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July 9, 2005
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In Today's Issue:
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>> Welcome From Your Publisher
>> The Business Autopsy: A Fact Of Life by Tim Knox
>> MIBW Ads
>> Three Big Barriers To Small Business Marketing Success By Kevin Dervin
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Welcome From Your Publisher...
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Welcome all new subscribers, with all the new advances going on
with the internet, it sure keeps you busy. Blogs, rss, even
though technically it's not new, but more and more people are
catching on to it. I am slowly getting things together for a
few tutorials on that subject along with some others. That will
be on a new website coming soon. Doesn't it seem as soon as you
breath from finishing one site, an idea pops up to do more
sites. Oh well, when in Rome....
For those of you who are not aware, my article site is back up
and running. Reprinted Articles
http://reprintedarticles.com
Also the Ezine of the Week column and the Website of the Week
column is back as well.
Each week I will feature a new ezine and website that you can
view. Please make sure to read the rules and regulations first
before you submit your site and/or ezine.
Submit your information here
Ezine Of The Week
http://myibizweekly.com/eotw.htm
Website Of The Week
http://myibizweekly.com/wsotw.htm
Today's articles seems as if we are going back to the basics
but the simple fact is there are still tons of sites that have
been online for quite some time and not making any money.
Either through lack of knowledge, lack of ways of generating
money, or lack of motivation. This is something to go into more
detail as the weeks go on, but here are some great starter
articles to get you going.
I hope everyone has a great week. Please take the time to read
through the subscriber ads along with ads from SubscribeMe.net,
a great service for free ad submission
http://subscribeme.net
Have a great day everyone
Donesia Muhammad
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The Business Autopsy: A Fact Of Life
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by Tim Knox
Last time we discussed the importance of performing an autopsy
on a dead business. No, I haven't been watching too many of
those wonderfully graphic, TV forensic investigation shows. The
reason I recommend you do a business autopsy is to uncover the
exact reasons why the business died. This is valuable
information that can not only heal feelings of personal
failure, but also better prepare you for the pitfalls of
business should you ever take the plunge again.
Starting a business is never easy and the odds of your success
or failure are about even money. The fact is, approximately
half of all small businesses fail within the first four years.
And a large percentage of those failures occur within the first
year. These are the statistics that keep many entrepreneurs
awake at night. Like Sisyphus, always pushing that boulder to
the top of the hill only to have it tumble back to the bottom
each time, you never know when you're going to lose your grip
on your business and have it tumble back over you.
OK, so far in this column I have managed to squeeze in
references to modern American television and ancient Greek
mythology. Enough highbrow beating around the bush. Perform the
autopsy and learn from it. Only by knowing the real reasons your
business died can you identify and hopefully stave off those
maladies before they take you down next time, if there is a
next time. And if you're a true entrepreneur there will be a
next time, trust me on this.
There are many reasons why businesses fail, but according to a
recent survey by U.S. Bank, the majority of business failures
can be attributed to three reasons: bad management, bad
financial planning, and bad marketing.
Bad management comes in many forms. The survey showed that
seventy-eight percent of the business failures examined were
due in part to the lack of a well-developed business plan and a
business owner who had no business being in the business he was
in. In other words, the business owner did not have an adequate
knowledge or a thorough understanding of the business he had
chosen to start. This is why software entrepreneurs like me
don't start shoe stores. I have feet, I wear shoes. That's not
enough to qualify me to go into the shoe business.
Next, seventy-three percent of the business failures in the
survey were also manned by owners with rose colored
calculators. These business owners over-estimated revenue
projections (the number of expected sales) and under-estimated
the burn rate (the amount of money required to sustain the
business per month).
It gets better. Seventy percent of the failed businesses in the
study were led by entrepreneurs who were in denial regarding
their own competence, or more to the point, their own
incompetence. These business owners either didn't recognize or
chose to ignore their own entrepreneurial shortcomings. These
entrepreneurs also did not seek assistance from others who
might have made up for their inadequacies. It's sometimes hard
to ask for help when you are supposed to be the one with all
the answers.
Believe me, I know.
The final contributing factor to the death of sixty-three
percent of the businesses who died from bad management was that
the owners had no relevant or applicable business experience.
Bad financial planning was the second reason sited by the
survey as to why most businesses fail. In business, it's always
about money. According to the U.S. Bank study, eighty-two
percent of the business failures studied reported poor cash
flow management as a contributing factor to the death of the
business.
Seventy-nine percent of the businesses were inadequately
funded, and seventy-seven percent miscalculated the cost of
doing business. In other words, they failed to take into
account all of the costs involved when setting the price for
their products.
Let's move on to my favorite subject: bad marketing. You've
heard me preach this sermon before. You can have the greatest
product in the world, but if your marketing efforts are
inadequate or ineffective you will end up with a warehouse full
of the greatest product that no one in the world has ever heard
of.
The study showed that bad marketing was a contributing factor
in the death of sixty-four percent of the businesses surveyed.
Many of these misguided entrepreneurs either minimized the
importance of marketing and promotion or ignored it totally.
A vital part of marketing is knowing who your competition is
and always knowing what they are up to. The entrepreneur who
ignores his competition is a fool (gee, was that too harsh?)
and is always destined to fail, as proven by the fifty-five
percent of the dead businesses in the survey who either didn't
even know who their competition was or simply chose to ignore
the competition altogether.
Here's a nice hole in the sand for you, sir.
Please insert your head…
Another mistake made by forty-seven percent of the deceased
businesses was that they relied on just one or two customers
for the bulk of revenues. This is a common mistake made by many
business owners who devote all their energy to one huge client.
What they don't seem to understand is that if that one customer
goes away, so does most of their revenue.
When performing your business autopsy you might identify other
contributing factors that were beyond your control, such as a
down economy, the lack of qualified employees, new government
regulations that negatively affect the way you must do
business, the failure of a strategic partner, etc..
There will always be things you can't control. The key to
business success is to keep control of those things you can and
do everything you can to prepare for those things you can't.
Next time we'll discuss a few things you should and should not
do to help ensure your business success.
Here's to your success.
Tim Knox
About The Author: Tim serves as the president and CEO of three
successful technology companies and is the founder of
DropshipWholesale.net, an online organization dedicated to the
success of online and eBay entrepreneurs.
http://www.prosperityandprofits.com -
http://www.smallbusinessqa.com
-
http://www.dropshipwholesale.net
-
http://www.30dayblueprint.com
- http://www.timknox.com
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Three Big Barriers To Small Business Marketing Success
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By Kevin Dervin
When you feel like you’re always busy working on your business,
but not getting where you want to go, it can be frustrating
trying to figure out how to get your marketing on track. It can
easily become a “not seeing the forest for the trees” feeling.
Here are three big barriers I regularly come across with
business owners and how you can avoid them.
1. No Clear Definition Of Success
For some, the word Success brings thoughts of fame and fortune
to mind. But for small businesses, I’d caution against this
definition being your guiding light. When clarifying your own
definition of success, I suggest starting with success from
your client’s point of view.
What is it that you are trying to do for your clients? What is
it that they’ll have or be able to do as a result of buying
your service from you? Match this up with what you are
passionate about. What is it that you love doing for your
clients? I’ll know I’m successful when my clients no longer
have to struggle with how to consistently attract more
business.
2. Not Clarifying Who Your Ideal Clients Are
When you can clarify who your ideal clients are, you are better
prepared to know where to find them and how to market to them.
You can develop messages that will appeal directly to them.
What do you know about your best clients? Spend some time to
put together as complete of a profile as you can on the clients
you enjoy working with the most. What are the demographics and
characteristics? How would you describe them to someone who has
never met them?
Without clarity of your ideal clients, you’re likely to waste
time, effort, and money marketing to the wrong crowd(s) and/or
not getting your message across.
3. Not Spelling Out Your Unique Value
You must be able to clearly define what differentiates you from
your competitors. If your prospects can’t differentiate you from
all the competitive alternatives in the marketplace, then why
would they come to buy from you?
Often for small businesses it’s not that they’re not unique,
it’s just that they haven’t spent the time to evaluate and
clearly describe how and why. What is it that you do better,
faster, cheaper, or more effectively – whatever? Maybe it’s a
unique model you’ve developed or the unique niche of clients
you serve. Maybe it’s your satisfaction guarantee offered to
clients.
Most important here is to spell out why your uniqueness is so
important to your clients and prospects. Why should they care?
What is it that they’ll get by coming to you for services?
Spend some time critically looking at these items for your
business. It will be time very well spent. If you find you
can’t see the forest for the trees, don’t hesitate to get some
outside help.
(c) 2004 - Kevin Dervin, KPD Marketing
About The Author: Kevin is focused on helping businesses that
are ready to grow, but struggle with how to consistently
attract more clients. Visit
http://www.proven-small-business-marketing-solutions.com for
more information you can use to grow your business. Find
Kevin's Kansas City based KPD Marketing practice at
http://www.ABCDgrowth.com and
subscribe to his free ezine.
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