Y - Why did “Y”OU become a business owner? You Had Me At “Hello I Am A Business Owner”

Y - Why did “Y”OU become a business owner? So now that we’ve addressed some reasons why one starts a business, let’s explore why YOU became a business owner. Did you get a chance to look over the 6 steps to a successful small business link from yesterday? I thought the article was a great introduction to walking out the beginnings of business ownership but it didn’t get to the root of why a particular business would be suited for you. Again, we are all individually designed. You could say...

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Show Up and Blow Up

Why Start A Business?  There is so much to overcome when you first venture out with a business. No matter what level of business you start, we all experience some type of barrier like not having enough money, wondering if your idea is good enough, not sure about business experience (not enough or haven’t changed with the times), or if this business is best suited for you.  Growing up in America, you are told to go to school, get your education, so that you can get a good paying job....

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Be Conscious of Gratitude

What A Week!  Wow! This week we explored how direct mail marketing campaigns can influence your customers and potential clients to learn more about your products and services as well as influence your business revenue. It’s so important to be mindful about how you market. It’s not enough to just say it with a card, you’ve got to be consistent with your marketing efforts; stay in touch! And do your best to brand your correspondence so your audience will remember you and tell others about...

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Brand your Correspondence

6 Ways to Accomplish A Successful Direct Mail Campaign  According to Exact Target, “65% of people who receive direct mail have made a purchase or engage in a different marketing channel as instigated by the sender, placing in at second behind e-mail (66%).”  Get Goals - What do you hope to achieve with a direct mailing campaign?  Create A Plan and Budget - How much do you want to spend?  Develop the List - Use your current mailing list or buy a targeted mailing list.  Send...

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Be Consistent: Stay In Touch

Create a Marketing Campaign  Personalizing a direct mail communication to potential clients and customers can be more expensive and time consuming to execute, so direct marketing experts suggest using this method of marketing strategically. What I mean by this is when you are creating personalized or customized notes for clients, you must execute with a plan as well as a goal so you can measure the outcome which can gain a higher response rate to your marketing efforts. Deploying a “thank-you...

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Just Say it with a Card

Writing a Sincere Thank You to your Customers  When was the last time you sent a heartfelt thank-you to a customer? See the key word is sent! We as a society has become so dependent on e-mail as a primary form of communication, that writing thank-you notes has become a lost art. Why not make your communications with customers and potential clients so effective that it increases customer loyalty as well as increases sales and profits all the while leaving customers with a overjoyed feeling...

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Appreciation: The Antidote. What's Appreciation Marketing?

Now You’re Speaking My Language  Most of our marketing efforts are done to attract customers but imagine what could happen if you added the value of appreciation marketing to your marketing mix? So what is appreciation marketing? Basically it’s about making people feel unique, and not just another sale for the week. It’s about doing the obvious thing, saying thank you, but presenting that “thank you” in the most unexpected way. We all have stories about how our parents, aunts, or even...

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Accolades: Humble Thyself

Get ‘Em Buzzin’ for Your Business  Many business owners don't realize the value of awards. Did you know that you could capitalize on your accomplishments by using them as a way to market your businesses products and services? Most start-ups and “small businesses” have a hard time creating awareness around their brand as well as building credibility. One of the easiest and most inexpensive ways for you to stand out from your competitors is to win industry awards. You can gain recognition...

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It’s A Big Deal: Recognition

The Fruit of Happy Employees  The success of any business mostly leans on the motivation of its employees. But there is no exact formula to determine how to motivate any particular team of people because we are human and we are all motivated by different things. Creating an employee recognition system is not only a great way to encourage your employees or team to go beyond what is expected of them, but it can increase productivity and is a cool way to spotlight someone with a sincere...

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You Can’t Make this Stuff Up

This week I want to impress upon you the importance of recognition, accolades, and just simply appreciating those around you in your business as well as your personal life. Think about it.... If we honored the gift of recognition, accolades, and appreciation... If this was a “must do” in the workplace, most employers would experience more success and output from their employees. Folks! I can’t make this stuff up!  Your attitude determines your altitude and you will attract what you are...

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The 5 W’s to Outshining your Competition: (Part 3)

What makes us different from them?  So you've gone through the 4 W’s to Outshining your competition; What do we do best?, Who is our target customer?, What needs do we fulfill for them?, and Who is our competition? So now it should be easy to answer the 5th ‘W’, “What makes us different from them?” You should be overflowing with great ideas, concepts, and reasons as to what makes your business the “go-to” business. Well if you are still working on the 4 “W”’s, lets discuss a few ways you...

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The 5 W’s to Outshining your Competition: (Part 2)

What needs do we fulfill for them?  So you've gone through all this trouble to bring your products and services to the world marketplace. Most of you have toiled over them with long nights and endless days making sure your potential customers would love them as much as you do. But are our products and services really addressing the needs and challenges that your customers may have? Do your products and services bring an awareness to a problem and ultimately fix the problem? With the added...

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The 5 W’s to Outshining your Competition: (Part1)

What do we do best?  Set aside some time to write a one- or two-paragraph description of what sets you and your company apart from the competition. What does your business do better than your competitor(s)? If you need to write more than one-to-two paragraphs down, do so. After your writing exercise, begin to erase or edit the general statements or anything that seems a mimic to your competition or maybe what you've already seen advertised. You should be left with a clean but specific...

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Get your Shine On!

There are so many businesses operating out here that it can be hard to differentiate your business from other competitors. What makes store A different from store B?    They both appear to look the same but the difference could be in their business message. Store A could offer the same products as store B, their price points could be a little cheaper in price, or their displays and the layout of their store may be better because they pay close attention to the visual appeal and...

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Grow and Prosper: Happy Independence Day

Happy 4th for those of you business owners in the United States. For some this is a day to relax, cook (smell my smokehouse peach cobbler?), or get together with friends and family to watch those amazing fireworks. Some may be utilizing the holiday to have sales on products and services but what is this day really about?  Short & Sweet History Lesson  The day of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence stems from a document which declared that all men have the God-given...

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