You’ve probably heard the line from a famous Chinese proverb, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” If you’re overwhelmed by the idea of creating a strategic plan for your business, take heart – and take that first step – by answering some important questions. Begin your journey to creating a comprehensive strategic plan that will set you up for a successful 2019. Rather than labor over your answers, I invite you instead to focus on answering the questions honestly. Remember, this is just a launching point. You can explore these questions more in-depth down the road! Where is my business currently at? This isn’t the same as “Where do I wish my business was at?” Optimism aside, what does your

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I recently watched “The Queen” a movie starring Helen Miren as Queen Elizabeth and Michael Sheen as Prime Minister Tony Blair during the eight days following the death of Princes Diana on August 31st in 1997. What really fascinated me about this movie was the way the in which the Queen seemed to be at the effect of protocol “the way things are done around here” and the power her environment had on her thinking, decision making and timeliness in dealing with the reality of the circumstances surrounding and following Diana’s death. You may recall that the monarchy was severely criticized for a perceived lack of sympathy regarding Princess Diana’s death and seeming insensitivity to the outpouring of love by a nation deep in mourning

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Transcript: Have you ever wondered why is it that people are always talking about doing a plan. What good is it. How does this really help me in my business. It’s just time away. In this video I’m going to show you how to make successful plans. How to have your plan actually be something that takes you and your business to the next level. So the concept that I want to talk to you about today is really taking a step wise approach to planning and it all begins with dreaming. What?!? Dreaming?!? Are you sure? Yes! Dreaming. Dreaming is being out there looking at what does your ideal life look like ten plus years from now. What would your ideal life be like.

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Small business experts will tell you that generating leads online is critical for success in today’s business world. People are doing more and more business online. If you are ignoring that potential source of leads, your business is not going to grow and thrive. Checklist for generating leads online You can use this five-point checklist to get started or to refine your current process. Give great value. Almost everyone on the planet loves to get value for their money. Value is getting something more than a low price. Value can come in the form of useful information and tips, additional features, faster delivery, reduced fees, free customization, etc. Your prospects must see that the value you are providing them that makes you superior to the

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Are you looking for new and creative ways to generate leads for your business? Sometimes you need to get creative to jumpstart your lead generation process. Adding just a bit of creativity can expand your audience and attract plenty of attention to what your company has to offer. Let’s Get Creative Here are three creative ways you can generate new leads: Host a special event. This can be as simple as an after work wine and cheese party. It can be as complicated as a full-blown formal black-tie event, complete with orchestral trio and a sit-down dinner. You invite your existing customers and ask them to bring a friend who might be interested in what your company has to offer. It is a nice way

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Transcript: What is strategic planning? I think you’ll agree that most people are confused about what strategic planning is, but what if I told you there’s no such thing as strategic planning? In this video I’m going to share with you what Peter Drucker, the famous management consultant, and Sun Tzu, the author of Thirty-Six Stratagems, have to say about planning and strategy. Stay tuned. Hi, my name is Jody Ann Johnson from ActionCOACH Team Sage, where we help small business owners grow their company, make more money, free up their time and to have choice of the opportunities they want to take advantage of. Let me start off with uncollapsing strategic planning. From strategy, which is thinking, and planning, which is implementing and executing.

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Transcript:How to develop a business continuity plan? I think we’ll all agree that it’s better to have a plan when disaster strikes than not have a plan. Yet, what if I told you that the majority of business owners won’t take the time to do that kind of planning? In this video I’m going to share with you an easy way to integrate business continuity planning into your annual and semi annual business planning, so that in the event that some untoward thing happens, the company is able to weather that and survive. Hi, my name is Jody Ann Johnson with ActionCOACH Team Sage, where we help small business owners to grow their business, free up their time, make more money and to have choice

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Transcript: People ask me all the time what are the steps to growing the business effectively. Well, what if I told you that here with our clients in ActionCOACH we have six clearly defined steps that when you implement them, will actually allow your business to grow and flourish all the way from that early beginning stages of chaos through to a business that you can sell, duplicate or have as a passive income. And it’s not hard to do. In this video, I’m going to take you through each of those six steps are and the advancement criteria to go from one level to the next. Stay tuned! Hi, this is Jody Ann Johnson with ActionCOACH business coaching, where we help small business owners

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Transcript: What is the business planning cycle? I think we can all agree that people get very confused about where to start in their business planning. But what if I told you that there is an easy model to follow? In this video I’m going to share with you the four areas of decision making and planning that will allow you to have a pathway for being able to do your planning and do it well. Stay tuned! Hi, this is Jody Ann Johnson with ActionCOACH Business Coaching, where we help small business owners to grow their companies, free up their time, make more money and be at choice. The four areas that I mentioned to you at the onset of this video actually come

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Transcript: People often ask me how important is business planning. I think we can all agree that it takes time away from the day in and day out of your business operations. However, what if I told you that when done properly it can make the difference in how well you can fulfill on your business and financial objectives for the year and that it’s worth that time investment? In this video I’m going to share with you how to plan and prepare for your meeting, what to cover during the meeting, including some key questions to ask yourself and your team, and how to capture the promises and requests that are made with a by when, so that you can keep tracking your progress

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