The Success Center

Don’t you hate missing out on good stuff? I mean, really, really, good stuff? Like when the fat kid comes to class with chocolate cake and doesn’t offer anyone anything . . . yea, that good.

If you haven’t heard, my new buzzword for 2010 is value. I’m saturating it into every nook and cranny of what I do online and off. Why? Because it breeds success for me and the people I give it to. Today, I want to give something valuable to those who haven’t gotten it before, but first let’s take a step back.

Value in 2009

One way  I delivered value last year was through my Success Tips weekly newsletter. A lot of you really enjoyed it. It’s a bit different than the regular content here because we get down to business. No long articles, just straight “tips;” short, sweet, simple, and to the point.

Value in 2010

Well, it’s 2010 and I haven’t sent out a single newsletter. Why?

I’ve been busy creating and adding value to everything else and making sure I have a strong platform to stand on. Now, it’s the newsletter’s turn. It’ll be relaunching it next month/next week. The name is staying the same, the content will be better, and I promise you it’ll be something you don’t want to miss.

For those of you who aren’t subscribers, I’m opening the vault and showing off 10 of the best editions of my Success Tips newsletter. No special sign-up required, nothing to download, just click the button below and it’ll take you to my email archives page.

When you’re done browsing give me a little feedback by taking this Quick 5 Question/5 Minute Survey. I highly value your opinion and really want to make sure you’re getting the most from the newsletter.

If you’re concerned about spam or getting sales pitches or other mess like that, don’t worry. I hate that stuff just as much as you do. Check out my policies page for how I handle your information.

Call to Action

So, go check out 10 of the best “Success Tips” newsletters in the email archives. Tell me exactly what you want in future editions of the newsletter by taking this quick 5 minute survey. And sign-up for the new and improved Success Tips newsletter by entering your email address in the box below. (If you’re already a subscriber feel free to update your info by entering your email into the sign-up box. Other than that, sit tight, I got you covered.)

Note: The email archive, survey, and email newsletter comes from the great folks over at Constant Contact. I absolutely love their services and I know you’ll love’em too. If you need email marketing for your business give them a try, free for 60 days and get a $30 credit once you become a paying customer. (Affiliate link)

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About The Author

Rod Kirby helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and organizations take advantage of social media marketing and new media through his company, Kirby Enterprises. Follow Rod on Twitter here.

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I love learning from people who are doing what I want to do in life. Don’t you?

Today I had the chance to chat with David Siteman Garland, who is definitely doing something I want to do. Entrepreneur and marketer David Siteman Garland is the Founder of The Rise To The Top, The #1 Non-Boring Resource For Building Your Business Smarter, Faster, Cheaper. He writes/hosts RISE, the daily online web show for entrepreneurs and marketers and The Rise To The Top TV show on ABC.

In this interview we chat about his show, business, and all things social media. You’ll learn;

• How to start your own TV show and not go into debt doing it
• How to be an efficient entrepreneur
• What social media really is
• Why social media is vital to your brand and business
• Why your blog or website doesn’t get you the results you want (and how to get them)
• David’s value proposition in regards to sponsors and what we can learn from it
• Why you might see David in a clown outfit . . .

Bonus: I also mentioned David in my article, “What’s Your Value Proposition?” so, yea, he’s a pretty big deal to me. . .

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Rod Kirby helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and organizations take advantage of social media marketing and new media through his company, Kirby Enterprises. Follow Rod on Twitter here.

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What will it take for your dreams to be heard? How will you stand apart from millions who you may compete with? Who can you trust? These are all questions that you may ask yourself when trying to take your business to the next level. So what should you do?

One tip from Valerie Daniels-Carter is to pick up the gun and learn how to shoot it, you have to be bold to be heard. Daniels-Carter sacrificed until she accumulated enough money to move her business in the right direction, which led to 137 food-service franchises worth $90 million.

Daniels-Carter made sacrifices such as putting down her life savings to raise capital for her business deal, proceeded to progress when she heard hundreds of no’s, sold her luxury car, and limited her spending. “You can be the most intelligent person in the world, but if you don’t have access, it’s very difficult to get ahead, so you have to create access” say Daniels-Carter.

Are you creating access to reach your dreams? What moves are you making to position yourself for success? Your comments . . . priceless!

About the Author

Yolanda Gates is the owner of, Relatively Speaking, which offers, freelance journalism consisting of press releases, event coverage, bio’s, e-book writing, and much more!

Visit her blog; Relatively Speaking.

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The new year brings about new resolutions, goals, and opportunities to take our businesses to the next level. However, it also brings about the tax season . . . a time notorious for causing many entrepreneurs new levels of stress. Today, I’m pulling all the stops when it comes to small business taxes and your business’s success.

I’m not a tax guru or anything so I decided to ask Ron Ratliff, a certified public accountant, a few questions about entrepreneurs and taxes. Ron has been a CPA for over 25 years with a career that spans both public and corporate accounting in a broad spectrum of businesses and industries. He’s also a certified Dave Ramsey counselor so he knows what he’s talking about.

There were 6 major things I took from our conversation;

• Define your company structure – you maybe a Blogger or a solo-preneur, but how is your business defined legally?

• Separate your business from your personal life – you may work from home, but you still need a separate bank account from your business.

• Organize and track income – keeping good records of where your money comes from is key to staying out of legal trouble.

• Prepare and organize your tax info – take the time out of the week to get yourself organized. It’s hard to do when you’re constantly “working” the business, but doing so will save you tons of time and money!

• If you get audited, don’t ignore, communicate immediately! – “nuff” said!

• Seek professional help when the business starts to grow – really, you should seek a trusted tax adviser throughout the life cycle of your business. It only helps you “get back to work.”

For more golden nuggets of tax wisdom for your business, listen to our full 30 minute conversation below. Show Ron a little love by visiting his website as well. As a bonus from Ron, check out his article, “4 Ways To Grow Your Business”

Here is a collection of resources that will help you survive tax season;

Videos

Home Office Deduction – find out everything you need to know when it comes to deducting that garage of yours you call an office.

Hobby or Business – do you know if your entrepreneurial activities are a hobby or a full fledged business? Do you know when you should start filing your taxes? Get the answers here!

Watch more small business tax videos straight from the IRS, here!

Articles

Top 10 Tax Tips for Small and Growing Businesses

14 Last-Minute Small-Business Tax Tips

Other Resources

IRS Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center

IRS – A-Z Index for Business

I hope this information is helpful to you as it has been for me. This tax season, be bold, courageous, and tackle it head on. Don’t wait to the last minute and be confident in filing your small business taxes. Did I miss anything? Do you know of any other resources that could help an entrepreneur out? Feel free to share them and your thoughts in the comments below.

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About The Author

Rod Kirby helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and organizations take advantage of social media marketing and new media through his company, Kirby Enterprises. Follow Rod on Twitter here.

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Welcome to weekend update, a new posting strategy to update you on this week’s top articles from The Success Center and around the web. I read a lot of blogs and share a lot of things I find on Twitter and Facebook. If you want more than I list here you can find other great articles on my Google Reader Shared page.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the RSS feed so you can stay up-to-date on the latest from The Success Center. Don’t know what RSS is? Watch this video for a quick explanation in plain English.

Most Commented Post at The Success Center

• Why Business is Not Bad…But Good – 9 comments

My Favorite Post This Week at The Success Center

• 8 Big Things That Lead To Success
  

Great Reads Around the Web

• The Power of Uniqueness [19 Starting Points for Being a Unique Blogger]

• 5 Ways to Live Your Best Life with Social Media (This is my guest post for Annie Sorensen’s blog)

• What’s Your Value Proposition? (Another guest post from me for Jtrigsby’s blog.)

• How to Make Extra Money Online (you won’t find blogging or typical “internet marketing” schemes here!)

• 10 Tips to Getting More Retweets

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Rod Kirby helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and organizations take advantage of social media marketing and new media through his company, Kirby Enterprises. Follow Rod on Twitter here.

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Guest Post by: Mike Holmes
Image Source: soxfirst.com

It’s amazing the amount of people that see business as bad. Even those in business or those wanting to start a business are stuck with the stigma of “business is evil.” But business at its core is not bad. How could it be? God created it.

Huh??!!

You heard me: business is not bad because God created it!

The Bible says, “For everything, absolutely everything…got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him.” [1] That “everything” also includes “business.” It may have been distorted by evil men but, at its core, it is not evil. Business began with Him, ends with Him, and finds its true purpose in Him–period!

Business minus God equals Big Problems

For instance, Entrepreneur Magazine recently had an article that spoke about the necessity of having a “moral compass.” AND how the problems we now face stem from a lack of that compass. Ironically, it wasn’t a lack of business that destroyed some businesses–but a lack of business character and questionable business practices.

One of the main reasons (if not the main reason) for the fall of our economy was a willingness to ignore or gloss over principles. By “principles” I mean those timeless, timely, immutable laws of God that endure from generation to generation. In fact, Stephen Covey in an interview with Success Magazine delved even deeper:

“Financial success—prestige, wealth, recognition, accomplishment—will always be secondary in greatness…Primary greatness is about character and contribution. Primary greatness asks, ‘What are you doing to make a difference in the world? Do you live truly by your values? Do you have total integrity in all of your relationships?’ And when correct principles are not followed or ignored, the result can be catastrophic as we have witnessed… in the financial markets.”

God needs businessmen…

But this stigma isn’t new.

R.G. LeTourneau founder of LeTourneau Technologies was a great industrialist and was often referred to as “God’s Businessman.” But in his early years he questioned if he could serve God being a businessman (those awful people). So one night, after weeks of praying and searching, he paid a visit to his pastor. And after another session of prayer, his pastor told him something that forever changed his life:

“God needs businessmen as well as preachers and missionaries.” [2]

And that’s the same thing I want to say to you!

Are you called to business? Good. Be diligent “to make your calling and election sure.” [3]

More than ever, we need a new generation of leaders with the insight to see the Biblical principles for business, the wisdom to use them, and the courage to tell others about them. The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few!

What do you think? Your thoughts…

Scripture References

1. Colossians 1:16 (The Message)

2. Christian Business Legends, p.37

3. 2 Peter 1:10 (King James Version)

About the Author

Mike Holmes is the author of I Shall Raise Thee Up: Ancient Principles for Lasting Greatness. He’s also a blogger that writes on business and leadership development from a Biblical perspective. When he’s not writing blogs or speaking he can be found writing bios in the third person. Check out his website/blog here.

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Welcome to “5 Free ways to market your business,” a series on entrepreneurial success.

I get asked a lot, “Rod, how in the world do I advertise my business when I can barely afford to pay my bills every month?”

Well, in this day and age there are many things you can do to “get the word out” about your business venture or company. And lucky for us, most of them are free!

5 Free Ways to Market your business: Introduction | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

What is marketing?

Simply put, marketing is the answer to “how am I going to get the word out about my company, product, or service?” It’s the way new prospects find out about what your company has to offer. Advertising your product or service is extremely easy when you have a large budget set aside for it. But what happens when your marketing budget is whopping zero dollars? What do you do when you’re budget is tighter than a pair of pants bought at too small a size?

That’s when you get creative! God gave us creative minds to help us get out of tough situations in unique ways. Entrepreneurs are creative by nature. Before I share with you some great ways to market your business on a shoe-string budget lets confront some typical myths about marketing.

Myth #1 – “I have to hire a professional to help me get a maximum return on my marketing investment.”

Truth – Actually, a professional would be great to consider as your company grows. Marketing consultants usually have relationships built with marketing firms, media outlets, and the like. However, your greatest marketing investment is actually yourself. It’s easy to throw a few dollars at a consultant and tell them to get you a TV and radio spot. But, when every dollar counts, you have to put your own foot forward, set a plan in motion, and work it like you’re running for president.

Myth #2 – “It takes money to make money. If I want new clients I’ll have to spend a little to get them to patronize my business.”

Truth – Not at all! The techniques that I share will cost you nothing at all or very little if anything. The world teaches us that it costs more money to get new customers than it does to keep old ones. But if you follow the examples below, then you’ll be able to have your old customers sending you new customers absolutely free!

Myth #3 – “Email marketing is better than direct mail marketing, newspaper ads are better than radio ads, vice verse, and etc,”

Truth – No one form of marketing is better or more effective than the other. It really comes down to how the tool is used. Most would agree that television ads reach more people at one time than most forms of advertising. However, if I’m in the car selling business and I place my ad on a daytime cartoon show for kids, then my entire campaign is ineffective. A smart marketer knows that the different tools of marketing are to be combined in a creative and functional fashion that generates the results he or she wants.

That does it for the myths behind marketing today. Stay tuned because tomorrow I’ll show you how developing your own in-house marketing materials is one of the best ways to market your business for free!

What do you think are some other misconceptions or myths about marketing and advertising? Sound off in the comments below!

5 Free Ways to Market your business: Introduction | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

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Rod Kirby helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and organizations take advantage of social media marketing and new media through his company, Kirby Enterprises. Follow Rod on Twitter here.

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I went to see my twin brother’s new movie (Denzel Washington), The Book of Eli this weekend. I was totally surprised to find a film that is deep and full of inspiration yet, dressed up in action movie clothing. Here’s the trailer for your viewing pleasure;

As the trailer suggests, it’s about a guy named Eli traveling west with a very special book in a post apocalyptic world. He encounters tons of bad guys and one main baddie played by (one of my most favorite actors) Gary Oldman who desperately wants Eli’s book. Baddies get beat-up, stuff blows up, and overall, it’s a great movie if you haven’t seen it yet.

That’s the general plot, I won’t spoil anything for you in this post that is major to it so read on with a sigh of relief.

With a message that’ll shake the core of your spirit and action that’ll make your brain ooze through your ears, the movie serves up 4 keys that will help you on your road to success.

God Never Said It Would Be Easy

Throughout the film, Eli is faced with serious opposition both external (tons of baddies) and internal (judgment calls and moral decisions).

It’s important to note that being successful at anything isn’t easy, even if God promised it to you. You will face opposition, temptation, and the comfort of an easier path. However, stay encouraged, if God promised you something (a multi-million dollar business, to impact the world, to cure a disease, whatever it may be) He’ll give you the tools to make it happen.

Even though, Eli’s path was over-run with bad guys, he had the tools to take care of them all. And boy oh boy did he take care of them!

Walk by Faith and Not by Sight

Faith is a big part of this movie because Eli knows he’s supposed to go west with an important book, but he doesn’t know exactly why. It takes a lot of faith to walk toward success without knowing what you’ll find when you get there even if the path you’re walking is a dangerous one.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb.11:1)

The substance of things hoped refers to making the decision to believe in something and the evidence of things not seen is believing it with all your heart. This is what it takes to be successful in any area of your life.

You have to know with all your heart that God is going to prosper your business even though you’re in debt. You have to lean on that hope and keep walking towards that reality.

Favor Comes from the Most Unlikely People

In the movie, Eli is accompanied by a young girl, played by Mila Kunis, who becomes his only ally. She doesn’t start out that way but eventually the two set out together to take the book out west.

On your road to success you will receive favor from the most unlikely people. People who were once your enemies, people who discouraged you, or people you never met before. God’s favor upon you will raise someone from somewhere to help you reach your destiny. It all boils down to if you’ll recognize it when it comes.

What’s Your Weapon?

Gary Oldman’s character (main baddie) growled at his henchmen, “It’s not just a book, it’s a weapon!”

For those times when the odds seem stacked against you and you’ve got baddies surrounding you, what will be your weapon of choice? For me, nothing is as powerful as the Word of God. It can strike back at the enemy closing in on any area of your life. It’s sharp enough to cut deep within your reality and flexible enough that you can hide it in your heart.

On your road to success you’ll have to determine your ultimate weapon. Trust me, the road will be littered with plenty of opportunities to use it.

So remember, the road to success isn’t easy, you’ve got to walk by faith and not by sight, recognize favor and maximize it when it comes, and finally, choose the weapon that can go down the darkest paths with you. Which one of these principles do you relate to the most? Where are you on your path to success? Share your thoughts below.

Update 1/22/2010: My good friend, Naomi Trower wrote a similar post except she tackled Eli from a social media perspective. I highly recommend reading her article, “3 Details The Book of Eli Can Teach You About Social Media”

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Rod Kirby helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and organizations take advantage of social media marketing and new media through his company, Kirby Enterprises. Follow Rod on Twitter here.

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I love good secrets don’t you? I especially love a good secret that someone show’s me and doesn’t just tell me. I’m a visual person so showing vs telling works for me.

I came across this awesome Jim Rohn video where he’ll explain how American economics work and the secret to making more money. This is a timeless principle and it’s actually one that I’m working on this year as well.

After watching the short video I challenge you to list how you’re going to maximize “the secret” in the comments section below.

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Rod Kirby helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and organizations take advantage of social media marketing and new media through his company, Kirby Enterprises. Follow Rod on Twitter here.

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It’s a new year and new decade which means it’s time to set new goals and objectives for our lives. I ran into 2010 swinging with the “Win in 2010″ Entrepreneur Fast and making some new additions to this blog. This year I plan on growing this blog, connecting with a lot of you, and making it easy for you all to connect with each other (details coming very soon).

“Having once decided to achieve a certain task, achieve it at all costs of tedium and distaste. The gain in self confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labor is immense.” – Thomas A. Bennett

How has the start of the first quarter of the year been for you? What do you want to achieve this year? Cast your vote in this month’s poll and feel free to explain your answer in the comments below.

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About The Author

Rod Kirby helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and organizations take advantage of social media marketing and new media through his company, Kirby Enterprises. Follow Rod on Twitter here.

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