We discussed a living example of selfless marketing on The BIGG Success Show. You can watch or listen to the interview by clicking the players above. Here’s a summary of our discussion.
Our mission at BIGG success is to help good people have more money so they can do more good. And today, we bring you a Good News Story.
You’ve seen it in the movie The Miracle on 34th Street*. Macy’s Santa sent the mother of a son who wanted a fire truck to the competition, because Macy’s was sold out.
Sounds great for Hollywood. But that can’t possibly work in the real world. Right?
We were chatting with a media executive recently who made an unsurprising observation: Business is great, thanks to the election.
Since we’re always trying to gauge the state of the entrepreneurial economy, we asked: Are small businesses advertising?
We found the answer to be both intriguing and sad: For the most part, they can’t afford to.
Ads are selling at a premium due to demand. Most small businesses can’t afford the current rates.
Promoting one job or many?
The political process is squeezing them out. That may not make much of a difference in an economy experiencing slow growth, but what about elections during boom times?
Political ads help one person get a job – be it a local, state or national office. When a small business promotes, it may lead to tens, hundreds or thousands of them.
Should it affect the timing of your startup?
More importantly, this conversation also made us think about a common question. We’re often asked: When is the best time to start a business?
Our answer has been: There really isn’t one. You can make the case for starting up in just about any market.
Some of the biggest success stories were started in a recession. Others started in a boom. Still others started in between the two.
However, this conversation made us think about something we had never given much thought to before:
If you rely on major media to get the word out for your product or service, you may want to start in a year with no elections. And you may especially want to avoid a Presidential election year.
What do you think? Is the political process killing small businesses? Should you consider this when starting up?
[haiku url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00829-092712.mp3″ title=”The BIGG Success Show #829″] He was a typical 41-year old guy. He’d had some career successes and some failures.
But shopping changed his life.
He bought some jeans. But they didn’t fit. So his wife, Doris, went on a mission – find a pair of jeans for Don.
She went to several stores. All she found was limited assortments and nothing in Don’s size. Plus, the mess! They weren’t displayed nicely or set up to be easy to find what you were looking for.
As Don and Doris discussed it, they realized they had stumbled upon a great small business idea:
They would open a store which stocked all sizes, styles and colors of Levi’s.
Yes, you need to bring something unique to the market. But don’t think that means you have to invent something or that innovation is only in the realm of the techie entrepreneurs.
As the Fishers demonstrate, it may be as simple as offering a broader assortment.
This is the real opportunity for small businesses. Large companies are often shallow and narrow in their offerings. For example, a big-box store may only stock the fastest selling items.
You may find your opportunity by offering a complete assortment in a given niche. Then you can expand out from there once you get traction.
Look for gaps
We couldn’t resist! But seriously, this is a great way to find your best business opportunity.
Look for gaps between what you want and what’s available. When you find one, chances are you’re not the only one looking for it.
You may be staring your BIGG opportunity in the face. You’ve discovered an unserved or under-served market. And that’s where you’ll find BIGG success!
https://biggsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bigg-success_stacked-1080.png10801080George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Fosterhttps://biggsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/BIGG-Success-Nurturing-Your-Inner-Entreprener.jpgGeorge Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster2012-09-27 06:00:042012-09-24 19:15:56Can You Believe How This Billionaire Got His Small Business Idea
It’s National Small Business Weekhere in the United States. It has us thinking about the state of small business.
According to an article on Portfolio.com, small businesses failed at record rates from 2008 – 2010. Interestingly though, startup rates have been climbing since 2006. In fact, the number of new businesses hit highs not seen for a decade in 2009 and 2010.
It’s an interesting paradox. Why would so many people start a business when so many others are failing?
Many people get stuck. They want to start their own business. But the key word is “start” – they just can’t seem to do it.
You need a reason to start and it has to be one that will push you over the edge. So let’s look at five reasons for starting up a small business.
1) You’re driven by a dream
You know what you want to do. You’ve thought about it and thought about it. You’re tired of just thinking about it. You have to do it. If you vision is compelling enough, it will push you off the fence.
2) You want to take control
We live in a tumultuous world. Companies hire…Companies fire. Your fate may be in the hands of someone hundreds or thousands of miles away who doesn’t even know you. Your desire for control may help you make the leap.
3) You know you have so much more potential
You feel stagnant. You know you’re stuck. You’ve gone as far as you can with your company and in your industry. But it’s beyond that – it’s not just about career advancement. It’s also about personal growth. You know you could do so much more. It’s time to show the world your true potential.
4) You have a cause
A vision is one thing. A mission is another. You have a compelling “why”. You feel it with every ounce and inch of your being. It’s ingrained in your soul.
You have a cause and you’re afraid that if you don’t work for it, no one will. So you must start today to do the good work you were born to do.
5) You have “winner’s fear”
Losers are afraid to fail. So they can’t bring themselves to risk being embarrassed or hearing “I told you so.” On the other hand, winners are afraid of not trying. They just can’t accept not knowing if they could have done something more and been something greater. This winner’s fear drives them to move forward.
These are a just a few of the reasons for starting a business. What’s yours?
https://biggsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bigg-success_stacked-1080.png10801080George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Fosterhttps://biggsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/BIGG-Success-Nurturing-Your-Inner-Entreprener.jpgGeorge Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster2012-05-22 07:00:132012-05-21 21:14:375 Reasons for Starting Up a Small Business
On The BIGG Success Show today, we wrapped up our conversation with Les McKeown about his new fantastic new book, The Synergist. Les started over 40 companies before launching Predictable Success, a business education and consulting company that helps organizations of all sizes – from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies.
Last time, we talked about why you need to adopt the Synergist style in your business and why everyone needs to take a synergistic approach when dealing with their co-workers.
Click a player to hear Les talk with George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast.
iPhone/iPad/Mobile Podcast Player
[haiku url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00776-012612.mp3″ title=”The BIGG Success Show #776″] Listen to this podcast to discover:
what it means if you’re a combination of personalities
the dominant and secondary type which is very rare
why many people with this combo become consultants
how to tell if you are a natural Synergist
why the Synergist helps you make decisions more efficiently
how to learn to adopt the Synergist style in your organization
the mechanical issues that each personality type needs to address
why some businesses only need two of the four personality types
Are you a Visionary, an Operator, a Processor, or a Synergist? Les has a free personality quiz to help you find out. Check it out today!
We thank Les for the generous gift of his time and wisdom. And thank you for listening to this series.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
