Most entrepreneurs are concerned about what we’ll do if all of our clients disappear one day and we’re left with no income. That’s a very real fear, and of course we should have a contingency plan in place (consistent lead generation, adequate savings, etc.) for such an occasion.

However, how many of us small business owners really prepare for success?

Does your business plan allow for the “best case scenario”? What happens if your company explodes with more clients than you can handle? Do you have some great colleagues to refer people to? Have you formed an alliance with anyone? How will you keep up with your email if you are maxed out doing client work? How do you keep writing proposals if you’re so buried under administrative tasks you can’t see over the pile? Do you have additional staff? Contractors available to pitch in?

You see, in business it’s usually a good thing to get more business. (’Duh’) We all want growth, otherwise we’d be very foolish to be pouring our souls into our ventures.

That being said, while we all want to be successful are we all ready for it? We all say we want to have “X#” of clients or be bringing in “X$” as our goal, but are you prepared to handle that if you get there sooner than expected?

The problem is when you get swamped with work, it’s usually too late to get yourself out from that place. It’s hard enough to keep your head above water without scrambling to formulate a plan.

Mann Made Time has recently exploded. I have been blessed with several referrals over the past couple of weeks that has brought my business to a new level. I’m very glad that I have a project manager and an online collaboration tool, otherwise this would not be pretty. As it is, we’re experiencing some minor growing pains, but if it weren’t for the system I’ve been building with my PM over the past half year or so, well…I would just rather not go there

So…instead of focusing your back up plan only on what happens if all your clients disappear, look at it from the other side.

Are you ready for an onslaught of business?

No Comments yet »

I know my parents love me. I’m sure they do.

When they named me Jaime Lee, after my dad (James), they decided to spell his name “Jamie” in a more feminine way - “Jaime” for me, their first born.

I don’t think they realized that nobody would ever spell that name correctly as I grew older.

It’s not a big deal, in the big scheme of things, when there are wars going on and people are starving and can’t afford gas - I’m not whining. But I have many diplomas, awards, Christmas tree ornaments, etc., with my name on them - spelled wrong. It’s kind of disappointing, but I’m a big girl. I’ve gotten used to it. I know people automatically think “Jamie” when they hear my name, that’s fine.

I’m kind of surprised each time I receive an email - keep in mind, my email address is jaime@mannmadetime.com - where I’m greeted as “Jamie”. Sometimes “Jaimie” or “Jaeme” or any number of variations. Again, no big deal. (I’m not bitter, Mom)

However, I really like when someone has paid attention and spells my name right. It makes me feel good that someone actually noticed that detail.

What does this have to do with business?

It’s the little details. It’s the little things we do as business owners to make our clients and customers feel like we care about them. If that’s taking care to spell their name properly, or remembering them on their birthday (*ahem*, somebody’s might be tomorrow ;)). It could be sending them information on a new product you heard about that you thought they’d be interested in. It doesn’t take much, and small touches can really go a long way towards making someone feel loyal to you because you care.

1 Comment »

Are you aware of how beneficial press releases are to your marketing efforts?

Anytime something newsworthy happens in your business, you should write a press release about it. Whether it’s a new service offering, a new office location, a promotion, an award, anything people didn’t know about yesterday could make for a good press release. You can go ahead and submit your release to local media outlets, but more importantly, spread it on the Internet.

Whenever you write a press release, it should be submitted online. Why? Well, each time you have a press release that links back to your site, that helps your SEO. Not every press release that gets submitted online will be picked up by anyone, in fact, it’s kind of rare. The biggest benefit is the boost to your SEO.

When writing a press release, there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all, you need a great headline. I often spend more time coming up with a headline than I do writing the content of a piece. If the headline stinks, it doesn’t matter what’s in the rest of the press release, it won’t get read.

It’s important to include a link to your site near the top of the press release, and that’s also where the main newsiness (nice word, eh?) of the piece should be, in case it gets chopped up. You should have a quote in there somewhere, so if it does get picked up by someone, they don’t necessarily have to call you for a comment. At the end of the press release, it’s good to have some ‘About’ information about your company or yourself, but it’s not totally necessary.

After reading ‘Publicity Hound’, Joan Stewart’s newsletter yesterday, I discovered a mega cool tool for press release analysis: Press Release Grader. You can copy and paste your PR in there and it will tell you how well you’ve scored for marketing purposes. The last one I wrote got a 90% which is cool. It also gives feedback on how to improve it. What a great tool!

If you suck at writing aren’t great at writing,  outsource the task. I write a lot of press releases, and can pump them out pretty efficiently. Another option is to give it your best shot, then send it to an editor to polish it up. I heart Angela Smith of Accu-Asisst for this task.

So, what’s happened in your business lately that merits a press release? It’s GREAT free marketing for the bootstrapping entrepreneur.

No Comments yet »

So, you might be wondering why my logo is adorned with balloons, presents  and a birthday cake. Just so happens, June is a big month for Mann Made Time. We’re celebrating two years in business and it’s my birthday month - one more year in my twenties…reason to celebrate, right?

After two years in business, I have really been able to find out which services I love the most and the ones I prefer to outsource to my team members. My biggest love is writing, and I’ve been lucky enough to be doing more and more of it for my awesome clients. I’m toning up my marketing message to attract more copywriting projects and that excites me.

When you first start your business, nailing down a target market and niche can seem very overwhelming and a lot of people don’t believe they should focus their marketing on any one place. In a sense, that’s a good idea. Offer a bunch of services (ONLY ones you’re great at) and then decide where your biggest strengths lay and which things you enjoy doing the most. Then carve out your niche and decide on a target market. If you started your business with a target market that you don’t feel the love for after some time has passed, change things up. There’s no rule saying that you have to target the same bunch forever. There’s no rule saying you can’t upgrade your skills and find yourself a niche you really love.

Your business is your business. You’ll get out of it what you put into it. If you’re doing work you love for people you truly enjoy working with you’ll be more motivated and success will come easier. You’re the boss. Do you look forward to the work you have on your plate when you wake up each morning? For a time, I wasn’t enjoying what I was doing. Now, it’s like Dr. Phil says. If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. I feel privileged to provide the services people pay me well to do. It really doesn’t feel like work and what could be better than that?!

Oh. And happy birthday to me!!!

4 Comments »

As an entrepreneur, you presumably put a lot of thought into naming your business. I sure did. It’s a very big decision. You have to try the name on for awhile and see how it feels. You have to write it out and see how painful it will be to write down a million times in the future. You have to see if it will continue to suit you as you grow. Will it make sense when you tell someone your domain name over the phone? (With my name, I always have to say “Mann with two ‘n’s and no, it’s m-a-d-e, not m-a-i-d.”)

Twenty years ago (yes, it has been two decades) the New Kids on the Block appeared on the scene, weakening young girls knees everywhere. They were five young guys who have been credited with starting off the boy band craze in the 90s. (They seem to disagree, saying there were lots of boy bands around before them and perhaps they were the first “white” boy band. ) Whatever they were, they were a phenomenon. I was absolutely nuts over them. I spent every dollar I had on their tapes, ‘Teen Beat’ magazines with posters of them, earrings, t-shirts, even socks and sunglasses. I had a club and we had t-shirts and binders…spending lunch hours swooning over our favorite ‘Kid’. It’s really a good thing that twelve year old girls can’t get tattooed, cause you can bet I’d have the NKOTB logo somewhere on my person.

I don’t recall what happened to NKOTB, but they have reunited and are going on a reunion tour this summer. How exciting! And how brilliant. Their concerts are selling out, and why wouldn’t they be? They already have a huge fan base, made up of 25-35 year old women who have been loyal to them for 20 years. We have more money now to sink into their music and concert tickets and we still love them…even if our husbands think we’re dorks.

My point here is that perhaps the name “New Kids on the Block” wasn’t brilliant. It seems odd to choose a name that will not make sense after a couple of top ten hits. How ‘new’ can you be when you’ve been on the charts for a few years? And now with the guys ranging in age from 35-40 something, they sure aren’t kids anymore. I wonder if they’re sorry they chose that name. It doesn’t seem to be hurting them much, but it seems kind of silly to see a bunch of 40 year old men called the New Kids.

Anyway, think about your name before you brand yourself

2 Comments »