Small Business Today Magazine MAR 2016 AMERICAN SERVICES | Page 5

Business Publisher’s Column small MARCH 2016 EDITION HOUSTON MAGAZINE Chairman John Cruise President/Executive Publisher Steve Levine Vice President /Associate Publisher/ Creative Director/Editor Barbara Davis-Levine Business Development/PR Mosa Stieh Graphic Designer Lavinia Menchaca Photographers Gwen Juarez Technical Support Jerome Davis Contributing Writers Barbara R. Davis Margot Fuentes Mila Golovine Hank Moore Colleen O’Brien Howard Partridge Debbie Roman Gail Stolzenburg Tyler Turner Holly Uverity Jeffrey D. Wallace Jack Warkenthien Aimee Woodall Chief Advisor Hank Moore Publisher’s Advisory Board Denise Adjei Sonia Clayton Donna Cole John Cruise Dirk Cummins April Day Dr. John Demartini Maya Durnovo Kathie Edwards Mila Golovine Dory Gordon Greg Grant David Holt Richard Huebner Jeffrey Jones Darryl King Sandy Lawrence Craig Klein Wea Lee Bertrand McHenry Hank Moore Lisa M. Morton Mike Muhney Leisa Holland Nelson Tony Noun Mayor Annise Parker Page Parkes Howard Partridge Susan Repka Maria Rios Grant Sadler Rita Santamaria William Sherrill Gail Stolzenburg Pam Terry Linda Toyota Jack Warkenthien Carlecia D. Wright Aaron Young Phone: [phone] E-Mail: [email protected] Or Write: Small Business Today 5380 West 34th Street, Ste 230 Houston, TX 77092 See us on the web at www.SBTMagazine.net SMALL BUSINESS Today MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY LEGACY PUBLISHING GROUP, LLC. 5380 WEST 34TH ST., STE. 230 HOUSTON, TX 77092 EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER - STEVE LEVINE: 832-419-2814 CHAIRMAN - JOHN CRUISE: 832-460-2020 www.SBTMagazine.net ADVERTISING RATES ON REQUEST. BULK THIRD CLASS MAIL PAID IN TUCSON, AZ. POSTMASTER: PLEASE SEND NOTICES ON FORM 3579 TO 5380 WEST 34TH ST., STE. 230 HOUSTON, TX 77092. ALTHOUGH EVERY PRECAUTION IS TAKEN TO ENSURE ACCURACY OF PUBLISHED MATERIALS, SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR OPINIONS EXPRESSED OR FACTS SUPPLIED BY ITS AUTHORS. COPYRIGHT 2012, LEGACY PUBLISHING GROUP, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. Where Do You Stand on This Year’s Business Plan? O ne of the standard practices of the 170 plus Cover Honorees we have interviewed for my publications (Real Estate Executive Magazine, Premier Agent Magazine, & SMALL BUSINESS TODAY Magazine) is the annual review of their current business plan. If you have not done so in a while (since last year or beyond) and are not where you expected to be at the end of your fourth quarter in 2015, maybe it is time to review, make corrections, and get busy implementing a refreshed business plan. First, take a look at the goals you put in place at the beginning of last year. You are now in the third month of 2016; if you are not where you intended to be, ask yourself, “Why not?” To help move your business forward quickly and efficiently, here are several tips from our SBT September 2012 Cover Honoree, Rita Santamaria, CEO of Champions School of Professional Development and Champions School of Real Estate: 1) Call your good customers and ask them for any feedback they can give you to help increase your business. Use this feedback to start ASAP to reach the level you expect based on your good business planning and goals. 2) Work on your marketing program over the next 30 days. Your networking may need to expand either on a personal level or through your website and social media level. 3) Do an assessment of where your contacts and referrals are coming from. This is the area which deserves extra emphasis, including old school “thank you notes” to those loyal persons who are helping you succeed. 4) Have someone take a look at your current website and give you an assessment from a potential client point of view. How does your website look? It should be easy to navigate. Make sure that there is a phone number as well as an email contact on your home page. 5) Do you have an app for your website? In today’s world of technology, being accessible via a mobile device is mandatory. People will contact you while traveling and they typically are using their mobile devices. This month’s cover honorees, Larry Carney and Tony Samper certainly demonstrate the value of an up-to-date business plan as they continue to grow their company by diversification of their services and continually striving to exceed their client’s expectations when it comes to client satisfaction that is truly worthy of a testimonial. I know that you will enjoy their story! … Well, it is time to let you get started with this very special issue of SMALL BUSINESS TODAY Magazine. Also, don’t forget to listen to the SMALL BUSINESS TODAY Magazine TALK SHOW each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 4:00pm to 5:00pm on http://mixlr.com/ sbt-magazine-radio-network . All of our past shows are archived on our newly designed website, www.SMALLBUSINESSTODAYMAGAZINE.COM Good Reading, Good Sales, & Success to You, Steve Levine President/Executive Publisher, Small Business Today Magazine