How an Online Business Goes Straight to Hell

1. Believe every sales letter you read.
2. Build your web site before you build your business.
3. Create products for *everyone*.
4. Make your branding all about you.
5. Focus on quantity [not quality, value or service].
6. Practice indifference [or lie] to customers.
7. Become expert at grovelling for gurus.
8. Take the money and run.
9. Ignore basic principles of accounting and tax planning.

Nuff said?

SMARTSTART – Newsletter (August 2010)

SMARTSTART by Power One Press SMARTSTART INSIDER A newsletter for SMART business owners August 1 2010 Dear friends, fans and followers, It’s August, already! Can you believe it? For many businesses, things really slow down in the summer. If this is the story of your sales and cash flow, don’t despair.You are not alone. There are many ways you can take advantage of the slower pace though because summer can be the perfect time for: creating new products and services to sell in the Fall months developing new strategic relationships and marketing opportunities looking at ways to reduce your costs learning something new re-organizing and decluttering your office, paper files and computer drives taking a vacation to re-energize your creativity by doing nothing leaving plenty of time for pondering new business ideas Sincerely, Linda M. Lopeke The SMARTSTART Coach SMART*STAR: Cathy Perkins Kudos to Cathy Perkins, The WordPress Wizard, for successfully running a Productivity Boost Camp last month. She’ll now have a new product to sell that has been monetized on both the front- and back-end of the camp program. [You can see what her Camp sales page looked like here.]As a result of Cathy’s decision to run the camp, we now have a new Participant Guide and Resource Guide for our productivity training program. This year’s campers were amazed to learn how just a few simple tweaks taking into account your unique biology and chemistry can have such a positive impact on your productivity! [But then our SMARTSTARTERs already know all about that!] We all had a lot of fun (well except perhaps for that moment when the phone service went out and I was unable to dial into the bridgeline two minutes before going live into the final session of camp). Proving there are some things you just can’t control! It was the perfect time to practice “going with the flow!” Regardless, we did recover and all the session recordings are done. Now we’re thinking of possibly running another Boost Camp this Fall. SMART*STEP: Crunching Your Numbers Can you believe it? The year is already more than half over. If you haven’t done so yet, August is a great time to see where you’re at with your 2010 revenue goals.Here are some questions you can ask yourself during your review to see if you need to make any changes to direction for the latter part of the fiscal year. Is your pricing still appropriate for what the market can bear for your product or service?[When was the last time you tested your pricing points?] Is your customer demand for what you sell higher or lower than your capacity to provide it?[If demand is higher, you might be putting your reputation at risk or leaving money on the table.] Is your cost of product/service delivery higher or lower than expected?[If higher, you need to close the gap to protect your profit margin.] Is your sales target being met?[If not, you may need to revisit your assumptions and/or ramp up your marketing efforts by trying new channels or building additional strategic alliances.] Is your profit target being met?[If not, you may want to look for opportunities to reduce expenses and/or increase sales volume.] VOL 1 | ISSUE 2 In This Issue SMART*STAR of the month: Cathy Perkins runs a successful Productivity Boost Camp and creates a new product to sell from it SMART*STEP of the month: Crunching Your Numbers Quick Links Take the Tour Ask a QuestionSee Rave Reviews Save the Date & Participate! Aug 4 Group Coaching Call Aug 10 Licensing Program Announcement Aug 19 Executive Club Call Aug 31 New Healthy Business Workbook Release Blog| Twitter| LinkedIn| Book SMARTSTART | Power One Press • A12-1250 Eglinton Ave. West, Suite 145• Mississauga, ON L5V 1N3 www.smartstartcoach.com%$optoutlink$%

SMARTSTART Revenue Starts Here

Each year SMARTSTART Philanthropy brings out a new program to help small business owners advance their goals. Back in 2007 we made a commitment to do this to the tune of $50M and, I’m proud to say, we’ve completed about $10M to date toward this goal.

The 2010 program is called SMARTSTART Revenue. You can get the details and application form here.

Through it, we are making one our best products, the SMARTSTART Guide to Pricing available for you to sell for $39.95 or use to build your list so you can grow your business.

And, by this we mean if you sell it you keep all the money from sales and if you use it as a bonus or lead generator for your own programs you owe us nothing toward its cost of development.

We give you the downloadable content files, the cover art, the companion teleseminar recording, and a 30-second promercial to help you market it.

Here’s what it looks like:

All you have to do is step up and say “yes, I can do that“.  And we’ll be there to help.

The question is “will you“?

We’re accepting applications until August 20, 2010. Send in yours today. You could be raising money for your business while endearing yourself to your customers and clients as early as next week.

Sneak Preview of The New Look for SMARTSTART Guides

All of our SMARTSTART Guides have a brand new look courtesty of Dave Soucy. Here’s a sneak preview of the cover of the SMARTSTART Guide to Pricing. [Don't have your copy yet? Get one here.]

Here are 55 things you’ll know about pricing after reading it:

• what’s keeping you from getting paid what you are worth
• 5 “low rate” lies you’re telling yourself that are costing you money (big money)
• how much you are losing every day, week, month and year by charging the wrong rate
• 6 mistakes almost everybody makes when trying to determine what to charge clients for products, programs, and professional services
• 4 stages in the pricing process and how they affect your hourly or project rate
• 5 frequently forgotten factors critical to successful pricing
• 3 ways physical factors change your pricing

• 8 ways emotional factors change your pricing
• 3 things you must consider before adjusting your price
• 2 reliable tests that tell you if the price is right
• hidden traps that result in setting the wrong price
• 3 types of clients that require charging a higher price
• 9 other ways you cheat yourself by setting too low a price
• 10 warning signs that tell you you’re charging too little
• how you overestimate how much you were paid at your last job
• how you underestimate how much it cost you to have that job
• how to calculate your true hourly rate from past employment
• the most important pricing formula every business owner must know
• how your work/life balance affects your pricing
• how to calculate your baseline rate (and when and how to use it)
• how to calculate your standard hourly rate (and when and how to use it)
• 39 things your hourly rate has to cover (hence the need to get it right!)
• where to find out exactly what other people are charging for similar products and services
• how to determine the billable to non-billable ratio to use for your business
• how to stop penalizing yourself for having skills and experience
• what to do about all those extras clients want
• how to handle toxic and problem clients
• when to use hourly vs. flat-rate pricing
• why sliding scales don’t work
• how to calculate how much your business must bring in
• how to use an automated hourly rate calculator
• how to apply the “rule of thirds” formula
• how to use the “per diem” pricing model
• how to use a “performance-based” pricing model
• other pricing models you can consider
• the difference between competitive, standard markup, and cost-oriented pricing
• common mistakes people make on markups
• how a product business is different from a service business for pricing
• 3 formulas for calculating your markup and when to use them
• how to figure your direct and indirect costs
• how to set a profit margin and build it into your hourly rate
• how market affects your hourly rate
• other factors that affect your hourly rate
• 9 questions you must ask before setting your hourly rate
• finding your “just right” price
• how clients try to pressure you into lowering your rate
• 5 ways to compete in a crowded market
• whether or not to publish your rates
• how to state your rates once you’ve set them (3 approaches that work)
• how to handle tricky client negotiations so you have the most power when talking rates
• exactly what to say when you’re faced with a low-balling client
• 3 scams to watch out for that prospective clients sometimes try
• how to know when you have to fire the client
• using your baseline rate as a guideline to outsourcing
• and much, much more!

Why You Don’t Want a Money Screen Saver

This is a forty-seven minute video, but it’s fascinating. Kathleen D. Vohs, Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Minnesota, explains the experiments she conducted investigating the effect of thinking about money has on peoples’ behavior.

[Special thanks to Guy Kawasaki for bringing it to my attention.]

The Surprising Truth About What Drives Us

It didn’t surprise me — we’ve been treating people on our teams as outlined in this concept for as long as I’ve had my company (almost 30 years!). But it has recently moved to the forefront as the latest “new” thing. And I do love Dan Pink’s work so I wanted to share it with you.

Don’t be too late to the party, ok?

Are You in the Top 8% of the Wealthy?

How to Know if it’s Time to Unplug

Are you wired for success or insanity?

Is your technology the chain that binds?

Here are some signs it’s time to go unplugged, at least some of the time (and preferably one day a week) on a consistent basis:

1. You interrupt meals checking your email or texting (even in the company of others and in restaurants).
2. You can’t imagine making your car a “no-phone” zone.
3. You freak at the thought of going anywhere without your gadgets and will go back to get one you forgot at home, even if it makes you late.
4. You reach for tech toys first (or play with them while snacking mindlessly) when you are feeling sad, alone, or bored.
5. You text or call family members using your cell phone even when they are in the house with you.
6. You panic or go into serious withdrawal when you lose a tech toy or your computer goes down and you can’t get to your email.
7. You get nervous just thinking about being without your cell phone, email or Blackberry for a whole day.
8. You feel better about yourself when your social media friends and follower numbers are high, you feel sad or angry when they drop, and you feel totally rejected when you learn a specific someone has disconnected from you online.

If you see yourself in any of the above, you may be hiding behind your curtain of technology.

Tech addicts and gadget junkies rack up hours and hours of time that could be much better spent reading, having a relationship-building face-to-face conversation, or just decompressing by taking a bath or walking through the local park.

Not sure if you’re affected?

Use this tool, Rescue Time, to find out how you’re really spending your time. Not how you think you are spending it (or how you tell yourself you are spending it). How you are really spending it.

Do you dare to go unplugged?

Is Social Media Just Hype?

Need to educate top executives as to how important social media is when promoting and placing a new product into the marketplace?

Phil Guest made a great video to help you address that. In it, he brings the facts and stats to life via typographic treatments, iconography, and animations — without alienating the viewer. The music is bespoke and was scored specifically for the film by Phil and Rebel Sonix.

Watch. Learn. Enjoy.

Social Media from Phil Guest on Vimeo.

Marijuana or Multi-Tasking: Which Is Better for Productivity?

What do multi-tasking and smoking marijuana have in common when it comes to your productivity? And which is better for you?

Find the answer to that question and more by listening to The PRODUCTIVITY Masterclass — our kickoff for the 2010 Productivity Boost Camp.

Tonight we were joined by folks all around the world who have come to camp to learn how to work less and accomplish more. Our methods for improving productivity can triple your productivity while doubling your time off. You’ve got nothing to lose but your unfinished “to dos”!

To hear our kickass content in the breakout sessions though you’ll have to buy a seat in camp.

(Letting you listen to the masterclass is our “pink spoon” sample. It’ll give you a taste of just how much you stand to learn before you commit to the whole scoop. But we’re so jazzed about helping people pump up their productivity that we’re giving you permission to share the link to The PRODUCTIVITY Masterclass with your audience at no charge because, truthfully, working differently has the power to change your life, not just your results. Have a listen and you’ll soon understand why that’s not an overstatement.)