Love What You Do

While most of us are in business to make a living don't forget to love what you do.

I love this quote from Walt Disney who epitomises someone who loved his work:

Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money.

We may not be as successful as Walt in translating our dream but we can certainly follow his example.
Loving what you do makes work a lot easier and keeps the blues at bay.
DK
Dr Kelps Programs that Pay

Treat your Staff Well

I have been very impressed by a recent American TV show where business owners go underground to see what happens at the cutting edge of their businesses. This normally means being disguised and working at the frontline.

It becomes clear very quickly what sort of employers the owners are. What struck me was that the best businesses were those where the owners took good care of the staff and the staff members responded by being dedicated and giving the business a great image with customers.

The message from the program is: Treat your staff well as they are the face of your business. On average one negative comment about your products and business will be shared with 15 other people and they will in turn tell 15 more ( that equals 225 people who hear the bad message). So one surly staff member who feels that their contribution is not valued can directly affect your bottom line. And you may not even know about it as less than 10% of your customers will complain. They will just vote with their feet.

Treating your staff well is a key driver for business success in the long term.

DK
Dr Kelps Programs that Pay

What's In a Name: Your Business Name and it's Success

Today I welcome Amy Torres who has written this guest contribution.

What's In a Name: Your Business Name and Its Success


You may wonder what makes a business name successful and how you can come up with one of your own. Family, friends and business associates can help you with a brainstorming session to choose a good name, but it would behoove you to follow some of the guidelines below to help you choose the best one.



Easy to Memorize

A successful business name is a memorable one. Along with being memorable, it needs to be simple to spell. You want your customers to remember your name, but if by chance they forget it and need to look it up online or in a directory, it needs to be easy to spell. If you have a name like “Theowelltheon,” no one is going to be able to find it, because how would you even spell it? Go with something unique, but intuitive to spell.



Visual Element

To have a successful business name, you need to add a visual element. After all, when someone sees your name, you want them to have an image of who you are. If a customer can associate a visual element with your name, it can aid in their ability to return to you as a customer.



Positive Connotation

A successful business name also has to have a positive connotation to it. A connotation is an emotional meaning of the word. It can be positive, negative or neutral. To have a successful name, you want to pick words with positive connotations to associate your business with. Think of it this way. If you start a business for a trucking company, you don’t want to have a small or weak name such as “Little Twig Trucking” or “Fawn Transport”. You want to go with a strong name such as “Stone River Trucking." Makes sense, right?



Connections

A successful business name is going to have something to do with what your business is about. You probably don’t have a product that will instantly be popular like Nike or Apple Computers, so you have to have a name that customers will be clued in on what your business does. If you are a trucker, include trucking in the name somewhere. If you provide lawn care, include the term lawn care. This will also help potential customers find you if they are doing a search for a business that does what you do.



A Short Name

A successful business name should be short. This goes back to the whole memorable thing. It also helps when you are doing promotions. You want a name that will fit onto a business card, flyer or ad in the paper. In a search engine, you want to have a name that can be easily found with one or two words. The shorter, the better.



Colors

When you choose a name, think about colors as well. The color will be a big part of your business logo and the items you use for promotions and website. Red indicates an aggressiveness that defines excitement, speed, and passion. Greens indicate something to do with growth, nature, or something natural.



Remember that this is your BRAND - and if you change your brand, you risk alienating all your customers! This should also be something that you can play off or otherwise use to branch into other goods or services, so keep an eye on the future!



Amy Torres writes about business, finance & credit reports.

Guest Post U


The University of Great Content

www.guestpostu.com



 DK Dr Kelps Programs that Pay

Persistence brings Results

To make a mark in your online business you need to be a persistent person. I am very disciplined to surf everyday in the top surf programs and to do regular mailings in safelists. I know that doing this brings results. I track what I do and match signups and commissions against this work.

Forget the quick wealth schemes on the Internet - the only person who gets rich is the starter of the scam. There is no shortcut, effort in = rewards out.

Persistence allows you to keep going when the results dry up temporarily. There are lull periods, usually over mid summer, when people are not as active in being on the web. Don't let this put you off, just keep going and before long the results start again.

It is what I call the loneliness of the long distance surfer.

Have a great day.

Ciao


DK

Dr Kelps Programs that Pay

Get your Name out there

In todays online world there are a myriad of competing businesses. What makes your business different? Do people know who YOU are? The personal touch is all important. Customers like to deal with people they know, or think that they know.

Any advertising you do needs to have your picture on it. Believe me this works. Every email you send should have a signature line that promotes your business. Get a blog like this and engage with your customers.

Business has changed over the last 30 years and the approach to digital customers needs to align with current expectations.

Grant Goodman aka drkelp

Dr Kelps Programs that Pay

Safelists - an update

Some posts ago I wrote about safelists. I have been using them for some months and I am getting consistent results. Overall I am getting a 0.2% conversion rate. Doesn't sound much but it has equated to over 70 program signups. I spend about 15 minutes a day on it so it is worth doing.

I send out to around 19,000 people on my lists every 3 days.

To find out my recommended safelists look under the Tools tab by clicking on the link under my signature.

Cheers

Grant

Goals Drive Results

The old saying goes: "If you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you arrive?".

Over the last eight days I have been looking at all my business ventures and reviewing the past year and adjusting my goals for 2012 accordingly. Some of my goals were achieved to easily so this year they are stretched. Some were too stretched but I made some progress and these have been pegged down to a more realistic level. Not surprisingly some just failed to get off the ground for various reasons.

I track my goals monthly in Excel and that gives me a time for reflection and a mini review every month.

I put my success in life down to setting goals which I have done consistently all my adult life and achieving a good number of them. As well as business goals I also have personal, educational and family goals. I am a great believer in having a healthy work-life balance but as a Type A personality I have to work hard on this...

Have a great day and may you reach your goals in 2012.

Grant aka drkelp


DK

Dr Kelps Programs that Pay