In one of my past posts, I wrote about the importance and necessity for entrepreneurs to create a Business Accountability Group (BAG) http://yourstartupstory.com/?p=204 Trust me, this group will become your life line and your flotation device when the strong tides come in.

Many folks have asked me to guide them through the process of beginning their own BAG.  Below are group guidelines and questions that will help you and your partners stay on task and motivated.

• Your group should be composed of no more than four individuals.
• Meetings should last 45 minutes to one hour.
• The person answering the questions gets all of the attention and absolutely NO interruptions.  Should you have questions or concerns, jot them down and chat about it at the end of the BAG.
• It’s important that you “actively” listen.  It is up to you to help keep your partner accountable.

B A G ~ Weekly Questions

1) What business practices helped me to meet my goals this week?

Networking groups

Internet (face book, LinkedIn, etc.)

Email/phone

2) What books/articles did I read that related to my work and helped me to grow?

3) When was I most aware that I was “on track” and focused on achieving my goals?

4) What happened this week that did not turn out the way I planned as I attempted to achieve my goals?

5) Were there any opportunities I did not take advantage of?

6) Was my plan to achieve my goals fulfilled last week?

7) What is my plan for this week?

Dream it. Believe it. Achieve it.

According to www.MediaBuyerPlanner.com, ad pages are down across the board.  Here are some of the titles that saw the biggest decrease in advertising sales:

• Architectural Digest: -49.4%
• Town and Country: -45.2%
• Conde Nast Traveler: -45.1%
• Gourmet: -42.7%
• Ebony:-40.1%

Well guess what? Advertising sales are UP on top blogs and social network sites.  According to The Nielsen Company, the amount of time online Americans spent on social network and blogging sites in August 2009 accounted for 17% of their total time spent on the internet.  This figure is almost triple the percentage of time spent a year ago.

Here is another amazing stat from the same company: estimated online advertising spent on top social network and blogging sites increased 119% from about $49 million in August of 2008 to $108 million in August 2009.  Wow.

Start-ups, with sometimes no budget for advertising, take note.  If you do have a few bucks to spent on advertising, go online with it.  It’s cheap and it reaches the masses.  Remember, grass-roots marketing: linkedIn, Facebook…that’s where your customers are and now it’s easy to go right to them.

Dream it. Believe it. Achieve it.

Below is an portion of the article: What To Do If Your Startup Is About To Fail by Jason Calacanis, The Business Insider (Feb. 27, 2009)

You see, there are two types of entrepreneurs in this world: real ones
and the folks who play entrepreneurs for some portion of their lives.
From a distance, most folks can’t tell who’s who. In up times, when
the market is flush with cheap money and unexplained exits (Bebo,
anyone?), everyone looks brilliant.

So, maybe your first venture didn’t work out as planned.  Did you learn something? No one can take away knowledge.  It is power.  It equips you for what lies ahead. 

Robert Kiyosaki is one of the most amazing entrepreneurs and financial survivors of our time.    Financial success wasn’t instant for him but he was persistent, resilient and determined.  He took failure, not as a negative, but as an opportunity to learn and grow.  He wrote several books, a popular one,  Rich Dad, Poor Dad, is the number one personal finance book of all time.  If you need a reason to keep at it, you’ll  get several from this book. 

Dream it.  Believe it.  Achieve it.

Last night, I attended a seminar lead by author and start-up expert Michelle Briody.   The room was packed with entrepreneurs; some still dreaming, others a looking to “test” out their concept, others were further down the road with a business plan in place and a client base. They were all there to network, they were there to learn. 

After Briody’s presentation, in which she explained start ups could  take tough economic times and make them work in their favor, she offered attendees the opportunity to put on what she called a “bullet proof vest” as they shared their concept and the floor was open for others to comment.  I have listed some of these start up business models under “I think they’re on to something”.  For more information on this and other seminars by Michelle Briody visit sixteenweeks.typepad.com

Briody’s Tips:

• Ask yourself: “What can I do that no one else is doing?”
• Network, network, network: free methods~linkedin, facebook
• Market yourself~word of mouth, use internet
• Advertising is cheap in a down economy: if possible, take advantage of this.
• Stay focused, stay lean
• Start slow~grow organically
• Work out of the house or barter space