What will GM look like?

See the Detroit Free press report on what a GM emerging from bankruptcy will look like, and how the obscene amount of tax dollars pumped into the behemoth is being, and will be, used.

Will Limkemann
www.siqualtd.com

Buy Local

While I have previously addressed the benefits of buying local rather than from chains which remove the profits from the community, media activity in the past two days prompts me to revisit the issue.

Yesterday NPR’s Talk of the Nation Program interviewed Maggie Anderson, of Chicago, who is on a year-long experiment  buy only from black-owned businesses. It is her intent to keep profits in the pockets of her fellow African-Americans in Chicago. She drives up to 20 miles out of her way to buy products from locally owned (not franchised) businesses. While she regrets the fuel she uses driving, she not only is helping and encouraging the local black-owned businesses, but she is also saving money! That is no surprise (to me), as the national chains have perpetuated a myth that they always have lower prices. I applaud Maggie.

This morning I opened an e-mail from COSE (Cleveland’s Council of Smaller Enterprises) with the subject: “Are you keeping our local economy healthy?”. It is touting July 4 – 11 as the regional buy local week. Sponsored by COSE’s I Buy NEO initiative, “This program is designed to engage, educate and empower people to take action in their communities by spending locally whenever possible. Now more than ever, it is critical that people understand the impact of purchases as simple as buying fruit, ordering pizza, or getting their hair done. Our local businesses are what drive jobs, economic growth and income for a stable tax-base. Keeping our local businesses healthy is what will keep our economy healthy. And if everyone does their part, significant impacts can be made.”–quotes are from the e-mail.

The e-mail goes on to say: “If everyone in Northeast Ohio (NEO) pledges to redirect $100 of planned spending to locally owned businesses during Buy Local Week July 4th through July 11th, we can make a significant difference – an amazing additional $48 million dollars will be pumped into the local economy.”

I’m delighted that spring is here and farmer’s markets are back in business, as I love not only the fresh locally owned food, but also helping out the local businesses.

What are you doing to help your local businesses survive and thrive?

Will Limkemann
www.siqualtd.com

Good Reading

Whether your business is art, law, or manufacturing, if you feel the need to jump-start your creativity, pick up The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. Cameron sets up a 12-week, 12-step process to get your creative juices flowing through daily walks, daily “morning pages”(writing), and weekly “artist’s dates.” There is work involved, but you can gain a better understanding of yourself and how you deal with others, begin to come up with creative ways to solve personal and business issues, and keep a balanced outlook on life.
Warning: following the directions of this book may cause you to come up with innovative ideas when you least expect them! Other books by Cameron you may find useful include Finding Water and Vein of Gold.

Will Limkemann
www.siqualtd.com

Customer focus

Are you and your business really focused on customers? A customer-focused business:

• Always meets or exceeds customer expectations
• Is aware of current and future customer needs
• Quickly and appropriately responds to customer needs and wants
• Provides outstanding customer support
• Maintains a positive public image
• Anticipates market trends – is a market leader
• Is quick in developing sales channels
• Understands competition

Will Limkemann

www.siqualtd.com

VOIP (Voice over IP) phone service

Here is a tip I picked up at a COSE “Technology for Home-based business” workshop led by Joel H Rathbone yesterday.

If you’re a solo business person a great primary business telephone option is neither a cell phone or a land line – but rather VOIP (voice over IP) Internet phone service. It’s inexpensive, generally provides free calling all over North America, often offers free or inexpensive calling to popular overseas locations, and has quality of sound comparable to land lines and much better than cell phones. Get a good head set to plug into your computer and you can recieve and initiate phone calls no matter where you are.

For true mobility, and for redundancy in case your Internet connection gets interrupted, Joel suggests getting a mobile broadband card for your laptop. You’ll not only have continuing VOIP phone service whereever there is a good signal, but you will also have continual access to the Internet on your computer without having to find a Starbucks with Wi-Fi.

Will Limkemann
www.siqualtd.com

Growth of Wind Turbines in Ohio

Thursday the Plain Dealer ran an encouraging article describing a growing trend of small businesses installing their own wind turbines to save money and reduce carbon foot print. The growth is attributed to grants that can fund up to 40% of the cost. See the entire article.

Will Limkemann

Home business is a lifestyle

Starting and running a home-based business is all about life-style choices. It is an option that is appealing yet does not work for everyone. Some of the many benefits of having a home business are:

1. No commute
2.Minimum costs / low overhead
3. Don’t have to get dressed up to go to work
4. Easy to start a business
5. Might be able to take tax deductions on home office space
6. Can work your own hours
7. More time with family
8. Control your own destiny
9. Get all the rewards for your hard work
10. Can do laundry when taking a break

But some of the downsides of the home-business lifestyle are:

1. It takes self-discipline to keep yourself motivated
2. Family interruptions
3. Difficult to separate home from business
4. It can be lonely with no colleagues to chat with
5. Friends may not take your business seriously
6. You can’t blame anyone else if you don’t have the success you want

Will Limkemann
www.doublewarepub.com

Starting a business – good idea for starting over?

Layoffs and declining pensions are adding new incentives for people to become entrepreneurs. See this Wall Street Journal article by Kelly K Spors and Raymond Flandez on the journey of five people who took the plunge.

Will Limkemann

www.siqualtd.com

Virtual convention

Last week I attended a three-day self-publishing convention – and I never left home. While I have attended many webinars and teleconferences, and even a video conference or two, these have all been small and highly focused events lasting no more than an hour or two. But what I attended was a full-fledged convention with multiple workshops and even an exhibit hall. What was lacking was the ability to network and interact with other attendees.

Most of the workshops were panel discussions with leaders calling in from all over the country. Each workshop allowed those of us who participated to text comments or questions to the leaders. The workshops were handled as teleconferences – not webinars. While at least one presenter had a power point presentation we could download, the conference lacked any visual elements.

I can well imagine that virtual conventions will increase in popularity, particularly as they become more interactive and multi-media. This particular conference is one that I would not have attended had I needed to be away from the office for three or four days, and yet I did get value from some of the workshops to which I dialed in. Much of the value of any  convention, however, stems from the relationships established, the networking, and overall comaderie. So, just as printed books will never be totally replaced by electronic versions, so live conventions will not be totally replaced by those conducted over the Internet.

Will Limkemann
www.siqualtd.com

eMarketing

Over the past month or two I’ve become a student of social networking on the Internet with the goal of more effectively eMarketing my business. Last Friday I attended an excellent all-day conference sponsored by the Key Entrepreneurial Development Center. For the past two days I’ve been attending a virtual conference on eMarketing for publishers. I’ve read books, blogs, tweets, web sites, and more.

With all of this studying and research I would have expected to be an expert by now! That is hardly the case. I have researched so very many social networking sites, methods of eMarketing, and read so many opinions about what works and what doesn’t, that my head is about to split! The fact is that anyone serious about marketing products or services needs to use the Internet. The key is to use it effectively for reaching a specific target market. Having a good web site is a necessary start, but somehow people have to get excited enough to find the site. With so many techniques available, and with limited time and money, here are a few things that I have employed:

1. Constantly updating the content and improving my web sites for search engine optimization (SEO).

2. Twittering – I honestly don’t yet know if Twittering is worth the effort but time will tell.

3. Exploring and using Google tools. For those of you not familiar to the vast array of tools available, set up a Google account (it’s free) and explore.

4. Using LinkedIn. I’m finding this to be a valuable site – especially since it implemented groups a number of months ago. Each group has a forum and there are often great discussions.

5. I have a FaceBook account but have done nothing more than to create a profile.

6. Blogging.

7. Posted press releases to public relations sites. Within days of posting a free press release on www.pr.com I received orders for two lamps.

One of the keynote speakers at the eMarketing conference last Friday said that to be effective one needs to spend between two to four hours a day on-line! I’m beginning to believe he is correct.

Will Limkemann
www.siqualtd.com