Now, that sounds just like exactly what you need to get your business fired up and moving along! But then reality creeps in…

There’s the pressure of creating a fresh, interesting and new idea. You can’t just reach into a magic hat and pull that perfect idea out. Sitting and waiting around for that genius to strike doesn’t seem action-oriented enough for you. You’re ready to get started on what’s next… but you need the idea to begin with, plus the insurance and assurance that it’s a good one.

Then there’s the danger of introducing fresh ideas into your brand. You’ve worked long and hard to build your brand and nurture your fans and clients. So, naturally, you’re worried that you’ll come up with an idea that’s fresh, exciting, new and different, pour your heart and soul into developing it, and do all the incredible work behind getting that idea out into the world… and after all of that, your clients and fans won’t like it.

That they might freak out. What if they don’t like the idea you worked so hard on? Wouldn’t it be terrible if clients who were going to hire you decide, based on your new idea, not to?

Or, worse yet, that your chatty, happy and engaged clients and fans clam up, withdraw and become uninterested and disengaged. Clearly the opposite of what you’re looking for, and a sure sign that you’re on the wrong track.

Why are new ideas so tricky?

Introducing new ideas takes a special mix of ingenuity, bravery and finesse.

Here’s how they work together:

The ingenuity to generate an idea – OK, this is more like “a bunch of new ideas”… so you can have the freedom to create a bucket full of many less-fantastic ideas on the way to one fresh, new, interesting idea. And then you need the foresight, common sense and client-understanding to sort out the good from the not-so-good ideas.

The bravery to launch that idea and incorporate it into your brand and marketing. After all, your brand is precious and you’ve worked hard to build it. Launching a new thing can be both exciting and scary – exciting because you’re proud of your new idea and can see the possibility in it, and scary because you’re not quite sure how your clients and contacts will react to it. You can cut down on the scariness by selecting a few of your clients and unveiling the idea early, to see how they feel about it and what questions they have. That way, you can fine-tune your idea with their input, to make it make the most sense and impact possible.

The finesse to introduce the idea to your clients in a way that doesn’t freak them out. This is the part that takes the most discipline. You have to roll out your idea in a way that brings your clients along with you and your excitement over it – instead of making them slam on the brakes. That means keeping them comfortable before, during and after your launch – and letting them know whether this is a whole new direction or if you’re still offering the things they’ve gotten used to.

When you bring ingenuity, bravery and finesse along on your quest for new ideas, you’ll find yourself creating the kind of innovative, interesting and engaging ideas that keep your clients coming back for more.

By: Erin Ferree

Time after time, there are rulings from the IRS stating someone lost their deduction due to bad record keeping.

Karen Hough had to pay $100,849 in taxes because she “estimated” the business expenses.  She relied on her testimony to prove the deductions, while the IRS required documentation.  She did not have cancelled checks or receipts.  The IRS could see she spent money, but because she could not prove the items purchased, the deductions were denied.  There were no excuses.

I had someone ask me why they should keep their receipts when they charge all their business expenses on a credit card.  The reason why you keep a legible receipt is that if you are in an audit, the IRS will NOT accept the line on a credit card statement saying you purchased items from Staples.  They need the original receipt or a readable copy.  If you don’t have the receipt, the auditor can say that you purchased school supplies for your kids and not believe you purchased office supplies for your business.  The deduction would be denied.  Do you save all your receipts?  Do you copy the thermal receipts because they will fade after 2-3 years?

To keep your recordkeeping life as simple as possible, have one business checking account.  Run everything through this account.  This way you can track income and expenses in one place.  I pay $1 a month to have my business checks mailed back to me so I don’t have to print copies of checks online.  I know most banks go back months or even a few years, but if you are audited, it can be 3 years later and who wants to print each check online?  Plus, I work with many banks and some don’t go back 3 years.  I have had clients have to pay large bank fees to get copies of checks.  No fun!

The IRS requires that you keep a log of your business miles.  This includes starting and ending odometer, date, business miles driven and business purpose.  Your calendar and your receipts will help indicate where you drove.  Don’t forget to count your deposit runs to the bank!

You need to train yourself (and your staff) NOT to use cash.  Cash is so hard to track.  If you lose the receipt, you probably won’t remember what you purchased…thus missing a deduction you were allowed to take.

For meals and entertainment expenses, you are required to document who, where, when, why and how much.  You have to indicate WHO you were with and why you entertained this person.

So how long do you need to keep your receipts?  You can amend a tax return (or be audited) 3 years back.  However, if you underestimated your income, the IRS can go back 6 years.  If you did not file or filed a fraudulent return, the IRS can go back many years as they want.  Also, if you purchase assets and they are depreciated over a period of years (5, 7, 15 years), you need the original receipt for that period of time.

Bottom line is that you need to PROVE everything you purchase for your business.  Do you have written documentation that if you were audited there would be no change in the taxes due?  I hope so!

By: Renee Daggett

Processing 1099’s can be confusing and frustrating.  Admin Books enjoys passing on important information that will help you find your way through the requirements of 1099’s.  Here are some facts you need to know!

General 1099 Rule:

If you pay someone more than $600 in a calendar year for services, not material/product, then you are required to provide a 1099 showing the amount you paid.  One tip is to collect a W-9 at the time of payment so you know if the business is a sole proprietorship, LLC or Corporation.  If it is a corporation, then no 1099 is required.  The 1099 is due January 31^st and the required 1096 is due February 28^th.

Addressing the 1099:

If the person you paid uses their Social Security number as a tax ID number (which I don’t recommend), then the person’s full name must be on the first line of the 1099.  If you list the business name by mistake, then you will receive a letter from the IRS saying that the name and ID do not match.  Then the IRS may require you to withhold money from future checks.

Reimbursed Expenses:

If you pay a subcontractor for expenses incurred, do NOT include that amount in box 7.  If you receive a 1099 from someone with reimbursed expenses, like travel or postage, don’t worry.  Show the full amount of income on your tax return and then show the full amount of expenses and it will net out the same.  If you lower the 1099 amount on your return to “correct” it, that will trigger an audit.

Strict 1099 Classification Rules:

If you hire a subcontractor, be sure that the state won’t deem the person as an employee.  A few indications to strengthen your case are:

• You have a contract agreement between parties.
• The subcontractor invoices the business.
• The subcontractor has a business license.
• The business does not tell the contractor WHEN to perform the work or HOW to do their job.  The subcontractor uses their own equipment and materials.
• The subcontractor is available to be hired by other companies.

Governor Brown signed a bill that starting 01-01-12 if any employer is found to willfully misclassify a worker as an independent contractor, they penalties will increase to $10,000-$25,000 per violation.

Oddball 1099 Clarifications:

If the contractor is NOT a US citizen and lives in another country, have them fill out a W-8 and keep this on file.  Prepare a 1099, but there will be no tax ID number on the form.  If questioned by the IRS, show them a copy of the W-8.

If the 1099 comes back to you undelivered, keep a copy for your records to show the attempt.

If the contractor has already performed their services and you cannot get the contractor to fill out the W-9, keep a log of the attempts to contact them by phone, email or letter.  The IRS has penalties for not sending the 1099 and if you show intent, hopefully there will be grace in the penalties.

If you find you made a mistake on the amount or tax ID number, you can always correct the form and re-send it by checking the “Corrected” box.

Corporations do NOT get 1099’s, but some people are confused if they should send a 1099 to LLC’s.  Send a 1099 to single-member LLC’s and multi-member LLC’s (partnerships.)

1099’s are required to ALL attorneys regardless of their entity!

If you have any clarifications, please contact our office.  If you would like to delegate this project, we would be honored to help.  Call our office at 408-782-9640 for 1099 pricing.

By: Renee Daggett

The holidays are a time of giving. As you get organized this holiday season, keep these organizations in mind to donate the items you no longer need:

• Donate new or gently used household items, clothing, toiletries or toys to your local shelter. www.innvision.organd www.ehclifebuilders.org
• Donate overflow of office supplies or craft materials to Resource Area for Teaching (RAFT), an organization assisting educators with low cost materials for “hands on” education. www.raft.net
• Donate old childhood DVD’s to Kid Flicks, an organization whose goal is to create a library of family friendly movies in every children’s hospital in the country. www.kidflicks.org
• Donate your gently used children’s books to The Children’s Book Project, an organization whose goal is to help disadvantaged children read.www.childrensbookproject.org

Happy & Organized Holiday Season from Feeling Organized!

By: Melissa Stacey

Every year, WIC sends out 120+ holiday cards to the people who contributed their time to helping make WIC a success. Half of those people have regular, ongoing jobs with WIC. Yes, it takes that many people to make things happen, because no one on the team, save our association manager, gets paid to do the jobs they hold. So, we need to share the wealth, so to speak.

But it also takes this many people, because the team does in incredible amount of work. I never cease to be amazed at the accomplishments they turn out year after year. After six years on the board and nine years on the pro bono team in general, let me tell you—these women (no men have yet volunteered on the team) work hard.

That’s one of the reasons we call them the pro bono team instead of volunteers. This is real work, just as deserving of recognition and promotion as any client work we do. Hint: if you’re on WIC’s pro bono team and you haven’t highlighted that in your LinkedIn profile, you should!

So, it’s only appropriate as we end 2011 that I take a moment to acknowledge and thank the people who make WIC happen: our 2011 pro bono team. To see a sampling of the programs they did this year, scroll to end of this post.

With Much Gratitude

The following are the people to thank the next time you see or talk to them—warning long list:

• Melody Appleton, WIC marketing and PR director and president of Avicenna Marketing
• Kristin Baier, WIC webinar co-chair and creative director at Persuations eLearning
• Sandy Baldonado, WIC profile coordinator and director of marketing communications at Ekso Bionics
• Pamela Bender, WIC satisfaction and retention coordinator and president of Planning Showcase
• Beverly Bird, WIC YouTube coordinator and a marcom consultant
• Jubily Boy, WIC San Francisco satellite co-chair and graphic designer at Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
• Elise Brownell, WIC leaders network co-chair and founding partner at ZephyrBiotech
• Jen Berkley Jackson, WIC vice president of operations and South Bay satellite co-chair and founder of The Insight Advantage
• M.A. Brasted, WIC schedule coordinator and founder of Brasted Consulting
• Cheryl Chow, WIC blog coordinator and owner of Word2Word
• Renee Daggett, WIC new member chair and president of Admin Books
• Deborah Der, WIC East Bay satellite co-chair and owner of Dear to Dream Coaching
• Leslie Derbin, WIC North Bay satellite chair and principal at The Derbin Group
• Candace Engelsen, WIC leaders network co-chair and principal at BioMed Marketing
• Sharyn Fitzpatrick, WIC webinar co-chair and principal at Marcom Gurus
• Deborah Frangquist, WIC San Francisco satellite chair and principal at Chosen Futures
• Sheila Fruge, WIC analytics coordinator and founder of Fruge Consulting
• Sue Hay, WIC partnership director and CEO of BeWhys Marketing, Inc.
• Kathryn Gorges, WIC LinkedIn coordinator and founder of Social Marketing Diva
• Michelle Gouldsberry, WIC workshop co-chair and principal at Resonance Creative
• Louise Henriksen, WIC survey coordinator and East Bay satellite co-chair and owner of Plans2Reality
• Deborah Hoard, WIC pro bono coordinator and president of founder of Net Results
• Ann Iverson, WIC Peninsula satellite chair and principal at Iverson Marketing Communications
• Pirie Jensen, WIC South Bay satellite chair and insurance agent with State Farm
• Pat Johnson, WIC survey coordinator and president of Phoenix Collective
• Birgit Johnston, WIC Twitter co-coordinator and principal at Johnston Communications
• Judy Kane, WIC marketing co-chair and owner of I Write the Words
• Julian Klein Furtado, WIC Facebook logo coordinator and owner, lead pixel pusher, and head dog walker at Klein Design
• Kathy Klotz-Guest, WIC general meeting co-chair principal at Keeping It Human
• Maria Larcher, WIC Web content chair and owner of and market researcher at Larcher Consulting
• Kay Lawton, WIC LinkedIn coordinator and owner of MKF Consultants
• Desiree Lehrbaum, WIC mentorship chair and owner of Lumen Consulting
• Renee Maler, WIC PR agency of record, director and co-founder of Philosophy PR + Marketing
• Gabriela Martinez, WIC brand chair and owner of Texto Graphics
• Deb McClanahan, WIC secretary and principal of BroadBand HR Consulting
• Lou Anne McKeefery, WIC social media technical coordinator and founder of Be Found
• Rachel Melia, WIC online marketing director and an online marketing consultant
• Susan Monroe, WIC marketing co-chair and principal at Written Right
• Leslie Morris, WIC East Bay satellite co-chair and a marketing and communications consultant
• Eve Murto, WIC LinkedIn coordinator and principal at Think and Win Marketing
• Kathleen Naganuma, WIC satisfaction and retention chair and president at Naganuma Consulting
• Kay Paumier, WIC newsletter chair and communications consultant at Communications Plus
• Robin Pieracci, WIC programs director and product marketing and pricing consultant at Pieracci Consulting
• Deborah Plumley, WIC offsite coordinator and principal at The Plumley Group
• Angel Rampy, WIC satellite director and South Bay satellite co-chair and founder and president of Success Through Learning
• Karmen Reed, WIC blog coordinator and a social media and online visibility strategist
• Krista Regendanz, WIC silent auction chair and a licensed clinical psychologist
• Jan Richards, WIC strategic initiatives director and president and principal consultant at J.G. Richards Consulting
• Angi Roberts, WIC association manager and CEO and founder of The Association Office
• Carol Rose, WIC general meeting co-chair and found of 6-Figure Breakthrough Mentor
• Tracy Sestili, WIC Twitter coordinator and found of Social Strand Media
• Kathie Sherman, WIC membership director and president at TenFour Marketing
• Deborah Siegle, WIC strategic audiences director and principal at Strategic Marketing Solutions
• Suzanne Skyvara, WIC leaders network co-chair and principal at Skyvara Communications
• Leslie Smith, WIC leaders network co-chair and founder and principal of Coronado Financial Group
• Lisa Strand, WIC workshop co-chair and principal analyst at Brookside Consulting
• Melissa Stacey, WIC finance director and owner and founder of Feeling Organized
• Danielle Terrazas, WIC hospitality chair and project manager/designer at ChaseVP
• Mandi Toutsch, WIC partnership chair and a program management professional
• Juliet Travis, WIC Facebook coordinator and PR, marketing, and a social media consultant at TrendPoint Sytems
• Leilani Yau, WIC social media chair (WIC online marketing director as of November) and associate director, marketing at Ingenio

Here’s just a sampling of what they accomplished in 2010:

• WIC member orientation held at 5:30pm every month before the general meeting and companion
  free on-demand webinar on how to maximize your invest in WIC
• Welcome to WIC (W2W): an ambassador program for first-time attendees at general meetings
• Process improvements that save us money and our sanity
• General meeting minutes available online to members 60 days post meeting
• Mentoring program: an intensive six-week program that covers a range of topics related to running a successful consulting business
• Amazing programs: roughly forty satellite meetings, eleven general meetings, six leaders network meetings, ten webinars, and three workshops—filled with speakers who are leaders in their fields
• 10^th Annual Best Practices and Compensation survey
• Numerous new partner discounts for members, includingAct-On-Software email marketing/marketing automation, Apple Computer, Chrometa billable time-tracking, Jigsaw lead generation, Office Depot, and TriNet HR services to name a few—taking advantage of just a couple of these discounts can pay for your WIC membership
• WIC Gives Back summer and holiday food drives that raised thousands of dollars for Second Harvest Food Bank—it’s not too late to donate to our 2011 holiday drive and help feed the Bay Area’s hungry

*Note: to access member-only content like general meeting minutes, you must be logged into the site.

By: Avery Horzewski

Are you “marketing at” your precious potential clients or connecting with them? In other words, do your marketing efforts feel more like you’re shouting at them with a megaphone, or like you’re having a two-way conversation?

We all have a craving for connection and conversation – for that rich, recognition-filled two-way exchange of thoughts and information.

That goes for both YOU and your potential clients… in fact, the effect can be multiplied many times over for your clients.

Feel into how much you want to be in conversation with your potential clients. How much you’d like to be on the phone with them, or talking face-to-face.

Now, imagine how much they want to be in conversation with you. After all, they’re already listening to you. I suspect many of them are yearning to be heard, to have their questions answered and to really talk to you.

Here are two traits you can use to open the conversation in a refreshing way…

Curiosity:

Have you ever really stopped to wonder about, listen to and ask your potential clients about what’s going on for them?

This goes beyond a casual, “Hi, how are you?” at the beginning of your newsletter – where you’re not actually expecting an answer.

It’s time to think about who your potential clients are, ask about what they’re up to, and explore their thoughts and feelings.

Look at them as more than just a potential project. Open up a conversation with the full intent of simply learning more about them and getting to know them – not seeing how you could help them, or looking for a need.

What you can do – ask real, specific questions in your newsletter and assure people that you really do want to know the answer. Offer opportunities for your potential clients to speak with you on Q&A calls, during call-in “office hours” or even by appointment for a short, focused session – where you’re asking them questions.

Generosity:

When was the last time you gave your clients a truly free and fantastic gift?

People love presents – when they’re real, useful, desirable gifts. Too many “free gifts” in the Internet marketing world are not really gifts at all, but thinly veiled sales pitches that people have to sign up for.

I realize this has become common practice… and there’s certainly a time and place for that in a marketing strategy… and, at the same time…

Why not give a valuable, amazing free gift that they really want, that they can use immediately and digest fully, and get deep value from? They’ll really notice and be impressed by a gift that fills a real need – that doesn’t simply open them up to a new need or shine the light on some gap or deficiency in their approach.

And, when was the last time that you gave something away that was really free? I mean that there’s no hoops to jump through and no forms to fill out. That you are giving to them with the true energy of gifting. Because you have created this gift especially for them, and you want them to have it – not because you want anything in return.

Try this – create a short and impactful free report. Tell your clients all about how to do one small, specific task. Give them resources or point them to tools. Package that gift lovingly. And then send it to all of your clients and invite them to send it to everyone they know. Include a two-line invitation to learn more at the end, plus a one-paragraph bio so that new people can get to know you. See what happens!

There is one final thought I’d love to leave you with – both of these traits need to be backed by genuine interest and attention, of course.

By: Erin Ferree

Do you ever feel like your brand is out of alignment with your values system? Like you have to do things in your marketing that you wouldn’t want your mother or your mentor to see?

If you said “yes”, I’m curious: why is your brand icky?

Your brand is made up of the look, the feel and the experience of doing business with you.

Does it look like a mess? Is your design all over the place? Have you outgrown them and become more sophisticated and evolved?

Does it feel pushy or sleazy? Are you using tactics that you think you need to use to make sales? Do you find that when you market, you wind up feeling like a slimeball?

Is the experience in your brand one where your clients feel comfortable, cherished and welcomed? Do they understand what’s going on every step of the way with you, so that they know how to make the most of their time working with you? Or do they feel like you’re just trying to get them to buy, and then rushing through the deliverable so you can move on to the next client?

In any case, an icky brand is no fun. It’s gross and uncomfortable, for both you and your clients.

Join me in stamping out ickiness in branding.

Your brand should represent you with integrity and make you proud. Your marketing should make your precious, ideal clients feel special, honored and seen. And once you welcome new clients in, they should be made comfortable and really taken good care of – throughout the process of working with you.

What if you could move away from the icky energy of trying to ”make” them click this, opt-in, buy from you, or rush through your service delivery, and create a brand you’re proud of and that your clients love?

Here’s 3 ideas for how you can create your ick-proof brand:

Brand from your values. There’s a lot of talk about creating a brand that “targets a niche” or “stands out”. While those are both things to consider, they’re certainly not the place to start from in your brand.

With standing out and branding for your clients, then you’re reaching outside of and shining the light on things outside yourself. Which are both important perspectives to consider in your brand, this leaves out the most important part of your brand of all – aligning your brand with your values.

Your values – what you think is right and what you think is wrong – show up in your brand in a lot of ways: They show up in your:

• Core positioning: What you and your brand stand for.
• Words and tone: How you speak about your beliefs and the level of passion and conviction you convey.
• Consistency: If you’re not in alignment with your values, your brand will be inconsistent and all over the place. Once you’re aligned, consistency becomes easy.
• Affiliations and recommendations: Are you promoting for profit or because the people you recommend will help your clients?
• And, really, everywhere and all throughout your brand.

Know that you’re not strapped into your brand’s look forever. If your brand’s look has gotten messy, your business has outgrown your brand, then never fear! You can always evolve and change your brand to make it look as good as possible, and to match the current level of sophistication in your brand.

There’s a common belief about branding – that when you design your brand, you’re stuck with it for life. There’s nothing that could be further from the truth.

In fact, here’s the thing… when you’re an evolving, growing, learning entrepreneur who’s always going deeper into how you serve your clients, I don’t think that it’s possible to design your brand at the beginning and then have it be relevant for the life of your business.

You’re learning, growing and changing. Your clients are becoming more sophisticated as they work with you. Your brand needs to grow and change with you as you evolve, and as they grow with you – to keep up with how awesome you’ve become.

Your charge is… to evolve and stretch it with care and in a way that keeps your clients comfortable.

Take excellent care of your clients after they buy. The emphasis in branding is on marketing and selling. This approach doesn’t take into account the most important part of your brand – the experience that your clients get with you after they buy your services.

There’s a statistic that 20% of your clients will make up 80% of your business. That’s a comfy place – where you’re serving a small, close-knit group so well. You can really transform them!

In order to make that magic ratio happen, you’ve got a responsibility to your clients – you’ve got to induce mutual comfy-ness. Make them feel welcome and secure, and like they know what’s going on throughout the process with you – so they can surrender their trust to you.

These 3 ideas will give you a solid, non-icky start to creating a brand that’s inviting and welcoming.

If you want to get your hands on 10 more ways to create an ick-proof brand that invites your clients in to work with you, head over to http://brandstyledesign.com to download a free party favor from me!

By: Erin Ferree

Cutting marketing during a down economy destroys marketing momentum, confuses and demoralizes your team, and delays your recovery when things turn around.

1. More about destroying momentum: Marketing is an essential cost of doing business, and it’s expensive to start over. Marketing momentum is a beautiful thing. Leverage from successful marketing initiatives helps bring about new opportunities. Building marketing momentum takes strategy, planning, smart execution, analysis and constant revisions to achieve the best results, which takes time and money. Don’t make the mistake of thinking marketing can be turned off and on like a water spigot.

2. Confusing your team is a downward spiral: Many of us have been in the position of telling team members to stop working on a previously high priority project. We don’t have the budget we say; however, they remember last week during the staff meeting when we were irritated that they weren’t further along. That project may be tied to their performance review. It’s human nature to start looking for a cause for alarming changes, and concern about their job may creep in. Discussions with their peers around the topic of the financial health of the company are inevitable. Someone will mention they’re looking for another job. And on it goes. Abruptly halting ongoing projects and drastically reducing marketing initiatives will inevitably affect the morale of an organization.

3. Recovery is slow and expensive: Starting up marketing again is an uphill battle. The executive management will be anxious for fast results, but fast results will not be possible. Everything that was cut must be reevaluated in the current environment and renegotiated. Inevitably there is a loss of time as projects have to be picked up and dusted off, refreshed, and vendors engaged again. You may have changes in your team. Building marketing momentum again takes painful ramp up time, and delays getting the results you need now.

I recommend that you combine surgeon-like cuts in spending, and strategic adjustments to the timing of the roll-out of some initiatives, so that you suffer only a small decrease in your momentum. Pay very close attention to the fact that there is most certainly a cost of acquiring new customers and a cost of retaining existing customers. Your marketing leadership should be able to tell you what those costs are by each of your customer segments. Be realistic when you review the marketing budget. Can you hit your revenue numbers with what you are allocating to marketing?

Next, evaluate and modify where you spend your marketing budget to get the highest ROI while not dramatically affecting momentum. A good example of this is not completely cutting out PR, which is a long game and should be maintained, but can still be accomplished at reduced levels. Another strategic area to cut might be initiatives targeting secondary target markets. Keep things going strong in marketing to your primary target market.

Carefully manage your team to keep morale high. Times of tight budgets can actually engender an all-hands-on-deck mentality. You want a situation where everyone on the team is working to be more efficient with what you have so that you come out the other side of the down economy a winner.

We’re in a down economy as I write this. Make sure your marketing is strategic and efficient. To make sure you’re getting a solid ROI, analyze results and adjust tactics quickly. The natural reaction to a down economy is to cut expenses, but marketing is not a simple expense like office supplies or lunches out. Marketing is critical to the success of every enterprise. In the end, your best day is when you come out of a down economy ahead of your competition, with increased market share and potential, because they cut their marketing too deeply, leaving them to start all over again while you sail right on.

By: Melody Appleton

It’s harvest season.

That’s true for people who make their living from the land.

And it’s harvest season for you, too, as a business owner and consultant.

These six weeks from mid-September through the end of October can be golden, and one of the highest productivity times of the year.

That’s because, among other things:

- The pressure’s on if you have annual goals that you still need to meet (and most of us do).

- There’s still time to adjust to the lessons you’ve learned this year, for better or for worse.

- It’s a perfect time to work ahead and prepare for a better year ahead.

- The clock is ticking to get things done before attention and energy are diverted by end-of-year holidays.

Here are just a few ways you use the golden days of September and October to bring this business year to a good close:

1. Do a business tune-up

Check the effectiveness and ease of use of your key business processes.

2. Problem-find

List the main sources of aggravation or frustration in your business. Prioritize them for improvement.

3. Cause-find

Identify the root causes of problems you already know you want to, or must solve.

4. Create an action plan

Create an actionable and realistic plan to make changes you haven’t been able to get traction on yet. This may be a clue, too, that the root cause of some problems isn’t what you thought it was.

5. Get rid of low-hanging problems

Take care of some of the relatively easy to solve problems at your company.

6. Do a vision check

Check and/or update the vision that guides your company or team. Start with these questions:
- Is it still accurate?
- Does it address the customers you serve now?
- Is it compelling?

7. Get customer feedback

Update your knowledge about your customers and what they want and need from you. Use surveys, interviews, onsite observations or meetings, or a combination of tools.

8. Innovate

Brainstorm new product and service ideas for your current customers and markets. Or brainstorm new markets you can serve with the products and services you already have.

9. Clean sweep

Simplify, streamline, or do a good fall “housecleaning” of your office, inbox or email stream. Simplify your social media processes.

10. Experiment

Experiment your way to a solution for a problem you haven’t been able to solve yet. Or start learning a new skill you know you will need in the future by creating, and then completing, a learning experiment.

These ten ideas are just a few ways you can create even greater yield…and enjoy it more…during the golden weeks of September and October.

Put harvest season to work…for you and your business.

By: Jan Richards

What stops you, or your team, from achieving your goals?

You might be surprised by the answer.

Sometimes the biggest reason you’re blocked from achieving success is…you.

Do you scoff at the mere possibility that this is true?

First, think back on difficult times and experiences. Perhaps these were times when:

- You became overwhelmed

- Your work – or life – became excessively complex

- You fell short of your goals and expectations

Now, consider how, and why these things happened. These were probably some of the reasons:

      1. Your priorities weren’t clear.

      2. You didn’t make decisions based on your priorities.

      3. Others whose support you needed didn’t take your priorities seriously.

      4. Something changed, but you didn’t change your priorities.

      5. You hit a big setback, became discouraged and retreated.

If these sound familiar to you, you need to be able to address them the next time they occur.

Let’s look at each of these issues more carefully:

1 Your priorities weren’t clear.

If you don’t know what you’re driving toward, anything can move in to tap your money, time, energy and attention.

To solve this problem, take the time to clarify your vision of success.

Then create a vision statement or graphic representation of it.

Post it prominently, and check it regularly.

Once you know your main goals and priorities, competing demands can be easier to sort out.

2. You didn’t make decisions based on your priorities.

Maybe you knew what your priorities were, but you didn’t really follow them.

If this was – or is – the case, ask yourself: are your “priorities” really YOUR priorities?

If you’re not sure, take the time to figure out what you really want.

Goals you are really committed to make a huge difference in your motivation, plans and actions, and of course, your results.

3. Others whose support you needed didn’t take your priorities seriously.

Maybe other people didn’t believe you meant what you said. Maybe they were making assumptions based on times in the past when you said one thing and did another.

Or perhaps they were afraid that in changing your life, you were changing their lives too, and they hoped you’d change your mind.

Whatever the case, they’ll believe you mean what you say when they see that you actually do what you say you will, and continue to do so.

4. Something changed, but you didn’t change your priorities.

It’s easy for this to happen.

When big changes happen in your work or life, it’s easy to get busy with what’s new, without making adequate time and space to be successful.

What’s the way to solve this problem?

Take the time to get clear about what you really want NOW…not in the past.

Then figure out what you can, and will let go so that you can make your current goals happen.

You may have to free up time, money, energy and attention to be able to focus and get the results you want now.

5. You hit a big setback, became discouraged and retreated.

Things happen.

Even the best vision, strategy and action plan can’t foresee all possible barriers, burdens and surprises.

Be prepared that not everything will be known, or controllable, when you hit the road that leads to achieving a new goal.

Commit to yourself.

Be in your own corner.

If you don’t have your own back, really, who will?

So don’t pretend. Take the time to face the discouragement.

Feel it.

And then let it go.

Get back to your compelling vision (you do have one, don’t you?).

Adjust your action plan, based on what you know now.

And get going again.

There are great things ahead for you.

By: Jan Richards