Monthly Archives: February 2012

Commentary, Commentary

You Are Your Brand, Not Your Opportunity

A New Business

It is seen quite often. Someone starts a new on-line business. They are enthusiastic. They are ready to go. Ready to rock. They place ads everywhere. They send e-mails to every list they can find. All of them tout this brand new thing-a-majig. All fail.

Why?

It is the classic misunderstanding of what kind of business they are in. They believe they are in an Internet business. They believe they are in a Marketing business. They believe they are in everything but what they are.

Imagine you have applied to manage a new restaurant opening down the street. It doesn’t mater what kind of restaurant it is. If it help you, suppose it is a McDonald’s. The owner asks you about your experience. They ask what you like about their company. They are quite impressed. They have one more question, “As the manager of this restaurant, what kind of business are you in?” You answer, “the restaurant business.” The owner looks sad. They sigh, shake your hand and thank you for your time.

You leave knowing you did not get the job. You cannot understand why.

Your Actual Business

It doesn’t matter if you are a manager of a restaurant or if you started the latest and smoking hot Internet business. All of these are in the same business.

“Wait!” you exclaim. “They sell food and I see widgets. They are not the same business.”

Yes they are. You are concentrating on the what and not the why. You are not looking at what the course business is. Why you are in business. Why you believe you will be successful. Why is the core, the heart, the very center of your business.

All of these business are in the People business. As a manager, you are mostly in the business of empowering and leading your workers. They in turn are your direct link to the customer. They are the face and the attitude of your business.

As an owner of an Internet business, you are all of those. You are the manager. You are the face. You are the heart. You are your brand. What you are selling is not your brand. What you are selling is not your business. You are your business. And you are in the People Business. Say hello.

Commentary

Getting With People, Living With People

Life

We go from day-to-day. We see people. We come and go. We arrive. We depart. We get up, eat, go about our business and sleep. Life is a movement. Life is dynamic. Life ebbs and flows. Life pushes forward, no matter what. Life creates. Life spreads. Life is.

Everyday, new life is started. Everyday, old life is over. Everyday a new beginning. Everyday a final end. Everyday.

People

People interact with one another. People buy. People sell. People talk, cry, love, hate, shout, play. People are people. People have feelings. People get depressed. People have joy. People get relaxed.

Business

Putting people and life together brings about change. It brings creativity. It brings destruction.

People and life together create the most wonderful of results. People and life built the great pyramids. People and life built Stonehenge. People and life built Notre Dame.

People and life together create philosophy. People and life together created the best experiment of personal Liberty the world has seen in America. People and life created love.

Life is a people business

Life is about coming along side another for a time, creating something greater than the parts and separating into different paths. Life is about helping people. Life is about knowing people.

Life is a people business.

Business

The End Of Fiscal Pain

Pain the Knife

Of all the forms of pain, fiscal pain is the least understood, but most prevalent. It is felt every time a parent must say no to their child due only to a lack of money. The need may be high, the relevance for the child great, but when the money is not there, no must be said.

That lack cuts like a knife. The pain is deep. It is real. That pain will keep one up at night with worry. From where will the money come? The need isn’t a luxury. It is a need. It is necessary.

Fiscal Pain, letting go

Must people deal with this pain in one of two ways. They get credit of some sort: cards, loans, etc. The handle the need immediately and pain for it over time. By the end of the term of the loan and all the interest, they have paid for that gap many times over. It is not a good way. It is broke thinking. All the extra cost is consumed and they have less than they should.

Others will go the saving route. They place an amount aside every month. Until the then, the need is tolerated and managed as best they can. Other needs may get neglected for the greater good. They let go of their needs. The tunnel is long, but there is no extra cost similar to the loan route. Patience is learned.

Fiscal pain, blasting it away

There is another route. It is one that requires far more sacrifice than any other route. It requires change in the mind and spirit. It may lead to more pain before the recovery. The end will bring total relief. Along the way, one will be changed into the person required in one’s life, by one’s family and one’s community.

Do you have what it takes to go the better route?

 

Marketing

Give me the Pain

Pain!

It is a word that itself is harsh. It has many facets. It has many ways. Physical. Emotional. Psychological. Pain is all there.

Pain can drive some to do good, others to to evil. Pan can bring about change; it can bring about disaster. It can create. It can destroy. Pain can push or it can be pushed. Pain gives energy. Pain takes it.

How one responds to pain is based on many factors. It is a result of who one is. Different is everyone’s results. Different is everyone’s pain. What one may see as easy to handle, another will fold under the same. Pain is individualized. Pain is personal. Pain is forceful.

Physical pain may come from an injury. It may come from worn parts. It may come with old age. The mind may overcome it. The mind may be subdued by it.

Emotional pain may come from the hurtful words of a loved on. It may come as a result of seeing others in pain. It may come from a love lost, never to return. Emotional pain may also lead to physical pain. It may cause illness. It may cause despair. It may so overwhelm a body that it cannot move. Speak. Dream.

Pain Management

Some may turn to medication to manage their pain. Medication may cause dependency, addiction. Others will turn to physical therapy. The get stretched. They get prodded. They yearn to be free of the pain. The pain never fully leaves. The mind begins to accept it. The mind becomes ruled by it. Pain wins. Pain is king.

Where are you with your pain? Does it rule you? Do you rule it? Do you look forward to the pain as a hurdle to be overcome? Do you run from pain?