6 Business Lessons on Life Examples

I have came across those a couple of times and find them really interesting. My story retelling. Enjoy!

Lesson 1
Husband walks into the shower just as his wife had just finished bathing. The doorbell rang. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. On the doorstep is their neighbor Bob. Just seeing her, Bob says, "I'll give you $ 800 if you drop that towel." After thinking for a moment, the woman and stands naked in front of Bob. Bob hands her $ 800 and leaves. The woman wraps back the towel and goes back upstairs. "Who was it?" asks the husband. , "Bob" - she replies. "Well, - said the husband - he did not say anything about the $ 800 he owes me?" 
Moral of the story: share with shareholders information about credits, otherwise you may find yourself in an unpleasant situation. 

Lesson 2
The priest offers to give a nun a lift. Once in the car, she puts a leg over the other, so that the thigh is seen. The priest nearly had an accident. He took the control over his car again and put his hand on her leg. The nun said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he put his hand on her leg again. The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?". The priest apologized "Sorry sister but the flesh is weak." Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went away. Arriving at the church, the priest opened Psalm 129 It said, "Go further and search and above you will find happiness." 
Moral of the story: If you don't know your job well, many opportunities for development will be passing by.

Lesson 3
A sales representative, a secretary and a manager went to lunch and found an antique oil lamp. They rubbed it and a Ginny comes out. He says: "I ​​will fulfill one wish for each of you." "I am the first, I am the first!" - Said the secretary. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, and not working." Pshsh! It disappears. "Now me, now me" - says sales representative. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life." Pshsh! He disappears. "Now it's your turn," - says Ginny the manager. "I want those two back in the office after lunch." 
Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say. 

Lesson 4

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked, "Can I also sit like you sit and do nothing?" "Sure, why not" - he replied. Rabbit sat under a tree and rested. Suddenly there was a fox passing by and the fox grabbed the rabbit and ate it. 
Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high. 

Lesson 5

Turkey said to the bull. "My dream is to climb to the top of the tree - she sighed - but I have so little power." "Why do not you nibble on some of my sh**t? - offered the bull - there are a lot of nutrients inside." The turkey did that, and it really gave it enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, eating more, she reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree. There she was spotted by a farmer, who shot from a gun. 

Moral of the story: Any manipulations involving sh**t can get you to the top, but will not keep you there. 

Lesson 6

A little bird was flying southwards for the winter. It was so cold that it froze and fell on the ground in a large field. As she laid there, and a cow walked by and sh**ted on her. Lying in cow sh**t, the bird suddenly realized how warm it was. Cow sh**t brought her back to life! The bird suddenly felt so good that she sang to express their joy. A passing cat heard the song and decided to find out what was going on. Following the sound source, the cat found the bird, dug up and ate it. 

Moral of the story: 1) Not everyone who sh**ts on you is your enemy. 2) Not everyone who gets you out of sh**t, your friend. 3) when you are nice and warm, it is better to keep your mouth shut.

5 Keys to Profitable Start-up

Quite often starting something new we are so much into the idea that we forget about several practical things very much needed to help this idea grow into profitable business. Just pay attention to these 5 key things that will help you to succeed.

KEY 1 Create an attractive offer
.. and say it and put it into word worm in all materials of your website. This is somethjing that is not describing your product but answering the main question of your potential customer "What do I need it for?"

KEY 2 Tell about this offer correctly and properly
Your need marketing and PR. If the product is new, try to be more creative than just use of context advertising and SEO. Find the place where your target customer is and appear there! Use smart marketing approach.

KEY 3 Think about your company image and how to become known
Be ready not to be super popular or well know but just ready then after your customers will come to know about your product/service then will potentially want to know about your company and who you are. Prepare your story.
Write about your company on website, prepare a couple of articles on forums and blogs, maybe newspapers? Depending on your ambitions, of course!

KEY 4 Good reputation
In case your product is super new or your customer will risk a bit buying it, make sure before your launch to prepare a very positive informational background in social networks. Use hidden adverts and keep it mind it take from 3 to 6 months to create this background.

KEY 5 Efficient sales structure
This of this far in advance. This is a very important part to know how you will sell? what you will sell? who you will sell? how you keep track? so..

• think of scripts and your sales qualifications. train them well to qualify, sell and retain your customers
• use suitable CRM and always analyse the results to see which way to go
• use variable sales materials like website, brochures, e-books, landing pages, blogs, videos etc. and target with them appropriate audience in the right time
• spread the workload between different sales people and never let same people do full sales cycle. this may cause potential problem in the future.

WHY won't those 5 elements work still?
5 elements are just 5 separate elements. That's not a system. They will become THE system working for your ONLY in case they will be properly organised and will serve one main idea.
Create one development strategy taking into account:

• market conditions on consumption/potential consumption abilities
• competitors (do SWOT) full research and make sure you cover their weakness with your strengths
• your target audience -> know EVERYTHING about them and they will buy your product/service!
• pricing should be right price for right value.

Now do the maths:
5 keys+development strategy=successful start-up

Best of luck!

How Many Times Should YOU Try?

That's a VERY COOL ARTICLE!! How to INVEST IN YOURSELF!

SOURCE

Through interviews, through people writing me letters, through the course of the past 20 years. You can try it or not.

A) Reinvention never stops.

Every day you reinvent yourself. You’re always in motion. But you decide every day: forward or backward.

B) You start from scratch.

Every label you claim you have from before is just vanity. You were a doctor? You were Ivy League? You had millions? You had a family? Nobody cares. You lost everything. You’re a zero. Don’t try to say you’re anything else.

C) You need a mentor.

Else, you’ll sink to the bottom. Someone has to show you how to move and breathe. But don’t worry about finding a mentor (see below).

D) Three types of mentors

1. Direct. Someone who is in front of you who will show you how they did it. What is “it”? Wait. By the way, mentors aren’t like that old Japanese guy in “The Karate Kid.” Ultimately most mentors will hate you.
2. Indirect. Books. Movies. You can outsource 90 percent of mentorship to books and other materials. 200-500 books equals one good mentor. People ask me, “What is a good book to read?” I never know the answer. There are 200-500 good books to read. I would throw in inspirational books. Whatever are your beliefs, underline them through reading every day.
3. Everything is a mentor. If you are a zero, and have passion for reinvention, then everything you look at will be a metaphor for what you want to do. The tree you see, with roots you don’t, with underground water that feeds it, is a metaphor for computer programming if you connect the dots. And everything you look at, you will connect the dots.E) Don’t worry if you don’t have passion for anything.
   You have passion for your health. Start there. Take baby steps. You don’t need a passion to succeed. Do what you do with love and success is a natural symptom.
   F) Time it takes to reinvent yourself: five years.
   Here’s a description of the five years:
   • Year One: you’re flailing and reading everything and just starting to DO.
   • Year Two: you know who you need to talk to and network with. You’re Doing every day. You finally know what the monopoly board looks like in your new endeavors.
   • Year Three: you’re good enough to start making money. It might not be a living yet.
   • Year Four: you’re making a good living
   • Year Five: you’re making wealth
   Sometimes I get frustrated in years 1-4. I say, “why isn’t it happening yet?” and I punch the floor and hurt my hand and throw a coconut on the floor in a weird ritual. That’s okay. Just keep going. Or stop and pick a new field. It doesn’t matter. Eventually you’re dead and then it’s hard to reinvent yourself.
   G) If you do this faster or slower then you are doing something wrong.
   Google is a good example.
   H) It’s not about the money. But money is a decent measuring stick.
   When people say “it’s not about the money” they should make sure they have a different measuring stick.
   “What about just doing what you love?” There will be many days when you don’t love what you are doing. If you are doing it just for love then it will take much much longer than five years.
   Happiness is just a positive perception from our brain. Some days you will be unhappy. Our brain is a tool we use. It’s not who we are.
   I) When can you say, “I do X!” where X is your new career?
   Today.
   J) When can I start doing X?
   Today. If you want to paint, then buy a canvas and paints today, start buying 500 books one at a time, and start painting. If you want to write do these three things:
   • Read
   • Write
   • Take your favorite author and type your favorite story of his word for word. Wonder to yourself why he wrote each word. He’s your mentor today.
   If you want to start a business, start spec-ing out the idea for your business. Reinvention starts today. Every day.
   K) How do I make money?
   By year three you’ve put in 5,000-7,000 hours. That’s good enough to be in the top 200-300 in the world in anything. The top 200 in almost any field makes a living.
   By year three you will know how to make money. By year four you will scale that up and make a living. Some people stop at year four.
   L) By year five you’re in the top 30-50 so can make wealth.
   M) What is “it”? How do I know what I should do?
   Whatever area you feel like reading 500 books about. Go to the bookstore and find it. If you get bored three months later go back to the bookstore.
   It’s okay to get disillusioned. That’s what failure is about. Success is better than failure but the biggest lessons are found in failure.
   Very important: There’s no rush. You will reinvent yourself many times in an interesting life. You will fail to reinvent many times. That’s fun also.
   Many reinventions make your life a book of stories instead of a textbook.
   Some people want the story of their life to be a textbook. For better or worse, mine is a book of stories.
   That’s why reinvention happens every day.
   N) The choices you make today will be in your biography tomorrow.
   Make interesting choices and you will have an interesting biography.
   N1) The choices you make today will be in your biology tomorrow.
   O) What if I like something obscure? Like biblical archaeology or 11th-century warfare?
   Repeat all of the steps above, and then in year five you will make wealth. We have no idea how. Don’t look to find the end of the road when you are still at the very first step.
4. P) What if my family wants me to be an accountant?
   How many years of your life did you promise your family? Ten years? Your whole life? Then wait until the next life. The good thing is: you get to choose.
   Choose freedom over family. Freedom over preconceptions. Freedom over government. Freedom over people-pleasing. Then you will be pleased.
   Q) My mentor wants me to do it HIS way.
   That’s fine. Learn HIS way. Then do it YOUR way. With respect.
   Hopefully nobody has a gun to your head. Then you have to do it their way until the gun is put down.
   R) My spouse is worried about who will support/take care of kids?
   Then after you work 16 hours a day, seven days a week being a janitor, use your spare time to reinvent.
   Someone who is reinventing ALWAYS has spare time. Part of reinvention is collecting little bits and pieces of time and re-carving them the way you want them to be.
   S) What if my friends think I’m crazy?
   What friends?
   T) What if I want to be an astronaut?
   That’s not a reinvention. That’s a specific job. If you like “outer space” there are many careers. Richard Branson wanted to be an astronaut and started Virgin Galactic.
   U) What if I like to go out drinking and partying?
   Read this post again in a year.
   V) What if I’m busy cheating on my husband or wife or betraying a partner?
   Read this post again in two or three years when you are broke and jobless and nobody likes you.
   W) What if I have no skills at all?
   Read “B” again.
   X) What if I have no degree or I have a useless degree?
   Read “B” again.
   Y) What if I have to focus on paying down my debt and mortgage?
   Read “R” again.
   Z) How come I always feel like I’m on the outside looking in?
   Albert Einstein was on the outside looking in. Nobody in the establishment would even hire him.
   Everyone feels like a fraud at some point. The highest form of creativity is born out of skepticism.
   AA) I can’t read 500 books. What one book should I read for inspiration?
   Give up.
   BB) What if I’m too sick to reinvent?
   Reinvention will boost every healthy chemical in your body: serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin. Keep moving forward and you might not get healthy but you will get healthier. Don’t use health as an excuse.
   Finally, reinvent your health first. Sleep more hours. Eat better. Exercise. These are key steps to reinvention.
   CC) What if my last partner screwed me and I’m still suing him?
   Stop litigating and never think about him again. Half the problem was you, not him.
   DD) What if I’m going to jail?
   Perfect. Reread “B.” Read a lot of books in jail.
   EE) What if I’m shy?
   Make your weaknesses your strengths. Introverts listen better, focus better, and have ways of being more endearing.
   FF) What if I can’t wait five years?
   If you plan on being alive in five years then you might as well start today.
   GG) How should I network?
   Make concentric circles. You’re at the middle.
   The next circle is friends and family.
   The next circle is online communities.
   The circle after that is meetups and coffees.
   The circle after that is conferences and thought leaders.
   The circle after that is mentors.
   The circle after that is customers and wealth-creators.
   Start making your way through the circles.
   HH) What happens when I have ego about what I do?
   In 6-12 months you’ll be back at “B”
   II) What if I’m passionate about two things? What if I can’t decide?
   Combine them and you’ll be the best in the world at the combination.
   JJ) What if I’m so excited I want to teach what I’m learning?
   Start teaching on YouTube. Start with an audience of one and see if it builds up.
   KK) What if I want to make money while I sleep?
   In year four, start outsourcing what you do.
   LL) How do I meet mentors and thought leaders?
   Once you have enough knowledge (after 100-200 books), write down 10 ideas for 20 different potential mentors.
   None of them will respond. Write down 10 more ideas for 20 new mentors. Repeat every week.
   Put together a newsletter for everyone who doesn’t respond. Keep repeating until someone responds. Blog about your learning efforts. Build community around you being an expert.
   MM) What if I can’t come up with ideas?
   Then keep practicing coming up with ideas. The idea muscle atrophies. You have to build it up.
   It’s hard for me to touch my toes if I haven’t been doing it every day. I have to do it every day for a while before I can easily touch my toes. Don’t expect to come up with good ideas on day one.
   NN) What else should I read?
   AFTER books, read websites, forums, magazines. But most of that is garbage.
   OO) What if I do everything you say but it still doesn’t seem like it’s working?
   It will work. Just wait. Keep reinventing every day.
   Don’t try and find the end of the road. You can’t see it in the fog. But you can see the next step and you do know that if you take that next step eventually you get to the end of the road.
   PP) What if I get depressed?
   Sit in silence for one hour a day. You need to get back to your core.
   If you think this sounds stupid then don’t do it. Stay depressed.
   QQ) What if I don’t have time to sit in silence?
   Then sit in silence for two hours a day. This is not meditation. This is just sitting.
   RR) What if I get scared?
   Sleep 8-9 hours a day and never gossip. Sleep is the No. 1 key to successful health. It’s not the only key. It’s just No. 1. Some people write to me and say, “I only need four hours of sleep” or “in my country sleeping means laziness.” Well, those people will fail and die young.
   What about gossip? The brain biologically wants to have 150 friends. Then when you are with one of your friends you can gossip about any of the other 150. If you don’t have 150 friends then the brain wants to read gossip magazines until it thinks it has 150 friends.
   Don’t be as stupid as your brain.
   SS) What if I keep feeling like nothing ever works out for me?
   Spend 10 minutes a day practicing gratitude. Don’t suppress the fear. Notice the anger.
   But also allow yourself to be grateful for the things you do have. Anger is never inspirational but gratitude is. Gratitude is the bridge between your world and the parallel universe where all creative ideas live.
   TT) What if I have to deal with personal bullshit all the time?
   Find new people to be around.
   Someone who is reinventing herself will constantly find people to try and bring her down. The brain is scared of reinvention because it might not be safe.
   Biologically, the brain wants you to be safe and reinvention is a risk. So it will throw people in your path who will try to stop you.
   Learn how to say “no.”
   UU) What if I’m happy at my cubicle job?
   Good luck.
   VV) Why should I trust you – you’ve failed so many times?
   Don’t trust me.
   WW) Will you be my mentor?
   You’ve just read this post.
5. 

Crib on Objection Handling

Your client resists? Theory says: "You haven't uncovered the NEED!" I will try to uncover practical objections scenarios here. 

Work with objections is one of the key moments of the entire sales process. Many lose the client at this stage. Remember - a discount is not a major lever for closing. Personally, I can not sell any product, pushing only the advantages of the goods, and how it differs from analogues, or just getting customer priorities well and reach his expectations.

So normally there three main objections you can hear: "this is too expensive", "we buy from other supplier and we don't want to change" and "I want a discount".

Main thing here is to understand if that's just that moment when potential customer wants to get rid of you saying that or it's THE reason why he is not willing to buy. I will offer you filters to recognize this.

FILTER 1

1) Expensive compared to what? .. Yes, we are a bit more expensive however.....

2) Have a supplier - OK, that's always a good idea to have an additional one and ... try to offer what you have and figure out if there any gaps in service of current supplier and show how you can cover them.

3) I want a discount! - clear enough, I can offer you a discount with a next purchase, I can offer you something additional on top, try to up sell, etc.

FILTER 2 or Word lace

Take the last word of your customer and try to dig deeper. 

1) "We don't have money" - company is working and not closing down so... they have sales and have money. Now, try to dig asking why? what is that connected to? no money right now because you bought supplies? when are you planning/have budget next time? I will give you a call. The main GOAL here is to find out when the budget is going to happen/being approved etc. and try to manage it indirectly.

2) "We don't need" - don't need now or at all? why? when are you going to need this? and try to lead this conversation pushing to the point that the client will need that one day and make sure at the end of the conversation you should have this time frame when you can make a follow up call.

3) "We don't need already" - one day they will need. Please, follow N2.

4) "Sorry, I'm busy" - figure out when avail and try next time to not ask if he has some time to talk :) otherwise will never happen.

Good luck!

How to evaluate potential profitability of your business idea? NOT a Post Just to Read

This is NOT an article to read, this is an exercise for you to do.  So make sure you have a paper and a pen and you are ready to go!

The main idea here is to be honest with yourself and write down everything you think related to this testing because this is your tool to improve and make it working business. Like Russians normally do in business: the war will show the plan. Normally it shows they a lot of money can be lost together with time and efforts wasted.

READY - STEADY - GO:

Brief business description: my company is going to.... Just several sentences or bullet points to start with.

Have you calculated the cost of the creation and promotion of your business? 

What exactly do you want to offer consumers? Make a list of possible services and products. 

Your services and products are unique or you offer the same thing, and many others? 

What exactly is the uniqueness of your business proposal? What are you suggesting, that no one else can offer? 

Is there really an urgent need for your products and services? Why do you think potential customers will buy? 

Is the potential demand high enough for your business to be profitable? Do you know (at least approximately) the size of the possible demand? 

Estimate the size of the market and its dynamics (growing, stable, declining)? What volume (in euros, dollars, etc) you could expect? 

Objectives for the coming month/quarter/year. Any quantitative indicators you want to achieve? In what terms? 

How well do you imagine the process of bringing your ideas to the ready business? 

To what extent are ready your products and services? Do you need to refine it? 

How well do you represent a scheme of payment and delivery of your goods and services? 

How do potential customers learn about your existence and your services? What is your strategy for the promotion? 

List the ways in which you are going to spin your business (eg billboards, advertisements in newspapers (which), online advertising, banner advertising, through friends, etc.). 

Do you expect the appearance of regular customers or your services (sales) will be one-off? 

Whether you're planning a system of discounts and loyalty? 

Who are the potential buyer of your services and products? What is his income? If this firm or government agencies, what their size and profile? 

What is the number of potential buyers (per month, per week, per year)? 

Do I need your services (goods) to the buyer permanently or from time to time? 

How often will he buy? Will there be a demand for permanent or seasonal? 

How can affect the buyer's decision price change (increase or decrease)? 

Why is customer buys your product (or service), rather than the product of your competitor? 

How can affect the buyer's decision price change (increase or decrease)? 

How strong is the competition in this area? There is a place for you? 

Do you know your competitors? 

What is their strength? Their weakness? Have you done the SWOT or PESTL?

How your Competitors advertise their products? 

Describe the benefits of your services and products in comparison with competitors - price, quality, uniqueness, after-sales service, etc. 

Do you need staff? How do you they're looking for? What is the level of their qualifications you need? 

Do you have the wages of future workers? Will you be able to pay salary before the first customers? 

What forms of motivation do you suppose to workers (higher wages, bonuses, percentage of profits, sales, etc.)? 

Do you need an office or business premises? Do you have something in mind? 

Have you calculated the total cost of the organization and promotion of new business? Do you have the funds? 

If not, how big is the probability of obtaining a loan, investment, partners?

IF YOU ARE READING THIS SENTENCE, I'm sure you have enough drive and persistence to succeed as an entrepreneur! Good Luck!

Top 40 LOW BUDGET Advertising and Promotion Ideas

source
1. Take great photos so your items reach Etsy’s Front Page – this has been the most successful free advertising we’ve had in our two years on Etsy
2. Create Treasuries, Be in Treasuries
3. Make connections with Twitter
4. Make connections with Facebook
5. Post photos of your process on Flickr and participate in Flickr groups, Tumblr is another great blog/photo site
6. Comment on the Etsy blog, The Storque
7. Write your own blog, create meaningful content
8. Comment on other blogs, many blogs will link your name back to your website. When you comment make sure you enter your website in the field that asks for it.
9. Do a giveaway on a blog or website
10. Use all 14 tags to describe your item, use a few unique words/colors/descriptors
11 Offer promo codes on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, etc.
12. Post promo codes to sites like Etsy Saver
13. Include promo codes for returning buyers in your orders
14. Send out a monthly/quarterly shop newsletter with a free site like MailChimp
15. Hand out business cards, take them with you everywhere
16. Participate in a craft show, make sure to hand out business cards or postcards
17. Participate in Etsy Forums/ teams
18. Shop Etsy
19. Use the Etsy favorites and circle features
20. Leave feedback for Etsy purchases and sales
21. Use Google Analytics to analyze existing traffic so you can reach your target audience and keep them in your shop
22. Keep visitors in your shop by Including links to shops sections and other items in your listing descriptions
23. Fill in your country, city and state so people can find you using the Shop Local feature
24. Sign up for the Etsy newsletters so you can stay on top of opportunities, merchandising topics, and current trends
25. Optimize listing descriptions for google search
26. Ship internationally
27. Donate items to charity fundraisers, include a stack of business cards
28. Brand your items with sewn in tags, hang tags, and packaging (especially if you wholesale)
29. Provide awesome service and communication to your existing customers, they’ll tell their friends
30. Find free places to advertise in your local community – put your business cards up in coffee shops, at your salon, gym, or places your customers might frequent
31. Post your items in the Handmadeology Market
32. Optimize your shop’s SEO with backlinks
33. Offer a variety of items at different price points, this will attract a wider range of buyers to your listings
34. Use your own products in public as much as possible (wear them, etc.)
35. Post tutorials on YouTube
36. Collaborate with another Etsian
37. Create a Kaboodle profile
38. Enlist family, friends and trusted clients to help you spread the word about your products. Word of mouth is some of the best advertising out there.
39. List your site in internet directories40. Give out a free trial product – not something we all want to do, but sometimes if you make something great it can pay to let people try it out firsthand