BizTipper

Tag: BIGGEST

  • 5 Ways You May Be Killing Your Business

    Are you a producer, singer, promoter, blogger, writer… whatever kind of small business owner you are this information can help you.

    My name is Kevin Ross and for many years I was a DJ on several radio stations. Truth be told I was good at it but I hated it, I could not be myself and I saw a lot of dirty deals and many of my bosses were not in it for the love of the craft but they were crooks trying to make as much money illegally as they could. You can learn more about me later but to make a long story short, I took what I learned in radio and created a very successful industry magazine called Radio Facts then I morphed the magazine into a successful industry site Radiofacts.com. Thanks to Radio Facts, this June, I will be a seasoned entrepreneur with a business that has lasted 18 years. That’s almost impossible for a small minority business in the music industry. There are MANY things that I have learned over the years with my first business that could have saved me a TON of Time a TON of frustration and a TON of MONEY. We have thousands of people on our mailing list, several with their own small businesses and I see the same common mistakes over and over and over…. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE being in business for myself and would not trade it for the WORLD but you have to make sure you are satisfying your passion if you are in business for yourself otherwise you might as well get a regular job.

    The rules that generate success can often be very different for minority entrepreneurs because we don’t often have the resources to build our businesses. By “minorities” I mean anybody besides white men. Because of our lack of resources, we often help and aid each other in business to remain alive and well in the world on entrepreneurship. Nevertheless there are some HORRIFIC mistakes we often make that sabotage our businesses for years that we may not be aware of. This past June, I did a hardcore beta test of my business in every aspect using some of the excellent free tools to help my business grow and prosper. Using these tools, I’m proud to say, revenue has tripled over the last few months. To help you… I came up with several Great Tips to Improve Your Business and Make Money from a minority business owners perspective. If you have ever wanted to be in business, I am confident these tips will not only help YOU they will greatly help your BUSINESS. (click “Next” above or below to see the tips)

    Kevin Ross – [email protected]

    1. Doing “Favors” and “Hook-ups”

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    The best way to destroy a money making business? Give product away for FREE. if someone asks you for a massive discount or services for free they are completely disrespecting YOU and what YOU DO. One of the BIGGEST mistakes I made with my business from day one was doing “favors” giving people things for free with the (mostly fake) possibility of them bringing business later. It’s the oldest trick in the BOOK. I call them “Carrot Danglers” because they treat you like a dumb science project, they dangle the carrot in front of you and string you along until you are exhausted with no reward in the end. Some of them are SO good they create the impression they are helping you by giving you the opportunity to help them. TELL ANYBODY COMING TO YOU FOR anything for FREE and MASSIVE DISCOUNTS to take a long walk on a short pier. Here are a few of the reasons you should not walk but RUN from these people:

    • They are bad for the self esteem of your business
    • They don’t have the money now but do you have the business now?
    • It’s a win/lose situation and the “win” is NOT in your favor
    • You are being misled, lied to and used moreover what if they tell other potential clients (and they will) they got your service for free or for a massive discount?
    • The person will NEVER see the monetary value in what you do from the point you give them something for free, this is the same as sleeping with someone on the first date. They know the value of your BRAND that’s why they contacted you but they have screwed your business in order to get that value for free… what’s left?
    • Is your rent or mortgage free? Does the bank give you “Hook ups?”
    • Simply tell them “NO” and say “I have to go.” You don’t even have time to have a conversation with someone who does not respect your business. Respect YOURSELF and YOUR business and clients will respect YOU.
    • Ask them to go into a Gucci store and ask for something for free. They will get a “free” trip by security and be shown the door.

    2. Chasing Dead Clients

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    This past year, I made a decision that I was not going to call clients or potential clients who didn’t return my calls after 2 tries. It’s a waste of your time and energy to pursue people who don’t believe in your brand or perhaps they don’t believe in you. MOVE ON. Ideally, your brand should be generating clients if you are reaching your target but if you have to make calls understand how this can drain you and your business. There are many people who will support you ONLY because they like you. That’s mostly how the entertainment industry works but other industries like online blogs and sites based their advertising on unique visitors, they may not even know the site owner but if he or she has enough “uniques” that qualifies for major advertising. I also talk about “Running From Some Clients” this details difficult clients in perspective.

    3. Corrupt Competition

    blogwalletCompetitors can be ruthless and clients can have a bit of fun telling you what they are saying about you. My competitors for example, steal content and pictures from my site and take credit for it… I know everything my competitors say about me to my clients and much of it is absolutely idiotic. Two competitors in particular ask my clients “Why are you advertising with Kevin?” How stupid is that? Then they get cussed out and rightfully so. The competitors are idiots because they think by making my clients “aware” that they know they are supporting my brand will generate automatic support for them. Truth be told their brands SUCK but they are too lazy to fix THAT or perhaps they don’t know how and that’s why they are not getting support in addition the client gets pissed when being questioned about how they spend their budgets so the dumb competitor digs himself or herself deeper into the grave.

    4. Know Your Audience

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    This is OUTRAGEOUSLY important and believe it or not MANY entrepreneurs DON‘T know their audience they target their audience based on their own thoughts or beliefs. Major mistake. Programming radio taught me how important it is to know your audience. I describe many ways you can discover who your audience is.

    5. Hire Duplicate “You’s”

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    You must and I can’t say this enough you MUST hire other people and you MUST delegate. The people you hire should be self starters. Excuses and flipping the script are not acceptable, if they can’t do the work you show them on their own they have to go. Find people who can mimic you and who think like you do. If you try to do everything yourself your business will never grow.

    Some of the OTHER topics covered:

    • Why your Business won’t Grow
    • Why it’s best to walk away from some Clients
    • Find out what competitors are saying and doing behind your back
    • Ways to grow your business and rise above competitors
    • Now that you’re making money Do THIS ….

    and more, order your copy early for this eBook “Make Money: Learn the Ways to EARN.” It will be $10.95 next week. If you pre-order now, you will get a link via email with the eBook next week (March 1, 2012)

    Kevin Ross
    http://radiofacts.com

  • Beware of the False Potential Customer…

    Wasting-Time

    We have all seen and dealt with potential customers who truly waste our time. Truth be told, they usually catch us with our guard down when times are hard for us. What is a False Potential Customer? Here are some clues:

    1. They want to talk to you but their questions are above and beyond information that you should be providing.

    Minolta DSC
    Minolta DSC

    They ask you questions like, how many people are in your database or can you provide them with numbers of previous clients. This may not seem like a huge request but it depends on how established your business is. See if they ask you these questions as well… The best way to eliminate this is to always be on the run. When they call, tell them you are about to go into a meeting but you have a minute so that they can get to the point.

    2. They ask you to evaluate or review their product..

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    BIG NO, this is the BIGGEST sign of a false customer. If you are a consultant then they need to pay for your expert opinion. Who has time to do this? This could be a trick for these people to take your advice and leave you in the dust while they use the information that you gave them to do the work themselves.  They may even be smart enough to brag about how much they love what you do first. I call this “Dangling the Carrot.” It’s an effort for you to think you are may get their business if you help them. Don’t fall for it. Tell them you will be glad to evaluate their product once the account is established.

    3. They ask you for references on competitors.

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    Do you see this train coming? Most people will tell you never say anything bad about your competition but in this case it may bite you in the ass. This person is letting you know they are not loyal to your services. This is a great warning. If you say good things about your competitor, it may give them the deal. I play coy in these situations. I act like I just don’t know. Why are you asking me about my competition anyway? Don’t fall for this.

    4. They tell you they have to get back to you after they meet with the other partners..

    Wasting-Time

    You can eliminate this problem IMMEDIATELY by letting your first question be “Do you have budget available now?” If you are not talking to the person who has control of the purse strings you are wasting your time. If they tell you they don’t have their budget ready yet.. kindly tell them to call you when they do. “Why don’t we talk when you’re ready to do a campaign so that I can advise you better?”

    5. They string you along

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    Minolta DSC

    If you have an established business and your customers are aware of it, when they call you, they should be ready to do business. Not waste your time. When they say things like, “I will get back to you” chances are they won’t but even if they do (which is rare) don’t wait for the call or pursue it. If they are serious and they have budget they will reach out to you.

    Wishing you the best in business

    Kevin Ross