There are tons of opportunities all around you to build your business. In the local newspaper, on business blogs, at networking events, in the shape of the person in line next to you in Starbucks.

The key is to be curious and talk to people. Every day. Ask them what they do and listen to their answers. And if you see a potential solution you can offer, then do it. Don’t start giving yourself all the reasons why they won’t be interested.

Finding new business opportunities is not some deep, dark secret. Neither is it complicated. Know what you do (the solution you provide), know who you do it for (your target markets) and then go out and start contacting people. That’s how you build successful business. One contact at a time.

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., www.fmwalsh.com

Feeling blah about work and business? Feeling like you are missing the passion and fire you used to have? Working harder and longer isn’t going to bring it back. But I know what will.

Find yourself a really cool project to work on. Something that stretches you, excites you, invigorates you. Perhaps something you have been thinking about doing but haven’t really found the time to do yet. Yes, I know you’re probably thinking: “I’m so busy now – I can’t fit in anything more!”

Here’s how a really cool project could refuel you:

1. Whenever I start something new, and often it feels like a lot of work that I really don’t want to do, I always find myself attracting bright, talented people to the project and all kinds of unexpected doors open.
2. The sheer joy of doing something new and different gets me excited and passionate. It makes me realize that if you want to have an impact, you have to try uncharted waters. That’s truly how you make a difference.
3. When you pull people together that are excited and passionate, things move quickly, which means you don’t have time to moan about how overworked you are. You are having too much fun instead!

So if you are having a case of the February ‘blahs’, then do something memorable!

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., www.fmwalsh.com

I hear a lot of people complaining that they need to get stuff done but don’t seem to have the energy to complete it. I was reading a great article by Cheryl Richardson and she offered this great piece of advice: You get passionate about getting things done only when you have the energy to do them. Forcing yourself to do things, pushing yourself constantly when your mind and body are not ready, is a waste of time.

You can reconnect with your passion for business by recognizing your own natural flow of energy and become a lot more productive.

Find yourself procrastinating on getting something done? Stop pushing. Sit back and relax and wait for the motivation to get it done. Much of the time we are just pushing ourselves to get stuff done that just isn’t that important.

So here’s Cheryl’s simple prescription: “”If you have the energy to do something, do it. If you don’t, don’t do it.” Sounds great, I said, but what about the nagging voices in my head that tell me I have to get things done first? “Ah, you see, this isn’t about your to-do list or your cluttered desk” she said. “This is about your mind. You need to learn to manage your mind by telling it to rest while you wait for the energy you need to get a task completed. If you move with the energy rather than against it, you’ll not only be happier, you’ll get more done in less time. But remember, you have to be brave enough to challenge the voices in your head that tell you you’re shirking your responsibilities or that if you wait too long, the energy may never come.”

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Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., www.fmwalsh.com

Passion is not something that can be manufactured. In his book, “Good to Great”, Jim Collins points out that the best companies don’t say, ”Okay folks, let’s get passionate about what we do!” Using common sense, they approach it from another direction entirely: “We should only do those things that we can get passionate about.”

If you or your staff lack passion about your product or what your company stands for, then sit down and figure out what will make you passionate. Is it better customer service? A new product line? A different marketing message? A new target market? I have a client who went from barely making a profit every month, to running a 7-figure business with a new sales team in place and she just became a national distributor for a big product line. She wasn’t passionate when she started working with me –she was barely hanging on. She worked hard to get clear on what kind of company she wanted to build and that’s how she found her passion. She started building what she wanted, not what other people thought she should build.

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., www.fmwalsh.com

The piece of business advice I hate the very most? Just be passionate and your business will succeed. Gag.

This is wrong. I know lots of failing entrepreneurs who are passionate about their product. Unfortunately no one else is, which is why they have no customers and are making no money.  The truth is that it is extremely hard to be passionate when your business is not making any money. You tend to feel like a fraud instead.

Your business will not succeed if you haven’t clearly defined a market need for your product/service. And if you don’t know who your target market is and the reasons why they would buy from you. Just because you think it’s a good idea, doesn’t mean that the rest of the world agrees with you. For proof of this, just watch episodes of Shark Tank or Dragon’s Den.

If you’re lacking passion for your business because you aren’t making money, you need to revisit your business model and see if there is actually a good chance of becoming profitable. If you can’t see one, walk away. If you can see an opportunity, act on it.

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., www.fmwalsh.com

Make this the year of kindness to yourself. After all, if you can’t be bothered to be kind to yourself every day, why would anyone else? Stop criticizing yourself constantly. Stop expecting perfection. Laugh when you mess up. Dance when you are happy. Celebrate your successes.

When we are unkind to ourselves, when we put taking care of ourselves last on the list, what things are we teaching our daughters? What kind of role models are we?

Make 2010 the year of kindness to yourself. You won’t believe how strong an impact that will make on your confidence and on the others around you. And the effect on your bottom line will astound you. Nourish your spirit every single day this year.

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., www.fmwalsh.com

Don’t spend so much time multi-tasking. It is the path to insanity. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen clients worry about their kids while at work and worry about their business while with their kids. What’s the point? You can only focus on and control what you have right in front of you at that particular moment.

The most successful people I know are always in that moment. They are not reading email while having a phone conversation. They are paying attention to accomplishing their top priority at that very moment; only when they are finished that item, do they then move onto the next one.

This was a tough rule for me to master personally. I was often trying to get multiple things done at the same time and not doing many of them well or thoroughly. My so-called ‘efficiency’ was definitely not that efficient.

How did I break the habit? Using the Pomodoro Technique. This simple method has greatly increased my efficiency – I get way more done in an average day. Plus, by being in the moment I am less stressed. And at the end of day when work is done, my mind shuts off and I enjoy my free hours a lot more.

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., www.fmwalsh.com

Stop being so nice to people who waste your time, who whine and complain every time you see them and generally leave you feeling drained. Carlos Santana, the guitarist, said: “All musicians have the same 7 notes to work with; it’s what you do with them that counts.”

We all have the same 24 hours every day. How many times have you heard yourself saying – ‘I wish there were more hours in the day’? Are you crazy? If there were more hours in the day you would just end up working more! Why not simply make a conscious decision to use your 24 more wisely?

And one of the best ways to do that is to be stingy with your time. Stop tolerating people who bring you down. Why welcome energy suckers into your life? I got rid of one person in 2009 who was an enormous energy drain. No matter what solutions or support I sent her way, it was never enough. She still kept complaining and complaining. Severing my business relationship with her was the best thing I did. It wasn’t until she was gone that I finally realized how much she had been draining me.

Surround yourself with people that are joyful and confident. Ones that make you smile whenever you talk to them. You can’t be successful when are constantly pulling you down.

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., www.fmwalsh.com

There is lots of buzz out there about how you need to create a relationship with your customer (true) and the key to successful selling is to be able to uncover their needs and provide a solution (true).  Unfortunately some companies out there have implemented customer service training programs that have their staff asking customers questions to uncover needs and then ignoring what the customer says.  Here are a couple of examples I heard about recently:

• A business associate got a call from his bank customer service representative, asking in a cheery voice if there was anything his bank could do for him.  His reply – reduce the interest rate on my credit card.  Her answer – no.  His next requeest: was there any way to reduce his bank fees?  Her answer – no.  Why bother making this phone call – window dressing?
• A client of mine who has run a financially successful business for 5 years and is now expanding her business operation called her large global bank about gettin a line of credit for the expansion.  They told her it would be no problem – come in and see us and we will get it set up.  She goes for the meeting and finds out they are happy to extend credit to her through a credit card with 29% interest attached!  Needless to say she has moved to the competition.

In the Ghost CEO coaching program, we teach all our clients that Visibility, Credibility, and Profitability are keys to business success.  Both of the banks above lost credibility by asking customers whay they could do better without ever intending to deliver anything different.

If you want to succeed in business, mean what you say.  If you genuinely want to find out what your customer wants and you are prepared to improve your product or service, then ask.  If you are just doing it because it seems to be the thing to do, don’t bother.  You’ll keep more customers and credibility that way.

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., www.fmwalsh.com

Rarely in this society do we say thank you to people who do business with us. It’s very important as a small business to really focus on keeping your customers loyal to you. Do some personalized marketing on a consistent basis and I think you will be very surprised at the results! You need to stay in touch with your clients so they don’t forget you.

And I am not talking about some lame newsletter or bombarding them with Twitter messages about your products. I am talking about taking the time to do some personalized marketing, using the tools described below.

1. Send a card. Other than bills and junk mail, most of us rarely get mail anymore. Sending a hand-written thank you note makes a great impression. Or use a service like SendOutCards, that will mail cards in your handwriting on demand. It doesn’t cost a lot of time to make a big impact.

2. Make them feel special. I got an invite to a VIP event at one of my favorite clothing stores last week. Not only was the event invite only and included a hefty shopping discount, we were handed a gift bag at the door filled with gorgeous stuff – a total surprise! The event was a hit and I’ve been telling all my friends about the store. Make people feel special and you will get customers for life.

3. Practice random acts of surprise. Give customers unexpected gifts that are fun or whimsical. Don’t stick to branded calendars or pens or always sending coffee cards. One company gave me a funky stainless steel water bottle that I take everywhere with me. People always comment on it, and I tell them the name of the company – no branding needed on the bottle. Another sent a potted plant. Give people something tht they will enjoy – books, chocolates, funky shopping bags, gift cards to local businesses. These kind of random acts have huge impact on people.

As a small business owner, your biggest asset is your existing customer base. Research has shown that it costs seven times more to find new customers than to keep the existing ones. So why not shower your clients with kindness? Show them you appreciate their business? That’s the best way to build loyal customers and keep them coming back. You need to stay in touch so they don’t forget you.

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., www.fmwalsh.com