This post is longer than usual (ha!)...Let's get to it -
The holiday promotions season is in full swing and that means it's time we start thinking about other ways we can promote our own small enterprises. This idea goes beyond the usual executive gifts basket.
Let's talk - Chocolate. Edible Imprints will put your image or text directly on delicious chocolates. Imagine the reaction from your best customers or your best suppliers when they receive your logo made into an edible, chocolate CD!
As a Solo Entrepreneur, we don't have the luxury to be dumped in the 'Oh, one of our customers/vendors/somebody we do business with' category.
You want to get my attention and have me remember your business....do something that will give me a reason! Send me chocolate?! And with your logo or picture on it?! Get out the way Richard Simmons, Georjina is comin' through!!
So how can you use this holiday business gift idea for your own business? Here's a few promotion ideas I came up with for my short list this year:
Talk about effective?! It doesn't stop with your best customers or clients, what about a vendor that provides excellent service (or your favorite blogger with an attitude). Take some time to think about it - How can you make a lasting impression during your 2008 holiday promotions?
Taking Back Your Time! Over at Lifehack Joel Falconer makes a point about reclaiming your work day time. What he calls ruthless, I call being smart and necessary. I can relate to the person who calls and wants to bond with you by telling you their life story. I don't mean this in a bad way but...Get Away From Me! Read the rest of the post and find some way to take back your time.
Are You Resilient? I'm always finding new solo entrepreneurs, some are full of it but others tend to rise above the heap. Ivan Widjaya is one of these.
When it comes to being an entrepreneur, the ability to recover quickly from change or misfortune will get you through the rough times more than the latest gadget, technique or even money. Emotional toughness is absolutely necessary.
Though I do take issue with a few things in Ivan's post (he recommends selling your business when times are tough) yeah, like that's going to happen for most small businesses but overall he makes a few very good points about how much resilience you need to keep going.
Quite often I slip up and add a post about believing in yourself as a Solo Entrepreneur. I hope this one inspires you to keep going and create the business of your dreams.
Dream Big!
That's it for today and I leave you with this quote from one of the world's most successful Solo Entrepreneurs who continues to maintain full control over his business and is still going strong after 33 years in the fashion industry - Giorgio Armani.
Remain true to yourself and your philosophy. Changing in the face of adversity will in fact diminish your credibility with your customers. You have to think of the future. If not, we would close town! My work is my life. Even though it is good to take a holiday, after two vacations it is boring.
The long and short of it for me is that the entrepreneur is the one who at the end decides yes or no and I like that even though it’s a lot of responsibility. It would be very hard for me to do things somebody else’s way. At this point I think of myself more as an entrepreneur than a designer. This is my life’s work and I’m more passionate about it than ever.~Giorgio Armani
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