Think of yourself as a great cook… a chef, even. You've cooked for your family and friends for years. You get compliments for your food every time you cut your mirepoix. So, you figure you'll open a restaurant.
In order to be successful in your restaurant, you'll not only need great food quality but you'll need a clean kitchen, a great front of house and wonderful service. It is every thing combined that makes a restaurant great.
During the real estate bubble, people were leaving their jobs in droves and taking on a function in the real estate industry. New lenders were popping up everywhere and making a fortune. Realtors were being turned out by the armful and only had to say “hi” in order to make a sale. It seemed, during this time, that the only qualifications for being a general contractor was having a pickup truck and a dog
Too often in today's business environment we get caught up in all the new technology and what we are told we need to be doing with it. The problem is that particular pieces of technology may not actually be a requirement in our business. We need to maintain focus on what our core business objectives are.
I am amazed how often I get questions from people on the best way to market themselves online. They want to know the right tactics to developing a great referral system or the right tactics to getting more traffic to their website.
In 1911, William Randolph Hurst issued a challenge; he would give a prize to the first person able to fly from NY to LA in 30 consecutive days. A pilot named Cal answered that call. He realized he would need financial backing for this endeavor and sought out a sponsor for his daring journey. Cal found that sponsor in Armor and Company. Cal's flyer and support train were emblazoned with Armor and Company's new grape drink; Vin Fiz.
A lot of marketers, agencies, and business owners approach marketing as nothing more than a series of tactics. The problem with this approach is that it is doomed to fail. It will fail because there is no unifying strategy to coordinate your efforts.
Creativity is not something we are born with, it is a learned skill. Creativity requires practice and a willingness to scrap ideas. Just because you don't consider yourself naturally creative does not mean you can't be creative. Children tend to exhibit more creativity, but that is because they don't carry the same fear of failure that adults do.