Entrepreneurs' Connection

toni reece

2012-01-19T09:59:00.003-05:00

toni reece is the goto person for telling your story and spreading your presence

highly recommended!

------ toni's words ----------

We are drowning in information. Good stories can cut through the noise.

Stories help people see, taste, feel, and touch your company. Well told stories turn something that is sometimes intangible, into something tangible; creating a connection far greater than any brochure, print ad, or copy on a webpage. So tell your story! It’s good for business. In addition, tell it using the multi channels that will draw your particular audience in and allow you to make that personal connection.

http://associationofyou.org/

STOP SOPA!

2011-12-29T06:56:00.003-05:00

I've censored the following, in protest of a bill that gives any corporation and the US government the power to censor the internet--a bill that could pass THIS WEEK. To see the uncensored text, and to stop internet censorship, visit: http://americancensorship.org/posts/29177/uncensor

STOP ████!

top 10 fund raising tips

2011-12-17T21:50:00.001-05:00

an hour long discussion of best fund raising practice by a panel of experienced fund raisers listen here

The Jump Start Incubator

2011-11-30T14:32:00.003-05:00

The Jump Start Incubator

Rodriguez, James jrodr282@live.kutztown.edu

Good afternoon,

It was a pleasure speaking with all of you at lunch this afternoon. I wanted to share with you some information about the Jump Start Incubator. Attached is a document that gives a brief history of the project, our mission and an explanation of the five categories of services that we provide.

We would love for all of you to attend our information sessions. Peter mentioned that you have a list of some local entrepreneurs. Please make them aware of the Jump Start Incubator. Cooperation amongst all of the economic development agencies in the city is beneficial to our organizations, to the entrepreneurs and to the local economy.

The information sessions will be held on Monday, December 12, 6-8 p.m. and Tuesday, December 13, 9-11 a.m. in the Berks County Community Foundation Building, 237 Court Street, Reading, PA 19601. Please email us to reserve or for any questions.

We look forward to seeing you there,

James Rodriguez

James Wesley Rodriguez

Graduate Assistant

Kutztown University

Small Business Development Center

Office Phone: 484 646 4003

Cell Phone: 610 507 2141

You Are Not So Smart

2011-11-14T17:55:00.001-05:00

You Are Not So Smart is a book about all the wonderful ways you delude yourself everyday.

fascinating! must read!

presentation zen

2011-10-21T01:54:00.001-04:00

Presentation designer and internationally acclaimed communications expert Garr Reynolds, creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design and delivery on the net -- presentationzen.com -- shares his experience in a provocative mix of illumination, inspiration, education, and guidance that will change the way you think about making presentations

watch the video

bikram yoga

2011-09-27T08:09:00.000-04:00

here's a new business in reading that i really really like!

www.bikramyogawestreading.com

WordPress for self administered web content

2011-07-27T16:57:00.000-04:00

Recently I joind the board of directors for the Berks County Association for the Blind. This is a great organization and I'm still learning about all the great services they offer the blind, visually impared and other challenged people in Berks County. More about the BCAB later.

I wanted to talk today about my experience with WordPress during my effort to help the Blind association with their web presence. I had experimented with WordPress a couple years ago and I was impressed with it's potential but never implemented anything live. For the BCAB I wanted to keep cost down (WordPress is open source and cost nothing beyond normal web hosting costs) and I wanted to be able to hand all the administration of content over to the organization.

To make a short story long we bought a Domain and web hosting from Go Daddy. I installed WordPress right through the Go Daddy's interface, choose a basic theme (WordPress lingo for template), spent some time teaching myself how to use the many plugins available (open source for free) and was able to hand them a web site that they have total control over through a GUI dashboard (no coding needed). They can add pages, change content, add pictures etc... very cool. All in about 8 hours of my time including and mostly learning curve.

To see the sight click here:
www.berksblind.org

To learn more about WordPress click here:
http://wordpress.org/about/

Gary Brown

Partner / Business Development

Berks Digital Inc.

www.berksdigital.com

Google will tell you if you have a certain malware

2011-07-20T10:15:00.000-04:00

Scroll to the bottom to see the message you will see on google search results if you are infected. Very cool that they can do this.

Can you use your reticular activator as a powerful force for good in your life?

2011-05-17T21:48:00.002-04:00

Content from the website - http://www.youmeworks.com/what-is-the-reticular-activator.html

THE RETICULAR ACTIVATOR is a part of the brain the stays on alert. It's job is to make you notice some things and ignore other things (if you noticed everything, you'd be too distracted to function). When you buy a new VW, it seems like the whole world has bought VWs, because you notice them everywhere. That's the reticular activator at work.

Motivational speakers, business consultants, and authors of "success books" always stress the importance of having a clear goal. One of the reasons goals are so important is because they activate your reticular activator.

If you have the goal of writing and publishing a bestselling book, for example, you will start noticing things you've never noticed before. It seems the world is conspiring to help you out. You'll meet just the right people. You'll run into the perfect designer for your cover by an amazing coincidence. You'll happen to stumble across a magazine article that tells you about a software program that will really speed up your writing. And so on.

All these things are happening because your clear goal has set up the conditions for your reticular activator to work well. That's how it works. When you know exactly what you want, your reticular activator goes to work automatically to help you get it.

To read more - click here

Direct Marketing Web tools still free if you know where to look.

2011-04-17T11:59:00.002-04:00

While as a provider of print services we know that quality printed materials are an important part of any companies marketing. I’m writing today to tell you about some web services that are not only effective ways to communicate your message but with the exception of your time investment are FREE.

First is email marketing, while there is a plethora of service companies out there, most will charge after a short trial period or limit you to a very short list of contacts and limit features so you need to upgrade to the pay version for any real useful functionality.

I have found that for full services and a subscriber list of up to 1,000 subscribers, that MailChimp.com offers a great service for FREE to businesses of all sizes. They offer simple templates to create, sent and track email communications that can easily include photos, dynamic links or video. For you skeptics, below is a link to an explanation of how their free business model works.

http://blog.mailchimp.com/going-freemium-one-year-later/

My next communication will discuss Survey tools, so stay tuned.

Gary Brown

Partner / Business Development

Berks Digital Inc.

www.berksdigital.com

Should we approach sales differently in PA?

2011-04-12T11:50:00.002-04:00

PA consumers and business people have a different outlook, possibly more skeptical and "stubborn" or a more "closed community." Is this because of our mostly German heritage? PA is top on the list of residence who don't move out of state which makes our communities more closed-knit.

How do you break into old-established networks? It takes 3-5 years for anybody to gain a solid presence in a network. How do we get connected sooner?

record meetings so you don't forget anything

2011-03-31T10:34:00.003-04:00

if you want to record meetings or events so you don't forget anything, this $10 iPhone app is an excellent choice. it picks up voices from across the room 20 feet away. i use to record music rehearsals so i can hear what we sound like. highly recommended!

Learn to Build Your Brand; Free; Three Part Wkshp

2011-03-16T13:42:00.001-04:00

first friday networking

2011-03-04T00:48:00.001-05:00

"Merge" First Friday Business Mixer

March 4th, 2011

This email is to invite you to our Business Mixer taking place this week at the Abraham Lincoln. Merge is a new networking opportunity that will coincide with our Arts & Entertainment Festival. In addition to providing a positive and inclusive community event we also like to engage Reading's business community.

Young Business Professionals are the future of our city.

Our goal (or one of them) is to provide networking opportunities that may not other wise be available. W e'd also like to increase “traffic” in downtown Reading, and stimulate economic growth within the city. We believe that this renaissance starts with young business professionals. Please reply to rsvp. Thanks!

color blind?

2011-02-26T10:21:00.002-05:00

i'm looking at the post i just did about how seo and gambling in las vegas are similar, and i noticed that the links are invisible to me... i think they are supposed to be a different color than the text, but all the text looks black. is it my colorblindness? do the links stand out to anyone? feedback appreciated. thanks.

seo

2011-02-26T10:13:00.002-05:00

perhaps you are wondering [but probably you are not] why 533chestnut.com focuses on 'almost everything internet' but not search engine optimization. here's one of the reasons. big players [j.c.penney, huffington post and others] with millions of dollars to spend have been gaming google, twisting the seo results leaving smaller players [me] in the dust. seo reminds me of stock market day traders glued to their computers watching every little bump in the activity, putting stock trading in the same category as slot machines in las vegas. that said, if you follow the google recomendations for spreading your presence on the web, can have very nice results thank you.

manure for your mind

2011-02-17T10:56:00.003-05:00

today, the ecreferral group decided to refocus our marketing efforts on mastermind. but we could not think of a more common word. brainstorming. sparking your creativity. manure for your mind. to highlight our strength, which is to focus the groupthink on a business problem. and btw, the current focus is how do we market our group :) more later....

the web presence of ecreferral.com

2011-02-15T22:41:00.004-05:00

the web presence[seo] of ecreferral has everything to do with how many places on the internet point to us as an interesting place.

here's the outline of our web presence.

•	our website is for stuff that does not change frequently it has our group's focus, it's members, meeting times and places... in january 2011, our website had 644 visitors.
•	greater reading entrepreneurs' meetup group is how we cast a wide net for people who are activist enough to search meetup.com. you can "follow us on facebook" from our meetup page, altho i do not think any one of us has actually done that.
•	our blog is for saying stuff that is interesting today... any member can post their thoughts to the blog. in january 2011, our blog had 73 visitors.
•	linkedin has it's own agenda, and ecreferral has it's own interest group which has been inactive lately
•	we do not have a facebook presence altho some of us have tagged us on their personal pages.
•	we have a few youtube videos. here's an example
•	our yet-to-be-published newsletter should likely be posted to our blog
•	some of our individual blogs link back to our website

our wonderfulness and our ability to attract new members is directly linked to our interestingness. that is to say our ability to say something interesting every day.

our google presence has everything to do with backlinks. that is to say how many other places on the web [think "my blog" or "my website"] mention our link on their webspace.

Jeffery Bingham

2011-02-04T19:54:00.001-05:00

Jeffery Bingham has a very balanced financial view.. Read his latest newsletter here.

2010-11-16T12:08:00.003-05:00

I am thankful for my health.
I am thankful that I have access to health care.
I am thankful that I have freedom to choose my own career.

Moodle

2010-11-12T06:11:00.000-05:00

for all of you in the knowledge business.. this is awesome!
Moodle is a course management system designed to help educators who want to create quality online courses. The software is used all over the world by universities, schools, companies and independent teachers. Moodle is open source and completely free to use.

2010-10-26T13:16:00.002-04:00

I am thankful for my legs as I walk with my wife and children.
I am thankful for electric lights so I don't trip at night.
I am thankful for my shoes that protect my feet.

2010-10-21T17:23:00.002-04:00

I am thankful for the opportunity to pursue my own dreams.
I am thankful for the quantity, and quality, of food I eat everyday.
I am thankful for the technology that allows me to watch the Phillies play for the NL pennant from the warmth of my home.

2010-10-18T11:09:00.003-04:00

I am thankful to be able to worship at the church of my choice.
I am thankful for good friends.
I am thankful for fresh food at a local market.

2010-10-15T10:03:00.001-04:00

I am thankful for the warm sun on a cool, windy day.
I am thankful for my eyes to see the beauty all around me.
I am thankful for clean water that is so easily available to me.

Savvy Networking

2010-10-14T10:07:00.001-04:00

The Wall Street Journal called Andrea Nierenberg a 'networking success story'. She is a master at helping others build their interpersonal skills to create strong connections and build a solid network of business relationships and lifelong customers. Networking is the secret. In this her third book, Andrea breaks all the universal rules down into daily tips for effective networking--for all types of businesses from manufacturing to financial services, from technology companies to retailers. Her tips highlight the types of people who can be helpful to you professionally; offer easy-to-follow steps for transforming your business connections; approaching a room full of strangers comfortably; improving your communications skills; discovering the types of people you need in your network (and that may already be a part of your circle of contacts); and keeping track of your contacts. Learn networking techniques that capitalize on your natural abilities. In her frank, friendly style, Andrea's new book is a daily reminder of why networking must be a vital part of your business plan. Savvy Networking includes personal success stories throughout.

Gratitude for Life

2010-10-12T10:27:00.000-04:00

The beauty of this season, this life we all share, the sweetness of connections, I am grateful for all this - thank you Don for jumpstarting this sharing from the heart.

2010-10-08T17:11:00.001-04:00

I am thankful for my eyes to see the world around me.
I am thankful for good friends.
I am thankful I live in a country that values freedom rather than control.

2010-10-06T09:55:00.001-04:00

I am thankful for the change in seasons.
I am thankful for good friends.
I am thankful for my arms to hold and hug my wife and children.

2010-10-05T08:17:00.002-04:00

I am thankful for my eyes to see my family.
I am thankful for a dry, warm place to sleep.
I am thankful for those who protect me.

Gratitude

2010-10-02T19:59:00.003-04:00

I am thankful for the quiet of the early morning.
I am thankful for the warmth of an autumn sun.
I am thankful for the love and companionship of a beautiful and faithful wife.

Gratitude

2010-10-01T11:34:00.002-04:00

I am thankful for having my electricity stay on during the past storm.
I am thankful for my senses to appreciate the power of past storm.
I am thankful for the life-giving rain from the past storm.

energizer bunny

2010-09-04T04:19:00.003-04:00

Nancy Baker is interesting on two levels
we could learn web marketing from her. her web presence is everywhere: her website, blog, facebook, linkedin, more facebook, and of course the book.

and some of the more goal oriented among us may resonate to her personal coaching. i've never met her, but i'm feeling that a daily dose of 55 concepts would be enough to keep anyone energized.

Blog alerts update

2010-08-20T01:18:00.002-04:00

Hmmm.....I didn't get alerted about Peter's two video posts. Somebody post some text. I really expected this to work.

Twouble with Twitters: SuperNews!

2010-08-15T01:49:00.000-04:00

Linked In... To What? SuperNews!

2010-08-15T01:41:00.000-04:00

Possible solution to burning question

2010-08-13T11:06:00.002-04:00

I just discovered a way to get notified of blog posts.

I went to Google Alerts.

Search term: ecreferral

Type: blogs

How often: once a day

Email length: up to 10 results

Deliver to: my email address, of course!

Testing the results only gave me two hits: Peter's last post and the general link to the blog. Cool! Not an overwhelming amount of results.

So stay tuned and I'll post the success or failure of this little exercise.

a burning question

2010-08-13T09:34:00.003-04:00

last thursday, someone asked if blog followers are email notified when someone publishes a new post to http://ecreferral.blogspot.com/

the short answer is no.
i cannot find anything in blogger.com that says "notify me when there is a new post to this blog"
i cannot find anything in blogger.com that says "notify followers when there is a new post to this blog"

there is a feature in the blog manager window that says "notify up to 10 email addresses when there is a new post to this blog", but since there are more than 10 of us.....

i suppose this is not twitter

but wait!
if i set up a twitter account for ecreferral
i can notify twitter about new posts automatically
then
if you set up a twitter account
if your twitter follows the ecreferral twitter
if you actually read your twitter messages [i dont]
then you will be notified whenever there is a new post

is it worth it?
probably not.

Therapy

2010-08-11T20:14:00.003-04:00

I just finished my latest therapy session and all is right with me, my family, and the world. During my sessions I review my responses in a critical light and decide where I made my mistakes, where I had successes, and where I didn't even see the opportunity. As usual, I am my own worst critic and generally have higher standards for my actions and reactions than I expect from the people, family, and friends that I meet and greet everyday. I rehash the odd wording of an email that didn't get the response I was hoping for, relive the telephone call that required a delicate touch and I used my sledgehammer, the quiet conversation that I misread and ended badly.

I usually sit during my sessions, but sometimes I enjoy being on my feet, it gives me a new view of the world around me. I never saw my sessions as precious but as I have matured, or aged, or just gotten older and wiser, I covet my time in therapy. I can solve any problem in and with my business, heal all the wounds I have inflicted on my family, and even, I think, bring together world leaders and have them come to agreements about their countries and how they should govern wisely, or at least according to me. I know that as soon as I reenter the real world all my good intentions and bold decisions melt away as the ice in my water glass. And worst, my son has now taken away some of my time without even a thank you or appreciation of the opportunity he is given. Reflecting on his attitude I realize that when I started my sessions I did not realize the great gift I had, but only focused on getting through and on to the rest of my life. I suppose as he matures and moves away and starts a family of his own he will wistfully look back to these days as wasted opportunities to come to grips with his life and his future. I guess it is the way of all life - we don't know what we have until it is gone (I think this a lyric to a song).

Timing is everything

2010-08-10T20:24:00.000-04:00

I have noticed that when timing is just right, things go smoothly and fall into place with minimal effort. When we try to control too much of what is going on, we may be missing out on the opportunities to go with the flow. A really full schedule does not have any room for surprises. “Of course not,” you may be saying, “that’s the whole point.” Yet, have you considered the value of suddenly having open space, time and resources, without a plan for their use? The possibilities are endless, as long as one remains receptive and intentionally present to allow unexpectedness to enter. Perhaps you have already experienced this and remember how carefully constructed the ‘coincidence’ was and how much it amazed you.

I propose that we do this more often, find time where ‘nothing’ is planned or scheduled, where we keep an open mind and calendar to see what shows up. For me, invariably, it’s a phone call or a visit, someone unexpected, someone with a really good conversation, an offer, someone who needs my input just then- there are all sorts of options and potential that would not come if I was tightly planned out.

So, how about it? Can you afford to keep an hour free with the intention that you will follow whatever shows up during that time? You could intend to make it a YES experience, expecting delight and fun surprises. You have nothing to lose and some delight to gain.
I usually hold such an intention while continuing to work at my desk, without deadlines or total focus, keeping an eye and ear open. It’s quite lovely to just allow for things to come to us without trying. It might just become a weekly habit - why not give it a try?

Entrepreneurs and Success

2010-08-10T12:03:00.000-04:00

I have been incredibly fortunate to have had a great number of opportunities to build relationships with Entrepreneurs and financially successful BusinessPeople. There is a definitive distinction between an entrepreneur and a businessperson. It bears mentioning that possessing an entrepreneurial spirit does not always equate to financial success or satisfactory goal achievement. If you are an Entrepreneur who is experiencing difficulties in achieving your goals keep these two thoughts in mind and consider whether they make sense to initiate a positive response to move forward with your endeavors.

FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS - Be diligent in creating your business plan and be extremely thorough with your goal planning. There are many elements that affect our businesses as there are many things and people we affect with our businesses. Take all into account: family, faith, recreation, time commitments, the economy, your chosen profession, weather, history, background, etc. After all your due diligence has produced the documents that are the stepping stones to your successful future share them with the important people in your life. Be absolutely sure that all agree the stepping stones are the right ones for all to follow. Then focus and stay focused! Entrepreneurs tend to have to many tentacles in motion without the necessary effort and attention being paid to the one tentacle that needs your full commitment.

GET HELP - Entrepreneurs tend to harbor the belief that they possess expertise in associated fields of business. Do not make decisions you are not qualified to make. Build a team of trusted advisers and then question every decision and response. Nobody knows it all in business. Amass and process enough information to produce the best qualified decision that is going to get you on the right path, keep you on the right path while continuing to move forward on that right path. You never want to have to look back in business. Find a support group and assemble a consulting Board of Directors.

More to come,

Chuck

Blogging Lesson

2010-08-07T10:17:00.004-04:00

Pursuant to our discussion at our EC meeting this week, I think my first (second?) post should be about how to do this, which JoAnne asked about. So here goes:

Connect to ecreferral.blogspot.com. Scroll down the page. If you're not listed among the contributors at the bottom, you can't post yet. But you can FOLLOW and READ! So click the follow link at the very top and you will get an email every time someone posts so you can read the post, and when you become a contributor you'll be able to post in response. This will help us get a conversation going as we fertilize each other's minds. Then blogging won't seem like such a forced exercise.

So, to become a contributor, Peter, as the blog originator, needs to designate you as a contributor, which he is planning to do for all of us. He references your email address to do that.

Once you're a contributor, you can sign in and post.

To post, first sign-in by clicking the sign-in link. If not obvious, you will at least find it in the drop down menu attached to your picture (or picture placeholder). A window will open giving you the option to sign in using your Google, Twitter, or Yahoo account. Click the one you want to use. Or if you have none of those, there's a link to create an account. A new account will be a Google account since blogspot is hosted by Google. This will also give you access to the other features of Google, but that's another story.

Having signed in, there will now be a "New Post" link at the top of the page near where the "Follow" link is/was. Click that and you will get a box where you can dispense your wisdom, muse on anything including someone's prior post, or ask for enlightenment.

Do not be paranoid about what you write. These are not etched in concrete. You can edit them after you post them.

If any of this does not comport with what you see, let me know and I'll correct it!

Happy blogging!

gaping void dot com

2010-07-05T22:15:00.003-04:00

Optimize your web site

2010-06-08T04:20:00.003-04:00

If your business depends on the internet attracting clients/customers, you're going to want to check this out.
Web site Optimizer, Google's free web site testing and optimization tool, allows you to fine tune your web site.
Not for the faint of heart, expect to spend a few hours a week for a long time.
The process is:
• design an experiment [different headlines, fonts, graphics, page designs, prices]
• publish your experiment.
• after a few days or weeks, analyze the traffic on different experimental pages
• change & publish your most effective design
• go to step 1.

Mastermind for Karen Zipser

2010-02-20T21:55:00.002-05:00

Karen Zipser is looking for a tagline for her website; like "Karen Zipser - Word Wizard". Her history is writing for marketing and advertising, technical manuals, and letters. Her intended audience is business people; so her tagline should speak to them. Studies show that people decide to stay on a website within microseconds so we need an attention grabber. So. We decided to have a virtual internet mastermind brainstorming session. Think of a tagline. Be creative. Think outside the box. Anything goes.
Send your ideas to Karen at karenz@dejazzd.com

Thanks in advance.
Peter Mitchell

Gerald Pawlikowski speaks

2010-02-05T22:07:00.001-05:00

Gerald Pawlikowski speaks about being aware of customer perceptions and being customer focused.
Presentation to Entrepreneurs' Connection February 4, 2010
http://www.ecreferral.com

more web marketing

2010-02-02T06:43:00.001-05:00

Sydni Craig-Hart is a marketing coach that will help you focus your internet marketing.
i'm impressed with her simple approach to practical things you can do to attract business using internet tools.
apparently, she has taken her own advice. google "sydni craig-hart" to find 75,000+ references to her business.
and about the funny picture of the dragon eating it's own tail?
it's the icon of a self-referential system.
it just struck me as iconic that sydni is using her internet marketing expertise to sell her internet marketing expertise.
and it didn't escape me that the link to "google "sydni craig-hart"" above will appear in the google results for sydni craig-hart.

eckhart and oprah

2010-01-30T03:55:00.002-05:00

eckhart and oprah have collaborated on a webcast that i think we can learn from.

the marketing plan
eckhart tolle is in the knowledge/expertise business just like a lot us us at entrepreneurs' connection.
first he writes a book.
he speaks continually all the time and apparently travels with his own video production crew. [he has over 6000 videos on youtube]
he sells his videos and his mp3 podcasts
he has his own subscription video service

and now he's done a webcast with oprah
even though both eckhart and oprah are well known all over ther globe, i think we can apply the marketing plan to our own businesses.

eckhart teaches
eckhart teaches meditation - sort of.
the buddhist call it mindfulness
christians call it the lord's prayer [Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven]
nevermind the different rituals and theology,
meditation has physical benefits [you will live longer, get sick less often, and heal faster]
meditation has emotional benefits [it will lower your stress level]
meditation has spiritual benefits [it will connect you to "Thy will be done"]
the taoists have a short explanation that is both doctrine and ritual free; and i paraphrase:

if the king[you] keeps his mind in heaven, his kingdom[your life] will be full of peace and prosperity
but if the king[you] keeps his mind on earthly things, his kingdom[your life] will be full of war, famine and pestilence

and if you are thinking "but they are chinese!" moses teaches the same thing in deuteronomy.

if you want to know more, check out this and this, or we can do lunch.

more marketing 101

2010-01-02T03:07:00.003-05:00

In June 2009, I set up a website for Little Academy Faye's School in Swaziland [South Africa]. The website has not been pulling in donations like the owners of the school expected, so one of the owners sent me an email and complained. read more....

entrepreneurship

2009-11-15T06:45:00.003-05:00

129 FREE college courses in entrepreneurship.
browse the courses.
you may find yourself inspired.

listening

2009-09-17T15:56:00.001-04:00

we listen to words with our ears.
we listen to feelings with our ??? [help! what's the english word here?]
we listen to body language with our eyes.
we listen to intention with our heart.

deborah tannen studies how we communicate. her focus is on the different communication styles of men and women. here's the one minute summary of her latest book.

this is a good way to improve your listening skills, by recognizing that what we mean is not always what we say.

GoSmallBiz.com

2009-07-30T21:57:00.000-04:00

At today's meeting, Chuck Holder called our attention to a nifty business aptitude test that's available on GoSmallBiz.com. This is website is apparently associated with PrepaidLegal.com. Chuck is a representative so you can contact him about getting access: cholder80@PrepaidLegal.com.

Lester Wills will present at our Aug 6 meeting on "Yes Strategies."

Tips on Effective Selling

2009-07-23T12:08:00.001-04:00

Today Mathew Assemes briefed us on a presentation he attended about effective sales tips. Here are some of the ideas he mentioned:

Do your homework before your business call.
Be a customer of the client.
Work on your elevator speech.
Do not bring a folder full of brochures, find out individual needs. (Brochures are presumptive. They imply you assume you know what they need. Better to seek to find out what they need.)
Know who the decision maker is.
Begin with the end in mind.
Know who the decision mater is in the organization. Are they the ONLY decision maker or might others veto their decision?
Respect their time.
Followup is the most important part of the call.
Building relationships is position marketing.
Underselling and over delivery.
Matt's presenter had advocated "don't undersell or overdeliver." We questioned this advice. Following it can easily wreck your credibility by making you appear purely self-interested. Prospective clients will want you to care about their needs.

Updated 7/27/2009 based on meeting notes.

King Warrior Magician Lover

2009-07-11T20:21:00.004-04:00

On July 9, 2009 at our EC meeting, I began a presentation that I hadn't really had time to winnow down to the time we had available to cover it.

It was about Robert Moore's and Douglas Gillette's 1990 book called "King Warrior Magician Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine."

I had mentioned this book in an earlier meeting and Peter expressed interest in hearing more about it. So we made it the subject of a meeting.

But since it's too much to cover in one meeting, Peter suggested I blog it. So I cleaned up and completed the copy I had started. I have created a website and put it up there. This link below takes you to it.

If everyone is interested and reads it, then we'll be able to discuss it in a future meeting if we so choose.

Of course, you can just buy the book yourself but this is only (?) :) 7 pages which is a darn sight less than the whole book! What I eliminated to create this was mostly cultural histories, anecdotes, excess examples and redundant material. Otherwise, the core of the information is there.

http://sites.google.com/site/karenhzipser/home/king-warrior-magician-lover-summary

penny haynes is everywhere!!

2009-05-13T21:51:00.003-04:00

"create your own think tank" is the header on an email that my friend chuck sent me the "amazing" news is that you can advertise on facebook.

simultaneously at the same time, my virtual friend penny sent an email via twitter that leads back to one of her websites.

<---

Hi, peter mitchell.

You have a new direct message from twitter:

pennyhaynes: Thanks for following! Here's a quick video to get to know me better:

http://commercialcreationcenter.com/contact/

Reply on the web at http://twitter.com/direct_messages/create/pennyhaynes

Send me a direct message from your phone: D PENNYHAYNES

--->

both of these are ways to use social networking sites to spread your message.

breaking the rules

2009-05-09T12:59:00.001-04:00

malcom gladwell is one of my favorite writers. he has a gift for finding truly interesting people and telling their story.
his latest story - about breaking the rules - is fascinating. it's about a guy who was coaching teen age girls basketball, and about how he was able to step outside the conventional basketball wisdom and develop a championship team. and the result was that he got the opposing coaches so enraged - even though he was playing within the "rules" - that they effectively banished his team from the competition.
so anyway, this is a story about thinking outside the box. about stepping aside from the conventional wisdom and intuiting a creative solution.

ecreferral makes reading more beautiful

2009-04-16T19:28:00.001-04:00

last thursday, the ecreferral group did some mulching preparing the library garden for the season.

web marketing 101

2009-04-16T18:52:00.002-04:00

a short tutorial about how to use the internet for effective marketing.
enjoy

emailing large groups

2009-02-08T09:12:00.001-05:00

sharon sapp sends me a marketing newsletter email every month and she uses my personal advantage; cost about $10/month for unlimited emails. they also offer direct mail pieces at a competitive price.
the other email contact program, constant contact, only offers email. their price starts at $15/month and their price goes way up depending on your volume. they do not offer direct mail..
just thought i'd let you know.

volunteer peten

2009-02-01T06:05:00.002-05:00

i've know matt peters for a while now, and i am continually impressed with his ability to get things done.
in malcome-gladwell-speak, he is smart enough, he has taken advantage of opportunities as they present themselves, and he has an excellent work ethic.
about 10 years ago, he went to the back country of guatamala with the peace corps. and when his term was up, he stayed on. in his small town, he has built a library, a school, and an ecological park; all with volunteer labor and volunteer donations.
and he has mondo marketing skills. his target market is people who want to make a difference in a third world country. he comes to the united states for about one week a year to do fundraising. here is an interview he did on a local tv station that is basically his fundraising pitch.

Guerilla Marketing

2009-01-31T22:15:00.001-05:00

Jay Conrad Levinson has written 42 books, all with the words "Guerilla Marketing" in the title. I can't bring myself to read any of them. For some reason my eyes glaze over when I read advice like "Stay in touch with your customer base". He offers a thousand tips about obvious ways to get your message across but he never comes right out to say what is creative marketing. Not recommended.

book review - outliers

2009-01-09T14:12:00.003-05:00

malcome gladwell is a staff writer for the new yorker. his style is pop psychology anthropology. he is a compelling storyteller. his gift is finding unusual people, like the guy with a 190 iq whose day job is a ranch hand raising horses. or this one, six degrees of lois weisberg about an anonymous grandmother in chicago who is also a kingmaker.

his book outliers is about people who have achieved extraordinary fame or wealth. his conclusion is that being smart helps, having the right opportunities helps, and that your cultural upbringing - your work ethic - helps. but it is really the matrix of all of the above that is the magic. it's almost worth reading the book just for the stories.

but i gotta tell you, his world view: "we are only a chaotic random collection of atoms - that just happens to write books and listen to mozart" [my words not his...] is sort of limiting. but that's a story for another time.

suzanne's mastermind question

2008-12-12T09:59:00.000-05:00

this group of business people meets once a week to focus on sales and marketing issues.
every once in a while, one of us has a puzzling situation, and the group does a brainstorming session to offer solutions.

here's the question suzanne offered in our brainstorming session yesterday.
you are making a presentation - selling your services - to an group that you have met for the first time and that has had a bad experience with services like yours. the question is: how do you earn their trust?

from suzanne
The topic today was...How do you promote client service and convey trust. People do business with those they know, like and trust. In some cases, I am asking individuals and groups to trust me when we barely know each other and may have just met in person.

Highlights in no particular order:
Include testimonials from existing clients if possible.
Uncover the pain or reason why they are seeking your services.
Find a commonality and weave references into the conversation.
Do what you say you will do within the time frame promised. Be consistent.
Ask questions starting with How instead of What.
Offer some suggestions or solutions to the issue during your free consultation.
Ask what do I need to do to earn your trust.
Avoid making derrogatory comments about competitors.

from henriette
The most important piece from my end is being authentically representing myself and my work/service. That in itself rings true and allows others to tune into that invisible piece that makes people feel comfortable with each other. It's a mixture of know how and technical skill along with a personable and caring attitude. This is not to say that all meetings offered this way close the gap and bring us everyone's business, but the integrity of one's presentation is essential to gain those clients whom we can really assist and who will find value in our services. From this end we stop struggling and are not desperately seeking new clients 'no matter what' - we keep our heads and trust that even if there is no immediate deal or closing - the encounter has been of value for everyone and may bear fruit later in direct or indirect ways.

from vince
I was not at the meeting but through commercial insurance I deal with this often. Something that has worked many times for me is using references from current clients. I really think there is no better way of establishing yourself than through the experience of your clients. I have no problem putting a prospect in touch with someone I have done business with in the past to help build a sense of trust.

from christine
i just project love.

from peter
it's interesting that the responses are divided between "who you are" and "what you do"
and it's curious that the two responses from people whose everyday life is sales/ marketing were in the "what you do" category and the two responses from people whose everyday life is not sales/marketing were in the "who you are" category.
i wonder if this same difference would show up in a different group.
curious.

books are so.... last century

2008-11-27T22:08:00.000-05:00

here's two websites that sell information
shootsmartertv is pure marketing.
this guy probably doesn't know anything about photography, but he knows how to sell other people's expertise.
he follows working photographers around with his video camera to show wannabe photographers professional photographers at work. and of course he wants your credit card to see the videos.
the socionomics institute sells books and videos bypassing the traditional publisher middlemen..
so here's the message.
if you have knowledge that other people would pay to see..
blog your knowledge one chapter at a time
make a video
get yourself a website.
trade your knowledge for your viewer's credit card number.

book review: seven practices of enduring businesses

2008-11-18T13:56:00.000-05:00

harvard university recommends that you budget $150,000 for their two year mba program. they are gracious enough to note that this does not include the cost of a personal computer.
i got my copy of "the commensense mba" by richard m. astle from amazon.com for one cent [plus shipping]. it's stuff you'll never learn at harvard, yet it is fundamental to running a successful business.
"don't let school get in the way of your education" - mark twain

the seven practices

put people first.
never forget that your business is for the benefit of your customers and your employees... every transaction with customers or employees should be a both-win transaction.

do what you say.
be on time. return phone phone calls. do what you say. you'll never keep reliable employees or good customers without it.

build trust.
everything you do should be open and aboveboard.. if you don't know what personal integrity is, or you hesitate when asked about your business ethics, you should make it a point to learn more....

put needs before wants
focus on prudence and restraint in finances. it's best you start your business small and grow it from the profits rather than borrow a lot of money up front. you don't 'need' a fancy office or car to impress clients with your success. being debt free and a savings account will help you survive lean times.

focus on quality and customer service.

plan, plan, plan
making a business plan will help you think through areas that you would otherwise ignore. things like a financial plan. a marketing plan. read through your plan every day.

sell, sell, sell
marketing is everything. spend 20% of your time networking, advertising, getting the word out.

summary: start small and grow by reinvesting your profits. focus on serving your customers and your employees. focus on quality and integrity. focus on marketing. focus. focus. focus.

viral marketing

2008-11-13T04:17:00.001-05:00

viral marketing is based on the theory that ideas travel from person to person like a virus...

your friends call you or email you with interesting stuff.
here's an example.
a maker of cell phone headsets wanted to float the idea that cellphones held next to your ear cause brain tumors, cancer, and other evil stuff.

so they made a video showing how cellphone radiation is so strong, it will pop popcorn.

this video is probably a knockoff and not the original.

wired magazine reports that similar videos had more than a million views in the first week.
soon after, when people realized they had been tricked, rebuttal videos started to appear.

this video had more than 500,000 views

google search on "cell phone popcorn" shows over a million and a half web pages.

here's a page that explains the whole story

so here's the message for entrepreneurs
be creative

i love this stuff

reading entrepreneur meetup group

2008-11-11T08:53:00.000-05:00

welcome the the new reading entrepreneur meetup group

Click here to check out
The Reading Entrepreneur Meetup Group!

Book Review: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey

2008-11-07T02:34:00.000-05:00

Be Proactive is about taking responsibility for your life. Proactive people choose their behavior. Proactive people focus their time and energy on things they can control: health, children, problems at work.
Begin with the End in Mind means to begin each day, task, or project with a clear vision of your desired direction and destination.Develop a Personal Mission Statement focused on what you want to be and do. It is your plan for success. Your mission statement reaffirms who you are, puts your goals in focus, and moves your ideas into the real world.
First Things First Focus on your highest priorities. First things are those things you, personally find of most worth.
Win-Win is a frame of mind and heart that seeks mutual benefit in every transaction. Many people think in terms of Win-Lose. Win-win is an abundance mentality; believing there is plenty for everyone. Win-Lose thinks "What's in it for me?". Win-Win thinks "What's in it for you?".
Listen. If you're like most people, you probably want to get your point across first. And by not listening, you may ignore the other person completely.
Synergize is the habit of creative cooperation. It is teamwork, open-mindedness, and the adventure of finding new solutions. Together, people can produce better results that they could individually. Synergy is the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Do you value the differences among people? Or do you wish everyone would just agree with you?
Balance means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual. Here are some examples of activities:
Physical: Beneficial eating, exercising, and resting
Social/Emotional: Making social and meaningful connections with others
Mental: Learning, reading, writing, and teaching
Spiritual: Spending time in nature, expanding spiritual self through mediation, music, art, prayer, or service

this is part of the entrepreneur's connection MBA program

peter creates a blog

2008-10-31T20:47:00.000-04:00

Introduction to blogging

Google tracks who is talking about what... And blogs are an important part of measuring what's hot.. ideas that are sweeping the country. So in Google's eyes, if people are talking about us, [and visiting us] then we must have something important to say.

Anyway, here is a short tutorial "Peter creates a blog"

welcome

2008-10-31T10:34:00.000-04:00

welcome to ecreferral.. over the next 12 months we are going to present an mba course focusing on marketing for small business