I wrote a list of top 6 reasons why businesses fail on the Self Starters Weekly Tips forum a few weeks ago. Forum owner Lynn Terry then published the list on her blog, Click Newz.

At your request, I’m providing answers to these problems based on my years of experience with selling products and services online.

This time, we’ll talk about the #6 reason businesses fail.

#6 Getting Bogged Down In The Details

As I mentioned on SSWT, I had a client who felt that she needed her website changed to make it more successful. The change she wanted?

Move the content area one pixel to the left.

Seriously.

Now, if she had decided that the color scheme was going to class with her products, I could totally see how that would be a good detail to change. If she had felt that the graphics would overpower her products, I could see her point. But one pixel?

I’ve had clients want to make sure their products were moved a few pixels to the left or right on the page. Others who wanted to write and rewrite their product descriptions before they ever even went live with the site.

Still more clients never really were certain what they wanted, and nothing was ever right, so we went through a few dozen designed trying toVon entsprechenden Anbieterseiten kann man sich ein Programm herunterladen, mit dem man sich dann in einen so genannten Pokerroom einsteigen und gegen Gegner rund um den Globus casinoкомпютри втора употреба kann. find the “right one.”

My Solution: Seriously. Get the website online. When you get complaints from your customers, then make changes. (Notice, I said when, not if.)

Spend your time on important details, like making sure your baby sling fabric, stitching and design will hold up the weight of a baby. Spend your time on your business plan details, your financing details, how you’re going to fill orders, etc.

What I’m sayingEn profitez bien, faites de bon jeux et bonne chance sur les jeux, proposés par Casino!

Sur les pages de Casino vous retrouverez une vaste gamme de jeux de online casino en ligne, tels que soient le Blackjack, le Baccarat, le Keno, le Craps, le Vidéo Poker, les Machines à sous, la Roulette et beaucoup d’autres jeux fascinants. here is make a list, prioritize it, and take care of those things that have to be done.

Don’t get bogged down with pixels.

If you feel like you’re bogged down, and you’re having trouble figuring out what is important, I’d love to help. Just setup a business coaching session with me and I’ll work with you to create and prioritize your to-do list.

Popularity: 13% [?]

I just found a post, almost a plea, by Kim Darrell of Stitch-N-Stuff blog fame.

Her dilemma illustrates how important it is to do market research before you start selling your products.

I have discovered that what I should have done was do a lot of market research before I started this venture. Had I done this, I could have had all the essential information I needed to possibly generate sales faster.

And she is absolutely right.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve spoken with dozens of successful home business owners, as part of my expert home business owners interview series on Product Sellers Talk Radio. One of the key factors they contribute to their success is thoroughly researching their markets before starting business.

One of the recent interviews in my Summer Chat Series had some excellent advice. The owners of Gigi Hill Bags suggested an excellent method of doing market research — and it can even be duplicated online.

But what happens if you’re already in business and regretting the lack of research?

I’ll say that it’s never to late to start researching. There are many reasons why your products aren’t selling like you thought they would:

• No one wants the product
• No one else knows about the product
• The product costs too much
• The product doesn’t cost enough
• You promoted the product to the wrong people
• You promoted to the right people, but not in a way that engaged them.
• I could go on…

Find out why your product isn’t selling the way you want it to. Then do something about it.
And if you’d like to know more about Gabrielle and Monica’s strategy for market research, clear your calendar for Product Sellers Seminar from September 17-19, 2008. You can find more information about the online seminar at ProductSellersSeminar.com.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Betcha you were just wondering which posts were the most popular ones, huh?

You weren’t?

That’s OK. I’m going to tell you anyway:

1. What Does Great Customer Service Mean To You?
2. Rethinking Customer Service
3. Essential Business Practices to Use in the New Year
4. Should I automate my site directory submission?
5. Don’t Start Business Without Consulting an Attorney
6. How Do I Sell My Online Business?
7. Does Your Personality Type Suit Your Business?
8. What Is a Business Plan and Why Do I Need One?
9. The Only Online Store Startup Checklist a Product Seller Needs
10. Top 3 Tips for Growing Your Business with a List

These posts are ranked in descending order by overall views. In other words, the top post has been viewed the most since this blog started.

Woohoo!

Popularity: 16% [?]

I just spent several hours over the past two days updating and securing my Wordpress installation. I also completely revamped one. (You can take a peek at my updated web design site, if you’re curious.)

While working on my own sites, I realized that many of you have Wordpress installations that need to be updated as well. One of my own clients, had an issue with Wordpress, which you can read about in the related posts section. I updated her site, and so far, no more issues.

Since security is such an important issue, and most business bloggers don’t think much about it, I decided to put together a list of to help you.

You can read my list of Wordpress Security Tips at my Watersweb Solutions site.

Popularity: 24% [?]

I wrote a list of top 6 reasons why businesses fail on the Self Starters Weekly Tips forum a few weeks ago. Forum owner Lynn Terry then published the list on her blog, Click Newz.

At your request, I’m providing answers to these problems based on my years of experience with selling products and services online.

This time, we’ll talk about the #5 reason businesses fail.

#5 Negative Attitude

In a certain corner of the Internet, exercising a negative attitude is considered an art form. Most of those people are not entrepreneurs, and certainly not successful business owners.

If you’re part of that corner, I recommend you get out now. I did and it completely changed my business — and my life.

I can look back now and see how my negative attitude impacted my family AND my business.

My dad used to say: Can’t never did do anything. How right he was.

As business owners, we often look at the success of others and think, “I can’t do that.”  Or we look at a tough project we’re facing (like getting any kind of work done while the kids are out of school for the summer) and think, “I can’t possibly do that.”

My Solution: Stop thinking up reasons why you can’t succeed, why you can’t start your business, why you can’t pay for a professional site design or hire a business coach.

Start thinking about how you CAN do succeed. You may not be able to succeed in the same way someone else did. Your definition of success might be different than someone else’s. But if you have a positive attitude and follow the previous advice, such as take action, then you will be head and shoulders closer to success than the rest of the pack.

If you’re struggling with a negative attitude and would like some help focusing on a positive plan of action, I’d love to help. Just schedule a business coaching session with me and I’ll help you see your business in a new light.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Have some or all of your kids moved out and now you’re ready to start your own business?

If this sounds like you, then you need to join us tomorrow at the 2nd Annual Boomer Diva Day celebration held in honor of Baby Boomer Day.

I am excited to be a part of this wonderful online event hosted by Beverly Mahone, founder of Boomer Diva Nation and author of Whatever! A Baby Boomer’s Journey into Middle Age.

The event is 10am EDT-3pm EDT June 20th in the WECAI web conference room.

This is a time of celebration and fun for boomers all over the world who are (as the motto of Boomer Diva Nation) “On the Move and Making a Difference”.

I hope that you will join us for the wonderful event and join in on the fun, community and support for Boomer Divas everywhere!

I’m also thrilled to share the virtual floor with Heidi Richards, founder of WECAI, and speaker of the day. She will talk about Blogging for Business.

Here is tomorrow’s schedule (all times are EST):

• 10:00-10:15 Welcome/Greeting
• 10:15-10:30 Kathy Porter – Mia Bella Candles
• 10:30-11:00 SPEAKER: Heidi Richards – Blogging for Business
• 11-11:15am Passion Parties rep, Donna Bourque
• 11:15-11:30am Dortha Hise - Avon
• 11:30-11:45 Break/Networking
• 11:45-12pm Rosie Horner - The Blog Management System Organize Your Blogging Today!
• 12-12:15pm Terri – Pop Art Diva
• 12:15-12:30pm Debbie Mormino - The Breast Cancer Diva
• 12:30-12:45pm Lisa Fredette –BeautiControl Rep
• 12:45-1pm Sharon Williams- The 24 hour Secretary
• 1-1:15pm Barb Ireland The Sample Cake
• 1:15-1:30pm Heidi Caswell (Connect Simply)
• 1:30-1:45 Stephanie Fish, Buckeye VA (Buckeye VA)
  
• 1:45-2pm pending vendor
• 2pm-2:15pm Dr Sally Witt (http://www.drsallywitt.com)
• 2:15pm-2:30pm Michelle Waters , Product Sellers Seminar
• 2:30pm-3pm Networking/Giveaways

Popularity: 21% [?]

Just in time for summer, I’ve got a deal that will help equip your website for the holiday rush.

Last year, I offered a very successful WAHM Reconstruction package to help revamp one of my client’s websites.

This year, I’m opening it up to everyone — and offering a few different packages.

If you know your website isn’t doing the best it can and you’re ready to get the help it needs, head over to the WAHM Reconstruction Zone and choose the package that best fits your needs.

Not sure if you need a reconstruction? Ask yourself these questions:

• Do I have lots of visitors to my site, but few sales?
• Am I having trouble figuring out why no one is visiting my site?
• Are sales trickling in, but I need to grow my business?
• Have people told me that it’s hard to find things on my website?

If you answered yes to any one of these, then you need to consider our reconstruction packages.

Not sure which package is right for you? Contact me and I’ll help you find the best fit.

Popularity: 34% [?]

I wrote a list of top 6 reasons why businesses fail on the Self Starters Weekly Tips forum a few weeks ago. Forum owner Lynn Terry then published the list on her blog, Click Newz.

At your request, I’m providing answers to these problems based on my years of experience with selling products and services online.

This time, we’ll talk about the #4 reason businesses fail.

#4 Lack Of Planning

Recent advances in Internet speed and availability, and online software has made it incredibly easy to hang your shingle, so to speak, on the internet.

What ends up happening though is someone has a great idea. They run over to Watersweb Shops and buy a Shop Kit Plus. They hire Kristine to create a web design. They upload photos of their products that they’re selling through a dropshipping program.

And then they get stuck. They have no idea who they’re marketing to, where they’re going to find website visitors, much less customers.

Perhaps they muddle along and find some customers, or perhaps they lucked into having a built-in target market because they are well-known at an online forum. The next thing they know, people are buying their stuff like hotcakes and they can’t keep up with it.

A friend of mine had this problem with her diaper cake business. She made awesome diaper cakes and acheived a #1 ranking in the search engines. But success killed the business. She found herself, her kids and her husband struggling to fill the orders.

If she had had a plan for growing her business and handling success, she would have been able to outsource her production, train employees or subcontractors to take care of the overload.

Lack of customers and website traffic is not the only thing that will kill your business. Sometimes success will too, unless you plan for it.

My Solution: Plan to outsource, create a business plan and create a marketing plan. If you need help with your business plan, you can easily create one in just a couple of hours with One Page Business Plan.

If you’re not sure where you want to go, or need help solidifying your ideas, I’d love to work with you and help you. Just contact me through my business coaching page.

Popularity: 32% [?]

If you’re wanting to sell physical products online or already are, I’ve got some exciting news for you.

I’ll be hosting the first annual Product Sellers Seminar in September. This three-day online event will feature live speakers with experience and knowledge in selling physical products online, pre-recorded interviews, vendors with resources to help you start and grow your business and contests in which you can win prizes such as five hours of work from my very on virtual assistant.

Even better, this event will be free to attend! So clear your calendar for Sept. 17-19, 2008!

So far, we have Kelly McCausey of WAHM Talk Radio lined up to share with us how to focus our businesses, and Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners will help us understand how online events (like this one!) can help sell more products. Both will be live one-hour sessions in our online conference room (Graciously donated by Kelly), so you’ll be able to ask questions at the end of the presentation.
I’ll also present a live session on how you can make sure your site can be indexed by the search engines.

I’m working with several other speakers for the event, including business owners who started at home and are now making millions of dollars in sales per year. I can’t announce them yet, because we haven’t finalized the schedule for their appearance.

So if you’d like to know more about who we have lined up, head over to the Product Sellers Seminar website and sign up for our notification list. We’ll keep you up to date on who we have scheduled and any other details you’ll love to know.

I can’t wait to see you there!

Popularity: 35% [?]

I wrote a list of top 6 reasons why businesses fail on the Self Starters Weekly Tips forum a few weeks ago. Forum owner Lynn Terry then published the list on her blog, Click Newz.

At your request, I’m providing answers to these problems based on my years of experience with selling products and services online.

This time, we’ll talk about the #3 reason businesses fail.

#3 Life

We’ve all been there — kids get sick, we get sick, husband gets laid off… you name it. In my case, moving more than a dozen times in the past 12 years tends to put a cramp in my style. It’s hard to get my work done when part of my office is in the new house, part in the old house and part in a pile of boxes. ARGH.

Some business owners have let their busineses die for more serious reasons, like a car accident, a very sick child, a spouse who is ill, and more.

Unfortunately, we never know when these things are going to happen.

My Solution: As business owners, we have a responsibility to ourselves, our families and our customers to make sure our business is setup so that it can function with out us for a bit. Or, at least without our hand in it on a daily basis.

What this involves is outsourcing. Whether it’s checking email, answering helpdesk tickets, responding to questions on a forum or updating your website, a virtual assistant can ensure that your business keeps running, even if you’re off having a baby, moving across country or recovering from an illness.

Even if the business is one where only you can produce a unique item, like lampwork beads, your assistant can answer your customer’s emails, letting them know what is going on and when you are expected to return and finish their orders. Communication is key in these situations, and will make the difference between a business that thrives and one that dies in a sea of negative comments and bad reputation.

If you’re interested in exploring outsourcing, I’d like to recommend my VA, Stephanie Fish of BuckeyeVA.com.

Popularity: 44% [?]