Building a coaching or consulting practice can be rewarding and lucrative. Sadly, many who get started on this path simply can’t make it. Almost daily I talk to people who give up on their dream of “solopreneurship” and, resentfully, join the ranks of job seekers.

It seems nowadays every marketing guru and their brother-in-law has a “deadly sins and how to fix them” book, ebook or at least an article! But apparently nobody is reading this stuff! How do I know? Because nine out of every ten businesses continue making the same marketing goof-ups.

Did you know that on Coca-Cola's balance sheet more than 90% of their value is represented by their "brand equity"? If building a unique brand is good enough for them, don't you think it could do some good for you?

Whether you are a professional in a solo-practice or own a small business, chances are you feel overwhelmed when it comes to marketing. While you may be an expert in your field, consistently attracting new clients probably isn’t one of your strengths.

Did you know that most solo-professionals hire the Cheshire Cat as their marketing consultant? Frankly that’s the only conclusion I can come up with watching so many excited entrepreneurs eager to build a great business but ending up overwhelmed by too much information and frustrated by their lack of good results.

One of the most effective marketing tools ever invented is sitting on your desk right now. It’s your TELEPHONE! While many professionals waste time cold calling strangers, some marketing savvy pros are using phone in unique ways to quietly attract more new clients, increase customer loyalty, generate loads of referrals, boost sales and profits all while saving time and money. Would you like to know how?

Time and again I talk to people who try one or two promotional strategies, don’t get the desired results and give up. They are confused about what marketing is and convinced that it will never work for their business. Does this sound like you?

"How to Turn Chicken Dinners into New Clients and an Endless Stream of Referrals"

Even though business networking can quickly put you in front of hot new prospects, help you create life-long strategic alliances, get more referrals and simply find people you really enjoy hanging out with, the majority of professionals have no clue how to make their networking count.

“My guess is first I'll need some zippy flyers and a tri-fold brochure” said an email from Matt last week. Sadly, he is not the only one thinking that the first step to building a professional business is printing fliers and brochures. After all, that’s what everyone does, right? And it seems like a logical place to start, doesn’t it?

I’m always amazed that people would spend months to develop their web site, pay thousands of dollars to have it put together and then... they just let it sit in the cyber space without generating any new leads.