Howdy ya'll!

Hope Fall is beautiful wherever you are. I have an exciting group coming up in January I wanted to tell you about.

The Frozen to Focused is a 4 month teleclass/coaching/consulting group for folks who are looking to move their program to the next level (or to just get unstuck!).

In the course of the four months, we meet on the phone one a week for an hour each time, discussing various aspects that every program needs to be successful and sustainable. Topics include:

• Start-up Needs (Insurance, formation, etc)
• Strategic Planning
• Finding your Ideal Client
• Message Development
• Marketing Plans, PR, Advertising
• Websites, Brochures, Newsletters
• Selecting your Ideal Herd
• Grantwriting & Funding

We have special guests each month who are experts in their fields, including Mike Sowinski CPA & CFO, Brenda Dammann (who co-wrote the book with me), who specializes in Marketing, Strategic Planning & Message Development, and Elizabeth Barbour, who knows it all about networking and finding your ideal client.

And of course you'll get MORE THAN YOUR FILL of ME!!! Cool!

In a nutshell, this program combines professional consulting, personal mentoring, inspirational experience, & educational information through powerful (but simple) technology to save you time and money & get you on the road to success.

Click here to visit the information page on the HorseSenseBusiness.com website. It's got all the info you need to join! If that doesn't work, go to Equine Assisted Business Consulting section of HorseSenseBusiness.com website, and click on From Frozen to Focused Masters Group.

There is an application process, and we are accepting applications now for January's group. Download your application by visiting this page!

Look forward to having you there!

Shannon

Shannon@HorseSenseOtc.com

Recently Horse Sense's Shannon Knapp and Lisa Wheeler presented at the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce (in North Carolina) on the topic of leadership development.

The event was hosted by the Henderson Chamber in their new facility (quite nice!), and we had a nice turnout of business folks from our community, including several independent business consultants. We've since set up opportunities for these folks to come out and experience our work first-hand, so they can add us to their box of tools.

Our presentation was largely guided by the following statement, by Robert Cooper in his book, The Other 90%: "The dinosaurs of the future will be thos who keep trying to live and work from their heads alone." We spoke to the idea that so much business development is geared towards the head, and not so much to the heart and the gut, where a TON of information resides. The heart and the gut are also what tend to be the difference-maker in leaders, as we know from playing with horses.

It was a wonderful, beneficial experience. We encourage you to connect with your local Chamber about giving a presentation!

Happy Trails,

Shannon

To learn more about our professional
development with horses programming, visit
www.HorseSenseLearning.com

Hey guys! Last week we talked about getting started on your website. Here are some specific resources to help you turn your ideas into reality!

Very low budget: Start with a blog! It’s a great way to build an internet presence, they’re easy to set up and use, and you can modify all of the content yourself. Check out sites like www.wordpress.com, www.blogger.com and www.typepad.com.

Low-medium budget: Consider a DIY (do-it-yourself) site. www.GoDaddy.com has a program called Website Tonight that is very popular. Also check out www.webpowertools.com for a low-cost but professional looking alternative. Another great resource is www.elance.com where you can get bids from people all over the world for your project.

Medium-high budget: Hire an experienced website designer! Personally, this has been my choice over the years and it’s yielded terrific results. It’s more expensive financially but it’s often less stressful to turn it over to an expert. Shannon and I both use www.totsie.com –they create exceptional Plone sites (you are able to manage the content yourself) for businesses around the country. Or if you want to hire someone in your community, check out your local Chamber of Commerce. If you hire a web designer, be sure to shop around and get several bids.

I have coached dozens of clients through the process of creating a website. If you need support, give me a call for some coaching! Good luck!

Don’t have a website yet? You need one!

Over the past year, I’ve read several articles that point to the fact that most Americans are now using the internet as much as they are watching TV, if not more. Wow! I think it’s safe to say that if you want to be successful in business in the long-term, you’ve got to have a website because that’s where consumers are going to make their buying decisions. Sure, networking and advertising and other traditional marketing methods are important. But having an internet presence is key to establishing both visibility and credibility which lead to profitability!

Here are a few simple steps to get you started.

1. Buy your domain name. Visit www.godaddy.com for the cheapest domains on the web. If you're not sure exactly what you want, buy a few for just one year. That way, you'll have some choices.
   
2. Research other websites of your competitors. This includes other EAP and EAL practitioners (in your community or around the country), but it also includes other similar service providers in your community. Make note of what you like and what you don't like about their sites.
   
3. Sketch out your initial ideas of what you'd like to put on the site. Consider your target market--who are they and what do they want? how can you help them to solve their problems? Be sure to include descriptions of your services, photos, testimonials and what action they should take next.
   
4. Consider your budget. Decide if you want to try and create the site yourself or if you want to hire someone else to do it for you. There are costs with building a website and then also hosting it and maintaining it. Factor all that into your planning.
   

Tune in next week, as I'll share resources for low, medium and high budget websites!

The marketing professionals (like Brenda the writer for Horse Sense) told me that a website is not only important, it is essential marketing. As it turns out, I had about a half dozen clients that contacted me as a direct result of just simply having a website (several from out of state), and almost all of my clients and competition have checked out the site, and given good feedback. It has given me a level of professionalism in the marketplace, and a resume to show the entire world. Here are the essential pieces of a successful professional services website:

Home: This should be a really fast snapshot of what the company is with logo etc., it should not be wordy but provide easy navigation to the rest of the site

Services: What your company provides

About our Clients: Who your clients are, and how you work with them

Case Studies: What you have done for your clients

Bio/Staff: Who the people are behind the company, and their background

Contact: Don’t forget this one! Your phone and email should be on every page, with one page dedicated to it. I have used this many times when I forget someone’s contact info.

Lastly, don’t forget that this is marketing…you get out of it what you put into it. Good luck on developing your website!

Mike Sowinski, CFO Consultants

Visit Mike’s site at www.cfoconsultants.net

Hey everyone!

Just back in the office after a demonstration at University of North Carolina-Asheville as part of their "Life is Calling" week. Designed by the Career Center at the University to help people "discover their life intention," my husband, Lisa, Liza, Dreamer and Scout all packed up and went to college today!

We set up in the "mini-quad" of the Asheville college campus, and had over 150 students, teachers and the general public join us during the 3-hour event. Richard and I brought step in posts, and set up a 70' area with 2" tape at the top. It was a simple and easy enclosure that I recommend for your calm, well-behaved horses (and clients!).

We invited members of the audience to join us, and facilitated various activities such as "Select & Halter," "Magic Carpet," "4 Hoof Pick-Up," and "Extended Appendages," all simple activities requiring very few props, but uncovering a wealth of information for discussion and reflection. We had over 30 participants in the demos, and lots of students from the Psych Department and a Communications class. I got interviewed by a lot of students from that class!

Dreamer and Scout were excited that the grounds-keepers hadn't mowed, and they tasted (and gave the "high hoof" to) oranges from one onlooker. We all really enjoyed the event, and will definitely bring the horses to college again soon!

Click here to read about other events that are part of "Life is Calling," including a labyrinth and a Feldenkrais workshop. This was a great way to create more awareness about Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and Equine Assisted Learning!

All the best,

Looking back on how I built my business from 0 clients to 32 last year, I wanted to share the most important resources I used to accomplish it.

The Chamber of Commerce – While you may not get any clients from it, this is the easiest way to get plugged into the community.  If you go to as many events as possible, you will build your contact list from 0 to 300 in a year.

Business Groups – I attend two groups weekly, one that discusses the latest businesses to enter the market, and one that is exclusively for business owners (my target market).  If you spend some time thinking about who to go after, you will find groups of people that fit your client profile.  Meanwhile you are continuing to “network” and insert yourself into the community.

Meet new friends, and your enemies – I went to lunch nearly every day with everyone I could think of that could even remotely help, including my competitors.  It’s amazing the doors that open through the use of food.

Teaching – Go to your local community college and see if they will let you teach a free class related to your field.  This is a HUGE way to recruit new clients, and establish yourself as an expert.

In summary, never discount that next person that you meet at an event such as the ones I described.  You may think that they can’t help you, but believe me when I tell you that business often comes from the person you never thought was even listening.

Mike Sowinski, CPA
www.cfoconsultants.net

"Thanks Shannon for your input!!!!! Great ideas. I will follow your lead and and let you all know how it goes. I do have another question. How would you charge for this kind of demonstration. $$$ did not come up in the dialogue when I was presenting this to the agency head. I was not certain how to charge, if I should charge. This is my attempt to get a firm referral base going, anticipating more referrals to our program which I will get paid for. Thanks." Judy

To view the blog conversation, click here

Hey Judy,

I hear you in wanting to set up a long-term referral relationship with this organization, and we've done plenty of such demonstrations for free with those circumstances in mind. What concerns me about the demonstration you're getting ready to undertake is the length of the event. When we've done it "for free," we've only done it for 2 hrs or so, so as not to lose the whole day, or to set a bad precedent for the future. Currently, Horse Sense is charging not for "demonstrations" but for private introductions for organizations. We try to steer those interested in Demonstrations to our monthly Open House/Tour. When we charge, we usually charge our regular hourly rate of $120/hr; $110/hr for non-profits for such a private introduction. But, if the organization were a large, long-term referral base, I'd take that into consideration as well, and probably do the same thing you are doing.

Demonstrations, Tours & Open Houses are so very important, and such a critical part of success for EAP/EAL organizations. With that in mind, January & Febuary's Topic telecalls with me will spotlight best practices for these events, with lots of tips and hints about what to/not to do. Look also for DVD's from Horse Sense to come out in early 2008 to help you visualize your successful event!

Thanks for your questions, Judy, and I hope the response you get is great!

Best,

Shannon