You are currently browsing the monthly archive for June, 2008.
1. Our firm always focuses on the “price vs. value” that our clients deliver to their customers. Seth’s blog always has a good word, and this one is awesome, short but sweet - GoSee
2. In “Opportunity Knocks - Selling Our Services to the World,” a report from The Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, we find that our nation is exporting a lot more services outside the US. There has been a steady increase from almost 20% in 1980 to almost 30% in 2007. The report is a pretty good skim although a little lengthy (maybe because it was written by a lot of smart economists, most of whom are bald), but very informative nonetheless - GoSee
3. Major computing changes on the horizon: openness, data portability and cloud computing, Papadopoulos makes a prediction - GoSee
Thanks, Jason M. Blumer
My dog, Foster, in case you’ve never met him…
1. Wil Schroter’s blog at Go Big Network has one of the best posts yet on evaluating your latest startup idea (believe me, you need some freakin’ help). It had some eye-opening stuff put in some plain English even I could understand - GoSee
2. The SBA (Small Business Administration) has some pretty good info on the recent Economic Stimulus Package, which allows some new sexy rules on depreciation and the like. You’ve got to play with the depreciation calculator in Excel - pretty cool tool, fun, fun, fun! (seen on Startup Spark) - GoSee
3. This link is to a March article, but the info is very good and relevant. It speaks to Four Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make in a Recession - GoSee
Thanks, Jason M. Blumer
Some time ago, I posted about how an employer can sell themselves to their employees. Well, that works the other way around. I’ve consulted with employees on selling themselves to their employers.
Too often, employees are simply ”working for the man” unaware that their employer may be:
- Considering a replacement for their position,
- Looking for someone to sell their business to,
- Ready to implement new strategies in their business, and they need that special person to carry out these new ideas, or
- Assessing the job duties of each employee in anticipation of an upcoming job review
Whatever the case, it does a person good to sell themselves to their employer in a way that doesn’t come across as kissing up. Make your intentions to your employer known so as to avoid the “brown nosing” effect that could result from this activity.
Here is an example my dad shared with me when I first started working:
My dad had just started his career at Meyers Arnold in Greenville, SC and was working in the accounts payable department. The Accounting Manager had just left his position and my dad knew he could perform the job. They began looking outside to fill the position. My dad went to the manager and literally asked for the Accounting Manager position. However, he did not require a pay increase, and asked for the job on a contingent basis.
Of course, my dad did an awesome job and when it came time for his job review, my dad asked for a raise to go along with his big bad new title. They obliged and were thankful to have my dad on staff.
I’ve used that story to inspire me to do the same thing, receiving a bonus and over an 18% pay increase in one year. It was great. But I knew there was value behind my request.
In selling yourself to your boss, make sure there is value that will leave your employer unable to say no to your requests or desires. Make sure you have already added value to your position. Selling yourself should never come with promises to do well. They come with examples of excellent work already performed. Even better, selling yourself to your employer (in whatever capacity) is always more welcomed when you have padded your bosses pockets.
Thanks, Jason M. Blumer
1. I love my 12 foot wall of glass in my office. I had it professionally installed by a glass company, and I use it as a freakin’ huge whiteboard. But if you want to make a cheaper one, check this post on how to do it - GoSee
2. The changing world of work, which is so near and dear to my heart, has advanced just a little bit farther with Adobe’s help (as seen on Scobleizer). They are challenging Microsoft Office and Google Docs online with their new ”inventions” - GoSee
3. Check out the new 3GB Apple iPhone, supposedly “the best phone for business. Ever.” (cheaper, bigger memory, twice as fast, a new GPS) - GoSee
Thanks, Jason M. Blumer
This article so eloquently summarizes how I feel about the ”big bad economy”. Though it’s funny, it really has a lot of truth in it. “The economy” tends to make us afraid to expand our businesses and operate efficiently and profitability.
And that fear keeps us from providing value to our clients and charging for it. Which is the main beef of this post - good quality businesses that don’t charge for what they do.
My dad said it best when he shared this quote in one of our recent THRIVEal business classes that we teach to our clients:
Good work is not cheap! Cheap work is not good!
I want my clients to be the experts that charge more than anyone and deliver high-end value and quality that can’t be found anywhere else. Don’t lower your fees for fear of the “economic downturn”. The “economic downturn” exists due to fear in the media, and it can’t make the small businesses in this country fail. Scared business owners can make a small business fail, but not the “economic downturn”.
So don’t be afraid to expand during this “economic downturn” (whatever the heck that is). Add value in ways no one else is, and CHARGE FOR IT! Now is the time to gain ground and take over market share that is not currently being protected very well. Your clients may not be able to reiterate it, but they are familiar with the phrase:
Good work is not cheap! Cheap work is not good!
Thanks, Jason M. Blumer
1. Cool. Microsoft’s next operating system (Windows 7) may include a touch screen (and eliminate the mouse?) - GoSee
2. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is the voice for small businesses and has created a great searchable database containing over 2,000 facts about American small businesses. It’s called 411 Small Business Facts. Questions on record keeping requirements?, or Proper business structure?, or Legal liability issues?, or Coping with the regulations of Worker’s Comp insurance?, or The value of your web site?, or A small business poll on Innovation? Now you have a place to go look - GoSee
3. Speaking of wonderful and useful facts, the “Chuck Norris Facts” are very useful (I almost wet myself reading them) - GoSee
Thanks, Jason M. Blumer
Last week was a great week of our THRIVEal classes!
These classes are part of our THRIVEal Business Success Series. We offer free classes to our clients every May and November on various topics from Marketing and Branding to the proper tax structures to operate their businesses in.
Here’s a recap…
Monday- Running Your Business on QuickBooks: An Introduction - We touched on the “need-to-know” stuff. We don’t hit every participant with the whole program. That tends to overwhelm. We focused on letting our clients know what they had to do in order to be successful with the program.
Tuesday- Tax Class 101 - We laid out the various tax structures an entrepreneur can operate within, and explained what they were for. We got a little “techy” and had to use some tax-related language, but overall the group learned a lot. We went through a very eye-opening example of switching a client from a sole proprietor structure to an S Corp. We were marveled at the tax dough that can be saved by doing this.
Wednesday- Strategies for Success in Your Business - Clearly the best class of the week! It’s a topic I love and one that our participants responded to. We passed on a heavy theoretical dose of management theory to our clients, why they do business, and how we consult with our clients toward growth. We focused on technical people going into business to do business work, and how entrepreneurs have faulty mentalities when starting new businesses. With examples from a great book, The E Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It, we helped our clients transition their thinking from one of faulty thinking to one of successful thinking.
Thursday- Efficient Use of Business Technology - We brought in a guest lecturer for this one. He went through all of the various areas of technology that may help a startup or entrepreneur so that they might leave with one or two ideas of how to improve the efficiency of their office/business.
Friday - Future-Oriented Strategies: How to Budget for Your Business - We spoke of the value of looking ahead in every aspect of life (we all use future-oriented strategies in many aspects of planning for life). Budgeting for your business should be no different. We went through some of our high-end software that does regression analysis (statistics are so much fun!) on historical data and projects that data out into the future. Fun stuff!
Overall the classes were a great success, and I believe they were of great benefit to our clients. Thanks to all who participated. E-mail me at thriveal@gmail.com for a pdf of any of the outlines. Looking forward to November…
Peace out.
Thanks, Jason M. Blumer
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