Brian Tracy recently suggested that I try out his new Business Growth Strategies program, and who am I to say no to one of the greatest minds in small business success and personal development? Brian Tracy has consulted for more than 1,000 companies and addressed more than 4,000,000 people in 4,000 talks and seminars around the globe. He’s the top-selling author of over 45 books that have been translated into dozens of languages and has written and produced more than 300 audio and video learning programs, including the worldwide, best-selling Psychology of Achievement. So, you know, he’s major. And you simply have to know that Brian is the best at what he does.
Obviously, if someone like Brian Tracy personally recommends that you try something out, well, even if it’s his product, I just think you do it. So I immediately took the $1 trial and gave it a whirl.
*BTW, in the interests of full disclosure, please note that I do not have any sort of affiliate relationship with Brian Tracy. Period.
Business Growth Strategies: What is it?
Brian Tracy’s Business Growth Strategies is a seriously high-powered system of videos and written instructions to take you from where you are now to where you want to go with your business.
You start with a Business Profitability Assessment that examines 30 areas of your business. It’s comprehensive, but don’t be afraid- the whole assessment only takes about 10 minutes. That said, beware: this assessment shines a fairly harsh light on your business. I thought I had a pretty good setup with my business, but darned if I didn’t discover pretty quickly that there were at least 12 major areas where I could stand improvement.
What’s pretty cool, though, is that throughout the process, Brian is there, walking you through via video, and he’s just such a nice man and so encouraging that it helps soften the blow when you realize how much help you need (even if, for some bizarre reason I have yet to understand, the videos do tend to remind me a little bit of those Darma Initiative videos from Lost, which also strangely makes the whole thing even more pleasant…if you figure that one out, let me know).
Once you’ve gotten through the assessment, you learn all the areas where you need help and you can start getting into the actual meat of the content.
What you’ll learn:
Business Growth Strategies provides tangible help with just about any aspect of small business growth that you can think of. You learn a lot of theory about business growth, from setting up the right systems, making sure you’re properly capitalized, business planning, sales, marketing, time management, effectiveness, advertising….there’s almost nothing that isn’t covered. Business Growth Strategies is more comprehensive than you can possibly imagine. There are 52 lessons with more than 250 videos recorded by Brian Tracy himself, and every lesson comes with written materials, exercises, and action steps.
Pedagogically speaking…
From a teaching standpoint, the combination of mediums is really smart. You need to watch the videos to get the most out of everything, and probably it’s better if you watch them all more than one time, but you can download and (if you’re so inclined) print out the written instructions to make a pretty awesome workbook with exercises and action steps, so you know exactly what you’re supposed to do.
Although you can skip around the program and focus on whatever topic you want, they’ve set it up so that you get a lesson plan based on your Business Profitability Assessment. That’s pretty wise, because without that lesson plan, the massive amount of material available can get a little overwhelming and daunting.
If you go into this and want to be successful, I’d probably recommend that you plan to stay in the program for six months to a year. That way you can do one lesson a week and really maximize your learning and have plenty of time to take action and implement the recommended strategies.
Who does Business Growth Strategies rock for?
Business Growth Strategies is awesome if you’re just starting a business. You’ll start out the right way and with Brian as your de facto coach, you’ll have a clear plan and strategies in place to smooth out the often bumpy startup road.
It’s also great if you’ve been in business for awhile, especially if you’ve flat-lined. Your business will get a sound tune-up, you’ll find out exactly what you’ve been missing, and you’ll be back on an upward swing.
And, Business Growth Strategies would work especially well for people in a brick-and-mortar businesses who are looking to grow their businesses in traditional ways.
What do I wish Business Growth Strategies included?
Business Growth Strategies is soundly grounded in old-school business principles. You’d expect nothing else from Brian Tracy. So there’s no doubt in my mind that the content is top-notch and of the highest quality.
Still, as much value as the program brings, I’m left wishing that Business Growth Strategies had a small injection of “new school” business principles that factored in newer technologies like internet marketing and social media networking, which is an interesting thing to say since the entire program is internet-based.
That said, business is business, and too many folks in business today think it’s okay to bypass class business principles and as much as we entrepreneurs just love to fast-track stuff, in the end, that just doesn’t work as well. So as much as I’d like to infuse the program with just a wee bit of new school stuff, it’s probably okay that it doesn’t include much of it, because there’s plenty of that out here already.
Overall thoughts…
Do I recommend Business Growth Strategies? Yep. It pretty much rocks the house. It’s solid content, through and through. I didn’t feel sold on other stuff, and really, once you’re in, you’ll just spend time in the program learning. And learning. And learning. Brian Tracy just continues to prove over and over that he’s still got it, and he shows no sign of slowing down.
I recently connected with Al Ferretti (@alferretti) and Skeeter Hansen (@skeeterhansen), founders of both TwitterWatchdog and TweetFormula on Twitter. These guys are super-authentic “Go-Givers” who I spent almost two hours with on the phone last Friday. I learned how they both met their wives, how they both got so many darned Twitter followers (approaching 100,000 between the two of them), and why they created TweetFormula (as a sidenote, if you want to be “in the know” about Twitter, how to increase your following, and how to use Twitter most effectively in your small business, TwitterWatchdog is a wonderful, authentic resource packed with useful, practical content).
After getting an inside peek into the TweetFormula product itself and spending this past weekend delving into the material, I can safely say that I understand why TweetFormula is so popular, and indeed, why Al and Skeeter are doing so well. So what is TweetFormula and why do I dig it so much? Read on….
*BTW, in the interests of full disclosure…please note that I do not have any sort of affiliate relationship with TweetFormula, TwitterWatchdog, Al Ferretti, Skeeter Hansen, or the partridge in a pear tree.
TweetFormula: What is it?
TweetFormula is the brainchild of Al Ferretti and Skeeter Hansen, founders of the crazy-popular and high-content blog, TwitterWatchdog. TweetFormula is a step-by-step formula for getting started on Twitter and creating a strong, authentic following that’s interested in what you have to say. Using a system of online videos, step-by-step written instructions, and bonus teleseminars, Al and Skeeter take you through their 10-step program, one step at a time.
What you’ll learn:
You’ll get started with setting up your profile and learning the basic lingo. You’ll learn how to find the right people to follow (e.g. people who are in your target market) and how to join in the conversation on Twitter. You’ll learn what to do and (almost more importantly) you’ll learn what not to do. You’ll learn how to automate, when to automate, and how to navigate the tricky Twitter waters with ease.
One of the things I really like is that Al and Skeeter include copious information about how to “join the conversation” and build relationships on Twitter. TweetFormula is all about the Go-Giver philosophy — give value, show people that you’re interested in them, and use social media as its intended: to connect with other people. And in doing that, you’ll find that your small business will indeed grow. Even better, these are skills you can transfer to other social media or in-person networking for small business success.
Lest you make the same mistake that I myself made, thinking “All of this sounds very nice, but it’s going to take forever,” Al and Skeeter show you exactly how to set up systems so that your social media becomes efficient, manageable, and doesn’t take up a huge chunk of your day. In fact, one of the last modules focuses on automation and creating efficient systems using third-party tools. It’s included in the later steps to really drive home the point that social media isn’t about broadcasting your promotions, but is a truly interactive medium requiring your commitment to a daily (albeit not constant) presence.
And in an ever-growing sea of third party Twitter “enhancement” applications, most of us find things a bit overwhelming and confusing. Luckily, at exactly the right moments in your training, Al and Skeeter show you the most useful tools (and just enough of them to be useful, but not enough to be overwhelming), so you can build maximum visibility and increase efficiency.
Pedagogically speaking….
The videos in TweetFormula are high-quality. The instructions are clear and easy to understand and follow, and everything is done in a highly methodical fashion. You understand what you’re doing and you learn the reasons why you’re doing this stuff. You get clear action steps for every single module, so you know exactly what you’re supposed to do next.
Who does TweetFormula rock for?
There’s really something here for everyone. If you’re a Twitter newbie, or you just find Twitter a little overwhelming, TweetFormula is a fantastic way to get started. If you’ve been on Twitter for awhile, and your following isn’t growing the way you want it to, you’ll find really helpful information to jump-start your list.
For myself, I thought I was getting a pretty good bead on Twitter. I’m fairly technically-oriented, so I had fancy-schmancy nested systems already set up (all my social media nested inside Ping.fm, nested inside HootSuite with the RSS feed from my blog, plus a little automation help from SocialOomph).
But surprisingly, I picked up some great hints and tricks from TweetFormula that showed me how to set up some new systems that are more efficient. I found out how and where to find new, targeted followers, and just inside this weekend, within 24 hours of just beginning to put those systems into place, added 50 new followers. *UPDATE* Within 7 days, I added well over 300 targeted followers. Not bad, right? And just in case that doesn’t wow you, let me remind you that these are targeted, high-quality folks who I happen to know are in my target market and are interested in what I have to say, and that’s worth its weight in gold. Plus, I also formed some really interesting strategic relationships with some new folks I met along the way.
What do I wish TweetFormula included?
There’s not much missing from TweetFormula, I have to tell you. But the one thing I do wish was included was a bit more detail about how to use the advanced third-party tools they recommend. They do a good job of providing an overview and the “getting started” part, but I suspect that the technophobes who find the basic Twitter instructions useful may need a bit more help with the technical aspects of those third-party tools. You may find, however, that a combination of TweetFormula, manuals and training from the individual third-party tools themselves, and content from Al and Skeeter’s TwitterWatchdog blog may provide pretty much everything you need.
Make no mistake about it, though, TweetFormula is not a “silver bullet.” Al and Skeeter will never tell you that you’ll add thousands of new followers in a week. You won’t have the following of Ashton Kutcher overnight by following TweetFormula. What you will have, however, is a solid following of people in your target market with whom you can build a relationship that over time, will most likely translate into tangible growth for your small business.
Overall thoughts…
Do I recommend TweetFormula? Absolutely. You can’t beat the price point and frankly, the program is worth every penny and then some.
What I really love is that every technique in the program is above-board and totally legitimate. No black-hat stuff for these guys, and you’re not going to get into trouble with Twitter using any of their strategies. Plus, they’re supporting Twitter in exactly the way that it was intended, and showing you how to really use Twitter to build your business. So yes, 100%, I recommend it and heartily at that.
And darned if their Northern accents aren’t just super-endearing, too.
Integrate: I’ll also be hosting a Q&A call the following evening. I’ll briefly review the interview with Bob, then I’ll open up the lines so you can ask me your business questions and get live business mentoring and coaching. Don’t miss this call!
Here are the details for this month’s calls:
DATES AND TIMES: Interview with Bob Burg: February 24, 2010, 8 PM Eastern/7 PM Central/6 PM Mountain/5PM Pacific
Integrate Q&A with Susan: February 25, 2010, 8 PM Eastern/7 PM Central/6 PM Mountain/5PM Pacific
For the first time ever, I’m running a contest, and there are just a few days left to enter! I’m running a one-week-only contest and giving away free Power-Up sessions to three lucky small business owners. Entry is easy and the pay-off is huge!
What You Win: An hour-long, one-on-one Power-Up Session with me, Susan Baroncini-Moe, CEO of Business in Blue Jeans, also known as “The Micro-Entrepreneur’s Mentor.” In this session, I’ll determine the three biggest mistakes you’re making in your business and provide personalized strategies for powering up your business to grow profitability and achieve success.
How To Win: Write one paragraph. Topic: “If I Could Wave A Magic Wand and Change Something About My Small Business, It Would Be…..” Post it on your blog or Facebook page with link back to http://www.businessinbluejeans.com/contest.html (or to this blog entry…makes no difference to me).
Then, e-mail contest@businessinbluejeans.com with a link to your entry (or just e-mail your entry to contest@businessinbluejeans.com) before February 22, 2010. It’s that simple!
Contest Rules: Three winners will be chosen at random on February 22, 2010. You’ll be contacted by me right away.
So…go write your paragraphs! It shouldn’t take too long and you just might win a freebie Power-Up Session with me!
There’s one question I’m asked over and over again from people who seek out my help: “Why isn’t this small business thing working?” It almost always comes as a desperate plea, a cry for help from someone who’s been trying to make things work for a long time, from someone who’s tried everything they can think of to grow their small business and just hasn’t seen results.
So what’s the answer? Why isn’t your small business working the way you want it to? Obviously, the answers are different for everyone. Each business has its own things that need troubleshooting. But here are the things I see that are the most common reasons why small businesses haven’t yet achieved success:
1. Lack of clarity of purpose and lack of clear branding. This isn’t just about having a clever name. Branding encompasses creating a clear mission for your company and getting clear about what you offer. If you offer too much or you’re too general or broad, your prospects won’t have a good sense of what you bring to the table or know if you can help them. You have to speak to them in their language, and you do that by a) making sure you make it clear what you do and who you do it for, b) reaching them with a corporate identity that resonates with them, and c) making sure you give them what they want with impeccable service.
2. Lack of a professional presence. It’s okay to start out with a homemade web site or free Vistaprint business cards, but if you’ve been in business for awhile, it’s time to upgrade. Your web site should serve three purposes: 1) showing your potential customers and clients how you can serve their needs, 2) giving them an opportunity to interact with you (either via contacting you or directly buying from you), and 3) acting as a credibility check for your business. Say you’re at a networking function and you give someone your business card. If that person’s interested in doing business with you, they’ll inevitably check your web site when they get back to the office. If you’ve presented yourself in person as a professional, but your web site presents as amateur, you’ve got a credibility problem.
3. Lack of authenticity. This is something I’ve been talking a lot about lately, because I see more and more people out there offering to teach you things they haven’t yet achieved for themselves: social media experts who don’t have followers on major social media sites, business experts who promise great riches, but haven’t achieved them for themselves…you have to have the goods to back up what you’re offering! And if you don’t, your prospects will see through you. From miles and miles away.
4. Lack of a clear marketing strategy. Imagine if you were going to take a roadtrip. You know where you want to go, but not how to get there, and you don’t have a map. Would you just get in the car and drive around aimlessly, hoping you hit the right street and end up where you meant to go? No. Likewise, you can’t just start driving around hoping to pick up clients here and there without a clear marketing strategy that’s designed with your target market in mind.
You might be great at what you do, but if you don’t have at least these four pieces in place, you’re going to be missing loads of business and wondering why your business isn’t working. And if you don’t know how to get these four pieces figured out, you need help. It’s good to have a system, it’s great to have a plan mapped out. And even better if you can get an outside perspective, giving you ideas and solutions you might not have thought of on your own.
For the first time ever, I’m running a contest! I’m running a one-week-only contest and giving away free Power-Up sessions to three lucky small business owners. Entry is easy and the pay-off is huge!
What You Win: An hour-long, one-on-one Power-Up Session with me, Susan Baroncini-Moe, CEO of Business in Blue Jeans, also known as “The Micro-Entrepreneur’s Mentor.” In this session, I’ll determine the three biggest mistakes you’re making in your business and provide personalized strategies for powering up your business to grow profitability and achieve success.
How To Win: Write one paragraph. Topic: “If I Could Wave A Magic Wand and Change Something About My Small Business, It Would Be…..” Post it on your blog or Facebook page with link back to http://www.businessinbluejeans.com/contest.html (or to this blog entry…makes no difference to me).
Then, e-mail contest@businessinbluejeans.com with a link to your entry (or just e-mail your entry to contest@businessinbluejeans.com). It’s that simple!
Contest Rules: Three winners will be chosen at random on February 22, 2010. You’ll be contacted by me right away.
So…go write your paragraphs! It shouldn’t take too long and you just might win a freebie Power-Up Session with me!
My web team just e-mailed me, and apparently I haven’t been working them hard enough, because they’ve just told me they want to do some more sites. So we put our heads together and here’s what we’re offering, but these are special prices, only available until 2/19/10. AND, they’re only extending this pricing to FIVE small business owners.
OFFER #1: $1349
Initial consult with our web manager
2-3 initial customized web layouts to choose from within 1 week and up to 5 rounds of revisions.
Full Wordpress integration (optional)
Integration of your e-mail newsletter or e-zine subscription form.
OFFER #2: $1649
Initial consult with our web manager
60 minute consult with me, Susan Baroncini-Moe, to develop your web strategy
Brand-new logo for your company
2-3 initial customized web layouts to choose from and up to 5 rounds of revisions.
Full Wordpress integration (optional)
Integration of your e-mail newsletter or e-zine subscription form.
OFFER #3: $2199
Initial consult with our web manager
60 minute consult with me, Susan Baroncini-Moe, to develop your web strategy
Brand-new logo for your company
2-3 initial high-end, customized web layouts to choose from and unlimited revisions.
Integration of your e-mail newsletter or e-zine subscription form.
Integration of up to two videos.
Full Wordpress integration with extra programming to add dynamic content to your home page.
If you’d like to be one of the FIVE business owners who get this pricing, and if you want a high-quality (but affordable) web site for your small business, one that you can easily manage yourself, e-mail leo@denimdreamteam.com and set up a time to talk about your project.
Remember, this offer is only good until 2/19/10, and they’re only offering it to FIVE small business owners, so make sure you e-mail asap!
The other day, I was watching an Eban Pagan video from the Engage Today event in 2009. In the video, Eban said something really interesting that caught my attention. He asked, “Are you living “at cause” or are you still “at effect?” It’s a great way to put something that I’ve been saying for years!
What does it all mean? First, what does “at effect” mean? “At effect” means you’re waiting for something. You’re waiting for the silver bullet — that one thing that will make everything okay, the thing that will solve all your problems. Maybe you’re a workshop junkie. Maybe you know all the “big names” and you’ve already given them thousands of dollars to solve your problems for you and give you the answers to bring you great success. Problem is, that’s not what many of them are there for (but that’s a topic for another day).
So let’s look at the flip side. What does “at cause” mean? It means to take charge, take action, be in the driver’s seat. Those are all good, general “catch” phrases, but what does that look like in your small business? It looks like putting all those great ideas that we know work into action. Ideas like choosing a target market, creating a memorable brand, positioning yourself as an expert, being credible and authentic, marketing your business with integrity, offering solid, useful content, overdelivering on what you promise, and giving everything you’ve got to the clients and customers who choose to trust you with their business.
“At cause” also means investing in your business and making sure you’ve got enough capital to fund your business, so you can take decisive action when it’s needed. I don’t mean you necessarily need a fortune, but you want enough to cover essentials like having a professional web site designed, marketing copywriting done, and getting the right team in place, one that includes a mentor, virtual assistants, and other pros who will help you get your business off the ground without overwhelming you.
If you want your business to grow and if you want to see benefits in your personal life as well, try living “at cause” every day. Wake up each morning knowing that you’re taking decisive action. Know that you’re ready for true business (and life) mastery, and you’re in charge of your own life. Live “at cause” and your life and your business will change.
Being authentic can be surprisingly difficult, especially in business. I often work with people who have no problem being genuine in real life, but who really struggle with authenticity in business. I hear from clients that, in business, they have to appear to be mega-successful — not just sort of successful, and not “hey, I’m growing a business here,” but really successful, in order to be taken seriously. There’s so much posturing and pretending, because people believe that you can’t become successful unless you appear to already be successful. But that’s just not true! In fact, it’s the opposite.
We’re all works in progress.
I’ve seen “behind the scenes” of a lot of the people who most of us think of as mega-successful, and things aren’t always how they seem. A well-known wealth coach I know spends most of his time talking about the power of mindset, but I know that he struggles with exactly the same issues everyone else does: doubt, uncertainty, insecurity. We’re all works in progress. Every single one of us. We all have questions and insecurities and fears. It’s how you deal with those internal struggles that matters.
The truth has a way of seeping out anyway.
We think we’re so good at hiding our secrets from the rest of the world. But whether it’s a financial crisis, marital problems, personal demons, or something else, even if you think you’re keeping your skeletons hidden, you’re probably not. Truth has a way of sneaking out there and betraying our lies. Truth may show up in an uncertain look in your eye or in the way you keep your secrets, but know this: it’s almost impossible to keep things totally hidden.
It’s not all about appearances. It’s about truth. Far too many folks out there seem to think that if you appear to be super-successful, you’ll achieve legitimacy. But it’s not about how you seem, it’s about how you are. If who you really are matches up with who you say you are, then you’ll appear credible, because you are credible. On the other hand, pretend you’re something that you’re not and you’ll come off as shady.
The real secret to gaining legitimacy is authenticity. We’re all after legitimacy, in the end. So take the time to build your expertise and knowledge, offer your services at a discounted rate while you gain experience, and build in the right systems to support your products and services so you can offer unparalleled good service. You’ll build credibility by doing things right, and with credibility and legitimacy comes real success.
(In an upcoming issue of my No Suits Allowed! e-zine, I’ll be talking about how to be authentic. It’s such an important piece that’s missing from so many businesses today, so make sure you subscribe to the e-zine so you can find out the critical steps you need to take to achieve authenticity in your business.)
I have five cats. And no, I’m not a crazy cat lady. Here’s the deal: My oldest cat is Kate. Kate came to me about 18 years ago, and had been fully declawed — not my thing. The other four cats were feral, born in my dad’s garage about four years ago. I brought them home to socialize them for adoption and of course, I fell in love with all of them and they’ve been here ever since. They’ve still got all 72 claws (18 claws per cat) and a tendency to rile Kate up, which doesn’t do too much for her “old lady” heart condition. So while all five cats pretty much have full run of the house during the day, at nighttime and when we’re not around, we keep the four rambunctious “kids” confined to a spacious sunroom. Now that you have the background, I can tell you how four of my fur babies taught me a little business lesson recently.
Sometimes in the morning, I sit down with my coffee and breakfast and forget to open the door to the sunroom right away. Scooter, of course, is quick to remind me to open the door. He pads at the door until I come over and let him in. Scooter runs right in, looks up and makes eye contact with me, and he’s quick to hop up on my lap for a morning cuddle. The rest of the cats, Lance, Agnes, and Grandpaw, are slower to emerge, and take their time connecting with Leo and me throughout the day.
The other morning, as I was letting Scooter in, it hit me: by being at that door when I’m ready to open it in the morning, by letting me know he’s there, and even scratching on the door to remind me, Scooter is just using smart marketing. Basically, if you translate this into micro-entrepreneur terms, Scooter’s connecting with his target market (me), letting his target market know what he’s up to, and putting it out there that he’s got something to offer me when I’m ready to open the door and let him in. And as soon as he’s in the door, he’s already working with me, connecting with me, and showing me he’s glad I let him in.
In contrast, the other three cats laze about on the sunroom sofa and chairs. They gaze out the window, watching leaves blow around, watching the snow fall. Occasionally they come up to the door and look in, and it seems like they wish they were inside. But they only take action when I open the door and coax them inside, and then it takes them awhile to mosey by for a quick scratch under the chin. Translate this into people terms, and you’ve got all the micro-entrepreneurs who say they want clients and customers, but who actually don’t put themselves out there or market themselves properly.
Here’s the lesson: You have to market wisely and once you’re in the door, you have to deliver everything you’ve got. It’s about relationships and putting in the effort to get in front of your audience and make yourself known, then when you get your foot in the door, deliver, deliver, deliver.
. Bob and I will be talking about how to make sales feel less awkward and uncomfortable and how you can bring more value to your clients. I’ll open up the call for a Q&A so you can ask Bob your own questions, too!