My life just took a turn for the wildly hectic. I can't believe how extremely busy I have been lately. I took on a consulting job for a startup business, and it has been a lot more hours than I first thought it would be. I haven't run. I haven't eaten well. I haven't slept. It's no good.
Having said that, things are going to get a lot better from here. I have a plan, I am getting organized, and I am implementing the plan with success. Are you a planner? Another business lesson....plans are vital, and so is execution. I know, I know, it is very time consuming to sit down and research and brainstorm and think of every possible detail when formulating an operating plan. But it is vital. The plan is the framework upon which your entire building rests. Try building a house without a frame. Impossible. Plans help keep you organized. Plans keep you on track. Plans help you analyze what works and what doesn't.
Remember, though, that the plan is meaningless without execution. Why spend the time to make it if you aren't going to use it?
No running posts this week. No good food posts this week. Next week will be better. Promise.
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
a small work rant
This morning I decided to see what kind of marketing or advertising jobs are available in the region in which I live. It is a pretty rural area, so this was really a curiosity search. Upon entering the term "marketing jobs sioux falls", what resulted were about a dozen jobs that were labeled as marketing jobs, but were actually sales jobs in disguise.
Come on! I have found this to be the case quite a bit in different regions. Why do people automatically lump marketing and advertising with sales? I can assure you they are quite different. Both are extremely important aspects of a successful company; however, what separates the two is that marketing professionals create marketing plans based on sales goals, and salespeople sell the product/service. Marketers rely on research, trends, analysis to help do their job. Salespeople rely on their exceptional people skills and sales savvy. Advertisers are also different from salespeople. Advertisers help implement the marketing plan. They produce the design and copy, whether it be print, interactive, etc. that transmits the marketing message. Salespeople can capitalize on sales based on advertisements, and also based on the go to market strategy. Each is a cog in a very large wheel; they have to work together to make the wheel turn. They are all vital, but they are not the same.
I implore companies looking for salespeople to advertise those jobs as simply that; sales jobs. That, after all, is what you will want in that position, not an advertising person. Likewise, if you want someone to create copy and design, list the job as an advertising position. Same with marketing.
Are there any other jobs tha you can think of that are often confused?
Come on! I have found this to be the case quite a bit in different regions. Why do people automatically lump marketing and advertising with sales? I can assure you they are quite different. Both are extremely important aspects of a successful company; however, what separates the two is that marketing professionals create marketing plans based on sales goals, and salespeople sell the product/service. Marketers rely on research, trends, analysis to help do their job. Salespeople rely on their exceptional people skills and sales savvy. Advertisers are also different from salespeople. Advertisers help implement the marketing plan. They produce the design and copy, whether it be print, interactive, etc. that transmits the marketing message. Salespeople can capitalize on sales based on advertisements, and also based on the go to market strategy. Each is a cog in a very large wheel; they have to work together to make the wheel turn. They are all vital, but they are not the same.
I implore companies looking for salespeople to advertise those jobs as simply that; sales jobs. That, after all, is what you will want in that position, not an advertising person. Likewise, if you want someone to create copy and design, list the job as an advertising position. Same with marketing.
Are there any other jobs tha you can think of that are often confused?
Friday, March 26, 2010
a bit of business...
I have maintained this blog for a good couple of months now, and haven't really mentioned anything about business or entrepreneurialism, which I kind of can't believe. I think the marathon has been so consuming that my business discussions have actually taken a back seat. I wonder if my husband has enjoyed the break? I am usually completely consumed with my business, aquaBling, that my family almost has to make an appointment to see me. But guess what? I love it. It has been such an amazing experience taking an idea from my brain and turning it into a product. Then when people love your product...it's awesome.
One thing that most start-ups have in common is that they are completely strapped for cash. It requires significant capital to develop a product and bring it to market, and unless you are either independently wealthy (lucky) or well-funded (luckier), you are almost broke and have nothing left for a marketing budget. Marketing and exposure is vital to the success of your business. How can anybody buy your fabulous widget if they don't know about it?
A great way to get exposure for your products for little money is through the use of social media. Yep. Blogs. There is an enormous blog world out there, and all kinds of fabulous people are in the bloggosphere hosting giveaways and doing reviews every day. I can personally attest to success with blog product reviews. They have driven a lot of traffic to my site, and I have made sales as a result of blog exposure. How do you find these blogs? One great way that I have found is by using google alerts. I simply type in a few keywords, for example at Christmas I used "stocking stuffers" as a keyword, and each day I receive a report with all kinds of websites and bloggers who are discussing stocking stuffers. Then, a quick email to submit a product, and viola! You've got a potential audience!
In order to really capitalize on those blog reviews, always allow them to host a giveaway, and offer a coupon code for your store. That way you have a really great way to know how many of your sales were as a result of the blog exposure. This is very helpful when looking at future online advertising, or to reaffirm which keywords and blogs work best for your product.
You will give away a lot of product this way. But, look at your product as a commodity. It is your money right now, so spend it like it's going out of style! After all, you know where to get more product, and nobody is going to get it cheaper than you!
One thing that most start-ups have in common is that they are completely strapped for cash. It requires significant capital to develop a product and bring it to market, and unless you are either independently wealthy (lucky) or well-funded (luckier), you are almost broke and have nothing left for a marketing budget. Marketing and exposure is vital to the success of your business. How can anybody buy your fabulous widget if they don't know about it?
A great way to get exposure for your products for little money is through the use of social media. Yep. Blogs. There is an enormous blog world out there, and all kinds of fabulous people are in the bloggosphere hosting giveaways and doing reviews every day. I can personally attest to success with blog product reviews. They have driven a lot of traffic to my site, and I have made sales as a result of blog exposure. How do you find these blogs? One great way that I have found is by using google alerts. I simply type in a few keywords, for example at Christmas I used "stocking stuffers" as a keyword, and each day I receive a report with all kinds of websites and bloggers who are discussing stocking stuffers. Then, a quick email to submit a product, and viola! You've got a potential audience!
In order to really capitalize on those blog reviews, always allow them to host a giveaway, and offer a coupon code for your store. That way you have a really great way to know how many of your sales were as a result of the blog exposure. This is very helpful when looking at future online advertising, or to reaffirm which keywords and blogs work best for your product.
You will give away a lot of product this way. But, look at your product as a commodity. It is your money right now, so spend it like it's going out of style! After all, you know where to get more product, and nobody is going to get it cheaper than you!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
back in business
When you are in business for yourself, it is really easy to get discouraged, particularly if you are launching a product company. When you're the new guy, everything takes twice as long and costs twice as much. Money goes out daily, and doesn't necessarily come back in. People tell you that you are crazy. Spouses become stressed and angry, and you really feel like you are on your own island. Such has been my story with aquaBling. And, I have to say that after a while it gets exhausting doing it all yourself with little help and support. I was totally there last week. I felt defeated and like giving up. Then I met Lisa, and everything changed.
While getting my company up and running over the last couple of years, I consulted nearly every organization I could to learn as much as I possibly could. I spoke with the SBDC, SCORE, and various regional and local entrepreneurial offices to ask for help in getting my business plan together, understanding what I needed to do to be up and running, and help with finding funding. After every meeting I would inevitably walk away feeling like I just wasted my time, because nobody would ever do anything that was helpful. Certainly, I knew more about my business, but I did expect that these people would be able to talk generally about starting a business...but they couldn't. I realize now that the reason for that is that none of the people I talked to ever started a business or worked for themselves. They were not entrepreneurs. They just didn't get it.
I was completely over all of those organizations, when I learned that a new counselor was working at the SBDC, a female, with - get this - her own company. I decided I needed to at least meet with her to see if she was better than everybody else. Guess what? She was the real deal. This woman has launched a very successful specialty food company, has gone through a round of funding, and knows the ins and outs of launching your own product business. When we met yesterday, the passion I felt about my business returned instantly, and I am refreshed and ready to put my head down and push through until aquaBling is a success. Fabulous!
While getting my company up and running over the last couple of years, I consulted nearly every organization I could to learn as much as I possibly could. I spoke with the SBDC, SCORE, and various regional and local entrepreneurial offices to ask for help in getting my business plan together, understanding what I needed to do to be up and running, and help with finding funding. After every meeting I would inevitably walk away feeling like I just wasted my time, because nobody would ever do anything that was helpful. Certainly, I knew more about my business, but I did expect that these people would be able to talk generally about starting a business...but they couldn't. I realize now that the reason for that is that none of the people I talked to ever started a business or worked for themselves. They were not entrepreneurs. They just didn't get it.
I was completely over all of those organizations, when I learned that a new counselor was working at the SBDC, a female, with - get this - her own company. I decided I needed to at least meet with her to see if she was better than everybody else. Guess what? She was the real deal. This woman has launched a very successful specialty food company, has gone through a round of funding, and knows the ins and outs of launching your own product business. When we met yesterday, the passion I felt about my business returned instantly, and I am refreshed and ready to put my head down and push through until aquaBling is a success. Fabulous!
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