FM Walsh & Associates Inc.

Failure Happens to Everyone

Multi-millionaire, Jimmy Pattison is owner of the Jim Pattison Group, Canada’s third largest privately held company. Recently hosting a Q&A session at the Vancouver Entrepreneur Toastmaster anniversary celebration, he stated that he and his staff have started 56 companies from scratch and two-thirds of them have failed.

This is a good fact to keep in mind as a business owner. You have to be prepared to take some risks and court some failures. So many business owners I work with get paralyzed with fear that things won’t work. Stop analyzing and worrying – take the plunge! Failure is part of the package and as long as you learning from your mistakes, you’ll be all the stronger for it.

Google AdWords – Which Edition?

In follow up to our Google AdWords posting last week, the folks over at Out-Smarts have posted a second installment in their series of posts. This one is called Google AdWords – Which Edition. The article discusses getting started with the service and in particular choosing the right Google AdWords edition to meet your needs: Standard or Starter Edition.

The Benefits of Google AdWords

GoogleAdWords is a great way to easily target your niche audience and promote your product to that audience. With hundreds of millions of Google searches performed every day it makes sense to tap into that huge potential market and thats just what GoogleAdwords lets you do.

When you next google something look at the right hand side and the top few searches of the page: these are ads (usually highlighted) placed and paid for by companies using the GoogleAdWords service.

The major benefits companies find in using this service (increased traffic notwithstanding) include:

• ability to get started on a minimum budget: as little as $5 per month;
• manage your budget effectively with monthly spend limits;
• test the waters, try different keywords and ad wording and make adjustments easily;
• you only pay for actual clicks (people who click through to visit your site);
• advertising with Google, unlike advertising in traditional media, is highly targeted by location and language;
• its relatively simple to get started
• and the service offers advanced reporting options if you are so inclined.

All in all, GoogleAdWords brings great bang for your advertising buck. Watch out for more in a series of Google AdWords blog posts at Out-Smarts.

Thinking Bigger

I had the pleasure of meeting Candace Newton last week, the host and creator of Unlocking Secrets for Women. What a dynamic woman! We discussed building business, using the responsibility of power to empower others and many other topics. The lessons I learned from Candace include:

• Always be thinking bigger.
• Save time by going right to the top person -go straight to the CEO and tell them what the benefit is for them by working with your company.
• Don’t be afraid to go after what you want or ask for what you want.
• Never underestimate the power of networking – connections are gold in doing business.

Read more about Candace and the remarkable things she is up to at www.unlockingsecrets.com. She is an inspiring woman with a remarkable story.

Women and Power

Newsweek magazine just hit the newsstand with a cover story on Women and Power and what a powerhouse story it is! Full of stories of women and the obstacles and attitudes they faced on their path to power – it is an inspiring read. Run to the newsstand or go online but be sure to read these powerful stories.

Without Business Plan, Plan for Heartache

Read about how business planning made handbag designer, Gail Conzatti of KAIROS Designs, turn her passion into a profitable company in this edition of Make It Business. If you have been procrastinating on writing a plan, read this article to find out the 3 most common mistakes people make when it comes to planning.

Are You Making the Same Mistakes Over and Over?

Many women settle for less simply because they undersell themselves. I am speaking at the Canadian Women in Communications luncheon on October 4th on “10 Deadly Mistakes of Selling Yourself and Your Business”. This presentation identifies those things we do that hinder, alter and affect our success. Whether you own a business or work for a company, knowing how to sell yourself and your work effectively, is the best tool for achieving your goals. If you are interested in learning how to make more money and have more success, register at www.cwc-afc.com