You are stuck.  You feel it, right?

The dream is not working any longer.  Sales are down.  Customers are leaving.  You can’t find good people.  You are no longer getting along with your partners.  You have lost that fire.  Sound familiar?

Countless small business owners started their business with the expectation of fame and fortune.  The dreams so clearly depicted on the covers of magazines, with the likes of Donald Trump and Bill Gates, don’t come true for most entrepreneurs.  Waking up from the illusion of overnight success can be debilitating for many entrepreneurs, and many stall before ever achieving the first major success.

So how do you get unstuck?  We consult Carol Roth, Business Strategist and Mike Michalowicz, the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Where ever I go, people always ask me one question: What are the 5 steps to success? They want to know exactly what steps they need to follow so they can get to financial success.

Do the 5 steps exist?  We ask our experts, Carol Roth, Business Strategist and Mike Michalowicz, the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur:

Click here to view the embedded video.

A few weeks back, I visited Mike Michalowiz and we shot this episode of On A Roll. I talk about why and how entrepreneurs and small business owners get stuck.

Countless entrepreneurs started their business with the expectation of fame and fortune. The dreams so clearly depicted on the covers of magazines or in “5 Easy Steps to Success” books with the likes of Donald Trump and Bill Gates on the covers, unfortunately don’t come true for most entrepreneurs. Waking up from the illusion of overnight success or that perfectly planned business strategy that did not work can be debilitating. It can even stall them before ever achieving their first major success. I talk about how to wake up to the dream…again, and replace the panic of today with the next steps of tomorrow.

Interview with Barry Moltz from Obsidian on Vimeo.

You made a resolution to be better this year. You can keep that commitment. Here are the people I am following into 2010:

Elizabeth Marshall

Elizabeth Marshall @lizmarshall If you are author, want to be an author or like learn from authors, you need to tune Liz in. I just starting working with Liz and I saw immediate financial results.

Mike Michalowicz (pronounced mi-CAL-o-witz) @tpentrepreneur  This guy has it together. Who would have thought that a guy that wrote a book called Toilet Paper Entrepreneur could be so successful? Want small biz help online? Call Mike. Want to know how make killer videos online? Call Mike. I will be calling Mike alot this year.

Tim Sanders @sanderssays I can’t but be be disappointed when I meet most biz celebrities. Tim Sanders is the exception. I have read all his books and when I interviewed him on the radio, everything coming out of his mouth was insighful and actionable. Listen up!

Chris Brogan @chrisbrogan You may be the one person in the world not following him at this point. Chris’ blog is the only blog I read everyday religiously. If you want to use social media in business, you need to read Chris.

Scott Stratten @unmarketing I met Scott at BlogWorld when he was wearing a shirt that said “What happens in Vegas, Stays on Twitter”. If you want to learn how to engage on the web, talk to Scott. He knows “web”.

Becky McCray @BeckyMcCray Take it from an urban business guy; you can learn a heck of alot from small town entrepreneurs like Becky. They have been creating communities for many years before all of us tried to do it.

Anita Campbell @smallbiztrends The best small business content anywhere on the planet. Period. Get educated by Anita.

Cassie Phillips @webwallflower This is one sharp and connected Gen-Yer. She is a Social Web event planner, attender, and promoter.

Shashi Bellamkonda @shashib He is the social media swami at Network Solutions and speaker on how business uses all types o social media to connect with customers. Want to see the future? Talk to Shashi.

Penelope Trunk @penelopetrunk She is the kind of writer that incites a riot in your soul. Penelope is never boring and like a good writer, she forces you to choose sides.

Rieva Lesonsky, @rieva Now that she has “escaped” from Entrepreneur Magazine, you can read Rieva UnPlugged. Now one understands the trends in small business better than Rieva.

Who are you following into 2010?

Mike Michalowicz is a hoot. He has just written a book that can only be characterized as outrageous and blunt and I really love it. He sums up his wisdom in The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur as “I get it done”. He believes that most entrepreneurs are not destined to be famous or billionaire wunderkinds. Most entrepreneurs are destined to be like you and me- “Steadfast innovators who make miracles on three sheets or less.” He believes that the success of the entrepreneur relies on the following things which I agree with:

1. A foundation of beliefs that you can do it. If you don’t believe, you have nothing.

2. Passion, Passion, Passion- start with passion, finish with the money

3. “Premature” Action- as I say, when it doubt, choose action instead of waiting and thinking about it some more.

4. Focuses on what he is good at- and outsources the rest.

5. Ingenuity over money- as I say, sometimes we just throw money at a problem- which is a losing strategy

6. Dominates a niche. I agree- we need to focus on being great at one thing.