The Worst Thing About Ambition

The worst thing about ambition is that we don’t all have it.

I come from humble beginnings……… I don’t say that to be dramatic, but to add context to this and to maybe see why I’m wired oddly!

My father is a U.S. Army helicopter technician and has done that for the past 40+ years proudly.  My mother works at the base commissary (grocery store) and has for 30+ years.  Both of my parents showed me, taught me, and instilled in me the value of hard constant work.  They also scared me with it because I didn't want to have to do the exact same job that long! 

While they did this, at the same time my mother has this “everything will be all right” air about her.  She has this hopeless optimism.  No matter what was going on she was always optimistic.  I mean no matter what.  She especially did this when it came to my future.  I didn't quite know the value of it then and quite frankly it could be annoying at times!  That’s one of the very same characteristics of ambition!

See, I had the typical go to college ambition because that’s all my parents knew and I thank them for that.  I never had the entrepreneur ambition or at least I didn't know I did.  I didn't realize it till I was on a full scholarship studying computer engineering and it hit me that I don’t want to build machines or work on software my whole life! 

Long story short, I switched majors to accounting and took a long break in school, but had full time jobs selling in the process.  Enter ambition.  Sales and accounting showed me I can do or be what I want to really.  Problem is, a lot of adults don’t really feel that way about any adults.

The worst thing about ambition is that people who don’t have it don’t understand it.  They even shame it.  It’s so bad that somebody who wants to work hard enough to get a raise at a “job” bashes someone who has a business they are trying to grow.  Why is it we tell children they can be anything they want to but once they cross over the 18 year old line we way you have to get a respectable job, work hard, and maybe retire if you've climbed the ladder enough?

I respect everyone who can and has the desire to do that, but why do I get looked at like an alien for wanting to challenge myself to increase my business to what I want?  America was built on this but it is so watered down now that 1% of our population is the “upper echelon.” 

The worst thing about ambition is you don’t necessarily choose when it shows up.  Sure kids all have it, but somewhere around middle school we forget.  I didn't recapture mine until my 30’s.  This is after drifting through my 20’s having short fizzles of it, but since it arrives now people think I need to spend at least 15 years trying to get comfy!  Why can’t I want to spend 5 years pushing myself so the next 10 are cake?

The worst thing about ambition is it is not an accepted characteristic in all avenues and ages. If you accept mine now, great, if not then you will later.

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Chrome, An Essential Business Mineral

I LOVE GOOGLE CHROME!!!!

Did I come on a little strong…………………….?

I can’t talk enough about the productivity elements that Chrome offers to business people.  I've battled between Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome for a while, but now I’m a heavy metal head!

Why you ask?  Let me tell you:

1.  Synchronization – I drive a lot for my work and I have an Android phone so it is great to have all of my contacts and prospective addresses synced to my phone and other devices.  Even if I’m just thinking about going to a place, if I searched it on my notebook it quickly pops up on my phone (huge time saver).

2.  Speed – I know Chrome does use a lot of resources on your computer, but when it’s going it’s very fast (I’m all about time saving).

3.  Extensions -  This is the number 1 reason why I love Chrome.  I've found some great extensions that make my work a lot more productive and insightful.  Here’s a section on those  (the bullet title links go to the Chrome Web Store):

1.  Stayfocused – do you ever find yourself just sitting in your email inbox or drifting around LinkedIn or Twitter because of one notification?  Stayfocused allows you to set a timer for websites you use and then when the time expires you cannot login to these sites until the next day.  I’ll tell you what, when you know you can’t get into your email until the next day you look at it with more focus, speed, and efficiency!

2.  PowerInbox – this one just allows you to see any social media emails more completely.  Follow people from your email and unsubscribe from a list right from the inbox without even opening the email!

3.  mxHero Toolbox - Best extension ever!  I send a lot of emails and the fact that this one sends the tracking response right to your email you can see if you have a response on your phone.  Even schedule emails for later and set the email to remind you if you don’t receive a reply by a certain time.  Huge email supercharger!!

There’s a few more, but I think these 3 will get you well on your way to web wizardry!

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I Got 99 Problems And ……….

……. Healthcare is number 1 !!



The new year is here and for a lot of people improving their health is a resolution.  Now it’s a mandated law for all of us! 

With that being said, this creates a new budget for a lot of people.  This can either be something that has never been in a person’s budget, an increase in an existing budget, or a decrease.  Either way, a lot of health insurance deductibles are rising. 

This is similar to what happens in the automotive insurance world because people choose a low monthly payment with a high deductible.  I believe this is because most car damage wouldn't be a necessity to fix.  Quite frankly, it’s a little less important to fix your windshield than to fix your heart.  Therefore a lot of people will be financially exposed by going from an average deductible of $2,000 to $4,000.  This doubles the amount that you are responsible for towards your health carrier.  Health expenses planning should be as high on your list as getting your beach body because they both need to be handled by March!

The great thing about this new law is that it greatly improves citizens access to means of preventative care and reduces small emergency costs.  You have to realize though that these health insurance companies will get their money one way or another.  Either you will pay more monthly and less at the hospital or pay rock bottom monthly and take out a loan when you’re in the ER…….

Plan for the worst and hope for the best is what my wife has always said and now we all really should.  Don’t let a decision to get a cheap insurance bill now affect  your family later when you actually have to use that plan.  Cover your risk (the deductible) so bankruptcy doesn't cover you.

Have a plan not a plea.

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Disney Drive

Hello all! 



I normally don’t get on a soap box, but I was feeling especially dirty and in need of cleansing............

I was watching some Christmas Disney movies with my son the other day when something struck me.  The spirit of Disney is the entrepreneurial spirit. 

Every Disney movie has the you can do it drive.  The impossible is possible notion. 

The movie that brought me to this idea depicted Mickey Mouse as a poor Christmas tree laborer (yeah right!  Mickey poor!) trying to do whatever he had to in order to get Minnie a gold necklace for Christmas. 
He had a horrible job with low pay, but he had a goal and a dream.

How many of you say that something is a must like Nemo finding his way home or like Simba reclaiming his throne?

Whether your 4 or 40, every single Disney movie is the life of an entrepreneur.  The world against you.  Odds so high you can’t see over them.  People doubting your every step from rise to rest. 

It was in that moment that I really saw the genius and soul of Walt Disney.  Although he is long passed, he was just a man that wouldn't quit.  Decades after his passing his movies still show that tenacity.  Just when days seem their bleakest and darkest, the hero pushes through a breakthrough. 

How close are you to getting your Princess Jasmine even though you’re a beggar?
How much more passion do you have to show to get a beauty if you’re a beast?
How many people have to tell you that you can’t be “real” before you change your wooden reality?

Whenever your situation gets you down you may not have to pop in an inspirational CD.  Just go through a child’s movie collection!  Think of it.  We teach children to dream from the moment they can see, but somewhere around puberty we forget to do that. 

Be a child.  Be foolish.  Be a dreamer.
Be that person who pulls the sword out of the stone when hundreds before you said it can’t be done.

Be Disney.

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It won’t happen to me,……..right?

The world we live in today is riddled with ways to die…………With that being said, we have more technological advances in medicine now to survive these things.

Daily I deal with people and their future.  It’s amazing the things I hear from them though.
For some reason, all people think they are impervious to cancer or a heart attack won’t happen to them. 

Some will even say “if I die I die” or they will pray so it doesn't happen to them. 
Sadly enough, a lot of these people either have family members that have had major diseases or they themselves have the warning signs of them.

61% of people say they would rather die of a crippling disease than live with it because of the money…………..

1 in 2 men will develop cancer in their lifetime……….

1 in 3 women will develop cancer in their lifetime………..

Over 1,900 people a year die of heart related issues…………

These stats come from the American Cancer Society and CDC, not my logic.

With all of this evidence around, why are we in more denial than ever?

Quite simply, it’s the money.  People hope that nothing happens to them because they can’t afford it.  It therefore creates a culture of “I don’t want to jinx myself” or “if I don’t talk about it or think about it, it won’t happen to me.”  If only that were true.

This post is a cry for help.  Not for me, but for America.  It goes back to the old saying, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. 

People work too hard to get where they are and it’s a shame they can lose everything in an instant just because they weren't prepared for an event.

If saving money is extremely hard for your situation or your staff’s you really need to look at some new strategies to help deal with some of life’s inevitable tragedies.

 I don’t mean to be a downer, but it’s better to be a little uncomfortable thinking about this now than when something happens and you have no- way to deal with it…………..

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Your Family or Your Staff???

Even if you’re of the best health you’ve probably had some kind of conversation or read something about healthcare reform this year.  If not, here’s some news for you!
Starting October 1st, 2013 the people of the United States will have the opportunity to  apply for medical benefits facilitated by the Affordable Care Act or ObamaCare as the media has coined it.
This is so significant to small business owners (which are the majority of businesses in the US) because a lot of them have been leaving their staff out when it comes to medical coverage. 
All too often I hear business owners say “I don’t offer my employees benefits, but I’m all taken care of.”  When did this divide happen?
It’s been gradual, but now according to the Kaiser Family Foundation about 56% of employees are covered by health plans offered by their employers.  At the same time though, most of these plans come with a deductible of $1,000 or more, but these same workers statistically have less than $1,000 in savings (about 51%) and 60% of people say they live paycheck to paycheck!₁
So what do we do for 44% with no coverage or the 40% living paycheck to paycheck?  That is what the ideal of ObamaCare is.  Yet, why do so many small business owners not care to educate their staff on what is going on?
69% of small business owners are either not prepared or don’t know that to do for the October 1st deadline set by the Department of Labor to simply educate their staff₂. 
So why is their family more important than their employee’s family?
Once their was a time when your employee was family.
Now I’m not asking every business owner to invite their employees over for brunch, but at least realize they are your most valuable asset.
Yes, you are the visionary, the drive, and the force, but they are the business. 
It’s like a great composer is nothing without an orchestra.  At least tell them where to get instruments……..
60% of employees look to their boss for information about benefits₃.  If you’re not going to offer any benefits then at least take this milestone as a chance to improve morale. 
If you just show an employee “hey, I can’t pay for your benefits, but I’m going to try to help you find the best thing for you and your family” it will speak volumes to them.  Heck, it may gain you an employee for life.
Do something different with this huge change.  Don’t follow the herd.  Mainly because the herd thinks that this whole thing only applies to companies with 50 employees or more.
WRONG!!!!!!
Read for yourself and be a real leader to your staff.
1.http://www.creditdonkey.com/increase-savings-2013.html
2.http://ifawebnews.com/2013/03/28/small-businesses-confused-about-aca-will-need-help-moving-into-2014/
3.https://sell.aflac.com/Training%20and%20Resources/Business%20Insights/HCR%20Page.aspx

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You’re Going To Lose A Lot Of Money

Did you know that since 2005, more than 80% of all credit card breaches have occurred at a small business?

Sounds like a horror movie doesn’t it?  Sadly, it is reality. 

Everyday I see more and more businesses being “sloppy” about PCI compliance (Payment Card Industry if you’re a little more than sloppy……).

• Some have all of their clients credit card numbers on an Excel spreadsheet anyone can get to……………
• Some have a binder with all of the customer’s credit info so they can charge them on a recurring basis without having to call…………….
• Some even have to get a customer’s credit card number written on a basic invoice with one of their technicians who later brings it to the shop to be charged………..

All of these are a big no no that can result in fines anywhere from $90 to $500,000 and possible civil litigation from the consumer on top of that!!


In 2006, 40% of businesses that reported breaches had them come from contractors, employees, and business partners……………..

So how do you protect yourself?

1. Protect stored card holder data
1. If you have to keep customer’s credit info, do it the smart way.  This means no paper records or folder full of the info.  Use the computer.  It's kind of a useful tool............
2. Encrypt the data
1. The easiest way to do this is to have a payment processing system that has encryption with it already.  Preferably one that has a web based system of storing the data.  That way it is never physically in your possession. 
3. Assign a unique user ID to each person that may have access to the data
1. This does 2 things.  One is that not just anybody can access the data.  Two is that if something does happen, you can more readily find the culprit.

In short, if you’re keeping your customers’ credit info do an assessment of your security.  If it’s still “old school” you definitely need to upgrade to a safer and more modern system for your customers and your protection. 

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3 Things All Small Businesses Should Do

So you've been in business for a while.  Things are going pretty good.  You're paying your bills.  Your doors are still open,............but you're they're all the time!!  

Are you running your business or is your business running you?  And when I say "run" it I mean being the most efficient with the least amount of your most valuable resource, ………..time.  

Owning your own business is supposed to provide you the greatest luxury of owning your time.  A poll in 2009 poll concluded that out 39% of small business owners work more than 10 hours per day.  Struggling businesses are probably closer to 70% working more than 12 hours a day! 

So how can you stop this conundrum? 

By being more efficient. 

There are a lot of missed opportunities for marketing and sales in small businesses  that some know about and some never thought of.

1.  Social Media

I can't stress this enough.  For some reasons businesses think they don't need social media.  Take Twitter for instance.  Stephanie Wagner says "Twitter not only facilitates real-time businesses-to-consumer communication, but it also facilitates business-to-business and consumer-to-consumer communication. Twitter has transformed the platform of business communication. " That is marketing gold.  Plus,
ALL SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS ARE FREE!!!!!

2.  Get customers’ emails (if you’re not already)

Email is one of the biggest revolutions in marketing today.  Even if you’re not a great marketer, it provides great opportunity.  Jay Baer concluded from a study that 44% of email recipients made at least one purchase last year based on a promotional email.  In 2012, 85% of the world uses email…………So basically, if you get all of your customer’s email addresses you may be able to get 1 extra sale from 44% of them!  That’s potentially huge!!  Don’t miss the chance.  The easiest way to get their emails is to use it for their receipt or invoice.  If you’re not paperless, then hurry up!

3.  Watch your competition

This may seem like common sense, but I don’t mean just watch the competition and hate them.  If they appear to be doing more than you, see why.  Are they using more social media?  Is their page better placed on search engine results?  Are their online listings more complete than yours?  There’s nothing wrong with learning from your competition.  There is something wrong with being obliterated by them for simple reasons though!

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Don’t Tweet Like A Twit

Hi guys!  So let’s start off with a few updates on social media’s impact.  Namely Twitter. 
Last year, Twitter was the number 2 tool for social media branding at 53% of businesses using it.  Facebook was number one at 83%, but that is a different strategy.  I want to talk about a few quick tips for Twitter, because I see a lot of businesses make these mistakes. 
Top 5 tips:

1. Know that you’re tweeting!
1. You’d be amazed about how many companies don’t know what or when they’re tweeting and then have the gall to say, “I don’t think Twitter helps my business”…………  You definitely need some automizing to help your tweeting, but if you don’t know when or what it’s helping you with then you’re kind of wasting the web’s time….
2. Stop talking about yourself all the time!
1. You know that friend you hate to talk to because the entire conversation is about them?  Don’t be that guy on Twitter.  So many people get surprised that they don’t have followers when all they talk about is specials and promos.  There’s only so many times someone will want to see you say thing are half off before they’re all the way gone…………
3. Be helpful!
1. Try to provide your audience with some knowledge you’ve gained from your industry or life experiences.  Sure you want to gain sales from these people, but social media is like a Hanzel and Gretel situation.  Give people a few crumbs to lead them to the real meal!
4. Get to the point!
1. Yes twitter allows 140 characters, but don’t do the long sentence … thing.  People don’t respond to those that often unless you have a very compelling 137 characters.  Try to leave something hard hitting and a quick take away with a link attached.  If you expect everyone to read all of your “extended” tweets you’ll have a lot of extended alone time.
5. Be fun!
1. Last year 91% of mobile internet access was spent socializing.  Not self promoting!  Talk about fun things sometimes.  Provide cool news articles related to your field or how you help people.  People will read this a lot sooner and you develop a subliminal link with them.  Then you’re able to slip in  very small marketing things here and there. 

Social media is very much a cat and mouse game.  You  cannot expect quick techniques to work or not spend any time planning.  You have to be likeable especially when you consider how short the shelf life of a tweet is. 
Definitely get familiar with sites like Hootsuite, Tweetcaster, and Buffer.  They’re 3 of my favorite social media tools and greatly help. 

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3 Reasons Why Pinterest is Important to Your Business

     So what is Pinterest you may ask (if you are really asking……….watch some TV)?  Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social media platforms ever.  Why?  Because it’s so simple. 

     All it is is an assortment of photos in a timeline-like arrangement.  There’s very little chatter, but a lot of eye candy.  The reason this platform is taking off is because of it’s simplicity and it’s focus on photos (if you didn’t know, photos are especially important to your ranking with search engines). 

     Here’s the great part (for some businesses).  The community is 80% female and a lot of them are buyers!

1.     According to a survey done by Bizrate 69% of users of Pinterest either purchased an item they found on Pinterest or an item they want to buy. *

69%!!!!!!!

     I don’t know about you, but having a source of customers that possibly 69% of them buy is HUGE!!!  It’s like pins on a bulletin board! …………..nobody like that……..really……….anyway. 

2.      Images play a key part in your ranking ranking online.  Images are typically ranked in searches now whether organically or not.  Therefore, you can take advantage of the organic aspect by having people pin your images or by being followed.  These follows and repins are a great source of backlinks (make sure your images point back to something of yours.  Hopefully a product page which is why I say this helps certain platforms more than others). 

3.      Lastly, Pinterest is another source of social influence.  Yes Facebook is still important, but you can integrate the two together and tap another market (your Facebook account can directly link to your Pinterest to help save you some time).  The way I see it, the more way you have for your message to be heard, the better. 

Take advantage of this opportunity.  I am.  With somewhere between 10 and 20 million users, somebody will want to hear what your saying…………..right???

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4 Top Reasons Why SEO May Be A Waste of Money

So a lot of small business owners, in fact 99% of them have a web page.  Of these owners many of them pay a clearing house or some agency for SEO (search engine optimization) to ensure that their page ends up on page 1 of a Google search.  Often though when I ask owners about this they have no idea of what is being done for this.

My opinion is that this can be a frivolous expense because most of these owners are not utilizing the the power of social media.  In fact, most of these owners either:

• don’t have a social media page
• only have 1 type of page
• don’t know anything about their page
• only posted < 10 things to it.

The image above depicts how Google ranks you in a search.  You obviously want to be the yellow or red face.  Getting their requires many links though.  The problem with a lot of SEO is it is based on random or even blind keyword entries and it is expensive.  With social media you open up the infinite possibilities of back links (connecting your content to someone else’s page for visibility). 

ALL OF THIS IS FREE!!!

Regularly posting to social media establishes you as an expert and can get you an audience you never thought you had.

91% of data usage on smart phones is used on social media

That’s huge! Take a business like a pet store.  Whenever someone comes in to play with a dog or to purchase one you should snap a picture (have releases ready if they are ify about it).  Upload the picture to Facebook or Pinterest.  If they are on FaceBook they will be tagged in the photo and notified.  This gives you a link to their page, a possible friend request, and maybe a Like (more likes mean more rotation in someone’s news feed which also results in a higher search rank).  That is a potential gold mine of free marketing!

Don’t forget about Google +.  Since Google has the largest market share of searches they also give preference to their profile pages.  If you don’t have one then make one.  It will be a great way for people to find more about you after they discover you on Google Places.

In short,

WAKE UP!!!!!

I used to only deal with people face to face and didn’t use social media for myself, but I have had success with helping others implement it.  It’s a necessity in business and much less of a financial strain than a lot of SEO promises.

 

I hope these tips help your business grow!

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4 Insights To Improve Your Business Now

So I was talking to a business owner about their current situation. They ran a furniture store. Pretty good inventory and a decent location because it was near some new housing and not too far from a military base. They were drowning. As I spoke to them more they said “we don’t understand the new way of business.” That resounded with me because a lot of small business owners are thinking this, but won’t say anything. They were used to the old school ways of people having extra cash and buying the most expensive things or referrals being their life blood

THE GLORY DAYS ARE OVER!

(at least for now)

As I spoke to them they also though the newspaper was still a viable form of marketing………..

Therefore, I wrote this blog to let you know the simple, inexpensive tips I bestowed upon them to get them going now. These are sales and marketing tips that can be applied to any business format.

1. Business is getting a customer and keeping them for life. This needs to be a way of life. Unfortunately businesses lose an average 10% of their customers each year for various reasons. A way to curtail this is to realize that you began a relationship when they spent their money on you. Target will never know me. Though they try withemail marketing. Why don’t you? Send thank you emails. Ask them a bit about their lives. Yourself is your favorite topic. Your clients feel the same way about themselves. Indulge them. Who knows, you may develop some genuine relationships like people did in the good old days.

2. Don’t throw a lot of money at advertising if you can’t or unless you’ve exhausted other means. The place I dealt with instantly thought about the newspaper. That costs money. Do you have a Google page? No. Do you have a Twitter? No. Do you have any web presence? No. So how will the Sunday paper help you?! Unless your audience is only seniors, forget about the paper. About 90% of people say that online reviews impact their purchases somehow. If you’re not involved online then you’re missing 90% of the people shopping! That’s huge, isn’t it? Try the free means of advertising before you blow money you’re losing. IT’S FREE FOR GOD’S SAKE!!!

3. Do not every begin the relationship with your customers based on budget. I know that is hard to hear for some people, but it is a proven no no that great sales people live by. A lot of small businesses can’t hire a sales force or the one they have isn’t stellar. In this furniture store they developed a habit of asking “what is your budget?” This cripples you. You should approach with as many open questions as possible. What are you looking for in particular? Where will you be using it? Tell me about that area. How long did you have your last __? Budget becomes a last piece because if they give you all of the emotional reasons of why they are even looking for something then the logic will come into place. It reminds me of a time when me and my wife were in a hotel and needed to just get some lotion. We stopped at one of the seemingly unattended cosmetic booths and used some lotion. A young lady approaches and starts to ask if we need any facial products. We say no, but then she asks what are you using now? This opens up a whole conversation of what we tried, what did or did not work, what success she had with her product versus others. Needless to say, our innocent stop for lotion led to a cosmetic purchase because she appealed to our emotions. We rationalized the price afterwards. Most of your clients behave in the same manner so live by emotions not logic.

4. Look at things from your client’s eyes. All of us forget that there are 2 sides to business some times. We get so hung up on what we want and how great our business is that we forget that our customers often have limited resources. This doesn’t mean treat them like scum, but instead show empathy and figure out how you can genuinely help them. If you sell any physical product, really figure out what your product will mean to them and convey that back. If you sell a service, try to really understand how your service will improve THEIR LIFE. We often times know we have a great product that we know everybody needs, but people need it for different reasons. A lot of purchases happen because people feel comfortable with the salesperson. You, as a small business owner need to develop that skill until you can hire somebody that comes with that.

In short, your customers are people too and the internet is one of businesses greatest tools. Few things we do are done with total logic. A large majority of our decisions are emotional. Print and television advertising is dying. Print is losing about 39% of advertising, television is losing about 7% per year, and internet advertising is growing at least 10% each year. Catch the wave!

PS – I hope these tips help your business grow.

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Your Fear Of Technology Is Killing Your Business

I work with all different walks of life when it comes to business. Young, old, black, white, skinny, fat, foreign, local, etc. With that said, I have noticed a terribly annoying trend with certain groups (there’s not one specific, but all in all they are pesky).

This group is the “I don’t like technology even though it controls 99% of my life” group. When I say technology it can be anything from social media topaperless payments to email marketing. These people seem content on the “word of mouth” factor and referrals from existing customers…………..

I’m dedicating this blog to these people to open their eyes to a few things:

1. Businesses typically lose 10% of their customers each year. This is typically in the case of the businesses that have no efficient way of attaining new customers. Word of mouth isn’t nearly efficient as it used to be when you speak on it vocally. The internet is the new word of mouth. 72% of people trust an online review as much as their friend! Capitalize on this! Make a bloody Google places page (this takes time so get on it……….mine is still in limbo with the “we do not service” error………) or Google+ for God’s sake!!

2. 91% of internet usage on mobile devices is spent socializing. This is huge!! EVERYBODY IS ON SOCIAL MEDIA! WHY AREN’T YOU?! I admit it can be daunting, but not unbearable. Pick 2 platforms to start with and really study and get used to them. When you opened your business you probably spent a lot of time looking for print marketing or television. Apply the same to social media.

3. I don’t like paperless systems / I don’t want my info on the internet. This one really irks me because the people that say this already have info on the internet!! If you have car insurance, the info is online. If you have a home, the info is online. If you pay bills, you probably pay them online (you’re silly to waste postage if you don’t do this). If you have a business, your info is online. When you can get a paperless system for your office it means:

a. You don’t need as many filing cabinets

b. You can find records in minutes even seconds versus hours.

c. You save paper that would otherwise be thrown away within 6 months.

d. If your office burns or you move your records are still there (thank the cloud!)

e. Lessening your exposure the Cancer causing chemical BPA .

4. We get all of our clients from referrals. This is awesome if it always happens, but there’s a few things you’re leaving to chance. If you go through a slew of transit, cheap, or unhappy customers, then you get no referrals. If the clients you do get aren’t forthcoming about their experience or don’t have friends that need your help, then dead end. Referrals today come from the web so much. This is why places ask “how did you hear about us?” More often than not you’ll hear they found you online or saw a web ad. People spend about 60% of their online time shopping. You need to position yourself for this.

In short, don’t be a hermit! The digital age has been hear since we though Y2K was the end of the world! The only thing that ended then was the world as we knew it.

I like to phase it this way a lot: if I presented you the option of a land line phone or a smart phone for the same amount of money each month, which would you choose?........................

If you say landline phone, disconnect your computer right now…………..

I hope these tips help your business grow!

PS – I help business owners increase their sales and lower their costs up to 40% on average.

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Your Clients Will Love When You Do This

Running a business is hard. Period.

So how can you make it easier is the prime question. A lot of people don’t realize a core element of “business”.

Old business was a better example of how it should be done.

Let’s talk about Jimmy’s Shake Shop. Jimmy made the best shakes anybody had tried so he decided to open a shop. Jimmy personally spoke to every customer that came in the shop. Jimmy really befriended a lot of them too.

That element is mostly gone these days. Now I’m not saying be fake, but make an effort. Business is really making a customer and keeping that customer for life. Sadly nowadays companies lose around 10% of their customers every year. This is really sad because a lot of people don’t gather that 80% of their business is often generated by 20% of their customers!

In this digital age there is a quick and painless way to “befriend” your customers.

Did you know that half of all local searches are done on smart phones and that 91% of mobile internet access is used to socialize!

What this means is, use this to your advantage. Empower your customers if anything. Too often I see small business owners set up some service to bombard their customers with Twitter ads or meaningless updates. That actually has an adverse effect.

Use it for advertising , but do so in such a manner that doesn’t cry desperation and that you can follow up on. I remember once I tweeted back on a deal I saw and never got a response.

Don’t do anything that overwhelms you. Once you find a platform that works for you, run with it.

I cannot stress the power of empowerment. That’s what Jimmy did. He would try to help his customers with anything he knew. People already respect you more because you had the stones to start a business. Send some educational info out pertaining to your business. Don’t give the secret recipe, but people love when someone in their network is a giver as well. No body wants someone to entirely take from them.

I hope these tips help your business grow!

PS – Tweet them if they do!! Ha ha, ……..see how I did that. I kid I kid!

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1 Little Tool That Makes A Huge Difference

Why aren’t customers beating your door down with handfuls of money?!

Face it. We all want more. The paradox in that is WE ALL want more.

Since there is inevitably a shrinking pie, you need a better knife to get a better piece. So where do you start?

Your competitive edge. This is a phrase that Warren Buffet has stood behind and so should you.

What REALLY makes you different from the other guys?

I’ll tell you an easy way to get a competitive edge for free.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

This can be really simple and cheap things:

1. Follow up every customer about a week or so after service is rendered (sooner is ok as well)

a. A real important thing to know about this step is that you have a manageable customer records management system. Paper will kill you, so make sure you have some digital system in place.

2. Email your customers on a no annoying frequent basis (people like to know you’re thinking about them. We’re all vain…….)

3. Ask customers for reviews (this gives you valuable feedback and free exposure on the web)

a. This can be done verbally, with a sign, or through email

4. Send reminders of coming back or checkups (this is a strong tool that Amazon uses. You should too!)

The economy is busted still, so we all need to get back to basics!

I hope these tips help your business grow!

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This Is Why You Should Go Paperless

You may have heard of paperless offices.
If you haven’t, you’ve lived under a tree!
So why should you make the plunge into paperless?

There are a plethora of reasons (bear in mind that a paperless office can still print things out. The point though is to avoid this as much as possible. A lot of owners get scared that “paperless” means there is no other option.)

1. Saving money: You can save upwards of $100,000 a year by going paperless because you avoid paper costs, receipt paper costs, printing toner, mailing costs, and storage! That amount can be the difference in a business still running for another month sometimes.
2. Protecting yourself: This is in the case of receipt paper. A lot of people don’t know this, but receipt paper contains high levels of BPA and BPS. These chemicals are bad for your health as they cause cancer, diabetes, obesity, etc. Imagine your staff being exposed to cancer causing chemicals every single day!
3. Marketing: If you go paperless you open up a new venue of marketing. Typically paperless systems integrate a lot more email into the routine. THIS IS FREE MARKETING GOLD! When you get a client’s email you have all kinds of opportunities to increase revenue.
4. Improve accounts receivables: Surveys find that businesses who accept payments electronically are normally paid within 10 days versus 27 days for all other forms. Every owner I’ve dealt with wanted their money ASAP. Obviously electronic is faster because who carries checks?...........................Plus,
5. Reduce the amount of bounced checks: Back in 2000 it was estimated that 731 million checks would bounce for various reasons. Don’t get caught in that statistic having to chase a customer down! With a credit/debit card payment you find out right away if it is good, not days later! Plus people nowadays like the convenience of it. I rarely carry my checkbook.
6. Store records on a hard drive not a hard cabinet: A computer can take up inches and hold billions of records while paper takes up cubic feet! Find your transactions in split seconds, not minutes or even hours. Plus, if you pay for bookkeeping, it will save you money being able to present your records via email or USB rather than a folder (accountants hate folder files)

I could go on longer, but you might run out of paper………………………

Seriously though, get with it. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Change is good!

I hope these tips help your business grow!
PS – They will.

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What Everybody Should Know About Receipts

Shopping. Sometimes mundane yet sometimes exciting. We do it habitually but also impulsively.
It is such a joy, but carries a serious threat.

WE USE 4.3 MILLION TREES A YEAR FOR RECEIPTS!

We found that in the United States 80% of the population receives 1 to 3 receipts a day!  That is a ton of paper.  On top of that, 70% said they have no organized way of storing their receipts (think about the size of them.....You're either stapling or using envelopes....) plus 30% agree that paper receipts are a growing environmental concern. 

So basically,

MAJORITY OF PEOPLE HATE RECEIPTS!!!

ON TOP OF THAT, THERE IS THE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CHEMICAL BPA FOUND ALL OVER THE RECEIPTS.

Oh yeah, if you didn't know, BPA can cause Cancer, Diabetes,  obesity, infertility, and more.
Business owners have an opportunity now to make a difference. There is up to 19 times more BPA on a receipt than a plastic bottle. The only solution is to go paperless. Protect the earth and yourself!

Plus, paperless offices run far more efficiently.

I hope this tip helps your business grow!

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While You Are Drooling Over the iPhone 5 Launch, Don’t Forget These 3 Things

The new iPhone has been unveiled!!!!!!!!!
Stop everything! This is a code red!!!!!
………………………..
Ok, now on to serious matters. The world has been captivated with the iPhone since its inception. Why is that? Apple was a niche computer manufacturer with a decent share hold and the company had no experience in smartphones. So how did they poise themselves for success and hold onto it?
1. Exposure.
a. Apple is great for their showmanship. I can’t say that I really recalled electronic product launches as flashy and attractive like theirs at any given day. In CES you see a lot of these things and it’s kind of a captive audience. Apple will say, “let’s do it next Tuesday” and the entire world is there. They did this by having their hand in a little bit of everything. TV, magazines, and social media I think benefited them the most. It’s a whole culture of iPhone people and Apple does a good job of reinforcing why they should stay that way. Do that with your clients. This is a crucial building block . A lot of business owners don’t “house keep” their customer book and then they wonder why they lose them. Often times people will stay with a given business purely because of the customer service and interaction.
2. Developing a competitive edge.
a. I won’t say Apple is the best at making phones, but they are the best at creating small changes to software that people love. Siri is their biggest hit. Yes Android has Iris (I use androids myself), but it isn’t the same. Siri is a personality, a person in some households. People just like feeling like they have a little servant in their hand. You need to development a similar competitive edge. If you’re an auto repair shop amongst 100 try doing things like having follow up emails after service is rendered or offering coupons to your best customers from a database you create. Do that extra step and people will respond. I’m always befuddled when a fast food attendant smiles extra big, says please and thank you a lot, plus extra careful of my food. Develop that edge quickly!
3. Customer service
a. Apple is definitely top notch in this department. They bend over backwards for their customers most times. People like that. People like knowing they can get a phone and have a massive network of help using it. Let your customers feel the same way about you. Follow up with them in an appropriate time for your sales cycle. Ask them for reviews. Ask if they have any friends you can help . TELL THEM THANK YOU (should be automatic, but I thought I’d toss it in!).
Doing things like this can set you on a path to be the iPhone of whatever you do!
And customers will come back even if you just change your product/service a little bit……….
I hope these tips help your business grow!

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3 Things You Should Do Like The Kardashians

The Kardashian family. One of the most known, talked about, and followed families on the planet. And this is all for absolutely no reason! There’s not really any clear “talent” in this family, but America eats them up.

Why though?

What can you learn from them?

I’ll tell you 3 things they are talented at that you should apply to your business strategy

1. They are all over you like a spider monkey!

a. Every outlet of the media has Kardashian. They are on every single platform (as new as Pinterest is they already have 381 followers…). Try to get on all social media platforms that pertain to you (I don’t really think a Physician can use a Facebook or Pinterest that much without another marketing team). If you can fit it in your budget and time, then do it. There are a lot of them though. If need be, get some kind of software or add-on to your browser so you can make the spreading of one news update across all platforms very seamless.

2. They play to their strengths.

a. Pretty much the Kardashians are good at being outrageous and looking stylish. Yes they have an empire, but it’s built upon others intelligence and musk. They never talk about their intellectual capital unless it’s about a style they like. You do the same. Highlight your strengths to your clients and don’t be afraid to tell them you need to look for an answer. They’ll appreciate your honesty that way better than you making up something and they find out………

3. They form great strategic alliances.

a. People have long but forgotten the friendship of Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian. Then people thought “ooh, who’s the Armenian girl” and “awwww, aren’t they cute besties!” WRONG!!!! Kim was working on her first strategic alliance. After she received her notoriety and fame, they split. The family later learned to not just disappear after connecting with someone and I’m telling you now to not do that ever. No need to learn the hard way that this act can tarnish your name. Look for people in your community that you can help and who can help you, but be for real about it. Don’t be a leech.

So go out there and get your Kardashian on!!!

I hope these tips help your business grow! ………………………………….like Kim’s rear!

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I Bet You're Not Doing This 1 Simple Thing To Nurture Your Business

With so many tips out there for small business owners, what is the most powerful? ( When I speak of business owners on this topic I am mainly referring to those with a physical business). Some people think it is to invest in a commercial on TV (which is still pretty powerful). Others will say online directory marketing (also powerful).

Although both of these are great things to do, they also can be very expensive………some of these online advertisers charge $200 a month and you may not have a great return on that investment all of the time. So what is the solution?

GET EVERY CUSTOMER’S EMAIL ADDRESS!!!!!

A survey conducted in December 2009 by ExactTarget indicates that more than 50% of consumers make purchases as a direct outcome of email. It also drives more ROI than any other channel including social media and PPC advertising.

This little thing is one of the things that helped Amazon become the giant they are today. With your email submitted to them you get recommendations on products to buy, deals, and links to review what you bought. All are marketing gold!!

So here’s all you have to do in your brick and mortar business:

1. When you are completing a sale with a customer, get their email so you can send them a paperless receipt . Tell them you’re doing it for their safety and for the better of the environment (if you’re not paperless now, catch up!!).

2. Within 1-2 weeks (depending on your sales cycle) send another email with 3 parts:

a. Telling them thank you for choosing your company/product

b. A request for them to leave you a review (preferably on Google, but otherwise on SuperPages, YellowPages, Yelp, Bing, Yahoo, or HealthGrades if you’re a physician

c. A direct link to your social media pages (FaceBook, Twitter, Google+, Yelp, FourSquare, MySpace, or whatever you have!!)

This simple 2 email process does 2 things:

1. A little old fashioned courtesy in saying thank you again. This practice has all but died out unless in this fashion. I wouldn’t really expect you to send thank you notes, but at least you can do this……… People appreciate it.

2. Increases your chances of getting reviews. We all know that people will post negative reviews easily. The positive reviews sometimes need a push. If you contain a link right there in their email for where to go, then there is little to no excuse for them to not review you!

I hope these tips help your business grow!!

Paperless Joy: Paperless Business & Lifestyle Design (Google Affiliate Ad)

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