Category Archives: Business

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6 Keys for Improving Business Success

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According to US Bureau of Labor Statistics 25% of Small Businesses fail in the first 24 months, less than 50% survive past five years, and only 35% are still in business after ten years.  There are many reasons given as to why small businesses fail. Some blame the economic conditions, changing competition, or government policies.

I get fired up when discussing business success.  The real reason businesses fail isn’t economic conditions, competition, government policies or most any other excuse.  The real reason is that business owners make mistakes in several key areas.

There are always challenges in running a business. I believe that if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, find out what successful businesses do and follow their example.

In the past 35 years, I have made mistakes and learned crucial lessons about business and how to grow profits. You too can improve your success and have the numbers up and to the right.

Increase Your Success

1)Passion, Profitability, Proficiency

The first key to a successful business is having all three P’s.  If you run a business and don’t have passion for what you do, boredom will set in.  With boredom, the quality of your work will decrease and so will profits.

Malcolm Gladwell’s research shows that it takes 10,000 hours to become proficient at anything we do. If you aren’t willing to put in the time to be great at what you do, you are limiting your business.

If you have passion and proficiency but have a limited market, you don’t have a business.  You have a hobby.  Your idea has to be scalable.

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10 Website Mistakes To Avoid

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canstockphoto9606400Have you ever wondered why some websites seem to be inviting and engaging? Properly building your website is an imperative part of being in business.   This is where you have the opportunity to tell your story of why potential customers should do business with you.

The website will be your primary branding tool since it’s the first contact that most people will have with you or your business.  The following list will help you avoid mistakes building your website and create a great home base to launch, develop your brand, and grow your business.

1)    Not Effectively Branding and Telling your Business Story

This is the most important part of building your home base and the most difficult to do well.  The purpose of websites has changed dramatically in recent years.  Websites have moved from an information medium about your business to an integrated part of your branding message.

To effectively engage a visitor to your site you have to begin with what they are looking for and how you can become a trusted guide to solve their problem.  Make your visitor the central theme, not you. The movie industry is masterful at creating characters that are engaging and using a guide to tell the story.  Examples are Yoda from Star Wars and Haymitch from The Hunger Games.  One of the books in my library that outlines how the movie industry creates stories is Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need by Blake Snyder.

Next week’s post goes much deeper on branding and how to tell your business story.

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My Top 10 Favorite Apps to Boost Productivity

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“The true price of anything you do is the amount of time you exchange for it.”  
― Henry David Thoreau

Photo courtesy of CanStock Photos

Photo courtesy of CanStock Photos

Everything that we do in life has a cost of time.  How many hours do we exchange to pay for a car, a house, an education, or building great relationships?  We all have 168 hours in a week.  No more and no less than anybody else.  How we allocate those hours will determine our success in business and life.

The more you focus on what makes you productive, the greater your value is to others.  When we learn to say “Yes” to what is most important and “No” to what isn’t, we become more valuable. Maintaining the highest level of productivity for the longest period of time possible can only be done by setting boundaries and prioritizing your day.  If you don’t prioritize your day, someone else will.  You only have a limited time to achieve your goals,168 hours each week.  You are a limited resource.

In order to maximize productivity I use several apps to make work and life simpler. I have listed ten apps that I use to boost productivity.

1)      Evernote:  This is a great app that you can use to keep notes and makes a great file cabinet.  I keep track of everything from the projects I’m working on to items I need from suppliers.  It can be used to save emails, clip web articles, and store scanned documents. It can also sync with all of my devises (phone, iPad, computer). If you are just getting started the best guide on how to use Evernote is Evernote Essentials by Bret Kelly (Cost is $15).  *Note: Next week tips on how to organize Evernote.  Including how to set up files, save emails, clip web articles, and scan documents directly to Evernote.