#224 on your 'To Do' List

It may be way down on your never-ending list of things to do, but it is a vital piece of your business. What is it?

The way you reach new customers...
The way you share your brand and brand identity ...
The way you draw attention to your presence in the marketplace …
They way you ask for business.

Marketing and Advertising are essential to the growth and maintenance of your revenue stream. No, not all advertising and marketing fit one company. Nor will any one marketing avenue do everything you need it to do.  Here’s how to look at opportunities that cross your desktop and evaluate whether they are right for you.

1) Evaluate each marketing opportunity on its own merit, not because you do or do not have the expense budgeted.
    You may miss out on a great opportunity to reach an audience you are not currently reaching. Or, you may be spending money in the budget on advertising vehicles that are no longer working for you. You owe it to your bottom line to give every opportunity consideration.

2) Consider how each advertising opportunity carries your brand message, or part of your message.
    We all love tag lines. Business experts say your business tagline should always accompany your logo. But ask yourself: Can one tagline really identify ALL that your company is to a customer? Probably not. It takes several short “conversations” with prospects to identify what specific traits of your company appeal to them.  Look at specific marketing opportunities as a way to start those conversations.

3) Don’t be shy. 
    You may not be familiar with the marketing opportunity being presented, but don’t let that shut you down. Instead, use the opportunity to ask pointed questions of the person reaching out to you. “How much?” should not be your first question. Opportunities that deliver results have a cost attached and basing your decision on cost right off the bat could lose you significant growth. What if this new opportunity could replace several marketing vehicles that weren’t working as well as you need them to?

4) Make a list of the most important aspects of your marketing approach.
Use a checklist to make your scrutiny quick and easy. Consider the following:
   
[  ]  Do you want to reach as many people as possible? Or are you more concerned about the type of person to reach? Does this media outlet serve one of these two goals?

[  ]  Does this marketing venue duplicate existing efforts? Or is it reaching a new or expanded marketing audience? Neither?

[  ]  Does this advertising reach prospects you want to reach while in the right frame of mind to learn more about your company?

[  ]  Does this media outlet put you in good company, either with other quality advertisers or editorial content? Can you influence the environment where your message is presented?

[  ]  Can you budget the resources to adequately reach this audience, start and maintain your marketing conversations? You’ll need a large enough ad presence and enough frequency to get the job done.

[  ]  Will you be able to keep your marketing message current, relevant, and well positioned?

[  ]  Will the company be easy to work with, professional, and available when you need them?

[  ]  Will your participation in this marketing opportunity earn your company status, rewards, discounts, editorial coverage or other marketing and business leverage?

If you answer YES to these questions, you have a winner!  If you don’t know the answers, here is your discussion talking points with the sales representative. Keep your list handy as you converse.

You’ll find that if you approach marketing opportunities in this or a similar manner, you’ll not only bring marketing to the top of your to do list and then mark it off your list easily, but you will put #224 on  your list to work for you… which is what marketing is all about!

Janie Clark is a veteran marketing and sales professional, who works with companies of all sizes and disciplines, primarily in custom publishing and web. "Knowing how to break marketing opportunities down into a Q&A format that works for your business is a great first step,” Clark says. "Many business people are so hindered by the fear of being ‘taken' by a persuasive salesperson, that they shut out opportunities that could really improve their business. It’s as important to learn how to say Yes and it is to say No. Learn to listen and evaluate before you make a decision.”

B2B Bingo by Janie Clark: The plight of the small biz owner

B2B Bingo by Janie Clark: The plight of the small biz owner

The plight of the small biz owner

I just read a post on LinkedIn where the question posed was that since more than 50% of small businesses fail in first four years and more than 90% fail within 10 years...why is that and what can be done about it?

That set me to thinking.

I've been working with micro-businesses for quite some time now, and by and large they are a great group of hard working folks.  Too hard working, perhaps. They open their shops and close their shops on either side of the day. They stock the shelves, sell the goods, mop the floor when the toilet overflows. Most small business owners wear all the hats that need to be worn in the span of the day, the week, the month and year. And vacation, well, vacation is something you do vicariously or consider as downtime the week you were flat on your back with the flu.

The responses to this question posed on LinkedIn were eloquent and full of rock solid information about feasibility studies and entrepreneurial insights. I say fooey. Micro-businesses don't fail because of a lack of ability, feasibility or even entrepreneurability.

The problem is cash flow.

Small business owners just don't have access to sufficient capital to weather the start up, growth and maintenance cycles of their business long enough and steady enough to succeed en masse.

I've heard so many small business owners say that they are petrified to add staff because they can't bank on being able to meet payroll six months down the road. And without additional staff -- and good, talented staff, mind you -- small businesses are stuck in the "never enough" cycle of business. Competition is so fierce and the buying pie so big, there's never enough. They can't market themselves well enough to gain sufficient new customers. They can't provide enough customer service to those customers they already have. They can't forecast their profits, their growth, their payroll beyond the next bend. Whether it's in four years or 10, who can work at that pace for so little? Sooner or later the spark that fuels the get-up-and-go snuffs out.

Is it government's responsibility to fuel small business better? Hard to imagine since our government does such a good job at its own business (yes, sarcasm). Could city governments have (real) local small business funds and resources? Not if they can't afford to build better roads or pay their teachers well. Could big business share their staff and resources as a community service? Not if their shareholders want more profit.

I loathe to put this out there without offering some tidbit toward a solution. Alas, I have none.

But I'm sure listening in case you do.

Beware the new phone scam

We heard from our friends at MyWireless.org on about a new twist to an old scam involving your mobile.

Here's how it goes:  The caller rings your number and lets it ring once or twice before disconnecting so that the number stays on your call log. Sometimes they might leave a voicemail. The number shows up as a missed call and is typically a normal three-digit area code that would appear to be a U.S. number, but it’s actually an international number.

• 809 is the Dominican Republic
• 876 is Jamaica
• 284 is the British Virgin Islands, etc

When you return the call, however, you’re automatically routed to an international adult entertainment or chat line where you can quickly rack up expensive charges. While major wireless companies work to block suspicious numbers on their networks, and most have consumer education systems in place to identify and combat these threats, these scams originate outside the reach of U.S. regulators and wireless providers.

Tips to Keep You Safe:

• Always check the area code before returning a missed call to ANY unknown caller.

• Be skeptical about area codes you don’t recognize.

• Be aware that there are numerous three-digit area codes (mostly in the non-U.S. Caribbean Islands) that connect callers to an international phone number.

• Don’t respond to text messages or calls from unknown sources. Delete them immediately.

• If you don’t regularly make international calls, ask your wireless carrier to block international calling.

Avoid Smishing Scams

Also on the rise is  similar texting scam called  ‘Smishing’ – a combination of ‘Short Message Service’ text messaging and email ‘Phishing’. It involves your responding to what appears to be a legitimate text message you received, even though it’s from a number you most likely don’t recognize.

Doing this can place yourself at greater risk for identity or information theft at the hands of crafty cyber thieves. This simple bait-and-hook fraud allows crooks to use auto-dialing or roll-texting computer programs to text you on your wireless device. The message encourages you to click a link or call the number back (the bait). It may be designed to make you think it's from your bank or credit card provider.

However, when you visit the website (the hook), you’ve unwittingly given the criminals access to your device, and they can attach dangerous spyware, malware, viruses, or spam to your device that gives them control of it and instant access to your personal (possibly financial) data.


What to do about it?

If you believe you’ve unwittingly been a victim of a scam like this, contact your carrier immediately. You should also file a complaint with the FCC and/or FTC, and report the activity to the NFIC and BBB to help save other consumers from becoming wireless call/text scam victims.

Back to School Basics: A is for App

There's a new app store on the block, and helping college students find jobs and internships is part of its reason for being. Check out these great places to find work or an employee.

Internship Seeker (FREE for Apple iPhone) – Internship Seeker provides mobile access to thousands of available internship listings, with new ones updated and posted every day. Internship Seeker is powered by internships.com, the web's largest internship database.

USA Intern (FREE for Apple iPhone) – Find internships for free using the USAIntern App. Search and save thousands of internships throughout the USA. Login to view contact details. Upload your resume through the USAIntern.com website and apply for internships directly through the App.

Job Finder (FREE for Android) - Find your dream job. Browse hundreds, thousands and millions of jobs in the US, Canada, Australia, China, Korea, Japan, Brazil, India, the EU, and all around the world.  Save job postings, send jobs to your friends and add the job search shortcut to your home screen!

JobFinder (FREE For Android) - This app is a job finder that improves your job searches and helps you find a job fast.  Just search with a keyword phrase, enter in a zip code OR city and state, search in titles only for the best results, and submit your search to find job posts and online job listings that meet your criteria!

Appitalism.com combines a social community with an online store, enabling consumers to discover, discuss and download digital media from a catalog of over ten million premium apps, songs, books, games and videos compatible with a broad range of digital devices including smartphones, tablets, PCs and eBook readers. Simply put, there is no better way to discover and download apps and digital content than on Appitalism.com

Is everybody asking this question? Should you outsorce your payroll?

Michael Singleton on the Innovation and Market Research Manager, UALR Lead Center, reports that the IRS is now offering tips on outsourcing payroll.  It seems small business owners often have great demands for their time and attention, and more often than not, can benefit from outsourcing their payroll.

That's exactly was certified accountant Josh Appling of Sequoia Payroll Solutions in Fayetteville, Ark. was writing about in his column this month in NWAB2B.com. Click here to read Josh's column now.

You might was to note, too, the IRS has several helpful items for a business owner considering outsourcing payroll duties.

Contractors need be aware of new law in Arkansas

According to Gwen Green, Communication Coordinator, UALR Lead Center, a new law in Arkansas requires home improvement contractors to be licensed.


Under a new state law, contractors doing home improvement or remodeling in Arkansas must have a license for jobs over $2,000, starting in 2012. According to the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, effective Jan. 1, 2012, "Act 1208 of 2011 requires almost anyone doing work at a residence, when the project is $2,000 or more, labor and material, to have a license from the Contractors Licensing Board." The measure applies to almost all construction trades.

A "grandfathering" period began July 27 and will run through Dec. 31, 2011. During the grandfathering period, contractors can obtain a license without a test by submitting proof of construction experience. Click here for the grandfathering application. Starting Jan. 1, a license will be required, and contractors will have to complete a test to get a license. The penalty for performing work at a residence without a license can be up to $400 per day. There are exemptions to the law; for example, subcontractors working for properly licensed contractors are exempt.

For more information, contact the Contractors Licensing Board  in  North Little Rock at (501) 372-4661.

NWAB2B in the news

Can't help but share the  publicity. We're usually the ones doling it out, so it feels good to see it come back. Thanks, Mark Carter, for taking up our song!


NWA Startup Growing Business-to-Business
By Mark Carter
8/4/2011 11:08:52 AM

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One Bentonville startup is providing a valuable resource for businesses across Northwest Arkansas.
NWAB2B.com started as a franchised print magazine in 2009 and has evolved into a one-stop online business-to-business resource.
"We call it the knowledge shop because our goal is to give business owners and their teams a place to come for locally relevant information, articles and tips that can help them boost their brand and their bottom line," said Janie Clark, founder, owner and operator.

Read on >

Smart Moves: Local barter organization lands a healthy solution for small business health care reform

According to barter broker, Rich Creyer, with Fayetteville-based Local Trade Partners (www.localtradepartners.com), his organization is a first in the nation to open dollar for dollar trade with a hospital.  With the recent addition of Physicians' Specialty Hospital in Fayetteville, Ark., Creyer said his community-based local currency program has broken ground on what could be a major impact on the health care crisis for small business owners and entrepreneurs in Northwest Arkansas. 

Creyer believes this could be a model for communities nationwide.

"It's not uncommon for a local barter organization to have a few doctors, dentists, and chiropractors among their member businesses," Creyer said. "There are a few hospitals around the country who will let people pay off debt for services rendered when cash and insurance are not options. That kind of barter is usually much like community service -- working hours in trade for the debt doing clerical, janitorial or kitchen work."

What Local Trade Partners (LTP) has done is create a dollar for dollar credit line where any one of the 400-plus trade members can walk in for immediate or scheduled care and services.

"As far as I know that hasn't happened anywhere else yet," Creyer said. "I can't find any other local currency group in the nation that has successfully launched such a program." 

What makes this development such a powerhouse play is that many small business owners struggle to sponsor their own health care plans. In fact, some say one of the biggest issues among small business owners is their lack of affordable health care coverage options. Often they go uninsured or under insured and hope for the best. 

According to the National Coalition on Health Care, health care premiums have risen some 131 percent since 1999. The Kaiser Family Foundation states that in 2009, the cost of covering a family of four rose to almost $13,400 per year. Kaiser is a non-profit leader in health policy that focuses on major health care issues in the US.

"I believe there are hundreds of thousands of small and solo-preneur businesses in America that find it impossible to cover that premium," said Creyer. "That's certainly what motivated us to seek these health care options."

The Physicians' Specialty Hospital (http://www.pshfay.com/) is revered as the official healthcare provider of the Arkansas Razorbacks, the sports arm of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. The facility offers in-patient care along with specialties in advanced spine surgery, urology, podiatry, general surgery, orthopedics and sports medicine, gynecological surgery, weight loss surgery, pain management and plastic reconstructive surgery.

Walter Beadle is the business development officer at Physicians' Specialty Hospital (PSH), and the person who had to sell the idea to decision makers in his organization. "The concept was difficult to convey," Beadle admits, "but once there was understanding, inertia took over."

The idea that PSH would have immediate and exclusive exposure to more than 400 local business owners was a draw, he said. In a competitive market with less than 350,000 people and around 6,000 small businesses, the move could have a significant marketing impact.

"The synergy will allow Local Trade Partners and their families to receive hospital services they otherwise might be delaying due to their own financial issues."

On the flip side, "The virtual currency allows the hospital to obtain goods and services more efficiently than the traditional purchase order/invoice system." Items such as internal signage, catering events and meetings, and vehicle maintenance are on the top of the list, he said.

The Local Trade Partner organization was developed by Rolf Wilkin, a long-time Northwest Arkansas resident and pizza entrepreneur, with 13 Eureka Pizza locations throughout the area. He tells the story of wanting to trade pizza for tires for his delivery vans early on. "My tire dealer said he just couldn't use that many pizzas!"

Now an organized, sophisticated membership bank of local, family-owned businesses, members earn trade credits they can spend at any of the 400-plus member businesses. By partnering with a national trade center, they open the doors worldwide. LTP is a member of International Reciprocal Trade Association (http://www.irta.com) and follows its Code of Ethics for Professional Trade Exchanges.

"I believe we're offering our participating businesses something few other barter organizations can," Wilkin said.  Members can do business on trade with private practice physicians, optometrists, dentist, oral surgeons, orthodontists, plastic surgeons, audiologists, podiatrists, psycho-therapists, chiropractic, acupuncture, even hospital care and emergency services-- all accepting Local Trade Dollars as payment.

"It's the LTP PPO, so to speak," he said. 

"Not only is this a tremendous advancement for businesses in our group, it's a novel, eye-opening solution to the health care cost problem," Creyer said.

Using excess inventory that would normally be discounted below acquisition costs, LTP enrolled businesses can sell retail to retail to other participating businesses.

Aspiring Entrepreneur? Start with an inspiring elevator pitch

From our friends at Innovate Arkansas we learned that there's a competition a foot. Designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs hone the art of the "elevator pitch," winners of this competition might just haul away some investor loot. 

Participants will have 60 seconds to pitch their venture, and winners will be determined by the audience, which will include many members of the local entrepreneurial community and investors.

To register or for more information, visit NWAEA.net/Blog, or check out Amerine's Innovate Arkansas blog at Blog.InnovateArkansas.org. The competition is Aug. 4 at 6 p.m. at Fayetteville's new Buck Nekkid BBQ.  The competition is open to any Arkansas entrepreneurs, aspiring or otherwise, and is modeled after the elevator pitch competition held at the annual Donald W. Reynolds Governor's Cup. 

Here's the rest of the story By Mark Carter

"Gone in 60 Seconds" is the brainchild of Innovate Arkansas advisor and University of Arkansas entrepreneurship instructor Jeff Amerine.

The Northwest Arkansas Entrepreneurship Alliance, Northwest Arkansas Young Professionals, 101-Ventures, and Innovate Arkansas are sponsors, and several other NWA entrepreneurship-related firms are expected to be involved.

Amerine said the inaugural event will serve as a pilot to see what works and what doesn't, but the idea is to make the contest a monthly event. Winners will receive cash prizes, and ideally, the attention of potential investors. 

"The elevator pitch can make all the difference in the world to an early-stage startup," Amerine said. "You have to be able to sell your idea in a way that's enticing yet concise." 

Amerine said the competition itself will last no longer than an hour, and hopes entrepreneurs and investors will be encouraged to stick around afterwards and mingle. 

"The primary objective is to use the contest to drive networking and interaction between entrepreneurs, angels, and service providers," he said.

Buck Nekkid, building a reputation for its dry-rub ribs, is a UA startup venture that was a finalist in the 2011 Governor's Cup competition held this past spring in Little Rock. 

To register or for more information, visit NWAEA.net/Blog, or check out Amerine's Innovate Arkansas blog at Blog.InnovateArkansas.org.

Reposted by NWAB2B.com

You can't play in the social media sandbox alone

I could also call this post "what I learned at the Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged retreat that will make me a better business woman."

Actually, what I learned will have to span several blog posts and a few articles in upcoming issues of NWAB2B. The experience was incredible.

This post is about the sandbox. When we were kids the sandbox was a big outside place where everyone was welcome to dig sand and pile up sand and earth-move sand as long you played nice. The sandbox police were never far away-- playground moms on the bench who kept one eye on your gingham-checked back.

Now we've all grown up to be writers and lawyers and business owners with our namesake shingles hung out on the eaves. (Some, I must say, are still moving dirt.)

It dawned on me after this conference that social media is our grown up sandbox. And while we are plinking away at our posts and tweets and such, we are alone at the keyboard.

And that brings me to B2B Bingo. Business ownership can be a very solitary endeavor. As a writer, I spend hours and hours alone, away from the crowds, writing, editing, designing... thinking about what to write, edit and design. As a business owner, you probably spend hours and hours away from the crowds doing what you do, too.

Since more small business owners are gravitating to social media as an integral part of marketing their business, it also hit me like a Tonka truck that business owners need to get out there and BE social to really be social. To make your business experience relevant to your customers, you need to widen your perspectives. 

If you're still with me, here are the four trinkets I dug up about that.

1. Get out of your comfort zone. You'll understand the diverse worlds of your customers better if you'll take the time to step out of your own sandbox and into another's. Step out of your own networking mud rut to network elsewhere -- in another city, at another Chamber of Commerce, with another industry you know nothing about. Go to an event you wouldn't normally attend: a NASCAR race, a community play, a fundraiser at an event you've never heard of, a church you pass on the way to the office every day.

2.  Make time to connect.  Now that you are a stranger in a strange land, introduce yourself to the people you don't know. Connecting is about turning strangers into acquaintances and then into friends. Conversations are about listening without bias, about letting the words sink in and take root. It's not about rehearsing your elevator speech in your head while you are waiting your turn.

3.  Take notes. You can't rely on your memory to keep it all straight. Take field notes. Carry a pocket pad so you can jot down the things people say or do that strike you. Let the experience have your full attention, with imagery and meaning.

4. Follow up. It might be a Tweet or a mention in blog post. It may be an invitation to lunch or a hand-written note. It could be a picture you post at the office or a story you share with your peers. Whatever form your follow up takes, take time to let that someone know they touched you.

The players in the social sandbox of life are deep and diverse. Get out and dig.

Hey. Who are you talking to?

The advance of social media has many of us scrambling to teach an old(er) dog new tricks. We're thinking that Tweeting and Liking in 140 characters or less -- in tweet-speak-- is the only new wave of customer service and marketing.

But whoa, big fella. The tried and true adage of marketing insists you talk directly to and in the language of the party to whom you are speaking -- as Ernestine was so fond of saying. If you know the character of Lily Tomlin's telephone company, Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, well, then you are indeed the party we address.

The average Boomer is now 54.

And there are now more Americans aged 51 than any other age.

If your business is trying to appeal to business owners and decision makers, you have to recognize that a giant number of these potential customers are in their 50s and 60s. Not just some of them, but most of them. They also have more money as personal consumers.

Maybe that's why marketers at the likes of Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Clorox, Procter & Gamble, and General Mills are researching and targeting Baby Boomers (now aged 47-65).  Even Google is adopting ways to reach midlife consumers through search. 

So what are the marketers at your company doing?

That is to say, be true to your brand and even truer to your customer. Just because you can mimic your 15-year old on Facebook, doesn't mean you should.

Should you be fired?

The one thing about working for yourself is that you can't be fired. Even, perhaps, when you should be.

As a business owner wearing many hats, you may be failing your company at any one of your roles. Unfortunately for you, all those hats are essential to the success of your entreprise.

If you were employed and you were failing in your job, your boss would have three options.

Option One: Ignore your inadequacies, hoping for a better outcome next month (next year?) but all the while knowing your performance could adversely affect the company's success. And, knowing that somewhere down the line it will have to be addressed.

Option Two: Fire you and put someone competent in your job.

Option Three:  Look for ways to help you improve. Could you use training, coursework, mentors, or an advisory team that helps you transition from sorry to super in your role?

The answer is probably obvious. The last option is probably the best option. Unfortunately, for many self employed professionals, we opt out for solution number one.

Part of being your own boss means making yourself accountable for all the roles you must tackle in the day to day grind.  If you don't do it well, it's unproductive to stick your head in the sand and hope for a better tomorrow. Take an active role in making yourself a better "employee" of your own company.

How would accomplish such an exercise?  Here's a step by step plan.

1. Make a list. Start by making a list of all the tasks and responsibilties that fall to your plate. Be as detailed as possibile. You may want to have several tiers:  the first one addressing executive tasks, the second one managerial, the third tier support, and so on as it relates to your business. Pull from your business plan to include your entire scope of operations.


2. Evaluate performance.  Create an evaluation grid that looks at the tasks, the skills needed to perform the tasks, and how well you perform them. Be honest. Rather than using pass or fail – good or bad verbiage, consider using detailed critiques, such as skills demonstrated, technical accuracy, initiative, follow-through, subject expertise, and the like.

3.  Do your homework. Explore the different job titles associated with your performance grid. What types of experience, education, or training would a person need to be hired for the position? What associations serve those roles in your industry? What types of continuing education and training are available? What contacts and colleagues could you call on for help?

 4. Draft a plan. You can really see the big picture by now. Identify what areas are a top priority for you to work on and what resources you can use to improve. Whether you enroll in an actual class or take a more informal approach, set a course schedule for each area you want to improve. Establish a timeline, deadlines, and a way to hold yourself accountable as well as celebrate your achievements.

5. Give yourself a raise. Now that you've improved your skill set, you are even more valuable to your company. Reward yourself for the effort. You may want to choose something personal like a vacation or an increase in draw. Or you might purchase an item for the company, like that iPad or business card scanner you've been dreaming of. 

Be sure to keep track of the process so you can look back on accomplishments with a sense of  empowerment and progress. You will find that as you improve, your company's bottom line improves. And that's the best measure of a job well done.

Best Wishes for Best Practices

Every once in awhile, a message gets through. I mean really through. To the core of your soul through.  That happened to me while working on this issue.

I had the pleasure of sitting in a room with some of the world’s giants during the Champions For Kids (CFK) Global Leadership Conference. You’ll find a snippet of the day in the Biz2Biz feature story this month. My takeaway was on the reality of America’s (non-existent) “Best Practices” for children.  It’s impossible to condense an entire day into 1,000 words, but I hope you will take note that there is a lot of work to be done here at many levels, and that you will not be alone if you take up the gauntlet. In fact, you will be in great company.

Adelaide Schaeffer is CEO of CFK. David Gergen called her a “luminous woman” and I have to agree. She said, “We’re living in a world of transactions, whether as non-profits, businesses, or people. We may think we are going to relate with people based on transactions. But we don’t. People do not become part of the bigger team because of the price point, the glitz, the glamor or the shelf space. There they make a transaction. At the end of the day they buy the product or they don’t. But it doesn’t change their lives.”

Well, doggone, she’s right. As business leaders we can even be dedicated to a best practices approach and still just be making a transaction. Even our 140 characters on Twitter or Facebook is posting a transaction.  As consumers, it’s all about “me.”

No, I don’t have an answer to conclude this letter. I only have more questions. But I can see that as long as we’re asking questions, we’re looking for answers.  Open your eyes to the possibilities.

Best Wishes for Best Practices in 2011!

Doing 'The Work'

Are you an entrepreneur or business owner who feels there's never enough time in your day? Never enough skills in your skill set? Or tools in your toolbox? 

Are you one of those who constantly measures where you've been and where you are going and how much further you must travel to get there? 

Yes? I want to join your club. And I want to bring something to the table with me. 

It's called "The Work" and it's a simple process of inquiry developed by Bryon Katie.  It's a way of identifying and questioning the thoughts that cause our fears and inefficiencies.

I may be spilling some beans here, but I know that MY thinking can and does do damage. Which, of course, only piles up on MY plate to fix, undo, and get over.

In doing The Work, I have found that I project my own fears and doubts onto others and second guess my abilities long before they do. I am constantly assailing myself with the belief that I must be more, do more, achieve more. I must be smarter, faster, first. It's exhausting! Staying competitive in today's marketplace is exhausting!

The Work is a personal journey, and it's not necessarily for the workplace. But rest assured, everyone who is coming to work could use The Work to make them happier, healthier, more efficient employees, bosses, and leaders.

One might could say the marketing messages we communicate about ourselves to ourselves are the most prevalent in our lives.  If we can open just one door that lets in enough light to see we are indeed good, honest, capable, compassionate human beings, then we're all going to benefit from it. Imagine, then, if we could throw open all the doors. What a world!

Check out TheWork.org website and videos, and any number of Bryon Katie's books on the subject at Amazon.com, along with books co-authored with Eckhart Tolle.

Measuring the positives

As I approach my business and marketing planning retreat for 2011, I am reminded to look back at where I’ve been with as much enthusiasm as I look forward. I have to admit that I am more likely to have enthusiasm for what lies ahead and criticism for what’s been left behind. For me, it’s easier to have hope about something yet to come than to see the successes-not-the-failures passed.

Today I’m doing a turn around. Today, I’m looking back on the positives of 2010 and how I’m going to apply them to the future.

I learned a lot from the columnists who share the pages of Biz2Biz digital magazine. I gained a better insight on my role as CFO and how each decision I make can be tracked to the bottom line. I learned how little things can make a difference and how valuable perspective can be. 

I gained skills as a leader of my business, my time, and my passion. I learned how to better organize each of these roles, which individually could occupy all of my energy if I let them. As many of you know, I’m a single mom, too, so family and the responsibilities of home, hearth and happiness have to join the plate in heaping big amounts.

I learned about new media, sales cycles, social media and small business champions. I was inspired by others who jump out of bed everyday to climb the Mt. Everest of entrepreneurship. I mentored those with aspirations to start the trek. I shared a cup of solace with those whose dreams were dashed, and cheered for those who found their mark. And all the while I edited, edited, edited.

It’s been a good year.

B2B Bingo by Janie Clark: Who's minding the store?

B2B Bingo by Janie Clark: Who's minding the store?: "When business messaging isn't so haute. As a communications strategist, I am always looking at business messaging with a critical eye. I ..."

Who's minding the store?

When business messaging isn't so haute.

As a communications strategist, I am always looking at business messaging with a critical eye. I see typos and taboos like a hound dog sniffs out a rat. We all make mistakes, but when communicating with our potential customers -- whether in an advertisement, an email or a text message -- what you say or don't can make or break the bond. 

That goes for verbal messaging, too. How you greet a customer when they enter your store or telephone the office is just as important in this sequence of successful communications.

Yesterday I found two rats in the game that were so disturbing I have to blog it out. 

I made a call from the car about a piece of real estate. The path was confusing enough-- the sign in the front yard had four or five names and telephone numbers. I dialed one and was given another number -- verbally -- which is a difficult task when you're driving. From there I was transferred to another number and asked to hold, and while I was waiting my call dropped off. Now I'm back to square one. I looped through the pattern twice before I gave up. 

I still don't have the information I wanted. They don't have the sale. 

Later I was at a block party in an upscale shopping center in Rogers. I visited one store three times, even tried on something, and was never greeted by the owner or staff. Never. Nothing. And, we might have purchased the item we tried on if the situation had been different.

So, who's minding the store?

It's not fair ratting them out without being constructive in return. Here are three points to consider in your business messaging.  

1.  Establish a experience protocol. What you do want your customers to experience when they contact you?  Remember, they've taken the initiative to respond to your stimuli (whatever that is), which you've spent good money to acquire. What's in it for them? Write out the story you want to tell, the experience you what them to have, then make sure every step in your protocol supports it. Test it. Refine it. What will be their final message about your company?

2. Create an immediate bond.  Let's face it, there are some basic dos and don'ts. A company that doesn't greet people who walk in the door simply won't be in business long. Even the sub makers at Firehouse Subs look up from what they're doing to welcome you when you walk in their door. Every one. Every time. Make no mistake, that's no accident. 

3. Find a way to reconnect. Invite people to return to your business at another time. Whether it's a business card, a sample, or news about an upcoming sale, extend an invitation to return. Invite them to join your email list, your loyalty program, your taste of the month club.

If you are on the phone you might ask for their name and number if you must put them on hold. One of my favorite examples comes from my phone carrier's support protocol. Not only do they establish an immediate bond -- an exhange of first names -- but they get my telephone number so they can call me back if (read: when) we get disconnected. And they tell me that's what they are doing. 

So much of business is common sense, and yet it's the uncommon we gravitate to. Remember to be good to your customers... or they are likely to become someone else's!

Networking with Sir Richard Branson

If you've been working on the business start up idea of the century, you could win a day with Sir Richard Branson on his Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands. Or you could pay your own way with a cool $40K.  

Either way, you'll be rubbing elbows, knees and toes with a cross section of the world's top business visionaries in internet marketing, manufacturing, investments and trading, fitness and wellness products, software and consulting. And, let's not forget the opportunity to brainstorm with rebel billionaire Sir Richard Branson about your winning business idea.

All business? Of course not. It's a private island for heaven's sake. Plan on a little adventure, camaraderie and fundraising in between. MBA founder Yanik Silver says the event is not on corporate team building or motivational development. It's an all-inclusive adventure outing that encourages high-level networking and powerful connections that "can only occur outside normal business settings."

The competition is the work of Maverick Business Adventures and Joe Polish's Centurion MasterMind Group. Joe Polish is the founder of Piranha Marketing and creator of the Genius Network Interview series. The trip is just one of the 50 prizes being awarded for the most promising start-up businesses with high-growth potential in the competition they call, Startup Open.

The competition coincides with Global Entrepreneurship Week 2010 (GEW) Nov. 15-21 staged internationally by universities, colleges and entrepreneurship-focused organizations who are looking at ways of conducting business that can improve lives, build economies and expand human welfare.

The inaugural event of GEW was held in 2008. Last year, more than 7.5 million people took part in some 32,000 events across 88 countries. This year 10 million people in 102 countries are expected to participate.

 

Better hurry. Registration for Startup Open closes Oct. 31. http://www.startupopen.com/ for complete details.

Leadership in Northwest Arkansas

Bill Rancic in NWA at Biz Expo

This month we look at leadership in small business. We were inspired by Bill Rancic at the NWA Business Expo and Conference in August and saw how creativity, perseverance and leadership can take you far. As you may recall, Rancic was the first winner of Donald Trump’s TV show, “The Apprentice.”  Admittedly, his experience with Trump has opened doors, but Rancic’s penchant for business started early in life.

Like many entrepreneurs, Rancic hopes to share his experience and business mindset with the leaders of tomorrow. His book, “Beyond the Lemonade Stand” is one effort to coach youth about how to succeed in business – especially by being smart, fair, and helping those who need it.

Here in Northwest Arkansas, Champions for Kids endeavors to do the same. Be sure to read about their upcoming Leadership Conference and what CFK’s CEO learned at Harvard that applies right here at home.

What makes a good leader? Biz2Biz NWA’s September issue is full of ideas, comments and suggestions from your peers and colleagues in Northwest Arkansas.  We can all benefit from the aggregate of  this knowledge and experience as we lead our businesses and our community to greatness.