Project Management can easily make or break a company of any size. If there’s anything I miss about working for “the man” it’s having someone else responsible for managing client communication, deadlines, and the tedious tasks that interfere with the bulk work. Even though a PM may get under your skin a few times or peer over your shoulder every other minute.. you can usually still look back and see the value in meeting ridiculous deadlines and not having to worry about client communications.

Interestingly enough, many project managers are women. Females naturally seem to be more organized, decisive, and understanding when it comes to project management. They have a way with connecting with clients and ensuring markers are met. Whether you have this natural ability as a male or female is irrelevant, what matters is that many entrepreneurs reading this don’t have an extra $40k+ lying around to hire a project manager. What to do? Well, here are some resources that may make up for your lack of management/communication skills

• Management according to About.com
• Management Help Website
• Project Management by Mindtools.com
• The Project Management Podcast
• A look at Management by Scott Berkun
• The Importance of a Central Project List – Lifehack.org
• Project Planning – Lifehack.org
• Basecamp Project Integration – Lifehack.org
• Beginner’s Guide to Project Management – Lifehack.org
• Guerilla Tactics of Project Management – Lifehack.org
• Organize Your Life with Project Management – Lifehack.org
• Outsourcing Project Management – Freelanceswitch
• Outsource Project Management pt.2 – Freelanceswitch
• Freelance Project Management – Freelanceswitch
• Simple Project Management – Freelanceswitch
• Accomplished Project Management – Scott Young
• Zen Habits for Project Management
• Project Triangle – Jason Fried
• Review of Scott Berkuns Project Management
• Paper Based PM

Did you know that email marketing’s ROI was about $45 for every $1 spent on it in 2008? Without a doubt, email marketing has become one of the most effective methods of direct marketing. When done properly, an email marketing campaign costs almost nothing to launch and maintain, and it generates a ton of revenue for your business.

Now, there’s a saying in email marketing (and direct mail marketing for that matter) that goes like this: It’s all in the list. In other words, without a good email list, your marketing efforts will be crippled. Building your own list is the best way to create a highly targeted subscriber base that responds to your message.

Here are some tips to help you build a strong list for email marketing.

• Place signup forms on all pages of your website—Not everyone is going to be arriving at your website through the homepage. Because so many people use search engines, visitors could land on the deeper pages of your website. That’s why it’s so important to have signup forms for your email list on every page of your website. To get the highest response, place your signup box above the fold, and have a simple call to action by it (e.g. Get a FREE copy of my new eBook (Insert Title Here) when you sign up for our email list!). Some studies have shown that placing a simple privacy disclaimer, like, “We value your privacy”, underneath the signup form can also improve your conversion rate.

• Have a signup link in all emails you send–If you’re like me, you’re emailing back and forth with clients, prospects, and colleagues all day long. One simple thing you can do to get a few more subscribers is to include a signup link for your email list in your email signature. Again, offer a straightforward call to action encouraging readers to sign up.

• Offer a freebie for signing up—Sometimes, you need to give people an extra incentive for taking the action you desire. One of the most effective ways to motivate visitors to subscribe to your website is to offer them a freebie in exchange for doing so. This can be something as simple as an eBook or a whitepaper. You could even try to tempt them with a special coupon offering a discount on your products or services.

• Keep the registration process simple—If your registration form has 20 entry fields, you’re doing it wrong. Remember, people are generally a little wary about giving you their information as it is, so forcing them to complete a long, detailed registration form is only going to scare them off. Ask only for the most basic information (name, email address, location) so that they can signup in just seconds. The easier you make it to sign up for your email list, the higher the number of people that will sign up.

• Have a physical signup list at your store and at events you attend—Look offline to build up your email list. If you have a physical storefront, have a signup list in your store, or you can ask customers at checkout if they’d like to subscribe to your newsletter for special deals. Also, if you attend trade shows and conferences, bring a signup list with you for your booth.

Do you use email marketing for your business? Share your experiences in the replies.

Recent years have shown a huge increase in freelancers and sole-proprietors in the business world. With freelancing and small business, personal branding is extremely important. Take a look at personal brands in fashion, music, and web companies and you’ll be surprised at some of the names you’d recognize by their brand:

Air Jordans pretty much made Nike the massive success, and is still the #1 shoe in the world! JLO and Martha Stewart are two more great examples of how a brand can make a person a celebrity or a celebrity make a brand. So how do you start and promote your own personal brand? Let’s take a look at some simple keys.

What’s the advantage of a personal brand?

Personal brands, like any brand, attempt to influence people and create recognition. One huge advantage of a personal brand over a business brand is that they are easily movable as well as easier to trust. Yes, easier to trust. It’s all based around psychology, and in a world that’s always telling us what we want in order to make a sale, we have become very untrusting of business. The minute we think we’re being sold to, we tend to block out whatever information is at hand. However, when you see a celebrity or person that you like or can relate to, you’re naturally more trusting of the brand and the products associated with that brand.

How do you build a personal brand?

Personal brands are easy to start but hard to grow. The key to branding is using technology as well as establishing credibility. A good starting point is twitter or a website. Using technology to get ahead is a time consuming difficult market, bit can make you a celebrity in time. Look at some of the famous youtubers, tech shows, and even bottom rung celebrities becoming famous again.

The hardest but probably most successful way to create a personal brand is to build something amazing using your natural talents. This doesn’t mean you have to start out on your own either. Take a look at any popular Disney or Nickelodeon actor for some great examples. Almost every popular tv actor has gone on to start their own movie, singing, clothing, etc. Mylie Cyrus, Hillary Duff, Amanda Bynes are just a few young entrepreneurs in the making. To leverage an institution’s credibility, choose a great one and become part of it. Learn how the business works, and be the best in your workplace. This will automatically lead to success if the company has a strong name and brand.

Build your brand now

You’re probably already using facebook, twitter, linkedin, blogs, and forums so why not gear these technologies to start building your brand now? Start with a logo and a name and stick with it. If you haven’t noticed, popular brands almost never change (take Google for example). Start putting that logo and link to your website or whatever all over the internet. Put it in your signature for emails and forums. Create groups and use social media to communicate with others that have the same interest as you. There are literally hundreds of ways to promote your name with no cost, but it’s a matter of finding what works best for you and remaining committed to always stay involved with those methods.

Preparation

A client is much like a test, requiring a good amount of time and study to understand their needs and answer their questions. Start by researching the company or client you are selling to, gathering any interesting information you can. When you are gathering this information, try to answer these questions:

• What do you know about their business?
• Why you think your product or service would be great for them?
• What is their demographic and how can you target it successfully?
• What is the benefit for both parties?

The preparation stage is your opportunity to shine. If you can show that you know their business and have their best interest in mind, you’ll have made not only a great lead and potential sale, but a loyal customer for future return.

Don’t forget that part of preparation is getting a good night sleep; it will make your day that much easier and you will be that much sharper. After you wake up the next day, sit down and set up your goals for that day. This will help ensure that you don’t forget anything and that you cover all the points you want to hit during the meeting.

Listen Closely

When your client is talking be sure to listen and takes notes! This will not only help you, but it will show your client that you are organized and pay attention to detail. Make eye contact and respond often while talking, it’s easy to get distracted and nod in agreement but not really take in the information the client is presenting. It’s important to find a balance with eye contact, matching the client’s behavior but also keeping a couple points in mind: too much eye contact can make them uncomfortable and too can make them think you lack confidence or aren’t paying attention.

While you’re listening be sure to analyze the client’s speech and behaviors. You can find all sorts of clues about their personality and background that will help you with you relate to them on a personal level as well as strengthen your sales pitch. You should associate your customer’s interests and values while you are stating the benefits of your product, using their own words to reinforce why they need to buy from you.

Keep in Contact

Always follow up with your client, whether you get the sale or not. If you did land the sale its nice to catch any problems early so you can fix them before your customer gets frustrated, and if you didn’t land the sale, you will be far more likely to have the client return to you in the future if you’re still in contact. This will increase your customer satisfaction and turn customers into loyal friends to continue business.

Digital Technology makes business in the 21st century a breeze. With so many resources and advice readily available on the global market, almost anyone can start a business. Here’s are some interesting reads and resources for the young entrepreneur or freelancer:

• Free Online Business Classes
  This is no joke, I’ve personally read through and “taken” these courses and they are a really good starting point to learn the all encompassing characteristics of starting a business. Take this as a base or starter knowledge and add to it!
  Link: myownbusiness.org
• Free Contracts and Legal Forms
  Please don’t use these forms literally as your own, but take a look and download some of these forms, they can really help you avoid the costs of having a lawyer write them up for you. There are obvious pros and cons to this approach, but either way these contracts can be useful to reference.
  Link: sessions.edu
• Getting Real: A practical approach to business
  This is a free ebook by 37signals. Whether your business is web related or not, this is a great book on practical business principles and I highly recommend it to any business owner or entrepreneur.
  Link: gettingreal.37signals.com
• Calculating Costs and Invoices
  Many start-ups struggle with pricing and the balance between the business triangle (cost vs quality vs time). This article is by Andy Rutledge and will help you take invoicing to another level by analyzing your clients and having a basic understanding of how to profile clients’ psyche.
  Link: andyrutledge.com
• Pay Me Please
  Starting a business will quickly lead to the discovery that your accounting skills are as important as your primary skill/product/service. Questions arise such as: When should I bill? How much should I charge? What kind of pricing structure should I use? These questions are answered very well by Matt Griffin.
  Link: mirificampress.com