Joseph Ghabi once said: “Your life will begin changing the moment you decide that you want it to.”

I’ve found that the same is true for growing your business. If you want to see different results than what you’ve seen in the past, you must make a heartfelt decision to do things differently. You need to start with making over your mindset.

Mental blocks can hold you back and keep you from achieving your goals. When you sit down to work on your business are you clear and focused, or is your mind cluttered with ideas, client requests, overdue items and more?

The FIRST step to achieving your goals is de-cluttering and organizing your mind. When you do this, you’ll be able to clearly define what you want to accomplish and start taking the necessary action to achieve your goals.

If a never ending to do list, too many ideas for marketing your business, missed opportunities and a constant state of overwhelm are running your life, it’s time to clear out the old and get organized. When you do this, you’ll find that it’s easier to focus on marketing your business consistently and effectively.

Here are seven simple practices that you can use NOW to do just that:

• Document EVERYTHING! – When your brain is busy trying to keep track of the many details that are floating around your head, you begin to feel stressed out and overwhelmed. Write down everything! For years, my husband told me to do this but I ignored him – until I finally started to see that there was too much for me to manage on my own. Once I started taking his advice, EVERYTHING changed. The same can be true for you. Get a notebook if you prefer the pen and paper type of note taking, or use Evernote. No matter how you do it – start documenting every aspect of how you run and market your business. Getting it all out of your head and onto paper is going to relieve a tremendous amount of stress.
• Create a login file – In this day and age, the number of accounts you need to log into on a daily basis seems to be growing each week! Keeping track of all that information in your head is a surefire recipe for disaster. Have ONE spreadsheet where you keep all of this information. Be sure to write down everything – your blog dashboard, social media profiles, email marketing system, etc. You’ll be able to save time looking for what you need.
• Use a notebook to capture all of your ideas – Apart from your procedures and to do list notebook, you should create a space where you can write down all of your new ideas. Entrepreneurs have no problem generating great new ideas – but it’s far too easy to forget about them or allow them to distract you from your profit plan. Keeping your ideas in one spot will make it easy for you to refer back to those ideas often so you can actually implement them. Imagine how you can increase your profits when you start taking action on your great ideas?
• Use just ONE to-do list – If your daily task list is in 7 different spots, you’re going to feel distracted and scattered. Keep everything in one list – there are countless options, so just choose one and stick with it! Once you’ve picked the best option for you, commit to using this one system for your tasks and projects. Using a web based system will make it easy to delegate tasks to other people.
• Plan ahead with your content – Many entrepreneurs feel stuck with marketing because they aren’t sure what to do. Just start with one month – plan out what you’ll be doing in the upcoming month. Pick a date to publish each piece, plan out the theme for your content and jot down some ideas for your newsletter, blog posts or social media updates. When you sit down to write your marketing materials you’ll crank out your content quickly and easily.
• Create a Master Schedule Template – If you find yourself looking back at the end of the week and wondering where the time went, you need to implement this right away! Using a weekly calendar, you can designate blocks of time where you’ll work on certain aspects of your business. For example, reserve Monday from 9 am to 12 pm for marketing, 1 pm to 3 pm for writing, 3 pm to 5 pm for email management and so on. Start by inserting recurring tasks (like client meetings, marketing times, meeting with your coach, etc) and then designate other blocks of time for your other activities. Don’t leave your essential tasks to chance! Make a plan for when you’ll do them and you’ll boost your productivity.
• Set clear boundaries – Once you get this support system into place, you need to follow through and stick with it! Commit to yourself that you’ll honor what you’ve set out to do. Turn off email notifications and other distractions. Make sure that friends and family know when you’re available to chat. You can also create accountability for yourself by working with a coach or mentor to help you.

Marketing and growing your business isn’t impossible – but it does require planning and consistency to work. When you de-clutter your mind and organize your materials, you will be able to see the results you’ve been looking for and fully enjoy a successful business.

Which tip will you implement first? Please share your thoughts with me in the comments below!

Small business marketing is not only necessary to your success as an entrepreneur, it's easier than you think. Statistics say your small business has a 1 in 6 chance of survival, but without effective, ongoing marketing, your odds are far less than that. Utilize proven small business marketing strategies that will let you spread the word about your business quickly and get in front of the right people.

Small business marketing can seem like a big task. After all, big corporations have entire departments devoted to nothing other than marketing, so what can you do with a one-woman (or one-man) show? The good news is ...plenty! You can market your small business in a number of ways that will have your phone ringing, inbox filling up and your bank balance growing. One of the keys to success is to build a compelling brand and consistently create awareness for that brand.

Build Your Brand and Market
As important as what you do is, what you need to market is who you are and the solutions you offer - your brand. Think about it - when you think tomato soup, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Perhaps it's Campbell's red and white can. (It's probably those cute little kids ice skating, right?) Campbell's didn't spend years promoting the vine-ripened tomatoes that make up their smooth, tasty soup, did they? No way! Instead, they taught us all that when you need tomato soup, there is no one else but Campbell's. They marketed the brand, but they made millions off of the soup.

Don't Hide Out
Be diligent about including your brand on everything that moves, along with everything that sits still. Every email you send should have your branding, and a link to your website. Same goes for every information product, brochure, video, audio product or flyer you send to anyone. It doesn't matter what you put your branding on -- it matters that your small business is everywhere people look. Make yourself known - and use your branding to do it.

Take Action In Spite Of Your Fear
One of the most important parts of your small business marketing strategy is your mindset. It's a big, big world out there and there are millions of folks trying to get their share of the market by doing the same thing you do. Don't allow yourself to feel overwhelmed. Instead of caving in to fear and scarcity, focus on creating results for your target market. Every single success story started with a person who wondered if they could make their dream happen – and then they went out and did it. You are no different. No matter what your emotions tell you, just dive in and do it, even when you're afraid.

You Decide!
You don't have to follow the pack and do the same old, same old. You can and should step out and start a trend rather than follow it. If you have an innovative idea for getting your name out there, go ahead and try it. The more unique and novel your idea is, the more interest and buzz it will create. As long as your strategy is planned and organized, you stand an excellent chance of gaining attention and creating a name for your business. Don't be concerned if an idea isn't proven. Everything was new and innovative once!

Successful small business marketing is easier than you think. Build your brand and your market by taking action and doing something new that shows who you are and why your business is the one your prospects need to choose. Step out of the tired old marketing box and try something new - and you'll look at small business marketing in a whole new way.

Do you know where you are going in 2011? Have you drawn out a ‘road map’ for the direction you plan to take and assembled all the tools necessary to assure you will reach your business goals in the coming year?

I know people who refuse to ask for directions when traveling. They think they will be able to eventually figure out where they are and where they need to be – and they may – but at what expense? An extra cost in gas? Arriving late to their destination, perhaps missing out an important opportunity? Or at the very least, experiencing more frustration and stress than necessary, potentially spoiling what could have been an otherwise enjoyable journey. Wouldn’t it be easier to just stop, regroup, and ask for help from someone more familiar with the area?

While you alone are responsible for following through on your New Year’s Resolutions – here are some simple strategies for service professionals which are sure to assist in making that resolution a reality:    

I find though, that many service professionals feel that they don't have time to do so.  It can be easy to become so consumed in serving the clients you do have and running your business that your marketing efforts may unintentionally be pushed aside.

If you've ever found yourself having "fallen off the wagon" when it comes to your marketing efforts, you'll be happy to know that a quick and easy tune-up can get you right back on track.

Do you label yourself? (i.e. "I am an Interior Designer", "...Financial Planner" or "...Virtual Assistant".)

What happens next?  The person you're speaking to may say "Oh, that's interesting" or change the subject and go on talking about something else.  Worse yet, you could get that "deer in headlights" look because they can't relate to what you've just said.

The truth is, associating yourself with a particular profession doesn't mean much because the person you're speaking to may have no idea what you're really talking about. And even if they do, you likely have a unique skill or specialty that sets you apart from others in your industry.  For example, how many different types of lawyers are there?  You could meet three attorneys at one event who all have different specialties, expertise and knowledge.  So if each one says, "I'm a Lawyer" this hardly showcases the value they provide to their clients.

Then there's the fact that, as entrepreneurs, we often find it difficult to get through everything we'd like to accomplish in one day.  You may be so busy serving clients and doing your work, that your well-intentioned marketing plans fall by the way side.  If you don't have a head for marketing or aren't tech savvy, it can seem downright impossible to make any headway in growing your business.  And what happens then?  Because you can't decipher what to do next, are pressed for time and have limited marketing knowledge you become overwhelmed and wind up doing nothing.

Doing nothing to market your business is not an option.  If you don’t consistently market your services, you won't continue to attract new prospects and eventually your client base will dry up, leaving you with no revenue and no business.

So what's the solution?