“If I could only land this one huge client, I’d make it big!”

I hear it all the time, “forget the minnows… fish for that whale!”

And it did make sense in an industrialized-aged era. In the previous century, the marketing & sales efforts to attract one hundred clients paying $1,000 was usually significantly more than it was to hook one client paying $100,000.

But in the age of the internet – where information flows swiftly, and technology has helped smart businesses create virtual pipelines for promoting & delivering goods and services – this is no longer the case.

We now have the ability to use social media, websites, email, video and a host of other technologies to further our product’s reach and effectiveness.

As entrepreneurs living in the 21st century we have wonderful opportunities available to us. And over time, we will present specific scenarios and case studies in which you can apply technology into your business.

But technology is not the premise of this article… It’s about being happy.

Finding happiness:

Who am I serving? Why did I create this business? How can I improve the lives of as many people as possible? And most importantly: Am I happy?

The questions every entrepreneur should ask themselves.

And after deep introspection, you should begin to see that it’s not the Microsofts, Fords or the governments of the world who you’d like as a customer. It’s the little guys, the mom and pops of society.

Because as the size of the client grows, so does the demands. The more you become trapped in the bureaucracy associated with their specificity. And unfortunately, the more your individuality dies.

No happy entrepreneur wakes up worrying about what their major client is going to demand next. Instead, a happy entrepreneur wakes up wondering how they can improve the lives of others.

Caution: It’s not always peachy, but usually

As you continually improve your offerings to appeal to your customer base some may not enjoy the tweaks, but most will.

With many users, one client parting ways will not break the bank. Respect their choice to leave as you’ll still have thousands of others who love your product.

Without that whale dictating your every move, you won’t be forced to create something the CEO thinks is best, but what you think is best for your users. Which means you can create something that makes you happy.

And this is why we become entrepreneurs in the first place: to be happy.

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Greg

In today’s “creative economy” the power of storytelling is critical. In particular, in your marketing efforts. Here’s an example of how Chipotle is bringing music, animation, and an important cause together to tell a powerful story in 2 minutes. Remarkable.

Back to the Start [Video]

Bradley

The world is an interesting place. But unfortunately, most people will never experience it all. Which is one main reason I’ve been advocating the need to go against the grain when it comes to your lifestyle. So hopefully as you continue to explore creating your ideal lifestyle you’ll consider world travel. This webpage is an amazing motivator to venture out and see the remarkable world.

50 of the Most Important Landmarks in the World

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In last week’s post on Laying a Financial Foundation, one of the tenets mentioned was: Choose Advisors Carefully.

Entering an arrangement with an advisor, whether contractural or not, is similar to a marriage. No, you’re not going to spend the rest of your lives together sitting on the front porch in rocking chairs while one shouts and the other one keeps saying, “What?”

But, you are going to work very closely together. You want that relationship to be the best experience for both of you.

Here are some questions to ask yourself and them before you “put a ring on it.” 

Purpose and Result

• What role will this advisor perform as part of my team? Too often we forget we’re building a team and our business is only as strong as the weakest link on our team. Be clear about the role each advisor will play before you interview them.
• What result do I want them to help me get? First, remember you are ultimately responsible for results. They are on your team to help you, not do everything for you. Further, you won’t know if  they are delivering the goods if you don’t clearly define the desired outcome beforehand.

Experience

• How much experience does the advisor have delivering the specific results I am seeking? Just because an advisor has a track record for delivering results doesn’t mean they have the experience or know-how to deliver the specific results you desire.
• What experience does the advisor have with the specific issues I’m dealing with? It’s important to be clear about your desired results and also about your current issues and challenges. You want an advisor who not only claims to provide the solution, but has experience with the direct problem as well.
• What is the average income and business experience of the advisor’s clientele? It’s important to select an advisor that has experience at the same level you are currently at. Otherwise they will be providing solutions that don’t actually apply to you. I’ve seen this happen quite a bit with accountants for instance. Accounting for an early-stage retail store is much difference than accounting for a 1031 exchange through a self-directed IRA. Much different. Find an advisor that matches your experience and income level.

Education

• Does the advisor have the educational requirements for the particular role I’m asking them to fulfill? This is self-explanatory.
• Does the advisor have the necessary professional credentials for the role I’m asking them to fulfill? Sometimes a basic education isn’t enough. Sometimes you’ll need someone with a specific designation in their industry.
• What does the advisor do to continue their education? This is often overlooked. I’m not looking for an advisor who did a bunch of studying and got a degree years ago. I’m looking for one who is a constant learner and understands the latest methods and trends.

Compensation

• How is the advisor normally compensated? Flat fee, partial payments, retainer, hourly, etc. Don’t be surprised when the invoice arrives in the mail. Make sure this is clearly outlined before you begin.
• Are the advisor’s interests structurally in alignment with mine? Will the advisor get paid regardless of your results? Does the advisor have any conflicts of interest? Make sure you are creating win/win compensation plans.

Communication

• How does the advisor normally communicate with clients and will this work for me? Most problems are not the problem, it’s usually communication or lack thereof that creates problems. Make sure you’ve outlined how best to communicate and share information.
• Who exactly will do the actual work and who will I be communicating with? It’s important to know if you’ll be dealing with the person delivering the work or with an administrative assistant or other person on their team.

Viewpoints

• How does the advisor feel about money? Money evokes all kinds of views, emotions, and beliefs. It’s important that you choose an advisor that is in alignment with your viewpoint on money. Otherwise you’ll experience too many differences, disagreements, and potentially even arguments.
• Is the advisor at a personal income/wealth level that is similar to me or similar to where I want to be? An advisor will always be a better fit if they have had similiar experience as you and if they deeply understand your challenges because they’ve experienced them personally.

Final Questions

• Who is the advisor’s biggest competitor? If they say they don’t have any, they’re lying. And you don’t want to do business with a liar. If they are hesitant to give you that information then the competition is probably a better option for you. If they are confident in their experience and ability to deliver your desired outcome they should have no problem sharing with you.
• What can the advisor do for me that the competitor can’t? This is a tell-tale sign whether or not this advisor is right for you. There should always be something clearly different or unique that will tell you the relationship will be a great one. Hint: It’s rarely price.
• Why should I hire you? Shockingly, a very under-utilized question. If you can’t be direct enough to ask this question and the advisor can’t be candid enough to answer it, neither of you should enter into any type of relationship.

Bottomline

Ask questions. Lots of them. Don’t jump into a relationship prematurely. When choosing advisors, do your due diligence and don’t be shy about getting the answers you need to make an intelligent decision.

What did I miss? What questions do you ask?

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Dear Solopreneur,

Are you a one-man-band pretending your business is bigger than it truly is? It’s easy to do, you know, just change “I” to “we” in your sale scripts. Instantly, you have yourself a firm instead of a home office. Magic!

But you may be doing more harm than good.

What if your potential client or customer is looking for someone rolling solo? You may have scared them away. Or what if a company needed a 10-person shop to help them out and you would have never won the business alone? You and the prospect may have unnecessarily wasted valuable time discussing the project.

Ultimately, it’s best to be honest and up front, since it will only be a matter of time until the client realizes the you-not-us scheme. So as a rule of thumb going forward: be honest and set proper expectations. Call a spade a spade. It’s not We… it’s You.

Sincerely,

Brad

ps. As your business grows and you bring on one or more employees, you will experience a tremendous boost in motivation when you’re changing the content on your marketing collateral from I to We.

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Purchasing for your business is inevitable.

But are you getting caught in the trap of using excess time and resources to save a couple bucks?

It happens all too often.

“If I just search for a better price, it’s worth the effort. Right?”

Wrong.

When I briefly worked for a Fortune 500 company implementing technology into businesses, some of my clients would boggle my mind when it came down to making decisions.

They would spend hours researching on the web between buying from my competition or me… for the same product.

Most of these times would be because of a price difference under $10. While I will agree that $10 is $10 and these decisions can add up to a healthy sum of money, what could those two hours be better used for?

Here is an example that I encountered far too often:

You need to update your marketing department’s Adobe software, you contact your trusty old supplier XYZ Software and they quote you $1750, (this is already $200 less than you paid for the last software version).

You being a savvy buyer decide to browse the web for a better price. After 30 minutes of “googling” you find a discount software site that has everything you need, for $30 less.

You think to yourself, “excellent, I just saved $30” … not so fast! What about shipping or tax? Damn. On to the next store.

A short while later, you find a new place to purchase the item. You add it to the cart, and find it is free to ship with no taxes taken out, nice!

Three hours, thirty dollars

Okay, so you just saved $30 by going with the online discounter but what did it really cost you? You spent a total of 3 extra hours shopping online (searching for the discount software store, reading their FAQ, making sure the site is legitimate, creating an account, checking out, confirming via email the order went through, and probably getting distracted more than once with other useless sites on the web)

What else could have been done in those three hours?

This is where a little economics sense pays off in this scenario; lets take a look from the outside. Three hours to save $30, that is $10/hour, how much do you make on average? I’m guessing it is probably more than $10 an hour.

What if we multiplied this scenario out over the year: 3 hours a purchase, 2 times a week, over 52 weeks equates to over 300 considerably less productive hours a year.

With this example, you spent 300 hours to save $3000, pretty ridiculous use of time and energy for an entrepreneur if you ask me.

So should you blindly trust your main supplier? No, far from it! But what this scenario does illustrate is that a successful entrepreneur creates a system for purchasing that can save money with the smallest use of time.

Keep an eye on the big picture. As an entrepreneur you have but one job: building your business.

Do you have any examples of this? How have you created a system for researching and purchasing equipment and supplies for your business?

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Greg

People with passion for their craft always inspire me. One such person is Danny Macaskill. I’m in awe of his creative energy and wizardry with a bicycle. His latest installment, Industrial Revolutions, is without question remarkable.

Industrial Revolutions [video]

Bradley

I’ve always been obsessed with photography. And am in the process of buying a new camera to accompany me in my journeys. While Flickr is a very common photo sharing service, it is the 800 pound gorilla of photography websites which isn’t always the best. Thankfully, there is a wonderful alternative for photographers and enthusiasts to showcase their work. Additionally, the discovery and voting system makes exploring the pictures fun and exciting. So whether you’re looking to post your pics or view other gorgeous photos, this is the place.

500px

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While discovering something you’re passionate about and launching into business can be exhilerating, many small business owners don’t pay enough attention to core financial tenets surrounding the fiscal management of their business.

Let’s face it, very few of us have any formal financial education. Even fewer know much about business finance.

Most of us are just someone who discovered a skill or talent and wanted to build a business around it, came up with a brilliant idea and had the guts to take it to market and see what others think of it, or a “techie” that can program something cool that others want to play with.

Regardless of why we jumped into this crazy game of entrepreneurship, we have to remember we’re running a business and a business has a scorecard — that scorecard is our financial performance.

If you’re a savvy entrepreneur you know you must be working with financial professionals including a strong accountant, bookkeeper and maybe an in-house finance manager or CFO depending on the size of your company. But you can’t leave control of your company’s finances solely in the hands of advisors or employees.

Control starts with a basic understanding of several tried-and-true tenets. Understanding and applying these tenets will give you a leg up over most entrepreneurs and will ensure you work more intelligently and strategically with your financial advisors. 

Fundamental Financial Tenets

Cash is King

As long as cash is the universal medium of exchange, cash will always be king. Simply put, don’t run out of money.

Nothing else matters if you run out of money. Nothing else in this post and nothing else in your business. If you’ve borrowed capital, whether from your parents or a Venture Capital firm, know your burn rate (the net cash that is flowing out of your business each month).  If you’re on a shoestring budget, start hustling and start selling. Everything starts with the sale. If you’re intimadated by sales you either need to get over that quickly (like today) or hire someone who’s not intimidated because all business begins with the sale.

Financial systems and controls are critical

It surprises me how many early-stage entrepreneurs I work with that have zero financial controls or systems. On day one, yes day one, build financial systems and controls for all things money. Trust me if you don’t do it beginning day one you’ll never magically have time “someday”.

Personal guarantees are rarely your friend

Banks love personal guarantees. You should hate them. And you should avoid them if you can. If you can’t get financing based on the strength of your business you should question the validity of your business to begin with or if it’s the right kind of financing. Whichever it is do your best to avoid personal guarantees.

Measure everything money

Measure every dollar as it comes and goes. Build the discpline to look at your company’s “financial picture” daily. Yep. Every single day from day one you should have a snapshot of your financial progress. Financial measurements should not only track historical financial results, but where your business is headed as well.

A budget is beautiful

Budgets can be tedious, boring, and downright annoying, but they are necessary. Create an annual operating plan and budget. You need benchmarks to measure against. You need to know your goals and how well you are progressing throughout the year so you can act, analyze, and adjust accordingly.

Choose advisors carefully

This is NOT an area to save money. Don’t be tempted to use your uncle’s wife as a bookkeeper because she’ll give you a family discount. Don’t try to do it yourself because you think you don’t have the funds to outsource. Instead, focus on finding strong financial professionals that come highly recommended based on their performance, not who they are or their relation to you. Here’s a quick tip: You should never be an advisors largest client or smallest client. If you’re the largest client they’re experimenting with you and if you’re their smallest client they’ll ignore you.

Bottom line

A solid financial foundation is critical for the success of any company. It starts with these basic tenets and it starts on day one. Don’t neglect. Get started now.

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It’s no secret that the world of marketing has drastically changed over the past few years.

But unfortunately, I still see entrepreneurs sticking with the old tactics of marketing to increase sales.

It’s dangerous to your business.

Are you thinking you might be one of these old-time marketers caught up in the old techniques?

If so, we have compiled a list of 5 marketing and sales tactics that no longer work:

Build it and they will come

“We’re in the phonebook.”

Phonebook! What’s that?

Elderly aside, most people turn to the Internet these days. They read reviews on Trip Advisor and Yelp. They quickly check out the competition. And usually make up their mind before leaving their desk.

The companies that rely on the fact that they are simply out there and available, will be left to die a slow and capital-depleting death… alone.

We’ve always done it this way!

Have you heard the saying, “The only thing constant in the world of business is change?”

Marketing strategies are no different.

Fifteen years ago, the Internet was mainly reserved for geeks and gamers. Six years ago, YouTube didn’t exist. Four years ago, Facebook was a thing college kids played with.

Think of the past few years. Has your marketing and business system evolved at this rate? For your business’ sake, I hope so.

Location, location, location

Besides gas stations and convenience stores, this mantra no longer holds true. The business that promotes, differentiates and delivers on promises will ultimately draw the most traffic and sales. Foot traffic helps a little in walkable neighborhoods, but not enough to compete in this market.

Some of the best restaurants and stores I have visited were located off the main city strip but had caught my attention days before I grabbed the car keys.

Sales training is a second tier expense

“Whatever we can afford is fine.”

It’s not fine!

Sales is the lifeblood of your organization. Without it, companies die.

Sounds obvious? Not so much.

There are literally thousands of businesses out there that only spend the base minimum. You run into these businesses everyday. For instance, the next time you’re out shopping, take note of the salesperson’s friendliness and professionalism. Then take notice of the customer base and if they truly enjoy shopping there or if it’s a force of habit. Most likely, your urge to return will be a direct relationship to your employee interaction.

Exceptional companies focus a great deal of its resources on finding a great sales staff, investing in their training and consciously tracking successes.

Cutting costs is the best way to boost the bottom line

“We don’t need to advertise, they know we’re here!”

What!?!

For most of you, this statement may seem completely fictional. However, I have encountered businesses with this mentality. Since you are reading this article, I assume you know this one.

Just remember, don’t be penny smart and dollar dumb. Good Luck!

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In today’s world, small business owners face a staggering array of new technologies and services.

This stuff isn’t just for geeks anymore. It’s for all of us. And if we don’t get on board now the world may pass us up all together. Every day it seems a new technology is embedded into mainstream business.

For example, it’s been estimated that 73 percent of small businesses are currently using social media. Additionally, of those not engaged in social media, 62 percent plan to join within the coming year.

And that’s just social media. How about quick response (QR) codes? A report released by Mobio found QR code scanning skyrocketed by as much as 1,200 percent through the second half of 2010. And we’re already into the second half of 2011.

Of course there are other blossoming trends such as smart phone applications, mobile payments, and cloud computing. All projected to grow at a staggering pace in the coming months and years.

Despite this rapid growth in technology and innovation, as small business owners we always have to remember that technology is traditionally unpredictable and volitile. Yet, on the other hand, if we don’t stay out in front we may find ourselves falling too far behind. So what do we do? 

Technology Investment Plan

Most businesses invest in some form of technology every year. I’m sure you’re comptemplating at least one technology investment right now. Do you have a technology investment plan? A plan that ensures you don’t break your budget investing in each and every device. One that allows you to determine what could help and what is just unnecessary.

While we here at New Methods always work to stay on the edge of innovation, we also know that not every innovation is worth the investment.

Our technology investment plan starts with two key questions:

1. Can the technology be used to exponentially improve/create a remarkable experience for the customer?
2. Does the technology exponentially improve productivity?

If the answer is yes to either question then we ask ourselves two follow up questions:

1. Is the technology proven? Meaning, do we feel the technology is stable enough and will be around long enough to make it worth the investment.
2. Do we have the funds in our technology investment budget to make the purchase now? Or do we push back the investment to next quarter or next year.

With the world advancing at a rapid pace and with new technologies and innovations popping up daily it’s important to have a technology investment plan. Even if that plan simply consists of four basic questions.

Curious, do you have a technology investment plan? If so, what do you include in your plan? What questions do you ask?

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You can learn a lot from a business’ restroom.

From small signs such as the employee’s level of dedication to things as major as the overall success of the company, a restroom usually never lies.

Why?

Because when a business or its coworkers are not on the top of their game, the restroom’s cleanliness is the first to go. Toilet paper rolls are left unchanged, the garbage is neglected and the mirror is full of water spots.

My Father’s old business partner/mentor was adamant about this concept. He would never invest into a business with an unclean restroom.

And me being taught this at a very young age, I’ve constantly kept my eye on restrooms.

It never fails, every clean restroom is found in a successful business. Those unclean facilities I’ve encountered are now mostly all attached to “for lease” empty buildings.

The Slippery Slope of a Dirty Restroom

If your income statement’s bottom line isn’t where you’d like the numbers to be, it may be easy to find yourself neglecting the restroom. Such as switching from luscious 3-ply to sandpaper-esque 1-ply and letting the garbage go for a few days because it’s not full, hence saving a bag or two. Or worse yet, not refilling soap dispensers or air fresheners.

But you need to maintain a high-quality facility. It’s crucial.

And while you or your coworkers may not regard the rooms as anything different, your guests will be aware. In fact, the guests may not consciously notice the lack of caring. But they will subconsciously. I’ll guarantee they will get a feeling of quality abandonment. That you just don’t care. And that’s not good. Not good at all.

So go clean the restroom… NOW!

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