For many of us, debt is a constant problem. For some or other reason, the paychecks do not last as long as the month does. By the time we figured out how to handle our finances, we are so far in arrears that we have no idea how to get back to normal on our current earnings. What can you do? You have only your salary to work with, and already that is not enough. There are a few choices to explore when you need to get out of debt.
1: You can increase your income. You can take on a spare time job, or start selling something on the sideline. It does seem like a very practical solution, but only if you are single. If you are in a relationship, it could start showing signs of strain due to less time available to spend together. If you are a parent, you may find your kids getting into mischief, or lagging behind in school, simply because they feel "pushed aside", or neglected, so their actions become a cry for attention.
2: You can cut down on what you spend. It sounds so simple, but in reality it is a lot easier said than done. Luxury items are easy to cut back on, but chances are you already did that. If you cut back any more, it will most probably be cutting into your food budget. Cutting back on the quality of your food means lower nutritional value, leaving you open to weakening your immune system, getting sick, and having more debts in the form of medical bills.
3: You can re-negotiate your payments on your debts. This does seem like the logical answer, because you do not need to sacrifice anything, or work any harder to achieve it. The unfortunate truth about this method is that you will be paying back a lot more, because your interest is calculated on the outstanding amount. It will simply drag on, and tie you down financially for a longer period of time.
4: Consolidate your debts into one single payment. This is best done by borrowing money in the form of a loan using your house as collateral. Due to a much lower interest rate, your monthly repayment. becomes less, and if you so choose, you can extend the repayment period to the maximum allowed. You will end up still repaying a larger amount, but due to the time involved, your monthly payment will be considerably less. You will be able to absorb fluctuations in your income, and unexpected expenses along the way. None of the other methods will afford you this freedom and flexibility.
Want To Get Thin
For some, it might be that you don't really know what to do, so you're doing nothing. And that includes not taking any action to learn more and find out what to do. If you were a car, you'd be stuck in PARK.
For some, it's not that you don't know what to do, you just don't. Other things always seem to take precedence. You have to call those prospects back that never returned your call from twelve weeks ago. Maybe you have to re-index your collection of business cards. If you were a car, you'd be stuck in NEUTRAL.
Still for others, you're doing as much as you can to market your services, but you're just not getting the results you'd like to have. It gets frustrating, because each of your ideas cost time and money, but you're not seeing the payoff. If you were a car, you'd be stuck in the MUD!
If you want to get GROWING with your service business, then you must get GOING with your marketing. You need to have a plan and a system in place that will...
...get you unstuck,
...make yourself accountable for getting it done, and
...give you something actionable to follow so that you can be as productive as possible with your non-client time.
Above all, you must GET GOING to GET GROWING!
Here are five identifiable and essential steps for you to get going with your marketing.
1. Begin with Laser Focus. If you haven't established clarity and focus about where you are going with your business, then you might as well be driving around in the dark, blindfolded and without headlights.
Just by spending some time to clarify and write down what you are trying to do with your business, your vision for where you want to take the business, and five to ten specific and measurable goals you'd like to accomplish for the coming months and year -- you'll be ahead of most of the service businesses out there.
Spend some additional time to define a very specific target market you'd like to penetrate and what it is that uniquely differentiates you from other alternatives. The focus on a niche allows you to create greater connection to prospects in the target audience than if you market to everyone.
The half day to a day or so you spend thinking through and actually writing these things down will give you more clarity, focus and motivation to keep you moving forward than you can imagine.
2. Position your business for great success. There are a number of key components that once developed can and should exist throughout your marketing.
Start by developing an attention getting message that focuses on your target clients and the challenges you want to help them overcome. Don't try to get too fancy. What you need is a concise, powerful statement that says who you work with and what problems, issues or challenges you want to help them overcome.
Additional key components:
* Articulate specific results and benefits of your services.
* Compile evidences of success including case studies and testimonials.
* Determine what you can offer to lower your prospects risk of doing business with you.
With all these client-focused elements in hand, you'll position your business for success that others simply don't have.
3. Create better marketing materials. If you've completed steps one and two, then you've done most of the groundwork for your marketing materials. Notice how everything is about your clients and prospects, and not about you or your company.
Whether you work on a web site, special report, tip sheet, newsletter, etc., keep the focus on your clients and prospects and what you can do for them. Most of the material out there just goes on and on about whom you are and what you do. That just does not work. People want to know what's in it for them and how you can help them solve their problems.
Also, try to make it clear what action you want your audience to take - call, email, order, etc. Ever read through someone's material and then you have no clue what you should do next? I see it all the time. Your audience will appreciate it if you guide them a bit as to what action they should take.
4. Get known in your marketplace. This is where a majority of service businesses start. They immediately start joining networking groups and trying to spread the word that they're in business. But look at how much work we just did before now.
I'm not suggesting you need to complete all of steps one, two, and three before you start trying to get visibility for yourself, but just think of how well prepared you will be to make an impression and follow-up if you've spent time on each of these previous steps.
Now you can get actively involved in networking, set up one-on-one meetings with networking contacts to deepen relationships, and start looking for places to share your valuable information through speaking and writing opportunities.
You'll create visibility for yourself so people can start to feel like they know you, like you, trust you and want to do business with you.
5. Deploy marketing initiatives and begin a cycle of continuous improvement. Marketing is not a one time event. There is no end destination where you're finished, sit back and let the marketing start working for you.
You must continuously monitor what's working and what's not working. Test your messages, offers, target lists, etc. Think about what it could mean to your business if you could increase the effectiveness of one of your marketing tools by 2, 5, 10, or 20 times the response. That's the power of testing.
Consider scheduling regular time and begin working through these essential steps as best you can. I guarantee you won't be stuck in park, stuck in neutral, or stuck in the mud for long. Remember, you must get going to get growing and I just gave you a five step plan to do it.
Both Grumpyjack Sa & Kevin Dervin are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Grumpyjack Sa has sinced written about articles on various topics from Real Estate, Disease & illness and Surveys. For more information on consolidating your debts, .. Grumpyjack Sa's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.
