Tag: LIVE

Common Problems for Entrepreneurs WITH Solution Ideas

Quite often, as entrepreneurs, we find ourselves operating in a vacuum. We have SO many jobs that it’s often difficult, even impossible at times to find good help. There are some mistakes that we often make that could make our lives so much easier. First and foremost, we must adapt to today’s market and digital resources. We can still win but we must be willing to adapt and change our previous concepts. For example, there is no need to hire full-time or even part-time employees for many jobs anymore. You will save a ton of time, money and agony hiring someone per project, the benefit is you can test people out now and if they do well keep hiring them or let them work their way into full-time. Here are a few tips to make work life easier for you.

Finding Good Help

PROBLEM: This has got to be one of the absolute greatest challenges for MOST entrepreneurs. From my own personal experience, many of today’s younger workers are all about instant gratification and they have agendas, thanks to social media, to build their own brands. They couldn’t care less about paying dues or climbing the ladder because they don’t have to. Unfortunately for them, they don’t understand that nothing will ever replace “relationships” and you never develop them by walking over people. On the other end of the spectrum, from my experience, older workers tend to be very stern and stuck in their ways, they can come to the table expecting to be well paid and treated with the utmost respect based on their previous tenure but they have not worked in years. At times BOTH can present themselves as if they are doing YOU a favor.

SOLUTION: Go against the grain and seek help in the gray areas. Hire people who DON’T have excellent social media likes and numbers because they are going to need the job the most and they will be the most hungry. There are also MANY job services for former people who have been caught up in the system and have been challenged and have a great desire to get into the workforce. Also, let’s face it, times have changed, if you are looking for someone with a great social media following, instead of hiring them to work for you, why not hire them to specifically get YOU great social media numbers as a consultant? I hire people who may not have the best social media stats to cover events that I am not able to go to who post images on Instagram, which is automatically connected to Twitter and Facebook and it looks like my brand is everywhere. Not to mention it goes a long way with clients and potential clients but I specifically hire these people to ONLY do social networking. I suggest getting someone with so-so social media numbers so that they represent your brand instead of themselves. In addition, they get an added bonus by meeting people in my industry. Make sure you have specifics in writing before they do an assignment. No posting of badges and passes, no posting on their own social media outlets without hashtagging your brand link, no plus ones, you want them focused on doing YOUR brand the favor not impressing one of their friends or a date.

Balancing Time

PROBLEM: Whoever said “To whom much is given, much is expected” was right on point. As you read this, I am in Buffalo, New York right now taking care of some much-needed family business and I had to literally move my business via laptop to Buffalo for several weeks and uproot my life from LA. (which is not that hard to do. I am not a big fan of Los Angeles). You will get hit with some of the most unexpected things from time to time. Before I left LA I did a magazine that was mailed late via the post office and there was nothing that I could do about it but learn from the experience and not make the same mistake again. There are times as entrepreneurs that we feel that ALL that we DO is work and I know MANY entrepreneurs who are single because the demand to be dedicated to a successful business can outweigh a romantic relationship that takes up even more time.

SOLUTION: Start by taking one day off. What is your absolute slowest day? Perhaps you should consider using that day to pamper yourself. I LOVE the fact that I can go in stores, drive around and go to the museum or even sell real estate in the middle of the day when everybody else is working. Treat yourself to lunch or even a weekend vacation but don’t just WORK …. LIVE

Collecting Money

PROBLEM: This USED to be a problem for me until I came up with several solutions. Look at doing business like a date: It is painstaking to watch bills come in and not have the cash flow to pay them because. If you let them, a client is will use your business like a one night stand, they get what they want then leave you stranded. Why not get wined and dined first then you BOTH get what you want. Stop GIVING your valuable experience and tenure away, make them pay upfront instead of whoring out your business. Stop bending over backward and treating them like gold so that they will come back because the more that you respect your business they more they respect YOU.

SOLUTION: First, ask your repeat clients if they can do direct deposits. It would benefit you to have a PayPal or Quickbooks account to accomplish this or if it’s a corporation ask how you can set it up. This will kill a TON of wasted time. Next offer a discount for an up front payment. Realize the most important thing: THEY CAME TO YOU! When this is the case the ball is in your court. Don’t sell yourself short by extending them credit, doing the work then having to chase them for months for the money. At the end fo the day, they will get pissed at YOU for bugging them and will probably not do business with you again as if YOU are the bad guy for getting on their nerves. All of this could have been avoided by respecting yourself and your business from gate and asking for your money up front.

Paying Employees

PROBLEM: People want to be paid instantly for their work even if it means you depositing money in their bank accounts.

SOLUTION: NO! I know another entrepreneur who doesn’t see the problems with this but I do. First of all, your business is not a money tree or a welfare agency. This is the problem when people can talk directly to the person who holds the purse strings. I have heard every sob story you can imagine but I have found two things to be true: When you pay people too soon the quality of the work is diminished because their focus is more on getting paid, second, if you have to leave your computer to pay someone by going to your bank then their bank, standing in line and depositing money that is NOT your job. Designate two paydays, for example, the first and the 15th and let them know that they will be receiving a check or a payment via PayPal or Quickbooks on those dates. If they have Paypal, while it’s up to you, you should NOT pay the fees. Getting paid via PayPay is to the contractors benefit NOT YOURS. It’s an option for convenience, they can avoid the fees by getting a check in the mail. You do not have time to hear sob stories or to help other people with their financial problems you are running a business. It will hurt the esteem of your business and your ability to grow taking on that added and unnecessary burden. Remember, growth is the key NOT stagnation.

October 20, 2016
Skimping on Services? Customers Know the Difference

I left Buffalo, New York some 30 years ago and once I moved to Atlanta then Los Angeles after that and worked in radio as a DJ for many years there was no turning back. The new environments opened my eyes to all that I had missed growing up on the East side of Buffalo. Nevertheless, there is one thing that is foremost in my mind on the few occasions when I return, think or talk about Buffalo… the food. Without question, my career in the music industry has afforded me the opportunity to go to some of the best restaurants in the country but none of them compare to Buffalo’s still famous food spots.

Tale of Two Legendary Restaurants, One that still is and what that WAS.

Scottie’s Steak House popped on the scene in the early 60s in Buffalo (see video). Owner James Scott explains everything that we know it takes as entrepreneurs to run a successful business and get it off the ground. As a radio and music industry entrepreneur, I can agree even today with MOST of Scott’s points in the video but not all of them. He makes two statements that probably explain why his restaurant is no longer around today. He states that “Owning your own business is not fun” Says who? The old adage is true, ‘Do what you LOVE and the money will COME” an entrepreneur going into a business he or she is not passionate about is almost sure to fail. Running your own business that you are passionate about is like falling in love. Time slips away and you can spend endless hours doing what you do and not even notice you have been doing it for 10 hours straight. That is the bliss of doing what you love. Scott mentions on the video that he has worked 18 hour days. I know music producers who LIVE in the studio and can do it for several days straight with little or no sleep. I never hear them complain about how many hours they have been in the studio, they are more focused on the result of it. The number one rule is you NEVER go into business to make money (unless you have a great business partner who handles that part and you are the creative ebb and flow). Most of the people who I know and am close to today are entrepreneurs and they are all successful in their own right because they LOVE what they do FIRST and FOREMOST. Our creativity is at its peak when we love what we do and THAT’s what sells our businesses first.

In the years to come, Scottie’s Steak House experienced great success and it’s amazing how the video coverage talks about the local government in Buffalo giving small business loans to blacks back then who were smart enough to capitalize on the culture and what they knew best but how much did they love it? This is not a dig on Scottie because I have no doubt he faced many other obstacles that got in the way of him running his business as a black man. Restaurants in the black community were something that white business owners often failed at because they were not connected to the culture of black food. Like most cultures black folks KNOW when the right cook is in the kitchen and you better be connected to the culture the food is from if you want our business. (Thanks to Doug Ruffin who told me he stopped Canisius College from dumping many years of great Buffalo News footage and video in the trash after it was donated by local TV networks who were updating their studios. These videos are priceless.)

I’m not sure how Scottie got to his idea for the perfect steak sandwich, but he did. This was the MOST Crucial time for his Business

Scottie’s Steak house had the most amazing steak sandwiches. By far the best I’ve ever had to date. A childhood friend, Cricket, asked me to walk there with her one day and I wanted to go to see what the big deal was about Scottie’s. Everybody in the neighborhood was talking about their steak sandwiches and how good they were. Sure enough as soon as we walked in the door it was crowded and the smell was unbelievable. Cricket ordered a regular steak sandwich/sub and she gave me a piece of it. It was love at first bite. I went back on my own a few days later than again the next week and many times thereafter, I was hooked. Then something happened. I noticed (read more, click here) that the more popular Scottie’s Steak House became the sandwiches were changing. There was more vegetables than meat. I watched the girl make my sandwich one day and I noticed she was putting half the meat with the peppers and onions than I was used to. I thought this might just be a new employee and after a not so enjoyable experience with a “vegetable sandwich” I went back a month later and there was even LESS meat and the PRICE went up!!!! It appeared they were using what they once used for one steak sandwich to now make 3 sandwiches. Where the meat was once the main ingredient, it was now pretty much used for seasoning the sandwich like Lawry’s. I never went back and I noticed there was no
(click NEXT above or below post) crowd the last few times I was there and people stopped talking about Scottie’s like they used to.

On the other hand…Bocce’s Pizza

Bocce’s website states:

Bocce’s Pizza is one of the oldest and best-known pizzerias in Buffalo, NY. Since 1946, we’ve been proudly serving our customers some of the best tasting food in Western New York. Our fresh pizza is still made with the same sauce recipe used back in the 1940’s.

Our delicious food has touched so many lives throughout the years that we are sought out by many who had to leave the Buffalo area. We get phone calls and have customers come in all the time requesting a half-baked pizza or wings to take home to share with their new friends and family across the country.

Stop by or call today for an Original Bocce’s Pizza and let us create a delicious memory for you!

I am here to tell you this statement is the absolute truth. Bocce’s original owner was the son of Italian immigrants (cultural connection) and he saw many people come and go, some of whom even started their own pizzerias but they were loyal enough not to try to duplicate what the original owners did. Bocce’s did not have a great location as a matter of fact it was dilapidated and appeared abandoned (see image) but the pizza was all she wrote. That damn building could have collapsed while you were ordering your pizza and you would still wait for your order. There is nothing worse than going to a great restaurant with all the ambiance and an amazing dining room where the food tastes like crap. I have no idea what they put in that pizza but I grew up on it and I have had pizza at MANY retaurants all over the country. I have NEVER had pizza as good as Bocce’s. Nothing has ever come close. As a matter of fact, I’m going to order one this week, since you have me talking about it so much to make a point in this story. Bocce’s is still using the EXACT same ingredients and the same amount of ingredients that they have been using since they opened in 1946. They didn’t go from 50 pepperoni to 3 and the cheese and the bread and the sauce have never changed. No matter who works there, they are taught to make the pizza the same way and they do. Bocce’s Pizza is STILL around today and STILL successful in Buffalo and beyond because they KNEW what the customers loved about them and they never wavered in an effort to cut costs or make extra profit. People would have paid their rent for that pizza as long as it tasted the same. I KNOW MANY people, including myself who order that Pizza to be expressed or when they go to Buffalo to visit they bring it back with them. I even have one childhood friend who is a Vice President at a University who can only tolerate Buffalo for 1 day per visit, but she loves Bocce’s and she makes sure she gets two large Bocce’s pizza’s before she leaves and she brings a separate suitcase for her pizzas, takes them home and freezes them and enjoys them for the next month. We laugh about her process but she loves that pizza. If you want to know the whole story about how Bocce’s got started go here.

The overall point here is to be the MOST successful in business you must:

LOVE what you DO…FIRST.

Understand AND be a part of the culture that you are serving

Don’t sell your customers short or try to blind side their senses (in this case taste buds)

It’s better to charge MORE than to give less (and have the nerve to charge more)

Always be loyal to why you are successful and use that to GROW other products for your customers

The demand remains high as long as your brand remains loyal and you remain trustworthy

My best in business

Kev Ross

[email protected]

www.radiofacts.com

September 15, 2014
5 Things You Can Do to Jump Start Your Small Business Income

As always, here are some quick tips to build your business. These are things that we often overlook but could generate more revenue, of course this is on top of providing great service.

1. Hire a young Social Media Whiz

Kids are becoming marketing machines and they are better at it than expensive ad agencies because they don’t rely on flawed research…. .THEY LIVE THE LIFE. Advertisers are now going directly to kids with huge youtube followers to push their brands and this may signal a problem for marketing agencies who have controlled how we think for far too long. Social media marketing is less biased and more factual and you should jump on this trend NOW. Grab a high school or college kid that’s always online to help promote your business. Truth be told you may also not want to skimp on what you pay them either (after they have proven themselves) because they can be extremely valuable. (click NEXT above or below)

2. Stop Chasing Dead Clients

There are some clients who will never support you, no matter what you say or do. Move on and pursue clients who are not familiar with your brand (click NEXT above or below)

3. Create an App for your Business

I suggest Wiziapp if you have a website. This can be somewhat cumbersome but the push notifications are the benefit. So if you have a new product out and you want clients around the world to know about it and they opt to have a push notification, this could generate great revenue. (click NEXT above or below)

4. Ask Satisfied Clients to Promote you on Yelp

MANY people use Yelp as a way to determine if they will support your business. Make it easy for your clients by emailing them a direct link and asking them to recommend you. (click NEXT above or below)

5. Take Potential Clients out to Lunch

This is one of the oldest methods in the books that still works today. Clients like to see who they are dealing with. Make the effort and meet them for lunch. Don’t talk about competitors, even if they do and eat before you come so that you can hear everything they are saying to you.

September 14, 2014