PCBN Pacific Coast Business Network December 11, 2013 Seven Steps for Achieving Results in 2014 & Seven Principles for Success

Planning for 2014 The end of the year is time to begin thinking about important trends and your 2014 business goals. Whether you had a great or not so good 2013, it’s time for a new year and that means a fresh start moving forward.

What is Working and What is Not Working? Focus on keeping those things that are working in place and allocate time to work on addressing challenges. Don’t ignore the things that aren’t working. Take the time and resources necessary to get better and grow your business

Drop What's Not Working for You and Move On All products aren't going to be super sellers, all sales methods aren't going to work for everyone. If a technique or a product or a business relationship isn't working for you, stop using it. Don't invest a lot of energy into trying to make the unworkable workable. Move on. Something better will turn up.

What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You Make sure you build in time and financial resources to educate yourself in new developments, and skill areas that are important for the success of the business.

Seven Steps for Achieving Results Step #1 – Preparation – review results to date and new trends Step #2 – Create a vision for the future – develop a plan Step #3 – Make your plan visible – write it down Step #4 – Break your plan into small pieces Step #5 – Develop strategies – how you will do it Step #6 – Establish accountability – What, Why, Who, When Step #7 – Review and celebrate your success

Step #1 - Prepare Review & analyze your results to date What is your personal philosophy / life purpose? What are your most important values? Do you have affirmative beliefs? Do you have a positive attitude? At each moment of choice – do you choose actions leading to results? Have you surveyed your customers’ satisfaction? Have you identified lessons learned?

Four Basic Areas for Development Spiritual Alignment Emotional Connections Mental Focus Physical Energy

Three Basic Business Goals Marketing Profitability Infrastructure

Three Basic Business Goals 1.- Marketing Without effective marketing – You don’t have a business

Update your Networking. From blogs to Twitter to LinkedIn to Facebook, invest in building the online and social media presence you need to compete in the new digital world. Businesses that don’t leverage social networking will be left behind. Find an online forum in your industry and become an active contributor.

Reward your Best Customers Review which customers are giving you the most profit, and show appreciation. Send them a small gift at their one-year anniversary. Turn all one-time sales efforts into relationship sales. Give them a random call every few months to “check in,” thank them, and ask what else they might need. Ask a client for feedback on the work you’ve done for them.

Promote your Business Regularly and Consistently Often the task of promoting a small business slips to the bottom of the to-do list in the press of urgent tasks. If you want to attract new customers, you have to make promotion a priority. Take the time to create a Marketing Plan.

Participate in the Networking Group There's nothing like talking to other business people for generating new ideas, refining old ones, and making contacts. Making the effort to be a part of a group will revitalize you and your business.

Three Basic Business Goals 2.- Profitability Balance Revenue and Expenses

Eliminate Unnecessary Expenses Reduce your operating expense budget to the lowest possible number. Go through your expenses line by line and get rid of everything you can live without.

Start Preparing Your Taxes Now Organize tax information early or it can distract you from running your business. Many small business owners say that finding and organizing the documents they need to prepare their taxes is very or somewhat difficult. Small business owners find the tax preparation and documentation process very or somewhat time consuming.

Get Your Financial Books in Order For some small businesses, this is really difficult. Use accounting software – Quickbooks, Peachtree Get the help you need. Hire a bookkeeper and/or accountant if you need to.

Determine your Financial Position The next step on the year end checklist is to figure out where your business is now. First, you need to prepare (or have prepared for you) the standard three business financial documents that will be the basis of your decisions. The Balance Sheet is a summary of how your business is doing financially at a particular point in time. It shows all your business's assets, liabilities and equity. The Income Statement lets you see at a glance whether or not your business is profitable at a particular point in time by itemizing your revenue and expenses, resulting in a profit or loss. The Cash Flow Statement reconciles your opening cash with your closing cash for a particular period, showing you where the money has gone.

Infrastructure Your infrastructure is all the resources, systems, people, equipment, technology, capital and support you need to run your business.

Have a Website / Facebook Page Small business owners who are part of an online networking community say that their biggest benefit from social networking is “getting new business leads.” Consumers say they are more likely to use a small business that has a Web site.

Adapt to New Technology With cloud technology, you are no longer bound to a desk. Use Logmein and Dropbox and other interactive cloud- based systems to help you do your business anywhere. Make sure to you have Internet connections on all of your devices. Everything you once needed to do in your own office can now be done remotely.

Step #2 Create a Vision Develop a Plan If you don’t have a business plan, you’re flying blind and hoping for the best. It’s time to get serious and create a business plan.

Make Business Planning a Weekly Event Planning is vital if you want a healthy, growing business. Business planning lets you take stock of what worked and what didn't work, and helps you set new directions or adjust old goals. Set aside time each week to review, adjust, and look forward. Make business planning a part of each day. This will help you avoid costly mistakes and stay on track, and you'll feel more focused and relaxed.

Step #2 Create a Vision Develop a Roadmap - your Plan Visualize success and affirm that you can do it

Have a Long-Term Plan A Strategic Plan is an ongoing process Conduct an ongoing situation analysis External & Internal factors Establish a vision for growth – visualize success Set goals and objectives Develop creative strategies Clarify accountability Implement the plan Monitor progress and adapt

Set Realistic Goals Set goals that are achievable, rather than unrealistic pipe dreams that are so far out of reach they only lead to frustration.

Step #3 – Write it Down Get your ideas out of your head and record them Mobile apps make it easy to record ideas Dragon, Evernote etc. The Cloud makes it easy to have a Master List. Decide your priorities & choose the first step

Step #4 – Develop Strategies Determine How you will achieve your plan Use the Seven Stages for Creative Thinking 1. Prepare to be creative 2. Define the problem, or opportunity you want to improve 3. Search for Information 4. Reflect on the situation & generate options 5. Take a break 6. Analyze Alternatives & Select the best solution 7. Implement the best idea

Seven Principles for Success #1 Optimize the present moment #2 Be Consistent #3 Have a positive attitude & belief system #4 Have faith and a burning desire #5 Be committed for a long period of time #6 Be willing to pay the price #7 Practice Integrity

#1 Optimize the Present Moment Take advantage of the Power of Now Make smart choices Feelings follow actions - start – take small steps

#2 Be Consistent Perform small, regular actions over time

#3 Have a Positive Attitude & Belief System Happiness nourishes the brain Stay away from negative people

#4 Have Faith and a Burning Desire A strong belief & passion are critical for success

#5. Be Committed for a Long Period of Time Form habits Be persistent & patient Success takes time (Plant – Cultivate – Harvest)

#6 Be Willing to Pay the Price Sacrifice is often necessary to achieve success Exert the effort needed.