Making Small Business Life GOOD!

"What if this is as good as it gets?"
This phrase can so define our life and our business, and yet all too often in life, and in business, especially small business, the thing we need help with the most is an honest evaluation of our lives.

Today's podcast is purposely intended to help you take a look at yourself, and your small business and to take this help for yourself and your small business. In many cases all we need to be sucessful in business is to discover that we already are!

As you listen to this remember all the reason you went into business. Perhaps you work from home, I bet there were alot of good reasons to do so. Have you become lost in "events" and allowed your business success to be less then it could be?
Ask yourself; "Is this as good as my life can get?" Regardless of the answer remember that tomorrow is a brand new day, a day of success for you and for your business.

Here's to your sucess in life, in business, and in everything else, big or small.

Steve

Click the image to listen:

Focus

Today we start on a new adventure; Podcasting!

For the first Podcast we will take on an issue we all struggle with - FOCUS

I will discuss how lack of business can effect you as a small business owner and how you can add rocket fuel to both your own life as well as the life of your small business by tapping into the the hidden power of focus.

Click the image below to listen:

America, Freedom, Democracy

This post may be a bit different from what you will normally find here, but I really wanted to say a few words about FREEDOM and DEMOCRACY.
We live in such a great country. A country where we can basically sell anything and if we learn our craft well, the sky is the limit how much we can earn. Most people dont even comprehend what it means to be this free. I have watched, with great interest, the people of Iraq go to the polls to be allowed to truly vote for the first time. I saw images and read stories of people walking miles to vote. I was amazed at the courage of people to dodge bullets and be willing to risk their life for the chance to have one small say in who is elected.
I am quite sure that even once the outcome is determined there will be many steps before are truly free and living in a democratic society. Maybe in the end it wont work completely or will take several attempt (years) to get it to work.
The thing is I think of how easy we have it in our country. Heck here in Oregon we dont even have to leave home we just fill it out and mail it in or drop in a drop box on our way to work. And yet we take it for granted. We complain about who is elected (no matter who wins) and in many case we take election for granted.
I couldn't help but think of the men who stood up and founded our country; those who fought and bled and risked death so that we too could vote freely. Those who had a vision of a country where everyone could have a voice. As I look at the people in Iraq stand up and be counted; to risk so much for their voice to be heard, my soul is stirred and I am renewed in the hope that perhaps there is still for these says:
" We hold these truths to be self evident that ALL men are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; among these are live, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" ~Declaration of Independence
"I have a dream that one day all of God's children; Black Men and White men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics will be able to stand and sing in the words of the old Negro Spirtual, "Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last" ~Martin Luther King, Jr

Steve



And dont forget to check back here for more helpful tips and advise or go to www.earthangelnetwork.com to find out more about how you can use fundraisers not only to help others, but also to help your company.

Wanna Market your Blog?

So you went out and did it! You got yourself a blog (if you havent go get one RIGHT NOW!--*laugh*). Then you posted something witty like my friend Bryan Green or maybe something informative like The new blog for CWAHM. Now all you need is people to start looking at your blog.
How do you accomplish this?
Where can you go for marketing tips?
Well here is a tip you will be glad you found. A great directory of blogs arranged by category can be found at QuackTrack with a wide range of categories including my favorite which is Marketing Specialists. There are currently 311 blogs dedicated to Marketing. What a fanatastic reasource to find the helpful advise you need.
And while you there you can check out other catagories including Search Engine, ECommerce, Crafts, Sports and MANY MANY MORE.

Here's to your Succeess
Steve


And dont forget to check back here for more helpful tips and adise or go to www.earthangelnetwork.com to find out more about how you can use fundreaisers not only to help others, but also to help your company.

The PERFECT Product to sell?

People always ask me to evaluate this or that product and give them an honest evaluation of how "sellable" it is. Or they want to know from me:
What is the PERFECT product/company/service/opportunity for them to get involved in?
Knowing that "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" I typically smile and tell me my honest opinion of their product or I send tell them to talk to my wife and recommend they check out Big Yellow Box. The question always makes me smile though because over the years I have seen a lot of people sell products that would NEVER pass anyones evaluation as a sellable product. Take for example the concept of a computer that could sit on your desk or an internet connection that would allow you to have a real time chat with a person on the other side of the planet. I wouldnt be surprised if the guy who discovered the wheel told his neighbor about it and the guy said back to him "that will NEVER catch on" *laugh*

What makes a product sell is the heart and soul of the person selling. PASSION drives them. When I look at a product to sell I ask myself "what about this product inspires me to want others to have it as well". In some case like in the afore mentioned Big Yellow Box the company and the timing were the key elements, but in the end it was that fire in her eyes that my wife had that made me say to her "huney you have GOT to do this thing". And here we are 6 month later and she is in the top 5 of reps for the company! (I know I brag about her in every one of my posts dont I -- but I am EXTREMELY proud of her -- and she deserves it!) The point isnt how incredible my wife is (though she is) it is about her passion. There are people who tried it and have already quit. Is that because the product was bad or doesnt sell? NO it is because they didnt have the passion to drive them past the pain to success. Take a minute and read Berton Braley's poem entitled "Success". The poem perfectly describes what the real driving force behind successful sales is PASSION!
So next time you wonder how "good" a product or opportunity is take a minute and check yourself for passion. Then decide!

Here's to living our lives PASSIONATELY today

Sales -- do you know how to listen

Most of the time when I tell people I am a sales person I immediately get a negative reaction. I even had a good friend that told me there was no way he could ever consider me a sales person because sales people were shady, dishonest, egotistical and generally disliked. In fact in general I think the average opinion of a sales person would be Herb from the old TV show WKRP.

That is such a sad comparison from my point of view because I have known so many amazing people who are fantastic sales people. The truth is these types of individuals are probably the ones we remember the most, but when we think about them it is either to remember the time we got "taken" or the guy who "ran us off the lot". Stop for a second and think of all the times you have gotten something just because that nice man or women took so much time to help you.

What is the secret to sales success. It is simple LISTEN!

My Dad use to tell us "You have 2 ears and only 1 mouth so you should listen twice as much as you speak". I think he just wanted quite *laugh* but the point still stands. If you listen to a person long enough they will tell you EVERYTHING that you need to know to sell them. It isn't the pushy overbearing people we want to buy things from but the guy or girl who will take the time to make sure we "feel" good about a purchase. How do they do that?

THEY LISTEN!

If I may brag about my awesome Wife -- she has learned this process so well that she and her Group are considered to be the best recruiters in the ColorStar Team which is the fastest growing Team in Big Yellow Box by Crayola.

So next time you get ready to start your presentation remember to LISTEN!

Dedication

I would like to thank everyone who has helped me over the years. This site more then anything is a reflection of all of themselves they poured into me. It is my great hope that I might also be able to pour some of their age old wisdom into you.

So here is to my mom and dad who always managed to have no money but always had something I could sell to get money if I wanted it bad enough.
And Maury Arnold who saw the potential in punk 19 year old kid; took me under his wing; made me his sales manager and taught me more sales strategy on restaurant napkins then then any university ever dreamt of teaching their best MBA. Still to this day it would be hard to seperate out anything I know about selling from all those late nights around a table with Maury. THANKS MAURY!
To Lili Anderson Brown who was willing to take a chance on me even though her business partner said I would be unreliable. Lili taught me 2 VERY important things: 1)"The fish stinks from the head down" Meaning that as managers we need to take responsiblity for our people and to work towards solution and not blame. 2)"People will do most anything if they understand the 'why'" which is to say people need to be motivated and understand why they are doing something rather then just what to do. Lili in case you don't know I wouldn't be the person I am today if it werent for you!
It would be hard to mention Lili without also thanking Mickey Brown as well. I am one of the fortunate few who was able to see behind the veil, past the phenomenal leader to a person who I am better for having known.
And here is to Ernie Villanueva http://ernievillanueva.com for always being inspiring.
Also to J Douglas Edwards and the legacy he left; Tony Robbins http://tonyrobbins.com, Zig Ziglar http://zigziglar.com, Robert Kiyosaki http://richdad.com and so many others that have inspired so many of us to follow our dreams.

And here is to my beautiful wife Kathy http://katslife.com for always believing in me, always listening to and wanting my advise on sales and for encouraging me to share what I know. May you continue to have all the success you deserve in Big Yellow Box by Crayola hun :)

And to Marjie and all my students from DOUA http://doua.org who showed me that the things I have to say about sales really do help better peoples lives.

Last but not least and all the my other mentors and dear friends I love you all!
To all those who went before us and have made this country what it is; a true land where a person can have a dream and ambition and can achieve anything their heart desires! THANK YOU!!