The Outlook For 2009

What is my outlook for 2009?
One word.

Terrific.

But… But… But…
how can I say this with such confidence
with talking heads throwing around
the D word?

Lets say we slip into a 1930’s style depression.
Did you know that
more millionaires were created
during the Great Depression
than in any other time in U.S. history?
A depression brings change
and change brings opportunities
for ambitious folks like you and I.

But that’s not why I’m optimistic.
I’m optimistic because I have a plan
and because I’m already taking action
on that plan.

As everyone else looks backwards at 2008,
I’m not only looking forward
but I’m reaching out for my 2009 goals.

2009 is going to be terrific!

The Right Tactics

My cousin 
plans to lose weight in 2009.
Her goal,
as a self sacrificing mother
of 3 young children,
is to go to the gym solo
4 days a week.

Her odds of success?
Pretty much zero.

Why?
Because her tactic for accomplishing her goal
doesn’t fit in with her lifestyle
and her personality.

There are hundreds, even thousands,
of tactics for every goal.
When you decide upon yours,
ensure that they work with who YOU are.

What To Do When The Training Budget Gets Cut

In these challenging economic times,
many companies are cutting back
and one of the first expenses to be eliminated
is training and development.

Some employees use this as an excuse
to not take courses.
They say things like
‘if we pay for it ourselves,
the company won’t ever pay for it again.’

That’s B.S.
Without a training budget,
there is no formal reporting process.
If it doesn’t get reported,
it doesn’t get measured.
If it doesn’t get measured,
it doesn’t exist at the executive level.
As far as they’re concerned,
no one is getting trained.

Which means if your boss wants to brag about
how his staff is taking courses
on their own initiative,
he doesn’t throw out numbers,
he talks about individuals and individual training.
Instead of saying 86% of his team
met personal development objectives,
he says ‘K took a course on marketing using Twitter.’

And because others aren’t willing
to pay for the course themselves
and Twitter is a fairly new marketing tool,
K suddenly becomes the company expert.

THAT is why having the training budget cut
is not necessarily a bad thing,
not for an employee with initiative.

Blind Negotiations

I receive at least one email a day
from a ‘reader’ asking to place a text link ad
on one of my sites.
This ‘reader’ never mentions
what site he or she is representing.

I ignore these emails.
I don’t do blind negotiations.
I don’t know many serious businesspeople who do.

If you’re serious about
a business relationship,
introduce yourself.
Yes, get the prospect intrigued first
(talking about how you can help her)
but end it with an explanation
of who you are.

There are no negotiations
without trust.

Published
Categorized as Marketing

Katy Perry And Working With Strengths

I was a Katy Perry fan.
I loved ‘I Kissed A Girl’
and ‘Hot N Cold.’
Then I watched her live…
ouch, NOT her strength
and so unnecessary.

With the almost unlimited mediums
available for artists to reach fans,
there’s no reason to use one
you’re uncomfortable with.

If you’re not comfortable live,
pretape, edit,
and put the piece on YouTube.

Or
focus on the dancing or entertainment
rather than the singing.

If you’re unattractive (NOT Katy’s problem),
don’t put your face on the back of books.
If you stutter (again NOT Katy’s problem),
use text rather than speech.
If you must use speech, hire an actor.

And please,
don’t go on tour,
simply because everyone else is.

Published
Categorized as Marketing

Breaking Down Goals

New Years is traditionally the time to set
resolutions for the next year.
These resolutions are usually large
and unfortunately,
92% of them won’t be kept.

Why?

Because they are too big.
I always break down big goals
into small, almost trivial tasks,
my to do list for the day.

My blogging goal for today
was to write 2 posts for every blog.
Small, right?
Except that I only blog once a day.
So after a week of completing 2 posts,
I’ll be a week ahead of my posts.
After a year,
I’ll have a full year buffer.
Hhhmmm…
not so trivial anymore, is it?

THAT is how goals get completed.
Break ’em down.

Family First

Some of us have the day ‘off’ today
but as driven, passionate people,
we’re tempted to work.

Resist.

My buddies and I have a motto…
‘You can always get a new job,
you can never get a new family.’

If you’re lucky enough to have a loving family,
treat them as your number one customer today.

Stop reading this blog,
turn off the computer,
and give them your full attention.

Figure out their dreams, their needs,
and like a good saleswoman,
figure out a way to satisfy them.

The payoff will be huge.

Yahoo Loops: Email Errors Multiplied

One of my author buddies
sent an email to a Yahoo Loop,
complaining about his publisher.
He wanted to send it to a marketing loop.
He, instead, sent it to the publisher’s loop.

Every single author, editor, admin
and yes, the owner
received this email.

He has spent the last week
doing damage control.

Email is dangerous.
Yahoo Loops are that danger multiplied.
As a result,
I try to keep all messages on Loops
positive and upbeat.

Published
Categorized as Marketing

Weigh The Pain

Pain is one of the great motivators
and it is, I believe, the greatest motivator
for entrepreneurship,
more so than gain.

Before jumping off the corporate ladder,
I asked myself the question
Wanda at Creating Abundant Lifestyles
recently asked readers
‘Which would be the greatest pain,
The Pain of Risk or the Pain of Regret?’

My answer was clear.
I would always regret not taking the risk.

What is your answer?

TV And The Average Retiree

I keep hearing
TV is dying.

Maybe.
Maybe not.

According to
The Boomer Century 1946-2046,
the average retiree watches
43 hours of tv a week.
That’s over 6 hours a DAY.

What does that mean?
If that trend holds
with the boomers approaching retirement,
we’ll be looking at a boom
in viewership.

That is,
if the networks produce content
this demographic wants to watch.

Published
Categorized as Marketing