The awakening of a new 'business' world.

I was recently re-reading Ekhart Tolle's book, "A New Earth" and was prompted to think about the changing of human consciousness. - as it related to business.

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Tolle speaks of the ego and greed and the madness that is humanity - and how the world is awakening to a more enlightened state.  I think of how this has affected business.

One of the key principles we have a Roaring Women is that there is enough business for everyone.  In that spirit, despite my financial circumstances or the health of my business I have always maintained that each of us has the ability to attract the 'right' customers and that the transactions that occur for the service we provide will ALWAYS sustain us if not bring incredible abundance.  But this can only occur when we live (and function) with the understanding that 'there is always enough'.

However when we come from the understanding that we must 'compete' - it really reflects a scarcity mentality.  When there is competition there must always be a winner and a loser.  In the abundance mentality - there are no losers - we all are blessed with what we need.

So where does marketing and advertising fit into this picture?  Both of these activities really do support the abundance theory.  Marketing is a process of educating your market on the products and services and how they will benefit your potential clients and also of making them aware of the value that you offer.  Advertising is the posting of special offerings or the activities that will notify and make your target market aware that you exist.

Is marketing a competitive activity?  No.  Not if you believe that there is enough business for everyone and there are clients who will prefer you over other suppliers.

In an example I like to use - I buy my groceries at Safeway.  Do I read all the flyers from all the other grocery stores?  Yes - but my preference is to shop at Safeway.  I like their service, their corporate philosophy and the fact that they identify me by name - even if it is something they collect through a loyalty program.  There is nothing nicer than hearing "Thank you for shopping at Safeway, Mrs. Crawford".  (I'll have to remind them, many women prefer MS. to Mrs.)  But that is just my preference.  Some people I know prefer to shop at Sobey's. For them - this is their 'right' choice.

It does not matter what specials exist other places - I choose to follow and buy the specials at my favorite grocery store.

The same thing happens in your business - whether you understand it or not.  There are people who will use your services or products regardless of other similar services that may be easier to access or cheaper, simply because they prefer to.  Isn't that cool?

If there is one customer out there like that - then there are likely hundreds of others just like that.  So now instead of the frantic attitude around marketing and advertising, a business owner can now focus on finding, educating and notifying their customers of what they have to offer.

With the abundance principle at work it stands to reason that if you are not making enough money to make ends meet - then you have 'customers in waiting' ready to buy your product or service but may not yet be aware that your business exists.

Think about it.  Customers in waiting.  If you knew that there were customers waiting just for you - would this change how you ran your business?  Would you market with a different attitude?

I guarantee it would.  Practicing and thinking abundantly changes our businesses from competitors racing to beat 'the other guy' to a customer service based business - focusing instead on finding those clients in waiting and providing them with the services they need.

Wow.  A new business world.  I wonder what Eckhard Tolle would think of this?

Ready, set..... stuck?

There I stood - not budging.  I pushed harder and harder.   Leaning forward on a 20 degree slope downhill, two boards strapped to my boots and the most awesome powdery conditions - and I was stuck.  

Other skiers breezed by me, screaming "yahooooo" - and rejoicing in the abundance of powder below and the huge flakes falling from above.  But I just stood still.

I lifted my one foot then the other and began walking down the hill.  Every once in a while I stopped, banged the skis on the ground and attempted to push one foot forward in a sliding motion. No go.

A a ski instructor I was baffled.  OK - I am on a hill, leaning forward what was going on?  My understanding of physics told me I should be moving forward and down the hill.

It took me 10 minutes to walk down to the bottom of the hill from the chalet - and when I was on more solid snow, I took off my skis. (actually, it was my ski partner who thought he knew what the problem might be)

I had already decided of course that my skis needed a tune up - or waxing.  He knew differently.  Turning the skis over he showed me the problem. There was a four inch section on each ski bottom covered in bumpy, snowy ice, right under where I would have centered my balance.  I scraped the ice off - and was away sliding easily to the chair lift and then riding up up to the top of the mountain to begin my skiing day.

On the chair lift I began to think about how skiing could be much like business.  Once you push off, downhill momentum could make the skiing very enjoyable.  But when you all of a sudden become 'stuck' or stopped for no apparent reason - things can become very frustrating.

In fact when I looked at the surface of the problem with my skis - nothing appeared to be wrong.  I was on a slope, I had skis on and the snow conditions were perfect.  Had I taken off my skis earlier - I could have identified the problem, scraped off the ice and skied down to the chairlift.  But instead I pushed on in the most inefficient way possible - determined to get to the bottom of the hill - even if I had to walk!  (I wonder what would have happened had I asked for help?)

How many of us do the same in business?  We may be experts. (after all I was a ski instructor)  We may have a lot of knowledge about business, but when we become stuck instead of stopping for a moment to investigate the reason for the slowdown or 'stuckedness', we push harder and harder, determined to not let ANYTHING stand in our way.  

Interestingly enough I wonder how often a quick 'check in and check up' on our business would afford us the information we need to get over the 'hump' and regain momentum.  Further to that - I wonder how much more easily we might grow our businesses if we stopped every once in a while to ask for help in assessing what is really going on.

This is one of the reasons we have a business assessment available on the Roaring Women web site.  (yes it is available and free to everyone.)

So the next time all things seem to be in order - and you appear to be doing everything right but you just can't budge - take a minute to examine what is really going on.  And if it isn't readily apparent - ask for help.  Sometimes just a small tweak can get you moving forward again with little effort at all.

We have many great resources available for members of Roaring Women.  We are North America's largest business resource!  Why not try us out for free here - and get some valuable gifts!

Why will some small businesses not survive the recession?

Ok – so I admit it. There appears to be a recession. Yes, the media has mentioned it a few times. Yes, it seems to be a little too quiet around the office. And yes, I have seen the going out of business signs being posted on what seems like every corner. Most of them are smaller businesses. So, why will some small businesses not survive the recession? I recently did some research on how to survive a recessions and was surprised to learn several interesting facts. Some businesses come out of a recession in better shape than when they went in! That’s right. They are ahead of their competition. Many are lean mean money making machines when the recession finally ends – and are better positioned to become very profitable. However, none of this happened over night. The truth is – that during the recession, they were as concerned as everyone else about the bottom line – but instead of pushing the panic button – they became very strategic. Here are a few things that they did. Businesses that survived the recession: * Measured everything, their marketing efforts, their employee performance, their time management, their cash flow and their mark up and pricing matrix. * Continued to market their business (above all else) * Invested in systems – positioning themselves for effective customer and product management for future growth * Were patient. They recognized that “Robbing Peter to pay Paul” was a strategy that they may have to use – short term. Unfortunately micro businesses and small businesses are not all paying attention. They are panicking. Some are paying off loans that have interest rates of 3%. Ridiculous! Why not use that interest rate AND take advantage of lower pricing. An interest rate like this and lower prices can cut the final cost of a purchase by 50%. Others are discontinuing their marketing efforts entirely. There is no faster way to kill a business. Finally, others are burying their heads in the sand, hiding in the office and biting their fingernails. What a waste of time and energy! Why not take this time to visit clients, strategize on guerrilla marketing efforts and begin measuring your efforts. It has been reported that there are several companies that sell bargain goods who have increased their sales in the last quarter. Fast food is on the rise – yet middle of the road restaurants are suffering. Macaroni and cheese sales are up. You get the drift. However, upscale companies like ‘Coach’ that sells upscale accessories for women (purses etc) have recognized that they too need to do something – and have looked at bringing in cheaper goods to tide them over. They have reduced staff and closed stores that were not making a profit. Small business owners however, continue to astound me. They cancel advertising costing less than $20 a month – but continue to buy coffee at the local coffee shop. (Which has the ability to make them money, the advertising or the coffee?) Many are paying off their loans and paring services back so far that recovery may be impossible. For many, the recession is a perfect excuse to close a business they are really not interested in running anyway! So what does this mean in the end? It means if you consider the strategies mentioned earlier that the larger businesses use – chances are you will emerge from the recession with a stronger company. It also means that the people who are not dedicated to their businesses or whose customer service is poor, or whose prices are too high will have to close their doors. Finally though, the real trick to surviving the recessions is to recognize - nothing happens over night. Marketing efforts must be consistent and target your market correctly. When considering what you need to do to survive the recession – measure everything. Get rid of bulky, overpriced items and services whether you buy or sell them. Marketing is a 24 hour 7 day a week task. Finding better marketing strategies is a great idea. But getting rid of marketing all together is not a wise decision. If you don't know what to do - invest in good advice. There is no better time than now. You have the time - and need the help. Another option is to meet with your peers in a formal or informal setting. Get to know what is working for them. Share your expertise! Buck up people. Now is not the time to panic. Now is the time to get strategic with all you do, and be patient.