Category: New Business Development

The road to success
is covered with potholes
and speed bumps.

It is tempting when we hit a pothole,
to swerve off that road
and try another,
only to find the new road is as bumpy.

It isn’t a good idea to revisit strategy
when we’re hitting a pothole
or undergoing disappointment.
We aren’t thinking rationally.
We’re thinking with our emotions.

Wait a week or two or three.
Better yet,
plan a date for re-evaluating strategy
at the beginning of the journey.

Stick to the same road
until that designated time.

(This post is written more for me,
than for you,
as I face more frustration
over a slower than expected
sales build)

One of my stories
is swiftly climbing the bestseller list
at a major reseller.
This story was published two years ago,
sold strongly upon release
and then faded to nothing.
I had no expectations
of receiving additional sales from it.

I haven’t advertised this story recently.
I haven’t done any sort of marketing
around it.
I have more recent releases.

Yet it is selling
based upon word of mouth alone.
I have no idea why that specific story
and why now.

THAT is today’s market.
Word of mouth is strong
and often makes no damn sense.

So if you’re considering delisting a product,
a product that requires no additional expense
to continue listing,
think seriously before taking that action.

Because you never ever know.

Two weekends ago,
we went to Whittamore’s Farm
to pick fall strawberries,
an annual tradition for us.
It was a very busy day
at the family-owned farm
and by the time we arrived,
the strawberries were picked clean.

As we debated whether or not
to pay the $5 entrance fee,
the employee waived the fee
and allow us to enter for free.

The employees were right.
The strawberries were picked clean
but we still enjoyed ourselves.

We also continued our tradition,
increasing the likelihood
we’d return next year.

Plus more than one of us
talked about how a big company-run farm
wouldn’t have allowed us
to enter for free.
It reinforced Whittamore’s Farm’s branding
as a family-run farm
(since 1804).

Exceptions to the rule
are one of the signs
of a family-run or small business.

If that is how you’re branding your company
(no matter how large the company is
or who really owns the company),
strongly consider giving your employees the power
to make decisions
and ‘break the rules.’

If you wish to lead,
you have to delegate.

As Tim Milburn shares
“If you do everything by yourself,
you’re not leading,
you’re simply working.
The difference will be greater
and long-lasting
as more and more people get involved.
This is where one person
striving to make a difference
turns into a lot of people
invested in a cause.”

Leaders have followers,
not watchers.
Following is active and involved.

If you don’t give your followers
actions to take,
they will either take their own action
(which may or may not
align with your vision)
or they will stop following you.

Delegate.

Are you time-starved?
Do you running out of hours in the day,
unable to spend time
on the things that truly matters?

There’s only one solution.

As George Ambler shares
“The only way
we can get more time
is by saying no
to things we usually say yes to.
Although we often recognise
the need to say “no”,
it is often challenging to do so.
It seems that many people
do not know how to say no.”

Yep, say no.

There are different ways to say no.

George suggests saying yes slowly
or asking for more information
information which,
in my personal experience,
you won’t ever receive.

I prefer receiving and giving
a blunt “no, thank you.”

How you say it
doesn’t really matter.
What matters is you say it.

If you want more time,
you have to stop doing the things
you’re currently doing,
and that means saying no.

One of the best CEOs
I’ve ever had the pleasure of working for
was also a master
at ensuring employees were aligned
with the company’s vision.

Not only would he repeat the company vision
over and over
(it was on the back of our business cards)
but he would point out how
every project
every result
every new position
tied into this vision.

But what most impacted us
was whenever he talked to any employee,
he’d ask how we thought
our roles tied into the vision.
We knew he’d ask that
so each of us would spend time
thinking about our answers.

To verify alignment,
Terry Starbucker shares
“You randomly ask field employees
about their roles and
how they fit within the context
of the greater vision and plan.
They nail it.
Then, they proudly proclaim the company mantra
that reflects that plan,
and the values behind it.”

THAT is alignment.
Are your employees aligned
with your company vision?

Lisa Haneberg was asked
what one lesson
would improve business most.

Her answer?

“The one lesson I would garner is
that to make something happen,
we need to do something
– do something
– do something new,
do something different,
do something better,
do something for longer,
do something with others.
It’s about showing up
– really showing up.
That is what changes things.”

Doing is a habit.
Once you do,
it is easier to do,
so start
with something,
anything.

Dreamers don’t change the world.
Doers do.

In a recent poll,
58.5 percent of managers said
they were struggling with priority dilution,
struggling with completing
the most important tasks first.

We can’t do it all.
We simply can’t.

As Rory Vaden shares
“Today, when there are more tasks
more than you could ever possibly get to,
the key skill company leaders must develop
is how to decide
what activities to engage in,
and which ones to let go.”

For writers,
the most important task
is fresh writing.
When we see a fellow writer
in a time crunch,
we’ll offer to help her promo,
research topics,
take on her volunteer duties
(like judging contest entries),
and yes, even complete her edits
but we can’t help her with the fresh writing.

Many of us will ask
“How many words did you write today?”
in order to keep
each other on track,
focused on this priority.

Complete your priority items.
Delegate the rest.

A publisher site went down
(a system upgrade fuck up).
I, along with 100’s of other writers,
changed all links,
eliminating the link to the publisher site.

When the site resumed service,
very few of us bothered
to change our links back.

Yahoo Mail has been down
on and off
for the past week.
(another system upgrade fuck up)
It works.
It doesn’t work.
It doesn’t work with Firefox.
Users can’t sign in.

I have multiple personal
Yahoo Mail accounts.
I’ve been with them for 20 years.
But even I’m getting frustrated.

Assume your system upgrade
will fuck up
and have an alternative,
something you can put in place immediately.

Because once users switch
or change their habits,
they are unlikely to switch back.

A loved one had his references checked
by one of the foremost reference checking companies
in the country.
(yes, that IS a business)

The CEO of the company
assured everyone involved
that because he valued their business,
he would personally handle this reference check.
All contact went directly through him.
He referred to consultants
and assistants
but no one ever saw or spoke to them.

Because his industry is niche,
he could possibly service
every prospect in the country.
He could be a business of one
but we don’t know.
His company was so damn professional.

As Mike Michalowicz shares

“A laser focus on one niche market
affords you the time
to appear at all the industry events,
even if your entire corporate team
is just you.
By concentrating all your efforts
on one industry niche,
you will frequently meet the same people.
The more often they see you,
the more likely they are to conclude that
“you are everywhere.”
To those select people,
your business is bigger.”

If the service/product is niche enough,
a company of one
can corner it
and look large.