Mark and Beth, a young married couple in their twenties, established a goal to buy a home within the first three years of their marriage before starting a family. They budgeted and used their money wisely in order to save for the down payment. Whenever they purchased something they always paid cash - no credit cards for them. Why waste money by paying interest to a credit card company ?Within two years they'd reached their savings goal and...more
International businesses are facing new challenges to their internal communication structures due to major reforms brought about through internationalization, downsizing, mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures. Lack of investment in cross cultural training and language tuition often leads to deficient internal cohesion. The loss of clients/customers, poor staff retention, lack of competitive edge, internal conflicts/power struggles, poor...more
Whether you are already running your own business, or still thinking about starting your own business, I suspect that deep down you know you have gifts and talents that can really make a difference to others. In an ideal world, you'd spend the majority of time doing the work you love to do, with a steady stream of clients knocking at your door as and when you want them. The reality, however, can be somewhat different, and the whole process of finding new business can be a time consuming challenge full of uncertainty. Some would be entrepreneurs are so intimidated by the idea of finding clients that they never put their dreams into action. Others start promising businesses, yet give up disillusioned by the frustrating lack of clients. Some die-hards persist, but at great emotional and financial cost as the uncertainty about attracting and maintaining clients takes its toll.But it doesn't have to be this way. There is a way to reverse the sales process. Imagine, if you will, a situation where instead of having to go out and chase new business, qualified buyers are seeking out YOUR expertise. Imagine putting your marketing efforts on 'automatic pilot' so the right work turns up as...more
Before becoming a netpreneaur, I was an entrepreneur. First, I owned a successful child care center which grew to capacity in less than two years. When I sold that, I bought a little flower shop that had less than 300 customers and grew it to what it is today, one of the most successful, award winning companies in South Florida with more than...more
"Quality and service are important, if you want to make a sale. If you want to keep a customer for life, keep your promises." - Heidi RichardsThe buzzword these days is "relationship" marketing. Just what is it? And why is it important? Relationship marketing is so much more than "networking. It's gathering support of your friends, peers, and...more
"Cross promoting with other businesses can give you a significant advantage over the competition, with many benefits and cost savings." -Heidi Richards-More and more competition in the marketplace is making it necessary for companies to find creative ways to connect with customers and prospects, to enhance brand identity and attract top-notch employees. In order to enhance competitiveness in today's marketplace, more and more companies are forming strategic alliances. Strategic alliances can maximize your position in the marketplace. When you learn how to leverage partnerships you increase your market share. It is also a very smart way to grow a small business. Cross promoting with other businesses can give you a significant advantage over the competition with many benefits and cost savings.A strategic alliance is based on an arrangement between two companies to combine resource that will help both gain a greater share of the market. They are often formed when one business alone is unable to fill the gap in serving the needs of the marketplace. Forming strategic alliances can save time and boost productivity. It enables companies to be more efficient and concentrate on the core...more
Welcome to Monday Morning Mindfulness . . . to my Clients, Colleagues and Friends. Join me every other Monday in getting motivated and inspired to act/think/feel something differently. 1. ON SPECIAL OFFERS AND INVITATIONS Would you like to be paid...more
BOOK REVIEW: Performance of Financial Institutions: Efficiency, Innovation, RegulationIt is rare for a financial text to be written by a Cypriot author yet one of the authors (Stavros A. Zenios) is a Professor at the University of Cyprus.The aim of...more
In my career advising practice, I often find that my clients are not clear about what success means for them. Our society defines success primarily around three elements: power, money and fame. Many of you reading this may be saying, "wait a minute...more
Only the weak ones quit. Is that true? There is a story of a CEO of a multi-national company who decided to withdraw a product from the market when it had consistently failed for nine months and eaten up millions of pounds in advertising, promotions...more
It's no secret that software companies operate in a very competitive space where rivalry is increasingly fierce and where profit margins can be razor thin. New, smaller software companies are sprouting up each month and the leading software companies...more
Most people online are very familiar with the Nigerian Email Letter Scams. They've victimized thousands over the years and continue to do so. I am certain you've received many in your inbox over the course of your online experience. They are easy to...more