Business Development Plan: Setting Goals Part 1

I'm so excited to introduce to you this week, Teri of the Beaded Branch. Teri is so generously allowing us to follow her through her business development plan over the next two months (or more if she allows me!). This week I discussed with Teri her goals, mission, and overall "feel" she would like her company to portray. This is a very important place to start so you know how to develop your business, and what direction to go in. Obviously if your goal is to generate tons and tons of sales, you need to have lower priced items. But, if your goal is to create extremely expensive items, you aren't going to generate all those sales! It's important to realize what you want before promoting yourself too much. So, this week Teri and I discussed those important items. Let's check in with her and see what she came up with....

1. What is your business? What is the mission of your business?
   The Beaded Branch creates and sells beautiful, handcrafted, one of a kind pieces of jewelry and accessories at affordable prices, because we believe that everyone should be able to afford beautiful jewelry. I’d like to see The Beaded Branch grow, and becomemore well-known.

2. Think about a goal you'd like to set for your business to be accomplished in 2010. What is this goal and what is the first step to achieving it?
   My goal for 2010 is actually twofold. I want to expand out the Present Past Treasures line of jewelry and be able to open a separate online shop where people can buy most of the supplies needed to make them. To expand out the line I would like to create more pieces in a wider variety of colors and styles. Also, to experiment and figure out how to make them into bookmarks, bracelets, Christmas tree ornaments, cell phone/zipper/purse fobs. As I figure this out, I also want to be able to write tutorials for these separate projects, and get them published as a whole book. (But that will actually probably take a couple of years, thinking about it rationally). The writing of the tutorial will lead to the second shop, because I would like to be able to offer people the supplies to make these beautiful pieces for themselves. The first step to achieving this is to find the time and resources to be able to “play”.

3. How is your company different from your competition?
   My company is different from my competition because I’m the only one who offers Present Past Treasures. They are completely unique, because it is a technique that I have developed myself.

4. Are there any expenses you will need to develop your business in 2010?
   Can these expenses be put on hold until you begin to make a few sales, or are they expenses that need to be taken care of right away?
   Yes, there are expenses, namely being able to buy the filigrees necessary for the experimentation and then for pieces for sale, plus some of the extra supplies, such as bails, and whatever else it will take to create all these pieces.

These are expenses that I do need to take care of right away, especially the filigrees, but I need to put them on hold for the time being.

5. Please write 5 words that describe the style you want your business to be known for.
   Unique, romantic, fun, beautiful, affordable

Looking at Teri's early business development thought process, she has some great goals laid out for herself! Right off the bat, we can tell the Present Past Treasures are going to be a large part of Teri's business, and one of her main focuses. For this reason, we are going to develop and nurture this idea and goal over the next couple of months.

I am looking forward to hearing how Teri's goals pan out in the near future, and seeing her process as she develops her business as well as her Present Past Treasures!

Now it's your turn. For those of you who would like to develop your business alongside Teri and Rose, think about these things over the next few days and see where your business takes you! We'd all love to hear your responses in the comments below, so we can all learn from each other, too!

Next week I'll be discussing different activities and ways to develop your goals and really pinpoint what it is you need to do, so be sure to stay tuned!

Creating banners and buttons on a budget

Lets talk about places to get banners and buttons without having designer skills.

The 3 resources I'm going to mention are all free to use, but you may have to register in order to use the free account.

The first is Free125Cards.com which is where I made these buttons a while back.

They supply a variety of backgrouns with realistic, graphic, or solid colors. You add your own text through their text editor.

You then copy the images to your own computer.

The second site, http://www.bannersketch.com/index.php?pid=home , is also a free one and your end product will be add free.

You have lots of options here.

Tons of fonts, premade or your own backgrounds.

Rotating banners with your choice of up to 10 second delay.

Up to 10 lines per panel, all with complete placement control.

Here are a couple I made.

This last one is pretty good too, but doesn't have as many custom options as bannersketch.

Ignore the sales pages. Scroll to the bottom and join as a free member.

http://instantbannercreator.com/

Are there other easy, free programs you use? Share it with us today!

Take time out Thursday

Fighting Off Fatigue

Fatigue is the main symptom of chronic fatigue syndrome, but it could also be a sign of an entirely different disease. Find out when it's time to see your doctor to find out why you've lost energy.

I found a great article that I had to read. I have been experiencing fatigue in the last couple of weeks. Now I have been anemic all of my life and know what I need to do to keep it at bay…but I don’t do them. I don't take my iron suppliments or eat iron rich foods often. I have been going to bed extremely late, it takes me some time to recover, I am usually walking in a fog until late afternoon. So I think I need to start making some adjustments. Here is a brief summary of this article.

As busy entrepreneurial moms we find ourselves involved in a number of activities. Maybe your recent bout of fatigue might be attributed to doing too much. Collapsing on the sofa becomes a regular routine at the end of your day.
However, there is a difference between fatigue and chronic fatigue which is a feeling of exhaustion that may signal a medical condition needing a doctors intervention.



Chronic Fatigue: A Better Health Plan

If you experience a level of fatigue that leaves you exhausted at the end of the day, but is not so severe that it’s keeping you from living your normal life, making a few healthy lifestyle changes may help. Try taking these steps:

• "Pick a stress-relieving habit," says Donna Jackson Nakazawa, author of The Autoimmune Epidemic, "Try daily meditation, a brisk morning walk, yoga, or all three.
• Avoid processed foods full of chemicals, preservatives, and additives.
• Avoid heavy meals, alcohol, and caffeine in the evening, which can keep you from getting a good night’s sleep.
• Follow a regular exercise program, which has been shown to relieve symptoms of fatigue.
• Get help for depression. Cognitive therapy, a non-medical way of treating depression, has also been shown to be effective in treating chronic fatigue.
• If you're still menstruating, to avoid anemia eat foods high in iron, such as liver, lentils and beans, and green leafy vegetables, . Remember that vitamin C helps your body absorb iron, so be sure to include fruits and vegetables high in vitamin C in your diet.
Chronic Fatigue: What Can Cause Exhaustion



Here are some treatable medical conditions that may cause chronic fatigue:

• Anemia - Anemia occurs when you don't have enough red blood cells or when your red blood cells are not carrying enough oxygen.
• Depression - Studies consistently show that depression is twice as common in women as in men, and tends to last longer and be more serious. A very common symptom of depression is constant fatigue; other symptoms include sadness and difficulty concentrating.
• Stress - Stress can have serious effects on your health. Short-term stress and long-term stress have both been shown to cause trouble sleeping, lack of energy, and lack of concentration.
• Thyroid disease - An autoimmune disease of the thyroid gland called Hashimoto's thyroiditis is a common cause of fatigue in women. When working correctly, your thyroid gland produces hormones that give you energy. When your thyroid gland is under-functioning because of an autoimmune attack, one of the main symptoms is fatigue; others include depression, low body temperature, dry skin, and weight gain.

Read more of this article on causes and treatment of chronic fatigue

Gadgets for reaching your target audience

In an attempt to reduce the amount of places to be at one time on the internet and to actually widen my audience, I've reasearched a few gadgets and websites over the last few weeks.

After a few members at our group suggested hooking up twitter accounts to facebook, a lightbulb went on over my head. This one link lead me to research and ask other online friends how to hook all my internet "presence" up to each other.

Here's what I've found so far (I'm sure there are a lot more out there):

http://www.twitterfeed.com/

http://www.hellotxt.com/

http://www.pingfm.com/

Now, what you are probably asking is, what on earth are they for?

The short answer is that if you use one, you can post information in one place, say your blog for instance, and that info will be automatically transmitted to your other online accounts like Facebook or twitter.

Which one you use may depend on what level of internet access you are comfortable with, or how many online accounts you actually have.

Both pingfm and hellotxt are designed for the use who has more than twitter and facebook accounts. Both have many other application hook ups and are working on more.

If you want to see what I mean, you can check out AlexShares.com which is my blog. Then you can go back a couple pages on my twitter account @AlexShares to see the titles of the blog posts are there with a link back to the blog. Finally, you can see my facebook page where the same is true.

If you use these, please share how they have helped you reach a wider or better targeted audience. I'd love to get tips on how to better use them, or what other apps are out there that might be good too.

Jenn Brockman is a single mom and a business woman all wrapped into one. She writes at www.AlexShares.com and runs www.Paintedlaydies.com , a mineral makeup company.

Sunday Spotlight

EMERGE™ Bare Necessities Gift Set


It is my pleasure to introduce this week's spotlight, Leticia Torres. She resides in Fresno, CA with her fiance Antonio and is the proud mother of 5 beautiful children Lilliana, Izabella, Alanis, Ernesto and Dominic.

Leticia is a new Independent Demonstrator with Gold Canyon Candles. She started her business because she loves candles and after attending a Gold Canyon Home party she was left with a positive impression of the high quality of these products, in her word "it was love at first scent".


Gold Canyon offers online shopping, catalog shopping, and individual ordering. Need a personal shopper for that special occasion? Leticia can help! You can even earn free products and special discounts for hosting a catalog, online or home party. Fundraising opportunities are also available.

Placing orders are easy, go to her site, feel free to click on the "Our Products" tab and browse all of the great items that they have to offer. When you find the products that you wish to order, either order directly online or e-mail Leticia at leticia@kozycandles.com.

See some of the new item available at Gold Canyon:




Lavender & Black Ambre Boutique Chic™ Scented Candle




Orange Pomander Novelty Scented Candle

Business Development Plan: An Introduction

This week I am excited to introduce to you a new series that will be featured every week over the next two month period. With the holiday season upon us in full-force, I think sometimes us, as entrepreneurs, get sidetracked with the hustle and bustle of the season that we forget our ultimate goal and mission as a business owner.

Beginning next week I will be highlighting a couple of items that can be accomplished over a two week period in order to better understand our individuals goals as business owners. And....to make it even more fun, I will be following two lovely ladies through their business development journey. Teri of the Beaded Branch, and Rose of Ranch House Candles, Mary Kay, and Thirty One will be checking in with us twice a month over the next two months to discuss their successes, weaknesses, and how they adapted the plan to their own schedules and personalities. I am most excited to see what different ideas each of these women brings to the table as they begin utilizing the tools of a business plan and developing them into their own format.

As a reader, I encourage you to participate as well if you'd like! We would love to hear how this works for you as well through the comments in each blog post, so make sure to keep us informed!

Next week I will be introducing these two fabulous ladies to all of you, and we will begin learning more about what their mission, vision, target audience, and short-term and long-term goals are.

The best part is, after the two months are up, the new year will be upon us and we will be able to start our businesses in full-swing with a fresh outlook! So, stay tuned next week for Week 1 of our business development plan, and I look forward to hearing what each of you has to offer as well!

Take time out Thursday

Watching your waist...try cutting a few calories. Eating 100 calories less than usual may result in a loss of 10 pounds.

Make Oil Substitutions

Use low-salt chicken broth to keep vegetables or chicken from sticking to the bottom of a pan instead of oil or butter. Check out more. tips

Drink water or zero-calorie beverages

Try teas or other low calorie drinks. Melanie, one of our sassy sisters works for a gourmet company that offers a unique product to help with your drink substitution.

Modify the Recipe

Substituting applesauce for the oil in the recipe can save more than just 100 calories, it can save your heart.

Watch Out for Toppings, Dressings, and Dips

Measure salad dressing (stay under two tablespoons) to cut calories or use a low calorie dressing.

See more in this article