Fire, ready, aim!

I know this sounds out of order. I worked for two different companies that were moderately successful or at least they were able to stay in business for a decent length of time and make enough money to keep everyone happy. They used the fire, ready, aim approach.

Let me explain; they would launch a product or service because it sounded good. They didn't do anything in the way of research or market survey or anything remotely businesslike. They just came up with an idea on a gut reaction and went with it. It was up to us poor schmucks, the employees, to implement it. Once they handed it to us WE owned it. We had to be ready, we had to aim.

You know what, in hindsight, it was still better than to over analyze and over ponder and never get moving in the first place.

For a better way though read this article:



Image via Tumblr.com

https://www.forbes.com/sites/martinzwilling/2012/11/17/6-right-times-to-be-a-ready-fire-aim-entrepreneur/#39496d035360


Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Never Split the Difference

I am posting a book review of one of the best books I ever read on the subject of negotiation. It is also a great guide to effective communicators in all areas. Listen to the following review and check out all of Chris Voss' videos and resources. GO to his blog page https://blog.blackswanltd.com/the-edge and sign up for the "Black Swan" newsletter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIRk382yJm4

The constant but changing social media landscape

I attended a social media event/seminar today. It was held at Union Worx co-working space in the newly renovated downtown Arlington, Texas. Megan Brown of MB Marketing held the event and did a terrific job. It was called, "How to Run Social Media Like an Agency". I have seen many changes in social media through the years. I took a course on Hubspot in 2011 called, "Inbound Marketing". Some of the basics have remained the same, some platforms and protocols have evolved.

I still think there is room for some competition for Linkedin and Facebook and I have had that idea for many years and am still would like to launch it with some help. See: www.networkinggrouponline.com  

A Message to Garcia.

I recommend everyone read this essay. I was taught this back in school when schools actually taught real values. 

We have integrated this mentality throughout "YourOffice SOS".

Amazon Review:

A Message to Garcia has carried its simple message of hard work, integrity, and dependability to readers around the world for over 100 years. One of the keystones of American self-improvement literature, this short celebration of the diligence and loyalty shown by one man is truly a life-changing classic that demands to be read again and again.

Link to PDF

https://www.nato.int/nrdc-it/about/message_to_garcia.pdf

When virtual is vital

When we launched our company we did it because we wanted our business to be able to function anywhere. There is no good reason to be tied to a physical location to do most of what we can do from anywhere on the globe.

Well in the last two weeks the concept became reality as we had to take our show on the road. My wife's parents were aging and we planned for the day we may have to step in in some capacity. My father-in-law is a 93-year-old WII veteran. My mother-in-law is 92 and has some sort of dementia or Alzheimer's. Well, last week my father-in-law fell in the garage and we had to immediately leave Texas and head to Kansas City for an extended stay for an indefinite amount of time to be caregivers. Our business didn't miss a beat. Packing was the most difficult when you don't know how long to plan on staying. Nevertheless, we took our virtual business with us. Armed with laptops, cell phones, and tablets we went right on with business as usual. They are finally convinced the need to move into assisted living (which was no small sales effort on our part. I even convinced him to cease from driving and relinquish the car). We didn't even need high-speed internet because they had it and didn't use it in the last five years. Somehow the cable company won't remove it from his package. I think they took advantage and I will expose that all over social media. Taking advantage of the elderly is beyond disgusting.

We can get paralyzed by choices

I am off on another subject worth exploring, too many choices. I read, "The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less" by Barry Schwartz. Here is a link to one of his Ted Talks.

https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice?language=en

This is a great way to understand and get a handle on dealing with the overwhelming amount of choices we have in this society today.  It's getting worse by the minute.

When we started our business the number of social media sites, web hosting, productivity apps, etc. is mindboggling. I'm sure that in the grand scheme of things this will be to our benefit.  In the meantime, it makes even the most simple tasks and decisions difficult and even paralyzing at times.

I advise exploring this topic to avoid mental and emotional issues pertaining to the subject.

     PS.
For the short attention span person:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4QzhSlqmqg

Recomendation

The Art of Thinking Clearly by world-class thinker and entrepreneur Rolf Dobelli is an eye-opening look at human psychology and reasoning — essential reading for anyone who wants to avoid “cognitive errors” and make better choices in all aspects of their lives.


I gave a speech at our networking mastermind group today that included a great recommendation for this book. It identifies flaws in our logic and reasoning. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to overcome the limitations on the way we think that makes us prone to errors in judgment.


I particularly like the way it is written. It has 99 chapters on specific cognitive errors we make in our thought process.

There is also an app for the book that helps you make better decisions. It is based on the book and you can search it by category or topic. It is an especially helpful aid to help when you need to make a snap decision.

Local networking groups

I have been doing local networking for about 6 months or so. My last gig was prospecting for an IT company selling managed services. I am not sure this was the right way to do that business. I did manage to secure a few strategic partners that could provide us with leads. I didn't get many qualified leads directly though. II did networking the right way. Doing one-on-ones and always trying to make sure that our dealings were win-win. I looked to be helpful and respectful. People buy from those they know like and trust. So in my dealings, I always followed Zig Ziglar's advice of getting what I want by helping others get what they want. I know these meetups take a long time to develop that level of trust and report to be effective. I am accumulating a lot of business cards. In the end, though I seem to have made plenty of connections.

The hunt for the perfect client

We are developing an "Avatar" of what a perfect client might look like. We do this so we can target where and how to prospect for our clients.

I received some good advice from a couple of sources on the internet. They recommend local networking which I'm already doing and a strong LinkedIn page which I am working on. I think the blog and the other social media such as Facebook and Twitter can't be bad either.

I am pretty savvy with social media. I need to do some catching up since at my previous employment they pulled me off of being the social media person because of my job as business development started to focus on prospecting rather than inbound sales.

Your Office SOS

Hurray, Yipee, we obtained our DBA yesterday. One small step at a time.

On Monday as Providence would have it we met a lady who may be a great fit for our business. This was in a small networking group of only 10 folks. So I am believing that was just not a coincidence. We shall see how this meeting will turn out.

Our business foundation is some confirmations I received when praying whether to move on this venture. Here is what I believed to have been bought to my attention:

Psalm 90:17

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and confirm for us the work of our hands.


Psalm 92:14-15

They shall yield fruit in old age: They shall be full of sap and very green, To declare that the Lord is upright: He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

Our ideal client

It was recommended in a book I am reading called, "The 1-Page Marketing Plan" that I create an Avatar of our ideal customer for Your Office SOS.

My Avatar would look something like this: A traveling keynote speaker who is so in demand that he/she can't keep up with the demands and the details that success and fame bring.  He/she needs to take care of answering emails, keeping their social media updated, scheduling and logistics of travel and taking care of the calendar to balance home and business life. My Avatar would also need someone to take care of the financial end as well. We are looking for that team member.

In other words, we are the supported outsourced services that someone would require, who doesn't want or need a physical staff in a brick and mortar building. Although we are those things we are the virtual version (if that makes sense). I am trying to wordsmith exactly what we do and how. That is still a work in progress.

The uncharted waters

As we launch our new venture, "Your Office S.O.S". My wife and I are entering uncharted waters. Although I owned my own my own business back in 2006, I have never really totally been at the helm of my own ship. The business was a franchise so I was and wasn't in charge.

This is so exciting. I know, Lord willing, come what may, we will make it. We may have some choppy waters and rough seas as we sail into the unknown. Where we are with this venture it is in a direction and area that is pretty much, "uncharted waters". It's not being done by a lot of folks yet. It may be for many reasons. But to be one of the few brave souls is exciting.

One on one today

I had a great time meeting a fellow I met attending network groups. We had a lot in common and he is very intelligent and insightful. We are opposites in our politics though. But that doesn't bother me. I don't want to live in an echo chamber. I enjoy a healthy debate. Unfortunately, that is not the tome of the country right now. Too bad. Things are so polarized I wonder if the "indivisible" part of the Pledge of Allegiance will hold up. 

New company launch

Well, folks we finally did it. My wife and I launched our new company. Your Office SOS. The SOS stands for Supported Office Solutions. We are a complete virtual office for someone who doesn't want or need the added expense, hassle, and drama that a real physical staff requires. No brick and mortar office, no manager, no HR dept no benefits package. No recruiting, onboarding. training and turnover issues.

We bring 100 years experience and wisdom that solves your problem.

What's in a name?

I am usually very good at picking out names and branding companies. I am struggling a little with our virtual office startup company. We would be offering a business development and sales element as well as a virtual assistant.  In the future, we would like to add accounting/bookkeeping as well.

My problem is virtual office doesn't isn't clear enough. It can mean a coworking space or a software program.

From wantapreneur to entrepreneur.

Well, we are reading and studying everything we can get our hands on to prepare us to launch our business. I have been through dozens of courses on LinkedIn learning. and read at least a dozen new books ( I probably have read 50 to 100 previously). So if preparation is key we are there.

Now is the time to put the big launch on. We have our business plan and our strategy in place. I must say this has been 12 years in the making. I had my own business in 2006 that fell victim to the big recession. I am all in. This is going to be a great adventure for sure.

Why we want to start a new back office support business

A little about us. My wife and I retired within the past year from having been in the workforce for a combined 100 years! Now we are older but really in the middle of life, not the end. I am in the best physical shape I have been in for the last 20 years. We are walking and working out at the gym.

But we don't want to disengage from the business world. My wife has her Mary Kay business and I am working for an IT company helping to develop business. We are actively engaged in social media. We are attending networking events on a regular basis and building a strong base of contacts.

We want to give back in the form of helping micro and small businesses grow and succeed. My wife has worked for the Federal Government, a Fortune 500 oil company, merchandising wholesaler, and a large growing manufacturer, just to name a few. I have been a pioneer in retailing in the 70's and successfully ran a school book wholesale business. I ended in the workforce in the service industry in one of the top 30 event and party rental business' and was their business development director helped take that business from 5 million to 16 million in 5 years.

In a future blog, we are going to list our skill sets and impressive resumes and let you know what we bring to the table.

In the meantime feel free to reach out to us with any helpful advice you have.

How to learn from scratch

So after I was hired to run the branch office of the book company I was pretty much left on my own as to how to make it all work. Make it happen and you figure it out were the tow types of advice I got in various forms.

Well this suited me perfectly. Since my time in retail was mostly autonomous I didn't need handholding an coaching.

The strategy was simple at . first, the company would buy a list of school names and addresses and mail out catalogs. The only thing was the bozo's I worked for mailed the parent companies catalogs out off the same list. Their catalogs looked the same as ours and content was identical, except for the company names, addresses, info, and logos.  The only problem was that their company was offering 30% discount off list and we were offering 25% off list. They figure that the local market would order form us to save a few bucks shipping. Duh that made no logical sense, We were competing against each other.

The end of retail the beginning of wholesale.

My big break came when a friend of mine turned down a job offer to run a wholesale book business. He could live on the draw the offer and the base salary wasn't enough. Hey, I'm used to retail wages so it was a step up for me.

The job was marketing and distributing books to schools.  Mostly classroom reading material (such as classic and modern literature books). We also sound new and used textbooks, mainly to private schools. The public schools got their textbook from state agencies.

I was in full charge of a branch office. The owners were in Brooklyn and I was opening a Dallas office. We were an independent company. I was soon to realize I found the perfect job. 

I was almost totally autonomous. The owners left me with the keys to the building, two folding chairs and the telephone laying on the floor. Time to get started. Little did I know this would be my career for the next 20 years.

The end of retail.

Well, I was realizing that retail was becoming a dead end career.

Some of what was happening was that as one moved higher up the rank, there would be a built-in roadblock  The management system was that at every level the person above you wanted to keep his job and protect his position. This culture evolved in several chains, The person above you wanted only to surround themselves with people who were incompetent. This accomplished two things. One was that at least temporarily their position was secure. Two it made them look better by comparison. This kind of de-evolved into survival of the un-fittest.

I could postulate on several reasons how this developed but suffice to say it just did.

Escape or slide into the mediocrity rut and self-protection mode of firing competent people and keeping the losers around for job security.

I had to find a way out.

Next steps.

Well Its been a while since my last blog post. I am going to try to be more active.

I was called out of retirement to do some consulting for my old company. That and working at my business development role for an I.T. company I have been prey busy post retirement.

Since my blog started out journaling my work and career history I will add a paragraph or so.

In the late 70's a retail career was not the promising fast track it once was. Too much transitions and buyouts. You would climb the ladder then the company or store chain would sell or merger and one would be back at the bottom again.

I tried many things to move out but now in my early 30's the possibility of a new career seemed a daunting challenge. Back in those day's the 80's it was still old school, you started down a career path and you followed it for life. There wasn't a fork in the path so to speak. So I had to re-invent myself and that became the framework of how I want to move next in post retirement. I want to be a life coach.

Moving up and away

Back in the 70's most shoe departments were leased by big shoe company's retail divisions. Shoes were a better fit for this type of arrangement. The buying power and know-how of a national organization was superior to trying to do the special segment of retail in-house.

So I went to work for U.S.Shoe's retail division Cincinnati Shoe Company. I became the companies troubleshooter and development specialist.

This was a fantastic experience for someone in their early 20's in the '70's. I saw retail operations for the inside. I got to learn how to manage people as well as all the other areas such as merchandise display, add copy, human resources, sales, training and coaching and the variety of functions and skill sets needed to be successful.


.