What are the behaviors that you absolutely must-have and absolutely will not tolerate?

Over the last five years, I’ve developed a “manifesto” of sorts that lists out the things that I am willing to work with and more importantly, the things that I will not work with — at all.

This list has helped me sort out “good” projects — which are beneficial and profitable to my company, from the “bad” projects — which do not fit what I am trying to do.

Here are five of the items on my list:

1) I have to have a good overall feeling about the project, client, or customer. If we don’t “jive” at the very beginning, I usually do not see this improving over time. If I get a bad vibe or if I’m uncomfortable about a potential project at the beginning, we usually redirect to another service provider. It just works better this way.

2) I don’t abide by any kind of bad treatment. For example, no one will yell at me, threaten me, or curse at me or my team. As an addition: we do our very best to stay away from anyone who attempts to threaten us with litigation or who has a litigatious background. Research comes in handy here.

3) I encourage transparency. We post progress reports, notes, photos, receipts/invoices, and openly accessible documentation during the process. If there is a question or issue, we like to address it earlier rather than later.

4) I steer clear of negativity, bossiness, deliberate ignorance, and contentious behavior. In my experience, if someone exhibits these traits during the discovery or information-gathering phase, there are sure to be bad implications for the project down the line. While I’m fine if someone is having a bad hair day or is having a “moment” — I usually chalk that up to life experience — but if that behavior is spilling over into the process, I work very hard to not let that impact our deliverables list. See #2 — we tend to not work with these customers anymore.

5) I state my expectations, values, and ideas very clearly, in the very beginning. Most people’s time is extremely valuable and as a consequence, all of us must reduce the time we spend dealing with people who don’t respect time. If a project seems like it will be a good fit for me and for my team, it usually is. If it’s not, it’s not — that’s just how it is. Usually, we sort out “good fit” during the initial phase of discovery.

I’m happy to report that over the years this list and the others in my toolkit have helped me gain more and more clarity about the type of work, the type of people, and the types of customer referrals that come my way.

I hope you will find your top five list of non-negotiables — and keep them. You will find that many options close down and the journey that you are supposed to be taking — your true journey — will reveal itself with even more clarity.

I’m interested in networking with you if you are success-oriented and/or if you are in business, and/or if you are interested in attaining green, sustainable, eco-friendly practices in your home and at work.

Send me a tweet at @monicadear if you want to chat.

Special offer for Women on Business readers: purchase an e-version of my 240-page book on “Fifty-one Ways to Build your Community of Clients Online” for only $9.99 (use PayPal or your credit card to pay). 200 copies available. Use this discount code: womenonbusiness.

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After reading a recent WSJ article on “How to Succeed in the Age of Going Solo” (link: http://on.wsj.com/d87Gv7), I was reminded once more of the power and importance of finding a network of people.

Employment trends are showing more and more people taking on self-employment, with more and more women opening up their own shops, businesses, and consulting practices. We offer our abilities to ourselves, to our families, and to the larger communities in which we work: when we all work together, we all rise together.

Today I invite you to come up with a “best” list of 20 people who you want to become part of your inner circle. These may be your mentors, business advisors, or potential partners that overlap some of what your own business does (for example, graphic designers, printers, and web designers work well together. So do attorneys, financial advisors, and mortgage brokers, as mentioned in that article).

Whatever format it takes, or however you want to organize your list, create a list of these people who will be your “power partners” and who will help you succeed in the future. Consider this: by reaching out to them, you will also help them succeed.

Here’s a great quote from a Hollywood producer at PlanetDMA.com:

This is a business of know-how and know-WHO. Spend time learning everything you can, at every level you achieve, and helping everyone you can, whatever level you are at. Your peers are your greatest resource; cultivate them! Unless you’re an Oscar winner yourself, Denzel and Julia are not the people you need to meet; they already have a pile of people they already are indebted to and taking care of. Instead, do everything you can to help your circle of peers achieve because when they do, they are going to open the door to bring you in with them. And if you are the one who gets through a door first, bring the people who have taken care of you in with you – at their level of competence.

I’m interested in networking with you if you are success-oriented and/or if you are in business, and/or if you are interested in attaining green, sustainable, eco-friendly practices in your home and at work.

Send me a tweet at @monicadear if you want to chat.

Special offer for Women on Business readers: purchase an e-version of my 240-page book on “Fifty-one Ways to Build your Community of Clients Online” for only $9.99 (use PayPal or your credit card to pay). 200 copies available. Use this discount code: womenonbusiness.

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My main purpose in being here on the planet is to educate, empower, and connect, and the specific avenue where I choose to do this is through working at my web design company supporting women in business and progressive organizations. I strongly support minority women and green business women.

My keywords list includes: green, sustainable, holistic, organic, fair trade, collaboration, open source, PHP/mySQL, Drupal, content management system, web design, web development. As a web developer, I work with multiple clients who are just formulating their overall business plan and strategy, and I like to think that the exercise of identifying what you’ll put on your website helps you understand what you are attempting to do through your business or endeavor.

I invite you to distill your outlook on work into a few paragraphs and start sharing that, talking about it, and focusing on it. By having a very niche, specific, and laser-like intensity about the kinds of customers we work with, I feel like our company has been able to achieve success.

Here’s my visionboard slideshow: I review this daily.

Instead of solely reading a Profit and Loss statement and focusing on the “bottom line” (how much your company netted), the trend towards measuring a triple bottom line means you find measurable indicators socially, ecologically, and economically.

Globally, we’re seing more and more women starting and running businesses: with this comes more sustainable and green ways we can choose to implement.

• We can make workplaces more mother-friendly.
• We can offer opportunities to work remotely and use web tools for collaboration.
• We can offer more ways to communicate.
• We can make decisions based on how we impact our staff and vendors, clients and partners.
• We can be more eco-friendly, sustainable, and far-thinking in terms of our goals.

This year I’m going to be focusing more on the triple bottom line and how it applies to your business. I’ll be reviewing work collaboration tools and ways you can remain competitive by focusing on your social responsibility report card.

Would you like to see a sample report card?

Here’s ours: we’ve used this for the last 6 years to identify if we’re on track with our goals to make a sustainable company.

10K Webdesign is committed to social responsibility and environmental sustainability. We are taking the following actions (this is our report card):

Environmental Sustainability

Water: We monitor our water use and make every effort to reduce our consumption.

Paper: We do the majority of our work online, and we deliver files electronically. When we use paper it is at least 30% post-consumer recycled and nonchlorinated.

Electricity: We use compact fluorescent bulbs, turn off lights when not in use, and purchase energy-efficient appliances. We utilize double-paned windows and good insulation to reduce energy usage. We refrain from air conditioning.

Food Waste: We compost all organic matter and food waste. For company functions we use sustainable-origin utensils, cups, and plates — bring your own mug.

Commuting: We encourage online meetings and predominantly meet via phone, Skype, e-mail and WebEx.

Each one Teach one: We support other groups in their effort to be more green.

Social Responsibility

Women and Minorities: We hire and subcontract women and minorities.

Grants/Loans: We donate a portion of profits to our Kiva.org portfolio as low-interest loans to support micro-entrepreneurship efforts.

Education: We write regular articles and give presentations on social and sustainable business practices within our communities.

10K Webdesign founders donate significant amounts to charities and we annually offer pro bono services to non-profits that share our mission.

We offer a discount on all quoted estimates if your business is green-certified or takes other socially responsible or environmentally sustainable steps.

Special offer for Women on Business readers: purchase an e-version of my 240-page book on “Fifty-one Ways to Build your Community of Clients Online” for only $9.99 (use PayPal or your credit card to pay). 200 copies available. Use this discount code: womenonbusiness.

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1) Go Mobile.
Have you created a mobile version of your website yet?

This should be as stripped out, clean code as possible, using basic XHTML tags and providing easy links and easier navigation.

mobisitegalore.com
mobify.me

It is possible, with most CMS systems (content management systems), to easily provide an auto-updated mobile version of your existing website. Ask your web developer for support on this.

2) Geo-location.
The web is moving the world back to your doorstep. Applications, coupons, listings, reviews, and businesses can be as simply found as a click on your mobile phone. Check trends on geo-locating and consider ways to extend your website with a local version, a community listing service, or leveraging Google Adsense and new mobile applications.

3) Open source.
Drupal, Wordpress, Joomla and open source content management systems are leading the way. If you are continuing to pay an ongoing monthly maintenance fee to your web designer, consider switching to a content management system that you can manage in-house. Note: I am a big fan of Drupal and run this as our installation of choice for our upgrading and new clients.

4) Microblogging.
Get used to posting status updates in 140 characters or less.

Twitter is great because of its advanced search function. I take very high advantage of the search capabilities of Twitter to find other green women in business who are interested in the same things I am.

A sample search:
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=green+business+women

You can then use the @username tag to send a message to specific people, or “follow” them for their updates.

In Advanced search, you also find Twitter users near specific locations (e.g. green business within 10 miles of Honolulu), which is another wonderful way to network with others in your local community.

http://search.twitter.com/advanced

or type in the following into the advanced search box:
http://search.twitter.com/search

green business near:Honolulu within:50mi

where you replace “Honolulu” with your own city

Cotweet is a service for multiple people using single Twitter accounts (such as for customer service).

There are also external services such as Seesmic.com (which recently acquired Ping.fm) where you can centralize your posts and publish to multiple locations.

5) Social networking.
Do you have a plan? Do you have a presence?
If you don’t have a listing now, when will you get one?
Here is a sample of all the places where I personally attempt to post: http://www.claimid.com/monicadear

Obviously, your job becomes easier when you have a service to aggregate your posts and auto-update to different locations. What about e-mailing directly to your blog? Look into http://www.google.com/search?&q=social+media+tips for other people’s ideas on how to best manage their flow of information.

Over the last year I’ve seen some interesting reactions to social sites. The bottom line, In My Humble Opinion, is that each post you create, or each item you #fb, #linkedin, or tweet is an additional potential source of leads, sharing, and connecting: as a women in business you cannot neglect this area of your outreach.

My partners at BergerLodise.com are organizing social media packages if you are interested in receiving a one-time report with tips or outsourcing your social media for a monthly fee.

Special offer for Women on Business readers: purchase an e-version of my 240-page book on “Fifty-one Ways to Build your Community of Clients Online” for only $9.99 (use PayPal or your credit card to pay). 200 copies available. Use this discount code: womenonbusiness.

For instant download click to purchase

Learn more about this resource.

The close of the year is an excellent time to do some reassessment and set a course for the new year.

If I could have you remember just one thing from all your web browsings, I’d like you to remember this:
FOCUS your efforts.

By FOCUS, I mean:

F – Follow your passions
O – Overcome obstacles
C – Continue your Growth
U – Understand Systems
S – Share your Knowledge

FOLLOW YOUR PASSIONS

Over your lifetime, the process of understanding and following your passions will help you identify and navigate towards your highest, most worthwhile achievements.

I’m a true believer in following your passions. There is something within you that you know, deep down inside, is your core “thing to do.” It’s your mission in life! It’s what gives you a sense of deep, fulfilled purpose, and if you do not accomplish this thing, you probably feel just a little bit uneasy or bad inside.

One way to help you understand your passion in life is by inventorying your life stories, in particular those stories where you truly enjoyed what you were doing. What are you most proud of? When were you doing something with your whole heart, soul, and every fiber of your being? Were there some instances, or events, or achievements, where you were most happy?

Exercise 1:
Richard Nelson Bolles’ “What Color is Your Parachute” is an excellent guide for this exercise. He challenges you to identify twelve “stories” of your life in great detail, even from your earliest childhood days. Then, he encourages you to identify the *VERBS* within the stories. For example, typical verbs for me include: organizing, connecting, educating, and empowering.

Once you know those three to five verbs that capture you at your personal best, it’s time to expand your life to include those occupations, activities, and volunteer options where you put those verbs into practice.

These could take the form of a Goals list, where you identify your top twenty goals for your life: these are items that you must accomplish for you to feel your life has been worthwhile.

It may take some time to narrow this list down, but now’s a great time to get started on your Top Twenty Goals.

Exercise 2:
Write down your goals on a piece of paper and carry it around in your wallet. Or declare them and refer to them at least once a day for the next month.

OVERCOME OBSTACLES

When I was a junior in high school, I went to summer music camp at Florida State University, where I took master classes with the piano professor in residence. He told me straight up that “You will never be a concert pianist”. He was right!

In retrospect, if I had believed in what I was doing with an unshakeable strength, I could overcome any obstacle, especially someone else’s opinion. If I truly believed, I would have even taken that statement as a challenge to prove my intent and I would have worked even harder to achieve. However, this particular teacher was right: he sensed, at some level, that I didn’t want to be (and would never become) a concert pianist.

I still play piano and I still love sharing music with others, but I’m not a professional musician.

Now, there is an interesting thought experiment here about the role of this teacher, the role of my own self-defined limitations, and the nature of an obstacle.

If, for example, I had been told since I was a young girl that I would always be successful, that I would lead a charmed life, that I would be able to do good in the world, and that I would be an agent for positive social change, then I would probably act in ways to fulfill that belief system. Obstacles would become challenges to overcome on the road map to my end destination.

If I had been told since I was a young girl that I would never achieve anything, that I would never amount to anything, that nothing I could ever do would make a difference, then, most probably, I would act in ways to fulfill that belief system! (including believing any potential obstacle)

What are your obstacles? What are your beliefs about what is possible and what is not? To what extent are you willing to believe your own reality, and to what extent may that change?

When we identify our values and goals, and when we start living in a way that supports those values and goals, we will find all kinds of resources and opportunities that match our desired result.

CONTINUE YOUR GROWTH

Does change scare you? If so, you’ll never be able to improve, and you’ll never be able to take advantage of new ways of thinking and new ways of doing something.

Change is scary! That’s just the way it is! No one liked to change their thought patterns or behavior, especially because as humans we are pre-programmed to desire routine and sameness.

That said, “if we’re doing what we’ve been doing, we’re going to get what we’ve been getting!”

If you’re not feeling like you’re achieving your full potential, then embrace change. Don’t be afraid of failure, and definitely don’t let fear get in your way. Fear, as my coach says, is “False Evidence Appearing Real.”

When you are thinking as a change agent, you are open to manifesting whatever the universe has in store for you. T. Harv Eker in his Secrets of the Millionaire Mind book, explains his definition of an entrepreneur as “someone who solves problems… for a profit!” When we incorporate entrepreneurial thinking into our basic mind-set (this might mean releasing any self-limiting or self-destructive thoughts), we start to see a world of opportunities: we start to see great ideas everywhere! We start to see an ability to change an existing product or service and make it better! Or we see a new product or service that we can create!

Exercise 3:
Change your routine around a little bit. Once every thirty days, incorporate something from your Goals list into your regular routine. Practice new habits! It takes ten times to get my son to try a new food and like it, so a new habit may certainly become part of your routine when you commit to it. Write down your routine on multiple pieces of paper and post them in conspicous places throughout your environment.

Changing your routine might be something as simple as taking an additional 15 minutes each day to take concrete steps towards your Goals, using your values to guide you.

You will be surprised at how much you embrace change, especially positive change, that brings you closer to your true self.

UNDERSTAND SYSTEMS

The world is made up of massive, interconnected, inter-related systems.

For example, capitalism is a system with creators, inventors, proucers, organizers, distributors, and consumers.

The ocean is a system with tremendous mini-systems including the wind, water temperatures, air temperatures, oceanic currents, water pressure, all kinds of bio-diversity from plankton to whales, etc.

Our own physical body is a system including the nervous system, the digestive system, the circulatory system, the skeletal system, the endocrine system, and thousands of other processes.

What affects one item affects other items. Once we understand how our actions and results “fit in” with the system that we are a part of, we achieve more clarity on our own skills and abilities. We achieve a greater understanding of the specific nature of what we offer. We utilize better knowledge on where we best “fit”.

In the United States, women of color in business are traditionally minorities: we are not usually in the majority of opinions, thoughts, or decision-making at our place of work. This means we have a fantastic opportunity to closely observe our own system, then use our knowledge to share with each other, communicate and brainstorm to actively change our system, where change is needed.

For example, if each of us pro-actively promotes an anti-discrimination policy, or if each of us actively works to gain a seat on the Board, or if each of us contributes some of our time, talent, and treasure to better our communities, we actively shape and create the systems around us.

SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE

If you’ve come this far, thank you. I appreciate your readership and I encourage you to take some of these ideas and make them real in your own life. Practice and then come back and report on what you’ve learned so you can share with the rest of this community.

I love sharing any knowledge that I’ve learned with other people and I hope that you, too, will feel comfortable sharing your own valuable, unique knowledge. You will be amazed at how receptive other people are to your message when it’s delivered straight from your values list.

So, to recapture the above: follow your passions, overcome anything that looks like an obstacle, always strive for continuous growth, understand the system that you are working within, and share your knowledge with others.

Exercise 4:
Send this link to someone that you trust and include a declaration of something you plan to achieve this year from your Goals list. This person will be a cheerleader for you and will help you achieve your goals… you will also inspire them to live with their values and goals in mind.

And come back and share with me what you’ve learned!

Thanks to CSN for offering a giveaway to WomenonBusiness.com readers.

CSN offers business and office needs such as office furniture, as well as office supplies and office accessories and decor.

They also offer various sections like Baby and Kids, Outdoor Living, Home Improvement, and Cookware and Bakeware.

Many thanks to all who participated. Here’s to a wonderful holiday celebrations and to a spirit of peace, thanksgiving, and unity for the close of the year.

With our warmest holiday greetings, from Women on Business! Bookmark our site and return often for more news, tips, business insights, and connections.

I have been thinking a lot about energy transfer lately — some themes that have been floating around my mind include:

• energy is something that we each have and that we each share
• I feel most energized when I do what I love and share that knowledge and skill, and get paid for it
• as entrepreneurs, our task is to provide more value to more people by creating systems and processes
• we have an ability to go green and transform the economy by using sustainable, organic, and holistic methods
• to grow a business, we desire the growth of a core community of clients who grow along with us
• listening to customers helps us understand what new products and services they request
• love is a form of energy, and money is a form of energy

So for 2010, I encourage you to consider your business (or personal) goals in the context of energy.

For example, if you’d like to double your company’s revenue, what are you really saying?

My sense is that you are saying that you are ready to take on the challenge of being a leader in your community, and you are ready for your business to shine a light of hope and opportunity.

If you’d like to get back to basics, what are you really saying?

My sense is that you are saying you are returning to our core, root principles: the things that make us happy, the activities we’re good at, and the people we like to be around. Any business relies on good feelings like those basic feelings.

If you’d like to increase your following, what are you really saying?

My sense is that you are saying that you are ready to share your message with a larger audience, and you feel ready, willing, and able to commit to performing at a greater level than that required of just friends and family.

Let’s get back to the basics and commit to creating a 2010 that is filled with profitability, sharing, connections, innovation, and a positive change in our environment and our economy.

I invite you to bookmark WomenonBusiness.com and share your journey with us.

In 2006 I began an intensive coaching process with Rob Seidenspinner of Sage Circle Coaching. Rob is a personal and professional coach and I was looking for specific insights into how my personal “story” was influencing my business outcomes.

The benefits I’ve seen are as follows. Not all of these are directly attributable to coaching, but I would say that the business-related items are attributable to my own personal goals, which the coaching relationship helped me clarify.

1. Development of a mission statement to help me formalize my thinking about what I am hear to do.

2. An increase in the quality and types of referrals who we serve in my primary business.

3. A quadrupling of the typical amount of our new business account (from approximately $1000 – $2000 per account to $5000 – $10,000 per account)

4. Professionalization — such as getting a toll-free number and fax line, reaching out to increase our subcontractor availability, thinking like a leader of a team instead of just as one individual

5. Publication of my first and second book (in my initial coaching session, I envisioned that the book was a key “turning point”)

6. A move to another state (California to Hawaii)

7. Birth of a second child (obviously, this is not attributable to coaching, but the fact that the child was born at home and is raised in an environment that is much more conducive to one-on-one parenting *is* attributable to coaching)

8. Development of three additional projects to reflect my interest

9. An introduction and acknowledgement of my personal “gremlin” who always wants to bring me backwards when I am moving forwards.

10. More prioritized time to focus on personal development

11. More focus on intuition as a guiding force in all my decision-making

12. Deeper focus on relationship-building in my business (meaning, not focusing so much on the quantity, but focusing on the quality of my professional relationships and making sure that all our efforts are beneficial to all parties involved)

I wouldn’t say coaching is for everyone, but it has definitely helped me put my goals into a framework of being accountable to them (on a weekly basis) and breaking down my big “high dream” lofty aspirations into specific actionable items that I feel like I can accomplish.

image credt: littleman

There are two parts of a price tag: one is the actual sale price of the item. The other is the value that the purchaser finds in buying that item.

The actual sales price is just a number. However, the item is essentially priceless — it could be worth $5 or $5000, depending on how valuable that item is to its owner. Any visit to Christie’s or Sotheby’s will convince you of the varying price that someone is willing to pay for a particular item.

Your product or service might be worth $7.99, $79, or $790 to your particular client — you must price it at a level that you find profitable and that the customer finds reasonable for the value that item delivers.

In the reality of pricing your products and services, you’ll want to find the “sweet spot” that fits your company’s ability to make a targeted profit as well as your company’s ability to fulfill the job, deliver the product, or get the goods out the door.

What we’ve found in our own work and in consulting with other women entrepreneurs is that many of us take time finding the right price for an item. Here are some assessments for you to consider when you create your menu of available options.

1) How about making it free?
The price of delivering a turn-key product, especially one that’s digitally delivered, is essentially going to reach $0. Many people download documents online. Read-only and PDF formats work for many customers who simply need an electronic version of software, or an e-book, or an online product download (like a podcast or a Powerpoint presentation). We’re seeing more and more ways that people file share. How is your item going to fit into a marketplace where people expect knowledge for free?

2) Can you make your product free as part of an exchange?
Do you have something that you can make available to your customer, but as a fair trade: for example, if you offer an e-download in exchange for someone signing up to your e-mail list.

Is it possible based on your numbers to offer a “buy three, get one for free” or some other such discount? Can you give away a freebie? Is there a way for you to engage with your client more by sharing something of value with them now?

3) Is it priced at a rate that convers your expenses and allow you to make a profit?
By far, this is the most difficult item for people in time-based or service-based industries. If your work is somewhat fluid and does not have clearly constrained guidelines, deliverables, or outputs, you run the very real risk of underbidding and over-working on a particular project. In this case, scope out the actual cost of doing a project and bid realistically.

4) Can you sell more to your existing customers?
It is easier and more effective for you to provide add-ons to your existing accounts than it is to find a new customer or client. Consider ways to upgrade service, provide premium services, or increase the value proposition you offer your clients.

5) In service industries, figure out what it will cost, then add a little bit more to your quoted estimate.
I learned this from Suze Orman. In general, as women in business, we tend to undercalculate the actual cost of a product. I see this in my own web development business: while we know how long a particular site will take time-wise, there is always additional customization, or a way to make a particular page render better, or some additional SEO or Analytics work, or a new form, or some more complex functionality that is needed. When estimating the time it takes to do a project, plot out what you think it will cost, and then either add a small bit of padding to cover the inevitable delays, or lock down the scope of activities or your deliverables list in very granular detail.

6) Can you offer a package deal?
Can you bundle some of your products together into a package that provides even more value? Do you find yourself selling the same items together, over and over again? Find a way to package items into one attractive, all-inclusive package. Think airline, flight, and hotel.

7) What will make your customer happy?
In general, as business owners, we exist to provide solutions to our customers. Alternatively, we provide entertainment, something useful, or something necessary. What is the pressure point your customer needs to fulfill? Can you use the information you collect during your preliminary sales discussions to come up with a new product that you can offer through your company?

For example, for my web design and development clients, not everyone can afford a full-fledged website, but many people want the knowledge and procedural-type checklists we have, so now we provide books (print and e-version) to help with the planning process.

Learn from the music industry.
Seth Godin is an excellent thought leader about new ways for companies to engage with their customers. For example, the music industry, in the face of massive digital file-sharing and outright theft of music, has re-imagined their outreach, with some artists (Madonna, The Rolling Stones) taking more control of their share of profits from live concerts, other artists (Radiohead) offering pay-as-you-like versions of their music, and most performers setting up Fan clubs, members-only websites, ticket promotions through Facebook and Twitter, and other benefits only available to fans.

9) Be a producer.
If you don’t currently create for your company, find good staff or teammates who will create for your company. It does you no good to moan, complain, criticize, get angry, or worse– get frightened!– about your company’s future. There are literally millions of opportunities for us in the world. We simply need to find the item that works for us in our business, and then do that one thing well: then find ways to replicate that, provide a variation, or expand the available options on that one thing.

Will you make a kids version?
Will you do it in green or red?
Will you bundle it for a particular industry?
Do you offer a group discount?

10) Learn from the newspaper industry.
Newspaper ad revenue has declined (almost 40% from 2005 to 2009) — the world is changing. Many people now get their news online. What is the traditional newspaper going to do to increase its revenue? There are many ways that these publishing companies can find new customers and provide new revenue streams. These include partnerships, social networking outreach, subscriptions, annual events, video and audio media creation, and conferences.

11) Connect and empower others.
Can you offer affiliate marketing through offering a commission to others who sell your product? Will you offer a giveaway to increase your available pool of bloggers, Tweeters, and Facebook fans who will rave about your company? What is your bonus item for long-term customers? What community outreach and support will your company offer locally or for a cause? Increase your ability to serve your best customers and fans — they will help you find even more customers and fans.

12) Think 21st century.
The days of marketing your company solely through television, radio, and/or newspaper ads are on the wane. The companies that make it to 2012 will develop and execute a plan for social media, social networking, embedded applications, and referral marketing.

What is the price for your product or service? By focusing on choosing the right price, your business will succeed and thrive, your customers will find great value in doing business with you, and you’ll be rewarded every time a new client buys from you.

I’m now providing social networking packages with a partner through BergerLodise.com. Contact me there for a proposal that matches your company’s budget and timeline. Or if you need web design and development (such as Drupal, Joomla, Wordpress, or custom content management system implementation), feel free to reach me through my web design business.

Special offer for Women on Business readers: purchase an e-version of my 240-page book on “Fifty-one Ways to Build your Community of Clients Online” for only $9.99 (use PayPal or your credit card to pay). 200 copies available. Use this discount code: womenonbusiness.

For instant download click to purchase

Learn more about this resource.