If you’ve been following the news, you know that last week, Rush Limbaugh spent the better part of his show for three days straight attacking Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown law student who was barred from testifying at a controversial Republican hearing on contraception recently. The insults Mr. Limbaugh leveled against Ms. Fluke were so intense that they caused an uproar among women from both sides of the aisle and have ultimately resulted in over thirty-five advertisers (and counting) pulling their advertisements from the Limbaugh show and at least two radio stations dumping Limbaugh programming altogether.

As you know, I find politics (and the media sideshow on both sides of the aisle) endlessly fascinating. This week, as I’ve followed the coverage of the widespread outrage over Rush Limbaugh’s comments, I’ve found myself thinking about Mr. Limbaugh and his brand.

You see, I have a dirty little secret, one I’ve kept mostly hidden for the better part of almost 25 years, and one I’m prepared to confess here and now. My dirty little secret, ladies and gentlemen, is that I love talk radio. I absolutely, hands-down, love, love, lurve talk radio like you can’t even imagine, and I always have, since I first started driving. I’ve listened to NPR since I was four or five years old, and have listened to most of the well-known, longstanding talk radio shows like All Things Considered, Car Talk, Dr. Laura, Morning Edition, Fresh Air, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me,  Paul Harvey, Grammar Rules, and yes, even, on occasion, Rush. I listened to all of them off and on from the moment I was old enough to drive alone and choose the own radio stations. Oh, sure, I popped my fair share of cassettes in the player back in the 80s, and I’ve been known to sing (loudly) in my car when I’ve got the iPod, but my first love when driving has always been talk radio.

So I think I speak with at least some measure of authority when I say that it was absolutely no surprise to me when the full weight of Rush Limbaugh’s vehemence and ferocity came down squarely upon Sandra Fluke’s shoulders. I’ve heard Rush rail against strong women for years, using intense language and offensive terms. Rush Limbaugh attacking a left-leaning woman who dares to stand up to the right is pretty much par for the course. For a time, one could take a bit of comfort in the fact that Rush himself said that he was merely an entertainer whose opinion should really not be taken seriously. But he wrote that in one of his books, long before he became known as a power broker in the Republican party.

As I said, this latest incident didn’t really surprise me that much, but the strong reaction to it has raised my eyebrows a bit.

Don’t get me wrong. As a feminist, I have always believed Rush Limbaugh to be pretty misogynistic. But I knew that it was part of his brand, one that included irreverence and disrespect for one side of the political arena. But the problem with creating a brand that’s built on irreverence and disrespect is that, even if your advertisers sign on knowing that this is your brand, even if your advertisers understand your brand and are prepared to handle it (even support it) in the abstract, if you go too far and anger too many, then your advertisers may not be prepared to stand with you.

Rush Limbaugh is a talk show host who talks about politics and this is an election year. All stories relating to politics are hot right now. And the cultural context in which his insults were made is a context in which women have begun to feel attacked anyway. Case in point, the reaction to the comments of Foster Friess, financial backer for the Rick Santorum campaign (for the “how” of that, see this post).

When your brand is already controversial, if you make a misstep and go too far with the controversy in an already-sensitive cultural climate, whether that “misstep” is intentional or accidental, you can pretty much expect that the misstep will become a major incident. In this context, at this particularly sensitive time in American politics, I find it hard to believe that Rush Limbaugh, who has created such a strong personal brand that he is indeed considered by many to be the voice of American Republicans (just google “Rush Limbaugh voice of Republicans” and you’ll see over 25 pages of results referring to exactly that), would make such an egregious error. I have to wonder if this was something more deliberate. Did Rush Limbaugh really make a mistake or was this intentional? Was this an attempt to bring publicity to his show, or did he simply go too far?

Bottom line, if your brand is controversial, it’s absolutely critical that you’re informed and well-aware of the cultural context in which your brand lives. When you develop a pugnacious, contentious brand you can (and should) push the boundaries, but if you push those boundaries too far outside the tide of public sentiment, you may find yourself in a war that could ultimately cost you your business.

In my first post about Pinterest, I provided a basic overview of what Pinterest is and how to use it. In my second post in this series about Pinterest, I gave you some fundamental rules and a few general ideas of how you can use Pinterest to market your business. And last week, in a “hey, this is an interesting topic post,” I talked about ways to protect your content in Pinterest (and all social media, for that matter).

Today, as I complete this series on Pinterest, I want to start out by sharing something interesting that happened as a result of having posted this article series about Pinterest on Pinterest. One of my Pinterest pals asked me, “I have a sign shop and was thinking about doing some type of advertising on Pinterest but I definitely don’t want to turn people off. I’m going to read your pin but I’m just curious if you have some feedback for me.”

I wrote:

“The real key is the same for Pinterest as for all social media: focus on the community, not the advertisement. It’s not about flooding the site with a one-way broadcast, but about engaging in conversation with your audience.

What kinds of things do sign customers want to know? What can you teach them? Post in your blog on those topics. Best practices for signs, what makes a great sign, how to make your sign stand out, etc. Then pin the blog post and tweet about the pin.

I’d also recommend that you create a board dedicated solely to crazy signs. You could also run a contest asking people to create a board with your business name on their accounts and pin weird signs, the weirder the better. Weirdest sign wins…I don’t know, something awesome.”

One thing I really like about social media is that blog posting initially feels a little abstract or isolated…until someone comments and a conversation can begin. Blogging is only the start of the conversation. And sharing this blog post on Pinterest turned a general post into something quite specific. I love that! So I’d like to encourage you to think about how you can write blog posts for your business that can initiate a conversation, once you share the posts in social media, including Pinterest.

Look, Pinterest is cool. It’s fun. It’s addictive. But at the end of the day, it really is just like every other social media platform, in that the rules are the same across the board. Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, G+, and whatever else comes along, the rules are the same. 

So whatever new platforms emerge, while there may be some sort of learning curve associated with the new technology and perhaps some fun and exciting new ways to leverage the specific platform for marketing, the rules of engagement probably won’t change. They won’t change because the rules for social media are the same rules we use in person, and those haven’t changed for eons. We’re talking about things like: When you’re in a room full of people, don’t talk about yourself exclusively. Ask people about themselves. Get to know people. Focus on them and not on you. Build your KLT Factor (know, like, and trust). Engage, converse, discuss. Don’t broadcast or advertise. Deliver value, bring something to the table. Be interesting, but more importantly, be interested.

Break these rules, and you’ll be perceived as obnoxious and your business will suffer. Follow these rules, and you’ll be a welcomed member of the community and you’ll see  a return on your efforts. It’s really just that simple.

I recently posted a series on Pinterest and how to use it for small business marketing. A couple of days ago, one of my readers, Joan, posted this comment:

Thanks for two great articles on Pinterest Susan. There is a lot of controversy around the re-pinning of third party content from around the web and Pinterest TOS. Photographers and Artists appear to be perturbed about Pinterest taking ownership, and being able to use their works without requiring permission.

Personally I like the ease of use Pinterest has introduced, sharing of information is global. [The] majority online love for their content to be shared. Any idea on copy right for the above mentioned, to protect their work?

I thought this was a great question and as I started writing my response, I realized that I had enough to say on this topic that it warranted a full blog post.

I, too, have followed the controversy on Pinterest, copyright, ownership, etc. It’s the same debate we’ve had for years about other sites, and I imagine the debate will continue. But because Pinterest is the newest platform to be engaged in the debate, I thought it worth mentioning today.

Of course, there are benefits to artists and photographers when people share their content on Pinterest. In the big picture, you generally do want people to share your stuff, because the wider dissemination of your materials, whether your “stuff” is art, photography, writing, products, or services, builds visibility for your brand, which should lead to more business. On the other hand, if people are sharing anyone’s content without attribution or permission, there’s no business benefit and obviously, that’s a problem that must be addressed.

(Side note: This isn’t an issue that affects only artists and photographers. I recently discovered that a stock photo I bought to use on the Business in Blue Jeans web site was pinned as an inspiration image for how someone wants to look in their blue jeans! The image was pinned directly from my site, so I received credit, but it surprised me a lot to see how that image was showing up.)

Unfortunately, we’ve had this problem since the early days of the internet. There are far too many ways to take content, no matter what kind of content it is. With writing, there are ways to find out if people are using your content without permission. For example, Copyscape is a fantastic site that searches the web to help you find out if your content’s been stolen. Their Copysentry tool will even track your site and content and notify you if and when anyone ever uses your content.

As an artist or photographer, it’s more difficult to locate if your images are being used inappropriately. There are, however, several strategies you can use to protect yourself, each coming with its own pros and cons (and most of these apply across the board, regardless of which social media or other site you’re worried about, with regard to infringement):

• You can check http://pinterest.com/source/businessinbluejeans.com (replacing “businessinbluejeans.com” with your own domain name) to see what’s been pinned from your site. However, if someone has downloaded and posted/pinned your images, you won’t see it there.
• You can embed your images with Digimarcs, allowing you to convey copyright information in the image, but this option comes with an annual fee.
• You can use text to put a copyright and your business name on the image itself, though with the right skills and technology (read: Photoshop or similar), that can be stripped away.
• You can use coding on your web site to prevent downloads, but I’m not sure that would prevent people from pinning images, and I’m certain it doesn’t prevent people from using screen captures to take those images anyway.
• You can use TinEye, which is a reverse image search tool, but reviews indicate it’s not fully reliable.
• You can hire a company like ImageRights to track down images being used without your permission and to get paid for their use (ImageRights takes a portion of the money they help you collect).
• You can also use Flash, which can’t be pinned, to display your portfolio (just don’t use it for your entire web site or your SEO can suffer).

Pinterest does care about your copyright. In the terms and conditions of the site, they explicitly say,

You agree not to do any of the following:

Post, upload, publish, submit, provide access to or transmit any Content that: (i) infringes, misappropriates or violates a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy;…

Also, they have a listing in the About menu specifically for Copyright specifically intended to tell you what to do if you find out someone has been taking your content without your permission. Here’s what they say:

Pinterest (“Pinterest”) respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects its users to do the same. It is Pinterest’s policy, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, to disable and/or terminate the accounts of users who repeatedly infringe or are repeatedly charged with infringing the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of others.

Then they go on to tell you what to do if you discover a copyright infringement on their web site.

As for Pinterest claiming ownership, they don’t:

By making available any Member Content through the Site, Application or Services, you hereby grant to Cold Brew Labs a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, copy, adapt, modify, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast, access, view, and otherwise exploit such Member Content only on, through or by means of the Site, Application or Services. Cold Brew Labs does not claim any ownership rights in any such Member Content and nothing in these Terms will be deemed to restrict any rights that you may have to use and exploit any such Member Content.

I always find this kind of “We want to exploit your content” legal language somewhat distasteful, but frankly, it’s not uncommon to have this kind of language in a site where members contribute the bulk of the content. The company wants to use your content to market their site and they want to be able to distribute your content socially, which is the entire purpose of the site- they just need your permission to do so, and if you want to use the site, you have to give them that permission. That’s how all social media works, pretty much. You’ll find similar language on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and CafePress, for example.

I’m not sure what else Pinterest could do. CafePress has super-secret digital scanning algorithms that scan every image uploaded to ensure that you’re not using copyrighted materials to create products for sale. But Pinterest isn’t selling anything, thus the sharing of links and copyrighted content is and should be encouraged. The issue is in using the content inappropriately or illegally.

Philosophically, it’s difficult to know where the responsibility lies, if members of a site are engaging in copyright infringement. Is it the job of the social media platform to police its members, or is it the job of the artist and photographer to adequately protect his or her work? In this day and age, when it’s so easy to steal an image here and bootleg a DVD there, I imagine this debate is far from over.

Welcome back! Last week we covered the basics of Pinterest, a new social media bookmarking site that’s taking the online world by storm. This week, I’ll cover ways to use Pinterest in your marketing, what to pin, and how to get your stuff into Pinterest without being obnoxious about it.

The first thing I want to address is the issue of how to use Pinterest for business marketing. Marketers have gotten a bad reputation on social media. Plain and simple, there are folks out there who get it wrong and blanket social media with advertisements that feel a lot more like demands than the conversation that social media is intended to be. And that group of marketers have given marketing in general a bad name, because their advertisements and “in your face” commercialism have, at least according to some, ruined sites that others found to be pretty enjoyable on a personal level.

So let’s talk about how to avoid that with Pinterest, because Pinterest is one of the coolest, most enjoyable sites out there right now. Let’s not ruin Pinterest with a bunch of marketing junk! Instead, let’s join together to bring quality content and a higher level conversation to Pinterest that enriches the community, instead of transforming it into a much less-appealing, commercialized marketplace.

1. Don’t be all business. Create boards that are business-oriented, but also create boards that are personal and let people get to know you. Also, bear in mind that Pinterest does not want you using the site for self-promotion, as they tell you in the rules.
2. Don’t be spammy. Whatever you post, post it only once. Don’t repeat-post on Pinterest. See Rule #1.
3. Be a part of the community. Don’t use Pinterest just for marketing and SEO. It’s great for those things, but if that’s the only reason you’re there, you’re missing the point. This holds true for every other social media site, by the way. Join in the conversation. Use the comments field on pins to engage in dialogue with other users.
4. Contribute in multiple ways. Maintain a new pin to old pin ratio of anywhere from 5:1 to 10:1, just make sure you’re both repinning and adding new content.
5. Don’t be the only one pinning from your own site. Make your blog more “pin-worthy” by creating fantastic content, using amazing images in your blog posts, and adding a “Pin It” button on your site (in WordPress, you can use the “Pinterest “Pin It” Button” plug-in, or the “Social Discussions” plug-in, which includes Pinterest, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.). The “Pin It” buttons make it easier for people to pin your stuff and the quality content makes it more likely they’ll do so.
6. Use the Pinterest-provided “goodies” to let people know you’re on Pinterest. Pinterest provides “follow me” buttons and all kinds of other cool stuff for free here. You can also use plug-ins in WordPress to display your latest pins, which makes it more likely you’ll build a following on Pinterest.
7. Display your pins. You can install the “Super-Simple Pinterest Widget” plug-in in your blog to let people see what you’ve been pinning. This also helps to build your Pinterest following. You can also connect your Facebook presence to Pinterest. Connecting all these social media platforms really helps you to build a tribe. I’ve gotten to know people on Pinterest in a way that I haven’t known them on Facebook or Twitter, and vice versa.
8. Pin first, tweet second. Pin cool stuff to your Pinterest boards, then tweet about the pin. This serves the purpose of expanding your Pinterest following while also delivering your web site or blog content to both social media platforms.
9. Check your web analytics. Pinterest will give you great data. Facebook, not so much, because clicks go through a script filter before heading to your site. On Pinterest, you’ll know exactly what pins sent people to your site. That’s great information!

That’s it for now on the Pinterest front. More next week. Got more ideas about how to use Pinterest? Share ‘em!

Happy Valentine’s Day! In honor of today, the day of love, I thought I’d share a few insights into what I’ve learned about business from the one who knows more about love than anyone else: Cupid. Why Cupid? Well, first of all, he’s build an extremely successful personal brand for himself and has been around forever. Second, he’s a cute little baby…and who doesn’t like babies? So here goes…

1. Do what you love, but don’t let passion get the better of you.

Love matters in business, believe it or not. In fact, it’s so important that I made it the first lesson of Mega-Successful Entrepreneurs: Find Your Fervor – find what you love and what you’re really fervent about and that’s the first step to finding success. It’s not the only thing that matters, but if you don’t love what you do, you’ll wake up dreading every day. In contrast, when you do what you love, you wake up excited about what you get to do every day.

However, you don’t want to let passion get the better of you, which is why I try to avoid using that word, “passion,” when I talk about business. I reserve passion for things like my family and personal life, so that I can keep a cool head in business and make decisions from a place of calm.

2. Age is irrelevant to success.

Cupid is a baby and he’s mega-successful. So…why should age matter? It doesn’t matter if you’re young and it doesn’t matter if you’re a senior. You’re not too young and you’re never done. Take a cue from the baby with the arrow and follow your dreams, no matter what your age.

3. Good PR can overcome an ugly history.

Before Geoffrey Chaucer, St. Valentine was a name that actually referred to a few different guys, all of whom were martyred. The head of one of the Valentine’s was even preserved. Seriously, I read it on Wikipedia. Point is, as soon as Chaucer showed up in the High Middle Ages and he and his friends started giving each other candy and flowers, nobody remembered the bloody history of Valentine. Even if you make a few mistakes or don’t get things right at first, history can be pretty forgiving with the right PR.

4. Success in business requires good aim.

If Cupid misses with his bow and arrow, people don’t fall in love. What a sad, lonely, loveless world we’d live in if Cupid had bad aim, right? Likewise, if you have bad aim, you’ll miss your target market and no one will find your products or services or know you exist. Success in business requires good aim- there’s a reason they call it a target market.

5. Sometimes a good thing needs a little nudge.

Love isn’t always easy- sometimes a little help is required to move things along. That’s what Cupid is for. Likewise, business isn’t always easy- sometimes a little help is required to move things along. That’s what coaches and consultants are for. Sometimes you need a little help to create a structured plan for your business growth, to learn new marketing strategies, to gain insight into the ways that mega-successful entrepreneurs become so mega-successful.

Believe it or not, even though I help entrepreneurs to create and grow mega-successful businesses, I have a business coach/consultant of my own who can see the forest of my business when all I can see is the trees. Lovers turn to Cupid when they need a nudge…you can turn to a trusted business coach or consultant.

There are lots more business lessons you can learn from Cupid, I’m sure, but these are the first five I learned. And stay tuned…next month, I’ve heard St. Patrick will be stopping by! Until then, have a very happy Valentine’s Day! May you receive many bouquets of roses and chocolate hearts!!!

As I’ve been ramping up projects in the new year, I’ve been looking for ways to improve my productivity. And I have a few secrets that I’ve kept tucked away in my back pocket for just this kind of moment!

Many years ago, I listened to an interview with Brian Tracy, who, I think we can all agree, is a mega-successful human being. This past week, I  looked back over my notes from that interview and the concepts are just as relevant today as they were back then.

I’ve turned the thoughts Brian shared back in that old interview into five questions to ask yourself- and once you answer these questions, you’ll be able to dramatically improve your productivity (and simplify your life, too!)

Question #1: Are You Ready to Make A Decision?
Let’s face it- if you make a decision, whatever it is- that you’re going to be successful, bring in more clients, learn a new skill- then the first step to making it happen is to make the decision.

The word “decide” comes from Latin for “to cut off,” and that’s what you have to do when you make a decision: you cut off all other possibilities. If you decide to be successful, you have to decide to cut off the possibility of not being successful- more than that, you have to cut off the possibility of being anything but successful.

So, the first question is, “Are you ready to make a decision?” The decision can be about anything you want, however small. But the secret is to make a decision. It all starts there.

Once you’ve made your decision, you’ll want to take a pause for a little strategy:
Make a list of everything you do in the course of a week or a month. If you look at that list carefully, you’ll find that there are three things on that list that are responsible for 90% of the income you create. If you could do only three activities from that list, which three would contribute the most value?

Sometimes the three things on your list that generate the most value won’t be things you enjoy doing. But you really can simplify your life greatly by doing more and more of the three things that bring you the most income- and over time you’ll get better and better at these things and you won’t dislike them so much. Also, remember that often the things we like doing the least are things that bring anxiety, fear or stress. Do more of those, and the anxiety will decrease (tune in next week when I’ll talk about courage in business). So now that you know the strategy to find out what things bring you the most value, let’s get back to the five questions.

Question #2: What should I do more of?
What things count the most? This is where the three most valuable things from your list come into play. What are the three things you should spend more time on? Once you know the answer to that, it’s not hard to start culling your schedule and your “to do” list down to the most essential and profitable elements.

Question #3: What should I do less of?
What things aren’t productive? When you look at the list you made, this is the time to ask yourself which things on your list are things that you don’t have to do- what can you delegate or outsource or just minimize?

Question #4: What should I do that I’m not doing now? 
Now is the time to ask yourself what you’re not doing that you should be doing. Should I go to this conference? Read this book? Should I listen to this audio program? There are so many things you can do to improve and increase your business and we forget a lot of them. This includes things like continuing education, expanding your range of knowledge, and connecting and networking with other business owners. What else could you do that you’re not doing?

Question #5: What should I stop doing altogether?
This was the biggest one for me, because I am the queen of distraction. And working from home, I can be distracted by music, television, a phone call from a friend inviting me to lunch when I should be working, errands, laundry, you name it. However, it’s good to remind yourself that every minute you spend during the day not working on your business is a minute you’ve lost money. I encounter entrepreneurs every day who forget that equation. But keeping that concept firmly in mind makes a huge difference, and when you start to shift your thinking in this direction, you’ll see how much more productive you really are.

All strategic planning starts with abandonment. If you’re anything like me, right now your dance card is full. You can’t do something new without stopping something old. You can really only get your time under control by stopping something that doesn’t count toward your goals in order to start something that really makes the difference. And remember that when you weed out something old and ineffective, you create a vacuum to let a new opportunity come into your life.

This past week in LA, I hobnobbed with some of the most successful people in music at the major industry event of the year (okay, well, more like I saw most of them, but I did meet David Meerman Scott!) . Having talked over the years with mega-successful entrepreneurs about what success really means, I decided to share some of their success tactics with you.

Mega-Success Tactic #1: Define Success For Yourself.

Consider this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson:
“To laugh often, to win the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!”

Think about it- what is your definition of success? Is it freedom, financial independence and wealth, international travel, a happy, healthy family, physical health, doing good for others in the world…what does it mean to you to be successful?

This one can get a little tricky- sometimes we want things because we get the idea we’re “supposed” to want them. As my friend Dixie says, “Do you want what you want or only what you WANT to want?”

For example, when I do the Lifestyle & Business Planning Analysis with clients, one of the areas of the questionnaire focuses on what material things you want. I see a lot of answers- cars, boats, vacation villas in Tuscany. And I think we’ve been trained to believe that’s what success is. We see wealthy people on TV with their conspicuous spending and outrageous purchases and think that’s what we’re supposed to want.

But when it really comes down to it, when you soul search and go deep, when you close your eyes and take a deep breath and envision your perfect life, what do you want?

Once you know what you really want, it’s easy to implement the remaining four tactics:

Mega-Success Tactic #2. State your goals in positive terms.

If you believe in the Law of Attraction, you’ve already heard this message. But even if you haven’t or if the Law of Attraction isn’t your “thing,” your brain receives messages in the same way the universe does. If your brain hears, “Avoid creating problems with clients,” what it actually hears is “create problems with clients.” The brain also hears a negative word, “avoid.” This creates a negative state of mind that follows you around. If, instead, your brain hears, “Create a pleasant and positive relationship between company representatives and clients,” it hears a positive and clear message and knows exactly what to do. This kind of positive message breeds a positive, upbeat state of mind that follows you around. (And thank you to Kat, one of my Facebook pals who recently reminded me gently of this tactic when I said my mantra was “I’m not getting sick!”)

Remember, too, that your brain needs clear messages. “Avoid creating problems with clients” tells you what not to do, but it doesn’t say what you should do. There are lots of possibilities that aren’t “creating problems with clients,” but which is the alternative that you want?

Mega-Success Tactic #3. Define your goals in measurable, time-sensitive terms.
Once you’ve stated your goals in positive terms, you need to come up with a way to determine if you’ve achieved your goals. How do you know you’ve achieved your goal? By when do you want to achieve it?

Using the previously mentioned goal, you can change “Create a pleasant and positive relationship between company representatives and clients,” to “Create and maintain a pleasant and positive relationship between company representatives and clients, as evidenced by quarterly customer satisfaction surveys.” Here you’ve created a measure of your success in the customer satisfaction surveys and you’ve said that you will initially create and then maintain your goal, which shows you what you need to see in those surveys- an increase and gradual leveling out in positive ratings. You’ve also made it time-sensitive by stating that the surveys are to be done quarterly.

Setting measurements and timing for your goals keeps your goals clear and attainable instead of wishy-washy and vague.

Mega-Success Tactic #4. Plan ahead.
Sometimes business owners experience what I like to call “post-success laziness.” You have a goal, you achieve your goal, and then you take a break, resting on your laurels and, yeah, let’s face it, you get a little lazy. This happens when you don’t plan ahead and set your next goal before you achieve the first one.

Creating a roadmap of goals does a couple of things. First, in creating a series of goals, you assume you will achieve the closest goal and the next one and so on, and that’s just smart, positive thinking. Second, you avoid the post-success laziness because you’re already working toward the next goal before you achieve the first. You do want to take time to celebrate achievements, but don’t let yourself get so bogged down in the celebration that you forget to keep moving forward.

Mega-Success Tactic #5. Follow through!
The single most important tactic to achieving success is the ability to follow through. If you create goals and then don’t set up systems and structures to follow through on your goals, you’re not a mover or a shaker- you’re a dreamer.

Don’t get me wrong- there’s nothing wrong with dreaming. Being a dreamer is a wonderful, important thing, actually. Dreamers can be extremely successful people, but not without follow-through. So find ways to follow through on your dreams- and if you need help, find it! If there are things you don’t know how to do, learn how to do them or delegate them. If you struggle with time management and accountability, hire a coach. Because once you figure out where you’re going, all you have to do is figure out how to get there and follow through.

So, start by  deciding where you’re going and how you’re going to get there, and then build a plan to follow through. With this plan, you’ll find success on your own terms.

We entrepreneurs have a way of turning into workaholics. It’s so easy to do. When you’re first starting out, there’s so much to do that many new entrepreneurs feel a compulsion to work until it’s all done. And when you love what you do with fervor, sometimes it’s hard to stop!

Usually I spend the month of December relaxing with family, preparing for the holidays, and doing my annual year-end assessment and pre-year planning. This holiday season was a little different. Since most of my clients were heading out of town or focusing on their own holiday festivities, my calendar was light enough that I decided to conduct my first ever group coaching program.

Boy, did I discover some things about balance while trying to do it all! Here are some of the lessons I learned the hard way:

1. Set regular working hours and keep them

The entrepreneurial lifestyle is often appealing because of the promise of flexible working hours. Sure, in many businesses, you can work whenever you want, but that doesn’t always mean that you should.

I set my working hours based on two factors: when I work best and when my clients are working and want to meet with me. There’s balance to be found here. If you happen to be a night owl, there’s nothing wrong with working when you’re at your best, but that doesn’t mean you should expect clients to show up for appointments at 3 a.m.

Regardless of what your working hours are, creating a structure and using self-discipline to stick to your structure will almost always help you to become more successful.

But remember, this works both ways- you have to stick to your structure and not become a workaholic. I myself have workaholic tendencies, and when my husband and I got married, I promised I would stop working each day at a certain time and I wouldn’t work on weekends, and I’ve kept to that…mostly…which has kept me sane and kept my marriage on track (though Leo is super-understanding when I’m on a deadline or working on a launch).

2. Make sure others in your family know your plans.
If I’ve learned anything, it’s that if you don’t make it clear when you’re working, you’re likely to end up getting interrupted a lot. It’s better to make sure everyone knows you’re working, whether you actually say, “I will be working until 3:00,” or post a sign on a closed door.

3. Create a plan for work.
Especially at the beginning when you’re just starting your business, there are a million things to do and it can get overwhelming. If you create an overall plan for where you are and where you’re going, then it’ll be easier to prioritize and know where you can outsource. Once you’ve got that overall plan, start chunking your goals and tasks into manageable pieces, then plan what needs to get done each day.

4. Outsource.
I’m a huge fan of outsourcing, and today, the thriving virtual assisting field makes it easier than ever to find someone to take on tasks that you don’t like, aren’t particularly good at, or just simply don’t need to do.

Outsourcing is economically beneficial, and since it frees up your time, you can use that time for more revenue-generating activities, or you can use it to spend more time with your family.

5. Create a plan for play.
For some entrepreneurs, it’s useful to structure “play time” just as you structure your work time. Many of my clients with workaholic tendencies feel guilty if they take time off and don’t do anything, so we create a plan for their time off as well. That way, they don’t waver around, trying to find something to do. Instead, they designate certain times for certain fun activities.

But be careful that you don’t treat your fun time like something you’re checking off of your “to do” list. Play time should feel like play time. Allow yourself to relax and enjoy it.

6. Sleep.
You simply can’t overestimate the value of a good night’s sleep. If you aren’t getting enough sleep, it’s time to restructure your day and analyze your habits and your sleeping environment so that you get enough sleep and are rested, refreshed, and rejuvenated. This will help you stay on top of things, keep your mind working optimally and your passion high.

If you’re anything like me, your brain has a hard time shutting down, so carve out a 15-30 minute block before bedtime for yoga and/or meditation so that your brain will slow down and let you get some sleep!

7. Stay healthy.
Another thing one can’t overestimate is the value of exercise and staying healthy. If you’re eating badly, it’ll affect your brain and that means low creativity. As an entrepreneur, your creativity is one of your most powerful allies- so feed your brain with healthy food! Eating healthy and staying fit means you’ll have more energy to devote to your business.

The balance between work and home/play is a critical part of your small business success. Pay attention and make sure you include fun in your business plan!

Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? Every year, I’m surprised by how many people don’t make them. I love making New Year’s Resolutions, and I even have a strategy for keeping them. Mostly, my strategy involves making sure I keep my resolutions visible in my office and check in monthly to see how I’m doing in terms of making progress with those resolutions…and I could talk today about how to make resolutions you’ll keep. But instead, today I want to talk about the most powerful resolutions that can not only transform your business, but multiply your profits within 2012.

Resolution #1: This Year I Will Think Of My Business As A Business.
You wouldn’t believe how many times clients come to me for our second meeting, after doing their “homework,” only to tell me they’re shocked to discover that they never really thought of their business as a real business.

To be successful, you must have a plan- it doesn’t have to be a big, formal business plan that a bank would require to give you a loan (unless you’re seeking venture capital or loans), but you do want to plan the future of your business and start looking at how you’re going to get there. Believe it or not, once you change the way you look at your business, you’ll be much more likely to take success actions that will increase your profits.

Resolution #2: This Year I Will Improve My Time Management.
One of the biggest factors that sucks away your profitability is poor time management. You can so easily fritter away a day thinking you’re being active and productive, only to get to the end of the day and realize you haven’t really accomplished anything.

To increase your profitability, make every working minute count. Remember that every second you’re spending on Facebook “noodling” around, you’re essentially stealing from your business. You wouldn’t want an employee doing that to you…so don’t do that to yourself.

Resolution #3: This Year I Will Invest In My Business.
For many entrepreneurs, one of the hardest things to do is to invest in your business. Especially if your business has suffered during the recession, even more so if you’ve been “taken” by so-called business coaches and gurus who don’t really have much actual business experience, you’ll find it difficult to part with your hard-earned money, even if it could really help your business to grow.

This kind of fear is understandable. But if you want your business to grow, you do have to invest money back into the business. Invest in an improved web site, work with a business consultant who can give you the direction you need to get your business growing, invest in  a new marketing campaign, a PR campaign, or something, but also make sure you know the likely results of whatever you’re investing in. There are no guarantees, but good research can give you a solid sense of how well you’re betting. If you put money into something, know what it is and how it’s going to help grow your business, and then take action.

Resolution #4: This Year I Will Stop Worrying About Motivation and Take Action.

Many entrepreneurs get so caught up in trying to get motivated that they spend most of their time learning from others and attending webinars and teleseminars and live events in the hopes of finding that one thing that will motivate them that they never take the next step to action. In fact, do you know how many people buy books and products and never read or use them? Fully 85% (or more!) of the people who buy personal growth and business books (including e-books and products) never even open them up!

This year, commit to finding your true fervor, that which you love doing and get excited about, so that you can stop worrying about “getting motivated” and just start doing.

Resolution #5: This Year I Will Trust Myself and Relax.
So many micro-entrepreneurs think they have to be doing everything to grow their businesses. What I mean is, I talk to people every day who receive five, ten, or twenty (or more!) business e-mails every week, and think they have to do everything that’s been recommended to them. They get one e-mail saying, “You should have a viral video,” and they scramble to get that set up. They get another e-mail saying, “You should speak from the stage!” and scramble to start doing that. They get yet another e-mail saying, “You need to be invested in social media!” and think they need to figure all that out. Next, an e-mail comes talking about blogs, articles marketing, e-zines, podcasting, internet radio shows, public relations….

It’s overwhelming. It’s too much. And it’s okay for you to relax a little bit and take a step back to think about what’s best for you, your business, and your target market.

When all else fails, trust yourself. It took me ages to trust myself and to listen to my gut instincts, but when I did, that’s when my confidence as a thought leader and as an expert really grew.

So this year, relax, stop trying to do everything, and trust yourself to know what’s best for you and for your business.

This time of year isn’t just about making resolutions that stick, it’s about making resolutions that can kick your business out of a rut and into profitability. And that’s what your 2012 should be all about. Happy New Year!

Santa knows a lot about business! Even if, say, this particular guy looks slightly sinister.

This time of year, many of us are thinking about Santa Claus and looking forward to his visit down the chimney (and trying to remember not to light a fire on Christmas Eve!)It occurred to me this morning that Santa is a deliverer of quintessential customer service.

Is anyone truly unhappy with Santa’s work? Not really. People return year after year to Santa to put in their holiday wishes, and he rarely gets complaints. So I thought it appropriate to share with you some of the business lessons I’ve learned over the years by observing St. Nick.

Pay attention to detail.
Santa makes a list and checks it twice. He really pays attention to detail and makes sure no mistakes are made. Are you as careful? Be diligent with your customers and clients and give the same attention to detail as Santa, and you’ll have loads of happy customers, which translates to repeat business.

Hire good people.
The elves always do amazing, impeccable work. They have a strong work ethic, they know how to get things done, and they put a lot of care into creating the best toys possible. These are the qualities you should look for when you hire people to do work for your business, too, even if you’re outsourcing. Your employees and contractors and their work product represent your company. Make sure they represent you well.

Do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it.
Santa promises to deliver all toys on Christmas Eve, so that when you wake up Christmas morning, your stocking is filled and your biggest wish is granted. You never wake up on Christmas, only to discover that Santa just didn’t make it. You never get an e-mail from Santa saying, “I’m sorry, we just couldn’t make our deadline this year.” Likewise, always deliver what you promise within your projected timeline and you’ll make your customers and clients very happy.

Love what you do (or at least look like you do).
Did you ever notice how Santa is always smiling? Whether he’s asking children what they want for Christmas, checking off his “naughty and nice” list, or delivering the toys, he’s always smiling. You get the sense that Santa really loves what he does, and that makes it so much nicer to receive gifts from Santa, because you know he’s getting joy out of doing good. One imagines that Santa wouldn’t frown, even if the elves revolted or the reindeer just weren’t behaving properly that day. Your customers and clients should always feel like you love what you do, no matter what’s going on in your day (or the day of your customer service reps). They should never feel like a burden, but always like a joy.

Market yourself well.
Santa does an amazing job of marketing himself, doesn’t he? You can’t pass a grocery store without hearing the clang clang of the Salvation Army Santa, and you can’t visit a mall without seeing a line of children waiting to talk to Santa. You see, Santa has wisely set up a network of outsourced Santas who deliver exceptional PR for him, plus he’s made strategic partnerships with charities so he appears just about everywhere. And don’t get me started on merchandising. You can market yourself just as well as Santa does by setting up your own marketing campaigns and strategic partnerships. Get yourself out there and increase your visibility.

Do good.
Speaking of strategic partnerships, Santa does good in the world. He delivers toys to children who live in poverty and brings a certain measure of comfort to millions around the world. He lends his image to thousands of charitable causes and makes a difference in the world around him. I hear that every one of Santa’s elves is required to volunteer a certain number of hours each month. You can do good in the world, too, through your business. Business in Blue Jeans donates a portion of our profits to a list of charities that are meaningful to me, but you can make a difference in a ton of different ways. Always be on the lookout for ways to do good in the world.

Santa’s not the only one who can do an amazing job, delight people around the world, and make a big difference. You can do the same thing with your business…you just have to have the spirit of the holidays. Enjoy!