The Promo Coach

It’s no secret that times have been hard for a number of small businesses. Due to the current economic climate, many companies are seeing a downturn in profits. This lack of revenue can put a serious damper on efforts to market and expand the customer base, a move which is greatly needed in such instances. So how can a business engage in creative marketing without the necessary funds?

Cross marketing and business bartering relationships may be the perfect solution. Small business owners may work together to promote each other’s services, to their current customer base. This allows each business to receive exposure to a new market with little to no costs.

But what if you need unique gifts or marketing items and there is no room in your budget? This problem too can be solved by going to your fellow business owners. The solution may lie in bartering services. If you can offer another company your unique services in exchange for custom goods, your creative marketing goals will be reached without having to dip into company funds. Times are hard and working together with other small companies may help get through the rough times.

It seems to me that it is getting more and more difficult to run a business well during the holiday season because of the huge number of pitfalls and political faux pas that see to lie in wait at the base of every Christmas tree, Menorah, and Pillar candle in the country. No matter what you say you run the risk of saying the wrong thing and causing an inter-cultural incident. Even school systems have begun calling Christmas Break “Winter Break”.
(continue reading…)

As the current financial crisis looms large on the daily news each evening, we keep hearing stories of corporate bailout and excess, spa vacations and pink slips, pointing fingers and shifting blame. No one is responsible for the mess we are in, no one really knows how to fix it, and no one wants to change his or her lifestyle one bit in order to accommodate it.

As a leader in a small business, you are (continue reading…)

Have you ever seen management constantly complain about time constraints, budget concerns or even filing paperwork? This may be a boss or it may be you. It seems as if work is never completed in a timely fashion, papers are never filed or filed incorrectly, breaks are abused and 100% employee participation seems scarce. If this is your office, then you need to form a team. If you have a team, then a reconstruction of team management may be worthwhile. A good way to rid the complaints, ease stresses, get organized and save time is to correctly manage a team of competent people who will help you through your daily tasks.

Believe it or not there are team experts who coach individuals and groups on personal and business levels in forming teams, managing teams and boosting team morale. What’s ironic is that most businesses gather a group of individuals and stick the word ‘team’ to the group without establishing what is expected from each party. It seems as if everyone is supposed to ‘just know’ what to do. These circumstances lead to an array of miscommunications and misunderstanding of work assignments which could lead to a plethora of redoing work.

In this case, it may be necessary to seek a third party who has the expertise to help team leaders delegate work responsibly and assist team members to understand their role in the team. Denise O’Berry, Team Doc, is a professional team builder. Her expertise has helped many struggling teams, both small and big businesses, get a handle on issues that spin out of control and maintain a healthy working relationship to help build team morale. Denise’s blog, Team Building Tips is a great source for managers and team leaders. This blog has many articles that I find to be necessary tips that can lead to success.