Posted by:
Troy White
August 8, 2008
Issue #477
Fellow Business-Builder,
Last Sunday night, while we slept, someone cut through the screen on a kitchen window, crawled through, rifled through a few things, opened one of the vehicles out in front of the house and went through the glove box and console, then stole the keys to the other vehicle (the dreaded minivan) and took off.
I woke up (fast) at 7:45 am when one of my 7-year-old daughters came in the room asking why all the doors in the house were "wide open." I ran out and sure enough the front screen door and main door were pried open.
The back doors the same.
** Something was most definitely wrong.
Then I noticed the kitchen window screen was cut, and the ledge below the window had been cleaned clear of all the photos that used to sit there.
Someone has been in the house - maybe was still there - and we had yet to figure out what was stolen. I see my laptop still sitting there. An iPod and a cell phone both lay on the kitchen counter. Cash still sitting on my tabletop in the bedroom.
Luckily everyone is safe and sound.
In a case like this, anything could have happened.
The person may have gotten startled and done something drastic.
One of the kids could have gone to the bathroom and ran into the thief.
Anything could have happened.
** Fortunately, nothing did.
A missing purse and minivan - who cares?
We are all fine - which is what really matters.
(more…)
Posted by:
Daniel Levis
August 6, 2008
Issue #475
Dear Web Business-Builder,
Despite all the doom and gloom we’re hearing these days about corporate bankruptcies … recession … collapsing currencies … skyrocketing fuel costs and inflation … and the wholesale slashing and burning of thousands of jobs in America today … not everyone is feeling the crunch.
More kitchen-table millionaires are emerging from the carnage than at any other period in history …
For those who understand the true nature of the gut-wrenching change our world is struggling through … there has never been a better time to enter the entrepreneurial fray with both guns blazing.
A whole new, Internet-enabled way of doing business is emerging … while the old-guard, industrial-age way of doing business is cracking at the seams.
You see it happening all around you. And nowhere is it more apparent than at the customer touch points of commerce … where consumers are rebelling against the old guard in ever increasing numbers.
Sales and profits at such companies will be pummeled into oblivion. Many will simply cease to exist as their customers go running to a whole new breed of business that beats to an entirely different drummer.
One of the driving forces behind this consumer revolt is the fact that the world has become astonishingly more competitive.
Rapid advancements in communications and computing technology are making vertical integration unnecessary, thereby toppling barriers to business entry.
The trend is toward smaller, nimbler, horizontally-integrated businesses.
Where in the past, transactional fiction meant a company sought to control as many of the elements of production and distribution as it possibly could … centralizing command … standardizing products … concentrating resources … and gobbling up capital to acquire other companies in an eternal quest for “economies of scale” … these things are in many cases no longer an advantage.
Now a guy in his basement can create a virtual corporation based almost entirely on outsourcing, often with little or no outside funding.
Invariably these small, horizontally-integrated businesses find it much easier to stay focused on what really matters — finding and keeping customers. While the large, vertically-integrated dinosaurs worry about such things as shareholder value, mergers and acquisitions, and frantically struggle to rescue the bottom line.
Is it just me, or have you noticed the flagrant disregard for customers displayed by these old guard companies lately?
(more…)
Posted by:
Troy White
July 25, 2008
Issue #467
Fellow Business-Builder,
Thanks for all the great comments from last week.
Actually, as you read this, I am sitting on the beach in beautiful Shuswap Country in British Columbia.
In an hour, we are headed out on the water on Sparkles (the affectionate name my twin 7-year-old daughters have given our boat).
One thing I learned last year, that continues to benefit me and my family, is that sometimes you just have to take the plunge and do something you have always wanted to do, even if it doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Living in Calgary, I am land-locked.
There are no real lakes or water around here for a boat.
Which explains why I have always wanted a boat – the “grass is greener” thing applies everywhere.
So last year we bit the bullet and bought a ski boat.
Most people thought I was CRAZY owning a boat in a city not even remotely close to water.
Thanks to my purchase, I took more time off last summer (three weeks) than I took in the previous three years combined. Buying my toy forced me to get out and enjoy it more …. And I loved every second of it along the way.
I am not alone either …
Get this … Calgary, a city of 1 million people with no water to be found, has the highest boat sales per capita than any other city in – are you ready - - NORTH AMERICA.
We buy more boats here than those who live ON the water!
Crazy.
But understandable.
There is a lot of money in Calgary (big oil town – and you know what is happening with the price of oil) … and people here like to spend their money on toys … boats being the #1 choice.
My point here is …
… Find that motivation … then take the plunge and just do it!
… Second, NEVER think you know a market, until you have done the research. Imagine a boat dealer never researching Calgary as a place to hang up their shingle … because there is no water. Meanwhile, their smaller competitor does the research, sees the proof, moves to Calgary and HAS THEIR BEST YEAR EVER.
All with knowing the truth.
(more…)
Posted by:
Troy White
July 18, 2008
Issue #462
Fellow Business-Builder,
Having just wrapped up my Wild West Marketing and Wealth Summit, I have been reflecting on what made it good – and what needs improvement.
I host two seminars a year of my own, and I usually attend two others, hosted by others.
On top of that, I run a local monthly marketing group that meets once a month in Calgary.
Why would I do all this?
To me, it is the quickest and most effective way to enhance my knowledge and grow my revenues.
Surrounding yourself with like-minded, success-driven entrepreneurs is a MUST.
Constantly learning and evolving is also just as important.
That said, I have been reflecting back on some of my greatest lessons learned from both hosting and attending business building conferences.
For the next two weeks, I am going to share with you some of my greatest lessons, condensed into some bite-sized nuggets you can use.
On with it …
(more…)
Posted by:
Daniel Levis
July 9, 2008
Issue #455
Dear Web Business-Builder,
The other day, my wife came home from shopping at Costco Wholesale. She saves so darn much money there it ends up costing me a bloody fortune.
This time, one of the bright shiny objects she couldn’t wait to take out of the box was a brand new water cooler. Not any old water cooler, mind you …
This one dispenses cold water … boils it … takes pictures … and turns the outside lights on and off while you’re away on holidays. And that means there’s a lengthy owner’s manual and endless instructions to follow before you can take a drink.
My grandson put it together, but before we could plop one of those big plastic jugs of water on top — dilemma.
Seems before you can install said water jug, you’ve got to clean the unit with a special cleaning kit available online at the manufacturer’s website.
I’m thinking, hey, now there’s a way to drive follow-on sales. Until I visit their website …
The link we’re given in the owner’s manual takes us to the company’s home page (first of three screenshots pictured at right) where we are confronted by a cornucopia of attractions. The cleaning kit, however, is nowhere in sight. We are forced to dig for it.
This is annoying to say the least. Why couldn’t they have sent us directly to the page with the item for sale so we could buy the darn thing?
Finally we find the page about cleaning kits (third image) and are presented with two choices. Trouble is, they seem identical except for the packaging. Confused … we become distracted … no order. Do you think it’s the first time this has happened? What a shame to lose sales so needlessly …
The lesson should be clear. When driving traffic to your website, don’t force people to navigate to find the item you’ve promised or leave them guessing about what they should order. Take them directly to the page that satisfies their needs, and tell them what to do and why to do it. This should just be common sense. But how often do you get this kind of runaround online? A lot!
(more…)
