As a business, non-profit or association manager trying to get a bang for your PR buck, you could pretty much concentrate on simple print and broadcast mentions or, for that matter, the whole basket of tactical public relations weaponry including old favorites like high-visibility speech appearances and newsworthy special events. But if you really want premium public relations results, you must use a broader, more comprehensive and workable...more
As a small business operator, personal checks may be one method to receive payment for your goods or services. As a way to receive payment, a personal check is actually better than credit cards because the fees are less and there can be no charge back. Fortunately, most people are honest and studious in taking care of their checking account. But sooner or later every small business operator will receive a bad check. The first thing to do is...more
A home-based business becomes for the business owner, an entity in and of itself. Because so much hard work, blood, sweat and tears goes into every home-based business, it is easy to view it as having a "life" of its own and a home-based business can be more real to the business owner than anything else in their lives.However, there is also a dark side to a home-based business, especially one that is failing miserably. Part of being successful within a work-at-home dream also means knowing "when" to quit, or "fold". A home-based business can be like a game of cards, when the "losses" exceed the "wins", it may be time to give up on the business and either start another one, or look into other forms of outside employment.It has been said, "that most entrepreneurs fail three to five times" before they actually start a business that succeeds. Although it is imperative that entrepreneurs be persistent, not being able to accept failure, when it is obvious that failure has occurred, can be extremely detrimental.So, how does an entrepreneur "know" when it is time to give up or when they should continue? Simple, the amount of actual "suffering" needs to be measured. The following "suffering...more
While some new business owners face the issue of not enough customers, others face the issue of too many customers/clients. Both are serious issues and must be dealt with carefully. There are many lists on how to find new customers/clients. Here is a list of 10 ways to deal with a rapid influx of new customers. The goal is a steady flow of just the...more
Years ago, when I was new in management circles, a veteran administrator decided to share his self-described secret of success. He said: You have to be careful, Bill. I*ve learned not to compliment my people. Makes them too self-assured, and they get lax in their work habits. Better to keep them guessing. As I listened, I uttered silent thanks,...more
In the marketing world, radio has earned the reputation of being the odd step-cousin. You know the one. No one knows quite what to do with him. Especially at family gatherings when everyone tries hard to avoid sitting with him. (After all, who knows WHAT he'll start talking about.)Much of that reputation comes from radio being tough to track. On one hand, radio does work. Businesses do notice an increase in sales when they add radio to the mix. However, radio doesn't test well. In surveys and other tracking methods, radio tends to be the one with the dismal scores. A good friend of mine, who's also a marketing consultant but before that she sold radio for many years, has a theory about that. She says radio works on a subconscious or unconscious level. People remember the ad, but not that they heard it on the radio. So, they tend to credit a different medium for the ad, like the yellow pages. Yellow pages gets a boost while radio drops a few points.Regardless, radio should not be ignored because it does work. And many marketing consultants will probably tell you radio is an excellent medium to reach a local market.However, I feel there are possibilities beyond merely reaching local...more
There has been a lot of talk lately about the "Real Estate Bubble", and a lot of folks are asking the question: "When it is going to burst"? They are saying that the market just can't sustain this level of growth and appreciation much longer, and I...more
Are you spending more time trying to get new clients than actually working with them? If the answer is yes, then these three simple ideas will help you. First, have you ever asked for something and got something different to what you thought you*d...more
It's that time of year again, when all Canadians rush to their mailboxes, their corner stores or their neighbor's houses to read the latest edition of Maclean's Magazine.For those who don't know it, Maclean's is the Canadian equivalent of Time or...more
I recently received an e-mail from an Internet marketing colleague. Actually, it was a series of e-mails. Everything started out pleasantly enough, he initially e-mailed me to tell me that he clicked on my ClickBank payment link and it wasn't working...more
If you think you've seen and heard everything there is to say, The NEW Game of Business brings new distinctions and a fresh perspective to the world of business.This slim, easy-to-read soft cover book is so good that it should be required reading in...more
With the plethora of big-business entities jockeying for the money of students on the path to becoming well-to-do responsible consumers with a house, car, and 1.5 children, it's often missed that the US Government is the first place to start when...more