Three Ways to Add Leverage to Your Small Business.

Remember those drawings from science class of how a lever works?

The lever was a long bar that rested atop a triangularly shaped fulcrum. One end of the lever was underneath the object to be raised. The other end of the lever was where downward force was applied to raise the object at the other end. The keys to whether or not the lever could raise the object were: 1) the distance of the fulcrum from the object to be raised, 2) the length of the lever, and 3) the force applied to the fulcrum.

In short, the longer the lever and the more force applied, the easier and faster you can move the object.

When mapping this diagram to the business of an independent professional, we find:

* The professional is the fulcrum
* The object to be moved is the business objective to be achieved
* The lever is the resource to be amplifed
* The downward force can be a body of knowledge or expertise; external resources (such as mentors/coaches, training, experts, etc.); an investment of time or money; the use of skills, tools, or talents; and the use of systems, processes, procedures, and structures.

Here are 3 of the many ways in which you can employ leverage in your business:

* Take your resources and repurpose or reuse them in new and innovative ways to add to your services, products, or resources. Hence, the body of knowledge represented by the original resource is multiplied into several services/products/resources for your business. For example, I could take and use it both in my ezine and on my web site. I could also make it into an eclass by expanding it with calls to action on the part of the reader. Once it is expanded into an eclass, it's just another step into making it a web-based class. From there I could take it into being a multi-session teleclass or an on-site seminar.

Can you see that without much additional effort you can take one resource and multiply it into 5 or 6 additional resources for your business?

* Take a resource and percolate it through multiple businesses for increased visibility.

For example, I could take and post it on several web sites that provided content for others to put in their ezines or on their web sites. I could also directly contact the webmasters at several of the bigger web sites that service my same target market of independent professionals and offer them the use of the article on their web site. Bingo! One article, multiple places of exposure.

* Tap into other forces to achieve a desired objective.

For example, if you want to short-circuit the learning process on a particular business subject, you can hire a mentor or coach, attend a workshop or seminar, or buy a book or tape training series. In this way you are using the power of other people's knowledge and experience to speed your learning. And speed of learning is just another type of leverage.

The ultimate purpose of applying leverage in your business is to achieve your desired objectives with more speed and less effort. Where are you missing opportunities to apply the power of leverage in your business?

5 GREAT WAYS to Gain New Contacts.

There are many ways to use the media to promote your business. You must ultimately decide what is best for your business. It may be all the items you have read about, or it may be only a few, but whatever you choose, you must get a precise and clear message across to your potential buyers. You must also make sure you form an excellent business relationship with those companies before you do business. You want to create an atmosphere of a solid business relationship, so that you will be doing business for the long-term and not just a short-term project here and there. You must be committed to what you are doing and get that commitment message across to your clients and potential clients.

It is entirely up to you how much you want to spend on public relations and promotion. But once you decide how much to spend, you should then plan to spend it wisely and not to flush your hard earned dollars down the drain. I would advise to do all of the above but do it in stages, and sometimes things like sponsorships will only come into play when you can afford it. The key is to get involved and stay involved; this consistency alone will reap rewards in the local community. You will also be able to walk into local businesses and they will recognize you and be willing to talk. It is a give and take process that creates good solid business relationships, they just need to know that you are out there and can be depended on.

You should also take advantage of PR professionals that can take your business ideas and make them news. For a list of these professionals you can check with consulting groups, yellow page ads, and web listings. One thing you need to do before you commit to a PR specialist is to make sure you do your homework and find out what they have done for others in the past. This way you will not be disappointed with the results.

I decided that I wanted to be coached in PR. I wanted to know more about how to do it correctly while having a guiding hand. Many of you may know Jill Lublin (the writer of the Foreword and author of the best sellers Guerilla Publicity & Networking Magic) who has been speaking about PR for several years. It is Jill's coaching that has made me savvier and more PR aware. For more information on Jill Lublin and her coaching, visit her website www.about-internet.com.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people's attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the "Networking Queen". Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit www.about-internet.com