Mind mapping and flow charting are great ways to brainstorm and get thoughts down on paper quickly and easily and are a fantastic resource for success in small business.
Many people may not realise that there are several web applications that allow you to create mind maps and flow charts for free. Check out these seven top mind mapping and flow chart programs:
- Bubbl.us – Bubbl.us can make some great looking charts. It’s a good tool for creating charts that you plan to print and distribute. Using it is not exactly intuitive, however with a bit of playing around it’s not too hard to figure out.
- Lovely Charts – This free site can make some very attractive charts, too. It has colorful graphics and is very easy to use. It also allows you to make some really cool organisational charts. Their 90 second tutorial will explain how to get started.
- Mindmeister – This is another online mapping tool that’s very easy to use. I like that it integrates with Twitter and iPhone.
- Xmind – This application is also quite straight-forward to use. You don’t actually use it online, however. Instead, it’s downloaded to your computer. The basic version is free, or you can buy a one year subscription to the professional version for $49 (US).
- Freemind – This is another downloadable software tool that helps with mind mapping and general organisation of thoughts and tasks. It is a finalist for the 2009 Community Choice Award in the category “Most likely to change the way you do everything”!
- Gliffy – Gliffy is a great tool that is user friendly and intuitive. You don’t even have to sign up to try it out. And, in addition to creating flow charts and mind maps, you can draw floor plans, create Venn diagrams and do all sorts of other cool stuff.
- Mindomo – This program is completely online, and is a great mind mapping tool. I wasn’t sure whether to include this in the list as the free version limits you to seven private maps. However you can purchase a paid subscription for $6-$9 a month. So while the ‘free’ component is limited, I decided to include this in the list anyway as it’s definitely worth considering.
My suggestion is that you try out all these free mind mapping and charting tools and compare them for yourself. You’re sure to find one that you feel comfortable with and may be surprised by how much this can help you with all your business and personal plans and projects.
Having a website for your business is one thing, but getting traffic to it – the right kind of traffic – is something that many small business owners find daunting.
If you’re keen to discover new ways to get all the traffic you can handle to your website then the World Traffic Summit is worth getting along to.
This 3-day seminar will focus solely on traffic generation for your website(s) or online business, with some of the best-of-the-best from around the world traveling to Australia to share their tips and personal traffic strategies.
When: Friday August 27 – Sunday August 29, 2010
Where: Gold Coast, Australia
For more information and to register – World Traffic Summit
Have you ever wondered why it is that some people follow through and achieve success with something while others either don’t follow through – e.g. they buy a coaching program or book and never use it – or they follow through but don’t seem to achieve positive results?
I have. Many times. And it’s really frustrating because if someone buys my product I truly want them to use it and to achieve results from it.
I know it’s not just me because I’ve had many discussions about this topic with several colleagues in the last couple of years.
Thankfully, John Reese and Frank Kern, two well-known and highly respected internet business professionals, wanted to know the answer to the very same question. So they asked one man who was sure to be able to explain this … Anthony Robbins. Better still, they recorded this interview so we can all benefit from it.
Click on the link below to watch this recording:
Tony Robbins Interview With John Reese And Frank Kern
I’m not sure who wrote the following poem … I’ve been attempting to track its origins and author but with no success. All the same, I think it’s very well written and worth remembering, after all, ‘habit’ is something that can make or break your success in small business and, in fact, in all areas of your life.
The Habit Poem
I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am completely at your command.
Half of the things you do you might as well turn
over to me and I will do them – quickly and correctly.
I am easily managed – you must be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done
and after a few lessons, I will do it automatically.
I am the servant of great people,
and alas, of all failures as well.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine though
I work with the precision of a machine
plus the intelligence of a person.
You may run me for profit or run me for ruin -
it makes no difference to me.
Take me, train me, be firm with me, and
I will place the world at your feet.
Be easy with me and I will destroy you.
Who am I? I am Habit.
After reading that poem, take 5 minutes to think about your habits … which ones are pushing you onwards? And which ones are dragging you down? Most importantly, what are you going to do about it?
What Is Market Research And Why Is It So Important?
These are important questions to answer for any small- and medium-sized business (and indeed large companies as well). Unfortunately, many small business owners disregard the importance of market research or otherwise know little about it. It is not at all uncommon for small business market research to be ignored or not completed fully. This often spells the downfall of small businesses, as they are out of touch with the wants and needs of motivated buyers.
The Danger of Assumptions
Many small business owners assume that they understand what their customers want and what motivates them to buy. But without accurately testing the market you can never be sure. There is a danger involved in assuming that you know what your client-base wants and what motivates them to choose one supplier or provider over another. The danger is in missing your target audience and not connecting with them. That loss of connection means a loss of business or sales, and for many, ultimately business failure.
Rather than assume you know what your core target group wants, be sure! The only way to be sure is to test your market through thorough market research, and find out precisely how to incite them to action and excite them about your business.
What is Market Research?
One of the greatest reasons small businesses fail to effectively complete market research is that they are unsure about what it is.
In simplest terms, market research is finding out what people want and will buy (whether that be services or goods), and how much they will pay for it. Thorough market research consists of testing and evaluating the market through different means to determine the demand, usefulness and likelihood of acceptance of a product across different demographics. It answers very specifically who will purchase a product or service based on characteristics such as:
- age
- gender
- location
- income
- other variable characteristics.
Armed with this data, business owners can very narrowly target their audience and clientele, and thus can commit resources, product development and advertising to connecting with this audience and very specifically serve their needs. Market research helps small businesses plan for every aspect of promotion and sales, including:
- price
- advertising and marketing
- product features and development
- improvements and modifications
Small Business Marketing Research Downfalls
In regards to market research, the downfall of small businesses often comes from nothing more than a lack of it. In other instances, the downfall comes as the result of business owners who become too personally ‘attached’ to their ideas. It is essential to maintain objectivity in marketing matters and use the research to support the most effective strategy.
Understanding market research and its importance is the first step towards taking full advantage of it. The next step is to learn how to perform it effectively and accurately so that you can capitalise on this very important business tool. Know where market research falls into your business strategy, and learn how to make the connections with your core group that will translate into business success.
Back when I was in my late teens – not all that long ago really 
– I vividly remember an occasion where I asked a simple question and didn’t get the answer I was expecting.
I was working in a licensing position where we regularly had to forward copies of permits to regional offices throughout the state and we would use post codes in order to determine which office to forward the documents to. It didn’t take long to learn most of the state’s post codes by heart, but whenever we didn’t know the post code for a particular area my co-workers and I would just ask out loud and someone else would surely know.
On this one occasion, I made the mistake of asking our supervisor for a post code. Her reply was a short, sharp, “Do I look like a post code booklet? Look it up!”
I was a little miffed at the time. After all, we were merely being efficient. Why waste an entire minute or so looking it up when someone could just tell you in a few seconds, while you continued working away?
However, miffed as I was, that was an incredibly powerful lesson for me. After that, I made it a policy to rarely ask for help unless I had first attempted to solve the problem myself.
This skill has served me well over the years, particularly when it comes to small business management skills.
There have been countless times when I didn’t know how to do something and could have phoned someone for help or submitted a support ticket. But by first striving to find the answer myself I have saved many, many hours of precious time by not having to submit the question and wait for a reply. More importantly, I have learnt so much more than I would have from just asking up front, not to mention understanding the process more by researching it myself.
And let’s face it, generally it can be a pretty good feeling when you’ve figured out how to do something for yourself.
So, what’s my favourite tool for problem solving these days?
Google!
(Or Yahoo or Bing or MSN)
While there are some areas where I probably wouldn’t trust information from the Internet, you can find answers to so much here, especially when it comes to business issues or how to do something with your computer or a specific software application.
Whenever I need to know how to do something now, I simply ‘Google it’.
Now, a handy hint here: it helps to be specific. I will generally type something like, “How do I do xyz in ABC?” In fact, it was by searching on, “How to add a custom header to WordPress Thesis theme” that I found this excellent blog post on how to add a banner image to your Thesis header – a post I’m so glad I found and have since recommended to others many times over.
If your original question brings up too many possible answers, try being more specific with what you search for. Or if you don’t get enough results, be a little broader in your search terms.
If you want something instructional, going direct to YouTube can be a good idea. Again, you can find out how to do so much by searching for it in YouTube.
Sometimes getting the best answers for problem solving comes down to asking the right questions. But then if all else fails … ask someone else for help 
