July 12, 2011 Written
by Bob Meyer, Editor of BarterNews
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From the desk of Bob Meyer...
07/12/2011
Summer
Barter Expo Scheduled In Orange County, CA.
On Saturday July 30 TradeAmericanCard, one of the nation�s
oldest trade exchanges (35 years), will hold their summer
Barter Expo at the Business Expo Center, near the California
Angels� Baseball Stadium.
For more information call 949-225-6000.
Small
Business Pessimism Hits 9-Month Low
New NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business) data
shows that small business owners� pessimism remains, due to
weak sales. Their index dropped to a 9-month low.
Additionally, nearly 40% of small businesses said
receivables are coming in more slowly, making it harder to
pay bills on time.
Sales
Calls or Business Interviews?
More and more sales people are changing their thinking
regarding sales calls. They�re starting to think of business
clients as people rather than companies to call on. That
means getting to know clients� emotions and the preferences
that drive their decision making, finding solutions and
putting them in place.
Today few businesses have time for a drop-in sales call.
However a business interview with advanced preparation is
another matter. Interviews are results-oriented for both
parties with a clear beginning, middle and end.
What�s
The Difference Between A Bookkeeper, Tax Preparer And A CPA?
A certified public accountant, or CPA, is licensed by the
state�s Board of Accountancy. A licensed CPA must pass an
examination, fulfill educational and work requirements, plus
take continuing education.
A bookkeeper typically records transactions and pays bills
for small businesses. They may be very capable and have a
business degree, although they are unlicensed.
A
tax preparer is anyone who prepares tax returns for a fee. A
preparer does not have to be a CPA or an enrolled agent,
which is a tax specialist who passes an exam that allows
representing clients before the IRS.
All
back issues of "From the Desk...� can be accessed by
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See you next week. . .) |
Creative Renovation
Embraces Barter
Major renovation costs of a commercial property can run into the
tens of thousands. A $50,000 to $75,000 job isn�t unusual. If you
find yourself in the predicament of having a large commercial
building, instead of a trip to your bank try calling your trade
exchange broker.
Request the names of companies in the exchange that have high
balances of trade dollars. At the same time ask for a list of
contractors who are requesting business because they don�t have
enough trade dollars.
The
idea is to offer the high balance member the lease of empty space
within your building for a given period of time, for their trade
dollars. As the owner you can then use those trade dollars to pay
the contractors for renovation work needed elsewhere in the
building.
Now, the twist to this unique idea is that the high balance member
does not have to move into the space. Instead they have the option
of renting it out, thus converting their trade dollars into a cash
income stream.
Every person in this equation benefits. The contractors obtain
needed trade dollars, the high balance member spends down trade
dollars and realizes a new cash flow, and the building owner obtains
a needed renovation without securing an expensive cash loan.
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Your Idea Alone Has No
Value
By Wil Schroter
Contrary to popular belief, great companies are not born from great
ideas alone. We�d all love to think that if we could simply invent
the next sticky-note, we could sit back and watch the cash tumble
in.
But
if great ideas don�t spawn great companies, what does?
The
short answer is: you. The longer, and far more complicated, answer
is how you specifically position yourself and your company to
execute on an idea.
Anyone who overhears your idea, or has the same idea at the same
time, or basically plans on doing anything similar is already on the
same playing field as you are.
In
order to differentiate yourself and your idea, you don�t need a
patent or some proprietary method. You need a focused plan that
allows you to execute above and beyond your competition every day of
the week.
Think of your competition like your favorite professional sports
league. There are dozens of teams which have talented players on
them, but only one team is going to perform better than everyone
else. Your goal is to build that team.
Focus On
Execution
There is a massive chasm between having a great idea and executing
flawlessly on a business model for a great idea. Lots of people have
great ideas, but very few people ever execute well on them.
Execution isn�t just about showing up for work every day and
punching a clock. For the team that wins, execution is about going
above and beyond the call of duty each and every day.
It�s about reaching out to your customer when there are no problems
just to see how they are doing. It�s about releasing a product
feature faster than your competitor even when you�re already ahead.
It�s being the first car in the parking lot in the morning and the
last one to leave at night. It�s doing what the guy next to you
isn�t willing to do.
Service
The Heck Out Of Your Customer
Even a product that�s a total commodity, like food, can take on an
entirely new meaning when you compare the service that comes with
it. In your city there may be a hundred places where you can order a
filet mignon, but only a handful that are considered top notch. The
difference is that the elite restaurants understand that in order to
differentiate their product, they need to rely on better service.
They pay attention to every detail of your experience, from the
greeting you get from the host/ess to whether you�re given a white
or black napkin based on your pant color.
Exceptional service is by no means a commodity. It�s a rare and
unusual thing that very few companies can deliver. Chances are your
competition isn�t going to go the extra mile to service the heck out
of your customer, which creates an incredibly powerful competitive
advantage for you.
Determine
Weak Spots
It�s not uncommon for a startup company to go toe-to-toe with a much
larger company offering a very similar product. On its face, it
looks like the startup is at a severe disadvantage. Surely the
behemoth megacorp can provide better execution and better service
with its vast resources than a scrappy little startup can.
If
you were to try to compete against the behemoth on their own terms
you�d get crushed. That�s why startups tend to look for the weak
spots in larger companies and exploit them. You can easily
differentiate your product from a larger company by focusing on
stuff large companies tend to fall short on.
Unlike a large company, you can offer the personal service and
attention your customers love that they�re probably missing from
your bigger competitor.
You
can leverage your speed by releasing new versions of your product
faster and responding to market conditions more quickly. You can
offer talented managers founder�s stock, while a big company can
only offer another bonus plan.
Every weak spot that you can exploit is another way to add value to
your idea. Once you�ve identified the points, the more pressure you
put on those weak spots, the more value you�ll build for your own
product.
Tying It
Together
Outmaneuvering your competition isn�t about doing any one of these
things � it�s about doing all of them consistently. If your idea is
great and novel, the only guarantee is that it will be copied. If
it�s not, you have to wonder how great of an idea it really is.
When your idea does get copied, the only thing you�ll be able to
rely on is your team and your execution. All of the points about
going above and beyond the call of duty, servicing your customer,
and exploiting the weak spots will soon be used against you.
The
only defense against the next up-and-comer, and the only way to
consistently create value around your idea is to stick to
fundamental execution. Nothing else has value.
(Wil
Schroter is founder and CEO of the Go BIG Network, the largest
network of startup companies and entrepreneurs at
goBIGnetwork.com. He is also the author of the book Go BIG or
Go HOME.)
Is Your Trade Exchange Missing Out On
Valuable New Business?
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your barter company�s listing on BarterNews.com isn�t current, you
are definitely missing out on new business. The web site
BarterNews.com receives heavy traffic � with over 150,000 page-views
every month. Entrepreneurs and corporate executives check the
thousands of articles, the weekly �Tuesday
Report,� and the �Contacts
Section� of our site. They use the latter to find barter
companies with which to do business.
Is
your barter company�s listing up-to-date?
To
keep your listing current is very easy. See the links below to (A)
update any changes to your company�s listing, such as new location,
phone number, web site or other information, and (B) if your company
has not been listed.
Here�s how to get on board:
To
make changes to your listing
click here.
For
new listings
click here.
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The Growth and Use of Secondary
Capital (New Money) Creates Unprecedented Wealth In Today�s New Age
Of Possibility
There are many forms of secondary
capital�which can be defined as any financial instrument that
measures and communicates value in a common language. Would you like
to see and learn more about the many forms of secondary capital?
We have 70 free, informative and
inspiring, articles for you in our �Secondary Capital Section.�
Check it out...
www.barternews.com/secondary_capital.htm.
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