One Habit Harming Your Business

I’m going to share the most vital of business tip I can – you have a bad habit. In fact, most entrepreneurs do. I had to become aware of this bad habit, which is why I am passing it on to you. Once you become aware of this habit then you can start to work on breaking it.

So, what’s the habit? Living in the past. Yes, the past. You see, dwelling in the past keeps you from moving forward. It is important that you do whatever it takes to bury the past so you can come into the now. You can’t think about mistakes or should’ves. You really have to focus on planning to move forward and think about possibilities.

People who live in the past or judge the present based on how they have experienced the past tend to be dreamers, not do’ers. It is important that you are both. I use to live in the past. I thought about all the money and time wasted learning lessons and thought how impossible it seemed for me to move forward. Then, one day, after realizing that I was frozen by my past , I decided to dive right into my future. I worked on shrugging off irrational fears of what could happen again and made a plan to move forward and prevent these things from happening again. I didn’t become glued to past results, I worked on moving forward because of the past results.

If you can learn to move forward from the past, you will be successful. There is no question in my mind about this strategy. So, I ask you today, what about your past is making you fearful about moving forward today? Whatever it is, address it and then figure out a plan to move beyond it.

Until tomorrow,

Velma Trayham

Are You TOO Busy for Your Clients?

It happens. We get busy with how to run the business, growing a business, developing our brand, etc. that we forget why we are in business- our customers. I'm listing three ways to tell if you've lost sight of your customers' needs and are cheating them- even without meaning to do so. If so, ask yourself what you can do to correct the situation at hand.

1. You half-ass tasks. Sorry to be so blunt, but it is true. If you perform at your highest level upon first signing a client, but months or years later you could care less if the product/service is amazing or of quality then you've lost focused and are denying your customer what he or she is entitled to.

2. You believe the customer is always right. Um, no. The customer may think he or she is always right, but they're not. You wouldn't sell a standard kitchen oven to someone who wanted to open a bakery would you? No, of course not. If you see a client making a mistake and you don't step in- you're failing that customer.

3. You avoid the evil client. If you ditch a client because he or she is too demanding than you might not be up for the challenge of expansion. Try your best to handle evil clients and resolve inner-conflicts before giving this type of customer the boot.

Dealing with customers isn't always easy. You are not going to have easy clients in life. There will be difficult clients and situations. Remember these three tips and make sure the problem isn't you.

Until Monday,

Velma Trayham 

Saying ‘No’ to Pushy Customers.

As business owners we are very blessed to have customers. There are many other companies that offer the same products or services that you do. No one has a 100% grip on their industry. So, what happens when you have to let a client go or say the word ‘no’? Will you go out of business? Probably not.

First, however, let’s examine when and why to say no to a client. If a client is asking you to do something outside of a contract, to do something illegal, or if he or she requires a lot of hand-holding that will slow down your growth - say ‘No’. New companies may not have the luxury of saying no to clients who require much hand holding because they don’t have the business yet to self-sustain.

If you have offered bad products or services to a client, saying ‘No’ as far as a return can, however, harm your company.

You can’t allow your clients to walk all over you in business. I knew one lady who owned a coffee shop. She became friendly with her customers and ran tabs for VIP guests. Guess what happened… she was out of business in a year.

I’m not telling you to be mean to clients or not to accommodate them. What I am saying is to focus on business decisions when addressing clients. Don’t consider how much a contract or sale may bring in, consider what it will cost you to service that contract.

Until tomorrow,

Coco the CEO

Saving Money in 2014

Here is a question no one asks…. “How do I save money?” Believe it or not, many business owners almost feel ashamed to talk about saving money. Why? We all like to save money regardless if we are well off or not. So, what is the shame in discussing finances? We should be open and honest about the different ways business owners can, and should, save money.

Let’s start with advertising. Dare I say it? Billboards don’t work! They’re expensive and they are great for branding yourself or your products but they don’t actually bring in sales. So, if you want to create an ad campaign on the cheap- go viral or go with in-store coupons. Slipping a 4X6 flier into a customer’s bag for their next purchase works well and it costs pennies. Starting a social media ad campaign can be achieved for $50 dollars.

Next, consider buying recycled printer cartridges. This can save you up to 35% annually on printing expenses. People think recycled means poor quality. No, this isn’t the case. You’re saving money and the environment at the same time, which means it is almost shameful to buy new in this case. And, with the average business paying upwards of $1,200 a year on printing ink, 35% ($420) per year is quite the savings.

Finally, lease employees. It may sound odd, but it will save you tons of cash. You might not always have a need for a full-time or even part-time employee. Using the same person over and over again through a temp agency will save you cash and retraining efforts. Plus, the temp can pick up other work with his or her agency when you don’t have a need for him or her. It is a win-win situation.

Don’t be afraid to save money as a business owner. In fact, consider it your duty to so in the name of company growth.

Until tomorrow,

Coco the CEO

Google Hummingbird – Are You In?

As a business owner how aware are you of Google’s new Hummingbird feature? You should be very aware of it as it can be harming your company right now. Launched in October of 2013, the feature is changing the way people utilize SEO content. Not sure what SEO content is? Stop reading now and head to your nearest University for a class on social media and web marketing basics.

Hummingbird is going to change how marketers and PR people utilize SEO content. While we relied heavily on SEO content the past five years, people are using their voice control apps via their smart phones to search specific phrases. These phrases aren’t key word orientated and neither is the navigation device on the smart phone’s voice control app. However, Hummingbird acts as the bridge between what a person is asking the voice control app and what results arrive on Google’s search engine. Thus, if you are relying on SEO content to market to someone who primarily uses Siri to find dinner, business tools, or anything else- you’re soon to be dead in the water!

One marketing consultant with B2B Magazine recently said, “People may type things like 'buy yoga mat Buckhead' in Google on a browser, but would say a command verbally such as, 'What's the closest place to buy a yoga mat to my home?'" Leefe said. "A traditional search engine might focus on finding matches for keywords, such as finding a page that says 'buy' and 'yoga mat,' for example. Instead, Hummingbird helps Google understand the meaning behind those words to deliver better search results.”

If you’re not on point with Hummingbird then it is time to get in the game. I can help you with this portion of your company’s social media and web services efforts. Just click any of my contact links and let’s get started working on your company’s growth today!

Coco the CEO