We wrapped up our discussion with
Chris Brogan today on The BIGG Success Show. Chris is the President of
Human Business Works, a media and
education company.

He is the New York Times best-selling author of Trust Agents, Social Media 101, and his latest Google+ for Business.

In Part 1, Chris shared why small businesses & entrepreneurs should get on board with Google+. Last time, he talked about the primary difference between Google+ and Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Listen to this show to discover:

• what a “warm” sell is
  
• why it converts.
  
• how social media helps you build relationships for your “warm” sell
  
• why social media is such a great way for your customers to share their good buying experiences with you
  

Click a player to hear Chris talk with George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast. (Show length 4:25)

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He’s done it again with Google+ for Business. We know you’ll benefit greatly from reading this book.

We thank Chris for sharing his wisdom with us. And we thank you for the gift or your time. Until tomorrow, here’s to your BIGG success!

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00801-041212.mp3

On The BIGG Success Show today, we continued our conversation with Chris Brogan. He is the President of Human Business Works, a media and education company.

He is the New York Times best-selling author of Trust Agents, Social Media 101, and his latest Google+ for Business.

Last time, we discussed why small businesses & entrepreneurs should get on board with Google+. In this session, you’ll hear:

• why Google+ is “more open than Facebook, more deep than Twitter, more rounded than LinkedIn”
  
• what Circles are and how they work
  
• why segmenting your Circles is such a valuable tool
  
• a unique way to distribute “how-to” information to your customers using Google+
  
• content marketing strategies that keep people engaged with your business
  
• how to combine your personal & professional lives on any social media channel
  

Click a player to hear Chris talk with George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast. (Show length 10:00)


iPhone/iPad/Mobile Podcast Player

Please check back tomorrow when Chris tells us what a “warm” sell is.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00800-041112.mp3

We were honored today to chat with
Chris Brogan on The BIGG Success Show. In
case you don’t know Chris, he is the President
of Human Business Works, a media and education company. He is one of the original Trust Agents, the title of a New York Times best-selling book he co-authored.

He’s one of the superstars of social media according to Forbes and Ad Age. We could go on and one but we’ll also just include that he’s one of our absolute favorite people.

He’s here to chat with us today about Google+ for Business, his latest book. Listen to this first of a three-part interview to discover:

• what “human business” means
  
• the three edges to the triangle of your community
  
• why you need all three to make your business work
  
• why small business owners and entrepreneurs should get on Google+
  
• How “search + your world” will effect the way your business comes up in Google Search
  

Click a player to hear Chris talk with George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast. (Show length 7:55)


iPhone/iPad/Mobile Podcast Player

Join us next time when Chris tells us why Google+ is “more open than Facebook, more deep than Twitter, more rounded than LinkedIn.”

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00799-041012.mp3

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is in deep water. They face falling demand for their core product along with rising costs.

It’s a deadly combination for any organization. So what does it have to do with entrepreneurs?

There are a number of lessons that could be taken away from the USPS. But today we want to focus on one area.

Listen to this post. Click a player to hear George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast.


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As we talk with startup entrepreneurs and small business owners, a mistake we often see them make is thinking they have no competition.

It’s a naïve point-of-view. EVERYBODY has competition.

If you think you don’t, you haven’t looked closely enough at the marketplace.

And you have to really think about how you define competition. Competition doesn’t necessarily mean other companies just like you.

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Before BIGG Success, my businesses all focused on serving property owners and managers. For some of our businesses, the biggest competition wasn’t other firms. It was people doing the work themselves.

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Give a more specific example, George.

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Okay, one of them was a carpet cleaning franchise. One group we did a lot of work for was apartment owners. I always kept in mind that they could do the work themselves.

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But to do that, they would have to invest in equipment and people?

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That’s true, but they could do it. So it set a limit on the price we could charge. Even if all other firms like mine charged the same amount as me, the customer could always compete with all of us directly.

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So your customer could be your competition. This is just one example of where to look before you say, “We don’t have any competition.”

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Now you might be saying, “What does this have to do with the USPS?”

It’s another form of competition you have to think about when you’re in business.

The Postal Service is a monopoly by law. Yet they are being hit hard by substitutes:

We can e-mail.

We can text.

We can connect online.

These digital forms of communication are impacting the USPS in a way telephones never did.

You can’t ignore substitutes when you’re thinking about starting your business. And as the Post Office proves, you can’t ignore substitutes as long as you’re in business.

Don’t get tunnel vision when you think about the market for your product or service. Look at it through your customer’s eyes. It leads to BIGG success!

Do you have a business idea but aren’t sure how to determine if it’s a good opportunity? Are you facing competition from substitutes?

Maybe we can help.

Thanks so much for checking in with us. Until next time, here’s to your BIGG success!

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00739-092711.mp3

Image in this post from stock.xchng

We’ve had an abundance of squirrels in our neighborhood this fall. Entrepreneurs can learn a lot from these furry creatures about storing up a hoard for winter and business cycles.

We were on our way to the grocery store not long ago. In the middle of the road, a squirrel had apparently stopped with its nut in his paws.

We don’t know what happened. We just know he didn’t make it.

Shortly thereafter, another squirrel ran across the road in front of us, with a huge nut in its mouth. We hit the brake hard to avoid hitting it.

It made us wonder:

Why did the squirrel cross the road?

Why did his friend give his life for a nut?

We returned home from our shopping excursion and took a break on our patio. Two squirrels scampered through our backyard – one squirrel chasing the other one.

Apparently, the smaller squirrel had wandered into unfriendly territory. He ran back across the street into familiar turf. Fortunately, he made it back home safely.

What can entrepreneurs and small business owners learn from these squirrels?

Risk increases when you cross the street to chase nuts.

Many entrepreneurs and small business owners focus too much on new customers in new territories.

New is exciting.

New gets the juices flowing.

New feels like progress.

But chasing nuts on the other side of the street means going up the learning curve. It requires taking more risk.

The most successful entrepreneurs are excellent risk managers. They know that “new” comes with more risk.

Larger, more established competitors are lurking. They will guard their turf vigorously. They will try to chase you away as soon as they learn about you.

And there are market forces which you may not fully understand at first. These vehicles can run you over, even when you’re feeling elated by finding a huge nut.

The most successful entrepreneurs devote more resources to growing relationships with existing customers. And looking for more customers nearby – customers who are just like the ones they already serve.

Of course, sometimes you do have to cross the road. But most of the time it’s better to focus on the nuts in your own backyard. It leads to BIGG success!

Would you like to make more money, more dependably? Maybe we can help.

 Image in this post from stock.xchng