The Savvy Entrepreneur

An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field. — Niels Bohr
Kinda makes you feel better, doesn’t it?

Have you come up with your Only Statement yet? With a little help (OK, a LOT of help) from A.C. Riley, this is what we came up with for mine:
Cristina Favreau is the only coach daring business owners to make their marketing personal. See what makes you tick.
What do you think? What challenges are you [...]

I have to admit… I’ve been in a marketing slump lately. It feels like everything I read or hear about marketing a service-based business has been said and hashed over. I’m bored with it. So, I took a break from reading or listening to anything related to marketing.
Then this cold that has been hanging on [...]

Last week, I posted a call for help to a few VA online groups I’m on. I needed assistance with an important, detailed, last minute and complicated RFP for a client.
Most replies were professional. There were those who offered advice and even provided outlines and templates, while others submitted formal service quotes.
A few replies, however, [...]

As longtime member of the Virtual Business Group (free annual membership in 2008), one of the perks is its Book Club — a benefit I hadn’t taken advantage of until late last year. Boy, am I glad to be participating in this months’ activities, since we’re discussing Marcus Buckingham’s Go Put Your Strengths to Work: [...]

Don’t mistake your Ideal Client with your Target or Niche Market. They may share some similarities, but the differences are important enough to make a distinction.
Michael Port describes your ideal client in “Book Yourself Solid” this way (page 16):
Your ideal clients are a subset of the target market you choose to serve. It is just [...]

What’s the difference between a Target Market and Niche Market?
I get this question a lot. It’s a question I’ve been asked a lot lately, so I thought I’d clarify my opinion here.
A Target Market and Niche Market are the same but different in their own way. They are the same in that these terms are [...]

Have you chosen your niche yet (however you want to pronounce it)? When I first started my coaching practice, it felt like everyone was on my case, “What’s your niche? What’s your specialty? Who’s your target market?”. My reaction was: “I’m just starting out. How am I supposed to know? Leave me alone!” It felt [...]

During a coaching session with a realtor yesterday, she admitted to feeling overwhelmed by all the information out there and said it compounded her marketing challenge — focusing her efforts and streamlining her message. As I dug deeper, she said that she wanted to target 2 particular markets: residential sellers and investment buyers.
Now there’s nothing [...]

Are you like many people I speak with who think that targeting a specific client will limit their business and turn potential clients away? If you answered yes, my question to you is this: Is that such a bad thing?
You can’t be all things to all people — nor do you want to be. If [...]