So how are you branding your business and making it stand out from everyone else doing what you do? What snappy way are you telling the world what you actually do all day (besides play Luxor Mahjong , which is eating up my spare moments)? Here's one I liked and I'm claiming it: Georjina Sinese, Chief Information Maven!
What I do is write, edit and make dang certain there's good to great information readily available when it comes to my publishing business.
How are you distinguishing your solo venture from the rest? I'm waiting for Emperor of Septic Systems or Affiliate Promotion President....Silly? Probably not because if you really believe what you offer is the best, why not separate who you are from the rest?!
It's been a chaotic week but here are a few thought provokers to help in managing the dragons in your business.
Let's get to it -
John Carlton writes a newsletter famous for getting down to the nitty-gritty of making marketing work. This quote comes from a free trial of that newsletter and I think it goes for Solo Entrepreneurs especially:
"It is sheer lunacy to write bland copy in order to avoid offending some imagined part of your audience. It is brilliant marketing to risk pissing off a few people to get your message across to those who want what you sell.
Stop worrying about pleasing people who are not in your target audience. And start obsessing about pleasing the people you're asking to send you money."
It's amazing how many times entrepreneurs chase 'suspects' and totally loose sight of the people who are important to their bottom line. I've done it, and I'm sure you have too.
Jim 'JF' Straw is an old school solo entrepreneur who swears by using your talents and having fun working for yourself. In a conversation he had with his Dad growing up, it seems 'Young Jim' got some advice we all need to remember. This is especially for those of you catering to the cheap eats crowd:
Poor folks can't help you become rich. For some reason, people believe they can help more people by being poor - but - if you really want to help people, get rich. A rich man can help more people in one day than a poor man can in a lifetime.”
Recently I've seen a glut of new ebooks and sites promoting starting membership sites for $5 to $10 a month. Let me make this real simple: Say your total expenses are $1200 a month. You start your part-time business and charge every member $5. Divide your monthly "gotta have" by $5 and you'll need at least 460 people every month paying you. Any less and you miss your income target.
I've gone over this basic math before but it bears repeating. I'm hearing too many solo entrepreneurs falling for this faulty logic when it comes to making money. They spout the 'make it up in volume mantra' that works for Wal-Mart and Starbucks, not for solo entrepreneurs. Remember, you're translating 'volume' into real people. How much 'volume' are you going to need paying for your services or products for you to stay in business???!!
That brings me to a rant, but this time I'm not the one doing the ranting! This one comes from Bill Bonner, founder of The Daily Reckoning an investment newsletter that comes very opinionated and thought provoking.
The world seems to be taking a form of financial steroids...and maybe taking too much of it. Yes, dear reader, love for old-fashioned values seems to have given way to price boffing...and the romance of real business ventures has been supplanted by the wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am of money-shuffling hustlers...
The truth is, it's not only those in banking and investing hustling the public to make a quick buck. Who are you taking your cues from?
That's it for today and I leave you with this to ponder:
"We Have Met The Enemy and He Is Us"~ Pogo
