Part 1: Sue Berk of Sue Berk Designs

Sue Berk Designs, founded in 2002, makes painted ceramic crosses, frames, and baby blankets. Sue Berk had no formal art training, but always had a love for it. Her background includes a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas, working in high tech marketing and product management, renovating houses, and making her own tiles for home renovations.

I think the most important thing that Sue Berk did was make the jump from a service-based business (where she was hand-making all her own ceramics for customers) to product-based business (where she could replicate her product in mass quantities). Service-based businesses limit your income because you can only make as much money as you have hours in your day. Sue could only paint so many items in a single day, and the more she painted, the less time she had to live the life she wanted. Switching to a product-based business allowed Sue’s income to take off while still allowing her to enjoy the rewards of seeing her designs in customers’ hands.

Website: Sue Berk Designs

Read the whole article at How to Make Six Figures

Part 2: Mike Koenigs of Traffic Geyser

Mike Koenigs got started at an early age, teaching himself how to program at the age of 14. His first company, Digital Café, a multimedia agency that produced games, movie websites, and other interactive experiences. He’s created over 300 web sites and more than 30 products, and has a quite impressive list of clients under his belt. Mike is also credited for inventing the "Internet Infomercial" for marketing and selling products or services with video on the web.

Mike Koenigs does two things that I really like:

1. He solved a problem in his own life, and then went to help other people like him solve the same problem. For every niche entrepreneur out there, there are many others who are in the same boat and have the same struggles you do. Being a DIYer who solves a problem for yourself puts you in an excellent position to solve that problem for others in your situation. Also, by serving people similar to you for your product, you already have an excellent understanding of your target market.
2. He takes a lot of notes. Whether you use a notebook or a mind-mapping program, I have found that jotting things down serves a record of my ideas and helps me process or refine an idea. Sometimes I see my notebook as a business colleague that I am bouncing ideas off — the ideas are inside me and I have the power to bring them to market, but I need a sounding board to help me refine and clarify them.

Website: Traffic Geyser

Read the whole article at How to Make Six Figures, Part 2

Part 3: Matt and Emily Griffin of Bakers Edge

Matt Griffin came up for the idea for his specialty brownie pan in 1998, but didn’t launch the company with his wife until 2002, and didn’t get the pan to market until 2005. They followed a very unconventional path, from winning an ideas competition (and $25,000 in cash from VISA and MSN), to being picked as one of Oprah’s Favorite Things.

I think Matt and Emily Griffin are an excellent study in perseverance — their product took 5 years of thought and processing to come to the market, but they still did it. Many people think they have to be first to the market to have any success, but a solid idea with a strong plan will make it whether it takes 1 month or 10 years.

Website: Bakers Edge

Read the whole article at How to Make Six Figures, Part 3

Part 4: Steven Woolley of ooTunes

ooTunes doesn’t have an exciting website or celebrity endorsements, but it is the #2 iPhone app of 2010 on CNET and one of Tech Digest’s Top 10 apps for 2009. Steven Wooley’s one-man software development team created an app with an average of 4 stars on 798 ratings with raves on both the app’s functionality and on Steven’s customer service in adding new features and addressing problems.

Steven Woolley is proof that you don’t need heavy funding to launch a serious business — he got started with nothing but a laptop and iPod, both of which had been given to him as gifts! You also don’t need many products to keep your business running strong, as Steven only really makes money from one. The important part is that he works hard on the one product to make it the best it can be, so that his customers keep giving him rave reviews and the sales of his app continue.

Website: ooTunes

Read the whole article at How to Make Six Figures, Part 4

Part 5: Rob Walling of Software by Rob

Rob Walling has been building web applications professionally for 10 years, working as as a consultant, a freelance developer, the development manager for the City of Pasadena, and a team lead for the world’s largest prepaid credit card company. His current "internet portfolio" includes sites like Dot Net Invoice, Wedding Toolbox, and Apprentice Lineman Jobs.

The thing that stands out about Rob is DIVERSITY. He doesn’t rely on any one income stream to meet his monthly numbers, which softens the blow to his finances if one of his sites doesn’t do well in a given month. I think Rob should also be applauded as being one of those small business owners that keeps the economy strong, as he not only pays himself income, but also employs virtual assistants (VAs) to help him run his day to day operations.

Website: Software by Rob

Read the whole article at How to Make Six Figures, Part 5

Part 6: David Wood, author of Get Paid for Who You Are™

David Wood is fast becoming one of the foremost voices in online marketing and lifestyle design, having built a rewarding hobby into a million-dollar online empire that allows him to work and play from anywhere in the world. His book and website helps entrepreneurs turn their passions into rewarding careers by building internet businesses. He breaks his launch plan into five simple steps, and incorporates giving back into the overall vision of building a business.

I think David is spot on when he describes his only limit as being himself now. When you work for yourself, as I do, I have the choice of launching my idea today or one year from now. All I have to do is decide to "feel the fear and do it anyway" (as David says), push through it, and get it done.

I also like that David had so many coaches assist him along the way. So many solopreneurs think they have to do everything on their own, but that isn’t true. It is important to build your own tribe (colleagues, friends, coaches, or financial advisers — whoever it may be!) to see you through your business. Just find the key people who you need to succeed in your business and surround yourself with them.

Website: Get Paid for Who You Are

Read the whole article at How to Make Six Figures, Part 6

Courtesy of ContactMe.com

Starting a Small Business

• How to Write a Great Business Plan
  Sure, you might be able to start a simple business without a business plan if you are not looking for funding, but writing out a business plan is an important step to help you clarify your offerings and goals with your business. I have seen many businesses fail from a lack of focus and direction.
• How to Choose the Right Colors for Your Brand
  From your website to your business cards, the colors you choose shape the opinions people will form about your business. Even if you are hiring someone else to create your branding, you should read this article to know what to watch out for.
• 10 Things to Do Before You Start Your Start-Up
  Planning is an essential part of starting a new business, so do your research before you start your business to save you from a lot of costly mistakes down the road.
• How to Write a Marketing Plan
  Even the most innovative products on the market can die a slow and painful death from a lack of sales. The difference? People who meet their sales goals have a clear marketing plan, which enables them to make the right move at the right time.

Your Home Office

• The Basics of Home Office Design
  Some people can just grab a laptop and go, but I find that I am more productive when I use a space that is designed for working. Mine happens to be in half my bedroom, which would kill some people but it is a good location for me. The goal is to design a space that works for you and meets the needs of your business.
• How to Set Up a Home Office
  This one goes into detail about tax deductions for home offices, which is an important consideration for those who work at home.
• Deducting Your Home Office Expenses
  Knowing what you can and can’t deduct off your taxes before you set up your home office will empower you to make more financially sound decisions for your business setup.

Running a Small Business

• How to Run a One-Person Business
  If you’re looking to run a one-man (or one-woman) show, you’re going to need a variety of skills to get the job done.
• 25 Ways to Jump-Start Your Business
  Has your business become stagnant? Get it going again — fast! — with these hints and techniques.

Sales and Marketing

• How to Improve Your Cold-Calling Skills
  I know that I generally do well on a sales call, but I only make warm calls (and I dread those anyway). The ability to turn a call into a sale without seeming like a pushy salesperson is a valuable business skill that everyone should have.
• How to Manage a One-Person Sales Force
  An efficient system is vitally important to a successful solopreneur business. This article will show you how to get there.
• How to Make Money on Etsy
  Are you a crafty person? You can make a great living on Etsy, selling your handmade goods, if you start with some sound business principles and some marketing know-how.
• How to Use Social Networking Sites to Drive Business
  The key to successfully using social media is to drive sales for your business is creating an efficient system so that you are not wasting all of your valuable time online.
• 7 Common Sales Mistakes, and How to Avoid Them
  By learning from others’ mistakes in sales, you can set your business up to be more successful from the start.

Your Web Site

• 7 Deadly Website Sins
  Before you spend money (or hours of your own time) on a web site for your business, read this article to educate yourself on the issues you should avoid.
• How to Design a Great “About Us” Page on Your Website
  This article is a great read for two reasons: 1) The About page is an important piece of your web site; and 2) The process of writing the About page will get you thinking about your marketing messaging, business goals, and how you will sell yourself both on- and offline.
• 10 Vital Items You Should Give Your Web Designer
  I’m not a big fan of the term "web designer" being used here, but gathering this type of information and handing it over to your designer/developer/marketing lead will save you from having to redo the site a day after you finished the first version.

Small Business Inspiration

• And the Money Comes Rolling InMarkus Frind started Plenty of Fish out of his home, in his spare time, and now his site serves up over 1 billion of pages a month and he pays himself $5mil USD a year.
• How Would You Like to Make $6 Million Sitting on Your Couch?
  Paul Mann runs Fetch! Pet Care, a service with thousands of employees all across the nation that brings in over $6mil in revenue yearly — and he does it all from his home.
• How to Make a Million in Your Pajamas
  If you think you can’t make "real money" working from home, think again — not only are entrepreneurs making sustainable income from their homes, they are increasing their profits by saving on overhead for their business.

That, dear readers, is what I would call a marketing fail. You don’t need a degree in marketing to tell you that people can’t buy from you if they don’t know what you are selling.

Example #2: The picture above is from the side of a local barbecue trailer near our downtown. This trailer was parked on a major thoroughfare in Eugene, which also happens to be a one-way street. A large percentage of the population of this city drives down this street every day, and since they are all driving the same direction, they can all see the side of this trailer. I drove past it several times before I finally stopped to figure out what the truck actually said (and snap this photo on my phone). The problem is that the business has chosen fonts with non-standard letters, displayed in a non-standard fashion (the half-circle), with letters that are outlines instead of solid colors, and the whole thing is too small.

What do these two example have in common? Rather than worry about branding, a tagline or the colors in their signs, they probably would be doing considerably more business if they just put their name and offer in a black, Arial Bold font on a white background. As it is now, I doubt I am the only one who can’t read these signs while driving my car, so they are wasting time and losing money with them.

I think people get so hung up on the look of the marketing piece that they never stop to think, “Hey, does this make sense?” If you are paying someone to stand on a street corner with your sign or paying for a premium high-traffic location, is the wording on the sign clearly visible to everyone passing by? Oregon is known for its rain — is the sign clearly visible in all weather conditions? Is the sign simple, contain a clear call to action, and does it actually bring in any customers? If the sign is for outdoor use, is it quickly readable from a distance? Is the name of your company in large, clear print? Think about it — when you are driving your car, how much time do you really have to glance at a sign? There is a reason why all the street signs in town are in a boring font on a solid background.

As I couldn’t leave this article with just two local marketing don’ts, I found this picture of Mattress Mania on 11th in Eugene. They are a good example of what a brick-and-mortar sign display should be when they are in a great location with heavy car- and foot-traffic: clear, easy to read, visible in most lighting conditions, and instantly recognizable as to what they offer. Combined with their zany commercials on local TV, they have created a simple, effective, and clearly recognizable marketing campaign.

I came across the article Guidelines for Going Self-Employed on workawesome this morning, and it feels like they are leaving something out. Sure there are disadvantages to being self-employed, but they are not as bad as the article makes it seem. Here’s the reality of self-employment from my own perspective:

Salary

A guaranteed paycheck is just not guaranteed anymore. I started out my working life in the days of the dot-bombs in Silicon Valley, and I was out of a job every 4 months or so. Today’s economic environment is equally volatile, but it is more widespread across all industries. The problem with working for someone else right now is that you are relying on their decisions at a time when only the fittest are surviving. Is it really "job security" if you are relying on someone above you to make the decisions that are best for you and your family?

I also think it is a myth that you need several years to turn a profit. If you are a smart entrepreneur, bootstrapping your own business, you can turn a profit right away. I made a profit my first month in business because my business model has very low overhead, and I kept my investments smart. There are ways of testing the water and earning income without having to dump large amounts of money into a business that you won’t get back for several years.

Benefits

Benefits for group plan insurance are no longer cheap, nor fully paid for in most companies, so a "regular job" is not a guarantee of benefits. Small businesses also have new offerings in insurance because insurance companies finally got smart and pooled smaller businesses together to look like one large group plan. To get around this problem entirely, just get married to someone with a regular 9 to 5. It has worked well for me for about 7 years now.

Vacation

The article makes it seem like taking a vacation is impossible, but I don’t think that is true at all. I manage to go on daytrips and longer vacations with my family throughout the year, and I’m the only employee in my business. In fact, I don’t know one self-employed person that doesn’t go on vacations. Being self-employed makes vacations easy because I don’t have to ask for time off in advance or get permission to take a trip from anyone. If you are self-employed and finding you can’t take a vacation, try some of these strategies:

• Find another you.
  I’ve made a lot of friends in the business over the years, so I have someone I can call if I need some help with a client while I am gone.
• Take mini-vacations.
  Instead of spending a month away from home, break it up into several trips throughout the year.
• Go wireless.
  Handheld devices are getting smaller and more powerful, and wifi networks are widely available. With tablet PCs, smartphones, iPads, laptops, and other wireless devices, there’s no reason why you can’t check in with work from the road or respond to an emergency if you need to.

Freedom of Schedule

I can’t really just take off half a day whenever I want, as the author made it seem, but I do have the option of picking my kid up from school, taking a park day, and doing most of my work from 9 am to 1 pm and 9 pm to 1 am. That flexibility is what made me decide to work for myself in the first place, so that I can have the family life I wanted and be there for my kids.

In Conclusion

While working for myself is not always a walk in the park, it is really not as scary as the author made it seem. I love it and have been doing it for over six years now. It really has been the best choice for me and my family. I wouldn’t want it any other way!

Flickr photo by ShashiBellamkonda.

I learned a painful (and expensive) lesson recently, courtesy of Google Checkout. If you are a small business providing services to your clients, please read the rest of this story to decide for yourself whether or not you will risk offering Google Checkout to your clients as a payment method.

For most of my projects, I take two payments — a 50% deposit at the start, and the rest around 30 days later (or at the site launch if that comes first). This method seemed like a good compromise with my clients, decreasing the financial risk for both client and developer. The deposit is generally non-refundable under most circumstances because it pays for my time helping the client determine the course for their site, and I put a lot of time and effort into site planning.

Last spring, I started a project under these terms and accept a deposit through Google Checkout. Due to communication issues, the project progress stopped. (I won’t go into details here because this article is not about placing blame.) The client wanted 100% refund on his deposit, but I explained that I had already spent time on the project and could not offer him that. He opened a dispute through Google Checkout, in which we went back and forth for a while. I offered to give him all my notes, plans, and theme files for the project so that he could take them to another developer to complete the project. He refused, saying those files do him no good and that he wanted a website. I relented, offering to finish the site if he would close the dispute. He did not close the dispute — he wanted either 100% refund or a site. Not being able to trust him with an open dispute, I let the project go.

Months later, the client decided he still wanted his money back and he disputed the charge with his credit card company. I got a notice about the pending action and wrote up a lengthy response to the matter, sending in my earlier offer, my refund policy, and all of the ongoing conversations with the client as evidence. Google sent me a response a few weeks later, telling me that I had lost the dispute and that they were withdrawing the amount from my account in addition to a $10 fee for losing the dispute. Their reasoning was basically that their payment protection did not apply to service-based transactions. Regardless of the case I argued, I would have lost. He got his files and my time for free, and I was left with a -$10 balance in my Google Checkout account.

But the pain didn’t stop there. I had recently switched around my accounts after my bank increased fees on accounts, so the account Google tried to take the money from was no longer valid. Google then sent me a letter stating that if I did not repay the amount within 10 days, they would shut off all my Google services. As I use Google for Analytics, Gmail (Google Apps for Business), Feedburner, etc., I had no choice but to immediately pay up the amount plus the fee.

If you have a service-based business, I strongly suggest that you use PayPal if you want an easy credit card processing system. As a solo entrepreneur, I don’t do enough credit card volume to warrant having a merchant account solution, so I rely on 3rd party credit card processing. PayPal does a good job with seller protection and their dispute process, so I will be continuing on with them.

I have already removed all Google Checkout links from my site, and I will no longer be using my account there. Their fees are the same as PayPal anyway — I only started with them to offer my clients a choice and because Google automatically deposits the money into your account within a few business days. (With PayPal, you have to manually transfer it after receiving money.)

There is just no excuse for letting a buyer get a full refund on their purchase months after they made it. Google Checkout’s system would allow someone who purchased a site 6 months ago to get a full refund on it if, say, their business wasn’t working out or their traffic didn’t build the way they wanted it to (both of which have nothing to do with the developer who made the site). Clients shouldn’t be allowed to get automatic refunds just by disputing the charge with their credit card company.

For your protection, don’t do business with Google Checkout if you are a service-based business.

Flickr photo by Patrick Hoesly.

So what do you do when this happens? I’ve basically come up with a plan to get myself out of this productivity funk. It’s worked before in the past, so I’m hoping it works again. (I’ll let you know in another month if it worked this time!)

The Bad Habit Breaking Process

Have you found yourself in a low-productivity time? Try these tips:

• Go through the motions.
  I may not be writing my best material at this moment, but the time I am spending just going through the motions on a daily basis will help to get my mind working in that manner again. This is true for any task: whether you have been neglecting your calendar, not replying to e-mails promptly, or letting your voicemails pile up, going through the motions will get you back into good habits.
• Start a new, energizing habit.
  As we’re having some toddler schedule issues over here, I stopped walking in the afternoons. I think this lack of exercise was contributing to me feeling drained. So I have started walking her to the sitter in the mornings, letting the fresh air wake me up and get me ready for my day. I can also listen to business-related podcasts on my iPod after I drop her off, so that helps me to be in the right mindset by the time I get home. You don’t need an hour walk to help you start a new habit—perhaps just take a brisk 10-minute walk in the morning to get the fog out of your head and get yourself ready to start the day. Or, if you are a gym person, try going to the gym in the morning vs. the evening to increase your daytime productivity.
• Reduce or eliminate procrastination and distractions.
  For more on this, check out my ongoing special Less, the Series.
• Take a mental minute.
  If you feel your mind starting to get clouded, try a one minute, eight minute, or three minute meditation to bring yourself back into clarity.
• Eat power foods.
  Sometimes bad habits include dietary changes as well. I know that when I get particularly busy, I start relying more on convenience foods instead of making myself nutritious meals when I am alone here during the day. By getting back to healthy summer fare, like fruit from the farmer’s market, vegetables from my garden, and whole grain products, I can increase both my energy level and my productivity. You don’t have to start your own garden to enjoy this benefit—perhaps try reaching for a salad or a smoothie instead of a greasy burger next time you stop somewhere for lunch.
• Switch gears if you need to.
  If you’re really stuck on one project, there’s just no sense staring at your screen for hours. Go on to the next thing on your to-do list (or, just some easier thing on the list) and come back to the harder task later. Sometimes the action of doing work will get you in the right mode to work on harder tasks, and sometimes that boost of happiness from checking off something on your to-do list gets you motivated to tackle the hard stuff. Either way, you’re getting things done.

The Bottom Line

For your business to succeed, you need to make sure that temporary dips in productivity are just that—temporary! Good luck, and if you find any other tips that work for you, please leave a comment below to let everyone know!

A while back, I had a bit of a rant regarding the idea of the Location-Independent Professional, the person with no ties who could work anywhere in the world without responsibilities. The concept of the "responsibilities of the entrepreneur" took on a whole new meaning for me in this past month, with my business being on reduced work and this blog being pretty much shut down. What these 2 things, the "Location-Independent Professional" and me shutting down this blog, have in common is that they both are entrepreneurship based on a strong Life Plan.

The Life Plan

There are many thing that will come up in entrepreneurship that have a potential for changing your direction: you may be offered a position with another company, the economy might change, or you may be presented with new opportunities. This is why creating a life plan as your first action as an entrepreneur is vital. When a new opportunity comes up, I can look back at my life plan and decide if this new direction fits with my life plan, first and foremost.

I found that the hardest part of creating a life plan was the soul-searching involved in deciding what it is in my life that makes me truly happy. For example, everyone would like more money—but does more money actually make you happy? Speaking at a conference also sounds nice in print, but it would be nerve-wracking not only to speak in front of a large group, but to have to leave my daughter and get on a plane. So the important part is to look inside yourself and decide what truly makes you happy in life, and then put that into words to create your life plan.

Your Life Plan in Action

I didn’t really believe in the power of having a life plan until my first test of it came. Once you have created your life plan, how do you use it? Well, you can use it in several ways:

• Use it to create your Business Plan
  Does your life plan include a lot of time spent outdoors? Then don’t create a business that requires many hours spent in an office, or find ways to delegate those tasks which would bring you inside. Does your life plan include picking up your kids from school every day? Then use it to shift your business hours in your business plan.
• Use it to weigh opportunities.
  I was offered a job at nearly twice my salary a while back, but it would have required me to spend several hours a day commuting and about 60-70 hours a week in the office. As my life plan includes family issues (including stopping work at 1 pm to play with my daughter) and environmental issues (like conserving gas by not driving), I was able to reaffirm my goals and pass up the job despite the temptations of the salary.
• Use it to set long-term goals.
  Some budding entrepreneurs find themselves stuck in their current job for financial or other reasons. Having a life plan helps you to keep focus as you set intermediate goals to help you achieve the life you eventually want without getting discouraged by your current situation.

People Matter

I was reminded of all this today when I was reading Rob May’s changes in business thinking, where number 1 was "Relationships, relationships, relationships". While he was talking about business relationships, it is the people in your life that really make life worthwhile. I have had a lot of great projects since 2005 when I went into business for myself, but the money I made pales in comparison to watching my daughter grow from a tiny egg to the smart, capable 2-year-old that she is today. Twenty years from now, taking the time to be with her instead of working a 70-hour week will still be the best thing I ever did in my life. I am glad that, despite the opportunities I was given to do other things in life, I stuck with my life plan and didn’t miss out on moments like these:

(laughing in bed, in the dark, march 2008)

Additional Resources

• Creating a Life Plan from StartupNation
• The Life Plan Worksheet from Inc.com
• Personal Goal Setting from MindTools

Reader Questions

Do you have a life plan? What does it include? Has it helped you?

Editor’s Note

Sorry for my "extended vacation" from this blog. Hopefully I’ll be around more now, but I can’t promise anything!

To hear the complete series, follow these links:

• Marketing your Website #1 of 5: Focus on Content and Code
• Marketing Your Website #2 of 5: Participate and Network
• Marketing Your Website #3 of 5: Build Your Word of Mouth and Viral Marketing
• Marketing Your Website #4 of 5: Create Press and Write Articles
• Marketing Your Website #5 of 5: Sync Up with Search Engines and Online Tools

If you would like to download the podcast series directly, you can control-click (or right-click on a PC) these links and save them to your hard drive:

• Marketing your Website #1 of 5: Focus on Content and Code (mp3)
• Marketing Your Website #2 of 5: Participate and Network (mp3)
• Marketing Your Website #3 of 5: Build Your Word of Mouth and Viral Marketing (mp3)
• Marketing Your Website #4 of 5: Create Press and Write Articles (mp3)
• Marketing Your Website #5 of 5: Sync Up with Search Engines and Online Tools (mp3)