Indie Business Blog

Indie Business Radio: Repackaging Is Everything

Maximize Your Second Chance to Make a First Impression

My guest today on Indie Business Radio was Anthony Quinones, author of Repackaging Is Everything. Anthony encourages Indie Business owners to harness the power of their knowledge and expertise to create new and profitable income streams.

                                

 According to Anthony, whether you sell products or services, or a combination of the two, it is important to systematically disseminate useful information as a part of your marketing outreach. In doing so, Anthony suggests the following.

Mark Tewart: Earn Your "MBA" Without Going to College

Mark Tewart Shares His Massive Bank Account (MBA) Secrets

Today, Indie Business Radio aired live for the first time simultaneously via audio stream, video stream and live chat. My guest, Mark Tewart, author of How to Be a Sales Superstar: Break All the Rules and Succeed While Doing It, answered viewer questions immediately in the chat and viewers had fun meeting and interacting with each other. I'm so excited to elevate my shows to another level and make them more fun and useful for you. I wish I could say you could enjoy the entire show video, audio and chat at the end of this post, but I can't because I forgot to push the video record button today. Thankfully, Kevin the Editor was capturing all of the audio so you'll be able to enjoy the audio of the show in a few days. Meanwhile, here's an overview.

                         

Mark says that a traditional MBA (Master's Degree in Business Administration) is great, but what Indies really want is the kind of MBA you can't get in college -- a Massive Bank Account. Mark shared some of his best tips on the show. Here are three of them.

How to Generate Sales

Know That Customers Are More Than Just Credit Cards

Many new Indie Business owners start a business thinking that generating sales is about getting people to buy stuff. I hear people say all the time: "I set up my website and people are coming, but they are not buying anything." What does this mean?

        

It usually means that you are looking at each website visitor as a credit card number instead of as a human being. In doing so, you're stressing yourself out by focusing on the wrong thing.

Over the years, I have been amazed at the number of people who email me "out of the blue" to become a client or a member of the Indie Beauty Network. That is, I think they are "out of the blue," but when I ask how they heard about me, they frequently say they've been a newsletter subscriber or blog reader for 2 or 3 years, and they finally decided they could put my services to good use in their lives.

This is what it's all about. Connecting with people, initiating and maintaining relationships.

Richelle Shaw Spells "Success" With 3 R's

Indie Business Radio Show Guest Shares Her R-R-R Success Plan

Today's guest on Indie Business Radio was Richelle Shaw, owner of Fresh Start Telephone Company and author of How to Build a Million-Dollar Business in Las Vegas. I met Richelle through my Twitter colleague @TynishaThompson. I am fascinated with Richelle, not only because she is a black woman entrepreneur like me, but also because her business is in the telecom industry, which is where I cut many of my business teeth as an attorney for pre-bankruptcy WorldCom.

               

I relate to Richelle on other levels, too especially since we are both moms. Richelle says that having a 3-year old daughter and a business means she asks for and receives help wherever she can find it. It doesn't hurt that grandma lives around the corner too! Richelle made me laugh with some of her stories, like how after she went bankrupt, she lived on the floor in her mom's house. Richelle is a long way from broke today and she shared a bit about her journey with listeners on today's show. The show stream and download will be ready in a few days, but in the meantime, here are Richelle's 3 R's of business success.

Karin Abarbanel's "Lean Launch" Tips

Indie Business Radio Show Guest Shares Tips For Launching On a Budget

Today's guest on Indie Business Radio was Karin Abarbanel, co-author of Birthing the Elephant: The woman's go-for-it! guide to overcoming the big challenges of launching a business. I found Karin through Indie Beauty Network member Lisa Kennally, who owns lisa ann skincare. As a passionate book lover, Lisa helps a bookstore in her hometown to schedule and host author book signings. She booked Karin at the bookstore, and sent me an email to tell me how awesome she was.

            

You know me, I had to introduce Karin to my Indies. I was on the phone with Karin in a flash, and was happy to welcome her as my guest on today's show. Karin spoke eloquently about the need for a small business book that focused on helping women deal with the emotional issues associated with launching a business, and Birthing the Elephant certainly fits that bill. Karin shared a ton of tips, starting with personal ones gleaned from launching her own business 18 years ago after quitting her job to be more available to her newborn son. (Sound familiar?) The show stream and download will be ready in a few days, but in the meantime, here are some of Karin's "Lean Launch" tips.

The Indie Business Challenge

If My Action Items Don't Work For You, I'll Cut You a Check

The economy stinks right now. We hear about it all the time, way too much if you ask me. I make it a point not to listen to all of the negativity. Nevertheless, reality is what reality is, no matter what you listen to. But enough of that. Whether you are just starting your business or you've been around the block a few times, these 3 action steps will strengthen your business in any economy. And that's a promise from me. I've done 2 of these 3 things with a special vengeance over the past few months (the third will launch this week) and the difference in my business has been phenomenal. More focus. More fun. More business. More profit.

       

So here's a challenge. If you have been operating your online business steadily for at least a year, you are already on Twitter and have an active blog, I challenge you to do each of these 3 things for 3 solid months, and do them consistently and well (yes, I am the person who determines "consistently and well"), and if you don't see sales increase, I'll give you $100. See? No matter what, even if you lose, you win!

Serving Up Good Service

Meet + Engage + Serve = Profit

When a new Indie Business is born, its owner is usually a ball of energy. Everything is new and life couldn't get any better than it is when you are making money doing something you love -- emphasis on the "making money" part. That's good, but the problem comes in when the Indie's desire to make money takes precedence over her desire to be of service.

  

Since business is all about being of service, when making money becomes more important than serving well, a business will never reach its full potential. Here is a simple way to look at the steps that lead first to service, and then to success and profitability.

The Focus Factor

Focus Your Efforts For Maximum Impact and Profits

A new Indie Beauty Network member (I'll call her Ann) who does not make cosmetics recently wrote to express her excitement at being an IBN member. She noted that IBN was primarily aimed at cosmetics manufacturers, and wondered if I would consider aiming at other audiences.

          

It's clear that the Indie "Beauty" Network is aimed at beauty companies, and purposefully so. As I taught in the "Riches Are In the Niches" Group Coaching last month, the worst thing I could do as a business leader is try to go in so many directions that I ultimately go nowhere and serve no one. Focusing in a particular direction allows me to concentrate my efforts for maximum impact, both inside and outside of my target audience.

Hit the "Sweet Spot" of Your Business

Game, Set, Match!: The "Sweet Spot" Makes the Winning Shot

We wanted to shoot this segment at a tennis court, but the weather did not cooperate yesterday, so here I am on our "dining room" set. As we prepared this video for you, my husband and I were reminded of the fact that we first met on a tennis court. Ahhh, memories. But I digress. This video is all about identifying and hitting your "sweet spot" so you can maximize efficiencies and profits for your small business.

          

What About You?

What's your target market? Can you define it in 10 words or less? The fewer words, the better of course. Tell us about it in the comments section below, and don't forget to leave a link to your website so we can learn more.

Resources Mentioned In This Video

Indie Business Radio: interview with Bob Gordman
Link to "The Riches Are in the Niches" Group Coaching (IBN members only)

If you've enjoyed this post, you may wish to subscribe to my blog feed for future updates on how to target the sweet spot of your business.

Small Business Smackdown

Small Business Strategies From The WWE

The best personal assistant I ever had was John. He was kind, smart, efficient, gentle and easy to get along with. He was also a new father who doted constantly on his baby girl. Imagine my shock when one day, John proudly announced that he had landed two of the hottest tickets in town -- to World Wrestling Entertainment's Friday Night Smackdown!

          

What?!! Wrestling?! Smacking People Down?! I could hardly believe that my mild mannered assistant was a hard core smackdown wrestling fan. I couldn't picture him cheering on the stars like "Paul Bearer," "Undertaker" and "Hacksaw Jim Duggan" as they ripped each other to shreds on the wrestling mat.

John and I had not seen or heard from each other in several years, but out of the blue, he contacted me last month. We enjoyed a great conversation and I found out that he is still a hard core Smackdown fan, even after all this time.