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10 Sales Tips for Small Business Owners
Running a business is easy compared to the act of selling. As a small business owner you started your business to deliver a superior product or service, not to become a salesperson. None-the-less you must master basic sales skills or risk losing...

Are You Using a Chess or Checkers Small Business Marketing Strategy?
Until the day I learned to play chess I loved playing checkers. Both games require a strategy that maximizes a player's ability to capture her opponents pieces without first losing her own. Checkers was fun. But the complexities of chess lead to...

Deciphering Marketing Lingo for Small Business Owners
Maybe you've heard these different marketing terms, maybe you haven't. Either way, let me help to clarify the difference between them, because you should have all three if you want to market successfully. And knowing what they are may be your first...

Lessons of a small business owner
I've owned my own business for four years now. Here are the lessons I'd like to pass along. I've owned my own business for four years now, and roller coaster ride is still the best way to describe the experience. Lots...

Shopping For Small Business Services
Should you be in the early stages of a business start-up then there are elements to your personal business banking service which you should be looking for – and if you haven't yet set up an account now is the time to take a deep breath and go...

 
Small Business Planning -- Three Myths

Copyright 2005 Denise OBerry

Are you -- like 70 percent of small business owners -- working without a plan? Here are three myths that need to be dispelled about strategic planning for small business.

1. It has to be formal -- Not so.

The value of a strategic plan for your small business is in putting the ideas on paper, creating action steps that will get you where you want to go and implementing those action steps.

2. I'm too small -- Not so.

Even a one-person business can benefit from a strategic plan. A strategic plan can help you make decisions about time management and budget. You can use your strategic plan to help you determine whether to attend an event or advertise in a publication. It's a check and balance tool.

3. A strategic plan is like a ball and chain -- Not so.

It's your plan. Too many small business owners feel like once it's on paper, it can't be changed. Wrong! Your plan should be an active document that gets reviewed and updated at least monthly, if not weekly. You're the business owner, you wrote it, you know what's happening in your market -- adjust as necessary.


About the Author
Denise O'Berry helps small business owners take action to grow their business. Find out more at http://www.smallbusinessmatters.com

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