I’ve had a hard time sleeping at night because I have so many wonderful and exciting ideas flying through my head, and I think you can shift your burnt out feeling to that same excitement if only you learn how.

The Holidays are about the spirit of things.

This is about getting in the right mindset and being happy with what you’re doing. I believe it’s possible to get excited and channel that into your small business for genuine happiness and success.

Watch the video to learn more about what’s been working for me:

1. Saying thanks shows your customers that you care.
2. When you show you care, it shows that you realize that they could have chosen to get your service or product from anywhere else.
3. Saying thank you gives you a good reputation.
4. You seem presumptuous if you don’t say thank you.
5. Saying thank you is polite.
6. People like it when you are polite.
7. Saying thank you will psychologically make you feel more thankful.
8. Being thankful makes you appreciate what you have much more.
9. Customers like feeling appreciated.
10. Saying thank you is not hard.
11. Saying thank you is not expensive.
12. You can say thank you for the smallest of things and it will only make people smile.
13. Saying thank you acknowledges that you are nothing without the people who support your business.
14. Saying thank you can be done in many different ways.
15. Saying thank you with words shows that you’re not afraid to show your appreciation in person.
16. Saying thank you with a customer loyalty benefit shows that you are not afraid to show your gratitude by returning a favor.
17. Providing a loyalty benefit shows that you’ve really thought about how to show your thankfulness in a mutually beneficial way.
18. Customers respond well to loyalty benefits as a form of saying thank you.
19. When you say thank you, it opens the conversation to get constructive feedback. “Thank you, what can we do better next time?“
20. Saying thank you establishes a relationship.
21. Relationships, when treated with care, can last a long time.
22. Long time customers are the most valuable to any business (finding new customers is expensive).
23. Saying thank you can turn a customer’s bad mood into a good mood.
24. Remembering that a transaction put them in a good mood increases the chance of a return purchase.
25. You can say thank you with a handwritten note, which is inexpensive but very personal.
26. Personal touches are a great way to care for those long term relationships.
27. Thank you can be said immediately after a purchase.
28. Thank you can be said months after a purchase, even if you said it already at the original time of purchase.
29. Thank you never loses its value.
30. By saying thank you at every opportunity, you will get better at saying it right.
31. Saying thank you will make you realize how much others help you in your journey to success.
32. Not saying thank you will build resentment from your customer, whether they realize it consciously or not.
33. Saying thank you will make you stand out among other businesses.
34. Saying thank you again later will remind the customer that you are there.
35. Saying thank you again later will remind the customer that you provided a pleasant experience.
36. A real thank you is generally unexpected.
37. Receiving unexpected VIP treatment is something for a customer to talk to friends about.
38. Saying thank you shows the care that you put into your business.
39. Customers like to know that they are supporting a business that cares about more than weaseling money out of them.
40. Receiving a thank you note after the fact shows that they were still being thought of kindly.
41. People like to be thought of kindly.
42. Not saying thank you indicates that you are ungrateful.
43. People do not like being treated with ingratitude.
44. Quality of service goes a long way.
45. Thank you can be said publicly, shining a spotlight of gratitude on a customer.
46. People like to be recognized for doing something good (and sometimes that spotlight will genuinely help their own cause, which is even better – supporting those who help you is ideal).
47. People who like to be recognized for good deeds may see another customer being highlighted and decide they’d like to be highlighted too.
48. There are endless ways to say thank you, making it a goal to say it a new way every day will open new doors for you.
49. Saying thank you makes you a grateful business.

One last thing: Thank you.

…I figure now would be an right time to tell you how much I appreciate you as a reader.

As you know, I just quit my job to help you and your small business become a rockstar. You could read anybody else’s blog. You could find the information I have to offer somewhere else. I’m not the only one who knows what I know. (And there will always be people who are smarter than me.)

Yet, you spend the time here on my blog every week, because you are that awesome.

For one reason or another you’ve decided that I’m the one who can help you figure out what you need to know.

(I hope that it’s because you believe in my passion and share my idea that small businesses should be able to succeed and allow each of us to live a life that we love.)

I am extremely grateful and will be forever in your debt because without you, I wouldn’t have a flying chance to make any difference. Every time you read my post, every time you share a video, every time you mention me in a Tweet, it truly makes me smile on the inside.

I wish that I could give you a hug every time I see that you invested any amount of time to help me out, chat with me or whatever else that we do.

So, thank you for being you. Thank you for being awesome.

Please, tell me how I can keep helping you.

- Anne Dorko

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The other day one of my new acquaintances said to me, “Wow! You’re really well-rounded.”

I was polite and offered up a sincere thank you. But inside, I wondered to myself why I am the exception.

As I go through day-to-day life I don’t really feel particularly different or special compared to anyone else. So why are my regular activities so impressive to everyone else?

Learning is a passion.

Let’s get this straight: I hated school.

Well, I hated grade school, at any rate. College was pretty fun.

I can tell you exactly why I loved college, too. I focused on learning something that is fascinating to me.

What makes a person skilled?

If I told you the things that interested me as I grew up, you suddenly wouldn’t be surprised at the amount of random knowledge and skills that I’ve picked up over the years.

I can fairly accurately guess the breeds in any given mutt. Why?

Because when I was a kid I dogs were my obsession and I read every dog book I could get my hands on.

I am a decent artist. Why?

Because I loved to draw, and I kept drawing and drawing and drawing. I have a bit of natural talent, but not the kind of raw talent that is going to make me a world-class professional. Disney Animation isn’t exactly knocking on my door. Yet, I kept drawing and because I kept doing it, I got better.

I don’t really want to give you a laundry list of what I’m good at and why.

What makes me different? I let myself have passions, and I allow the desire to learn more about those passions become a passion in and of itself.

When I want to learn about something, nothing holds me back. I believe that I can make myself into whatever it is that is in my sights.

What makes a person well-rounded?

Give in to that desire.

You want to get your business online?

Get nerdy with it!

You’ll get over it – but the amount of information you can learn in a short time of obsession is immeasurable. The learning that you do isn’t going to leave you.

As you let yourself go in and out of mini-obsessions, you’ll start to see that you’re becoming one of those Jack of All Trade types who has dabbled in a bit of everything.

Give yourself mini-obsessions. Chase what is interesting to you now and then let it expire.

Have faith in yourself.

If you’re thinking about how hard something is when you’re trying to learn it, you will be so distracted that it really will be hard to grasp.

Have some faith that you’re of the human species, which is specifically designed to adapt and learn new skills quickly. We’re also very good at using those skills to our advantage for survival.

You must overcome the mental hurdle, and in my opinion the best way is to forget it’s there.

Follow the 80/20 rule.

Pareto’s Law states that about 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. That means you can reach the 80% percentile of skill level at something new with only about 20% of the total effort it would take you to get to an expert skill level.

At the beginning of a new skill you’re going to have a sharp learning curve where you go from “beginner” to “intermediate advanced” pretty quickly.

Let yourself reach that point and then don’t worry about becoming an expert. When you need a real expert you can have them come in and help, but in the meantime you’re suddenly able to handle a lot of situations that you weren’t equipped for before.

Use this to your advantage.

You want to learn to blog for your business?

Spend a few days totally obsessing over what that will take. Spend a few weeks practicing churning out blog post after blog post. You won’t always make this much time for it, so take advantage of your new learning passion and take as much learning curve out as you can.

You want to learn social media for your business?

Set up an account and practice all the time until you feel comfortable with it, or at least feel that you’ve started to get it. Sure, you won’t always be this active in social media but this is going to get your foot in the door.

You want to learn to ________ for your business?

Use this rapid learning style to just do it. Get the scariest part over by jumping in feet first with a fire that cannot be contained.

The rest will come naturally to you.

What are you going to learn this week?

• November is the National Novel Writing Month. I will be participating, and as such, I will only be blogging once per week instead of twice.
• The maintenance guide I’m working on seems to be losing direction. I am putting it on hold until I find something better for it.
• Tell me what you’d like to learn about from me over the next month in the comments. I have some post ideas but ultimately this blog is for you, not me.
  Example questions: “How do I fix this bug with my website?” “I can’t figure out what to do with this page.” “How do I write a good About page?” 
• For that matter, if you feel like there’s something missing at all in my blog, website, or resources let me know!

With that out of the way, on to the learning, soldiers!

What is the ROI of Social Media?

Scott Stratten of UnMarketing recently posted a video that I loved. (By the way, if you’re not reading the UnMarketing blog, you really should be. Scott is really awesome. Make sure you subscribe to his newsletter.)

Hold on… there is no ROI?

*slow clap*

In the comments following that video, I’ve seen arguments to companies actually doing the math of what the return on investment is to answer the phones. Tell me what the return on investment was to calculate that return on investment?

It’s an insane, illogical circle I tell you.

“Okay!” you shout, “we get it! We should be on social media. I mean, we even read your guide on using social media as a marketing tool.” (Oh, I just went there.)

Fine. If you insist.

3 Easy Steps to Social

Step One:
Show up.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to just give a shout out to a business when I talk about them on Twitter (mostly positive!) but there is no Twitter handle to use.

Often, this means I don’t send that tweet. Why would I? Then I have to go to a lot of extra work to find a link or some sort of information that will allow my followers to figure out who the hell I am talking about.

If I send this out on Twitter: “Just had a bomb burger at @yourbusinesshere”, then my followers can find your business and it’s information by clicking through and finding out who you are on your terms.

Fixing the problem:

Time to sign up for any given social media account:

30 seconds

Step Two: Visit.

So you signed up for a Twitter account (or Facebook page, or what have you).

That’s great. 

Except not.

“What the heck Anne? You told me this is what I NEEDED.”

I’m sorry – I lied. Well, I didn’t really lie, but we’re only on Step Two so you just know we’re not finished yet. I really hope that you don’t feel deceived.

So what comes next?

Well, the only thing worse than not having a social media account is having one and then completely forgetting it exists.

Update irregularly? Not optimal, but it still works.

Creating an account and never doing a damn thing with it EVER? Why bother? You’re sending the message to your customers that you forgot about it and you’ll forget about them too.

Fixing the problem:

Time it takes to update your social media profile even just once per week:

30 seconds/week

Up to 5 minutes if you include some research time for ideas.

Step Three: Listen and respond.

This is the most vital step. The first two were just warming you up to get to this stage.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Social media is high tech relationship marketing.

Depending on how active your customers are on any given social media service, you’ll want to check for conversation around your business once or twice per day.

If people aren’t talking about you, you’re going to want to check for conversation around the type of service or products that your business offers.

If you have time, do both anyways.

You should make it a goal to reply to a set number of people every day. Maybe 3. Maybe 5. Maybe 10. I recommend starting small. Let’s say your minimum is 3. Find 3 conversations to get involved with.

Now, when I say to reply to these people, I don’t mean just shoot them a link to your website.

Make it useful.

I am constantly giving away free tips and advice to people because it helps me establish authority in my field. It also helps that I honestly enjoy helping people. I cannot count the number of “THANK YOU SO MUCH” replies I have received.

Here’s one of my favorites:

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/#!/mistressmia/status/118838899819819009"]

That sort of response should be your goal with every reply you give.

Fixing the problem:

Time it takes to monitor for mentions of your business and reply:

5 minutes/day

Go forth and be social.

What are you waiting for?

Oh, and when you get there make sure you follow me on Twitter and circle me on Google+

Being real.

Keeping true to your passions.

Seeing your business through the eyes of your customers.

What I do that is invaluable is make visible the lines between those principles and action items. That interpretation is a skill.

I am here to remind you of the goal.

I am here to remind you of your cornerstone.

I am here to keep you inspired.

I am here to keep you thinking outside of the box when you get sucked back into it.

Photo credit

“Imitation is the sincerest (form) of flattery.”

Charles Caleb Colton

About a month ago I started CrossFit, which is a really awesome fitness program for the competitive ADHD mind.

Today I learned a new technique for pull-ups and was told that I had already done it naturally. This happens to me often – I am the “monkey see, monkey do” type when it comes to learning new skills. I see the way something is to be done, and unless I completely lack the physical ability, I can do it myself almost immediately.

I was discussing this with my friend after class, and realized that this ability to learn new skills doesn’t only apply to physical traits for me. Picking up new concepts only requires a decent imitation of someone who has done it before.

Imitation allows you to skip re-inventing the wheel.

The importance of imitating an existing technique is that you don’t need to re-create the wheel all of the time.

This can apply to search engine optimization, general techniques for writing great content, and even strategy for designing an effective website workflow.

By looking at what someone else has done, you can easily recreate the same scenario for yourself.

Where imitation falls short alone: adaptation.

One might think that by imitating the actions that led to someone else’s success, that it will automatically generate success for you as well.

Let’s consider the pull-ups. If I don’t spend time perfecting the technique to my body and focus on my own weaknesses, I will never get to the end result of a perfect pull-up. I can’t only do what works for my trainer, because his weaknesses aren’t mine. I need to discover what I need to supplement my training to build up the strength and stamina that I lack.

There might be overall principles that apply to both of us (eat right, train hard) but the details are going to be different for me than for anyone else – especially when you consider that motivation works differently for each person.

The same applies to blogging success, or small business success.

Once you’ve tried a technique or strategy, take a step back and look at the shortcomings. Make sure you understand why you’re doing a specific action. Is this something that worked for someone else, but doesn’t quite make sense to you? Is this something you can keep going at without fatiguing?

Adapt to thrive.

Imitation is a great place to start. Learn from your masters and peers who have gone before you. Use it to get your feet wet and get your head in the game.

Then, adapt.

Experiment.

Tweak.

Take your personality into consideration.

Take your business into consideration.

Take your schedule into consideration.

Experiment.

Tweak.

Then, adapt some more.

Adaptation isn’t just required for survival – it’s necessary thrive.

Are you adapting?

“We need someone who is intimately familiar with Facebook for our latest campaign.”

“We absolutely require familiarity with Tumblr.”

“If you haven’t used Twitter or have any less than 500 followers, don’t bother applying.”

Why are we so concerned about the most recent madness?

Can you hear yourself over the cacophony of the latest trend?

These should read more like:

“We need someone who knows how to make genuine connections with people.”

“Looking for someone who knows how to communicate effectively with the written word.”

“If you aren’t going to be passionate about what we do, don’t bother applying.”

Focus on the methods. Reach out and being available. Solve problems. Listen to trouble situations and fix them.

The tools will always change.

Your methods will stick around, perfected through consistent practice and adapted to the tools at hand.

Photo Credit: Cat

Life is just full of surprises – you’ve heard of working at home in your pajamas, but no one really talks about doing it in the nude. That’s just weird.

A small business isn’t just about the business.

Why do people get so passionate about small business?

Why do people call large CEOs greedy, and small business owners honest and hard-working?

I can tell you that now: transparency.

It’s easy to think of a big CEO as a faceless entity only looking to squeeze out as much money as they can (regardless of how honest they may or may not be) because they’re an enigma. Their personality typically doesn’t shine through in all aspects of the company. They’ve become a king in their kingdom, and a tyrant in the minds of many.

With a small business, there’s a good chance you’ll meet the owner any given day just by dropping by. You can have a conversation with them face to face and get to know them.

That’s why some people swear by local shops and refuse to go to chains. They want to support the people who went out on a limb and take the time to really get to know their customers and run an honest, friendly store.

Get naked for your customers.

I hope that it’s become obvious that I’m not talking about literally stripping for your customers. You’ll likely get arrested for that.

What I really mean is to get real with your customers. Inject your personality into the way that you run your business.

Find something about your business that makes you passionate and really put your effort into it.

Your employees will see it and be inspired by it.

Your customers will see it and become addicted to it.

But getting naked is scary!

Really integrating your personality into your small business is a scary thing. I know it first hand, because I recently launched a video channel on YouTube to go with this blog and it’s truly terrifying to put myself out there like that.

People are going to see my face, hear my voice, see my cheesiness and really start to get to know me through video.

I worry that people will think I’m too young-looking to have any authority.

I worry that people will think my voice is annoying.

I worry that people will not like my sense of humor.

I worry that I’ll ramble on for too long and be boring.

I worry that I can’t deliver a message speaking as well as I can writing.

But guess what? I’m doing it anyways.

I feel really passionate about making sure I’m connecting with my readers and making sure that I’m addressing people’s needs as much as I can – and I believe that video is a huge gap I was missing.

So I’m baring it all even though it’s scary. I’m giving my blog a face and a voice.

How can you bare it all for your business?

What can you do to inject your personality into your business?

Maybe you start a video channel like I did to start sharing whatever message you have with your customers.

Maybe you need to start smaller and actually start a blog for your business. Even a short post once a week would be a great start.

Maybe you invite your customers to connect with your personal account with you, the owner, on Facebook or Twitter. Just make sure that your personal account is professionally conducted – your customers don’t want to know that you just spent an hour in the bathroom.

Maybe you give a personal phone call to your best customers thanking them for their continued business.

What will you do to get naked for your customers?

Credit: Banana