April Gregory|AG Consulting Group

There are some general, unspoken rules for formatting a business plan. Of course, the content of the plan is the critical component of the plan but readability ranks high too!Here are my top 7 suggestions for writing your business plan:

• Use a direct, professional style. This is not the time to use industry jargon--you'll want to use common business terms. Use present and future tense with an active voice. For instance, I am writing an strategic marketing plan vs. an effective marketing plan will be written by me--see the difference?
• Be positive and specific to convey potential success but don't go overboard with overinflated claims. Avoid glittery superlatives like "terrific and fantastic.: Instead use numbers for impact, justifying projections with reasonable assumptions.
• Use bullet points for emphasis. As with the list you are reading, bullet points enable key points to be highlighted effectively.
• Use A -level and B-level headings in the formatting feature in your word processing software under the numbered section heading. This help readers make easy transitions from one topic to another.
• Use visuals where appropriate. Photos, graphs and charts allows massive or complicated information to be presented succinctly.
• Go for a 15-35 page plan. This may or may not not include your financial projections and appendixes. An uncomplicated small business may require 12-15 pages, while some businesses require more.
• Use care in layout, design and presentation. My general rule is to keep it clean and simple. The font size should be 11-or 12 point and use serif type (with feet) because it is easier to read, and sans serif (without feet) in graphs and charts.

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, [and] rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19

No matter what happened in the year before, New Year's always presents a chance for you to hit the reset button on your personal and professional business goals. That's true, right?

It's especially helpful to embrace this newness if you've had a challenging 2009. You must make a conscious decision to embrace new possibilities moving forward. Otherwise, you'll create much of the same by default.

Think about it, during the crossover from one year to the other, there is something so spectacular in the air.

It's called change.

Yep, change is in the air everywhere. Literally, everywhere you go people are talking about the best list of this and the worst list of that. This is when friends and family members huddle together to start new diet programs, upgrade their skills or start new businesses.

For the small business owner, consultants and especially coaches, business is really booming through the first part of the year.

You should take this time (right now) to hit the reset button on your expectations, experiences and business goals.

1. Make a list of your best business objectives. You should do this with no strings attached. Meaning that you should write this list as if you have no obstacles. Otherwise, you're defeated before you get started.
2. Create a scene in your mind as if this has already happened. In other words, like a director of a play, create a realistic scene of you obtaining your best business objectives in 2010.
3. Allow yourself to feel the feelings as if this is true. If you obtained your business objectives, how would you feel? [Go ahead, allow yourself to feel it]
4. Come out of that visualization and allow your next steps to be shown to you.

By now, you should be feeling really good about your next steps. Meanwhile, take a peak at my FREE Business Planning and Visualization Activation Session.

The visibility factor is necessary to build your brand on and off line. You've got to find ways to keep yourself in front of your target market because marketing is about telling people what you do over and over again in a way that's clear and engaging.

Out of sight, out of mind. You've heard that before, right? It's true. If you don't see "it" or have some mechanism to help you remember "it" then you forget about "it". True?

It's the same with your business, products, services, music or whatever you offer. If people don't see you, they tend to forget about you. I mean, you might pop up in their minds every so often but that's it!

As a business owner, coach or consultant, The Visibility Factor has to be a strong consideration in your marketing mix.

Here are a few marketing strategies to beef up your visibility factor:

1. Networking - that can be social networking or traditional networking. Traditional networking really gives people a negative feeling because most people think about walking around a room with a bunch of business cards in hand. However, any type of networking is more about building your personal network of clients, colleagues, referral sources and friends. I call it cherry picking.

2. Direct Contact & Follow - yep, I'm a big believer in making personal contact with a prospective customers. There's nothing better than human interaction.

3. Public Speaking - Think of public speaking as the visibility factor on steroids. People are more likely to connect with you and REMEMBER you (or even want more of YOU), if you are standing in front of them with a message that's relevant to their success.

4. Article Marketing - Talk about credibility and visibility-you get two for the price of one. Article marketing has a lasting effect and can be re-purposed and used in many different ways. You definitely want to write articles about your specialty.

Branding becomes very intricate and interesting when YOU are the brand.  I love and am fascinated by people brands.  People brands are everywhere.  You see them.  Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart, Donald Trump, Jay-Z, Michael Jackson and too many to name.  These are people that have turned themselves into enterprises, models, examples and patterns for others to follow.

For the individual on a journey to play a bigger game, you can’t fully expand your personal brand without understanding your personal paradigm. 

The word paradigm comes from the Greek root paradeigma, which means “model or pattern.” Paradigms are thought patterns and models. 

Paradigms are important because they have to do with sub-conscious conditioning.  Paradigms goes way beyond the surface. 

Paradigms control the results in your life, in your business and in your branding.  They have power over everything–your relationships, your income and your success.  Do you know that when you shift your paradigm–everything in your life and business improves?

So, if you’re wondering why you can’t breakthrough to the next level of achievement with YOUR PERSONAL BRAND it’s because you’re still operating in the same old paradigm.

This simple truth might surprise you.  We all get the same amount of time every single day.  So, I always get a little tickled when someone says, “I don’t have the time.” 

Oh yes you do. 

You’ve been getting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for all of your life.  There is no disparity in time for anyone.   With that said,  it make sense for you to guard it as if your life depended on it.  Don’t let anything steal your most precious commodity — TIME!  

It’s so easy to let time robbers slip in and steal a minute here or an hour there.  As business owners and professionals, we must give an account to how we spend our time. 

Have you ever noticed that you do have a daily ritual?  Chances are that you get up every morning and follow a very specific pattern — with very little variation.  Think about it.  Is that true for you?

My time management tip for the day is to create a ritual in your day.  Yes, a success ritual.  

Rituals really do work. 

Re-frame your mornings.  Create it by design.  Set it up to work for you.  Then move to the afternoons and then evenings.  Once you’ve set your days, start working on your weeks. 

Create momentum in your mornings, afternoons, and evenings.  Don’t leave them to chance.

Let me know how it works…. [grace and peace to you!]

Whether business or personal, the purpose of your blog is to establish a connection with your clients and prospects. I often refer to my blog as my coaching room. It’s where I get to share my perspective, knowledge and key business insights. It’s where I make a connection with you. You’ve got to make a connection too!

Sharing information and key insights that is relevant to your niche is a must in making a connection. You’ve got to let people know that you get them and that you can relate to their problems, pain and issues. Then you must take it a step further by letting them know that you can solve their problem–that’s where your services come in.