Jim Blasingame's Blog, page 5
August 23, 2016
Six questions and answers on being a successful business owner
As many of you know, for almost 19 years I’ve conducted over 1,000 live interviews annually on my radio program, The Small Business Advocate Show. I get to ask four really smart people a lot of questions. But occasionally the tables are turned are turned on me, like when Alignable.com podcaster, Alan Belniak, asked me several questions about small business on his show. I thought you’d be interested in that interchange.
Belniak: What’s the biggest problem small business owners don’t know they...
August 16, 2016
Admiring two kinds of American heroes
Every four years, you can watch special people participate in a noble cause – the Olympics.
These heroes commit countless hours over many years to achieve a level of excellence that might somehow qualify them to represent their country in the Olympic Games.
Notice no mention of winning, medals or glory. Most Olympians find neither. And yet they train and compete.
Watching an event, we’re at once self-conscious and grateful as the camera’s lens permits us to invade that private moment just pri...
August 8, 2016
Three new reasons to expand your market horizons
More than ever, 21st century small businesses have reasons and resources to expand opportunities beyond local markets, including international trade, and specifically exporting. Yet even though 97% of all U.S. exporters are small companies, only a fraction of that sector are exporters.
But there’s good news that should cause the number of small exporters to increase. The convergence of new technology, a global “new economy” culture more inclusive of small businesses, and believe it or not, he...
August 1, 2016
Three important people you want to be close to you
Why do birds suddenly appear
Every time you are near?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you.
In 1970, the brother/sister act, The Carpenters, took these lyrics and the rest of the song, “Close To You” to the top of the charts. Velvet-voiced Karen sang lead, with brother Richard contributing lyrics and sweet harmony.
Out here on Main Street, small businesses should hum that tune every day to remind themselves about the three most important stakeholders they want to be close to.
Customers
...
July 18, 2016
Six steps to grow your business with referrals
Do you have enough customers? Here’s a better question: Do you have enough of the right kind of customers?
Do you agonize and strategize over the marketing plan you’ve designed to position offerings in front of your profile prospect? What’s the right message, platform, frequency, etc.? And do you then pray that the precious cash you’ve commit to marketing crosses over that pivotal line from expense to investment?
Agony and prayer; not a great strategy, right? But if this sounds familiar, you’...
July 13, 2016
The power of brainstorming with adjectives
How dull would our world be without adjectives? You know, those handy words or terms we use, as Webster says, to “modify a noun.” Indeed, without the descriptive power of an adjective, a noun is nothing more than a bland commodity – like broccoli without hollandaise.
If I offered you a soybean, you would probably be less than intrigued. But what if I said it was a “beautiful soybean”? You’d want to see such a bean, wouldn’t you? A change of attitude, all because of the power of an adjective.
...July 10, 2016
Online Poll: How do you feel about the future of America?
The Question: As you contemplate Independence Day, how do you feel about the future of America?
8% - America’s best days are still ahead.
6% - America’s best days are behind us.
83% - America’s in trouble, but we can still turn it around.
3% - Never mind America, the whole world is going to hell!
Jim’s Comments: As you will see in the results of our recent online poll above, more than eight of ten of our respondents have serious concerns about America’s condition and future, with only 8% who...
July 4, 2016
Celebrating American independence and entrepreneurship
Seven score and 13 years ago, Abraham Lincoln’s inspired speech at the Gettysburg Cemetery dedication included these words: “…our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
Four score and seven years earlier, one of those fathers, Thomas Jefferson, penned what is arguably the most important secular document in history, the Declaration of Independence, which included this passionate passage:
“We...
June 28, 2016
Mr. President, a recovery is not an expansion
Dear President Obama:
For as long as there have been organized economies there have been economic cycles, of which there are essentially three elements:
Beginning at the bottom, a recession (sometimes, but rarely, a depression). Historically, sir, recessions are short – often measured in months. In the middle is a recovery, which has the task of healing the defects that caused the downturn while reversing negative growth. Depending on the severity of the recession, recoveries take a littl...June 19, 2016
A father’s tough love is the harder job
As the father of an adult daughter and son, and the grandfather of four knucklehead boys (Hurricane, Tornado, Crash and Train Wreck), I’ve learned some things about love.
All the hours logged as Dad and Poppy have often caused me to contemplate how different are the roles of mother and father, especially in the overt demonstration of parental love. It’s fascinating how the manifestation of this love differs between mother and father—biologically, emotionally and experientially.
A mother’s lov...
