Sales are king. Too often as small business owners we find ourselves managing the operations and finances of the company while paying little attention to the sales and marketing. Sales and marketing is what keeps our businesses growing and should never be overlooked.

If you want to build your business long term never stop marketing your company and never rely on one form of marketing. If you market online and do nothing offline, consider setting up a direct mail campaign or advertising in a trade magazine that drives traffic to your website.

A few weeks ago I attended a seminar where one of the presenters said they wanted a new car so they created a new ad campaign that generated enough sales to pay for it. It can be that easy. Yes, it really can!

Is there something you are not currently doing to bring new customers to your business? I'm sure if you sat down and spent a minimum of one hour to brainstorm all the ways you could market your services or products you would come up with several good ideas. So take the time and don't wait for customers to come to you. You should also consider sitting down with other entrepreneurs in your area and discuss marketing they have used to generate good ideas and see what others have been successful with.

My five year old daughter and I were playing