by Daria Steigman on December 8, 2011
Sometimes you have to know when to let go:
The best small business owners are constantly innovating—rethinking a product, redesigning our Web sites, tweaking our marketing approaches, testing productivity tools and technologies. It’s what we do.
But we’re really bad at stopping the things that are part of our routine but shouldn’t be anymore. Like advertising in the yellow pages. Or sending a telex rather than a tweet. These might have been useful or cutting-edge at one time, but now they’re just eating up your resources and/or your attention.
My latest IABC business column is out, and it’s all about knowing when it’s time to fold.
For the past year, I’ve been struggling to figure out what content should be “held” for the column versus what I’m writing about here (let alone anywhere else). It’s become a chore, one more thing to do, without seeing a compelling business purpose to put the time into it anymore. So I’m letting it go.
Read the column here. There’s also a nice “Top 7″ editors’ picks list–their favorite Independent Thinking columns over the years.
What are you doing today in your business that you need to let go?
Photo by laffy4k (Flickr).
Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.
Tagged as:
Business,
IABC,
Independent Thinking
by Daria Steigman on July 29, 2011
Zappos has nothing on the Corner Parking Lot in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Just watch The Parking Lot Movie, a funny, fascinating documentary that debuted at SXSW 2010. It has everything: class-ism, culture, hiring people you trust, empowering your employees, “corporate” culture, and building your tribe.
Seriously: Find it. Watch it. It’s an instructive look at a lot of workplace concepts we talk about a lot but don’t see much in action.
Photo Credit: Attendant Corey Gross with Parking Gates, by Jon-Philip Sheridan and Alexandra Miller.
Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.
Tagged as:
branding,
Corner Parking Lot,
Customer Service,
Independent Thinking,
Seth Godin,
SXSW,
The NOW Revolution,
The Parking Lot Movie,
Tribes,
Zappos
by Daria Steigman on July 7, 2011
Assessing value can be one of the toughest challenges facing any business. Bring small business folks together for a conversation, and the topics of rates and handling negotiations routinely come up. Pricing is often in the eye of the buyer—budget, need, demand, and perceived value all come into play. And that’s before you, your credentials, and your “value-add” even walk in the door.
My latest Independent Thinking column is out, and it explores rates, scope, referrals, and the importance of choosing wisely:
For any business, the perception that you are for sale can be deadly. After endless holiday sales, retailers have trained us to wait for the “real” (discount) price to kick in. Is this the message you want to send to your clients and prospects?
While I’ve talked about some of this before, the column goes into a little more depth–including some good food for thought from Kristie Aylett and others on the topic of referrals. Read the column here.
Photo by antwerpenR (Flickr).
Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.
Tagged as:
branding,
Business,
Ethics,
Independent Thinking,
Kristie Aylett,
Negotiations,
referrals,
Scope of Work
by Daria Steigman on February 2, 2011
Your work is all around you. The reality in this age of spidered content and 24/7 WiFi is that other people can find out a lot about you really fast. And this holds true whether you’re online a little–or a lot. Heck, I bet even people who live “off the grid” are finding themselves tagged in pictures on Facebook or otherwise showing up online. So doesn’t it make sense to know what’s there to be found when someone checks you out?
My latest Independent Thinking column provides guidance on where to look and what to look for when conducting your own social media check-up.
It also includes a book giveaway aimed at those of you new to social media. My friend and colleague Beth Schillaci has written Your Social Media Roadmap. It’s a workbook that takes you through the process of building a strategy and identifying what channels make sense for your business.
Book Contest Details
Want to win a free copy of Your Social Media Roadmap? Beth Schillaci has given me a signed copy of her book to give away here. Read the column, and then come back and leave a comment here on my blog about your social media goals for 2011 and what you hope to learn.
The best answer (judged by me) wins a copy of the book.
Photo by Ivan Walsh (Flickr).
Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.
Tagged as:
Beth Schillaci,
Bing,
Facebook,
Google,
Independent Thinking,
LinkedIn,
SlideShare,
Social Media,
Twitter,
Web spiders
by Daria Steigman on December 10, 2010
Is your business structured the right way?
There are legal, tax, and liability implications to how your business is structured. Not just the legal structure (e.g., LLC or corporation), but also whether you have an operating agreement and how it’s written. And what about equity (both for founders and key employees)?
My latest column for IABC’s CW Bulletin is out, and it’s all about how to set up your business the smart way. Some sample fare:
Legal, tax and liability implications aside, adopting a formal structure has a business value… It’s a lot easier to make the case for yourself as a business professional if you’re set up to be one. In this era where putting up a Web site and printing out business cards is cheap and easy, it is more important than ever that your business signals that it’s around for the long haul.
Read the complete article here.
Bonus reading: Fred Wilson has a good piece about employee equity and vesting over at A VC.
Photo by bucklava (Flickr).
Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.
Tagged as:
Brand,
Business,
Fred Wilson,
IABC,
Independent Thinking
