If you’re an adult and you’re breathing, there’s a pretty good chance that sooner or later, a friend or acquaintance will approach you with a chance to “start your own business,” “be your own boss,” “become an independent distributor.”

What you’ll get is a pitch for a type of business referred to as multilevel marketing (MLM) – although it may be called by other names, including network, direct, affiliate, or matrix marketing. (Because these schemes get such a bad reputation, the companies change names to make them more attractive.)

Should you try it? After all, you may not have a lot of other choices, especially if you’re out of work. And your friend is very persuasive. They tell you how much they love the products or services they sell, how supportive the people in the program are, that they’ve made thousands of dollars. They’ll offer you a chance to start your own business for less than $199.

It’s going to sound really good. You’re going to be tempted. Should you give in to temptation?

In a word: No. Stop and read this first!

First, let me explain how MLM or network marketing works and how it differs from regular sales or a regular business.

• Single-level sales. You go out and sell a product or service and you either get paid for your time, or, more typically, get a commission on the amount of product or services you sell directly to customers.

• Multilevel programs. You go out and recruit other participants. You make money not only on the sales you make but on the sales of those you recruit.

Sounds great, right? In reality, MLM programs rank high on the list of fraud schemes, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and most states’ attorney general have warnings and multiple lawsuits against many MLM programs.

That’s one of the reasons that it’s so cheap to get in: Many states regulate “business opportunities” requiring more than $200 to $500 initial investment. To stay under the radar, most MLM programs keep under that threshold.

Here’s what the FTC advises: “If a plan offers to pay commissions for recruiting new distributors, watch out! Most states outlaw this practice, which is known as ‘pyramiding.’ State laws against pyramiding say that a multilevel marketing plan should only pay commissions for retail sales of goods or services, not for recruiting new distributors.”

Even if a program isn’t fraudulent, from a business point-of-view, MLM programs share the same fundamental flaws, including:

• Recruiting competitors. No one in legitimate business wants competitors. In MLM programs, your goal is to get lots of others selling the same product or service. In real businesses, you’d pay for exclusive territories. In MLM, you recruit competitors from among those nearest to you, in your church, neighborhood, friends – your best sales targets.

• Pay to be a customer. You’ll buy products or services you sell as well as training materials. Overwhelmingly MLM revenue comes from those recruited to be ‘business owners’ within a program. I view most MLM programs as thinly-disguised schemes to find customers, not build businesses.

• You’ll face pressure. Expect to be required – or pressured – to buy samples, marketing materials, training courses and tapes, attend seminars, and more. You’re very likely to spend far more than you’ll ever bring in from sales.

• You turn your friends and family into “prospects:” MLM programs typically suggest you sell to – and recruit – people you know well. Do you really want to be constantly beseeching those closest to you?

As with any business opportunity, before investing your time and money in a multilevel marketing program, really do your homework. Ask to speak to participants who do not recruit ANY others and who sell only to non-program customers. Ask for the average and medium income, not just a few examples. And ask how much money the average person makes in comparison to the total they spend on any and all products and services related to the program (including training). If they told you the truth, you’ll find it’s just about break-even at best.

Get on the Internet and look for information about your particular program, including lawsuits or Web sites set up by people who’ve left. Check out info from the FTC and www.pyramidschemealert.org. Be careful!

Copyright, Rhonda Abrams, 2009 Rhonda Abrams is the president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books for entrepreneurs. Her newest is “Successful Marketing: Secrets & Strategies.” Register for her free business tips newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com.

In life and in business, a lot of bad stuff happens to you. Customers may desert you; competitors may steal your ideas; vendors may cheat you. You’ll get stiffed in some business deals. Whether in business or not, we’ll all certainly run into our share of defeats and disappointments, disloyalty and deceit.

There’s many ways to deal with these awful happenings, but I’d like to share my friend Ann’s advice: “Get over it, and stay over it.”

Now this advice may sound somewhat flippant, but it’s not. Into every life – and every business -the proverbial “stuff” happens. Some of it is very serious. It’s not just going to go away, and we can’t just walk away. When bad things happen, we have to deal with it. But there’s a difference between dealing with something and wallowing in it.

Don’t we all know people to whom we’d like to shout Ann’s advice? Employees who harp on situations resolved long ago? Kids who keep whining even though you’ve told them “no” 10 times? Spouses who bring up old spats like a broken record? How about those people who still blame their parents for their problems, though they’re in their 30s, 40s or even older?

“Get over it!” I’d like to yell, “And stay over it!”

Yet, we too may find ourselves stuck on old issues. If we tried making a big change – introducing a new product, opening a new location – and failed, we may be paralyzed, afraid to ever try anything new again. If we entered into an important relationship – a partner, supplier, spouse – and were cheated or mistreated, we may find ourselves mistrusting everyone. It’s easy to nurse old wounds.

But old hurts can block new ideas, new chances for success – or happiness. When we’re stuck in the past, we can’t move forward. To improve our businesses, and our lives, we have to find a way to forge ahead. So no matter what failure or setback we encountered, we have to learn how to get over it. Once we do, we have to teach ourselves how to stay over it.

That’s not easy. So how do we follow Ann’s two-step program?

• Get over it. To get over something, first you have to deal with it. You can’t just pretend it never happened.

Real problems have real consequences, and they have to be resolved.

Business failures or setbacks typically leave us with financial, credit or legal messes that have to be cleaned up. It may take a while to get those straightened out, but doing so is part of the process of getting over it. Neglecting them is a sure way to stay mired in the original defeat.

Getting over it also means trying to figure out what happened and why. It’s easier to move forward when you see what you’ve learned from a bad situation, what you’d do differently next time, what you can do – if anything – to make it better now. Perhaps you need to apologize to those you’ve wronged or forgive those who’ve hurt you. And, if necessary, say your goodbyes.

• Stay over it: This is where it really gets tough. In the short term, even when you’ve been very badly hurt, it’s easy to tell yourself that you’re over it – for a day, a week, or a month or two. But how to you put it behind you permanently?

Yes, I know, some things are impossible to forget. Failures, losses, disloyalty – you can’t just pretend they never happened. And you wouldn’t want to. It’s important to remember your past, what you’ve learned, what you’ll change.

But remembering isn’t the same thing as holding a continual pity party. Old hurts are like scabs – they heal best when you stop picking at them. When you find yourself thinking about old disappointments – feeling angry, afraid, or sorry for yourself – make yourself stop. We all have internal conversations with ourselves. Now’s the time to tell yourself, firmly, “Stay over it.”

“Get over it – and stay over it.” It’s a good message to give yourself – again and again. Because once you’re over those old defeats, you’ve got a better chance for new victories.

Copyright, Rhonda Abrams, 2009
Rhonda Abrams is the president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books for entrepreneurs. Her newest is “Successful Marketing: Secrets & Strategies.” Register for her free business tips newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com.

Feeling gloomy all the time? Fearful, pessimistic? When you look at your cash flow, do you want to crawl into bed and pull the covers over your head? That’s no way to survive and thrive in these times. It’s not good for your business, your health, your relationships.

Challenging times call for energy, persistence, optimism. But how do you achieve that when every day it seems like there’s more bad news? You take action – that’s what. And you take care of yourself.

So here’s Rhonda’s handy-dandy guide to maintaining good health and some peace of mind in these difficult times:

• Put yourself on a news “diet.” Watching story after story of economic woes isn’t going to help. You do need to be informed and stay on top of developments that could benefit you, so don’t go cold turkey on news. But set a limit (15 minutes?) on the financial news you watch or read. Then turn to more light-hearted stuff. (Will Jennifer Aniston marry John Mayer? What’s happening with March Madness?) You could use some diversion.

• Take control. Studies show that if you feel you have at least a bit of control over what happens to you, you’re more likely to be optimistic. Since so much in this economy is driven by factors we have no influence over, look for things you can do that give you a sense of doing something. Even small steps can reduce your sense of helplessness.

• Get a good night’s sleep. This is perhaps the most basic thing to do. You need a good night’s sleep to keep perspective on the things you have to face, to have the energy to keep going. Lack of sleep increases your anxiety level. Having trouble sleeping? If necessary, ask your doctor or consider an over-the-counter sleep aid.

• Cut down on caffeine and watch your alcohol intake. A glass of wine or cold beer at the end of a hard day can take the edge off, but, remember alcohol is actually a depressant, so don’t go overboard. Both too much alcohol and too much caffeine makes sleeping more difficult.

• Eat healthier. When you’re stressed, junk food can seem comforting, but you’ll actually feel better mentally as well as physically when you take care of yourself with more nutritious food. Yes, I know that fresh fruits and vegetables may cost a bit more than all that processed stuff, but if you buy carefully, you should still be able to eat healthfully.

• Get some exercise. If you’re tense and nervous, work it out. You don’t have to join a gym; taking a good, long walk or run every day will help you reduce tensions and make you sleep better.

• Make more sales calls. Make a plan to contact a certain number of past customers every day. Call your referral sources. Work the phones, send out e-mails. Keep at it, and don’t give up.

• Go through your budget. Eliminate any nonmission-critical expenses. Call vendors to see if you can negotiate lower fees (yes, including your landlord even if you have a lease). Even cutting out small expenses can make you feel like you’re doing something.

• Do, however, keep a few inexpensive goodies to keep up staff and your morale. You don’t want to feel completely deprived, nor do you want your staff to feel completely stressed. Bring in a package of chocolate chip cookies for the office staff if you no longer can afford to take them to lunch.

• Step away from those numbers! Once you’ve gone through your budget, figured out where you can cut some expenses, stop obsessing. Do not look at your finances late in the day or evening – remember, you need to get some sleep.

• Give yourself positive messages. How we talk to ourselves throughout the day helps shape our sense of well-being. Make sure you’re telling yourself some positive, true things a number of times a day. Try things like, “I can work through this; I’ve survived down times before; I’m smart and capable; I’ve got a great family and friends.” And, of course, the most true thing of all, “This, too, shall pass…”

Now, get some sleep!

Copyright, Rhonda Abrams, 2009 Rhonda Abrams is the president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books for entrepreneurs. Her newest is “Successful Marketing: Secrets & Strategies.” Register for her free business tips newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com.

Being in business takes confidence and courage, especially in times like these. Buyers aren’t buying. Lenders aren’t lending. Everyone delays making decisions, because everything seems so uncertain.

How do you – how do I – as a business owner survive and thrive in uncertain times?

At times like these, it may help to recall the old saying, “I complained I had no shoes until I met someone who had no feet.” As bad as it may be to be self-employed right now, it’s probably far worse to have an uncertain job. There are lessons to be learned by remembering exactly why you’re in business for yourself and, indeed, how much better off you have it than those people who are waiting for the corporate office to decide whether they’ll still have a job next month.

Like virtually every other businessperson, I’m also facing uncertain times. I’m in an industry undergoing dramatic changes and unprecedented threats – book publishing. In case you haven’t heard, there’s something called the Internet where lots of people now go for information when they used to buy books. And my books are sold in bookstores – like the one down the street from you that’s now closed.

Here’s what I reminded myself of the other day: I can do something about it. No, I can’t change the industry dynamics. But as a person who owns a business or who is self-employed, I can make decisions, take actions. I can help shape my economic destiny. Sure, I don’t have complete control – I may have to make major changes in my business, my expenses, the nature of my work – but at least I can do something to help keep my business alive and my employees keep their jobs. (Because, believe me, laying someone off is not something any responsible business owner wants to do.)

I compare my reality to people who have lost their jobs or are waiting to hear whether they’re going to lose their jobs. It’s not that they have no control over their destiny, but they don’t have nearly the day-to-day sense of empowerment that I do – or that you can, for that matter.

In fact, thinking about all the people I know in limbo – wondering whether they’ll have a job or not – reminded me of when I first started my business. I lived in a three unit building (a charming Victorian in San Francisco!), and in each of the other two units were single men who worked in one of the nation’s largest banks. When I decided to leave my secure job and open my own consulting practice, they were both very concerned: “It’s so risky. It’s so insecure. It’s financially dangerous.”

But every day for the next two years, I watched as the bank they worked for was first threatened by a takeover and then was sold. Every day, my neighbors shared their worries over whether they’d have a job, whether they’d have to move away. Meanwhile, every single day, I woke up and went to work creating my own future.

Within two years, they both lost their jobs, but all these years later, I’m still in business. Not the same business exactly – I’ve had to make changes, evolve. I’ve had major set-backs and financial scares. But every day, I could go to work and take some measure of control of my destiny.

I don’t usually use my column for such long personal reveries. I do so now to remind YOU of what it means to be in business for yourself. It means that every single day, you can go to work to make something happen. You may have to work harder to make a sale. You may, like me, have to find new business models in a changing industry. Or, you may have to change the nature of your business altogether.

But I have survived downturns before. I know that many of the strongest businesses were founded during depressions or recessions. I know that I – and you – can survive, thrive.

Uncertain times require you to be certain about something – that you are fortunate to be able to take some measure of control of your destiny. That’s what being in business for yourself is all about.

Copyright, Rhonda Abrams, 2009
Rhonda Abrams is the president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books for entrepreneurs. Her newest is “Successful Marketing: Secrets & Strategies.” Register for her free business tips newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com.

Call my office this Wednesday, and you’ll get the following message: “The Planning Shop is closed for our annual strategic planning meeting, please leave a message.”

Each year I take the staff out of the office and develop a strategic business plan for the year. I recommend you do the same – developing an annual business plan is a key to long-term business survival and success.

Yes, I know you think I may have to do this. After all, we’re “The Planning Shop,” and publish books and software on developing business plans. So you’d expect nothing less. But we’re true believers. It was at an annual planning session that we first identified a new market – colleges and universities – that enabled us to survive the bankruptcy of our former distributor.

Developing an annual plan gives your staff – even if it’s just you – a road map for the year ahead. The planning process forces you to take time out to set goals, evaluate changing conditions, and set a strategic direction. And it saves you money! After all, you not only choose your priorities but you eliminate (or postpone) activities that aren’t critical to your success.

How can you plan for an entire year, especially a year as uncertain as 2009? Sure, there’ll be unexpected road bumps, but in this economic environment, planning is more important than ever.

Yes, this year, there are some special concerns that need to make it on your annual business planning session agenda, including:

- Retaining current customers. Everyone’s cutting back this year, so you’ve got to work hard just to keep the clients or customers you have. Identify ways to stay in even closer touch with your customers.

- Offering lower-priced offerings. Right now, there’s amazing downward pricing pressure. Evaluate whether you can come up with a lower-priced offering to retain or attract customers.

- Responding to changing industry conditions. My industry – publishing – is changing rapidly, and we must change with it. What changes are affecting your industry?

- Evaluating the competitive landscape. Are some of your competitors dropping out? Cutting back? Can you take advantage of their weakened condition?

- Availability of credit (or lack thereof). Banks and vendors are going to be far more stingy when extending credit. What can you do to increase your cash reserves and make sure your credit standing is excellent?

As in every year, there are basic steps for an annual business plan process:

- Do your homework. Gather data on your sales, your key customers, your costs, industry trends, what’s going on with your competition. Come to your annual session prepared. (It gets easier to pull this info together after the first year or two, trust me…)

- Look at the past. Evaluate which business activities worked and which didn’t.

- List your goals. What are the biggest issues facing you that you need to tackle? What do you want to and need to achieve this year, financially, operationally, in terms of products, services, employees?

- Get specific. Make each goal as specific as possible, adding quantitative measures if you can.

- Brainstorm. Spend some time coming up with creative approaches to reaching those specific goals. This year, particularly, think of innovative ways to stay ahead of changing conditions.

- Identify actions. What steps are necessary to achieve each goal? List the key things you must do to make your goals a reality.

- Estimate costs, time and human resources. How much will each activity cost you? How much time will it take? Who’s responsible? This gives you an overall sense of the total commitment necessary to achieve your goals.

- Prioritize. By now, you’ve got a list that would take much more money, time and people than you have. So, prioritize your goals and steps. Rate highly the things you must do to survive.

- List your action plan. Based on your priorities, come up with an action plan. Schedule the month, week or day you’re going to take action on each step and what that action will be. And assign responsibility.

If you’re worried about 2009, then taking a few hours or a couple days to think through and develop an annual business plan can truly help you survive and succeed.

Copyright, Rhonda Abrams, 2009
Rhonda Abrams is the president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books for entrepreneurs. Her newest is “Successful Marketing: Secrets & Strategies.” Register for her free business tips newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com.

On Jan. 20, Barack Obama takes over the helm of the US government, and in large measure, will set the course of the American economy.

Mr. President – May I call you that already? – as you are almost certainly aware, small businesses and the self-employed represent approximately 50 percent of America’s gross domestic product. To help rebuild the American economy, you must directly and significantly help America’s small businesses.

To that end, I suggest as one of your first acts, that you adopt a “WPA”-type program for small businesses – a program that will enable small companies to adopt new technologies, adapt new strategies, expand and add jobs. (The WPA, or Works Progress Administration, was a massive Depression-era program that funded infrastructure projects, such as bridges and roads, but also programs such as job training, bringing electricity to rural communities, hiring artists and writers and funding cultural activities.)

My concept of a rebuilding program for small companies – I call it the “Grow America” program – is designed to provide small companies and the self-employed with:

- Subsidized direct technical assistance.

- Grants and loans for adopting new – especially green – technologies.

-Tax incentives for adding employees.

- An online portal for small-business information and connecting to pre-vetted service providers.

- Information and training for those who are laid off and can’t find other jobs to successfully make the transition to self-employment.

Let’s say there’s a dry cleaner in Phoenix. Right now, I’m guessing they’re struggling to adapt to new environmental requirements. They may not have a Web site or have the ability to use even simple online marketing techniques. In this economy, they’re almost certainly in danger of closing.

Instead, a WPA-program would provide a “Growth Team” to assist that small dry cleaner, helping them access government loans or grants to adopt the new technologies necessary to become “green,” and also providing pre-vetted, government-subsidized small-business consultants to help them market their business, put up a website. This, of course, would also provide work for self-employed marketing consultants, graphic designers, technology providers.

In particular, the components of a Grow America Campaign would include:

Growth teams, on a local level, to assist individual small businesses and entrepreneurs in solving their specific problems. These teams would be composed of pre-qualified service providers from the private sector, with preference given to providers who are themselves small companies or self-employed, thus creating work for those companies as well. Assisting them would be appropriate specialists such as Small Business Development Center (SBDC) counselors or Entrepreneurship professors from local universities.

A growth portal – an online portal to be the central address for entrepreneurs and small businesses to find the resources, assistance, and services they need. The online Growth Portal will be composed of:

- Exchange – to link up individual businesses with the growth teams and other service providers they need.

- Learning modules – for individuals to learn some of the skills necessary for growing and repositioning their businesses or transitioning to self-employment.

- Resources.

- Community.

Growth task force – a national commission/task force comprised of experts on a range of skill sets, such as business strategy, technology, and finance and across verticals, including green business, manufacturing, retail, and agriculture – to assist and encourage small business growth and formation, oversee the growth portal and network of local growth teams, and work with and leverage resources from the private sector to support and encourage new business formation and small-business growth.

Federal funds – to subsidize direct services to individual small businesses from local growth teams, for grants and loans to transition to or adopt new technologies, and to expand assistance from Small Business Development Centers and other small business technical assistance providers.

“Hire Your First Employee” tax credit – a 25 percent tax credit (or more) for those self-employed or new businesses to encourage them to take the step to hire their very first employee. (There are more than 20 million nonemployer businesses in the U.S.)

President Obama, congratulations on your inauguration. I know you plan to get to work immediately. I hope that one of your first actions will be to adopt a WPA-type program to help small businesses be a vital part of America’s economic recovery.

Copyright, Rhonda Abrams, 2009 Rhonda Abrams is the president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books for entrepreneurs. Her newest is “Successful Marketing: Secrets & Strategies.” Register for her free business tips newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com.

It’s time, once again, for my annual December tradition. No, I don’t mean eating fruitcake (which I never do) or sending out chocolates (which I do every year). I’m talking about cleaning off my desk and files.

Yes, yes, I know…If I were a better (or at least more organized) person, I’d clear off my desk more than just once a year. But let’s face it – I’m the kind of person who does better with “piles” than “files.” If I put something in a drawer, it’s likely to be forgotten forever. So I like to have piles of stuff on my desk.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with working this way. But I have a friend who never cleaned off his desk. After more than a decade, he couldn’t even be seen behind the piles.

So, during the last week or so of the year – when things are much quieter around the office, it’s a good time to make sure I can see my desktop – and finally get rid of the dust.

You may want to pick up on my tradition. You’ll feel better, and you’re likely to find the business card of that key prospect you wanted to follow up on.

So wear comfy clothes – jeans preferably. Go to the office. Play some lively music and start cleaning.

First, let’s get our equipment ready:

1. Two trashcans: One for trash; one for recyclable papers. As you pick up each piece of paper, if you’re not going to keep it, toss it now.

2. A shredder: Unfortunately, it’s not safe to throw some stuff in the trash. I get dozens of pre-approved credit card offers and documents containing confidential information. Shred, shred, shred.

3. Small Post-It notes and a pen: For those documents you’re going to keep, put a Post-It with the name of the file. Go through a whole stack this way and then make the files all at once.

4. Scissors and stapler or scanner: Sometimes you only want one article from a newspaper or magazine. Clip what you want and toss the rest. Scanning eliminates paper altogether.

5. An address database: Have a pile of business cards on your desk like I do? Decide which names are important and enter them into an address database. If you have an electronic business card reader, it makes the process faster. Toss the rest.

6. Computer backup system: Clean up your hard drive, too. Transfer old files to a portable hard drive. Then defragment your hard drive overnight.

7. File folders and file drawers: You need a place to put your files, don’t you? Ideally, have at least one file drawer in easy reach from your desk.

8. Label maker: Files look better with printed labels. Label makers cost less than $30, and we all love the one in our office.

Next, figure out what you absolutely must keep. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Financial documents: Tax returns or any tax filings, bank statements and bookkeeping records. My bookkeeper advised me to retain for a minimum of five years the receipts, bills, or other documentation for items I deduct from taxes.

2. Legal documents: Contracts, business licenses, county tax papers, critical correspondence with suppliers or customers, and anything that might involve a legal action on which the statute of limitation has not run out. Some legal papers, such as your company’s incorporation documents, you should hold on to for as long as you’re in business.

3. Personnel records: Payroll records, insurance documents, performance reviews, and anything else that might be necessary in an emergency, if an employee ever has their wages garnished, or if you later face a lawsuit. But be careful to protect privacy and insure against identity theft. Legally, you’re required to shred employee applications from those you did not hire.

4. Bids: You naturally hold on to supplier’s bids until the work is finished, but it’s also useful to retain even losing bids for the past year or two to keep track of pricing.

5. My columns: Hey, some things are obviously worth saving.

So clean off your desk – you’ll feel better and more energetic about facing the new year. Happy holidays!

—

Copyright, Rhonda Abrams, 2008

Rhonda Abrams is the president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books for entrepreneurs. Her newest is “Successful Marketing: Secrets & Strategies.” Register for her free business tips newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com.

Holidays traditionally offer businesses a great time to connect – or reconnect – with customers.

For years, I’ve advised readers to make the most of this time of year, and get out there and market. Yes, “marketing” took the form of parties, gifts, and cards – but that’s still marketing – a way to build and enhance a relationship with customers and referral sources.

But this year – have you noticed? – money is tight and the economy is uncertain. It’s a scary time to host lavish holiday parties or send out expensive gift baskets. Does that mean you’re going to go in a corner and pull the covers over your head?

No. You’re going to keep marketing. But you’ll do it inexpensively – and I’m here to help.

Here’s how to do holiday marketing on the cheap this year:

• Holiday cards: The least expensive, easiest thing to do is to send out holiday cards – to your clients, customers, patients, referral sources, key suppliers. A holiday card is an easy way to keep your name in front of people at little cost. Remember, choose a card with a non-religious message, such as “Happy Holidays,” unless you’re certain of the religious preference of your recipient.

Old way: Order imprinted cards and preprinted envelopes from a stationery store.

Cheap way: Shop for inexpensive boxes of holiday cards at discount retailers – even dollar stores or retailers like Big Lots. Then sign and address the cards yourself. If you have staff, they can help. If you have kids, they can help.

Unexpected benefit: Hand-signed cards seem more personal. Moreover, you have the opportunity to write a brief handwritten note on cards to make an even greater connection with some of your more important clients or referral sources.

• Gifts for clients/customers: The holidays are the perfect time to say “thank you” to those customers who’ve been important. Buy specialty food products (such as jams, sauces, salsas) and deliver the gift yourself. One particularly good – though slightly more expensive option – is to get mugs imprinted with your company’s name and fill with chocolates or jellybeans. That keeps your company name in front of customers every time they get a cup of coffee.

Unexpected benefit: You have a chance for a face-to-face meeting with key clients, enhancing your relationship. You may even have an unexpected chance to turn this into a sales call – if a customer initiates the discussion (don’t turn a gift into a sales call on your own).

• Gifts for employees. The holidays are also a great time to say “thank you” to the people you depend on every day to make your company succeed.

Old way: Give staff members a generous bonus check. Everyone appreciates cash.

Cheap way: Everyone does want cash, and if you can still give cash, do so. But if you feel uncomfortable giving a relatively small amount, give a gift of a “splurge” they’re less likely to afford themselves in this economy – such as a gift certificate for a restaurant, massage, manicure/pedicure, tickets to a sporting event.

Unexpected benefit: You’ll be supporting other local businesses. Never forget that your own business depends on the health of your local economy as well as the national economy. So spread some money around to other local, small businesses.

• Holiday party. Parties build staff rapport and improve morale.

Old way: Host the staff and their spouses/significant others for dinner at a fine restaurant.

Cheap way: Lots of alternatives here: lunch for staff only at a moderately priced restaurant, a party or open house at the office instead of at a hotel. Even a potluck dinner at your home.

Unexpected benefit: You may find your party has a warm, family feel, actually reinforcing staff rapport more than at a fancy restaurant. With a potluck, everyone gets to show off their cooking and share their favorite dish. And if you’ve got a video game system, you can all play “Guitar Hero” after dinner and give the staff reason to laugh at you for months to come.

Copyright, Rhonda Abrams, 2008
Rhonda Abrams is the president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books and software for entrepreneurs, including “Six-Week Start-Up.” Register for her free business tips newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com.

Want to get your website to appear high up in the results when someone is looking for the kind of stuff you sell? In last week’s column, I shared with you some of the basics of using search engines to drive traffic to your website.

Today, I’ll share with you some keys to ranking high.

Remember, there are two ways to appear when someone types in “keywords” into a search engine:

- Search engine optimization (SEO) – designing and writing your website to naturally rank high in search engine results.

- Search engine marketing (SEM) – paying for a listing adjacent to keywords that you choose.

In my just-released book, “Successful Marketing: Secrets & Strategies,” I’ve covered the full range of marketing tactics for small businesses. But SEO and SEM are increasingly important, as they drive highly motivated prospects directly to your website. Moreover, with SEM, you pay only for those who actually “click through” to your website, so it makes search engine advertising particularly attractive to small companies.

With both SEO and SEM, the most important step is to clearly identify which “keywords” searchers are likely to use when looking for the types of products, services, or content you offer. Then you must make sure you’ve “optimized” your site for those keywords by using them over and over throughout your site – in your content, headlines, page names, additional web pages and more.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

If you want your site to appear high in results without paying for ads, choosing which keywords to use throughout your site is critical! Choose the most narrowly defined terms appropriate to your products, services or content.

Let’s say your company creates math software for kids. You could use terms such as “educational software,” “math software,” “kids software.” But your site won’t show up high in search results because millions of other sites use such terms.

Instead, use very specific keywords – such as “kids algebra educational software” – repeatedly. Yes, use the entire phrase over and over. Keep in mind that “keyword stuffing – repeating a keyword without content or context – can get your site blackballed from search engines. So make sure you’re actually providing real information related to those terms.

Search engine marketing (SEM)

If you’re willing to pay for ads on a major search engine, such as Google or Yahoo, you’ll “bid” for placement against other advertisers who also want to be associated with certain keywords. The more you’re willing to pay, the higher in the listings your ad will appear. That’s another reason to narrow your keywords: there will be fewer competing bidders the more specific your terms are.

Even if you pay for placement, you still want to optimize your website – or certain pages of your website – for keywords. That’s because search engines still want to make sure the results, even ads, that searchers see are relevant.

Keys to improving your site’s search engine rankings:

1. Keyword density – make sure your keywords appear frequently.

2. Keyword placement (where on the page your keywords appear) – closer to the top is generally better.

3. Page titles, headlines, bold text – sites where keywords appear in page titles, headlines and bold text will generally rank higher.

4. Meta tags (the description of the content that is programmed into the code of a website) – search engines look to see if keywords are in the metatags.

5. Age of site – search engines rank older sites higher, under the assumption they were not just put there to game the ranking system

6. Links in – if many sites link to a page, search engines assume you have a good site worthy of higher rankings.

7. Quality of links in – if the links in to a page come from sites with higher rankings themselves or with heavy traffic, those links are considered more valuable in determining rankings.

8. Links out – if a page is also linking out to other sites, it is viewed as being more likely to have genuine content rather than just being a spam site.

9. Freshness – search engines look to see how recently a website’s content has been updated, assuming that newer content is of more interest to users.

Copyright, Rhonda Abrams, 2008
Rhonda Abrams is the president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books and software for entrepreneurs, including “Six-Week Start-Up.” Register for her free business tips newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com.

Editors note: This is the first of two columns on how small-business owners can get their Web site to show up more prominently in search engine results. Next week: tricks to ranking higher.

C’mon, admit it. When you put up your Web site, you had visions of millions of people suddenly clicking over to your site; the customers and money flocking in. It didn’t really work out that way, did it? That’s because people have to first find you among the millions of Web sites out there. You have to appear high in search engine results.

Sure, offline, you put your Web site address on everything you produce – business cards, brochures, ads. Since your Web site first serves current and prospective customers you connect with personally, it’s well worth having a Web site even if no one ever finds you through a search engine.

But how about those millions (or is it billions?) of strangers surfing the Web, perhaps looking for products or services you sell? How do you come up high on results on search engines such as Google, Yahoo or Live Search?

Online marketing is now so important to most businesses that I’ve included a complete section to it in my just-released book, “Successful Marketing: Secrets and Strategies” (available from booksellers or www.PlanningShop.com). This complete guide to entrepreneurial and affordable marketing includes a full range of online marketing options – including social networking, blogging, banner ads, and e-mail newsletters.

But to attract new business – people who’ve never had any contact with you in the “real” or offline world – you’ll want to learn how to make search engines point people to your site. Or, in the lingo of the Web, you’re going to have to “drive traffic” to your Web site.

There are two main ways to help your site be highly visible on search engines, and you may want to use both:

1. Search Engine Optimization (S.E.O.): Steps taken to get your site to rank highly in search results without paying search engine companies directly for placement. This is also called “organic search” because the results appear to come naturally or organically. SEO is done by carefully choosing the words, content, and design of your Web page to meet the needs of search engines.

2. Search Engine Marketing (S.E.M.): Paying for a listing of your Web site (or particular pages of your Web site) to appear at the time a user gets search engine results, typically at the top and side of other, nonpaid results. This is also referred to as “search engine advertising,” “paid search,” “sponsored listings,” and more. SEM is done by carefully choosing which search words to be associated with – then there is a process of bidding to have your Web site ad placed near those words.

Even if you intend to hire others to do SEO or SEM for you (which may be likely), it helps to have at least a basic knowledge of search engine operations as you choose what to put on your Web site and where.

Here are a few search engine basics to know:

Keywords: The words a user types into a search engine box. The search engine software then goes out and searches the Web for sites that relate well to those keywords. You’ll need to figure out which keywords you’d most likely want to – and naturally would be – related to.

Algorithms: When choosing which Web sites to show and how high to rank them, search engine software uses a set of mathematical formulas, or algorithms. These algorithms look for certain factors, such as the number of times, where, and in what context keywords appear in a Web site, then applies mathematical weighting to those factors to determine how closely aligned a Web site is to a web searcher’s likely intent. Search engine algorithms are heavily guarded secrets, continually changed and updated. That’s why you may want to hire a professional SEO expert to help you rank high if this is important to your business.

Results: Search engines return two types of search results:

- Nonpaid listings of Web sites that their own software has found that relate best to those keywords based on their own algorithms.

- Listings of Web sites people have paid to have associated with the keywords the user has typed in. These results appear at the top or side (or middle) of the results page, with some slight indicator that these are different results – such as a shaded background.

In next week’s column, I’ll give you tips on how to rank higher in those results, whether SEO or SEM.

Copyright, Rhonda Abrams, 2008 Rhonda Abrams is the president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books and software for entrepreneurs, including “Six-Week Start-Up.” Register for her free business tips newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com.

I’ve heard a lot of doom and gloom from small-business owners lately. After all, the economy stinks. Headlines scream at us: Consumer confidence is down, unemployment is up. Housing prices are down, business closings are up.

In the face of all that, I have a piece of advice, “Pull up your pants!”

Heck, those of us who have small businesses don’t have to read the news to know times are tough. We see what’s happening in our own businesses. Costs are up, sales are down. We have fewer customers, and the customers we have place smaller orders.

Nevertheless, I say again – in the words of President-elect Barack Obama – “Pull up your pants!”

In an interview with MTV during the campaign, Obama made news by admonishing young men wearing underwear-showing baggy jeans to “Pull up their pants.” He was speaking literally, but his directive was interpreted figuratively as well, along the lines of: “Stop complaining, pull up your pants, and make something of yourself.”

Now, small-business owners are the ultimate example of people who’ve pulled up their own pants and made something of themselves. In fact, a widely used term for people who build a business from scratch – like most of us have – is “bootstrapping,” meaning we’ve made it without any outside effort. In other words, we’ve pulled ourselves up from our own bootstraps. (Of course, most of us don’t know what bootstraps even are any more.)

So you’ve already proved you know how to create something from nothing, to invent an income for yourself, create jobs for others. You’ve got the skills. You’ve got the experience. You just need to regain the can-do attitude that led you to start your business in the first place.

I’m here today to remind you that you can do it. You can survive this downturn. We’re going to go through this together and come out ahead.

I’m no Pollyanna. Heck, I own a publishing company. Have you seen what’s been happening to book sales lately? I have one sister who’s in sales; her business has dropped dramatically. And I have another sister who’s a mortgage broker; her business disappeared entirely. On top of that, I know four people who got laid off last week.

I’m not sugarcoating anything. But I also know that many of the great companies we see today were started during recessions, that companies that continue to market during downturns come out of recessions with larger market share, and that your competitors are weaker and more discouraged than ever. All this means there’s opportunities out there for you.

Here are ways to pull up your pants, roll up your sleeves, and survive, even thrive:

• Sit down and plan. Get over being discouraged by coming up with a thoughtful plan of action. Bring employees (if you have any) together, look for where you can cut costs, increase sales, find new markets, retain current customers. No employees? Talk to customers, advisers, colleagues, Small Business Development Center counselors.

• Look for new markets and new customers. What potential market segments are countercyclical – meaning they do well in down economies? What customers of weakened competitors could you go after?

• Retain current customers. Put particular emphasis on customer service and working with current customers if they need to cut costs. Better to keep them yourself then lose them to a lower-cost competitor.

• Position yourself as the less-expensive alternative. Go after prospects who currently use more expensive solutions or who spend a lot of money with your competitors. They’ll be more receptive to you now.

• Look for digital solutions. You’re likely to find many ways to save money on operating and marketing costs by looking for digital or online solutions.

• Get out there and make sales. Remember when you first started your business, how hungry you were? Get hungry again.

Most importantly, make up your mind: Are you going to be one of the fatalities or one of the survivors? Are you going to let the times overwhelm you or learn to change with the times? If you want to be one of the winners instead of one of the losers, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and pull up your pants!

Copyright, Rhonda Abrams, 2008
Rhonda Abrams is the president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books and software for entrepreneurs, including “Six-Week Start-Up.” Register for her free business tips newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com.

President-elect Barack Obama:

Like all Americans, we in the small business community congratulate you on your victory and are optimistic about the hope your election brings. Now we’d like to answer your call.

On election night, you set out your vision: “There’s new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.” You asked the American people to join you in remaking America “block by block, brick by brick, callused hand by callused hand.”

Well, Mr. President-elect, small businesses live on those blocks, have laid those bricks, and know what it’s like to have callused hands. Now we’d like to lend those callused hands to partner with you.

As you set policies and a course for the future, let us help shape that future. You’ll invite corporate leaders to advise you on economic policy, but keep this in mind: the average lifespan of a Fortune 500 company is only 40 years. The future of America depends on small and new businesses.

In my nearly two decades advocating for small and emerging companies, I’ve had a unique perspective on the two types of entrepreneurs in America, and both should have seats at any policy table.

First, I literally live in Silicon Valley. I live and work next to people creating some of the most exciting companies of tomorrow. These entrepreneurs — when you talk about access to capital — think about venture capital and angel investors. They need tax policies that keep that money flowing. They need an even playing field to make sure they can compete with entrenched industries. They welcome governmental commitment to the technologies of tomorrow.

But I also figuratively live on Main Street. I travel the length and breadth of America, hearing concerns of small business owners in places like Sioux Falls, S.D., Muncie, Ind., Boise, Idaho, and Greenville, S.C. These entrepreneurs are enabling American cities to survive. Access to capital for them is their local bank, an Small Business Administration loan, tapping into home equity or using a credit card. They need a healthy credit market. And they could use help finding ways to grow — affording employees, technical assistance, reaching markets.

In Silicon Valley, I’ve seen how entrepreneurship creates wealth. On Main Street, I’ve learned a more important truth: In much of America, the only way into the middle class is to start a business. Not get rich — just make $40,000 or $50,000 a year. When the local company employing 300 people in Youngstown, Ohio, or Yakima, Wash., shipped jobs overseas — it not only took manufacturing jobs, but the marketing and personnel and procurement jobs that paid a decent wage disappeared, too.

Mr. President-elect, both types of entrepreneurs need their voices heard and can help you create a healthy American economy. We can:

• Create jobs. I’ve been advocating a “Hire Your First Employee” 25 percent tax credit. Your proposal for a $3,000 tax credit for all businesses adding employees is an excellent step, but you can help the more than 20 million non-employer businesses contribute to an economic recovery by financially encouraging them to cross that intimidating threshold of taking on an employee.

— Create agriculture entrepreneurs. I’ve met many young farmers who are re-envisioning small farms. Consumers are looking for healthier food. Let’s make it easier for them to connect. You proposed a 20 percent tax credit for those investing up to $50,000 in owner-operated farms. Let’s use this as new source of capital for small farms: So a person living in Manhattan could invest $1,000 in a farm in New Jersey, get a $200 tax credit, and receive their dividends in the form of produce deliveries. Let’s help small farmers transition into “value-added agriculture” so they are not competing at commodity prices. Let’s turn to them for innovative agricultural technologies.

• Identify and build industries of tomorrow. Small companies — often led by young entrepreneurs in unlikely places — can help you identify, pioneer and encourage new industries. For instance, there’s an emerging field of “rec tech” or recreational technology, being devised by heartland entrepreneurs. You play basketball, President-elect Obama, so you may not realize that Americans, especially young Americans, spend huge amounts of money on recreational activities requiring ever better technology.

• Devise alternative energy, environmental and social solutions. When you think of “green tech,” don’t just turn to Silicon Valley for solar energy and Main Street to install solar panels. Let’s tap into the creativity of entrepreneurs and inventors all across America.

President-elect Obama, call on us as you make your plans to restore the American economy. Can we be part of your solution? Yes, we can.

Copyright, Rhonda Abrams, 2008
Rhonda Abrams is the president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books and software for entrepreneurs, including “Six-Week Start-Up.” Register for her free business tips newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com

This holiday season, I have an important warning for every small company that sells to large corporations, especially big retailers: Carefully watch how much they owe you, and do everything possible to collect before Dec. 24.

Why?

Because I’m afraid the last week of this year will see a number of bankruptcies, even of companies that are household names.

I hate writing a column like this. After all, like most entrepreneurs, I’m an optimist. And I know that when people are fearful, the economy worsens. But my responsibility is to you – my small-business reader. And if you sell to a company that goes bankrupt – or if your customers sell to companies that go bankrupt – you could be left in a dire situation.

I’m not alone in worrying about the health of some major companies. Over dinner, a friend told me the large law firm she works for sent a memo with a list of 30 large companies they considered to be risky, warning the attorneys to carefully monitor their billings to those clients. She was shocked at the names on the list – many were stores where she shopped.

In fact, insurance companies that provide “trade credit insurance” are also nervous. This is insurance that large suppliers take out to make sure they’ll get paid if something, such as bankruptcy, happens to their customers. These insurance companies are looking at the economic climate, and reducing or eliminating insurance on some companies’ receivables.

“Business bankruptcies continued a relentless upward pace in the first quarter of 2008, and data suggests that the trend could increase even further as the year progresses.” That was the conclusion of Euler Hermes ACI, the largest provider of trade credit insurance in the U.S., earlier in the year. The recent financial turmoil has made it even more likely there’ll be a rash of business bankruptcies.

My prediction: Many of these will happen in the last week of this year. Why?

Every year, big retailers stock up for the holiday season. They order lots of goods from suppliers. You – or your customer – may be one of those suppliers. Retailers probably don’t have to pay you until January or February. Most years, that’s no problem.

But this year credit is tighter, even with the federal bailout. Over the last few years, large retailers had to keep Wall Street investors happy by showing high year-over-year growth. To do that, they rapidly expanded the number of stores or bought up smaller retailers. That meant taking on a lot of debt.

So going into this holiday season, many retailers who would otherwise be considered healthy have big, big bills and nervous bankers. And they’re facing a potentially very slow holiday season. After all, consumers are also nervous. They have lower limits on their credit cards, reduced values on their homes, and the worth of their 401(k)s has dropped. So it’s not likely to be a very merry holiday season at many retail stores.

It turns out that the last week of December is a very good time to declare bankruptcy. I should know – the parent company of my former book distributor declared bankruptcy on Dec. 28, 2006.

Why is that the perfect time for a big company to declare bankruptcy? They’ve got a lot of cash in the bank – from holiday sales. They’ve got a fair amount of inventory – the stuff they didn’t sell over the holidays. And they’ve got a big pile of bills – from purchasing all that inventory for the holidays. Once they declare bankruptcy, the bills get put on hold, but the cash stays in their bank account. That’s the ideal time for a nervous bank to call a loan or credit line.

But it means you – if you’ve got accounts receivable from these retailers – won’t get paid. Sure, you may get pennies on the dollar a couple years from now, but that isn’t going to help you stay in business in the meantime.

So, as you’re shipping out your goods to customers, carefully watch how much credit you’re giving, set earlier due dates on your receivables, and monitor payments closely. Do everything you can to collect quickly.

Don’t be alarmed, but don’t be foolish. And we’ll all come out of this holiday season in good financial health.

Copyright, Rhonda Abrams, 2008
Rhonda Abrams is the president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books and software for entrepreneurs, including “Six-Week Start-Up.” Register for her free business tips newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com.

OK, you’re going to think I’m nuts, but listen up. Because right now is a terrific time to start a new business.

Yes, I am very much aware of what’s going on in the economy and the stock market. Yes, I know credit is tight, customers are cautious, the equity in your home is plummeting, and your 401(k) is more like a 201(k). Doesn’t seem promising for starting a business, does it? But it is.

History bears me out. When times are bad for the economy, it can be a great time to start a business. In fact, 16 of the 30 companies that make up the Dow industrial average were started during a recession or depression. These include Procter & Gamble, Disney, Alcoa, McDonald’s, General Electric and Johnson & Johnson.

Let’s take a look at the years 1973-1975. At the time, the United States had an unpopular president, was in the midst of the Watergate scandal and was at the tail end of an extremely costly war that had divided the country. Gas prices jumped by nearly 50 percent in two years. Consumer confidence dropped to an all-time low.

It was a terrible time to start a business, right? Well, here are just a few of the companies started in those awful years of the early 1970′s: Supercuts, Chilis, Cablevision, Industrial Light & Magic, Famous Amos cookies, Oakley and, oh, yes, a small company called Microsoft.

Why? What makes it possible for new companies to thrive when times are so bad? Why can it be a good time to launch out on your own?

First, there’s a lower “opportunity cost.” In good times, if you already have a safe job or the company down the street is hiring, starting your own business means giving up the opportunity of a good job. There’s a cost to that: a salary, health insurance, other benefits.

Of course, if you have a good job or are offered a good job, I’m not telling you to quit to start your business now. But what happens if you lose your job or you’re just finishing school and no one’s hiring? There’s little opportunity cost in hanging up your own shingle rather than staying home and watching a rerun of “The Simpsons” or Oprah.

OK, but that might just mean creating some income for yourself until you find a job. What actually makes it a good time to start the next Intuit, Whole Foods, J.Crew, Costco, or Applebee’s (all launched during recessions)?

Here’s what happens in bad times – disruption. Disruption means things change. And things often change quickly and dramatically. When things change, there are opportunities. And entrepreneurs seize opportunities – that’s what makes them entrepreneurs.

Some of the things that are changing:

- Weakened competitors. It’s likely that many of your competitors are facing tough times, tightening their belts, perhaps retiring or selling out. Hey, even many of the biggest companies are closing up shop.

- Customers seek cheaper alternatives. When times are good, customers are likely to stick with the suppliers they’re used to – even if they’re a more expensive alternative. Now, however, customers are looking around for cheaper alternatives to get the products and services they need.

- Big corporations cut back. They slash their marketing and reduce their services, especially to “smaller” customers who might be great customers for you.

- Loyalties loosen. As competitors reduce services to customers, and as customers look around for cheaper alternatives, it means they’re less likely to be loyal even to longtime suppliers.

That means opportunities for you. Specifically, what you can do:

- Be the inexpensive alternative. Target customers who use more expensive options now.

- Market aggressively. As loyalties loosen, your competitors’ customers are more willing to jump ship.

- Innovate. Come up with new solutions, especially less expensive ones, for customers’ problems; they’ll be in a more receptive mood.

- Present yourself as an outsource source for big corporations. You’ll be less expensive than the in-house staff they’re laying off.

- Hedge your offerings by also having products and services that are counter-cyclical.

- Expand. See if you can acquire some of your weakened competitors.

In a world of good times, customers are happy, with the attitude that “if it ain’t broke, why fix it?” But suddenly, things are broke – and they need fixing. You can be the fixer.

Rhonda Abrams is the president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books and software for entrepreneurs, including “Six-Week Start-Up.” Register for her free business tips newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com.

Listen to the news, and you’ll hear words that frighten every small-businesspeople. For the first time in my life, economists and analysts talk not just about recession, but use that most-dreaded term -”depression” – and look to see how we pulled out of the Great Depression of the 1930s.

One of the most inspirational leaders of that time is one of my role models: first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Because this week marks the anniversary of Roosevelt’s birthday (born Oct. 11, 1884) it’s an appropriate time to recall some of her traits and philosophies that I find inspirational for entrepreneurs, small-businesspeople, and the average Joe and Jane facing tougher financial times.

Keep in mind that while government action is critical, our attitudes are also important. If all of us live in fear and panic mode, our economy will seize up. On the other hand, if we blithely behave as if nothing has changed, we’ll be too vulnerable to the realities of the marketplace. Instead, we must recognize reality but face it with optimism and energy.

That’s exactly what Eleanor Roosevelt did. She was a realist who never lost her belief in a better future and maintained an unflagging commitment to help make that future a reality. That’s what we have to do, too.

Eleanor’s life story reads like a novel. (In fact, her biography, written by Blanche Wiesen Cook, is a page-turner.) Eleanor came from wealth and prominence (her uncle was President Theodore Roosevelt), but her childhood was dismal. Orphaned before she was 10, her mother ridiculed her; her father was an alcoholic.

Nevertheless, young Eleanor somehow blossomed and, luckily, entered into a marriage based on mutual love to her distant-cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. That marriage quickly turned humiliating and suffocating.

Yet Eleanor found strength from her own pain to have compassion and commitment to those who were in even greater pain. During her years as first lady, 1933-1945, she was the country’s strongest champion of the downtrodden and voice for America’s Depression-era poor. She fought for civil rights, women’s rights and economic justice. She became the conscience of our society. After FDR died, she chaired the United Nations committee that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. No other first lady – before or since – made such a positive impact on America and the world.

Eleanor Roosevelt was not a modern politician. She didn’t follow opinion polls or focus groups. She learned that to be a success in life you need a set of values that guides your actions. Over the years I’ve learned that same lesson applies to business – to be a long-term success you have to be driven by values, not just by profit.

She was also a prolific writer, and we have many leadership lessons for entrepreneurs in Eleanor’s own words:

• “Surely, in the light of history, it is more intelligent to hope rather than to fear, to try rather than not to try. … Nothing has ever been achieved by the person who says, ‘It can’t be done.’ ”

• “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. … You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

• “A stumbling block to the pessimist is a steppingstone to the optimist.”

• “The things you refuse to meet today always come back at you later on, usually under circumstances which make the decision twice as difficult as it originally was.”

• “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

- “Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.”

• “It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.”

• “A woman is like a teabag, only in hot water do you realize how strong she is.”

• “In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves … the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.”

• “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

• “Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively.”

Copyright, Rhonda Abrams, 2008
Rhonda Abrams is the president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books and software for entrepreneurs, including “Six-Week Start-Up.” Register for her free business tips newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com.