Thursday, February 18, 2010

Professional Website Design & Text Writing

A good website design service takes many hours to develop and isn't something that we feel can be built for $15 an hour.  Our own business model is not in the business of competing with godaddy.com or any other factory built websites.  We believe that a more hands on approach and a deep customer service level is a service that will bring a high quality level of web design service.  If a client is looking for a website based on the lowest price possible then we don't feel it will in the end provide you with a product that will bring a long term value in regards to web design.  We provide custom hands on service and you can pick up the phone and converse with us directly on the local level.  Our design service goes to a deeper level of understanding and we even visit our customers in person multiple times if needed.  We build good custom websites that will provide a in depth look of your industry and each of the products you provide.  If you are looking for a web designer it's important to realize upfront how much internal access you have to the company that is building your site and how responsive are they to your needs.  Invest money in the development of your site, it will provide you the best long term return on your investment.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Tracking Your Advertising & Marketing

If you aren't tracking your advertising and internal or external marketing campaigns, then you should.  I see more companies waste money on advertising....especially when they have no clue where their calls are coming from.  Don't play the Russian roulette game with your advertising dollars.  You just might end up killing your businesses cash flow which is essential for your survival and growth.  Take the time and the little amount of money needed to accurately track your ad performance.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Success.....

As I set here tonight I feel a sense of impatience for the success of my business.  I want it to happen faster, I want to feel it quicker.  The truth is that I need to be patient.  Success has no timeline qualifications.   Patience or the lack of patience can be a pitfall because I expect success and when it doesn't happen as fast as I desire then I feel as if I am falling behind and becoming a failure.  I am going to work on not having expectations for my success and just be patient with my journey.  Besides, "asking mom and dad if were are almost there is getting kind of annoying anyways."

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Quality, Reliable People.

The goal of my business is to have employees that are hired to work with our company and be both reliable and high quality individuals.  If my organization is built with unorganized, or non-reliable people then it just drives me crazy.   We all can be fooled and hire a polar opposite.   Sometimes you have to thin the apples from the tree so you can spend your time working and tutoring the people that are worth harvesting as a part of my business.  I don't have time to be dependent upon an employee or contractor with my business that doesn't share and agree with my philosophy.  I am not in the business of running a adult day care.  You must be able to understand the task at hand and be able to stay on schedule.  If an employee is unable to communicate why they can't stay on schedule but just tell me how its almost done...or will be done today but never is...not even a month later.... then they will become the most disposable part of my business goals.

Our goal as a company is to be open minded.  We are willing to grow and change with the times.  But we will not wait or be forced to accept someone that is unwilling to change and accept our philosophy.   We feel we have a great strategy and we realize great improvement is needed.  We won't improve if we aren't able to associate and attain the kind of minds and pieces of our business puzzle that maximize our basic philosophy of reliable communication and direction.

Monday, January 18, 2010

The Law of Success (interview with Mr. Carnegie) By Napoleon Hill

More than fourteen years ago I interviewed Mr. Carnegie for the purpose of writing a story about him.  During the interview I asked him to what he attributed his success.  With a merry little twinkle in his eyes he sad: 
"Young man, before I answer your question will you please define your term 'success'?"
    After waiting until he saw that I was somewhat embarrassed by his request he continued: "By success you have reference to my money, have you not?"  I assured him that money was the term by which most people measured success, and he then said: "Oh, well - if you wish to know how I got my money - if that is what you call success - I will answer your question by saying that we have a master mind here in our business, and that mind is made up of more than a score of men who constitute my personal stall of superintendents and managers and accountants and chemist and other necessary types.  No one person in this group is the master mind of which I speak, but the sum total of the minds in the group, coordinated, organized and directed to a definite end is risk the knowledge gained from ten years of subsequent contact with the business world to enable me to assimilate that which he said and clearly grasp and understand the principle back of it, which was nothing more nor less than the principle of organized effort upon which this course on the Law of Success is founded.
    Carnegie's group of men constituted a "Master Mind" and that mind was so well organized, so powerful, that it could have accumulated millions of dollars for Mr. Carnegie in practically any sort of endeavor of a commercial or industrial nature.  The steel business in which that mind was engaged was but an incident in the connection with the accumulation of the Carnegie wealth.  The same wealth could have been accumulated had the "Master Mind" been directed in the coal business or the banking business or the grocery business, for the reason that back of the mind was power- that sort of power which you may have when you shall have organized the faculties of your own mind and allied yourself with other well organized minds for the attainment of a definite purpose in life.
    

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Customer Retention Program

It's important for every business to actively strive each day to maintain their current customer base.  Successful retention can be found in the details of interaction and communication.   Do you answer your phone in a timely manner?  If not do you return their calls in a reasonable amount of time.  If your customer sends you an email do you follow up and respond to the email that same day or at least within 24 hours.  Each of these are just the basic ingredients to keeping your customers happy.

Customers truly are the lifeline of your business and the reason why you are in business in the first place.  Can you remember back to the time when you were stressed because you didn't have enough or any customers?  Now overwhelmed with to many customers it is often the tendency of businesses to neglect the consumer.  Your competitor is always waiting at the door step to convince them of a better treatment.  If you are a service business and are running 35 minutes late.  Be sure to call them and let them know.  It is my experience that customers never mind a courtesy call.  They just don't like to be left out of the loop.  Why would anyone want to spend their hard earned money on a unsatisfied end user experience.

Professional businesses are notorious for making customers or patients wait for an appointment.  Some even are able to charge a $120 late fee charge.  Sure would be nice to be able to charge my customers a payment when they don't show up or even call.  I certainly know that these type of businesses never offer each patient a waver when they are 1 hour late!  Have respect for your customer and be courteous to their busy schedule.  Certain industries are fortunate to be able to charge if there is a no-show.  Others have to drive all the way across the city only to learn that they have been stood up.  Lost appointments are time killers for all business owners.  Common courtesy can go a long ways and continue to grow the relationship with your end consumer.  To something extra for them also can ease tension with a long standing customer.

Monday, December 28, 2009

It's About the People

My Father owned a business for nearly 20 years.  I would call it a successful business and it allowed him to retire.  He had his difficulty and numerous struggles but he fought through them.  As a kid and as I grew up, he always has stressed, "its about the people you hire and have work for you".  It always made perfect sense to me and I had a first hand view of the many cast of characters he had hired through the years.

Our goal is too truly take this approach to the highest level possible.  It's tough for new businesses to be able to afford the highest quality employees and sometimes you have to do your best with the hand you are dealt.  It is one thing knowing that a business needs to hire "competent people" and comprehending it.  It's in the comprehending it that you truly apply the philosophy.  If you have an employee that keeps dragging behind on projects and is always late or has a attitude problem....etc.  Move on.

It is not the business owners job in my opinion to get emotional about the wrong employee.  An exceptional employee is a different scenario.  Be grateful for those in your organization that truly are fantastic.  Thin your business of the ones that aren't at your first chance.

The strength of your business is the most important.