We aim for a promotion, plan for a 10-day vacation and save $100 a month. We promise to be there in ten minutes. We count calories to reach our weight-loss goal. If we fall in love, we pledge to win that other heart.

Targets are motivating. Achieving targets enriches our lives. But you can’t hit a target unless you define it, so set up lots of targets for your new business.

For example, you might want to set a revenue target: “Let’s make $50,000 in our first year.”

Or, a knowledge target: “I want to learn enough about online marketing to build and promote our own website.”

You might set human resources goals: Hire a salesperson during our second year.

It could be a finance target: Raise $150,000 to fund product development.

A lifestyle goal: “To be with my young children I’ll work from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. while they’re at school and from 8 to 11 p.m. while they’re asleep.”

A growth goal: Franchise to three locations within three years.

An exit goal: “We will sell this business to a buyer within five years.”

A philanthropic goal: “Half of our profits will be donated to agencies helping children in Africa.”

Legendary salesperson Zig Ziglar said, “You can’t hit a target you cannot see, and you cannot see a target you do not have.” Make your goals specific, measurable and time-based. Don’t change your goals mid-stride. And never give up.

It won’t – unless you do.

Your idea will soar if you follow these five success secrets.

• Work smart. Any fool can sit behind a desk for 12 hours a day. It’s not the amount of time you spend at your business, but rather what you do with that time. Do things that add value to your business, like developing systems to make it run right.

• Start cheap. If your idea requires you to spend tens of thousands of dollars before you make one dollar, it’s probably the wrong business idea for you. Most service-based businesses can be started for under $1000. Build and launch a “minimum viable product” – which means a business with bugs – and work quickly to make improvements. Just get it launched.

• Be better. Repeat after me: It’s not what you do in business but how you do it. Offer a twist on an existing business idea and you’ll beat the competition.

• Test it. Before you spend one dollar or one hour building your new idea, test it with your prospective customers. Too many entrepreneurs get over-excited about their idea (“I just know this will work!”) and jump in without doing any market research.

• Find advisors. It’s impossible to know everything about running a small business. Reach out to your personal or professional network to find an experienced entrepreneur willing to volunteer an hour a month with you.

To succeed your business idea must be written up properly as a Business Plan. No more than ten pages. By committing your idea to paper you’ll be forced to think through every angle.

BY ROGER PIERCE

Twice a year, we are thrilled to be partnered with The National Job Fair & Training Expo (www.thenationaljobfair.com), sponsored by The Toronto Sun. It’s held on April 3 and 4, 2013 at the Metro Toronto Convention centre.

Inside the show is our NewcomerStartup Entrepreneurship Pavilion. It features exhibitors and experts ready to help you start and grow your business.

This show we’re offering free one-to-one consultations with a Startup Expert – simply email your information to advisor@newcomerstartup.com to make a 15-minute appointment at the show.

Best of all, we’re offering two full days of free, advice-rich seminars presented by these experts:

• Paul Chato, Internet Marketing Expert.
• Lisa Taylor, Legacy Careers Expert.
• Dan Trommater, Magician and Speaker.
• David Cohen, Radio Host and Business Coach.
• Karen Andrews, Health & Wellness Expert.
• Albert Luk, Business Lawyer.
• Bruce Hunt, Public Speaking Trainer.

And, me! I’ll be leading free seminars on topics including Life as an Entrepreneur and How to Start a Business in Canada and Startup Money for Newcomers. More details and a full schedule are available on the show website here.

If you are thinking about starting your own business or recently launched one, I hope you’ll come to the show and see me in the NewcomerStartup Entrepreneurship Pavilion. I’ll do my best to help you and your business.

See you there!

It’s typical to start and run a business on a shoestring budget because very few entrepreneurs have enough money to do all of the things they want to do, especially at the beginning.

When money is tight, there’s a natural (and healthy) tendency to look for ways to save a dollar here and there, and do more with less. It’s all about spending wisely and making good choices. Refusing to spend any money at all, or making choices based solely on lowest price, may damage important business relationships or deprive the business of resources required for growth.

To avoid making mistakes that could damage the future of the business, stop to reflect on these differences between being cheap and being frugal – and the effect of each.

• Frugal is occasionally inviting your best customer out for a nice glass of wine.  Cheap is waiting for them to pay the bill

• Knowing you will be sitting at your desk for many hours, frugal is watching for that high-quality and very comfortable office chair to go on sale. Cheap is buying the Ikea chair.

• Frugal is hiring the best employee you can find to work for the salary you’ve set. Cheap is finding any person to do the work for the least amount of money you can spend.

• To enjoy volume rates, frugal is negotiating with an existing vendor to buy more of what they sell over time.  Cheap is threatening to switch vendors based on lowest price.

• Frugal is charging your customer a portion of the budget overage. Cheap is charging for every nickel.

• Frugal is negotiating a better rate with the logo designer you really want to work with. Cheap is asking your unemployed brother-in-law to design it for you.

If frugal is about maximizing value for the money spent, then cheap wants to avoid any spending at all. There’s a place for both in your business as long as you understand the implications.

A good day is a day when you get to do exactly what you wanted to do, today.

I know I sound like a broken record, but the only career choice that really and truly allows you to do what you want today is self-employment.

• Want to stir up sales? Pick up the phone or start typing.
• Feeling technical? Log in to your website and tweak that homepage the way you want it.
• Chatty? Call a business colleague and stir up an exciting project.
• Creative juices flowing? Flex your fingers and write up your next company blog.
• Need a morale booster? Head to the gym to clear your head and sweat out any stress.

I’ve done all of these things today and I feel great.

It gets even better because I’m about to head home and play with my kids. After they go to bed, I’ll continue to do some fun things later this evening to build my business.

Like I said, it’s a good day because it’s my day, made possible by self-employment.

I wish this kind of day on you, too.

BY ROGER PIERCE

It seems to be an activity in danger of extinction: the face to face conversation.

For a small business owner, that’s a shame, because a good old-fashioned chat can work wonders for a growing company. It can give you a competitive edge and a chance at a meaningful (and beneficial) relationship.

Sure, our digital age presents more convenient communication options. Rather than meet face to face with someone, it’s far easier to dash off an email, post a tweet or share a status update. But, is it as effective as a little face time?

For these reasons, I think not.

Demonstrates commitment

Meetings are a hassle. It takes time to prepare for the meeting, get to the meeting, run it and return to your workplace.

Yet there’s something magical about meeting face to face.

It says to the other person, “I’m committed to this relationship with you.” While you both could have opted for a phone call or online connection, you and your meeting partner both decided to invest your valuable time and energy. And that kind of mutual respect is the basis for a fruitful relationship.

Visual cues

Face to face meetings let you do more than just hear the other person’s words. You can extract meaning and emotion by absorbing not only what they are saying but how they are saying it. Technology doesn’t yet give us such important insights.

Stronger results

Live meetings let participants to get more work done because everyone is “in the room.” Given sufficient time, you can hash out the details for a new plan, solve a sticky problem or reach a decision that makes everyone happy. With everyone in the room, there’s more investment in the meeting (calculate the hourly wages of all attendees!) and therefore more incentive to “get it done” – whatever that may mean to the group.

I realize that face to face meetings aren’t always possible, as busy schedules and geography keep us apart. Where they are possible, however, arrange a live meeting – your business will be better for it.

As a devoted entrepreneur, you will naturally spend your last few hours on earth working on your small business. You made a commitment. Get your last days organized with this proposed task list.

File your taxes early

Your new business year-end date coincides with the world ending on December 21, 2012. Your accountant will naturally want to complete your tax returns a bit earlier, so send in your numbers now to beat the rush.

Call your best customers

Without their business your business wouldn’t have made it to the End of Days. Perhaps show your respect by sending them a complimentary survival kit. (Apparently it won’t do them much good, but it’s the thought that counts.)

Reward your employees

Express your gratitude to your employees for everything they’ve done to make your time on earth so prosperous. Since gifts and money won’t soon matter, instead give your employees the last day on earth off.

Back up your files

The earth may be ending but no one said anything about the cloud. Back up your computer files there.

Go home early

Honour your earlier pledge to achieve work-life balance and get home early on the last day of the world. Your family will likely appreciate the fact that, finally, you put family time ahead of work.

And, of course, be proud of your accomplishments and contributions as a small business owner. You’ve left the world a better place – albeit temporarily.

You’ve likely heard this expression before: “It’s not what you do that matters, but how you do it.”

Business owners must understand what exactly it is that makes customers buy. And I find many new entrepreneurs are surprised to learn that customers are more interested in the wrapper than the great product inside.

I was reminded of the expression earlier this week during a sales presentation to a large corporation. The two prospects at the table listened politely as I talked about our product and our company experience. I could tell they were bored. But they really perked up when I talked about the wrapper – or the way we do things.

They were more interested in the intangible elements of our offering – how we plan, how we ship product and how we manage the process.

“The way you plan things out for us could really make my job easier,” said one person in the meeting.

“I feel better knowing you’ll manage the project,” commented another.

Yes, the core of what you do – your product or service – is important, so get that working right. But don’t stop there; by paying attention to the way a customer experiences that product or service, you can create a very attractive wrapper.

Hotels are masters of this concept. Every hotel offers the same basic product: a bed, a bathroom, and a television – a place to sleep. But they compete by focusing on the way customers experience those basic features – extra fluffy pillows, gourmet coffee, free movie channels, a complimentary bathrobe and a fresh daily newspaper.

Ask customers or potential customers what they really value from your business. You will be surprised. And then focus on selling that wrapper they like so much.

You can’t go wrong bringing your business to customers. People like convenience. In fact, mobility is one of the hottest trends powering innovative start up companies.

There are mobile veterinarians, chefs, dental hygienists, car washes and notaries. It’s no surprise, then, to learn about the success of a mobile spa.

Twin sisters Joanna and Juanita Wright started Wright Spa Mobile Beauty Services in 2010. With two parents who are also entrepreneurs, it seemed inevitable the sisters would follow a similar career path. “Mom always thought we should pursue a skilled trade because you can apply those skills anywhere in the world,” recalls Joanna.

As their mother predicted, those skills have helped the sisters to open for business in two countries. In Canada, the company offers services in the Greater Toronto Area; while in the United States, it operates in Washington, Virginia and Maryland.

While services such as massage, facial, manicure and pedicure are popular, Joanna says spa parties are really taking off. “For a small group of people, a spa party is perfect way to celebrate bridal showers, bachelorettes and birthday parties,” she says. “It’s also a fun way for a group of friends to connect, relax and get pampered.”

Wright Spa has a few special friends of its own. In just a short time since opening the business, the sisters have built up an impressive client list – including some famous names they just can’t mention. But the names they can talk about appear on their website at www.wrightspa.com, including Michelle Obama, Jennifer Lopez, Bill Murray and Patti Labelle.

Juanita says she loves running a business with her twin sister. “We think alike and we work well together,” she explains. “It’s not hard to work with someone who is just like you.”

(Got a story to tell about your business? Share it with us and we’ll share it with entrepreneurs everywhere! Email advisor@newcomerstartup.com today.)

I’m feeling a lot of energy this week. There’s definitely some electricity in the air. I think it’s all those entrepreneurs celebrating their special week in the spotlight.

Across Canada, you’ll find hundreds of events designed to both support and celebrate small business owners. And for good reason: entrepreneurs like you drive the Canadian economy, create jobs and foster innovation.

Entrepreneurs like you also create taxes to support our government programs and services. You import unique products we might not otherwise enjoy. And, you export Canadian goods to share with the world. You do a lot for this country and we’re a grateful nation.

I’ll be celebrating small business month at The National Job Fair & Training Expo (www.thenationaljobfair.com), sponsored by The Toronto Sun. It’s held on October 16 and 17 at the Metro Toronto Convention centre. We’re offering free startup seminars delivered by some fabulous speakers, free one-to-one consultations with a startup expert, and plenty of resources to help get your business up and running.

If you want to set up a free startup consultation, please email advisor@newcomerstartup.com to book a 15-minute appointment at the show.

Wherever you are this week, take a moment to think about your successes to date. Whether your business is still an idea or already well established, you deserve some applause. Entrepreneurship requires plenty of courage, perseverance and smarts. And a bit of luck.

Enjoy this week! Congratulations to you for all that you have achieved.