General Business

This morning I am purging and organizing some of the files on my computer. What I tend to do is bookmark, copy/paste, and create Notepad files that contain quotes, ideas, thoughts, and articles that I find worth saving for future reference.

Over time my bookmark list and Notepad file becomes a few miles long and overwhelming…at that point, purging and review are necessary.

Here is one quote that I found as I was reviewing all of my saved content. This may sound sappy…but I’m a believer that good quotes can inspire great things.

To the Man in the Arena

It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly…who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

Theodore Roosevelt, 1910

What this quote means to me…

No matter what you do, people will always be ready to criticize. Either you sit back and are afraid to do anything for fear of being criticized, or you conquer that fear, go after your goals and do what you deem is the right thing to do.

So often I see many people (myself included) that don’t achieve great things because they can’t overcome the fear of being criticized, or the fear of failure. There are many of us who have a great desire to be successful, but the fear of criticism and failure prevents achievement.

Conquer that fear and excel in your business and life. Start this process by going outside of your comfort zone. You’ll be nervous and apprehensive…get over those worries and fears and you’ll be on your way.

Don’t be one of “those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

This is a quote that I read online…unfortunately I do not have a record of who wrote it:

Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.

My take on this quote…

If you want to excel, enjoy your job/life, feel a sense of accomplishment, and achieve great success…start by finding a job that you enjoy. I’m very fortunate to have that in my life and I believe it shows through in my attitude and the work that I produce.

Just food for thought…you spend a heck of a lot of your time at work. Work extra hard to make sure you are doing something you enjoy and can take pride in.

I haven’t had any success (yet) in generating new business from LinkedIn; but the potential is there as I continue to build my network and contacts.

What am I talking about? I’m talking about an online networking site called LinkedIn. It’s an easy to use platform that gives you the ability to connect with current colleagues/clients as well as make contact with the people that your colleagues/clients know (your extended network.)

Learn about LinkedIn here and I urge you to set-up your own profile and start searching for people you know…you never know what one new connection may lead to.

There are many online business networking websites out there; LinkedIn is the best and most established.

You can view my LinkedIn profile here.

Seth Godin is a Marketing Guru. He writes great books and has an excellent blog that I enjoy reading.

I have always viewed myself as an Entrepreneur. I started a business on my own and work hard to run and grow it. But after reading a recent post by Seth, I realize that I am actually a Small Business Owner versus an Entrepreneur:

Link to Seth’s post

Excerpt from the post:

The distinction I’ve always made is that an entrepreneur is trying to make money while she sleeps, and does it with someone else’s money! That she builds a business bigger than herself, that scales for a long time, that is about processes and markets. A small businessperson, on the other hand, is largely a freelancer with support, someone who understands the natural size of her business and wants to enjoy the craft of doing it every day.

The more I see both, the happier it appears that small business people are. They often make more money, take fewer risks, sleep better and build something for the ages, something they believe in and can polish and be proud of.

I found the distinction between the two interesting and thought you might as well. Are you an Entrepreneur or a Small Business Owner?

I have a new phone number programmed in my cell phone and that number is 1-800-FREE-411.

If your cell phone provider is like mine (Sprint in my case) you get nicked 50-75 cents every time you call Directory Assistance.

Keep your quarters in your pocket and call 1-800-FREE-411. You’ll have to listen to a quick advertisement, but they get you connected to your requested number quickly.

(This is in reference to Your Marketing Guy’s sister company - Hunt Hosting.)

There’s a goal, eh?  Sounds like I’m aiming for a grain of salt.  But in reality, the .0003 (3/10,000th of one percent) market share I am aiming for would translate into a very solid business.  Let me explain…

There are 765,487 in the State of Michigan (Source: U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy.)  I want .0003 percent of those businesses as my clients.  That’s a bit over 225.  Sounds small.  But that’s my target.

My hosting clients come from all over the USA and even a few in Europe.  But the main focus of my business is here in Michigan.  My focus with Hunt Hosting is on helping small businesses in small Michigan towns have a successful online presence.

Why do I want a .0003 market share?  Why not .0006, or heck, get crazy and shoot for .001?  Because I want to be able to offer my clients personal service.  By phone, via e-mail, or in-person.  I need to give them the proper consulting they need and offer them the tools and services they need in order to be successful with their web site.

I know a .0003 market share is a good number because I’ve run the numbers.  I have a business plan.

“You need to know where you are going before you can get there.”

“Fail to plan, plan to fail.”

Think about these questions in relation to your business:

What market share do you want to capture?

Who is your ideal customer/client?

Do you have a business plan?  If not; why not?!

I’ll have more thoughts on these topics in future posts…