By Daniel M. Murphy on 10/30/2008

This business coaching blog is dedicated to helping you attract new customers with practical and low-cost marketing strategies.  The more fishing lines your company puts in the water, the better chance of catching customers.  These are easy-to-implement strategies (beyond and supplemental to your internet marketing efforts) to help drive customers and revenues into your business.  While not all of them will make sense for your business, some definitely will.  Here are 10 powerful marketing strategies...

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By Daniel M. Murphy on 10/27/2008

Sadly, after several years in business, we entrepreneurs tend to lose the emotional and motivational connection to our initial dreams and visions.  We get so busy working "in" the business and dealing with the "daily grind" that we lose sight of the big picture and our compelling vision.  Our original dreams of business ownership start to fade and sour as the realities of business management take over. 

Furthermore, the daily challenges and demands of running a business, especially in a tough...

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By Daniel M. Murphy on 10/23/2008

As Mark Twain stated, "It's not what you don't know that holds you back, it's what you know for sure that just ain't so."  As your virtual business coach, please read that again.  Surprisingly, it's your certitude around some of your fast-held business beliefs that could be holding you back.  After all, when was the last time you questioned and challenged such beliefs and assumptions?  That's what I thought. 

Therefore, in this business coaching blog, let's take the time to become fully aware...

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By Daniel M. Murphy on 10/20/2008

No doubt about it, we are going through some crazy economic and political times right now.  As a North American system of business coaches, we work hard to help keep our business owner clients calm, cool, collected, and confident.  After all, clients worrying about things beyond their control does no good whatsoever.  In fact, needless worry does real harm by diverting vital time, focus and energy away from productive matters. 

As business coaches, we are always striving to help our clients maintain...

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By Daniel M. Murphy on 10/16/2008

Too many folks in the media are only asking negative and disempowering "what if" questions.  During these economic crazy times, more than ever, business owners need to ask better questions.  To a very large extent, you regulate your mindset and confidence based on the questions you ask yourself.  Simply put, the quality of your life and business very often comes down to the quality of questions you habitually ask yourself and your team.  

As prior business coaching blogs have addressed, you...

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By Daniel M. Murphy on 10/13/2008

Our last business coaching blog focused on the need to adopt a marketing mindset and to put more marketing strategies and programs in play in your marketplace ... similar to more fishing lines in the water to catch more fish.  Quite simply, you increase your customer-catching capacity with more marketing programs activated.  However, don't mistakenly assume that all marketing should be aimed at attracting new customers. You also have to satisfy and retain your current customers, especially during...

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By Daniel M. Murphy on 10/9/2008

Business owner, please stop fixating on what the stock market is doing, what politicians are saying, or what reporters are guessing will happen.  Instead, this business coach recommends that you go fishing.  Am I nuts?  While my 10-year old boy and I love to fish together, I'm not suggesting you go catch fish ... unless you desperately need a mental break.  What I'm suggesting is that you fish for and catch more customers!  Time to put more fishing lines in the water!

While you can't control...

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By Daniel M. Murphy on 10/6/2008

No doubt about it, we are in some crazy times and will have to endure some kind of transition period.  How crazy and for how long?  Who really knows?  What I do know is that as a small business owner, you are being bombarded with repetitive "doom and gloom" stories and opinions all day long from newspapers, magazines, cable news, nightly news, radio, the internet, politicians, political ads, and on and on.  We are in an environment where it's very tough to sort out fact from fiction, news from opinion...

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By Daniel M. Murphy on 10/2/2008

Business owners, for your sake and that of your company's, please stop bouncing around from one idea to another, one project to another, one fire-drill to another.  You are driving yourself and your employees crazy.  Also, while you're at it, stop chasing the business practice or management strategy "flavor of the week or month."  If you keep leaping to new things, you can not make real progress when you don't drive existing ideas, projects or strategies to full implementation and completion.  Besides,...

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By Daniel M. Murphy on 9/29/2008

We are in some crazy times.  Many small business owners are feeling out of control, overwhelmed, uneasy, and a bit vulnerable.  While many of them are seeking business coaching to help them navigate through some rough waters, others are unsure of what actions to take, if any.  When so much around us seems to be truly crazy (stock market, economy, credit markets, mortgage industry meltdown, presidential politics, government bailouts, etc.), what is a business owner to do?

I think it's best to elevate above all the gloom and doom talk.  Take a deep breath, keep a long-term perspective, review and update your business plan (or get one!), and try to control what you can and make positive adjustments.  Stop being reactive to the daily news and stock market gyrations ... instead, plan your work and work your plan.  Stop stressing yourself out over things you can not control and focus on those things that you can control.  Also, stop focusing on what you don't want and focus on what you do want.  Finally, stop focusing so much time on the problems and more time on solutions that make sense for your business.

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