Today’s guest post is written by Rieva Lesonsky.

Although I’m a bit superstitious, I’m going to go ahead, channel iconic 1950s television personality (and songwriter, who knew?) Steve Allen, and say I think 2012 is going to “be the start of something big.”

I know there are naysayers out there who will disagree, and point out the numerous reasons I’m being too much of a Pollyanna, but frankly I don’t care. There are plenty of signs the economy is finally on the rebound.

Consumer confidence (as measured by The Conference Board) soared in November (December’s numbers won’t be out until the end of the month) to 56 (on a scale of 100), from 40.9 in October.

Although 56 indicates consumers are still feeling fairly uncertain, a 15-point jump in a month is a good sign, which is amplified by the “Expectations Index” part of the survey hitting 67.8, an increase of nearly 18 points in a month.

Perhaps even more important is consumers are feeling better about their financial futures. They have a more positive outlook about their job prospects and potential salary increases (up about 3 percent and 4 percent respectively).

That will likely translate to more consumer spending, which is exactly the kind of boost the economy needs. (And don’t worry, at least yet, about consumers incurring debt; the Fed reports credit-card debt is lower than it has been since 2004.)

But a true recovery is going to take more than just a change in consumer sentiment and behaviors.

No worries: The business numbers look good as well. As The Wall Street Journal reports, “Looking at the data, the economy looks poised to keep growing at a good clip. Consumer spending has picked up and manufacturing is increasing…inventories are lean, energy prices have slipped and, to judge from a drop in unemployment claims, the job market is picking up.”

I apologize for getting a little wonky there, but I wanted to ensure you my sunny outlook was based on more than just my gut feeling. All that said, however, I have an area of concern.

In a recent survey my company conducted with Zoomerang, 40 percent of the SMBs (small and mid-sized businesses) said they were feeling “very optimistic or optimistic” about their company’s performance in 2012.

Sounds great, right? Not so fast—64 percent have no plans to diversify their businesses next year, and 74 percent don’t plan to change their business focus. This suggests that next year will be “business as usual”—despite the fact that business hasn’t been very usual for the last four years.

If this sounds like you—if you’re still wary of taking risks, and intend to spend another year treading water, I have some advice for you: Snap out of it!

Treading water is hard work; you’re constantly in motion trying to keep your head above water. Why would you want to exert that much energy to gain nothing? If you’re going to work endless hours, expose yourself to financial risk, and worry 24/7, shouldn’t it be for something?

We all know entrepreneurs are the ones who create, innovate, and disrupt the status quo. So let’s reclaim our natural role. Let’s all resolve to make 2012 the start of something big. Now’s the time to start thinking about how you’re going to stop treading and start swimming.

To get you started, here are a few things to think about:

• How can you attract new customers?
• How can you cement your relationships with your existing clients?
• What worked for your business in 2011, and how can you expand on that success?
• What new marketing methods/markets should you test?
• Is it time to upgrade your technology to increase productivity?
• How can you motivate your employees to keep them on staff, and engaged with your customers?

Obviously, given the timing, you can’t have a plan in place by January 1. How about January 23? That’s the start of the Chinese New Year—the year of the dragon. Here’s this year’s forecast: “This will be a year of great opportunity and many achievements, but these gains will require investments of many forces and labor.”

Sounds like 2012 is a year destined for entrepreneurial success.

Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a media company that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. Visit her blog at SmallBizDaily.com. Visit her website SmallBizTrendCast to get the scoop on business trends and sign up for Rieva’s free TrendCast reports.

My experience as an entrepreneur in Dubai was largely affected by two factors.

First, I am half-Egyptian, half-English which means I am often discounted by both cultures.

Secondly, the company I built with John Falchetto was one of the most male-dominated businesses out there; we provided safety and rescue training for government and corporations.

Hard hats, work boots, and lipstick

As you can imagine, there was nothing glamorous about working in the safety industry. In short, we gave people the tools to, hopefully, not kill themselves. Pitching for new business often entailed showing pictures of site disasters and tragedies.

I’d arrive at the site office in a hard hat and work boots to meet with the managers, only to be asked if they could meet with the manager of the company.

They couldn’t fathom that could be me. I wish I could say the prejudice came from people who didn’t know better. But I can’t: They were often from the U.S., U.K., Europe, or the rest of the so-called equal opportunity world.

Cultural Differences vs. Prejudices

Our clients ranged from police rescue departments to construction companies to multi-national corporations. When I went with John to meet with the police, I’d be offered tea and asked to wait in the reception whilst the “men talked business.” I always respected the clarity in the relationship because I understood their culture, and I chose my battles. This is one I wouldn’t win.  

Where’s the man?

Surprisingly, being a woman and doing business with the multi-nationals might have been the greatest challenge. In this environment, meetings were a disease. The boardroom fascination was a way many justified their jobs. I’d get raised eyebrows when I arrived alone for a meeting with six people. Where was the rest of my team? Where, more importantly, was the man?

Male clients would often request to speak to “my boss,” of course meaning, “the man,” only to be shocked when I reminded them that the “boss” was actually me.

And it wasn’t any easier working with female clients. Often, they were more intent on speaking to “the man” than my male clients. They would attempt to bully me to get what they wanted. There were times when an issue could be easily resolved by phone or email yet they would summon me to their offices, keeping the subject of the meeting ambiguous. They assumed that if I gave them face time, I would change my mind.

Educating them was a challenge. When all else failed I’d just fire the client. Sometimes life is too short to work with a client who is painful.

Women Doing Business In a Global Economy

Working as a female entrepreneur in the male-dominated Middle East taught me the importance of being true to myself. Remember, being a woman is not a disadvantage.

My advice? I have four tips:

1. Command respect and demand to be taken seriously.
2. Respect cultural differences and resist trying to fight them.
3. Don’t try to be a man or pretend to be someone else. Be you.
4. If all else fails, don’t be afraid to fire your client.

Have you worked in a male-dominated environment? What would you add?

Ameena Falchetto is a recovering marketing manager from a multi-national in Dubai and a serial entrepreneur currently living in the South of France. She works with people who want to grow their businesses abroad and has just launched her personal site. She also writes about the challenges of being a new mother abroad on her blog MummyinProvence.

Today’s guest post is written by JK Allen.

I’m an entrepreneur. My business is “me” and my client is my employer.

As entrepreneurs, we are often challenged with less-than-ideal situations and we find ways to turn them into opportunities or learning experiences. Over the last year or two, my heart has been consumed with the idea of being self-employed again which has led me to despise my job.

As you can see, this is less than ideal. But I’ve turned it into a learning experience.

Many of my online friends who I find to be powerful business people have shown a great amount of appreciation for how I manage my career like a business. No one has been more vocal about this than John Falchetto. But I’ve also gained support from class acts such as Marcus Sheridan and Danny Brown.

Thanks to them, I’m changing my attitude. An entrepreneur at heart can still fulfill their hunger right in middle of having a corporate job (or any less than ideal situation) if one is willing to become an intrapreneur, or someone who uses their entrepreneurial spirit inside a company.

My new-found appreciation for my job has led me to identify many positive benefits that are helping me prepare for the move to running my own business.

Three Ways to Become An Intrapreneur

1. The training ground. I’ve been with some organizations that “play” business more than “do” business, however, working in the corporate structure has been a fabulous school. My job has served as my lab where I test ways to improve my skill set and improve my business acumen. Not only do I learn, but I can also apply and test theories with very little risk. Imagine that, I’m my own case study. And to top it off, I’ve been paid to receive tens of thousands of dollars worth of business training over the years!
2. The great reality check. Chances are, if you can’t perform at a high-level in a structured, corporate environment, then there is a significant chance you won’t have the discipline to perform in a highly unstructured, self-employed one. I’ve learned that I have the chops to do so, which has boosted my confidence in my abilities, but equally importantly; it has made me aware of my weaknesses.
3. The network. One of the greatest benefits of working in the corporate world (depending on your level/position) is having access to high-profile contacts. I work with enterprise accounts where some of my contacts sit at an executive level. It’s a wonderful place to learn from great minds, and to market myself.

So there you have it! How in the world could I not feel extremely fortunate to have such a setup? Sure, it’s not the ideal entrepreneurial journey…but I’m making the best of it!

I’d love to hear about your transition from corporate to self-employed. Or, if you juggle both, how it works for you?

Jk Allen is the mind behind The Hustler’s Notebook where he writes about personal development for business and life from the angle of a hustler (in the most positive way).

The end.

I know, it’s a radical idea, and we laugh so hard every time we talk about it. And how huge this book could be in sales, if there were anything more to add, other than the title, but there isn’t. That is how you lose weight. It takes a long time, and there is no SHORT CUT.

My father used to call it the Strawberry Short Cut – it works when you’re driving from Point A to Point B (sometimes), but it doesn’t work when you’re trying to get from Point A to Point B, like say, from obscurity to the cover of Entrepreneur.

I use that example because Gini Dietrich and I always talk about what we’ll wear for our cover photo shoot when we get there.

And the funny thing, my other BFF, Dana Hughens, texted me the other day joking about an incident that will be retold in her Entrepreneur interview some day.

So I bet there are a lot of you out there with similar dreams. And none of us will make it happen by taking the short cut.

We notice them when others take them, don’t we? We notice when the restaurant didn’t use the freshest ingredients, or when the trim in the house we are looking at doesn’t quite meet at the seam. It’s obvious when you didn’t do your research before you went into a new client meeting. When you sent out that mass email hoping to get ink and pixels for your client, it was obvious you took the short cut, because of the lackluster results.

I read Entrepreneur like some people read US Weekly; with star-struck eyes, thinking about how easy they made it look, and how they are on top of the world right now. Neither is true. I should know better than that.

Stumptown Coffee, which by the way, is the most awesomest coffee ever, is on the cover this month and I was overjoyed to see them there. They are so far from an overnight success.

Founder Duane Sorenson opened his doors in 1999, made the coffee himself, and put the money in a shoebox at the end of the day. When the shoebox was full enough, he’d count it up and deposit.

His secrets? They aren’t secrets at all. He paid attention to detail, to his employees, and to paying top dollar for the finest beans.

I think about that a lot as we put in long hours working on Spin Sucks Pro. We have our moments of extreme frustration to elated optimism.

I think about that interview in the not-too-distant future. When they ask me what our the three “secrets” are. I’d have to say:

1. Passion about PR and marketing…and changing the perception of the industry.
2. Focus on quality content that helps you do your jobs more quickly and more efficiently.
3. Giving you a place to discuss and debate, and to learn from one another.

It’s a great exercise. It presents a road map if you will, to get you from Point A to Point B. What would be your Three Secrets in your big interview?

See you at Point B. And no cheating or budging!

Thanks to Babble for the image. I just needed an excuse to post a photo of a strawberry shortcake.

I’ve now come to a point where I think I’ve figured out how these minds work.  Yes, they say it’s lonely at the top for this select group of individuals, but because they move too fast for the rest of us to keep up, the loneliness is self-inflicted.

I’ve created a chart outlining the stages of an entrepreneurial mind to help the rest of us make it less lonely for our beloved CEOs.

It’s not as National Geographic as I thought it would be. In fact, it’s pretty simple.  Your own CEO is probably at one of these stages now.

Stage One: Mountain Top Envy

We all do this; we want what we don’t have.  But the difference is most entrepreneurs will do almost anything to get there.

Stage Two: I’m Lonely and Scared of Falling

Here is where you’ve reached the destination but you know that one wrong move might shake the rest of the foundation.

Stage Three: Conquered Mountain, Now On to the Next

Now that you have your footing and are confident, you see the next challenge and start deciding how you’re going to get there.

So what does this mean for those of us who work for these entrepreneurs?  Well, if you can take a step back and see which stage you are in, you can determine where the responsibility lies and when it’s time to make your move.

I’ll give you my example of Arment Dietrich, Spin Sucks, and Spin Sucks Pro:

Arment Dietrich was in stage one when we decided we wanted to create a leading PR industry blog.  We started Spin Sucks, learned a lot, and got where we wanted to be. Then, Gini decided she wanted to tackle the next mountain, and along comes Spin Sucks Pro.

I watched my CEO go through the stages and am able to recognize where opportunity is calling my name.

As any company enters phase three there are roles employees can play:

1. Once you see your CEO/company sitting nicely at the top of the mountain now is your time to strike!  If you’ve been holding on to a great idea that you want to embark on, share it now!
2. If your CEO is moving into phase three decide if now is the time to step up and let your boss know that he/she can trust you to take over management of that mountain while they pursue the next.
3. OR, let your CEO know that you want to be their right-hand man on that next mountain climb.

In my case, I decided I wanted to go with option number two.  I let my CEO know that she can move onto Spin Sucks Pro as I help manage Arment Dietrich.  It is up to us to step up so we let our CEOs use their minds the way nature intended.

Is your company in one of these stages now?  Do you see an opportunity calling your name?

Lisa D. Jenkin

One of the hardest things we do is to make the choice not to work with everyone who wants to hire us.

That’s easier read than done.

In some cases, we say no to protect ourselves.

Those of us building our young reputations and growing new client bases have (or should have) a very clear vision of the clients we want to represent.  Deviating from that vision can derail months of strategic planning and endanger our place in the market we want to serve.  We must choose carefully.

Those of you with established reputations have built solid client bases that are often composed of niche markets – markets that you specialize in representing because you have invested time and resources in educating yourself on how to best serve them.  You have leeway to explore other client markets but branching out too quickly can have adverse consequences.  You must also choose carefully.

In other cases, we say no to protect the would be client.

We all use the same tools.  The differences in our businesses lie in how we employ those tools to the advantage of our individual clients.  Understanding the tools of marketing does not mean that we posses the broad finesse to serve every type of client with dynamic results.  Some of you might and that’s amazing, but I don’t.

As marketers, we base our living on knowing how to guide people along a path to conversion – a sale, a visit, a subscription, etc.  The need for revenue notwithstanding, we have a professional responsibility not to use our knowledge to force a fit when we know it’s not right.

Regardless of our place and expertise in this industry, you and I both have bills to pay.  When we say no to revenue, whether to protect the business reputations we build or the clients we serve, it’s difficult.

I’ve said “no” a number of times.  In each instance, I’ve taken the time to explain why I’m not the right choice and to provide at least one other contact who I know to be a better professional fit than I.

Two days ago, I received one of the highest compliments of my self-employed career.  An artist had recommended me to a colleague and when I thanked her, she said, “I appreciate your ethics as well as your smart advice!!”  Because I said no.

When do you say “No”?

Lisa D. Jenkins is an erratic blogger growing into her Big-Girl Business Panties one terrifying decision at a time.  She loves quirky t-shirts, red wine and Guinness, and  will die literature poor.

Guest post by

I’m a new dad and an entrepreneur, so I’m familiar with the idea of failure. I have a hunch you are too. We’ve all experienced failure from time to time. The key is to harness that failure into useful lessons.

My son is only about two months old. He has yet to attempt standing up, crawling, walking, talking, swimming, biking, or algebra. But in a matter of months, he’ll try to start crawling. Once he conquers that, he’ll attempt to start standing up and walking around like his parents do.

He’ll fail. I can say with almost certainty that my son will fail at his first attempts to walk.

Why?

Because it’s natural. It’s human. We try something and if it doesn’t work out, we figure out why and do it again. Often times, failure is one of our best teachers. Failure demonstrates what didn’t work and sparks us to think about what could work instead.

The first few times my little guy starts trying to walk, he’s probably going to fall down. And he’ll probably get angry about it. But each time he falls, he’ll learn a tiny bit about why he fell and what he can do next time to help prevent another fall.

The whole thing sounds simple now that we’re older. But we too fall, every day.

We try new pricing models for our products but they’re not quite right. We experiment with new return policies for our customers but our customers aren’t exactly thrilled about it. We realize the all-star team we hired might not be such all-stars.

And we’re not alone. Really successful fellow entrepreneurs have walked down this same path.

Nathan Blecharczyk, Brian Chesky, and Joe Gebbia, founders of the popular travel website Airbnb.com, launched the site twice before gaining critical mass. After tweaking the business following the first failure, they tried again. No luck. They took a step back, examined what went wrong, and realized they needed more focus in various areas of their business. So they focused. And the third try was a charm.

Dennis Crowley, founder of the popular location service Foursquare, created another location website years ago called Dodgeball. That site was purchased by Google and subsequently shut down. Dennis took some time to examine his failures from Dodgeball and retool them into a brand new idea, which is now the most talked about location service today, Foursquare.

We’re all going to fail once in awhile. We’ve been doing it since the first few months of our lives. The key is to harness those failures into something we can learn from.

I’m excited for my son to start learning to walk soon. I know he won’t nail it right off the bat. But I’m ready to help him up each time he falls.

It’s the only way he’ll learn.

Tim Jahn interviews creative entrepreneurs on his website Beyond The Pedway.

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Guest post by Laura Scholz, president of Scholz Communications.

When you first start your solo PR practice, bartering services can seem like a win-win. You get amazing experience, exposure, and valuable services; your “clients” get your professional expertise at virtually no cost.

During the past three years, I’ve traded for web design, haircuts, Pilates and yoga classes, personal training, head shots, nutrition advice, office space, and more than the occasional meal. Having started my business with zero savings and zero capital — in the middle of a divorce, no less — these types of relationships were crucial to helping me manage my budget AND move my business forward. And I would say the same was true for those on the other end of the barter.

But as my business continues to grow and my time becomes more limited, I’m starting to question the value of trade for all involved. I think everyone enters trade with the best of intentions, but with never-ending to-do lists and nonstop schedules, you have to set priorities. And that means paying clients come first – often to the detriment of good relationships with quality people who have nothing but the best intentions. So, how do you decide if trade is right for you? And if it is, how do you make it a truly mutually beneficial relationship? Following are five tips for business bartering.

1. Be selective. Choose your trades carefully. Go with businesses and people who represent your brand and reputation. Remember  you don’t have to accept every trade opportunity that comes your way. It’s okay to say no.
2. Be realistic. We’re all busy professionals, juggling client work with personal and professional obligations. It’s easy to take on too much, and unfortunately, unpaid work can fall to the bottom of the priority list. Be selective about your clients but also realistic about what you can accomplish for them given your other responsibilities. Over-promising is the easiest way to ensure a relationship goes south.
3. Sign a formal contract. In the early stages of my business, I did entirely too much business with nothing but a virtual handshake to seal the deal. Not any more. Every one of my clients signs a contract stipulating terms, duration, and deliverables. It may seem like a formality, but it gives both parties clear boundaries and expectations.
4. Establish boundaries. Every project and every contact needs a beginning and end point, with clear goals, deadlines, and outcomes. For example, my contract with my Pilates and yoga studio is for six months at a set amount of studio credit per month and outlines specific deliverables. This ensures  I complete the work for them in the allotted amount of time, but it also means we can renegotiate terms or choose to part ways at the end of the contract. Which brings me to my next point, which is…
5. Have an out. There’s nothing worse than an open-ended “I’ll help you if you’ll help me” agreement. While entered into with the best of intentions, it breeds laziness on both sides and sets you up for an unpleasant parting. Unfortunately, I’ve been there, and it’s really not the ideal way to end a friendship or a business partnership. Be clear about the terms of your relationship, but also give yourself and your “client” an out so you can end the contract if either party is unhappy – without permanently damaging your relationship.

What are your experiences with trade? Other lessons you’ve learned or tips you’d add? Any success stories you’d like to share?

Laura Scholz is the president of Scholz Communications, a boutique firm that helps creative sector entrepreneurs brand, promote and grow their businesses. When not busy working or writing for her own blog, she enjoys running marathons with the Georgia Chapter of Team in Training, consuming massive quantities of cheese dip, and virtually celebrating wine:thirty with the Arment Dietrich team.

In her post, her worries include: Positioning more broadly, employee turnover and cultural changes, divvying up the profits, employees who don’t like one another, and loss of clients. She and I bantered a little bit over Twitter and she asked me what I would add to the list.

It’s funny that Elizabeth’s worries are not my own; I don’t even worry about loss of clients (anymore). Each firm is unique, with its own culture and own set of challenges. Following is what keeps me up at night:

1. It was October 13, 2008 and I got the dreaded phone call from the bank. Our line of credit had been cut off. Payroll was due in two days and none of our clients had paid their invoices for September. I remember handling that phone call extremely unprofessionally. I even cried. I did manage to talk them into covering payroll for us, until clients paid their invoices.  So began 15 months of worrying every single month whether or not we were going to make the payroll that was due on the 15th. April 2010 (yes, just a few months ago) was the first month we were cash flow positive and I’m happy to report I no longer lie in bed, awake in the middle of the night, wondering if we are going to make payroll. But I still worry that it’s going to happen again and that is not a position I ever want to experience again.

2. Are we delivering above and beyond what our clients expect? I’ve always been a go the extra mile person, and it was great when I was executing myself. But now that I have a team of experts, who are all great at what they do, I only hear from clients when they’re upset or angry. Even though it’s not often, it’s not a fun job. I don’t like it much. In fact, I pretty much hate it. So I worry about how to create a culture where my team can read the red flags and they aren’t afraid to tell me there is a problem…before the client calls me.

3. Just a little more than a year ago, I took over this blog and began writing consistently. It started out as three days a week, then four, and now we’re up to five days (and multiple times  a day is coming)! But now I worry about whether or not I’m providing value not only to you, but whether or not it’s valuable enough to get prospective clients to call us. Now that Dan is here, we hope to provide an even higher level of value that is targeted directly to your specific needs and grants you exclusivity. But I sometimes lie awake at night and worry we won’t be able to pull it off.

4. This one is going to sound weird, but I worry whether or not our new business proposals are too much. We’re smart. We have a great team. We drive superior results that actually affect revenue. But I don’t think that comes across in our new business proposals. Get us in front of the prospect and we win nearly every time. But if we have to send an RFP, a PowerPoint document, or a description of what we do, we almost never win. We had a managing director who used to say, “To know us is to love us.” I worry about how to get prospects to know us without having met us.

5. And, last but not least, the one thing I spend a ton of time worrying about is my own coaching and leadership skills. I’m busy. Aren’t we all? But I travel quite a bit, I’m rarely in the office five days a week, and when I am, I spend most of my time on conference calls and with clients. My team gets me for an hour every Monday, but that’s the only scheduled time. I worry that I’m not available enough to coach them, to provide them advice that advances their careers, and that they have great ideas, but they flounder because I’m not around to give them the nod. I work with Randy Hall at least once a month on how to better myself in this arena, but I always worry it’s not enough.

What about you? Even if you don’t run a PR firm, what keeps you up at night? What are some of your own worries?

Photo credit: Libsyn