4 Tips From Dr Phil All Businesses Should Consider
Whether you like him or hate him, you have to admit Dr. Phil’s a smart cookie. His quirky, down to earth way of giving advice gives everyone a little piece of advice they can understand, and it’s always entertaining.
After watching the show the other day, I realized a large number of the tips and wise words of wisdom he gives are great for business too. In fact, I think we could all learn from the great Dr. Phil.
Dr Phil Business Lesson #1: “So, how’s that workin’ for you?”
When guests insist they’re doing things the right way, and they’re obviously not, Dr. Phil usually comes out with this great line. The guest instantly goes quiet and the blank stare of self-realization comes over his face. Maybe his methods weren’t so great after all.
I think we should all stop and ask ourselves that question as we build and refine our businesses. It can also be a pretty powerful question in our personal lives once in awhile. How many times do we do something just because it’s the way we’ve always done it? It’s always worked in the past, so why change now?
How’s that marketing plan really working? Is your business going in the right direction? Are we working with the people we want work with/for? Personally, I’ve always got a ‘target’ list I’m working on. It’s filled with companies I’d like to provide copywriting for, people I’d like to meet, and those I’d love to collaborate with.
The way I see it, if what we’re doing isn’t producing the results we want, we need to change our strategy and try again. Don’t be afraid to question everything; the real answers might just surprise you.
Dr Phil Business Lesson #2: “You need to find a target rich environment”
This sentence generally comes out on shows where women or men have difficulties getting dates, but what Dr. Phil says makes sense. How can you attract or find what you want, if you’re not looking in the right spot?
So, if I’m launching a product aiming at teenagers, what am I doing advertising on LinkedIn, for example? I need to be making myself known on places like MySpace and Facebook…that’s where they are. Of course, all this will depend on the market and what you’re doing exactly, but the point is that you need to go to where your target audience is and draw them out from the places they’ve already conjugated.
Dr Phil Business Lesson #3: “She’s got your manhood in a Dixie cup’
Ok, I have to admit this was probably as funny and as shocking as I’d seen Dr. Phil get, but even this had a great lesson. In this episode, a mother was controlling her son to the point that his long time girlfriend/fiancé was ready to leave.
This situation made me wonder…how many times to we make decisions based on the wants and needs of others? And while we should always consider the effects our choices have on others, how many times do we end up hurting ourselves in an effort to make someone else happy? I think we do it a lot more than we think. I know I do.
Each time we make a decision, we need to weigh the pros and cons of each option. I’m not saying we should step on someone to get what we want, but I think a lot of us would make far better decisions if we asked ourselves why we’re making a particular choice, and who that choice really benefits.
Dr Phil Business Lesson #4: “It’s like my dad used to say: You wouldn’t worry so much about what people thought about you if you knew how seldom they did…”
This one is so telling isn’t it? How many times do we come up with a great idea only to pass it over because we’re worried about what others will think? All things considered, isn’t that one of our biggest mistakes in business? Isn’t it this simple thing that holds us back and prevents us from achieving our goals? In fact, some of the most successful business people became successful because they just ‘did it’.
I find I often edit content because it might be ‘too edgy’ or it ‘might offend’ someone, particularly when I write for myself. At the same time, it’s been the posts or articles I take a chance on that generate actual conversation and become the most successful. Why? I’d like to think it’s because the real me comes through to the reader much more effectively.
So, simply put, if we took more risks, our businesses would become much more successful. Galileo, Shakespeare, Einstein, Elvis, Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington…they all took a chance and did something new.
I don’t know about you, but these four points sound like some pretty good business advice to me. And, it’s not that we don’t know these things. I think we simply get so caught up in everything we forget. Do you have any of these lessons to share?
5 Things All Businesses Should Know Before Getting Started With Social Media
After speaking with a client recently, I discovered that businesses are in a unique position when it comes to dealing with social media. They know it’s a force to be reckoned with, they know it can be a highly effective marketing medium, but getting started and using it can be a complete mystery. How do you go from a Facebook account to a full-blown marketing campaign? How do you get people to convert?
To answer these questions, businesses often seek help from a social media consultant. However, not all of them have a positive experience. This isn’t because the consultant has done a poor job. Sometimes, it’s simply because businesses don’t fully understand what they’re getting into. So, if you’re considering the leap into Social Media Marketing (SMM), here are five things you need to know long before you hire someone or get started:
Social Media Is a ‘Hands On’, Ongoing Process
Unlike setting up a series of newspaper advertisements, or using banner ads, social media is not something you can ‘set and forget’. You can’t just have a Facebook page set up, and expect it to magically attract people and make profits.
SMM requires direct and constant interaction with your target audience. You’ll have to start by getting people interested in what you have to say. Then, you need to convince them to interact with you in order to develop the level of trust needed for them to convert into buyers.
Social Media Marketing Requires a Specific Plan
Contrary to popular belief, you can’t just sign up to a bunch of sites and expect it to go somewhere. This is like trying to drive in a foreign country without a map. You need a customized strategy.
You need to know:
- Where you’re starting (what do you have that you can use to your advantage now?)
- Who you’re targeting (define an ideal client/customer)
- Where these people are (which sites do your ideal clients use most)
- How to grab and hold their attention (contests, informative content, discussions, etc.)What the ultimate goal is (leads, sales, sign ups, etc.)
- What the milestones will be (make them measurable and reasonable)
- What you do best (video, contests, content, etc)
- How to put it all together
- Who’s going to run it (hire out, in house, run everything yourself…)
There’s a lot of questions here, but they’re absolutely vital; without doing the homework, no one will know what’s going on.
Learn Your Way Around Before You Start
Don’t start promoting a social media account or profile until you know what you’re going to do with it and how it works. Why? You are guaranteed to bumble around and make a ton of mistakes while setting everything up and learning how it all works. This looks unprofessional and people can easily be annoyed, particularly if they get a series of tweets or emails while you’re hooking everything up.
Social Media Marketing Means Being Connected
You can’t just start a Facebook page or a blog, and expect it to thrive on its own. Just like people, social networks need friends, and most importantly, need to be fed and watered by other networks and locations.
This takes time!
First, you need to ensure your website, blog, Twitter account, Facebook pages, and all of your other profiles are interlinked and promoting each other to promote good traffic flow.
Secondly, you need to consider how you’ll convince people to follow more than one account. So, for example, getting website visitors to subscribe to your RSS and follow your Twitter account. This will give you the maximum amount of opportunities to convert that client and build loyalty.
Know What You’re Paying For
If you hire someone to run your social media campaign or build your profiles, make sure you know what that includes and doesn’t include BEFORE you sign or pay for anything. Seriously. This sounds very basic, but not everyone does this. And, do you know what happens when you don’t do this? A nightmare. A nightmare happens.
You’ll end up with something other than what you thought you were paying for, and even though the person you hired did exactly what they said, it doesn’t work for you.
In short, assumptions are killers.
This is a lot of work to do before you even think of hiring someone, or getting started, but it’s absolutely necessary to achieve success. After all, if you’ve put this much passion and dedication into your business, why would you short change it by rushing into everything?
Are You Building a Brand or Cash Grabbing?
Branding and making money go hand in hand, right? Well, yes, absolutely they do. BUT, there’s a huge difference between the two, and it’s this difference that business owners have to keep in mind if they hope to succeed in business and make things go as smoothly as possible.
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‘Cash Grabbing’ Businesses
We all want to make money, and with the way the economy has gone, the drive for cash seems to have intensified. The faster and easier we can make it the better. But, this isn’t always a good thing. You see, these techniques may work very well, but the results only last for a short time. They can also have serious, negative effects on your business.
Spamming is a great example. You know what? It works. As much as we all hate it, it works very well if you know what you’re doing and choose the right industry. Many people can make thousands in the day or two that the website is live and ranking in the search engines.
Unfortunately, the search engines try to get rid of these types of websites as quickly as possible, so you don’t have long to make money. It doesn’t help your reputation any and you can guarantee that you’re going to make a lot of people mad. In fact, an image of a large, angry mob with pitchforks and torches comes to mind.
Article marketing is another popular way to build links. While I won’t debate the value of the method in this post, I will mention that this portion of marketing is famous for being loaded full of…well…junk. Now, if I were to do this, I believe it would damage my business. How? Because I’m a copywriter and I make my money by providing quality. Have I done it? Yes, but after I learned a bit more, I stopped.
This is why I use a completely different form of article marketing. I create high-end quality pieces that people want to link to and place them on authoritative sites. This reflects my quality and improves my reach at the same time.
The same thing happens in real life. You know exactly what I’m talking about. I mean those marketing tactics that rival those of our biggest political figures. These are the tactics that aren’t necessarily illegal or wrong, but they still make you cringe just thinking about them.
Again, these business models make a quick turnaround and die. It doesn’t mean that you can’t make a living off them. It just means that you’d better not get attached to it. You’ll be starting numerous companies and websites simply to keep your income at a decent level.
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Building a Brand
When you build a brand, you rarely make large amounts of money at the start. It’s a long hard slog that can be downright disheartening, but the result is a legacy you will undoubtedly leave behind. These businesses also run completely different from the cash grabbing businesses mentioned previously.
Brand focused businesses rely heavy on word of mouth advertising, social media, and…well…advertising period. But, you need to be cautious. Every move you make will reflect back on your company and have either a positive or negative effect. This includes your marketing tactics, networking, charity, community events…everything.
If you are building a brand, quality is absolutely vital in everything you do. You need to look and act the part. You need a quality website, quality advertising materials, a quality marketing program, and a good connection with your target audience.
In addition to appearance, you don’t want to risk having something fall apart during one of the most critical moments in your business’ life either. And believe me, this happens. It’s Murphy’s Law. There’s no taking a short cut; everything you purchase and do has to match your image.
When I set up my new website, for example, absolutely everything from the architecture and keywords to the types of services I chose to offer and how I set up my business model were all chosen for specific reasons. The same can be said for my marketing strategy. I don’t want my clients to feel hunted or pressured. They can trust me to help them, and they know if I don’t know the answer, I can find it for them.
As for how far you’ll get by building a brand, it’s hard to say. You might become the next Richard Branson of Virgin Mobile, or you might only make enough to live out your life comfortably, but I’m a firm believer in the idea that it isn’t worth having if you don’t have to work for it.
So, knowing both sides, how will you choose to build your business? Do you prefer one method over the other?
Preparing for a Small Business Disaster
I recently tweeted the question ‘What is one mistake the webmaster’s often make?’ While my Twitter followers came up with lots of great answers, my dear friend Charles, who you may know on Twitter as @hawaiianshirts, came up with a fantastic answer. He asked what I would do if something happened to my website. In all honesty, I couldn’t come up with anything besides the word ‘panic’.
To get a little farther into the topic, Charles came up with the excellent post I am sharing with you today. This post really got me thinking about what would happen if I was no longer here. What would happen with my company? My website? Would my husband think to check? Heck, my poor darling doesn’t know how to check my email. The entire situation would be quite a nightmare, I’m sure.
Webmaster Disaster Preparedness for Small Business
In memory of all of the on-line small businesses that did not weather the storms; but with a little forethought, possibly could have.
Like many small businesses on-line you have poured every penny you could get your hands on into the business. As well as devoted hours upon hours of your time to get where you are today. Business is good, your brand has a following, and your family business is paying the bulk of your personal and operational expenses.
Yep, we have all done the Snoopy dance at one time or another. But lets bring in the evil thunderclouds and rain on your parade.
You awake one fine morning and find out that your business or ecommerce website is no longer online. Your money tree has vanished overnight; you think to yourself… what shall I do? The reality is that you’re in a complete state panic and you can’t think clearly at all.
Ok so you managed to calm down enough to make a call your hosts support department (that is providing they offer 24/7 support). The support technician finally answers and informs you that the RAID controller went out last night and IT is working on it. Whew, glad it’s a problem with the RAID controller and not my site. Even though you have no idea what a RAID controller is, you take the tech for his word and make the assumption that it will soon be fixed.
Minutes have now turned into hours and support is now telling you the repair is estimated to take a few days. Assuming you are financially dependant on your ecommerce site, you are now faced with some important decisions. I am willing to bet that very few SB have any idea what to do next.
That is why you need a Disaster Preparedness plan for your small business. Hint: Your first step is for you to go out and buy a tabbed notebook. Also keep in mind that my suggestions and comments below are not intended to be a business or site specific nor a comprehensive plan. But I do hope they make you give thought to this important, yet seldom talked topic.
- Your site is down and you have determined that you need to move to a new host. Time is money and researching prospective hosts can be time consuming. Do it while things are rosy, once you have decided on a backup host, write down all of the pertinent information in your book under the Hosting tab.
- Shipping API’s, what could go wrong there? I mean all those do is retrieve the shipping cost from the shipping service. Ok smarty pants, your pinging USPS during the holidays and their service is down for an unspecified time. Folks, you just lost your ability to make strong holiday sales. Without a shipping rate being returned, its most likely that your shopping cart wont allow the user to proceed and or close the transaction.
- One solution is to ready an API for a backup shipper. Some 3rd party carts have multiple shipping options so all you may need to do is pre-configure it, and then it’s just a flip of a switch. Regardless, note it in your notebook so you have a quick reference.
- Site management. If you’re like many SB you are probably the cook as well as chief bottle washer. If your stricken with an illness that lays you up for weeks, maybe even months, do you have someone that can fill your shoes?
You probably don’t, so it’s highly advised that you discuss this amongst those who will be impacted by your absence. In your site management section, document where, what and how the site is managed, as well as any passwords that may be needed, etc.
Don’t forget things like domain renewal, management of auto payments etc
- You give up the ghost in your sleep. Ok that’s certainly not my idea of an early retirement, but I could happen and does. I asked my wife Peggy what she would do in that situation, she so elegantly said she might place a for sale ad in the paper. I steered clear of the “its an Internet business” discussion and asked what the selling points would be and how she would conduct the transaction. Her response then changed to “I don’t know”. Well that’s an honest and respected answer because I don’t either. Is there such a thing as a website Realtor?
- Accounting. Well you may say that it has nothing to do with the actual website, indirectly it does. As Webmaster you’re probably in charge of managing your payment gateways and reporting features. In your notebook, document the critical processes as well as offer some insight on how to access them. If your temp bookkeeper is under the gun to file your estimated state sales tax and they can’t access the data, you’re in a heap of trouble.
- It’s all on your PC, what can go wrong there? I say anything and everything can go wrong with a PC. When your hard drive blows up just how do you plan on accessing all your important files? Answer, you don’t. So play it smart and buy a thumb drive with a fairly large amount of storage capacity. On it you can store a backup of your web, as well as important files and other information. Also if MS Outlook email is a key component of your business operation, make a copy of the .pst file and store it on your thumb drive. Microsoft’s .pst files have a size limit and once you hit it you will loose all core functionality and access to your local emails and settings. You will get no warning that its about to happen.
So that’s my short list for a Webmaster Disaster Preparedness plan for small businesses. Think about your own business, discuss with those concerned, and document an escape plan. It just might help you survive an otherwise cataclysmic web event
Mahalo
Charles Stankovich, co owner of Wave Shoppe Hawaiian Shirts
(On a personal note, Charles creates stunning Hawaiian dresses, shirts, and sarongs from fabric he has designed himself. They are truly beautiful, and worth checking out.)
