Minority Business Matters

Get a Neck Up Check Up for 2010

Posted by SB Guru on January 18th, 2010

Get a Neck Up Check Up is a U.S. Navy Seal’s term used to explain the importance of keeping their mind strong and mentally resilient in combat situations. Every year millions of people get an annual physical but when was the last time you got an annual mental checkup?

Getting annual physicals have allowed me to correct some of my lifestyle choices to avoid certain illnesses. 20 years ago during an annual physical I discovered my cholesterol was rising and I was able to make lifestyle changes to lower the bad cholesterol. 2 years ago my sugar level was rising and I was able to bring it down to normal with additional changes in my diet and increased exercise. Yet I have not taken the time to get an annual mental check up. I’m not suggesting that I’m crazy but I do operate under different stresses related to family and work and as much as I practice lowering my stress I don’t have a measurable way to say that what I’m doing is working.

Being a small business owner, having a family and the day to day circumstances of unexpected occurrences can and do wear on the mind. Yet without speaking to a professional about the stresses and strains on your mind it’s difficult to gauge just how much damage is being done to your mental state.

You’ve begun the year by setting goals for your business, your personal life etc. How strong are you mentally to reach your goals while dealing with the X factor of life? This past decade was a tough one for many businesses and there have been stress from operating a business in one of the worst economic conditions ever. Business owners may not be completely over their job related stress. Listed below are some early warning signs of job stress:

* Headache
* Sleep Disturbance
* Difficulty in concentrating
* Short temper
* Upset stomach
* Job dissatisfaction
* Low morale

Continued unchecked stress can manifest itself into any of the 200 classified forms of mental illness that affect 54 million Americans annually. Mental health problems may be related to excessive stress due to a particular situation or series of events. As with cancer, diabetes and heart disease, mental illnesses are often physical as well as emotional and psychological. Mental illnesses may be caused by a reaction to environmental stresses, genetic factors, biochemical imbalances, or a combination of these. With proper care and treatment many individuals learn to cope or recover from a mental illness or emotional disorder.

Many of us carry around pains and are suffering even through we think we are over those pains. Many times in reality we’re not over the pain and suffering we just attempt to shove it to the back of our minds where our sub conscious forms a defense to keep us from going through that pain again. However if we learn from pain we must learn not to avoid pain and suffer over the pain. “Pain is inevitable suffering is optional.”

I allowed myself to suffer for 10 years over a set of circumstances and misunderstandings that caused me to refrain from giving public workshops and seminars. I realized that I was still carrying this pain and suffering around during an exercise in a leadership training course. It was a Neck Up Check Up for me and the realization that I was not over some things even through I kept verbally saying I was.

This year I’ve set some large goals for our company and to ensure that I’m mentally able to handle the mental demands of business, family and daily circumstances of life, I will be getting two annual exams. My regular annual physical and an annual mental checkup with a psychologist. Even through I’m not suffering from any of the symptoms listed above I value getting a Neck Up Check Up as important as my physical self.

If you’re not convinced that you should get a Neck Up Check Up then please accept this free gift from me.

Join our mailing list below and I will send you a FREE .PDF report titled 37 Proven “Stress Busters” by Bruce Eichelberger, OMD In this report you will discover:

The 12 warning signs of stress
How stress affects your health
5 things you should never use to relieve stress
6 things you can today to break the pattern of stress
…and much much more


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Have a Healthy and Prosperous New Year

What Business Are You In?

Posted by Small Biz Ace on November 18th, 2009

When I begin working with a new client the 1^st question I ask is “What business are you in? I usually get answers like: I run a printing company, I’m in plumbing suppliers or I’m a graphic designer. I then ask again “What business are you in.” and I get the blank stare.

Marketing yourself as a plumber, a graphic designer, or a printer is not differentiating yourself from the thousands of competitors in your industry. Today you are facing increased competition. Getting noticed is more difficult due to advertising and marketing NOISE, prospects have more CHOICES and a lot of traditional marketing methods like newspaper and magazine advertising, mailing out brochures, letters and postcards, cold calling or simply sitting around and waiting for the phone to ring just don’t work very well.

You begin to stand out from the crowd when you begin to focus on how and what you do to assist prospects in using your products/services. People purchase to alleviate a pain, solve a problem or enhance their life. The focus is not on what you do but rather on what problems you solve, what benefits you bring to prospects, and what pain you alleviate for clients.

So a better answer to “what business are you in” for a graphic design firm “I create powerful communication designs for companies that want to gain more exposure and sales.” Changing your mindset and thinking like a marketer will have a profound and positive difference in the way you operate your business!

The best way to determine how to position your company is by asking your current clients this question “why do you purchase from me.” Their answers will provide you with the basic information you can use to form your marketing campaign. Understanding why people purchase and when people purchase will give you insights into how and when to implement your marketing campaigns.

So once again “What business are you in?”

How Did I Ever Manage My Career Before Social Media?

Posted by Small Biz Ace on September 11th, 2009

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Before there was Social Media, I was a Networking Expert, a Marketing Expert and a Subject Matter Expert in Streaming Media. My successes in life comes from a simple principle: “I efficiently and passionately use my NETWORK to increase my NETWORTH.” Success is not about the tools you use to connect with people, it’s a bout your character, your inspirations and your gift(s) in life. I don’t abuse my network by always asking for and never giving anything back. I continually share information, knowledge and leads with my network and my network has done the same for me. My basic belief of helping others get what they want out of life has provided me a fulfilled life of amazing opportunities and income.

If you want to be successful in Social Media ten purchase one simple book. “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. I read this book twice when I was 17 years old and it has shaped my successes regardless of the technology tools I used. I am always successful because I value the good in people and desire to see people live their dreams.

You can attend every seminar, workshop and purchase every book on Social Media secrets but if you are not a successfully network in person than you will experience the same fate on Social Media platforms.

Social Media is not a new experience. Social Media has been around as long as the 1st web browser. Early online companies Aol, Compuserve and Prodigy had Social Media components in their services that allowed groups of people with similar interests to chat online from anywhere there was Internet access. Business owners discovered they could reach their market online and join chatrooms where their target markets met.

If you were selling a line of dog clothing you would join online groups that chatted about their dogs. You would observe the conversation of the group and read their Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.)s to see what the rules were before you began posting and chatting with the group. You would post helpful information to the dog owners being careful not to spam the group. Your email sig file would contain your company name, tag line and contact information. Eventually group members would begin asking about your line of clothes you begin to engage them in offline conversations and make sales.

In 1996 I was teaching companies how to successfully market on the Internet using principles that are now coined Social Media. I showed companies how to use signature files in their emails, display their URL on all of their marketing material, and how to use chat rooms to find and qualify prospects and make sales. I was profiled in Black Enterprise magazine 1st Technology Issue in 1996 and in Earl Graves the publisher of Black Enterprise 1st book “How to Be Successful in America Without Being White” because I was using Internet tools to build a $4 million dollar business.

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My employees were some of the 1st telecommuters as they all had computers and Internet access and accessed information online. I saved my clients money in phone, faxing, mailing costs and time by placing valuable employee forms online that was downloaded to their computers filled out and emailed to us.

NYC Channel 5 the McCreary Report television news program interviewed my family because we understood the power a computer and Internet access could bring to a family. I built website for African American business like Sylvia’s Restaurant and the Network Journal which was the 2nd African American publication to have a website behind the Baltimore Afro-American. I wrote an Internet marketing column for the Network Journal and highlighted successful African Americans that was using these new technology tools.

: Click the photo to Watch Stephen Jackson discuss Social Media trends in a 1995 interview

Fast forward to today. The tools have changed but the basic principles and etiquette of Social Media have not.

“You can close more business in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.” Dale Carnegie. If you don’t believe that statement is true then you will find no success in Social Media.

Success in Social Media requires that you have the character to openly engage in assisting other people get what they want. Success requires that you focus on your customers and prospects by providing real solutions to their problems and concerns while sharing the true benefits of your products/services in a non obtrusive manner.

Success in Social Media is not a get rich quick scheme. Getting thousands of people to follow you on Twitter will not lead to sales if you have nothing to offer but vague marketing messages that look like they run on auto pilot. Creating a slick Facebook fan page will not improve your bottom line if you are not willing to engage your friends and fans in honest conversations about your products/services.

If you are looking to be successful in Social Media or brand yourself as a Social Media expert don’t spend your money on workshop and how to secrets, learn how to effectively interact with people, learn how to be unselfish and learn how to perform random acts of kindness. These are the characteristics that will provide you with Social Media success regardless of the technology tools.

Using Webinars for Customer Service

Posted by SB Guru on August 10th, 2009

DimDim Web conference service
Webinars or web conferences have become a powerful tool to market your product/service or teach a subject. People attend webinars from the comfort of their computer which is the main reason they have become so popular for sales presentation and distance learning.

Another good use that I discovered recently is to use a web conference for customer service. A client of mine was having some technical problems and I decided to use a webinar to instruct my client on how to resolve their problems.

I have a pro account with DimDim a service that allows me to conduct webinars on the spot or schedule them for a later time. I chose DimDim after reviewing several applications because of it’s easy to use interface and people do not have to install any 3rd party software to participate in a webinar.

Using DimDim I am able to share my computer screen with my client and talk to them at the same time as I guide through the steps to solving their technical problem. If I need to I can invite someone else to join us and they can share their computer screen or show a multimedia presentation. Additionally, I recorded the web conference so they can refer to it later if the problem presents itself again.

What to look for in a web conference solution:

1. Desktop sharing: it might become extremely useful to let participants share their desktops. Somebody wants to make a point about the presenter’s exposition. Another one can show a demo of their software. A good conferencing service allows the presenter to give temporary control over his or her desktop for interactive collaboration between meeting participants.

2. Application integration: Any good web conferencing software can seamlessly integrate with the most popular email and instant messaging applications out there. This throws off the learning curve involved in mastering an online meeting. Additionally, you want a web conferencing solution that integrates social media sharing of your presentation and marketing efforts.

3. Servicing availability: The great thing about conferences held through the World Wide Web is that you can expect to hold a meeting whenever, wherever you want. Make sure your potential conference provider guarantees 24/7 availability.

4. Flat rate: Be wary not to fall into per-minute conferencing service schemes that suck your wallet clean. The most reasonable pricing solution in web conferencing software comes down to a low cost flat rate on a monthly or yearly basis. This way you not only save on web conferences, you can also budget your expenses more intelligibly.

5. Audio and video support: A picture is worth a thousand words. A video is worth a thousand pictures. These features may not be necessary for every individual or business, but for online presentations and webinars they become invaluable.

6. Easy to use: Ideally, you don’t want an application that requires a lot of understanding of technical stuff such as internet protocols and deep software configuration. A web conferencing solution should be as easy to use as any plug and play device for your PC.

7. Easy to install: Nowadays, international conferencing doesn’t need to be exhaustingly complex to install. By making use of the internet and the flexibility of today’s most famous operating systems, conference services should be as easy to use as your favorite instant messaging application.

Web conferencing can prove invaluable to your sales and training team and provide another tool for your customer service staff.

There’s No Such Thing as a Loyal Customer

Posted by SB Guru on July 12th, 2009

If you think your customers are loyal to your product/service you are living a lie. There is no such thing as a loyal customer and as a small business owner the sooner you accept this the faster you can develop strategies to keep your customers and grow your business.

I’ve always been finicky about who cuts my hair. I’ve had 5 barbers in my lifetime and my last barber was in the neighborhood, cheap at $10.00 for a haircut and good. However, his shop was an eyesore with fold up chairs that look like they were stolen from a school, hair accumulating on the floor and messy counters where they keep their supplies and clippers.

One day recently my daughter treated me to a an upscale men’s hair saloon. It was a 180 degree difference from my barber. This shop is kept clean with a wine bar and big comfy leather chairs. The woman who cut my hair was pleasant, courteous and a true professional in hair cutting. To my surprise the price of my haircut was only $19.50. I was expecting to pay $25.00 to $30.00 for that haircut and would have gladly paid it.

I now have a new barber my 6th. So here’s a shoutout to my new barber Margret at BBraxton in Harlem, NYC.

Yes I was loyal to my old barber until I was introduced to something better. And that’s the myth about loyal customers, they are only loyal until your competitors expose them to something better.

How do you keep your long time customers from jumping to your competitors especially in this climate when businesses are pulling out all of their tricks to stay alive?

Here are several strategies to keep your customers and ward off your competitors.

1st lets be clear that not all of your customers will jump ship because your competitor has lowered their price to compete with you. There must be other benefits because no business can compete on price alone. Read my earlier Blog “Your Selling Price is Not a Value Proposition.”

The trick is too add value that your customers will appreciate so they can respect and feel good about paying a premium price for your product/service. My hair cuts cost me more and what’s more I schedule appointments so I’m getting haircut more often. BBraxton’s offered a lot of value that justified their price and my perception is that I’m getting a bargain because I valued the service higher that what they are charging

To offer true value to your customers you need to know what value do they currently place on your product/service. Yes that means talking to your current customers or polling them. You should know what they think of your product/service and where they see as your strengths and weaknesses. If you don’t communicate with your customers regularly about you can you improve their use of your product/service then I can guarantee your competitors will swoon your customers with tales of how they will always communicate and assist them with getting the most value from their product/service.

2. Stop doing the same old thing the same old way because it used to work. Change is a good thing and a strength overused becomes a weakness. Customers today are savvy and are looking for true innovation, quality and real benefits for what they purchase. If you are not approaching each day with how your product/service can be better than yesterday then you are heading for extinction.

Talking with your customers will reveal some of the ways you can implement innovation. Our company started as a video production company but because of opportunities that was uncovered through conversations with our clients we are now a new media boutique agency developing and executing media campaigns for our clients.

3. Be innovative. Innovation is not a buzz word, it require you seeing the trends in how your customers can and will use your product/service in the future and meeting those needs. Finding ways to use social media to assist your customers in using your business is innovation. If your customers are using smart phones then look to develop an App that will allow them to use your product/service more often. Create a fan page on Facebook so your customers can network. See what other services/products you can bundle with your service/product to build value.

If you constantly communicate with your customers see the tends and innovate you will hold onto your customers for a long time but believe that they will never be loyal.