1. Team up with other small business owners to double your exposure. Possible ideas include co-hosting customer events, co-branding your offerings, or bartering your services with other small business owners, which will enable you to add them to your client list.

For example, a colleague recently provided me with two hours of media training in exchange for two hours of instructional design advice for an upcoming train-the-trainer session she was developing. As a result, we were able to leverage each other’s expertise to enhance our own customer offerings.

Talk to your tax advisor about how you can account for the value of an exchange such as this one. But for purposes of increasing your exposure, bartering services can help you obtain new customers—and you may also get enhanced visibility where you might not have had any.

2. Sponsor or utilize marketing opportunities at local fundraisers, such as golf tournaments, chamber of commerce events, and association meetings. You can pay to be a sponsor, ask to be a speaker, host a vendor table, or donate items for silent auctions, depending on your budget and availability.

3. Utilize the power of blogs for brand awareness. Regular blog posts can be added to your own website or submitted as guest posts for other sites. These posts may come up in Internet searches, and they will introduce your business to a wider audience.

Choose topics that showcase the expertise your business provides and address common concerns and needs of clients. Writing a 200- to 500-word essay on a topic forces you to craft simple and impactful messages—a key marketing skill that will transfer to other marketing efforts.

4. Tap into social media—an important part of today’s business world, where people connect to network and share ideas. Relying solely on traditional marketing methods like direct mail or cold calling limits your exposure to new customers who may spend a good deal of time online. If you don’t have a social media marketing plan in place, ask other small business owners how they utilize free or low-cost social media outlets and sites.

Each social media outlet has a different audience and style, so get acquainted with and create an online presence for each one. Then, create a plan with weekly marketing themes, posting items in the appropriate format for each outlet. Market your blog posts and sponsorship events in each outlet so you have double exposure. Once you have established a presence, ask clients and other small business owners to endorse you or share your postings with their client base.

Remember: The key to marketing, no matter what channels you use, is to get your name out there and make positive connections with potential customers.

Deb Hornell has been helping individuals and companies grow and succeed for more than 25 years. She is a visionary whose personal brand of “Cultivating Environments for Growth” extends into her consulting practice, her family and friendships, and her newly released book, Good Things for a Full Life. Follow Deb on Twitter and on Facebook.

Here are three tips to help your children forge a path to financial independence:

1. Talk about financial goals with your children and then help create a plan to set them up for success.

• Define what financial independence means for you and your children. Do you want them to manage their own cash flow? Appreciate and know how to earn money? Set a budget to live within their means?
• Talk with your children about what is important to them in life. What kind of lifestyle do they want? Do they want a family? What level of education do they want to achieve?
• Talk to your children about how financial decisions might affect their lifestyle goals. How will they use credit? What level of debt is acceptable? How much should they be saving?

2. Utilize money management tools to gradually increase your child’s level of responsibility and independence.

• An allowance can introduce elementary school children to the concept of managing money. If you wish, the allowance can be linked to completing basic family chores.
• Using a monthly budget can help middle or high school children learn to live within their means while teaching them independence and accountability for their own cash flow. Help them estimate their projected monthly expenses (lunch, fun money, clothing, and so on) and then compare their actual expenses each month. Talk with your children about why they may have gone over budget and help them find ways to cut costs.
• A checking account with a debit card is a valuable tool for teenagers to begin managing money through a bank. Your children can only spend existing funds, and they have the flexibility of online banking and debit card usage.
• Encourage part-time jobs, such as cutting grass, shoveling snow, babysitting, or working for a business. Your children will learn to appreciate the power of earning a dollar. My parents taught me this valuable lesson during middle school when they expected me to babysit for clothing money. Their confidence in me was empowering and made me appreciate my new purchases even more.
• Credit cards should only be introduced when your children have a proven ability to manage a debit card. My children were allowed to open a credit card account when they were sophomores in college so they could begin establishing a credit history. Our rule was (and still is) that you only charge items on your credit card if you are able to pay off the balance each month.

3. Be a role model for fiscal responsibility. Children watch to see how adults earn, save, and spend money. Make sure your example is one that sets the tone for their future success.

Money can be a major source of arguments in even the best relationships. The good news is that some preemptive planning can avert these kinds of disagreements.

The following four tips can help you create a long-lasting financial partnership with your spouse.

1. Get clear on the role money plays in your life and your relationship. Know what you want out of life and how money is a part of making that happen. Each of you should be prepared to answer the following questions honestly:

• How much money do I need to live comfortably?
• What do I want and need in terms of housing, social activities, children, travel, and freedom?
• With what level of debt am I willing to live?
• What is my philosophy about using credit cards?
• What am I willing to do to ensure that we have a healthy financial situation?
• What experiences from my past affect the way I view money and its role in a relationship?
• Who handled finances in my parents’ relationship? What worked or didn’t work for them?

2. Schedule a meeting to discuss—and agree on—overall goals for financial responsibility in your relationship.

• How will we make decisions about major purchases?
• Who will handle bill paying?
• How will we work through disagreements about finances?
• How will we allow individual freedom for purchases?
• What structure will we set up for managing finances? Will we use joint accounts, separate accounts, or a mix of joint and separate accounts?

3. Do not discuss long-term financial matters in the heat of an argument. When emotions are running high, neither of you will be able to think logically and you will probably say things you’ll regret later. Stop the conversation and go back to tip #1.

4. Check yourself before you make a snotty comment to your spouse about their spending habits. There’s probably a negative experience or hard feelings behind that comment. Ask yourself why you’re feeling that way, and then ask a question of your spouse to gain understanding instead of a comment to gain the upper hand.

Most importantly, discuss financial needs and wants at the beginning of your relationship, before you run into trouble. By following these simple steps prior to living together, you will be able to make sound decisions, including managing a monthly budget, buying or refinancing a home, and investing in long-term savings programs at work.

Deb Hornell has been helping individuals and companies grow and succeed for more than 25 years. Her expertise in group facilitation, leadership development, change management, and strategic planning makes her the go-to consultant for critical organizational development initiatives. She is known for designing and facilitating practical solutions to complex business challenges while honoring and engaging people in the process. Her forthcoming book will be titled Good Things for a Full Life.

Follow Deb on Twitter: @DebHornell and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/DebHornell

Regardless, if you don’t pay attention to the source of your discontent, you run the risk of hurting your career growth, damaging your reputation, or ultimately losing your job.

TIP: Before switching jobs, read this post on what to do with your retirement accounts. 

At a time when there are more qualified people than jobs, it’s important to actively manage your career. You and your company can leverage your skills and expertise, and you can achieve greater job satisfaction. Ask yourself the following questions:

Where is the disconnect?

Determine the source of your dissatisfaction. Is it a bad boss? Are your values not aligned with the company’s values or strategy? Are your skills and talents not being utilized?

Another way to think about this is to imagine yourself doing what you love to do each day. What kind of work do you do? Where and how do you work? With whom do you interact regularly? Once you are clear on the issues, you’ll be able to determine your next steps.

What value do you bring to a company?

Get clear on the value you bring to a company—such as a specific skill set or the ability to resolve customer issues, manage projects, or bring new ideas to market. Once you can articulate your value, ask yourself if you are able to add that value in your current role and at your current company. If not, talk with your boss or with human resources to discuss expanding or changing your role. If you truly believe there are no opportunities for you internally, you may choose to initiate an external job search.

What do you need from a job and from a company?

Think about the kind of environment in which you thrive. Is it working with other people? Working directly with customers? Working behind the scenes? Working with established processes or technology? Working independently? Working closely with your boss and others? The answers to these questions can serve as a filter for potential job opportunities and can also help you save time by allowing you to avoid jobs that aren’t a good fit.

Is your house in order?

If you are going to interview for new jobs, whether inside your company or in other companies, you’ll need to prove to hiring managers that you are the best candidate. Polish up your resume, make sure you are appropriately attired and groomed for interviews, and practice how you’re going to answer questions posed by interviewers as well as what questions you will ask.

How can you manage your network?

It’s always a good idea to maintain your network, and it can be especially helpful when you’re considering changing jobs. But don’t just rely on LinkedIn or other social media outlets. Invite colleagues for coffee to discuss business, and conduct information interviews with those who work in companies or disciplines of interest.

The bottom line is that investing time in managing your career can pay off for you—and for your company.

Deb Hornell has been helping individuals and companies grow and succeed for more than 25 years. She is a visionary whose personal brand of “Cultivating Environments for Growth” extends into her consulting practice, her family and friendships, and her forthcoming book: Good Things for a Full Life.

Follow Deb on Twitter: @DebHornell and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/DebHornell.