BizCoachDeb's BizBuzz -

Archive for September, 2008

Well it’s a dirty job but someone has to do it. Every so often, a client of mine will ask about a client of theirs; you know the one, you spend your entire week sweating every detail, but it’s never enough, and overall, they consume more of your time and resources than 10 of your clients combined. They wear down your staff, constantly want more and more for less and less, and generally just make your life miserable. More often than not, it was a client you got early in your business, when things were off to a slow start. A portion of you feels some sense of pathetic loyalty, but in reality, you know in your heart it is a toxic relationship for your business.

Today, I’m giving you permission right here, right now: sometimes you absolutely must fire a client.

Before you pick up that phone or email that missive, there is some care that must be taken in doing this right, both from a logistical standpoint and a monetary one.   The rest of the story...

Possibly the most overlooked source of business is the current client list you keep. While I’m an advocate of databasing all your potential leads, your best source of business continues to be the customers already or previously working with you. On average, it costs from 2-10 times to get new customers versus keeping the current ones. Why? Because advertising and starting a new client costs more money than dialog and “refreshing” a current client. Current clients already know how you operate, so they know what to expect. New clients, while terrific to have, will have to be acquired (advertising, outreach, plus a sales cycle, and so on.) Once on board, they will need to be stepped through the way you do business, and each step counts, so must be accounted for. Just like a comfy pair of jeans, it takes time to get a relationship just where you need it to be. In business, that time is also money.   The rest of the story...

More than one person has talked with me about the Boulder Writers Alliance Expo that took place this week and what they thought was a clear shift in perspective in the writing community. Most think of writers clunking around with pen or pencil in hand and a notepad, while they furiously scratch their heads, as if doing so will suddenly make ideas drop out. Not quite like that any more, or at least the genre has evolved enough to keep this part hidden. This event had such a technology bent, you could easily have confused it with a meeting of the RMIUG. For my part, my work consisted of publicity for the event and a speaking opportunity, covering the virtues of marketing. (grab the outline here for free.) A common theme of the night was technology and social media and at my table, people were sometimes torn about the uses for social media as a use of their time.   The rest of the story...

Being an ice hockey coach for the YMCA for the last 8 years, it’s easy for me to see the joy kids have while being part of a team, being accepted no matter their shape, sex, color, or ability. My locker room is filled with smiling faces and laughing kids, and I know that these kids have made friendships that will last them for years to come. Some of these kids have been in my locker room the entire time I’ve coached! It’s a place where all kids feel safe, are made to feel valued, and where they can reach out to others for support and guidance. Unfortunately, there are kids right here in my community that never get this experience. The reason I’m helping fundraise for the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign this year is simple…I want ALL kids to have this great experience.

Help the Strong Kids Campaign!   The rest of the story...

While it’s all wonderful and great that new releases of software arrive just in time for holiday giving, it’s an abomination to me that such an expensive program doesn’t just get some good updates and call it a day.One such product is Adobe’s CS4, which is planned for release in October. (For those of you that don’t know about it, it’s a mainstay tool for many graphic and other media professionals.) Really, I’m all for “bigger and better”, but if a tool is as expensive as this one, it should really make my work easier and have a very intuitive interface, which I would say has never been the case with this product. It should also have “knock your socks off” enhancements, not just little stuff that you’d expect any way or reasonably believe should be in an occasional free update. Instead, folks will have to take some more classes to learn the new tricks and others that are already behind the curve to begin with will have to decide if plunking down the extra dough is really worth it. To me, it’s a travesty for the small/boutique designers who don’t have the tremendous resources to throw after yet another version. Updates and new version are for the big shops, certainly not the little guy. The price tag? Take a seat, then read:   The rest of the story...