I gotta tell you. I’m a planner. To a fault. I like everything in life and work neatly planned and organized. I like to have an entire business model sketched out with spreadsheet scenarios before I even stick my little toe into the warm water of a new situation.

When I launched HALO in 1999, we gave away a free white paper for folks who signed up for our e-mail newsletter. It was called “Stop Starting and Start Stopping.” The paper basically challenged the entrepreneurial innovators who read it to stop starting a bunch of faddish tactics and tasks. To stop “dabbling” in new ideas and marketing tactics. Instead, find the things that AREN’T working and eliminate the waste. Stop doing what’s broken and focus your energy on the things that are working or finding the things that are working until you are able to find success.

Planning Addiction

In today’s fast-paced marketplace with its economic challenges and quickly evolving new media options, I’ve found myself confronted with the brick wall of my planning addiction. I’ve walked into community after community and business after business where well-intended plans sit idle in a drawer and where once realistic plans were thwarted or disabled entirely by economic changes, natural disaster or family tragedy.

Over and over again, in businesses and communities across America, I see a disconnect between planning and reality. Between planning and implementation. And it’s not a pretty picture.

I’m just like you. I’m a small business owner. I teach seminars, talk to reporters, write speeches, travel a lot and blog… I also take out the trash, cook dinner and help with homework. I’ve had family tragedy and economic woes. I like to have time to throw the Frisbee and go fishing with my family and occasionally stick my toes in the sand.

Then Why Do We Try?

Ten years in business has taught me one very clear thing: I can’t predict tomorrow.

Well, if we can’t predict tomorrow, why do we try so hard? Don’t get me wrong, I think planning is still wise – to a point. I think that analysis and setting baseline standards on which to measure future business success is critical. And we don’t do enough of that sort of thing.

Here’s what I’m saying: I’m saying we all need to Stop Starting. Starting new plans, that is. And we need to just go. We need to zoom our businesses forward. Set some goals, point the ship that is your business towards a target audience and GO!!

After ten years of being an obsessive planner, I’m hanging up the hat. I’m going into rehab. I’m tired of creating fictional business successes only to have some very real event get in our way that I have to fix later or accommodate in order to find the end of the rainbow. Sure, we’ve seen a lot of success. A LOT. But we’re about to see more.

A World of Less Planning and Better Results

We’ve been using a systematic plan for small business growth for ten years now. It’s our step-by-step plan to your Results Revolution. And now, with no long-term planning or coaching contract, you and me, we’re gonna be revolutionary.

Webster’s says that a revolution is a “drastic and far-reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving.”

Well, here we go. Join me as we walk the path to success – finishing one successful task after another. We’ll reach one successful milestone after another. We’ll find the freedom to succeed without being locked into tomorrow.

Today’s economic times call for a “drastic and far-reaching change” in the ways we do business. Successful business owners will be revolutionary business owners. Check out our web site, sign up for our e-mail newsletter, follow us on Twitter and become a Fan on Facebook. And most of all – grab hold of an idea and run with it. Then come back for another. Find your success – and if you need help along the way, just know – that’s our purpose in life, our passion – is to help you along your path to success.

Block after block, empty storefronts can signal an economic decline–or a terrific opportunity!

I recently had the chance to participate in the execution of Target’s first pop-up shop in the Midwest.  Designed by David Stark Production in NYC, the Bullseye Bazaar occupied an empty space along Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. . .prime real estate! With the creative use of wall coverings, flooring, fixtures and signage, the space was transformed into the best of both worlds–Target products and Target prices in a fun, unique shopping experience.

So, what’s the catch?  There are Target stores all across Chicagoland–what makes this location special?

It was only in business for 3 DAYS!

I can’t help but think that there are ways to reinterpret this approach . . . it needn’t be an option only for big businesses in big cities (with big budgets!)

Consider the following possibilities–which of these could work for you?

• A limited-run gallery for area artists or students, perhaps as a working studio?
• A chance for a potential business to take a “test drive”?  Gauge traffic, customer interest, etc.
• A special occasion venue?  Who doesn’t want to see and be seen?
• Rent or donate windows to market a specific promotions?  Breast Cancer Awareness in October, Back to School in August, etc. ? In these situations, full-size graphics applied to the glass eliminates any need to direct energy or attention to the inter.

Moving ahead, you will need to:

• Identify one key location–visible, desirable and user-friendly.
• Establish occupancy parameters and timetables–I recommend one week limits. Tenants who linger, promotions past their expiration dates. . . avoid situations that erode the “gotta go there NOW” energy that you’re working to establish.
• Clean, paint and light the facade, windows and interior.  Don’t skimp on this!
• Give it a name.
• Post photos/floorplans of the space on your website.
• Extend an invitation to your first occupant and be prepared to help offset the cost.

When the Bullseye Bazaar opened, the line of customers circled the block. Those customers could easily snag the same Mossimo shorts or lemonade pitchers at their Target but that wasn’t the point–this was a “happening”, a very limited run and couldn’t be missed!

But not just any web site.

Here's how our day looked (this all to prove that we're doing this stuff while doing normal business operations):

America's Main Street marketing experts said rise and shine. No orange juice in the house. Andy runs out of coffee almost immediately. This is not the best way for us to start the day. I'm not gonna lie to you. However, not to be sidetracked by such, I went for a glass of ice water and got right to work.

I sent some invoices for work that was completed yesterday – two pretty major web site updates, some hosting stuff for Fox Web co. and a few more housekeeping things like that. I took care of some details for our upcoming trip to Clare, Michigan with my friends at the National Main Street Center (can't wait to see y'all next week!), sorted my e-mails for the day and made some quick appointments for later in the week. Took a break to hang out on Twitter. I read this amazing article about the new gold rush in California and the FBI's surveillance of all of the Tea Parties. Yeah, seriously. Checked the mail. And bought groceries. The day started improving drastically at that point – food, coffee, Cokes – the windows up and the sun shining… the afternoon was staged for success.

Andy kept working on a shopping cart project for a client in Tennessee and a pretty major dealer/expert network database we're custom building for a sporting goods client out of Starkville, Miss. He also worked on his usual afternoon routine of calling a few folks to network and trying to sell some stuff. I did the same – reconnecting with some Main Street contacts around the country and even wrote a proposal.

But I also setup the PayPal account, so that you (our loyal customer) will now be able to (once this site is finished) purchase coaching credits on demand and a few other goodies that we have in store.

The Fox dream team got to work on the web site – loading the database and installing the content management system. They've been customizing it, and I've been adding content ever since. Here's where we are on the new site at midnight on Day 2 (keeping in mind that Day 1 was cut short by two hours of 24):
- Team is onboard with great zeal for the project. We are going to set the standard for revolutionary.
- PayPal is setup to take on-line purchases.
- Hosting for new site is setup with database installed.
- Content management system installed.
- Navigation built and working nicely.
- New blog system setup (but not imported – that is five years of stuff to import – a sorta BIG job I'm told).
- Twitter integrated.
- YouTube integration tested and working.
- Featured articles on home page tested and working.

- Images are starting to rotate on the home page – love seeing these fun places we've visited all over again!
- Custom design well underway – we're going to make orange cool again.

I think that's it for today. I have a feeling our greatest hurdle will be getting this blog moved… But it's time for it to move, so I'm praying that the team is smarter and more patient than me and will find success in this aspect of the task.

Tomorrow, I'm going to work on pimping out the Team HALO Facebook page with some advance tricks that I've been testing and learning. And I'm going to write the rest of my Marketing with Facebook personal workshop curriculum in the process. I'll probably write some new blog content, check up on all of our projects and clients and a few other things before I get back to work on the new web site. Oh, and I have a great consultation with one of my favorite clients, too! Should be a fab day.

Small business marketing tip… don't let a day go by without reaching out, innovating and taking care of your existing customers. It's a winning formula for real success!

April 30 deadline extended from March 30. Read more on the NTHP grants blog. These funds can be used to help train, educate and equip your small business owners… and well, we need a lot of that in times like these.

Show Me the Money: USDA 2009 Rural Business Opportunity Grants (RBOG) CFDA 10.773 (mod 3).

What types of projects are eligible?
The RBOG program is primarily a training and technical assistance program. Funds may be provided for development of export markets; feasibility studies; development of long term trade strategies; community economic development planning; business training and business based technical assistance for rural entrepreneurs and business managers; establishment of rural business incubators; and assistance with technology based economic development. The types of projects that may be funded might include identification/ analysis of business opportunities that will utilize local material and human resources; provision of leadership development training to existing or prospective rural entrepreneurs and managers; business support centers; centers for training, technology and export trade; and, economic development planning.

This week, Andy and I are on the road visiting several Main Street communities. Today, we’re going to visit our friend Darrin in Orrville, Ohio to catch up on the happenings, concerns and challenges in his downtown.

Tomorrow, we’re heading up to Frankenmuth, Michigan to work with small business owners and the Chamber/Tourism/Main Street groups to create a new level of success in this tourist-dependent small town. We’re looking forward to presenting three different times to business groups, touring the community and meeting with a number of small business owners one on one to create solutions that will make their bottom line bigger.

After that, we’re headed to Northville, Michigan and Chelsea, Michigan for more… We’ll make every attempt to keep you posted as the week goes on. We challenge you – think like these communities – don’t sit back and wait for the economic chips to fall where they may. Be proactive and seek out success — it CAN be found.

To help you do that, we’ve invited some friends to share their insights with you this week while we’re on the road… Ryan Kelly is founder of Pear Analytics in San Antonio, Texas. We met Ryan when we had the opportunity to cooperate with him  on a niche social networking venture for a small business client of ours last year. Since then, we’ve worked with Ryan on a couple of other projects to date – and have learned much more. Ryan founded the company
because of the opportunity to bring data and measurement to what is,
and has been a creative-dominated industry.  With a degree in
mechanical engineering, Ryan has unique skills in data analysis,
statistics and probability modeling, and a different approach to
problem solving that is scarce in the marketing and advertising field. You can probably see why we like him – we’ve finally found someone else who thinks measurement is important – what’s more – he is teaching us how to achieve measurement and a new level of results from our marketing – like never before. I hope you’ll enjoy what he has to say this week on this blog – so stay tuned.

Small business success is within your reach – pursue it today by looking for new ways to measure everything you’re doing. If you do something with your time or money – make sure you can answer the question “why?” until you get an answer you like – or just don’t do it at all…

Keep up the good work marketing Main Street!

A critical question came through on the National Main Street listserv today. I don't respond very often – when I do, it's a topic I feel passionately about. When the responses started rolling in to refer GoDaddy and Yahoo SiteBuilder as viable alternatives that will actually GROW a business… I am saddened that we don't cling in the bad times to the truths about business that we know in the good times… So, here's the questions – and my response follows.

QUESTION:

I’m writing an article for our newsletter and wondered if there are any cheap/free website services out there for small businesses that you would recommend?  Amazingly enough, only about half my merchants even have a presence on the web, and some of those are very amateurish. Any advice?

MY ANSWER:

Your community of businesses is not the exception – they are the rule. Please see this article posted last week by the Center for Media Research regarding poor online presence by small business:

http://adjix.com/ybb2

An excerpt that strikes me:

“Webvisible found that online search and e-mail newsletters are the only forms of traditional media that are growing among consumers who wish to locate local products or services. Compared with two years ago, respondents report they use search engines and email newsletters more, while they use newspapers, magazines, direct mail and radio less.”

The unfortunate truth is that those who do have a web site have a dated web site that they may not be able to edit for one of two reasons (in my experience).

• Their web guy doesn’t keep up with them or has disappeared
• Or they are frustrated by using a free/low cost tool like GoDaddy.com (not to pick on anyone in particular) that is a tool only – without any education or ongoing support or marketing advice.

Web sites are no longer optional for small business owners. As you can see from just this single article (there are more out there to reinforce this if you Google for the info), online spending is growing – and provides an avenue for growth for our downtown businesses. Not to mention the customer loyalty/retention, marketing outreach and other benefits a good web site provides.

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS143830+02-Jan-2009+PRN20090102

Let me repeat myself: A GOOD Web Site.  The problem with many “do-it-yourself” web site products is that they don’t educate the builder – and so the business owner – not an expert at web useability or search engine optimization – does what looks good to them (not necessarily what may look good to the customer) – or what frustrates them the least – in their web building – and their business suffers for it. What would you think of your best downtown business if you walked in tomorrow and found it in complete disarray with mismatched signage, poor lighting, and unorganized displays and more? This, in essence, is what happens with most do-it-yourself tools that come without education, coaching or ongoing human expert support. It doesn’t matter how cheap it is if the money washes down the drain. The purpose of a web site in today’s economy is to be the centerpiece – not an afterthought – of a small business marketing plan that includes both online and offline marketing tools.

Please encourage your business owners to make sure they understand the implications if they choose a big-box web hosting solution. This is not to say every big box experience is bad…but well, around Main Street circles, I think we can be honest and admit the track record. It’s no different with web hosting and mass marketers of web site products.

JonI completely agree with, if the budget is unavailable to embark on a valuable web site development journey – then tools like Blogger, WordPress and Typepad provide a solid, respected alternative in the short term.

For higher end functionality, search engine optimization and strategically designed web sites, Fox Web co. offers a solution that starts at less than $1000. (Fox is our sister company who specializes in small business, having the heart of a teacher and works almost exclusively with Main Street businesses – sorry for the shameless self promotion.) Another option that is popular right now is retrofitting existing web sites to allow business owners to make updates themselves for much less regardless of the hosting company.

Hope this helps offer a different perspective into this very important conversation for the future economic stability of our downtowns.

Ok, I know. It's January 16. Aren't I a bit late to this "new year's" party?

Well, I suppose that's up to you to decide. However, I will tell you that sometimes its better to not say anything at all than to say the WRONG thing. And that's what's been simmering in my head lately. Many other business experts, most of whom I personally respect very much, opened their mouths immediately to save the world from the economic crisis – and the predicted recession. How can the world's economic problems be solved so quickly? Of course, like everyone else, I had lots of ideas immediately… I wanted to run out and save all of you small businesses of the world, too. But what good would it do you or me long-term if I gave poor advice or poorly thought advice? Not too much I'd imagine.

So, I stepped back and gave it some thought. I've been visiting with our clients one on one. Having a lot of strategic planning sessions and spending a lot of time watching the marketplace to see what really is working and is not working. I don't suggest that I am prepared to save the world just yet – but I do feel ready to save one small business or social entrepreneur effort at a time. But having given due diligence to our current affairs, I feel a clarity on the new year that has me excited more than ever before in my career.

Of course, the world has changed. Probably, this isn't a correction. It's a new world, a new economic and business environment in which we will all operate until the next era emerges…hopefully when I'm in retirement.

We, as small business owners and not for profit operators are dealt a fresh hand of cards. And the brutal truth is that some businesses will simply fold. But for others, the opportunity and potential to win – and win bigger than ever imagined before – is as real as that fresh new set of playing cards.

While speaking to a coaching client just this week, Andy and I took a serious tone and said the following to this young entrepreneur: "We can sit here and talk about it and talk about it some more until we're blue in the face. But the bottom line is clear: talking will do no one any good. There are many who will become jobless this year – some in a long-term way. And there are those who will find great success this year. Wild, unbelievable success. We don't think there will be a lot of middle ground. Either you quit talking – and start doing what it takes to win. Or you'll fail. It's as simple as that. 2009 is a black and white year, my friend."

So, which will you be in 2009? Will you do whatever it takes to succeed – and succeed big? Or will you fail? It's scary – but it's the truth.

Here's our position on the year:

Our primary mission at HALO Business Advisors remains the same. HALO Business Advisors will continue to equip business owners and social entrepreneurs with the tools you need to succeed – and we will encourage and train you every step of the way. We will be laser intense in our equipping YOU to practically, economically, fanatically, passionately, confidently and zealously execute the steps to achieve phenomenal success.

• We must get this information outlining exactly what to DO to succeed in front of as many small businesses and organizations as possible. Our seminar pricing model and seminar topics will reflect this mission.
• Our web site will grow by sharing more and more practical, doable content with each passing week. Our blog will do the same.
• Our e-newsletter will be an e-newsletter of checklists – what to DO this week to win.
• Our coaching system and sessions will avoid theory and long business philosophy sessions altogether. Every session will cover items to DO to grow a business. Every session will propel the business forward.
• And most exciting of all, our sister company, Fox Web Company, will be offering a small business toolbox that is unbelievable and so affordable to make marketing on-line and off more efficient and effective than ever before.
• And there's more in the works over here at our creative, success factory… so stay tuned.

Can you tell I'm excited? I'll tell you something folks – this year is the year for you. This is the year for your Results Revolution.

Walt Disney once said, "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."

Let's get to the doing.

“The way to get started is
to quit talking and begin doing.”
- Walt Disney