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Digg it UP - Crossroads of the Young Entrepreneur
5 Advertising Mistakes Most Small Businesses Make yboard with a distraught look on your face you respond with: “oh nothing, just thinking.”Effective advertising is an investment in your business. Ineffective advertising is a liability and a waste of money. Here are the top 5 things to avoid making sure you advertise effectively.1. Don’t advertise at allIf you are in business and you don’t do some kind of advertising you are not doing business. The only excuse for not advertising is that you have more business than you can handle and then you should expand, raise yoru prices, and advertise more.This is not to say that you should buy advertising that you cannot afford. If you're strapped for cash, look for low cost advertising options like co-op advertising, buying remnant newspaper space, flyers, direct mail, or negotiate for trade.If you are reading this then I am assuming that Coke and Nike are slightly larger companies than yours. These companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year in advertising. Why? Well, how long do you think they would keep brand dominance if they stopped advertising today? Pepsi and New Balance would take over in a matter of days or weeks.If things are slow – that’s a ridiculous reason not to advertise. How d But you can’t fool them, they can feel the stress floating off of you into the air. You ask yourself “how did this happen? How did my life get to this point? ” “This doesn’t make sense… my business is blowing up and I’m sitting here unhappy.” Ok readers… It’s time for me to jump in and help this person out. So listen up if you feel like you’re that young entrepreneur that I just described above, or if you feel like you’re turning into that person. If you feel like your business is taking over your life and things are getting twisted, then something needs to be done right away before it’s too late Great Interview Skills You’re at your computer typing away and working on your business as usual; just a typical day living the life as a young entrepreneur. You glare into the computer screen and see yourself. You think about how young you are and how well things are going for you. Maybe it’s been a year or two since you started your business. Maybe you took a break from college to focus your time on your company. You’ve been having a blast working on you company and everything seems to be looking good.Going for a job interview can be a harrowing experience. The reasons are varied: A job applicant may not have the necessary relevant working experience or may be worried about the inability to answer difficult questions. Even the pressure of needing a job to pay for the living expenses can cause a job applicant to "freeze" or go numb with anxiety during the interview.Being appropriately attired and well groomed is a definite must. Punctuality is also an important criterion. Here are some more pointers to help make your job interview a relaxing and effective experience.Speak Clearly:The interview is going to be a useless exercise if the interviewer cannot make out what you are talking about. Thus if you are nervous, take a deep breath and focus on the interview questions. Don't rush through your answers or make unqualified statements. Most interviewers take down answers just in case a group of job applicants are short-listed.Bring Supporting Documents:Remember to bring supporting documents that you did not include in your initial resume. This can be a letter of commendation, ECA achievement or even the jour But as you sit back and see yourself in the large flat-panel Dell screen, you can’t help but think about all of the sacrifices you’ve had to make to get you where you are today. You can’t help but think that you’re life as an entrepreneur is sucking everything out of you. You haven’t hung out with you friends in weeks, you catch yourself only talking about business when someone tries to spark a conversation with you, and you are beginning to feel so trapped with all of the work and clients that you have to provide for. The pressure is building up and no matter how successful that you’re becoming, you still feel that you’re at a crossroads between happiness in your life and success with your business. Over the past few months you’ve made more money than most of your friends’ parents have made in a year. You’re on top of the world when it comes to your business and your baby is only growing and bringing in more and more clients than ever before. Holy shit! You’re 21 years-old and you’re really doing it! You’re really making things happen with your business; it’s finally all coming together. You’re blowing up. But hold on… just hold on one minute…I’m not fully happy with my life. Something is really missing here. You think back to the days when everything seemed so simple. The days when your friends would call you on your celly to hang out and go party somewhere and you’d gladly join them in a second; The days when you woke up in the morning not thinking about all of the work that you have to do for the day; The days when everything was so damn carefree and when things were unpredictable and spontaneous. But since you’ve become a successful entrepreneur things have changed. You wake up and the first thing you think of is what work needs to get done for what client; you think about all of the emails and calls that you have to make and meetings that you have to attend; you think of those bills that you have to pay and those accounts that you have to open. Your days are so predictable and all of your creativity is poured into your business. When your friends call you to come hang out you reply by saying: “sorry guys, I can’t make it tonight, too much work – maybe next time” When your family and friends ask you what’s wrong when they see you slumped over the keyboard with a distraught look on your face you respond with: “oh nothing, just thinking.” But you can’t fool them, they can feel the stress floating off of you into the air. You ask yourself “how did this happen? How did my life get to this point? ” “This doesn’t make sense… my business is blowing up and I’m sitting here unhappy.” Ok readers… It’s time for me to jump in and help this person out. So listen up if you feel like you’re that young entrepreneur that I just described above, or if you feel like you’re turning into that person. If you feel like your business is taking over your life and things are getting twisted, then something needs to be done right away before it’s too late What Should You Say About Your Past Jobs? re life as an entrepreneur is sucking everything out of you.These days many jobs are pretty compartmentalized. The bigger companies get, the more jobs that involve handling minute details of the business. Unfortunately in some cases it can be difficult to explain those daily duties in an interview and help the interviewer understand what skills you use every day.The best approach is to be as direct and simple as possible. When they ask you about your current position, start by telling them about your basic responsibilities. Then tell them who your “clients” are. Who do you service in the company? Whose questions do you answer? Are all of your clients external customers, or are you responsible for working with other departments in the company?Then branch out into describing what a typical request would be. And BE SPECIFIC. Remember, the interviewer is coming from a completely different company where things are done completely differently. They're trying to figure out what you get paid to do on a daily basis, and if it in any way relates to the stuff that they're going to ask you to do. If you can't use the actual names of clients or companies or products, the You haven’t hung out with you friends in weeks, you catch yourself only talking about business when someone tries to spark a conversation with you, and you are beginning to feel so trapped with all of the work and clients that you have to provide for. The pressure is building up and no matter how successful that you’re becoming, you still feel that you’re at a crossroads between happiness in your life and success with your business. Over the past few months you’ve made more money than most of your friends’ parents have made in a year. You’re on top of the world when it comes to your business and your baby is only growing and bringing in more and more clients than ever before. Holy shit! You’re 21 years-old and you’re really doing it! You’re really making things happen with your business; it’s finally all coming together. You’re blowing up. But hold on… just hold on one minute…I’m not fully happy with my life. Something is really missing here. You think back to the days when everything seemed so simple. The days when your friends would call you on your celly to hang out and go party somewhere and you’d gladly join them in a second; The days when you woke up in the morning not thinking about all of the work that you have to do for the day; The days when everything was so damn carefree and when things were unpredictable and spontaneous. But since you’ve become a successful entrepreneur things have changed. You wake up and the first thing you think of is what work needs to get done for what client; you think about all of the emails and calls that you have to make and meetings that you have to attend; you think of those bills that you have to pay and those accounts that you have to open. Your days are so predictable and all of your creativity is poured into your business. When your friends call you to come hang out you reply by saying: “sorry guys, I can’t make it tonight, too much work – maybe next time” When your family and friends ask you what’s wrong when they see you slumped over the keyboard with a distraught look on your face you respond with: “oh nothing, just thinking.” But you can’t fool them, they can feel the stress floating off of you into the air. You ask yourself “how did this happen? How did my life get to this point? ” “This doesn’t make sense… my business is blowing up and I’m sitting here unhappy.” Ok readers… It’s time for me to jump in and help this person out. So listen up if you feel like you’re that young entrepreneur that I just described above, or if you feel like you’re turning into that person. If you feel like your business is taking over your life and things are getting twisted, then something needs to be done right away before it’s too late There Are A Lot of Hats in the Small Business and They All Fit Your Head bringing in more and more clients than ever before.What many people think of a small business, they have these visions of an independent entrepreneur who is crafting a finely made product, happily working away doing something fulfilling with their life. REALITY CHECK!Operating a small business takes a certain level of discipline and understanding. This is because it small business is like a child in that your decisions can either help it grow and blossom or destroy it. Let's consider just a few of the positions in a small business that need filled usually by the owner.1. Building maintenance coordinator. If you rent or lease space, the task of scheduling maintenance and repairers not only for the business equipment but many times the building infrastructure falls to you. Such mundane tasks as making certain the windows are washed and sidewalk cleaned regularly also are your responsibility2. Advertising executive. Your small business may make the best product on the planet but there will be no sales unless consumers hear about it. How do you plan on getting your message out? If you hire an ad agency in their work is ineffective your business suffers. This me Holy shit! You’re 21 years-old and you’re really doing it! You’re really making things happen with your business; it’s finally all coming together. You’re blowing up. But hold on… just hold on one minute…I’m not fully happy with my life. Something is really missing here. You think back to the days when everything seemed so simple. The days when your friends would call you on your celly to hang out and go party somewhere and you’d gladly join them in a second; The days when you woke up in the morning not thinking about all of the work that you have to do for the day; The days when everything was so damn carefree and when things were unpredictable and spontaneous. But since you’ve become a successful entrepreneur things have changed. You wake up and the first thing you think of is what work needs to get done for what client; you think about all of the emails and calls that you have to make and meetings that you have to attend; you think of those bills that you have to pay and those accounts that you have to open. Your days are so predictable and all of your creativity is poured into your business. When your friends call you to come hang out you reply by saying: “sorry guys, I can’t make it tonight, too much work – maybe next time” When your family and friends ask you what’s wrong when they see you slumped over the keyboard with a distraught look on your face you respond with: “oh nothing, just thinking.” But you can’t fool them, they can feel the stress floating off of you into the air. You ask yourself “how did this happen? How did my life get to this point? ” “This doesn’t make sense… my business is blowing up and I’m sitting here unhappy.” Ok readers… It’s time for me to jump in and help this person out. So listen up if you feel like you’re that young entrepreneur that I just described above, or if you feel like you’re turning into that person. If you feel like your business is taking over your life and things are getting twisted, then something needs to be done right away before it’s too late Small Business Bookkeeping Outsourcing Rescues You from Workload predictable and spontaneous.Outsourcing is a special service that unfolds the practice of handling various business related tasks in less money. It is quite beneficial for small business organizations, as it can help to save thousands of dollars. Small business bookkeeping outsourcing is meant to relieve business owners from those pressures that crop up at the time of overload of work. It is quite popular that small business owners try to handle every department on their own. On other note, keeping a trained staff to handle their bookkeeping work will accompany so many expenses. Just think that how a small business will run if it is paying so much to its staff.Bookkeeping involves handling of the financial records, business revenue, profits and losses incurred by the company and various other expenses. At the time of tax session, if you are loaded with excess of bookkeeping work then the slight negligence can cause problems. Every single account can go wrong or the expenses and balances may not tally in this matter. At this point of time, outsourcing comes at your rescue. Outsourcing these services will not only save your time, but also money. In fact, you will But since you’ve become a successful entrepreneur things have changed. You wake up and the first thing you think of is what work needs to get done for what client; you think about all of the emails and calls that you have to make and meetings that you have to attend; you think of those bills that you have to pay and those accounts that you have to open. Your days are so predictable and all of your creativity is poured into your business. When your friends call you to come hang out you reply by saying: “sorry guys, I can’t make it tonight, too much work – maybe next time” When your family and friends ask you what’s wrong when they see you slumped over the keyboard with a distraught look on your face you respond with: “oh nothing, just thinking.” But you can’t fool them, they can feel the stress floating off of you into the air. You ask yourself “how did this happen? How did my life get to this point? ” “This doesn’t make sense… my business is blowing up and I’m sitting here unhappy.” Ok readers… It’s time for me to jump in and help this person out. So listen up if you feel like you’re that young entrepreneur that I just described above, or if you feel like you’re turning into that person. If you feel like your business is taking over your life and things are getting twisted, then something needs to be done right away before it’s too late On Branding yboard with a distraught look on your face you respond with: “oh nothing, just thinking.”Situation: Your window of advantage over your competitors closes more quickly than ever and price vs. price competition is really heating up. What can you do about it? Brand. If you think branding is just for large companies, think again - you may be overlooking the most important component of a successful business strategy. Branding is not just your logo or tagline or the “look” and “feel” of your marketing communications. Branding is the sum total of your client’s experiences and perceptions of your products, services, and employees. In addition, brand strategy influences company culture by setting the tone for employee interaction both internally and externally with suppliers and clients alike. In essence: your brand is what everyone else thinks it is - it’s what people say about your company behind your back.A branding strategy is the genesis of all customer contact activities. At first, it should be the core of all investor and public relations, sales, customer service, and initial advertising. When the budget allows, the branding strategy can become the foundation for larger marketing communications such as multi-media advertis But you can’t fool them, they can feel the stress floating off of you into the air. You ask yourself “how did this happen? How did my life get to this point? ” “This doesn’t make sense… my business is blowing up and I’m sitting here unhappy.” Ok readers… It’s time for me to jump in and help this person out. So listen up if you feel like you’re that young entrepreneur that I just described above, or if you feel like you’re turning into that person. If you feel like your business is taking over your life and things are getting twisted, then something needs to be done right away before it’s too late and you decide to give up on your business because it’s just become too overwhelming for you to handle. We all want to become successful with our businesses. We are all willing to put everything on the line if we feel that it can help our business. As entrepreneurs we are so focused and passionate about what we have to do in order to succeed and live the lives as successful businessmen in a world where so many people are unhappy with their jobs. We are driven and even considered workaholics. Sometimes we get so caught up in our work that we forget about giving ourselves a break. Since we are our own bosses we tend to be strict on ourselves and push our strengths to the limit. But here’s the thing, things can get very dangerous once we start forgetting to have fun and relax sometimes. Things can become very complicated when our business is doing well but we’re constantly at home working on the next big thing when our friends and families are enjoying themselves as we watch in the background. There needs to be a balance. Yes, the time that we sacrifice now can eventually lead to a life filled with success, millions of dollars, power, fame, and great respect, but we have to remember that this isn’t a one man journey; without the companionship and support from the ones that we love and respect, there will always be a missing piece to the puzzle of success. We must take into account that we can only reach certain levels of success with our businesses; without the company of others, we’re destined to live lives that will always be half-complete. We have to – no matter what – make time for those people that we care about and the people that care about us. There comes a time in our lives as entrepreneurs when we have to decide what really, really makes us happy in life. You can have all the clients, members, and subscribers in the world and all the money that comes with them, but you can still be that person sitting at home staring at your reflection in the computer thinking about how unhappy you are. You have to get it straight now before it’s too late. You have to stop working so hard that you’re inadvertently pushing away the people that you care the most about in the world. You have to consciously think of these people as a part of your business and as vital members of your organization. For once just forget about the money! Forget about your clients! Forget about becoming successful! Forget about the work that’s sitting on your desk waiting to get done! Forget about your goals! Forget about ALL of that! Now close your eyes and just think about the things that really matter to you the most. Remember all of the people that have supported you when you were just starting out. Remember your family and how much they love and car
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