Unusual Holidays for February

These are real but little known holidays that you can use in your business and life.

 1 Serpent Day
 3 National Men's Grooming day
 4 Create a vacuum day
 5 Disaster day
 6 pay a compliment day
 7 Charles Dickens day
 8 Fly a Kite day
 9 Toothache day
 10 Umbrella day
 12 National lost penny day
 14 Ferris Wheel day
 15 National gum drop day
 16 Do a grouch a favor day
 17 Champion crab races day
 18 National battery day
 19 National chocolate mint day
 20 Harry Potter day
 21 National sticky bun day
 22 Be humble day
 24 National tortilla chip day
 26 National pistachio day
 27 Intl polar bear day
 28 Public sleeping day

Mom & Pop Are Alive

Contrary to common belief all the Mom & Pop businesses are not dead, many are doing quite well. This does not mean that a lot of them have not disappeared because they have over the years. The ones that stood their ground and sold commodity products and services had to compete with the Big Boys and corporate companies. There is no way that they could even begin to challenge them in the same genre of products, it's not possible to succeed. Many got into price wars they could never win and when the financial well went dry there was no other choice but to close down. Consumers and business buyers spent their money where they could get the most for it and the value they wanted.

But many independent businesses avoided a direct comfrontation with the big companies and found a niche when they could excel and not be bothered with big competition. One great successful niche is ethnic restaurants run by people who really know how to cook their country's best food. Where would you find the best Italian food, at a restaurant where Momma is in the kitchen and relatives are cooking and serving or at Olive Garden? Other areas that big business overlooks or avoids is landscaping/lawn maintenance, tailoring, alternative education, pet care, alternative medicine, home repairs and the list goes on and on. Don't underestimate the power of small business, it's here to stay.

Barry is a business speaker and author of 6 books.  www.idealetter.com

Being Assertive?

A couple of days ago I made a trip to my local electronics store to get a new iPad, since I’m passing my venerable first-generation one down to my wife. I walked to the iPad section and started to play with a display unit. After about ten minutes, I noticed that nobody had approached me to see if I needed anything.

I decided to conduct an experiment and just stand by the display until somebody came over to help me. Twenty minutes passed and nobody came, so I decided to call a supervisor. After ten more minutes he finally showed up and, upon hearing my complain, tried to find a sales person around the floor.

He finally brought down a tattooed, ear-rung and goatee-ed young kid who, without even saying hello blurted: “Whacha want”. I let it slide, since at that point I just wanted to get my iPad and leave without any further waste of time.

As we were walking toward the iPad section he started telling me that he was on his lunch break, to which I replied that if that was the case he should have left somebody in charge. He immediately retorted: “It’s not my department, anyway”.

At that moment it clicked: this guy was not interested in apologizing and helping a customer. He wanted to get into an argument with me, and win! My answer didn’t take long: “You know what, thank you but I’m not buying anything from you or this store today. Bye”, and I walked away.

While that kind of assertiveness comes out more naturally to me now, it wasn’t always the case. Perhaps it had to do with my upbringing, growing up in a country where we were taught to always be nice, to wait for our turn, to respect authority and to raise our hand when we wanted to speak. It took a lot of time and effort on my part to retrain my brain to ignore most of that early programming.

I’ve also learned that being assertive doesn’t mean being paranoid. You’re not that important, so don’t worry, the world is not out to get you. At the same time, the world doesn’t care much about you either. The truth is that the only person who consistently and reliably has your best interests at heart is YOU.

Being assertive also doesn’t mean being an a-hole. In fact, you don’t need to raise your voice or treat others badly to command respect and authority. Take a cue from the best negotiators, who always remain calm and objective while never losing track of what they want to accomplish.

I’ll close with another example that happened to me today. I went to rotate my tires and asked the guy behind the counter how long would it take. The guy, a fast talker with a cell phone nested between his ear and right shoulder, practically grabbed the keys off my hand and started typing the work order. “Don’t worry ‘bro’,” he told me, “there’s ‘only’ two or three cars ahead of you”. Grabbing back my keys I answered back: “Excuse me, but I didn’t ask you how many cars are ahead of me. I asked you how long is it going to take”. Almost in shock, he told whoever he was speaking to on the phone that he would call her back, and talking to me now started mumbling: “Well (no ‘bro’ this time), it might be two or three hours; I only have one guy on the floor today”. “OK”, I told him, “I’ll be back”.

Of course I’ll never be back…

Unfortunately, the kind of attitude displayed by these two guys is the norm rather than the exception. Most people these days could very well wear a T-Shirt with the words “I don’t give a [insert your favorite four-letter word here] written all over it. What this means to you is that, if you’re not assertive enough, you’re up for a lot of disappointment and hardship. You’re basically setting yourself up for being taken advantage of.

Save yourself years of trial and error and believe me when I tell you that you need to be assertive. Take it from a guy who has been on this earth for fifty years, and has had a lot of experience (and experiences) to back it up. Pay careful attention to the way people treat you and, if something doesn’t feel right, don’t be afraid to politely but firmly show them that you’re not one to be pushed around and that you mean business.

By Mario Snachez Carrion

Terrible Airfare Prices !!!

I need to book several flights from Colorado Springs coming up and I hate to drive to Denver airport. But when I check prices from both airports COS is MUCH higher (2x to 3x) the cost out of Denver. I am willing to pay a little more from COS but this is crazy. Why all of a sudden are prices so bad from COS? I have been checking several times a day for 3 weeks now and no deals. The distance to where I am going is about the same from either airport. Who pays these high prices and how can this COS airport survive?

The Baby Boomer Market

We are entering the era of millions of retiring Baby Boomers, many with disposable money and time on their hands. A lot of them will be leavin the Midwest and Northeast where they had their careers and raised their families and headin South and Southwest. They will have many needs and wants in those new areas and the money to pay for them. Some smart business people will provide those products and services in the new areas and market them to the arriving Baby Boomsers.

One of the secrets to cashing in on the Baby Boom market is to get there early and be already established when the stampede arrives. Most will settle in cities of 50,000 to 70,000 people with less traffic but still all the wanted services. Few will select small towns and rural areas which have limited medical services and transportation options. They want to enjoy the rest of their lives which could be very lengthy. Once the boom starts it will last about 15 to 20 years with new Boomers entering the segment.

Some will not want to work while others may seek part time jobs to occupy their free time and earn some pocket money. They will also have much time available for other activities, trips, classes and anything that's fun for people in their 60s. They will want quality products priced fairly and convenient. You will not outsmart this group because they have lived long enough to know real value. Show them that you really care about them plus make it easy to buy and the word-of-mouth publicity will travel fast.

Barry is a business speaker and trainer who has started and operated over 20 businesses. www.idealetter.com

Create Loyalty

We all want our customer's loyalty but are we willing to do what's necessary to create it? You must make the  effort and establish an environment that makes the customer experience better than competitors. Here are some ideas:

 *Always say Thank You
 *Have high value perception
 *Ask their name and use it
 *Fast payment options
 *Convenient business hours
 *Rush service or orders without extra cost
 *Stock specialty products and services
 *Perks for regular customers
 *Resolve problems quickly
 *Smile a lot
 *Have knowledgable people available
 *Have an outstanding guarantee
 *An open-door policy for questions
 *Use customer suggestions
 *Never ever lie to them

Barry is a speaker, business author and trainer.  www.idealetter.com

The 10 - 4 Rule

I heard about the 10-4 rule from an audio book about Zuckerman's Deli and realized it was a darn good idea, so I want to pass it on. The rule is this: when you are in business and a customer or client comes within 10 feet of you or any of your staff, must make eye contact with them and maybe a small smile. This lets them know that you are aware of them and will be with them shortly. Even in passing when you are not going to do any further contact that eye contact tells them you appreciate them being there.

The 4 in the rule means that when you come within 4 feet of them you will greet them or say something rather than just ignore them. It will put them in a comfort zone of being appreciated and wanted in the current situation. A simple hello (with a smile) or that you or someone else does will help them relax and will buy a little time and lessen the waiting tension of your visitor. After working so hard to get people into your business you don't want anyone to leave because no one paid attention to them. Try this rule and see if it works for you and your business.

Barry is a business speaker, author and business marketing consultant who only works by the hour, no contracts.  www.idealetter.com

Handle Problems

Just like undesirable things happen in your personal life they will also happen in your business or organization. Although you don't want these to occur they will and sometimes without warning and you must deal with them. It may be a customer or client complaint, a key employee leaving, a natural distaster or a supplier dispute. And most of these will not give a prior warning so you may not have an instant solution. But you must come up with a solution or way of dealing with it before it becomes worse.

Instead of avoiding the problem or running away to Tahiti start working on a way to deal with it immediately. Sometimes getting out of the business for a few hours will clear your mind and let you start fresh on the way to stopping the problem and reversing it. You may want to also consult key employees who can offer ideas and solutions that you may not think of yourself. However you proceed, start soon and keep going until the problem is solved or at least stopped.

Being a business owner or senior manager is more than supervising regular day-to-day operations. You are in that position becuase "the buck stops here" with you and your best advisors. The companies that continue to grow over long periods of time have all gone through these tough situations and came up with ways around or through them. You, as an owner or leader, have the position and power to guide the business on to greater goals and success.

Barry is a business speaker, published author and business consultant.  www.idealetter.com

Leadership Ideas

Some people mistakenly believe that because they have a title or position that makes them a leader. A real leader is defined by the ones they lead and the ability to produce results. Leaders who excel help people to develop their skills and become better team members. The goal of a leader is to create more leaders not create followers. Telling a subordinate to do something that they are not qualified or trained to do is useless. It's like telling a donkey to climb a tree, it's not going to happen. Find the niche skill that your team members have and let them use that skill to the benefit of reaching the team goal.

The best teams are not always made up of the best people but a combination of people who work well together. If the team is made up of all stars who is going to be the support and backup for those stars? Define the best team members and give them the goals that need to be reached and let them do it without constant supervision. Someone on the team will step up on their own and guide the group. Give praise when it's due but don't overdo it or futher progress may not be made. Leaders can grow from any position on the team.

Barry is a speaker, author and business consultant.  www.idealetter.com

Co-Brand for Success

One of the success secrets of co-branding is finding two or more businesses that fit togetherwell. You will want to add only brands that will compliment each other, not cannibalize, each other. The goal is more sales, not the same or less. Here are some businesses that will work well together.

 *Deli (or pizza) and ice cream store
 *Florist and candy store
 *Shoe repair and clothes alterations
 *Veterinarian and pet wash
 *Printer and office supplies
 *Roof repair and house painter
 *Financial planner and tax services
 *Bakery and coffee house
 *Motel/hotel and restaurant
 *Convenience store and donut shop
 *Handyman service and carpet cleaner
 *Quick oil change and tire store
 *Travel agent and luggage store
 *Camera shop and photo frame/scrapshop store
 *Shoe store and specialty clothes
 *Real estate agent and moving company
 *Exercise equipment and health food store
 *Caterer and liquor store

Barry is a speaker/trainer on marketing and customer service. www.idealetter.com

Want to Have a Retail Sale?

Here are some ideas for planning a successful sale that your competitors may not be doing.

*Choose a name for the sale that will generate interest and curiosity
*Make sure you have enough stock of the sale items
*Have sale merchandise fit the name of the sale
*Price reduction should be at least 25% and higher if possible
*Popular best sellers work best for a sale and people will come to see what else is reduced
*Have a time limit for the sale, no more than 10 days is best
*Have big displays near the entrance of popular items on sale
*Have a lot of window and in-store signs
*Have a costumed character with a sign by the street
*Use newspaper advertising and a map to the store
*Post sale announcements on all social media
*Mail announcements to everyone on your mailing list
*Have related items grouped together and even bundle some of them
*Have signs at the checkout prior to the sale start date
*Let VIP customers into the sale early
*Decorate outside if possible to attract attention
*Extend OPEN hours a little and let people know
*Ask suppliers for extra product on consignment for the sale
*Ask suppliers for big displays that you can use free
*Do something outrageous and alert the media
*If you think you will run out of some items post "While Supply Lasts"
*Have fun, make money and smile a lot!

Barry is a marketing speaker and trainer, www.idealetter.com

Essential Strategies For Entrepreneurs

Starting your own business means wearing tons of different hats and facing endless challenges. The entrepre

neurial journey is filled with peaks and valleys. It can be difficult to stay motivated, remember your vision and stay on course, especially during tough economic times. As an entrepreneur who's in the trenches every day, here are the top five lessons that have best served me along my journey:

Stay Focused
When you're starting a new venture, it's easy to get pulled in a million directions. The most important thing you need to remember is to focus on your end goal. But that doesn't mean having tunnel vision. Concentrate on the finish line, but always be open to new and different ways of getting there. Keep your eyes on the prize and know where you want to go.

Build the Right Team
No one's perfect and I've definitely learned from my own mistakes when it comes to hiring the right talent for the right position. The most important lesson I've come away with is to work with people you trust. Lots of people might have the right skill set you're looking for, but do they share your enthusiasm, emotional intelligence and values? Don't just look at their credentials, look at how they're going to fit in personality-wise. Remember, they're going to be working in a team, so everyone else needs to get along with them, too.

Don't Be Afraid of Change
Many roads can lead to the same destination, so stay flexible. People often think veering off from the original plan is a bad sign, but in truth, it's important to recognize when something's not working or could be evolved for the better. That way, you have the chance to turn a setback into a positive. A successful entrepreneurship is a long road and often, tweaks and pivots are needed. It doesn't have to mean there's an issue; it just means you're keeping an open mind to methods you haven't tried before. The capacity to evolve signals adaptability and leads to progress.

Ensure Proper Funding
Proper funding and resources are key. Funding is essential to the survival of any new venture. Consider self-funding if possible. The advantage is that you retain more ownership. It also ensures a level of commitment on your part and can appear more attractive to investors. After all, how can you expect others to want to invest if you won't? If you do opt for outside funding, be realistic about your needs. Don't seek big bucks just to get them. If you take money you don't need, you end up looking reckless. Think carefully about how much you need and then self-fund or seek it from the right sources.

Believe in Yourself
It sounds trite, but it can be tough to stay positive when dealing with the unavoidable ups and downs of starting and running any business. You must believe in your vision, even in the face of detractors and naysayers. They will always be there, so it's crucial to rise above the noise. This doesn't mean to ignore critical feedback given by sound advisors - consider all feedback thoughtfully. What's important is to stay positive at all times and don't be afraid of failure. Any failure is just one of many stepping-stones on the way to success. Keep your eyes on the prize and focus on your ultimate destination- not the bumps in the road.

Bt Monica Zent

Online Advertising Options

If you are thinking about spending some of your marketing budget on Internet marketing in 2014, you have lots of options, from pay-per-click advertising on Google (and other search engines) to YP.com. Now, there is also a growing list of choices on social media. So where do you start? Here is a short overview of some of the most common Internet advertising choices and things to consider before jumping into the advertising game on each platform.

Google AdWords: Want to reach consumers when they are in shopping mode? AdWords, or PPC advertising, allows you to present your message when people are specifically looking for your product or service. This works especially well in categories where people do not have a lot of experience in the purchase process, like legal services, appliance purchases and cremation services. Other search engines, including Bing and Yahoo, also offer advertising, and while the ad rates will be lower, let’s face it, theaudience will be significantly smaller too.

Yellow Pages (YP.Com): When does this platform make sense? My first instinct is to say when hell freezes over. For most products, services and market segments this just isn’t a good choice. If, however, you are targeting a senior customer in a specific city or county, carving out a small portion of your online advertising budget for YP.com may actually be effective.

Facebook: If you are launching a new brand or product or if you have never had much of a community on social media, buying a small amount of advertising to rapidly build your fan base is a good way to jump start or revitalize your program. The problem with advertising on Facebook is that it is designed to primarily build your fan base on Facebook. It is a huge mistake to use growing a fan base as your end game because Facebook has made it clear they will continue to adjust the platform to limit access to the community you have built unless you continue to advertise. It is fine to use ads to build your community as long as you have a strategy to rapidly drive the traffic to your company website and/or email list.

If you are determined to spend money on Facebook, be sure to look at their Power Editor capabilities. These tools give you tremendous control over who will see your ad. My two favorite features are the Custom Audience and Look Alike tools.

Custom Audience: With this tool you can upload your existing customer or prospect list of email addresses to create custom audiences for your ads. This allows you to invite people you already have a relationship with to become members of your Facebook community.When you submit your email list, Facebook will match the email addresses to Facebook profiles and display your ads to an audience which doesn’t normally see your posts.

While powerful, you are still connecting with people you already know. Why bother? Email is a more passive interaction. People get the newsletter and may or may not interact with you. This is an opportunity to step them into a more interactive relationship. The real value is that this list forms the foundation of your Look Alike list.

Look Alike: Facebook will analyze the profiles of people in your custom audience. They will find similar individuals to build a Look Alike list. Your ads will then be presented to this new group of people. Remember, the profile is based on demographics and personal likes, so it is only useful for B2C companies. You are not going to sell accounting services using a Look Alike list.

LinkedIn: This platform is most effective when you have a clearly defined B2B niche. You can use their advertising tool to target your message to appear in the timeline of individuals working in particular industries, in certain geographic locations, or in companies of a particular size. You can include or exclude individual companies by name as well. In addition to company demographics, you can refine your target audience based on job titles and years of experience.

This is a powerful tool for your sales force because ads can be designed to appear in in the timeline of employees of specific companies they are trying to connect with. For a very small investment, they can make multiple impressions on key decision makers.

Twitter: If you are already using Twitter and have an active engaged presence, you can use this tool to supplement your content. This tool is particularly effective with time-based messages tied to events. You can use promoted tweets to share information about a special tied to the Super Bowl or a local music festival. The rapid fire nature of Twitter means your updates are here and gone, so you need to have other information in your stream to connect with users between advertisements. If you are going to invest in advertising, invest in developing an interesting, interactive Twitter account to engage the new followers you are spending money to reach.

I would also caution against trying to use Twitter to artificially promote a trend. While good in theory, it doesn’t seem to work well in practice. Trends are identified as “sponsored” so it is obvious you are trying to make news where there isn’t any. There is also the risk of your hashtag being hijacked as the trend in transformed by a series of snarky and negative comments around the brand. See the example of JP Morgan losing control of their campaign earlier this year.

No matter where you decide to advertise, here are a few tips which will improve your results:

• Attract attention by sharing interesting and informative content as a sponsored posts. Remember, people aren’t really coming to social media searching for services. That’s why items in the news feed seem to perform better than sidebar ads. It is best to leave the hard sell tactics for other media.
• For all advertising, run a short campaign with a low budget to test your assumptions. This allows you to review the results and make refinements before committing to a long-term program.
• Create relevant landing pages on your website to extend the relationship beyond social media or the first search that brought a customer to your door.

Your end game is not to build a huge community on social media. Social platforms come and go, but your website is the one place you can completely control the message, so all these ads are simply a means to an end. Ultimately, your mission should be to get them to sign up for newsletters or follow your content so you can continue the conversation you paid to start on your terms.

Source: Roundpeg

Business New Year Resolutions

Making those New Year's resolutions is not just personal bus for your business also. It can be a new start for increasing sales, growth and profits for your business or department. There are always things that you wish you did, want to do and never find time for and the new year is a good time to renew that pledge to get them done. Human nature makes it easy to put off things but NOW, the new year says let's get started.

Make a short list (a long list gets ignored) and be determined to get these positive ideas into action in January. Find the time and don't let anything interfere with your resolution goals, even if you have to work longer hours to get them done. Once a new idea starts working you will get more enthusiasm to work on the others. Remember that nothing can pay off if you don't do it and the new year is best time to start.

Barry is a business coach (by-the-hour) who can help expand and reach your target market. www.idealetter.com