Hub You - Business

Let It Ring
Telemarketing has its place in the marketing arsenal. But telespammers - like their digital counterparts in the email marketing world - really make it tough on the legitimate follow-up telephone call from a company with which you have a relationship.Now, even some companies with a legitimate tie to me are starting to abuse the privilege.For instance, last week, I got two different calls from my cell phone provider, Nextel. Both were callers for whom English was probably a fourth language and they immediately were trying to push new services on me. No "hi, how are you," no handshake, no kiss.Well, I'm mad and I'm not going to take it anymore. Here are some ways to combat telespammers.First, put your phone number in the Do Not Call registry. Or, instea

urnalist, who’s busy working on deadline, feels about "publicists" calling up to do the same thing again and again. If you’re planning to phone pitch a journalist, never read from a script or repeat a rehearsed spiel. She’s a human being, so talk to her that way. (And always start your call with "Is this a good time to talk?". Never just launch into your pitch.)

6. Using Outdated Media Lists

News flash: Look magazine is out of business. So too are about half of the new magazines launched in the past decade, for that matter. Your media list is the lifeblood of your publicity seeking efforts. Take the time to keep it fresh and up to date, or you’ll be wasting your time. Invest in Bacon’s media guide (www.bacons.com), visit websites of publications that interest you, visit your local library or bookstore's magazine rack. Do a little ho

Where's The Cash? 7 Simple And Proven Steps You Can Easily Take Right Now To Get Paid Faster
It’s that time again. You send out invoices and sit and wait, and wait, and wait for your clients to pay you. Sometimes it’s a matter of cash flow on their end, sometimes they are just too busy and forget and other times it’s something little that they are unsure of, but haven’t found the time to contact you.* Put terms on your invoices.How can you be paid on time if your clients don’t know what “on time” means? Whether you select “net 15”, “net 30”, “due on receipt”, or other terms, be sure to tell your clients when to pay you.* Accept credit cards.This is critical in today’s world and if you’re not doing it, you’re not getting paid as quickly as you could. I highly recommend using a Merchant Account Service such as Card Service International (www.cardserviceinternational.com), but if you’re not

The number one rule of being successful in the world of publicity (or in just about any other field, for that matter): Don’t sabotage your efforts with dumb -- and easily correctable -- mistakes. Here then are the dumb things that publicity seekers do. Avoid them, and you’ll be well on your way to scoring great coverage!

1. Thinking Like an Advertiser

The more you remind a reporter that you’re a commercial entity seeking promotional exposure, the less chance you have. Blatant ad copy, excessive use of trademark symbols, overblown quotes, puffed-up claims and other techniques better suited for advertising copy are sure ways to assure that your release gets trashed. You must think like an objective journalist and have a sense of perspective about who you are and what you sell, and communicate that in your materials. If you just can’t do that, chances are you’ve been...

2. Getting Too Close to Your Product

If you spend all day eating, breathing and sleeping packing tape, it’s easy to start believing that the slight change you made in the thickness of your company’s new packing tape is an advance on par with the printing press and the polio vaccine. Now, if you’re planning on working with Packing Tape Monthly, perhaps the editors of that fine publication will agree. But the guys down at USA Today may hold a different opinion. In deciding (a) what’s newsworthy and (b) how to present this news to the media, it’s vital that you take many steps back and view your company as a marginally interested outsider might. If you can’t do that, ask friends, family and other outsiders to help.

3. Getting too Close to a Journalist

I’ve worked with lots of reporters whose company I enjoyed. I’ve shared meals and drinks with a bunch of them. One thing I’ve never done, however, is forget who they are and what their jobs are. If a reporter is interviewing you, whether in person or on the phone, never say anything you wouldn’t want to appear in a story. Journalists have different interpretations of what "off the record" means, and it’s foolish to try to test those limits. Carefully think about everything you say, don’t be pressured into commenting on things you don’t feel comfortable about, stay on message, don’t gossip, backbite or share secrets. In short, just as the journalist has his or her job to do, so too do you. Stay smart.

4. Obsessing Over the Big Hits

Maybe you really will get on Oprah. And maybe you’ll win the lottery and never have to work again. In either case, it’s probably a good idea to have some backup plan in place in case you don’t beat out the 10 million or so other folks who harbor the same dreams.

It’s fine to think big, but smart publicity seekers know that time spent getting actual press coverage is a better investment than chasing dreams. So go ahead and send that press kit to Oprah but, in the meantime, work your butt off to get placement in weekly papers, syndicates, e-zines, local radio and other less glamorous places. Scores of successful businesses have been built on such "small" publicity. You don’t need Oprah or Newsweek or the Today show. You need coverage - anywhere and anyway you can get it. Dreamers dream. Publicists get publicity.

5. Reading from a Script

It’s pretty annoying to pick up the phone at dinner time only to have some guy reading a script about how great vinyl siding is. Now imagine how a journalist, who’s busy working on deadline, feels about "publicists" calling up to do the same thing again and again. If you’re planning to phone pitch a journalist, never read from a script or repeat a rehearsed spiel. She’s a human being, so talk to her that way. (And always start your call with "Is this a good time to talk?". Never just launch into your pitch.)

6. Using Outdated Media Lists

Truck Detailing Shop Business Case Study
As an entrepreneur you can learn a lot by following the real life case studies of other entrepreneurs. Often the text books in school leave out the beginning details and the juicy part of how it all comes together and is created out of nothing but a thought. I have an interesting case study for you and it explains how my company got into the truck detailing business. This is a funny story.We had a franchisee in Colorado who had a contract to wash for several Used Truck Dealers and cleaned all the trucks for sale. He owned one of our Fleet Truck Washing Franchises; www.truckwashguy.com . The truck sales company offered us work to detail trucks because his detailers could not keep up the volume. Trucking and used truck sales in 98 was up 22% and up 23% in 99. The companies servicing these companies had labor problems, whi

, chances are you’ve been...

2. Getting Too Close to Your Product

3. Getting too Close to a Journalist

4. Obsessing Over the Big Hits

5. Reading from a Script

6. Using Outdated Media Lists

Don't Forget to Say Thank You for a Second Interview
The thank you letter for a second interview is a must for serious job seekers. If you’ve made it as far as a second interview, then you are right on the edge and are one of the serious candidates ready to be offered the position. When you’re in that position then it is worth your while to use all of the leverage you have, all of your knowledge of the company and all of your job search skills to close the deal and land yourself a job offer. This letter can be a deal closer.When engaged in a job search, even if it is not your profession, you are really serving as a salesman. The product you are selling is yourself, your skills, and the concept that you can help the company you are applying to. A professional salesman always tries to know his or her product well, and always does better in selling the product when he or s

y I enjoyed. I’ve shared meals and drinks with a bunch of them. One thing I’ve never done, however, is forget who they are and what their jobs are. If a reporter is interviewing you, whether in person or on the phone, never say anything you wouldn’t want to appear in a story. Journalists have different interpretations of what "off the record" means, and it’s foolish to try to test those limits. Carefully think about everything you say, don’t be pressured into commenting on things you don’t feel comfortable about, stay on message, don’t gossip, backbite or share secrets. In short, just as the journalist has his or her job to do, so too do you. Stay smart.

4. Obsessing Over the Big Hits

5. Reading from a Script

6. Using Outdated Media Lists

Prepaid Expenses
Prepaid expenses belong on the balance sheet and can encompass costs such as rent, insurance, advertising, and any other cost that normally would be expensed on your income statement but is paid in advance of the period in which it is owed. Prepaid expenses differ from deposits as they will be used up within a specific period (usually within a year) as a deposit could be carried until the end of a contract when ever that might be. For example, prepaid rent would be an upfront prepayment of the yearly rent, but a rental deposit would be tied in with certain contract obligations and not be an actual expense until the end of the contract.Should you, for example, pay for your yearly insurance premium in one lump sum then you would charge this premium to an account called Prepaid Insurance. The entry would be:Debit: Prep

backup plan in place in case you don’t beat out the 10 million or so other folks who harbor the same dreams.

5. Reading from a Script

6. Using Outdated Media Lists

Fitness Franchise? Think Before Giving Away Your Profits To A Fitness Franchise Company?
The fitness industry is a great place to be. If you're sociable and enjoy a relaxed environment where you can help people improve themselves and make money, congratulations once you've learned the basics, its easy!Firstly though, a word of warning. If you are new to business there are a hundred or more franchise and other similar companies queuing up to make money out of you. You can do it yourself, even though there is a whole industry out there telling you why you can't and why you should buy what they have to sell. Remember, importantly, they exist to make a profit out of something you could do yourself. If, of course you are reasonably smart. If not, you could be well on your way to losing a lot of money.The truth is you don't need to approach a fitness franchise company to have a successful club. You do howeve

6. Using Outdated Media Lists

7. Not Understanding Timing

A non-savvy publicity seeker would ask, "Why do a story about Christmas publicity in June?" A smart publicity seeker understands completely. It’s all in the timing. If you’re not thinking months ahead, then it’s probably too late. In early summer, you should be working on "back to school" releases for newspapers and other short-leads (it’s already too late for long- lead magazines). Have something to offer for Thanksgiving? Start planning now. Learn the lead times for various publications, plan out a yearly schedule. Plan ahead. Plan ahead. Plan ahead.

8. Not Being Accessible

If a journalist wants to use your release, he may call to get some more information, get some clarification or even to see if you actually exist. If he gets voice-mail (or a busy signal) and doesn’t hear back from you, you’ve probably blown it. On your releases and pitch letters, include the most accessible phone number you have (your cell phone, perhaps, if you’re on the road a lot) and an e-mail address you check throughout the day. If you miss a call from a journalist, or receive an e-mail, get back to him immediately. Don’t put it off -- he could be on deadline and have calls in to your competitors.

9. Not Telling the Truth

There may be worse people to lie to than journalists -- detectives, IRS agents, the guy who’s administering your lie detector test -- but not many. Think about it folks: these men and women are trained to discover the truth. They know how to do research and how to talk to others in your fields to determine whether or not you’re being truthful. So don’t take any chances. Don’t even think about inflating your sales numbers, or making up a story, or pitching something that’s mostly BS. Not only will they figure it out, your attempts to bamboozle them may even make it into the press.

10. Being Sloppy

Typos, bad printing, hideous press kit covers, poorly shot photos, improperly formatted press releases...these are the signs of an amateur. Amateurs don’t get coverage. Before you send out anything, proof it. Then proof it again. Then give it to someone else to proof. Then proof it again

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The Internet is a rapidly expanding phenomenon, with hundreds of websites being put up every day. It seldom knows any physical or political barriers. Due to the presence of the Internet becoming a common feature in most homes, constant efforts are made to improve website access and navigation.

You might have the capital to start a business but are in dilemma over what to do? Buy out an existing business or start and set up a new business from scratch. Whatever, you decide to do; you should weigh the pros and cons in either case.

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