Posted by Cheryl Isaac in Business Ebooks, Start-ups on February 3rd, 2011
Your blog is important because it is your method of speaking to a potential client without actually meeting with them. I’ve had so many great experiences because of my blog, I don’t even know how to start explaining it. Let’s see: I’ve had people purchase books (from other authors and from me) because of reviews I’ve done on my blog, I’ve landed a few training and speaking gigs due to my blog, I’ve had clients come in and sign on the spot because they’ve been reading my blog for a while. I’ve been featured as an expert on the leading entrepreneurial site—Entrepreneur Magazine’s Entrepreneur.com—because of my blog.
I currently have five blogs, but don’t worry–you don’t have to be that aggressive with blogging. Truth is, I like to write and writing/blogging is how I reach my target audience. It’s how I help people.
What I want to do with this blog though, is to help you get your blog up and noticed. Whether you have a business brand, or you’re simply trying to grow your personal brand, I can’t stress enough how much blogging will actually help you in business.
Blogging is a form of marketing—online marketing. As you’ve probably heard before, marketing is a way of getting people to know-like-trust you. This is how you build loyal customers.
Since your marketing plan cannot be complete without blogging, here are some blogging guidelines for you: follow each step and you’ll be on your way to blogging:
Step 1: Choose a Blog Platform
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Posted by Cheryl Isaac in Business Planning on January 20th, 2011
Start with a straightforward revenue stream model.
For instance, when Pierre Omidyar started eBay, he started it as Action Web: a website for people to post things for sale and have others bid for them. He had no budget for graphic design or marketing. His only bill was a $30 internet bill. Soon, there was so much traffic that his service provider started to charge $250 a month.
Worried about the monthly costs, Omidyar’s next step was to try and pass the charges on to his customers. So instead of hoping to gain money from ads, he decided to charge a commission on sales. This was an important decision that allowed him to cover his costs.
As a result, eBay became one of the rare Internet businesses that made a profit early on.
Customer involvement. Another great thing about eBay is its early implementation of customer interaction. The site decided to have customer list auctions instead of sales. This way, people were signing on to bid, and view bids–making the site addictive. Also, by encouraging users to manage their own business on the site, eBay avoided huge staffing costs, and a longer workweek.
Trust. Start-ups struggle with gaining trust and credibility from the buying public. eBay’s implementation of its famous feedback rating system, tackled the trust problem–sellers had to please buyers. This way, customers viewed the business as being credible.
Could you implement any of these tips in your business?
Posted by Cheryl Isaac in Business Ebooks, Start-ups on January 3rd, 2011
I heard these lines in 2010 and I will glue my ears shut if I had to hear them again in 2011. So you’re not ready yet for a startup. Or you probably never will be ready. It’s OK! Stop horsing around, business is serious business. (I guess I shouldn’t complain since I get paid hourly to listen…but just FYI: when you see me reach for the super glue, you know what’s about to happen).
It just seems like too much work.
I have kids, a husband, three cats…I don’t see how I can do this.
My wife will kill me. We got too many bills.
My life sucks. My business will suck too.
I don’t know what I want to do…I just want to do something. Where’s the moneymaker?
Uh…I need help starting this business but I need somebody to show me how to get it going…you know, like walk me through ALL the steps?…
My boyfriend won’t understand. He’s not into this business stuff…
I got this moneymaking idea that will break the bank. I can’t start though, until somebody give me some money.
I need to run this by my girl first…if she say yes, I’ll be back…
Do you help people find money? I need money for a startup business idea…not sure yet how to explain the idea?…
I don’t need to show him a business plan (the successful millionaire who volunteered his time to give some startup advice) I can just talk to him about it right?
I need somebody to present my business for me. I hate talking about it. I just want to make money.
I need to find an accountant…No I haven’t started the business yet or even developed the idea but I need an accountant…
I don’t need a business plan, I just need to make money…I need to figure out how to market to clients, what price to charge, how to talk about the business…Uhm why are you looking at me like that?
I’ve done everything I need to do so far, so I don’t think I really need advice. I just want to know how to find money.
Wow! I would go to this person’s seminar but it’s so expensive, it’s just not in the budget right now. But how do you think I can talk to this person and get some advice?
I don’t have any money so can you work on a contingent basis? I promise that I will be the client to promote you to stardom. You could be on the news and all…seriously!
We could barter services and I could really help your business reach the next level.
I don’t really need help right now, but I heard you’re well connected and I may need help from your contacts from time to time…
What’s the hottest idea out there right now? Maybe that’s the business I’ll start.
I talked to Lucas, Lester, Lebron (ok these names are made up) and they said to do A,B,C,D…
If this could easily have been you asking these questions, grab a FREE copy of my Bare Minimum Ebook. If you wouldn’t be caught dead making these statements (but you were doing so less than a year ago), continue to build your spectacular startup with the new ebook: A Different Business Startup Bundle .
Posted by Cheryl Isaac in Business Ebooks, Business Planning on December 22nd, 2010
A few years ago, I started my business with less than $1,000, without any clout, and I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting myself into. To complicate things even further, I was planning a destination wedding—to Hawaii—and my husband (fiancée at the time) had decided to become an entrepreneur also. After a few weeks of “what the…??!!” we decided to go for it.
I remember thinking to myself, well, what do we have to lose? And then I would picture my husband and I, my two stepkids, my Labrador—us four out living in a shelter or a one-bedroom apartment—and I would shudder in fear. Then there was the family backup plan that wasn’t quite flushed out. Our closest relatives (my in-laws) lived a couple of hours away, in a different city. My family lived miles away (a ten-hour drive) in New York City. Then I would think about how my mom owns a two-bedroom co-op in the middle of New York City, his mom owns a 2-bedroom apartment, and my dad lives across the globe in West Africa. And that backup plan would automatically get flushed down my daydreaming toilet.
We had no solid back up plan. This was it! We had to do or die. We had to go all in so that we could be able to give our dream all that we had. And we did just that. We used what we had—the bare minimum.
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Posted by Cheryl Isaac in Business Information on December 10th, 2010
That’s the title of the brand new video posted to A Different Business’ YouTube channel.
I was listening to some audio lessons on public speaking the other day. The speaker mentioned the importance of storytelling when giving a speech. Most times, it works the same way in business.
The fact is, people want to know about you, your background, why you started your business, obstacles you overcame, because it makes them understand the real you.
Well, you got to learn a little about the real me on the “About” page on this site. Here’s another video where I say more. Click here to view the video: Making It Personal
Cheryl Isaac is the author of the book, A Different Business, and the founder of A Different Business club. She helps startups create business models that make a difference. She is a business writer who contributes articles to various magazines, and she blogs weekly for Entrepreneur. You can chat with her on Facebook or YouTube.
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