I recently talked about starting your profile on LinkedIn which is a great way to increase your web presence and your credibility. You’ve probably completed your name, title, area, summary and your most relevant experience. Next I’d focus on adding a good-looking professional head shot and start making connections. Making connections is fairly easy. Under […]
Be Human
Are you up against large businesses that have more resources, more money, and are more polished than you are? One ways you can beat the competition is to be more human. There’s a real pleasure in getting help or advice from a real human being. It’s nice (and novel) having a real human pick up […]
Selling You on LinkedIn
Another way to build a web presence without building your own website (or improving your presence on the Internet if you do have your own website) is to complete a profile on LinkedIn. Doing this is like having a uber cyber-business card. Many professionals used LinkedIn daily and often refer to it first to find more […]
My Thank You!
In honor of Thanksgiving I’d like to share some of the things I’m thankful for. I’m tremendously appreciative of: 1. my husband who is super supportive and has enabled me to create the blog by picking up more household work and by doing the hard part of the programming for this site 2. my friends and […]
I Want to Hire This Guy!
There’s a guy that works in the pizza shop of my local grocery store and he is fantastic! The last time I bought a slice instead of the obligatory “Have a nice day (said in a flat voice)” he said something like, “It was great seeing you here today!” and he was genuine. This little […]
Creating Connections with Customers
I believe that fundamentally what people want is to give and receive kindness and create connections with other people. As a small business owner this can be a huge competitive advantage for you compared to mid-size and large corporations. There’s a drive-in movie theater near my house whose email list I subscribe to. An email comes to […]
4 Steps to Fix a Declining Product
One of the big issues we are struggling with at my organization is what to do with a floundering legacy product. Only a few years ago the product brought in significant revenue. The organization is built around it. In some cases our customers expect to receive the value even though they no longer want to pay for it. The product is tied […]
By Association
We had friends in for the weekend who were sharing their frustration with their kennel and how they would soon have to find a new one. Their dog always comes back sick and the hours seem to keep changing without warning so when they dropped off their dog Saturday morning they found the pick-up time on […]
Telling Your Story
Great businesses win when they develop fabulous marketing messaging. By messaging, I’m talking about the” what” you’re saying about your business or yourself; not the “how” you are saying it (i.e. signs, brochures, website, etc.) I’ll illustrate the power of a great message with a fictitious example. Jim is a local artist and store owner […]