Trends

Sometimes it’s hard to focus isn’t it? I often times see people acting like my cute dog Apple. For instance, I throw her the ball and with all the excitement in the world she goes after it, fast as a cheetah and hopping like a gazelle in the savannah! She picks it up and eagerly heads back to me for all of two seconds when she spots an imaginary speckle of dirt on the ground and starts sniffing away and forgetting all together about her mission of bringing me back the ball. People do that too you see; they’re eager in the beginning but they get distracted along the way because they don’t see immediate gratification.

I see that all the time! They’re determined in their new venture, they give it all they’ve got only to let go of it before it can payoff. Kind of like a rocket… they power it up for what seems to be an eternity, make sure everything is working properly, the flames start coming out of the nozzle, the ground around them trembles, it’s going to take off, oh yes it’s now, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6… but it never makes it.

So sad.

Most first-time business owners think business is like riding a bike downhill… oh so fun!! They don’t realize though, that they need to ride it back up.

Don’t know what’s up with the analogies today! Business is like a Rubik’s Cube… you know what it’s supposed to look like in the end, but getting the colors to line up is a hell of a challenge! However, it’s extremely gratifying and the thrill of doing it is unquestionably good. Kind of like that tasty treat Apple gets when she finally brings me the ball!

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to hear Nido Qubein speak. Nido’s the president of High Point University and Chairman of the Board of Great Harvest Bread Company. I was hooked throughout the entire presentation and prompted to take action immediately after his talk.

Lately I’ve been sharing with others a few of the things I learned with him. If you walk in to any Great Harvest they will always offer you a big slice of freshly baked bread with some kind of yummy-licious spread on it. People often ask Nido why they do that and if it’s worth it, after all it is a good piece of bread they’re giving out for free, is it really worth the expense?

Human beings are very interesting creatures, and there’s a psychological effect that’s triggered when Great Harvest offers such generous portions of bread. Basically it comes down to this… guilt. You accept the gift, and feel obliged to purchase the entire loaf of bread, thus, making free very lucrative.

What are you doing in order to ethically instill “guilt” or rather an intense sense of action in your prospects in order to monetize? Think about that.

Last week a friend blogged about a Dyson vacuum cleaner. Is it just me or is it too curious that a 20-some year old girl is blogging about a boring, vacuum cleaner?! I mean, your average Gen-X gal is probably blogging about funny YouTube videos, magnificent rock bands, FaceBook, technology, work, partying, friends, dieting, going to the gym and so on… not about a boring tube of plastic that sucks things up!

In trying to comprehend why she wrote about it and analyzing if there were any signs of depression, it occurred to me how powerful that brand is! It’s not that my friend is a little screwy, it’s that Dyson was able to turn a rather boring product into a much needed and coveted device because of it’s innovative, compelling and engaging story. So much so that even I’m blogging about it now!

The fact that James Dyson created more than 5,000 failed prototypes is motivating to a business owner, the fact that it’s a wildly successful vacuum cleaner makes you wonder about your own business… what’s the power of your brand? Do you have an engaging story? Is it innovative? Does it make people feel like they’re really missing out, in overwhelming pain when they don’t have it? Will a 23-year old influential gal with the world in her fingertips blog about it?

Last week I heard a very good interview on NPR with Neil Diamond. Being the rather eclectic gal that I am I enjoy Diamond’s tunes a lot. His new CD “Home Before Dark” is great by the way!

What I thought was interesting was a little story he told about that song “Sweet Caroline“. Apparently it’s one of his greatest hits ever, which is a little bit ironic considering that it was also the fastest song he ever wrote. He had a 3-hour studio session and only two songs to record (back then you would record 3 songs per 3-hour session) so he went out the night before, jotted down a few words, created this song, and recorded it at the studio the next day! The song is so popular it’s played at every Red Sox home game and known through out generations. The reporter mentioned that it was a very popular song and pointed out that it was often played at bars, to which Diamond replied that it was a fun little song that you can sing no matter how many drinks you’ve had!

I guess I could just leave it at that and end my blog post right here, but that got me thinking… how cool it is to have a product so popular it’s everlasting, and how phenomenal it is that it’s simple and yet very impactful?! Sure it’s just a song, but a product nonetheless, no?

Are you solving other people’s problems with your business? Is it easy to use, or are you making us jump through hoops in order to get to you? It’s no coincidence that time and time again we run into that annoying little acronym KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid), we often tend to complicate what should be oversimplified. Learn from Neil Diamond… someone’s depressed at a bar, Neil offers an easy and simple, yet effective “product” to cheer them up.

Auren Hoffman published a great article on how men and women act online. It wasn’t much of a surprise to me to hear that women are much more relationship-driven and less transactional, but what I really find interesting is that because of that they spend much more time on social networks decorating their profile, connecting with others, sharing interesting finds and so on…

Why is that of interest to a regular business? For a business it becomes much more interesting to capture a female audience, considering that the likelihood of them sharing and talking about your impact on them is much greater than a man.

I don’t mean to make a point that you should target only to women, but i do want to tell you not to overlook them! Gone are the days when men made all the decisions… it’s a different world nowadays. Dang who would’ve thought women would be the number one buyer of video games?!

Another Buzz and Biz podcast! On this show we talk about social networks and how business owners can use them to promote their business. Listen to Buzz and Biz Show now!

Isn’t it funny how there are just as many men shorter than 5 feet 9 inches as those who are taller and yet only a handful of stores cater exclusively to shorter men?!

It’s a common mistake to assume that what your clients need is what you think they need. It really shouldn’t be about what you think, I mean, who cares about that? It’s about the facts… the facts will make a difference in your bottom line.

So be sure to study and track your progress. Maybe what you think is true but you will only know for sure if you’re cautious and diligent in implementing, studying, and monitoring your activities.

Hey, Jimmy Au’s didn’t remove the words “Short and Small” from the store’s name simply because they thought it was better, they did it because inhibitions were lowered, and sales rose.