Eric Tippetts

Solopreneur Tools: Consider These 8 Best

Are you the business “Lone Ranger?” Is there even a “Tonto” nearby? I understand; as a solopreneur, you have taken on responsibilities that can be both exciting and frightening. And, there are certain aspects of any business that can baffle us.

My first suggestion is keep learning and utilize outsourcing to cover some of the areas where you are less competent.

And use the solopreneur tools available to you!

Just as a carpenter would not go to work without a hammer or a plumber without a pipe wrench, a solopreneur has various tools available that can make their jobs much easier.

So in today’s post, I am going to share 8 tools that will give your clients the impression that you have a team of employees.

Solopreneur Tools #1 – The Expense Tracker

When I became an entrepreneur, I discovered that managing finances was one of the most difficult aspects. While revenues were rolling in, expenses were rolling out, and they often seemed to surpass my expectations. But I would not realize it until I examined my credit card statement.

Also, taxes seemed to be a hair-pulling event.

There had to be an easier way to control the stress involved with managing finances as an entrepreneur; a light bulb came on and I, along with a team of experts developed what is known as The Expense Tracker.

Solopreneurs who have used The Expense Tracker have claimed an amazing turn-around in their business financial stability.

I am so sure you will love this tool, I provide a 7 day free trial. Just click here.

Solopreneur Tools #2 – Mozy

Have you ever considered the implications if a disaster happened? All those computer files? Sure, you may have your files on a disc or USB drive, but what if something happens with those too?

The cloud is your best bet and Mozy offers a variety of both free and paid plans. I highly recommend this cloud based storage where your files will be safe and secure. You can learn more here.

Solopreneur Tools #3 – Shake Law

The days of a handshake in business have went elsewhere. There needs to be contracts to ensure that both parties are living up to their agreements. But hiring an attorney to develop a contract can be extremely expensive.

There is no need to visit your attorney’s office. Just visit Shake Law and just by answering questions, the system will draw up a legally binding contract. Just send it to the client for a digital signature and you are covered legally.

Just visit their website here.

Solopreneur Tools #4 – Join Me

While Skype works great for meeting with individual people, full meetings of up to 10 people can be managed through Join Me. Plus you can share your computer screen so everyone can view what you are viewing.

It is a perfect meeting application to meet with people anywhere, anytime. Learn more here.

Solopreneur Tools #5 – Infusionsoft

Infusionsoft is an excellent software to manage your lead capture system and sales funnel. Managing ecommerce can be quite time consuming. It is a very important aspect of the solopreneur’s business, so you want to know you have the best of the best managing it for you.

I use Infusionsoft, and I highly recommend that you use them too. See more here.

Solopreneur Tools #6 – Grammarly

One task that is often handled by solopreneurs is the creation of their own content. Even if it is outsourced to a freelancer, we want to ensure that it is correct grammar wise. After all, it could be embarrassing if our High School English teacher catches a misplaced comma and jumps into the comment area and slaps us with a ruler.

Grammarly offers both free and paid plans to guarantee the content you publish passes the teacher test. Get yours here.

Solopreneur Tools #7 – BidSketch

The creation of proposals can take hours upon hours. This can slow down a solopreneur dramatically, but BidSketch has made the process much easier. And the cost is reasonable.

If bidding is slowing you down, I suggest you check out BidSketch here.

Solopreneur Tools #8 – Portent Idea Generator

Do you ever get those moments that your brain goes slightly foggy? We all do!

Sometimes coming up with titles or headlines for articles and blog posts can be frustrating. This tool is ultra-helpful. Just type in your keyword and choose from one of the titles the Portent Idea Generator provides.

Just for fun, I typed solopreneurs in and received: 7 Secrets About Solopreneurs The Government Is Hiding.

Maybe that will be my next post… Check out this tool here.

Conclusion

So do you currently use any of these tools? Please tell us how they are helping you.

If you know of any other tools that would be helpful for solopreneurs, feel free to share them below too.

Thank you for stopping by today and be sure to keep coming back. Plus, please share this with all your solopreneur friends. You can do so with the social media buttons below.

All the best and may your solopreneur business go:

To The Top!

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Do You Have The Entrepreneur Mindset?

So you have been working for “the other guy” for years and you have decided to take the plunge from employee to entrepreneur. That is great! But I need to ask you something immediately… Do you have an entrepreneur mindset?

I ask this because if you try to manage a business using an employee mindset, you will have multiple issues.

You may discover that you have been using an employee mindset and it is never too late to change that pattern. So I am going to point out some key differences between the entrepreneur mindset vs the employee mindset.

Entrepreneur Mindset: All Decisions Are On You / Employee Mindset: The Boss Said To Do It This Way

Every single decision that is made in the business is on you as the entrepreneur. There is no more blaming bad decisions on another person, even if you allowed someone else to make the decision, it all still comes back to you.

Entrepreneur Mindset: “I Learn How To Do This Better.” / Employee Mindset: “I Want To Take A Course On This Because I Never Learned How To.”

When you first read this, it may seem like both the entrepreneur and employee are saying the same thing. They are not!

The entrepreneur wants to make the skills they already have stronger. The employee wants to mend his/her weaknesses.

Entrepreneur Mindset: Time Is The Most Valuable Asset / Employee Mindset: Money Is the Most Valuable Asset

Now don’t get me wrong here…Money is a valuable asset to an entrepreneur, but he/she puts time as a higher asset on the list. They know that if they use their time properly, the money… the profits will come.

The employee does not necessarily concern themselves with time unless the employer puts time-induced quotas on them. And even then, the most important thing is that paycheck and raises.

Entrepreneur Mindset: The Finish Line Is That Way, So I Will Create A Path To Get There / Employee Mindset: Which Way Do I Go?

This speaks for itself; employees need guidance while entrepreneurs are the pathfinders. They are the ones who give guidance.

Entrepreneur Mindset: This Is Uncomfortable And I Love It / Employee Mindset: I Just Want To Be Comfortable And Happy.

Entrepreneurs have to live in discomfort a large percentage of the time. Once the entrepreneur starts feeling comfort, they create something new to stay in that uncomfortable position.

Employees, for the biggest part, just want everything to flow smoothly. No stress except what to cook for dinner.

Entrepreneur Mindset: No / Employee Mindset: Yes

An employee wants to please their employer, so nearly every answer is yes.

Successful entrepreneurs have realized if they say yes to everything, they will soon be broke. Entrepreneurs must know how to say no to a large percentage of offers.

Entrepreneur Mindset: Work Smart / Employee Mindset: Work Hard

This also speaks for itself.

Just a story that puts this in context: A group of movers were at an apartment move located on the 2nd floor of an apartment. The couch and loveseat were monstrous and the owner stated that when she bought it, the company had built them in the apartment. They were much too big to get down the stairway.

Calling the entrepreneur who owned the company and explaining that they would have to work hard to take everything apart to get the job completed in time. The entrepreneur said he would be right over… He had a work smart idea.

The entrepreneur came to the job site and delegated that one of the workers get several ropes, chains and pulleys from the back of his truck. Using the devices, they lowered the furniture in one piece via the balcony with the pulley hooked to a tree.

Not only did the entrepreneur save a lot of time, he taught the workers to think wise instead of thinking hard.

Entrepreneur Mindset: Plan / Employee Mindset: Execute

Now I will say that both the entrepreneur and the employee must do the opposite at times, but overall, the entrepreneurs are the planners and employees do the execution of the plans.

Entrepreneur Mindset: Hire People That Are Smarter Than Me / Employee Mindset: Sabotage People That Are Smarter Than Me

The entrepreneur understands that he/she does not know it all, and it can only help the business if they contract or hire people that are smarter than they are.

The majority of employees feel threatened by people that are smarter than they are.

So, What Is Your Mindset?

There are many who say that entrepreneurs need to think outside the box; personally, I believe that entrepreneurs just need to “burn that box.” There is no box and everything goes.

If you discover that as an entrepreneur, you are still using an employee mindset in some areas, it is time to recognize and change those mindsets.

A large percentage of entrepreneurs have started their business at home. I would tell you that you would find huge benefits in the Home Business Success Kit. The 3 tools in this kit will help you have success. The tools are:

  1. The Expense Tracker – Helps you budget and save on taxes
  2. To The Top book – Learn some secrets to create wealth
  3. Rocket Recruiting – A non-resistant method to recruit team members

You can get all that by clicking here.

Thank you for stopping by today and if you have any questions or feedback, just post them below.

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11 Ways To Advertise For Free

As entrepreneurs, we have to watch our budget close. Marketing and advertising can deplete a bank account quickly when we use methods to advertise that cost money. But I have learned a variety of ways to advertise for free. And if done properly, these methods can be as lucrative as some of the advertising methods that cost money.

So here are 11 ways to advertise for free. I suggest you test each one and see how well it does for you. Be sure and come back and tell me as I would like to know which ones are the best for the majority of entrepreneurs.

1: Advertise local using Google, Yahoo and Bing

It only makes good sense to use the free local business listing through the major search engines. If a prospective customer that is in your area searches for products or services that directly relate to your offering, your business will come to attention immediately.

2: Advertise by guest posting

There are many high profile bloggers who are always interested in receiving guest posts. Just write an educational article that relates to your niche and add a link to your website.

If you write valuable information, people will visit your site to discover more.

3: Webinars

A simple educational webinar is a wonderful way to promote your business. I have used this method multiple times with great success.

By the way, if you have not yet attended the webinar I am doing to learn some great recruiting concepts, I recommend you hurry and sign up here.

4: Advertise using newsletters

Many entrepreneurs enjoy great success using email marketing. Just simply collect emails through a subscription and send out regular newsletters about new products, news related to your industry and even coupons and discounts. You can use a free service such as Mailchimp that will allow you to mass mail up to a certain amount of subscribers.

5: Videos

Use YouTube, Vimeo or one of the other video publishing websites to show people you are a real person. Show them the products being packaged for shipment. Show your daily routine… Just be creative and it may amaze you how much attention you, your brand and your products receive.

6: Educate yourself on SEO

Search Engine Optimization is important to get your website at the top of searches for certain keywords and terms.

This is actually a multiple blog post itself, which I may take I dive into one of these days. But for now, I recommend

Any, or all of these books can help you learn proper SEO techniques.

7: Advertise by being engaged

So many entrepreneurs do not realize the importance of being engaged with the people. Be it YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, your blog or any other internet sites, when people comment or ask questions, if you jump in and respond, it WILL help you gain business.

As I said, many other entrepreneurs do not engage with their social media sites and answer comments on their blog posts. Be different and watch your business grow because you are.

8: Have existing customers advertise for you

It is as simple as creating a referral campaign. Offer customers something for free or discounted if they refer a new customer.

This method may not be free per say, but I had to list it.

9: Cross promotion

Finding other entrepreneurs and business owners who have products or services that “compliment” your product or services is a perfect way to gain free advertising.

It just takes creativity. Approach the other business owner and work out a system where you can promote each other. This can be a win-win situation for both.

10: Advertise by guest speaking

Maybe your local university would be open to you speaking about a business related topic. Or there is a local community function that you could offer to be a speaker at.

Many entrepreneurs will not do this unless they are getting paid. Just the free advertisement is good pay. So volunteer to speak and watch sales roll in.

11: An interview by a podcasting personality

Podcasts have been huge lately on the internet. Many of these podcast personalities do interviews with entrepreneurs. I suggest you do a search for podcasting people and approach them to see what it would take to do an interview.

Advertise Conclusion

Those are just a few free advertising ideas. There are many others if you just use your imagination. You could even run a free ad on Craigslist or in free local advertising sources.

Please share your free advertising methods. If you have any comments or questions, you can post them below.

Don’t forget… Sign up for that recruiting webinar and you will get some proven methods to recruit with ease. Sign up here.

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How To Make Your Dreams Become Reality

So many people trudge through life with no clear goal of where they are going. May of these people had dreams when they were younger but because of negative forces, the dreams slipped away. Or, the dreams are still there but looked upon as a fairy tale that can never come true.

I have news for you!

Dreams can come true!

I know many people that are living their dreams and have even bigger and better dreams that they are working to attain.

Notice… I said working. None of these people had their dreams just fall into their laps. They had to reach out and grab a hold of the dream, and make a decision to turn that dream into reality.

Looking into my own dream weaving and also asking other people how they have climbed the dream ladder to reality, I am going to share several pieces of advice so you can live your dreams.

What are your dreams?

The first step to living your dreams is understanding what your dreams are. What is it you want in life?

  • Travel to exotic locations?
  • A vehicle that will turn the heads of friends and family?
  • A winter home, summer home and another home to escape the other 2?
  • A yacht?
  • Etc…

I suggest you write down exactly what you want. The only way you can achieve your dream is to know exactly what those dreams are.

Assess your current situation

You need to look at your financial, physical and family situation so that you can see where changes need to be made to reach a level where you are gaining toward your dreams.

Put a plan of action together

Now, you need to write out a plan of action. What will be your first steps? I then suggest you make the path with small stepping stones.

Figure out what you want to attain and make your plan of action fit into place to work toward the goals you have.

You may want to consider having a mentor who has been successful help guide you in developing this plan of action.

Broadcast your intentions

I have always noticed that, as humans, we will work harder to achieve our goals if we tell other people our dreams and how we plan to achieve those dreams.

Don’t worry that some people may think you are crazy.

You will discover who supports you and who doesn’t during this process, which leads me to my next tip on making your dreams become reality.

Remove the roadblocks

You will find people who have nothing but negative comments and advice after you broadcast your intentions. I suggest you completely ignore these people.

Remember that they may have been taught that old-school pattern of being an employee until retirement and then sitting in a rocking chair for the few years they have left.

Don’t allow those people’s life patterns to have control over your dreams.

And don’t get me wrong… I am not telling you to completely de-friend those people; but when they speak the negative stuff, let it flow elsewhere. Choose to not accept their negative attitude and always respond with positive words.

In time, they will realize that reaching the dream is possible, because they will see it from you.

Create daily habits that are geared toward attaining your dreams

Let’s face it, our lives are made up of habits. Many of the habits we have are not geared toward taking us to our dreams. It is time to create daily habits that will help us instead of hinder us. Some ideas may be:

  • Each morning, speak positive affirmations to yourself aloud.
  • Eat a frog. This means doing the most difficult task first so all other tasks will seem easy.
  • Get out of bed ½ hour earlier.
  • Exercise.
  • Etc…

Be slightly selfish

I almost veered away from putting the word selfish here, but I believe it does fit. And what I mean by this is to not say yes to everything. It is important that you consider your dreams and if someone is asking you to do something that is taking you away from that goal, it just makes sense to politely say no.

Be humble

While you need to be slightly selfish, you need to be extremely humble. Learn to give credit to those who deserve the credit. Understand that the person cleaning the office has as much importance as the I.T. guy.

What, you say!

Well think about it… If everything is dirty and dusty, it can damage all the computer equipment making the I.T. guy’s job more difficult.

Without humbleness, those dreams will be difficult to reach.

Have more humility. Remember you don’t know the limits of your own abilities. Successful or not, if you keep pushing beyond yourself, you will enrich your own life–and maybe even please a few strangers.” A.L. Kennedy

Live life daily to its fullest

I believe this is one of the most important tips I can give you to reach your dreams.

Many people are not following this simple precept. Each day has new opportunities and if you reach out and grab the opportunities that are before you, the dreams you have can become reality even faster than you ever imagined.

Just look around you! Envision the dream and choose to fly with the eagles.

Final Thoughts

More than anything, I hope today’s post inspires you to push yourself into higher realms. Dreams are attainable as long as you believe they are. Without the belief, no matter what you do, you will not reach the dream. So believe and go out and reach your dreams.

I have something that can help you develop a road map to those dreams. Get my To The Top audiobook which can help you create that plan to make your dreams a reality. You can order your copy here.

Thank you for stopping by today. Please share this with your social friends who are trying to reach their dreams.

To The Top!

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Entrepreneurship And Your Spouse: Having Success On Both Fronts

There are some career paths that can be difficult for the spouse in the relationship:

  • Soldier
  • Law Enforcement
  • Truck Drivers

And entrepreneurs also climb high on that list. Being the spouse of an entrepreneur can sometimes like riding the scariest roller coaster ever designed. There can be low times and high reward moments. You may be eating bologna sandwiches one week and dining at Red Lobster the next.

But the contract said for better or for worse and a spouse that loves will bare with the entrepreneur. But not to give the entrepreneur a ticket to not be a proper spouse, I have decided to give you some timely tips on having a successful relationship while creating a successful business.tt

Involve your spouse in the business

If your spouse feels as if they have some input into how the business is put together and managed, they are more apt to be supportive of it. Ask his/her opinion before you make decisions. Explain to them the small details. Let them have some tasks to do if they are willing and able.

Just giving your spouse some involvement in the creation will enliven them and they will be your top fan.

Use financial wisdom

This is one of the top issues with entrepreneur spouses. If the entrepreneur is investing in business needs but has not made the car or house payment, who could blame the spouse for being upset?

Again, this takes us back to involving your spouse. Explain the financial side of the business and work together to make sound financial decisions.

And, I highly suggest an app I developed that can help you do this. It helped my wife and me, and I know it can help you with your entrepreneur finances. Check out The Expense Tracker here.

Make sure your spouse is on the calendar

I know I preach it often… Entrepreneurs must plan out their days, weeks and months. But those plans need to include your spouse. Make sure you have scheduled times for dates with the business turned on mute.

If you do this trust me, your spouse will support your efforts all the more.

Do not be defensive with your spouse

And I should add – offensive!

What I mean by this is: your spouse’s mind may be wired differently than your mind. They may ask questions that come across as critical to your idea. And, they may be critical to your idea. But use common sense here. If you get defensive, you are just turning the situation into a debate that has all the ingredients of disaster. If you get offensive, you could damage your top fan.

But, if you educate and explain your reasoning in a non-technical way, your spouse may understand. Do not fear asking why they feel the way they do and ask their opinion on how they would do it differently.

If your spouse’s idea makes sense but you still believe your idea has better chances, just compromise and explain you will try it your way and if that isn’t working, you will use their method.

Communicate with words; not behaviors

Whether it is a victory or defeat; stressful or encouraging, your spouse should hear it with words and not behaviors. Don’t leave them in wonderment why you are skipping around like a kangaroo or if you are moping like a snail.

Create a backup or an exit plan with your spouse’s input

It is not something any entrepreneur even likes to think of but just like having life insurance, entrepreneurs should have a backup plan and also an exit plan.

I suggest that you form both of these plans with your spouse. Not only will you benefit from another brain to help, you will give them a sense of security.

Be spontaneous

Spontaneity is a key to great relationships. It is okay to get off the important task you are doing at 1 PM on Tuesday and say, “Honey, let’s take a drive to the mountains.”

Those spontaneous moments will show your spouse that they come first before everything else and believe me, both your relationship and your business will benefit.

Now let me ask you

Does your spouse know your dream?

Do you discuss the business aspect or do you keep that all separate from your relationship?

I really doubt I would have had the success I have had without my wife, and I believe that all entrepreneurs need to realize that their spouse is an important part of the entrepreneur process. Their support is important.

Sure, there have been some successful entrepreneurs who did not have spousal support, but I would say the statistics are quite low. It is much better that you involve your spouse in the dream…in the business immediately at the start.

Follow the tips I provided and I would wager that you will have a successful relationship that will help build a successful business.

Now that you have that advice, let me also suggest something else that can help…I suggest you get the & Days To Unstoppable Motivation training course. Both you and your spouse can benefit. You can get it here.

Thank you for stopping by and do me one up please… Share this on social media with your entrepreneur friends who are married.

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9 Ways To Impress Clients

First impressions matter. Experts say we size up new people in somewhere between 30 seconds and two minutes.” Elliott Abrams

What Elliott said is oh so true in many ways. Entrepreneurs must have an ability to impress clients quickly. There are several methods that immediately come to mind to gain a great first impression:

  • Dress sharp
  • Be prepared
  • and shall I say, breath mints?

Now I do believe that an entrepreneur can mend that initial 2 minute impression if the client may have had a negative feeling, but I suggest that you do your best to give the client a great impression immediately on first contact.

Over my years as an entrepreneur, I know that I have made some errors on the first impressions clients had. I have learned to reflect on these and understand what I could have done differently. So I am going to share with you some huge discoveries I have made.

Here are 9 ways to impress clients.

#1: Impress Clients By Being A Human

There is a fine-line between being business and casual. I truly believe that you must also “read” the client immediately to determine their “line” on this. But during your conversation, it is good if you step out of the “business box” for a brief moment and ask about his/her family, lifestyle, sports, etc…

Just be a human but I suggest staying clear of politics and religion.

#2: Impress Clients By Researching And Solving

I have discovered this an amazing way to have a client impressed. Before meeting with them, review their website and any other information you have on the potential client. Find just one small issue you know can be solved immediately.

“Mr Jones, when I reviewed your website, I notice that your call-to-action boxes have coloration that is not considered ‘click-enhancing’ according to statistics. Have you had a good response in your CTAs? (wait for answer) I can easily mend that for you.”

Just knowing you did your research and have the initiative to find and solve one small issue WILL impress clients.

#3: Impress Clients By Having An Agenda

When you are meeting with a client, it is important that you draw up an agenda. Before starting the meeting, share the agenda with the client. This will show the client you are fully prepared to ask and answer questions, along with covering every avenue so they will have satisfaction with your products or services.

#4: Impress Clients By Being Impressed With The Client

What I mean by this is compliment them. While I told you earlier to discover a small issue and solve it, also find areas where you can give them sincere compliments. Showing you are impressed with them will impress them with you.

#5: Impress Clients With Your Language

I do believe you should use technical jargon lightly when meeting with potential clients. But there are certain words in the English language that do create a great impression of the entrepreneur speaking them. Consider words like:

  • Collaborate
  • Objectives
  • Value and benefits
  • Return on investment (ROI)
  • Scalability
  • Social reach
  • Opportunities
  • Result tracking
  • Etc…

Using language that shows you have the client’s best interests at heart does impress them.

#6: Impress Clients By Knowing Their Competition

The wise entrepreneur does research on the potential client’s competition too. Knowing how the competitors are marketing will allow you to use patterns in the meeting where you will tell the client something like:

“Mr Jones, I see that (competitor) is using this approach and, in my opinion, if we were to counter with this strategy, you could convert (competitor’s) business to your profits.”

Believe me… That will impress a potential client every time.

#7: Impress Clients With Active Listening

When I say active listening, it means having a pen and notepad in your hand and using it. I suggest that as the client is speaking, you repeat key words and phrases back to show them you understand and at the same time, take notes.

Another important aspect of active listening is listening to what the client is not actually saying with their body language or eye movements. If they are saying something but you notice apprehension, you can lighten it up by just saying something like, “I know this is important, so I will keep you “in the loop” every step of the way.”

Reassuring words are always impressive.

#8: Impress Clients By Telling Them Your Strategy

Here is another area where entrepreneurs tend to neglect potential clients. It just makes common sense that you share with the client your strategy. They must know your plan of action. While it may be put together in your head, you must realize that the client cannot see that… So explain to them your strategy and allow them to give their feedback.

#9: Impress Clients With Action

All the prior tips were just words and we all know that action speaks much louder than words. So get to work on whatever the client needs and show them results.

If you do this, your client will not only be impressed, he/she will probably send other clients your way.

When deeds speak, words are nothing.” Pierre Joseph Proudhon

Conclusion

I will end this post with one more nugget of truth… There will be some clients that are unimpressed. And if you look closely, they are that way with everyone. So don’t worry if you cannot impress every potential client you meet. Just try to do it better on the next round.

I hope this post helps you interact with potential clients in a more successful manner. If you have any questions, just ask them below and I will provide an answer.

Also I need to ask… Are you getting objections you just can’t handle? Every objection is an equation waiting to be solved. I really suggest that you get this report on solving the top objections. It will help you overcome and win in the objection jungle.

Thank you for stopping by today and will you hit the share buttons and let your friends and family see this too?

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Eric Tippetts

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