The link is to a network marketing article where Donald Trump endorses network marketing. It is interesting that after stating that if he lost everything he would get into network marketing, crowds started to boo him. And then he said, "That's Why I am up here and you are down there!" Now, that's a mouthful! But he is right. I would bet that he is quite aware of is gifts, strengths and abilities, and is quite aware of the fact that he has enough contacts, influence and confidence to do extremely well in network marketing. That's not the case for all of us. More people fail than succeed in network marketing. The question is, why did he say it? Well, network marketing not only has paydays for the immediate sale of goods or services, but it also has residual paydays for people who you get to sell the product or service for the company. The idea is that you start with people you know, and get them to sign up either to buy from you, or to "come into the fold." You are told that you will receive untold sums of money and be able to work near your pool, work part-time for twice the money, replace your income, yada-yada-yada. How can does this apply to you and your business? The same way. However, you can be at the top of the heap instead of at the bottom! Here are a few places to start: - Work on your company brand - ensure that it is positive, appealing and aligned with your organizational goals.
- Define the problem that your business can address.
- Define the solution for the problem that your business can address.
- Define the ancillary benefits of implementing your solution.
- Take all of this and make it into a story. Use some network marketing articles and collateral for this.
- Create your own press release, blog entry, website, podcast, etc. (I don't mean one, I mean as many as possible) to place everywhere you conceivably can place them.
- Develop a referral program - one that will benefit those who will refer your business. You have to make it worth it to them, and you have to be able to place your organization in a very positive light.
- Once these are in place, start recruiting people you know - friends, family, business associates.
- Remember, these people are stakeholders in your business. You don't just tell them and go away; if they are willing, encourage them, remind them and share with them.
- Lastly - remember them. Referrals don't simply go one direction. Work hard for them. be a blessing for their interests and goals. Giving back, in nearly any area, will help to create a sustainable future in that and related areas.
At Aepiphanni Business Solutions, we are dedicated to serving the needs of small business owners. We specialize in helping you develop strategies for your organization, and are committed to your success. If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com. 
Labels: Business Development Strategies, Business Growth Strategies, Recession Buster
2008 Olympics Exploited!!
$1 Billion dollars in advertising revenue and a great big smile. You would have thought he'd won all of the gold medals at the 2008 Olympics. Nope! In 14 days, a major broadcaster will have received$1 Billion in revenue as proceeds from ads run at the Olympics. This made front page news. Something is wrong here. The Olympics is about community and peace. Not Capitalism and exploitation. Think about the Olympics and what it means, the work athletes do to get there, the commitment and cost to the host nation and the advances throughout the world that Olympics and the spirit of the Olympics has brought many countries. Contrast that with one major network having exclusive rights to broadcast the major events on television and the internet. Think about the fact that you cannot watch the major events on the internet. You can, however, buy videos. Don't get me wrong - there are 3,000+ videos available online. If you are missing them, you can go to nbcolympics.com and take a look. Most likely, you won't see major categories for major awards, though. Thus, my rant! The Olympics belongs to everyone. It should be shared with everyone. We all won golds with Michael Phelps. We were nervous with Shawn Johnson. We were amazed with the Chinese diving team. We won and lost with our athletes. While living in a Capitalist society has its many benefits, I think that very clear lines must be drawn. The Olympics is about Community, not Capitalism. It is about Communities from all over the Earth coming together on a World front to compete. Crossing the line comes when the Olympics becomes about money from the position of creating exclusivity - keeping people who cannot pay for it from seeing it. When I hear about companies exploiting it for their own gain, it hurts me. When I see people beaming about the money they've made as a result of the Olympics, as though they'd won a gold medal, I am disgusted. What I would like to see is many people benefiting from the broadcast of the Olympics. I'd like to be able to see any Olympic videos, free of charge, on the internet. Stick some commercials in there...who cards! I'm not talking about highlights or events no one is watching, or commentaries on specific events, but all of it. Sell come commemorative video collections on the side. People will buy them. Maintain relationships with Chinese businesses. Companies will have gained so much more by demonstrating that they are about the world progress, and not just their own. As business owners, we have the responsibility to serve the communities we live in. We cannot expect to rape all of its resources and move on. It cannot last forever. If you think otherwise, you are only building paper dragons. At Aepiphanni Business Solutions, we are dedicated to serving the needs of small business owners. We specialize in helping you develop strategies for your organization, and are committed to your success. If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.
Labels: Rant
"Well, Honey, Start With Something Small..."
How many times have we heard that while growing up? I know I've heard it a DOZEN or so times as I started different businesses, or helped people get their own business. While I generally never started businesses with my own money, I noticed that when I thought small, I got small. When I thought big, boy, big wasn't a big enough word!
Small business owners have so often gotten themselves into trouble, more often, but thinking small, and thinking that they could do it all by themselves in their little office in the corner of the basement somewhere. Guess what, and I will say it, again, if you think small, you will get small. Being in business doesn't mean that you are "busy" all of the time - in a state of "busy-ness", but rather, that a state of busy-ness has been created as a result of carefully planned and executed steps. You can think about it in two ways:
- If you take a bag of popcorn (the old fashioned stuff that you have to cook on the stove, and NOT jiffy pop!) and you take the popcorn, and oil and simply place it on the stove without a pot, you are going to have a flaming mess as the oil heats up, pops the popcorn, which catches on fire and eventually lights the oil, creating an even bigger fire. Pretty busy, but probably not accomplishing much in terms of reaching the goal.
- You could take a bag of microwave popcorn, place it in the microwave for the appropriate amount of time. After the time expires, you have a perfectly popped bag of popcorn. Yes, there might be a few kernels left unpopped, and it might even be a little well done in the center, but guess what - you are in a position to make small adjustments to make changes in the future. That is like a well-run business.
Thinking too small, or from a position of scarcity, in business is detrimental to the health of your business. Like a human body, a business needs to start healthy and in a healthy environment in order to survive. It needs to have all of its survival and safety needs met during its first phases of life in order to grow up healthy and strong. It has to have a health infrastructure in order to support business growth and increased market presence. Now, if your business grows up without and strong infrastructure, your business may end up in popcorn scenario number one, where the goal was defined - you wanted popcorn, you started the project with all of the best of intentions, but had nothing to contain or control it as the popcorn started to grow. This is what your internal systems and strategies do for an organization. Thinking small in your business will likely have you right there. If you think big, or from a position of prosperity, you will look at your business from the perspective of one that has needs, including adequate cash, internal systems and strategies and resources to call upon in the event you need to make changes. Starting a business is not a case of "well, I think I will start a business today, here's my sign, where are all of the people" - in most cases. Running a business isn't a case of, "well, let's just do what we always do." At the same time, it doesn't necessarily mean that you start off building the Microsoft Executive Offices for your first set of offices. It is a balance between appealing to your customers' expectations, in terms of the vision they have for an organization like yours, and maintaining a sense of understanding between needs and wants. Working from a position of prosperity will enable you to advance from working in the "survival mode" to that of operating a business. In survival mode, you are the business, you cannot see which way is up, and you are probably working at a very low level of efficiency. In prosperity mode, you are running your organization, making adjustments as necessary and planning, strategically, to take certain initiatives. You review have efficient things are going. When Dell (computers) says they are going to do something, they say things like, "yes, predicted revenues should be in the neighborhood of U$1 billion. When I talk to my analysts, we talk in the neighborhood of six figures. Are both realistic figures? Yes. Absolutely. How does Dell know? The same way I know. The same way YOU should know. By developing internal systems and processes, organizations can determine their capacities and capabilities and thus determine, given a certain number of factors, a realistic number to shoot for that is neither too optimistic nor too pessimistic (generally slightly north of my accountant's recommendations!) This is where prosperity lives. This is where you, as the business owner, should live. You should be making decisions about your business, not struggling, trying to figure out where the next dollar is coming from. You should be reviewing the results of your marketing rather than trying to pass out fliers and stick them in peoples' car windows. You cannot work in the business and on the business at the same time, and be effective at both. Think Prosperity.
At Aepiphanni Business Solutions, we are dedicated to serving the needs of small business owners. We specialize in helping you develop strategies for your organization, and are committed to your success. If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.
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