Best Business Expert

Because of the economic situation, 2009 was not a good year for a lot of people but now that we're nearing the end, 2010 is looking potentially brighter and more hopeful. That is not necessarily the case for Tiger Woods. 

Tiger Woods has a billion dollar brand and although his investments may have dipped through the year – on paper – he was still worth a small fortune because of his golfing prowess. However, Woods had a good year until the end of November when he crashed into a tree and he had to be extricated from his car by his wife who used a golf club to smash out the back windows and pull him to safety. Suddenly EVERYBODY turned against him.

At first, things seemed mysterious when he wouldn't make an appearance when police called on him for more information. He was certainly within his legal rights but it did look strange and the silence from his camp was deafening.

Then, his mother-in-law visited and was rushed to the hospital. While her health issue seems to have been minor, and completely coincidental to the rest of Woods' situation, the weirdness of the situation didn't help his media mentions.

And, of course, a whole bunch of allegations of infidelity exploded from the shadows, too. We're reserving judgment on these because, at the time of this writing, the only proof we have is Woods' vague admission of unfaithfulness; so we're certainly not going to believe that ALL of these women were actually linked to Woods over the years. (Media has an unfortunate ability to attract less-than-desirable spotlight-hungry people).

It hasn't even been a month and Woods' life is basically destroyed. Yes, he still has a fortune that he can retire comfortably on but his reputation as a great golfer will now forever be marred by the headlines from these past weeks. As a result, Woods' sponsors are pulling away; he is taking time off from golf; his family life seems shaky; and mentions of him in business books as an ultimate business machine now seem ironic.

This situation provides a lesson in branding for all businesses:

• Sometimes the media supports you (as they supported Woods for years, helping to promote him as the greatest golfer in the world). Sometimes the media turns against you.

• If there is the potential for bad media, you need to proactively address it and own the story before it owns you. In Tiger's case, his post-accident silence may have been legally appropriate but it didn't help. He could have made a clear, light-hearted statement and owned the story but, like a snowball, it built up as it rolled and by the time he did say something it was too big to control.

• It doesn’t take long for a small breeze to turn into the perfect storm. In less than a month, the greatest golfer in the world – who just happened to have an accident, which happens to us all – is now on shaky ground with business and family prospects that are starting to crumble. And the one thing that he knows really well and actually receives good media about – his golfing ability – is on hold. 

Woods may be making the right decision to cash out and focus on his family at this time. Unfortunately, if he ever wants to make a come-back to golf, and redeploy his powerhouse brand, he'll have an uphill battle to be successful.

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With 2010 approaching, business owners are turning their thoughts to what the next year will bring and what they need to do to be more successful. In the midst of these thoughts there is the inevitable consideration: What do I need to be investing in for my business?

Investing in business is essential for a business to grow and become successful. There are all kinds of investments you might consider making in order to have a more successful business:

* Invest in marketing in order to get a greater return on investment of prospects

* Invest in better copy and sales material in order to get a return on investment of more closed deals.

* Invest in your own education in order to get a return on investment of more proficiency or an extension of services.

* Invest in writing ebooks and other products to get a return on investment of more passive income products.

* Invest in time management software in order to get a return on investment of better and more profitable use of your time.

Preparing to invest in the business requires some considerations to help you determine whether the investment you're thinking of is worth it. The considerations you need to think of in advance are:

* What is the required investment? It will be some combination of time, effort, and money and depending on your business, these will all be different. Perhaps you have lots of time and no money; your investment will look very different than someone who has lots of money and no time.

* What is the expected outcome? This is the "return on investment" (Commonly referred to as "ROI"). In other words, after you've put in a specific amount of time, a specific amount of effort, and a specific amount of money, what are you hoping to get out of it? 

* What is your time horizon? Most businesses want a return that is fairly close on the time horizon. It wouldn't make sense to invest heavily in your business with an expectation of a return 2 or 3 decades in the future. While you should invest for the long term, if you don't ALSO invest for the near term then your business might not be around long enough to invest for the long term.

* What are the contingencies? Not everything works as planned and every good investment should be made with contingencies in mind: What happens if the outcome is worse than expected? What happens if the outcome is better than expected? How much more are you willing to spend to get an increase in return (i.e. if the outcome is worse and you try to fix it)?

2010 is just around the corner and this could be the year of opportunity for your business if you invest wisely.