Posted by kboon on March 17, 2010 under Business Building Strategies | 
For the better part of March, my focus has been on the Art of Listening. Chris Brogan defines listening as one of the key ingredients for any business committed to success. He recommends companies set up listening posts on the web. The purpose is to find ways to interact and talk directly to customers and build better relationships, establish trust and increase sales.
In the last two weeks I have interviewed a number of entrepreneurs and small business owners from a variety of professions. I have asked a lot of questions. My goal has been to get to know the individual, learn about their business and understand as much as I can about the opportunities and challenges they face.
Here are some of the lessons I have learned.
1. Every entrepreneur and business owner has unique challenges and opportunities
Like the business consultant I recently started working with, who wants to rebuild his network after a few years off.
His challenge: to find new clients in a world that has changed radically in the last 5 years.
Another contact, a financial consultant who has a great website, a newsletter with over 5000 subscribers, does workshops around the country, and has no problems finding consulting work.
His challenge: time management, prioritization and finding the time to create a subscription based website that will add a new revenue stream for his business.
Or here is another contact, a bookstore owner who wants to expand her business and add new services, but her top priority is to focus on the parts of her business that generate income.
Her challenge: Although she knows networking, social media and newsletters are important, she finds it difficult to find the time for these projects.
2. Solutions must fit the business, the person and their customers
Like the old saying, you can’t push a square peg into a round hole. Many times you hear a large chorus chanting “TWITTER!! FACEBOOK!! BLOGS!!” Unfortunately, if you jump in without understanding the value, how to use the technologies, or worse yet, if you can’t find your customers, then your efforts can be a big waste of time.
When working with small businesses it’s critical to step back and understand their day-to-day priorities. Look for opportunities to teach and have the patience to integrate new technologies if and when the company is ready.
This takes me to the next lesson.
3. Change for any small business must be managable
There might be 100 things a business can do to improve, but the real question becomes, where do you start? How do you prioritize and introduce change without jeopardizing the current business or revenue streams?
Change must be managable for the owner, gradual if resources are limited, have agreed objectives and the ability to test results.
4. Trust, Integrity and a focus on the clients needs are essential for success
Trust and integrity require listening, understanding a clients needs and delivering solutions that show you were listening. Results are good too! They both take time to build and are worth the effort for building long-term client relationships.
Posted by kboon on February 10, 2010 under Business Building Strategies |
Imagine you have an important business meeting. You worked hard to get this appointment and you know this person would be a great partner for your business. You want to make a good impression. You take extra time to prepare for your meeting and you make sure you dress professionally and appropriately.
Chances are you wouldn’t dress in a pair of sweat pants, an old t-shirt and running shoes.
Yet many businesses dress their website this way. Their website is an afterthought.
Website as a Central Source
Social media strategists often say, the first step to creating a social presence is to have a good website. The main purpose of social tools like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and other forums is to drive people to your website. According to the Edelman Report Barack Obama’s election team used 15 social networking sites to get the word out. They created a central website at BarackObama.com and that had videos, blogs, calls to action, and resources that people could use and share. (I’ll include a link to the report at the end of this post)
There are 3 components to a good website.
- Graphics Design & Layout
- Programming & Development
- Usability
It can be difficult to find website design companies who have mastered all 3 of these skills. If you do, you’re likely to pay big bucks! IT companies will tend to hire in-house, but small businesses usually have limited budgets.
6 Ideas for Building a Website on a Budget
My website is about 3 weeks old and has been created on a small budget. This is still a work in progress but here are some resources that I use today:
- Wordpress – Wordpress is easy to use, includes great themes, and it’s free.
- Netfirms – URL Registration & Hosting – Hosting is generally inexpensive
- IstockPhoto – For low-cost images – or Flickr for free images
- Website Grader – from Hubspot – this is a free tool that lets me grade my website for design, web usuability and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Technical & Design Support – I am not a techie so I have a friend who helps me with any coding or technical work. Usually all it takes is an email and he can create something quickly for me.
- Access to Communities – Accessing web communities is one of the most powerful resources I use. With Twitter, Linkedin and a new community called Third Tribe Marketing, I can get answers to most questions, business, marketing, sales or web related.
Developing a good website is worth the time investment.
At the end of the day your website can make your day-to-day sales efforts a lot easier.
Resources:
- Barack Obama’s Social Media Toolkit. Here is the Edelman website.
- Website Grader is free. Hubspot has other free graders for Twitter, Facebook and Press Releases.
Posted by kboon on February 2, 2010 under Business Building Strategies |
In the last few weeks I have made some great new connections within the business community, both online and in-person. I generally like to ask a lot of questions because I want to get to know the person and understand their business.
There is usually a common theme that evolves.
Most businesses are looking for answers to the following questions:
- What are my target market and who is my customer?
- What is the right product or service for my business?
- How do I create an effective website?
- How do I monetize my business?
- What are the best ways for reaching customers?
- How do I tap into new markets and grow my business?
- How do I manage my time?
Over the next few weeks I plan to go into more depth with each of these topics.
If there are other questions let me know by commenting or connecting with me on Twitter or Linkedin.
Posted by kboon on January 25, 2010 under Stories |
Last week I had the opportunity to attend the first Guelph Technology event hosted by Linamar. There were a few hundred participants representing various industries from manufacturing, government, entrepreneurs and a growing number of technology companies. Jim Estill, the founder of EMJ & Synnex was the keynote speaker and there were several breakout sessions throughout the day.
There were two speakers with insights that I thought could benefit every business owner or entrepreneur. One with traditional business background, and the other on the leading edge of newer technologies. Both demonstrated (in different ways) how they have used technology to increase productivity, communicate more effectively and increase revenues.
Phil Greenway from Greenway Home Products (GHP) described some of the changes within the past 50 years of his career. GHP develops, manufactures and distributes a broad line of water, heat and home products. They have a dealer base across North America and manufacturing locations around the world.
Phil spoke about business in 60’s and 70’s, before computers and fax machines. He described his early experiences of setting up a global business, describing his travels to Western and Eastern Europe (before the fall of the Berlin wall). With no computers or cell phones, contact with home office was often scattered, and it could take days or weeks at a time before he could connect.
In the 80’s computers were introduced and by the 90’s bar-codes, EDP technology and supply change management streamlined the whole inventory and manufacturing process. Communication became instantaneous and global markets opened around the world.
Productivity has been one of the main benefits of technology for Greenway, where at one time it required 4 employees to generate $1 million in revenue. Today it takes 1 employee to create that same $1 million.
Phil finished his talk by describing how Communication, through video conferencing, with tools like Skype have saved tens of thousands of dollars in travel & phone costs. Being able to track inventories online has changed how Greenway distributes and manufactures product.
Although privately owned Greenway and its various companies are worth millions. Their success has been due to their ability to change with the times and adapt technology to their business model.
In part 2, I will talk about Ali Asoria and the success of Well.ca.
Follow me on Twitter or contact me through eLead.
For the better part of March, my focus has been on the Art of Listening. Chris Brogan defines listening as one of the key ingredients for any business committed to success. He recommends companies set up listening posts on the web. The purpose is to find ways to interact and talk directly to customers and build better relationships, establish trust and increase sales.
