So what's the plan, Spanky?

Good evening. Just came back from my wife's 50th birthday
surprise party. It was three weeks in the making, and boy,
am I glad it's over. I never thought it would come together
and everyone would show up.

It was perfect.

She thought we were going to a hotel for brunch after
church, but when we got there we discovered we missed
brunch (the set-up). What she didn't know was that 30 of
her friends were hiding behind a wall in the back of the
restaurant. Just as she was sulking about missing brunch,
they all jumped out to surprise her.

I got her.

There's a certain satisfaction when a plan comes together.

When was the last time you felt that way in your business?

I know some people who have never felt this satisfaction at
all, and that's a shame.

It starts with a plan. It doesn't have to be a formal
business or marketing plan -- though that helps a lot.

But you need a road map, something scratched out on paper
that shows the steps you will follow to get to your
destination and achieve your goals.

I know, I know. So many of us are simply trying to stay
ahead of the tax man and just have cash flow. I understand
this all too well myself.

But if you don't have a plan to work against, what's the
sense of waking up in the morning? You need something to
reach for -- you need to know what you have to do to see
light at the end of the tunnel.

How long is your tunnel?

How dark is your tunnel?

Does it twist and turn?

Are you even going in the right direction?

Or are you even in the right tunnel?

Think about these things, please.

Where are you going?

How will you get there?

Answer these things in writing. Tape them to your mirror,
to your screen, somewhere you will see them every day and
then read them until they are burned into your retinas.

Then don't deviate.

Unless you have to.

Then have a plan B and understand how to work the detours
and what the inadvertent, unplanned trip or diversion will
do to your big picture plans.

If you are not thinking this strategically, then it's time
to start thinking this way.

And if you are having trouble getting started or getting
over the hump (the detour) then let me know what you are
facing and I'll try to give you some advice.

For free.

OK, last week I said we were going to start looking at the
biggest problems people are making online with their web
sites.

Lesson #1:

Poor Type Treatment:

Avoid using very small and VERY LARGE fonts.

Avoid using many different fonts on one page.

Don't center all of your text.

Limit bold, italics, underlines and highlights.

If you are doing all of these things to excess, you need to
fix it.

OK, one last thing for the night.

A new tool I like a lot.

It will help you to create better banner ads for your
products and services. It comes with ready-made templates,
effects, and videos teaching you how to use them
effectively.

Very cool.

Very affordable.

Worthy of your time to consider, please:

http://www.resellerproducts.com/easybannermakerpro/

Until our next lesson,

Steven