Core Concept #2 – Time, Technology (and Stress)

Posted by kboon on October 13, 2010 under Business Building Strategies | Comments are off for this article

What is our most precious resource?  I’m guessing you would say time.  When I talk to most people, the biggest complaint I hear is there is not enough time.  Today everyone appears to be in a rush whether working for a company, running your own business, taking care of your family or even trying to stay connected with your social network.

Stress, Technology and a little History

I remember watching a Rat Pack movie from the 60’s or 70’s. (Note: Can’t remember the episode and I’m not telling anyone if I actually was old enough to have seen the original) They would show a man in his office (usually smoking away at his desk) totally stressed out.  At night he would go home and have a brandy alexander… or maybe two… or six.

The 70’s were the early days when psychologists and society began to realize that our jobs were stressful.

Then the 80’s and 90’s technology and computers were introduced.  The stress got crazier.  Instead of inputing 10 orders a day, my boss gave me a computer and now I could process 100.

And I thought technology was supposed to make my life easier?

Email Spam, Information Overload & Social Media

In the early part of this decade (2000 – 2004) email spam hit big time and people were introduced to what was called information overload.  Inboxes became overflowing… people had difficulty keeping up.  And over the past 5 years it’s been social media.  There was a recent study that said, in 2008 more information was produced in that one year than in the entire history of civilization!

I’ll let that one sit with you for a minute.

Too Many Choices, Not Enough Time

There is so much information.  We have so many choices and our computers, smart phones keep us connected all the time.  Distractions are now a way of life.  During a typical working day, we are bombarded with emails, text messages, phone calls, tweets, invitations, groups to join, sales pitches, offers or someone wanting to be my friend… it’s crazy!!

Technology has a way of either taking over your life by making you busier than ever or it can help your life (or business) by allowing you to reach more people, automate complex tasks and provide more efficient ways to earn money.   Although we are embracing technology and reaping the benefits there is still an overwhelm we feel.  We work hard to stay connected… and we try to do all the things that my workaholic boss or that social media guru tells me.

Unfortunately peace never comes and the to do list never ends.  In our technology driven society the choices (and our distractions) keep getting bigger.  Yesterday it was iPhones and Blackberry’s… today it’s iPads, Kindles, and Playbooks… tomorrow?  Who knows?  But I guarantee that you will want to stay in the game and keep up… it’s like keeping up with the Joneses… we feel bad if we think we’re missing out somehow.

How to Make the Right Choices

Technology and time break down at some point because there are only so many hours in the day and we are limited in the number of interactions we can have.  

What technologies to choose and where to focus time are major obstacles affecting many small business owners.

Business owners don’t have the time or the bandwidth to be on every social media platform… to have every gadget.  Twitter and Facebook pages start with good intentions and then they fizzle out.  People get fatigued.  They get real busy, or confused with all the choices.  And they burn out!

So what’s the solution?

Time

Learn to focus and prioritize.  Find time for the important work for your business rather than getting distracted by the noise and chatter.  Plan smartly… learn to stay focused… on project critical tasks or customer initiatives.  But at the same time give yourself time to connect socially.   If you are engaged in social media it should feel good… it should be fun.  If it’s not fun or it feels stressful then you’re doing it wrong… step back and re-think your approach.

Ask yourself am I trying to be in too many places?

Technology

Technology is another topic where I help people understand that if you are wanting to stay connected to your business 24/7 (and it’s wearing you out) then it’s time to find a different approach.

Technology should be used as a way to reach your audience and build fans or followers, stay connected and build better relationships.  At the same time you can use technology to automate and improve how your business runs.  There are many excellent tools.  A newsletter is so simple and yet it’s something we often overlook.  Running a Facebook page might take some time to plan and set up, but the actual running of the site is not that difficult.  For some tasks there are benefits to Outsourcing, especially those that feel difficult.  There are call centers that can help take your calls outside of business hours, or Virtual Assistants who can help with a variety of projects and make a big difference to your business.

So I will end this today… how do you feel about the time you spend on your business?   How stressed to you feel?  Is your time balanced?  How do you decide which technologies to use?  Do you feel technology helps, or hinders you?

Practicing the Art of Listening – 4 Lessons

Posted by kboon on March 17, 2010 under Business Building Strategies | Comments are off for this article

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.

3 Factors that Define Social Media

Posted by kboon on February 23, 2010 under Business Building Strategies | 4 Comments to Read

There is barrage of hype around the term “social media”.  Everybody is writing about it, tweeting about it, spamming about it, and a lot of people are trying to determine how they use it for their business.

The other day, I mentioned social media as being a useful method to connect with customers or business partners.  My colleague politely said, “It is more hype than fact!  It really doesn’t substitute for selling or promoting your business. It’s a time waster.”

We talked a little more about about his thoughts and that was the end of it.  But the conversation made me think.

What does social media mean to me?  Do I use the term too loosely?

Social Media (in my view) is a component of a larger business strategy.

The way I see it there are 3 main factors:

1. Web Tools that enhance productivity
2. Sharing technologies to enable you to be part of a community and be in multiple places at once (leverage).
3. Communication technologies that allow you to better reach within your community.

How do you define social media?  Is there a better term?

6 Tips for Building a Website on a Limited Budget

Posted by kboon on February 10, 2010 under Business Building Strategies | 3 Comments to Read

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.

1. Graphics Design & Layout
2. Programming & Development
3. 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:

1. Wordpress – Wordpress is easy to use, includes great themes, and it’s free.
2. Netfirms – URL Registration & Hosting – Hosting is generally inexpensive
3. IstockPhoto – For low-cost images – or Flickr for free images
4. Website Grader – from Hubspot – this is a free tool that lets me grade my website for design, web usuability and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
5. 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.
6. 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:

1. Barack Obama’s Social Media Toolkit.  Here is the Edelman website.
2. Website Grader is free.  Hubspot has other free graders for Twitter, Facebook and Press Releases.

Target Markets – Who is your Customer?

Posted by kboon on February 3, 2010 under Business Building Strategies | Comments are off for this article

A while back I was at a large business gathering.  These events are usually designed for people to meet, share ideas, network and find more business.   I met about 20 people and had some great conversations, asked a lot of questions and exchanged business cards.

There was one woman who approached me and before I could even tell her what I do, she started selling me.  “You need these marketing and print materials and let me tell you we also offer design services …. Blah, blah, blah”  I tuned out.  She was determined to sell me.  We talked for a little longer but she did 99% of the talking.  After a few minutes I found a convenient excuse to get away (my beer glass was empty) and I left the conversation.

By 8am the next morning there was an email (from her) in my inbox telling me how her great products would save me money and be just what I needed to get more customers.

She assumed that I needed to save money or get more customers?

She never even asked me a question?

This is a challenge for many business entrepreneurs and sales people.  We get locked into a mindset that we need to sell.  I have done this myself.  I’ll tell a prospect what I do (an elevator pitch) and then they will comment back, “we don’t do it that way”.  And then I find myself back peddling and saying, “oh no but we can also do this… blah, blah, blah”.   Damn!  I’ve lost them and I lost my credibility because I was trying to sell when I should have been listening and developing a relationship.

When I work with clients I ask three questions:

• Who is your typical customer?
• Could you describe them to me (buyer persona)?
• What is your target market?

These questions can be difficult to answer.  I also believe they change as you get know your business, your customer and as market conditions change.  Often a client will say, “well everybody could use what I offer?” I’ll say, “Hang on!  Let’s step back!  Everyone?  Does your product cost money?”  ”Yes?” “Oh!  So you need people with money?”  Yes!

That’s a target market!  At least it’s a start.  I’ll then work with them to find ways to narrow it down even further.

In a future post I will give some examples of how to define your target market and identify your buyer persona.   Or better yet, if you have a business where you would like to run through this exercise, then connect here in the comments area, on Twitter or Linkedin.

7 Questions to Ask About your Business

Posted by kboon on February 2, 2010 under Business Building Strategies | Comments are off for this article

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:

1. What are my target market and who is my customer?
2. What is the right product or service for my business?
3. How do I create an effective website?
4. How do I monetize my business?
5. What are the best ways for reaching customers?
6. How do I tap into new markets and grow my business?
7. 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.

Guelph Technology & Greenway Home Products

Posted by kboon on January 25, 2010 under Stories | Comments are off for this article

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.

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