Create the Business You Want (With Video)
Posted by kboon on November 10, 2010 under Business Building Strategies | 
2 Comments to Read
Here goes… my first attempt at video. I thought it would be a great idea to introduce you to the seminar series I am creating for 2011 called “Creating the Business You Want”. There has been a lot of interest and many questions. We have some dates scheduled for January & February and I will have more details on what’s coming soon.
There will be one seminar before the new year in Cambridge Ontario on Monday November 29th.
Registration details can be found here.
As I put together content for my seminars a number of themes keep coming up.
Many Small Businesses are at a Crossroads
Technology gives us so many choices from software apps, smart phones, laptops, book readers, web tools & social media networks. We are bombarded with a constant stream of new innovations and ideas that can easily distract us from the important work of running our business.
In the last 10 years there has been a constant rise in the information we all receive; emails, text messages, tweets, phone calls, invitations to join this group or that group; it can feel stressful and overwhelming at the best of times. If you are starting a small business one important lesson; learn to minimize your distractions and focus on the projects critical for your business.
An Introduction to Creating the Business You Want
This seminar series is designed to provide a foundation for how to start your business; that is if you are new. If you have been in business for a few years, you will gain more insight on how to successfully run your business. You will learn how technology and social media can help grow your community, learn to build products better suited and packaged for your audience, define your goals; and come up with an action plan that lets you take your business to the next level.
Business Philosophies are Changing
Traditional business philosophy tells us to create a business plan, come up with a business name, develop products or services, build a website and then use a variety of methods designed to sell; advertising, newsletters, direct mail, etc. To ensure success you then need to network and sell; create a good value proposition (or sales pitch!).
Many small business owners go to networking events with the intent to make connections and often they try to sell toos soon. The problem with this is approach is there are too many companies and too many people selling. And worse… consumers have turned off from the sales pitch. They don’t want to be sold by you, or told how your product is going to change their life. Sorry but the sales approach (without a relationship) doesn’t work any more.
Here’s why.
The Great Clash of the 21st Century
Sales Driven versus Community Driven
Technology has made it easy for people to sell and reach large numbers of people. For the past 10 years spammers and call centers have made billions of dollars targeting you and I with sales pitches. For spammers their philosophy is, if I spam a million people and find just one customer then I’m successful. Relationships are not important – they just want money. Email is inexpensive and easy. Spammers take selling to the extreme.
Today, Internet Marketers do the same thing. They spam you with tweets, text messages and try to interrupt you whenever they can with their sales pitch. The problem is many of these people call themselves social media experts. Between you and me, they’re not really experts. They are just spammers (in disquise) who have found new technologies to annoy people.
75% of Businesses are NOT Using Social Media
Too much selling and not enough community building; that is the problem with social media today. It is one of the reasons why 75% of businesses are not using social media. And of the 25% who are involved, a good number of these are giving sales pitches rather than creating value or building community.
In the 20th century, sales driven companies ruled the world. Companies like Microsoft, IBM, GM and thousands of large and small businesses, built their wealth by marketing, advertising and selling. However, it’s much harder to sell today. In fact, the companies having he most influence in the 21st century are those that are community driven. Companies like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Google. These are companies who have built the framework for community. Their technologies help us to build relationships, create our own communities and establish trust and loyalty around our business, our products or services or our cause.
In my workshops I show entrepreneurs how to become community minded when they build their business. I strip social media down to the simple model of understanding relationships, tribes and communities. Then I show examples of small businesses who are using these methods successfully to attract and retain loyal customers.
My goal is to help make the technologies less confusing and guide business owners to make better decisions. During the workshop we put together a simple plan that is different for each business. Some entrepreneurs haven’t gone through the planning process and they need help getting started. Others need to focus on websites, or defining products or revenue streams. Then there is the critical tasks of building community and finding customers.
Building sales yes, but the priority is building community first.
I hope you enjoy my first video.
If you want a sneak preview into what will be offered in 2011 then be sure to register for my upcoming workshop on November 29th.
Footnote: The plan for 2011 will be to offer these workshops in a number of cities within southern Ontario. If you would like to sponsor an event in your city please email me at kevin (at) kevinboon.ca.
