How Laughter Can Prove Very Profitable
The first week of April is “officially” Laugh at Work Week, although I’m a little unclear who’s in charge of making that designation. You’ll note that it starts with April Fools Day, which we have discussed on these pages before. But we shouldn’t limit our workplace chuckles and guffaws to one week. Research and personal experience teach us that good humor puts us in, well, a good humor. If you’re the boss, you need to be approachable. If your employees feel like they are walking on egg shells any time you’re around, you’re in deep trouble. The only way you have a chance at learning what is really going on and what is on your employees’ minds is to establish open lines of communication. What’s so funny? Being able to recognize and humorously comment on your own foibles is one of the best ways to make those around you feel comfortable enough to tell you the bad news when it occurs. But this isn’t the only reason you, and your crew, need to take yourself lightly and find the humor in situations. Science has demonstrated a strong correlation between a sense of humor and good health, which will translate to less absenteeism at your workplace, along with a more well-adjusted workforce. People who laugh have lower blood pressure on average, their brains are better stimulated and they may even suffer less heart disease. The old saying that “laughter is the best medicine” may be far closer to the truth that we ever realized. You may even want to recruit employees who demonstrate a good sense of humor. Not only are they likely to be more healthy, there’s a good chance they’ll spread their good vibes to their co-workers. However, even more importantly: a good sense of humor correlates to higher intelligence and greater verbal creativity. Maybe one of your interview questions should be, “Tell me a favorite joke of yours or a funny experience you once had!” Just kidding. But hopefully you can get a feel for a candidate’s sense of humor. By the way, with today’s premium on content and social media marketing, bringing on new employees who have the ability to be verbally creative is a major plus for most businesses. The last laugh There’s another adage that comes to mind, “Sometimes, the only thing you can do is laugh.” Anyone who has been involved in the world of small business for any length of time knows that occasionally you find yourself in an impossible situation. Let’s face it, sometimes we fail. Hopefully our failures aren’t big enough to sink us or cause huge problems; but $#%^ happens, as they say. In those situations, breaking the tension with a good laugh is often the best – and only – thing you can do. When you’ve experienced a set back, try to come out of it smarter and with a smile on your face. If you can do that, you’ll be ready to do battle another day. Now that we have a feel for many of the great benefits of sharing a few laughs over the course of a workday, be sure to put humor on your to-do list. Don’t let your meetings get dull and boring; have a few laughs. Put a few special days on the...
read moreThis Week in Small Business: The Importance of Selfies to the Survival of Western Civilization and much more…
Marketing today is like the Space Race back in the 1960s. There’s more research being devoted to developing new models than ever before and that’s reflected in this week’s news. Also, pundits continue to hedge their bets on which way the economy will trend in the medium and long term. Marketing Nemo Chu outlines a four-phase marketing process that he used to build two seven-figure companies in three years. Lots of specific details included. Of course, word-of-mouth marketing is always fantastic and these tips should help. Does the term “marketing” make you think “expensive” and “no measurable results”? If so, you’ll benefit from Neil Patel’s article How to experiment with marketing without ruining your business. Know the difference so you can create the right content: Content Marketing for Lead Generation vs Demand Generation. And if you’re new to blogging, these five basics will help you avoid looking like a newbie. Are “selfies” more important than we think? Steve Colquhoun believes they make the marketing world go around. That’s the micro view. For the macro view, study these six transformational changes that are coming to the marketing world. There’s been a lot of talk – both positive and negative – about marketing on Facebook, but one thing is certain: You need to know how to make its graph search work if you want any chance at success. Re: Email subject lines. Here are the ones with the best and worst open rates. And here’s an infographic on the biggest email marketing myths. If you need a solid primer in how to do keyword research, the Moz blog has this one. And since we’re talking fundamentals here, unfortunately most fail at digital marketing. This Forbes article sums it up and offers solutions. Inspiration “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,” said Mark Twain never, but here’s the true story on how small biz has made a comeback. They say the first step is the most difficult. Larry Alton offers tips on how to start following your passion and Kimanzi Constable helps you transition out of your day job and into the life of an entrepreneur. Odd, but true Did you know that the NFL didn’t have a YouTube channel until just before the SuperBowl? That tidbit is included in these revealing digital marketing stats. Management Your finances get audited, why not audit your business looking for ways you can innovate? Silicon Valley professionals are mostly white or Asian men. Here’s how a one tech company managed to hire a more diverse workforce. If you own valuable intellectual property you have to be able to get the most value from it yet protect it at the same time; Should you assign it or license it? Falling gas prices give small business owners opportunities to expand and try new strategies. If you need a primer on how to use “big data” this is an overview and there’s also a related white paper. Need a location for your small business? Washington D.C. posts the highest earnings for small biz owners. Conference attendance costs both time and money. I offer six tips to maximize your ROI in this article I wrote for Chamber of Commerce.com. And speaking of events, MarTech, the Marketing Tech Conference, is set for March 31-April 1 in San Francisco. Economy, politics,...
read moreHow to Harness the Power of 6-second Viral Videos
There are two completely opposite currents in the ocean of content marketing today. One is pushing long-form articles. The other is producing very short content. Today we are considering one aspect of the second position: Vine videos, which, by the way are looping videos no longer than six seconds in length. Frankly, although these two trends seem like they should cancel one another out, they are really indicators that prove how varied the landscape is for content marketers. This is because audiences are different and desired outcomes are different. Short content, either Tweets or Vine videos, are attention grabbers that have the potential to create buzz. Short content is eminently sharable but fairly short lived. It’s also inexpensive to produce. A company selling big ticket items to a handful of customers may not benefit much from this micro-content. However, a company that needs to slap millions of consumers upside the head to get their attention could accomplish a lot with Vine videos. Vine is the video arm of Twitter and Vine videos can be easily featured in tweets. If you have already established your business on Twitter, you have a built-in audience for any Vine videos you produce. Let’s look at these videos from two sides: Videos you produce and post, and Videos you encourage your customers or clients to produce and post. Businesses are doing a good job finding the niches in which Vine videos can be productive and just in general terms, tweets with Vine videos are more likely to be shared. Here are some ideas: New products. Use six seconds to whet your customers’ appetite for something new. Check out this video from Toyota. It uses stop-action to create a very simple animation. With Vine videos, it doesn’t have to be about production values. Saks Fifth Avenue is promoting its new men’s collection in six seconds. Shameless self promotion. Use six seconds to express what makes your business different. What do people know you by? If you own a restaurant and have some dishes that are absolute customer favorites, put together time-lapse videos that show how they are prepared. That should make people hungry. Just a clever video that says something about what you do or makes good use of your logo can capture eyeballs. This Etsy seller created something fun to watch on a very low budget. “Hack” something. And by “hack” I mean “teach” Show how something is done. Home Depot produced a clever video to show its customers all the different ways a USB charger can be used. Turn your customers into six-second videographers. You probably know how much people enjoy opening packages. A UK online clothing seller tapped into that and asked customers to upload Vine videos of themselves opening their orders. Another classic way to encourage participation is through a contest. Hey, with Vine videos, you won’t spend much time reviewing the entries for winners! I’m sure there is some killer Vine video concepts that will take your content marketing viral. Spend an hour or two browsing the site to find your inspiration. TIP: Need to find out how to make a great six-second video? Check out this Wall Street Journal How-to...
read moreTips on Setting Prices that Sell Your Product or Service
A friend was pumping gas the other day and paying $1.27 a gallon. He snapped a picture on his iPhone and posted it to Facebook. The comments came pouring in. Most of his friends were envious. They were envious because they had intimate knowledge of the price of gasoline. They knew it when it hit $4.00 a gallon and they knew it when it started to get down in the $2.00 a gallon range. For most of his friends, $1.27 set a low-water mark in the current pricing world and it is certainly a price that would sell a lot of gasoline in today’s market…which is what producers are hoping for. I mention this because the pricing knowledge your customers or clients have is one of the major factors you need to use to set your prices if you want to maximize sales. The less knowledge they have, the more flexibility you have when you set prices. And when you consider this point, take all the attributes of your product or service into account. A quick case study To see how this impacts pricing, let’s go through a quick case study. I know the owner of a small motel. We all have an idea of what it should cost to rent a motel room. However, his motel is in a rural area and there are no other motels. He doesn’t have to price his motel using a general motel “frame of reference.” He needs to consider the competition, which is our second point. In this rural area, his only lodging competition are very high priced bed and breakfast inns. Comparing the “features” of his business to the B&Bs, he falls short in most areas but he has the ability to be the low-price leader. Because of this he must decide how much he wants to undercut the B&B pricing and to sort that out, he needs to understand his customer. Some products appeal to more than one group of consumers. This little motel rents rooms to different kinds of clients. I’ll break it down into three groups: Those who would stay in the B&Bs if they could afford it, Business people passing through the area or staying for several days to complete jobs, and Relatives of locals who don’t have sufficient space for guests. With this mix of potential customers, how should he price his rooms? The first group would probably pay higher prices. The second group might stay out of the area and drive in to do their work if the price is too high. The third group is difficult to measure. Variation among consumers Examining the habits of the customers reveals more information. People in the first group generally spend weekends in this rural area. The business people often stay during the work week. Relatives could come at any time. He has some options. He can set higher rates on weekends and lower rates during the week. Another option would be to have standard rates, but promote a special rate for business travelers. Finally, he can locally advertise a “Make us your guest room” rate to local residents. That would help him pick up business and also strengthen his tie to the community, which will result in more word-of-mouth advertising. There are many ways to set your...
read moreBe Ready to Protect Your Money When the IRS Audits
We can all expect to get bad news occasionally throughout our lives and for most of us, the good news outnumbers the bad, so we shouldn’t complain too much. However, that’s hard to remember when you receive a letter from the IRS notifying you of an audit; an experience I was treated to not long ago. Let me give you one very important tip before I go any further: When you receive notice of a pending audit, quickly take a “chill pill.” As many say today, “It is what it is.” Accept that it’s happening and then move on to preparing, which all of us should be doing each year as we file our returns. After all, the best way to enter any audit with confidence is to have all your documentation ready and have it well organized. If you fail to do that, you can’t blame the IRS for the extra stress you suffer putting everything in order. To be sure you have the required documents, you should keep at least three years worth of tax returns and the records that back up all the income and expense data used for filing them. This means keeping your receipts and checkbook ledgers/stubs. Auto expenses are often a stumbling point; use a good mileage app. In fact, track as many expenses as possible online and then get printouts at tax time to keep in your files. Here are a few more tips to help you be prepared for an audit: Know that it can happen to you. You don’t have to be pulling in a huge income to be audited, although your chances increase when your income goes up. IRS computers look for deductions that fall outside of the “norms.” If you have a modest income and suddenly claim a huge charitable donation to your church, it will be a red flag. Find out why you are being audited. The letter you receive from the IRS should make it clear what the IRS is after. It’s likely that a certain part of your return is under scrutiny. If you can’t tell from the letter, contact the IRS and ask why you are being audited. Sit down with your tax preparer. If a CPA or other tax professional handles your tax return, gather up your documents and schedule a meeting. I found it very helpful to conceive a “worst case scenario,” and frankly when we did that, the picture wasn’t all that gloomy; now I feel I’m mentally prepared for any outcome. I took the additional step of giving my CPA power of attorney to meet with the IRS auditor. With all the directions I’m being pulled by my schedule, that was a big relief for me. If you talk to your tax preparer and the stakes seem pretty high, you may want to engage a tax lawyer. I hope you never have to sit across the table from an IRS auditor, and if we can believe news reports, your chances should decrease somewhat this year. Budget cuts are stretching IRS employees thin and fewer audits are said to be one of the consequences. However, fewer audits may put auditors under pressure to increase the tax revenues they recover. If you need any added incentive to maintain excellent documentation and be...
read moreWill a Federal Sick Leave Law Send Small Business to the ICU?
I think that small business owners must sometimes feel like contestants in The Hunger Games, except that there’s never a winner. I say this because it seems like small business owners are always running around like crazy with a target on their backs. Consider mandatory paid sick leave. In the last couple of years and continuing today, small business owners all across the country are being forced to deal with new and proposed regulations that make paid sick leave mandatory. These new laws have been enacted at the city level and the state level. However, not to be left out of the game, President Obama joined the fray in his State of the Union Address. “Send me a bill that gives every worker in America the opportunity to earn seven days of paid sick leave,” President Obama told Congress and the nation, adding, “It’s the right thing to do.” The Golden State’s new law California is the most recent state to enact a far-reaching mandatory paid sick leave law. Generally, employees who work 30 days or more within a year must be given paid sick leave at a rate that’s not less than one hour for every 30 hours worked. If you do the math on California’s law, an employee who puts in a 40-hour week would accrue just under nine days of sick pay per year. President Obama is throwing his support behind the Healthy Families Act. It would require businesses with 15 or more employees to grant an hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. This proposed federal law caps paid sick leave at 56 hours per year. The Employment Policies Institute pointed to a study done by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research – a group in favor of paid sick leave laws. They looked at employment in San Francisco after that city passed a mandatory paid sick leave law and found that “nearly 30 percent of San Francisco’s lowest-wage employees reported layoffs or reduced hours at their place of work.” Further, an Urban Institute survey looked at similar situations in Connecticut and Seattle and found that some employees lost their jobs or suffered reductions in hours. The Employment Policies Institute contends that these laws have unintended consequences that actually make employment conditions worse for many on the lower end of the wage scale. The costs are real There are costs associated with every new regulation that small businesses are required to follow and that money comes from somewhere. Often it comes from adjusting work schedules and/or the number of employees. Unfortunately, a certain level of abuse also accompanies paid sick leave. Employers who offer this benefit know this, but it is difficult to stop. Making this mandatory, creates additional opportunities for abuse. Many small business owners already give their employees sick days or “flex” days that can be used for sickness or vacation. (Flex days, by the way, eliminate the abuse that accompanies paid sick leave.) Adding city, state or federal mandates creates more regulatory hoops to jump through and perhaps even upsets systems that everyone is happy with, e.g. how would the federal law view flex time? Recent studies have shown that the United States isn’t even in the top 10 of free economies and the same poor ranking is true if...
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