In order to successfully move forward in your goals for your business, you have to stay in constant learning mode. You can never stop learning. This does not mean that you have to go back to school and take formal courses, but you can seek ways to increase your knowledge and take steps to sharpen your skills on a regular basis.
Make use of your waiting time: Always have material with you so that you make good use of time you spend waiting – for meetings to start, for a doctor’s appointment, at the beauty salon, at the barber’s, to pick up your children from school, waiting at the airport, to name a few.
Turn travel time into productive time: Use your car as your mobile university. This is one of the reasons I don’t mind traveling long distances alone. I can listen to whatever I want freely without having to be concerned about imposing on other persons in the car. I keep CDs with motivational and Read the rest of this entry →
The headline reads, “Smiles Can Ease Stress at the Office.†The article was written by syndicated columnist, Michelle Singletary, and in it she mentioned the number of businesses that were laying off staff and closing locations leaving those employees who kept their jobs to shoulder more responsibility. She noted that this added more stress to the employees who remained.
In the article Michelle also reviewed a book that focused on the the need for levity in the workplace. The book highlighted the need for employers to create a fun and light atmosphere on the job and incorporate these in emails, memos, voice mails, meetings, and training sessions.
As I read the article I thought of how this article could be applied to entrepreneurs and small business owners. Do you work from home full-time? Are you alone in your home office day after day? Do you take time to smile or even laugh? If you are a small business owner with a brick and mortar store, like a boutique, do you find ways to inject humor into your interactions with your clients and prospects?
There are many types of small businesses where there is a lot of interaction with the public. For example, hair salons, spas, auto supply stores, hardware stores, fabric stores, etc. Because of this interaction there is no shortage of communication and opportunities to inject humor into your day; but taking or making opportunities to smile or laugh when you're alone may not be something many of us think Read the rest of this entry →
Is traditional marketing dead? Despite the fact that social media provide tremendous opportunities to reach a wider audience in your target market, there is still a place in the life of the small business owners or entrepreneur for traditional marketing strategies like business networking.
Attending networking events by the Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis, Business Network International (BNI) and other events put on by local groups provide opportunities to meet people and get to know people in your area of expertise. Like any other successful marketing strategy, there is an art to networking.
