Archive for December 2009
Become a Concession Vendor
People have been starting and running their own businesses for years. Some of the most successful people in business today are people who took a small idea and made it into something big. This was the chance they needed to make themselves into something big. There are many types of businesses out there from offering a service to make people’s lives easier to selling a product such as with the food service industry. Recently popular in food service is purchasing a concession trailer as a mobile food kitchen. There are several positive aspects of owning a mobile concession trailer as opposed to a stationary restaurant at a static location.
One advantage to having a mobile kitchen is a word in its title “mobile.” Rather than staying in one location, someone with a mobile kitchen can attend events and sit in places for business in areas all over. This allows for high-paying events to be in reach for the business owner. The traditional stationary restaurant does not have the luxury of moving from on place to another based on potential profit. This is definitely one advantage to having a mobile kitchen over a stationary restaurant.
Another reason being able to move a restaurant can be a great advantage over a stay-in-place restaurant is that, if business is bad in a certain area, a mobile kitchen can get up and move to a location that will provide more customers and therefore more cash flow. With a restaurant in a building in one location, if a restaurant is failing because of the location such as scarcely populated area, or food that does not go together with the area, the owner can not just get up and move his business. He must figure out another alternative to moving in order to save his business.
One final reason that purchasing a concession trailer can be advantageous over a restaurant in a building is the fact that it is very affordable compared to the cost of a stationary restaurant. Hundreds of thousands of dollars may be required to successfully get a traditional restaurant off the ground. For as relatively little as $25,000 – $30,000, you can purchase an almost new, spacious concession trailer equipped with a grill, deep fryers and other cooking equipment suitable for running a restaurant. This is a fraction of the cost a traditional restaurant would cost just to get it ready to run, much less order food and other miscellaneous supplies.
Customer Loyalty – The Key to Business Success
Talk to many business people about how they approach customer service and the majority of them will say that they are aiming to have ‘satisfied’ customers. No! What we all should be seeking is to have loyal customers.
Research has shown that 65% of customers say they are loyal. You may be happy with this but you shouldn’t! Satisfied customers are in a state of nothing – they are neither issatisfied or happy; they are in between. They will tolerate you while you are of use to them but if a better deal comes along, they’re off.
On the other hand, loyal customers are your friends. They will be with you through thick and thin; they will be the first to try out you new product; they willing give you honest feedback; they will regularly refer business to you. This is what you want! But how can you turn a satisfied customer into a loyal one?
<b>Let Them Decide How to Do Business With You</b>
Today customers are a lot more sophisticated in how they want to do business. If your product or service lends itself to be offered via a number of different means, then give your customer the option.
Can you deliver face-to-face? What about telephone services? Could you make use of SMS texts for quick notes and reminders? Do you have a web site through which customers can contact you or even make orders on-line? If you provide a variety of delivery channels which are available to suit the customer’s needs then they are more likely to stay with you.
<b>Build a Relationship</b>
Loyalty can only be achieved if you have a true relationship with your customer. Aim to build rapport. Understand who are dealing with you and understand what they are looking for. Keep in regular contact with them; you don’t necessarily have to be selling something. Always use their names, especially their first name if you can.
All of this will help in building a long term relationship. Once you have this, they are less likely to walk away.
<b>Generate Staff Loyalty</b>
How can you cultivate a loyal customer if your staff are not loyal to the business? You must have staff who care for the job and will do anything to protect and move the business forward. Customers will be more loyal if they see familiar faces. A business with a high staff turnover will find it difficult to build a relationship with their customers.
10 Career Change Myths
<strong>Career Myth #1: You can’t make a living doing something you really, truly love</strong>
This is the grand-daddy of career myths, the belief that you can’t have a “practical” career doing something that you were passionate about. It has to be one or the other.
This myth is rooted in fear. Fear that we have to sacrifice our happiness to make a living. Don’t buy the myth that you can’t earn a living by doing what you love.
When I first started coaching, I heard from plenty of people that it would be very difficult to make a living doing this work. I just decided to find coaches who were successful, and to learn from them (simple, eh?).
If you find yourself buying into this myth, consider this question – As you look back on your life, what will you regret more? Following your passion or following your fears?
<strong>Career Myth #2: It’s a tough job market/economy</strong>
Even when the newspapers and other news sources say that unemployment numbers remain steady, that job growth is at a standstill, or that we’re experiencing slow economic recovery, not to mention downsizing and outsourcing, don’t believe it.
It’s a myth because it doesn’t reflect the whole story, the fact that that it’s a different job market today. It’s a changing economy. How we transition from job-to-job is different. Hiring practices have shifted. So the job market has changed, but that doesn’t necessarily make it tougher. What makes it tougher is that we’ve been slower to change. We’ve held on to old practices and old behaviors. That’s not to say that old ways still don’t work, but they’re just not as effective.
So I challenge you to just believe that it’s a perfect job market for you to find work. I’ve had my college students try this, just for a week, and, more times than not, several of them find job leads or make important connections during the week.
<strong>Career Myth #3: Changing careers is risky</strong>
What’s riskier than leaving what you know to pursue the unknown? Changing careers means leaving behind a piece of your identity – your “I’m a lawyer” response to the “what-do-you-do?” question. It might mean admitting to yourself that you made a mistake with an initial career choice. Or it might mean acknowledging that you’re unsure of what’s next. And smart people always know what’s next, right?
66 Ways To Promote Your product or Services
Some guru sells his program because he has 60 ways of marketing. One Dentist was asked about his marketing he said he had 100 ways and use them all. Well I came up with 66 so far. I will work on more sometime after tax season or you can email me with ones I might have missed.
The true is you can’t use them all. Some are too costly for many of us. Some won’t work. Try as many as you like and find the ones that work and work them till they stop working or you stop working, whichever comes first.
Here they are:
1. Direct to Consumers
2. Party plan
3. Rack Jobbers
4. Wholesalers
5. Mail Order House
6. Resident Buyers
7. Fairs and Exposition
8. Chain Stores
9. Discount Stores
10. Lease Departments
11. Supermarkets
12. Free Publicity
13. Sales People
14. Franchising
15. Co Party
16. U.S. Government
17. Direct Mail
18. Co-op Mailing
19. Trade shows
20. Advertising Specialties
21. PX’s
22. Premiums
23. Classifieds:
24. In Papers
25. In Magazine
26. On the net
27. In Special papers
28. Articles
29. Ezine
30. Emails
31. Sig files
32. Radio
33. Television
34. Seminars (paid to You)
35. Bill Boards
36. Flyers
37. Brochures
38. Seminars you give free
39. Telephone
40. Referrals
41. E.books
42. Free Search Engines
43. Paid Search Engines
44. Post cards
45. Yellow Page ad
46. Cross Selling with others
47. Joint Ventures
48. Telemarketing
49. Take out Boxes with ads on
50. Posters
51. Booth at Mails or stand at mall
52. Man or Women with sign about your business
53. Window Display
54. Outside Signs
55. Articles for directories on the net
56. Free downloads with ads about your business products or services
57. Free Recording
58. Free Video
59. Free CD
60. Free Report
61. Free Samples
62. Special Events
63. Contests and Sweepstakes
64. Column in a Newspaper
65. Editorial writing by you
66. Free Phone Messages
Let me know at Joetrevis@aol.com if you would like me to explain any of these in a report that your interest in. It will be at least 2 pages with a lot of information.
3 Simple Business Opportunities Review
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These programs are simple to use, have a small investment price, and you are able to see results usually on the first day! Now you won’t make millions overnight, like some programs promise, but you will build a nice part-time income that can certainly help with the bills (everyone I know wouldn’t say no to an extra $500+ bucks a month).
You might even consider using all the suggested programs and over time replace your existing income. That’s what I did, and lord knows i’m no “guru”, actually i am a journeyman carpenter from Canada that just wanted a nice online hobby business. I wasn’t expecting great things, just some extra cash, some “FUN” money. Now these programs have really taken off, I spend more time with my family and playing in my shop. I never expected this business to explode for me!
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Warm Regards,
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5 Ways Moms Can Make Money With A Home Business
Does the idea of starting your own business from home sound appealing? Has finding the right one stumped you? Do you often think that if you could make money at home you would be one very happy person? Then read on and see how easy it is to make money with a home business.
Make Money with Your Interests
Everyone is born with a special talent that sets them apart from others. Your job is to figure out what that talent is and find a way to turn it into a business. One lady I profiled in my book, “The Stay-at-Home Mom’s Guide To Making Money” had always liked horses. When she was younger she didn’t have a horse of her own, so she would groom and feed other people’s horses just for the chance to ride. Now that she is an adult, she has turned that interest into a pet sitting business. While she takes care of the smaller critters, she has niched herself in the area of horse care.
What Are Your Hobbies?
Is your hobby candle making, painting portraits, herb gardening? These are all great home businesses just waiting to happen, and you don’t necessarily have to produce these items to make money. Maybe you could start a newsletter on the subject of your hobby for others just like you. Maybe you could sell supplies to other hobbyists or businesses. Or maybe you could write a book on the subject. Once you start brainstorming you’ll be surprised at all the ideas you will come up with.
One woman I’ve met online is now the owner of her own portrait sketching business. She actually had two other home businesses before she decided that she could make extra money drawing sketches of people. She does incredible work, and when you look at your pictures it’s hard to believe she hasn’t been doing this longer. Sometimes the business for you is right in front of you; it’s just hard to believe that someone would actually pay you to do something that comes so easily and naturally for you.
You’re Producing a Product or Service for Your Friends and Family for Free already.