Good Morning. Captain Obvious here with a friendly reminder:

Checking your voice and email messages daily and then striving to call clients back within 24 hours is essential to the success of your business.

If a client or potential partner is trying to reach you and you don’t call back, they are going to assume you aren’t able to help, aren’t interested, or are just plain rude.

If it takes you, let’s say, THREE WEEKS to return my call, chances are I will have found someone else to fill my need/come to my rescue.

So, call folks back. Even if you can’t help them.

Better to call back and say “no” than to never return a call and make someone angry, give them a bad impression, or get a reputation for being slow to respond.

(Okay, I am a really likable person and you have money you want to give away)

Ready? Okay:

Likable me: “Hey, I have this great idea and I know it is a money maker. All I need is some money from you and I will turn my idea into the next big thing. I want you to make an investment in me.”

Practical you: “Sounds great! So, what is your idea and what do you need from me? Make it quick because I have a meeting in a couple of minutes.”

Likable me: “Oh, well, it is sort of hard to explain, and I don’t really know what I need from you yet. But I really need it. This is the best idea ever.”

Practical you: “That’s okay. Just send me your proposal and business plan, maybe I will see where I can fit into your vision. Oh, I will need your budget, too.”

Likable me: “Um, what? I don’t have time to do all that, but if you invest in me, I promise I will start making time to do all that.”

Practical you: “I’m sorry. I think you are great and all, but I just can’t give you money before I see your plan to launch and sustain this thing. Come see me when you have it all on paper.”

The bottom line: People invest in people. Even if your idea/invention/talent is unique/amazing/fabulous folks will not have the confidence to invest in you if you don’t have your plan on paper.

Need help? Try the Small Business Administration or the Small Biz Resource.

You can do this. Go to the library, lock yourself in, write it all down.