Reduce Costs -Anchor More Sales
Reduce Costs -Anchor More Sales I bet that got your attention! It’s something that every business owner knows, but it seems to get lost in the shuffle of our day-to-day doing business. I’m not going to give you a lot of rhetoric on the subject. Instead I’m going to simply give you a list of 10 points on each that will jog your business memory. Let’s start with some savvy ways to reduce the cost of you doing business: 1. Barter – You should be bartering goods or services with other businesses. Try to trade for something before you buy [...]
Body Language
Body Language When you are at an interview, you may not be aware of this but your interviewer is observing your body language, very carefully. Your body language says a lot about yourself, so you need to control negative body movements and encourage positive body movements and habits. Humans naturally send and receive nonverbal communication; they have been doing so since the beginning of time. When your girlfriend folds her arms but has a smile on her face, are you not wondering what she upset is about or clammed up for. At an interview, you never want your body language [...]
What About Commonality?
What About Commonality? Diversity, diversity, diversity! Some people, political types in particular, are trying to make “diversity” our defining characteristic. Has anyone thought of approaching the topic from the point of “commonality”, a bonding point of view, rather than “diversity”, a dividing point of view? Using the term “diversity” appears to me to mask a hidden and potentially sinister agenda to divide and control us. The parties pursuing this line seem more interested in playing the “blame game” and law suits by using “diversity” to categorize color group rather than individual capability. We are all unique because DNA has billions [...]
Biggest Challeneges for Entrepreneurs
Biggest Challeneges for Entrepreneurs When I saw the January issue of Entrepreneur Magazine I was thrilled. Cover copy had a teaser on it to the effect that entrepreneurs had been surveyed and inside were their answers. I was certain that, finally, someone was paying attention to entrepreneurs who were striving for a successful business. It was time to hear from us little guys! I can’t tell you how surprised I was as I began to read the article. Their idea of an “entrepreneur” and mine were as different as night and day. I always classified an entrepreneur as someone like [...]
Can You Sell Ideas to Others?
Can You Sell Ideas to Others? No matter what type of business you’re in or what position you hold, you must be able to sell your ideas to others. If you’re the owner, then you have to sell your ideas to your employees or your board of directors. If you’re an employee of a business then you must be able to sell your ideas to your boss, your company, or your clients. It seems that in this life, no matter whether it’s in business, relationships, or parenthood you had better be adept at selling your ideas to others. It isn’t [...]
Become Your Own Personal CFO
Become Your Own Personal CFO Budgets and personal finances are not most people’s favorite topics, and certainly not one of mine. Even bank executives have problems in this area, but if you’re an entrepreneur so do you. You’re concentrating so much time on your business, your personal checkbook takes a back seat. Then one day you are met with the startling fact that you’re not saving enough for lean times and you panic. Well, just apply your professional talents to the situation and become your own personal CFO. By using your CFO eyes on the situation, it somehow tempers the [...]
A Salesperson of Your Life – Pt. 2
A Salesperson of Your Life – Pt. 2 As I said in my last column, like it or not we are all salesmen. Our lives are made up of a series of “sales presentations”, otherwise known as presenting ourself in the best light possible. Whether we’re out for a job interview, trying for a raise, or just convincing our employees that a job must be accomplished – you are making a presentation. To become masterful at it can be summed up in the acronym IPRESENT! In my last column we covered the steps “I” through “E”: * I – involve [...]
EBPP Gaining In 2004
EBPP Gaining In 2004 Electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) started showing signs of renewed life in 2003, after its introduction in the late 90s. It took a few years for the idea to take off, and industry experts are considering 2003 a success, but a high rate of adoption by we average Joes and Janes is still a number of years away. If you examine the electronic bill payment landscape you will note that the current usage surge is largely by the Generation X demographic, in spite of the fact that a single-source option is not yet in place. [...]
Tips for Achieving Your Goals
Tips for Achieving Your Goals Do you have long-term projects with short-term expectations? If you do, that is a sure path to frustration and failure. Lifestyle goals such as exercise and healthy diet have to become habits in order to be effective. Career change also takes time and planning, and it doesn’t happen overnight. Your world has shifted. There’s voice mail, e-mail, pagers, and faxes that have made a “waiting” period unacceptable and almost obsolete. With information immediately available, we expect relationships and goal achievement to be done the same. As you read this you know that it is unreasonable [...]
At Bat In the Second Inning!
At Bat In the Second Inning! A growing number of us can now expect to live close to or past 100 years, so 50 has become midlife. Today instead of approaching midlife with the obligations of work and family, baby boomers are looking to a second half they pretty much design as they wish. For many of them, the results don’t look much like what their parents and grandparents called retirement. Whether because of layoffs or because they’re weary of their jobs, many are considering new possibilities for their post-50 years and that includes starting a business of their own. [...]