A new client who is starting a business mentioned that while she was putting a lot of time and effort into her online marketing and networking, she had yet to see any tangible results (i.e. clients). She asked if she needed to add some offline activities, such as attending networking events Read more (members only)

Jan is a graphic designer who was always struggling to find good clients. “I could find plenty of people who needed my services,” she recalls, “but they thought my rates were too high. I either ended up agreeing to work for less, or they found someone else. Read more (members only)

For years, I heard that if you want to get something done, ask a busy person to do it. Implication: busy people are successful. I’m sure some people still subscribe to this philosophy. I don’t any more, especially when it comes to successful business ownership. Read more (members only)

I often speak to groups of independent professionals about what works and what doesn’t in marketing. We talk about the effectiveness of active, relationship-oriented strategies like networking, building referral partnerships, public speaking to groups of potential clients, Read more (members only)

One of the most powerful ways to gain more exposure for your business is to offer your services as a public speaker. Public speaking can help grow your business quickly by building your visibility and credibility at the same time. Read more (members only)

Even the best marketing doesn’t always pay off quickly. In the lag time between when you launch a marketing campaign for your business and when you start to see results from it, it’s easy to become discouraged. Especially when you work mostly solo, it can be a difficult task Read more (members only)

One of the biggest challenges in marketing is getting people to respond to unsolicited calls and emails. When prospects enter your marketing pipeline as the result of your cold call, their casual visit to your website, or your finding their name on a list, you are essentially a stranger. Read more (members only)

What is it that stops you from networking? You know you need to do it; it’s on your action list and you really meant to go to an event this week… if only you knew where to go. Read more (members only)

I’ve been asking successful independent professionals lately what it was they did that launched their success. What activity helped them the most to stop struggling to market themselves and start finding clients with more ease? Read more (members only)

We sometimes look with awe and envy when we see someone who we consider has made it. Why? Because we believe they must know something we don’t know, have something we don’t have — and maybe they do. They had a vision they were willing to fund with their time, energy, Read more (members only)