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A Tisket A Tasket
As well as consistency and mounds of advertising
when trying to sell any product or service,
success also depends heavily on FLEXIBILITY.
Everyone loves to market what they LOVE, but
sometimes what needs to be marketed is that
which sells (sometimes the twain shall meet,
but that’s even better). Keep an open
mind, with an eye out for possibilities at
all times. If what you are currently selling
is not selling, well then, maybe its not saleable.
You may love it, but does anyone else? Sales
can also be seasonal, and its a big mistake
to block out a niche market that may be limited
but very lucrative, depending on the season.
When I started this company, just a few years
ago, it was not by choice, that’s why
I call myself “The Reluctant Entrepreneur”.
The lessons I learned were long and hard,
but my flexibility kept me afloat. The first
year was especially hard, as I had resigned
my lucrative position just shortly before
Christmas. I had several mouths to feed and
no way to do it but to sell. I browsed the
local newspapers relentlessly and sold everything
from books to vitamins. I did notice a local
breeder having a sale on puppies right after
Thanksgiving of that year. Jack Russell Terriers
they were. The breeder had what he called
“an overflow of that particular breed”
and I got a great deal from him ( I mean,
how many customers come in and ask for almost
a dozen pups at a time)?
My family, as usual, thought I was crazy
when I bought ten of these pups at “rock-bottom”
prices, and set them up in my basement in
a plastic kiddie pool. (I also used the “Christmas
money” to purchase them, so I was not
popular in my home that year). Well, let me
tell you, my family was soon “eating
crow”.
Right after Thanksgiving, I bought a large
wicker basket, an elf cap, some green and
red ribbons, and sat on my porch with those
puppies all bundled in a basket. Now let me
tell you, if you think you couldn’t
sell puppies from a basket a few weeks before
Christmas, wearing an elf cap, and yelling,
“Ho, Ho, Ho” to all passersby,
you’re wrong. Those dogs sold out after
the first day and I kept buying and selling
more until Christmas Eve of that year, recovering
not only my initial investment, but making
thousands in the process. We had the best
Christmas ever, and no one in this office
or in my family ever questions my “zanniness”
again. (There’s also a large Jack Russell
Terrier population in my immediate area now,
and all the pups resemble each other).
The lesson here, again, is the flexibility
to see an opportunity and to go with it, even
though everyone else may question your judgment
and your sanity. You’ll literally be
“laughing all the way to the bank”!
Katheryn Labosky
http://www.written-solutions.com
Copyright © 2002 Katheryn Mary Labosky
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"Got Traffic, But No Sales"?
Getting visitors to your website is only half
the battle. You need to keep them there. Did
you know that most individuals spend 95% of
their time creating their sites, but only
5% writing it?
Good writing can make or break a site. You
need to provide compelling writing, that encourages
your visitors to trust and buy from you. All
major, successful companies have professional
writers to provide content. Why wouldn't you?
Good writing, contrary to popular belief is
cheaper than you think, and can return the
out-of-pocket expense 100 times over with
increased sales.
Katheryn Labosky
http://www.written-solutions.com
Copyright © 2001 Written Solutions/KLR
Marketing Services
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“Life in the “Net” Slow
Lane”
It’s sad to say, but if someone were
asked to describe my personality, and my method
of attacking situations, they would probably
use the adjective “plodding”.
That’s not to say I am unintelligent.
I simply have a very cautious, careful outlook
on life and its problems, and never, ever
“jump” into any situation without
first testing the waters carefully and otherwise
researching all other available options before
committing to a course of action.
It was therefore almost inconceivable to me
that I would someday successfully own and
operate my own business. In the past, I had
viewed entrepreneurs as individuals with an
almost “pioneer-like” spirit,
obvious “risk- takers” with a
surreal ability to disregard caution and approach
situations with the utmost of confidence and
aplomb. Free spirits with no preconceived
notions of rules and regulations, individuals
who could easily “laugh” in the
face of danger. In other words, EVERYTHING
THAT I WAS NOT! I sincerely believed there
was no room in the world of entrepreneurship
for “plodders” such as myself.
In keeping with my personality, I did not
actively set out to be an entrepreneur. I
had successfully been enjoying a full career
working for others throughout my entire adult
life. However, as is usually the case, life
interfered, and I found myself caught between
my desire for my career, and the needs of
my terminally ill brother, who demanded more
of my time and attention than a career outside
of my home would allow. The decision to leave
my hard-earned “outside-the-home”
career, was not an easy one, and once I had
actually resigned, (somewhat hurriedly, due
to the pressing problems created by my brother’s
illness), I still found myself in need of
a somewhat substantial income to support my
extended household of dependents (I also suffer
from single motherhood). Since my time and
attention was almost completely confined to
the house now, in the guise of my brother,
I turned to the internet, as a source of possible
income.
The first few months online, were, for wont
of a better word, “ shocking”.
I jumped in practically with both feet, and
started researching “business opportunities”
that were available to me via the internet.
After responding to a few, with letters requesting
more information, I was literally bombarded
by hundreds of thousands of “offers”
by others, touting the outlandish monies that
could be made simply by following a “program”.
The words “gifting”, “MLM”,
and “affiliate” were bantered
about so frequently on the net, that these
terms became as familiar to me as my own name,
with each “offer” promising instant
wealth and unparalleled success in the business
world. Not only that, but all these offers
promised a minimum of work, with a maximum
payout! I only needed to work when I wanted,
and only for as long as I wanted, and the
“bucks” would start rolling in.
I would like to say that I was not even tempted
by these offers, but this would not be true.
I half-heartedly tried one or two, putting
my “slow but sure” approach to
work, only to find that the only responses
to any promotions I ran were counter-offers
for other promotions! If people were really
making money on these programs, then why were
they all recruiting others to do the same
relentlessly? Common sense told me that the
amount of individuals “selling”
would be tied adversely to the amounts of
products actually sold. Obviously, at this
point, I felt the need to reevaluate my whole
approach to success on the “net”.
Once again, I began all over. First, and foremost,
this second time around, I made a list of
all my talents. My resume reflected over thirty
years of customer service experience, as well
as thirty years of writing experience. I love
working with others, and I also love writing.
With this in mind, I researched the needs
of all these businesses that had been contacting
me relentlessly with all their counter-offers,
and thoroughly reread all the letters promoting
products and services that had previously
been sent to me. I discovered that most of
the letters and sales ads I had received were
very poorly written, and not at all appealing
to a general readership. With all the hundreds
of thousands of programs obviously in existence,
I felt I had stumbled across a somewhat untapped
market of my own, writing for inexperienced
business opportunity owners, and affiliate
“joiners” most of whom lacked
some very basic writing skills.
Initially, I randomly placed advertising across
the net, with somewhat mixed results, touting
myself as a new, up-and-coming, “webwriter”.
A good business plan followed, by which I
expanded my services, adding the writing of
articles and research papers for college students,
as well as an 800 “coaching” number,
and research and secretarial services for
those that need them. My approach to advertising
changed as well, clarified by a professional
website, recurring “dirt-world”
advertising, plus “reverse” marketing,
in which I opened each letter sent me proposing
“instant” wealth, and wrote back
with suggestions on corrections and the appropriate
methods of increasing responses. Of course,
all this took an enormous amount of time,
but surprisingly little money. The “contracts”
started coming in, slowly but surely. I accepted
all that was offered to me, and never considered
any assignment “beneath me”. I
considered all my customers my equals, and
treated all customers with the respect that
I felt they richly deserved. My motto became,
“Give them more than they want, before
they actually want it”. To this day,
I still hold true to this motto, and it has
given me a fine reputation among other businesses
and my customers.
This approach actually “fit” my
“plodding” personality to a “tee”,
and less than one year later, I find my business,
although not making me rich and famous, has
allowed me to keep myself solvent, and to
provide for the needs of all my dependents
in a “more-than-comfortable” fashion.
What’s more, my family loves the freedom
that being an entrepreneur has afforded me.
I am no longer locked into a daily routine,
and no longer become upset when their needs
interfere with the duties of a job outside
the home. I am in charge, and can work whenever,
and wherever I so choose. (Just as all those
ads promised)! My business continues to grow
a little more each week, as I add still more
services, and improve on my existing services
to my established customers.
Would I ever go back into the “working
world” outside my door? No. I have come
to love the entrepreneurial life more than
I ever could have imagined. The stress of
co-workers and querulous “bosses”
has forever been removed from my life. Long,
stress-filled commutes are also gone. I find
I have become more productive and more focused
when I have only myself to answer to. My family
as well, has become more harmonious with my
increased presence in the household, and my
children have what I consider a very powerful
role model, “myself”. I have developed
increased confidence in my own abilities,
and a relaxed attitude toward any problems
that I encounter now within my own life.
Entrepreneurship can be achieved by anyone
and everyone, if an individual can learn to
focus on their own strengths and abilities
and overcome any preconceived notion of what
constitutes an “entrepreneurial”
personality. My personality is the exact opposite
of what I considered necessary for success.
I never, in my wildest dreams, considered
the fact that my slow, stubborn, somewhat
“dull” personality would actually
be a positive factor in my success.
Success does require a dream, however, and
the ability to honestly and effectively evaluate
oneself, and one’s strengths and weaknesses.
Success also requires patience and fortitude,
and sometimes living with failure and perhaps
embracing it. Failure, especially in the beginning,
strengthens us, and lights the way for eventual
success. To all the “plodders”
out there, who like me, think that being an
entrepreneur is beyond their grasp, personality-wise,
I say, “Go for it”! Being a “plodder”
is perhaps the best personality to have when
building a business, as a “plodding”
nature keeps the ambition and the aspirations
on the right track, and eventually leads to
the path called “success”.
Katheryn Labosky
http://www.written-solutions.com
Copyright © 2001 Written Solutions/KLR
Marketing Services
