How To Achieve Business Goals

And, if you’re like so many business owners, you tend to treat your business like it’s a job. You spend all or most of your time doing the work (working “for” the business) and overlook the importance of defining where you would like your business to go and how to get it there (working “on” the business). You may have even noticed that your business has taken on a life of it’s own, and gone in a direction that you really haven’t intended or wanted it to.

How to achieve business goals
In this first of a series of posts, I am going to give you an overview of the 5 elements that make up my 2012 Formula For Business Success. I hope you find it useful.

Element #1 – VISION
What happens if you drive your car without having a destination? You go around in circles. The same can be said about business success. You can’t achieve success without first being very specific about what you would like your business to be like when it’s “done” – to define exactly what success means to YOU. And since we’re talking about a small business here, it’s crucially important to define your personal vision as well. In my next post we’ll examine the visioning process a bit closer.

Element #2 – GOALS
Business goals are the objectives you want/need to reach in order to make your vision a reality. To set business goals, you must first identify “the gap” between where you are now and where you want to be. Stay tuned for more about “the gap” and how to set business goals in future posts.

Element #3 – STRATEGY
Strategy is to vision as a map is to a road trip. Once you’ve set goals, you’ll need to outline an approach and draw up a plan of how to achieve business goals. This plan or blueprint will help you to know exactly what you’ll need to do to achieve your goals and reach your vision.

Element #4 – ACTION
It’s hard to achieve business goals without pinpointing and implementing the step by step actions or “tactics” that will get you there. If you’re spending little or no time taking actions towards your goals, get real, they will simply not materialize on their own.

Element #5 – MOTIVATION, SUPPORT & ACCOUNTABILITY
I wish I could give you a magic pill – but unfortunately none of this will happen unless you do do the work, but I promise, it will be some of the most satisfying work you can do. In order to stay focused on the prize (your vision) and put in the work to set the goals, devise the strategy and take consistent action, you’ll need the motivation to stick with the plan and the support, guidance and accountability to see it through.

If you want to learn more about how to achieve business goals, stay tuned for the next installment of this series or give me a call at 718-499-2831.

Til the next time…

Susan Martin, Business Coaching

Rosenberg, Musso & Weiner

Lawyer marketing
One of the most important aspects of any lawyer marketing strategy is having a website that brings in new business. Another project launched about a month ago, a re-design for the law firm of Rosenberg, Musso & Weiner, a bankruptcy firm in downtown Brooklyn, NY.

Attorney websites and blogs
This was another interesting project, both because Brooklyn bankruptcy attorney Bruce Weiner and partner and bankruptcy trustee Robert Musso are well recognized experts in their field, and because it involved a re-design where we combined an existing website and blog existing on separate urls into one, and did a bit of re-structuring of the architecture of the site so that it is more easy to navigate.

The original site had been built and maintained by a legal services company that builds a lot of generic sites and charges an arm and a leg to “unsuspecting” lawyers who are often too busy to bother finding other solutions. I had worked with RMW several years ago to make the site a bit more welcoming and help with conversions. But the time had come to move the site, save some money and make some well needed improvements.

One concern that the partners had was they were afraid they would lose some of the “seo juice” by moving the site. I’m happy to say that the site is currently enjoying about double the traffic it was getting in its previous incarnation and we’re hoping to increase that over the next few months.

A lot of the content remains the same, I’ve re-written some pages and worked to re-optimize for some missing keywords. Now that the launch has been successfully completed, we plan to continue to develop it and add more relevant content to drive more business to the firm.

The site represents another project I’ve done in conjunction with Jerome Walford of the Blue Griffin.

Attorney websites are an important part of any lawyer marketing strategy. If you have an existing site that’s not bringing in new business, costing you a fortune or doesn’t represent your firm in the way you think it should, or you need to develop a website from scratch, contact me, I can help.

Susan Martin, Attorney Websites

It’s been a busy month. On the heels of the launch of the medical practice website for Progressive Podiatry, I’m happy to announce the launch of a website for the law firm of Weiss, Buell & Bell. Headed by law partners Erica Bell and Carol Buell, their site is one of the most interesting attorney websites I’ve worked on to date.

One of the best things about my work as a law firm marketing consultant and business coach is the wonderful clients I work with.  I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Erica and Carol, their staff and the incredible work they do over the past several years.

The firm focuses on estate planning, administration, probate and real estate, but has developed an expertise in one of the most dynamic areas of law, protecting the rights of non-traditional families.

Partner Carol Buell successfully represented a same sex couple married in the Netherlands in the landmark case In re Adoption of Sebastian, 879 N.Y.S.2d 677, a case that the NY law journal described it as  “an important step in guaranteeing legal rights for same-sex parents, as well as a reminder of the obstacles such parents continue to face…”

Erica Bell successfully represented the surviving spouse of a same sex couple married in Canada in another groundbreaking case, the Estate of  H. Kenneth Ranftle, which resulted in the first recognition of a surviving same sex spouse in a probate proceeding in New York.  The case was brought up before the New York Court of Appeals and a decision was handed down this past Thursday (2/24/11) which upheld Judge Glen’s original decision.  As attorney Erica Bell stated, this ruling “…effectively makes full recognition of marriages between same sex spouses the law of the State of New York.”

Attorney Websites
This project represents the third website I’ve developed with Jerome Walford from the Blue Griffin.

Carol and Erica, both seasoned professionals wanted a site that conveyed their story without being too “salesy”.   I think we achieved that, please let me know what you think.

If you are a lawyer who would like to develop an attorney website that reflects your values and professionalism, give me a call at 718-499-2831 or contact me electronically, I can help.

Susan Martin, Marketing Legal Services

I am pleased to announce the launching of a website for Progressive Podiatry, a medical practice in Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY. Online medical marketing strategies for the practice include an information packed website, social media and a local search campaign.

Progressive was founded several years ago by Dr. Evan Breth, a podiatrist and surgeon. In developing the site I learned a lot about foot conditions and the compassionate, innovative care offered by Dr. Breth and his associate Dr. Mullins.

Websites for doctors
The website was the second joint project I’ve done with Jerome Walford of the Blue Griffin. Jerome handled the design and development of the site and I handled the marketing messaging, copy and search engine optimization. It was built on wordpress. One interesting feature is that patients can click on a button and schedule their own appointments online using a service called zocdoc.

As frequent readers may know, I’m a big proponent of developing a strong message to drive all marketing communications. To begin, I interview the principals of the practice or firm, analyze the competition and points of differentiation, then develop a compelling message and learn everything I can about their services and the results their patients/clients receive. All of this is brought to life via the content of the site, layering it with the keywords that will help bring their ideal patients/clients to their door.

If you have foot problems and live in Brooklyn or elsewhere in New York City check out Dr. Breth. If you’re in need of medical marketing strategies or websites for doctors contact me, I’ll help you bring in new business.

Susan Martin, Medical Marketing Strategies.

Like most business owners, I use technology to increase productivity, but am keenly aware of how the very same technology can be counter-productive as well.

An article in the NY Times today asks “Is Technology Driving You Up A Tree?” When technology fails, you may call for “tech support” and end up spending countless hours of waiting on hold, only to find yourself connected to a representative who is just one page ahead of you in the manual; or your cell phone drops the call just when they have finally found a solution.

Then there’s information overload and everything that comes along with it. As a business coach, I work with clients who struggle with the multitude of distractions that technological solutions present, who then have to “disconnect” in order to accomplish anything.

If your attempts to increase productivity have been backfiring, I can help figure out what technology helps and what needs to be let go of, deal with information overload and learn to avoid the interruptions that distract you from getting things done.

Susan Martin, Time Management Coaching

I’m pleased to announce the launch of Artisan Podiatry’s new website. The project was a joint effort between Jerome Walford from The Blue Griffin on the design side and myself on the seo content development and medical practice marketing side.

The site features Dr. Shazia Amar’s podiatric services. She’s a busy Brooklyn based podiatrist and surgeon I met last year. Dr. Amar had a one page website which merely listed her offices. She wanted something more comprehensive that would help bring in new patients to her growing practice.

I started this medical practice marketing project with an in-depth interviewing process, learning everything I could about the doctor, her patients, her practice and the foot problems she treats. I researched the competition and determined what makes Dr. Amar different from the myriad of podiatrists in Brooklyn.

If you’re a follower of this blog you’ll know that I firmly believe that before you develop a website you’ll need a compelling marketing message. So my first step was to develop the message. Next, I researched which keywords would be most appropriate, and then did the seo content development needed to bring her services to life.

By the way, Dr. Amar is an absolute delight to work with. She has a wonderful personality and is one of the most caring doctors I’ve ever run across, an attribute backed up by numerous patient testimonials. If you happen to live or work in Brooklyn NY and need a podiatrist I would highly recommend her, she has offices in Park Slope, Midwood, Flatbush and Kensington and is affiliated with New York Methodist Hospital.

If you are a doctor who is interested in medical practice marketing, contact me. I’ll be happy to discuss how I can help you pinpoint your message and do the seo content development to bring it to life on the web.

An interesting post by Jack Stack, long time proponent of “Open Book Management” in today’s NY Times reminded me of how emotions can undermine one’s ability to make better business decisions and can stand in the way of business success.

Jack interviewed fellow blogger and business owner Jay Goltz, about why he hasn’t utilized open book management since he seemed to be a perfect candidate for this innovative business strategy.

“Jack, I never had a problem with the concept of open-book management,” he said. “But I have always struggled with a few components of how you implement it. As long as I had those reservations, it was always easier to find an excuse and just push it to the back burner.”

Turns out that some of these reservations had more to do with emotional resistance than practical concerns. His own family history and the belief that was passed down to him by his immigrant grandparents, was that you should not reveal too much information, especially about how much money you’re making. This belief stood in the way of utilizing a strategy that has great potential and interfered with his ability to make better business decisions.

Jay is not alone, in fact his statement about pushing things to the back burner reminded me of many professionals I’ve worked with who have avoided implementing seemingly successful strategies because emotional factors get in the way of making better business decisions. Not surprising, these emotions often have to do with financial matters. Letting emotions guide decision making often stands in the way of business success; as was the case with Jenny.

Jenny runs a law firm in midtown Manhattan. She resisted hiring a bookkeeper for years. At first she fooled herself into thinking she would do it herself, but gave up after several years of good intentions.

Numerous opportunities had slipped through her fingers because she lacked the knowledge that a good set of books could empower her with, notably the opportunity to purchase the office space she had been renting at an insider’s price back in 2003, which she still regrets. Although she was in her mid 50′s, Jenny was hesitant to put too much into her retirement account, as she was always concerned that she wouldn’t have enough cash to cover overhead. As time went by she became more and more concerned with her ability to retire by her mid 60′s. Although the lack of financial information caused her to second guess herself, and she knew she didn’t have the time or bookkeeping skills to keep track of it herself, she simply could not let go and allow anyone to help.

When Jenny had to get her tax info. in order, it became a time consuming project to cobble together an entire years worth of receipts and other financial data by herself. When she received the returns back from her accountant, she was often plagued with concerns over why she hadn’t made more money or why she owed so much to the government.

We talked at length about her financial concerns and defined her idea of business success. She understood that there was a lot to be gained from delegating the bookkeeping to a skilled professional. We talked about what had influenced her emotional responses and she realized that it she was hearing an old tape of her mother’s fears playing over and over again in her head. Finally, she agreed to try to let go and hire a bookkeeping service to come in twice a month.

It took a little time for her to feel completely comfortable, but I’m pleased to report that today Jenny’s bank accounts are in balance. She knows exactly how much money she owes and what’s owed to her. She no longer fears her finances and feels much more in control.

As a result, Jenny has increased revenues, regularly takes a larger draw and is comfortable putting more money into her retirement account. She is confident in her ability to make better business decisions and looks forward to retiring in 7 years with ample income to live on.

Are emotions standing in the way of making better business decisions?

Susan Martin, Small Business Financial Management

Running a small business has it’s own unique set of challenges in any economic climate, but when trying to recover from a recession, small business survival depends upon a tenacious attitude and the ability to draw upon both external and internal resources and not be discouraged when things get tough.

You’ve heard me sing the praises of the New York Times “You’re the Boss” family of blogs before. I’ve highlighted the series “Staying Alive” in a couple of previous posts, (here and here) which recounts the story of how a small furniture company has weathered the recession; a series that presents the nitty-gritty details of what it’s like in the day to day struggle of a small manufacturing company.

“You’re the Boss” just started a new series of videos they’re calling “How I Saved My Company”, to bring real stories of small business survival to life. The first installment tells the story of Apt 168, a small interior design firm that helps people who are relocating to NYC furnish their new digs, and what they had to go through in order to survive the recession. My guess is that by documenting these small business survival stories, they will provide some well needed business motivation to other SMB owners to keep on plugging and do what’s necessary to keep their companies afloat.

There’s a marketing opportunity attached here as well. YTB is providing the venue and asking for volunteers who would like to showcase their companies and give others an insider peek at their small business survival story. Here’s an excerpt from the editor’s introduction:

“Almost every successful small-business owner has survived a near-death business crisis. Today, we’re beginning to collect these personal stories in a series of video contributions called How I Saved My Company.

We’re looking for business owners who have struggled and survived and who are willing to submit a short video telling about their experience. The following video explains what we have in mind…” (read entire post here)

Whether you are looking for some business motivation or would like to take advantage of the marketing opportunity to share your small business survival experience with the world (and get some well needed publicity in the process), I predict that this blog will be worth checking out over the next weeks/months.

Susan Martin, Business Sanity

Does business success and money matter if you’re not doing something you love?

One of the basic foundations of business coaching is to help people zero in on their purpose, the thing that makes life and work interesting, rewarding and fulfilling.

Often, clients come to coaching who have achieved what others may think of as “business success”, who are making tons of money but still aren’t happy. When that happens, there’s usually something missing, and that something usually has to do with “purpose”.

It’s hard to stay motivated and consistently have the drive to keep on keeping on when you’re not deriving any fulfillment from what you do. Running a business isn’t always easy, there are problems, obstacles to overcome, yes it’s sometimes a lot of hard work…but what’s the point of doing all of this, if you’re not doing something you really care about?

Hugh MacLeod summed it all up succinctly on his gaping void post on this very subject. It’s part of a series of “cartoons drawn on the back of business cards.” This one was inspired by Tim O’Reilly, of O’Reilly Media. Hugh writes:

“What’s there to say about Tim that hasn’t been said already? He’s one one of our great Internet and technology visionaries. I was fortunate to meet him a few months ago at Supernova in San Francisco. A really charming, well-mannered guy in real life.

The cartoon above was DIRECTLY inspired by a personal mantra of Tim’s, “Work On Stuff That Matters”. And of course, it’s the fact that we’re mortal (and life is short) that gives Tim’s mantra its sense of urgency. If we lived forever, we’d be more inclined to just sit on our butts all day long…”

Have you connected with your purpose? Are you doing work you love? If not, let’s talk.

Susan Martin, Business Sanity

Last Thursday, President Obama proclaimed May23-29th to be National Small Business Week, a week in which “I call upon all Americans to recognize the tremendous contributions of small businesses to our Nation with appropriate programs and activities.” The Small Business Administration has scheduled a variety of events taking place at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington D.C., and Startup Nation is hosting a webinar entitled “Small Business, Big Wins: Innovative Tools to Drive Your Business Forward” with Barbara Corcoran and Anita Campbell.

How will you as a small business owner, out in the trenches, celebrate the achievements of your small business?

Susan Martin, Business Sanity