GrowthMindSet

A Sister's Eulogy for Steve Jobs

2011-11-01T10:49:00.000-04:00

You may be tired of people talking and writing about Steve Jobs in the last few weeks but I thought this article by his sister was a wonderful insight to the man. There is something to learn everywhere. This is lengthy but worth the read.

A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs

By MONA SIMPSON

Published: October 30, 2011

I grew up as an only child, with a single mother. Because we were poor and because I knew my father had emigrated from Syria, I imagined he looked like Omar Sharif. I hoped he would be rich and kind and would come into our lives (and our not yet furnished apartment) and help us. Later, after I’d met my father, I tried to believe he’d changed his number and left no forwarding address because he was an idealistic revolutionary, plotting a new world for the Arab people.

Even as a feminist, my whole life I’d been waiting for a man to love, who could love me. For decades, I’d thought that man would be my father. When I was 25, I met that man and he was my brother.

By then, I lived in New York, where I was trying to write my first novel. I had a job at a small magazine in an office the size of a closet, with three other aspiring writers. When one day a lawyer called me — me, the middle-class girl from California who hassled the boss to buy us health insurance — and said his client was rich and famous and was my long-lost brother, the young editors went wild. This was 1985 and we worked at a cutting-edge literary magazine, but I’d fallen into the plot of a Dickens novel and really, we all loved those best. The lawyer refused to tell me my brother’s name and my colleagues started a betting pool. The leading candidate: John Travolta. I secretly hoped for a literary descendant of Henry James — someone more talented than I, someone brilliant without even trying.

When I met Steve, he was a guy my age in jeans, Arab- or Jewish-looking and handsomer than Omar Sharif.

We took a long walk — something, it happened, that we both liked to do. I don’t remember much of what we said that first day, only that he felt like someone I’d pick to be a friend. He explained that he worked in computers.

I didn’t know much about computers. I still worked on a manual Olivetti typewriter.

I told Steve I’d recently considered my first purchase of a computer: something called the Cromemco.

Steve told me it was a good thing I’d waited. He said he was making something that was going to be insanely beautiful.

I want to tell you a few things I learned from Steve, during three distinct periods, over the 27 years I knew him. They’re not periods of years, but of states of being. His full life. His illness. His dying.

Steve worked at what he loved. He worked really hard. Every day.

That’s incredibly simple, but true.

He was the opposite of absent-minded.

He was never embarrassed about working hard, even if the results were failures. If someone as smart as Steve wasn’t ashamed to admit trying, maybe I didn’t have to be.

When he got kicked out of Apple, things were painful. He told me about a dinner at which 500 Silicon Valley leaders met the then-sitting president. Steve hadn’t been invited.

He was hurt but he still went to work at Next. Every single day.

Novelty was not Steve’s highest value. Beauty was.

For an innovator, Steve was remarkably loyal. If he loved a shirt, he’d order 10 or 100 of them. In the Palo Alto house, there are probably enough black cotton turtlenecks for everyone in this church.

He didn’t favor trends or gimmicks. He liked people his own age.

His philosophy of aesthetics reminds me of a quote that went something like this: “Fashion is what seems beautiful now but looks ugly later; art can be ugly at first but it becomes beautiful later.”

Steve always aspired to make beautiful later.

He was willing to be misunderstood.

Uninvited to the ball, he drove the third or fourth iteration of his same black sports car to Next, where he and his team were quietly inventing the platform on which Tim Berners-Lee would write the program for the World Wide Web.

Steve was like a girl in the amount of time he spent talking about love. Love was his supreme virtue, his god of gods. He tracked and worried about the romantic lives of the people working with him.
Whenever he saw a man he thought a woman might find dashing, he called out, “Hey are you single? Do you wanna come to dinner with my sister?”
I remember when he phoned the day he met Laurene. “There’s this beautiful woman and she’s really smart and she has this dog and I’m going to marry her.”
When Reed was born, he began gushing and never stopped. He was a physical dad, with each of his children. He fretted over Lisa’s boyfriends and Erin’s travel and skirt lengths and Eve’s safety around the horses she adored.
None of us who attended Reed’s graduation party will ever forget the scene of Reed and Steve slow dancing.
His abiding love for Laurene sustained him. He believed that love happened all the time, everywhere. In that most important way, Steve was never ironic, never cynical, never pessimistic. I try to learn from that, still.
Steve had been successful at a young age, and he felt that had isolated him. Most of the choices he made from the time I knew him were designed to dissolve the walls around him. A middle-class boy from Los Altos, he fell in love with a middle-class girl from New Jersey. It was important to both of them to raise Lisa, Reed, Erin and Eve as grounded, normal children. Their house didn’t intimidate with art or polish; in fact, for many of the first years I knew Steve and Lo together, dinner was served on the grass, and sometimes consisted of just one vegetable. Lots of that one vegetable. But one. Broccoli. In season. Simply prepared. With just the right, recently snipped, herb.
Even as a young millionaire, Steve always picked me up at the airport. He’d be standing there in his jeans.
When a family member called him at work, his secretary Linetta answered, “Your dad’s in a meeting. Would you like me to interrupt him?”
When Reed insisted on dressing up as a witch every Halloween, Steve, Laurene, Erin and Eve all went wiccan.
They once embarked on a kitchen remodel; it took years. They cooked on a hotplate in the garage. The Pixar building, under construction during the same period, finished in half the time. And that was it for the Palo Alto house. The bathrooms stayed old. But — and this was a crucial distinction — it had been a great house to start with; Steve saw to that.
This is not to say that he didn’t enjoy his success: he enjoyed his success a lot, just minus a few zeros. He told me how much he loved going to the Palo Alto bike store and gleefully realizing he could afford to buy the best bike there.
And he did.
Steve was humble. Steve liked to keep learning.
Once, he told me if he’d grown up differently, he might have become a mathematician. He spoke reverently about colleges and loved walking around the Stanford campus. In the last year of his life, he studied a book of paintings by Mark Rothko, an artist he hadn’t known about before, thinking of what could inspire people on the walls of a future Apple campus.
Steve cultivated whimsy. What other C.E.O. knows the history of English and Chinese tea roses and has a favorite David Austin rose?
He had surprises tucked in all his pockets. I’ll venture that Laurene will discover treats — songs he loved, a poem he cut out and put in a drawer — even after 20 years of an exceptionally close marriage. I spoke to him every other day or so, but when I opened The New York Times and saw a feature on the company’s patents, I was still surprised and delighted to see a sketch for a perfect staircase.
With his four children, with his wife, with all of us, Steve had a lot of fun.
He treasured happiness.
Then, Steve became ill and we watched his life compress into a smaller circle. Once, he’d loved walking through Paris. He’d discovered a small handmade soba shop in Kyoto. He downhill skied gracefully. He cross-country skied clumsily. No more.
Eventually, even ordinary pleasures, like a good peach, no longer appealed to him.
Yet, what amazed me, and what I learned from his illness, was how much was still left after so much had been taken away.
I remember my brother learning to walk again, with a chair. After his liver transplant, once a day he would get up on legs that seemed too thin to bear him, arms pitched to the chair back. He’d push that chair down the Memphis hospital corridor towards the nursing station and then he’d sit down on the chair, rest, turn around and walk back again. He counted his steps and, each day, pressed a little farther.
Laurene got down on her knees and looked into his eyes.
“You can do this, Steve,” she said. His eyes widened. His lips pressed into each other.
He tried. He always, always tried, and always with love at the core of that effort. He was an intensely emotional man.
I realized during that terrifying time that Steve was not enduring the pain for himself. He set destinations: his son Reed’s graduation from high school, his daughter Erin’s trip to Kyoto, the launching of a boat he was building on which he planned to take his family around the world and where he hoped he and Laurene would someday retire.
Even ill, his taste, his discrimination and his judgment held. He went through 67 nurses before finding kindred spirits and then he completely trusted the three who stayed with him to the end. Tracy. Arturo. Elham.
One time when Steve had contracted a tenacious pneumonia his doctor forbid everything — even ice. We were in a standard I.C.U. unit. Steve, who generally disliked cutting in line or dropping his own name, confessed that this once, he’d like to be treated a little specially.
I told him: Steve, this is special treatment.
He leaned over to me, and said: “I want it to be a little more special.”
Intubated, when he couldn’t talk, he asked for a notepad. He sketched devices to hold an iPad in a hospital bed. He designed new fluid monitors and x-ray equipment. He redrew that not-quite-special-enough hospital unit. And every time his wife walked into the room, I watched his smile remake itself on his face.
For the really big, big things, you have to trust me, he wrote on his sketchpad. He looked up. You have to.
By that, he meant that we should disobey the doctors and give him a piece of ice.
None of us knows for certain how long we’ll be here. On Steve’s better days, even in the last year, he embarked upon projects and elicited promises from his friends at Apple to finish them. Some boat builders in the Netherlands have a gorgeous stainless steel hull ready to be covered with the finishing wood. His three daughters remain unmarried, his two youngest still girls, and he’d wanted to walk them down the aisle as he’d walked me the day of my wedding.
We all — in the end — die in medias res. In the middle of a story. Of many stories.
I suppose it’s not quite accurate to call the death of someone who lived with cancer for years unexpected, but Steve’s death was unexpected for us.
What I learned from my brother’s death was that character is essential: What he was, was how he died.
Tuesday morning, he called me to ask me to hurry up to Palo Alto. His tone was affectionate, dear, loving, but like someone whose luggage was already strapped onto the vehicle, who was already on the beginning of his journey, even as he was sorry, truly deeply sorry, to be leaving us.
He started his farewell and I stopped him. I said, “Wait. I’m coming. I’m in a taxi to the airport. I’ll be there.”
“I’m telling you now because I’m afraid you won’t make it on time, honey.”
When I arrived, he and his Laurene were joking together like partners who’d lived and worked together every day of their lives. He looked into his children’s eyes as if he couldn’t unlock his gaze.
Until about 2 in the afternoon, his wife could rouse him, to talk to his friends from Apple.
Then, after awhile, it was clear that he would no longer wake to us.
His breathing changed. It became severe, deliberate, purposeful. I could feel him counting his steps again, pushing farther than before.
This is what I learned: he was working at this, too. Death didn’t happen to Steve, he achieved it.
He told me, when he was saying goodbye and telling me he was sorry, so sorry we wouldn’t be able to be old together as we’d always planned, that he was going to a better place.
Dr. Fischer gave him a 50/50 chance of making it through the night.
He made it through the night, Laurene next to him on the bed sometimes jerked up when there was a longer pause between his breaths. She and I looked at each other, then he would heave a deep breath and begin again.
This had to be done. Even now, he had a stern, still handsome profile, the profile of an absolutist, a romantic. His breath indicated an arduous journey, some steep path, altitude.
He seemed to be climbing.
But with that will, that work ethic, that strength, there was also sweet Steve’s capacity for wonderment, the artist’s belief in the ideal, the still more beautiful later.
Steve’s final words, hours earlier, were monosyllables, repeated three times.
Before embarking, he’d looked at his sister Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life’s partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them.
Steve’s final words were:
OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.

Here is a great article on Generating Leads Through LinkedIn

2011-09-14T14:34:00.003-04:00

Maximizing the Power of LinkedIn to Generate Leads

By Bob Speyer and Alison Brown, Web Success Team
LinkedIn is a very powerful tool for generating new business. When LinkedIn first began, it was primarily formulated for individuals to expand their professional network. Now, not only can individuals seek out connections in the online world, but companies can use LinkedIn to expand their client base as well. LinkedIn not only allows you to share information about your services directly with potential clients, but you can also research them, increase your company’s visibility and most importantly — generate leads!

Get Noticed!
With so many social media platforms at your disposal, making sure you utilize all the tools is sometimes overwhelming. To make it simple, you can start by exploring LinkedIn’s capabilities and personalizing your profile. If you create a public link that is easily searchable, the easier it will be for people to find you. Also, by joining groups that relate to your industry, you can connect with people that you know will be interested in your company.
Get the Conversation Flowing
Building online rapport with potential customers can help you cultivate relationships with them. Relationship building is a LinkedIn strength and will lead to referrals and business. One great tool for starting conversations with potential clients is to take advantage of the questions and answers section. The more you answer people’s questions here, the more visibility you are creating for your company as an authority and the more likely they will be to use you in the future.
Furthermore, the first step in cultivating a relationship with potential clients is by sharing information. Get to know potential clients by researching their profile and offering some useful insights to get the conversation started. You can also start discussions in the groups you belong to, and say that if they have more questions they should visit your website.
Utilizing Tools
There are tons of applications on LinkedIn that many of us don’t know about. Most people only generate a profile with the standard sections that include previous experiences, but many don’t know that you can also add your blog to your LinkedIn page or connect your Twitter account. If you post an update on LinkedIn, it will be shown on your Twitter feed as well.
Additionally, LinkedIn also offers an advertising program that helps generate more traffic for your company’s website or LinkedIn profile. You can create a simple advertisement and then bid on how much you are willing to pay LinkedIn for each click that you get. The more clicks you get, the more potential business you are likely to receive.
Devise a Strategy for Lead Generation
Outlining a plan of how you are going to generate leads can ensure that you take advantage of everything LinkedIn has to offer. By connecting with a certain amount of new people each week, you can make sure that you are keeping your company’s name fresh on people’s minds. If they or someone they know needs your services, they are more likely to think of you first.
It’s also important that you strengthen your company’s online presence by joining a lot of groups each week. You should remain active in the groups by regularly starting or engaging in discussions that directly pertain to your industry. People are more likely to trust those who are knowledgeable and helpful when it comes to choosing one company over another.
Consistency is Crucial
Keeping your company’s name high on the LinkedIn radar will guarantee the interest of potential customers. Consistency is the key to generating leads, so the more you stick to your LinkedIn connection plan, the more successful your company will be. Even though this may not happen instantly, if you use LinkedIn correctly and continuously, you may be surprised just how quickly people will be asking about you.

How Do You Know If Your New Business Will Make It?

2011-08-09T10:08:00.000-04:00

That is the $64,000 question isn't it. Some say that it is a "Leap of Faith" but I believe that there are some concrete steps to take before you jump in. This is a good article which outlines my own thoughts on this topic.

Go Where the Money Is!

2011-07-21T12:46:00.000-04:00

We have been telling business owners for some time that in our current economy if you can't sell what you have find something else. That doesn't mean you have to find a totally different business but you need to find out what people will pay for. The attached article speaks to that point from the perspective of a business owner. As a side note he also demonstrates the value of Peer Coaching Groups which is one of our offerings. If you read the article and think that peer coaching might be of benefit contact us to learn more about our groups.

10 Ways to Introduce Yourself

2011-07-20T10:26:00.000-04:00

Now here is a different approach to how to introduce yourself. It's not necessarily about the elevator speech but about creating a positive image and forming relationships. So here are 10 good tips from BNET and author Jeff Haden. Embrace them.

Are Daily Deals Delivering Repeat Customers??

2011-07-19T11:56:00.001-04:00

That is a question that has been on my mind. It seems tempting to jump in when you look at the number of buyers for any given daily deal. It may be a great boost for some businesses to get new customers. It's like every other marketing strategy. You need to test it out and track the results. The link above is for an interesting article from eMarketer. Worth the read.

Timing and Social Networks

2011-06-27T11:03:00.004-04:00

If you are pursing a social network marketing strategy this is great information for you on the timing of your post. This post is part 1 which implies additional information will be forth coming. I will post any additional info as I get it. I get asked questions about when to post and how often. Here is the answer to those questions.

Top 14 Things Marketers Need to Know About QR Codes

2011-06-15T15:15:00.000-04:00

I had someone send me this link as a follow up to our last blog. Pretty interesting stuff.

Thanks Wendy Stroud

Some Intersting Ways Small Business' are using QR Codes

2011-06-07T14:59:00.000-04:00

And if you don't know what a QR code is you need to find out. QR codes are springing up all over the place and offer business' an opportunity to engage potential customers. I recently have seen them in a number of retail outlets like Old Navy to name just one. Follow the title link to read about some small business applications of this technology. It might get your creative juices going. Enjoy

How Georgette Blau promoted herself from Struggling Entrepreneur to Executive

2011-05-20T12:25:00.000-04:00

This interview with Georgette Blau highlights one of the messages that Kathy and I deliver with almost fanactical emphasis. To grow your business you must put an infrastructure in place with documented processes and procedures and job descriptions. Now I know many of you are saying yeah yeah but here is an entrepreneur describing her journey from struggling entrepreneur to executive. Worth the read folks.

12 Ways to Keep your Employees Motivated, Engaged and Unified

2011-04-19T10:25:00.003-04:00

This article is by Arte Nathan, a veteran Hr professional with more than 30 years experience. It is a good reminder of why motivated engaged employees improve your bottom line. I know you are saying yeah yeah I know all that but in the day to day rush we all get side tracked from the strategic to the immediate. I know I sure did in my days in corporate America. So take a few minutes to take a breath and read this article to reenforce what you may already know and then do one thing today to further engage your employes in the mission.

Best Practices for Social Media Polices and Guidelines

2011-04-06T12:57:00.002-04:00

I have recently heard or read about a number of instances where a company has been embarrassed by employees posting comments on the company's blog. In our current environment it has become essential for companies to draft polices and guidelines for their employees social media activity as it relates to the company. This is a good article on this topic and includes 25 best practices. Good food for thought regardless of the size of the company.

5 ways to motivate millennials

2011-03-28T13:46:00.003-04:00

I came across this article from Business Week and thought it was worth posting. Many of our clients struggle with understanding and motivating younger employees. Not a new topic is it? This article nets out five approaches that might help. If you have additional thoughts let us hear from you.

Should You Hire an Overqualified Candidate?

2011-03-07T10:44:00.002-05:00

This is a very relevant article in this talent marketplace from Harvard Business Reviews Amy Gallo. There are many talented people out there looking for positions who are being rejected as being over qualified. This article cites a study that shows that over qualified employees perform better than others. Take a look.

Don't Let the IRS Reclassify Your Business as a Hobby

2011-03-02T12:07:00.003-05:00

I ran across this article and thought it might be of interest to some of you. It seems the IRS is after businesses that aren't making a profit. Here are some things to look at that will boost your argument that you are a serious business owner.

Why Every Leader Needs a Vulcan Sidekick

2011-02-23T15:29:00.003-05:00

Hey this is Joy here. As many of my associates know I am a Star Trek fan and have been so since my teens. The thought has crossed my mind many times that Captain Kirk would not have been so successful a captain without Spock and though very different personalities over time they came to appreciate and seek their diversity of thought as input on decision making.

Apparently I'm not the only one who had this thought. Click on the headline to read an interesting article by Mike Figliuolo, a featured contributor for SmartBrief on Leadership who explains this further and talks about his own Spock.

It's worth the read and if you are scratching your head and asking who are Kirk and Spock check out the newest Star Trek movie, even non Trekker's are enjoying it.

The Art of War for Women

2011-02-14T11:55:00.002-05:00

This is a great article by Becky Sheetz-Runkle for any woman in the business world whether you're an executive or an entrepreneur. As women we can respond to challenges differently. Our socialization has prepared us to be patient and to play by the rules but often these strategies are not the best to seize opportunity. This article is based on The Art of War by the Chinese military strategist from 500 B.C. Sun Tzu. Maybe we could get a group of interested women together to read the book and talk about what applications we feel can help us accomplish our goals. Just a thought. Let me know if you are interested. Drop me an email at joyjohnson@growthmindset.com.

Tips for Success from Room to Read

2010-11-09T10:34:00.002-05:00

This is a short article from Erin Ganju, co-founder of Room to Read, a global non profit organization but her points apply to for profit business as well. Short and to the point.

Enjoy

How Many Times Have I Had this Disscusion with Budding Entreperneurs

2010-11-05T08:51:00.004-04:00

This is an interview from an entreprenuer who is succeeding but has some lessons learned about what it takes to start a business. Quick read but valuable info if you are thinking of taking the plunge.

3 Steps To Help Get Your Leadership Groove On

2010-11-05T08:46:00.000-04:00

Good article on leadership from a unique perspective. Jazz!!

How to find your on line community

2010-10-18T10:06:00.001-04:00

I was just having this conversation with a client on how important it is to know your on line community and saw this article. Four very good points and a short article. Worth the read.

The 3 Things that Motivate Employees

2010-10-11T11:26:00.002-04:00

One of the most common issues that business leaders have is the question of how to engage and motivate their people. This is an interesting article that brings some out of the box thinking to this question.

Jay Steinfeld - October 6, 2010

If you want to motivate your folks, throw away the carrot and stick. Here are the three things that really fuel your employees' drive at work.

New Small Business Jobs Act

2010-09-28T17:09:00.001-04:00

Read this post from the White House Blog to get the details on this new legislation. It might effect your business.

Great Ideas to Improve Your OnLine Presence

2010-09-09T14:30:00.005-04:00

This is a great resource from the HubSpot Blog. It list the 60 ideas that social media experts came up with to increase on line presence. You can also get the audio file and a transcript. Worth a look.

Make the Best First Impression

2010-08-19T14:57:00.001-04:00

We've heard over and over how important the first impression can be. Here is an excellent article from the Harvard Business Review blog that give us some examples of how to make the best first impression regardless of the medium.

Old Spice's Teachable Moment for Content Marketing

2010-08-10T19:25:00.001-04:00

This is a great article that makes the point that in social media it's all about content.

Do You Feel Like You're on a Roller Coaster?

2010-08-10T16:37:00.004-04:00

You've heard the expression that things are constantly changing. Well if ever that were true it is true now in the business world. Reassessing your target markets, your products, your staff and your processes is essential in the current economy. Indeed I was talking with someone today on the importance of improving the customer experience if you want to build your pool of prospective clients or even keep the clients you have. Now is the time to focus on business performance and growth and create a plan to move your company forward. So how do we do that? Kathy and I are working on a program to guide business leaders through this process and develop actionable plans to address their specific challenges. More on this later but check our blog regularly if this is of interest to you.

What's Holding Women Back?

2010-07-20T18:49:00.004-04:00

Kathy and I have a special interest in seeing women in business succeed. Why not, we are both women who have extensive and varied experiences in our careers. Like most business women we could talk or write for hours about the things we have experienced. It's true that all things are still not equal for men and women in business but this article from The New York Times Small Business post speaks to a theory that Kathy and I have held for a long time. In many cases women are their own worst enemy. The beliefs held by many women indeed holds them back. Beliefs that need to be changed.

Read this article and chime in on this topic. What do you think? Come follow our blog http://growthmindset.blogspot.com/ and let's have some conversations.

The Six Traits of a Successful Small Business Owner

2010-07-13T12:34:00.003-04:00

This is a very interesting report on the traits of people that are successful as entrepreneurs. Check it out.

52 Questions To Ask When Hiring A Social Media Company

2010-06-07T10:34:00.003-04:00

As we all try to get a better understanding of Social Marketing, I found this article by Lisa Barone to be very useful. A number of our clients are looking to out source their social media activities and this is a great primer to help them work through the decision making process. I hope you find it helpful.

The Value of Repeat Business

2010-05-11T09:26:00.001-04:00

Here is a great article from Brad Sugars, founder of ActionCOACH, on the mathmatics of repeat customers. Worth the read.

What Small Business Owners Need to Know Now About the Health Care Tax Credit

2010-04-15T10:41:00.002-04:00

Worth Reading to make sure you are up to date on what is available immediately from the Heath Care Package.

What successful transformations share: McKinsey Global Survey results

2010-04-15T10:15:00.003-04:00

When organizational transformations succeed, managers typically pay attention to “people issues,” especially fostering collaboration among leaders and employees and building capabilities.

MARCH 2010

Source: Organization Practice

Over years of research and client work, we’ve identified a few tactics that help drive successful transformational change—any large-scale change, such as going from good to great performance, cutting costs, or turning around a crisis. These tactics include setting clear, aspirational targets; creating a clear structure; maintaining energy and involvement throughout the organization; and exercising strong leadership.In this latest survey of executives from around the world,we’ve dug into just how companies apply some of these tactics. We found that a few approaches in each area are most tightly correlated with successful transformations of both short-term performance and long-term corporate effectiveness, or “health.” In addition, the approaches most used by successful companies tend to complement and reinforce one another.

The survey asked executives about types of transformations (what types their companies had undertaken and why), goals for the transformation (what the goals were, how they were defined, and how successfully they were met), and implementation (how companies structured and carried out the transformation).

By looking at the approaches used by companies that executives describe as most successful in transforming themselves, we found evidence suggesting the importance of engaging employees collaboratively throughout the company and throughout the transformation journey. Another major theme was the importance of building capabilities—particularly leadership capabilities—to maintain long-term organizational health. In addition, a focus on strengths and achievements, not just problems, throughout the entire transformation process is strongly tied to success.

19 Tips for Driving Traffic to your Blog

2010-04-12T08:26:00.001-04:00

A pretty good set of tips for your bloggers out there to build traffic.

Great article on the power of your story

2010-04-01T10:07:00.001-04:00

I talk to clients all the time about the effectiveness of telling the story. What makes them unique and stand out from the competition. This is a great article that makes the point.

How to Advertise on Facebook

2010-02-09T09:37:00.002-05:00

This is a pretty interesting article from Inc. Magazine about making your social media ads stand out. The cost of these ads are pretty reasonable but if there is no return you still aren't getting value for your money. Enjoy

The 2010 New Year Checklist for Your Business

2010-01-18T09:52:00.002-05:00

Here are some great ideas for you to ponder for 2010. Some are low cost marketing ideas and others are ways to improve results. Kathy and I are always looking for additional ideas from others that we can share and these are some good one. Enjoy

4 Common Venture Capital Myths

2009-12-04T10:43:00.002-05:00

If you want to start strong, steer clear of these funding fantasies. This article by David Young of Entrepreneur Magazine is a great read if you are considering this funding source.

Embrace Life Time Value

2009-11-30T10:21:00.002-05:00

I stress customer life time value to my clients on a continual basis. This blog post by Seth Godin is just another reminder. Good Reading

How I ... Ditched My Beat-Up Buick

2009-11-23T09:31:00.002-05:00

Who: Joel Bomgar
What: Bomgar Corp., a software company that specializes in remote IT support software
Where: Ridgeland, Miss. Web site: www.bomgar.com
Year founded: 2003
Number of employees: 125
Annual revenue: $19.5 million in 2008

This is a great story about a regular guy who made it big as an entrepreneur.

Storytelling Tips from Salesforce's Marc Benioff

2009-11-05T11:35:00.001-05:00

The co-founder and CEO of the $1 billion company offers advice on how to shape and articulate your vision for your own brand. Great Article

50 All-Time Great Retail Subject Lines

2009-11-03T13:12:00.003-05:00

This is a post from email marketer VerticalResponse. It list some great subject lines for retail promotions. Enjoy

Here at VerticalResponse we're always being asked things like, "What is the best day to send email?", "What are the real email marketing secrets?" and "What are great subject lines?". I decided to focus this post on that last one, and offer some really great and proven-to-work subject lines that you can test out for your email marketing campaigns.

First of all, I'm assuming at this point that your recipients will recognize you from your "From Label". If they are familiar with who the email is coming from, you'll have better luck getting your email opened with a catchy subject line.

As a retailer your email marketing campaigns are probably all about selling. If you sell your own products or products from other manufacturers, you'll be trying to announce new products, new seasons or discounts and sales. You'll want your recipients to act fast, so you may want to try expiration dates in your subject line. We even see businesses using hours in the day in their expiration time periods.

You'll see that some of these subject lines are a bit vague like "An Exclusive Offer for You", however sometimes that might get more opens than if you talk about a specific product. That's something that you need to test for yourself in your own campaigns.

Offer, Offer, Offer

Enjoy this Special Offer at Our New Location
25-40% off - Email-Only Offer – Today Only
Invitation-Only 2 Hour Event Starts 11:30 AM CT
Ends Today! 20% Off Friends & Family
Top 10 under $10
Free shipping - offer ends in 3 days
Free product with purchase of [product name]
[New Product] has arrived. Order now before we run out.
Earn double points for [insert product or action].
Last Chance: Get up to $25 now
Save 10% on your next order
Enjoy [season] with rates from $65
Service Notice: Exciting new changes at [your company]
An Exclusive Offer for You
[Your company] October Specials
Last minute deals, special offers, and new [product name]
Act Now to renew your [subscription name]
Online only: 25% off friends and family
Introducing our latest…[product/feature here]
[Product name] Promotion week. Save 25%
Extended for a day! Get Free shipping through Friday
Stock up and save 15%
Limited Supply: Limit 2 [product name] per customer
Ho-ho-ho: The [your company] holiday catalog is here!
Email subscriber exclusive: [Product name] sale is here
Ends Today: Take 20% off your entire order
Private Sale Ends Today
Your choice of amazing items $50 + under
Great gifts for [Dad, Mom, etc]
Best Sellers every [girl, boy, man, woman, dog, etc.]
Everything you need when the temperatures [rise, fall]
Free Shipping--Limited Time Offer
Catchy & Creative
Sometimes all you need is a little vase lift (retailer selling vase's)
We've got you covered from head to toe (retailer selling hats, shirts, pants and boots)
How La Perla got its name (retailer selling lingerie, telling a story inside the email)
Temperatures Fall, Style Rises (retailer selling coats)
Celebrity Favorites (selling accessories that Hollywood is wearing)
Did you remember to get a gift? It's ok, we did. (retailer wanting to get people to register for gift reminders)
10 Gift Ideas for your little ones (retailer listing top 10 suggestions for kids)
Manhattan View for a Song in the Shower (retailer selling shower curtain with Manhattan skyline on it)
Take your pick: Our 9 Favorite Dresses (retailer suggesting by popularity)
Coolest modern desk on the job...for $149 (retailer including price in the subject line)
Score Great Savings on Game-Time Gear: HDTVs, Furniture & More (retailer selling TV's with a sports slant)
Party Like it's 1999 Aged Cabernet Special (wine retailer)
In our store: Last minute Mother's Day combo ready to go (retailer getting the last minute shoppers with a catch "combo to go".)
Adorn Your Home Now & Through the Holidays (Home decor retailer)
Mind-Blowing Grenache (wine retailer)
Bring this email to a Gap store and win! (retailer trying to get store traffic)

I hope this gets your creative juices flowing.

A Goal without a plan is just a Wish...

2009-10-28T11:08:00.003-04:00

Stop wishing your business was better …

Register for ActionCoach GrowthCLUB , a 90-Day Planning Workshop

Friday November 13, 2009

Create a 90 Day Action Plan.One day every three months – your chance to step out of the business and get focused. We’ll work with you to map out a winning game plan for the next 90 days. Plus with practical workshops and expert training, you and your team will get back to your business with clear direction and new tools to achieve your goals faster.

Create Momentum
By the end of this high energy day, you will have a clear picture of where your business will be in 90 days time, and a step by step 90-Day Action Plan to get you there. Using this roadmap, you and your coach will take your business from where you are to where you want to be.

You’ll hear it straight from the trenches – real business owners sharing their top money making tactics from the last 90 days. Listen hard. Take notes. Then adopt & adapt to get them working for you.

You’ll learn how the world’s most successful businesses plan their on-going success – and then you will build these same principles into your own business (regardless of size) to create your own personalized 90-Day Action Plan step-by-step. Then, crucially, you will learn how to implement your new skills and systems on a daily basis to achieve real results.

If you are serious about fulfilling your business potential this is a MUST ATTEND EVENT!
Massive Action Means Massive Results ...

You’ll walk away with …

Energy, vision and focus for the next 90 days in your business.
Take home strategies to build your profits right away.
A ready-to-implement, real time 90 day plan.
A network of business contacts to work with.
The skills and the tools to get more done in less time.
A clear understanding of what has worked in your business and what hasn’t….and WHY

Register Now
$199 for the first person – additional team members are $129

Register now by Faxing the registration form to
770-591-8649

IRON-CLAD, 100% MONEY BACK GUARANTEE
If you give your 100% participation and if you still don’t feel you got enough value from the 90-Day Plan Workshop, we’ll refund your money in full and you can KEEP the materials.

The Mansour Center
995 Roswell St
Marietta, GA

Complete this form and fax it back to TODAY at
(770) 591-8649)

YES, please reserve ______ places for GrowthCLUB, a 90-Day Planning Workshop

Friday, November 13, 2009 8:00am – 5pm

YourName: ____________________________________________
Company:______________________________________________
Physical Address:_________________________________________

Phone Work_____________________ Home_________________________
Mobile_________________________ Fax___________________________
Email__________________________

Who should attend?
You
Your team
Business Owner friends

Other Attendees

Names:1____________________________________________________________

Names:2____________________________________________________________

Name:3_____________________________________________________________

$199 for the first person – additional team members are $129

Please charge my credit card $ __________ _ Visa _ MasterCard _ American Express

Card number: ________________________________ CVS: _______

Name on Card: ___________________________________________

Expires: ____________

Signature _______________________________________________

Please make checks payable to: The Mills Group – must be received by 10/10/09

Five Tips for Beating Inflation

2009-10-21T10:34:00.000-04:00

Great article from the WSJ with tips to fight inflation.

Entrepreneurial Agility

2009-10-21T10:30:00.000-04:00

Agility is one of the traits of successful entrepreneurs. Strike when the iron is hot. If the opportunity comes, grab it. If you wait, it might slip through your hands." - Anonymous

Three Best Ways to Improve Your Online Reputation

2009-10-05T15:24:00.002-04:00

Someone asked me a while back how to deal with negative comments made about your company. This article from the WSJ gives great advice on this topic.

10 Common Mistakes That Startup and Small Companies Make

2009-09-17T15:18:00.001-04:00

Great article from Fast Company on mistakes to avoid when your company is young.

Do You Know Your Value Proposition

2009-09-16T14:47:00.002-04:00

Another great blog from Harvard Review on understanding the business Value Propostion.

How Leaders Make Big Issues Personal (and Possible)

2009-09-08T14:40:00.003-04:00

This is a great article on engagement from the Harvard Business Review. How do you communicate to your employees to have them committed to the initiatives of the business. Take a few minutes to read this article.

Can this Women Beat Crocs?

2009-08-31T09:10:00.002-04:00

This is a great story, particularly for female entrepreneurs, but there are lessons for all of us. It's about strategy, planning and perseverance.

Plan for a Strong Finish to 2009

2009-08-25T09:56:00.001-04:00

Planning and Goal Setting are essential components to winning. If you don’t have SMART Goals established and on paper your plan is just another form of hoping. The economy is showing signs of recovery. Be ready to take advantage of the upswing. Come join us for this full day workshop to work on your business, not in it! Set your goals. Hear from other business owners their wins and challenges from last quarter. End 2009 and set the framework for a super 2010. Click the link above for details and to RSVP for this Strategic Planning Workshop in Atlanta on September 18th 2009

Get A Life: Change is Inevitable - Growth is Optional by Gavin Whiting

2009-08-25T09:45:00.002-04:00

This Article was written back in 2004 but is even more relevant now. Enjoy

I continue to be amazed by the attitudes of some business owners who accept that they have no control over their destiny or environment, that they have done it “this way for 25 years” and therefore it must be right, or that they are simply content to scrape by. Why?

Some of this attitude is born from holding self-limiting beliefs. It is amazing where these self-limiting beliefs come from too! Ever heard a parent talk about their child in a limiting way, out loud in front of the child, to another parent? “Johnny is just like his father – couldn’t organize his way out of a paper bag.”

And what about those who give us advice about business? Advice from people who have never owned their own business, or have been unsuccessful in business, prejudices passed down from generations that simply no longer are applicable. I am helping a business owner who was told by his accountant not to expand because then he would have to take on staff – “staffs are trouble and there is so much extra administration required!” Unbelievable. Is it any wonder we are limited by the opinions of others?

Life Success author John Kanary says, “Thousands of people are leading dull and shallow lives because they are prisoners to their self-imposed limitations. These people lead narrow, superficial, monotonous and uninteresting lives. They live with shallow and boring ideas about life and their place in it. Why do these people want to be this way? If they knew how, would they change and live more exciting and productive lives?”

In my experience, a few people want to change for the better, but most are happy in their rut. Brad Sugars tells us, “the definition of a rut is a grave with the ends kicked out of it.”

It’s all about comfort really. Most limiting beliefs remain with us because we give up what we want most in life for something we want in the moment. Change is inevitable – growth is optional.

The purpose of life is to live. Are you in control or is time in control? If you want a life then start by doing two things:

1. Figure out what you want to achieve – call these goals, dreams, vision – visualize them and understand why they are important to you. Do not share this with anyone who is likely to tell you why you can’t have your dream.

2. Make a plan. Organize yourself, decide what knowledge you need to gain, and find someone who can hold you accountable. Plan the action, then action the plan.

Go well….

People Plus Systems Equals Great Sales …

2009-08-10T12:02:00.003-04:00

When you ask many of the greatest salespeople in history what their secret is many would answer – personality. But when asked how to quantify and teach personality to others, these super salespeople are often stumped. Teaching great sales involves a major re-education and a focus on systems that make sales simple.

Sales scripts not only increase the sales of top performers but also produce amazing results for the entire team. One rule of thumb, which can be used in selling and in life, is that what you can measure you can manage and grow! The ultimate test of a superior salesperson is how consistent their results are and how consistent the results are for the entire team. Using a sales script achieves this consistency and makes the training of new team members simple and effective.

By introducing a sales system like a script, you can then measure conversion on a daily basis and your sales will automatically increase – guaranteed. So, exactly what does a sales script look like, how do you write one and how is it used? Let’s look at this now.

A sales script is a documented, methodical, learnable, effective system of selling your goods and services. It is a written process on paper designed to give the salesperson control of the call (while the customer ‘feels’ in control) and create a desired result – the sale! It is written by your number one salesperson, in answer to the question – Exactly what do you say to a prospect to get them to buy your product? You may even choose to reward your top salesperson for doing this by offering them a great incentive such as a percentage of extra sales.

Let us briefly outline key parts of the Action sales script. Obviously, there are differences between sales scripts used on incoming and outgoing calls; however, I will just detail some of the universally used key Action selling lines taken directly from our sales scripts!

The opening: “Could I just outline the reason for my call?”
Permission: “Would if be okay if we go through the call that way?”
Rapport Building: “What’s your biggest challenge right now in that area?”
Below Waterline: “What's most important to you in…”
Paraphrase: “Based on what you just told me, it sounds like…”
Temperature Check: “How does that fit with what you had in mind?”
Secure the Sale: “Would it be okay if I give you the steps in getting that process under way?”
Conclude the Encounter: “Congratulations and bye for now.”

A script can be read, learned and must be practiced, used, measured and improved (if needed) to increase conversion rate of prospects to customers of all the team. Imagine taking the guess-work out of selling once and for all by using a system which makes your sales results less people dependant and more system dependant!

7 Secrets to Tweeting Your Corporate Culture

2009-07-29T17:20:00.002-04:00

A great blog on how to use Twitter for Business.

32 Ways to get links to your Website

2009-07-17T11:38:00.005-04:00

One SEO Strategy is to create links between your web site and other sites. Here are 32 tactics to help you do just that.

But first here are two basic rules.

Rule 1: Create lots of relevant (and often fresh content) on your web page which has a high saturation of key words that the user or surfer “googles”. If you want to be found under “Business coach Miami” – how many times does your page say that?

Also is “Business coach Miami” searched on more than “Business help Miami” or “Business Consultant Miami” or “Business advice Miami”? (By the way if you do not know the answer to that important question you probably need to circle back and out).

Rule 2: Build high quality and relative links to your site. The more sites with similar content that link to a page – the more votes it gets and therefore over time the higher it climbs. Link building is the most difficult part of SEO. It requires patience. Sometimes you will not see a result for a phrase you are optimizing on for 6 months.

However here is a list of ways that you can build links.

1. Build a "101 list". These get linked to all the time, and often become "authority documents". People can't resist linking to these.

2. Create 10 easy tips to help you [insert topic here] articles. Again, these are exceptionally easy to link to.

3. Create extensive resource lists for a specific topic. When I say resource list … things like the 10 best books on Advertising etc.

4. Create a list of the top 10 myths for a specific category.

5. Buy relevant traffic with a pay per click campaign. Relevant traffic will get your site more visitors and brand exposure. When people come to your site, regardless of the channel in which they found it, there is a possibility that they will link to you.

6. Syndicate an article at EzineArticles, GoArticles, iSnare, etc. The great thing about good article sites is that their article pages actually rank highly and send highly qualified traffic.

7. Submit an article to industry news site.

8. Syndicate a press release. Take the time to make it newsworthy and compelling. Email it to journalists and bloggers. For good measure submit it to news wires like:

http://www.prweb.com
http://www.prleap.com
http://i-newswire.com
http://www.webwire.com
http://www.pressbox.co.uk
http://www.24-7pressrelease.com
http://www.clickpress.com
http://www.przoom.com
http://www.pr.com
http://www.marketwire.com
http://www.prnewswire.com
http://www.businesswire.com

9. Email a few friends when you have important relevant news asking them for their feedback and/or if they would mind referencing it if they find your information useful.

10. Perform surveys and studies that make people feel important. If you can make other people feel important they will help do your marketing for you for free.

11. This tip is an oldie but goodie: submit your site to DMOZ and other directories that allow free submissions.

12. Submit your site to paid directories. Another oldie. Just remember that quality matters.

13. Join the Better Business Bureau.

14. Put a Google Map up which links to your site.

15. Get a link from your local chamber of commerce.

16. Submit your link to relevant city and state governmental resources.

17. List your site at the local library's Web site.

18. See if your clients or other business partners might be willing to link to your site.

19. Develop business relationships with non-competing businesses in the same field. Leverage these relationships online and off, by recommending each other via links and distributing each other\'s business cards. Have strategic alliance partners … put a link on their site.

20. It is pretty easy to ask or answer questions on Yahoo! Answers and provide links to relevant resources.

21. It takes about 15 minutes to set up a topical Squidoo page, which you can use to look like an industry expert. Link to expert documents and popular useful tools in your fields, and also create a link back to your site.

22. Submit a story to Digg that links to an article on your site. You can also submit other content and have some of its link authority flow back to your page.

23. Most forums allow members to leave signature links or personal profile links. If you make quality contributions some people will follow these links and potentially read your site, link at your site, and/or buy your products.

24. Review relevant products on Amazon.com. We have seen this draw in direct customer enquiries and secondary links.

25. Create product lists on Amazon.com that review top products and also mention your background (LINK!).

26. Review related sites on Alexa to draw in related traffic streams.

27. Review products and services on shopping search engines like ePinions to help build your authority.

28. If you buy a product or service you really like and are good at leaving testimonials, many of those turn into links. Two testimonial writing tips — make them believable, and be specific where possible.

29. Start a blog. Not just for the sake of having one. Post regularly and post great content. Good execution is what gets the links.

30. Link to other blogs from your blog. Outbound links are one of the cheapest forms of marketing available. Many bloggers also track who is linking to them or where their traffic comes from, so linking to them is an easy way to get noticed by some of them.

31. Comment on other blogs. Most of these comments will not provide much direct search engine value, but if your comments are useful, insightful, and relevant they can drive direct traffic. They also help make the other bloggers become aware of you, and they may start reading your blog and/or linking to it.

32. If you create a blog make sure you list it in a few of the best blog directories.

6 Lessons From the Best Marketing Campaign Ever

2009-07-15T09:50:00.002-04:00

Great Blog from Fast Company

Why You Need to Fail Peter Bregman

2009-07-08T08:42:00.002-04:00

"Peter, I'd like you to stay for a minute after class." Calvin teaches my favorite body conditioning class at the gym.

"What'd I do?" I asked him.

"It's what you didn't do."

"What didn't I do?"

"Fail."

"You kept me after class for not failing?"

"This," he began to mimic my casual weight lifting style, using weights that were obviously too light, "is not going to get you anywhere. A muscle only grows if you work it till it fails. You need to use more challenging weights. You need to fail."

Calvin's onto something.

Every time I ask a room of executives to list the top five moments their career took a leap forward — not just a step, but a leap — failure is always on the list. For some it was the loss of a job. For others it was a project gone bad. And for others still it was the failure of a larger system, like an economic downturn, that required them to step up.

Yet most of us spend a tremendous effort trying to avoid even the possibility of failure.

According to Dr. Carol Dweck, professor at Stanford University, we have a mindset problem. Dweck has done a tremendous amount of research to understand what makes someone give up in the face of adversity versus strive to overcome it.

It turns out the answer is deceptively simple. It's all in your head.

If you believe that your talents are inborn or fixed, then you will try to avoid failure at all costs because failure is proof of your limitation. People with a fixed mindset like to solve the same problems over and over again. It reinforces their sense of competence.

Children with fixed mindsets would rather redo an easy jigsaw puzzle than try a harder one. Students with fixed mindsets would rather not learn new languages. CEOs with fixed mindsets will surround themselves with people who agree with them. They feel smart when they get it right.

But if you believe your talent grows with persistence and effort, then you seek failure as an opportunity to improve. People with a growth mindset feel smart when they're learning, not when they're flawless.

Michael Jordan, arguably the world's best basketball player, has a growth mindset. Most successful people do. In high school he was cut from the basketball team but that obviously didn't discourage him: "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career, I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game wining shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

If you have a growth mindset, then you use your failures to improve. If you have a fixed mindset, you may never fail, but neither do you learn or grow.

In business, we have to be discriminating about when we choose to challenge ourselves. In high risk, high leverage situations, it's better to stay within your current capability. In lower risk situations, where the consequences of failure are less, better to push the envelope. The important point is to know that pushing the envelope, that failing, is how you learn and grow and succeed. It's your opportunity.

Here's the good news: you can change your success by changing your mindset. When Dweck trained children to view themselves as capable of growing their intelligence, they worked harder, more persistently, and with greater success on math problems they had previously abandoned as unsolvable.

A growth mindset is the secret to maximizing potential. Want to grow your staff? Give them tasks above their ability. They don't think they could do it? Tell them you expect them to work at it for a while, struggle with it. That it will take more time than the tasks they're used to doing. That you expect they'll make some mistakes along the way. But you know they could do it.

Want to increase your own performance? Set high goals where you have a 50-70% chance of success. According to Psychologist and Harvard researcher the late David McClelland, that's the sweet spot for high achievers. Then, when you fail half the time, figure out what you should do differently and try again. That's practice. And according to recent studies, 10,000 hours of that kind of practice will make you an expert in anything. No matter where you start.

The next class I did with Calvin, I doubled the weight I was using. Yeah, that's right. Unfortunately, that gave me tendonitis in my elbow, which I'm nursing with rest and ice. Sometimes you can even fail when you're trying to fail.

Hey, I'm learning.

Great Post from Seth Godin"s Blog

2009-07-07T09:48:00.007-04:00

Taking the leap

The best businesses and the best projects are a quantum leap above the competition. This gulf represents competitive insulation, because others can't figure out how to get up there with you.

Amazon, for example, has a leap between it and other online retailers. Sure, you might be able to mimic part of what they've got, but the gulf is so huge, it's hard to imagine displacing them any time soon.

Nike has spent billions on advertising, sponsorship, manufacturing, technology and distribution. It's a quantum leap between them and some start-up that wants to compete.

I think going for the leap is essential for creating a business for the ages, and I want to speculate that there are three ways to make it:

BUY IT--you can raise a lot of money or spend a lot of the company's R&D or marketing money and just buy yourself a huge head start and this provides insulation. (This is my least favorite, because spending like a drunken sailor often leads to other drunken behaviors, including remorse the next day).
SNEAK UP THE CURVE--you can quietly develop your business fairly cheaply and then, by the time the competition notices you, it's too late. Build a Bear Workshop is a great example of this. One store at a time they built a brand, a cash flow and a nationwide footprint that makes it awfully difficult for others to compete. McDonald's did the same thing.
THE NETWORK EFFECT--some markets are ready for one (and usually only one) intermediary to show up and be the default winner. Twitter and Comdex and Alexander Graham Bell are great examples of this.

There are probably some others (like make a genius innovation in your basement and then patent it) but these three are good ones to start with.

When do you Make the Cold Call

2009-07-06T18:33:00.002-04:00

Some Interesting information on when is the best time to make cold call.

How are You Weathering the Storm?

2009-06-25T11:38:00.005-04:00

We have now been in a down economy for some time and even though I am seeing positive indicators, it appears that it will be a while yet before things really take an upward swing. So while you may have taken steps initially to protect your business viability it takes diligent oversight of expense and cash flow to not only survive but to prepare for growth.

Things are happening fast in the business world. Credit card limits and lines of credit are being cut so a close examination of your projected cash flow for the next 6 to 12 months is essential. If the projection doesn't give you the outcome you need then it is time to look at taking additional steps.

If your business is an inventory business you need to closely monitor your product margin. Negotiate with your suppliers for lower pricing and/or better terms. Remember "cash is king". If you have inventory that isn't moving see if you can return it. Even if there is a restocking fee it is better to have the cash available rather than sitting on a shelf gathering dust.

Another use for that dusty inventory might be to use in a promotion. Marketing dollars are tight so use the dollars you have already spent to continue your marketing efforts. Create your promotion and offer it to your email database of current, past and prospective customers.

Examine all your expenses to make sure you aren't spending dollars needlessly. Having said that be ever mindful of the customer experience. Now is the time to nurture your current customer base. Don't cut in areas that erode ease of buying.

Hang in there and stay focused. We are seeing positive signs of improvement. Great success is ahead.

Most Small Businesses expect to grow in'09

2009-06-19T10:06:00.003-04:00

I saw an article today in the Atlanta Business Chronicle that lifted my spirits. According to a survey conducted by Constant Contact Inc. 70 percent of small businesses anticipate moderate to significant growth in 2009 despite the recession. 47 percent of small businesses plan on hiring new employee.

Gail Goodman, CEO of Constant Contact said "The results of the survey reveal the optimism and perseverance that so often marks this spirited group of business owners, as well as their adaptability to meet current economic conditions".

I am seeing growth among my own clients '08 to '09. So let's get rid of the glass half empty and go with the glass half full.

Save Our Pets Foodbank

2009-06-17T08:58:00.003-04:00

A friend of mine, Vanessa Lowry, owner of Connect 4 Leverage sent this to me and I wanted to pass it on to others. As Kathy and I are life long animal lovers I ask you to check this out.

The Save Our Pets Foodbank was started in 2008 and the organization has given away more than 30,000 lbs of pet food. SOPFB provides pet food to individuals who temporarily are facing financial challenges due to job loss or illness and can't afford to feed their pet. With more than 13 million jobs lost in the United States over the past year, budgets are tighter than ever. The cost to feed a pet creates a crisis during a financially difficult time and families may be forced into a decision to give up their beloved pet. Adding your Dad or a friend to the Good Dad Honor Roll helps keep a pet with its owner.

While Save Our Pets Foodbank is located in Atlanta, the organization has compiled a national list of food assistance programs and provides tips on starting a pet food bank. Find out more at www.saveourpetsfoodbank.org

5 Things You Need to Know before you Start a Business

2009-05-28T12:29:00.008-04:00

I have been talking to so many people lately that are in the process of or thinking about starting a business. They are walking or in some cases running down a path without the planning and knowledge they need to achieve success.

In working with clients that have plateaued and want to achieve significant growth, I find that most of the time we have to move backward to put structure in place that will allow them to move forward. Wouldn't it be much easier to know what you want to build at the beginning and put the right structure and processes in place?

There are so many questions to be answered.

1. What will the business look like when it's perfect. What net profit will the company need to produce to achieve your end goal?

2. What's the exit strategy for the business?

3. Will there be partners or other equity holders?

4. What legal entity is the right one for you considering all factors?

5. How much capital will you need and where will it come from?

And there are many more questions to be answered. Kathy and I have been talking to many individuals on these matters and have decided to offer some workshops covering what you need to know to get started. So if you have an interest in this information send me your email address at info@growthmindset.com with Start up in the subject line. We will put you on the distribution list for information. We plan to offer live workshops as well as some webinars for people out of the Atlanta area.

So all you budding entrepreneurs let us hear from you.

Learned about a Great New Tool from my Friend Miles Austin

2009-05-20T11:29:00.002-04:00

I like to share new business tools as I see them. Go to my friend Miles Austin's blog and get some really useful tools and discussion on how to fill the sales funnel.

Twittering for Business, Increase Your Popularity and Profitability

2009-05-05T09:39:00.003-04:00

I have been asked many times about Social Media and Twitter in particular. The article below was posted on Ploked.com and gives some great insight into how to make Twitter work for your business.

Does your business use Twitter yet? Or any social media site for that matter? If not, you are potentially missing out on future clients, future sales and most importantly increased profitability. Remember when Myspace, was “the next big thing”? Well that is sort of where twitter is at right now. Over the past year, it has gained an increaed following, not only of individuals, but potential customers of yours.

Twitter is relatively a new social networking service that has really changed the meaning of communication. Well, not only in personal communication but also in business communication, Twitter has managed to gain a massive following of users. With this increase of popularity, it only makes sense that Twitter is a great way to promote your business needs.

Twitter is a social networking service that gets the message to your customers or clients at lightning speed, which makes your business promotion in a great way. This is the perfect micro-blogging service that helps in communicating to the world about your business advancements, products and services without any investment. With limited words (only messages with 140 characters can be written twitter), you can communicate in real terms with all your followers.

With the increased popularity of twitter, most of the well established companies the world over now have twitter accounts. Has your company established itself on Twitter yet? Companies already utilizing the site find Twitter a great place to promote their business. Twitter, the micro-blogging service, is the best way to reach out to the employees, customers and partners.

This social networking service is also a great place where one can come up with business announcements like the launch of a new product and other special business proposals. You can post these announcements in twitter on a regular basis, which gets you the best exposure to your followers. For example if you are an e-commerce website, then twitter helps in promoting the new products, sales, and other special offers in which you may have. You can also include reviews from the customers in your Twitter account that gives more credibility to your business.

While promoting business through Twitter, it should be noted that you have to give your followers valuable information on your products and services. The more information is added in twitter, the more you get to promote your business through twitter. One way to offer more value to your followers is to offer some sort of sale or special discounts for twitter followers only. This means that this discount will only be available for followers of your account. These followers will feel appreciated and more than likely take advantage of the deal you present them.
Twitter is also a great way to monitor your customer feedback. For example, you can see what others have to say about your company, products and services, which only helps in promoting your business. Listen to what others say in twitter helps in building good relationship and in improving your business. If a problem should arise with your business, you have the opportunity to effectively solve the dilemma at hand. Others will take note of your proactive solution and see the value you place in customer satisfaction. However, if you blow off people with problems, chances are it could be detrimental to your business since bad customer service news will spread fast.

Last but not the least; maintain professionalism in the small messages, called tweets, which you sent. Always remember that people like to follow only the professional way. Do not post up topics irrelevant to your business or products….Chances are that people are following you in order to gain insight on your business and not what you are having for lunch.

Why Should I Create a Business Blog???

2009-04-13T14:18:00.003-04:00

Because it’s Good Business! Blogging is the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself and Business blogs are sweeping the business community. Blogs are an excellent method to share a company's expertise, build additional web traffic, and connect with potential customers.

There are a number of internet service providers that offer blog applications that can be linked to your web site. www.Blogger.com and www.WordPress.com are two that offer free blog applications. Start your blog by educating visitors on what your business offers and linking to those products where customers can purchase them. Links are an important component in search engine optimization. Include them where they make sense.

Start dialogs on topics that matter to your target market and be sure to keep up. Don’t ignore your readers.

One of the key factors to remember is that the content on your blog should be such that anyone could read it and not be shocked or offended. The internet is vast and links can be established showing your content on countless other web sites. With that note of caution spend some time thinking about your content and no silly pictures or comments that might be misinterpreted.

How to Market while Pinching Pennies

2009-03-16T11:20:00.007-04:00

When looking for places to cut your expenses don't make the mistake of cutting out your marketing budget. It is well documented that companies that maintain their marketing through a recession will gain market share from their competitors.

Instead of cutting think about how you are spending those marketing dollars. So here are a few things you need to be doing in 2009 to not only keep your business afloat, but keep it growing.

1. Social Media

Facebook & Twitter are an easy and free use of social media. Set up a personal Facebook page and then link it to your business page. Post to "what are you doing now" as well as your "share a link" section.

While you're at it, join some groups on Facebook that might lend themselves to your content. If the group allows for anyone to post, then post your link there as well. You can create ads that link to your business web site or your Facebook business page.

On Twitter, just "tweet" that you finished your email marketing campaign. Include the subject line and the link where it's hosted on a web page. Remember you only have 140 characters on Twitter so keep it as short as possible.

Linked In and Plaxo are also good B2B sites that are only to promote business.

2. Research the customer

You need to know more than ever how consumers are redefining value and responding to the recession. Consumers take more time searching for durable goods and negotiate harder at the point of sale. They are more willing to postpone purchases, trade down, or buy less. Must-have features of yesterday are today’s can-live-withouts. Trusted brands are especially valued and they can still launch new products successfully but interest in new brands and new categories fades. Survey Your Customers. By using surveys you can find out instantly what you're customers think about your business. It's a good idea to keep in touch with your customers to make sure you're delivering the best products or services you possibly can. There are several on line survey tools that are free or if you don't have email addresses then you will need to do either a short survey at point of sale or send a paper survey to your customers.

3. If your target is the consumer market focus on family values

When economic hard times loom, we tend to retreat to our village. Look for cozy hearth-and-home family scenes in advertising to replace images of extreme sports, adventure and rugged individualism. Zany humor and appeals on the basis of fear are out. Greeting card sales, telephone use and discretionary spending on home furnishings and home entertainment will hold up well, as uncertainty prompts us to stay at home but also stay connected with family and friends.

Do You Consider "PLAN" a Four Letter Word?

2009-02-17T10:57:00.006-05:00

Many business people avoid strategic planning even though they believe that strategy is probably a good thing. Do you consider “Plan” one of those 4 letter words.

So why do we need a strategic plan - to out think and outlast the competition.

The first step in the process has to be Vision.

Vision without action is a daydream, but action without vision is a nightmare.

In order to plan effectively you have to know where you're going. I believe that a five to ten year vision is necessary to plan effectively for the current year. What does the business look like in ten years? What revenue and profit will the company achieve? How many employees will you have? What role will your company play in your community and what will your day to day activities look like?

That doesn’t mean you need detailed plans for the next ten years. It means you have ten year goals and a very detailed plan for the next 12 months taking you closer to those ten year goals.

TAKE ACTION to think about your vision and your strategic plan to achieve that vision. If you have a written plan and it is gathering dust in the desk drawer or on the shelf, dust it off and revise it. Remember a strategy does not work when it is not executed.

You can start this process by taking a FREE Business Health Check online by clicking here Business Health Check.

Let's Start a Dialog

2009-02-02T17:07:00.006-05:00

We want to know what challenges business owners are facing in todays business enviornment. We promise to answer questions and create the opportunity for owners to share real life business challenges and achievements. Let us hear from you!

Now is the time to work on your Unique Selling Proposition!

2009-01-27T18:43:00.002-05:00

As we look for our economy to improve it is vital to position your business as the vendor to buy from. A lot of marketing experts make a big deal about being unique. They rave on and on about ‘finding out what sets you apart’. They call it a USP, or a Unique Selling Proposition – the one thing that you do and your competitors don’t offer.

So is it really as important as they say?

In a word – YES!!!

Nothing can emphasize enough how important it is to be different. Especially in this economy you need to understand that people have to decide between you and your competition. They have to discern the differences between you and other suppliers, before they can choose who to buy from. If you don’t have a point of difference, there’s no reason for anyone to buy from you, unless you discount. You end up in a price war, with nothing to fall back on. It sounds like a recipe for going broke.

So what does a purple cow have to do with all of this? If you are riding down a country road with cow pastures all around, what do you see? Herds of cows. Brown cows, black cows, white cows and any number of mixtures of those colors. Do you ever look at an individual cow? But then standing in the field your eye captures a purple cow and you not only look, you might stop to look some more because it is "remarkable".

In Seth Godin's book “Purple Cow, Transform your business by being Remarkable”, he highlights the challenges today’s marketers face in getting the attention of the buyer. The old strategy of massive advertising just doesn't work the way it has in the past. There is too much noise out there. So how do you reach the buyer, you have to be remarkable, the purple cow. Find out what your target market wants. What will improve the buying experience for them? Position your product or service to meet that need and viola; you have a powerful unique selling proposition.

Push your USP now so that when your target market is ready to buy, your business is the first place they come to buy.

Tough Times for Small Businesses

2008-10-04T20:11:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Growth Mindset Blog. Joy and I will be sharing our ideas and observations through this blog. Join us as we chart a path through this difficult economy.

I was recently at a repair shop where a number of small business owners were gathered at the table. They were all discussing the wild week of ups and downs - mostly downs in this economy and how they were all holding their breathe each week when it came time to make payroll. Each buisnesses had seen things slow down, people were putting off any unnecessary items to see what will happen.

Worrying about what to do is one way of handling the situation. Another is what my southern american friends do - they get the recession plan out of the drawer and get busy implementing whatever they have been saving for these times. This plan may involve layoffs, controlling spending, differing purchases, managing their line of credit, carefully staying in touch with receivables for timely collections and cashflow and a hundred other ideas.

I have been working with many businesses on their plans to manage in this difficult economy. On strategy that seems to be emerging is to create strategic partnerships and alliances. Sometimes going it alone is not the answer and new partnerships or alliances can open up new services for the same customers or provide access to new customers for your business. I always think of code share and the airlines - it is what they did to create demand, reduce costs and change the way they operate.

So what is your plan in the drawer? Do you have a three year plan to manage in a down economy? What can you do to control costs, manage debts and hold onto your customers and sales volume.