Yesterday, I picked up my game. No longer walking around with the weight of the world on my shoulders, I changed the outcomes of the week, the month and possibly my life - all in a day.

Simply by getting eight hours sleep (a blessing!), having a dynamic new recruit from Atlanta in the Melbourne office, seeing the team excited about life and their work and watching everyone and everything grow in so many ways - I had an a-ha moment (think Oprah).

It was almost like an outer-body experience. Here I was, looking from the outside in and all I saw was highly motivated, excited people that were all ready to tackle the world head-on and believed so strongly in what they were doing and how they were doing it - that they sent some type of magical energy to every person they came into contact with - including me!

It may have only been recorded as a 5.3 magnitude tremor that rocked Melbourne last night, but the subsequent media exposure was phenomenal.

I was sitting outdoors at a Japanese restaurant when it happened and at first I thought my friend was moving the table with his legs. When it was clearly not him, we both looked on in amazement.

Then, a Japanese chef came racing out and asked us if we felt the earthquake. We both said yes, and I told her that I thought it was exciting, "My first earthquake".

That went down like a lead balloon. Of course, in Japan, earthquakes are very dangerous and has killed thousands of people - so in rememberence of that, being excited by it, may not be in seen in the best light. I remember when this happened in Japan. It was incredibly sad.

Moving on from that, the earthquake certainly was "trending" on all social media and within minutes there was a picture up on facebook with a table and four chairs. One had fallen over. I then saw that same image posted on at least 100 facebook accounts. The world of viral marketing.

Which leads us back to marketing.

Here are 5 tips on what small businesses can do to improve their marketing efforts in the next 12 months are:

Last night I had dinner with a good friend of mine. He is one of the smartest people I know in business. He is not only academical, but very street smart.

I talked in length about the next stage of Marketing Eye's business. That is, expansion into the US, selling rights for the company in Europe and basically becoming a truly global player in small business marketing. No else seems to be taking the lead, so it may as well be me.

A new year means many things to many people. If you are an entrepreneur and it is a new financial year, your goals will tend to be around business. Alternatively, 1^st of January tends to be a combination of personal and professional goals.

As I look back on the year we have just had, I smile. Why? I think it is more to do with growing – as a person and as an entrepreneur.

With only days until the end of the financial year, in most companies, there is a sense of need to get more sales in to improve the yearly results.

If you are struggling to find ways in which to bring in 'last minute' sales and want a refresh - try some of these helpful tips.

1. Ring your entire client base and see what other services you can give them in this financial year so that they can achieve their business objectives.

Let's get straight to the point. There are many challenges that small businesses face when it comes to marketing - and much of it is internal.

Small businesses:

1. Argue, challenge and brainstorm in June and December each year about what they are going to do for marketing in the year ahead. . . and end up doing nothing.

Sitting on Wooloomooloo Wharf yesterday afternoon, watching the sun go down with a television journalist from the ABC, our discussion turned to consumer behaviour and creating demand for products that become a must-have in our everyday lives.



"BO (Body Odour) was a thorn developed by marketers to sell powders and deodorants," she said.

I am chuffed! Dean Morelli from epayroll.com.au met with me today after having engaged Marketing Eye on the 1st November, 2010, to provide marketing services for 12-months and said the following;

If you are a small business owner, you would have had many occasions where you were ready to tear your hair out. There is so much to think about; finances, staff, customers, your product/service and of course marketing – bringing in the business!

Writing a marketing strategy today, it dawned on me that not enough space is left on a marketing strategy for ‘word of mouth’ marketing.