“SP ONLINE”

"Successful Professionals Online" is the ePublication (blog) for the Successful Professionals community.

SUCCESSFUL PROFESSIONALS ONLINE

VOLUME 1 – BRIEFING 1

February 20, 2012

“Get Informed – And Stay Connected”

In this issue

1. Editor’s Soap Box

2. Energy Bursts

3. Featured Resources for business development

4. What’s hot right now in Internet & Web marketing

5. Featured article

6. Introduction to the SP Community

1. Editor’s Soap Box

The first issue of the Successful Professionals Community blog has become a reality!

This ePublication has been coming together for a number of years now. Many of you have followed our journey from The Business Development Network – to ROK Consultants – to Successful Professionals.

Along the way we learned that people at the entry level of business formation had almost unlimited support systems and resources. These include both public and private providers.

However, there is a serious shortage of groups that primarily help executives, managers, consultants, speakers, authors, trainers and facilitators…who are already successful and want to grow their business to the next level.

Some of you have mentioned to me the Mastermind and Inner Circle type groups that exist – and which seek to cover a wide-range of issues facing businesses today. But, unlike Successful Professionals, they do not narrow their focus to business development opportunities and revenue growth.

This is what brought Successful Professionals into existence. And it is why you’re reading this ePublication right now. You will find more information on our Community at the end of this briefing. If you want more information, we would enjoy hearing from you.

We hope you will enjoy the ongoing briefings from “Successful Professionals Online” – and will consider circulating them to your associates and others you know will benefit.

Safe journeys to you!

Rich Muller

2. Energy Bursts

· Congratulations to Angela Schnaubelt on completing the comprehensive draft of her “Social Media Playbook”. Working in tandem with Larry Davis, of Allegra Marketing, Print & Mail Services, the pair also created a stunning poster board approach to illustrating the dynamics of Online Marketing. Angela’s new site is at: http://askcoachangela.com/

· Congratulations also go out to Doug & Jane Denny of DeJa Local Marketing on the progress of their break-thru smart phone application – using QR Codes for managing new connections. With a little good fortune with the folks at iTunes and Android…you’ll be able to buy “Q-Up” by the end of February! For more information go to: http://www.q-upmyapp.com/

· Lastly, a well-deserved “shout out” to Kathleen Watson on launching her beautiful new logo and website. If you’re interested in what it means to be “Stepping Into Big:” – check it out: http://www.steppingintobig.com/

3. Featured Resources

· The Midwest Society of Association Executives presents its annual Speaker’s Academy this Friday in Plymouth….http://msae.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=344

Note: please send along Events – Resources – and so on that you believe should be considered for publication in this section.

4. What’s hot right now in Internet & Web marketing

There is a tectonic shift of marketing dollars from “traditional” marketing – to the various Internet and web opportunities. Some of these – such as coupons and Facebook Fan Pages are getting a lot of coverage in the popular media.

Now, watch for these three hot topics to start getting more visibility:

1. eBooks

2. Membership sites

3. Mobile websites (not to be confused with mobile apps).

We’ll be looking deeper into these opportunities in our upcoming Issues.

5. Featured Article

Attached is a thoughtful – and challenging – article written by Jay Abraham…where he reflects on what is going to be required for entrepreneurs to succeed in 2012. Jay’s client list reads like a “who’s who” of American businesses. I hope you find his musings to be valuable.

6. Introduction to the Successful Professionals Community

· SP Gateway www.SuccessfulProfessionals.com

· SP Agency www.SuccessfulProfessionalsAgency.com

· SP Network www.SuccessfulProfessionalsNetwork.com

· SP Advisors www.SuccessfulProfessionalsAdvisors.com

You will note that these websites continue to be “works in progress”. So you’ll be able to watch them grow and evolve in the coming weeks & months!

Jay Abraham's Blog Post:

The Real Meaning of Business Life in 2012

NOTE: More on becoming a "Born-Again" entrepreneur…It's long, but sells

NOTHING!

Can we talk candidly for a few minutes? This could alter/redefine your

business future. But it may be painful to hear.

The New Year that's upon us could…possibly…be THE toughest, most

challenging, stress-inducing, mentally buffeting year you've ever lived

in your business.

Why? The reasons are many. But the point I want to make is NOT how

competitive the marketplace is becoming. It's NOT how different consumer

buying patterns are changing. It's NOT even a lecture about anything I

teach, like the Strategy of Preeminence or the Nine Drivers of Geometric

Growth.

No – there's only one vital/critical/pivotal realization I want you to

make as we start the clock ticking loudly away on this year of dramatic

volatility we're calling 2012.

As a business owner – you're either a proprietor or an entrepreneur.

Tragically, shockingly, but truthfully – something like 95% of all small

business owners function as proprietors – not entrepreneurs.

Why is this fact so bad? Because your days as a proprietor – operating a

"me too," commodity-type enterprise are all but numbered. Stated less

tactfully – unless you dramatically change who and what you are – your

business could become "The Walking Dead" – possibly sooner than later.

I'm not even trying to scare you.

I'm writing this "red alert" to save you, pressure you, reset your

belief system. I'm not doing this to sell you a thing – except,

hopefully (if the shoe fits) to sell you on shifting yourself out of the

doomed world of business proprietor and into the dynamic, vibrant,

possibility-based world of an entrepreneurship.

An example is appropriate.

So, as I examined my own goals for 2012, I realized that I ONLY wanted

to work with true entrepreneurs — as opposed to business owners who

function more as proprietors. Wondering what's the difference? It's

huge.

A proprietor (as described by Peter Drucker) is a business owner who

pretty much adds nothing meaningful to the business category they

address.

A Mexican restaurant or a deli that does pretty much the same thing much

the same way every other one does it—adds little (if any) real value

to the marketplace – other than (maybe) convenience of location.

Certainly the owner is banking on the market expanding to embrace his or

her offerings, but they don't make the experience any better. They don't

redefine the concept. They don't innovate the model or the

product/service offering. It's just another deli or Mexican restaurant.

On the other hand, a true entrepreneur is a business owner committed to

continuously innovating – innovating how they conduct business, and what

they offer, innovating the experience people encounter, innovating the

way the product/service gets delivered/presented, innovating the

product/service itself.

Drucker didn't say it – but I see a proprietor as someone who sets up a

generic business that's non-distinctive, one that takes oxygen out of

the air and cash out of commerce, but frankly, contributes back very

little exceptional value to the market beyond the "mere" self-serving

commodity aspect of their product/service offer.

Drucker – squarely sized up the difference between a proprietor and an

entrepreneur. The proprietor (he says) merely does what has been done by

thousands before them. They don't try to create a new satisfaction,

experience or consumer demand. All the proprietor does is hope they can

tap into existing demand.

An entrepreneur creates something new, creates new experiences, new

satisfaction, new definition of what they do. Entrepreneurs create

something different – more exciting, more satisfying, more desirable or

valuable to the market.

They change, transform or transmute values. Entrepreneurs focus on

changing reference models. They find ways to improve, redefine

products/service experience, the process. Perhaps, MOST importantly,

entrepreneurs make truly positive impacts on their market.

They are committed to being "game changers" – true innovators who renew,

shift, alter, redefine their marketplace position and product. They

multiply the benefits, magnify the experience, maximize the

advantage–FOR the consumer. It's ALL about benefitting the consumer!

When you look at the year ahead, ask yourself a sobering question. It's

this: Am I merely siphoning cash out of my market's momentum – or am I

truly adding innovative value? Am I a multiplier—or a diminisher?

Am I making a huge positive impact–or no worthwhile/significant effect,

whatsoever? Can't answer? If that's the case, you probably AREN'T

innovating and/or adding anything meaningful, purposeful to your

marketplace or their experience. You probably AREN'T making any true,

positive impact!

True entrepreneurs require no certainty, instead they "feed on"

opportunity. Problems are their fuel of achievement. Challenges are

their competitive advantages.

Probably the biggest differentiation between being a value creator or a

"commerce siphon" – is whether or not your business is based on

purposeful/impactful innovation vs. pure profit motivation. Profit

today, more than any time in the past is a by-product of contribution

and the amount of value that your business adds to the consumer.

Obstacles in an industry are motivators for the entrepreneur to figure

how to surmount inventively/advantageously.

Why? Because businesses are not static. Yours either grows or it dies.

But growth can be illusory. A business can increase sales and even

improve profits (short-term) while actually losing market meaning. The

entrepreneur that does NOT innovate inevitably ages, declines,

struggles, stagnates, suffocates or dies.

But don't think that entrepreneurship is natural, automatic and just

naturally flows to some lucky people. It does not! It's hard, continuous

work – but what isn't?

If you're a proprietor – you need to convert and become a "Born Again"

entrepreneur. How? Try this:

* Become supremely receptive to seeing change in marketing, change in

consumer buying habits, change in competitive offering as an opportunity

rather than a threat.

* Continuously evaluate your business and its performance as an

innovator/value creator in as many critical categories as possible, i.e.

product development, value added, buyer experience, performance dynamic

of product, service people.

* Become obsessed (almost) for discovery, development, perfecting new

things – new ways of marketing, new ways of delivering your

products/service, new ways of improving the transactional experience.

See your world differently than your competition.

* Learn to overcome resistance to innovate, by wanting/craving

continuous breakthroughs in marketing, strategy, innovation, your

business model, your competitive positioning..

Any business owner who tries to hold on to the "status quo" will lose

ground, rapidly. Recognize the importance of innovation and the fact

that it takes time and resource allocation/investment to bloom.

You can't merely wish for your business to become a true value creator

to the marketplace. You need to plan and execute, nurture (and nourish)

specific, progressive steps.

Nothing good or great comes without effort and hard work. But if you

crave new ways to reach your market, new product/service offerings or

impact, new markets to serve, new methods for doing business, new

technologies to produce a better outcome, new ways to successfully

compete – your business CAN thrive!

Final lesson in your reality check: Everything has a limited…oftentimes

shorter life and profit expectancy–than we think. So, if you aren't

committed to making your current approaches (and current thinking)

obsolete and continuously replacing them with innovative new ways – rest

assured, your competition will do it to you and for you.

Bottom line?

Are you an entrepreneur who innovates and adds constant value and

positive impact to the market—or only a proprietor taking cash out of

commerce?

Whichever you HAVE been – there's only one thing to BE today – a

"full-on" entrepreneur. Remember, too, that innovation and breakthroughs

may need to be started small, but their returns, pay-offs and rewards

should be huge.

I'm selling nothing here–except selling YOU on performing this

self-reality check. I hope you passed!

Jay Abraham

January 7, 2012