Great article Michelle, A nice refresher on a very important first step in relationship building! I love your title too! Taking these steps can help everyone avoid a lot of frustration! :)

Great timing to help the Biznikers re-focus. This is a really special time to be re-focusing or re-defining our business. I believe that 2009 will be a great year for many businesses.

"Branding and identity must be authentic and compelling to attract customers. When branding aligns with corporate behavior, it is a powerful force" ~ this stood out.

If you are truly authentic with yourself and your business then you sould never have to worry about where the next paycheck is coming from...very powerful.

Thanks for sharing Michelann.

Jennifer, I will say it was nice to meet you in person! :)

This is a well-timed article because the Green topic is everywhere...a good thing, a great thing in my opinion! All of us can benefit from being more green in our business practices.

Energy efficiency is a large component of "going green", and I never thought to think about the energy used while going mostly paperless!

There is also an impact on the environment when you dispose the electronics!

Good food for thought Jennifer!

I was disappointed to read that watching TV was not an interactive activity, but nevertheless a great article to get you focused to be your best! I do this everyday and it has dramatically reduced my stress.

Thank you for sharing!

Julie Hall

Lindsay, Having a detailed marketing plan that doesn't include selling to everyone is really important, and keeping it simple will make you more likely to actually do it - i agree. I like that you mention differentiating yourself; this is a key component to memorable marketing, yet few people do it! Being a Realtor there are a lot of USP's that everyone uses, so you have to break outside the box! I am writing my marketing plan today, so a very useful, timely article! :)

Lisa, This hits home for me. The "just do it" action is really scary for a lot of people, but after last year as a Realtor I decided that I really wanted to be in this business for the long term, so I needed to make some changes, and that meant "just doing it!" Eventually you will get over the uncomfortable stage and your life gets exciting -- knowing that you can create what you want for yourself in life is very powerful. Good luck to everyone in 2009! It's going to be a great year ~

Rick, This is really helpful for me as I dive into the world of social networking. I will be aware of your points as I get more involved in Biznik!