Words of Wisdom When Starting Your Own Business

Starting your own business can be difficult and it can be even more challenging to run that business. For most people, running their own business is something brand new and because of that, you're learning new things all the time. When you're learning and succeeding with your business, your efforts will be rewarded. On the other hand, sometimes it may seem like your efforts are fruitless and you may be second-guessing your decision to start your own business. This is completely normal.

If you haven't taken the jump yet (or even if you've already started your own business), here are some things to consider:

• Make sure your family is supportive of your decision.
• Check yours and your family's finances to ensure your decision is financially feasible.
• Enlist a business mentor - someone you admire and can talk to about how they became business savvy.
• Know that this is your baby and that your family won't always have the same unconditional love for your business that you do.
• Know when to ask for help.
• Know when to hire help.
• Be flexible.
• Always have a back-up plan.
• Learn how to deal with the stresses of owning your own business in a healthy way that won't affect your family or clients negatively.

The last, and most important thing, is to remember why your started (or want to start) your company in the first place.

Book Review: Unleashing the Ideavirus by Seth Godin

Another book from the early 2000's that still has relevant topics to today's marketing principles is Unleashing the Ideavirus by Seth Godin. His whole premise is about marketing an experience and interacting with those involved with the experience. Those customers' information should be captured and then be asked for permission to interact them in the future. With the inundation and various types of communication channels today, permission marketing is an absolute necessity when continuing the conversation with your customers.

Another concept Godin introduces in this book is a "sneezer." A sneezer is someone more likely to tell their friends about a great new idea. These people are the crux of the ideavirus. You need credible people to spread the good news about your product, service or promotion and those people are your sneezers. Find those people, have a plan, ask for permission and unleash the ideavirus and watch the viral marketing do its magic to grow your brand awareness and sales.

Holiday Gifts for Your Clients

Can you believe it's already time for the holidays? It's time to start thinking about personalizing a gift for your clients that they will appreciate. When looking for a holiday gift, you'll want to consider these things:

• Is there a monetary limit on gifts that your clients can receive?
• Make sure your gift is related to something personal your client likes, golfing for example.
• Make sure that it's something that they will use and not give it to their child/grandchild.

By spending some time thinking about what your client likes and what they would value in a holiday gift will help strengthen your relationship. It shows that you pay attention to the little details.

The Hardest Part of Starting Something New

Sometimes it can be difficult to get something started once you have developed that great idea. You may be nervous that it's not ready to been seen by the world, or that you don't have it just perfect. Don't delay! Send in that updated resume or start that YouTube channel. It may not be perfect, or up to your perfection standards, but once you start that project or task, finishing or maintaining your project will get progressively easier. Get started today!

Considerations for Marketing with QR Codes

QR (quick response) Codes are used to direct people to a certain website, graphic, product, etc. in marketing campaigns or to direct them to more information. Using them can show that you're on the leading edge of technology, but consider the following things when using them in your next marketing piece or campaign.

• Know your demographics - Are the people that you want to scan your QR Code carrying mobile phones that support QR Code scanners? Does your audience know what these codes are for? Make sure to think about these things in relation to your target audience.
• Use the QR Code appropriately - Are you directing people to something that can't be displayed on the piece you've created? The QR Code should direct people to something that they're interested in. For example, if you're running a campaign directing people that visit your store to sign-up for your rewards program online, you can have a piece with a QR Code that directs them to sign-up on the spot with their mobile devices.
• Educate your staff - Make sure anyone from your company or department that interacts with people using a QR Code know what the code is and what it does. People won't use something they don't understand.
• Be creative! - Your imagination is the only limit in how you can use a QR Code to direct people to specs for your new product, a special coupon code, or a social media account, etc.
  

Book Review: The Buffettology Collection by Mark Buffett and David Clark

This book on CD includes both books: Buffettology and The New Buffettology. The New Buffettology Collection is read by Mary Buffett, former daughter-in-law of Mr. Warren Buffett himself. She goes through the very logical though process of one of the most highly-regarded investors in the world. Some of those logical ideas include: ensuring the company has identifiable consumer monopolies or brand name products, understanding how the company works, ensuring it's conservatively financed, the company earnings are strong and show an upward trend, the shareholders' value is increasing, the return on equity is above average, the company is free to adjust prices to inflation, and the operations of the company do not require large capital expenditures. The ideas identified in this book are rather simple and the though process is easy to follow. Do pick up the book version of Buffettology to go through the mathematics that Mary describes in the audio version of these books.

Generation Gap: Video Game Generation

A recent hot topic has been the generation gap and personality profiles between our different generations. The discussion has been one that compares and contrasts the various generations (Silent, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y and Generation Z). One of the generations, that I'll call the "Video Game" generation, includes the Gen Y and Gen Z members. This group is comfortable achieving things in steps and being rewarded once they complete a level - like in a video game.

In a video game you start off on easy levels, which progressively get harder, as you beat each level. In order to beat each level, you must build and demonstrate your skills. Once you've demonstrated those skills, you're able to move on to the next level.

Translating this to a business environment, expect those from the Video Game generation to have those same expectations about moving up in the company. Once they have demonstrated certain skills, they are ready to move on to the next level. They don't care about how long or little time it takes for them to complete the level satisfactorily, just that they are able to move to the next level.

Recent discussion about this has attributed these expectations to overconfidence, and maybe that does play into the Video Game generation's personality. But they have been raised that they can "do anything you set your mind to" and "be anything you want to be when you grow up." Couple that part of an upbringing with being trained to succeed by achieving levels at your own pace gives this generation a negative rap.

The question now is, how do you work with the Video Game generation? You must set expectations and a structure, in the form of "if you do X, Y will happen." For example, "if you complete this project, then we will give you this more challenging project." Monetary rewards aren't always necessary when working with the Video Game generation; many of them are just looking for challenges and/or ways to further and progress their careers.