When The Dog Days Of Summer Hit Your Business
So summer finally arrived, now it’s the dog days of July & August, and business has dropped off right? It happens every year, but most business owners don’t plan for the drop off. So when the drop hits, you start to panic, you make offers you normally wouldn’t make, you do things you normally wouldn’t do.
I too have the same problem, in fact, we all have the same problem, it’s called needing more clients / customers every month. We all at some point experience the dog days of summer drop off in business, or maybe it’s attendance for your workshop and so on. Why are we so shocked or suddenly surprised when it happens?
One of the best tips I can give you is this, find like-minded partners in your business community. Why not get together with 2 or 3 other businesses and work together for the common good of your businesses. Help each other get through the summer months by building a promotion that involves all of you, and share the costs evenly if at all possible. This is very common in the online world of doing business on the Internet, it just makes sense. The MLM businesses call this having the best interest in your success, why, because everyone wins.
Brainstorm ideas together, work the details out and promote it like it you would the Olympics, invest in it. This is not a new concept, it’s just one we tend to over look or blow off, mostly because it seems like it’s too much work. Well, welcome to the world of being in business, work is part of the deal when you started your business.
The work is actually the easy part of solving your problem, the real issue is foresight. Taking the time to stop and look ahead 3 – 6 months can help prevent these down turns in July & August. It takes effort, you may want to bring someone in to help look at your situation from the outside looking in, they will see things you can’t. Why? Because you are too close to the problem.
This all sounds so simple doesn’t it, if it was these short-term struggles wouldn’t happen to most businesses. So keep it simple, because simple is hard enough.
So, find some partners going through the same struggle in your area, make sure they are not competition : ) Pose the question of doing a promotion together, and get creative. Do something significant, not the usual giveaways and 10% discounts, do something special for your business communities / tribes. Make your clients/customers want to get involved, they have the money, give them a reason to buy. Your customers are worth it.
The Future Of Business – Homeplus Virtual Subway Store
Progress is being made in shopping virtually, shopping using your smartphone is the future for sure, here is a short video showing you how it is being done in Korea:
The Future Of Business – The Chamber Of Commerce & The Tribe
Most of us have routines, I have a regular habit of stopping into the same place for my morning coffee, no it’s not Starbucks or Tim Horton’s. It’s the Roasted Grape, the coffee is amazing and the food is even better. People think I own the place I’m there so often, or have shares in the business….I don’t.
One morning I stopped in for coffee, there was a networking group meeting at the time, I knew at least half of the people there. I sat off to the side drinking my coffee when I heard my name, they asked me to join them, I asked…are you sure? I know me, I’ll talk if you give me the floor : )
After the session was over, a number of people approached me to chat, that’s why we go to these types of events right? I tend to ask more question when I sit at these round tables, mostly to make people think, because that’s what I do. Much of my work is reviewing business plans, asking a thousand questions, consulting, and public speaking. Sometimes, 4 – 5 times a year I will hold a workshop on the future of business – the open and free business model.
After chatting with a number of people, I posed the concept of, I think your local Chamber of Commerce should adopt the Tribe Model. I was asked the big question of course, what would that would that look like to you? I had to stop myself, I didn’t want to just blurt out a bunch of thoughts without actually thinking it through more. I’m not even sure I have it clear in my head right now, but I want to get it down and ask you what you think of the idea?
The biggest difference between a tribe and a community is….PASSION! The leaders and the members of the tribe have a high level of passion for something, it could be anything, as long as it benefits the tribe. It could even be a cause. Communities are more of a “gathering place”, they’re kind of stagnant and are formed from common interests of community members, or the squeaky wheels. Great tribes are always in motion, communities are not, they tend to be pretty static and have a hierarchy that operates from the top down.
Communities are like churches to me, they think in terms of programs and projects rather than being in a constant state of flux. Flux merely means flow, and that flow is always forward thinking.
We should look for tribes within communities, but don’t assume the community is a tribe. Great tribes tend to be formed by people with expertise, desire and passion, but don’t put to much emphasis on expertise.
These are a few initial thoughts, it’s very high level, but you know who the people are within your communities that are passionate about something in the business community. The Chamber should let these passionate people build, rather than try to control them. But that would mean chaos, and very few are willing to let chaos happen, why, it feels to out of control.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this concept, or your ideas on how your local chamber could adopt a more open and free model, one where the members are in a constant state of flux. It would mean a radical new way of thinking about chamber.
Related articles
- Searching, Seeking And Belonging (owengreaves.com)
- The Future Of Business – It Will Get Harder & Harder To Get Attention & Build Trust (owengreaves.com)
The Future Of Business – The World Population
The Future Of Business – The World Population. As each hour, day, month, and year passes, the world population continues to grow at an exponential rate. That rate is made even more alarming when you consider the amount of land used to grow food for this growing population. It is even more alarming when you consider the amount of water needed to sustain the population in the next 20 years.
This illustration should also make you think about your business community, how do you become part of the solution, how do stop consuming and start providing. Your personal survival and your businesses survival will look the same in many ways. We should be helping each other, rather than trying to get as much as we can from each other.
Here is an interesting video to help you see the population growing before your eyes:
What I Believe
What I believe. Has anyone asked you that question before? Have you struggled to answer it? This blog post is my attempt at answering the question of what I believe. This is not an exhaustive list but here is my list anyway:
1.) I believe there is a God
2.) I believe Jesus is Lord & Saviour
3.) I believe the Bible is the inherit word of God
4.) I believe we all were created
5.) I believe we were designed for a purpose here on earth
6.) I believe you are special
7.) I believe you have something to offer…always
8.) I believe we are all sinners
9.) I believe its harder to do the right thing and it’s never convenient
10.) I believe human evil comes from humans
11.) I believe hunger can be a thing of the past
12.) I believe we don’t treat one another very well, we kill each other, come on!
13.) I believe marriage should be between a man & a woman
14.) I believe we give money too much power over our lives
15.) I believe that when you do what you were meant & designed to do, you make the world a better place
16.) I believe the future does not belong to us
17.) I believe we lie to protect ourselves from the truth
18.) I believe we are stewart’s of the planet, not owners of it
19.) I believe Baseball is the greatest sport in the world
20.) I believe chocolate is over rated 😉
21.) I believe we are to serve on another
22.) I believe we should treat each other the same way in which you wish to be treated
23.) I believe we should respect each other
24.) I believe we don’t have to like each other, but we should care enough to love each other
25.) I believe we should always help each other
26.) I believe in the 90/10 rule – give away 90% and charge for 10%
27.) I believe in the Open & Free Business Model
28.) I believe the Internet is the door way to the future of business
29.) I believe in honesty
30.) I believe in love
31.) I believe we should keep life simple, because simple is hard enough
32.) I believe life was never meant to be easy, it was meant to challenge us
33.) I believe we can always learn from each other
34.) I believe in the value of a human life
35.) I believe the world needs more and better leaders, so step up
36.) I believe technology is driving us indoors and away from each others face-to-face moments
37.) I believe technology is leading us to an unhealthy place
38.) I believe technology can also be used for good
39.) I believe swearing is rude and degrading
40.) I believe porn is a lie and unhealthy, it makes us believe that’s how sex should be…NOT!
41.) I believe the Cloud will only serve large corporations (those providing the Cloud)
42.) I believe Silicon Valley is a trap and does not live in the real world
43.) I believe failure is the best thing that can happen to you
44.) I believe a closed mind never learns anything
45.) I believe an open mind can change the world
46.) I believe I love my wife & two sons more than I love myself
47.) I believe I have yet to be used by God, I’m being prepared
48.) I believe the Church is over-rated
49.) I believe in YOU the people, you are awesome
50.) I believe in spending less than you earn
51.) I believe we will endure a global water shortage
52.) I believe you & I will give an accounting of our actions one day
53.) I believe in steak & potatoes : )
54.) I believe High Definition TV is the best
55.) I believe we spend too much money on shoes and clothes
56.) I believe if we didn’t have clothes to wear, and we were all naked, the crime rate would not exist
57.) I believe you are loved by God, all of you
58.) I believe we can all make the world a better place by simply loving each other
59.) I believe in WordPress & Headway Themes
60.) I believe we don’t value human life
61.) I believe this list is long enough, what does your list look like?
