Tag Archives: Louise Gaillard

Decide and Plan for a Small Business, Inspiration & Quotes

Starting a Small Business: Is Someone or Something Discouraging You?

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When I first started out as an entrepreneur, my family and friends definitely weren’t very supportive of my decision. They laughed at me, to my face and behind my back. They basically told me that I was crazy and needed to go get a job!

Years later, I may still have my ups and downs as an entrepreneur from time to time but as Frank Sinatra sang: “I did it myyyyy way!” I earn a living doing what I do and I do it all on my own terms. I am not at the mercy of an employer or boss, which is possibly the most rewarding part of having your own business.

I believe to this day that if I had more support and less doubt from the people in my life at the time, I would have gotten a lot further as a small business owner in a shorter period of time.

So my question to you today is, do you have someone or something in your life that’s discouraging you from moving forward with your plans to start your own business? If so, here’s a little motivational post to help you eventually pull away from and around that roadblock.

You’re the Only One Who Can Live Your Life Successfully

From the time we’re children, many of us are conditioned to live our lives based on the wishes and desires of others – our parents, teachers and peers. But the truth is that they don’t know what’s best for your life. Only you know that. You are the only person who can live your life, so keep that in mind when you find yourself making decisions based on what other people want for you.

Relieve Yourself of the Opinions of Others

There’s a saying that goes “your opinion of me is none of my business.” A lot of people go through life making decisions based on what other people will think of them. Why do we care so much about what others think? When it comes right down to it, the opinions of other people really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. The only opinion that matters is the one you have about yourself. Are you happy? And if not, what do you need to do to get happy?

Some Day…

Are you taking up space on “someday isle?” That’s a place where people sit by idly, speculating on what they’ll do “someday” instead of taking action today. They make excuse after excuse about why they can’t take action: someday when my kids graduate from high school… someday when I get my master’s degree… someday when I save this amount of money. What is really stopping you from taking the first step to make your small business idea a reality? You can start today, even if it’s just sitting down and writing a plan of action. JUST DO IT.

If you’re serious about starting your own small business, you will do it. It’s as simple as that. As Tommy Lasorda said “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.” There comes a moment in life when you have to decide that nothing and no one will stop you from pursuing and achieving your dreams.

Self-Education for Small Business Owners, The Law of Attraction

Using the Law of Attraction to Jump Start Your Small Business

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The law of attraction is a theory that says we attract things into our lives based on the way we think and communicate with the world (but mostly our thought process). Having a positive thought life creates a positive real life. The ideas behind the law of attraction can be applied to your business activities. Here are three principles of the law of attraction and how you can use them to jump start your small business.

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The Way You Start the Day Defines the Day

What is the first thing you think of when you start the day? Is it positive or negative? Do you think about what a horrible day you have ahead or do you think about all the wonderful opportunities that lie ahead for your small business?

The very first thought that you have in the morning before you even get out of bed can determine how your day will go managing your business and your employees. Even when it’s a struggle to do so, tell yourself something positive about how your day will go before you get up and head to your small business office.

Visualization

Another idea associated with the law of attraction is that you can visualize your way to success. Do you have a clear idea of where you want your small business to be in three, five or 10 years from now? If not, go somewhere quiet for at least 15-20 minutes. Close your eyes and start meditating on it. Visualize every detail that you can think of, from the chair you’ll be sitting in to the figures printed on your business bank account statement to the car you’ll be driving to your state-of-the-art office. Do this every day until it’s like you’re actually living life in that other reality. Something powerful happens when you do this visualization exercise regularly — it becomes more and more like a real possibility.

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Practicing Gratitude

One of the most important tenets of the law of attraction is that you need to show gratitude on a daily and consistent basis. As a small business owner there are countless people who you can show gratitude to in the course of a day. Thank your employees for a job well done. Thank your suppliers with a special note or card for getting your items to you a day early at a good price. Thank your social media followers for sharing your content by offering them a discount. Thank your repeat customers with free stuff. Show your gratitude in every way, every day.

If your small business needs a boost, try incorporating these principles of the law of attraction in your daily business activities. You may be very pleasantly surprised at the results.



Starting up a small business, even if it's just on the side, is no longer an option -- it's a necessity. Why? Because everyone needs an additional source of income in our new economy. Click here to sign up for educational and motivational posts to keep you on track.

Small Business Marketing Plan

Your Small Business Marketing Plan: Tips for Success

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Your marketing plan could very well be the “make or break” element of your entire business plan. After all is said and done, your business is established and products are available for sale, you’ll still be doing marketing, sales and promotions. So when you’re writing your small business marketing plan, keep these tips for success and longevity in mind.

Stay Focused on the Main Purpose

When you’re writing a marketing plan, it’s important that you stay focused on the main goal of why you’re writing it in the first place. The point is to create an actionable plan that will guide the decisions you make while marketing and promoting your products or services. Some people get too caught up in technicalities that distract them from this main purpose. Your marketing plan doesn’t have to be written to an exact standard to “sound good” — write your plan in plain language that you can understand and follow.

Work from an Outline

If the idea of writing a small business marketing plan seems like a major feat, make it easier by simply creating an outline. You’ll find that as you follow the outline you’ll add more and more details until you finally have a full plan of action. Here is a simple outline to follow:

–          Your Overall Marketing Vision

–          The Marketing Team (and Responsibilities)

–          Target Customer Profile(s)

–          Product Details

–          Promotional Plan

–          Pricing Plan

–          Distribution Plan

–          Marketing Budget

Study and Test Your Target Audience

Some new small business owners make ill-advised assumptions about who would want to buy their product or service, but later learn that they’re targeting the wrong people. If you stay too fixated on one target audience, you could be missing out on a lot of income. Conduct marketing research to test your theories about your target audience, such as surveys, polls, small focus groups and handing out product samples in exchange for a review. Keep your mind open to other target customers that might scramble to buy your product or service.

If you want your new company to succeed, it’s so important that you spend some time developing your small business marketing plan. Pin your plan on your computer for quick reference and add to it every day until it’s just right.

 Louise Gaillard is a social media manager, prolific writer and author.



Starting up a small business, even if it's just on the side, is no longer an option -- it's a necessity. Why? Because everyone needs an additional source of income in our new economy. Click here to sign up for educational and motivational posts to keep you on track.

Guerrilla Marketing for Small Business

Guerrilla Marketing Ideas for a New Small Business

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Guerrilla marketing is the art of finding non-traditional and creative ways to let the world know about your products and services. The ultimate goal is to promote the brand or to inspire instant sales. For a guerrilla marketing plan to be successful, you have to be bold, confident, determined and willing to take a few risks. Here are a few guerrilla marketing ideas for a new small business owner to try.

Table Time

Some municipalities and cities allow people to set up a table on the street and distribute literature. This may be protected as free speech. If your city allows this, set up a table in a high traffic location with brochures, samples, business cards and other visuals to promote your company on the fly. Talk to people that you meet on the street and give them something to walk away with to place a future order (provide an 800 number on your company cards). Now if you want to sell your things on the street, that’s a different story. You may need to get a permit or sales tax certificate from your town or state first.

Public Transportation “Drops”

If you live in a major metropolis where most of the population uses public transportation, you might grab some attention by leaving promotional items in the seats, like business cards, small flyers or even a small product sample. When someone sits in the seat they’re likely to pick it up and check it out or take it with them. I’ve actually tried this out once, and then sat nearby to watch what happened. The person picked the promotional item up, read it and took it with her.


Done excessively, some people may think of this as “littering,” so you have to do it in moderation. Consider the rules and regulations before trying this guerrilla promotional idea to avoid issues, but keep in mind that plenty of people leave their newspapers and magazines behind when riding public transportation for the benefit of other riders. Also, if your item is interesting enough, someone is probably going to take it with them.

Personalized Giveaways

If your goal is to increase exposure to your brand (company name, phone number, website or other information) put it on a personalized item that people are likely to use every day and then give it away! Items that people use and look at often include pens, tumbler cups and refrigerator magnets.

Hire someone to distribute your customized, branded gifts on the street and around town. You might be surprised at how fast they go. When they see your logo, 800 phone number or website address every day, it will be hard to forget.

They say it’s good to think outside the box. Employing a well-crafted guerrilla marketing plan can help give your new small business a boost.

 



Starting up a small business, even if it's just on the side, is no longer an option -- it's a necessity. Why? Because everyone needs an additional source of income in our new economy. Click here to sign up for educational and motivational posts to keep you on track.

Decide and Plan for a Small Business, Entrepreneur Ideas

How to Find Your Talent – Your Calling

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What is your calling in life? How do you find your talent — the one thing that you have a knack for that could make you a lot of money if you set up a proper system to sell it?

But to be clear, when I ask the question, “what is your calling?” I’m not just asking what you’re good at. Everyone has skills in one area or another, but just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean that it’s your calling. You might be good at copying papers, but do you really want to copy papers for a living?

When I ask “what is your calling” I’m asking what do you LOVE to do. That’s what it comes down to — you have to love what you do first and foremost. You can always learn and refine your skills as time goes on.

So what do you love doing? How can you make money from it? Here are a few suggestions for brainstorming and coming up with a good idea:

  1. Take a trip back to your childhood. In elementary school I wrote a little book in one of those small white hard covered books where you can draw a picture on the cover) and also won 2nd place in a statewide poetry content. It wasn’t until 15+ years later that I realized I loved to write and could make a living from it. Think back to what you loved to do when you were a child but may have stopped doing because someone told you you had to be a “grown up” now.
  2. Ask yourself, what would you do even if you weren’t getting paid for it? What are you passionate about? What makes your heart flutter when you even think about doing it?
  3. What do you do on your free time that you really enjoy? Golf? Tennis? Are you the grill master on weekends? Do you love to snowboard? Reading? Start off with your hobbies, activities that you’re knowledgeable about, and then think of innovative products, services that you can sell to other people who have the same interests. Maybe even an online store selling the best stuff or an informational blog on the subject that earns money from clicks.

Start off with these ideas to find your talent. You might have to try a few things until something takes off. If you have to keep working in the meanwhile, no problem; do that, and use your nights and weekends to work on your new business idea.

Whatever you do, don’t give up! Keep pushing forward until you find your calling and can finally say that you love what you do for a living.

 



Starting up a small business, even if it's just on the side, is no longer an option -- it's a necessity. Why? Because everyone needs an additional source of income in our new economy. Click here to sign up for educational and motivational posts to keep you on track.