How You Can Use Tennis Skills in Business - Tip 1: Follow Through

So, I play tennis.  It's a sport I played growing up but, because I went to a college with a nationally-renowned tennis team where I had ZERO chance of playing on even the JV team, I sort of let it drift away.  And, I was doing other things, like studying and then after graduating, starting a career.  Anyway, I've taken it up again and I find that, despite the weird pains that I have now which I never did when I was younger (!), I like it and have a more mature view.  I've been taking lessons and playing in leagues and other matches and find that I come away with new insights each time I play.  Many of these lessons are applicable to business, like always having a follow-through.

A follow-through is the last part of a tennis ground stroke.  You usually see it swing up toward and past the shoulder although it can also come across the body.  What does it do?  Gives your stroke the power and "umph" to get the ball over the net with force.  Too often, though, in match conditions, players cut their follow-through short.  And, although you think you might hit it too hard or outside the line if you give it a strong follow-through, usually, it gives you MORE control. 

In business, you also need follow-through, or, perhaps "follow up" would be a good synonym.  In other words, don't just do 1/2 a project.  Do the whole thing and complete it to give it the umph it needs!  Do it completely and you'll more than likely win the new business, i.e. "the point"!

Do you think Panera Bread is crazy to open "pay what you can" retail stores?

According to a Wall Street Journal Online article entitled "Rising to the Occasion", Panera Bread chairman, Ron Shaich, "opened Panera's third "pay-what-you-want" café in Portland, Ore. – an attempt, he says, to use business to tackle communities' hunger problems."  I personally love the idea of this since it is focusing attention on hunger issues.   And, I know that Clifton's Cafe in Los Angeles started this tradition during the Depression and Clifton's is still in business today.   The article cited the fact that 20% of customers pay more than the suggested price, 60% pay the suggested price and 20% pay less so it seems like it actually evens out.  But, I wonder if this would truly solve community hunger problems?  Giving to the poor is always good but giving skills to the poor might be even better.  What if there were opportunities for the poor to gain job skills in these very same Panera stores?  Jobs is what will turn this economy around.

Preparing Client Holiday Gifts - A Timeline!

Planning ahead for client holiday gifts makes all the difference!  In prior years, when I've started preparing in November, I invariably get behind.  This year, I started in early October and now that Thanksgiving is almost upon us, I feel that I am ready to send out holiday cards and distribute holiday gifts in early December.  Here's a look at my timeline:



Early October
- Write draft of holiday newsletter to go out with holiday cards
- Check to see whether we have enough holiday cards in stock or need to order more

Mid-October
- Work on re-write of holiday newsletter
- Order holiday stamps for mailing

Early November

- Purchase items for client gifts

Mid November
- Finalize holiday newsletter
- Purchase any additional wrapping or client gifts as needed

Early December
- Fold and include holiday newsletter with holiday cards and mail
- Assemble (as needed) and distribute holiday gifts to clients

Mid December
- Done!

Economic Forecasting - Whether It Makes a Difference to Your Business

Just the other day, I attended a very interesting presentation by Dr. Sohn, an economist at California State University of Channel Islands. (Note: This was part of a speaker series sponsored by the Business Advisory Council of the Martin V. Smith School of Business.) In essence, he gave an overview of the economy of our world, nation and state in about an hour. Whew--that's a lot to cover! And, for our country in particular, the news was not all that positive. (If you're living in China, though, the economic engine is going full bore!)

But, it led me to question not whether it mattered that are economy was in bad shape because we all know it matters, but what was I going to do about it and, in fact, what we could all "do about it" in terms of our businesses. We can't do much about changing fiscal policy unless we're good friends with Ben Bernecke or other economists in the Federal Reserve. And, we can certainly write to our legislators about our opinions about the tax cuts and other ways that government can help businesses save money or create reasons to hire but the wheels of government are slow. Most of all, I think all of us in business need to forge ahead.

We cannot give up. We cannot give in to doom and gloom. Being a business owner requires you to be positive. Probably we wouldn't have started a business if we'd listened to all of our friends, family and colleagues who cautioned us about the pitfalls of owning a business. We do need to be aware and agile, though, in how we operate. And, perception can drive reality. If we are positive (and persistent!), usually positive results follow.  So, it makes a difference only in the sense that you can make necessary changes to your business to adjust to the state of the economy. 

What I'm Going to Present at a Business School Marketing Class

I was recently invited to give a presentation at a "Principles of Marketing" class at a local university. I'm really flattered to have been asked! In thinking about what to present, I've decided that I'm going to give a detailed tour of my marketing efforts. I don't know whether these intitives will contradict what the professor teaches or not but it should be fun! Here's my partial agenda:
- Describe our business and target market
- List my current ongoing marketing initiatives (e-newsletter, website, webinars and seminars, blog, letters, postcards, holiday cards)
- Show the marketing consultant website that I subscribe to and resources therein and master direct marketer, Dan Kennedy
- Share and discuss the list of recent marketing books I've read

I'll report back to let you know how it went.

Held our first webinar and survived!

Since August, we've been holding seminars at our office in order to provide continuing value to our current clients and to bring in prospects. Today, we finally hosted our first webinar and it was successful! I'd give it a 7 out of 10. We had an audio problem for about the first 3 minutes and then we ended up veering off the commercial/business focus. I think with practice we'll be old hands and probably do really well. I was proud of my husband (co-owner and CEO of the company) for providing great information, for me for setting it up, and for our attendees who participated! All in all I think it was a valuable experience!

Email Marketing

I love using email marketing. I think it's really effective IF those who receive it actually open it. Therein lies the rub, as Shakespeare pointed out! I use Constant Contact and really enjoy doing it. But it's not the only arrow in my marketing quiver. People ignore email, block people, don't have time, forget--you name it. So, good old-fashioned mail is another option.