Indie Business Blog

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.

Double Your Sales By Midnight Tonight

Leapin' Loot! Leap Year Is A Good Excuse For A Fun Sale

Yesterday's post shared how using email newsletters to stay in touch with your customers consistently pays off in droves. Today, Indie Beauty Network member Jennifer Hardaway of KLEAN Bath & Body proves my point.

          

In last night's Group Coaching session, Jennifer shared how she's using leap year today to double February 2008 sales. Last night, using Mail Chimp, Jennifer sent out a short email to her customers announcing a 29% off sale in honor of leap year. The sale started at midnight and ends at midnight tonight. It will work for lots of reasons.

• It Offers Big Savings: 29% is a big discount
• It's Time Sensitive: This deal only comes once every 4 years
• It's Easy: Just enter your coupon code at checkout

I just ordered the Sweet Orange Sandalwood Perfume Oil, Whipped Shea in Jennifer's signature "KLEAN Grass" fragrance and the Devil Made Me Do It Ultra-Foaming Hand & Body Wash. You can do it too, but since the next learp year isn't until 2012, you don't have much time. If you already have a newsletter, you can tackle this clever promotion in about 10 minutes. If you don't have a newsletter, well, shame on you.

Start planning for March.

Update: Jennifer tells me that she more than quadrupled her sales through this promotion, which she ended up extending through March 1. Not bad for an inexpensive newsletter promotion that took about 5 minutes (literally!) to put together.

Repeat After Me ...

Put The Needle On The Record

When I was an attorney representing the business interests of a Fortune 500 company many years ago, my colleagues and I quickly figured out which arguments swayed the regulators to our side and which ones didn't. As we preapred for a trial or hearing, we knew that, while we had to understand the nuances of each case, the most important thing we did was stick to the arguments that had worked before.

          

In other words, "put the needle on the record," and play the same tune, with minor variations, over and over again.

Buy One, Get One FREE

I was in the grocery store the other day and saw this Buy One, Get One Free (BOGO) sign from a mile away. The salad dressing I really wanted was full price, so what did I do? I bought my second choice because it was BOGO.

It's easy for a conglomerate with 20 stores in 7 states to give me a free bottle of dressing. But what about us Indie Business owners who operate on tiny margins? Can we Sell One, Give One Free (SOGO) and still survive? Yes! And I've got some tips to help you do it.

Here are a few ways you can start attracting customers TODAY by telling them that you can give them something FREE when they choose to do business with you.

1. Host A Monthly BOGO Promo.
Use your online newsletter and a website home page graphic to announce a Monthly BOGO. Each month, randomly choose a BOGO day and announce it in your newsleter and at your home page. SOGO for 24 hours. Try this consistently for 3 or 4 months with a newsletter that goes out at least twice a month before you analyze its success. Remember, it's a marathon, not a race.

2. BOGO With Another Business Owner.
With BOGO, you don't have to give away the same product you sell. Indie Beauty Network member Lela Barker of Bella Luccè includes a free gift made by another small business owner in each order. Lela gives a customer something free and the other business promotes their products to a new prospect without having to pay for anything other than the cost of the product. It's an unexpected and wonderful treat to open a package and discover not only the product I asked for, but a special gift as well. It makes me happy as a customer to do business with someone who supports other small business owners.

It's not always easy to successfully manage an Indie Business. In fact, it's often difficult and almost always a challenge. But with passion, a little creativity and a determination to persevere, it's worth it. And if you need a break, you can always get some of this delicious Bachus Body Oil from Bella Luccè's Tuscan Wine Therapy Collection. One whiff and you'll swear you just had a swig of the real thing. Now that's what I call de-stressing!

Do you have a BOGO story that made you and your customers happy? If so, I'd love to hear about it, and tell us where we can learn more about it at your website!