2010 is approaching. A new year is often a good time to make changes, adjustments, and modifications to both our lives and our businesses. As it turns out, I will be doing both in the coming year.
Personal changes include leaving behind a full time paycheck from a main client and seeking to build my own business further through a series of efforts. Its a decision that has been a long time coming, but still one I sometimes feel unprepared for. Yet, I know in the deepest part of my heart that this is the right move for me. Ahead, I sense a year of struggle, but hope to emerge at the end a better person and in a great position business-wise.
The reason I am talking about this here is that these changes will affect this blog. I started this blog a little over a year ago. My goal from day one has been to share creative advice with small business owners. I hope I have come through on that promise. The blog has grown over the year, but not as much as I would like. I have only been able to give it a small part of my attention. Many of my thoughts and ideas for the blog have had to sit on the shelf because of other responsibilities.
In 2010, I have a new goal for All Biz Answers. I want to turn this blog into a business, and in the process reach more small business owners and do more to help you, my readers, succeed. I plan to give the blog much more attention and develop out some of those ideas that have been sitting on the shelf.
Here are some of the things I have in mind for 2010:
- I am going to start a podcast. My plan is to interview small business owners. I think we can all benefit from hearing how other businesses are succeeding. I think this will be a valuable and entertaining element of the blog.
- I want to have more guest posts, and perhaps find some regular guests. With guest posts, I want to focus on specific areas of need for small businesses. I want to fill in on some of the areas that I am not strong on.
- I plan on releasing a book. I have been working on one for the past few months. Its still very much a work in progress, but I hope to make it available in 2010.
- I would like to provide a course, probably on blogging for business. My goal would be to provide specific, actionable advice to help small business owners succeed.
- I would like to provide reports and ebooks to help small business owners. One area that I think would be helpful would be case studies, which will probably branch out of the podcast.
So, those are my plans. I hope that they all work together to provide you a better product. I want All Biz Answers to be essential reading for small business owners. To make that happen, I need to make sure I am providing information that is both useful and entertaining. Through it all, I hope that you, my reader, will provide feedback and help me tweak and modify until things are just right.
Part of making this all possible will be turning All Biz Answers into a profitable business. In order to succeed as a business, this blog must make money. That is why I am seeking sponsors throughout 2010. I have put together a unique program that I think will be beneficial to both sponsors and readers. In a nutshell, I want sponsors to offer a free give-a-way with their ad. This is designed to generate real leads and provide a little fun as we have contests throughout the year and hopefully give away some stuff that will be useful to small business owners. I also hope to be able to introduce readers to some pretty cool and useful companies.
Getting advertising will be an uphill battle. But if I can get good companies on board, I believe I can deliver a better value for you, the reader. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe you’ll hate the advertising. If so, please let me know. But I am working hard to make it a value and not a distraction.
I am excited about the upcoming year. I am looking forward to having more time to spend on the blog, and want that time spent to translate into an increase in value for the readers. I hope that you will continue to read, and that you will help me spread the word if you enjoy this blog.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. Please leave any thoughts or ideas in the comments section below.
Bradford Shimp
