- Yellow page ads: As soon as you get your new business telephone number, you’re going to be buried with calls from every phone book company in the world. Yellow page ads are big business for a reason; they charge you a bunch of money. It’s very lucrative. You have to decide if it’s worth it. Sometimes it pays off; sometimes it doesn’t. If you have limited ad dollars but really feel like you need an ad in the phone book, you might want to look at an ad with the original phone company in your area, i.e. the core Bell companies; the phone companies that were there before Judge Greene had a moment and decided competition in the phone industry was a good idea…but that’s another story. Back to the point…phone books from the core Bell companies seem to be the most trusted and the most preferred when a person needs to look up a telephone number; that’s why they charge more than any other company for the ad. You could always try another book with a better price but this is where “you get what you pay for” applies. No, we weren’t paid to say that. It’s strictly an opinion based on past experience.

- Newspaper advertising: Wow…newspaper advertising. What can be said? Their rates compare to highway robbery and a favorable return is specific to only a handful of industries. This is, hands down, the most positive statement you’ll get from us on this subject. Moving on…

- Get a website…period. No “ifs, ands or buts”. Get a website. It doesn’t matter what you’re selling or how “old school” you are; if you don’t have a website, you’ve already lost. Just pack it up and go home. You’re done. If you’re now leaning towards getting one, pay attention to the following:


- Last but not least: Visualize a 24-hour mobile billboard and consider investing a little money into corporate apparel. This can be as simple as a t-shirt with your company name and tag line. You can get them right here, if you like. There are no minimum quantities needed and they ship quickly. Pass them out; give them to new clients, vendors, the first 20 people who complete a survey on the website…anyone who might wear them! The best thing about “corporate apparel” is the person wearing it can answer questions for someone who might say something like, “Who is that? Where are they? When did they open? How’s their service?” Dollar for dollar, an outstanding value!

The most successful companies in the world are successful for a reason: They watch and learn from their competition. Know your competition; their prices, their weaknesses, their strong points. This is called benchmarking. Mold your business accordingly. Make it better than the other guys. There is no law against it but there should be a law against ignoring your competition. Not knowing what your competition is doing is a great way to find a “For Lease” sign in your window.

Be open for business. Yes, that sounds a little silly. Of course, you need to be open for business. Too often, business owners think it is okay to lock their doors and go to lunch or go to the bank or go get supplies. That couldn’t be any further from the truth. Yes, you need to eat, make your deposits and get the stuff you need when you need it but make sure someone covers you while you do it yourself or, better yet, send someone else to do it! What a waste of space if your doors are locked! No matter what anyone says, a little clock on the door that says “Will Return…” is not a good plan. It ticks people off. Be open for business.


You might want to check out temporary staffing companies if you need someone to cover you while you run your errands. The great thing about temporary staffing…if you don’t like who they send, just have them send someone else. You can make this switch at the drop of a dime. It’s important you find the perfect employee and it would

be best to do this without sky-high unemployment insurance rates because you fire everyone. With temporary staffing, you pay a fee in addition to the employee’s salary but you don’t have to worry about employment taxes. When you find that perfect person, it’s probably safe to put them on your payroll, save the service fees you were paying the staffing agency and give the great employee you just found a small raise. Now that you have employees, be sure and read the Cover Your Assets page. Unemployment claims are serious business. Make sure you know what to do. Visit the Cover Your Assets page.

Each and every customer needs to have an outstanding experience every time they make contact with you. You might not like it or be good at making people happy all of the time but this isn’t about you; this is the business owner making sure he or she can pay bills next month. If you’re not good at it, get good at it. The first thing to do at the onset of any issue or problem is say these words: “I am so sorry!” Let’s all say it together now…I am so sorry! Perfect. Now that they know how genuinely sorry you are, what are you going to do about it? That’s a good question. Here’s the answer: Put yourself in their shoes. What’s the proper resolution? What’s fair? Don’t give away the farm to make someone happy. If that’s what they expect then let them go get it from your competitor. Short of losing a ton of money, do something remarkable; something they will really appreciate, remember and share with everyone they know. Losing a little money every now and then is to be expected; that’s the cost of doing business. Some customers, no matter what you do, will never be happy. Handle these people as you see fit; just do it politely. Be fair, whatever the case may be.

Your customer base must believe everyone who has any use for your goods or services should do business with you. Word of mouth is a powerful tool, good or bad. Today, you can find anything instantly on the Internet. People look, people listen. Identify with each customer. Connect with them. Do not talk over their head and know when to step up your game, depending on who you’re talking to. Lose the ego; it’s not attractive. Be humble. Let your customer know you appreciate their business; it’s simple. It goes like this: “Thanks! We appreciate your business.” Let’s all say it together…Thanks! We appreciate your business! Perfect. One thing…when you say it, mean it. People know when you’re just going through the motions. If you mean it, they will remember you. Look them in the eye and mean it.