009/01/twitter-101/
   2. @ramskill Using Twitter the Smart Way http://tinyurl.com/5tcfus
   3. @DaivRawks Hilarious Video about Twitter http://is.gd/f2R4
   4. @ChrisBrogan Learn how to "build your community"  http://tinyurl.com/3sv2ne
   5. @JennyCromie 8 Ways Twitter Can Grow Your Freelance Business http://tinyurl.com/4b2nrs
   
   Do you have a great tip you want to share?  Do you have a blog post that helps explain Twitter? Please share.  You can follow me @SabrinaGibson

The other racers noticed what happened.  They slowed down and one by one turned around to come back to the crying boy.  One of the racers came back and kissed him on the forehead and said, “This will make it better”

Then all nine racers stood up, linked arms and walked together to the finish line.  Everyone in the stadium stood and the cheering went on for several minutes. 

These highly trained and competitive racers showed what the true spirit of the game is.  This was one of the biggest races of their lives.  It was the Special Olympics. 

This was a powerful lesson for everyone who attended The Seattle Special Olympics.  People who were there are still telling the story... Why? Because deep down we know this one thing:

What matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves.
What matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course.

Think about this…..

In life it is not about who finishes the race first.

In life it is about every racer finishing together.

What are you racing to do?  Who are you leaving behind while you are moving so fast? Do you have a story or quote that keeps you in check with your priorities?  Please comment.

There was a movie where they said, "You can't handle the truth!" and that is how I feel about reviewing someone's website.  In fact, my company use to charge to do web reviews as I thought it would be a great way to share our knowledge and gain some clients who really appreciated what we did.  We did over 150 web reviews and ended up with 2 new clients.  YIKES!  Most of the people were really upset and discouraged with our comments.  I heard a lot of "Why didn't someone tell me this before?" or "What do you mean search engines can't see flash...I just spent $4000 on my flash website" and "I can't afford to make an upgrade to my website so I will just leave it".

Yes....you might as well stop reading if you aren't planning on doing anything different with your website.  You can save yourself the time.  I have never understood why people want an opinion if they aren't going to do anything.  Man, I had no idea this post would turn into my venting session.  Okay, so let's get to the review.  Below are just a few things to look at in your website.  This is just my opinion based on my 20 years of sales and marketing experience (of this, 15 is directly online and websites). 

So here it goes.....(brace yourself)

1. Pictures - you have to have a nice balance of pictures and content.  If your pictures are just there for the sake of being there, change them.  Use them to tell a story.  Test....if you only had pictures could your visitors tell what you do and who you help?
2. Content - you should look good and have great copy.  Speak in headlines and stick to the "7 second attention span".  Yes, I probably just lost you....pay attention.  SMILE  In 6 seconds or less I should be able to tell who specifically you help and how you help them. 
3. Stickiness - if you want to build relationships with your visitors, offer some juicy freebie (free report, free goodie, etc.) in exchange for their name and email. 
4. Prime Real Estate - the top 3 inches of your website is considered Prime Real Estate....treat it that way.  This means you should have stickiness, a call to action and/or interaction with your visitors.  Make your visitors crave to talk with you.  The goal of a website should not be to share your company's novel, it should be to get visitors to say "Yes! I want more!!"
5. Jargon - speak to your visitors like they are 3rd graders.  Watch phrases and terms that seem cool to you.  One word can lose a visitor's interest.  Make it fun to read.  Speak to them as an individual who is just learning about your business.  I call it the "Yada Yada Yada Syndrome".  It would go something like this "We help small business owners make sense of their online presence.....Yada Yada Yada.....get your "thangy majig whirly gong today!"  HUH????  Exactly.  I see this all the time.  People are really impressed with their own language....yes, I am talking to you! Or they jump right to a conclusion that really doesn't take the visitor along with them.
6. Less is more. Period.
7. Don't have things that move, jitter or shake.  The minute someone gets online they have ADD.  They may have not had it before....but now they do.  All it takes is some "pretty little bird" for them to take their attention away from your site.  Keep your site clean and simple so visitors stay focused on you. Imagine if I was shaking my hand while talking with you.  You would be thinking, "Why does she keep moving her hand" and would not be paying attention to what I was saying.  Same goes for websites.  If something is moving that is where the eye will go.
8. Make it easy for someone to know where they are in your website. 
9. Create several easy ways for a visitor to connect with you.  Phone number and email link on all pages and a contact us button are a couple of suggestions.
10. Testimonials are your best friends! Make a point to get them and add them to your website.  Have testimonials appear on every page.  You can easily add audio testimonials with this tool. 
11. Automate your website - if you collect a name and email address, have an automated system to follow up with them. 
12. Update your content FREQUENTLY.  We make all our client's pages updateable. Meaning, they don't need any special software or a developer to make changes to their content.  Search engines love fresh content so be sure to update often. 
13. Add audio and/or video to your website.  This helps you connect with your visitor's.  It is personal and entertaining.

I hope you find this review helpful.  There are about 37 things I look for when reviewing a website.  If you were able to make it past point 3, congratulations.  I invite you to take action on this list.  What additional things would you add?  Find a site that has all of these....please share.

In life we are blessed to meet people who are true “Gurus”. A guru in my book has always been someone who has mastered one particular area in life.  Yes, you could be a guru of brushing your teeth.  In addition to mastering this one area, a guru freely shares their knowledge with others who are seeking information. 

 For over 15 years, I have known Todd Rustman.  He is truly a guru when it comes to financial matters.  In addition, to being a business owner in 5 totally different successful businesses, he has made a point to get the best training and credentials.  He has an MBA and is a CFA, certified financial analyst, a CFP, a chartered financial planner, a CSA, a certified senior analyst and a whole other list of amazing titles.  Yes, he actually carries 3 business cards just to list all of his credentials.  In 2008 and 2009, Worth’s Magazine listed Todd as one of the top 100 Wealth Advisors. 

I had to ask him about what is happening right now.  Here is what Todd has to say for 2009.

What are 3 tips you would like to share for 2009 with small business owners?

Look at all ways to reduce costs, shore up balance sheets, lending will be coming back but restricted and cautious lending…

1. Look to reduce/eliminate matches on 401k or other employee benefits to lean out costs
2. Examine balance sheet for ways to increase assets.  Take a life insurance appraisal on any key man insurance policies or Buy/Sell term polices—YES- even term polices can be valued now and sold.
3. Any charitable remainder trusts can be bought now too (for a premium); and charities can collect early on money owed to them by donors by having our groups buy them out now (instead of waiting for an event to happen with a donor sometime in the future)

What is the biggest lesson you gained from 2008?

Leverage kills; as strange as it sounds. VERY RARELY should someone spend more than they make.  It is a simple rule, but still people break it all the time.

What are resources you suggest for small business owners?

Perspective is key. Business cycles come and go. Look at the chart of growth for any business, stock, investment, real estate, commodity, etc. It is never, ever a straight line! Bumps and wiggles occur! This is a BIG bump down across all assets, investments and business- but life goes on while we plan for other things.

Cash Flow is king- protect it. There is value on your balance sheet, all is not lost. Those that come out on the other side of this recession (NOT Depression), shall be so much stronger- be part of that group.

Hope is not a strategy.

Some places you can look to for additional support:

http://www.Gen-Next.org – Gain a voice/relevance as a business owner with the government through this organization.  Be in the “know” and help shape the future and have an impact.

http://www.SettlementPlus.com  Mention Todd Rustman to get a free appraisal on your life insurance policies. 

What is one thing you would like to learn this year?

Wisdom to know what things I can change. Learn what I must embrace and then “release” it.

Do you have a free resource of your own that you would like to give people?

Free, in the end, is worth what you pay for it. 2009 will be the year of collaboration- but everyone must win/win to have scalability and growth. The free resources above look good and give you a 10k foot overview…but in the end, there are costs—which, in perspective, and the net overview- are nothing if value can be achieved. And, if no value is achieved/forecasted, then why go forward? Unless you are the government, a Union , car manufacturer, etc.! LOL 

What would you like to learn for 2009?  How are you being impacted by the new economy?  Please share your comments.

For 2009, working on flexible, collaborative relationships. A team approach versus a top-down approach to success. Finding ways to lead by serving others- rather than leading and hoping people will follow. Operation Simplify is our mantra!

If you want to continue to learn from Guru, Todd Rustman, please connect with him at http://www.GR-Cam.com or call him at 800-805-PLAN.

What challenges are you experiencing with the new economy?  What are you wanting to learn for 2009?

Ever go to a networking meeting or been given a referral then put it into a database only to have it just sit there doing nothing?  Or maybe you even made the initial contact but the lead really went no where. 

It has been proven the average time to take a prospect to a sales is 8 contacts.  Most people stop contacting prospects after the 2^nd contact.   Often times we look to find the instant sale and we miss out on the most important part and that is the relationship.  Relationships take time.  Once developed the right relationship can be extremely profitable.

When you make the time to continuously follow up with people you meet, you build powerful relationships while quickly finding out which leads are potential clients.  More importantly, you get new business and referrals.

4 ways you can create relationships faster with your contacts:

1. Immediately after meeting someone find as many ways to connect with them.  Within the first 24 hours, send a thank you card, send an email thank you and call for a meeting.

2. Put them in your database and for every action you make with this prospect (a call, an email, direct mail, etc) create another action.

3. Get creative with what you send.  What would be exciting for you to receive?

4. Focus on 100 people you want to do business with and continuously market to those people. Many times we think we need thousands of people to contact over and over again.  In reality all the business we ever would need comes from 100 key contacts. 

It takes time and money to go to networking events. Why not maximize your investment by creating a continuous follow up program.  The more a contact gets to know you the more likely they will be to send you referrals and send you business.  It is not the big things that you do here and there that generate results, it is the consistent things you do everyday that make a difference. 

Imagine this.  You get a phone number for your business.  You never put it on your business card, you never share it with anyone and you don't publicize it.  How many calls would you get?  ZERO.  In fact, you are back on the "prayer program".  "Oh please, please, let someone guess my phone number and give me a call."

The same goes with your website.  What we are really talking about is "Marketing".  And yes, this is our 4th and final ingredient for a successful website.  Many business owners think "If I build it, they will come".  Unfortunately, the web is not Hollywood, we are not Kevin Costner and we are no longer in Kansas, Toto.  To get results from your website, we have to market the website so we can get visitors. 

It is amazing to me how many business professionals don't properly market their website.  In fact, many don't market it at all.  In the next few months, I will give you some simple and basic marketing ideas that are FREE or basically free. 

Here are some high level ideas to help you market your website.  Again, I will be sharing how to do each of these in the next few months.  (How is that for stickiness? SMILE)

1.  Make sure your email has your website domain name.  Meaning, if you have www.XYZCompany.com as your website.  Make sure your email is YourName@XYZCompany.com . 

2.  Outlook is a great way to pull in your email.  Whatever email manager you are using, be sure to set up your email signature.  This should go out with every email.  This makes it easy for people to get a hold of you.  Here is a good format (with an example):

Your Name, Your Title (Sabrina Gibson, CEO)
Your Company Name (Smart and Sticky Marketing)
Your Company's Tagline ("We build the last website you will ever need")
2-3 Services You Offer (Smart & Sticky Websites - Membership Websites - Marketing Solutions)
Website #1 (www.SmartAndSticky.com)
Blog/Website #2 (www.SabrinaGibsonBlog.com)
Social Network Info (www.Twitter.com/SabrinaGibson)
Your Direct Phone Number (949-293-6821 Direct Line)
Your Fax Number (866-904-3889 Fax)
You can include your office address (I would only do this if you have clients frequently coming to your office)

3.  Update all of your social networks (e.g. LinkedIn.com, Facebook.com, Plaxo.com, etc.) with your website address. 

4.  Put your website address on your business cards, invoices, checks, letterhead, envelopes, return address labels, all voicemails and all marketing materials. 

5.  Register your website with Google Analytics so you can track the traffic and activity on your website.

Tip #9  Write a list of all the ways you think you could marketing your website.  Don't get caught up with how you do it.  Just make the list.  Once the list is done do the things that are the easiest for you and fits your budget.  Make it a priority to include mentioning your website at every opportunity you can.  I simply say "If you get a chance, please feel free to visit my website at www.SmartAndSticky.com" (sometimes I will mention what page I think they would enjoy) 

The more you give people your website and the more you make it part of your daily routine, the more traffic you will receive.  In addition, the more times someone hears your web address, the more familiar it will sound to them. 

If you are embarrassed or ashamed of giving out your website, then it might be time to give it an overhaul.  Redoing a website or even just adding on to it creates numerous opportunities to share it with everyone you know. 

What marketing techniques have you tried?  Which ones worked? Which ones bombed?