Ray Silverstein's Blog

Business is like dessert

Business should be fun and delicious, just like peaches and cream.
I was looking through blogs and thought the fumbling foodie would take my mind off business for a moment, but I dug right in and found this food for thought.

Business can go to hell for the hell of doing it!

I have a sign over my of my desk, "There is no sense doing well, that you should not be doing at all."
In discussion in peer advisory boards with small business owners, I try to get them to work on the business and not only in the business.
peer advisory boards
In most cases, entrepreneurs go into business for themselves because they are very good at the service or product they produce. They get into the habit of working in the business and feel they have to do, do, and do more. As the business starts to grow they do not get out of this habit and the business starts to stagnate. They don't think about marketing, improving their recruitment skills, or many other attributes of the business. They are too busy working in the business.

The key is delegation. I know you have heard this before, but this is a necessity to grow and prosper. Therefore, you must decide what you will do for the business. It's of little value to perform low level work, even if it saves you a few bucks. As the owner, your job is to sell you vision to your employees, find the very best employees, and set a strategic course for the company. Develop the service and product differentiation. Create the strategy to get you out of the commodity, low price selling arena. The Best Secrets of Great Small Businesses

First, think about the personal strengths you bring to the organization. This is the area you should put your emphasis. What are the areas that will bring the greatest return on your time and energy? So when you are busy, busy, busy--think about the opportunity cost this is costing your business. As per my motto, "There is no sense doing well, that you should not be doing at all."

You can get delegation techniques from my book The Best Secrets of Great Small Businesses.

PODCAST INTERVIEW ABOUT MY BOOK

On Friday, August 17th, Author Marketing Experts conducted an interview about the marketing and progress of my book The Best Secrets of Great Small Businesses. To listen to this podcast please click here.

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Perseverance

One year ago I had a book published, The Best Secrets of Great Small Businesses. At that time we had a lot of activity to create awareness of the book through reviews, viral marketing, podcasts, and radio interviews. Yesterday, almost one year later, I became aware of three additional book reviews and had another podcast interview. This was achieved by follow up and contact through out the year.

Read the reviews, better yet, purchase my book:

http://tcm-ca.com/reviews/1473.html

http://blog.buzzoodle.com/index.php/2006/12/19

Perseverance is a key to success. If you don't follow through you have made the decision for the other party, and that answer is no. Perseverance should be friendly and maybe even on the humorous side. A case in point, years ago when I was a member of an organization for business owners we want Congressman Jack Kemp as a speaker for a seminar program. The day chairman for the event sent a formal letter of invitation. No response, then a follow up call. Still no response. He then called everyday leaving a messages such as your mother wants you to speak to our group, the president wants you to speak to our group, Marv Levy, his past football coach, wants you to speak to our group. Well, Jack Kemp finally agreed. He was either worn down and wanted to find out who this group was that was so persevant.

Follow up and perseverance are a positive trait. Don't be a pest. Prioritize where you should invest your time. Don't be afraid to use humor, it will set you apart.

An Old Dog Can Learn New Tricks

Yes, I'm talking about myself. I know the Internet isn't new, but there are so many new ways to communicate, market and sell using this medium.

For example, just this last year (and this is only scratching the surface) we have implemented the following activities:

• Used pay-per-click to sell a product
• Utilized pay-per-click lead generation for our Peer Advisory Consulting Services
• Optimized search engine activities for Peer Advisory Consulting Services
• Launched an ezine newsletter, Ray's Small Biz Buzz
• Authored a monthly sales column on entrepreneur.com
• Accelerated seminar attendance through online registration and payment
• Launched this PRO blog!
• Become an official blogger for www.entrepreneur.com
• Published part of my book, The Best Secrets of Great Small Businesses, online. Portions of the book may be downloaded, free, on the book’s website

This dog has learned a few tricks and is eager to learn more. You can't put a muzzle on me! No matter how old you are, you are never too old to learn, experiment and try new concepts…unless you think you are.

Please write and tell me how you are using the Internet, so I can pass your thoughts and experiences along.

An Older Genration Blogger

So you’re probably wondering…why in the world am I, Ray Silverstein, writing a blog? As you can tell from my picture, I'm not in my 20's, 30's or even 40's. But to retain your MPB (Master of Practical Business) at any age, you’ve got to think young. You must be willing to experiment. You must to be poised to learn new concepts in business, communication, and strategy. Who wants to be "Master of the Buggy Whip"? Not me!

Recently in Arizona , I met two small business owners who are expanding to new territories and markets segments through the use of blogs. Neither is looking for exposure to end consumers, but rather new business-to-business customers. One manufactures sprayers for pest exterminators; the other makes embossing dies and machines to decorate cards and gifts. Both report that they’ve received new business as a result of their blogging ventures. How very interesting…

Today, every marketing plan should include word-of-mouth marketing. Are you familiar with Seth Godin (one of my favorite marketing experts)? According to Godin, you need “Sneezers” to spread an “Ideavirus”—the ideal word-of-mouth marketing technique. But this is more difficult than ever these days, thanks to the excessive clutter of myriad products and marketing outlets (ads, the Internet, pay-per-click, search engines, direct mail, email blasts, ezines…does it ever end?).

With so much static in the air, it’s tougher to bring your message to market and impress a buyer. It’s even hard to get someone on the phone (when it comes to getting your message across, can you rely on voicemail or receptionists? No!). So, what has the power to cut through the cacophony? A person—a real, person with an individual voice—who can blog about the value of a particular product or service!

The concept of viral marketing certainly isn't new, but it’s coming into its own. Creating and writing a blog is part of the growing/thinking/learning process. Here I am, a business veteran of 40 years, planning to get a professional blogging coach. To be an MPB, you must keep abreast of what’s going on. You must stay young in thought and action—not just in business, but in life.

I’ve also been asked by www.entrepreneur.com—the online version of Entrepreneur Magazine—to write a sales blog for them on a weekly basis. How cool is that? But youth does have its advantages. That’s why I want to learn from your blogging experiences (and I bet others do, too). Please write and share your thoughts on blogging…good, bad, and ugly. Go ahead—toot your own horn. Blog, blog away!

What Do You Really Need to be Successful as a Small Business Owner?

Recently, I was told a story about two entrepreneurs--both with MBAs--who went into business for themselves. Before long, they found themselves struggling. From the story, it was apparent that these entrepreneurs lacked the practical experience to run a small business.

This made me ponder…what do you really need to be successful as a small business owner? I often tell people that I have an MPB degree, A Master of Practical Business. An MPB is not an academic program, and nobody hands you a diploma. You earn your MPB from working in the trenches, getting burned from failures, and achieving "highs" from successes. The only way to earn an MPB is to dive in, get your hands dirty, and take real risks. In doing so, you learn many things, including how to measure reward and satisfaction.

Sound overwhelming? It shouldn’t be. I believe you can accelerate the time it takes to earn your MPB by learning from others who’ve graduated from the proverbial School of Hard Knocks. Rub shoulders with them, absorb their lessons, and use them as your sounding board, your personal think tank. Being successful in small business doesn’t happen because you know business theory (although it certainly doesn’t hurt), but because you make an effort to learn the practical aspects of what makes business, and people, tick. It isn't necessarily sophisticated; some of it is just good ol' common sense.

So the question is: what can these two entrepreneurs—who don’t have much practical experience—do to become successful? The answer: find a mentor who has an MPB. They should open their minds and be willing to think differently. And they need to take action. Even the wrong action, executed effectively, is better than standing in place.

Entrepreneurs with MPBs don't wait for the world to come to them. They go out into the world, ready to observe, learn, and conquer.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog.