Archive for the ‘Entrepreneurs’ Category

Dare To Be Different!

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

Adding value to your site, service, or product is one of the most over looked and under rated strategies for improving your internet business.

The internet and modern technology makes it possible for anyone to offer that little something extra that nobody else does, and usually at no additional cost.

Why: First, let’s look at why this is a good business practice.

It’s a good thing to do because you will make more money!

What: Now let’s look at what value adding is!

Value adding is giving surprise high quality and useful gifts.
It’s giving something that your competitors aren’t offering.
It’s promising the world and delivering the universe.
It’s taking care of your clients and always providing something that your clients need and want, when and where they want it.

How: Now let’s look at the different ways we can do this.

If you receive a free gift from someone when you don’t expect it, do you remember that person?
Answer; yes usually.
How can we do this?
Look at the example below for an idea!
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Customers: The Key To Successful Marketing

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

How well do you know your customers?

What is the primary reason your customers or clients come to you? Or purchase your product or service? What is the Number One problem you solve for them? Do you know? Are you certain? If you don’t, your marketing could be missing the mark, and you could be missing out on sales.

Uncovering Your “Key Selling Point”

This is the Single Marketing Message that is the central message in all of your communications about your business, product or service. It can be difficult for small business owners to determine what their single marketing message should be. Why? Because they are too close to their business. And, because they are viewing their business from their side of the desk.

Keeping your marketing customer-focused can be a challenge

Even if we know we should be looking at our business from our customers’ perspective, it’s often easier said than done. As a result, it is easy to get caught up in all the amazing features of our product or service and the reasons we THINK our clients are attracted or are buying.

But sometimes our vantage point is clouded by our own perceptions and beliefs. And those perceptions and beliefs may be inaccurate. So how do you pinpoint the real reason customers are attracted to your product or service and the true reasons they are choosing to buy?

There is an easy way to stay on track

Very simply, YOU ASK THEM! Okay, I know it seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how often we don’t think of the obvious.

Your prospects and customers (and yes, even your rejecters — those who visit but don’t buy) can provide great insights about the benefits they value most in your product or service and why they chose to buy.

Whether you have a lot of customers or only a few

You don’t have to have a large customer or prospect base to do some research to see if you are on track. Even if you only have a handful of clients or customers, contact them and ask them what they like most about your product or service.

Talk to your Clients or Customers

(1) What is the one thing that got them to purchase?

(2) Have you delivered on that promise?

(3) What do they like least about your product or service?

(4) How could you improve your product or service?

(5) What else (in your business category) do they have a need for?

(6) How else could you help them be successful, be happier, or solve whatever problem your product or service solves for them?

Talk to your Rejecters

If you choose to survey rejecters (which I have done very successfully for years for one of my clients) find out why they DIDN’T buy.

(1) Ask them what product or service they bought instead of yours? And why?

(2) Ask them what that competing product or service offered that yours did not?

(3) Ask if there is anything you could do to get their business in the future? Product or service changes, additions, deletions?

Talk to your Prospects

Do you have a list of prospects — those who have expressed an interest in your product or service but have not yet purchased? Perhaps they have subscribed to your newsletter or ezine.

(1) Ask them for feedback on your newsletter or ezine content.

(2) What topics are they interested in learning more about?

(3) How can you help them to be more successful, happier, etc?

(4) Find out what they want and who they are

And in all three cases — Clients/Customers, Rejecters, and Prospects — if it seems appropriate, ask for a little information about who they are. Age, gender, profession, where they live, how much they typically spend in your product or service category.

This will help you get a better understanding of your target audience and you’ll know if you’re attracting the kind of people you thought would be interested in your product or service. And if you need to change your marketing strategy to reach a different audience, or to perhaps change your target audience.
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Crazy Money Making Ideas

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

Sometimes new money making ideas are immediately usable. However, sometimes you just have to let your imagination run wild and be impractical. This is a way to get that creativity going, and no matter how crazy the ideas may seem at first, there is usually a way to bring them down to earth, as in this first example.

Rental Cabins In The Air

I started with a crazy thought: “What if people could rent a cabin up in the sky for the weekend?” Right away my mind tries to make sense of the idea, and because the over-all goal is to have profitable innovations, it looks for ways to make it into a money making idea. I first imagined cabins which are suspended under large hot-air or helium balloons.

As much fun as it might be, this didn’t seem very practical. When I explored the idea further, though, I wondered if existing balloon-ride businesses could tap into other markets. If, for example, the gondolas were outfitted properly, and the balloons tethered, so they could be allowed to float two thousand feet overhead, would meditators then pay for a peaceful meditation retreat in the sky?

Another thought came to mind. Balloons could be high in the air, but easily cranked back in on a line. This might be simpler and cheaper than traditional rides, which involve chase vehicles and unpredictable landings. Perhaps this could be another way to make money with the balloons, charging a lower rate for simple up and down rides, and so getting new customers that couldn’t afford the usual rides.

This is how a crazy idea comes back to earth. Perhaps even the “weekend cabin in the sky” idea could someday be a money making idea, but if not, that’s okay. The point here is to get the creative flow going, and then find more practical ways to channel the output.

More Crazy Money Making Ideas

The following are pure imagination. I leave it to you to find a way to make these ones into potential money making ideas. Good luck and have fun!
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Components to Build a Concession Business

Wednesday, January 12th, 2011

Beginning a mobile food concession business is a very challenging but possibly rewarding business. It is not just a simple undertaking to be taken lightly. There are several things that need to be researched and done in order to truly begin a concession business in the right and legal way. There are licensing issues, decisions about food choice and location and equipment you are going to have to make. These are just a few of the many decisions and regulations you must make and be aware of to start a business like this one.

One of the first things you will need to research to run a concession business correctly and legally is to find out the regulations of your city, county, and state governments. These regulations include health standards, location standards, and other standards that you will need to be aware of if you do not want to receive a citation, fine, or even be shut down. All of these things can happen if you do not research the local laws concerning your business. As is appropriate with any type of business, research everything before you make an investment talk to other people in the same field that you want to be in. Try to learn everything you can in order to be fully informed about the decision you are about to make.

Some states have regulations regarding how many feet you must be away from the highway where you set up. Many states have fees you must pay in order to be properly licensed. Most states have health inspections to make sure everything is up to code for service to the public. All of these requirements and more will be things you may encounter. Never assume it is simple.
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