Steve Reports

The last thing my readers need is another economic analysis report or some suggestion that I or anyone else out there flapping their jaws really know all the facts about the reason for current climate.  Ladies and gentlemen. reading those headlines and spending time analyzing the crap in the news is a monumental waste of God given talent. Stop your bitching and moaning and take responsibility for what you have control over which is your life. All change starts with one person. Do you want to know who that person is?  Look in the mirror.

If your business is suffering, if you have lost your sources of cash flow, if you are feeling tired, down, stressed or in general not very good, recognize this: it is very true that the way you feel is absolutely a direct result of how you think.  Don’t believe it?  OK by me if you want to be a martyr.  For those of you that want to take responsibility here is a quick 5 Step Plan to move forward fast:

A Five Step Speed Action Course For Achieving Your Goals In Changing Economic Times:

1. Recognize that most people you meet and talk to are going to be bitching and moaning about something or multiple things. Don’t play in that sandbox.  There are a small group of people totally optomistic about the unlimited possibilities. These are the people you want to “hang out” with.  So you don’t know anyone like that?  I’ll tell you one source where I have met some wonderful people. Register for an account at www.Facebook.com  and www.twitter.com   You can begin by adding me (Steve Pohlit) as a friend and if you don’t think I am wonderful, you will soon find a large number of people who are.

2. Understand the dynamics of doing business are always changing. Since 1994 with the introduction of the Internet browser, the rate of advancement continues to accelerate. Do you remember a few years ago where Google Adwords was all the rage for on line marketing? Do you know the impact social networking is having on the Adwords market?  When you look at the financial results of Google the impact may not seem obvious because Google is still the 800 pound gorilla.  But if you become active in the social networking markets like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and nearly daily growing rate of others you will see changing trend lines. I recently activated a site www.youtubemastery.net  that begins to teach people how to use video to market their business and products on line. I can’t imagine recommending that even as recently as three years ago. I know at that point there were some progressive internet marketers using video but to encourage brick and morter businesses to use it would not have been very credible for me at that time. Now it would be irresponsible if I didn’t recommend it and teach it.

3. Nothing is the same forever…nothing.  I am very familiar and experienced with using eBay stores as an adjunct to selling physical products using internet sites and retail stores. Several years ago the eBay model seemed to be an unmovable foundation for the auction business. In the last two weeks I was asked for my expert evaluation of a global trading platform that is very popular in the Europe. The person who contacted me was considering making a commitment of money and time to this business that is scheduled to enter the US.  When I started studying this model I was amazed to discover that most of it was a completely new way of lookng at auctions and while I am not personally a person who has an interest spending time on landing an eBay deal,  I can see myself playing in this new areana.  Now since its origin is Europe, I had some difficulty understanding it. Once I thought I “got it” I developed an explanaton which you can see at www.dublian.com   The point is whether you are a multi-billion dollar business, an entrepreneur, or an employeed person with a company you feel is well established for the long term, don’t fall into the trap of complacency.  I’ll bet 6,500 people employed by Wachovia felt their position was secure until they discovered in the papers that their employer lost over $8 billion and was cutting their job. Nothing is permanent.  My strongest advise with every business is the same: be very aggressive in taking care of current customers and growing market share.  Do you think that advice would change under different economic conditions? It hasn’t and it won’t

4. If you are running a business with employees you should be very consistent on your expectatons for performance. It seems that when revenue and profits are under pressure, management starts taking a close look at employee performance. In some cases they don’t even care they just cut.  Just cutting is rarely justified and is analogeous to removing a body part if you want to lose weight. That approach is just plain stupid. There is no change in the guidance here: The formula is A-P=V  which stands for actual minus plan = variance.  There must be a person accountable for each key variance in your business. That is how their performance is measured. Is it a simple as that. Yes and no which is why companies engage my me and my firm for assistance.

5. If you are repsonsible for a business that is really feeling financial and cash flow stress, every day you wait to call for assistance is a waste of very precious time needed to define and execute a turnaround plan. I have written about this before and will write about it again because it is a fact. Please visit www.turnaround-consulting-firm.com or call me direct right now at 727-587-7871.

The blessing of a changing economy is that is results in an opportunity to re-evaulate how you are running your business and your life.  The people reading this either accept that they are responsible for what happens to them or blames everyone else. For a long time I had the mind-set it wasn’t me. Four years ago I concluded that mind-set was completely incorrect.

Accept The Responsibility and Take Action Starting Now!!

Sending all my readers the energy of wellness, peace and abundance.

Steve Pohlit
http://www.stevereports.com

Don’t Miss These Free Reports from my new business consulting site:

The Top 10 Action Stops That Will Make Your Business At Least 50% More Money in 90 Days or Less While You Spending Less Time Working Click Here For The Free Report

The Key Issues That Must Be Addressed Before You Buy Any Business of Any Size. Click Here For The Free Report

Steve is the President of International Business Consulting Resources. His firm specializes in guiding companies to rapid increases in revenue and profits with a sustainable growth rate. Don’t miss my FREE Report: How To Make More Money With Your Business Now and Long Term I am building my practice and welcome new client inquiries. Call me for a fee consultation at 727-587-7871 Remember many of my business building articles can be found at Steve Reports and my prosperity building tool (best tool ever for helping you manifest your goals and dreams) is The Prosperity Tool Chest and guiding articles posted very often at Prosperity Tip

Just Released from my new business consulting site: The Key Issues That Must Be Addressed Before You Buy Any Business of Any Size.

Click Here For The Free Report

Steve Pohlit
http://www.stevereports.com

Steve is the President of International Business Consulting Resources. His firm specializes in guiding companies to rapid increases in revenue and profits with a sustainable growth rate. Don’t miss my FREE Report: How To Make More Money With Your Business Now and Long Term I am building my practice and welcome new client inquiries. Call me for a fee consultation at 727-587-7871 Remember many of my business building articles can be found at Steve Reports and my prosperity building tool (best tool ever for helping you manifest your goals and dreams) is The Prosperity Tool Chest and guiding articles posted very often at Prosperity Tip

Earlier today I published a Free Report Titled: The Top 10 Action Stops That Will Make Your Business At Least 50% More Money in 90 Days or Less While You Spending Less Time Working

This information is based on the exact program I use with companies of all sizes and have experienced extraordinary results. You are able to begin take action immediately with this 10 Step Road Map and start to make a lot more money with your business.

There are a number of very valuable bonuses including a very special one that I add at the last minute in celebration of my daughter’s graduation from Ohio State on June 8, 2008.

Use this information starting today and contact me if I can be of any assistance.

Sending all my readers the energy of vibrant health, happiness and prosperity.

Steve Pohlit
http://www.stevereports.com

Steve is the President of International Business Consulting Resources. His firm specializes in guiding companies to rapid increases in revenue and profits with a sustainable growth rate. I am building my practice and welcome new client inquiries. Call me for a fee consultation at 727-587-7871 Remember many of my business building articles can be found at Steve Reports and my prosperity building tool is The Prosperity Tool Chest

This call is in connection with a product promotion. I am not an affiliate. I paid attention to this call because I know Frank Kern and  Eben Pagan are both very successful people who both overcame a number of difficult life situations.

I particularly enjoyed listening to Eben described the techniques he used for moving to a mindset of prosperity. In that regard, I have developed a tool for myself to help me consistently stay in an prosperity mindset. I named it The Prosperity Tool Chest and it is free for you to use.

Here is a portion of the email I received from Eben”

“The Frank Kern Interview was SUPER fun. If you want
to listen to the replay, and learn more about how I
built the Guru MasterMind, and what you can expect as
a member, just click here:”

http://www.gurumastermind.com/teleclass/080528_replay_kern.asp

Sending all my readers the energy of vibrant health, happiness and prosperity.

Steve Pohlit
http://www.stevereports.com

Steve is the President of International Business Consulting Resources. His firm specializes in guiding companies to rapid increases in revenue and profits with a sustainable growth rate. I am building my practice and welcome new client inquiries. Call me for a fee consultation at 727-587-7871 Remember many of my business building articles can be found at Steve Reports and my prosperity building tool is The Prosperity Tool Chest

Stephen Pierce’s blog is dTalpha The content is mostly Podcast If you have an iPod or an iPhone subscribe to his dTalpha podcast at iTunes. Twitter fans heads up - Stephen announced a beta site that shows what is hot on twitter. I am not giving the URL’s here on the same day they were released by Stephen. You will need to listen to today’s Make More Money Monday podcast. Have a pen and paper or do what I do and that is I open up a new tab in Firefox for each site he recommends then I go to the site as he gives it. I then can spend more time with it later.

My business is showing people with a business how to make a lot more money. Every week Stephen offers suggestions that will help all size companies. This week is no different. There is a trends site, a stories site and a video advertising site that should be relevant for just about everyone. He also recommended several very cool niche sites for fans of twitter, adsense and selling on eBay.

The following is what I posted in response to today’s podcast:

Stephen, very cool suggestions.

I am a twitter fan (follow me at http://www.twitter.com/stevepohlit) so I am particularly interested in the beta site you mentioned. Also I am definitely checking out the trends site and stories site you suggested. Of course I have notes on all your recommendations and as person who works with people with varying business interests in my efforts as a build business profits consultant, I never know when one of your recommendations that may not be topical for me at the moment is perfect for a client.

This is a reminder that all dtalpha fans are welcome to contact me for a complimentaty consultation on their business. Of course this will need to be scheduled but I can generally get to you within 5 business days of receiving an email (stevepohlit@gmail.com )

One final thing - if you didn’t get Stephen’s Mind Power University package you should revisit that decision right now. I don’t know if there is still a special price or not but there is some powerful material in that package. Thanks Stephen

Steve Pohlit
http://www.stevereports.com

Steve is the President of International Business Consulting Resources. His firm specializes in guiding companies to rapid increases in revenue and profits with a sustainable growth rate. I am building my practice and welcome new client inquiries. Call me for a fee consultation at 727-587-7871 Remember many of my business building articles can be found at Steve Reports and my prosperity building tool is The Prosperity Tool Chest

This week BusinessWeek published a business blogging article titled Beyond Blogs. Actually it was a follow on to a business blogging article originally written in 2005 which has received a lot of attention. (Click Here to read the current Business Week article)

As a major advocate of blogs, blog technology and developments since 2005, I was very interested in what the authors had to say. Certainly there was good content in the article. My reply that follows addresses what I believe to be the number one issue on people’s minds that spend time using blogs, blogging and now participating in social networks. At the conclusion I provide the advice I give to clients. Please take a few minutes and comment on this topic.

(this is what I posted on BusinessWeek.)

Increasing numbers of people feel the value in being connected. I think many still struggle with how best to use these networks and technology. While continuing to make connecting and receiving information easier, how should a business or person best navigate this information?

In that respect I don’t think the principles of research and investing time have changed. I advise my clients (and do this myself) to focus on those key areas of business and personal interest and build from there. One very important point: this is a “givers gain” world which is a great development. Like many others I provide guidance and content that was once kept secret and came with a steep price tag.

With increasing volumes of very valuable free contet, what are people happy to pay for? The answer has been and continues to be the same. They pay for value as measured by results. I am delighted to build my practice on a results driven model. I am also very grateful for the developments of social networking, blogs and for authors who write great articles like this one for BusinessWeek.

Steve Pohlit

Steve
http://irconsultinginc.com

Steve is the President of International Business Consulting Resources. His firm specializes in guiding companies to rapid increases in revenue and profits with a sustainable growth rate. I am building my practice and welcome new client inquiries. Call me for a fee consultation at 727-587-7871 Remember many of my business building articles can be found at Steve Reports and my prosperity building tool is The Prosperity Tool Chest

I instantly wanted to study the placement, the presentation and the copy. So the follow on question is did this presentation sell beds?

The company is not a client so there is no way for me to know for sure. My guess is that it is a very successful campaign even thought the copy is not very good and the graphics are just OK. So what makes me think the ad was very successful?

A two page foldout in a magazine published to appeal to wealthy people with the catch that $64,950 is for one bed is in itself intriguing. I am guessing those who have $100,000 in petty cash become very interested in this bed.

This article is not about a bed. The lesson is to appeal to your target audience. The company handcrafting this bed is not running the ad in ValPak. The placement is in a prestigious publication consistent with the quality and pricing of the product.

Valuable lesson. Pay close attention to ads and junk mail.

Sending all my readers the energy of vibrant health, happiness and prosperity.

Steve
http://irconsultinginc.com

Steve is the President of International Business Consulting Resources. His firm specializes in guiding companies to rapid increases in revenue and profits with a sustainable growth rate. Many of Steve’s business building articles can be found at Steve Reports and his prosperity building tool is The Prosperity Tool Chest

Email Steve or call him directly at 727-587-7871

The ‘100% Satisfaction Guaranteed’ button means that osInteractive LLC guarantees the product you’re purchasing. We want you to be pleased with your purchase from us. We have a 100 percent customer satisfaction guarantee for template purchases to ensure that you are completely satisfied that the final product you buy is exactly as described in your contract, and that it will not be defective.

osInteractive LLC provides the following satisfaction guaranteed products and services:

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Our 100% satisfaction guarantee is about more than refunds; it is about a promise to deliver total satisfaction. We believe that products should come with free, long term support, and this support is part of our company ethos.

Steve

A professor writes for iMedia regarding the viability of paid search. Click Here for the link

This is a perfect example of professors teaching principle based on academic research vs. actual experience. I encourage you to read the entire post and my response. The following is what I published. ………………………

Hello and thank you for the post and data. Regarding the data on blogs I am wondering if it captures the blog hosted on a server supporting a domain name. For example http://www.stevereports.com is a Wordpress blog platform hosted on space I lease. I set it up without going through the Wordpress site. Seems to me this would distort you analysis.

The substantive issue of your article is on paid search. I just spent a year with an eCommerce business model where paid search continues to be an important part of the marketing strategy. Every campaign was carefully constructed and revenue vs. cost was continually monitored. To give you an idea of volume the company invests about $15,000 a month in paid search.

The results continue to exceed forecast. As long as there is profit after cost of the ad and cost of the product sold the ads will continue. As this is written the performance of paid search is very lucrative for the business.

Marketing strategy is a meaningful component of The Profit System I developed to help companies improve revenue and profits. I continue to recommend and assist clients with the implementation of paid click advertising.

Steve Pohlit, Business Development Consultant
http://www.stevereports.com

Lynn Pierce is a wonderful business professional and is  successful author, speaker, business coach and more.  Click Here for more on Lynn

In a blog post today Lynn writes (excerpts - click above for the complete post): “It doesn’t matter if it’s an experienced speaker making the transition from fee based & keynote speaking to public speaking or if it’s someone just starting out who wants to be a speaker, author or Internet Marketer, they all seem to be struggling with the same key issues.”…..

“One thing is that the new people just getting into this industry of information marketing are spending thousands of dollars learning how to build a list or how to blog & podcast or they’ve gone to speaker training, or learn how to do teleseminars or how to drive traffic and they still don’t know what their topic is.”

In all fairness most people who are passionate about business, marketing on line and off line and developing their own independent business are buyers.  I am still a buyer and plan on attending even more events in the next 12 months. Each time I go to an event I buy products and consistently buy products that appear interesting. In many cases I want to see what someone else is doing.  I may be able to adopt some of their content to what I am working on. I think I am doing a better job of knowing my topics.

There is deeper issue and this is my comment to Lynn’s blog post:

….Hi Lynn, hope you are doing great. Your post presents several very interesting topics for discussion. That by the way is an great way of generating interest and attention on a blog based site.

There is no question that focus on a topic matter is very important. I think it is important to realize that if your topic is one that others also focus on that is good. The market is telling you there is demand. I know I have side stepped topics in the past because of “this has already been addressed” only to see someone else recycle the topic in a new package.

My thinking today as I continue to move forward with my consulting practice where I show companies How To Increase Revenue and Profits by 30% or More in 90 Days or Less with my process called “The Profit System” is that the dreams and desires of the individual must be met or anything that is successful will be short lived.

Using your example of a speaker who wants to take their keynote and develop it into an information product, if their motivation is the money it is likely going to be a mediocre product. There needs to be a passion about what we do that is in alignment of who we are. This is the reason I am now adopting my work with The Prosperity Now Program into my professional practice.

I welcome all to stay current with the developments of The Prosperity Now Program by registering at http://www.prosperitytip.com

Of course I love to be followed and reciprocate at http://www.twitter.com/stevepohlit and always looking for more friends at Facebook.com , LinkedIn.com and MySpace

May you experience you pure potentiality in all areas of your life.

Steve Pohlit, Business Development Consultant
http://www.stevereports.com

The following is my comment to the 4-21 broadcast by Stephen Pierce on his dtalpha talkback site (For my readers don’t miss some of the key points from his broadcast following my comments:

Hello Stephen - I normally do not go back to information posted that I did not have time that day to review due to time constraints. However, Stephen Piece is an exception. The value you offer is tremendous.

Very interesting list of 7 resources for Make More Money Monday. I am creating an Action Plan Tracker for this broadcast. All are welcome to consider http://www.actionplantracker.com Once you see how this work you can create your own action plan trackers, submit ones to me and I will add them to the site with full credit to you (great link backs) and more.

But first another blog entry at http://www.stevereports.com unconditionally recommending everyone subscribe to dtalpha.com

I am grateful for what you are giving Stephen.

Steve
http://www.prosperitytip.com

Here are a couple of the recommendations Stephen made:

Advertise your blog in your email signature using Blog Sigs (looks really cool)
If you are a blogger, install Zemantra and see how this will help you.

You really should listen to Stephen describe each of the seven resources he recommends in the broadcast.

Next: Look for my comments to Jack Welsh on his latest advice in Business Week on Dealing With A Downturn.

From my Prosperity Tip lessons:

May you experience your pure potentiality and live the life of your dreams.

Steve Pohlit, Business Development Consultant and Coach
http://www.stevereports.com

Stephen Pierce announced on his podcast today that he has been sued by The Tony Robins organization. Click Here for the full story.

Tony and Steve market very prosperous self help and self development material and each of them has had their respective life challenging situations that most people do not think about when they see or listen to their resources. So what happened?

I can share with you what I believed happened based on my experience with clients and my own experiences with attorneys which is significant. In summary, no matter what they say attorneys are in the business of generating fees. Let me restate that as I would like you to really get that point: Attorneys are in the business of generating fees!!

Outside of criminal behavior, which is not the topic of this article, I am not aware of an instance where a business matter cannot be first resolved by the two relevant parties. On the flip side of that in every instance where I have seen one party say: “I’ll just let my attorney handle this” what happens is a drawn out circus that double, triples, quadruples and more the cost of the matter.

Tony Robins vs. Stephen Pierce is a great example. Based on what I heard if someone from Tony’s office had simply picked up the phone or sent an letter requesting clarification from Stephen I cannot imagine this matter getting to the point of a lawsuit. However, an weakness in the Tony Robins organization allowed for a small matter to mushroom into a public spectacle.

So what would I do if I were Tony Robins?

Assuming what Stephen says in his podcast is true and it is hard to imagine him twisting the facts, I would immediately withdraw the lawsuit, issue an apology and dismiss the people who decided to take this action. I would take one final step and that is to make sure no legal action is taken without full disclose of the facts and my personal sign-off authorizing moving forward with the lawsuit.

What would I do if I were Stephen Pierce?

Nothing different. Stephen is broadcasting his position in this matter and if the lawsuit goes forward he will have to respond.

Summary Story and Advise:

I was at a board of directors meeting for a $10 Billion dollar company during which a very sensitive matter was being discussed. I will never forget the one side presenting what was clearly a well rehearsed point of view that was developed by lawyers. After the presentation, one very notable board member stood up looked directly in the eye of this other very powerful person and said Mr.____ I have achieved a measure of success in my life (which was an understatement) and if I had listened to my lawyers I would be out of business today.

I will never forget that day and placing that in context, there are times when we all should seek the advice legal counsel . However, I close with restating the point I made at the start of this article in a different way: I have never seen a business situation where the substantive points could not be resolved between the two parties first and then turned over to the lawyers for documentation. When business situations get turned over to the attorneys first, deals get killed, costs accelerate at warp speed and a lot of time is wasted.

If you are ever in a business situation where you feel you need the advice of an attorney, make damn sure you have received the best business advice first.

From my Prosperity Tip lessons:

May you experience your pure potentiality and live the life of your dreams.

Steve Pohlit, Business Development Consultant and Coach
http://www.stevereports.com

In Part 1 the size of the social networking market today was introduced with specific reference to the rapid rise of Facebook in just over three years. Successful social networking includes opening the doors to your life. This seemed natural for the early adopters of social networking, but for many others today,it is not and is still not natural. I pointed out the leadership role John Reese has taken to introducing Facebook to his huge list and beginning to share parts of his previously well guarded life. John’s posture as well as others has a ripple effect on the business community.

In Part 2 I disclosed that relationships are the primary reason I feel social networking is a valuable use of time. I remind myself and share this view with you that in any relationship, you have to do your part. I accept total responsibility for those relationships that have fallen by the wayside in my life. I am not repeating those mistakes including ones developed in my world of social networking. People active on the social networking sites are giving and giving and giving more. That is real positive energy circulating. I have chosen to be with that energy flow.

In the last of this series I am opening the door to the more notable of my experiences in just three weeks of being active on Facebook. I am not holding anything back. There have been many wonderful experiences. I didn’t maintain a list and will probably remember others after this is published. These will provide you a good view of my experience in a short time. Sequentially:

1. I posted pictures of an event in Orlando and immediately a person who I have tremendous respect for messaged me and asked “Steve where is the car?” I then knew that John Reese was following certain information I was posting. The car was John’s Lamborghini. I have a picture of me and John with his car from that event. I found the picture and posted it. That brief communication reinforced for me that I wanted to make sure that everything I was posting would be viewed in a positive light by whomever decided to read it.

2. Travis Greenlee published a series of videos on growing your network on Facebook. He did a terrific job and I spent 30 minutes watching his series and taking notes. I developed an action plan tracker from those videos that I posted to the Action Plan Tracker site. I began working those action steps. Travis liked it - I am not sure that many of the 2,000 people in his network paid that close attention to his work . Welcome to the world of social networking. You can put the value out there but most people will not pay attention to it. We still live in a “give me the magic pill” society. I digress.

3. I developed the site Prosperity Tip. This is the front end for The Prosperity Now Program under development and the associated Prosperity Tool Chest which is the most powerful tool for transforming your life if that is something you want to do. That background is important because right about the time I was becoming active on Facebook I was finishing the book The Moses Code by James Twyman. There are no coincidences and one of my new friends was talking about Facebook Groups. So I thought I would look up The Moses Code group and it wasn’t formed. I formed it immediately. The next morning there were maybe 6 members with me and my daughter representing 2 out the 6. One of the other members is the author - how cool is that? You can join a group on Facebook reflecting your interests and start one of your own. I notice that there are a huge number of groups. Many are started and few are that active and stay on topic. If you start one, stick to the original purpose.

4. Authors I highly respect are in my network: Joe Vitale, Deepak Chopra, Joe Sugarman, John Assarof, James Twyman to name a few. Of course there are experts who are not on Facebook but many are. Do not hesitate to approach anyone to network with you. Sending them a note that you enjoy their work goes a long way to receiving a reply.

5. Nikhil Satija and I became Facebook friends. One day I noticed a short post from Nikhil and checked out what he was doing. That led to a unique joint venture for promoting a high ticket product. There is more information at his group Million Dollar Business on Facebook and at the page I webpage I set up to introduce people to this idea. ( Click Here ) Today we are working together on developing traffic flow and that is fun.

6. Another post led me to Bubble Ply . Now imagine the likelihood of paying attention to a name like that. Well this post from a FB friend led me to that site and all I can say is wow. I posted an article about this or should I say I demonstrated this technology in a post Titled “Nobody Is Talking About This …Is This off The Charts or What? ”

(Remember I am writing about things that have happened in just the last three weeks of being active on Facebook)

7. I learned about Twitter and can follow some of the activity of interesting people. Just this week I learned how to sync Twitter with Facebook using an application on Facebook called twittersync. Guess where I learned that? Correct a Facebook friend led me to that solution. Candidly I am sure about Twitter but I am active with it and I will likely write about Twitter at some future date.

8. My friends introduce me to games and applications that I never would have given any thought to. Realistically I decline many of those invitations. While they may be interesting, like many other people I make choices as to how I will use my time. However, several of those recommendations I am experimenting with and one of them looks to be very powerful and is in the category of “I can’t believe more people are not in a buzz about this!” What is it? See the next item on the list.

9. One of my newest friends is Michael Wolf. He is CEO of a UK based company that has developed a very fascinating application that assists people in 1.) Promoting their expertise 2.) Finding people for projects and 3.) Researching a question or issue. Currently this is a Facebook application. It appears to be very new as there are some technical challenges still being worked out. I am in touch with Michael and have given him details that may help his company work out the remaining issues. I will be writing an Action Plan Tracker on this application when the technical issues are worked out and I have more experience with it. What is interesting to me is that this application falls within the scope of another business model idea I had developed within 24 hours of Michael contacting me to be his friend. A great example of the Law of Attraction working.

10. I wrote about this in Part 2 and clearly this last item is the number one reason I am active with Facebook. I have 400+ more direct connections around the world than I had three weeks ago. I feel that I know a number of them quite well and our relationships are growing closer. This connection feels real good to me. One of the key principles I have taught in The Prosperity Now Program is that to me our main goal is being at peace. Yes we deserve all this world has to offer but I we are not at peace with who we are and what we have, all the money and what that can buy means nothing. At some point all of us leave all the stuff behind and what remains is our footprint on the soul of others.

Patsi, you are a wonderful lady and thank you for asking the question. I had no idea my answer would lead to a three part series, but I loved sharing this with everyone.

The close of this series is one that I use for my Prosperity Tip readers:

May you experience your pure potentiality and live the life of your dreams.

Steve Pohlit, Business Development Consultant and Coach
http://www.stevereports.com

Consider there are a lot of people who are not on social networking sites and don’t even know what you mean when you mention it. At a recent meeting of 70 people in the age range of 20-75 with most in the age group of 40-60, I was mentioning Facebook and asked how many knew what I was talking about? 20% maybe knew and 10% used it. I think that number is representative for that age group and there are reports issued validating the number of users is growing each month.

Here is a peak at my experience with growing a network on Facebook. In literally three weeks my friends on Facebook grew from 9 to 389. In my network I estimate more than 90% of the people are most concerned about what they do and have no interest in what I do after we are connected. Many (and I have done this when I started) use the Facebook system to add numbers of “friends”. When I scan my friends list and the friends of a friend list I notice very few people have posted any recent news. This tells me there is a huge group of people not very active on Facebook - maybe 90%. I am a great example. I have been a member of Facebook for about two years and have been active for three weeks.

My conclusion is that the majority of people on line are not aware of social networking sites and of the people on these sites the majority are not active. That leads me to think that for people interested in developing business, spending time on social networks is a total waste of time like Patsi suspects. But wait a minute…

Social networking on line is only a little over three years old. The initial crowd was mostly college students and to some extent people in counter mainstream niche markets. That has changed. If you do a search on your favorite author, entrepreneur, spiritual leader or celebrity, you are likely to find they have a profile on a social networking site like Facebook or MySpace. Every author and speaker that interests me has video clips on YouTube. Every artist that I have every researched on YouTube has videos of concerts and more on YouTube. I love what is available to me based on my interests. I also feel very good about my growing network.

Many of those people and I share the same professional and personal interests. How do I know that? I have formed a couple of groups and people join. They wouldn’t do that if they didn’t have an interest.

Today there will be over 400 people who can view my profile, see a few pictures and understand my professional and personal interests. I have reviewed the profiles and commented no many of them. Every new person in my network receives a detailed message from me that includes a sincere offer to help them with ideas if I can. I have received almost zero notes in response to my offer.

I also openly tell everyone I am interested in building my client base and an ideal client for me falls into one of two categories: First a company in the retail, manufacturing, distribution, hospitality, construction or transportation industry that has 25 or more employees. Companies fitting that profile are ones where I use my on site program The Profit System for increasing their revenue and profit by 30% or more in 90 days or less. Second: for smaller businesses I am offering a coaching program that leads them through many of the same processes used for the large companies, only I am doing more of that work remote so it is affordable for the small business owner, entrepreneur and solopreneur (a term I learned on Facebook) And more than 400 new friends are recognizing that I offer very nice referral fees for new business.

By the end of May my network will be greater than 1,000 and there will be an increasing number of people from countries outside of the US who are Facebook friends with me. Will all of this mean more business? I have no idea. What is most important to me are the relationships I am forming. Do I have a relationship with each person in my network. Yes but the relationships just like anywhere else vary based on our respective interests and points of view.

I will tell you an interesting story about the lady who asked the question that resulted in me writing this series …Patsi Krakoff. I have known of Patsi for a couple years because I am a subscriber to The Blog Squad Blog (and you should be too  Click Here ). As new friends on Facebook I noticed several videos Patsi  posted for her Facebook friends network  and… well let’s just say a bright, articulate, attractive woman gets the attention of this single man. So I sent her a polite message that included the question: are you married? Patsi’s reply was wonderful. I truly felt she was flattered that I asked and then she let me know that she was very happily married. Of course I  wish her and her husband bliss forever.  Patsi and I are now a little bit closer from sharing that communication. You just never know what might happen on a social networking site.

I know from personal experience that for anything to develop, personally or professionally it is important for a person to be out there, sincere and have it in their hearts to contribute to the development of the community. With that posture the energy that returns is wonderful. I believe if you sit on the sidelines you are going to witness the spacecraft take off and not be on it.

In Part 3 I will conclude my response to Patsi’s question with information on a number of experiences in just three weeks of being active on Facebook. Remember this is just one site. You are not going to want to miss this article since what I have to share actually is quite stunning even for me to think about yet alone write.

Don’t miss Part 3 and all the future editions of Steve Reports. Subscribe to my blog (top right hand corner of this page) and the articles are delivered right to your email. How cool is that?

Until then consider this:

“The significant problems that we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. ” Albert Einstein

Steve Pohlit, Business Development Consultant and Coach
http://www.stevereports.com

I enjoy blogs and one of my favorite sites is operated by Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff professionally known as The Blog Squad.

Their latest post addresses the value of social networking sites. If you are not exactly sure what social networking sites are look at Facebook, Twitter, My Space, You Tube for starters. I read that Facebook gets more traffic per month than Google and has an estimated value of $15 billion. Facebook started in 2004 so in less than four years having an estimated value of $15 billion is a great success story.

Valuation is not the important topic today except that it is an indicator of worldwide demographic trends of people connecting with people. If you spend any time at all on Facebook, MySpace or the other popular sites you will quickly understand that people are opening their previously private lives to the world. Of course there are text profiles, website links and more. What is really interesting are the pictures being posted and personal videos. Just yesterday John Reese, a very successful business professional and expert in the field of Internet marketing whose work I value tremendously, published pictures of his home inside and out. John has been very private about his personal life but is now cracking the door open on social networking sites.

Books and courses are being written about the value of social networking sites. However Patsi from The Blog Squad suggests this may all be a waste of time. She writes in part

“Last year at BlogHer Business, we heard about
Twitter. Just for fun, we both set up an account.
But it never caught on, or at least it didn’t for
me. Then I go over to Biz Tips Blog and find out
Denise has been sucked in. Even Leesa Barns of
Podcasting fame is in love with Twitter. Again,
I’m not convinced.

Curmudgeon and introvert, I’m now accepting new
friends into Facebook even though I’m not
convinced yet it will bring big business rewards.

So Denise and I are in two camps on these new
social sites for now: She’s convinced it’s worth
it, I’m still skeptical and am waiting to see how
it all shakes out.”

Patsi raises the question that has been in a lot of people’s mind. Is time on social networks time well spent? My answer is a resounding yes it is time well spent. The reason for my answer is likely to surprise you. In Part 2 of my response, I open the doors as to why social networking is very valuable. If you want this delivered right to your email you will subscribe to my blog

Until then consider this “The significant problems that we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. ” Albert Einstein

Steve Pohlit, Business Development Consultant and Coach
http://www.stevereports.com

Watch the video very closely and you will understand why I am “off the charts” with ideas and possibilities.

I was using Comment Kahuna to build some back links recently. One of the most valuable features of this free program is that it surfaces some pretty cool high PR sites. Well one of the top financial market blogs had an article by an educator with all the credentials for teaching at a top B School. The article detailed the statistical difference between profit growth and cash flow growth in 2007. The conclusion was that another indicator was pointing to economic doom and gloom.

My response was that this was a perfect example of information that is likely to be completely accurate and totally useless. This is content designed to fuel negative thinking.

The facts are there are successes all around us and we can find them in any country and any economy. There are also companies in trouble and going out of business in any economy. Personally I have worked with business doing extremely well in a recession and ones on the brink of extinction in a booming economy. What are the key characteristics of success in any economy?

Success companies:

1. Have a very clear definition of their customer base and target market

2. Have clearly established performance goals for the company that are then redefined as goals and action plans for each function within the company.

3. Assign accountability for the action steps required to achieve the goals at the functional level.

4. Measure actual vs. plan on a timetable that makes sense based on what is being monitored. Cash position for example may be monitored daily.

5. Act quickly on variances from positive and negative variances from plan.

That is about it and while there is more detail at http://www.10minutemba.net , these five steps apply to every business and the emphasis is on every.

People fall into two categories. They either manage the business using the above five steps or use excuses like: it is the economy, or the dollar, foreighn competition, I don’t feel like it, I can’t expect them to do their job today; or “we’ll get to it soon” Do you want to find the successful businesses? The next time you meet a person who has makes no excuses, doesn’t complain about external factors and is generally on purpose, ask them what business they are in. I’ll bet it is a very successful one.

Steve Pohlit, Business Development Consultant and Coach
http://www.stevereports.com

I have led companies in the retail, real estate, transportation and restaurant industries from  near catastrophe to stability and profitable growth. Companies find themselves in a dire straits position for a multiple of reasons when the economy is strong as well as weak … more so when weak.

The current business climate is tenuous and an increasing number of businesses find themselves in a profit and cash flow crunch. If you or someone you know is in that position, time is of the essence. Literally every hour that passes is critical when a company’s profit and cash flow are on a downward trend. The faster action is taken to restore the business to a positive cash flow position, the more likely it can be further strengthened to renewed profitable growth.

The following steps are the major ones that I have guided clients through who have been in this situation:

1. Stop issuing checks until Step 2 and Step 3 are completed. The exception would be payroll and any utilities if you are at the point of being shut off if the bill is not paid. If you have a trucking company you have to buy fuel. If you are a restaurant you have to buy food. If you don’t have the funds to pay “life support costs and expenses” there are still options but they would have to be addressed on a case by case basis. You want to avoid getting to the point of not being able to pay the must have expenses.  There is a wide variation of the definition of must have items. The clients I have helped were very surprised at the literal definition of “must haves” but they thanked me later.

2. Be certain as to your exact cash and liquidity position. You need a very accurate snapshot of the free cash in your bank account, the quality of accounts receivables and a precise accounts payable listing that includes all invoices. You would be surprised as to how many companies do not know their actual cash position, ignore problems in their accounts receivable balances and forget that oftentimes there are bills sitting in unopened mail and desk drawers.

3. Develop an eight week cash receipts and disbursements forecast and don’t leave one cent off of the disbursements list. If you are not sure how to do this, there is an example at 10 Minute MBA This is a core schedule that I implement with all clients and is very valuable when used properly.

4. Document an organization chart with each person’s position and compensation.

5. If the business sells a physical product, it is important to evaluate the inventory. You cannot sell what you don’t have and you can’t replenish inventory if vendors have shut you off.

6. If there are debt agreements in place understand all debt compliance covenants.

7. Identify all critical support functions. For example, the company’s internet connection, maintenance agreements on machinery and equipment and key licensing agreements if any.

The goal is to have an accurate picture of all the facts no matter how dismal they are. I can’t tell you how many times I have been blind sided by additional pieces of information that were very important in finalizing the turnaround plan.

What Actions Are Typically Taken Once There Is An Accurate Picture of Situation?

1. Cut all non- essential spending and payroll.

2. Implement a temporary reduction in pay for as many people as possible. That is always difficult and may be impractical if there is a union or a large hourly workforce. Every situation is different but normally payroll has to be cut and it is often delegated to the outside consultant to handle.

Note: many of these steps are implemented quickly. Even while the entire picture is still being developed. That is where experience with these situations is very valuable. Experts with turnaround experience know how and where to act fast.

3. With people you want to take the action one time and then meet with those that remain and explain to them what is going on and how it is going to be fixed.

4. Vendors on the accounts payable list will need to be called and given a date when they can expect a workout plan. This is not fun work even for an expert consultant. However, whatever needs to be done to save the business and restore profitability should be addressed.

5. If there is a sales staff, look to move those people to full commission status and if possible add to the staff with full commission as the compensation package. Be careful if out of pocket expenses are paid. They have to be limited and per diems in place.

6. Assign clear accountability for collecting receivables and put in place a three step collection process. In certain cases discounts are negotiated for paying early.

Notice all the emphasis at this point is on cutting expenses and build cash once that process is in place then

Work on your building business and profits plan. Make sure it is realistic and focused on the next 90-180 days. When that is drafted including the financial projections you are now in a position to negotiate with bank debt holders, capital equipment lease venders and other long term lease agreements in place.

Some clients may need to file for chapter 11 reorganization. This should be avoided at all costs since it is very expensive, time consuming and a major distraction. However sometimes it is the only available option other than shutting your doors. Chapter 11 is usually the best answer where selling assets, selling the business or parts of the business is part of the the turnaround plan.

I hope this helps and while it addresses many points there are always more depending on the business. The following is right from my Turnaround Consulting Site

Do you worry about running out of cash?
Do most of your key vendors have you on COD?
Have checks issued by your business bounced?
Are revenue trends decreasing and accounts payable increasing?
Have any of your valued employees left for a “better opportunity”?
Are you spending all of your time fighting fires?
Do you wake up at night fearing you will be out of business?
Do you fear you will not have enough cash to meet your next payroll? What about the next?
Are you thinking or have been advised that a reorganization of your business under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy code may be the answer?

“If You Answered Yes To More Than One of These Questions, Then You Need To Call Steve Pohlit at 727-587-7871 Right Now. That Is My Direct Line. I Will Personally Determine If I Can Help You Solve Your Business Problems or Refer You To Someone Who Can. This Call Will Cost You Nothing and May Well Save Your Company.”

____________________________________________________________________

There are two reasons why companies ask me for business consulting assistance:
1. They know what to do but want an independent third party experienced business development consultant to drive the process as that approach demonstrates management’s commitment to achieving the goals.
2. Management understands the need for improved performance and understands they do not have the experience to implement what is required.
3. There is actually a third reason and that is where a business is in a crises situation and turnaround business consulting procedures need to be implemented fast. Nobody likes that situation, even the consultant. However, many companies can be salvaged with the right action. Think of the what goes into action when a person has a heart attack. Timing and action are the differences between life and death.

Be Well and Prosper,
Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting
Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience running very large and medium sized companies. Steve consults with clients to design and implement processes that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. Learn more about the process of Increasing Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting 10 Minute MBA or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly. Have a question? Click Here To Visit Ask The Consultant

There is a very important fact to understand that applies to every business…”nothing stays the same”. The current business environment in the United State is one where the real estate market in general is one with declining property values, the value of the dollar is declining, and revenue for many companies is under pressure.

So!!!

Companies struggle because they continue to do the same things while everything around them is constantly changing. Every business, in theory, has a primary goal of increasing revenue and profits. The process of achieving that goal is no different in an economy that is experience major challenges in key sectors than in one that is vibrant. The introductory lessons in my 10 Minute MBA Program gives away the roadmap.

There are a huge number of examples of companies thriving and failing in both strong economies as well as weak ones. The only thing that matters for your business is what is happening in your business in relationship to the clearly defined performance gaols you have set. You have clearly defined business performance goals correct? These goals are in alignment with your own personal mission and lifestyle goals correct?

I am injecting the point about personal mission and lifestyle goals since I realized one of the key differences between many business successes and failures is the passion of the company’s leadership for the business and there is a direct link between the level of passion and the individual’s view of how the business contributes to the achievement of their personal mission.

For the record this goes way beyond achieving personal income objectives and includes: how much you really enjoy the business model; is your position one where you know you are using and developing the talents and skills you are passionate about and does your position fit in with how you want to develop the family, friends and community relationships that are important to you? I am now very focused personally and with clients on addressing the total picture of satisfaction and not just the business goals. Join the growing Prosperity Tip List that is FREE and you will be surprised at what this material will do for you personally.

Here is an example of a common situation that I have found in business. Business leadership will say, when the profits improve or when the cash flow improves or when this acquisition is done, or we fill this open position, or etc. then I will spend more time with my family or fishing or restoring my favorite antique or …well you get the idea. I submit to you the personal activity, whatever it is, never happens for those people even when those business milestones are achieved. If you are spending a lot of time with your professional mission, I hope you really love it. If you do not and you are frustrated because you are not spending time with your family, if you are not exercising like you should, if you are not enjoying your home, your car, your boat or your fishing pole then there is no way you will optimize the performance of your business. The negative personal energy will transmit throughout your organization and you will not consistently optimize your performance. If you have lifestyle issues, they need to be addressed. How do you think I know that?

Back to delivering what I promised with the headline of this article:

The Exact Steps To Increasing Profits In A Challenging Economy:

1. Set clear clear measurable performance goals for the next 12 months. For example: Revenue and profit goal is an increase of 30%.
2. Understand and instill in the culture that performance goals for the next 12 months are achieved by what happens today. All parts of your business need to be in sync with achieving the goals for the company. As and example what do sales need to be this week and this month to hit the 30% growth goal? What does gross margin need to be and with what expense structure for the 30% growth in profit goal to be achieved?
3. Each function within the business must have clearly defined performance goals and defined accountability for achieving those goals.
4. An objective performance monitoring process must be in place to identify quickly any areas of unusually positive as well as shortfalls in performance. For the revenue, gross margin and expense driver areas of the company this usually means a formal weekly meeting along with informal daily monitoring. There are exceptions and one is where there is a cash crunch situation. Cash flow is then monitored very closely daily.

There are two reasons why companies ask me for assistance:
1. They know what to do but want an independent third party experienced business development consultant to drive the process as that approach demonstrates management’s commitment to achieving the goals.
2. Management understands the need for improved performance and understands they do not have the experience to implement what is required.
3. There is actually a third reason and that is where a business is in a crises situation and turnaround business consulting procedures need to be implemented fast. Nobody likes that situation, even the consultant. However, many companies can be salvaged with the right action. Think of the what goes into action when a person has a heart attack. Timing and action are the differences between life and death.

Be Well and Prosper,
Steve Pohlit
Business Development Co