My perfect customer or client is someone who
wants to ______________________________

The problem or goal they have is:
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________

The way I know they have this problem is:
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________

The solutions I offer are:
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________

The benefits they will receive relative to their problem
or goal are (choose three):

how to increase ___________________________
how to find ______________________________
how to achieve____________________________
how to keep ______________________________
how to resolve ____________________________
how to __________________________________
how to __________________________________

They’ll know I’m an expert because (ways I have
“walked the walk” they are embarking on):
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________

Resources I could recommend with authority are:
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

Cartoon by Dave Walker.

On January 1, 2007 I wrote five "New Year's Intentions". Since today we are officially half-way through the year, I thought it would be interesting to check in on my progress (yikes!)

#1: Higher standards regarding work-life balance.

Goal: When I tell my husband how long I'll be up in the office, I will honor that time.

Progress: Good start, but still room for improvement.

#2: Change all my passwords and write them down.

Progress: Not done. Keep waiting for a quiet afternoon to do it (HA!)

#3: Streamline the things I am subscribed to.

Goal: Pare it down to about 25%.

Progress: Achieved and then some! I now subscribe to only 2 newsletters (used to be dozens) and have also unsubscribed from a multitude of other services. It feels great.

#4: Start several new blogs.

Progress: Achieved. And more importantly, I am posting regularly in those blogs as well.

#5: Devote more time to social justice initiatives.

Goal: Expand my reach to help others who don't have the economic advantages that western business people do.

Progress: Minimal. I did add the Kiva.org banner to all my websites.

Interesting that this is certainly the most important goal, but the one I did the least on. Hmmm.... what does that say about my priorities in relation to my values? To be fair, this is also a much larger goal than the others.

Revised goal: break original goal down into smaller, more manageable steps.

What about you?

Would checking in on your New Year's goals / intentions / resolutions mid-way through the year be a useful exercise for you? If so, please post a comment below. I'm interested to hear about your progress. And if you have any ideas about how to achieve my revised #5 goal, I welcome your suggestions.

If you're like the majority of new small businesses, you're operating on a financial shoestring. And although you may be tempted to skip hiring professionals such as a lawyer and an accountant, that's not the place to skimp. I'll tell you why.

Hiring good professional advice from the outset is never a waste of money. In fact, no matter how tight your budget, getting professional legal and financial advice will usually result in saving you money in the long run.

Financial recordkeeping for small business

Unless you have both the time and the expertise to maintain a complete set of financial records for your business, you should not hesitate to hire an accountant. Most new small business owners discover too late that maintaining current financial records can either make or break their venture. Most of the time, this message does not register until tax season or when they attempt to get financing from a lending institute.