After homeownership, owning a business is one of the main components of the American Dream.
But what does it take to make that dream a reality?
Everyone has an “idea,” but very few act on it.
In order to bring that dream into a tangible form, it takes a defined vision, a plan of action, and perseverance to bring that plan about.
I was thinking about this today as I published an article on the Kingwood Connection about String Rings.
String Rings are the creation of Tina Mansfield, a mom and local resident who was fed up with the outright mean behavior that is becoming all too common. The rings are sterling silver and come with 10 different colors, each representing a different act of kindness.
The rings are meant to serve as a constant reminder to be kind to others. How cool is that?
There are a lot of other local residents doing amazing things as well.
Podlinez.com is a local company and is nominated for a Webby award in the Mobile: Mobile Marketplace and Services category. Be sure to vote for them.
Glitz & Glam, owned by Kristen Plaisance, is a hair salon and spa for girls with a unique business format. My girls love it. When they get their hair cut, they get to wear a hot pink plush robe, water or soda in a goblet, and top it off with a mini manicure. It is somewhat similar to Libby Lu in that birthday parties are offered as well, except for the girls don’t come out of the party looking like baby beauty contestant wannabe’s.
Klip Flops is a local business that designs flip flops with interchangeable straps. If you live up north in the snow and sleet, this may not seem like a big deal to you; however, we wear flip flops in Houston year round. Send a set to your favorite college student. They’ll love you for it.
Do you have a great idea for a business but need help with the plan? Contact me and let’s talk!
I’ve been adding quite a few feeds to my Netvibes account and I keep getting the “sorry our server has experienced an error” message.
Here are my other Netvibes gripes, I really don’t like the new glam version. I think it is more resource intensive and just plain buggy. I never had errors so frequently with the older version.
It is very slow to load the new feed preview when you add it from a blog. It’s pretty quick when you are adding a new feed from the control panel though.
Also, I like to color code my feeds and I don’t like the new options. The colors in the new version are more vibrant, which in itself isn’t bad. However, as one of the color choices is red and the new item notifier displays in red, the foreground and background are the same.
What is Netvibes
The official description of Netvibes is a personal start page or a personal news aggregator. But it is more than display your selection of news feeds.
I was first turned on to the possibilities of Netvibes after reading a post by Eric at Internet Duct Tape Marketing on how to create a blog maintenance page. A wide variety of applications can be added to a Netvibes page through widgets.
In one browser window on Netvibes you can keep track of and moderate comments on your blog, see your latest Technorati rankings, keep an eye on the traffic of your competitor’s web sites, Twitter away, update your status on Facebook, just to name a few.
As of the date of this writing, there were 117,288 widgets, 904 universes, and 4,612 tabs listed on the Netvibes Ecosystem.
How to Use Netvibes for Your Business
One of my favorite uses for Netvibes is keeping my finger on specific topics. By using Google Alerts, you can create a feed on any set of keywords you want. This is designed to integrate with other Google services such as the Google Reader, Gmail, and iGoogle.
I prefer Netvibes.
Create the alert, view it, and then click on the RSS icon in the browser url bar to add it to your Netvibes page.
And why would you want to do this?
Keep up-to-date on industry news
Track mentions of your company online (both positive and negative)
See what your competition is up to
Using Netvibes or a similar service is a great way to keep your online activities under one roof.
When I sold real estate I did most of my work from home because I absolutely hated going into the office. It wasn’t that I didn’t like my fellow agents, but I wasted enormous amounts of time helping people.
They thought I was a computer guru because I knew how to use the MLS program, could change the default printer on the computer, and could make a flyer in Publisher.
Who knew this was all that it took to be an expert?
Okay, so maybe “wasted” isn’t a good word. I helped them . . . they learned something . . . there is value in that.
But I spent time that should have been allocated towards working on my business to walking them through steps that would have been covered in a life enrichment course at the local community college.
Computer ? Internet
I was reminded of this today when I read a post on SEOmoz about someone who was trying to trademark the term “SEO.” “SEO” stands for Search Engine Optimization. If you’re not familiar with the industry, let’s just say that it’s the equivalent of someone trying to trademark “chocolate” in the candy industry.
What really got me was the description the guy’s business.
“Search Engine Optimization, Hosting, Webdesign, Software, Hosting, Domain Name, Software Development, All Computer Related Development and Marketing plus what is listed; Computer Software, Computer Hardware, “SEO” Letters to be trademarked in “All” Computer related areas.”
What exactly doesn’t he do?
First, it’s “Web Design” not “Webdesign.”
Second, computer hardware and software have nothing to do with SEO.
Computers are what the internet runs on.
The internet is the network of those resources.
The World Wide Web makes that network and those resources easily accessible to the average user.
SEO is a set of activities performed designed to make the target web site rank higher in search engine results.
That you know how to install a hard drive or configure a wireless router does not mean that you know anything about SEO . . . or hosting, or “Webdesign.”
“Focus on Your Business.” This simple phrase could be interpreted in a variety of ways depending on which word is given emphasis.
“Focus on Your Business” – pay attention to what is going on.
“Focus on Your Business” – focus on the actual process of how you do business.
But this marketing tip is about the third word, “Your.” Focus on Your Business.
When I was growing up I realized that, most of the time, people would follow you if you acted like you knew what you were doing.
As an adult, and even in business, I still see that same tendency.
Ask yourself, do you advertise in certain media or use certain methods, not because you are actually getting results from them, but just because a competitor is doing it?
Even beyond that, have you changed the focus or presentation of your business to mirror a competitor that you perceive as more successful?
Before you do this, here are a couple of things to consider.
First, you have no idea of knowing whether the competitor’s strategy is successful or not because it is not your business and you are not privy to all the facts. It could be a huge financial fiasco.
Second, even if it is successful for the competitor, it may not be the same for you. Every business, no matter how closely related, has it’s own philosophy, mission, culture, and distinctive competencies. What is the perfect marketing method for your competitor may be completely off-key for you.
There have been a number of times, both personally and professionally, that I have been going along, doing my own thing and when I notice others starting to do the same and I feel like saying, “Hey, don’t follow me, I’m just winging it.” I may be experimenting or testing the waters, but they take it as a proven road..
Building and growing a business is a process which you constantly have to test, review, and refine.
That process is one that requires that you focus on your business.
And for those of you who are the trailblazers, who define, innovate and create and set a business plan just to see a bunch of “Me too!” businesses try to jump on your bandwagon . . . Don’t worry about it.
Keep focusing on what it is that you do best. Those businesses will never be a threat as long as they are trying to copy yours.
Stephen King of GrowthForce and I met with Jim Richard from the U.S. Post office to learn more about the services that they offer. They have a flexible direct mail service, not always the cheapest, but if you need something out fast, it’s the way to go.
But the really exciting part was learning about their gift card program that launched in October. Let’s say you want to send a thank you to customer. With USPS’s new program you can select the card design online, enter a personal note, select a gift card from over 20 retailers (including Starbucks, Circuit City, Chili’s, and Lowes), choose the amount of gift card, pay online and you’re done! USPS will send out your personalized card with the gift card enclosed.
