One of the phenomena I’ve observed in producing and hosting the Small Business Summit, over the past 5 years is the business community that has built up around this activity. We have a number of loyal sponsors who have come back year after year to support our efforts and take advantage of the growing small business community interested in business and technology.

At the Summit you get to reconnect with old friends and have the opportunity to make new ones. We have heard time after time that great new business connections are made at the Summit each year. That’s the bottom line value of the Summit. I hope you will join me at this year’s Summit and experience what I’m talking about.

The Summit is an example of an Informal community; people in a variety of tech and other businesses who come together annually to be updated on technology for small business, make new connections and reconnect with old friends.

As I see it there are three types of business communities:

Informal – There is no structure. You come together with others for a variety of business-related purposes. You often see the same people at different events and you begin to gain a level of recognition by your sheer frequency of presence. If you participate in a visible way, your recognition and reputation will grow quickly. Social networks are an informal community.

Formal – These are communities organized for specific purposes, industries, connections and more. The value for most small businesses is being able to use these communities as connections for information, resources, education, networking and growing their business. Here you have the opportunity to contribute in a more structured way. You can serve on committees, help at events, organize programs, etc.

Personal – Then there is your own personal business community; those you do business with, look to for expertise, obtain services and resources from. The more you make yourself available to the members of your community the faster your connections will grow.

Chances are you are a member of all three.

Know why you have become part of any community. Then participate at the right level to fulfill your intent.

And what they say is true; you do get out of your community what you put into it. Participation at an appropriate level for you is where you will get the most value.

NOTE: Stay tuned to learn about the new structure I have created to organize the small business leader community, BizLeaders Network, being introduced at Small Business Summit 2010.

1. Marketing in today’s economy – Be more aggressive in your marketing efforts, but also keep your authentic voice and personality in how you market your business.
2. Client relations – you may already have a small or large group of loyal clients, but are you continually keeping them interested with loyalty perks? What you are doing now to attract new clients and referrals?
3. Customer satisfaction – have you asked your customers or clients how well your service has been lately? If not, then it’s time to consider providing a client or customer survey to measure the results of your services.
4. Productivity – are you satisfied with your productivity? Can you see where improvements can be made in the management of your operations?

Some viable solutions that could increase business growth are:

1. Expand your marketing tactics; consider social media marketing. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter make it easy to market your business online. Once you set up your company profile, then it’s a matter of being consistent with your marketing efforts. Having your business marketed this way is very inexpensive and you are reaching a far more expanded audience than just your local area.

2. Evaluate  customer satisfaction. Consider distributing a customer or client survey to measure the results of your services. Think about it…a customer or client will not always tell you how their service experience was. By providing them a survey or questionnaire, they can express their ideas or concerns and you can work on improving the areas that need attention in your service offering or offerings.

3. Take steps to improve or increase productivity. A good way to evaluate productivity is to create a log or journal of your activities each day for a couple of weeks. What are the tasks that are a huge waste of time? Eliminate the time-wasters and focus on the priority tasks first and foremost. This makes for a productive day for you and your employees.

I’d love to hear your stories of how you are meeting the challenge of a slow economy.

In Resolving Disputes in Family Businesses, http://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-articles/resolving-disputes-in-family-businesses-2227. David says: “a family business (FB) is really three distinct but intricately related systems. Each system—family, ownership, and business—has certain functions it must fulfill, and where these systems overlap, more opportunities are created for their functions to clash or be confused. Untangling them requires a clear view of how each system works on its own, as well as how they mesh together.”

David offers excellent examples of his systems as well as suggestions for resolving family issues.

What family business stories do you have to share?

His goal is to become the go-to guy for great riding bikes that look high-end but cost less than comparable big-builder bikes. He has amassed 3 barns full of cycle parts and has established an online business selling them. Brian is a true entrepreneur with good marketing savvy.

I couldn’t resist sitting on his bike. It was a beauty and has won awards at smaller shows. The only time I ever rode a motorcycle I was a passenger and I remember burning my leg on the exhaust. But it was a fun ride.

Walking the rest of the show revealed a very wide range of options for bikers, with prices ranging from less than $10,000 to over $50,000, at least what I saw. Bikers and would-be bikers of all ages were kicking the tires and trying the seat. Pre-teens and seniors alike were enjoying jumping on and off everything in the showroom. As would be expected, there were lots of riding and biking “accessories” on exhibit as well.

Here’s one of the exotic bikes we saw.

While I didn’t go to the show for business, I did meet a few people who were clearly in need of some marketing help. I left my card and will follow-up.

What I didn’t see was a company that offered bikes for rent, in the same way you can rent or lease a car. Seems like that would be a good option for those who don’t want to make the investment in a bike, but want to ride now and then. That’s an especially attractive option in this economy. Sooner or later someone will latch onto the idea.

For help with branding, revenue generating strategies or just helping you make a critical business decision, I’m always eager to support and guide you. Be in touch anytime.

In addition to determining where we are now versus where we want to be at some specified time in the future, I find it’s helpful to understand the goal achievement process in terms of sequential conceptual stages. This offers another way to look at what might otherwise seem straightforward and colorless.

The 9 elements that support goal achievement are Courage, Commitment, Clarity, Communication, Consistency, Confidence, Credibility, Completion and Celebration.

When you first consider the goals you want to work toward, you may not have confidence in your ability to reach them. So how can you reach that state of confidence? I find the best point of departure is to establish a level of courage.

Acting from a feeling of courage and commitment is the foundation upon which confidence is built. Confidence begets confidence. Credibility is confidence returned. It comes when others believe in you and your message. Completion finishes the process and sets the stage for gathering courage for your next goal. And Celebration acknowledges and reinforces it all.

Courage

— Aware of who you are and what value you offer.

Courage comes from knowing yourself, your assets and limitations, and what you can and want to do that others will value. Courage provides a feeling of strength. Aligning all your assets makes you feel strong and courageous. Supporting your limitations adds more strength. Feeling courageous prepares you to take action.

Commitment

—  Making a commitment to a goal is the first step toward achieving it.

Using the courage you’ve gained from defining and aligning your assets, you must look deep in your heart for what puts the fire in your belly, what motivates you to stick with it regardless of the challenges faced. Commitment is what makes you unstoppable.

Clarity

— Key words and phrases that define your market value will prepare you to communicate.

Once you’ve defined your “value” and learned the language that will attract what you want, you’re ready to plan how you’ll get your message out. It’s good for people to know “you’re looking for 10 new clients and here’s what they might look like”. That’s clarity.

Communication

— Prepared to communicate your message consistently.

You probably won’t be able to achieve your goals alone. So you’ll want to elicit the help of others. Communication, in all forms, is how you share your message with your “universe”.  Once you’re ready to take action, communication is the next step in the process.

In business, the strong leader communicates goals to everyone in his working network. Asking for input from your “team” in developing goals is always a good first step. Communication is best when it goes both ways.

Consistency

– Consistency begets confidence.

This means you’ve considered and aligned all the ways you communicate. Having your verbal, written and visual communication conveying your key message creates a powerful force toward your goal. Consistent communication attracts those who relate to your message. Putting it out into your universe clearly and consistently is the action that produces results.

Confidence

— Experience

The first step in gaining confidence is to experience something that provides a successful outcome. Taking the risk to try something new is scary. We feel uncomfortable and unsure about our actions until we try and succeed. It’s that experience, however, that allows us to break through to confidence.

— Practice

Courage gets you ready; confidence puts you into action. By choosing to practice and repeat the experience of feeling confident, your confidence will gain strength. That’s when your message becomes second nature and your confidence level continues to improve.

Credibility

— Others have confidence in you

When your confidence is strong you encourage others to have confidence in you. As others perceive your integrity, they will come to trust in you and believe you can and will meet expectations. That’s when you gain credibility. People will want to do business with you. You’ll also be able to engage others to help you reach your goal.

Completion

— Reaching goals.

This is what it’s all about. Whether you’re selling and providing products, services or both, you’ve got goals. Looking at goal achievement from the perspective of the 8 C’s you can see how it is a cycle that builds on itself over time. The more goals you achieve, the easier it will become.

Understanding and applying these concepts is particularly helpful for business development goals. Your reputation, your brand image and your goal outcomes will benefit from your applying them.

Celebration

– Acknowledge your win.

Give credit where it’s due. Feel the joy, strength and freedom of taking the lead and plan to do it again. Reward yourself with a celebration; a party, an extra holiday, whatever makes you feel good about your accomplishment.

And there’s one more C that can help you accomplish your goals…and that’s Coach. As your coach I will help you integrate these elements into your actions and provide the structure and guidance to keep you on course toward your goals. I’ll also cheer you on and help you celebrate your successes.

Want to create a strong brand, add to the sustainability of your business, increase your confidence and really enjoy being an entrepreneur? Just add the secret ingredient. Billion dollar businesses have been built on the secret ingredient.

In your business the secret ingredient is “YOU” and your personal assets. It’s up to you to know who you are: your strengths, your motivators, your values, and to apply those liberally to how you conduct and present your business. A good part of what attracts customers and clients is you.

Early in life you may have been discouraged from using your personal assets by well-meaning family, friends, teachers and others. It is, however, these qualities that have the strongest potential to attract what will make you successful and happy in your business and your life.

Marcus Buckingham, noted author and speaker on the subject has shown that “people will be dramatically more effective, successful and fulfilled when they play to their strongest skills rather than attempting to improve their weaknesses”.

Think back to when you were a child. I’ll bet there are things you can remember having fun doing or that were important to you then that somehow got lost in the growing up process. Chances are they’re still there, but have been forced underground because you wanted to “fit in” and be accepted as one of the group – or there was no obvious way to use them at the time.

The wonderful thing is you have choices all the time. With every choice comes the resulting impact on your universe. Each option will bring a different set of results. If you are conscious of who you are – your strengths, passions, talents, etc., you can make choices that will allow you to benefit from these assets.

I believe we use only a small part of our brain power to a large extent because we are out of alignment with our innate nature and strengths. It’s an exercise in basic physics. We’re designed to receive our awareness energy from many sources. If our basic receptors are out of alignment, some of that energy will be deflected as it enters our multiple consciousness levels, thereby substantially reducing the energy we can use.

By realigning ourselves with our core strengths we receive the full force of that energy. This means we gain maximum awareness from our environment.  We become stronger, more intuitive and express ourselves with more passion and confidence.

So how do we realign ourselves to benefit most from who we are?

It’s an exploratory process that can be accelerated through the use of an outside person; a friend, a family member or a coach – someone who can help sort out the truth from the fiction we’ve created about ourselves.

When I work with a new client, the first assignment focuses on identifying personal assets.  This brings to the surface many personal facets that had previously been forgotten. A focused review of their lives gives major clues about their strengths, values, skills, passions and talents.

A rediscovered musical talent, a love of animals, the ability to create solitude and peace in a hectic environment are all part of the individual truths that have been used to redefine and redirect several of my clients’ lives and businesses.

Once you acknowledge and claim who you really are, you have the foundation upon which to build your relationships, your business and your personal satisfaction. You will more easily be able to attract what you need to realize the dreams you may have long ago forgotten.

When your  own image is clearly implanted in your mind it becomes your personal brand and your secret ingredient for business success.

What’s your secret ingredient?

If you’d like to work on defining and refining your own secret ingredient, go to the Contact page and send me a note. We’ll schedule a time to talk.

Our flight was uneventful and our hotel was luxurious. We stayed at The Regent on Charlottenstrasse in the East. It was gorgeous and the service impeccable. I would highly recommend it. The Germans have maintained their traits of regimen and punctuality. Because of that, services in general are great. There are buses , subways, light rail, and trains, all with time of arrival updated by the minute on overhead electronic signs. Few people have cars because public transportation is everywhere and excellent.

One of the first things we did was take a personalized tour with an expat American who has been in Berlin for 9 years. We spent 8 hours with him and got a history lesson along with the full city tour. He said we walked a total of 4 miles and our bodies felt it the next day. It rained, snowed and sleeted during the day we were out and it was that bone-chilling damp cold that goes right through your clothes. I had on 3 layers and was OK, but my hands and face got cold.

We learned that most museums are centrally located on Museum Island in the middle of the Spree River, which runs through Berlin. We toured a couple later in the week. Our guide took our picture in front of the Reichtag, a building where political gatherings over the years have changed the course of history many times, and where Adolph Hitler convinced the German people to elect him.

Berlin is a city of many contrasts and surprises. What has been saved or restored is magnificent, but the memories of its ugly history are still evident. A piece of the old Wall which was breached 20 years ago  still stands.

The old has been preserved whenever possible, and the new is often right beside it. One church was left exactly as it was and the glass tower replacement stands beside it.

One day we went on a walking tour on our own into some of the streets of East Berlin where there still had not been much rehabilitation. It’s where many of the young people and artists live. We saw sidewalk markers in front of homes where people had been whisked away during the Holocaust and never seen again. Memorials of all varieties were on many of the blocks. And in the distance we could see the TV Tower and rotating ball built by the Russians (the tallest structure in Berlin) during the Cold War. At the top is a rotating  high-end restaurant that gives a 360 degree view of the City.  Another example of the many contrasts in Berlin.

I didn’t see one single family house in Berlin. Housing is six to seven story apartment houses (large and small) and on the upper floors of some of the commercial buildings. Any new construction requires that at least 20% will be dedicated to housing.

The food was excellent and representative of many countries. Of course, German food like wursts and pretzels are everywhere along with KFC, McDonald’s, Subway and Starbucks.

Almost everyone can speak English. It’s been part of the school curriculum for years, as tourism has been a major industry since the fall of the Wall. Even though the weather was cold, the people were warm and seemed to be in good cheer. Maybe it was a touch of the holiday spirit. All in all a wonderful experience.

Now is the time to be proactive — with a plan. The challenge is finding the right opportunity for your business.

Come spend an hour with me and some of your peers to:

-      discuss market trends,

-      learn steps to gain market advantage,

-      brainstorm new ideas,

-      share knowledge and experience

all for the purpose of helping you make 2010 a year of opportunity.

Join us for this F*R*E*E brainstorming tele-session on Monday, December 14, 1 – 2 p.m. EST.

It’s my gift to you.

Register now!

A recording will be available to everyone who registers, including those who register but do not attend the live event.

Using their past experiences together with creative thinking they came up with a double win resolution.

Any interesting successful partnership strategies you’d like to share? Let’s spark our creative thinking.

Gaebler.com’s Resources for Entrepreneurs reports “The project includes a $200 million donation to community colleges to give grants to small business owners to further their education, as well as an investment of $300 million through a combination of lending and charitable support.

Buffett agrees that the investment is good business.”Our recovery is dependent on hard working small business owners across America who will create the jobs that America needs,” he said.”

Seems like you’ll want to stay in touch with your local community college and check with your bank to see how you can benefit from this money and professional guidance.

Let me know what you think? Will we actually see any of it?