One of the biggest obstacles for home-based businesses is Time Management, ESPECIALLY if you have a family. Your children see that you are now available to chauffeur them and your spouse wants you to run errands. For those without family around friends and relatives can become distractions with every phone call becoming an adventure.
If you don't lay down some ground rules for yourself as well as your friends and family, you will soon find yourself back at that J.O.B.. you fled from! Here are some tips and strategies to help you manage your time more effectively:
1. Have an area designated as your office. Keep the tools you need right there, even small things like paper clips. The better situated and equipped your office is the better your success will be. Yes, many successful businesses were started at the kitchen table but before they made the leap into the “big time” most did actually buy a desk.
2. Schedule your days. Set up a Daily Method of Operation that is your daily To-Do List. This will include what times of day you will check your email, return phone messages, schedule new appointments, etc. If it's absolutely necessary, schedule in things like soccer practice, but also make sure you set "Start" and "End" Times for your work day.
3. Stay focused. Keep a running "To-Do" list that you can jot down ideas on and come back to later. If you're reading email and get a great idea for a new ad, jot it down, and come back to it later at the appropriate time in your daily schedule.
4. Don't be afraid to say "NO". If you are too busy to handle additional requests, save everyone time and frustration by saying no at the beginning. People respect you more for being honest about what you are capable of handling.
5. Use Voicemail. It is not necessary to take all of your calls
immediately just because the phone rings. Let the caller leave a message and return the call later.
6. Delegate tasks. Figure out what you make an hour. If you can make $200 per hour selling your product or services, then why WOULDN'T you pay someone $25 an hour to clean your house, do your taxes, etc.?
7. Know your Priorities. Small, one- or two-person operations cannot do everything in a single day. Plan your day according to what MUST get accomplished. Break larger jobs down into small tasks, and complete these tasks to achieve an end result.
8. Set Your Goals. This is replacing that "Deadline" your old boss gave you. It will also help you to determine if your current activities are on track to helping you achieve those goals.
Fostering the entrepreneurial spirit!
Showing posts with label oed500. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oed500. Show all posts
Monday, February 17, 2014
Friday, October 26, 2012
Business Failures – Why do they happen?
Poor management is the largest single cause of business failure.
Year after year, the lack of managerial experience and aptitude has accounted for more than 90 percent of all failures.
Many factors may adversely affect individual firms over which owners have little control. In such cases, the astute manager can often soften the blow or, sometimes, change adversity into an asset. Examples of factors over which the owner has little control are overall poor business conditions, relocation of highways, sudden style changes, the replacement of existing products by new ones, and local labor situations. While these factors may cause some businesses to close, they may represent opportunities for others. A local market place may decline in importance at the same time new shopping centers are developing. Sudden changes in style or the replacement of existing products may bring trouble to certain businesses but open doors for new ones. Adverse employment situations in some areas may be offset by favorable situations in others. Ingenuity in taking advantage of changing consumer desires and technological improvements will always be rewarded.
In the final analysis, it is up to you. Will your management be competent? Will you be able to judge, and then satisfy, your customers' wants? Can you do this accurately and quickly enough to more than compensate for risks due to factors beyond your control? Such accomplishment requires expert management - if you can’t supply, it consult with and hire people who can!
Every year, thousands of businesses fail of every size and variety. But while business failures know no size boundaries, the majority are classified as small businesses.
According to data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, more than 98 percent of businesses that have filed for bankruptcy since 1980 have been small.
Surveys show that the primary reasons for business failure lie in the following areas:
Inability of management to reach decisions and act on them.
Failure to keep pace with management system.
Reluctance/Inability to seek professional assistance.
Loss of impetus in sales.
Bad personnel relations.
Loss of key personnel.
Lack of staff training.
Inability to cope adequately with competition.
Insufficient working capital or incorrect gearing of capital borrowings.
Growth without adequate capitalization.
Bad budgeting.
Ignoring data on the business's financial position.
Inadequate financial records.
Inefficient control over costs and quality of product.
Under-pricing of goods sold.
Bad customer relations.
Failure to promote and maintain a favorable public image.
Bad relations with suppliers.
Illness of key personnel.
Failure to minimize taxation through tax planning.
Inadequate insurance.
Competition disregarded due to complacency.
Failure to anticipate market trends.
Loose control of liquid assets.
Extending too much credit and bad credit control.
Over-borrowing or using too much credit.
Bad control over receivables.
Loss of control through creditors' demands.
Year after year, the lack of managerial experience and aptitude has accounted for more than 90 percent of all failures.
Many factors may adversely affect individual firms over which owners have little control. In such cases, the astute manager can often soften the blow or, sometimes, change adversity into an asset. Examples of factors over which the owner has little control are overall poor business conditions, relocation of highways, sudden style changes, the replacement of existing products by new ones, and local labor situations. While these factors may cause some businesses to close, they may represent opportunities for others. A local market place may decline in importance at the same time new shopping centers are developing. Sudden changes in style or the replacement of existing products may bring trouble to certain businesses but open doors for new ones. Adverse employment situations in some areas may be offset by favorable situations in others. Ingenuity in taking advantage of changing consumer desires and technological improvements will always be rewarded.
In the final analysis, it is up to you. Will your management be competent? Will you be able to judge, and then satisfy, your customers' wants? Can you do this accurately and quickly enough to more than compensate for risks due to factors beyond your control? Such accomplishment requires expert management - if you can’t supply, it consult with and hire people who can!
Every year, thousands of businesses fail of every size and variety. But while business failures know no size boundaries, the majority are classified as small businesses.
According to data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, more than 98 percent of businesses that have filed for bankruptcy since 1980 have been small.
Surveys show that the primary reasons for business failure lie in the following areas:
Inability of management to reach decisions and act on them.
Failure to keep pace with management system.
Reluctance/Inability to seek professional assistance.
Loss of impetus in sales.
Bad personnel relations.
Loss of key personnel.
Lack of staff training.
Inability to cope adequately with competition.
Insufficient working capital or incorrect gearing of capital borrowings.
Growth without adequate capitalization.
Bad budgeting.
Ignoring data on the business's financial position.
Inadequate financial records.
Inefficient control over costs and quality of product.
Under-pricing of goods sold.
Bad customer relations.
Failure to promote and maintain a favorable public image.
Bad relations with suppliers.
Illness of key personnel.
Failure to minimize taxation through tax planning.
Inadequate insurance.
Competition disregarded due to complacency.
Failure to anticipate market trends.
Loose control of liquid assets.
Extending too much credit and bad credit control.
Over-borrowing or using too much credit.
Bad control over receivables.
Loss of control through creditors' demands.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Common Problems Affecting Personal Productivity
In a large sense, the freedom that attracted the businessperson to the small business environment becomes a major contributor to the productivity challenge. The point of having sought that freedom was to escape the oppressive structure of larger environments. Unfortunately, when the pendulum swings too far in the other direction, the result can be chaos.
Being in a small business exposes a businessperson to a lot more details to be handled in various areas not previously experienced nor anticipated. If your previous life consisted of coming to work, working on specific matters given to you, keeping track of your hours and going home, running your own business is often a real shock.
The first thing that often happens to businesspeople is they get overwhelmed by minutiae. Life becomes one annoying little problem after another with no one to handle them but them.
In addition, there are more little distractions, especially non-”selling” phone calls from friends, family and others, with whom you would not think of having protracted conversations if someone were monitoring your time. Distractions you might have allowed five minutes while you were in a large company suddenly become 30 to 40 minute adventures.
Then there is your computer. Computers have a special magic feature that makes them periodically malfunction, or worse still, function perfectly and give you something completely different from what you wanted. The real sorcery occurs when you attempt to fix the problem. Large blocks of time mysteriously vanish. You start working on the problem at 8:30 AM and when you look up from your monitor fifteen minutes later, it is somehow 10:27 PM.
Learn to prioritize and organize and you WILL overcome this!
"That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise." - Abraham Lincoln
Being in a small business exposes a businessperson to a lot more details to be handled in various areas not previously experienced nor anticipated. If your previous life consisted of coming to work, working on specific matters given to you, keeping track of your hours and going home, running your own business is often a real shock.
The first thing that often happens to businesspeople is they get overwhelmed by minutiae. Life becomes one annoying little problem after another with no one to handle them but them.
In addition, there are more little distractions, especially non-”selling” phone calls from friends, family and others, with whom you would not think of having protracted conversations if someone were monitoring your time. Distractions you might have allowed five minutes while you were in a large company suddenly become 30 to 40 minute adventures.
Then there is your computer. Computers have a special magic feature that makes them periodically malfunction, or worse still, function perfectly and give you something completely different from what you wanted. The real sorcery occurs when you attempt to fix the problem. Large blocks of time mysteriously vanish. You start working on the problem at 8:30 AM and when you look up from your monitor fifteen minutes later, it is somehow 10:27 PM.
Learn to prioritize and organize and you WILL overcome this!
"That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise." - Abraham Lincoln
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Ask People Why They Do Business With You
Testimonials are great, but successful companies do something more direct.
How often have you actually asked a person why they do business with you, and not your competition?
Have you ever?
Most people don't bring up the subject. They're afraid that the customer might start thinking about whether or not they should switch. Believe it that's not at all likely, unless they were on the verge of switching already. In that case, you'll find out now, when you have a chance to fix it, instead of later, after they're gone.
When the customer hears a sincere question from you that you genuinely want an answer for, you'll be surprised at how often you'll GET a direct answer. And you'll be surprised at some of the things you hear.
What you consider important might not be at all what the customer thinks matters. Ask them with a genuine interest (You DO want to know why people spend money with you, don't you?) and then listen. Ask for specifics. And when they've answered you, thank them.
When you see a pattern forming, use that in your advertising. Look for the things that are common to your most valued customers. Build on those strengths.
You'll also notice that, when your customers tell you out loud why they buy from you, they're also telling themselves. They reinforce the reasons that you are the one that they do business with. And that's the best advertising you can get.
How often have you actually asked a person why they do business with you, and not your competition?
Have you ever?
Most people don't bring up the subject. They're afraid that the customer might start thinking about whether or not they should switch. Believe it that's not at all likely, unless they were on the verge of switching already. In that case, you'll find out now, when you have a chance to fix it, instead of later, after they're gone.
When the customer hears a sincere question from you that you genuinely want an answer for, you'll be surprised at how often you'll GET a direct answer. And you'll be surprised at some of the things you hear.
What you consider important might not be at all what the customer thinks matters. Ask them with a genuine interest (You DO want to know why people spend money with you, don't you?) and then listen. Ask for specifics. And when they've answered you, thank them.
When you see a pattern forming, use that in your advertising. Look for the things that are common to your most valued customers. Build on those strengths.
You'll also notice that, when your customers tell you out loud why they buy from you, they're also telling themselves. They reinforce the reasons that you are the one that they do business with. And that's the best advertising you can get.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Avoid the One-Shot Marketing Gamble
“A good follow-through is just as important in management as it is in bowling, tennis, or golf. Follow-through is the bridge between good planning and good results.” - Anonymous
The key to effective marketing is to find something you can afford--then use it over and over again.
Sometimes this means repeating your marketing faithfully for weeks or months. Only after your ad message has had plenty of time to sink in will the public begin to notice you and buy from your business.
"Which marketing tool should I use?" people often ask. Use the one that reaches your prospects AND that you can AFFORD to use consistently month after month!
Keep in mind that before anyone will buy from you, they have to notice your marketing messages. Then they must become interested in your message. Finally they have to decide to take action.
Don't get impatient. This three-step process takes time.
One of the most important elements of business success is not contacting prospects and customers to purchase what you're selling – but re-contacting them (Follow-up!). This, however, is precisely what most business people don't do.
They send some sales information to a prospect ... then wait.
They make a single phone call to a prospect ... but never follow-up.
They send a fax to a customer... and hope something happens, but don't send a second one.
Get the picture? It's as if millions of people had decided to stake their fate on a single throw of the dice... on sending one catalog, or one brochure, or one letter, or one fax, or making one phone call.
But this isn't the way to make MONEY!
The overwhelming majority of people do not respond to a single marketing communication... or a single phone call... or a single fax... or a single anything else.
No wonder. We're all bombarded every single day with marketing communications. You can't turn on the television or radio... or open a newspaper... or get a newsletter... or leaf through a trade publication... without getting inundated with one "get this now, this is good for you" marketing message after another. We're an "in-your-face" marketing culture all right.
Yet, in all too many cases, what's missing is the Follow-up – the systematic attempt to break through the marketing "noise" that assails all of us and get your message -- all your message -- in front of just the people you want to have it... and do what's necessary for them to grasp it and take appropriate action.
I can give you a six-word formula for success: "Think things through - then follow through." - Eddie Rickenbacker
The key to effective marketing is to find something you can afford--then use it over and over again.
Sometimes this means repeating your marketing faithfully for weeks or months. Only after your ad message has had plenty of time to sink in will the public begin to notice you and buy from your business.
"Which marketing tool should I use?" people often ask. Use the one that reaches your prospects AND that you can AFFORD to use consistently month after month!
Keep in mind that before anyone will buy from you, they have to notice your marketing messages. Then they must become interested in your message. Finally they have to decide to take action.
Don't get impatient. This three-step process takes time.
One of the most important elements of business success is not contacting prospects and customers to purchase what you're selling – but re-contacting them (Follow-up!). This, however, is precisely what most business people don't do.
They send some sales information to a prospect ... then wait.
They make a single phone call to a prospect ... but never follow-up.
They send a fax to a customer... and hope something happens, but don't send a second one.
Get the picture? It's as if millions of people had decided to stake their fate on a single throw of the dice... on sending one catalog, or one brochure, or one letter, or one fax, or making one phone call.
But this isn't the way to make MONEY!
The overwhelming majority of people do not respond to a single marketing communication... or a single phone call... or a single fax... or a single anything else.
No wonder. We're all bombarded every single day with marketing communications. You can't turn on the television or radio... or open a newspaper... or get a newsletter... or leaf through a trade publication... without getting inundated with one "get this now, this is good for you" marketing message after another. We're an "in-your-face" marketing culture all right.
Yet, in all too many cases, what's missing is the Follow-up – the systematic attempt to break through the marketing "noise" that assails all of us and get your message -- all your message -- in front of just the people you want to have it... and do what's necessary for them to grasp it and take appropriate action.
I can give you a six-word formula for success: "Think things through - then follow through." - Eddie Rickenbacker
Friday, May 18, 2012
A LIGHTER LOOK AT ADVERTISNG
1. The first time people look at any given ad, they don't see it.
2. The second time, they don't notice.
3. The third time, they are aware that it is there.
4. The fourth time, they have a fleeting sense that they have seen it somewhere before.
5. The fifth time, they ACTUALLY read the ad.
6. The sixth time, they thumb their nose at it.
7. The seventh time, they start to get a little irritated with it.
8. The eighth time, they start to think, "Here's that confounded ad again."
9. The ninth time, they start to wonder if they might be MISSING OUT on something.
10. The tenth time, they ask their friends and neighbors if they've tried it.
11. The eleventh time, they wonder how the company is PAYING for these ads.
12. The twelfth time, they start to think that this MUST be a good product.
13. The thirteenth time, they start to feel the product has value.
14. The fourteenth time, they start to remember wanting a product exactly like this for a long time.
15. The fifteenth time, they start to yearn for it because they can't afford to buy it.
16. The sixteenth time, they accept the fact that they will buy it sometime in the future.
17. The seventeenth time, they make a note to BUY the product.
18. The eighteenth time, they curse their poverty for not allowing them to buy this terrific product.
19, The nineteenth time, they count their money carefully.
20. The twentieth time the prospect sees the ad, they buy what it is offering.
2. The second time, they don't notice.
3. The third time, they are aware that it is there.
4. The fourth time, they have a fleeting sense that they have seen it somewhere before.
5. The fifth time, they ACTUALLY read the ad.
6. The sixth time, they thumb their nose at it.
7. The seventh time, they start to get a little irritated with it.
8. The eighth time, they start to think, "Here's that confounded ad again."
9. The ninth time, they start to wonder if they might be MISSING OUT on something.
10. The tenth time, they ask their friends and neighbors if they've tried it.
11. The eleventh time, they wonder how the company is PAYING for these ads.
12. The twelfth time, they start to think that this MUST be a good product.
13. The thirteenth time, they start to feel the product has value.
14. The fourteenth time, they start to remember wanting a product exactly like this for a long time.
15. The fifteenth time, they start to yearn for it because they can't afford to buy it.
16. The sixteenth time, they accept the fact that they will buy it sometime in the future.
17. The seventeenth time, they make a note to BUY the product.
18. The eighteenth time, they curse their poverty for not allowing them to buy this terrific product.
19, The nineteenth time, they count their money carefully.
20. The twentieth time the prospect sees the ad, they buy what it is offering.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
The customer is always right?
You've heard it said, "The customer is always right."
Well, that is not necessarily true.
Customers are the lifeline of your business. Without them, your business will simply dry up and die. Without them you don’t have a business. It's important for you to take good care of them.
But know that…. if you own a business, just as sure as the sun will rise, there will be problems. Not necessarily many, but some. And… they will not always be your fault or be in your control!
The first time most business owners receive a complaint, they are devastated and take it personally. It is important not to do that.
If you work with people, there are going to be problems. Be professional in dealing with them, do everything you can (even if the problem was out of your control) to correct the problem.
Once you have done everything you can to take care of any problem, then consider it closed and let it go!
Well, that is not necessarily true.
Customers are the lifeline of your business. Without them, your business will simply dry up and die. Without them you don’t have a business. It's important for you to take good care of them.
But know that…. if you own a business, just as sure as the sun will rise, there will be problems. Not necessarily many, but some. And… they will not always be your fault or be in your control!
The first time most business owners receive a complaint, they are devastated and take it personally. It is important not to do that.
If you work with people, there are going to be problems. Be professional in dealing with them, do everything you can (even if the problem was out of your control) to correct the problem.
Once you have done everything you can to take care of any problem, then consider it closed and let it go!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
The Four Components of Every Marketing Effort
There are four components to every marketing effort. All four of these key components must be given careful consideration—for each can cause the failure or success of your marketing.
The Product
The Message
The Prospect
The Media
Consistently successful marketing requires knowledge and mastery of these four factors that, together, can produce the desired results.
Rating the Four Marketing Components
PRODUCT – You have to do your research.
Is the product or service you're offering going to meet an existing need or demand?
Who needs or demands it?
You must know the exact demand or need you are trying to fill.
Can the product be priced profitably and competitively?
Does the product offer value?
How about quality?
Do the best you can to objectively evaluate your product—from the prospect's point of view.
MESSAGE – This includes the offer you're making (FREE booklet, bill me, FREE gift w/order, etc.), how you say it (the words), and how you present it (design elements).
Have you made an enticing offer?
Does your headline grab the attention of your hottest prospects?
Have you made your promotion look uncluttered, easy to read, professional?
Once again, you must put yourself in your prospect's shoes. How will your message be perceived by them?
PROSPECT – Who are the best candidates for your product or service?
Will apartment dwellers be interested in your lawn tractors? Not a chance.
Will the small business owner who spends only $2,000 per year on
marketing be interested in my consulting services? Probably not.
Sending the right message about the right product to the wrong prospect can be a total waste.
MEDIA – How will you get your message in front of your hottest prospects?
Direct mail?
TV? Radio?
Print ads?
This element of your marketing is just as important as the other four. Spending the money for a professionally written and designed ad will do you no good if you place it in the wrong publication.
How sure are you of the media you've selected?
Have you had success with them in the past, or are they untested for you?
Are detailed demographics available?
Do the best you can to rate your overall confidence in the media you plan to use.
In general, people want to spend money, be affluent and feel good.
People do not want to budget or be austere. They do not want to be involved with things that require work, cause risk to what they already have, or that are time consuming.
Use this knowledge to rate the four components of all your marketing efforts, then make needed adjustments as are indicated by the formula. You'll be amazed what happens to your response rate!
The Product
The Message
The Prospect
The Media
Consistently successful marketing requires knowledge and mastery of these four factors that, together, can produce the desired results.
Rating the Four Marketing Components
PRODUCT – You have to do your research.
Is the product or service you're offering going to meet an existing need or demand?
Who needs or demands it?
You must know the exact demand or need you are trying to fill.
Can the product be priced profitably and competitively?
Does the product offer value?
How about quality?
Do the best you can to objectively evaluate your product—from the prospect's point of view.
MESSAGE – This includes the offer you're making (FREE booklet, bill me, FREE gift w/order, etc.), how you say it (the words), and how you present it (design elements).
Have you made an enticing offer?
Does your headline grab the attention of your hottest prospects?
Have you made your promotion look uncluttered, easy to read, professional?
Once again, you must put yourself in your prospect's shoes. How will your message be perceived by them?
PROSPECT – Who are the best candidates for your product or service?
Will apartment dwellers be interested in your lawn tractors? Not a chance.
Will the small business owner who spends only $2,000 per year on
marketing be interested in my consulting services? Probably not.
Sending the right message about the right product to the wrong prospect can be a total waste.
MEDIA – How will you get your message in front of your hottest prospects?
Direct mail?
TV? Radio?
Print ads?
This element of your marketing is just as important as the other four. Spending the money for a professionally written and designed ad will do you no good if you place it in the wrong publication.
How sure are you of the media you've selected?
Have you had success with them in the past, or are they untested for you?
Are detailed demographics available?
Do the best you can to rate your overall confidence in the media you plan to use.
In general, people want to spend money, be affluent and feel good.
People do not want to budget or be austere. They do not want to be involved with things that require work, cause risk to what they already have, or that are time consuming.
Use this knowledge to rate the four components of all your marketing efforts, then make needed adjustments as are indicated by the formula. You'll be amazed what happens to your response rate!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
What is Marketing Research?
"The secret to success is - find out where the people are going and get there first." - Mark Twain
Basically, marketing research is just what the merchant did with the peanuts. Find out what catches customers' attention by observing their actions and drawing conclusions from what you see. To put it more formally, in the words of the American Marketing Association, marketing research is "the systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing of data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services."
Marketing research is an organized way of finding objective answers to questions every business must answer to succeed. Every business owner-manager must ask:
Who are my customers and potential customers?
What kind of people are they?
Can and will they buy?
Am I offering the kinds of goods or services they want - at the best place, at the best time, and in the right amounts?
Are my prices consistent with what buyers view as the products' values?
Are my promotional programs working?
What do customers think of my business?
How does my business compare with my competitors?
Marketing research is not a perfect science; it deals with people and their constantly changing likes and dislikes which can be affected by hundreds of influences, many of which simply can't be identified. Marketing research does, however, try to learn about markets scientifically. That simply, is to gather facts in an orderly, objective way; to find out how things are, not how you think they are or would like them to be; what people want to buy, not just what you want to sell them.
Why Do It?
It's tough - impossible - to sell people what they don't want. (Remember the Nehru jacket?) That's pretty obvious. Just as obvious is the fact that nothing could be simpler than selling people what they do want. Big business has to do market research to find that out. The same reason holds for small business.
Business owners often have a "feel" for their customers - their markets - that comes from years of experience. Experience can be a two-edged sword, though, since it comprises a tremendous mass of facts acquired at random over a number of years.
Information about markets gained from long experience may no longer be timely enough to base selling decisions on. In addition, some "facts" may be vague, misleading impressions or folk tales of the "everybody knows that..." variety.
Marketing research focuses and organized marketing information. It ensures that such information is timely. It provides what you need to:
Reduce business risks,
Spot problems and potential problems in your current market,
Identify and profit from sales opportunities,
Get basic facts about your market to help you make better decisions and set up plans of action.
Basically, marketing research is just what the merchant did with the peanuts. Find out what catches customers' attention by observing their actions and drawing conclusions from what you see. To put it more formally, in the words of the American Marketing Association, marketing research is "the systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing of data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services."
Marketing research is an organized way of finding objective answers to questions every business must answer to succeed. Every business owner-manager must ask:
Who are my customers and potential customers?
What kind of people are they?
Can and will they buy?
Am I offering the kinds of goods or services they want - at the best place, at the best time, and in the right amounts?
Are my prices consistent with what buyers view as the products' values?
Are my promotional programs working?
What do customers think of my business?
How does my business compare with my competitors?
Marketing research is not a perfect science; it deals with people and their constantly changing likes and dislikes which can be affected by hundreds of influences, many of which simply can't be identified. Marketing research does, however, try to learn about markets scientifically. That simply, is to gather facts in an orderly, objective way; to find out how things are, not how you think they are or would like them to be; what people want to buy, not just what you want to sell them.
Why Do It?
It's tough - impossible - to sell people what they don't want. (Remember the Nehru jacket?) That's pretty obvious. Just as obvious is the fact that nothing could be simpler than selling people what they do want. Big business has to do market research to find that out. The same reason holds for small business.
Business owners often have a "feel" for their customers - their markets - that comes from years of experience. Experience can be a two-edged sword, though, since it comprises a tremendous mass of facts acquired at random over a number of years.
Information about markets gained from long experience may no longer be timely enough to base selling decisions on. In addition, some "facts" may be vague, misleading impressions or folk tales of the "everybody knows that..." variety.
Marketing research focuses and organized marketing information. It ensures that such information is timely. It provides what you need to:
Reduce business risks,
Spot problems and potential problems in your current market,
Identify and profit from sales opportunities,
Get basic facts about your market to help you make better decisions and set up plans of action.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Why Do a Marketing Plan?
A marketing plan outlines everything you will do to market your business, in what order, and when. The time and effort spent developing your marketing plan is a good investment.
An effective marketing plan does the following:
Identifies and explores the strengths and weaknesses of your company, its products, or services
Examines, based on these strengths and weaknesses, the opportunities and threats that exist in the marketplace
Forces you to focus on the needs of your customers and potential customers
Allows you to anticipate and plan for changing market trends, consumer demands, and changes of your competitors
Helps you reach company goals within your budget
Forms an essential part of your business plan
An effective marketing plan does the following:
Identifies and explores the strengths and weaknesses of your company, its products, or services
Examines, based on these strengths and weaknesses, the opportunities and threats that exist in the marketplace
Forces you to focus on the needs of your customers and potential customers
Allows you to anticipate and plan for changing market trends, consumer demands, and changes of your competitors
Helps you reach company goals within your budget
Forms an essential part of your business plan
Friday, September 16, 2011
THE OED 500 IS OPEN!!!
The OED 500 is once again open for applications!
Win a $500 prize for your small business PLUS win a PR and marketing package by taking a few minutes to tell us about your business.
Entries are due no later than Oct 15 2011, and winner will be selected and announced Oct 31, 2001.
Give it a go, send it along to any business owner you know, and GOOD LUCK!
www.oedglobal.org/OED500!
Win a $500 prize for your small business PLUS win a PR and marketing package by taking a few minutes to tell us about your business.
Entries are due no later than Oct 15 2011, and winner will be selected and announced Oct 31, 2001.
Give it a go, send it along to any business owner you know, and GOOD LUCK!
www.oedglobal.org/OED500!
Friday, September 2, 2011
Life's Lessons
Life's Lessons
Money doesn't bring you happiness,
but it enables you to look for it in more places.
Your conscience may not keep you from doing wrong,
but it sure keeps you from enjoying it.
Misers aren't much fun to live with,
but they make great ancestors.
Be careful what rut you choose.
You may be in it the rest of your life.
Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.
A modern pioneer is a person who can get through a rainy
Saturday when the television's on the blink.
A true friend is one that lets his grass grow
as tall as his neighbor's.
Experience is a wonderful thing.
It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
Money doesn't bring you happiness,
but it enables you to look for it in more places.
Your conscience may not keep you from doing wrong,
but it sure keeps you from enjoying it.
Misers aren't much fun to live with,
but they make great ancestors.
Be careful what rut you choose.
You may be in it the rest of your life.
Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.
A modern pioneer is a person who can get through a rainy
Saturday when the television's on the blink.
A true friend is one that lets his grass grow
as tall as his neighbor's.
Experience is a wonderful thing.
It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Instructions for Life
Instructions for Life
Excerpts from the “owners manual”.
1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2. Memorize your favorite poem.
3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
4. When you say, "I love you", mean it.
5. When you say, "I'm sorry", look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dreams.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name-calling.
11. Don't judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slow but think quick.
13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?".
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
15. Call your mom.
16. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
17. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
18. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
19. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
20. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
21. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
22. Marry a man you love to talk to. As you get older, his conversational skills will be as important as any other.
23. Spend some time alone.
24. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
25. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
26. Read more books and watch less TV.
27. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll get to enjoy it a second time.
28. Trust in God but lock your car.
29. A loving atmosphere in your home is so important. Do all you can to create a tranquil harmonious home.
30. In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
31. Read between the lines.
32. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
33. Be gentle with the earth.
34. Pray. There's immeasurable power in it.
35. Never interrupt when you are being flattered.
36. Mind your own business.
37. Don't trust a man who doesn't close his eyes when you kiss him.
38. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
39. If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth's greatest satisfaction.
40. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.
41. Learn the rules then break some.
42. Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other.
43. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
44. Remember that your character is your destiny.
45. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon!
Excerpts from the “owners manual”.
1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2. Memorize your favorite poem.
3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
4. When you say, "I love you", mean it.
5. When you say, "I'm sorry", look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dreams.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name-calling.
11. Don't judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slow but think quick.
13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?".
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
15. Call your mom.
16. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
17. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
18. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
19. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
20. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
21. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
22. Marry a man you love to talk to. As you get older, his conversational skills will be as important as any other.
23. Spend some time alone.
24. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
25. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
26. Read more books and watch less TV.
27. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll get to enjoy it a second time.
28. Trust in God but lock your car.
29. A loving atmosphere in your home is so important. Do all you can to create a tranquil harmonious home.
30. In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
31. Read between the lines.
32. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
33. Be gentle with the earth.
34. Pray. There's immeasurable power in it.
35. Never interrupt when you are being flattered.
36. Mind your own business.
37. Don't trust a man who doesn't close his eyes when you kiss him.
38. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
39. If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth's greatest satisfaction.
40. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.
41. Learn the rules then break some.
42. Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other.
43. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
44. Remember that your character is your destiny.
45. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Life's Lessons
Life's Lessons
Success is learned!
Success is not built on convenience!
When you change your thinking, you change your beliefs;
When you change your beliefs, you change your expectations;
When you change your expectations, you change your attitude;
When you change your attitude, you change your behavior;
When you change your behavior, you change your performance;
When you change your performance, YOU CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!!!
Success is learned!
Success is not built on convenience!
When you change your thinking, you change your beliefs;
When you change your beliefs, you change your expectations;
When you change your expectations, you change your attitude;
When you change your attitude, you change your behavior;
When you change your behavior, you change your performance;
When you change your performance, YOU CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!!!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Time Management Tip: The Smart-Money Use of Non-Business Time
Time Management Tip: The Smart-Money Use of Non-Business Time
Sure, time is money. No argument there. But more than that, time is our most precious commodity. As a business person, you recognize the importance of managing your time well. Whether scheduling meetings, doing your books, training new people or introducing a new product or service, you know that every day is a calculated race against the clock.
But what about non-work time? That has a dollar value, too. How you use -- or misuse -- your free time is the determining factor in the quality of life you and your family enjoy. That's why some people can work 70 or 80 hours a week, yet still manage to participate in a highly rewarding home life. Meanwhile, others see leisure time as an opportunity to channel surf the television and then fall asleep on the couch. Or they devote their down time to household chores and yard maintenance, even though they'd rather be out playing golf.
We spend time...just like we spend money. For instance: Pat is vice president of a computer software company and earns $75,000 a year. However, she spent her entire Saturday comparison shopping through six stores for her husband's birthday present...saving a total of $12. Meanwhile, Don is an attorney who used a week's vacation to wallpaper his dining room.
The problem: We can waste time...just like we can waste money. That's what these two people have in common. Pat saved a few bucks on her husband's sweater, but lost a whole day she could have spent enjoying his company. Don saved several hundred dollars by papering his own dining room; however, he wasted more than $1,500 in vacation time that could have been spent more enjoyably with his family.
How can you get the best value from your non-work time? Evaluate how to best use your time in light of the following:
• The pleasure factor. This can override all other considerations. If you're a true-blue do-it-yourselfer who enjoys planting shrubs or building that new kennel for the dog yourself, go ahead. If not, you might be better off hiring someone to do the work for you...and spending more time with your family.
• The dollar-value-of-your-time factor. This is a hard-cash tangible, based on how much your time is worth. If your work time is worth $70 an hour, your leisure time is worth the same amount.
• The convenience factor. In spite of the cost, it may be more convenient to hand over the shoe box to a CPA rather than do your own taxes; to call the plumber rather than fix that leaky faucet yourself; or to tote home carry-out rather than spend an hour making dinner.
• The guilt factor. This is perhaps the most powerful reason we end up doing things we'd really rather not do. After all, don't real women bake cookies for their children and iron their husband's shirts? Don't real men cut their own lawns and repair their own leaky faucets? The answer -- NO! "Real" men and women make smart use of their time for themselves and for their families.
Beyond dollars -- How to enjoy your leisure time: Many business owners are self-styled beasts of burden. We are so caught up in what we do that it consumes us. However, if we don't learn how to break away, we risk never fully enjoying the fruits of our labors. Here are some suggestions:
• Learn how to relax. Many business owners don't feel comfortable out of "business mode." So, we clutch the briefcase or do work at home. Try learning to be more than just a business person. Not only will it be fun, but it will make you fresher and more focused at work.
• Plan your leisure activities, just as you do your business time. Map out your day off to include a little yard work, watching your daughter's softball game, and an hour or two of being a couch potato. Or take a whole day off and give it to your son, daughter, spouse or friend to do with as they please.
• Don't bring work home or on vacations. Leave the briefcase at the office or in the car. Also, encourage customers not to contact you at home. Bonus: If you force yourself to get all your work done before you come home, you'll get more done on business time.
The bottom line: If you're like most business owners today, you work hard putting in long hours each day doing what you do best. One of the rewards should be a comfortable lifestyle. Make sure you take the time to enjoy it.
Sure, time is money. No argument there. But more than that, time is our most precious commodity. As a business person, you recognize the importance of managing your time well. Whether scheduling meetings, doing your books, training new people or introducing a new product or service, you know that every day is a calculated race against the clock.
But what about non-work time? That has a dollar value, too. How you use -- or misuse -- your free time is the determining factor in the quality of life you and your family enjoy. That's why some people can work 70 or 80 hours a week, yet still manage to participate in a highly rewarding home life. Meanwhile, others see leisure time as an opportunity to channel surf the television and then fall asleep on the couch. Or they devote their down time to household chores and yard maintenance, even though they'd rather be out playing golf.
We spend time...just like we spend money. For instance: Pat is vice president of a computer software company and earns $75,000 a year. However, she spent her entire Saturday comparison shopping through six stores for her husband's birthday present...saving a total of $12. Meanwhile, Don is an attorney who used a week's vacation to wallpaper his dining room.
The problem: We can waste time...just like we can waste money. That's what these two people have in common. Pat saved a few bucks on her husband's sweater, but lost a whole day she could have spent enjoying his company. Don saved several hundred dollars by papering his own dining room; however, he wasted more than $1,500 in vacation time that could have been spent more enjoyably with his family.
How can you get the best value from your non-work time? Evaluate how to best use your time in light of the following:
• The pleasure factor. This can override all other considerations. If you're a true-blue do-it-yourselfer who enjoys planting shrubs or building that new kennel for the dog yourself, go ahead. If not, you might be better off hiring someone to do the work for you...and spending more time with your family.
• The dollar-value-of-your-time factor. This is a hard-cash tangible, based on how much your time is worth. If your work time is worth $70 an hour, your leisure time is worth the same amount.
• The convenience factor. In spite of the cost, it may be more convenient to hand over the shoe box to a CPA rather than do your own taxes; to call the plumber rather than fix that leaky faucet yourself; or to tote home carry-out rather than spend an hour making dinner.
• The guilt factor. This is perhaps the most powerful reason we end up doing things we'd really rather not do. After all, don't real women bake cookies for their children and iron their husband's shirts? Don't real men cut their own lawns and repair their own leaky faucets? The answer -- NO! "Real" men and women make smart use of their time for themselves and for their families.
Beyond dollars -- How to enjoy your leisure time: Many business owners are self-styled beasts of burden. We are so caught up in what we do that it consumes us. However, if we don't learn how to break away, we risk never fully enjoying the fruits of our labors. Here are some suggestions:
• Learn how to relax. Many business owners don't feel comfortable out of "business mode." So, we clutch the briefcase or do work at home. Try learning to be more than just a business person. Not only will it be fun, but it will make you fresher and more focused at work.
• Plan your leisure activities, just as you do your business time. Map out your day off to include a little yard work, watching your daughter's softball game, and an hour or two of being a couch potato. Or take a whole day off and give it to your son, daughter, spouse or friend to do with as they please.
• Don't bring work home or on vacations. Leave the briefcase at the office or in the car. Also, encourage customers not to contact you at home. Bonus: If you force yourself to get all your work done before you come home, you'll get more done on business time.
The bottom line: If you're like most business owners today, you work hard putting in long hours each day doing what you do best. One of the rewards should be a comfortable lifestyle. Make sure you take the time to enjoy it.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Strong Financial Management – A Key to SURVIVAL
There is one simple reason to understand and observe monetary planning in your business - to avoid failure.
Eight of ten new businesses fail primarily because of the lack of good fiscal planning.
Financial planning affects how and on what terms you will be able to attract the funding required to establish, maintain, and expand your business. Financial planning determines the raw materials you can afford to buy, the products you will be able to produce, and whether or not you will be able to market them efficiently.
It affects the human and physical resources you will be able to acquire to operate your business. It will be a major determinant of whether or not you will be able to make your hard work profitable.
A clearly conceived, well documented Fiscal plan, establishing goals and including the use of Budgets to ensure monetary control, will demonstrate not only that you know what you want to do, but that you know how to do it.
Eight of ten new businesses fail primarily because of the lack of good fiscal planning.
Financial planning affects how and on what terms you will be able to attract the funding required to establish, maintain, and expand your business. Financial planning determines the raw materials you can afford to buy, the products you will be able to produce, and whether or not you will be able to market them efficiently.
It affects the human and physical resources you will be able to acquire to operate your business. It will be a major determinant of whether or not you will be able to make your hard work profitable.
A clearly conceived, well documented Fiscal plan, establishing goals and including the use of Budgets to ensure monetary control, will demonstrate not only that you know what you want to do, but that you know how to do it.
Monday, February 21, 2011
THE OED 500 IS OPEN!
OED is once again providing a $500 prize and promo pack to a deserving small business! Simply visit www.oedglobal.org for details and the application.
Applications are being accpeted now through March 15. Winner will be announced March 31. Enter and share the link with your colleagues, clients, vendors... you name it! Entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs~ It's what OED's all about!
The OED500 is a quarterly program sponsored by The Organization for Entrepreneurial Development. OED is a 501(c)(3) whose mission is to support entrepreneurs through a variety of media and methods such as live training, professional development, webinars, networking events, knowledge base access, and idea exchanges.
Applications are being accpeted now through March 15. Winner will be announced March 31. Enter and share the link with your colleagues, clients, vendors... you name it! Entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs~ It's what OED's all about!
The OED500 is a quarterly program sponsored by The Organization for Entrepreneurial Development. OED is a 501(c)(3) whose mission is to support entrepreneurs through a variety of media and methods such as live training, professional development, webinars, networking events, knowledge base access, and idea exchanges.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
What makes a great ad?
The answer is almost too simple.
A good ad is one that works. Your phone rings. Buyers walk through your store door. Your salespeople have prospects to see. Your e-mail order forms are full.
On the other hand, bad advertising is one of the most disappointing experiences a small business can have. You spend your hard-earned ad dollars with high hopes, only your hopes and expectations dashed with a complete lack of response.
Here are three critical items to keep in mind to make your ads draw customers and sales:
1. Figure out what means the most to your best prospects. What do you offer that they'll value most? State that best benefit clearly and prominently in your ad. If you've got lots of space or radio time, repeat your benefit at least three times.
2. Tell your prospect to buy. Ads that don't come right out and ask for the sale usually fall short. Tell your prospect to buy, why they should buy, how they should buy, and when to buy. Take a look at pricey ads designed for big companies. They almost always tell you exactly who they think needs their product or service, which store or web site you can buy it from, how to get to that location, what kind of cards or financing they take, and when the offer will begin and end.
3.Finally, pick your advertising media carefully. Don't advertise a specialty service for a particular industry in your daily newspaper unless your town is dominated by that particular industry. Instead, chose a trade publication that specifically targets that one industry.
4.Simple? Yes it is, as long as you make the whole advertising process a real PROCESS!
Do a features, advantages and benefits work-up and determine your key benefits.
Talk to you customers and find out why THEY buy.
Use professionals where you can – they can save you hours and dollars by helping you develop a process that works and once it’s developed – you have it forever.
A good ad is one that works. Your phone rings. Buyers walk through your store door. Your salespeople have prospects to see. Your e-mail order forms are full.
On the other hand, bad advertising is one of the most disappointing experiences a small business can have. You spend your hard-earned ad dollars with high hopes, only your hopes and expectations dashed with a complete lack of response.
Here are three critical items to keep in mind to make your ads draw customers and sales:
1. Figure out what means the most to your best prospects. What do you offer that they'll value most? State that best benefit clearly and prominently in your ad. If you've got lots of space or radio time, repeat your benefit at least three times.
2. Tell your prospect to buy. Ads that don't come right out and ask for the sale usually fall short. Tell your prospect to buy, why they should buy, how they should buy, and when to buy. Take a look at pricey ads designed for big companies. They almost always tell you exactly who they think needs their product or service, which store or web site you can buy it from, how to get to that location, what kind of cards or financing they take, and when the offer will begin and end.
3.Finally, pick your advertising media carefully. Don't advertise a specialty service for a particular industry in your daily newspaper unless your town is dominated by that particular industry. Instead, chose a trade publication that specifically targets that one industry.
4.Simple? Yes it is, as long as you make the whole advertising process a real PROCESS!
Do a features, advantages and benefits work-up and determine your key benefits.
Talk to you customers and find out why THEY buy.
Use professionals where you can – they can save you hours and dollars by helping you develop a process that works and once it’s developed – you have it forever.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Test Your New Products--Without Spending a Fortune
Can small companies really expect to do the same level of product testing as large corporations with multi-million dollar marketing budgets?
While they usually can't spend the same amount of money, owners of small businesses have significant advantages not only in product testing, but in the whole area of market research: They usually have extensive familiarity with the marketplace.
Owners can use their experience to develop product testing programs that aren't necessarily very expensive. Still and all, business owners should be prepared to conduct research that includes the following components:
1. Doing a survey. This requires constructing a questionnaire, locating prospective customers, and getting their answers to the questions (typically by telephone or via a mailed questionnaire). Some major corporations even conduct these kinds of surveys in supermarkets or shopping centers. With some representative sampling of several hundred prospects, it is possible to draw conclusions about what they want or don't want. Unfortunately, this is an expensive and time-consuming approach to market research that most entrepreneurs don't have either the money or the patience for.
2. Interview potential customers. The focus group approach entails getting five to ten prospective or existing customers together in a group for an hour or two to probe their feelings about a particular product or service. While the results aren't statistically reliable because such a small group is being sampled, the input is extremely valuable. Many successful entrepreneurs lean toward the second approach, trying to compensate for the absence of statistically meaningful responses by listening carefully as people respond to questions and ideas.
3. Assessing the competition. If there is one area where successful entrepreneurs agree that academic type research can be useful, it is in the area of competitive information. They know that it is essential to know as much about the competition as is humanly possible, and the best place to get that aside from on-site observations is at libraries, through electronic data bases, and via literature put out by competitors.
4. Learning from others. Has your competition already tried your idea? Are they still using it? Why or why not? Answering such questions can help you avoid errors and learn from the mistakes of others.
5. Testing a prototype. A prototype of a product or service is basically a trial version--a single model or small batch of product or an experimental version of a service. Prototypes become more important as the expense of the product or service rises. The last thing a new company with a $10,000 or $20,000 product wants to encounter is a serious flaw or customer complaint after hundreds or thousands of the product have been produced.
Clearly, owners of small businesses can compensate for their lack of major marketing budgets with careful planning and close listening. The key for owners is to use their knowledge of the marketplace to ask the right questions and fill in the missing data that leads to successful decisions.
While they usually can't spend the same amount of money, owners of small businesses have significant advantages not only in product testing, but in the whole area of market research: They usually have extensive familiarity with the marketplace.
Owners can use their experience to develop product testing programs that aren't necessarily very expensive. Still and all, business owners should be prepared to conduct research that includes the following components:
1. Doing a survey. This requires constructing a questionnaire, locating prospective customers, and getting their answers to the questions (typically by telephone or via a mailed questionnaire). Some major corporations even conduct these kinds of surveys in supermarkets or shopping centers. With some representative sampling of several hundred prospects, it is possible to draw conclusions about what they want or don't want. Unfortunately, this is an expensive and time-consuming approach to market research that most entrepreneurs don't have either the money or the patience for.
2. Interview potential customers. The focus group approach entails getting five to ten prospective or existing customers together in a group for an hour or two to probe their feelings about a particular product or service. While the results aren't statistically reliable because such a small group is being sampled, the input is extremely valuable. Many successful entrepreneurs lean toward the second approach, trying to compensate for the absence of statistically meaningful responses by listening carefully as people respond to questions and ideas.
3. Assessing the competition. If there is one area where successful entrepreneurs agree that academic type research can be useful, it is in the area of competitive information. They know that it is essential to know as much about the competition as is humanly possible, and the best place to get that aside from on-site observations is at libraries, through electronic data bases, and via literature put out by competitors.
4. Learning from others. Has your competition already tried your idea? Are they still using it? Why or why not? Answering such questions can help you avoid errors and learn from the mistakes of others.
5. Testing a prototype. A prototype of a product or service is basically a trial version--a single model or small batch of product or an experimental version of a service. Prototypes become more important as the expense of the product or service rises. The last thing a new company with a $10,000 or $20,000 product wants to encounter is a serious flaw or customer complaint after hundreds or thousands of the product have been produced.
Clearly, owners of small businesses can compensate for their lack of major marketing budgets with careful planning and close listening. The key for owners is to use their knowledge of the marketplace to ask the right questions and fill in the missing data that leads to successful decisions.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Success
"Change your thoughts and you change your world." - Norman Vincent Peale
"When I was young, I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times more work." - George Bernard Shaw
“The person who chooses to try something and fails is a far greater person than the person who chooses to try nothing and succeeds!”
“The difference between the successful person and the unsuccessful person is that the successful person is willing to do that which the unsuccessful person is not!”
"When I was young, I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times more work." - George Bernard Shaw
“The person who chooses to try something and fails is a far greater person than the person who chooses to try nothing and succeeds!”
“The difference between the successful person and the unsuccessful person is that the successful person is willing to do that which the unsuccessful person is not!”
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