Got Good Advice?

     If you’re putting all your business eggs  in one consultant or one consulting group basket, don’t give your business long to live! It may be time to remind yourself that your business is your baby, that you’ve worked hard to get it up and on its feet, and toddling forward. Sure it will fall on its face a few times, but YOU are the only one who can get it back on track.

     When you hire a consultant or consulting firm  and expect her/him/it to get all your ducks in a row, you’re headed for Disneyland! And given the kinds of fees being charged these days, you may also be on your way to the poorhouse.

     It’s an age-old proven fact  that the best solution to ANY organizational problem lies WITHIN the organization. The challenge therefore is HOW to draw it out, not to decide on what consultant to hire to analyze it to death and make recommendations you don’t need!

     Except for highly technical consultants, no consultant (inside OR outside) can waltz in  and pinpoint a management or organizational solution direction for you to follow. My best guess is that that person or “team” will be wrong more than 99% of the time. Why?

IF YOU’RE NOT PART OF THE PROBLEM,

YOU CAN’T BE PART OF THE SOLUTION

BECAUSE YOU’LL NEVER FULLY GRASP THE PROCESS!

     You own or run or manage the company  and that means YOU are the only one who can understand and guide the unique solution process as it exists in your unique organization. The ball’s in your court. You can get consulting HELP, but in the end it will always have to be your solution and your decision.

     Soooooooooo — why do you want to pay  for one support entity when you can have 5 or 7 (odd number recommended) support entities helping you FOR FREE? Huh? The best consulting help you can engage will be to help you engage an advisory board that can help steer your ship while you sleep or visit the head!

     You will probably also do this task better by yourself,  but — in starting an advisory board — objective, outside input can be valuable. Start with people you trust who you know agree with the general growth directions you plan, and who are willing to commit time and energy. They need not agree with you on the details of how to get there, but that’s okay.

     Reward them  by serving food and snacks at meetings; give them free samples of products and/or allow them “family” discounts on services. Treat them special. Require confidentiality but be 100% honest with them, and cultivate a high trust level with each. Keep them informed of both good and bad news.

     Call them together quarterly, monthly when needed. Don’t ever waste their time. Always have pre-circulated agendas of problem-solution issues and bring key employees in to present the details. Stick to the agendas. Give out assignments. Have goals of leaving meetings with solutions. Work it.

     Yes, it’s work,  but you’ll get better input, free, from people who feel they have a stake in the contributions they make, and whose input wins your respect. They will also end up being your best salespeople!

# # #               

If Jesus Christ

runs your business 

 . . . look before you leap!

     If you believe Jesus runs your business,  God Bless You, but be careful about how you represent yourself. It’s probably a fair estimate to say that a good deal more than half the world could care less about your religious persuasion as a business owner or manager.

     It’s probably also a fair estimate to say  that in most parts of the United States, and especially the major cities, there is even a pointed resistance — and even an antagonistic and spiteful attitude — toward religious (Christian) based businesses.

     Reality: Many non-believers are threatened.  Many dismiss you condescendingly as “just another Jesus Freak.” Many will go out of their way to not do business with you. Some will try to undermine your business efforts.

     That doesn’t mean you should give it up.  It does mean you should be careful. It means you and your spirituality will be best served by exercising Christian values in everything you do and every encounter you have without necessarily advertising them.

     All the time?  No. There are some times and places–and many ways–where it’s appropriate to publicize your beliefs where it won’t cost you business or relationships. You may not like having to “hold your tongue” but reality dictates that it’s sometimes best for your self and your business to not be making public proclamations about your religious orientations. As for ways to do it, HOW you say what you say is the key.

     Certainly, Jesus would advise  tolerance when confronted with contentiousness? Remember that the bottom line is if you believe you and your business are serving Jesus, you will best serve by passive accommodation: i.e., a “customer is always right” focus, which of course works for EVERY business.

     If your business is a local or regional one  that is located in a heavily Christian community, then you can be much freer in expressing your interests and affiliations than in a geographical area not as uniformly receptive to your mission.

     Of course you can be a rebel-rouser  and charge into the marketplace brandishing a religious banner, but you will be risking the prospective success of what your business existence is all about.

     Is closing up shop  worth you having made a lot of noise about the principles your business is founded on? Remember: When your doors close, so does your ability to contribute!

# # #

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  Hal@Businessworks.US   302.933.0116

  Open Minds Open Doors 

   Thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

  Make today a GREAT day for someone! 

Healthcare Dictatorship?

In this week’s Wall Street Journal,  former NY State Lt. Governor Betsy McCaughey brought to light some of the small business-impact details buried in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 1,990-page health bill (H.R.3962) that you need to know about:

The government will require

EVERYone to:

     • Enroll in a “QUALIFIED PLAN.”  Sec. 202 (p. 91-92) of the bill requires that if you get your insurance at work, employers will have a “grace period” to switch you to a “QUALIFIED PLAN,” meaning a plan designed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. If you buy your own insurance, there’s no grace period. You’ll have to enroll in a qualified plan as soon as any term in your contract changes, such as the co-pay, deductible or benefit.

     • Be legally required to pay  whatever the Secretary of Health and Human Services decides what a “QUALIFIED PLAN” covers and what your fees will be. Sec. 224 (p. 118) provides that you will be told an amount 18 months after the bill becomes law. That,” says Ms. McCaughey, is like a banker telling you to sign the loan agreement now, then filling in the interest rate and repayment terms 18 months later.

On 11/2/09, the Congressional Budget Office estimated an individual earning $44,000 before taxes who purchases his own insurance will have to pay a $5,300 premium and $2,000 in out-of-pocket expenses: total $7,300 a year, which is 17% of his pre-tax income. A family earning $102,100 a year before taxes will have to pay a $15,000 premium plus $5,300 out-of-pocket: $20,300 total, or 20% of its pre-tax income. Individuals and families earning less will be eligible for subsidies paid direct to  insurers.

     • Adhere to a “one-size-fits-all” QUALIFIED PLAN  even though it doesn’t exist. See Sec. 303 (pp. 167-168) The bill claims to offer choice—basic, enhanced and premium levels—but benefits are the same. Only co-pays and deductibles differ. You will have to enroll in the same plan, whether the government is paying for it or you or your employer are.

     • Include proof in your taxes that you are in a QUALIFIED PLAN.  Sec. 59b (pp. 297-299) If you don’t, you will be fined thousands of dollars. Illegal immigrants are exempt.

Sec. 412 (p. 272) says that employers must provide a “QUALIFIED PLAN” for their employees and pay 72.5% of the cost, and a smaller share of family coverage, or incur an 8% payroll tax. Smaller payroll businesses are fined less.

     The bill Sec. 1302 (pp. 672-692) cuts future Medicare funding by $500 Billion, takes away patient rights to choose which doctor to see, permits the government to dictate treatment decisions, and specifies patients may have to accept a nurse practitioner instead of a physician.

     • Secs. 1158-1160 (pp. 499-520) reduces payments for care and the standard of care for hospital patients in higher cost areas such as New York and Florida.

     • Sec. 1161 (pp. 520-545) cuts payments to Medicare Advantage plans (used by 20% of seniors) expected to cut back benefits such as vision and dental care.

While the bill will slash Medicare funding, it will also direct Billions of dollars to numerous inner-city social work and diversity programs with vague standards of accountability.

     • Sec. 399V (p. 1422) provides for grants to community “entities” with no required qualifications except having “documented community activity and experience with community healthcare workers” to “educate, guide, and provide experiential learning opportunities” aimed at drug abuse, poor nutrition, smoking and obesity.    

     • Sec. 222 (p. 617) provides reimbursement for training healthcare workers to inform Medicare beneficiaries of their right to an interpreter.

     • Secs. 2521 and 2533 (pp. 1379 and 1437) establishes racial and ethnic preferences in awarding grants for training nurses and creating secondary-school health science programs.     

 And all of this is just the tip of the iceberg! For the text of the bill with page numbers, see www.defendyourhealthcare.us     

# # #               

Listen To Yo Mama!

     Remember those stern warnings  you used to get, but don’t anymore because now you’re a hot-shot business owner or manager and you don’t need anybody telling you what to do anymore?

     Remember being told  to “Listen To Yo Mama!” and you would study your feet and mumble some feeble “Yes’am” or “Yessir” then back out the kitchen door with your tail between your legs because you knew in your heart that Mama was right? Remember?

     And nobody dares tell you that stuff now, now  that you’re the boss? Ah, but bear with me here. Just read a little more. Why? Because you don’t sign my paycheck, so I can tell you what I think straightout! Here it is. Ready?

     If you don’t take care of you,  you can’t be any good to anyone else . . . and you certainly aren’t going to make your business work from a hospital bed! (Sound like Mama?) Well, my dear blog visiting business-minded muckity-muck, just because nobody is on your case about if and when and how you take care of your SELF, doesn’t excuse you from stepping up to the plate!

     Yeah, yeah, yeah,  you say. But you know what? If you don’t eat right, nobody else will do it for you. If you don’t sleep right, nobody else will do it for you. If you don’t exercise enough, nobody else will do it for you. If you don’t quit smoking and drink in moderation, nobody else will do it for you. If you don’t switch from drugs to vitamins, nobody else will do it for you.

     Oh, and of course, if you don’t take enough deep breaths: http://bit.ly/Bb1Tw . . . well, there are machines that can help. The bottom line is that when you are not taking care of you, you are not taking care of your business, and the whole enchilada is YOUR CHOICE!

     We CHOOSE our behavior.  Okay, so why on Earth would you choose to want to continue with self-destruct behaviors that will kill you AND your business (as MY mother used to put it) in two shakes of a lamb’s tail (and THAT’s pretty quick!) when you have SO much opportunity ahead of you?

     Do us a favor, okay?  When you wake up tomorrow morning, clap your hands together twice as Zig Ziglar suggests, and say (with as much enthusiasm as you can):

OH BOY! WHAT A GREAT DAY TO GET UP AND GET TO IT. I BELIEVE SOMETHING WONDERFUL IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO ME TODAY!”

     Then keep choosing  to take care of your SELF all day because you’ll be choosing to get both your business self and your business together like you’ve never been together before. Go on, do it! Just do it for three days in a row. You might surprise yourself . . . and maybe even jumpstart your sales! (and this advice is not only proven; it’s cheaper than a lottery ticket!)     

# # #               

GOT A SICK WEBSITE?

Check Your Content Vitals!

     When words and sentences  are not set off in visually-balanced spacing arrangements, or are broken in mid-thought, or lack the proper relationship to one another, or suffer from overkill font treatments, or are simply too cluttered looking . . . they lose impact.

     When this occurs on your website,  you lose visitors. Lost visitors mean lost sales. And here’s what makes it even worse that very many business owners don’t realize:

Lost site visits = Opportunity losses

     A rarely thought-about or accounted-for reality  is that — like the exponential explosion of bad reputation that can be ignited by just one unhappy customer — there is a click-off dynamic in place which can threaten your website health by unhappy “pass-along visitorships.”

People talk. People Email. People Twitter. People Txtmsg.

     In the old days,  we would ask one another:  Did you see that front page story? Or, did you see that TV special? Now we say: Did you check that site? And how do you respond when you think a site eats dirt? Or maybe in a moment of assertiveness, you even volunteer to others that a site you just looked at isn’t worth their time to visit?

     Missed visits  from those who might ordinarily check a site but are forewarned to not waste their time by a family member, friend or associate who already stopped by (and found the site boring, stale or confusing) cost sales, the opportunity to cultivate sales, and — fairly or not — reputation … maybe even 2nd and 3rd hand negative comments.

     Your homepage and landing pages  cannot be too engaging. And — opposite of what many site designers and self-proclaimed website and SEO and SEM and conversion “specialists” would have you believe — it’s the content (copywriting), not the graphics that sell.

     If in fact the words are what sell,  why would you want to settle for anything less than the perfect sets of words on your site? Why would you want to have them be bro-                                  ken in the wrong places? Or have headlines that end or start a line of text on a peculiar                     word?

     In other words, YOU HAVE 7 SECONDS  to get someone into your site, or you’ve lost them. If you’ve lost them, those people are likely to lose you others, others who may never have even gotten a glimpse of your offerings.

     The best thing you can do  to prevent “Pass-Along” Site Visitor Virus, and minimize your website opportunity losses is to get (and pay the piper for) great copywriting. The words are critical. How the words appear is critical. A great copywriter tends to both of these ingredients.

     A great copywriter  is invested in creating and producing words that sell. What happens to your site visitors in the first 7 seconds?

# # #               

Dear SBA: You’re out of touch! 

     I just read  a meaningless, unintelligible, patronizing, jargon-filled statement by SBAs Delaware District Director which reinforces in spades a conviction I’ve voiced in prior posts that the Small Business Association is utterly useless to small businesses and waaaaay out of touch with reality.

     She headlines her article  “100 Days After the Recovery Act” and starts out by telling readers how great all the new SBA programs are to “help small businesses weather this economic storm, and ultimately continue to grow and create jobs.” Where was SBA when these kinds of comments were being posed as requests over a year ago on this blog and many others?

     She ends with:  “America’s small businesses are the key to our nation’s economic recovery.”  (Duh) “The SBA is using every tool in our toolbox –and creating new ones when necessary– to help small businesses lead us out of these tough economic times.” (Double Duh)So tell us about the tools in your toolbox! In plain English would also be a nice thing to try to do, by the way.

     Get this, business owners:  You think the SBA is relevant so you read this gobbledygook (or gobbledegook if you prefer… a word that’s really worth looking up!) and imagine you might get an idea or two about how to help your business recover, right?

     Wrong.  Unless of course you happen to be well versed in “loan programs–7(a) and 504” because then you undoubtedly understand about “eliminated fees for borrowers” on 7(a) “and for both borrowers and lenders on 504” and that they’ve “temporarily raised the guarantee.”

     Oh, yes, and we should be thrilled  to know that “there’s been a 30 percent increase in average weekly loan dollar volume” and –on top of that– the new SBA launched ARC loan “program provides loans up to $35,000 to viable but struggling small businesses,” and that “SBA has now put in place programs implementing 88 percent of the $730 million provided.”  

You must be kidding, SBA!

• What is “7(a)”? Who should be expected to know this?

• What is “504”? Who should be expected to know this?

• What “eliminated fees”? Why? When? For how long? So what?

• Why eliminated for just borrowers on one loan and for borrowers and lenders both on another, and who cares?

• What exactly does “temporarily” mean?

• What “guarantee”? Whose? For what? For how long? What are the terms?

• 30% increase? This has something to do with my small business?

• So what? What does this have to do with me and my small business?

• What exactly is “viable”? Is it not defined because not many will qualify?

• What exactly is “struggling”? And again, how is this determined?

• What difference does it make to ANYone that 88% of $730 million has been “implemented”? I’m trying to put food on the table. Who are you trying to impress?

• What does “implemented” mean, exactly? Why can SBA language never be straightforward? Likely because no small businesspeople are speaking.

     Find me ONE “struggling” small business owner who understands all this crap. Just one. The problem here is that the SBA is simply another BIG-business-run federal government agency that hasn’t a single clue about owning and operating a small business … and that is more concerned with covering its butt and looking good to political administrators than with helping small businesses create jobs. It is tokenism run amuck.    

I served two consecutive 2-year federal appointment terms on what’s been called the country’s most important SBA regional advisory council (NY/NJ/CT and the USVI. I  resigned  because 31 of the 33 membership seats were filled with major corporate executives. I and one other member were the only ones who owned and operated small businesses. The job of representing and cultivating small business interests was not getting done, and it’s still not.

# # #

Banking on your bank?

Don’t waste your time!

     The economy continues to hemorrhage.  Oh no, that’s just not true, I heard that it’s not true on the news today:  The federal government says “we’re seeing many signs of things turning around.”

     I can’t imagine  what’s in some one’s line of sight that would prompt THAT statement. Also in today’s news, Microsoft just laid off another 800 employees. You connect the dots.

     The point is that when the going gets tough,  the average hard-working business leader thinks: The BANK. The BANK will bail us out. The BANK will lend us what we need. The BANK is the answer.

     One leading national bank  says they’ll even give loans to illegal aliens. Another says it will help customers who need help. Don’t you believe either one of them, or any of the other sleazy branding line enticements being offered out there in medialand. 

     You cannot depend on The BANK.  Period. Banks are tripping over themselves trying to outdo hospitals and the US Postal Service in the stupidity and low trust departments.

     Banks are at least 50 years behind reality  and –just like the hospitals and US Postal Service– think that slick, clever slogans, spiels, and marketing devices coming from empty suits and empty heads are going to make up the difference, the decades of incompetence.

     Credit unions offer a bit more comfort,  because they answer to their “members” not a board of directors and stockholders (but can also be a bit more risky for businesses because loan percentages, for example, can end up being higher than credit card rates if you’re not careful and alert).

     You think BANK  because the BANK has convinced you that it is your good neighbor, that because it’s been doing business in your town for a zillion generations, that it’s honorable and will loan you the money you need when you need it for a ridiculously low rate because they’re your neighbor.

     Good Luck!  A lot of businesses are failing because they naively trusted The BANK would support them in hard times. Reality Check: The BANK supports itself in hard times.

     What else is there?  Investors. Great, but guess what? Today’s investors want immediate gratification ROI and enough proof and collateral to guarantee it. Not much help if you don’t already have the money you need! 

     “Angel” investors  are getting tainted with skepticism, and are also requiring more than you probably have cause if you had it you wouldn’t be looking for it! Hmmmm. Barter. Right. Well, barter is great up to a point, but it rarely if ever produces money. Stockpiled merchandise and services have increasingly marginal value. 

     So, that leaves (ta-ta-ta-ta-tah-tah!):  SALES. Innovative, value-added products and services = SALES. SALES ALWAYS BEAT The BANK. How to boost sales now must be your number one (and perhaps only) priority. There is no greater or more important issue for you or your business to be dealing with right now, unless of course you own or run The BANK. 

# # #               

Getting Even

Is Getting Nowhere!

     “Don’t Get Mad. Get Even!”  says the T-shirt. “Those guys in that company misrepresented themselves to us, and we’re going to make sure they pay for it; we’ll make them look like chopped liver to the rest of the industry,” says the disgruntled company owner.

      “I put that business in business, and what do they do?  They turn around and try to stick it to me; I’ll fix their butts good; just wait ’til they try to raise some investor money,” says the ego-injured entrepreneur.

     It won’t work. None of it.  The more you pay attention to trying to get even with someone or some entity that did you in, the closer you come to doing yourself in. If you’re crazed about delivering justice, join a band of vigilantes … or start over again and become a lawyer.

     But stop with the need to extract revenge.

     Vengefulness is a waste of time and energy  that diverts attention and costs opportunity loss. It prevents you from doing what you really need to be doing, which is making sales and growing your own business. The more you worry about what others are doing or not doing, the closer you get to self-destruct mode! 

     Not only are these kinds of evil thoughts and misdeeds  harmful to the growth missions you need to rally behind, but the ill intents get talked about and emailed about and txtmsgd about … and it seldom takes more than a day for others connected with your industry (including customers and suppliers and investors and referrers) to find out what you’re up to.

    Plus, the more you try to cover, hide, and disown it, the quicker everyone finds out. In the end, you’ll hang for it because your reputation, trust, and integrity will be flushed away in one quick jerk of the handle!

     It’s just plain not worth it to take your focus off of making sales  and put it instead on paybacks for upsets you have with another business. The best way to beat up another business is to stay away from it, and not bad-mouth it, just — plain and simple — outperform it.

     The best way to outperform another business  is to earn greater customer trust by delivering what you promise and by bending over backwards consistently, 100% of the time!

# # #

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  Hal@Businessworks.US   302.933.0116

  Open Minds Open Doors 

   Thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

  Make today a GREAT day for someone! 

“Envy is the religion

of the mediocre.”

–CARLOS RUIZ ZAFON, From his best-selling novel The Angel’s Game

      All of us have envied someone.  We’re human. But let’s hope by now we’ve outgrown those feelings or learned –perhaps the hard way– to put them aside. If you’re still struggling with them, and you also happen to be in the position of running a business, it might be a good idea to give some thought to where envious feelings are leading you.

     When someone else hits a home run  in business (in your industry or marketplace, or inside your own company!) many business owners and managers turn the other way, sometimes with a “shoulda been me” look of scorn on their faces…especially if the success is achieved by a competitor and / or a brother-in-law and / or a former employee…you get the picture. So what else is there to do except feel resentful?

     Well, how about  examine what went right for the other person and decide if there are any ingredients involved that might have application to your circumstances? I’m not suggesting that you have to pile on the other guy’s bandwagon and be an adoring teammate, or president of his or her fan club. I’m saying instead that it pays to be a detective and an explorer.

     When you take the time and trouble  to step back from what’s going on and what has been achieved, and objectively review and evaluate what has taken place that’s produced the end result, you will also be in  a better position to assess the dynamics of what occurred and have a clearer idea of what might possibly apply to your circumstances.

     In other words, take advantage  of what you know and what you can find out, and choose to make the  most of that information (instead of choosing to feel upset or depressed or vindictive or annoyed or ambivalent… or envious!)

     If “the road to hell”  is indeed “paved with good intentions,” envy of other’s accomplishments will most assuredly help to hustle you along the way. Instead make a conscious choice to put away your ego, and see each potentially envious situation as a great learning opportunity that you can absorb from and capitalize on. Take notes. Smile more. Open minds open doors.                          

# # #

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  Hal@Businessworks.US   302.933.0116

  Open Minds Open Doors 

   Thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

  Make today a GREAT day for someone! 

Is “bigger” always better?

   If you haven’t visited Twitter,  you’ve probably no idea how extensive the ego destruction can be if your postings (“Tweets”) haven’t attracted 37,416,298 “Followers” in the last 24 hours.

     Oh, and there are at least 64 gazillion  other Twitterers out there who have the magic formula that will turn you into an overnight Most Highly Followed and Esteemed Twitterer sensation. Probably make you the hero of your whole office or neighborhood even!

     It makes me think about  how wasteful media advertising is if you’re not interested in attracting the entire world to your doorstep. I mean, let’s assume you’re selling Swiss Screw Precision Parts that are used in rocket ships. Should you run a series of network TV commercials on ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN? (Insert sounds of regurgitation here.)

     How about full page ads  for your grass-cutting service in one of those idiotic national newspapers for bar graph fanatics? Gee, a direct mail campaign combined with Twitter and Facebook postings could put your hand-crafted pottery pieces on the map, don’t you think?

     Tell you what:  if you have that kind of money to throw away (and stupidity level to match), call me first. I’ll get you some great deals.

     If your target market  is comprised of specific individuals or specific industries or specific geographic areas, don’t waste a penny on advertising that goes to other people in other places.

     Yes, this includes refusing to do business  with the sleazy phonebook companies that go to great lengths to fragment the markets you want to reach so you’ll have to buy space in two or three or more books that slice up your market and, in the process, add another dozen markets you don’t need or care about.

     “Phone book ads  are a necessary evil” I’ve heard so many people complain over the years, especially professional services. The truth? They ARE evil, but they are NOT necessary.

     Your parents taught you  that where there’s a will, there’s a way, right? So when did you forget that? There are other ways to reach the prospects and customers you want without having to sell your sister and your dog (other jokes there that I’ll pass on!) just to pay for reaching people who cannot or would not be your customers anyway. 

     It’s one thing when the economy is booming  (let’s see, that was…uh…) and it’s a great thing to spread your name and message everywhere, with cost not a factor. It is, however, quite another mindset that’s needed when the economy is as bad as it is and VALUE needs to dictate expense.

     You don’t need to cave in to making media people rich with money that should be staying in your pocket because you are too lazy to look for other options. There ARE other options. You WILL find them when you put your mind to it. Or not.

     There’s always that one-time special deal package  — discounted from $1,297,000 to $1, 215,000 — to sponsor a major national show in 14 states even though you only provide service to three counties in one state, but it’s “such a deal!” 

     With advertising, bigger is not always better … and the bigger the impact, the bigger the bill.     

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