Politicians Boosted by Celebrity Endorsements

USA Today is reporting online as I write this, "Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger officially endorsed Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain." Obama was boosted by both Caroline and Ted Kennedy a few days ago and as business owners we can learn from this.

Celebrity endorsements or the use of a famous person to market our companies can be very powerful although there can always be a downside. Remember when OJ Simpson was the face of Hertz?

Learn how Robert Redford's name and face is used carefully by Sundance Catalog.

It's a Market Correction Not a Recession

My mother-in-law is visiting from Maine and she is proof that physical labor keeps a person young. At 85 she insists on living alone, putting in her garden, mowing several acres and taking care of the needs of many of her neighbors. I certainly hope to be as strong and happy as she is now when I am 85. However, I do have a bone to pick with her. Even though she has had a computer with Internet access for at least 10 years, she still gets her news from her local daily paper and Brian Williams.

When she arrived here in Palm Desert for a welcomed thaw, she started saying that she thinks we must be in a recession. So for two weeks I have been trying to figure out what she is talking about. My research lead back to her news sources. I read her favorite newspaper and watched Brian Williams with her; and even I got depressed.

Thanks to Steven Rattner's article in the Wall Street Journal today, I now have the expert who will back up my sense of the economy. Mr. Rattner says, "...the probability remains that what our economy faces is less a plunge into the dark ages than a cyclical purging of excesses." Thank you. Just like in 2001 when the dot com boom busted, we have had recent splurges and now the market has to push us back to a sustainable reality.

I don't hear business owners complaining because that is not what we do when things change. What we do is adapt. As his business grew, John Hawkins was squeezed hard by the California labor laws. To save his company, Cloud 9 Shuttle, he offered van drivers the chance to be owners. By turning employees into owners the cost of doing business dropped while the drivers' income went up.

Can you use this market cycle to make some changes that will make you stronger and employees happier?

It's Time To Buy Your Dream Home

The New York Times reported on January 24 that housing prices fell for the first time in decades. This is good news for anyone who doesn't already own their dream home. Finding a home or building a home today can be very exciting because of the new building materials and all of the technology that can make your life more comfortable and fascinating.

Boutique builders, all small business owners of course, are the ones to look for when you want to create the home of your dreams. Eric Rose, founder of EM Rose Builders located in Branford, Connecticut, has spent years building his reputation as a world-class builder. He specializes in building smart homes. At our web site you can learn about Eric and why his customers-- architects -- keep coming back.

The Politicians Say They Can Make Change

Listening to all of the politicians is dizzying. But, they are on to the right topic. When something doesn't work, we have to change what we're doing. The big problem is that the establishment doesn't want their perfect little lives messed with. I am talking about every person who gets a check from the Federal Government. With the exception of those who wear our military uniforms, the government barely works.

We owners are lucky that we can think of a new idea and make it happen fairly quickly. That's the fun part about having a small business. We can gather everyone together in one room, describe our new idea, receive input from everyone who will be affected by the change then design a plan to make it happen.

Steve Hoffman changed his product offer when it dawned on him that he had systems for his very small business that would support a much larger operation. He went from double digit millions to triple digit millions. Nice change, Steve.

Find New Customers in the New Year

Ping is famous for its putters and has always sold its golf clubs through professional golfers who run pro shops at country clubs and golf courses. When Ping felt they had maximized this way of acquiring new customers, they decided to co-brand with NASCAR.

This turned out to be brilliant because a large percentage of NASCAR fans play golf, have money to buy high-end clubs and they trust the NASCAR brand to recommend products.

Don't get stuck in a rut as you search for new customers. Use this new year to find new ways to find new customers. See for yourself how they did this at Karsten Manufacturing, the makers of Ping Golf Clubs.

What Is Your Real Growth Potential?

When you started your business you may have never wanted to grow past a few million in annual revenue. Or, you may have already surpassed your most optimistic dreams! This happened to Scott Mooney and then he got hooked on growth. As a high school kid he opened a retail store and was able to run it as he convinced the school authorities to let him go to night school with the juvenile delinquents. I'm not kidding.

Soon he had put his competitor out of business then he realized that he had no more growth potential if he stuck with the same business model. Scott decided to move from running a big retail store in the tiny town of Ottumwa, Iowa to building a database which allowed him to sell to any customer who had a mailing address. When he reached $18 million in sales, he sold to go after some new challenges.

Is This New Year the Time for New Products?

Maybe this is the year to launch a new product that will thrill your current customers. That's what we're hoping to do here at Small Business School. We have been making television shows for PBS stations since 1994 and we have had plenty of fun. Viewers tell us we are their favorite show on TV and they try never to miss an episode.

However, we are now ready to leap past conventional syndication and offer our fans an experience that television simply can't deliver. You can see for yourself at Small Business School that you can now search our library by topic and by industry and get the answer to your question. This will make learning so much more flexible and personal.

Strong companies stay strong by offering new products and services after studying customer needs and wants. One of my favorite companies that does this well is Medallion Financial. It's a new year. Is it time to offer something new?