ArticlesReader.com Menu
Newest Articles
Most Viewed Articles
ArticlesReader.com RSS
Submit Article
Login
Signup
Search the articles

Articles Main Categories
Advice
Animals
Automobiles
Business
Career
Communications
Computer Programming
Computers
Entertainment
Environment
Family
Fashion
Finance
Food
Health & Medical
Home & Garden
Humor
Internet Business
Internet Marketing
Legal
Leisure & Recreation
Marketing
Other
Politics
Reference & Education
Religion
Self Improvement
Sports
Technology & Science
Travel
Writing
Subscribe
Receive alert message from us when new articles submitted to our site for free.

Enter your name

Enter your email

Syndicate

















Related Products
Home::Entrepreneurialism

Are You a Small Business Lone Ranger? Take My 10-Question Quiz To Find Out!

Author : Debbie LaChusa
So what exactly is a "Small Business Lone Ranger?" A "Small Business Lone Ranger" is a business owner who does all the work themselves.



No matter how big or small the project, the Lone Ranger handles 100% of it. Either because they're afraid to let go of control or because they feel they can't afford to hire help. Can you relate? I know I can!



So what's wrong with doing everything yourself? Well it's tough to grow your business if you're busy managing every single detail. I know it's a bit scary to let go of control or to consider actually hiring help, but I also know it's necessary if you want to grow your business to its fullest potential.



Take my 10-question quiz to determine if YOU are a Lone Ranger. And don't worry if you are, I've got some suggestions to help you rid yourself of this business-stifling affliction!



1. Do you work alone?



2. Do you feel no one can do your work quite as well as you?



3. Do you often feel there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done?



4. Do you maintain your own website?



5. Do you do your own accounting and billing?



6. Do you write your own sales and marketing copy?



7. Do you get your own mail?



8. Do you buy your own office supplies?



9. Do you create or deliver all your products and services by yourself?



10. Do you fulfill and ship all your sales yourself?



I think you can see this list could go on and on and on, but you get the idea. So if you answered "Yes" to most or all of these questions, guess what, YOU ARE A LONE RANGER! That's okay, I've been one, too.



When your business is small you have to wear many hats because you can't afford to hire help. But at what point do you make a decision to start delegating tasks to someone else? ANSWER: When the time you're spending on administrative tasks involved in keeping your business running prevents you from spending time growing your business.



As a business owner, you should aim to spend at least 60% of your time marketing. You are the BEST person to market your product or service. And marketing is the only way your business will grow and flourish. So if you're too busy paying bills, getting the mail, responding to email and running out to pick up office supplies, then guess what? You don't have time to market. And your business cannot grow.



So what's a Small Business Lone Ranger to do? Here are 6 tips:



1. Make a list of all the tasks that don't require your specific expertise or talent (things like sorting mail, buying office supplies, and filing).



2. Make a second list of the tasks that consume a lot of your time but are OUTSIDE your specific area of expertise (things like maintaining your web site or managing your business finances and accounting).



3. Determine how many hours per week you spend doing these tasks.



4. Determine what additional sales and marketing, or other business-building activities you would have time for if you didn't have to do these other tasks.



5. Estimate how many additional clients or sales you could generate with this extra time spent on marketing and building your business.



6. Make a decision to hire an assistant, bookkeeper, web site manager or whatever specialists are appropriate to handle these tasks. Determine what you can afford based on your results in Tip Number 5.



I know you're probably wondering how you'll be able to afford it. But really, we can't afford NOT to hire help. Unless we are satisfied with keeping our business small. And don't get me wrong, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that — I've done it for seven years. But if you have a bigger vision (like I do now), then you need a team to help you make that vision a reality.



To start with, your team should include an assistant to do the work that is not a good use of your time. This doesn't have to be a full-time employee; I'm starting out with someone just a few hours a week. You'll also want to get a bookkeeper and a CPA to manage your finances — they'll not only free you up from your accounting tasks, they'll also help you keep more of what you do make.



So take a moment to get a clear vision of what kind of business you want to create. And if that vision is larger than you can accomplish on your own, take the six steps above to get a team to help you make it a reality.



(C) Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChusa


Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com





20-year marketing veteran Debbie LaChusa created The 10stepmarketing System to help small business owners and solo-preneurs successfully market their business, themselves without spending a fortune on marketing. To learn more about this simple, step-by-step program and to sign up for her FREE audio class and FREE weekly ezine featuring how-to articles, tips and advice, visit www.10stepmarketing.com





Spam emails More free articles

Related articles


  1. 10 Tips for Would-be Entrepreneurs
  2. Fear of Failure
  3. Envisioneering
  4. Dream It, Create It, Become It! Design a Dream Board
  5. Entrepreneurial Traits that Drive Sales
  6. The Cockroach Test
  7. Online Women Entrepreneurs Need To Pace Themselves
  8. Lessons Learned from One Entrepreneur on Vioxx
  9. The Desire For Money, Do You Have Business Sense?
  10. Walt Disney's Failures Could Inspire Entrepreneurs
  11. Part-Time/In-Home Business - Low Expense and Low Risk
  12. Executive Suites - A Way To Save Cash
  13. Surviving the Three Pitfalls of Business Ownership
  14. Starting a Company on a Shoe-String Budget
  15. Use Your Youth To Your Advantage
  16. Why Every Student Should Start a Business
  17. Franchises - Emotional Fulfillment - The Challenge
  18. Bring That Difference To Your Business!
  19. Curb Your Enthusiasm
  20. Be an Entrepreneur
  21. Youth Entrepreneurship, A Disappointing Truth
  22. Before Getting A Franchise
  23. Franchises - A Proven Business System
  24. Great Tips Of Choosing An Office
  25. Is Now the Right Time to Become An Entrepreneur?
More related feeds
Are You A Small Business Lone Ranger? Take My 10-question Quiz To ...
I know it’sa bit scary to let go of control or to consider actually hiring help, but I also know it’s necessary if you want to grow your business to its fullest potential. Take my 10-question quiz to determine if YOU are a Lone Ranger. ...

Are You Sabotaging Your Marketing Success?
Are You Missing Out On Free & Easy Marketing? Are You A Small Business Lone Ranger? Take My 10-question Quiz To Find Out! A Marketing Lesson From Tv’s The Apprentice; 5 Tips To Help You Market When You Think You’re Too Busy ...

5 Tips To Help You Market When You Think You’re Too Busy
Are You A Small Business Lone Ranger? Take My 10-question Quiz To Find Out! A Marketing Lesson From Tv’s The Apprentice; 2 Ways To Eliminate Your Competition – It’s Easy! What Is Entrepreneurship? Ebooks And The Entrepreneur.

Are You Missing Out On Free & Easy Marketing?
Are You A Small Business Lone Ranger? Take My 10-question Quiz To Find Out! A Marketing Lesson From Tv’s The Apprentice; 5 Tips To Help You Market When You Think You’re Too Busy; 2 Ways To Eliminate Your Competition – It’s Easy!

A Marketing Lesson From Tv’s The Apprentice
Are You A Small Business Lone Ranger? Take My 10-question Quiz To Find Out! 5 Tips To Help You Market When You Think You’re Too Busy; Article Marketing: Is It Worth It? Article Marketing: Marketing Made Easy; Mistakes.

Help! I Don’t Know What To Name My Business
... Customers: The Key To Successful Marketing; Are You Sabotaging Your Marketing Success? Are You Missing Out On Free & Easy Marketing? Are You A Small Business Lone Ranger? Take My 10-question Quiz To Find Out!

Customers: The Key To Successful Marketing
I Don’t Know What To Name My Business; Are You Sabotaging Your Marketing Success? Are You Missing Out On Free & Easy Marketing? Are You A Small Business Lone Ranger? Take My 10-question Quiz To Find Out!

are you a small business lone ranger? take my 10-question quiz to ...
are you a small business lone ranger? take my 10-question quiz to find out! so what exactly is a "small business lone ranger?" a "small business lone ranger" is a business owner who does all the work themselves. ...

Random Rodricks: You're from Bawlmer if . . . - Dan Rodricks' blog ...
I grew up in Bawlmer. Lived in Fells Point, went to St. Stanislaus, them we moved to Hollandtown and I went to Our Lady of Pompei. I wonder if any of my goombas are out there. I went to Hampstead Hill Jr High. My first job was cooking ...

Gazing at the Flag: Free Phone Cards for the Troops!!!!!
You can get a free phone card sent to the troops. To do so, you have to take a 10 question quiz on Bill O'Reilly's site - it takes two minutes and it doesn't make any difference on how you score and they don't ask for your name. ...

 

 

© 2007 articlesreader.com - All Rights Reserved