One of TAB’s members is a publisher of various business based newsletters (tax, HR, leadership, administration, small business, etc.).  The member is Phil Ash and the company the National Institute of Business Management (NIBM) (www.nibm.net),  They are very established in the print market with over 75,000 paid subscribers.    A key element of their business plan is to move aggressively to online distribution of content.  On September 29th they will be launching www.BusinessManagementDaily.com (BMD) and for the next 30 days, they are offering relevant companies free advertising for 4-6 months.  Phil asked if we could ping the TAB community to see if any TAB members might be interested in some free advertising on the site.  His win is to build credibility to eventually sell ad space and the advertising members’ win is some free exposure.

BMD is a highly optimized site launching with more than 10,000 business articles for decision-makers in companies of all sizes. From Day One, NIBM will direct its 75,000+ existing subscribers to BMD. And through the addition of more than 500 new articles monthly and targeted SEO keyword campaigns, BMD’s traffic should grow quickly.  Their expectation is to surpass 100,000 unique monthly visitors in just a few months. But until that time, they are literally giving away the ad space.

All you, as a TAB member would need to do is provide banner ads and a URL to link to them. BMD will then guarantee them four months of rotating placement on the BMD site. And if the ads are getting clicks from their readers, BMD will extend that deal for another two months - six in total.  After that, if they are interested, BMD will extend discounted pricing based on the growth of BMD site traffic. Those discounts will only be available to those who take part in the free advertising period.

If you are interested in some free advertising, please contact Phil and identify yourselves as a fellow TAB member:

Phil Ash                                                                                                                                                            President, National Institute of Business Management (NIBM)                                                                     President, Capitol Press                                                                                                                                  7600A Leesburg Pike, West Building, Suite 300
Falls Church, VA 22043
703/905-4657                                                                                                                                                 202/262-2531 (Cell)

Bookmark the CEO Success Blog!

Many of you may remember last year’s TAB Business Owner Success Series event on maximizing productivity in The New Workforce.  The event was presented by Debi Stafford, TAB-Austin’s newest Certified Facilitator and VP of Global Human Resources at CSC.  CEOs in today’s workforce can face as many as FIVE generations of workers.   An excellent article in Business Week last month deals with two of the most challenging (and potentially most productive) generations that business owners deal with each day—Gen X and Gen Y.

A Boomer’s Guide to Communicating with Gen X and Gen Y By: Karen Auby

• Baby Boomer - American born between 1946-65
• Gen X - American born between 1965-80
• Gen Y/Millennials/Echo Boomers - American born between 1980-95

As seen on 60 Minutes…

• Millennials: Part One
• Millennials: Part Two

Bookmark the Entrepreneur Blog!

A Different Way of Looking at Marketing

With Starbucks closing stores, civilization as we know it is going into a tailspin!  What are you seeing today? Getting bank loans to buy gas and food? Nose-diving home equity values? Your 401K is becoming a 201K? Feeling depressed? Peter Sinclair says, “Depression loses its power when fresh vision pierces the darkness.” Where are you going for new perspectives?

Today, I was annoyed by Fairfield’s 40 MPH winds as I had to re-light my blown-out water tank pilot light for the third time this week. However, another perspective would be that it was these same winds of adversity that gave us Travis Air Base- the economic fuel for our city’s survival! In business, do you see today as the worst of times or the best of times?

Business owners flew with the wind at their back for a long time. Customers were easy to find, profits were fat, and many CEOs relaxed. Many took their customers, profits, and futures for granted. They acted as though the good times would never end. Hopefully TAB Board Members are better prepared. TAB continuously discusses planning for contingencies, and because of the continuous overlapping of fluctuating industry cycles, members gain ongoing experience in dealing with downturns. Nevertheless, it is clear that all of us are feeling this wakeup call today.

Now is not the time to sit back. Napoleon Hill says “Every adversity carries with it the seed of equal or greater benefit.” My thriving members are benefiting from adverse times by rethinking marketing approaches. Changing to a customer focus rather than prospect focus is resulting in new businesses as well as happier existing clients. During good times many of us neglected existing clients as a marketing resource so we could pursue the “thrill of the chase.” Why? Because, rockets go off and bells sound as we bring in new clients. Developing the power of current clients and asking for referrals is not as much fun. It is human nature “to give more love and attention to those we are trying to seduce than those we are married to.”  However, how many untapped opportunities have been right there within your clients’ firms and especially within their deep reservoirs for referrals? It is time to ask an important question:

1. Who are the best customers and what makes them better?

Once you have listed your best customers and defined exactly why they are keepers, make the time to visit them, and get answers to the following questions:

2. How can we better serve your current needs?
3. What other problems might we help you with?
4. How can we make your work easier?
5. Who else do you know that we might be able to help?

Try this process and uncover new business while strengthening loyalty of your clients. Businesses that get going when the going gets tough do so by digging in their heels, looking in the mirror, and finding ways to better serve their best customers and other people like them. You already have everything you need. You just need to add determination, patience and courage. Do not fear of the winds of adversity. Make that wind work for you and fly you over your obstacles. These are the best of times for the people and businesses that are looking to improve.

©  Ray Brun, MBA,CPA, SPHR, (Sr.Prof.HR Mgr.). Facilitator and Owner of The Alternative Board-  East Bay North
Author of  How Small Businesses Capture Talent, 164 Strategies for Recruiting and Hiring Winners

Most of us have heard of the 80/20 Rule.  Few of us have considered its practical use.

Examples of the 80/20 Rule include:

• 80% of our business comes from 20% of our Customers.
• 80% of our revenue comes from 20% of our products or services.
• 80% of complaints come from 20% of our Customers.
• 80% of our Sales are generated by 20% of our salespeople.

It is important for entrepreneurs and executives to completely understand their 20% areas.  It is also vital that they help their employees define the areas in each of their respective departments.  These 20% areas ARE their key result areas.

Key result areas are those area where your greatest attention is required.  The majority of time and resources should be allocated to these areas.  They are also the areas where accountability metrics should be derived and driven.

Focus on your 20% areas and watch your business grow.