Teresa, a 40-something manager, rode a career wave that peaked and crashed. The major telecommunications company where she had worked in Silicon Valley for several years showed signs leading up to the lay off. When Teresa lost her job, it marked the third round of layoffs in her company. The first had occurred four months before.

Decision making becomes easier. When you are focused on the end result, making decisions becomes much sales roadmaps simpler. By asking yourself whether that is going to help you reach your vision or not, the answers become clearer.

Define and build a written Process. Give it to your Homeowner in an easy narrative or checklist format. Assign a particular individual on your staff to make sure the Homeowner understands the procedure and follows the System. Hold the Homeowner's hand if needed, provide professional advice and an understanding shoulder, but always make sure that the Process is followed. That is your responsibility as the leader of your company.

Think of taking a long road trip. You know where you are now and where you need to go. You've got a general idea of how to get there, so you just hop in your car and go. Will you arrive at your destination? Maybe, maybe not. The odds aren't good. Even if you do, it's pretty sure that you will have spent a whole lot of time getting lost, side-tracked, frustrated, spending more money and time getting there then was necessary. Doesn't sound like a very intelligent why of taking a road trip, does it? Especially small business roadmap blog roadmaps when taking a little time and effort in creating a roadmap for how to get there is the alternate. Additionally, it makes the road trip more enjoyable and less stressful for all concerned.

If this wasn't bad enough, on October 23, 2001, marketing roadmaps only a month after the 9/11 terrorist attack, Apple computers basically put the final nail in the coffin of the music industry as we used to understand it. They launched the iPod. Fast forward to January 2007, when Apple reported record quarterly earnings of US$7.1 billion, of which 48% was made from iPod sales alone. On April 9, 2007, it was announced that Apple had sold its one-hundred millionth iPod, making it the biggest selling digital audio player of all time.

BE A LIST MAKER. Each evening list all the things you want to get done the next day. That gives you an organized approach to each day. As each job is finished, mark it off your list. It's amazing how much gets done when one works with a"things-to-do" list. Also, have a notebook listing appointments, prospective clients, repeat clients, and referrals, and keep it with you at all times. You'll be adding to it constantly.

That's why there's no"perfect" strategy. The sort of venture you have, your goal, the figures in addition to any other variables you take in consideration, define your own strategy. You can't blindly adhere to any one strategy used by other successful businesses cover-to-cover just because it worked for them. You have got to study it and compare whether it's going to work with yours. If it needs to be tweaked a little to suit your needs, then by all means do so.