Entries from October 2008 ↓

Everything has a start…and everything has a finish.  And sandwiched in between is a process.  When Going from start-up (start) to the first million (finish) it’s the process in between that determines the speed and accuracy.  Of course having the right process helps.  Building a business is a series of steps, flying an airplane…a series of steps, proficiency at a musical instrument, baking a cake and building a community…you guessed it…a series of steps.  No wonder why paint-by-number always looked exactly like what the cover of the box looked like? Following a known process gets me to a predictable result.

When I get in the car and drive from LA to San Francisco, I follow a map–a visual process.  If I were to get in and just drive, I might make it eventually, but not without some real wasted energy.  Those map guys are awesome for having laid out the process for getting from anywhere to anywhere.

Now hear this:  Building a business is a process

I love to use real world –LA World– examples.  Yves Vacherres of Club Gourmet

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is following a process to take his high-end home gourmet delivery service to people who want it at their door, healthy and convenient.  He figured out who he wanted to serve, mapped out how they make decisions, built his uniqueness on what would make them jump up and down, figured out how to communicate with them and roped them in…willingly.  Notice he didn’t do the reverse and build his business around what he wanted.

Every time that I’ve looked back and asked why I haven’t gotten the end result that I wanted, I found that I sidestepped the process.  I skirted around an important or small component.  I let my lack of patience get in the way.

Your business should have a process mapped out from where you are to where you want to be.  This is your map, your paint by number.

Building and following a process also requires time to step out of your business and work on

your business.  It requres planning, review, course correction and reflection.  This is also one of the steps in the process.

Would you build a home without a blueprint? Why would you build a business without one.

And just to show you how serious I am, click the linke below for the seven-secrets-to-turning-your-life and business-around.

Even building the life you want is a process!

When times get tougher and cash flow gets smaller, consumers get more creative. Especially those consumers with luxurious appetites. One niche that seems to be flourishing during these leaner times are the thrift, resale and vintage shops.

Designer consignment stores such as The Way We Wore, who boasts such labels as YSL and Halston, has seen a 22% increase in sales over last year while Decadestwo Van Nuys Blvd. dvd , who carriesonly the creme de la creme of vintage designers reports sales are up 45% from last summer. These stores are not only seeing more shoppers coming in, but also more consignors looking to sell off last year’s Louboutin’s. Both parties win, the stores get an influx of new pieces to keep all their new customers engaged and the sellers get nice little return on their expensive investments.

This boost on sales isn’t limited to the designer resalers however, according to Los Angeles Times staff writer, Emili Vesiland. In her article Secondhand clothes, with sales rising, are the new scaled-back chic

, “The great purge in L.A.’s closets has also translated into healthy sales at charitable thrift stores, including the Salvation Army and Goodwill, as well as secondhand outposts such as the Buffalo Exchange in Highland Park and Santa Monica…Sales at the Salvation Army stores in Santa Monica are up 7%-12% from the previous year.”

So…please don’t tell me NO ONE is making money right now. I know it seems tough, but if we just get a little creative, we might find there is opportunity right under our noses…or at least in our closets!

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To breathe some life back into the Los Angeles small business community, OneCoach™, BLANKSPACES, and Ameriprise Financial have joined forces to offer a FREE Business-Growth Workshop that will reveal the secrets that EVERY business owner MUST know to not only survive this economy, but thrive!

$675 valued event - Saturday October 18th from 8:00am - 1:00pm @ BLANKSPACES, 5405 Wilshire Blvd.:
•    Complimentary breakfast and lunch and business growth workshop
•    Additional Financial Strategies Workshop for the Small Business Owner hosted by Ameriprise Financial
•    20 free hours at the BLANKSPACES Work Bar or 10 free hours at a BLANKSPACES Work Station.
•    60-minute Business Growth Assessment with a OneCoach Business Advisor
•    A coupon for 1 free hour of BLANKSPACES conference room time, compliments of FreshBooks accounting software

The great thing about being a small business owner is that you have no one to answer to - the challenging aspect of being a small business owner, is that you have no one to answer to…yikes!

A common mindset of small business owners is ‘I don’t need any help, I’m running my business and I’ll do it myself”!  Well, sometimes it can be scary running a business, wearing all the hats, just scraping by, worrying about whether you’ll get out of the red - but guess what, it’s ok to admit that you don’t necessarily know everything.

Successful small business owners know when to call on their resources and look outside the box for assistance.  They know how to attract more clients and keep their existing customers engaged and spending despite the conditions of the economy. The top 1%, those that are making over $5 Million in revenues a year, get to where they are because they’ve learned what to do and how to do it from other successful entrepreneurs.

You can be in business for yourself but you don’t need to be by yourself - for more info on this opportunity, click here.TMNT ipod

Playboy magazine editor-in-chief and legendary host, Hugh Hefner, has announced that the free ride is over. Private parties at the famous Playboy Mansion will now come with a price tag anywhere from $5000 - $25,000 an event, depending upon the event and the celebrity guest list. If you’re looking for Halloween plans, the mansion is now selling tickets starting at $10,000 for their celebrity and playmate-studded affair!

Playboy Enterprises is indeed feeling the pinch on the economy. With the company losing money from  the poor performance of its DVD, cable TV and print division and with a stock trading at under $3.50 a share as of the beginning of October, the organization is looking for ways to cut costs and increase revenues. While online advertising, licensing deals and sponsorships are avenues they are using to boost sales, Playboy Enterprises is going to capitalize on its renown parties to generate quick cash flow.

And why shouldn’t they? These parties are world renown, are attended by the hottest celebrities and of course, are highlighted by the famous Playboy bunnies. I don’t know anyone who would ever turn down an invite to this fantasyland…I am obviously not hanging out with a very puritanical crowd.

What can you turn in to an additional revenue stream for your business right now? Is there an additional service you can add-on or perhaps a softer-priced product line your customers may be more comfortable buying during these tighter times?  During this period of economic uncertainty, opportunity is just waiting to be found, just take different look!

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Have you ever picked up one of those neighborhood rag newspapers and seen all of the small business owners that advertise their business?  These folks obviously see the value in advertising and have some sort of a marketing budget–even though its probably shoestring.  How many of them are trying to get the attention of the same type of client as you?

Ever thought about partnering with one of them?  Since you’re talking to the same person, competing for the same dollar, why not put a partnership together, offer something that leverages the value of both of your offerings and halves your advertising cost?

And the right relationship is not always in what you think is the ideal partnership. The massage therapy center partnering with up with the beauty salon is an obvious one, but what about some more untraditional pairings? For example at the shopping center by my house I saw that the nail salon had partnered up with the dry cleaner to offer incentives to their clientelle. Brilliant idea: the customer is already in the shopping center doing one errand, why not make it more convenient and easy for them to accomplish two! These opportunities are everywhere.  Just pick up one of these papers and get a sense of what others are offering.

You might even partner with the publisher of the publication and offer their advertisers something of value from you if they resign for another period of advertising.

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