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Quite often we are TOO focused on the PRODUCT and not the PRESENTATION… which can GREATLY affect our business. Here are some tips on how to avoid some common mistakes and to make your business look professional even if you don’t have the budget. Enjoy

Relegated Professional

If you are in business and you cannot relegate yourself as a professional in your field of business then you are in the wrong business. Being a professional opens many doors to expand your brand. Speaking engagements, newspaper articles, radio interviews etc. You should also send out press releases offering your services. Send it out to your mailing list perhaps once a month. You never know who knows who and who may need someone like you to do a paid speaking engagement at an event. HUGE sites like the Huffington Posts consistently take articles from unknowns and if it’s something that they can use they will post it which could be a HUGE opportunity for your business.

Web Site

So say you get an article about your field published in the Huffington Post and they link it back to a tacky and cheap looking website…. STRIKE!!! You would be amazed at how many major corporations have horrific websites. They don’t see the value in updating their sites and attracting customers but this can be an INCREDIBLE opportunity for entrepreneurs and small business owners. We are ALWAYS trying to cut corners and save money but this is one area that you MUST invest in if you want to be taken seriously. Budget out at least $3500.00 to get your website up and running and to keep updating it at LEAST once or twice a week if you are pressed for time but everyday (weekdays) if you want to get the maximum benefit. You can go do a local college and get a student to do it for you cheaply and nobody will know the difference. If you don’t have the budget to hire a pro, go to godaddy.com and use one of their pre-formatted templates and do it yourself, it’s VERY easy even for a novice and it’s cost effective, should be no more than $20.00 a month.

Professional Email Address

If you go to Godaddy.com you can add a professional email account for pennies on the dollar. This is a MUST have. A bad email extension has got the be the tackiest thing in any business trying to earn respect. If your company is called “The Blue Pearl” you should have an email address that says “[email protected]” Not “[email protected]” or “[email protected]” these are the things potential clients notice and if you don’t take the time and very little money to establish a website and professional email account extension don’t get mad if people don’t do business with you.

Professional Logo

If you are not familiar with design, hire a college student to do it but please don’t present a tacky logo and expect to be taken seriously. Make sure that if you hire someone to do your logo that they give you they main file in the original format that it was created in. It may be a .psd most likely if they do it in Photoshop. If they are not willing to give you the original file (ask up front) then take your business elsewhere. Otherwise you will always have to go to them to update or tweak your logo and they are going to want for you to pay them for it.

Professional/Catchy and Unique Business Name

I can use myself as an example here. My magazine when created in 1995 was originally called “Radio Fax” I eventually changed it to Radio Facts (http://radiofacts.com) but most of my competitors have the word “Urban” in the name of their brand which I felt would limit my brand to one audience. I could have called it “Urban Radio Facts” but why? It’s a mistake to do something like that because you could be isolating your core or the corporations that will support your core. As a small business owner NEVER give an advertiser or client an excuse this easy for backing out of supporting you. Unfortunately, they will probably never tell you that your business name is a HUGE turn off, they just wont support you. I get things from business owners with names like “SisterLove” which is fine if you ONLY want to market your brand to women. Think about WHO your target audience AND your financial supporters are and don’t isolate them, come up with something unique that’s not like your competitors and make sure it’s not tacky if you are targeting corporate clients.

Sales Stats/Word of Mouth Testimonials

One of my GREATEST turn offs is when people come to me selling their brand and they talk about all the great people who support their brand and all their clients like they are rolling in cash but they want something from me for free? I IMMEDIATELY don’t trust the person. First and foremost after working in the music industry for 28 years there are several things I have learned. Those who talk the least and let their brand SPEAK FOR ITSELF get the MOST respect. The music industry is all about hype but hype rarely wins. Most people are looking for the next Beyonce but there is already a Beyonce and the ones who duplicate her will usually lose. It’s the one who is almost totally opposite of her that gets the attention. If you do a great job, your brand and people will speak volumes FOR you. Potential clients are MOST impressed with actual stats or word of mouth from OTHERS. Bragging about what you do is a turn off for most established clients. If they have come TO YOU, half of your battle is already won, there is something about what you do that is appealing to them already don’t over sell yourself.

A Respected Reputation

There was a time when I was a very mean and negative person. I didn’t trust anyone in the industry after a few bad experiences with people who were not my friends and I made the mistake of relegating ALL industry people to those who could not be trusted and who were full of shit. I was able to overcome that by being a spokesperson for radio people and speaking up for them when they could not speak for themselves. I have been on the same roads as they have and I have struggled financially like that have and I have played the mean politics at many radio stations as they have. I am an expert on radio. I risked my radio career for my audience but truth be told, I never liked working on the air anyway. It was boring and I could not be myself and there were too many politics. So it was a natural progression that I was able to move in a direction to be a national figure for radio instead of a miserable DJ moving from market to market. There may still be a few people in the industry that dont’ like me, but I could care less because I have no doubt that I am respected and in the end that’s really all that matters. You don’t have to be loved but make sure you earn respect.

Tenure or Great Knowledge of Business Field

If you know nothing about what you are doing it’s going to be very hard to convince others of it too. Don’t do something because it’s easy do something because you LOVE it and you are PASSIONATE about it. Why would you start a business that you will hate in a year? If you are doing it for money and money only you will come up short. As the old saying goes Do what you Love and the Money will Come.

Consistency

How consistent are you with developing your brand? If you have a brand that doesn’t need updating that’s find but let’s look at Apple for example. They have done a BRILLIANT job of marketing their products and they change them every year. People want to look like they are advanced in technology so they want the latest iPhone, iPad or Mac computer. Apple doesn’t have to renew their product every year but if they want to continue to make MILLIONS then they have to. Ironically, they keep creating the same product but they add a few more features and people eat it up. I still have my iPhone 4 because I think they screwed up (POST the death of Steve Jobs) with the iPhone 5 when they changed the connections. This means you not only have to get a new phone but all the brands like stereo systems, TVs, car adapters etc can no longer use the new iPhone. That was a mistake and an oversight that probably cost them sales. Nevertheless, how consistent are you with growing YOUR brand. Try new things, tweak what you offer and make sure you have some kind of feedback to give you results.

Professional Product

If you have a brand that requires you mail it to people are you mailing it on time? How does the packaging look? Are you including short surveys about your service? Are you following up with an email. Did you even get their email? Did you add their email to your database to send them future specials on new product? Your brand can look great but the packaging must ALSO look great. Make sure you respond to orders in a timely fashion and treat your clients with respect.

Professional Physical Presentation

This is a hard one because its personal. How do you look physically? Would you do business with someone who looks like you if they walked into your office. Currently, I’m carrying some extra weight and I’m constantly working on it but I know for a fact that business is great when you LOOK great. Everyone is not going to do business with you because they like your brand, some people will do business with you because they admire you, are attracted to your personality or your charisma. You can’t have much of that if you are not confident in your appearance. People REALLY admire those of us who are over 40 and who are in GREAT physical shape. It’s just our culture. Do what makes you comfortable but take a look at many of the most successful people. I’ve seen many in the music industry and a majority of them are physically fit. Oprah Winfrey is the exception to the rule but even she is uncomfortable being overweight as she has expressed on many occasions.

Satisfied Customers

If people are not coming back to you, talking positively about your brand or supporting you… you are doing something wrong. McDonald’s does not have to ever do another TV commercial because people already know who they are. How many people do you know who have only been there once? Not many I take it, Make sure you find the hole and completely fill it if you want return customers. All of the writing in The Biz Tipper (biztipper.com/) may not be duplicated or copied without the permission of Kevin Ross ([email protected]). We consistently check across the web to make sure our articles are not copied. Please respect our site.

Excerpt

For those of us who have succeeded in business we know that feeling of leaping out of bed and looking forward to the day. There is nothing like it, we are in control of our own destinies, passionate about what we do, but what happens when that passion is gone? Especially when you are still successful. Is there such a thing as “business burn out?” Yes, here are some ways to cope with it.

Hire Others to Run the Business

This is how MOST major corporations become MAJOR corporations. The owner cannot keep doing all the work himself or he or she WILL get burned out. I know it’s so incredibly hard to trust others to run your business but if you are not ready to or cannot sell this is a great option to free you up to do other things.

Sell the Business

If you are still having success with the business and you’re burnt out this is a GREAT time to sell. Think of who would benefit most by buying your business FIRST. KNOW THE BUSINESS‘ VALUE then approach those who you feel would benefit.

You Can Start ANOTHER Business or go Back to Work

I

f you did it once you can do it again. Some people choose to have the stability of a 9 to 5 again, you can do that too. Don’t let insecurity stop you from making a greater move.

Take a Much Needed Vacation

The fresh perspective will do you a world of good. I once sold my house and moved across country when I was burnt out. That was a HUGE mistake. I didn’t need to uproot, I needed an excursion to Europe for 30 days. Always and I mean ALWAYS take the vacation first and if you still feel the same way when you get back, it’s time to make some changes.

What Aspect of the Business is Bringing you Down?

Sometimes it’s not the business but certain part of it that tax us. For example, I hate collecting past due money and selling. Hire someone else to do what you hate doing or are not good at.

Signs that You’re Ready to Start Your Small Business

So you think you’re ready to start your small business? Here’s a few tips to help you along the way. These are EXCERPTS from “Why Your Business Won’t Grow” a forthcoming How to book for minority entrepreneurs by Kevin Ross

I’ve been in business now for 17 years. I’ve been very lucky because it’s been estimated that up to 85% of new businesses fail within the first four years or less. Some studies state as high as 60% of new businesses fail within the first year. During the past two decades, I have seen many examples of why small businesses fail and I’d like to share those with you if you have considered diving in and trying your small business. Here are the things that you should ABSOLUTELY NOT DO if you don’t want to fail IMMEDIATELY.

 

Unbridled PASSION for What you Do

Start Your Small Business: Have you ever been in love? REAL LOVE? The kind that makes you forget the rest of the world exists and EVERYTHING is about the other person? You can talk on the phone for hours to them but it seems like minutes? You leap out of bed ready to take on the day with a huge smile on your face because you’re experiencing true happiness? Unfortunately, for most, this feeling is temporary but not if you small your small business. Why? Because business is the SAME WAY! “Do what you LOVE and the money will Come” is exact and true. What is it that you LOVE to do, that you could do ALL DAY, that when you are doing it, it feels like you are not working? There’s your potential business!

You Have a Budget

Start Your Small Business: I would STRONGLY suggest not taking out loans if you don’t have to for two reasons. I don’t like dealing with middlemen, they can rob you of your passion and it’s always best to start off NOT owing someone. It ALWAYS helps if you have money stashed to start your small business because you start off is the same way you do business and the way you end it. If you start of begging, your entire business will most likely be based on you begging. If you have to beg people to convince them of your value, you are in the wrong business. They should SEE the value.

You Have Vision…

Start Your Small Business: I am surrounded by other entrepreneurs or people who are on their way to being entrepreneurs. We attract each other and most of my closest friends are entrepreneurs. I had a friend who loved to experiment with cheesecakes. He worked for the gas company for his full time gig but he would do things like make Peach Cobbler Cheesecake, German Chocolate Cheesecake, Cheesecake Pound Cake, Oatmeal Raisin Cheesecake and even Sweet Potato Cheesecake. People would go NUTS over those Cheesecakes and he started taking them to work and his coworkers would offer him up to $30.00 to make them ONE of his Cheesecakes. Before he knew it, he had to rent a kitchen and he was making at least 50 Cheesecakes a weekend as word spread. He LOVED doing it and he became a different person while he was doing it. He wasn’t bound by the work grind and the stress he had to often face working with broken gas lines in the field. Who could be passionate about that? To make a long story short, he was not comfortable with the lack of security he felt he would have without a full time job. I along with several other entrepreneur friends tried to convince him that he could triple and even quadruple his current income and have continued growth over the next 5 years that would make him incredibly successful but he did not have VISION. He is letting the opportunity pass him by.

Are you ORIGINAL?

Start Your Small Business: Doing what someone else does because you have the same contacts or you see that they are making money may work for a while but if you are not churning out the same quality product that they can you will eventually fail. If your business is based on mimicking what someone else does, it’s NOT time to start your small business, it’s time to either do a better job or think of something else. The greatest part of being an entrepreneur is the passion that you AND ONLY YOU have for what you do.

Do People Keep Coming Back?

Start Your Small Business: One of the GREATEST signs that you are able to start your small business is if whatever it is that you do has the same clients coming back for more WITHOUT you calling them. Your clients are the best friends to your business. If you have been in business for more than 3 years and you don’t have at LEAST one or two MAJOR clients, something is wrong. Prospects are not seeing the value of what it is that you do.

 

I’ve seen people who will stay in a small business like a bad marriage. The signs of divorce are clear years before but many business owners are determined to make what is clearly failing work, even when the odds are completely against them. It’s as if they are playing the lottery putting up their last money for a magical turn-a-round that will put them back on track but in actuality, they are digging themselves deeper into a hole. Here are some signs your business may very well be in trouble.

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You No Longer Enjoy The business/Loss of Passion

Remember the days in the beginning of the business when you leaped out of bed with a smile on your face ready to take on the day. You may not have been making money at the time but you were driven by your desire because you saw a need and/or you had a passion and you were fulfilling it. There is a reason the old saying “Do what you love and the money will come” rings so true. It’s not an idea or a need to fill a hole that is the driving force for a small business, it’s the PASSION to do it that drives it. If a person who has a bakery only made cakes because there was no bakery withing 5 miles, they would probably be in business for about a year unless they are fortunate enough to find someone whoLOVES baking cakes and even then, the owner’s lack of passion for what the company does will eventually reflect how the employees feel so the bakery is still setting itself up for failure.
If you are not rolling out of bed eager to take on the day, full of joy and hope and passion like you once were, this is the first and a MAJOR sign it’s time to seriously think about selling the business or doing something else. Your lack of drive and desire will start to affect the company from the top to the bottom including sales because you can’t convincingly sell a product that you yourself don’t believe in anymore.

—————————–Your Industry Has Changed but you have not

Unfortunately, businesses, consumers and demands change all the time. It would be great if this were not the case but it happens. Most vets in certain areas of business are very set in their ways and refuse to change with the business tide. it’s not because they are stubborn, many times it’s because they feel inadequate, too old to learn the new industry or they fear being obsolete so they are stubborn. If you refuse to change, your service becomes antiquated and your customers will start looking, if they even HAVE to look, for someone who can adapt to the current trends. Competition is fierce and other black entrepreneurs, who may have better resources, are always watching our progress (or regress). We’d like to think our current customers will be loyal but they also have to follow trends and if your company is behind the times, there is a great chance that you will lose money and eventually the business. If you run a record store in 2012, for example, you better be offering something totally unique in your market and beyond that drives the hardcore vinyl consumer to purchase from you amongst other things. Most record stores are out of business today but there are some that still thrive because of what they offer. Amoeba Music in Los Angeles, Berkley and San Francisco is a great example. They thrive because they buy records from customers for pennies on the dollar than sell them for much more. Many of the records from even 50 years ago are still in the rappers because many former music industry people still live in Los Angeles and surrounding areas and they had an abundance of product that they kept stored for decades and now they want to get rid of it. Amoeba sells product online as well, something many record store franchises refused to do which is why they are out of business, but Amoeba also has auctions of music memorabilia, in store performances and they sell used music as well as videos. Amoeba is a FULL SERVICE record store that also employes hardcore music lovers and the store in Los Angeles is almost always packed. How is it that this record store can stay alive and prosper when all the rest have died? They knew the industry was changing, they did their research and they are passionate about what they do.

—————————–You Don’t Trust Anyone to Help you Build the business

This is a VERY difficult one, even for me because we all know that nobody is going to be more passionate about your brand and business than you are and we have all been through it, we train someone which takes a great amount of time out of our day who is on probation and they almost always doesn’t work out. it’s enough to do our OWN jobs but now we have to train, guide and PAY someone else to do what we do and THEY MAY NOTWORK OUT! Who in the hell has the time for that, we have a business to run. However, we must consider that if we do it all by ourselves all the time, we will NEVER grow, we will become increasingly frustrated and the business will ultimately suffer. Sorry to inform you that you HAVE to trust SOMEONE unless you plan on killing yourself doing all things all the time, every time or never moving beyond a certain low financial point, never seeing your true potential. We are right in knowing that everyone can’t be trusted but we must also realize we can’t do everything by ourselves..

—————————–Not Paying Enough Attention to What is Going on in our businesses

Believe it or not, there are some business owners who are the total opposite of what I have described above. They depend TOO MUCH on other people to run their businesses while they are constantly on vacation, getting their hair done, playing golf or working on other projects. They don’t have proper management in place and it’s easy for clients and potential clients to see the owner is not present which is a horrific reflection on the reputation of the business. We have to create balance and make sure the employees know what is expected of them and they should never know our schedule as to when we will and will not be there. These are people that you pay and who represent you and in this instance you are offering TOO much trust.

—————————–Spending Lavishly

This is obvious. Any black entrepreneur will tell you that running a small business especially in the first 5 years is feast of famine. You may have a great first quarter but the second quarter may be dismal and if you don’t have savings to make up for the lack of business, you will stress yourself out unnecessarily. That’s why people go on vacations once or twice or three times a year, NOT every month. In addition, once you consider what you may be paying on interest for that new luxury car it may behoove you to see what it would cost you to buy it in cash or used from a private owner who is experiencing financial difficulties because he or she, I don’t know, SPENT MONEY THEY DIDN‘T HAVE? You can also get a car for damn near 1/3 the price at an auction or you can save a lot of money by buying it from a credit union. Those thousands of dollars would serve you much better in your bank account than going to the car dealer who is charging you a ridiculours interest rate because you have a small business. We can have those luxuries AND have backup funding which is ALWAYS needed if we must spend WISELY instead of LAVISHLY…—————————–

Your own Greed

Without question, it takes money to make money and if you are not willing to spend money and you are always trying to get a break from everyone else you will run in circles. I have a friend, another black entrepreneur, who wants to damn near be paid for EVERYTHING that he does and he wants a premium price. Yet when it comes to him needing the services of other black entrepreneurs, he wants 95% off. He is so greedy that he refuses to hire anyone to work for him if they require a paycheck, he wants them to work for him for free so he hires interns only… then he complains about them not being dependable. For the past 10 years he has failed to grow and he continues to struggle not understanding why he can’t get ahead. How can you demand top dollar from others when you need them and expect them to work for you for almost free? Sounds insane but it exists.

—————————–Fear

The economy has many black entrepreneurs concerned about walking away from their situations especially if they are making money doing it. I saw a good friend ran through $125,000 trying to save his business when it was not only dead, but he had absolutely no interest in maintaining it. He was making money but it was only a matter of time before it all came crashing down. He didn’t use the money to hire people, he used it to ignore the business by buying real estate property without doing his homework and to try to occupy him mind. Of course the real estate market went bust and he lost everything… Which leads me to the next subject…

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Entrepreneur Depression

Not typical depression, but depressed about the industry that you work in, the economy of the industry you work in or even feeling like your business is no longer relevant. Entrepreneur Depression has the same symptoms as other depressions except when you are the captain of the ship your depression can destroy the entire business if you don’t get a grip on what’s taking place.

Fellow Entrepreneurs..Remember the days that you rolled out of bed ready to take on the new business day with glee and excitement? Do you STILL feel that way about your Small business? If’ you’ve been doing it for a number of years… probably not. Reason? Well, they don’t call it the 7 Year Itch for nothing. It does apply to relationships but relationships of all kinds, including the one that you have with your business and you might very well be tempted to have an “affair” with a whole new business.

I read about an Entrepreneur who lived in New York and ran a bakery for 10 years. He made a lot of money but after 7 years he was burnt out and lost his joy to do it. He didn’t contemplate and make excuses forever but he held on for an additional 3 years and mapped out his plan.  He and his wife sold the business at 10 years then they moved to California’s Wine Country in Temecula Valley and opened an Art Gallery? Seems strange at first but they have events that they tie in with the wineries at their gallery. Something TOTALLY different than they were doing before and they are still very successful and they love it. Not because they picked a new business that would be successful but just the opposite…because they already KNOW how to run a successful business!!!

If any of the following apply to you, my friends it’s time to look at starting a new business.

• You don’t wake up with the same joy or anticipation you once had and it has become a “job”
• The industry that you work in has changed because of the economy and you are struggling to make ends meet
• You now have way to much competition and you the client base has gotten smaller
• You are bored with the business
• You’re not making the money that you once did but you keep doing it because it’s “paying the bills.”
• You are no longer interested in the field of your business.
• It has become draining
• You are constantly working and you feel it. (When you have a business that you “love” it doesn’t seem like you are “working”)
• You just want to make a change

Well, it’s time to stop complaining and do a spreadsheet with what you would REALLY like to do in your new business. Whether it’s connected to what you are doing now or something totally different, you can do it. So start planning and stop complaining.

Best in business

Kevin Ross

Not Closing the Sale? There are times that you are not going to be able to do it. Let it be a teachable moment

I have several competitors who bombard my clients when I post any ad on my site https://biztipper.com. It kind of irritates me because I work so hard to foster those relationships and think it’s unfair to my clients especially when the competitors try to sell their sites by putting mines down (and it gets back to me and that tactic is tacky and rarely works).  There is one site, in particular, that is often very successful at manipulating my clients into supporting them too… hey if it works then so be it. The problem is when I call many of their clients from different formats outside of Urban radio I almost always get rejected.

It’s one thing to reject a proposal but it’s insulting to make a person jump through hoops to get to no. Clients KNOW up front if there is a possibility that they will support you but they also KNOW when they are NOT going to support you. Don’t be politically correct, just be HONEST (lol). It would save us both time and money. In all honestly.. I’d rather have a potential client tell me to “Fuck off and don’t ever call me again” than to have me waste my time sending in proposals, making endless calls and sending emails to follow up. Be careful of what you wish for because I have actually HAD potential clients tell me never call back again (lol) but for the most part… my clients have been great to me. Here are some tips to help you know that you are wasting your time.

Potential Client asks for proposal (RFP)

This is not a sign that you are wasting your time but I have done great RFPs and I have been rejected and my ideas were stolen and given to my competition (I’m talking non-minority competitors). At one time this practice literally made me sick to my stomach when I realized that there are many marketing companies that don’t have a CLUE how to market to minorities and they use anything they can to learn… including the unscrupulous practice of stealing information from proposals. NEVER and I mean NEVER include too much info in your RFP. Be vague about particular places, names, and events but focus more on how you can deliver and numbers. I have a saying, “if you give away the recipe the restaurant will close” that applies here. Realize your information could be stolen and manipulated so keep your sources and major information private. There is a 50/50 chance that your RFP will be accepted or rejected. This is not an easy task but if it works out, it can be lucrative and if the marketing company is not biased (which is VERY rare) it may open a door for a long relationship.

Never Get Excited about a Potential Client

The more excited you get the harder you fall if it doesn’t work out. In addition, I am a firm believer in giving all that you have to give then letting it go when it comes to attracting a client. I usually get them 99% of the time when I forget about them and don’t focus on them.

Follow up with people who call you about to support your business

This is not easy because the results are often futile. Often people that call you and who show an interest in supporting your business are not ready. There was a time that I looked at it as a waste of time. Now, I make a mental or a short note in my Thunderbird (an excellent email program with a calendar) to call them a week later. It is rare that these situations ever work out but there is a one in a million chance that 1 does.

Aim high and have NERVE!

I have found that dealing with corporations is 99% done when the contact calls you and you NEVER know what they are looking for. If you are a minority business I pray that they will not refer you to the “Lion’s Den” which is what I like to call biased Marketing Companies but if they do just realize it’s not easy to sell to them and if they don’t like you they can call the corporation and reject you in an instant. Hopefully, you will be able to deal directly with the Corporation and they have a budget in place and they are ready to support your venture. Dealing with independents or smaller clients is a LOT of work and it only comes to fruition about 15% of the time but the money is up front (even though it’s often at a discount)

Don’t Pursue those who Run from you constantly.

As a rule, make 3 calls and send 2 emails at the most. If the person does not respond, make sure they are aware of what you are doing but put them on hold till next year. They may shock you and call you (which is rare)… but realize some people usually support people they like… as unfortunate and unfair as that may seem it’s a fact. So you need to locate those who “Like” you and leave the ones who don’t like you alone. The more you try to get their business the more you suffer and start to question the value of what you do. As an old boss once told me, “Love those who love you and leave the rest alone.”

If my ideas or suggestions help you. Please subscribe and make a small donation (Just $5.00 a month by clicking the PayPal tab to the right). I want you to do it so that you can tell me how donating to someone else REALLY DOES help YOU! Kevin

Best in business

Kevin Ross email me at [email protected]