The "R" word is being bantered about and it puts a lot of us small business people on edge.

After we spend time wringing our hands, complaining about this, that, the price of oil and Washington - nothing will have changed; only we'll be a little bit older. What, if anything, have you done to prepare your business? What we're seeing in the markets today is not a surprise. It's been brewing for a while.

One of the things I've done is to re-evaluate my business and marketing plan which has resulted in a narrowed focus. Yes, you heard me right, NARROWED. My budget is tighter, my clients' budgets are tigher and competition is fierce. Therefore, networking, advertising, promotional efforts need to do more for me with less resources. How? Instead of focusing on every small business out there, I am now narrowing my focus and targeting a particular business type or segment; specifically, professional women business owners between the ages of 40 and 55 living in the Greater Portland area and south to Boston/MetroWest and the North Shore, MA.

While geographically it may not sound like I have a narrow focus, the demographics and psychographics are narrow. My message, resources and marketing efforts are very concentrated.

Think of a huge search light. The light beam is very wide, bright and lights up a very large area. Now think of a laser. The beam is narrow and focused on a pin-point. The beam is so concentrated that it can cut through steal. I need my message to be so focused and concentrated that it will cut through the clutter and the competition out there.

Of course I do and will continue to have clients that fall outside the targeted niche. However, I am not directing marketing resources outside this niche.

While it does seem counterintuitive, less IS more. Narrow your focus and you may just increase your business.

Now here’s a new time management trick; Sleepworking. Even when fast asleep, many small-business owners said they were still hard at work. Decision Analyst Inc. in Arlington, TX surveyed a random sample of businesses with under 20 employees and over half said they "sleepwork". Of those who sleepwork, 70 percent said they actually put their "work dreams" into action.

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend learning to work in your sleep, but if it comes to you, by all means take advantage of it. You can be at your most “creative” while sleeping. Keep a pad of paper and pencil by the bed and be ready for the next big idea.

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Feel like your business is in a holding pattern? Get unstuck and move to the next level this year. Join a group of like minded business owners. Develop your 12-month plan and leverage the experience and support of your virtual board as you grow your business and have your Best Year Yet. The Ocular Forum - South Portland and Waltham, MA. http://www.OcularForum.com by Bold Vision Consulting.

Happy New Year! I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about 2008 and I’m determined to make this year a success, both personally and professionally. Of course all the normal things are on “the list” and all have something to do with better health, more wealth and greater wisdom. One thing I’ve promised myself is to be honest with myself; to trust my gut and ask myself “Is this the best thing for Lynnelle?” or “Is this the best thing for Bold Vision Consulting?” So many times in the past I find myself saying “I would if only….” Or “I know I should but I can’t because…..” B--- S---.

I’m a successful business owner. I need to start acting like one. Nine times out of ten, those “I can’t…”s "If only..."s are really “it’s too tough” or “what will they think” or “what if I fail” or "I'm scared". You may think this is a classic female condition however I’d bet there are more than a few males who limit themselves in similar, self-defeating ways.

My 2008 is all the basics. Health, wealth, wisdom and nothing but the best. My first step? I’m only going to work with the people I want to work with; those people I like and who value my work.

Some of the happiest and most successful people I know have made the bold decision to work only with the best clients. In the long run they make more money and enjoy their work much more, too.

So that’s what I’m going to do and you should too. How can you enjoy yourself and reduce the stress of owning your own business if you’re spending your day working with twits who don’t appreciate or value what you do? Face it; the clients that cause you the most headaches are the clients that pay you the least. Fire them! All right, you can be nice; but fire them all the same.

How? There are a few steps but this is an excellent exercise. First make a list of the clients you really enjoyed working with. There might be lots of reasons. It might be the type of project, it might be that the people were fun, and sometimes it's something else.

Don't worry. Just make a list of the clients you liked working with. Then put the list away for a while.

Now make another list of all your clients for the last couple of years. For each client, make notes to help you remember the project(s) you did. Note when you worked with them and how much revenue they generated. Make the effort to verify the revenue figure. When we work with a client for a while we sometimes lose track of how much money we've gotten from their business.

Then rate their profitability. If you can do this quickly from your accounting system, that's great. Otherwise use a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being a loss and 5 being very profitable. Remember, time is money. The more time you have to spend on or with a client the higher your costs and the lower your profit.

Now you're ready to proceed. The next step will be easier if you put what you've got in an Excel spreadsheet. That way you can sort the list in various ways.

Which customers rank highest statistically? Sort your list by revenue. Sort it again by profitability. Note the customers at the top of each list.

Now go pull that "clients I loved to work with" list out. Compare it to your statistical rankings. Which clients are on both lists?

There's one more thing to do. See if you can identify what things the clients at the top of your two sets of lists have in common. Is it a particular type of project? Are they in a particular type of business? Are they located in a particular geographic area?

Once you know what your top clients have in common, you can set up marketing strategies to find more just like them. Be Bold! Nothing but the best for you in 2008!!

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Tired of feeling like the Lone Ranger? Being a small business owner can be very isolating. Join a group of like minded business owners. Develop your 12-month plan and leverage the experience and support of your virtual board as you grow your business and have your Best Year Yet. The Ocular Forum - South Portland and Waltham, MA. http://www.OcularForum.com by Bold Vision Consulting.