Use my Business Cleansweep Assessment (TM) to see where your business stands right now and where it needs improvement!  This is the exact same assessment I take my clients through when they first begin working with me so I know exactly where to support them best.

Rate your business in each of these 10 impact areas on a
scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is “Not at All” and 10 is “Most
Definitely!”:

1. Generating Leads -

I have a system for consistently bringing new client leads into my business (through web sites, articles, social media, publicity, free giveaways, etc.). The result of a great lead generating system is a large and well-targeted mailing list. If your list is very small or has not been growing with at least 20 new names a day, this might the area for you to focus on.

2. Converting Leads -

I have a consistent follow-up system for converting prospects into clients (teleclasses, newsletter, live events, information products, post cards, CDs, DVDs, and other activities that create a buyer; also, compelling marketing materials that turn your prospect into buyers; ). The result of a great lead conversion system are consistent sales.

3. Revenue Streams -

I created multiple revenue streams in my business (product funnel with low ticket and high ticket products, information products to educate my prospects, coaching program, passive & residual income streams; not just relying on client income). The result of having multiple revenue streams is usually a greater personal freedom, a much lower stress level, financial security, and predictable monthly income.

4. Strategic Alliances -

I constantly seek new joint venture opportunities to accelerate the growth of my business (e.g. co-hosting events, co-creating products, cross promotion of existing products, being a contributor to someone’s membership site or newsletter etc.) The result of strategic alliances is a much greater niche market penetration; more people have heard of you, read about you, bought from you, attended your teleclasses, and joined your programs. You have a bigger share of the market in your industry.

5. Internet Technology -

I effectively use technology in my business to automate time-consuming but essential tasks (e.g. shopping cart, web sites, autoresponders, article submission, newsletter publishing, blog, podcasts, ad tracking, list building, affiliate program etc.). The result of using the Internet effectively is usually a lot more free time and more effortless marketing.

6. Client Relationships -

I have a system for consistently pre-qualifying, nurturing, and supporting my clients to build lifetime relationships (client application process, welcome kit, managing client’s expectations, different stages of growth for your clients).

7. Support Team -

I have team that supports me in all areas of my business. I delegate everything that gets in my way of doing what makes me brilliant (administrative, creative, and client care; virtual assistant, writer, designer, bookkeeper, associate coaches). The result of having the right support team is peace of mind, faster results, and leverage – you know you can get any project done without being stopped by technology or something you don’t know or don’t have time for.

8. Systems -

I created a system for all areas of my business to avoid recreating the wheel every time I do something, so I can enjoy great productivity, leverage, and personal freedom, and can take my business to any level I want (have a document process for how things get done in your business, publishing a newsletter, issuing a refund, setting up a new client, marketing, product development and fulfillment, etc.)

9. Market Leadership -

I have positioned myself as the market leader and the #1 expert in my industry (I stay on the cutting edge of what’s happening in my market and create innovative solutions for my target audience, I openly communicate my opinions and beliefs, and create opportunities for industry growth; I study my industry and publish my observations; people see me as a thought leader). The result of being a market leader is that business comes easy to you. Clients want to work with you, movers & shakers want to partner with you, media wants to write and talk about you.

10. Business Vision –

I have a clear picture of what I want to achieve in my business and what my business will look like in 5 years. My vision drives all my business and personal decisions and actions, and I wake up every day knowing that today I will move closer to my goals.

Let me share with you a list of 33 different techniques and tools you can use to spread the word about your new infoproduct, coaching program or service offering:

1. Send an e-mail announcement (with a deadline for getting the early bird discount) to your ezine, client and personal lists and address books.

2. Send a postcard announcement to people in your snail mail address book.

3. Write a press release and submit it to a number of free press release sites (you can find a list here).

4. You publish a blog or ezine, right?

5. Write a press release with a local angle that your nearby newspaper(s) might pick up.

6. Get speaking engagements with local groups whose members might be interested in your program.

7. Set up a free introductory workshop for people who might be interested purchasing the entire program or product.

8. Write an article on the topic and submit it to some of the free article directories on the Web (include information on your product or program in the resource box).

9. Once the article is published, tweet about it.

10. Also, share links back to your published article on Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

11. Submit an article on the topic directly to large, established ezines such as the one published by SelfGrowth.com.

12. Offer a free teleclass on the topic.

13. For greater impact, visibility and reach, coordinate a telesummit event with coaches who specialize in other areas (see my earlier blog post on how to launch a telesummit event ).

14. Promote the program on Twitter as often as you can without chasing off your followers.

15. Offer a contest on Twitter that for everyone who retweets the link to your program sign up page, one person will win a prize (perhaps a previous book or product you’ve written).

16. Set up an affiliate program so that others can earn commissions from selling your product or program.

17. Offer yourself as a guest speaker to local radio talk show hosts.

18. Do the same with local TV station talk show hosts.

19. Why not shoot for the moon and contact representatives of some major radio and TV talk show hosts? If the topic of your program/product is relevant enough, you just might generate some big time interest.

20. Offer yourself as a speaker to people who have established Internet radio shows on sites such as http://blogtalkradio.com.

21. Speaking of Internet talk radio, consider hosting your very own show on a regular basis.

22. Look for opportunities to offer meaningful feedback on other people’s blogs, with links back to your product or program.

23. Update your e-mail signature with a short blurb about and link to your offering.

24. Create an inexpensive business card specifically for your product or program (or use more of the postcards from suggestion #2) and leave them everywhere you go—restaurants, hair stylist, doctor and dentist offices, etc.

25. Mention your program or product during your voice mail or business answering machine message, including the URL.

26. Create a free report that gives people a taste of what your product or program is about, and make it available to people who sign up with their e-mail addresses.

27. Have a follow up autoresponder series sent to the people who sign up to receive the free report.

28. Make a list of all online forums and discussion groups that you to, and bring up your program (or at least its topic) on all of them.

29. If you haven’t already, create your own fan page or group in Facebook and/or LinkedIn and invite people to talk about the topic of your product.

30. List yourself as an expert on your topic on websites such as http://expertclick.com , http://helpareporter.com/ , https://profnet.prnewswire.com/ and http://www.askmehelpdesk.com .

31. Post your product or program on some free online classified ad websites. You can try sites like http://www.usfreeads.com/ , http://www.classifiedsforfree.com/ and http://www.classifiedads.com/ .

32. Do you belong to any associations or organizations either on- or off-line? Have your offering announced in the association’s newsletter or ezine, which almost always have a “member news” section.

33. Contact freelance writers who have written articles in the past on topics similar to yours or of interest to your niche market and propose article ideas they might want to use, with you as a resource (look for bylines by people who have written for well-known magazines such as Redbook, O Magazine or Ladies Home Journal, and be sure to check both print and Web-based versions of your targeted publications).

OK, I trust that there are enough ideas here to get you started, yes? Then I challenge you to select a handful of them and get going on your own road to promotional success.

And, to create more products, programs, and other streams of income from your topic, passion, or experience, be sure to watch this FREE presentation now: How I Escaped The Client Chasing Rat Race, Started Working Only Four Hours a Day, and Quadrupled My Income – All In Just 12 Months“

So the most important thing you can do for your business is to create a continuity income stream. Regardless of what type of business you own, there are five continuity income streams you can easily create.

Create your first subscription-based income stream.

At least 50% of my income comes from automated monthly streams in subscription-based programs. There is nothing better than having monthly payments arrive in my bank account automatically. We always hear Internet marketers talk about passive and residual income, but most entrepreneurs still haven’t cracked the code of how to do it effectively.

I started out with a membership-based web site and charged $17.95 a month, then kept adding other continuity programs over the years. Some require more of my time, others don’t require any time at all. What I love most about automated income streams is that they free me up to be creative.

Five Continuity Income Streams

Here are five continuity income streams you can easily create, in no particular order:

1. Content.

This is the most common subscription-based income type you’ll see. You can publish industry trends, news, interviews, newsletters, CDs, and any other information of interest to your niche market. You can deliver this information digitally or by mail, weekly or monthly. You can create content yourself or hire someone else to do it for you.

What I love about content-based membership programs is that I can re-purpose the content from my monthly newsletter by including it in my other information products.

2. Community.

Although not the most obvious, this might be one of the easiest subscription-based income streams to create. In fact, my very first membership-based web site was a community site, an association for coaches. At first I thought that I needed to have some kind of license or lots of legal paperwork to fill out before I could create an association.

Then I learned that since I am not trying to start a non-profit organization, this was just like starting any other online business. I offered a membership forum, monthly tele-seminars, interviews with experts, and a member directory. This has not only given me a growing monthly income stream, but significantly raised my profile in the coaching industry.

3. Software.

If there is a truly automated income stream, I’d have to say it’s web-based software. Every industry, profession, and group of people wants their own tools that make their lives easier. I discovered a need for two particular tools, which coaches use to improve their lead generation and enhance their group coaching programs. The reason I hardly ever touch these two web-based tools is because they’re fully automated or delegated – from sign- up to training to customer support. My assistant communicates directly with the programmer to add new features or to fix a bug if necessary.

If you have an idea for a web-based tool, head over to a site like www.rentacoder.com and post it for programmers to bid on. I had a complete version of a tool developed for less than $500, and it brings about $2500 a month and growing every year.

4. Coaching.

Entrepreneurs and experts all over the world offer coaching to their clients as a way to support them on a monthly basis, and to generate additional income stream. Coaching can be done professionally (in fact, you can become a professional coach by attending one of the 298 coach training schools, with my favorite being www.coachtrainingalliance.com); or, you can offer support through coaching club, coaching “gym,” group coaching, or mastermind groups.

Which one you do depends on how much time you want to spend on the telephone or in person. Some people offer three one-hour calls a month, others prefer shorter “laser-style” support calls during specific call- in days, while others enjoy four annual mastermind meetings as a way to support their clients.

Whichever level of access you decide to provide to your clients, this is a great way to add a continuity income stream to your business. You could also create your own coaching club, which is a membership-based mentoring program with a huge income potential.

5. Affiliate.

This is something you see all the time. There is nothing easier than referring people to another web site and generating affiliate commissions from the products they offer. The only twist I want to suggest to you is that instead of joining dozens of product-based affiliate programs, why not find a handful of continuity-based affiliate programs to refer people to? Once someone subscribes, you’ll get monthly affiliate commissions for as long as they are members. Years after I recommended a web-based service, I still receive my affiliate checks from them.

As Tom Antion likes to say, “I couldn’t stop this income even if I wanted to!”

To achieve leverage, you must stop selling time and productize your service. Turn your service into something you can deliver without actually doing the work: information products, membership sites, software, etc.

How do you begin?

Dr. Anita Campbell, the founder of Small Business Trends, writes in her “5 Steps to Turning a Service Into a Product – So You Can Sell Your Business” article:

Here are 5 steps to turn services into products:

1. Identify something you can replicate repeatedly (what do you keep doing over and over?)

2.  Document it (steps and processes)

3.  Put limits around your offering (don’t leave it open-ended)

4.  Incorporate technology (automate some steps)

5.  Build an organization (build a team)

Even if you don’t want to create a big business, productizing your services and knowledge will help you achieve a lot more freedom, profits, and fun in your business!

1) survey (survey your list to find out their biggest problems)

2) discover (identify the biggest problem or need)

3) brainstorm (come up with a list of points to cover in your info-product)

4) organize (create a table of contents or come up with questions if it’s Q&A format)

5) record (get on the phone or microphone and record yourself discussing each point)

6) transcribe (have a transcript completed from your recording)

7) polish (turn it into a “book” or “ebook”)

That’s it!

I think it has to do with my anticipation of the kids being out of school, the heat, and the ants migrating into my kitchen to cool off.

Over the years I learned to prepare for summer time by NOT starting any “heavy” projects and keeping my schedule as open as possible.

I also like to catch up on my reading…In fact, I’ve got an embarrassing confession to make.

You know how you go to events and someone always asks, “How many people have read ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill?”

Most people raise their hands…Of course, I raise my hand, too. I have the book and I started reading it…

…about 17 times!

Maybe it’s because English is not my first language, or I simply wasn’t ready for it, but until last week I never ACTUALLY read this classic!

It’s truly amazing! I keep turning back to the first page to check if it really was written in 1937 – it might as well have been written TODAY!

Here are my favorite quotes so far:

“The accumulation of great fortunes calls for power, and power is acquired through highly organized and intelligently directed specialized knowledge, but that knowledge does not necessarily have to be in the possession of the person who accumulates the fortune.”

Get it?

It’s about creating a team!

Another one:

“Riches, when they come in huge quantities, are never the result of hard work!”

YES! I guess that’s where “Work smart, not hard” came from…

On leadership:

“There are two types of people in the world, leaders and followers. Decide at the outset whether you intend to become a leader in your chosen calling or remain a follower.
The difference in compensation is vast.”

Isn’t this what Seth Godin writes about in “Tribes?” Everything truly stems from Napoleon Hill’s masterpiece!

I connect the next one to the major problem in the coaching industry:

“The world does not pay for what people ‘know’. It pays them for what they do, or induce others to do.”

In other words, coach on what you already succeed in, and “riches will follow.” Most coach on what they wish they had themselves, and this lack of authenticity hurts their business.

Is Napoleon Hill really the grandfather of all self-help?

I don’t know for certain…But it does seem like all the books written since then, and all the coaching programs created in the last 20 years, are based on his principles.

I am still chugging along – reading chapter 10 right now…

I even skipped watching my favorite “Friends” episode to read it…and in my world it says a lot

Milana

After nine years of people telling me that I couldn’t build a million-dollar company working 4-5 hours a day, while raising two small children, I proved them wrong.

(I only wish I would’ve known about this business model sooner and not listened to those who slave over their businesses into the night!)

• Do you feel stuck at your current income level?
• Do you constantly worry about getting things done and keeping your cashflow going?
• Do you feel like the only way to grow your business is to work more hours or to add more clients?

I found an amazing business model that allows you to cut your work time in half and still experience massive growth in your business.

I call it “The BLISS Factor” and this April I’ll be personally coaching a select group of entrepreneurs in creating a high- income business with unlimited growth potential using the same model.

“The BLISS Factor” is designed specifically for coaches, consultants, authors, speakers, trainers, and other expertise- based business owners who are tired of being chained to their business and ready to break free from it, while creating a highly profitable company.

REGISTRATION for this unique and highly experiential 3-day live event will open next Wednesday, February 18 at 1:00 pm EST and will accept people on a “first-come-first-serve basis” (watch for more details soon).

In the mean time, get a copy of “The BLISS Factor” business model outlined in my “Unlock Your Business Growth” toolkit:

=====================================================
F R E E   T O O L K I T   D O W N L O A D
=====================================================

“UNLOCK YOUR BUSINESS GROWTH: Do Less, Make More,

and Turn Your Natural Ability Into a Million-Dollar Company”

http://www.TheBlissFactor.com

***Available in PDF and MP3 format***

If you’ve been frustrated with your business lately, feeling tired and discouraged, what I reveal inside this toolkit may transform your business and change your life.

Don’t let any “gurus” out there tell you that you need to put more hours in, do more public speaking, attend networking events, work harder etc. You can create an amazing company on YOUR terms, and I show you exactly how to do this inside.

Be sure to watch the video on the page above! I share two specific mindshifts I had to make before I could implement “The BLISS Factor” business model and create a business full of complete personal freedom of time and money: http://www.TheBlissFactor.com

I LOVE surveys because they’re very eye-opening! Here is a quick glance at the results:

Of the 346 people who responded:

• 67.7% – Make less than $50K a year
• $19.3% – Make between $50K and $100K a year
• 13.1% – Make $100K a year and up

Business owners with a lower income level said they have trouble:

- Identifying their specialty and niche market

- Getting customers and clients

Business owners with a higher income level shared that they are struggling with:

- Getting things done

- Creating efficient business systems

While there are many differences between “beginners” and “advanced” business owners, I noticed one common thread. OVERWHELM - not enough time to implement all ideas; too many great opportunities and constant feeling of missing out on them.

I find this absolutely fascinating! No matter where you are in your business, overwhelm can easily take over your business and life.

I found several very powerful ways to get things done and drive my business forward without experiencing the overwhelm most entrepreneurs complain of.

Here they are:

1. Single-minded focus on my biggest most important projects. These are the projects that make the biggest impact on my bottom line.
2. Having a system and a criteria for saying “no” to projects, people, and ideas. You can’t do it all and if you try to, you’ll end up getting poor results.
3. Using a “filter” when receiving product offers. Not everything is right for me and my business. I always keep my business goals and natural abilities in mind when investing into a product or signing up with a mentor.
4. Make a deliberate decision to exclude certain marketing tactics and vehicles for the sake of focus.  There are thousands of ways to attract prospects and convert them into clients, choose top 5-7 and focus your promotional strategy around them.
5. Work from a plan! Start with a 12-month timeline then fill in the blank; then transfer your action plan into your calendar – this has tripled my productivity and saved a ton of time!
6. Focus on doing less, but doing it better. Unless your goal is to constantly keep yourself busy, doing less actually produces much higher results.

But recently I’ve been thinking about what “getting things done” really stands for.  It teaches you how to be productive and organized, and do more in less time.  If you master the concepts in the “Getting Things Done” book, you’ll be able to tackle a large number of projects and to-do’s faster than anyone else. Great skills, right?

The problem is that it essentially teaches you how to become a taskmaster. Work, work, work…complete, complete, complete…organize a gazillion little things you need to accomplish into a system…implement all of your ideas faster, and so on.

So, you end up focusing on completing as many tasks as possible and that’s how you measure a successful day, week, or month.

I believe that it’s a dangerous place to be for entrepreneurs. Vision and focus – these are the two things entrepreneurs must operate from. Today I can accomplish in one hour something that will make a huge difference, while three years ago I focused on checking as many things off my to-do list as possible.

How do you operate? How do you measure success every day? Remember, your work never gets done – entrepreneurs create their own work – therefore choose to focus on ONE thing that makes all the difference in your business.

Well, what if I don’t want to put my mind to it? What if someone else can put their mind to it much faster, easier, better, and they’ll actually enjoy every minute of it?  Why do it yourself when someone else can do it for you? Most importantly, are you really going to do it, or just whine about not having enough time to do it?

I identified seven types of activities your team must be able to handle. I am not saying you should have seven people on your team. Nor am I telling you to hire your entire team at once. I am simply suggesting that all of these activities must be taken care of at some point in every business. Either you are doing these yourself, or they’re not being done at all, which most likely has a limiting impact on your cashflow and revenue.

Here they are:

1. Administrative (customer service, web site maintenance etc.)
2. Creative (design, writing, editing etc.)
3. Marketing (PR, internet marketing, social media etc.)
4. Sales (in-house, affiliate, strategic alliances, etc.)
5. Service delivery (coaching, consulting, training etc.)
6. Technical (computers, network, web hosting, programming, e-commerce etc.)
7. Professional contractors (accounting, legal, event planning etc.)

There are two more types of activities I thought I’d mention – these may not seem essential to your business success and profitability, but I can tell you they’ve made a huge difference in my life:

8. Mentoring (business coach or mentor)

9. Personal (house cleaning, chef, consierge, shopper, image consultant etc.)

No, this is not about being lazy or outsourcing your whole life…It’s about creating a business where work becomes optional.