How to become wealthy and successful is a topic that’s been written about probably more than any other. It’s regarded as an “evergreen” topic because man has always been enamored with discovering the secrets of how to live a successful, more abundant life. There have been many books written over the years on the topic of success and abundant living; many more than can be reasonably counted. And the future is sure to see many, many additional books of the same genre. As long as man continues to walk the earth, there will always remain a demand for self-help guidance.

Frequently, the books written on the topic of how to become wealthy and successful provide insight from the author’s own experiences. Meaning, much of what is written on the topic of success is not necessarily right nor can it be immediately discounted as wrong. It simply means that you, as a unique individual, can choose to adopt that which makes the most sense to you.

To put this in perspective, let’s say you read 3 books on the topic of success. You may draw one good idea you can use from the first book, 3 good ideas from the second and perhaps nothing from the third. This is not to say the third book you read wasn’t any good, it just wasn’t any good for you. Because you’re a unique individual, you will draw your sources of success inspiration differently than anyone else.

Be that as it may, if ever there were a universal definition of success, it certainly would include these following 4 truths.

The Truth About Success #1
It’s Better To Receive Then To Give - Our willingness and ability to help others is something which defines us as human beings. Altruism is something each one of us should practice to the extent we’re able to. However, you’re not able to sufficiently help somebody else unless and until you’ve sufficiently first helped yourself. Work first on receiving wealth and success so you can then better help others.

The Truth About Success #2
Your Universal Grand Plan - Each one of us has been put on this planet to fulfill a specific role. Everybody has some unique gift to contribute to the world. And when that gift is shared with others, a fulfilled and successful life naturally follows. Do you know what your universal grand plan is? Do you know what your unique gifts are? If not, you owe it to yourself to discover them both.

The Truth About Success #3
Keep It Real - After the movie The Secret came out there has been much talk about vision boards; they’re a great way to manifest the life of your dreams. On your vision board you’d put pictures of all the wonderful things you want from life. All you need to do to make the things on your board a reality is to meditate about having them, right? Yeah right. If only it were that easy. Having a vision board is a great start to achieving a more successful and fulfilled life. But, without taking meaningful action towards earning the things you want in life, they will forever remain a mystical fantasy. This is just one small example of keeping things real for yourself.

Success Suggestion #4
To Be, Act As If - In order to become the successful person you dream of becoming, you must first act like him or her. Carrying yourself like a more successful person is the first step necessary in actually becoming a more successful person. The great boxing champ Muhammad Ali put it this way: “To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.” In other words - to be, act as if.

Here is a final, undeniable truth for you on how to become more successful: read. You must become a student of success if what you desire is to become more successful. Become a self-improvement fanatic and you will eventually have no choice but to live a successful more fulfilled life.

Get the book FREE: This article is based on the book “A PLUM IN THE SYRUP: 17 Observations, Suggestions And Truths You Can Adopt To Live A More Fulfilled Life.” In his book, author Daniel Herzner delivers practical advice which anybody can use to live more successfully. To get a free copy of this empowering, 92 page book please visit:
http://www.APlumInTheSyrup.com/

[tags]Success,mind set,self help,self growth,mindset,successful life,abundance,abundant living[/tags]

If you are interested in starting an online business you should consider following the proven methods by successful online entrepreneurs who understand the methods of how online businesses or affiliate marketing work.

Michael Dell

One such entrepreneur is Michael Dell a successful Internet business person who built his business from the ground up and has shared his methods for those who also want to be successful on the Internet.

Michael Dell began his business career building computers when he was in college.He started building custom computers part time in his dorm room and with his business grew to the multi million dollar corporation it is now. Dell computers still adheres to the principles developed by Michael Dell and the success of the company is a direct result.

He started a philosophy that is commonly known as the three C’s. This philosophy can be used in any type of business from start up and home based Internet businesses to network marketing.

The Three C’s are content, community and commerce. Through hard work and dedication, he developed his concept of how to run a successful business and this has lasted throughout his business career.

The First Step

The first of the Three C’s, content, is the first step in developing an online business. Content is information that customers want and need to know. As defined by Michael Dell at a 1999 meeting of the Detroit Economic Club, “The first stage of content means providing compelling information. This is how we started our online operations in 1993, when we put our technical databases online for customers to access. It was a relatively simple start, but it showed us the tremendous interest from our customers.”

What is Content?

Content includes any type of information that will be useful to your customers. Documents, forms and manuals are the foundation to this information but as your business gets more sophisticated, it can grow even further. You can automate processes and ordering so that your customers have an easy way to get what they need. Additionally, order status can be tracked so that customers always know where their shipment is and when it can be expected.

Why is it Important?

But why is content so important to the success of an online or home-based business? Content gives customers a sense of self reliance. It gives them all the information they need at their fingertips so their experience online is fast and easy. By providing valuable information online to your customers, it saves money and time.

From a business perspective it reduces the amount of manual labor needed to process orders. It also gives a sense of security to your customers so they know they are dealing with a reliable organization.

How to Implement Content

Michael Dell began implementing the first of his Three C’s by starting simply, adding informative documents and forms to the website. As the company grew, more advanced technology was used to add additional content to his Internet business. He states, “It is experiential and you learn by doing.” This is the same process any successful Internet business should also adhere to.

Start off by adding the content you already have and are able to implement easily. As you grow, you can continue to advance the type of content on your website.

A business that follows Michael Dell’s example of including valuable content has a better chance of being successful. The key is to ensure you have quality content in an appropriate quantity. Give the customers the information they need that can make their Internet experience with your online company safe, reliable, fast and easy.

With this philosophy as the stepping stone of your online business, you can begin to build on the community and commerce aspects of the Three C’s for an all encompassing, successful business model.

Rick Hubbard is a web content creator and internet marketer with a B.A. in Organizational Communication and a M.A. in eLearning. He writes about online businesses and affiliate marketing. Visit his website to read more about content. Content Commerce Community

[tags]Content, commerce, community, online business, home-based, affiliate marketing, rick hubbard, Dell[/tags]

Is the word success synonymous with the word wealth? To answer this question, who do you bring to mind when you think about success? Do you envision somebody like Donald Trump or do you see somebody like Mother Theresa instead?

I’m sure we’d all agree that, with the wealth and high profile name he has, Donald Trump could be considered a success. But, wealth notwithstanding, couldn’t Mother Theresa also be considered hugely successful? The point is these two words, wealth and success, are not the same. Some people may include wealth in their definition of success and others may not.

Even though your definition of the word success is unique to you, there are a number of common principles to be found from one successful person to the next. Furthermore, let’s take a look at success from an entrepreneurial standpoint.

Here are a few business related principles you can adopt in order to live a more fulfilled and abundant life. Adopting these principles and putting them to use with consistency in your own life will put you on the path of greater achievement.-

Successful Business Principle #1
Focus On The Needs Of Others - If one of your life’s desires is to be a successful entrepreneur then pay particular attention to this truth. Ask any successful entrepreneur and they’ll tell you that they’d built their business around helping others to solve their problems. You can get everything you want in life by helping others to get what it is they want in life and that frequently means helping them to solve problems.

Successful Business Principle #2
Niche Yourself - Find what it is you love to do and use whatever that might be to serve others. The greater number of people you can serve within your chosen niche, the greater your chances of becoming successful in business. Also, keep your niche sharp and focused. There is no single recipe for success but there is a certain recipe for failure and that is to try and serve everybody.

Successful Business Principle #3
Create A Trend - History is loaded with stories of people who’ve become wildly successful by being trend setters. If you take a moment to look around you, you’ll see many examples of popular trends which had been started by people just like you. For example, icicle style Christmas lights were invented by a mom at her kitchen table; a very basic yet appealing idea. Today, these are the most widely sold holiday lights on the market. The most beneficial aspect of creating a trend is it means you’ll be the first in a category and you’ll be the first in your buyer’s mind. And that is a pretty darn good place to be.

Successful Business Principle #4
Stay Tuned In To Life’s Lessons - Life itself is the most complete, comprehensive teacher you could ever hope for. Life has a way of consistently teaching us valuable lessons. And, when you really start to focus in on what everyday life is trying to teach you, you’ll find many lessons which can be applied on how to build a successful business. Those most successful amongst us recognize life as the incredible teacher she is and stay tuned in to her many wonderful lessons.

However you define the word success for yourself, understand that self improvement will always be the way to achieve it.

Get the book FREE: This article is based on the book “A PLUM IN THE SYRUP: 17 Observations, Suggestions And Truths You Can Adopt To Live A More Fulfilled Life.” In his book, author Daniel Herzner delivers practical advice which anybody can use to live more successfully. To get a free copy of this empowering, 92 page book please visit:
http://www.APlumInTheSyrup.com/

[tags]Success,mind set,self help,self growth,mindset,successful life,successful business[/tags]

Here’s a question man has been asking himself for thousands of years now and he’ll continue to ask it for thousands of years to come: “what is the secret to success?”. The answer to this question may startle you, it may anger you and it may even leave you feeling a bit empty. The answer is not something jealously guarded by an elderly success guru who sits quietly meditating atop a hill in some distant land.

Ready? Here’s the answer: the secret to success is that there are no secrets. Successful, abundant living is not reserved for a select few and withheld from the many. It is not something you need to climb a mountain to discover. A life of wealth and success is not dependent on a Harvard education nor is it a mystery cloaked in secrecy.

All success starts from within. Success is a mindset, it’s an attitude, it’s a vision, a goal. Success is always a result and it’s never an accident. Most importantly, success is yours as long as you’re willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it.

Your success filled life will never be willingly handed over to you, it must be earned. And it is yours to protect. Success can disappear in an instant if you ever get lazy about its stewardship.

To help you get started, here are four truths of abundant living. The following is meant to provide you with a starting point only. Once started, your job is to keep the momentum going.

The Truth About Success #1
No Excuses - You are the one who can launch yourself into living the life you dream of or the one to hold yourself back to live in mediocrity. And which path you take will be determined by whether or not you go out and make things happen or you make excuses. The person who really wants to do something finds a way; the other person finds an excuse. Which person are you?

The Truth About Success #2
Cherish Your Personal Freedom - Many insist that time is the most precious asset a person has. Although time is immeasurably valuable, it is not more precious than your freedom. Without the freedom required to use your time as you see fit then time itself becomes worthless. Those who are truly successful would never do anything with the potential to compromise their freedom. What good is any amount of wealth or success without the freedom to enjoy it?

The Truth About Success #3
Eliminate Unproductive Mind Chatter - It never ceases to amaze me how much our childhood impacts our adulthood. We are born as lumps of clay to be molded as we grow. We are molded by authority figures such as our parents, teachers and adults in general. The things these authority figures say stick to us like glue and we take those things with us into our adult years. If you find yourself hung up on things you may’ve heard in your past which do not serve you well today, your job is to eliminate them immediately.

The Truth About Success #4
Do Not Subjugate Yourself To Failure - Let’s face it; failure hurts. It can hurt financially, physically and emotionally. And it is the prospect of enduring pain from failure which keeps most people from doing more with their lives. Success will always require some degree of risk to attain it. And whenever you take a risk, you’re inviting failure. If you want more out of life then you’ve got to take the risks necessary to get it, it’s just that simple. And if you have an inability to take on risk because you’re afraid of the potential of failure then don’t expect to get too much out of life.

At this point, commit yourself to learning more about how to achieve a successful life. There’s no doubt, in the long run, you’ll be very happy that you did.

Get the book FREE: This article is based on the book “A PLUM IN THE SYRUP: 17 Observations, Suggestions And Truths You Can Adopt To Live A More Fulfilled Life.” In his book, author Daniel Herzner delivers practical advice which anybody can use to live more successfully. To get a free copy of this empowering, 92 page book please visit:
http://www.APlumInTheSyrup.com/

[tags]Success,mind set,self help,self growth,mindset,successful life,abundance,abundant living[/tags]

Why do a very small number of people live a life of success and fulfillment while the vast majority struggle daily just to maintain the status quo? Have the successful amongst us been somehow “chosen” by the Gods of achievement and abundant living? Is there some deep, dark mystery behind a truly successful life?

If only the answer were that easy. There really are no “secrets” to success. Those who live lives of fulfillment discover the principles integral to success and put those principles into practice on a daily basis. Living a life of fulfillment is never and accident; it is always a result. But a result of what exactly?

Success is the result of taking consistent, deliberate actions on a daily basis toward the achievement of a larger goal or vision. This is precisely why success is available to us all. Each one of can take the actions necessary to move ourselves towards a better life. The only question is, will you take the actions required?

There are many actions required to live an abundant life, some of which will be completely unique to you. At the same time, many of what is required is quite universal. The following four action steps are pretty common to all success. Can you adopt these actions and use them in your life? Or rather, are you willing to do so?

Success Action Number One
Evolution - Basically, every new level of achievement demands a new and better you. To put it another way, your ultimate success is a reflection of the value you can bring to other people. Whether you seek greater success in business, in a personal relationship or any other area of your life, you must be able to deliver more value to others.

Success Action Number Two
Identify A Hot Trend And Act On It - Historically, a winner’s strategy has always been to notice a hot trend which interests you then build a business around that trend. Timing is important when it comes to trends and business. But, never slow yourself down by overanalyzing a business trend. If you can get involved in a hot trend without taking on a great deal of personal risk then go for it. Taking action is always far more important than inaction and over analysis.

Success Action Number Three
Believe In Yourself - The beliefs you’ve formed for yourself are what drive your every action. Your beliefs are what you will act on whether they are true or false. If you doubt your abilities, you’re defeating yourself before you’ve even begun. When you doubt your abilities your mind will attract circumstances to support your beliefs and failure will become inevitable. Success simply is not possible unless you have a committed belief that you can achieve that which you put your mind to and that you deserve it.

Success Action Number Four
Do Not Make Somebody Else’s Problems Your Problem - Virtually every successful entrepreneur out there would basically consider themselves a problem solver. Solving other people’s problems will put you on a path to entrepreneurial success. But, making other people’s problems your problem is a sure path to failure. Do not confuse the two. Projecting yourself into a problem in order to come up with viable solutions is a heck of a lot different than making those problems your own.

The 4 success action steps as mentioned in this article should get you off to a decent start towards living a life of copious abundance. Here’s the caveat: adopt them and use them starting today otherwise they’ll be meaningless to you.

Get the book FREE: This article is based on the book “A PLUM IN THE SYRUP: 17 Observations, Suggestions And Truths You Can Adopt To Live A More Fulfilled Life.” In his book, author Daniel Herzner delivers practical advice which anybody can use to live more successfully. To get a free copy of this empowering, 92 page book please visit:
http://www.APlumInTheSyrup.com/

[tags]achievement,self growth,self help,success,successful living,[/tags]

Real estate has always been one of the most dynamic industries in the world. Many of the wealthiest people in the world have gained their wealth through the use of real estate investing. Despite what you hear in the news, it is still a good time to get involved with real estate. The old adage of “it’s the only thing that they’re not making any more of” is still true. The industry goes through cycles and a down cycle is part of the process. After that, the industry will definitely rebound. Therefore, if you’ve been thinking of getting into the industry, now is still a good time. The most important part of the process is getting a good real estate education. Once you’ve done that, you can work in whatever capacity you choose.

Let’s look at seven tips to getting the most out of your real estate education.

1.Invest in your real estate investment education. Put the time in to find out the necessary information for your education. Visit the leading blogs in the field and make comments. Go to real estate forums and chat with other experienced investors.

2.Specialize in an area. Generally knowing about real estate isn’t usually as profitable as knowing everything about a particular area of real estate. If you’re going to get hired by a big company, they usually like specialists.

3.Join a real estate club. A real estate club can give you the extra knowledge that you need as well as some great contacts within the industry. If you don’t have time to go to a physical real estate club, you can join a virtual real estate club online.

4.Go the extra mile. Research some good books on Amazon to further your real estate education. There are a lot of great resources out there that you can use to improve your education. Get out there and look for the best information.

5.Take an internship. Working with a reputable company in an intern role will go a long way towards impressing future employers. You’ll get hands-on experience that can not be duplicated in the classroom. It’s also a great way to gain more contacts in the real estate industry.

6.Expect to work a lot. Getting a good real estate education will involve learning a lot of different things. You’ll learn finance, business, management, contract law, and negotiation skills along the way.

7.Enjoy the ride. Getting a real estate education can be one of the most enjoyable things you’ll ever do.

Learning something that you love to do is one of the best things you’ll ever do. If real estate is truly for you, you’ll love your job for the rest of your days.

Joy Davenport of
Best Virtual Real Estate Club is a full time investor who has done over 350 deals and is leading expert in the buying and selling of real estate.
I invite you to discover little known secrets about Real Estate Investment and see how it will change your business life forever by going to:
www.BestVirtualRealEstateClub.com

[tags]real estate education,real estate club,Investing in Real Estate,Analyzing Deals,Real Estate Bargain[/tags]

A janitor way back late 1950’s and now owns a 300 companies and providing jobs for almost 50,000 Filipino’s. Now he owns fortune Tobacco Company , Asia Brewery , Hog raising farm which produces 50 metric tons of hogs DAILY, Philippines airlines Philippine National Bank, Allied Bank, and most financially stable universities here in the Philippines the University of the east. These are few examples of what he owns. So i think it’s very obvious who is the man behind of these biggest companies in the country. Simply It’s Lucio Tan. Tan was born on July 17, 1934 in Fujian, China. His family migrated to the Philippines when he was barely four years old and first settled in Naga in the province of Bicol. He studied Chemical Engineering at the Far Eastern University.

He was first employed as a janitor at a cigarette company then was assigned to buy leaf tobacco in Ilocos. Perhaps, it was this experience that gave him the knowledge and confidence to put up his own cigarette company, the Fortune Tobacco Company in 1966. From there he also established beverage company The Asia Brewery giving jobs to the unemployed Filipinos. Realizing that education is the only way to escape poverty, Tan also heavily invested in education. He bought the University of the East in 1990 and he considers this his biggest feat in promoting education in the country. In 1993, the country’s national flag carrier, Philippine Airlines joins the list of companies that Lucio Tan controls and manages.

In 1995, he founded yet another company in the aviation industry. The Macro Asia Corporation was envisioned to be the leading provider of aviation and logistics services. This vision has become a reality as Macro Asia Corporation is now the provider of technical ground handling, engineering and maintenance services, and catering services to majority of the international airlines.In 2000, Tan has become the majority stockholder of Philippine National Bank. The merger of PNB and Allied Bank is expected to be completed before the end of this year.

Although he considers himself a Filipino, Tan credits the deep influence of classical Chinese wisdom for his success in the fierce business world in and outside of the Philippines. He also has a strong faith in the tenets of Confucianism. Hobbies and interests include flying helicopters and reading books. To date, Lucio Tan’s Group of Companies provides jobs to 50,000 people. To these employees, Lucio Tan is simply Kapitan. A nickname that is very much appropriate to him as he was able to navigate his vast businesses through rough seas and tough times.Tan also giving donations to help in building public schools here in the Philippines even some construction of some public roads. As the owner of the Asia brewery he donated 24 million bottles of drinking water to ease Taiwan’s water shortage.As of 2008 Forbes magazine said about $1.5 billion is the income of Tan.

Wilson Chua
Asian Taipans
wilson.chua@gmail.com

[tags]Lucio Tan, Mariano Tangenglian, Truth about Lucio Tan[/tags]

A janitor way back late 1950’s and now owns a 300 companies and providing jobs for almost 50,000 Filipino’s. Now he owns fortune Tobacco Company , Asia Brewery , Hog raising farm which produces 50 metric tons of hogs DAILY, Philippines airlines Philippine National Bank, Allied Bank, and most financially stable universities here in the Philippines the University of the east. These are few examples of what he owns. So i think it’s very obvious who is the man behind of these biggest companies in the country. Simply It’s Lucio Tan. Tan was born on July 17, 1934 in Fujian, China. His family migrated to the Philippines when he was barely four years old and first settled in Naga in the province of Bicol. He studied Chemical Engineering at the Far Eastern University.

He was first employed as a janitor at a cigarette company then was assigned to buy leaf tobacco in Ilocos. Perhaps, it was this experience that gave him the knowledge and confidence to put up his own cigarette company, the Fortune Tobacco Company in 1966. From there he also established beverage company The Asia Brewery giving jobs to the unemployed Filipinos. Realizing that education is the only way to escape poverty, Tan also heavily invested in education. He bought the University of the East in 1990 and he considers this his biggest feat in promoting education in the country. In 1993, the country’s national flag carrier, Philippine Airlines joins the list of companies that Lucio Tan controls and manages.

In 1995, he founded yet another company in the aviation industry. The Macro Asia Corporation was envisioned to be the leading provider of aviation and logistics services. This vision has become a reality as Macro Asia Corporation is now the provider of technical ground handling, engineering and maintenance services, and catering services to majority of the international airlines.In 2000, Tan has become the majority stockholder of Philippine National Bank. The merger of PNB and Allied Bank is expected to be completed before the end of this year.

Although he considers himself a Filipino, Tan credits the deep influence of classical Chinese wisdom for his success in the fierce business world in and outside of the Philippines. He also has a strong faith in the tenets of Confucianism. Hobbies and interests include flying helicopters and reading books. To date, Lucio Tan’s Group of Companies provides jobs to 50,000 people. To these employees, Lucio Tan is simply Kapitan. A nickname that is very much appropriate to him as he was able to navigate his vast businesses through rough seas and tough times.Tan also giving donations to help in building public schools here in the Philippines even some construction of some public roads. As the owner of the Asia brewery he donated 24 million bottles of drinking water to ease Taiwan’s water shortage.As of 2008 Forbes magazine said about $1.5 billion is the income of Tan.

Wilson Chua
Asian Taipans
wilson.chua@gmail.com

[tags]Lucio Tan, Mariano Tangenglian, Truth about Lucio Tan[/tags]

Are you a female entrepreneur or woman in business who is successfully creating information products for your business? Information products have become extremely popular and you’ll be keen to learn 5 reasons why information products are hot.

Think about it: someone logs onto the internet late at night feeling tired and miserable because they can’t sleep. They start searching for sleep help and a website featuring a great information product which shows that person how they can immediately get more sleep comes up. Sure that person could probably find a lot of similar information for free if they searched the net long enough, but they don’t have days to search, they want to get to sleep now. With an information product, whether free or for a fee, they can be instantly downloaded and the user be reading that product all in less than 5 minutes.

People are extremely busy and want their info fast and also on the go. These days, many information products are a combination of audio, text as well as video. Audio information products are great for busy people as they can take their information with them and listen to the content while on the go.

Information products can be written on any number of subjects, from recipes to work at home, to parenting, to health, fitness, sports and even to high end business strategies.

It’s important to note that an information product shouldn’t be much different in quality to that of a standard product. It should provide useful, valuable information to the purchaser and be of a high standard. Digital info products are beneficial in that they can be digitally downloaded, which means you don’t have to physically stock and deliver a physical product to the customer.

Here are a few more reasons why information products are great for female entrepreneurs and, in fact, all business owners:

Information products utilise the power of leverage. Once you create the product it keeps producing for you. As soon as you cover the minimal costs of putting the product together, all future sales are profits. You do the work once and the product keeps working for you over and over again.

They’re generally simple to put together. With a research outline you can quickly put your product together. You don’t have to worry about finding a publisher or be concerned with printing costs. All you need to do is take the information you have on a subject and put it into words, audio or video (or all 3 formats).

Info products set you up as being an expert. As you develop more products, people will flock to your site, wanting to learn more from you as you have established your credibility in your target niche.

You can send traffic to your website. By creating an affiliate program others will help you promote your information product, which means they will drive traffic to your website and help sell your product for a commission. What a great way to build an effective sales force.

Info products are the best way to create multiple passive income streams. Again, you do the work once and your products keep producing for you. If you offer a service, you can put together information products such as simple “how to’s”, “tip sheets”, “checklists”, “steps to” or even “Mistakes To Avoid” which can earn you a nice passive income.

No matter how or which way you look at it, information products are hot. They’re in demand and this is a great time to get started creating information products.

So make sure you add the creation of info products to your business toolkit today and fill your product funnel with logically sequenced information products.

If you want to earn more money whilst working less by turning your knowledge into passive income, Get your FREE report “11 Quickest Ways to Monetise Your Expertise and Fill Your Product Funnel” by Danette Hibberd Product Funnel Formula

[tags]create info products, reasons why create info products, female entrepreneurs,[/tags]

Usually the prevalent message found in college classrooms discussing marketing is that you “Must create a brand.” I am here to tell you that while this is true to some degree, it should not be the primary focus but rather the by-product.

Why? Well, let’s look at the brands that we have all been exposed to on a regular basis. What comes to mind?

Coca-Cola? Polar Bears, Refreshing
Budweiser? Frogs and Clydesdale Horses
Chevrolet? Like a Rock (Bob Seger song)
McDonalds? Quick, simple, fast, Ronald McDonald, great way to keep the kids entertained and fed

So, after giving you some great examples of how companies are branding themselves, why do I still say that branding should be a by-product not a focus?

Well, let me ask you this question. How much do you think you would recognize these brands if they had not spent millions of dollars on ad campaigns? Would you be able to chime in at precisely the right moment for the “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner song?” (You know you did it) if it hadn’t been burned into your mind by 100s of 1,000s of repetitions? What about the Budweiser frogs? Would you be able to recite the entire commercial if you hadn’t seen it so many times? Of course not, and neither could your customers. So unless you have a multi-million dollar marketing/advertising department in your company, you are going to need to find another way to brand yourself.

What does that mean for you? Well, not to take away from the graphic designers out there, but the first thing to remember is that while a logo is important, a logo is not the most important part of a brand. Do you remember the logo for your dentist or local florist? What about the local coffee shop? If you do, good for you, you are attentive. But if you don’t, that’s okay. Neither do 98.7% of their other customers. Are you less likely to shop at any of these places because you can’t remember what their logo looks like? Probably not.

But you are less likely to shop at these places if you have received poor service, poor product, etc. So, what does that mean in regards to branding? Your WHOLE business is your brand. From the sign out front to the empty toilet paper holder in the ladies bathroom, it all matters to your customers. If the first thing that comes to mind when your customers think of you is, “They have great food, but the bathroom always has this weird smell…” then your brand is tainted. If your customers love your products, but your billing process is a pain, your brand is tainted.

I like to think of branding as a balancing act between the images such as the logo, the flyers, the signs, etc and between the actual experience. You need to have the logos and the signs so that people will take you seriously, but all the expensive logos and signs in the world won’t save you if your receptionist has a bad attitude that turns your customers away.

So how do you create a brand that consists of your whole business? One thing that I suggest is that you are constantly looking at ways to improve the systems in your business. (And if you are getting a blank and confused look on your face when I mention systems, I would start by reading Michael Gerber’s book “The E-Myth.”)

I like to think of business as being about growth and continual change. To me that means that what worked last month may not work today, so we have to constantly be checking and testing things to make sure that they are still applicable to our business today.

So if you notice that at about 3:35pm each day you are getting complaints that the toilet paper holder in the ladies bathroom is empty, maybe you should put a system in place that tells your employees to check the ladies bathroom at 3:25 pm every day and make sure that there are plenty of toilet paper and paper towels. But don’t just change it and leave it. Continue to monitor, because you might notice that the time may change during the winter months and you have to tweak your system again.

If you notice that when a potential customer calls everything goes great until they are handed off to a certain person, tweak the system. Maybe listen in to what that person is saying and how they are saying it. If need be, give them a script. If they are not on board with the process, maybe you should look at finding someone who will be, because you cannot afford to have your employees ruining your brand for you. It is all you have.

Think back to your childhood and the little hardware store down on the corner. Do you think the owner knew a thing about creating a brand? Probably not. What he did know about was his customers and he knew how to provide good service. He knew that the farmer down the road was about to repair some fences, so when the needed material came in he didn’t just wait for the farmer to saunter in again. He gave him a call and then had it delivered right to his doorstep. He knew the exact types of hinges in your Aunt Millie’s house and how to get replacement ones, because he sold her father the originals years ago. And best of all, he knew your favorite kind of candy and always knew when you needed a pick me up.

Am I trying to say that you need to open up a little country hardware store? No. Am I saying that branding is bad? No. What I am saying is that a logo or nice stationary are not going to save you if you have poor customer service or a poor product. I am saying that it is a whole package.

You need to take those basics of customer service from the little country hardware store owner and realize that the whole reason a business is known for good service is not because they said so in some ad. It is because their customers said it about them time after time after time. The same can be said for good food, cleanliness, good quality, etc. Remember, if you say it, your customer will question it. If they say it, it is true.

Another way to help with this is to get customer feedback on a consistent basis, first of all so that you can know what your customers think about you and secondly so that you can catch the problems in your system quickly. And then, more importantly, once you have the feedback do something about it! I love the way my local Starbuck’s has taken this one step further. Every time I go in there I see a little chalk board saying, “Things we are working on this week.” It then lists 3-4 items that they have received feedback on from customers and that they are working to improve. What this does is it shows your customers that their feedback is important to you.

Besides showing your customers that their feedback is important, surveys also help you to work on your business and get it to where it flows like a well oiled machine. A mechanic must know all of the different sounds of an engine so that when one piece is out of sync they know where to look. So you must know the way your business should look, feel, and sound so that when one piece is out of sync you know what needs to be changed. And who knows, it may be your expensive logo or sign.

Matt Wenger is a Serial Entrepeneur who does marketing for businesses including sales strategies, referral systems, marketing systems and more. For a FREE report on mistakes over 97% of business owners make go to:

www.psychological-marketing.com and receive a Free Report on 3 Common Mistakes People Make in Their Business - A $79 Value.

[tags]Branding, Small Business, Customer Service, Customer Experience, Marketing, Brand[/tags]