While I was in Dallas a few weeks ago for the eWomenNetwork International conference, I met two women from Dell Computer. The women were from a new Women Business Owner Initiative and spent a long time talking with me about how they are trying to connect with women business owners to meet their needs.
I told them that they should try to connect on a personal level, as many, many women business owners are small companies operated out of their homes by moms just like me. As Nika Stewart says, we’re Laptop Moms!
I went on to share with them about how my girls like to play “office” on a daily basis and when they do, they staple two pieces of paper together to make laptops. My 8-year old even writes DELL across the top, complete with the slanted “E” in the logo, just like on my laptop!
As a small business coach and entrepreneur, I love to read customer service answers to questions that a business’s customers actually ask. Here’s one that came to my inbox this morning. Question: Do you take orders over the phone? Answer: We can take orders over the phone, but we go through the same account creation process that you would go through yourself over the Internet. If you want to phone in your order, we will be happy to help you, but you can do it all from the comfort of your own PC as well!
You may not have pegged me as a member of the Ludacris fan club, and perhaps you’re right, but I really liked this clip of him. He was asked, “What the coolest thing about being a celebrity?” Watch this short video for his super-cool answer. First he shares a laugh and then speaks to the privilege of being a celebrity and see if what he says resonates with you, as it does me.
As a small business coach and entrepreneur, I love to read customer service answers to questions that a business’s customers actually ask. Here’s one that came to my inbox this morning:
Question: Do you take orders over the phone?
Answer: We can take orders over the phone, but we go through the same account creation process that you would go through yourself over the Internet. If you want to phone in your order, we will be happy to help you, but you can do it all from the comfort of your own pc as well!
I don’t know about you, but as a customer I’d rather have a “hell, no!” than two “yes, buts” in one answer. It’s obvious from the answer that the business REALLY wants their customers to go order by themselves on the Internet, right? But some unwise person in the customer service department tried to wiggle around the answer and ends up sounding off-puttting and weasley. This answer also comes off sounding like the business doesn’t REALLY want to be bothered taking your order over the phone. Do you feel welcome to call in an order after you read their answer? I doubt it!
Today at 1pm I will be giving a guest teleclass/interview for the Conscious Business Tribe, run by Adela Rubio. I’m quite excited to share all the information I’ve gathered over the years…and set people back to zinging along with their blogs. Or if they’re just getting started, then helping them find the zing in the first place!
Here’s the brief descrpition from the Conscious Business Tribe website:
Has blogging lost its zing for you? Are you new to blogging and looking for a strong start on the mechanics and the mindset? Join us for a conversation on:
When prospective clients “walk up to your business”, what do they find? This under-2-minute video shows you why it’s important not only to know, but to have the *right* answer. Enjoy!
Oh, and see if you can pick up where my little Llasa Apso Buddy decides to start tossing my slipper around.
A few weeks ago I decided to go to the movies with a girlfriend. We chose Prince of Persia.
As it happened, it was opening weekend so I hadn’t seen the reviews. However, I was a little worried about seeing it. The previews made it look sort of muddled and I was a bit puzzled by the choice of Jake Gyllenhaal as the lead. (He never struck me as the action adventure type hero.) Worse yet, it was based on a game.
Yee gads. Why did I agree to see this movie again?
Needless to say I walked into that theater with VERY low expectations.
So imagine how happy I was when the movie DIDN’T suck. Yes I know, it got some bad reviews. But truly, if you’re looking for a light, mindless, action packed summer flick, Prince of Persia delivers. (And I was also pleasantly surprised at Jake Gyllenhaal — talk about some nice eye candy.)
In many of my programs I have talked about “the cycle of quitting”.It is a pattern that many people fall into in business, in relationships, in all facets of life. There are very specific points in which people go into blame, they go into regret, and they start making excuses.
One of the things that happened to me when I decided to do my Help More People tour, which was a series of low-cost live events all over the country, was that people told me not to do it.
They said things like, “You know, with the economy the way it is, people just aren’t going to live events right now.” A lot of my colleagues, friends – some very smart marketers and business owners – were saying things like that. Some of my coaches told me not to do the tour. They said that it would be very hard to get people in the door.
At a restaurant recently, I was in the men’s room and noticed a poster hanging on the wall in there.
It was a reproduction of an old ad showing a bunch of guys practicing their golf putts dressed only in a white shirt, a tie, shoes and socks — and their underwear.
The headline read “Play golf free while having your suit pressed.”
This ad is obviously from an era when most folks wore suits to work and this intrepid dry cleaning company had created this little golf course out back of their store for their clientele to enjoy while waiting to get their suit back after being neatly pressed.
It’s what we call a “value-added proposition.” A VAP for short.
