As a small business owner, finding good help can be a challenge. Qualified candidates are more likely to be attracted to large companies than small businesses because of their high profile and better pay.If you are very small or just getting started, you probably can’t afford to hire someone even part-time but, having office help would free you from the busywork and tasks that get in the way of the stuff that needs to get done to bring in the revenue. One way that you can get good help is by creating your own free powerful support team by capitalizing on the power of academic internships…..
Corporate Coaching - What You Need to Succeed in This Field
There are many things that a corporate coach would need to have a successful practice. One of the most important things that needs to happen is the ability to set yourself apart from the other corporate coaches. There are a lot of coaches out there that make it easy to be one of the small fish in a big pond. In this article, the author discusses the 4 areas that you need to differentiate yourself from the other coaches. With the stakes so high, it is important to make your claim on that piece of pie.
Are you thinking about offering corporate coaching services to different types of companies? Well then, you have to know that right now, there are so many people that are offering this type of service both in the online and offline arena. In order to make sure that you’ll succeed, you must have an edge over your competitors. Here’s what you need to make that happen:
1. Expertise. You can’t just wake up one morning and decide that you’re going to be a corporate coach. Things are bit more complicated than that. Your prospects will most unlikely to trust you if you don’t have relevant experience and expertise. You must prove to these people that you have what it takes to address their needs. Have real business experience.
2. In-depth knowledge about your prospects. It’s very, very important that you know and understand the people that you’re serving. You must know the challenges that they’re facing in running their business and the best solutions.
3. Partner with other people. Your business will most likely to succeed if you partner with people who are specializing in related disciplines like psychology, organizational development, sales, marketing, leadership, and business. These people must have real business experience too. Working with these people can help you make sure that you’ll be able to effectively address all the needs and demands of your clients.
4. Credibility. Even if you’re considered knowledgeable in this field, you will still not succeed if your prospects do not see you as someone whom they can trust. That is why, I suggest that you spend time and exert conscious effort in building a good reputation.
By the way, do you want to increase your coaching fees by 10 - 25 times and decrease the time you spend with clients - all while getting great results for your clients?
If so, download my brand new ebook “How to Charge Premium Prices For Your High Level Coaching”: Coaching Program Secrets
Sean Mize is a coaching expert who has personally taught his highly effective coaching methods to hundreds of clients, and has personally developed and sold $10k - $25k coaching packages, and can teach you how to repackage your current coaching to sell for $10k - $25k as well - check him out here: Sean Mize
More on Corporate Coaching:
Enhancing Business Performance Through Corporate Coaching …
Frequently I find myself asked about what corporate coaching is and how it helps organisations. So, let’s get clear about what we’re talking about before looking at why some companies are taking executive coaching even further and …
Publish Date: 04/04/2010
Great Marketing Ideas For Small Business
Small business really need good ideas for marketing their businesses. Smaller businesses don’t always have the resources and ability to create expensive marketing strategies. Focused smart and highly targeted strategies are the best way to go. In this article, the author discusses some marketing ideas that small businesses can use to promote their business. Read on for some good insights.
When a small business plans on beginning to market their business over the Internet, it can be very difficult finding what is necessary to create an effective marketing campaign for their business. A variety of places on the Internet specialize in Internet local marketing for communities, but it can still be tough to find what is necessary to make the company successful.
Many small businesses assume that Internet local marketing is a simple process that takes little effort, which causes disappointment when their business fails during its launch online. Over the course of the last decade, a variety of different marketing ideas and tools have become available to small businesses, making it much easier for them to succeed in the virtual world.
There are a variety of Internet local marketing services that are available to most local businesses. One of the most popular marketing ideas is SEO or search engine optimization. This is still a rather new technique, but it is one that is beneficial to any size of business.
Finding providers who specialize in SEO can be difficult for some internet local marketing firms, but this is crucial to any website since the use of SEO determines the likelihood of one’s page being chosen by the search engines. This can be the difference between a site being successful and a site never being visited by a variety of clientele.
Yet another popular Internet marketing idea is the use of email marketing campaigns. Through the use of Internet local marketing firms, small businesses can create complete sales campaigns directed at their own individual client list. This marketing technique consists of the creation of newsletters and advertisements that are sent directly to the client’s emails.
In most cases, Internet local marketing can be done by sending these advertisements to already existing clients, but some companies use pre-existing email lists to reach a wider range of prospective clients. You will find that many internet local marketing firms use different approaches that persuade clients to sign up to a site’s newsletter, offering these new clients free products or the promise of new information that would be beneficial for the potential client.
One of the more popular marketing ideas that have appeared recently for small businesses is the use of Facebook and other social networks to promote their business. While using Facebook, small businesses can connect to a variety of different marketing situations by joining groups pertaining to their specific niche, as well as keeping up with current clients who can introduce the business to other potential clients.
Just like marketing offline, the best marketing practice is through word of mouth, so the more exposure a small business gives themselves in a social network, the more likely they will see new potential leads surface. With strong profiles and the creation of accounts on Facebook introducing their company, a small business can expect to find a wide range of different clientele on the social network. Using these different ideas faithfully, a small business can expect to see much success for their virtual endeavors.
Mark Matthews is a consultant for a successful internet local marketing company and has expert knowledge of selling online marketing. Download the free “Profiting from Local Online Marketing” report at http://www.localmarketingsource.com
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- How to Grow Your Small Business in Any Economy, Part 2 (lifehack.org)
Small Business Coaching Advice - Need People Who Support You?
As a business owner, even if you are a solopreneur, you are not alone. You have many people supporting your business, even if you are not aware of it. Many of these people can be tangential to your business and not directly part of your business, yet if they weren’t there, your business would suffer. This article talks about the people that can support you and your business. Read on for more about what important roles these people take.
I’ve found my clients to be brilliant, talented, and full of fabulous money-making ideas for their business. But because they are solo entrepreneurs, they tend to remain isolated for the most part in their business life.
But even though you need to get connected with others, WHO you choose to connect with can either make or break you. It can lift you up or drag you down. And if you think gathering with others in your industry is the way to go, what I share here may surprise you.
YOUR INDUSTRY PEEPS
OK, so there’s nothing inherently wrong with attending industry-focused meetings where you’re hanging with your peeps. Coach memberships if you’re a coach, accountant memberships if you’re an accountant, photographer gatherings if you’re a photographer.
But here’s the thing… if that’s the ONLY meetings you attend, you can tend to get very self-focused in your business. Sure, you keep discover how to do your craft or skill better, but who’s teaching you marketing, sales, etc. Worse, folks end up following what everyone else in their industry does which means you’re not doing anything to set yourself apart.
I tend to hang with folks who are in multiple industries and industries completely different than my own. And I watch what they do. I steal successful ideas that seem like they could never be used in my industry and I find a way to tweak it and apply it to my own industry. One of my best ideas for example, came from a grocery store owner. And that my friends may be one secret to standing out as unique and different in your field so that you attract a whole lot of clients. It takes a level of open-mindedness and tremendous curiosity to get there.
MENTORS
I believe you must have some type of mentor in your business life. A coach, or someone who has walked the path that you’re on. Someone who has gone before you and can help you avoid unnecessary and costly mistakes. Every single one of my coaches has a coach. Whether it’s paid, bartered, or befriended, it would be in your best interest to find a mentor or coach to help you succeed much more quickly in business.
YOUR FIVE
It is said, you are the sum of the 5 people you hang around with the most. So who are your five? When I left corporate America, all my friends had 9-5 jobs. And I realized if those were my only friends, I’d probably end up right back in a 9-5 job.
I needed other people around me to inspire me to be hugely successful as an entrepreneur. So I went out and found them and made sure I was surrounding with success-minded entrepreneurs so that I can create the success I desired. I needed to be with like-minded people - entrepreneurs.
EVALUATE
So take a look around you. Do a quick assessment of who you spend most of your time with, who you are surrounded by and where you are getting your business advice. Are you surrounded by whiners, procrastinators, complainers, small thinkers? If so, it may be time to make a shift or that description will very quickly become you.
You don’t need to ditch your friends per se (although sometimes it’s necessary to make a clean break and ditch the dead weight). But when it’s time to talk business (or life for that matter), find people who inspire you to think BIG and succeed BIG. People who “get you” and support you in achieving the big goals you have for yourself.
One of my customers over in the UK just shared with me that it’s been hard for her to find people who get what she’s trying to do in her life and business. She somehow found me… in an entirely different country. I’d be willing to bet she was pretty darned determined to find the resources she needed to succeed even though she couldn’t find it in her back yard. And when you’re that determined, you will no doubt find the right people to help you achieve your vision.
And now I’d like to offer you the FREE one-hour audio seminar for solo entrepreneurs on “How to Create a Steady Stream of Clients For Your Solo Business” at: http://www.moreclientsaudio.com
Allison Babb is an author, speaker and Small Business Coach to solo entrepreneurs at: http://www.GreatSmallBusinessAdvice.com
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3 Reasons NOT to Use a Business Coach
Well, this is certainly a different approach, why a small business would not want to use a business coach. Most articles and discussions talk about why you would be crazy not to use a business coach. There are actually some situations where it wouldn’t be helpful…. All of them are based on where you are in your head, and how focused you are in your goals. Read on for these 3 reasons that after reading, make quite a bit of sense.
You can find a ton of resources on why you should use a business coach. In a lot of cases they make sense. Before you make that decision though, you need to think through some reasons why you shouldn’t hire a business coach.
Before we go into the details of why you shouldn’t use a business coach, let’s define what exactly a business coach is. Business coaching involves someone providing you with tools, resources and feedback to improve your business model, profitability, and consistency. They can provide a wonderful way to speed up the process of learning new skills and blasting past roadblocks. That sounds like a great reason to run right out and hire one huh? Well slow down and take a breath. Before you spend your time researching and finding a business coach, lets look at three key reasons it may not make sense for you to hire a business coach.
Three Reasons Not to use a business coach.
1) Financial Commitment - A good coach can provide a huge value to your business. That is how they survive and get referrals. To get the most out of a good business coaching program, you have to understand that you are making a financial commitment. Rarely will one month with a coach resolve your issues and get your to the level you want to take your business. Think about an athlete. Once they get a coach, he will implement a training regimen for them. They provide feedback as they go along the course to make sure the athlete is correctly executing the program. When a plateau is reached, they provide alternatives to blast past it. It is possible for a small business coach to make huge impacts on your business in under a month but don’t base your financial future on it. Be ready to make the financial investment in a good business coaching program
2) Ego - If you are only hiring a business coach so they can tell you how great and wonderful you are. Save your money. Business coaches are not in the business of stroking your ego. At least not good ones. Many business owners don’t really want to make changes in their business. They want someone to tell them that forces outside of their control are the reason they can’t be successful or grow their business. I won’t spend a lot of time on this issues because no one I know will ever admit it. Just be aware of it before you make the decision to find a good coach.
3) Unwilling to Change- If you don’t want to make any changes, if you don’t want to actually take the time and effort to improve your business, don’t spend the time, effort and energy on a coach. It won’t matter who you get or what they tell you. You will have wasted your money. The purpose of a coach is to isolate weak spots, provide tools to build those weaknesses up and help you grow your business.
There are a lot of reasons to use a coach to help you build your business. You just have to decide if you are willing to make the effort. They can speed up your ability to hit a business breakthrough and enjoy the life you wanted when you started your business in the first place.
Finding the right coaching can be a challenge. If you want a free report on how to use a small business coach to make your business more profitable and provide more free time just click here Small Business Coach Its a great resource for selecting the right coach to drive your business to greater profitability.
Sincerely
Scott
More on using a Business Coach:
Hire Business Coach to break through existing restraint on revenue …
To get success in business, you must know exactly what to offer and how to attract customers. Plus, you must also make use of business principles in order to cu.
Publish Date: 07/08/2010
How to Be More Successful Using a Business Coach
This is where you need to get a business coach. The coach will help you with your personal and business goals, but also they will be able to help you with things like financial issues and business ideas. The coach will not tell you how …
Publish Date: 07/02/2010
Business Process Automation - The Short and Skinny of It
Business process automation is one of the biggest things you can do in your business in terms of return on investment. Any process that can be automated not only speeds up the system, but it also requires less manpower and there is less room for error in the system as well. The first step as a business owner however, is to really nail down your business process. If you don’t know what that is, you are flying blind and by the seat of your pants…. don’t expect long term success in this case! This article discusses the basics of business process automation and some of the other major benefits to doing this.
Automate Your Online Business Processes.
Do you conduct or manage your business, just take close look at some of the daily activities that you or your employees generally perform to run your business operations. If you try to observe or study your own business daily doings, you may find that most of the tasks that you perform are repetitive as well as tedious in nature and so a proper automation procedure is required that can effectively automate the entire process with zero involvement from you. Business process automation also known as BPA is thus defined as a process that focus on streamlining and automating key processes that help in driving the value for a organization. It consists of integrated applications and cuts down the labor cost wherever possible. Gaining its popularity, this process is also defined as technology components that have the ability to substitute manual process and further manage the flow of information to reduce cost and increase consistency.
Looking at the present scenario due to rigorous demand in the market, many enterprises are planning to deduce costs and in-turn increase shareholder value. As a result in order to survive in such competitive environment, businesses can have significant cost reductions and efficiencies by automating business process flows and eliminating non-value-adding human interventions. Business Process Automation software enables organizations to design, implement, observe, and constantly upgrade business processes that span organizational boundaries.
Talking about some of the major benefits of BPA, it makes business operation faster and easier. Apart from this it also automates the intricate processes mostly involved in running projects, programs and managing resources across the lifecycle. In fact it is the most inclusive workflow engine in the industry and offers the most elasticity for corporations in spite of organization size.
However, it is important to note that this process can deliver profit to any organization only with a combination of process re-engineering and technology along with organizational structure that can support both. In addition to this, BPA features three important pillars like: orchestration, integration, and dynamic process automation and combination of these three elements further enables organization to simplify and automate business processes despite of scale and intricacy of any business operation.
Orchestration facilitates business managers to work together on automated process designs using easy-to-use and intuitive interfaces. But orchestration must assemble and transform data/events into actionable information which further smooth the progress of proactive decision-making. Nevertheless orchestration is not useful in the absence of integration, so integration is must to change and replace critical data that affect the decision-making of humans and machines. Since most of the business processes consist of different systems, varied environments, and multiple applications, so an effective integration plays a vital part in business process automation.
The final element of business process automation is dynamic and automated execution across multiple systems. An effective automation finally enables organizations to eliminate repetitive and manual tasks. Automation integrates control over the development process to eliminate the hassles of managing and maintaining code over the long term.
Icreon Communication is a leading software Outsourcing Company In India offering Business Process Automation and offshore IT Outsourcing Services
More on Business Process Automation:
Business Process Automation White Paper Available
Best Practices in Paper-Centric Business Process Automation. MAKE PAPER PART OF THE PROCESS. It’s inevitable that many processes rely on paper documents, and probably will for a long time. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get control of …
Publish Date: 06/23/2010
Executive Coaching Programs For Organizations - Maximizing Resources and Results
Executive coaching is supposed to make a difference in the organization because the leaders of the organization are the ones that are being trained. Leadership works from the top down, so if leaders can learn new techniques that will allow their organizations to run more smoothly and be better at growing the business, because they are better at dealing with people, and systems and these are the two biggest things that makes organizations work. This article taks about how executive coaching programs can benefit organizations through maximizing the resources available to it.
ROI of Executive Coaching
Are you working in a company or law firm where leaders are engaged in an executive coaching program? How do leaders in your company or law firm measure the cost effectiveness of executive coaching programs?
One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “How does our company leadership measure the return on investment of executive coaching programs?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders align executive coaching programs with the company strategy.
Maximizing Resources and Coaching
A coaching program that is carefully conceived as a part of the overall organizational strategy will be cost effective. The cost of coaching can be measured against other development options such as seminars, which might involve multiple days and travel expenses. Even so, training and workshop lessons are retained more effectively with the help of a coach. When a situation calls for coaching, the most expensive coach is no coach.
One return-on-investment study on executives from Fortune 1000 companies revealed an average of almost six times the cost of coaching programs, with improvements in productivity, quality, organizational strength, customer service, and shareholder value. They received fewer customer complaints, and were more likely to retain executives who had been coached. In another study, a coaching program produced a 529% return on investment and significant intangible benefits to the business. Including the financial benefits from employee retention boosted the overall ROI to 788%.
Skilled executive coaches can help leaders can explore their strengths within the context of the organization, work more effectively with their teams, develop leadership skills, inspire others and be more focused and effective. The masterful coach helps link the leader’s personal goals with the business strategy of the organization.
When Coaching Goes Wrong
To be optimally effective, the coaching program with executives must be well managed and aligned with other organizational goals and processes. Failure to do so is a primary source of problems. Organizations new to coaching may not be aware of the need to manage and oversee this activity. Even so, there are some factors that may arise no matter what. Having a sponsor or program manager can help limit damage and wasted resources.
Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become a leader who matches their personal coaching goals with the business strategy of the organization. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged and aligned with the vision and mission of your company or law firm.
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Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist, executive coach and trusted advisor to senior leadership teams.
We provide strategic talent management solutions to select and develop emotionally intelligent leaders and lawyers.
The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded two rare Board Approved designations for Dr. Maynard Brusman in the specialties of Executive Leadership Coaching and Trusted Advisor to Attorneys and Law Firms.
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How to Get The Most Out of Your Executive Coaching Experience …
Executive coaching combines a widely-accepted process and a coach’s skill set to help a leader achieve their goals. The best executive coaches are serious. … it is also important when you are hiring an executive coach to make sure it is clear in your coaching agreement (a) the roles of the client, coach, and sponsor (who is paying for the coaching); (b) how you will communicate status of the coaching to the sponsor; and (c) clear overall goals of the coaching program. …
Publish Date: 05/11/2010
Having a Professional Development Plan Is The First One Success Step
Professional development is just as important as business development. A strong professional development plan will have the effects carry over into the business world and personal world as well. Professional development is developing yourself from a career point of view. How can you be a better sales person? How can you be a better networker, or marketer. Reading the book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” is a great example of professional development that also will improve your personal life as well. Putting your best foot forward so people like you is a great improvement in any area of your life. In this article, the author discusses the importance of having a strong professional development plan. Read on for more!
Article: Professional Development Plan Is Just One Success Step in Achieving Business and Personal Success
Professional development plan should be part of every person’s business or personal action plan in the quest to reach that next success step. With the current year quickly coming to an end, now is the time for reflection to answer these questions:
- What goals did I achieved?
- What goals do I have yet to realize?
- Where did I expand my energy?
- Where did I waste my energy?
- How much further evolved am I 365 days later?
To answer the last question, I looked back at 2006 and counted the hours that I had personally invested in my own self-development. The answer was over 300 professional development hours or less than one hour per day. This well invested time has helped me to evolve from a good performance improvement consultant, executive and corporate coach to a better one who realizes that I need to continually evolve if I am truly committed to delivering the best solutions to my clients. And what is even more important, my state of evolving has resulted in my own personal growth and awareness.
As I contemplated this last year as well as previous years, I can truly say that my own self-directed professional development has been a continuum of evolving. I have been fortunate to interact with a variety of individuals who have willingly shared their experiences and allowed me to share mine. These interactions range from one on coaching sessions to tele-conferencing mastermind groups to attending formal conferences. And, one of the additional benefits is the development of new strategic alliances from coast to coast.
Currently, I am revisiting my 2007 strategic business plan and personal action plan. Professional development goals in 2007 will include over at least 365 hours or at least one hour per day.
- 100 hours for professional development conferences
- 1.5 hours per week for a mastermind marketing group
- 1 hour per week speaking to a coach or mentor
- 5 hours per week minimum for reading
The outcome from these written goals is:
- I can state with complete confidence that my clients will double and multiply their results.
- My growth will help other individuals beyond my clients.
- I will be a better person.
What continually surprises me is the lack of planned professional and personal development by most individuals who tell me that they want that next level of success. However, these same people tell me that “They don’t have time” or that “Their plates are full.” Yet, research suggests that most people waste at least 1 hour per day.
Just imagine if you could reinvest that one-hour per day toward your own evolving? What new heights of development could you reach? Well, a New Year is just around the corner and you still have time to develop your professional development plan.
P.S., if you don’t have a strategic plan for your business or an action plan for yourself, then you are on somebody else’s usually your competitor’s for that next client or that next position.
Are you where you want to be? To find out where you are, then M.A.P. for Success, a FREE email course may help you begin to chart a course of business, professional or personal success. Visit http://www.processspecialist.com/action-plan.htm
Did you enjoy this article? Then you may wish to join the other 1,000 subscribers of Power Choices at http://www.processspecialist.com/power-choices.htm
Please feel free to connect with me, Leanne Hoagland-Smith, Your Chief People Officer and Business Coach, who works with those who are tired of not being where they want to be and truly want more for their businesses and their selves. 219.759.5601
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Preferred Choice of CEO’S. In order for Professional Development training to be effective, it must proactively align with the needs and expectations of your CEO’S: Clients and their goals to serve their customers;; Employees personal …
Publish Date: 06/05/2010
Local Business Internet Marketing - It’s Easier Than You Think
Since the Internet is worldwide, anyone from anywhere can access your business website. That means your potential visitors can come from anywhere. What if you are a local business? Does it still make sense to spend resources on marketing online? The answer is yes, because your local market is still looking for your products and services online. There are things you can do to maximize the effect of these services however. This article discusses a bit more about local online marketing for location based businesses.
Local Business marketing when done correctly and in within a system will deliver fantastic results. The major problem I find when talking to business owners is the lack of good advice they find before starting their online campaigns. They often make a very, very big mistake before they even start. They are aiming for the wrong goal. They think they need a website. What they need are customers visiting a Website. In fact there is a way of getting customers without even having a website. Google are aware of the massive growth in the needs of local businesses and have created a section called Google Maps.
They rank this very highly in fact if you type in “your trade or service” in “your town. Eg “Restaurants in London”. The first thing Google lists are the 7 highest ranking Restaurants in London next to a Map. This happens in every town in every country. This should be a must for every business owner to try to get their business next to their map. You do not need a website for this. Google will create a web listing for you with your contact information and lots of other information about your business/service. Now you are attracting customers.
Once this is achieved, the next step should be to create a Website. Not any website - A Lead Generation Website. This is a website that is designed to be on page1 of Google for as wide an area as you target - Maybe 30 mile radius from your business premises. This style of website is designed to meet our initial goal - attracting customers, making it as easy as possible to find your site to solve their problem. The whole site is designed very simply to convert visitors into customers.
I learnt these strategies the hard way. I have spent years researching and fine tuning them so as to make a system that will work for all businesses. I have given you a route as how to do it correctly or we could do it for you and you will enjoy the results much sooner. Leaving you to do what you are good at, running your business. Any questions please email me on this email listed on this website. http://offline2onlinemarketingltd.co.uk
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Publish Date: 06/17/2010
Small Business Marketing Ideas - Every Business Should Have a Website
In today’s age, if you are a business and you don’t have a website, your credibility will immediately be in question. Gone are the days where having a web site is an option. Using the Internet is one of the most cost effective forms of marketing. In this article, the author discusses how a web site benefits small business. Read on for more!
Times have certainly changed. Twenty years ago all you needed was an ad in the phone book and a mailing list to launch a small business marketing campaign. Today you need a website, a social media strategy, an e-mail list, and a blog, just for starters.
Small Business Marketing for Start Ups
Of course, when you are first starting out you can’t launch everything at once. It helps to have a plan that starts slowly and builds. Fortunately, today’s small business marketing ideas don’t cost nearly as much as a yellow pages ad or a direct mail list.
At the heart of any small business marketing plan is the website. You can’t get around the importance of having your own website on your own domain name. Most people are not looking in the phone book for business referrals, they are looking on the internet. They are typing their requests in search engines or they are asking their friends on Twitter. If you aren’t there, you might as well be nowhere.
Small Businesses Need Their Own Domain
You can find free or shared website plans out there. This is probably one of the worst small business marketing ideas out there. Maybe the price sounds right, maybe they promise you free promotion. You should understand that as long as you are doing business under someone else’s domain you are at their mercy. All the effort you put in to building a reputation and getting yourself noticed online accrues to the benefit of the domain holder.
Someday the company that hosts your site may go belly up or sell out or simply change their rules of business and you will be stuck having to start over building credibility from the ground up on your domain. The best strategy for a small business is to start with a small website and build from there. That way all of the online marketing strategy accrues to the small business owner and not the big business domain holder.
Small Business Marketing Growth Plan
Launching a website costs just pennies a day in the beginning. Starting with a website and a WordPress blog you can begin drawing traffic to your site while also circulating your name in free online directories. You can add an email list to your plan and send out weekly tips to keep your name visible to potential clients. Blog posts will provide frequent updates that attract the search engine bots and drive up your rankings. Social marketing will help promote your blog and direct people to your website.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money on a website, especially not in the beginning. Whether you are an accountant or a plumber or a weekend math tutor, a website can be your interactive phone book advertisement for the 21st century. Today’s templates make it simple to get started and implement the small business marketing ideas that are keeping other small businesses afloat in an uncertain economic climate.
Tammi Kibler is a freelance writer who manages several websites and blogs. Tammi shares her best tips on hosting your website on your own domain at Website Set Up Click here ==> http://www.websitesetup.biz/website-set-up-e-book/ Download your free copy of the e-book “Website Set Up: Your Guide to Launching Your First Website.”
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How To Develop Your Own Small Business Website By Yourself
You don t actually need to hire a website designer You read it right you can build your own website By using the tools and resources on some web business solutions you can create a website that will put in value and money to your online …
Publish Date: 06/11/2010
Is Executive Coaching the Same As Therapy? 6 Key Reasons Why Coaching is not Therapy
LOL, many out there would consider coaching and therapy to be the same thing, which is why many business owners or professionals don’t take the time to consider a coach, because they don’t feel they need therapy. Well, coaching provides a much different function than therapy, and if you ask me, it is better to check out something that can possibly help you and even turn your business around, than to hold yourself back from pre-conceived ideas. Read on for more about what this article has to say.
Understanding where coaching ends and therapy begins
This boundary between coaching and therapy is extremely vague and subjective. In fact I would go so far as to say that they overlap significantly resulting in a set of similarities between coaching and therapy. This can prove to be somewhat confusing for helping professionals who try to explain those differences. It is true that coachees report that their coaching was very therapeutic but that does not mean that what they were receiving was therapy. So whilst there are many similarities between coaching and therapy I would like to concentrate on the differences in this article and then on the similarities in the next one.
Solution focused versus problem focused
The main difference in my experience of having practised as a coach and a therapist is that coaching tends to focus on the solution to problems rather than spending many hours trying to understand the problem. Therapy on the other hand is mainly about focussing on the problem, analysing and seeking an understanding the problem or just “being with” the problem. Therapy is also very useful for helping people to abstract a larger meaning for the problem.
Future versus past
Another difference between coaching and therapy could be that coaching deals with the accomplishment of future goals whereas therapy helps people to come to terms with painful events from the past. Of course this is a generalisation and a gross simplification. For instance some of these past painful events that a person experiences may get in the way of their ability to achieve their goals, so the coaching conversation will naturally reveal this “impediment”. It is then a question of whether the coach and coachee feel that it is appropriate to continue with the coaching while dealing with “baggage” from the past.
Remedial versus developmental
Therapy tends to be used in a remedial fashion helping clients deal with issues such as child abuse, bereavement or other events that have caused extreme trauma or depression within the client. Coaching on the other hand is mainly used as a learning and development tool to help clients achieve personal or business goals while deepening their awareness and understanding of themselves.
The Relationship: Top-dog/underdog vs egalitarian
Coaching works best when the coaching relationship is perceived as a peer-to-peer relationship, so all good coaches seek to establish this type of relationship. This is counter to many (but not all) forms of therapy where the therapist is considered the “top dog” or the expert while the client is the “under dog” or the patient.
Timing and frequency
A therapy session usually takes place every week (more often in the case of psychoanalytic) and lasts for 50 minutes, or a therapy hour as my wife would call it. The duration of therapy can last somewhere between 1 to five years. Conversely, coaching tends to be of shorter duration, but not always as is the case with executive coaching. Skills or performance coaching tend to have a short duration of maybe a few weeks to a few months. The frequency of coaching sessions again is variable with performance coaching taking place every week whereas developmental coaching often occurs once every 4 to 6 weeks. The typical length of a coaching session tends to be one to three hours.
Price
This may sound ludicrous but the cost of quality therapy versus quality coaching is huge, with coaching being often four times more expensive than therapy. I say this is ludicrous because of the amount of regulation, training, assessments and supervision that a therapist has to comply with compared to that of a typical business coach.
In the follow-up article to this I will cover the similarities between coaching and therapy.
Mark Buchan is business coach who specialises in executive coaching (aka leadership coaching). Mark works with the senior and junior leaders in large and small organisations. Current and previous clients include Rolls Royce, British Telecom, Bombardier Transportation, Nokia, Credit Suisse and many others. You can find out more about Mark and the services he provides by going to his companies website http://www.executivecoaching4u.com
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Publish Date: 06/07/2010