Okay, here’s my usual Wednesday disclaimer for the many multimillionaires who follow my blog.  You don’t need this tip!  If you’re rockin’ and rollin’ and have a plethora of products, services (and clients!), skip this blog.  BUT IF YOU ARE NEW to biz building and you need a great strategy for success – this is a sure way to build your online presence.

The web is a great place for beginning entrepreneurs to launch a business presence.  But what happens when you don’t even have the startup capital to put up a website (or the time to learn how to create one on your own)?  One HUGELY simple way around this dilemma is to put up a free blog page that contains your contact information, a few key phrases that help you stand out in the crowd, and a bio.  You can even feature products or services each week AND build fans to help you spread the word.

Here’s the 1-2-3 to create this for yourself.

1. Go to any of the free blogging sites and sign up.  I’ll use Blogger as the example here.  Go to http://www.blogger.com and register for your blog.  Remember that the URL needs to be easy to remember and easy to SPELL.  So avoid words that can be numerals and phrases with more than three words.

2. When you go to your “about me” page, DEFINITELY put your contact information at the very top – otherwise your fans and friends may never know how to find you.

3. Once your blog is up, log into your Facebook page and find the “Networked Blogs” app – link your blog to your profile and start inviting friends to FOLLOW your blog.  Since you can only invite 20 people per day this way, ask them to SHARE and invite others to follow your blog as well.

Finally, do be compelling and interesting.  You can feature products and services, but also be sure to provide great free information and resources.  Having reciprocity is always a sure strategy for success that can’t be beat!

To your success! Christine Comaford, Biz Accelerator and CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.

To get all of my biz building tools, be sure to join my Facebook Group: Business Renegades. Click here to join http://tinyurl.com/6xos94      

Maybe you’ve experienced this too? You’re so overwhelmed, trying to do everything yourself that you never quite seem to get around to doing the things that are most important for your business. Or there are so many things going on at once, that you’re not sure which one to focus on first? Or my favorite – Big Shiny Object syndrome.  As an entrepreneur, I’m sure you have tons of ideas all the time about different things you can do in your business… which often leads to tons and tons of half-finished products that never produce RESULTS!

The bottom line is this: If you do not set up a concrete, step-by-step ACTION plan and get a great mentor, you will surely lose focus and find yourself diverted from your goals again and again. So the START of a remedy to being the jack of all things and the master of NONE (especially your success) is to find an amazing mentor and biz-building support system to keep you focused and on track. And if you don’t have a rockin’ step-by-step success plan outlined and nailed down, you’ll find yourself all over the map – and end up lost. 

To get great tools on how to stay focused, join my Facebook Group:
Business Renegades: http://tinyurl.com/6xos94

Christine Comaford, Biz Accelerator
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.
NY Times Best Selling Author of “Rules for Renegades”
http://tinyurl.com/6xos94

We already know that 50% of startups fail in the first year… and 95% fail in years two through five.But did you know that only 5% of startup businesses ever make $1,000,000 per year? And only .08% will ever reach $5,000,000 or more per year! I have dedicated my life to changing these statistics. You work too hard, but your time, energy, heart, mind, funds into building your business and I want it to be WORTH IT for you and your loved ones. As you know I’ve built and sold 5 of my own multi-million dollar companies, invested in over 200 startup businesses (including Google), have been a mentor to hundreds of startups and have helped over 150 entrepreneurs become millionaires. I LOVE building businesses. I LOVE helping people become financially free. It TOTALLY rocks my world!In my years of experience, I’ve come to realize that there are 3 specific areas that cause businesses to fail:

1. People – the team you surround yourself with, including your staff, contractors, advisors and mentors;

2. Money – having an effective marketing system that reaches your target market and sales systems that create reliable revenue you can count on month after month;

3. Business Model – your compelling product path that reduces or eliminates a specific pain for target audience That’s it! Every challenge you face in business can be traced back to one of these areas – and at Results Now Summit we are going to specifically address these critical three elements of YOUR business!

To your success!
Christine Comaford, Biz Accelerator and CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.  

To get all of my biz building tools, be sure to join my Facebook Group: Business Renegades.
Click here to join http://tinyurl.com/6xos94    

I’ve had so many people approach me and talk about how the recession is effecting their business. It often seems that the biggest issue for them is how to focus their energies and not get discouraged.  In my own businesses, I always make sure to focus in on activities that make money, save money, or reduce frustration.  That way I am not at the whim of the economy – I’m too busy doing great things.  

As a rule, I also let things be “good enough” and not perfect. It’s important to realize that there will always be missed opportunities or things you could have done more effectively.  It’s vital to KNOW in your heart and head that your business is always evolving (look at Microsoft as a good example of that) – and your client’s needs change and grow as well. This is why I love to have a six-month plan to work from and to be vigilant about it… it’s much too easy to get distracted and lose momentum in the weeds.  That said, if a terrific opportunity shows up, be sure to make room so that you can pounce on it!

Finally, remember that entrepreneurs take risks – it’s part of why we’re the guts of this nation.  So if you’re not hearing “no” all the time, you’re simply not asking enough.  Get out there, stay enthused, and ROCK your OWN success.  It may not come barging through your door, but I’m absolutely positive that if you open the right doors, it WILL be there waiting.

Christine Comaford, Biz Accelerator, CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.

PS: Need more encouragement? 
Send me your TOUGHEST questions at: http://www.AskChristineNow.com
I’ll be happy to feature as many as I can on tomorrow’s free Q&A call at 5pm PST (focused on marketing).    

If you’re not sure about how to begin a networking effort, the best first step you can take is to pick up my book, “Rules for Renegades,” and read the networking chapter.  Right now, I’m in a recession-busting mode and GIVING away copies of the book at my book’s website: http://www.RulesForRenegades.com
(you pay the S&H, I’ve got the rest).

When you’re reaching out to create an advisory board, don’t hesitate to reach out to the most famous, most respected, biggest players in your industry.  Not sure how to do that?

Find out what causes the person cares about, and if you can’t get a personal intro, then write a letter and send via Fedex saying what it is about them that you admire most (charitable support, accomplishments, generosity, etc.).  Then say you’d like to ask for 5 minutes of advice and input from them, insofar as they are uniquely qualified to render it. This advice can be via phone, email, etc., but a face-to-face visit would be ideal. Promise to bring a timer with you to insure you don’t stay longer than 5 minutes. In exchange for their wisdom and guidance, share that you’ll gratefully donate five hours to their favorite charity or cause.  (Have the details/info already prepared, of course.)

Make the letter concise and compelling, and count on it to work like a charm!

To your success! Christine Comaford, Biz Accelerator and CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.

To get all of my biz building tools, be sure to join my Facebook Group:
Business Renegades. Click here to join http://tinyurl.com/6xos94    

Are you ready to ROCK your revenue and really take your biz building to the next level?  One way to improve your online presence is simply to have great profiles set up on the most popular social networks and online portals as possible.  Tip #1, DEFINITELY have a great headshot.  No question, this is vital.

Besides social networking sites, be sure to have profiles on a few article servers, such as www.EzineArticles.com or www.goarticles.com. For a more comprehensive list, go to http://tinyurl.com/5gznd4.  Also, think about setting up profiles on industry-specific groups or websites, such as Fast Company or www.gather.com.  Choose these based on your target market. 

Got videos?  Put a profile up on Youtube!  (And don’t forget that videos are VERY effective on Facebook.)

Remember that your profiles should be concise. Whether they are already “up” on the networks or not, get a clean eye to look them over and spot things you may have forgotten. If you’ve published a book, for instance, even an ebook, be sure to add “Author” under one of the “jobs” on all of your profiles (and describe the book with a link to your store). You can build profiles from existing bio’s you may have — “about me” website pages — or even old resumes if you have nothing else.

Finally, be sure that ALL of your profiles are complete and reference (and LINK to) your website, products AND services, wherever possible. Let your profiles work for YOU and rock your revenue and your online recognition all by themselves!

Christine Comaford, Biz Accelerator
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.
NY Times Best Selling Author

Got marketing questions?  http://www.AskChristineNow.com

What do you do if you are a total BEGINNER?  Listen, today is a fabulous time to stop the “rate race” and decide that you are going to be paid for your creativity and value – instead of for every hour you sit at a desk?  Why?  Because MILIONS of desk jobs are being eliminated.  But what if you have the creativity and the guts and the passion, but almost no knowledge about forming a corporation, having a board, having advisors, having stock etc. Where is a good place to start getting knowledge in this area?

The answer to that is multifaceted, but, if you need very preliminary info, you can search the web to help you get started – or even get a free coach from SCORE.org. (These are retired execs who can be super helpful.) There are also a TON of tools on my web page (http://www.MightyVentures.com) under the Cool Tools tab and definitely join my Facebook Group (search for Business Renegades).

If you are ready to really rock and build a business that will help you become financially free, then you need a coach, a community, and a business acceleration mentor. Add to that business building information in the areas of company formation, systems, marketing, sales, products and intellectual property protection, and more – and you have all of the components to form create a business model.  Then you’ll be on your way.  That’s the formula I’ve used to make over 150 entrepreneurs into millionaires, so it’s the only system I know.

Finally, if you are super committed and action-oriented, feel free to go to
http://www.strategysessionnow.com and take our strategy self assessment. You may even qualify for a private call with me or one of my strategy team members.

To your ROCKIN’ SUCCESS!
Christine Comaford, Biz Accelerator
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.
NY Times Best Selling Author

http://www.StrategySessionNow.com

I got a great question on this month’s ASK call about mentoring that I wanted to share with you all.  The person asked the following:  “What is the difference between a mentor and an advisor, and what is the best way to get one (or both)?

Quite simply, a mentor is someone who spends more time with you than an advisor. For the people I mentor, I answer their questions throughout the month, have regular calls with them, critique their businesses, introduce them to helpful people for alliances and to sit on their advisory board.

Advisors generally have a more narrow area of expertise, which you will generally tap into for direct and specific purposes. If you want to expand into the financial services sector, for instance, you’d want someone on your advisory board from this field. They would help you understand what clients in that sector care about.

To your success!

Christine Comaford, Biz Accelerator
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.
NY Times Best Selling Author

http://www.AskChristineNow.com

Today, I posted a link to an AMAZING tool for my Facebook Group.  It’s a simple checklist to building a foundation for success in Social Networking.  Now before you EXPERTS out there write in, I realize that this is an incomplete list (of course), and I WELCOME your suggestions, input, tools, and even your OWN checklists.  This one was put together by a networking expert that I work closely with (she chose to remain anonymous here), and I think it’s a great start for those of us who may need bigger online recognition for your company, products or expertise!

Ahhhh, but you have to join my FB group (Business Renegades) to get the tool.  (A little bribe!)  You can search through the wall and find a ton of other tools too.  Seriously, Business Renegades is one of my rockin’ ways to stay in touch and be REAL and approachable.  Something we ALL need in today’s virtual world!

To YOUR rockin’ success.
Christine Comaford, Biz Accelerator
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.
NY Times Best Selling Author

http://tinyurl.com/cmbwjm

One of the participants in my Business Acceleration Mastermind Group asked me yesterday how does he get potential clients to spend their funds today when, in light of the economy, they are afraid of tomorrow?

I really wanted to share this response with all of you as well, because this problem is really effecting everyone – so don’t feel awful, it is obviously not something you’re doing wrong!  Try sharing with your potential clients this piece of vital wisdom:  To get something you never had, you must do something you have never done.

The smartest people I talk to share that they believe the economy is going to really start picking up by June. So here’s the question: Will you be ready? Will you have done the things you must do NOW to be ready and MEMORABLE then? Your potential clients need to spend today in order to get the benefits tomorrow – and so do YOU.  If they don’t understand this, or if they are too fearful to take decisive action, then you don’t want them as clients. Really. They will either be excessively high maintenance, which will be totally draining, OR they will constantly be freaking out about results that they aren’t getting because they refuse to follow your advice and take action.

Also, remember to use all of your BEST lead generation / elimination tools.  You don’t want to waste time pursuing leads that simply will not become clients!  I’ve posted my AWESOME Lead Generation Strategy Considerations worksheet on my Facebook Group – Business Renegades.  Click here to join and access this tool and all the great tools in my biz accelerating toolbox.  http://tinyurl.com/cqc3vw

All my best, Christine Comaford
Biz Accelerator and CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.