Posted by:
Troy White
May 29, 2009
Issue #684
Fellow Business-Builder,
Recently, I spoke at a three-day small business conference in Canmore, Alberta. A hop, skip and a jump from Calgary where I live, the 45-minute drive takes you into this incredible little mountain resort town called Canmore.
The host of the event took out the speakers for dinner on Friday night to this place she had been raving about.
The Trough is an eclectic upstart that has figured this service business out. I realize I previously wrote about Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant lessons, but this weekend was a sign that the owner has been watching some of the “Kitchen Nightmare” shows and learned a thing or three.
Considering the short time they’ve been open, their two recent awards as one of the top 10 new restaurants in Canada shows how good of a start they got.
When you first walk in, it is nothing to oooh and ahhhh about – but that very quickly changes.
It’s unassuming as you enter (classy – but not over the top or trying too hard to be something it’s not) … and quite cozy on the inside (seating ~50 max).
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Posted by:
Troy White
February 20, 2009
Issue #426
Fellow Business-Builder,
Never before has such foul language proved itself as a major business tool.
By now, I do hope you have heard of Gordon Ramsey, host of “Kitchen Nightmares” and “Hell’s Kitchen.”
If not, I would highly suggest watching the “Kitchen Nightmares” show sometime soon.
First, a WARNING: Thin-skinned folks need not tune in.
If you cannot handle foul language and incredibly abrasive personalities, do not watch Gordon’s show!
He is rude, loud, in-your-face, and LOVES swearing to get his point across (and everything is a point, so pretty well every sentence consists of swear words).
I am not going to go too much into Gordon’s past, but, rest assured, this ex-professional Scottish football player has a list of credentials that is long, and highly admirable.
He is now working on his 25th restaurant and many of them have multiple Michelin stars to their name (the most recognized and influential culinary ratings guide). He has multiple best selling cookbooks, 4 television shows and a DVD series, to name a few.
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Posted by:
Troy White
February 13, 2009
Issue #438
NOTE: Something VERY important and timely happened this past week around this article. I was meeting with Kory Basaraba, who penned this letter, along with someone who works at the furnace company, who ran the campaigns. When the subject of this letter came up, I was disgusted to find out the owner of the company STOPPED using the letter.
After getting incredible returns like they were with this letter, the owner decided it wasn’t worth the effort to keep running the campaign. To him, it was a lot of work, and expense (steak dinner certificates), and he honestly believed that it wasn’t worth the expense!
Sad … but far too common to skip over. I see mistakes like this being made way too often.
Let me ask you this: where else can you invest $1 and get back $6 within a month or two? To me, I would not stop investing that dollar until it stopped returning a profit. But many people look at the $1 they have to invest, and forget all about the $6 they get back. To them, they consider the $1 a cost … and go back to doing things their old ways (like spending $1500 a month on Yellow Page ads that return 5 phone calls and 1 or 2 sales … an actual number I know is accurate for their business).
We all say "I would NEVER do something like that!" … But I am willing to bet you have. Now is the perfect time to go back over what worked best for you in the past couple years … and run it again. I have a promotion I have run every President’s Day (which falls on Family Day in Canada), for the past 3 years. Each year it works as well as the previous year … and you can bet I am running it again next Monday!
This entrepreneur’s reaction is not all that uncommon … and I urge you to look back over your past promotions to find out which ones worked best … then question yourself on why you haven’t run it again. And if you haven’t run it recently … now is the perfect time!
Don’t worry about the $1 you have to invest… worry about how many times you can invest that dollar … because you are almost guaranteed to get repeatable results as the last time you ran it. When the campaigns stop returning a profit, ONLY THEN, do you stop running them.
It’s very easy to get caught up in all the new things you would like to try in your marketing … but never forget about where your real money comes from … systems that are proven to work!
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Posted by:
Troy White
December 26, 2008
Issue #576
In this issue:
- 56 key lessons that can help you invest your time wisely, earn more money, and build a sustainable business that can last for decades to come
- The ONE question that most people get wrong (and yet it's vital to achieving your goals)
- Leveraging controversy to build a business faster
- What's more effective for small business marketing - the shotgun approach or rifle approach?
- And Much More!
Fellow Small Business-Builder,
56 Key Profit Growing Lessons I Learned
from The Marketing Masters
I looove to learn! And I hope you do too. Creating success also means developing an insatiable appetite to learn about all kinds of varied subjects - marketing being the main one for small business owners.
You know what is truly scary?
One number I saw recently said that the average US or Canadian citizen invests only $48 PER YEAR on books. Those same people probably spend much more than that on coffee in a month.
Is caffeine more important
than training your brain for success?
That is a sad statement to where people place their priorities. They think nothing of dropping $2,000 on a big screen television … but ask them to invest that in a seminar or home study course and stand back for all the excuses.
Fortunately, I love to learn … and I invest in my education.
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Posted by:
Troy White
December 12, 2008
Issue #566
In this issue:
- Getting more done in a day than you used to in a month.
- Is it better to work on one BIG idea … or 10 small ones?
- How to build your own secret society for getting things done.
- The secrets of getting people to help you grow your business … for free!
- And Much More!
Fellow Business-Builder,
Is there truly a single secret to small business success?
Or is the idea that there is one single secret a joke?
Having worked with some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, I think I found it.
There are many secrets to growing a business and remaining profitable and sane throughout the process.
Why are they secrets?
Because if they were well known, more entrepreneurs would be more successful … earning more and working less.
Here is the most valuable skill you can master …
… Massive implementation mode
The ability to make many things happen simultaneously sounds good in theory … but is it feasible? And if it is, what can the average business owner do?
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