Words That Work

Small Business + Internet = Marketing Miracle

2012-05-01T09:24:00-04:00

I know you are busy, but pause for a moment and consider the miraculous history of marketing and branding for business, because I think it is going to help you. The very first Internet domain name was registered just 27 years ago in 1985, by a company called Symbolics.com. ARPANET, which came online in 1969, was its grandfather, connecting large computers at four universities in California and Utah; it was only used by computer experts, engineers, scientists, and librarians. By 1972, ARPANET users had a form of email, and file sharing in 1973. ARPANET expanded and inspired other networks over the next decade as more and more academic and government institutions developed and adopted this networking technology. Each had a string of numbers as their address which were hard to remember and update if the site moved to a different IP — Internet Protocol — address. So domain names like...

Over 55? You've Got the Small Business Edge!

2012-04-24T11:31:55-04:00

...for 11 of the 15 years between 1996 and 2010, Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 had the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity of any age group. The National Journal reports that 9 of the nation's 15 million small-business owners were born before 1965.

David Petraeus on Optimism

2012-02-16T15:20:54-05:00

"A pessimist sees a challenge in every opportunity; an optimist sees an opportunity with every challenge." This is one of General David Petraeus' favorite Churchill quotes.

10 Lessons From Inside Apple : Innovation

2012-02-15T13:22:04-05:00

8. Own your message Remember the phrase “1,000 songs in your pocket”? Of course you do. It’s because when Apple launched the iPod, the executives who were authorized to speak to the news media repeated the phrase over and over again. It’s classic Apple: Craft, control and repeat the message. My favorite of 10 insights from Adam Lashinsky in an interview by Guy Kawasaki via www.openforum.com

How Ideo Revamped The Common Mattress For Sealy, And Made It Stand Out

2012-02-13T17:47:48-05:00

If you’ve ever walked into a mattress showroom, you know that the only way to buy a mattress is to lie down on it. For the most part, they all look the same--like flattened marshmallows. That’s also your challenge, right? How do you convince a customer to buy a service before they see the difference you can make in their organization? How do you differentiate your services from other firms like yours so you don't look like one more flattened marshmallow? Learn some new small business marketing ideas from this post, like how to change perceptions of your small business so you stand out.

NAWBO President Praises Elevation of SBA Administrator to Cabinet Level Position

2012-01-30T17:27:56-05:00

NAWBO President Praises Elevation of SBA Administrator to Cabinet Level Position WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - Jan 13, 2012) - The President & CEO of the National Association of Women Business Owners® (NAWBO®), Diane Tomb, released the following statement today following President Barack Obama's announced decision to elevate the U.S. Small Business Administrator to a cabinet-level position. "Given our contribution to the economy and job creation, small business owners, millions of which are owned and run by women, have earned a seat in the President's cabinet. It is important for the White House to understand the impact its policy decisions and regulations have on the millions of small business owners across the nation, especially as we continue to work to get the economy turned around and often look to small businesses to grow and create jobs. Therefore, today's announcement is welcome news for small business owners in general and particularly women business...

Turning Marketing Strategy Into Action

2012-01-19T12:57:43-05:00

To me getting clear about strategy is the most important challenge business owners face ... John Jantsch said this in a recent post. His Duct Tape Marketing blog is very practical, and so useful for Small Busines Marketing. I say this in my blog and my programs, but John says it so well! I’m going to challenge them first to look inward. I’m going to ask them to choose a marketing strategy that is infused with who they are, why they do what they do and how to use that story to attract opportunities and clients. While every industry has a unique set of clients, a unique language, maybe even an unusual distribution model, the way that customers come to know, like and trust them is fundamentally the same. John goes on to outline a core set of practices that every business can use to communicate their simple, clear, marketing...

Enough is Enough! Get Control of Your Stuff

2012-01-10T14:48:30-05:00

I hope your productivity is peaking as you start 2012 and this will be a great year for you! If you could use a little help with organization, my colleague and friend, Wendy Ellin is offering at 4 pm Eastern TODAY, Tuesday 1/10/2012 a live (and free) tele-call: ‘Enough is Enough, Get Control of Your Stuff!’ Wendy told me today there are a ton of people registered, and I wanted to give you the opportunity to register and join in today at 4:00 pm ET (1:00 pm PT). You can get more details, plus check out a short video from: http://wendyellin.com/enough-is-enough-call/ On this 60-minute tele-call, you’ll learn everything you need to take the productivity level in your business up several notches! It’s time you (and even your staff) get the life you want by focusing on the energy, the attitude and the efficiencies in your business. Remember, Getting Organized is...

Wabi Sabi Small Business Marketing Ideas

2012-01-10T14:33:19-05:00

So what is Wabi Sabi for a small business? Taking a deep breath, recognizing and accepting with humility your own imperfections and those of your team. Seeing them as the right kind of imperfection, like asymmetry in a bowl that shows the handmade craftsmanship, instead of a perfect, but soul-less, machine-made bowl. Celebrating your successes with the team who helped you achieve them and dialing back on striving for the much more you think you "should" be achieving.

Stillness: Source of New Ideas

2012-01-02T22:55:13-05:00

The 17th century philosopher Blaise Pascal said: all of man's problems come from his inability to sit quietly in a room alone. And they didn't have internet, email or iPads back then! Around this time of year there is usually a lot of energy around making lists and getting a fresh start and I wanted to make a different suggestion. Schedule time to do nothing. At Intel they scheduled engineers to have 4 hours of uninterrupted time every Tuesday morning just to hear themselves think -- and it was so unusual (apparently the usual is about 3 minutes of uninterrupted time) and had such an impact that at the end of the experiment the participants recommended extending it to everyone in the company. I just returned from the longest getaway I've ever taken -- two weeks at a wonderfully quiet beach where there is almost nothing to do. We had...