In years past, if you were in business, you were excited and rolling high until a competitor came in to town and started chewing away bits of business. So many businesses feared their competitors with a scarcity mindset.

It was a “Dog Eat Dog” world.

But times have changed. Funny thing is that they really didn’t. It’s just that the standard business owner has now realized what successful business owners have known for a long time.

It’s not about competition. It’s about collaboration.

Businesses that are succeeding in today’s world are forming alliances with similar businesses to create synergy that isn’t possible without the cooperation of each other.

And when done right, both businesses can create even more profit and growth than they would ever have been able to do on their own.

Its the old 1+1=3 model.

So how can you create synergistic alliances for your business?

Create your “Hit List”. Who are the top 25 people you could work with that serve the same types of clients you do?

Maybe someone that is similar and might be considered a competitor but actually has a different unique specialty that you lack. Maybe another business in a totally different industry that serves the same clients you do.

Sit down and make a list of who those perfect partners might be for you.

That’s where you start. Those 25 are just the tip of the iceberg Find your first 25 and see how you can work with them to help grow each others business together as a team.

You will be amazed on how fast you can grow your business just by focusing on these relationships and less on how they might steal your business.

Do you have a daily ritual?

Most people have them.

They get up.
Take a shower.
Get dressed.
Make coffee.
Etc.

You know the drill.

But when it comes to marketing, most business owners don’t have daily ritual for their marketing.

The one thing I ask my clients religiously is…

“What have you done to market your business today?”

When we start most respond with a “huh?”

You need to develop a habit of doing just one thing each and every day that will help market your business. They don’t have to be big things. Just simple things. Here’s a few things that you can do in 30 minutes that will help you get going.

• Write a blog post
• Write an article to publish in the local newspaper
• Follow up with last week’s prospects
• Send a thank you card to a client
• Email a promotion of one of your products
• Follow up with the people you met last week networking

These are just a few things you can do and all of them can be done in under 30 minutes.

I like to write and do a lot of blogging on my own sites and on other sites as a guest blogger. I also like to batch it all up and block off 2 hours to write all the blogs I want to submit for the week. Since, one I get in the creative writing flow it’s just easier that way, it works well.

But you don’t have to block off 2 hours. Just 30 minutes.

Make this your “30 Marketing Minutes”

As you may have heard, it takes 21 days to develop a new habit. Once you do this, you’ll be more likely to keep up with it and have a lot more success with doing it daily.

Start today!

Block off 30 minutes to dedicate to marketing. Turn of off the phone, close Facebook and don’t read any new email.

Just block that time to be as effective as possible dedicated to marketing your business.

So many business owners don’t take the time and don’t schedule time to really do the marketing they need to for their business. They get stuck in the rat race and putting out fires all day. They tend to think of marketing only when they don’t have enough business and are in desperate mode.

The best thing you can do is schedule your daily marketing time first thing in the morning. Do it before you get sucked in to the day to day stuff. This way you are ahead of the game and get it done first.

For those of you that really don’t like marketing much, (and I don’t know how you couldn’t), this way you get it done first. As Brian Tracy says “Eat That Frog”.

It will amaze you how much of a difference you will have made by just taking that “30 Marketing Minutes” and adding it to your daily ritual.

You see, marketing is something you need to do on a daily basis. You can have a great product but without marketing, you’ll be out of business.

By just taking a few steps each and every day you will set yourself up for success.

As we are heading in to the New Year, everyone has goal setting on their minds. What do you want to achieve this year? What are your hopes and dreams?

The problem is that many of us, myself included, set a goal and then work towards it… sort of. Only to loose interest and then get discouraged because we didn’t complete the goal.

The thing about “setting” a goal is that it’s too bland. It’s been done to death.

I want you to look at it a little differently.

You should not be goal setting… You should be goal “planning”

You see, a plan has a roadmap. Plans are the blueprints for the future.

If you plan a party, you make a list of the things you need to make it happen.

• Where are you having it?
• What things do you need?
• Who are you inviting?
• What time is it?
• What day is it?
• What’s the attire?

Planning for growth in your business (or personal life) is the same.

You look at the big picture for the end result you want and then you create a process and outline of what you need to make it happen.

Look at just one of your goals for the new year.

Then I want you to make a list of what you need to make it happen.

As Brian Tracy says, “Chunk if down”

By breaking the goal down to each of the actionable steps and needs along the way, you see what you need to do in order to make that goal a reality.

Plan out exactly what you need.

• How many sales do you need per month?
• How many visitors to your website?
• Who will be on your team?
• Who will you network with that can help?
• What is your message?
• Who are you helping?

All these things go in to play in creating a plan that is not only easy to follow but much more likely to become reality.

By doing this, you don’t need to look at the big picture any more. Big picture thinking is great and that’s how the best things advancements in life come from, but then you need to then plan it out.

Break it down in to small daily tasks that are more manageable.

Then schedule what of these smaller tasks will be done when and by whom. This now not only gives you a goal but a plan of attack for any goal that you set. Roam wasn’t built in a day and neither will any goal worth setting be.

By planning out the process involved with the goal, you can reward yourself along the way. Small rewards and congratulations help with the motivation and drive to keep going and moving on to the next chunk. And… one step closer to your goal.

By simply shifting your mindset from “goal setting” to “goal planning”, you are planning for your success and laying the foundation to make it happen.