I recently heard a new perspective (from Tim Ferris’s blog) on “net worth” that relates to many firms in the building industry.    Most people derive “net worth” by taking your assets and subtracting your liabilities.

What if your “net worth” was what you are left with if you lost all of your money, and started at zero?  And, it could be calculated on the speed of you re-building back to where you were before losing it all.

What he meant by this was,  all of the activities, relationships, past clients, intellectual capital that you build on a weekly basis throughout your career can turn into your “net worth.”  We have all heard of millionaires who have lost it all, and within a year are back above the million dollar mark.

Focusing on building the intangibles of “who” you and your business are will create a situation that will allow you to bounce back quicker from a temporary slow down in demand.  It will allow you to cross into new segments to supplement a decline in your business, sell a different set of skills, and be more confident in re-building your “net worth.”

*Patience is the key to building this type of “net worth,” but it can be accelerated with a focused plan.

Action Items to determine if you need to spend more time building your “net worth”:

1. Make a list of 5 things you have done in the past 6 months to further educate yourself within your industry?

2. Make a list of 5 people you have added to your core network within the past 12 months that enhances your chances of future opportunities?

3. If your past customers were your only advocates to build a future income, how confident are you in how you you have treated them if your future  “net worth” was in their hands.  (1. absolutely  confident  2. not confident).

Competition to top search engine results for long-tail search terms like “St Paul Remodeling” and “minneapolis custom cabinets” is intensifying. Before long, it will be impossible to achieve top rankings without a good link-building strategy.

In his recent Whiteboard Friday video, Rand Fishkin, CEO of seomoz.org, recommends the following quality-over-quantity strategies for article-linking:

1. Avoid mass-submission/ SEO-play article sites. It’s ok to submit a press release to the online services. But as a general rule, copying and pasting a poorly written article into the top 10 (or 50) free article directories is a waste of time.

3. Find sites with good metrics & relevant readership. For example, if you are a company that specializes in green remodeling, you might look for blogs and websites written for consumers who are specifically interested in reducing the size of their carbon footprint, or in saving energy. Build online relationships by contributing to the conversation. But be careful! Blatant self-promotion is a big no-no. Your goal is to join in the conversation and add value for readers. If you do, you can “earn love” and a valuable in-bound link to your website.

4. Make sure you put great content on your site too. So those in-bound links you work so hard to get, won’t be wasted.

Katie follows friends, publications, non-profits, brands, and social buying sites like Groupon. She tweets about stuff she likes, including High Road Heating and Cooling.

I hope they are monitoring the social web – so they can thank Katie for singing their praises!

Helpful tip: If you’re looking for more information about social media, especially HOW TO: Track Social Media Analytics, and you don’t know where to look. Start with mashable. According to postrank, it’s the #1 ranked blog on the topic of social media.

So — in the spirit of helping you learn what every small business owner should know about online marketing — I’m going to point you to a really helpful article on the subject.

Here it is: How to Optimize Your Site for Search.

This is a really good newsletter.

I also recommend subscribing to Today’s Small Business News. It’s where I found the article. Well-written and informative. Worth reading. Full of solid information that will help you grow your business.

Dear Neighbors,

When we did our remodeling project two years ago, we discovered a local entrepreneur whose company builds beautiful, functional combination windows for older homes. This company is approved by MAC and can be hired to do the insulating windows by request. If you’d like to see the work, just walk down the alley past our porch and you’ll see windows that look old and in the style of the house. On the inside these windows are made perfectly and look like they’ve been in the house forever. Between the historic outer and inner windows is a very sophisticated combination that can be removed easily for cleaning.

Sy Phandoanouvong is the owner of the company. I just called to ask him how we could use him on the MAC project. He said all we have to do is request Sy come out as part of the design consultation. He also said to request the SP product. His company name is SP Custom Carpentry and Sy’s cell number is 612-232-0716.

I hope you’ll consider using his product. Our contractor found his design ingenious and has used him on other projects. Plus he’s a lovely person. If you’d like to see our porch windows on the inside, stop by anytime.

Kathleen

——-

Kathleen knows her window guy is a great resource for her neighbors.

What motivated Kathleen to write and send this email? Ever curious, I crossed the street and rang her bell. She was very willing to show and tell me all about her beautiful porch windows. Kathleen said she has a few reasons for sending the email:

1. Kathleen knows her guy Sy is interested in doing more MAC work, and that her neighbors might have a real need for his services.

2. She really, truly likes him and thinks her windows are just the best. Why? Because Sy believes they are the best! He’s totally passionate and enthusiastic about his work.

3. Sy’s not shy about letting her know that he’s very interested in MAC work. He’s not pushy, but Kathleen knows what he kind of work he wants. And that he’s a qualified MAC contractor.

Kathleen believes Sy is a unique and useful resource for her neighbors.

Action Items: 1) Show passion and enthusiasm for your work, like Sy.  2) Give customers something they love to talk about. Like new windows that look just like the old ones. 2) Make sure people know what you want, like more MAC work.