VwnStar

Lessons a Small Business Can Learn From Big Business

August 19th, 2010 at 08:22pm Under Business to Business

As a small business, you have many advantages and disadvantages over a larger business. You have the ability to go after smaller opportunities, be more prudent with expenses, and offer customers improved flexibility. While you may be taking advantage of the benefits of being a smaller business, you may not be looking at bigger businesses for ideas on how you can run your operation more efficiently and catalyse your growth.

Hedge Your Bets

Larger companies will sometimes utilise hedging strategies to address over-exposure to a certain economy, asset-class, or commodity. To give an example, as an airline your business may be particularly vulnerable if oil prices rise. Therefore a larger business would consider going long on oil, perhaps through a leveraged account, so if oil prices rise they will earn money from their position and earn less money from tougher trading conditions. If oil prices fall, they will lose money through their position and earn more money from trading. An airline’s focus should not be on how they expect oil prices to move; it should be about focusing on their core competencies.

Hedging can be used in your small business too. Particularly exposed to a certain economy? Consider buying and selling certain currencies. It’s also not necessary to have large cash reserves to enter positions in currencies. You could use a leveraged account, and enter a £200,000 position for £1,000. If you reach the stage where you get hit with a margin call, your business should be thriving from its improved trading conditions.

Invest In Your Brand

Small businesses very rarely spend money on their brand. Most small business owners believe advertising and marketing serves one purpose: to drive action there and then. Larger businesses have patience and are willing to invest in winning business on longer sales cycles.

When Nike spends £150,000 on a TV advertising campaign, they don’t see an immediate lift in sales. They expect that those who view the advert will engage with their brand at a later stage, and when it comes time to buy a pair of trainers they will be at the front of consumers’ minds.

Consider how your brand is perceived. Consider how your company is positioned within your industry, and consider public relations too. What unique qualities do you want to portray in your business, and how do you intend to get the message across?

Say Goodbye to DIY

Smaller businesses are always focused on how they can do things cheaper. Bigger businesses are too, but only when there isn’t an obvious sacrifice involved. Many small business owners have their hands in too many pies; they will do their own accounts, create their own website, write their own terms and conditions, and create their own logo. For those that are bootstrapping their business, this may be the only way to get things done. But you should recognise that in most cases you are making a sacrifice; use an expert, and make sure you do your due diligence to ensure the expert is qualified.

By item Add comment

Three Marketing Lessons Any Service Professional, Business Owner, And Info Marketer Should Know

August 11th, 2010 at 01:09pm Under Business to Business

Copyright (c) 2010 Adam Urbanski

It’s interesting where you can pick up marketing and sales ideas for your business. The three lessons I’m about to share with you are a result of conversation with the person flying next to me. Here is the full story.

On my way to Wilmington, North Carolina, to speak at one of my Platinum Mastermind Member’s seminar I happened to sit next to a woman who sells higher education training materials.

Basically she sells curriculum and text books to all the colleges and universities. I found what she was telling me fascinating and it reminded me of these three marketing and sales lessons every service professional, business owner, and information marketer should never forget.

1. Everything must be sold!

Somewhere, sometime, someone sold to somebody everything you currently own and made a profit on it! That’s a fact. I never knew that text books, curriculum, and entire courses where sold to colleges. I guess I was kind of naive thinking that stuff like school text books sells itself. Well, it doesn’t!

You see, it’s up to the dean or the individual professors what curriculum will be taught in the class and which text book the students will be required to use. And it’s up to the best sales person to make that sale. So if you are squeamish about selling, either get over it, get good at it, or get out of business. (Sorry to be blunt!)

2. It’s NOT the highest quality curriculum, but the best sales person that wins!

So ultimately, if you went to college, what you learned there was, at least partially, based not on the best available knowledge or materials out there, but on someone’s ability to make the sale! The best sales person got their materials to that school!

Listen, I’m NOT telling you to sell crap. I believe providing the best products and services is a must. But while it’s critical to always keep getting better at your core competencies, a course that improves your marketing and sales skills will often advance your business much faster than another professional designation or fancy title.

3. What you get paid isn’t based on how good you are at what you do. At least not entirely.

You see, many different schools purchase the same courses from the same publisher, but depending on what college a person goes to they may end up paying a totally different tuition to take that class. So it’s entirely possible that someone paying a small fortune to attend a private collage gets to study the same course as someone paying only a fraction of that fee and attending a local community college.

What dictates how much you can charge for what you do is the perceived value you can establish in your customer’s mind based on your brand, demand, and your marketing and sales ability. It’s sad that many great professionals don’t get, and they can hardly make ends meet because of it!

And one more final point. Many people don’t get started creating their own intellectual capital (information products) because they think they have nothing new to say. But if you realize that two professors can teach the same class but one of them will be more popular based on the professor’s ability to deliver the material, you’ll realize that some people simply want to learn from you. YOU, and who you are, is makes what you do unique and more valuable.

Give some thought to what new competencies you have to develop this year, and WHO you have to become, to stand out in the market place, transform what you do from a commodity to valuable resources, and charge – and get – that type of fees you want and deserve.

By item Add comment

One Of America’s Top 50 Restaurants Offers Lessons In What Not-To-Do

August 10th, 2010 at 05:16pm Under Business to Business

Ever since my days at The Breakers Palm Beach â?? a Five Star, Five Diamond hotel with a Five Star, Five Diamond restaurant â?? I have wanted to visit Le Bernardin in New York City.  During my stint at The Breakers I was responsible for marketing the $50 million food and beverage operations at the hotel and off-site venues.  We hosted the very prestigious and elite Mobil Awards honoring the top 50 restaurants in the United States and Le Bernardin was a recurring winner.  Le Bernardin was also a case study we considered as we created our own new fine dining venues.

Le Bernardin, in case you are not familiar with it, was Zagatâ??s Top Pick for 2007, has been awarded 3 Michelin Stars as well as the New York Timesâ?? very highest rating.  In all, the awards bestowed upon Le Bernardin reads like a checklist of the restaurant industryâ??s most coveted accolades.

During a recent business trip to New York City (February 7-9, 2010) I made it a point to finally check Le Bernardin off my list of must-visit restaurants.  I checked in to the Westin Times Square and gleefully marched the ten blocks down the road in 18 degree weather to try my luck without a reservation.  I suspected that it might be hard to get a table, even in this recession and on an off-night, but I was so excited to finally eat at Le Bernardin that I was willing to wait or reschedule if they could not accommodate me.

With a big smile and fully loaded credit card I made my way to the maître dâ??. â??Can you accommodate one this evening?â?Â  I inquired.  With an indifferent, sarcastic and almost insulted tone, the thin French maître dâ?? said with a chuckle, â??No sir, we cannot accommodate you.â?Â  Fine. I knew they would be busy and I knew the odds were against me getting in without a reservation. So instead, I paused, waiting for him to ask to schedule me for another evening or time.  That didnâ??t happen.  Rather, he stretched his insincere smile a bit further and squeezed his face as if he was at once humored I was still in his presence and disturbed that I had bothered to find my way there. Apparently this was the end of our conversation â?? with no further effort on his part to help serve a hungry customer.

I ended up at Charlie Palmerâ??s Aureole back near Times Square and my hotel.  Equally famed and comparably priced, Aureole graciously and warmly welcomed me in â?? even without a reservation.  Their dining room seemed more bustling and lively.  My meal was superbly cooked and the service was professional, experienced and very accommodating.  From my table I sent Tweets (www.twitter.com/qmg) out to nearly 8,000 Twitter followers with a play-by-play of my meal.  Several people Tweeted back to me with all sorts of positive remarks and more than a few said â??Iâ??m adding Aureole to my list of must-visit restaurantsâ?.

After a satisfying meal I slid into my Westin â??Heavenly Bedâ? and started flipping channels.  As fate and irony would have it, one of the guests on Jimmy Fallonâ??s show that night was Chef Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin!  I almost couldnâ??t believe it!  Chef Ripert was funny, charismatic and his appearance convinced me that even with the bad experience I had with his maître dâ??, I should give him and his restaurant another shot.  Every restaurant deserves a second chance â?? especially one as famed as Le Bernardin â?? and given this new  â??sign from aboveâ? I decided that I should return.

So the next day I walked back to Le Bernardin, figuring that I would try their $55 prix fixe lunch.  I ordered a hot tea from the Starbucks near my hotel and started the march in the freezing headwinds back to Le Bernardin.  (Did I mention that Iâ??m from Florida? Making another wintertime walk in New York City was a sacrifice for me.)

This time, I was greeted with a less restrained and not so seemingly forced smile and told that I neednâ??t have a reservation and could be accommodated immediately.  One catch â?? â??Sir, we will dispose of that for you, but you cannot bring it inside,â? the hostess said, referring to my Starbucks tea, while looking at it as if I was holding a bag of freshly scooped dog poop.

â??Um, yeah, but I just bought it and itâ??s only now cooled to the point to drinkâ?¦Iâ??m happy to buy another here in addition to this one, but Iâ??m suffering from a bit of a caffeine headache and would like to finish it,â? I said, while my eyes scanned for a manager that might see to my rescue.  As my luck would have it, the same maître dâ?? from the prior evening was on duty for this shift too, and with an even more prejudiced, marginalizing and catty-cheerleader smirk said, â??Sorry sir.â?

I tried to appeal to their senses. â??Iâ??m in the restaurant business, I have had this restaurant on my list for years, I tried to come here last night, walked back today, plan to order an expensive tasting menu and you are honestly going to turn me away if I want to keep my tea?â? I asked.  â??Yes, sir, Iâ??m sorry.â?

I can fully understand a restaurant turning away a patron who is trying to bring in alcohol, or a movie theater refusing to allow outside food and beverage.  I cannot, however, understand why such a highly rated restaurant would turn away lunch business in the middle of a recession with such careless abandon.

Not only was I extremely frustrated by the situation, I immediately shared this experience with my nearly 8,000 Twitter followers (most of whom are restaurant industry professionals and media).  I vowed to never again attempt to return to Le Bernardin and â?? no matter the company or occasion â?? if the name Le Bernardin comes up, I plan to deliver a very passionate message about why I am boycotting their restaurant for life.

So, what can a top 50 restaurant teach us about bad service?

Lessons:

1.    Donâ??t Believe Your Own Hype â?? While publicity can be worth its weight in gold for a restaurant, vanity and  â??celebrityâ? can be its downfall. When a speeding locomotive goes off the tracks, it still maintains forward momentum for quite a while.  Similarly, when a restaurant reaches its pinnacle it can fall into the â??too good to failâ? mindset.  When this happens, standards drop, customers are turned away as if there is a never ending supply of them, and a kind of resentment can build that turns the tides on the restaurantâ??s success.  Chef Ripert seems to be on television more than in his own restaurant these days.  Sure, they still are winning the awards and can afford to turn away customers like panhandlers today, but itâ??s that exact sort of taking your eye off the ball that leads to people saying, â??That place sure isnâ??t what it used to be.â?

2.    Boycott & Protest â?? As diners, when we receive bad service, it is not only our â??rightâ? but our duty to complain.  And when complaints fall on deaf or indifferent ears, itâ??s our duty to boycott.  It wonâ??t be until Le Bernardin starts to notice an empty dining room and falling reservation count that they take complaints and issues like this seriously.  For more, also read this article on your duty to complain.

3.    Everyone is a Critic with an Audience â?? There was a time when restaurant critics could make or break a restaurant with a review.  In those days, Siskel and Ebert could also make or break a movie with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.  These days, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton sways moviegoers with his film reviews and itâ??s the modern day food blogger that carries the power to influence the opinions of restaurant customers, not the local newspaper restaurant critic.  The power to influence customer opinion is more diffuse â?? instead of relying on a few central opinion leaders for restaurant reviews, people use Urban Spoon and other user-generated sites where â??averageâ? restaurant customers post reviews from their laptops and cell phones. Not only is the power of restaurant reviews changing and evolving, but the new universe of social media makes it possible for word of mouth to spread faster than ever: If Facebook were a country, it would be the 5th largest in the world.  Twitter has made instant news and communication a global phenomena and within the reach of anyone with an Internet connection.  Before I even stepped onto the sidewalk after my disappointment at Le Bernardin, I had Tweeted my frustration to my personal audience of Twitter followers â?? and many of them promptly forwarded my story on to their other friends in the restaurant industry.  In the past, an upset customer would tell 10 friends; today they can Tweet 10,000 from their table.  The stakes have grown.  Everyone is a critic and has an audience.  For more on that, also read this article on restaurant social media.

4.    Donâ??t put Cops in Charge of the Door â?? Weâ??ve long heard how important it is to make a good first impression and how you never get a second chance â?? especially in the restaurant business.  While generally few would disagree with this adage, itâ??s painfully surprising to me how many restaurateurs still put the least hospitable people they have at the door.  For instance, bouncers at night clubs or a stuffy and indifferent maître dâ?? in this case.  Why spend so much time, effort and money to get customers if you have a maître dâ?? that greets them with a shin-kick at the front door?

5.    Remember Acquisition Costs â?? In business to business marketing, the typical cost to gain a new customer is $170 each.  A study has not yet been conducted to accurately estimate this cost for the restaurant industry, but I would suspect that this dollar amount wouldnâ??t be far off.  With this in mind, it seems hardly worth chasing away customers over a $3 tea.  Keeping a $3 cup of tea out of your dining room isnâ??t worth ruining a new customerâ??s first-time experience (and throwing away their lifetime value to your restaurant).  There are only four ways for a restaurant to increase sales â?? New Trial, Frequency, Check Average and Party Size.  For more in depth descriptions, please take a look at this article on restaurant sales building strategies.  Of those four, the most expensive and least effective is New Trial; a new customer coming in for the first time.  I was â??New Trialâ? business for Le Bernardin.  Not only will I not be back, but since my previous positive impression of Le Bernardin was so carelessly shattered, I will probably carry the experience and comments about it around for quite a while â?? being sure to share my story when the occasion arises.  Was that worth keeping out a cup of Starbucks tea?  Nope.  Do you think their maître dâ?? cares?  Nope.  Ultimately itâ??s the restaurantâ??s investors that get burned.

6.    The Restaurant Industry Need a New Awards System â?? Fine dining doesnâ??t always mean itâ??s the best dining experience.  Iâ??d rather have street food in Thailand served by someone that loves what they do than be treated like a vagrant in a stuffy Manhattan eatery â?? no matter how good the food is.  The service was far better at The Spotted Pig (where I ended up the second time Le Bernardin turned me away).  Anthony Bourdain seems to be one of the few media commentators in the restaurant world who truly tries to highlight the best food and the best dining experiences â?? which doesnâ??t necessarily mean the high-end stuff.  In fact, with the rare exception of his friend Chef Eric Ripert, Bourdain usually shows his disdain for the boys club of slick celebrity chefs.  All in all, my recent experience at Le Bernardin leads me to believe that we need a new awards system for our industry â?? one that makes it possible for prestigious industry accolades to go to restaurants for reasons other than nepotism, large wine cellars, expensive décor, and a chef that cares more about television appearances than the daily grind of running a successful restaurant. Is it coincidence alone that Aureole is directly beside the goliath Condé Nast headquarters?  Or that Le Bernardin is just two blocks from Rockefeller Center where Chef Ripert frequently makes appearances on NBC Shows like Jimmy Fallon and The Today Show?  Many awards are political and have as much to do with proximity as substance â?? if your restaurant is in the same neighborhood as the media elite, then youâ??re more likely to get noticed by the people with the big media megaphones. But that doesnâ??t mean your restaurant is truly â??the best.â?

7.    Fame Precedes The Fall â?? Le Bernardin was no doubt once a world-class restaurant, and in many ways Iâ??m sure it still is â?? although I didnâ??t get a chance to eat there.  However, the siren call of media opportunities, TV shows and licensing wealth has led many well-known restaurateurs and chefs away from their core businesses (just look at Rocco DiSpirito and Gordon Ramsay; Rocco is getting to the point where heâ??s best known for his appearance on Dancing With the Stars, and Gordon Ramsayâ??s restaurants are closing faster than a bag of fresh scallops).

8.    Never Hire People Who You Would Not Want to Represent You in Your Absence â?? The television persona of Chef Eric Ripert is very different than the real-life persona of the man hired to represent him (the maître dâ??).  As a rule, you should never hire someone who you would not willingly send to represent you in your absence.  I have not met Chef Ripert in person so I do not know if his on-camera persona is the same or very different than the man is in person.  I do know that the maître dâ?? does not represent the restaurant or Chef Ripert in a flattering way, and that is all I have to judge the restaurant at this point since that maître dâ?? was the extent of the experience that I was able to have at Le Bernardin.  Every well-known chef is a brand â?? and the more famous you become, the more vigilant you need to be in protecting your brand. When Chef Ripert goes on TV and appears to be a charismatic, funny, warm person â?? all while his maître dâ?? is being rude to customers â?? that creates a damaging disconnect in his brand image. Every restaurateur should take this lesson to heart â?? your staff are representing you to your customers every hour, every day. Hire accordingly.

I donâ??t hold a grudge toward Chef Ripert.  In fact, I believe he must be a quality person if heâ??s endorsed by Anthony Bourdain.  I do however hold a grudge toward the restaurant and especially toward the arrogant mindset that would allow such things to happen.  Weâ??re in the hospitality industry, and we need to be humble and welcoming and solicitous toward our customers â?? not turn them away like bouncers at an exclusive nightclub. I guess I should be mostly thankful though, as being turned away twice from Le Bernardin turned me on to two other restaurants that I now highly recommend â?? Aureole and The Spotted Pig.  I am thankful also to have been reminded of several  â??what not to doâ? guidelines for successful restaurant management

Incoming search terms for the article:

aureole (2)www vwnstar com restaurant (2)

By item Add comment

Save Money Buying Food and Groceries: Weekly Lessons

August 9th, 2010 at 09:17am Under Health

A series of lessons revealing money saving techniques and strategies on grocery and food savings for families and couples. Easy to follow and understand strategies for saving money every week. Unannounced bonuses included.
Save Money Buying Food and Groceries: Weekly Lessons

Incoming search terms for the article:

how to save on groceries (1)

By item Add comment

Eight Life Lessons to Live by

August 6th, 2010 at 01:37pm Under Business to Business

 

“Some people dare to dream only for themselves. Mama dared to dream for the benefit of others. Mama willingly shared what she had and made others better off.”

I shared these words of wisdom with relatives and friends as we bade Mama good-bye last year. It was a painful, difficult moment for us. However, her contributions to life overshadowed the hurt associated with her unexpected departure.

Even before I could fully recover, I decided to name an award to honor her memory and to celebrate her walk on this earth. “Oikos Global Award – Lourdes Gregorio Rayel Outstanding Youth Award” is a fitting tribute to a woman who made a difference in the lives of her family, relatives, and friends.

Perhaps you’d wonder, “Who is she?” “Does she deserve it?”

In 2001, Mama visited Clarenville and stayed with us for about six months. As she walked around the block with her grandkids, our neighbors would greet her with sweet smiles and warm hellos. She was amazed how kind people were. She just loved this place!

Let me tell you more about Mama and what I learned from her. In fact, I’d like to share with you eight life lessons that inspired me all these years. I believe that these lessons are Mama’s legacy and I hope that we can all learn from her life.

 

First life lesson: Be Enthusiastic

Mama was always enthusiastic. She was enthusiastic as a teacher, as a businesswoman, and as a mother. A relative once commented that my mom was “a woman in a hurry” and “always busy.” And yet you could always find a smile on her face, even during stressful times. It was her positive attitude and enthusiasm that helped her develop long-term friendships and business relationships all through the years.

Second life lesson: Pursue Your Priorities

When she got married, she committed to raise her family the best way she could. Mama was always willing to provide her precious time. We prayed, went to church, and had fun together as a family. Many times, she had to swallow her pride just to borrow Boy Scout uniform or rent formal attire so we could participate in school programs.

Early on, she made us aware of her mission — to provide us with college education regardless of her financial circumstance. She considered education as the only way to prepare us for the future.

 

Third life lesson: Develop a Strong Focus

Mama worked hard. She used to wake up early (around 5 AM) despite going to bed late (around 1 or 2 AM) to prepare the store for the day. Aside from her day job as a teacher, she was a full-time businesswoman in the evenings. She took care of her small restaurant and barbershop after work. On school days, I saw her rush to work not just with a lesson plan but also with products in tow. Through hard work and focus, Mama and Papa expanded their farm and grew their small business.

 

Fourth life lesson: Establish Your Integrity

Mama’s fellow teachers and friends talked about her integrity. Her words were consistently followed by appropriate actions. In short, her words were her actions and vice versa. No wonder, she gained the trust of her friends, relatives, and customers.

 

Fifth life lesson: Believe in Your Abilities

Mama made us believe that we could achieve our goals. I was only ten years old when she would announce to everyone how “intelligent” my siblings and I were. Mama was always proud of us. She valued us. She often reminded us that we had a bright future. Because of her unceasing praise and positive expectations, we have confidence and strong belief in ourselves.

 

Sixth life lesson: Practice Self-Reflection

As a teenager, I used to share with her my unconventional ideas about morality, religion, and politics. Instead of making comments, she would listen intently and made sure she understood me. Even during those times when I made mistakes, she never argued nor gave advice.

But I realized later that her “quiet” response allowed me to analyze and criticize my own thoughts and behavior during my quiet moments. Likewise, it allowed me to learn from my mistakes through self-reflection.

 

Seventh life lesson: Be Generous

Mama epitomizes a life of generosity. She gave even if she had little. I remember as a young boy when she had to borrow money so she could give to a relative or a close friend who needed urgent help. In addition, she sent some of our relatives’ kids to school. She liked to help because she experienced the harsh reality of poverty when she was young. It was this profound sensitivity that endeared her to the hearts of others.

 

Eighth life lesson: Have Faith

Like any person who dealt with family problems, she suffered from sleepless nights and emotional pain. During challenging times, her only refuge was prayer. I saw her endure from many ordeals. She wept and lost weight. And yet through prayers, she maintained her equanimity and survived the worst storms in her life.

Life gave Mama its wonders and hardships, its opportunities and challenges, and its surprises and disappointments. No doubt, she embraced them all with acceptance and firm resolve.

Mama lived a life of purpose. She dared to dream so others can pursue their own dreams — till the end.

By item Add comment

Human Resorce Management,Organizational Behavior and Marketing Management lessons from Indian movies

August 4th, 2010 at 01:52am Under Business to Business

The sad part of present education system is lack of creativity, imagination and innovation in teaching. Good Movies can be used as a tool of educating the students. In recent times we had couple of good movies which showed certain aspects of Human resource management, organizational behavior and marketing management and salesmanship. One movie showed what kind of coach is required to guide team to success. It’s central theme was team work as a necessity for achieving success. The other movie showed that employees seek active participation in their job. The lack of job participation can create frustration to the point of driving them towards entrepreneurship. It also showed that most of the employee’s belong to theory Y assumptions and can work with dedication for customer satisfaction and business profit. Then one other movie had the message of corporate social responsibilty that business houses are accountable to society for their products, services and customer well being.

The Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior aspects covered are like:

1. Team work is must for organizational success.

2. The concept of job enrichment, employee empowerment and participation are key to their motivation.

3. Customer satisfaction is vital for customer retention and creating profitable business. 

4. Business ethics are still important for organizational success.

5. The job of the manager is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the employee and motivate them to use their strength for their own and organizational success.

The purpose of teaching is enhancing learning which can be better achieved by innovative approach to teaching and learning. Role playing, case study, industrial visits, internship and many other approaches can be used to make management learning effective and stress free.   

By item Add comment

Free Guitar Lessons

July 13th, 2010 at 11:55am Under Business to Business

I started to play guitar when I was about 15 years old , bought myself a few guitar books at the music store and I thought it was all I needed to be on my way of becoming a great guitar player. Few months later I got discouraged and put the project aside until I was 20 years old. Coming back from Vancouver at that time, my two brothers had started a band and wanted me to join in so I did. I got myself a nice brand new Ibanez electric guitar a fender tube  amp and started to rehearse with them. We were playing a lot of Beatles and Elvis music back then.

Later on the group direction changed to a much harder sound learning cover songs of well know hard rock metal bands like AC/DC, The Scorpions, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne and more. I really thought my guitar playing needed to some improvement since I was named the lead guitar player of the band , by the way our group was called “TZAR” . If I wanted to duplicate lead guitar solos by the world’s greatest guitarists, specially the amazing guitar solos of the late Rand Rhoads of Ozzy Osbourne, I had my work cut out. I had to learn all these hot pentatonic scales that are extremely popular,

So I purchased some metal guitar magazines and found a small ad advertising “how to heavy metal lead guitar like your guitar heroes”. I received the course and cassette, yes not cd or dvd or videos 15 days later and I got busy. Really busy just learning and implementing the new material until my finger bled. I was determined to play like the pros and so I did. You can have a listen at some of the tracks of the album ” players of the game” by  TZAR  and you will see what I mean.

Beginner guitar players starting out have way better chance now day to learn to master this great instrument , so many great sites are offering amazing streaming videos guitar lessons at a great affordable price , it’s like having your own private teacher.

By item Add comment

Six Business Lessons I Learned from “Beauty Shop”

July 11th, 2010 at 08:04pm Under Business to Business

I discover a lot of business and life lessons in movies. While I donâ??t get out much these days, and I rarely have occasion to kick back and watch them at home, I value the nuggets of wisdom that I take away from them.

One night I actually put my feet up and watched Queen Latifahâ??s movie â??Beauty Shopâ?. I missed about 20 minutes of the movie, between her walking out on her old job and starting her own business. Still, I noticed lessons that we entrepreneurs can keep in mind as we build our own businesses and our brands.

 

1.       Be your Authentic Self.

          Queen Latifahâ??s character, â??Ginaâ? was an honest, down-to-earth, tell-it-like-it-is woman. And while her pretentious boss (â??Jorgeâ?, played by Kevin Bacon) did not appreciate this, her customers certainly did. So when Gina walked out the door, many of her customers went with her.

          This genuine nature carried through to her new business. Because it was not an act, because she was true to herself first, customers got exactly what they expected, their Gina. Had she tried to emulate â??Jorgeâ??, itâ??s doubtful that level of loyalty would have followed her out his door. Copy-catting doesnâ??t work. Be true to YOU.

 

2.       No one said this would be easy.

          When Gina walked out, she jumped without a net. She knew she had the skills, she just had no plan. By staying true to herself, she worked it out. She set up shop in an area where the rent was more affordable than the â??uber-salonâ? she left. Even when the overhead and costs at times felt as though it would all bury her, support from friends and family helped her to soldier on.

          She never, never, never quit. And neither should you. If you believe in what youâ??re doing, then you can find a way to make it work.

 

3.       Hire good people, treat them well, and stand by them.

          In her old job, Gina wanted to give junior staff opportunities to grow, and they appreciated that. She brought one of these staffers (Alicia Silverstoneâ??s character) with her to her own shop, because she knew this girl had what it took to be a good stylist. And when an abusive customer demanded Gina fire one her employees for defending a co-worker, Gina fired the customer instead!

          This ties back into Lesson #1 about being your authentic self. Gina knew that clients come and clients go, but her staff would stick by her through thick and thin, as long as she was prepared to do the same for them.

          If sticking to your personal values costs you a customer, then trust me� you are FAR better off without them.

 

4.       Donâ??t sweat the competition â?? just keep your radar on.

          Gina focused on her family and her business. She didnâ??t give a sniff as to what her old boss was up to, or how his business was doing. She didnâ??t call up his customers and â??steal themâ? even though he accused her of doing so.

          Even so, Gina kept her radar tuned in. She took note of things that were said. She kept her ducks in a row and kept good records. Itâ??s highly unlikely that your competition will vandalize your place of business as in the movie â?? surely theyâ??re not THAT stupid! There will be those who resort to mudslinging, however. In those situations, do like Gina did: pick up the pieces, hold your head up and move on.

Put your focus on YOUR customers and YOUR business. Do not stoop to the accuserâ??s level. As the lovely and brilliant Sales Diva, Kim Duke says: â??People who throw mud are the ones with the dirt on their hands.â?

 

 5.       Create products that serve your customers and fulfill their needs.

          Gina cooked up some homemade conditioner in her kitchen and quietly used it on her customers. She never made a fuss about her conditioner; she simply believed that her product would help her customers. THAT was what mattered to her. The ladies at her salon affectionately called it â??Hair Crackâ? because customers kept coming back for more! They were addicted to it because they too believed in its ability to help their damaged hair.

          That, ladies and gentlemen, is what we strive for as entrepreneursâ?¦ having happy customers who keep coming back for more â?? because they LOVE it and BELIEVE it can help them. Creating your own products can go a long way to entrenching on-going customer loyalty and building your brand.

 

 6.       Treat every customer like they are your saving angel.

          In this age of continuous bombardment of marketing messages, NOTHING is as effective as good word-of-mouth referrals. People put more credibility to a personal reference than they ever will in a big advertising campaign. And best of all, the cost to you is NOTHING. Zip. Nadda. Just be yourself, do good work, and create great products your customers love and want to buy again and again.

          If you treat every customer as though they were the most important person on earth (and they ARE in that moment), then they tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on�

(Sorry. I couldnâ??t help but reference an old hair care product commercial in this article!)

          Remember: You never know WHO others know, so be good to them ALL. As Gina learned, the benefits far exceed the effort required.

By item Add comment

Online Guitar Lessons vs. Traditional Guitar Lessons

July 11th, 2010 at 12:20am Under Business to Business

Have you ever wanted to play guitar, or maybe you have a youngster that wants to learn to play? Lots of people would like to play, and learning a few chords is a good way to start. You can learn a couple different ways. You can start out with traditional guitar lessons where you pay by the month or by the lesson and can be a bit pricey, especially just starting out when buying the guitar is the first order of business.

Online guitar lessons are another option you have, and for novice guitar players and beginners alike, this may be the better way to go. Everything you learn in a guitar lesson you can learn online, they go over the basics and teach about the same techniques, only you dont ask questions online, you just rewind the audio or video lessons, depending on which you have. Online video lessons are preferred to audio, but depending on how serious you are and how much you want to spend will decide these things. Either way, the online lessons are alot cheaper overall.

Online Guitar Lessons

There are disadvantages to not being taught by your own personal teacher, but not many. With the software, information, and technology that we have today it’s just not practical to pay a teacher for every lesson when you can get all the same information from the online program.

People are earning college degrees online now, and training for technical schools is being taught online to people who would rather learn from the comfort of their home. The online guitar lessons have the same concept. You can review the information at your own pace. Take the lessons at your own convenience, and best of all some of the better programs have very talented instructors who have played in live bands and have credentials that the guy your local music store just can’t compare with. So overall, Online guitar lessons saves time and money, plus it gives you the opportunity to learn from some very talented musicians, and for most beginners that’s a good place to start.

By item Add comment

Taking Guitar Lessons From Home Has Never Been Easier

July 10th, 2010 at 04:12am Under Business to Business

There’s never been an easier time to teach yourself to play the guitar. Even if you lead a busy lifestyle guitar lesson dvds are making it easy to learn on your own in your spare time. The key is a quality lesson plan, good videos and a good instructor. Don’t fall for inexpensive learn guitar products that promise you’ll be playing songs in a weekend, that’s just not realistic. If you really want to play the guitar and you’re willing to put the time in then keep reading, I’ll share with you what you need to know to become a great guitar player.

Good Instructors

I know when you think of a guitar teacher you think private lessons. How ever you still need a teacher even if you use dvds to take lessons from. That teacher recorded those lessons in advance for you to learn from on your own time, but still that teacher has to be good at what they do. Some guitar lesson courses provide a bio on the instructor, what their experience is teaching and playing. If you can find out some background information on the individual in the videos that can be an asset.

Good Lesson Plans

Just like in grade school when you’re learning to play the guitar you need to learn things in a logical order. For instance it makes no sense learning strumming techniques if you haven’t yet learned what chords are. Also, you should be directed in which lesson comes first, second, third etc. Some learn to play guitar products give you 200 different lessons but it’s a free for all. There’s no instruction on which lesson to watch when.

Quality guitar home study courses will give you an exact order to their lesson and also a time line on how long you should practice the new skills you learn before moving on to the next lesson.

Quality Videos

Most dvds today are top quality, but seeing a screen shot of snippet of the videos would be good before you buy. Something people don’t think about when buying guitar lesson dvds is there are two hands you have watch when learning guitar. The right hand is strumming and the left hand is making a chord or moving around the neck in some way. If the videos show a split screen of each hand for new techniques you’ll be able to pick up new skills much faster.

Getting Started

I’ve found that most guitar lesson dvds at your local music store aren’t very good for beginners. You really need to be able to start with a dvd that has several volumes to it. This way you’ll be sure that the teaching style and lesson match up as you progress.

Some dvds are available as a complete set, I’d suggest searching on the Internet for a course like this. The price will be more expensive but if you’re getting 10 or 20 dvds it’s worth it.

Incoming search terms for the article:

http://www vwnstar com/taking-guitar-lessons-from-home-has-never-been-easier html (1)

By item Add comment