Tag Archive for ‘Small business’ rss

Free Prize Inside….a Wine Bottle?

September 02, 2010 0 comments

How come wine company’s never offer a contest where you could win something on the bottom of a cork?  Ok, you’re right, people who buy $50-$100 bottles of wine do not care about whatever it is under the cork, as long as it smells like fine wine.  I’m talking about the cheap inexpensive wine, you know the bottles that no one is aging in the cellar, the ones that you buy for the weekend and if they last till Monday you’re having wine with supper.

I see an opportunity here.  You could develop a classy contest, partner with the New Yorker or Napa Valley and offer a prize people will talk about around the water cooler.

Creating an incentive for customers to look for your wine at the store can be a powerful tactic.  With whatever excuse you come up with as to the reason why wine company’s don’t do this, ask yourself, why?  And why couldn’t they?  I am open for a discussion.

Photo Credit: Gary Tamin


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You Can’t Hide Your Reputation

July 08, 2010 5 comments

Anytime you cross someone in a bad way they will remember.  Your reputation is your business.  We have the ability to communicate online with thousands of people instantly, it is what those people say about you that becomes your reputation.

Humans remember the bad things much longer than the good, if you have broken someone’s trust in the past I’d suggest working on making it better soon because it’s going to take a while.  Think of the last person who broke your trust, have you worked with them since?  How do you feel about him/her?


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Don’t Be Earl

January 03, 2010 0 comments

Social media isn’t just about Facebook and Twitter, though they both have proven to be among some of the best tools to carry out your internet networking fantasies. Opportunities will pass you by if you are not monitoring what others are saying about you and your organization and engaging them in a conversation.  Communication on the internet is only increasing in speed, if you choose to ignore it, you may lose.

Could you imagine if the next time you took your car in for an oil change, they told you about their customer comments section on their website; where if you leave a comment about how the service was, you get 10% off your next oil change?  Would you leave a comment?  Would you read what others have said? Please let me know below

What if we could hold companies accountable when they provide an unsatisfactory product or service?  What if you could look up what others are saying about the restaurant you’re going to tonight?  What if you looked up a new hair salon and this came up: (click on the picture to make it larger, this is what actually came up in a Google search for this hair
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Rule Number 36

October 02, 2009 0 comments

In Alan M Weber’s Rules of Thumb: 52 Truths for Winning at Business Without Losing Your Self, rule number 36 is: Managing your emotional flow is more critical than managing your cash flow. I had to write about this because I see and meet with entrepreneurs all the time that do a poor job of managing their emotions.  Cash was king until I understood what an entrepreneur goes through, and if an entrepreneur really made cash king they would not succeed.

As a small business owner you must focus on your goal, your vision of where the company is going.  If you don’t do everything in your power to get there (and that may be going into a pile of debt) you may never achieve your goal.  There are a thousand and one things an entrepreneur needs to manage but without keeping your emotions in check everything else falls apart.

Tips on keeping your emotions in check:

  1. Hire a coach or get a mentor and talk about it
  2. Identify your emotional triggers and be aware when you may be susceptible to an outburst
  3. Ensure you have some “you” time in a day (Workout, play a sport, get a hobby)


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