New Business Development – Page 40

Spend Time With Your Target Demographic

A friend writes books
(creates products)
for teenagers.

She spends at least
one day a month
at
the coffee shop
or the park
or a popular social media filming spot
or other places
teenagers gather.

And she observes.
She pretends she is looking
at her phone.
She listens
and she learns
and she applies that learning
to her stories.

Her stories (products)
hit bestseller lists
partially for that reason.

Spend time
with your target demographic,
preferably unnoticed.

Learn what is currently important
to them.

And apply that learning
to your products/services.

Family And Business

If I can avoid it,
I don’t go into business
with family members
(other than my spouse).

Most businesses fail.
That’s a brutal reality
for entrepreneurs.

There are ALWAYS
hard feelings
amongst founders,
amongst employees,
amongst other business partners
when businesses fail.

When family is involved,
some of those hard feelings
are directed to or come from
family members.

That destroys relationships.
Often permanently.

Plus family members
are usually not the best qualified candidates
for the roles they hold.

If you can avoid it,
don’t involve family members
in your business.

That rarely works out well.

Taking Advantage Of Good Luck

One of my Romance Novels
(products)
was featured
on an extremely popular
podcast.

That gave me
new readers (customers).

I reached out
to my agent
about being featured
and she reached out
to some of my former publishers.

THEY then promoted
my novels (products).

That gave me
more new readers (customers).

I chatted about that
to some authors
with larger readerships
(customer bases).

THEY then promoted
my novels (products)
to THEIR readers (customers).

When you receive some good luck,
leverage it
as much as you can.

Turn good luck
into GREAT luck.

Tell People You’re Proud Of Them

Yesterday, I told
a loved one
I was proud of them
and all they’ve accomplished
thus far
in their life.

She cried.
She hadn’t heard that
from…anyone else.

She HAD heard
a LOT of criticism.
We all do.

People are quick
with the negatives
and slow (if at all)
with the positives.

Tell someone
today
you’re proud of them.
Change their world
for the better.

They Don’t Make X Like They Used To

Once I hear an expert
say
“They don’t make
[music or movies
or cars or other products]
like they used to”,
I no longer take their advice.

I continue
to listen to their thoughts
about history.
A knowledge of history
leads to better decision making.

But I discard
their thoughts on the present
and on the future.

Because they don’t understand
how the world has changed
and why entertainment
and products have changed
around them.

That expert isn’t living
in today’s world.
They’re living in the past.

I don’t need advice
about the past.

Ensure you’re listening to
advisors
who understand today,
not merely yesterday.

Staying Current

A buddy posted
“You know you’re old
when you recognize
more songs in the grocery store
than you do on the radio.”

That should read
“You know you’re out of touch…”
because if we stay current,
if we continue to
listen to the latest songs,
we WILL recognize the ones played
on the radio.

It is ‘work’
to stay current,
whether we are
20 years old
or 80 years old.

If we’re older,
especially,
the songs, TV shows, latest fashions,
hot new colors
aren’t designed
for our demographics.
It takes research
to understand their appeal
and their full meaning.

But if we want to stay relevant
and if we want our businesses
to stay relevant,
we have to gain
that understanding.

Do the work.
Stay current.

Take Advantage Of Lucky Breaks

My tiny part of the world
has been having
pleasant temperatures
and reasonable rainfall.

I see what is happening
in the rest of the world.

I know how very lucky
I am.

I’m grateful
every d@mn day for this weather.

And I realize
it is due to
mostly luck.

I know we’re getting
a lucky break.
I know that lucky break
won’t last forever.

So I’m taking advantage of it
AND I’m preparing for
the time
when that lucky break ends.

If you receive a lucky break,
realize that is what it is
and ensure you make the most of it.
Don’t assume it will last forever.

Set Up Auto Reminders

One of the pain in the a$$ tasks
a project manager
has to complete
is reminding team members
to do their d@mn jobs.

This task sucks
a LOT of time.

What I suggest
is setting up
automatic reminder emails
at the beginning of the project.
Base this
on the original project timeline.

Then adjust the delivery dates
as the project timeline changes
and delete future emails
when project members complete
their tasks.

These automatic reminder emails
save time
and it also saves aggravation.

Set up automatic reminder emails
for the tasks
and team members
you manage.

Adding To Your Project Checklist

I have checklists
of all the things
I need to know
or do
or gather
for each type
of project.

I add to these checklists
during or after
each project.

For example,
I tried growing bell peppers
directly in the garden
this year.
That was a disaster.
The slugs ate them.

So I added
“Grow all bell peppers
in containers.”
to my gardening project checklist.

Before starting a project,
I’ll review the appropriate checklist
for that type of project.

In the Spring,
for example,
I’ll review my gardening checklist.

I’ll see
my note about growing peppers
in containers.
Do that.
And my chances of a great pepper harvest
will greatly increase.

Our lives
are already extremely complicated.

Make projects easier
by keeping checklists.

They will ensure
we learn from mistakes
and that will increase
our probability of success!

A Small Business Owner’s Risk Is Not Everyone’s Risk

I was chatting with
an online buddy
and she told me
she insists every customer
entering her store
wears a mask
because she can’t afford to get sick.

She is a small business owner.
If she’s ill,
her income drops to next to nothing.
She doesn’t have paid sick leave.
She doesn’t have insurance
to cover her illness.
She is on her own.

The calculation of risk
for us,
for business builders,
is significantly different
than the calculation of risk
for other people.

We can’t afford to do
things other people do,
like run around unmasked,
not have an alternative power supply,
etc.

Factor that
into your decision making.