What is the Next Edsel?

January Theme: The 5 Priorities of Business:

Principles - Prepare/Plan - Product - People - Profit.

Your Product on the Internet

Remember, we at Changing Lanes refer use "Product" to represent anything you sell to a customer. When you start to look at our services as products, those products become tangible instead of an ever changing entity that can cause you to fall down the rat-hole of customization but that is a topic for another day. So just remember when we say "Product" we also mean "Service". The wonderful thing about the Internet is that your business is open to the world. Any one from anywhere can buy your product. The choices of products and the amount are simply amazing. Just take a moment and search for some every day products on Google, Amazon or eBay. As a consumer, you are no longer limited to the stores in your area. You can buy products from around the world, from Germany to Japan. But what about demand for your product? With a brick and mortar store demand for your product is limited to the population in your area. Let's say you sell Widgets at $10 each and you have a shop in Toledo, as of 2010 the Toledo metropolitan area population is roughly 651,000. If you could sell your widgets to 10% of the population here or have repeatable sales for the year that equal that, that's 65,100 widgets sold at $10 each for a total of $651,000. That would be quite the accomplishment and not very realistic at all. On the Internet you are not limited to your area. In the USA alone there are roughly 307,745,538 people. If you could get .1% of the USA to buy your product, that is roughly 307,745 people at a tune of $3,077,450. Granted not everyone has access to a computer nor do they buy stuff online but the point I'm trying to make is you now have a potential market of 307,745,538 instead of 651,000 - just a difference between a local shop and the internet. What it really comes down to is the product you sell, where you sell it, and how you sell it. The product itself has to fit the market demand. The quality and price of the product should meet the demand of the market. Don't over promise and under-deliver. It is better to deliver a product above your customers' expectations. If you are not sure what a customer wants, try beta testing. It will help you work out the bugs and will save your business the embarrassment of a faulty product. Where you sell your product is important too. You can create an online store but you don't have to be limited to that store. There are big online stores that allow you to sell your product through them. Such as Amazon.com or Buy.com. You could even put your products up on eBay under their eBay Stores. Now instead of one place that your item can be bought, it can be found in many places. How you sell your product can be broken down into two parts. The marketing part and the sales part. Create a solid marketing plan that uses the Internet to its advantage. Learn about what to do and what not to do with Search Engine Optimization, Social Networking, Affiliate Programs, Guerrilla Market, Blogs, Forums, Ads, etc. Stay away from spamming and Dark Patterns (Deception). Don't just market your product. Market your knowledge. The actual process of selling your product should be easy, secure, and have quality information about your product. Don't put up road blocks. Nothing is worse than forcing a user to do something, such as hunting for information or how to actually checkout. Even something as simple as creating an account before adding an item to their shopping cart can turn customers away. A user should be able to navigate your site easily, be able to find items, all the information about that item and add it to their shopping cart in a very user friendly way. They should be able to edit their cart, change the options of your product (if they can) from the cart, change the quantity, get shipping and tax rates, enter coupons, be able to click back to the product, all before they are forced to enter payment information. Make it easy, make it simple, make it safe. If you are finding that your customers are still having trouble, the best part of the Internet and your web site is that if something doesn't work the way you want it to work on your site, you can always change it (so long as the code can be accessed), you can always try something else. There is always another option, another way to sell your product. Jeff Mendelsohn Liquid Mechanix Studio, LLC www.liquidmechanix.com 419.297.3364

What is the Next Edsel?

When I was young, I was visiting my Aunt and Uncle's farm and wandered down the lane to the woods and found an old car. It was an Edsel, rusty, but still looked like it could be driven. I sat in the front, played with the knobs, pushed the transmission buttons on the dash and then pushed the cigarette lighter in; when I pulled it out, it was hot. . .so I touched it!   I toughed it up, and just tried to ignore the blister. At dinner that night, Uncle Clarence, an Oldsmobile engineer, noticed and asked how I'd come to be burned. I hemmed and hawed and he guessed what I'd done. He took me to the kitchen, dressed it and then laughed saying, "Obviously they made that cigarette lighter too well at the factory." It was decades before I realized what he was saying. When you build a product, you want it to last it's useful life. So thinking about your customers, sometimes, especially with services, what is the life? Is it destined to become an heirloom? Will it be repurposed? Does it need to be done again - think oil change, taxes, haircuts? The sweater I'm wearing today is 26 years old and I still like it. Did I get my money's worth? Well, yes. Could it be replaced? Yes. Do I remember the company name? Absolutely!   I've bought other products from that company, but never anything that lasted as long because of the fabric, style and colors. Also, the actual clothing line, they discontinued - no more sweaters. It is a fine line between quality and obsolesce. Growing your customers means knowing how you will provide quality to them over the life of your relationship. Knowing your product cycle and customer expectations is key!  Did the demise of Edsel come from spending too much on quality for a product that the world wasn't ready for yet? According to Jan Deutsch, the Edsel author it was "The wrong car at the wrong time". Linda Lucas Fayerweather www.ChangingLanes.biz 419-897-0528 linda@changinglanes.biz Consider working with a coach or a MasterMind Team to make 2012 the year of your dreams!

Knowing Your Product

I don't know about you, but I am turned off when I go into a store to buy a product and the staff cannot answer basic questions about the item in question. What good is having a product or service if your staff can't sell it? Any staff that comes in contact with customers should be prepared to answer any type of question related to your product if a customer calls or walks in. Some of the basics your staff needs to keep up to date on include: What is the price (including structure and promotions) What is the variety (colors, amount of hours, sizes, etc.) How do you use the product (is there more than one use available) What about repairs, service, and warranties Product logistics (Pick-up and delivery options, how much do you have in stock) Are there any special manufacturing processes (is it a green product, vegan friendly, no animal testing) What is the background (Who invented it, why) Having a fully informed staff not only keeps your customers from waiting for answers but also helps to sell your product or service. Tiffiny Fayerweather tiffiny.fayerweather@ChangingLanes.com

Planning & Preparing "Plans are nothing; planning is everything."  --Dwight D. Eisenhower January Theme: The 5 Priorities of Business: Principles - Prepare/Plan - Product - People - Profit. Business Planning for the C-Suite or mayby SWAT teams C-Suite is the current slang for the executive team; top managers; corporate officers; and often in a small business the Owner and Advisors. SWAT is police language for special weapons and tactics. True planning that is effective for a quarter, a year or longer needs to take into account the past, the what "ifs" of the future with collaboration between the many. This may mean that the C-Suite needs to use SWAT and put aside personalities and feelings to really prepare for the future. Starting with a SWOT analysis (strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats) or planning is one way to really get the juices flowing and to review where the business was, where it is and get some ideas on where it is going. Strengths and Weakness are an internal examination of a business, department or project while Opportunities and Threats are the external analysis. When working on your SWOT, remember that all businesses have SWAT; you all have special weapons and tactics. Polishing those and refining them so that a clear concise vision is delivered to the staff for activation and implementation will set the tone for a year with hope and aspirations. Knowing where you are going and developing a plan always leads to a great adventure! Start your planning with a SWOT analysis worksheet.  Linda Lucas Fayerweather www.ChangingLanes.biz 419-897-0528 linda@changinglanes.biz Consider working with a coach or a MasterMind Team to make 2012 the year of your dreams! Workshop on Planning - Northwest Ohio One Year Action Plan for Success - Planning that works for You and Your Team On Location at Bowling Green State University at Levis Commons - Begins January 11 Monday Morning Motivators Special Details below >> Details and Registration Planning for teamwork = Teams that Plan You have a goal in mind and you want to put it to action, only there is a problem of the in-between. Getting to that goal requires teamwork and planning. Often, getting a plan done will require more than just you. Part of the plan is identifying and getting the team on board or as Jim Collins would say in "Good to Great" get the right people on the bus in the right seats.  Create a team - Which of your staff would best represent your idea or goal? Use the staff members that can bring something to the table and leave the rest to their daily tasks. Plan a strategy - How do you want to get to your goal, what's your plan? Have a meeting with your new team and draw out a plan of action. Remember to also analyze your risks and weigh the pros and cons of your idea. Assign tasks - Give your team specific roles tailored to their talents, not just their positions. Fine tune - Put your team's ideas together and let everyone get a look at the big picture. You may get a few staff members that catch a few errors. Getting through the in-between works faster if you identify who will help be on your team. Happy Planning. Tiffiny Fayerweather tiffiny.fayerweather@gmail.com Planning for Business on the Internet Over the next few weeks I'll be talking about the core structure of a business broken down into the 5 P's, in order, Principles, Prepare/planning, Product, People, and Profit. If you miss one of these P's or don't give it enough time of day your business will have a difficult time succeeding.  Last week I talked about your Principles and how they translate over to the Internet. This week we will be talking about Planning, specifically Planning to do Business on the Internet.  Doing business on the Internet isn't very different from a brick and mortar store (B&M) but how you do business and how you should think about your business is very different.  Things that are similar. Store Location = Domain Name and Quality Hosting. Store Image = Website In Person/Phone Customer Service = Phone or Email Customer Service Customers leave with the product = The product is shipped to them And all of these factors need to be quality.  But the major things that separates B&M from an online business is on the Internet your business is open to the world where as a B&M is usually limited to an area that you can serve because of customer travel time. On the Internet your business is faceless in the terms of when a customer comes to your web site, they don't see you. They can't interact with with you. Being personable is done through your site being user friendly, presenting quality information, and your customer service. This can be a hard concept to grasp because you never see your customers, you only see I.P. addresses and orders. Your site has to do the selling for you.  In my opinion as a web developer, opening an online store is very easy these days, but making it successful is one of the hardest things. It is even harder than having a B&M. Because most people do not plan or have wild misconceptions behind selling things on the Internet. You will not automatically get a ton of business and be rich. Just because you are selling it doesn't mean someone will buy it. Just because someone else is making money off selling a Widget doesn't mean you will make money by selling the same Widget. Just because you are selling a lot now, doesn't mean it will continue to sell well. But don't give up, like any business with proper planning and being smart your business can be on it way to being successful. Here are some tips. The first and most important step is to plan how your business will function. How will you take orders? How long will it take to fulfill orders? How will you ship your products? Who is your target market? How can customers reach you? What is your policy on returns? How will you handle lost packages? Where can you ship to? Are you shipping items directly or are you using a fulfillment center? What will it cost to ship your items? How many items do you need to sell to cover my costs (web site, merchant account, hosting, employees, etc). Will the shipping rates cover the actual cost of shipping? These will help you create a solid business plan and give you realistic figures. Don't undercut yourself then try to make your money back through your shipping costs or try to make an extra buck on shipping costs. Besides a poor functioning or broken web site nothing will drive your customers away faster than high shipping costs. If you can't offer low prices and a decent shipping rate, rethink your business plan. Get an easy to remember domain name. Being clever might help. Plan and spend good money on a web site. If your site makes you look like it is fly by night company, you will be treated that way. If it is constantly down, what will your customers think about the products you sell and your customer service? If your site is broken or doesn't function very well, it shows you don't care. Don't blow off bad reviews. Don't get mad. The best thing to do is respond and resolve the issue. No matter what site the review is on. It shows that you care about your customers and they are not just a dollar sign. Don't post fake reviews or have friends/family post fake reviews about your business or products. Be unique but smart. You and countless other people are trying to do business on the Internet, what makes you special? Do your research. Research your competition. Research how other sites function/user experience. Research User Interfaces. Make ordering from your site easy, friendly, and go the extra step to make the customer's day. Stay up on the latest trends, research and figure out which ones will work for your business. Make sure you have quality information in a neat, consistent, orderly fashion. Create a quality newsletter. Find the sweet spot on send frequency. It could be once a week, or every other day, or once every two weeks. Don't use it just to spam, us it to educate first. Learn how to Guerrilla Market. Reach out to your customers, talk to them, listen to what they have to say. Become a community resource by having a blog or forum but don't use it to spam your business, use it to create an asset to help drive customers to your business. Give out knowledge. But what if you aren't selling anything on the Internet? What happens if you just want a brochure site or blog for your business's web site? Everything I talked about still matters. In short, your business plan should include a quality web site just take the selling portion out.  With proper planning and creating procedures, like with a B&M, it will help create a solid foundation for your business.  -- Jeff Mendelsohn Liquid Mechanix Studio, LLC www.liquidmechanix.com 419.297.3364

January Workshops! One Year Action Plan for Success Date: January 11, 2012 Details: One Year Action Plan for Success - Planning that works for you and your team On Location: Bowling Green State University at Levis Commons Day One - January 11 8:30-4:30 Day Two - January 25 8:30 - Noon Cost:Monday Morning Special $199  with online registration ($299 at the door) - Bring your partner for an extra $90. Registration Here Building a Thriving Business for Your Future Date: January 25, 2012 Details: Building a Thriving Business for Your Future - Learn the 7 Tips to build a business that will Thrive with or without you. On Location: Bowling Green State University Perrysburg Campus at Levis Commons Cost $69 (additional partners $20 each) January 25, Wednesday 1:30 - 5PM Registration Here

Have a profitable week.

Welcome to 2012! "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships." --Michael Jordan. January Theme: The 5 Priorities of Business: Principles - Prepare/Plan - Product - People - Profit. You are Your Values Business Principles are built on core values of you and your business.  Principles Defined: Fundamental, norms, rules, values that represent what is desirable and positive for an organization. Principles are basic, change rarely and govern your policies, goals and outcomes. Core Values Defined: The principles that internally guide an organizations conduct as well as its relationship with the external world. The core values your organization and its key people subscribe to define its character and the substance of your business, management, operations, products and services. To get started on your business principles, as an owner, you want to be clear what values you as an individual personally hold. When you are a customer, what makes you happy? What drives you crazy? When you are a subordinate, What is helpful? What leads to confusion? When you are with peers or friends, What do you expect others to believe about you? What will you not tolerate? When you are with your family, What are your dreams? What are your concerns? Defining your business principles starts with you and is the heart of who you are. Now, verbalizing these will lead to being able to develop and share yours with your team and build the principles your business will hold dear. Get your ideas flowing by checking out Samples: Zappos.com is more than create fun and a little weirdness Whole Foods Google Amazon believes in being frugal  IBM had a value jam last summer where they invited all their employees to share what they valued. Mystic Madness has set up a collection of 20 examples of idea starters for core values.  The principles that you live by in all parts of your life and business will be the values you share with your team. You may not achieve them 100% every day, but voicing them and giving life to them will enhance all you do in 2012! Linda Lucas Fayerweather www.ChangingLanes.biz  419-897-0528 linda@changinglanes.biz Consider working with a coach or a MasterMind Team to make 2012 the year of your dreams! Instilling Your Business Principles into Your Staff Getting your staff to care about your business core values or principles is a huge step towards success. Think of your business as an athletic team, every player must be running the same play and want to obtain the same goal. One bad player can throw an entire team astray. Think about what you want your team to do and how their skills can get your business to where it needs to be. Practice positive reinforcement: Are you giving positive reinforcement? Or just reprimanding them for little mistakes? If an employee makes a small mistake take her aside and talk about how to avoid the mistake in the future. You have to remember that your staff is human too and when under duress mistakes tend to happen more often. Share your Core Values to help employees build the your business principles: How are you getting there? How will your staff help you achieve these goals? Don't just tell your team what you want, help them understand and give input into your business values and principles Print your Core Values and POST them. Seeing the post everyday will remind you and  your players that they helped bring these principles to life and at the same time, give a sense of pride in their team. Tiffiny Fayerweather tiffiny.fayerweather@gmail.com Your Principles on the Internet Over the next few weeks I'll be talking about the core structure of a business broken down into the 5 P's, in order, Principles, Prepare/planning, Product, People, and Profit. If you miss one of these P's or don't give it enough time of day your business will have a difficult time succeeding. This week I'm talking about Principles, specifically how your Principles translate over to the Internet. Your Principles are your values, your standards, your fundamentals, your laws, your rules. They define you but more importantly they should be ingrained into your business and define your business and everything it stands for on every level. They should be well thought out come from your core, not forced, backed up by integrity, and never be compromised. Lastly your principles should serve your customers first then you. But how can your principles translate over to the Internet? Will it actually matter? Yes, it matters. It should actually matter even more. The Internet is not just a group of people doing things in a virtual world, making up web sites, selling goods/services, forums, and email. Yes, you can connect to people over the Internet but The Internet is a living creature. It is an abstract entity with feelings and is overly judgmental. If your principles are questionable, the Internet won't take mercy on you. It will chew you up no matter how big or small. The Internet is the gateway to the world and what you show the world better be good because it is out there FOREVER. It use to be if someone did you wrong who could you tell? Your friends and Family? Your neighbors? "Oh, don't shop there, they treated me terribly." You had no real voice and there was little recourse for the company who wronged you. Now, you can tell the world, NO, the Internet, and if the Internet cares it will back you up. For examples of this do a Google search for the following "Jeff Jarvis Dell Hell", "GoDaddy SOPA", or "Ocean Marketing Penny Arcade" In a day the Internet can make you rich. In an instant the Internet can ruin your life. Your values, your principles, and everything you and your business stands for will be tested constantly. If you don't have a clear message with what you stand for and the exhibit that message through your actions online and offline, there is no reason for anyone to trust you, no reason for anyone to want to do business with you, and no reason not to destroy you. But the Internet isn't all bad. It is actually a wonderful place that has changed the world for the better. It has given any one with a computer and an Internet connection access to the world. It has help companies be better and in some cases forced companies to be better. It has helped over throw dictatorships. It has help people stay connected. And so much more. All because the Internet acts like a watchful eye. That watchful eye wants to know where you stand. Does your business have good intentions? Does your business listen to its customers? What does your business do when faced with a bad review? How does your business stand up against your competitors? These are all questions your principles should answer. For my final thoughts, if your principles are tried and true the Internet can be a powerful ally and can help you achieve your goals and dreams you didn't even think were possible. But don't think for a second just because you can't see the people on the other end, it doesn't mean there aren't people and that they don't have a voice. -- Jeff Mendelsohn Liquid Mechanix Studio, LLC www.liquidmechanix.com 419.297.3364

January Workshops! One Year Action Plan for Success Date: January 11, 2012 Details: One Year Action Plan for Success - Planning that works for you and your team On Location: Bowling Green State University at Levis Commons Day One - January 11 8:30-4:30 Day Two - January 25 8:30 - Noon Cost: $249 with online registration ($299 at the door) - Bring your partner for an extra $90. Registration Here Building a Thriving Business for Your Future Date: January 25, 2012 Details: Building a Thriving Business for Your Future - Learn the 7 Tips to build a business that will Thrive with or without you. On Location: Bowling Green State University Perrysburg Campus at Levis Commons Cost $69 (additional partners $20 each) January 25, Wednesday 1:30 - 5PM Registration Here

Procrastination, Again

Getting Over the Procrastination Hump

A while ago I realized most of the tasks I procrastinate on will only  take me 5 to 45 minutes to complete. Not very long at all but yet I would still procrastinate and the task remains incomplete. So I took a moment to think about why I actually don't want to do the task and why I don't want to get it done right now. More procrastination but hey, that's the point.  One thought came to mind is the task is something I didn't want to do. Go figure. But alas, the task needs to get done, also, go figure. But how could I get myself to do the task? Eventually I would grudgingly call upon my will power and do the task that I had to do. Not the best way of doing things if you ask me. My laziness can be mighty powerful sometimes or I have what I consider "better things to do". After countless times of doing this, I had an epiphany.  Once I actually start the task, about 5 to 10 minutes in, I get into a groove and get the task done. In that groove my willingness to complete the task goes up tenfold. I'm already doing it, why not complete it and in the end I feel great about completing the task. On top of that, during the task I usually start to do things faster and what I thought would take me 45 minutes actually only takes me 30 minutes to complete. Woohoo!  I applied my new thought process to a few tasks. If I can get over the initial hump and get into my groove, I'll get the task done in no time. In the end those tasks didn't seem so bad. I felt rewarded knowing that I got the task done and can move on to something else such as relaxing because no TV and no beer make Jeff something... Crazy? Don't mind if I do!  Any way, knowing that I have a groove doesn't necessarily help me do the tasks but knowing that I just have to get over the hump to get into my groove to complete the task helps be start the task. And knowing that there is some sort of reward in the end really helps too.  The next time you are procrastinating on a task, once you actually start it, see if you notice the hump and see if once you get over the hump if the task you are doing really is that bad. Jeff Mendelsohn Liquid Mechanix Studio, LLC  www.liquidmechanix.com 419.297.3364

Killing Procrastination in Your Office

Procrastinators are everywhere, and like the common cold, procrastination can be contagious and is more prevalent during holidays and stressful times. One procrastinating employee can set off another and another. Before you know it, many hours are spent checking personal emails, chatting at the water cooler and surfing the web. But is it really their fault, or did they just lose focus? Here are some ideas to get your employees motivated again. Start a team:  Take a day to start a team that works well together. Team building exercises are a great way to start. Uniting employees in a common goal makes them feel that they are part of the solution and keeps focus on the bigger picture. Make sure you use team building events that create a common goal so your employees work with each other, not against one another.  Teams also give opportunities for support without drama. Gain Employee Insight:  Take some time for an all inclusive meeting. Getting everybody together and sharing ideas on how to gain more business or solve complaints from customers will show employees that you care about and respect their opinions. Remember, you hired these people because they were qualified and met your standards, use their potential. Make it rewarding:  Offer incentives for your employees. If sales are high and mistakes are low, share the wealth. Rewards like buying everyone lunch or a small gift card shows that you appreciate what they have done for you. To make it even more rewarding include a personal note of appreciation to each employee. Employees that feel appreciated and respected are less likely to waste your time procrastinating. Tiffiny Fayerweather tiffiny.fayerwather@gmail.com

Hope! Get a Vision

If you recoginize when you are procrasting, get your team on board and even recognize the "hump and the groove" and maybe you still feel you are procrastinging, there is hope.  Well actually, Vision!  Often when I talk with procrastinators, one of the problems is they just don't know where they want to be or what they want to achieve. I've seen many different ways to create a vision and authors from Steven Covey, Robert Kiyosaki, Brian Tracy, Michael Gerber and Lewis Carroll who would agree that "if you don't know where you are going than any road will work". Not having a vision can lead to procrastination because the mind and heart really don't know where you are taking them so distractions are just more places to go. Or, if you don't know where you are going, than why do anything. For businesses and business owners, I use Jim Horan's (One Page Business Plan) method of fill-in-the-blank visioneering. By ______ (year you will achieve this vision) grow_____________ (name of your business or department) into a successful $______________________ (gross revenue) ___________________________________ (local, regional, national international or other) _____________________________________ (type of company) providing or specializing in ___________________________ (describe products or services) for__________________________________ (target market description and customer description). Once you have filled in the blanks, you can refine this draft to create a statement that you can believe and follow. This alone may help with some of the distractions, shiny objects and squirrels along the road to your vision. A vision also makes it easier to get your team on board with the work necessary to acheive the vision.  Think of the vision as your shiny object and follow it. Linda Fayerweather MBA EA Linda@ChangingLanes.biz 419.897.0528 Like us on Facebook   Tweet us at Twitter      Changing Lanes LLC

January Workshops!

One Year Action Plan for Success Date: January 11, 2012 Details: One Year Action Plan for Success - Planning that works for you and your team On Location: Bowling Green State University at Levis Commons Day One - January 11 8:30-4:30 Day Two - January 25 8:30 - Noon Cost: $249 with online registration ($299 at the door) - Bring your partner for an extra $90. Registration Here Building a Thriving Business for Your Future Date: January 25, 2012 Details: Building a Thriving Business for Your Future - Learn the 7 Tips to build a business that will Thrive with or without you. On Location: Bowling Green State University Perrysburg Campus at Levis Commons Cost $69 (additional partners $20 each) January 25, Wednesday 1:30 - 5PM Registration Here