The Success Center

Goals and Values

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. ~Proverbs 19:21

After reading Rod’s post on the lesson finding purpose that he shared with his little sister, I was reminded of how often we fall out of alignment with the purposes of God when it comes to being entrepreneurs and the plan He has for our businesses. As you move into 2012, I want to challenge you to be sure that you are moving forward with your values as the lead. What do I mean? Simple, you want to be sure that what you value help you determine the goals that fit the plan God has set forth for you.

Can I share a valuable lesson with you?

One of the worse mistakes I made early on in building my business was listening to others and not heeding what God was telling me. You see I value my faith and relationship with God; and what I did was place Him as second fiddle to the high income I was beginning to produce. I had to take a step back, let go of the popular radio show, the high paying clients, and the other stuff that was in the way.

I had to start all over again from scratch. I began by assessing my values. I looked at what really mattered and began to create my plans and goals accordingly. The process showed me where God was truly leading. What I thought was to be my business was not. It did not fit my values and it was literally sucking the life out of me.

It was God’s purpose that was to prevail and my plans had to match.

The Truth About Values and Goals

It’s said that if you want to be successful, if you want to lead, then align your values with your goals. If your goals match what is important to you in your daily living then you’re on your way to the top. Values and goals must complement each other for you to be effective.

But, if you struggle with anxiety and unhappiness as you strive for your aspirations then reaching them may not give you inner peace and happiness even if you’re successful. Don’t act like who you’re not to become someone you won’t like once you get there. If you don’t like yourself then no one else will either.

Define Your Values

What do you stand for? Is it courage, honesty, dedication, generosity, thoughtfulness, tolerance, loyalty? What drives you each day to get out of bed and do what you have to do? It could be love of family and God. Maybe you feel peace in helping others achieve their goals.

If you’re to be happy in your career and personal life you must align your values and goals. You could fake it until you make it, but unless these are your true values it would be a hollow victory. Be true to yourself, work hard each day and you’ll become the person you deserve to be.

Define Your Goals

Of course, there are many types of goals and you must decide which is most important to you and your family. Most people when asked to define their goals first think of their career and monetary achievement.

This may include material possessions and social standing in the community. These could coincide with personal and spiritual goals as you climb the mountain of life. Aspire to strike a balance in all these qualities of life.

If you want to truly step into your greatness, understand what you value because it is the core of who you are. The core of who you are will determine your plans and help you create actionable goals for accomplishing great things and walking in the abundance that God has for you. You will see doors of opportunity opening and in way you never imagined.

If you’re properly aligned with the values and goals of your life, you’ll never regret where you are and where you will end.

What do you think? What are you doing to ensure you lead with your values as you enter 2012? Don’t act like someone you aren’t because you will likely not like the someone you become once you get there.

Disclaimer: We will never share your email address with anyone, period.

LaTara Ham-Ying

Continue Reading

Tomorrow marks the first day of the last month of the year – where did the time go? (Well, we know for sure that ‘time’ didn’t take a break or a holiday!)

Disclaimer: We will never share your email address with anyone, period.

About The Author

Rod Kirby

Continue Reading

Remember when Google Music arrived earlier this year? It was hailed as an official rival to Amazon’s music cloud storage and even iTunes . . . well, maybe not, iTunes (since Google didn’t have a way to actually sell tracks, it only stored them).

Well, today, Google has announced that their music product is finally getting a store. Here’s a quick video to get you caught up; Watch it on Youtube instead if you’re having difficulties watching here.

Entrepreneurs of the world, hear me and hear me real good (that’s what my grandma used to say)! Services alone WILL NOT help you succeed. You need to develop products to sell along with your services.

Why?

Because a product can be sold no matter what time of day, when it’s bought, or whether or not you had anything to do with the transaction. Products can usher new customers and clients into your sales funnel for your primary services. They can even be used (if the product is good enough) to build a platform to launch services from.

For service oriented businesses this can be tough, but not impossible. Here are a few suggestions;

• Seek out affiliate products to sell that compliment your services or brand. A good place to start, online, is commission junction.
• Become an affiliate of white label software to add a product to your services. For instance, if you’re a graphic designer, become an affiliate of online d-i-y (do-it-yourself) logo design software. Many people like to tinker and figure things out themselves, but, rest assured that once they’re all tinkered out, they’ll come to you for professional help.
• Create a product that you know a potential client or customer would need that would get them into the sales funnel of your other services. This could be a book, an e-book, a training video, or anything that would get someone warmed up for your services.

Google’s Music store is a game changer for Google because they can now offer products to sell at anytime along with their music storage service. It was an inevitable move by them, but a smart one none-the-less. What products can you sell to compliment your services? Do you have any resources, tools, or advice to share with someone that wants to sell products but doesn’t know where to start? Share your story and ideas in the comments below.

Disclaimer: We will never share your email address with anyone, period.

About The Author

Rod Kirby

Continue Reading

Are You on the Social Media Marketing Bandwagon?

If you followed along with the Social Media Marketing Success Series (links to the recap post) last week then you know that the final and most important part of social media marketing is asking for the sale.

Well, I believe I’ve put together an awesome service that will solve a lot of your social media marketing problems and I’m asking for your business. This package deal was put together for groups, organizations, bloggers, entrepreneurs, small business owners who are not maximizing social media for their business.

If you’ve already got a blog and are maximizing social media for your business, then you might give my success coaching or other services a try. I guarantee I can help you take your business, brand, or blog to the next level. Watch the video below and you’ll find the details of the package after it.

Note: Seems as though Vimeo doesn’t like my webcam at all so there are a few audio sync issues. My apologies, I’m working with tech support to see what quality of video I need to upload in the future. Thank you for your patience.

Having trouble viewing this video? Watch it on Vimeo instead!

Social Media for Business Launch Package

Need an “all-in-one” solution to maximizing social media marketing for your business? This package includes a new brand identity, web presence, and content creation to launch you into social media marketing success!

• Custom Logo Design
• Business Card Design (Print options offered once design is complete.)
• Domain Name
• Web Hosting
• WordPress Blog Installation & Set-up (includes plugins, social buttons, and more!)
• Customized Facebook Fan Page
• Customized Twitter Background
• Customized Email Newsletter Template
• 1 Month of Success Coaching Services (1 session per week – You’ll learn the ins and outs of social media marketing, how to maintain your blog, and more!)
• 1 Month of Blog Content Creation (Tailored for your business, industry, products, and services!)
• 1 Month of Twitter Content & Updating
• 1 Month of Facebook Fan Page Content & Updating
• 1 Month of Custom Newsletter Content Mail-outs

Investment: Only $495 (payment plans are available!) – Call 1-415-ROD-KRBY [763-5729] or Email me NOW for Details!

P.S. - Want exclusive discounts, deals, and specials on every service listed? Sign-up for my “Success Tips!” newsletter! Subscribers get coupons, news, and info before everyone else does – plus great tips for marketing their business.

Disclaimer: We will never share your email address with anyone, period.

About The Author

Rod Kirby

Continue Reading

I touched on this concept in my post, “The Biggest Marketing Secret – Ever, Finally Revealed”

What’s Twitter All About?

If you’ve been living under a digital rock for the past couple of years and you don’t know what Twitter is, then check out my article, Are you a Twitter Newbie or Power User? When you’re done, come back to this article and join the rest of us.

One thing to note about Twitter is that it’s a platform for engagement, sharing, and connecting – not just for marketing. Using it for marketing alone would dub it as a tool . . .

“A tool is typically used once and discarded (in other words, something useful but not valuable). A platform is something solid used to stand on. Something sturdy you can build something on top of.”

If you want to successfully generate traffic to your blog, website, or grow your business on Twitter, here are a few things you should do;

Find Your Voice

What's Your Twitter Voice?

Your Twitter voice is equal to what you share and how you brand yourself. If you’ve been on Twitter for a while, it’s easiest to figure out your voice by how people list you (or, how they categorize you). You can read more about Twitter lists from Twitter’s official blog. If you’re new to Twitter or aren’t listed then you need to find your voice.

It’s important to know exactly how you’re going to represent yourself on Twitter – this determines if people will relate to you and your Tweets. Take a look at the graphic on the right. From it we can see that “I am the voice of Business, Marketing, Social Media, and Life Coaching.”

Tips for Finding Your Voice;

• Know who you are
• Know what you want to achieve on Twitter
• Look within your industry
• Look at the popular people you follow

Update Consistently

Ever follow someone only to realize that they update maybe once a month? And when they update it’s never anything useful or cool, it’s just random like;

“Just woke up, about to get some breakfast . . .”

If this is you, please, quietly excuse yourself from Twitter . . . you’re hogging up my stream. Consistency will breed consistent followers and traffic. The key is to find the right balance and not post too much or too little, but get into the sweet spot of your flow.

Tips on Updating Consistently;

• At Home – find the best time of day when there are the least amount of distractions and go for it.
• On the Go – Use tools like, hootsuite to update and schedule your tweets on the go, especially if you’re a busy person.

Organize or Participate in Twitter Activities

Rockstar Challenge

Remember, Twitter is a platform for connecting with like-minded people, so CONNECT! Get into Tweet chats whether they’re live streams or standard chats. I organized a short-lived event called the “Monday Morning Rockstar Challenge”

The idea was to kill the Monday blues by encouraging productivity. I would give the winner a shout-out in a “winner announcement” blog post which made people feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Plenty of people participated, but we just couldn’t keep the momentum going. It was definitely fun while it lasted.

Organize your own games or events on Twitter by using Tweetgrid for chats or Tweetchat for a live Q&A

By taking the initiative you’ll position yourself as a leader and people will flock to you when they’re in need – thus, becoming a twitter Rockstar!

Share Useful links

sharing is caring

Twitter is a platform for sharing which is critical to getting quality traffic, leads, and followers. When you jump into the ecosystem of sharing that’s when your level of success will rise. I share articles that I find on marketing, blogging, success, tech news, and more.

Here are a few tools you can use to share good stuff with good people on Twitter;

• Google Reader – I always shout this tool out because it’s such a big part of my social media strategy. Use it to follow, read, comment, and share your favorite blogs across multiple networks.
• Feedly for Google Reader – This is an awesome plugin (compatible for Firefox and Chrome) for Google Reader that gives it a magazine-like interface. Best part of all, when you’re logged into feedly and visiting a website in another tab, you can save, favorite, or share that article while you’re browsing.
• Google Blog Search – This is by far the best way to look content, discover new blogs, and share it with your network.
• AllTop - This great service indexes the top headlines from different websites and blogs. It’s great for finding “what’s happening” in your industry.

Share Multimedia Content

Got Multimedia-Content to Share?

The great thing about Twitter is the amount of diverse content you can find. Don’t just settle for 140 characters, show people the world around you! This includes videos, photos, and whatever else you find.

I do this through my Tumblr blog which is nothing more than great multimedia content that I find and share from around the web. I’ve got it to share on Twitter whenever I create a new post automatically so I don’t have to “double post.”

You can easily share multimedia content by using these services;

• Twitpic – great for photo sharing from your PC or mobile device
• Twitvid – excellent for sharing videos from your computer, mobile device, or even a webcam
• Many of your favorite websites like Youtube, Flickr, and Digg support sharing to Twitter (links take you to my profiles on each). It’s all a matter of finding quality content to share!

Don’t Talk to Yourself

The first thing I look at when deciding on who to follow is whether or not they actually engage in conversations or if they just talk to themselves. You’ve seen him/her before, they spew out link after link promoting their projects and never talk to anyone. Remember, it’s called, SOCIAL media for a reason. Don’t be afraid to start conversations, re-tweet, and engage with others.

@BrendaClayson

Make an Offer

If you’ve done all of the above in some capacity then you will have earned the trust, loyalty, and admiration of those that follow you. You will have added value to their streams and they’ll love you for it. If this sounds like you then you have earned the opportunity to make an offer. Not to ask for a sale. But, to craft a tweet of significant importance for your business, blog, or brand and put it out there for everyone to click and share.

Note: Don’t abuse the opportunity by tweeting that offer too much. I like to promote blog posts at different times through the day but only after I’ve shared good content.

Lightning Round – My Quick Tips

Here are a few things that I do, personally, that gets me more traffic, followers, and business;

• Schedule Tweets During Peak Usage Times – I use Hootsuite to schedule quotes, new blog post announcements, calls to action, etc. Just be sure to check in and engage everyone once in a while!
• Address People by Their Real Name – Make your conversations more personable and direct. This reinforces trust and builds a genuine relationship between you and the other person.
• Ask Questions & Give Answers – There’s a wealth of information waiting on you in the form of your followers and vice versa. Don’t let it go to waste!
• Offer Your Best Advice – I regularly give out information that I would typically charge people to get in my coaching sessions. However, giving your best advice puts you on people’s mind when a need arises.
• Accept Quality Followers, Not Every Follower - I have a low follow to follower percentage by choice. I’m more capable of focusing on a few hundred than a few thousand.
• Be a Tease - Got a blog post you’re working on? Give out teasers throughout the day until you finish it. You’ll grow anticipation and people are more willing to share it if they’re waiting on it.
• Be Original - Sharing links is all fine and dandy, but don’t forget to share original wisdom, knowledge, or information that people can’t get anywhere else. It solidifies you as a quality person to follow.

Remember, Twitter is more than a marketing tool – it’s a platform for building, engaging, and sharing. If you take the time to maximize the tools presented in this article you’ll get more followers, blog traffic, and business. What would you add to this list? What tips would you offer to entrepreneurs looking to make it big on Twitter? Share your thoughts below.

Disclaimer: We will never share your email address with anyone, period.

About The Author

Rod Kirby

Continue Reading

Inside the Success

Welcome to “Inside the Success,” where I take you on the inside of small business owners, entrepreneurs, industry professionals, and how they are finding their success.

Small business ownership used to be an American dream and in some ways I think it still is. . . it’s just a harder dream. In today’s economy you’ve got to be smarter, wiser, and more prepared to start a business. You can’t just take your idea from zero to sixty in six months with a little financing anymore.

The SmallBizLady

Today I’m chatting it up with Melinda Emerson. Melinda is a veteran entrepreneur, speaker and small business coach whose areas of expertise include small business start-up, social media marketing and work/life balance. Known as “Smallbizlady”, she hosts a weekly talk show on Twitter called #smallbizchat. Melinda has become a well-known expert in achieving bottom line results and business success. Her first book “Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide To A Business That Works!” is due out in early 2010.

In this interview you’ll learn;

• What it really takes to be a small business owner
• Why you should have a life plan before a business plan
• How to plan for success
• What is platform development and why it’s important to your business
• How to maximize social media for your small business

Enjoy the show, let me know what you think in the comments below. When you get done, check out the Inside the Success show archives for past audio and video interviews!

Disclaimer: We will never share your email address with anyone, period.

About The Author

Rod Kirby

Continue Reading

Image courtesy of Itsanentrepreneursworld.com

I stumbled upon this video for what appears to be a European bank or something. I honestly don’t know what kind of company it is, but that’s not important. What is important is what the video implies and how you fill in the blanks. It truly is a very inspirational video and I had to share it. As I watched it, it made me think on something that I share a lot with my followers on Twitter – live your life on purpose, not on default. Do you know what your purpose is on this earth? Most of you are entrepreneurs, do you know why God gifted you in such a way to start your business? What’s your entrepreneurial purpose in life? Keep that in mind as you watch this video, when you’re done, let me know if you’ve come up with the answers in the comments below.

Disclaimer: We will never share your email address with anyone, period.

About The Author

Rod Kirby

Continue Reading

It’s the end of the month and officially the end of my little experiment of focusing on social media for the past couple of weeks. I hope you all learned a lot and were truly blessed to exploring this new marketing medium. This week we explored some basic moves for Twitter Newbies and Power Users also, how Darren Rowse Uses Social Media to Promote his Blogs, and my 5 Keys to Blogging Success.

When talking about social media many entrepreneurs (who aren’t familiar) tend to shy away from it. Or only consider it as a fad or something the “college kids” are doing. But, I want to challenge you to get out of your comfort zone and go wherever your market is. If potential customers are on Facebook, then you need to be there too. If you’ve got clients talking on Twitter, you need to get in with their conversation. All of these tools will help you round out your web presence, carve your niche, and establish your brand. Below, you’ll find the poll results from this week with a thought or two on why each is great for business. We’ll review the top 3 and get into the others tomorrow.

Poll Results

Twitter - was the overall winner which lets me know that you social media ninjas are really aware of what’s going on. Twitter is an excellent way to engage in conversations, share information, news, and connect with people on a level that was previously unheard of (in terms of speed of connection).
Business Use: When maximizing it for your business be creative. I use it to start conversations that might end up in discussion on another social networking site or even a blog post. I’ve seen other entrepreneurs and corporations use it as another form of customer service. If I have a problem with this site, I sent a quick tweet to my web host and they respond almost instantly. Now, that’s great customer service! You can also use it to share information, timely updates, and tips with your customers to keep them engaged with your brand.

Blogs – Coming in second is the oldest tool on the list, but one that is still relevant, alive, and just as important as the rest. A blog in the general sense is an interactive or live journal. Meaning, people can respond, converse, and share the content you create however they want. It’s a great way to establish a “home-base” for your web presence because you can create a community that supports your brand. In the marketing world, if you have a basket to pull sales out of, the easier the sale. Especially if you’re grabbing something out of the basket that wants to be grabbed. Get it?
Business Use: If you have a product write “how-to” articles that illustrate different uses of the product. If you have a service, write articles that show people how to maximize the service, issues within your industry, or interview prior satisfied customers. Be creative! This is an excellent opportunity to show potential customers who you are, what you’re really made of, and how much you value them by giving them a reason to connect with you.

Facebook – Number three is not for the college kids only anymore. Beyond the games, applications, quizzes, and extras that Facebook offers, it’s really a great CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool. Why? Where Twitter is great for instant communication or breaking news and info, Facebook is really all about the relationships and deepening  your connection with customers. You’ve got chat built in, alerts to birthdays and events, status updates, and even an email system built in. Why not use it like that?
Business Use: Share articles with your market (friends) that relate to them, their needs, or their wants. Start a fan page for your company or even yourself and give people a way to engage with you on a deeper level. Create exclusive content for your fan or group members like videos or pictures directly from you or employees. Stay on top of customer birthdays and events and snail mail greeting and birthday cards when something special comes up. It’s really an open sand box . . .

Here are your top 3 best social media tools for business. Since you all are social media experts, how are you maximizing each tool for your business? Do you feel like you’re using them to the fullest? What are some things you can do differently to be more strategic with your social media marketing? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Disclaimer: We will never share your email address with anyone, period.

About The Author

Rod Kirby

Continue Reading

For the past couple of weeks we’ve been exploring the wonderful world of social media. For most of you this is nothing new, but there are a select few that are just starting on their own journeys. My goal is to empower you with the basic understanding (and a few advanced principles) to help you be successful with your “social” endeavors.

This week’s poll simply asks, “Which Social Media Tools are Best for Business?” If you’re a social media ninja, which tools are absolute musts for being successful within the social media space? If you’re still trying to figure out how to fit social media into your business, let me know which tools you want to learn more about. If you’re currently on Facebook and have no idea how to use it for business, let me know. Also, check out 5 Tips on Managing Social Media for Entrepreneurs if you ever feel overwhelmed with it all.

Leave your mark in the poll and leave a comment or two about your answer below. See you at the polls!

Disclaimer: We will never share your email address with anyone, period.

About The Author

Rod Kirby

Continue Reading

I was actually a bit surprised with the poll results this week. I didn’t expect the majority of you to be social media ninjas as you all claimed to be.

Still, half of you get pretty overwhelmed and the other half are learning to manage it. That speaks volumes to the average reader of this blog. I’m grateful for those that are comfortable with social media . . . but I’m excited about the 25% of you who aren’t.

Why? It presents an opportunity for me to delve deeper down the rabbit hole of social media and to show you a world that might seem a bit scary to you. But, I promise, mountains always seem large from a distance. For those of you who are social media ninjas I think there are a few things I can share to enhance your ninja weaponry.

In the end this poll proved one thing, there is an opportunity to grow new muscles and enhance the ones some of us already had. No matter which group you fall into, thank you for allowing me the chance to be your social media trainer. What are your thoughts on the poll results? If you’re a social media ninja what kinds of things would you like to learn to enhance your ninja weaponry? If you feel overwhelmed with social media, what confuses you? What would you like explained? What would you like to learn? My gym doors are always open and available for your comments below.

If you missed it, don’t forget to check out 5 Tips on Managing Social Media for Entrepreneurs

Disclaimer: We will never share your email address with anyone, period.

About The Author

Rod Kirby

Continue Reading