Everyone’s writing about BP these days. Obviously, the platform failure is such a huge screw-up on so many levels that there’s something we can all learn from it.

There are obvious lessons of grace and character which BP has failed: recognize the problem(s), take responsibility, apologize, swiftly do everything necessary and possible to restore—even improve upon—the status quo ante, and finally, demonstrate that you’ve learned from the experience.

And then there are the practical issues. Contingency planning, strategic thinking. The oil industry’s contingency plans were a joke, copied verbatim from responses to the Exxon Valdez spill over 20 years ago, replete with references to outdated procedures and dead consultants. What’s worse is that every oil company’s disaster “plan” was a carbon copy of all the others.

No one anticipated the potential for disaster. The appalling thing is, it appears as though no one tried. As Errol Morris quoted a research paper recently in the NY Times (“The Anosognosic’s Dilemma: Something’s Wrong but You’ll Never Know What It Is“):

“When people are incompetent in the strategies they adopt to achieve success and satisfaction, they suffer a dual burden: Not only do they reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the ability to realize it.  Instead… they are left with the erroneous impression they are doing just fine.”

In other words, sometimes people are too incompetent to know they’re incompetent. BP apparently thought it was doing just fine. The other companies drilling in the gulf, or the arctic, obviously did (do) too.

How Competent Are You?

So, let’s get down to it. How competent are you? How many of us have contingency plans for our business?

These would be:

(a) plans for how to avert interruptions to our own livelihoods in case of disaster, and

(b) plans for restoring our clients’ business—at least the portion of it that depends upon us—in the event of catastrophe.

Deepwater Horizon rig burning (photo by U.S. Coast Guard)

No, we can’t really imagine the hurricane, the earthquake, the tidal wave. Or the truly “unthinkable” things, like famine, pestilence, war. So here are some web site what-ifs to get you started.

What if your computer hard drive is destroyed. Have you backed up your own and your clients’ work?

What if your computer AND your home/office are destroyed by natural disaster. Do you have secure online or offsite backups of everything you’ll need to get going again?

What if your password file was also on your computer. Do you have another up-to-date copy in a secure place?

What if your web host suffers a disaster. Do you have a backup copy of all the web files you need to restore your site? Does your designer? Are you sure?

What if your site is hacked, and client information is compromised. Do you have backups of the contact info you need to to communicate with every client about the problem?

What if you are suddenly ill or injured, or even trapped in an airport for a week due to some unforeseen event. Is there someone (ideally, someone who is not also your primary partner or caretaker) who can step in to finish any work in progress, to handle billings, to communicate with clients—to keep up the impression of competence and continuity—or at least let people know what’s going on—until you’re back on your feet?

When this person steps in, is the information necessary to run your business—at least to handle essentials—available and intelligible?

• bank info
• accts receivable
• expenses and outgoing payments
• current clients and projects
• online tools and passwords

After sitting at my computer one October afternoon, frantically backing up my almost-finished dissertation onto floppy disks as the Oakland Hills fire burned closer and closer to my apartment, I learned my lesson about backing up essential files, including clients’ sites.

But I confess. Before writing this article, I hadn’t thought about all of these issues. Passwords? Client contact info duplicated somewhere safe? Nope.

I don’t want to be a pessimist, or a Debbie Downer. But as someone once said, “Expect the best, and prepare for the worst.” I sure don’t want to cause even one iota of the pain BP has caused by being thoughtless, careless, or unprepared.

Do you?

We’ve got our work cut out for us.

I’ve been hearing for a long time about the recession affecting other businesses, but it hasn’t really touched mine. Until now. Two different clients couldn’t stave off the wolf any longer. Consequence? Two big, fun, interesting projects suddenly fell through, along with a good chunk of income. Now my calendar is unexpectedly open, and I hear the wolf heading towards MY door.

What to do? My impulse is to leap into manic activity. Do something, anything. Hustle. Work. Move. I think it’s a relic of the post-Depression mentality of my parents and grandparents… to flip instantly into that desperation mindset that says “If you need money and are willing to work, you’ll do anything, anything at all, whatever it takes, just get yourself out there.” The mindset that says, keep pouring over those classified ad pages (but Grandpa, everything is online now!), keep making calls and pounding pavement (but Grandpa, we all have cellphones!), until you land a job. A work-for-wages job, that is.

But here’s a big difference: I’m not looking for a job. I’m an entrepreneur. And I’m determined to approach this situation intelligently, not merely to fall prey once more to an inherited reflex that’s not even based on my own personal experience… and is nearly a century old at that! So what can I do? What can you do? Here’s what I come up with.

1. Retrench. In other words, cut down on expenses. Am I spending too much money or too much time on inessentials that can be cut? Money, no, not really. Time, yes. Staying focused requires constant vigilance on my part. I’m online all day for my work, and there are so many interesting tangents to explore. So for me, “retrenching” means staying focused on the goal.

2. Tap my networks. Remind people what problem I solve, who I solve it for, and that I have an opening. I don’t have a special offer yet, but per below, I think I should concoct one.

3. R&R. Think I’m kidding? Last year I listened to a wonderful audio program called “A Solution to Overwhelm” by business coach Mark Silver. He makes the point brilliantly that when we’re feeling overwhelmed and probably fearful, we’re simply “not being truly effective.” I think he’s right on.  I hate that screechy “spinning the wheels” sound, when you press on the accelerator as hard as you can, hoping crazily that this will get you out of the mud instead of digging you deeper. And not being able to help doing it, because it’s the only thing you can think to do.  Slowing down, tuning into inner guidance, seems counter-intuitive in a desperate situation. But paradoxically, it works.

I have also learned the very hard way that taking care of myself during stressful times is essential. It’s so tempting to neglect sleep, healthy meals, exercise and connection with family and friends while focusing on the “bigger picture. ” But I am here to remind myself and you that there is no bigger picture–in fact, no picture at all–without health. So here’s my commitment to handle my particular challenges in this area: I am going to keep going regularly to the pool, to qi gong class, and playing with our new Wii Fit. Oh yes, and meditating before bed to help ensure a restful sleep.

4. Catch up on deferred “maintenance”… accounting, tax prep, year-end accounting, cleaning up the office, revising the web site, etc. This kind of work can be a blessing, or a trap. I once relined all my kitchen cabinets with shelf paper while my partner and I were undergoing a mold disaster that culminating in our losing our home and most of our belongings. We joke about it now, “shelf paper” now being shorthand for useless busywork that gives the illusion of control, while distracting from the main focus. I have to be careful not to think that getting all the files filed is my main purpose in life.

5. Learn new skills. In my work of web development, learning new skills is continuous and essential. And I love it! Learning something new is exciting and engrossing. But does a particular challenge have a short-term payoff, or is it a long-term investment? Again, big picture.

6. Spend more time marketing/market smarter. I’m thinking that spending a little more time cultivating networks, particularly on Twitter, is a good idea now. I’m thinking about ads in local print media. Continuing to meet people at conferences and other events. Speaking to professional groups. Robert Middleton writes about how to effectively gain new clients by doing all this and more in his Infoguru marketing manual and in his  Action Plan Marketing Club which I just joined. (And yes, I am an affiliate!) Analyzing who my client base is, and how to expand it. We all have our own marketing lists…. so yeah, yeah, OK, it’s time to get to it. Systems, not shots in the dark!

7. Put together new products, new offers. There are at least three web sites and a handful of products that I haven’t had time to launch. They all need some work. And sometimes it’s hard to mobilize myself to take new risks in putting something out there. I’d rather learn more PHP, or organize my receipts for taxes. Yes, really. But it’s time to take some solid steps in this direction. For inspiration, I’m going to refer again to my favorite marketing and business coaches, who both have products aimed at planning projects and mobilizing oneself, Robert Middleton and Mark Silver.

8. Repackage existing products and services. Can I figure out a way to package my services, perhaps on a monthly basis? Something to sell that’s helpful and inexpensive? A “loss leader” special offer? For some reason, this is a tough one for me to think about. I keep going in circles. So I’m going to add one more item to the list.

9. Ask for help. I have a couple of trusted friends who know me well and are very creative thinkers about business and marketing. I’m going to ask them both for help thinking about new products and offers.

10. And finally, prioritize. Some people do this very rationally with lists and project management software and appointments with themselves in their daily calendars. Others do it more intuitively and develop the plans and progress charts as an afterthought, if at all. I’m somewhere in between. So I’m going to meditate, then list and distribute tasks according to time and urgency, and then check in with myself about this regularly to make sure I’m on a track that feels right.

That’s my list at the moment. I’d love to hear yours. What do you do when you hear the wolf howl?

I just read a speculative article on Mashable.com about Apple’s rumored tablet computer … a light, slim, Kindle-like standalone screen that could be drawing tablet, computer, internet browser and e-reader rolled into one. Maybe phone, camera, videocam, ipod and bread-slicer as well. It’s exciting as hell, but also maddening, isn’t it? Trying to keep up with new technology, I mean.

There’s the coolness factor, of course. (I tell myself frequently that this should be a minor consideration.) Closely related to coolness, for me anyway, is the little-kid-loves-colored-lights phenomenon. And then there’s the money thing. Can this gadget/software/etc. help you make more money? As a businessperson, does it help untether you from the many demands of running your own show? Make your life easier? Allow you to do things you never did before?

Some technologies entirely transform the way business is done. The web itself, for example, back in the early ’90s. People who figured out how to use it, early and well, made a ton of money. Remember Netscape? Ebay? Paypal? Google’s IPO? The founders of these now-giants cleaned up. And many of the early adopters, like the ones who figured out how to sell things on eBay while the rest of us were barely cranking up our copies of Netscape 1.0, also made fortunes.

This is still going on today—the revolutionaries and the early adopters reap amazing benefits. Then the rest of us straggle along trying to imitate their success. And eventually, that early success turns into a formula which others try to sell. Take blogging, for example. We’re not all Chris Garrett, or Darren Rowse. But how many of us have bought e-book after e-book, trying to make our blogs as successful and profitable as theirs?

I call this the Magic Ticket Syndrome. I would love to find a Magic Ticket to instant fortune and prosperity. Wouldn’t you? Innumerable folks find their own Magic Ticket by selling what purports to be your Magic Ticket to a profitable online business or blog—getting rich through publicizing your business/product/site/self, or being on national TV, or writing killer landing pages, etc. etc. I’ve got at least a dozen of these things in a “to read” folder on my desktop. I’ll bet you do too.

And then sometimes a technology comes along that really can help your business. For example, a client of mine manages vacation rental properties. Yet she herself could never travel, particularly during the summer, because of the logistics of collecting rents and deposits from renters and potential renters. A typical web-based shopping cart wouldn’t work for her, because her payment amounts always varied according to which property was being rented, for how long, in what season, how many people, etc.

Solution? I researched online invoicing software and services, and after extensive testing, suggested an online invoicing software called FreshBooks. Now, my client and her potential renters come to an agreement on dates and location, she emails a link to a custom invoice, and the renter pays online via credit card before arrival. No more checks, no more hassles with foreign exchange. And for her, no more being stuck in the office.

After seeing how smoothly FreshBooks worked for my client, I gave it a whirl in my web development business. I used to hate invoicing. Hate it. I’d procrastinate weeks before sending out my old MS Word invoice template. This handy little tool, however, makes invoicing—dare I say it? Not only easy, but almost pleasurable. And, it offers value-added statistics that I used to have to track in a separate Excel spreadsheet. So now my invoices get sent out on time and my cash flow has improved. Simple, huh? (In fact, in the interests of full disclosure, FreshBooks’ proven track record, speed, reliability, and responsive support have met all my stiff affiliate criteria. So yes, I am a FreshBooks affiliate and will make a minuscule amount of money if you click these links and decide to become a paying customer.)

I came across another business using this technology in a different way. WPhelpcenter.com offers technical problem-solving services for WordPress site developers. You describe your WordPress issue or glitch over the phone, they ask some questions, then give you an estimate. If you decide to have them do the work, an email with a FreshBooks invoice link appears in your inbox a few minutes later. As soon as you’ve paid, the guys at wphelpcenter are ready to start working. Again, simple.

Is this bit of technology a Magic Ticket? Nope. But does it enable business owners to be happier and more productive? Yes and yes, for my property manager client and for me. Does it elegantly facilitate a web-based business model that might otherwise be unfeasible? In the case of WPhelpcenter.com, yes.

Invoicing software isn’t exactly super-cool. Nor does it totally revolutionize the way business is done. But it’s useful. And it’s just one of dozens or hundreds of such products that appear with astounding regularity these days. How can we possibly keep track of them all, let alone figure out which ones will truly be helpful, let alone transformative, in our particular business?

March 2010 postscript: I’ve started a free weekly tips sheet to–one usable, bottom-line-enhancing tech tip per week. Sign up here: http://creatingwebsuccess.com/free-stuff/

And if you’d like to go one better, and give your business and your bottom line a shot in the arm of motivation, inspiration, and practical steps you can take right now to jumpstart your business, check out my new product, 99 Ways to Use Social Media and the Web to Grow Your Business, Reach More Clients, Sell More Products and Services, Make More Money, Make Your Life Easier, and Change The World!

So let’s forget the coolness factor for the moment. Is there a new piece of software or technology that helps your business work better, differently, more easily? I’d love to hear about it.

At least half my clients have come to me because something wasn’t working with their previous web designer. Generally, what’s bugging them is the communication process. And because they’re not comfortable communicating, their sites have gone stagnant. I’ve heard things like “He only communicates by email; I can’t ever just phone him.” Or, “I was shocked when I got my bill, he never said it would cost that much.” Or “He said he can’t fix [fill in the blank problem] without buying [fill in the blank expensive new technology]—do I really need it?”

Usually, these businesspeople suffered in silence over a period of some time before their paths crossed mine. They’ve had to shrug their shoulders about work that never got done, plans that stayed in limbo, money not made, money spent unwisely, and precious time wasted.

Do you want the site of your dreams, and depend on your designer to get you there? Here are eight ways to have a more comfortable, productive, and ultimately, profitable relationship with your designer.

• Use your designer as a consultant. If you discuss your thoughts and plans for changes with your designer while your thoughts are still in gestational stages, she or he can often give you feedback, ideas, and suggestions for cheaper/better/easier ways to accomplish your goals. They’ll also have time to research new technologies they may have heard or read about that might help you achieve what you’re looking for—before the last-minute crunch.

• Batch your changes. If you batch your web revisions together rather than sending 15 individual emails, it saves your designer time, and saves you money.

• Don’t pretend to understand what your designer is talking about. Keep asking questions. “How will that help me?” “How will that save me time/money?” “How will that (technology, process, proposal) help me achieve my goals for the site?”

• If your designer asks you to sign a contract, read it carefully! One client, Erica, came to me for web site changes which required the original Photoshop files used to create her site. Her former designer responded with a snippy note instructing her to read her contract. Yes, he owned the Photoshop files… and charged her over a thousand dollars to ransom them.

• Which brings me to the next point: clarify up front whether you own your site design and artwork.

• Communicate proactively and clearly about money, pricing, and what you’re willing to spend. Never be afraid to ask “Is there a less expensive way to accomplish the same goal?” And the follow-up question to that one, “What are the trade-offs of doing it that way?” When you ask—and you must—your designer should be able to state clearly what can be accomplished given the funds you have. That said, all technical projects occasionally run into unexpected glitches that aren’t anyone’s fault. Which leads me to the next item.

• Be accessible and easy to communicate with, without being a micromanager. You may cut yourself off from crucial information by being either inaccessible, or overly invested in details. Give your designer room to work while letting them know you’re available when needed.

• Choose a collaborator, not a web site Nazi. Your designer is there to give you their most skilled support and advice to help you achieve your goals, not to impose a vision, style, or business model upon your site. If you can’t communicate with your designer, look for another. Immediately!

If you have a designer already, these are proactive ways to get a lot more out of the relationship. If you don’t, they’re selection criteria. Whether you need a designer once a year, or once a week, you and your business deserve the best.

Have you ever clicked onto a web page, a long page full of description, bullet points, yellow highlighting, red dashes, astounding testimonials… and you’re instantly overwhelmed with the feeling that (a) you will regret it for the rest of your life if you don’t buy this product NOW, (b) you will suffer terrible consequences—or you’ll be sabotaged by your own lack of daring, money, willpower, etc.—if you don’t buy this product NOW, or (c) you suddenly feel so hooked into the fantasy of doing/having/being what this page promises that you absolutely NEED and WANT this product NOW…?

So you click. You pay. You download. You start the ebook, watch the video… but get stalled a third of the way through. It wasn’t as interesting, or maybe as easy, as the sales copy promised. Then you tell yourself you just don’t have the … time… right now to finish it. And there it sits, in a folder on your computer along with all the other e-books you’ve bought, and free handouts you’ve collected about how to make  your business better. You know… the ones you plan to read when you have time.

This is when I usually realize that I once again fell into the fantasy of thinking I could achieve or attain something I want, without working through whatever it is that’s been keeping me from doing it in the first place. And I usually feel a vague sense of shame, an unpleasant "yuck" feeling that comes from shame.

Some of us are always suckers for these fantasies, though, like Zack, a friend who is an internet marketing junkie. Whenever he sees a new sales gimmick, he wants it Whether it’s a Facebook site, a Twitter account, Youtube videos, an autoresponder ecourse, audio, video on site, voiceover testimonials, a dedicated sales page bursting with hypey marketing language… if he sees it, and some so-called marketing guru is charging hundreds or thousands for it, and promising it will earn Zack millions … he wants it.

Never mind if the advertising is filled with half-truths and exaggerations, and the product itself is wildly overpriced. Never mind whether or not the product, even if it performs as advertised, is a smart use of time and resources to achieve his site’s goals! Zack spends a ton of time and money on tools which can be valuable in themselves, but may not be practical for his site right now. And then he wonders why his sales just don’t keep pace with his expenditures. It’s a frustrating (and expensive) situation.

I have many clients who sell products or services over the Internet. The ones who build a profitable business that’s sustainable over time—without wasting thousands of dollars and many hours in wild goose chases along the way—tend to have one big thing in common. They have a plan.

How Can You Plan, in this Time of Rapid Changes?

Simple. Your plan, roadmap, whatever you want to call it, has three key elements. Here’s how to get started.

1. Know what and where you want to be. Dream big. In your wildest dreams, what does success look like to you? How much do you want to work, what kind of work will that be, what dollar figure would you like to earn… ask yourself as many concrete questions as you can. Don’t be afraid of the answers! This is "Point B," in other words, it’s where you’re going.

When you measure everything against an explicit goal, rather than a half-articulated fantasy, you know when to say yes, or no. For example, if your goal is to spend all your working time writing, say, and support yourself easily this way, then you probably shouldn’t plunk down your money for a course on cold-calling, or videocasting, no matter what kind of fame and riches it promises. What about a copywriting course? Well, does writing sales copy help you achieve, or is it part of,  your ultimate goal? If so, that’s a possibility to consider. If not, say no.

2. Budget. What’s coming in, what’s going out? How much money do you have? How much does your business earn now? How much or little time and money can you devote, right now, to achieving your goals? Be thorough, honest, and realistic. This is "Point A," your starting point.

Your budget is another kind of yardstick. Even if that ebook normally sells for $500, but—for today only!—it’s $150… do you have the money, and is this how it’s best spent to achieve your goal? Does this purchase enable you to progress toward your ultimate goal significantly faster or better than you would without it? If the answer to all questions is "yes," then the purchase is one to consider.

3. Strategy. Wikipedia says, "A strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal." In other words, it’s a roadmap which tells you how to get from point A, where  you are now, to point B, where you want to be. It’s a sequential to-do list that will progress you from here to there.

Make a list. "Chunk it down," as my friend Connie says, into bite-sized steps. Write down every stage and step towards your goal, and every concrete task needed to achieve each step. Do as much research as you can—whether online, at the library, talking to people, hiring a consultant—to fill in the blanks. Put each tiny step in a logical, chronological order. This is your "strategy." It will change and evolve, but at any given point it is your best and most informed guess as to what you need to do first, next, and later.

It may not be perfect. Your timeline may be off, you might miss a step or two, you might decide to abandon step 3 and go directly to step 5. But this plan provides you with a structure—a guide into the trackless wilderness of the future, based upon your best understanding of the steps needed to reach your goals, and your available budget for doing so.

Flexibility and an Open Mind

Now that we have your plan, we also need to be able to alter or even abandon it. (Note: it took me many years to understand that this is not at all the same as not having a plan in the first place!) If a new technology comes along, a new opportunity comes your way, a new product is released, a seminar is announced… you need the flexibility to evaluate it rationally. Can it enhance or speed your progress? Will it require complete retooling, yet ultimately enable you to achieve your dream? Your goal, your budget and your strategy give you structure. Balancing the structure, we also need to give ourselves permission to abandon it when to do so serves our greater goals.

Ensure Success by "Paying Yourself First"

No, I’m not talking about money, I’m talking about time. Now that we have a roadmap to our goals, that has to become our priority. Do a step on that list every single day, before you do any other work, before you read your email, before you go online to get the news. Devote the first half hour, or hour, or two, of your work day to achieving YOUR goals. Otherwise, it’s too easy to get swamped by the pressures of day-to-day tasks. Do you want your plan for 2010 to look exactly the same as the one you did back in 2005? No? Then "pay" yourself first.

What has worked for you? Do you have a plan, did success just "happen," or are you still waiting for it? Please add your comments.