What Are You Waiting For?

You would have to be from another planet to not know that our economy is weak today. While some of my clients continue to prosper and are as busy today as they were last year at this time, others are under pressure on the top line and the bottom line. Whether you are prospering or under pressure, this is the time to take a critical look at your staff and take appropriate action.

I confess this article is a bit of a departure for me. Normally, I talk about leadership, coaching, engagement and other strategies to retain people and help them succeed, be more productive and contribute to the firm. However, today I am going the other way. Quite simply, there are some people in your organization who you may need to let go. This can be difficult-one reason being the current state of our economy. I sure don’t like to put people on the street in rough times. Another reason is that you may think you’ve failed as a manager, having been unable to lead and motivate this employee to give the quality of work you require. But we must do this for the health of the firm and for our credibility as managers.

There are three possible scenarios here:
(1) Business is bad and costs must be cut to maintain profitability.
(2) Business is not great, but not too bad. A little belt-tightening is called for, but overall the firm remains profitable and will weather the storm.
(3) Business continues to be strong and no changes to expenditures or staff are needed.

It is on scenarios (2) and (3) that I am focusing. In both of these situations, we know there are employees who have not been pulling their weight, who need to be fired. There may be several reasons why they’re still around. Some of those reasons may be valid, but most are just weak excuses. Now is the time to act. You owe it to the firm and to all the employees who are working hard. You want a high level of production and contribution from everyone. Settling for less costs you money. This drain on your bottom line must be addressed. Also, beyond the vitality of the firm is another reason you must take action: everyone is watching you.

They are watching to see if you will do anything. Your integrity is at stake. You have stood up and said that the work needs to be done a certain way, or that a certain level of production must be reached. Because you said it, people assume that you mean it. So, when an employee does not conform to this or adhere to the guidelines, the rest of the employees who do conform expect accountability. If you don’t act, you send the message that you don’t mean what you say. You lose credibility and become weak in the eyes of those you have to lead.

It’s tough to let someone go. I wish this weren’t the case, but it is. If you have a decent performance evaluation system, it can be somewhat less difficult. If you don’t have one, then you may have to do some extra work to justify your decision to yourself and the staff. But the work must be done. Our economy will continue to be weak for the near-term. You want your team to be as strong and efficient as possible always. Making the right decisions about who should be on the team is the best way to do that.

By Wally Adamchik

Retail: Whole Foods Loses $18m in Uk Debut

The upmarket US supermarket chain Whole Foods is facing an uphill struggle to expand across the Atlantic after suffering losses of $18.4m (£9m) in a year at its six newly opened stores in Britain.

Whole Foods, which specializes in organic and healthy produce, last night revealed that it was reviewing its nascent British operations and will be cutting back on openings in its home market.

"We are disappointed in our results in the UK," chief executive John Mackey said. "We are carefully evaluating all aspects of our operations in the UK."

Whole Foods' global profits slumped 31% to $33.9m, sending its shares tumbling 15% in after-hours trading on the Nasdaq exchange. It blamed sluggish economic conditions for a slowing in sales growth in the US, where it will open only 15 stores over the next 12 months rather than the planned 30 or 40.

In Britain, the arrival of Whole Foods was billed last year as a potential boon to gourmets. Its London outlet is spread over three floors of a former Barkers department store in Kensington. But the company's results suggest that shoppers are yet to be won over.

Mackey said there had been some improvement in recent months with UK losses dropping to $16m on an annualized basis. "Our goal is to reduce our operating losses to $13m in fiscal year 2009, $7m in fiscal year 2010 and to approach break-even in 2011," he said, adding that Whole Foods had suffered similar initial losses when it entered Canada.

"We believe the long-term growth potential in the UK is much greater th an in Canada."
By Guardian Unlimited

Is Making A Good First Impression On Business Clients Important?by: Dock Murphy

It has been said that it is important to always make a good first impression and you only get one chance to do that. After that opportunity passes, you will play catch-up in having your clients believe in you. You only rarely get a second chance to make a good first impression so you have to make the best of the opportunity. In business, the first impression begins with the first contact a potential client has with you. Whether it is on the telephone or in person, the first time a client has any type of dealings with you company can help him for an instant opinion. Unfortunately, for many business owners, they are not the ones holding the key to the first meeting. It could be hindered by the receptionist who answers the phone or the maintenance man who is supposed to keep the front sidewalk clear of litter. If they are not all on the same page in making your new clients feel welcome, you are fast approaching the point of being too late to make that good first impression. Even if the prospective new client gets into the office with no trouble for the first meeting, do not keep them waiting. While five minutes may not seem like a long time, but it could give the opinion that you do not think that person is important to your business. If they feel they do not matter to you, they will not believe you matter to them. It does not matter what industry you are in or what type of work you do, there are many others that can provide the same service or product. The new client wants to be comfortable knowing that you are going to say what you will do and then do what you say. If you make the client feel uncomfortable or make them wait, they will probably seek another place to park their business. If the new client feels good about doing business with your company and strikes a deal, that is only the beginning. That first impression can be ruined by bad follow up and not delivering on your promise. If you can do everything right, that first impression can translate into the best advertising you can hope for…word of mouth. It is a commonly accepted theory that if you make one client happy they will tell five others. If you do not treat them right they will tell two of their friends, who will tell two of their friends and so on, until business quits coming to you. There is no shame in doing what is right for the customer. After all, if the clients quit coming to your door, you may as well lock and stay at home.

Internet Marketing For Online Business by: Cliff Posey Jr

Internet marketing for your online business can be confusing, especially if you are not familiar with all of the different aspects of website marketing. This is why it can sometimes be hard to determine exactly which marketing method to use. Many business owners are afraid to choose a marketing strategy because they fear it will not pay off. Others don't care and are willing to try virtually anything. No matter which category you fall into, you will have to eventually make a choice. Every online business needs to advertise in some way if they want to compete. At some point, you will have to take a chance. It is only after you have developed and implemented a website marketing strategy that you will truly be able to determine whether or not it was a success. Though there are many different website marketing techniques, there is really only one way to judge the success of your online campaign. Follow-up. If you never follow-up on your marketing decisions, it will be impossible for you to determine whether or not you should continue with a specific website marketing strategy. See, a website marketing campaign is just like any other marketing campaign. Once it is over, the results need to be analyzed and measured. Follow-up is especially important when it comes to Internet marketing for online business, because there are so many methods of advertising. By tracking your results, you can determine which methods of website marketing were effective and which methods were not. You can then adjust your methods accordingly. If you have never tracked your website traffic or the results of a website marketing campaign, it may be hard to determine where to start. However, you shouldn't become frustrated and give up too soon. Results tracking is very important if you want to make sure you're not throwing your advertising money out the window. The easiest way to track your site visitors is by viewing your website's logs. These logs are a record of your site visitors and can help you determine where the traffic on your website came from. By viewing these logs, you will know whether or not the visitors were a direct result of the website marketing campaign. Just about every web hosting company provides this service to their customers. If your web host does not allow you access to these logs or if they will not send you weblog reports, you may want to consider switching web hosts. If switching hosts is not a viable option, you can also purchase one of many software programs that are specifically designed to help you track and analyze your website marketing efforts. Results tracking is an essential part of Internet marketing for online business. Without it, you will have a very hard time figuring out exactly how effective your website marketing campaign is. You would never know how a website visitor found your site and you would never know which advertising strategies were failures. Effective Internet marketing for online business brings traffic to your website and then converts that traffic into paying customers. When you can accomplish this conversion on a regular basis, you will know that your website marketing strategy is truly a success. Comprehensive Internet marketing for online business is more than just launching a campaign. You must also take an active role in market research, strategy development, campaign design, risk management, and quality control. Then, by carefully monitoring and measuring the results of your website marketing efforts, you can

The Art of Persuasive Business Writing by: Courtland Bovee

All good writing involves persuasion-getting the reader over to your side. You may be writing to persuade a colleague to take on a new project, writing a blog post trying to persuade people to accept a new idea, or writing persuasive advertising copy for a new product. In each situation, your goal is to persuade your readers that you have something to say and that it is in their best interest to take the action you have requested. Here are five elements to keep in mind when writing persuasive messages. 1. "You" attitude. Too much business writing has an "I" or "we" viewpoint, which causes the writer to sound selfish and not interested in the reader. If you want to get your point of view across, convey information, or persuade the reader, you have to talk in terms of the reader's interests, hopes, wishes, and preferences. Good writing psychology requires that you present your message in light of the reader's viewpoint rather than your own. "I" or "We" To help us process this order, we must ask for another copy of the requisition. We trust you will extend your service contract. "You" So that your order can be filled promptly, please send another copy of the requisition. By extending your service contract, you can continue to enjoy topnotch performance from your equipment. 2. Warmth. You can make all sorts of mistakes in your messages yet still leave your readers with a good feeling if you can convey the magic intangible of personal warmth. Warmth is more difficult in writing than it is in oral communications. Essentially, warmth is an aspect-possibly even the measure-of the "you" viewpoint. You should not only demonstrate concern for the audience's problems but interest in their attitudes and an appreciation of the ways in which handling the situation is going to be helpful to them. 3. Parallel experience. One way of touching the right spots with your reader is to draw on a parallel situation in your own experience. Build your writing around this experience, or use what you learned as a basis for your writing. By creating a sympathetic bond between you and your reader, you enhance the person-to-person connection and help your reader to become more open to what you are saying. 4. Good manners. If you want to persuade your reader, you must show impeccable manners. In other words, be nice. If you are rude or overly aggressive, your reader will shut down to your argument and turn elsewhere. When in doubt, put yourself on the other end of the writing and ask, "How would I feel if this was directed at me? Would I be offended, or would I be open to listening to more?" 5. Tone. The tone of your writing goes beyond the content of your words and offers the reader an overall feeling or indication of your meaning. The overall tone of your message will depend on the subject, but a general guideline is to stay positive. Suggest to your reader that you are interested in his or her problems and in solving them. A good tone is ruined by using harsh words or phrases. Some examples: Poor...........................Improved the alleged loss...............the loss you refer to you claim that.................we understand that you neglected to send..........you did not send in which you assert............you tell us if we were at fault............please accept our apologies we request that you send us....please send us Persuasion is an art, not a science-but that does not mean there is no winning formula. By incorporating these five elements into your business communication, you will have a greater chance of getting your reader to stop, listen, and take the action you want.

Tips for Starting Your Own Jewelry Business

Staring your own business can be an intimidating challenge. However, this task can be made achievable by setting up realistic goals, and following a few easy steps. If you have a passion of fashion and are an outgoing person, you can establish your own silver jewelry business. Being in the jewelry business myself, I can tell you what you will need in order to start one on your own. For the last seven years, I have been a wholesale silver jewelry supplier. I have helped close to a thousand people start small businesses of their own by providing them with excellent quality silver jewelry at honest wholesale prices along with free advice and consultancy. My first piece of advice to people who are new into the world of business is to set attainable goals and objectives, and make a business plan. As hard as it may seem, in reality there are few barriers to entry to starting your own business with low cost service providers, marketing, communication and availability of wholesale jewelry suppliers. Given below is a list of things you can do in order to start or enhance a successful jewelry business. i. Make a plan: It is very important to have a good plan. A formal business plan is not necessary unless you want to get a loan or an investor. Instead, the plan you make should be meticulous, especially on the financial side. ii. Think about whether the jewelry you want to sell is right for your intended market. Diamond jewelry is probably not the right product for a flea market! iii. You can host a home-based jewelry party yourself or have a friend host it and give her some free stuff as compensation. Ask your friend to invite her friends and relatives for the party. These people come to buy and you have no competition. iv. Buy off EBay - many people buy things at good prices and then just re-sell them. v. Search the web for other silver jewelry wholesalers. vi. Put jewelry out at your own or your friend’s garage sales. It really works! vii. Visit these sites frequently: www.paypal.com : Online payments and merchant account www.Godaddy.com : Domain registration and turn-key hosting solutions www.fetpak.com : Low-cost jewelry supplies and displays (ring boxes, findings, etc.) www.ShippingSupply.com : Low-cost shipping supplies www.jewelrysupply.com : Jewelry supplies and displays Wholesalegemshop.com : Supplier of wholesale silver jewelry http://www.festivalnet.com : Wholesale Silver Jewelry Supplier List of craft shows throughout the country Great source of low cost products Ebay.com - Wholesale Jewelry : EBay Pro-store - turn key ecommerce solution http://www.adwords.google.com : Google Adwords Program The above-mentioned points are helpful hints that will assist you in either starting a jewelry business or making your already existing jewelry business successful. I could have used this information when I started out. I enjoy helping people get started in their own businesses. Even though my business has grown substantially since I started out, I still feel truly grateful to every one of my customers who enable me to succeed and allow me to pursue the lifestyle I chose.

Protect The Merger Or Sale Value Of Your Business: What You Can Learn From The DaimlerChrysler Debacle

In the heat of summer 1997, Daimler Benz purchased Chrysler for 37 Billion Dollars in a reported business merger of equals. Now, not quite 10 years later DaimlerChrysler is selling Chrysler for a reported 7.4 billion dollars for 80% of the firm. If the loss of 30 Billion Dollars in business value is not bad enough apparently the entire purchase price being paid by the buyer Cerberus will be placed into Chrysler and not retained by Daimler. How did this happen and what lessons can you learn when planning the sale, merger, or valuation of your privately held business? When Merging Or Selling A Business, It's Business Profits Not Sales Revenues When Daimler purchased Chrysler, Chrysler was having record revenues of 61 Billion Dollars and net earnings of 2.8 Billion Dollars. Revenues and profits were growing rapidly. Exciting new product lines were eagerly accepted by the market. The resulting projected cash flow would pay for the purchase. Now, in 2007, Chrysler has revenues of 62 Billion Dollars and a 1.5 Billion Dollar loss with no projected growth and no current cash flow for financing. This proves one more time that cash flow is the basis of traditional companies' business value. To increase business value and business merger sales price, maximize your cash flow during the lead-up and sale period. The Importance Of Business Cycles When Selling Or Merging When Daimler bought Chrysler the auto industry as a whole was having record years. The three American automakers were selling cars like hotcakes. Costs had been brought down to where Chrysler was a low cost provider. Compare that to the current industry weakness with reports of overcapacity, impending layoffs and inability to compete because of health care and retirement costs. Yes, the overall industry cycles do matter in the pricing of a business at the time of sale. Sell on the up-cycle. Up-cycles provide prospective purchasers with cash to buy your business and up-cycles provide your business with profits to sell. Selling Period - Desperation Does Not Increase Price When reports that Chrysler might be sold hit the street it was clear that Daimler was having a fire sale. Great for a buyer but a very tough negotiating position for a seller. Don't wait until even the "business challenged" can tell you must sell. If you wait too long before you start the business sale or merger process the bottom feeders will win. Maintain Your Core Strengths When Looking to Merge When Daimler purchased Chrysler a new design center had been completed allowing Chrysler to bring cars on the market in three years or less. This allowed them to compete with stylish exciting cars. Daimler, in an effort to milk profits, did not bring out a new car for three years prior to 2006, destroying this design leadership position. People bought Chryslers because they were an affordable style, not because they lasted forever. So what was left when there were no new models? Protect Your Brands While some may question Chrysler's brand value no one can seriously question Jeep's value. Jeep was very close to the Marlboro Man in American mystique. Yet Daimler let Hummer take Jeeps prized position as the "American Badlands 4 Wheel Drive Experience." Daimler, in 2007, finally brought out a Hummer competitor - right in time for a spike in gas prices. Always protect your brands and the value inherent in them. Chrysler invented the minivan. Chrysler still has some very nice minivans. Yet in the day of the "crossover" or mix of SUV and Minivan, where is Chrysler's entry? What happened to the design studio again? Keep Your Talent, They Are Your Business In the name of efficiency Daimler didn't let Chrysler keep dancing the dance that got it to the ball. In a merger originally billed as a marriage of equals it very quickly became clear that the superior equal was Daimler. After all, they were the purchaser. But why chase off the talent you paid dearly for? Always keep your key people on the team if you want to maximize your sales or merger value even if you must share some of the rewards with them. Based on Chrysler's revival from death in the 1990's, someone there clearly knew what they were doing. It is a fatal mistake to lose your best people or worse yet force them to turn to your competitors. Final Thoughts On Business Value With the advantages of hindsight, it is clear that Daimler has made about every mistake possible thereby destroying the value of the Chrysler subsidiary. Chrysler lost profitability because it stopped being Chrysler. Chrysler lost its affordable style position when it lost its design edge and design speed. It lost much of the value in its key Jeep brand by not staying up with changing trends. These and many other mistakes took Chrysler from record profits to huge losses. Daimler bought in an up market cycle and sold in a down cycle. As a final insult, Daimler did not even allow a reasonable time on the market for the transaction to be negotiated. Avoid making these mistakes when looking to sell or merge your private business. In order to earn the greatest return when you sell or merge your business, make sure your profits are increasing, you are running with the business cycle and you follow a proper merger and sales process.