What was end result? Most of time, a box-office hit and millions of dollars! Yes, there have been a few "failures" for each of them. However, generally speaking, each time they made an effort something wonderful happened.

There are three things I don’t think I’ll ever forget about that interview.

1. Everybody - even "rich and famous" - doubts himself or herself from time to time. Small business owners are no different. Wearing all different "hats" of a small business owner creates perfect environment for insecurity to creep in. It’s something you will likely not completely rid your life from, but it IS something you can overcome.

2. If risk is a calculated and reasonable one - suck it up and move onward toward your goal. Take into consideration "logical" aspects of success. Is risk you’re about to take (expanding your services, taking on a new client, launching a new product) one that stands a good chance of success? Weigh your options. If you decide risk is worth taking, then don’t let fear stand in your way.

3. Oprah DOES have some good shows from time to time! :)

So many small business owners quit before ever "making it." That’s a shame. They let their doubts and fears take over, and it drives their dreams right out of picture. If you love something - if you truly want to do a particular thing and earn an income from it - don’t let anyone (including yourself) tell you that it can’t be done. I think Meryl, Nicole and Julianne would agree!

Diane C. Hughes * ProBizTips.com

Look around and see if others use method you are trying with greater success. If they are, or seem to be, try to determine why they are having greater success with it. Perhaps easiest way to do this is to email them or call them and arrange to consult with them or to share insights on ways to improve both of your businesses. If you do this, be prepared to compensate them for their time.

Look at each of methods on your list and use same system of honestly asking yourself if this is working for your business. Your goal is to find a few core methods that work best for you. Then you focus on really using these. For example, articles work really well for me. So I focus on getting my articles in as many article directories, ezines, and on as many websites as practical.

After you have one method down to a science and it is working semi-automatically for you, then-and-only-then go on to refining next method. This is best way to really focus on implementing methods that do and will work for you. It's also an excellent way to identify methods that are nothing more than time wasters for you.

To further leverage your effectiveness, don't overlook automation or hiring other to implement your successful methods. For example, I use an article submission service because they reach some potential customers that I would probably otherwise miss. It only takes a few publishers running my article or one extra sale to cover investment. To me this makes economic sense.

Begin today, examining pillars, tools or "weapons" you have in your marketing arsenal. Keep using those that work, discard those that don't, and then add new ones from time to time. Soon you will have a core set of methods for deriving business, and surprisingly, it will no longer be a struggle. The business will seem to take on a life of its own. Once a method is fully refined and set into motion, they become semi-automated and you can then look for new methods if appropriate.