Your Business Is Like A Growing Country
“Stretch your foot to the length of your blanket.” – Persian proverb Think of your business as a small city-state in a vast wilderness. The wilderness is rich in potential but uncultivated. You understand its great possibilities. And you understand too that although it is now free to whoever grabs…
READ MOREMy Resume Biz
Dear Early to Rise Reader, As we move into what my bones tell me will be a major and long-term recession, prudent Early Risers are quickly moving towards developing second incomes. While you have to work hard and well to keep the job you have (by making yourself indispensable …
READ MOREHow I Helped a Spanish-Speaking Immigrant Start a Profitable Business
It was one of those Christmas parties you don’t want to go to, but you force yourself to do it for business reasons. The conversation at the table that my fiancee Blanca and I were sitting at was all about the jobs people these people had. None of them were…
READ MOREAutomatic Billing: A Profitable Strategy No One Talks About
“Human nature is above all things — lazy.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe (Household Papers and Stories, 1864) When we talk about the emotional aspects of selling, we often speak of our customer’s greed and fear — but never of his laziness. But laziness — usually your enemy — can sometimes…
READ MOREMake Your Product a Little Better and Charge a Lot More
“Goodwill is the one and only asset that competition cannot undersell or destroy.” – Marshall Field The fastest way to gain market share is to sell a popular product at a below-market price. But it’s a tough game to play. You need the financial resources to pull it off and…
READ MOREHow To Break Into The Lucrative World Of Catalog Sales
“The secret of success — if there is one — is the ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes and to consider things from his or her point of view as well as your own.” – Henry Ford Whether you sell old books, cigar lighters, clothes, or furniture, a…
READ MOREDo You Need A Strong Personality To Be Successful?
“You don’t have to be nice to people on the way up if you are not planning to come back down.” – Dan Stone If you read the wrong career advice, you might conclude that being successful in business is about being tough and aggressive, attacking the competition, and taking…
READ MOREYou Don’t Need To Be A Creative Genius
“There are three ingredients in the good life — learning, earning, and yearning.” – Christopher Morley I had lunch with JS today. JS owns and runs a very successful business in South Florida. He sells medium- and discount-priced jewelry directly to customers and through the catalogs of some very large…
READ MOREHow To Survive And Prosper During The Coming Recession
“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or to lose.” – Lyndon B. Johnson (address to the nation, November 28, 1963) In addition to following the news reports and pondering the moral and practical issues of fighting a war against terrorism, I’ve been keeping an…
READ MOREThings May Get Worse Before They Get Better
“I walk firmer and more secure uphill than down.” – Montaigne, Michel The stock market took a dive yesterday. Internet resolutions to hold and buy stocks failed to thwart the flood of panicked sellers. Airline stocks crashed. Thousands of workers were laid off. At least one airline has shut down…
READ MOREIs Your Business Floundering? What Are You Doing About It?
“Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Crack-Up, 1945) If your business isn’t going the way you want, make sure the problem isn’t you. You may have been a wunderkind in the old days, but it’s the…
READ MOREHow To Overcome Price Resistance: The Gentle Art Of Persuasion
As you know, I’ve gotten involved with a local Jiu Jitsu Academy. It’s run by several young people, none of whom has much business experience. Teaching martial arts is probably among the 10 worst businesses you can be in. Every year, thousands of new academies open up all over America.…
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