Successful Blog

Influence: 7 Keys to a Trust Network that Will Grow Your Business

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IRRESISTIBLE BUSINESS: A Trust Network

The Strongest Networks Thrive on Trust and the Truth

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Last September, a man I admire and respect gave me what is possibly the highest compliment of my business life. We were speaking of filters and sharing information, when he said …

Even those who see the world differently, trust you to tell them the truth.

Good news, bad news, exciting developments, dire warnings — Data is simply information.

Information is nothing if we can’t trust it.

Without information we trust, we can’t move without risk.

7 Keys to Trust that Will Establish Your Business, Your Brand and Your Reputation

One of my most popular interactive presentations is called “Who’s Telling Your Story?” It outlines a clear strategy to enlist and inspire a deeply active community of fiercely loyal fans who spread your story and protect your brand. The first key point in that presentation is to know your story and to build your network before you need it.

But not all networks are equal. The network that builds a business, a brand and a reputation is connected by deep trust and consistent behavior.

That trust network is not simply a contact list, a customer base, or even a team of people who love the company and it’s customers. That trust network is people who tell our best true story, move to action when we ask, and protect us from threats. A network like that doesn’t happen by happy accident. It takes deep commitment, consistent trustworthy behavior, and relentless focus.

Here are the 7 Keys that attract the people who will join your truest trust network and bring their fiercely loyal friends.

  1. Identify and hold true your deal-breaker values — the qualities that define you.
  2. Communicate your goals and intentions. Let people know the why behind the what you’re doing.
  3. Make and keep promises and commitments to yourself, your team, and your larger community.
  4. Anticipate needs. Don’t assume others’ needs are what yours would be.
  5. Be aware if you offer treat people differently and know why you do. Those of us who care know, do you?
  6. Own your actions and their impact. Apologize quickly, well, and concisely for bad judgment, bad behavior, and bad math.
  7. Tell the truth … as gently or as firmly as the people and situation suggests you should.

Think of your best bosses, your best teachers, the best team you ever were on, your best friends and coworkers, how many of these seven did / do they have? How much better would they have been / be, if your answer was all seven?

To build a community network that brings you information you can trust, do all 7 for the people who love you now and the word will get out faster, easier, and more meaningfully than any story you might tell.

Start by doing the first with a vengeance. Then get moving on the second. As you do them, notice how the way you see your business changes and the they way people respond. Move sure and slowly. Keep all 7 Keys in the decisions you make and notice how your decisions become more focused and how those decisions attract people you trust.

The value of information is in how much you trust the source.
The essence of influence is trust.

A reputation of trustworthiness is a barrier to entry that’s hard to cross.
A trust network of people who share that trust and act on it — employees, volunteers, vendors, partners, customers, shareholders, advisors, friends, family — amps that barrier up exponentially to irresistible.

How will your own trust network that will grow your business and your brand?
Get started.

Be irresistible.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

The Power of a Mentor

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Rosemary O’Neill

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The GPO Style Manual was my Bible. But technical writing for a Federal Government contractor was slowly sucking the soul out of me. I’m not knocking it in general, but it really wasn’t for me.

Then one day, my supervisor called me into her office, and there sat a red-faced, genial guy with an easy laugh. His name was Dave Denne, and he changed the course of my life for the next 10 years. He was looking to recruit someone to join his marketing team, and he thought I might have the right stuff. My supervisor was dubious, but for some reason Dave believed in me. He persuaded her to let me jump ship, and I literally leapt at the chance.

Over the next several years, he taught me everything he knew about corporate marketing, networking, business communications, and specifically Federal proposals. I’ll never know why he came and plucked me out of the Flood Insurance Project, but it changed everything for me.

I share this story because often we don’t realize why certain people or opportunities are placed in front of us. The universe sends us messages all the time, and we simply need to be in receptive mode to tap into them. Are you in receptive mode right now?

I found out the other day that Dave passed away several years ago; he and I had finally fallen out of touch, but I will always be grateful for his invitation to start another path. He left me with the ability to walk up to a group of strangers at an event with confidence, and an amazing recipe for barbecue beans.

Perhaps we all need mentors for a certain time and place. Do you have a mentor right now? Who is giving you an invitation to a new path?

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Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out their blog. You can find her on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee
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The Cubs Have Made a Business out of Coming up Short

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It isn’t that often that I would talk baseball on a business blog. But with Opening Day upon us this week, could there be a better time to discuss the two?

Just as a business owner has to go about trying different things to make their company successful so that it sees a strong ROI (return on investment), the owners of the Cubs, business owners at that, have tried year after year to put a pennant winning team on the field. To date, they have unfortunately struck out.

I have been following Major League Baseball since my childhood days in the 1970s. While many things have changed since back then – there has been one troubling consistent in the world of professional sports on the north side of Chicago – the Cubs have not won the World Series.

Truth be told, I don’t see the Cubs winning in my lifetime, and I’m hoping on being around for some time to come if the guy upstairs allows it.

Those loveable Cubbies, who tickled the fancies of their fans back in 2003 before losing to the eventual champion Florida Marlins in the N.L. Championship, have not won the big pennant since 1908, let alone appeared in the World Series since 1945.

Curses, Why Can’t They Win the Big One?

From the often-mentioned Billy Goat curse to the Steve Bartman incident in 2003, the Cubs have simply not been able to go from start to finish without slipping up somewhere along the way.

Now mind you, the Cubs have had some outstanding players over the years, among those Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ron Santo, Fergie Jenkins, Ryne Sandberg, Lee Smith and Mark Grace to name but a few. Still, no World Series flag flying above the friendly confines of Wrigley Field since 1908.

In the early 1980’s, I had the opportunity to attend my first-ever Cubs game at venerable Wrigley Field. To this day, it remains one of my favorite MLB experiences of all time. Other than the original Yankee Stadium, which I got to go to as a child numerous times growing up on the East Coast, nothing evoked history to me like Wrigley Field (I have not been to Fenway Park yet).

Still, despite all that history and what can still be considered a bit of a home field advantage by having a large number of day games during the hot and humid summers that are Chicago, the Cubs have not been able to hoist the World Series trophy in my lifetime or even my grandparents for that matter.

The Pressure is Squarely On

When the Boston Red Sox won their first of two titles last decade, the monkey was taken off their backs for a very long drought (had not won since 1918) and placed squarely on the shoulders of those lovable Cubbies.

While I am not one that enjoys seeing others suffer, I must admit with a slight twinkle in my eye that there is something a tad funny about the Cubs and their years of stumbling and bumbling.

Trust me, as a lifelong New York Mets fan; I know what stumbling and bumbling looks and smells like. I did, however, get to enjoy the 1986 title over the previously mentioned Red Sox, so I could die tomorrow and my baseball life is perfectly fine.

Ever since the Cubs moved out of the N.L. East (starting with ’94 season), their rivalry with the Mets has lessened year after year. As it stands now, my animosity still continues to be directed towards the Atlanta Braves and my native city of Philadelphia and those dreaded Phillies.

As for those Cubs, I wish them well going into this season.

As for the Cubs winning the World Series anytime soon, I think someone that was a community organizer in Chicago at one time has a better chance of getting elected President.

Wait a minute….

Photo credit: mothra04.blogspot.com

Dave Thomas, who writes on subjects such as starting a small business and workers compensation writes extensively for San Diego-based Business.com.

Why Penny Auctions Are Dangerous

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You’re Buying Whether You Win or Not

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Enter At Your Own Risk

For the past eight months, I’ve been researching a relatively new entity that has creeped up onto the internet and is now covering the web with advertising – and this entity is known as the Penny Auction.

The idea of a penny auction seems very tempting at first – you can get items for pennies on the dollar – but the reality of the hype is far more dangerous than it appears.

This article delves into why penny auctions are dangerous and if you still choose to enter, you do so at your own risk.

What Are Penny Auctions Really Selling To You Anyway?

Let’s start off by looking at what’s on the surface and then we’ll delve deeper. What’s the difference between a traditional online auction site and these penny auction websites?

Let’s say that you wanted to buy a camera via a traditional online auction, which has a starting auction price of $150. You make a bid for the camera (which is free by the way) and other people will also make a bid for that same camera.

In this example let’s say that 100 people also placed bids for that same camera. At the end of the bidding period, let’s say that the highest bid was $275 and that was your bid – so you won the camera.

With the example mentioned above, you would only ‘part’ with your money if your bid was the highest. If you did not win the auction, then you would simply move on – without losing any money. Simple, right?

Let’s use this same ‘camera’ example – but for a penny auction this time. Remember – the lure of a penny auction is that you can get items for pennies on the dollar, right? Well, let’s see if this is really true.

So the camera has a retail price of $150 – but the bidding starts off at a penny and as more people bid, the price will incrementally go up by one penny.

But how are you allowed to bid in these penny auctions? Here’s the catch!

Bid Packs Are Valueless, But They Cost

You are only allowed to bid via “bid-packs”. These bid packs allow you to bid a certain number of times and the bids are usually sold in packs of 25, 50, 100, 250, etc. – depending on the penny auction site that you are using.

Keep in mind that these bid-packs have absolutely no value whatsoever outside of the penny-auction site and that you are giving in your real money for – what exactly?

If you want to continue playing in the auction, then guess what – you have to buy more bid-packs. In a scenario like this, it is very possible for people to loose quite a bit of money in the purchasing of these bid-packs. The penny auction site profits from luring people in who are hoping to get cheap items.

By the way, did you notice that the camera has not been sold as yet?

See the problem? Unlike a traditional online auction, where you are only paying for a camera that you actually won – in a penny auction however, you are paying for the HOPE of winning that camera.

That’s what a bid-pack actually is. It’s a HOPE-PACK, where you hope and pray that the other bidders would run out of bids before you do.

But even in the remote chance that you actually won the camera – well guess what? You would still need to pay whatever the current bidding price was when you won the camera.

So in the end, the penny auction site makes FAR MORE than the $150 retail price of the camera – and this example is true for every item that they sell.

Penny auction sites make the bulk of their profits by selling and trading their “virtual-hope-currency” to everyone and not by the actual physical items for sale on their sites.

They sell HOPE, in nice little packs – and there’s no way to avoid that obvious fact.

Are You An Auction House Or A High Yield Investment Company? Make Up Your Mind!

Some of these penny auction sites have taken it a step further – into the grey area – and this is where the FTC has to step in and question the legality of the business.

Here’s the reality of the problem. Many people are catching on to the inherent problem of penny auctions. Going back to my previous example: why pay money for the HOPE of getting a camera when I could use that same money TO ACTUALLY BUY a camera? Think about it.

My months of research have proven that most people would stick around if they are given free sample bids – but would leave when those bids dry up. Yes, some people do stay for the long haul – but would the low retention number of customers be enough to sustain this type of business? Definitely Not!

To ‘solve’ this problem (notice the quotes) some of these penny auction companies have dived into the MLM arena. Now I’ve been doing MLM for over ten years – so I know when something stinks and I also know when a company is trying to cover its tracks.

Using an MLM downline structure, the companies encourage people to register and partake in their income opportunity. At this point, people are joining – not for the great deals – but for the money that they can get from the company.

But there’s a catch – in order to take part in this so-called income opportunity, you would need to pay a monthly fee.

… and this is the part where the FTC now has you in their crosshairs.

You’ve just stepped your foot into something that smells funny – and that odd smell is the smell of a Ponzi scheme.

I am going to assume that you are reading this and that you know EXACTLY what a Ponzi scheme is. If you are unsure, please look it up on Wikipedia right now before you continue.

Some of the ‘affiliates’ in these companies are making a good amount of money from these schemes – but where is the money actually coming from? Is it coming from the customers?

If you actually believe that, please go back and re-read the first section of this post.

This problem has made these companies TOP-HEAVY, where there are much more opportunity-seekers than actual customers for the business to sustain itself – and for one in particular, it has become a major legal mess.

This particular organization actually got itself banned from Craigslist – can you imagine an entire company and all of its affiliates getting banned from Craigslist? That’s hilarious!

The only thing that’s been accomplished by having so many opportunity-seekers, is getting the attention of the FTC. The FTC looks at the behavior of these companies as investment practices – and you cannot be a legal investment company without having a license to do so.

Let’s not fool ourselves here.

Bid packs and VIP bids are not products. They are non-existent outside of the penny auction sites. You cannot barter, trade or sell them in exchange for actual goods and services to the general public. They are not stocks – you do not have any ownership of the companies that sell them to you. The only thing that you can do with these bids is to use them and HOPE that you can get an actual product in return.

The relatively low customer retention means that the companies have to maintain their scheme (and their affiliates) somehow – and that is done by the monthly fees. Want proof of this? Take away the monthly affiliate fees and see how long it would last before it goes under. See if the company is able to survive on getting customers alone.

Never fall for the marketing hype and re-assurances that these companies throw at you.

Like I said before … let’s not fool ourselves here.

So What’s The Smartest Thing To Do?

As a Customer:
If you’re looking for a camera, iPhone or whatever, it’s best to check traditional online auction sites first. Heck, check retail stores, both online and offline – you might be surprised by a great deal.

Only use a penny auction site when everything else fails. Know what you’re getting into. You’re not paying for an actual product, you’re paying for the HOPE of getting a product. So ask yourself this question – do you want to part with your money, for HOPE?

As an Opportunity Seeker (affiliate):
Be extremely cautious of any company that draws the attention of the FTC. Trust me – I know this from experience. Years ago, I was an affiliate for a company called SkyBiz (older marketers would know what I’m talking about). I thought that everything was fine and that I was set for life – until the FTC pounced and killed the company.

Myself and many other affiliates lost money because of that fiasco, but I learned a valuable lesson – always be cautious of a company’s business practices. If it’s too good to be true and you’re seeing high yields coming into your account, then you can bet your last dollar that the FTC is not far behind.

If you’re already involved in these high-yield investment companies that are disguising themselves as penny auctions, then the smart option is to withdraw your profits as soon as possible. Look for companies that have stable marketing practices – and sell actual useable products to the general public.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the company will last for years and years – with questionable business practices.

The FTC has a history of pouncing and killing a company – when you least expect it.

Well that’s all that I need to say about this topic – the choice is now in your hands.

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Author’s Bio:
Marlon Dexter has been doing private internet marketing for over ten years and does private consulting with select clients to ensure that they avoid the many pitfalls and scams in the world of internet marketing. You can find him at Marlon Dexter Marketing.

Thank you, Marlon!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Why Working Bloggers Should Hire a Personal Accountant

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Blogging is a great way to make extra income or to work from home. You get to set your own hours, write about what interests you, and control your earnings potential. However, this type of work does not make you immune from tax responsibility. No matter how much you make blogging, and no matter if blogging is your primary job or just something you do on the side, you will have to report your earnings and pay taxes on them.

Before you get out your tax forms and start filing yourself, consider these reasons why you should hire an accountant to help you instead:

You Have a Greater Responsibility

There are many overlooked benefits to working for someone else — namely, that a corporate employer pays payroll and social-security taxes on your behalf. If you earn more than $400 a year from your blogging work, you are considered “self-employed,” and you will have to pay your own payroll taxes and a self-employment tax. Depending on the type of work you do and how much you earn, you may have other tax obligations. An accountant can help you understand all of your responsibilities and ensure that you are being compliant with the law.

Deductions are Available

You know how so many large companies and the millionaires who run them are able to minimize the amount of taxes they pay? They hire accountants to help them find deductions. You can do the same.

Working for yourself entitles you to a number of deductions, which may include your cell phone bill, Internet service, computers and other equipment, part of your rent, items to give away on your blog, and more. An accountant can educate you about all the deductions to which you are entitled and help you minimize your tax obligation, helping you to keep more of your earnings.

Small Business Guidance

Accountants have expertise in the tax code and can offer guidance about the intricate laws that govern small businesses. If you hire an accountant, you can get advice about best business practices as you grow. For example, you may learn that you need to improve your record-keeping practices, or maybe you’ll learn that buying a computer with energy-saving technology can entitle you to credits. Not only will an accountant help you shape the best tax situation in the current year, but he or she can also help you ensure the best financial health of your business going forward.

Audit Advice

Did you overlook reporting earnings one year? Or did you incorrectly report some deductions? If previous reporting errors have resulted in an audit, an accountant can offer you advice on dealing with the IRS and on what your rights and responsibilities are. An audit can result in serious fines and other legal trouble. Hiring an accountant can ensure that you have someone working with you to fight for your interests and minimize the repercussions. If you hire an accountant to help you file your taxes, you are usually entitled to free assistance if an audit of that tax year is conducted.

No matter how much money you make blogging, you are required to report your earnings to the IRS and to pay the appropriate taxes. An accountant can offer you guidance and expertise to minimize your tax responsibility while still ensuring that you are in compliance with all the rules and regulations regarding your business.

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Author’s Bio:
Heather Green is a freelance writer for several regional magazines in North Carolina as well as a resident blogger for onlinenursingdegrees.org. Her writing experience includes fashion, business, health, agriculture and a wide range of other topics. Heather has just completed research on health care admin degrees and online physical therapy aide degrees

Thank you, Heather!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

How to Manage Your Finances in the Cloud

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Once upon a time, personal finances were relegated to stacks of messy piles that would often find its place next to a trashcan. Then came software packages like Quicken that allowed families and individuals to crunch financial information and make sense of it all through simple templates.

However, limitations soon become evident, as software’s ability to help users set budgets and manage personal finances day-to-day only went as far as the user’s own limited expertise.

Now there is a wave of new personal finance websites and applications like Mint that not only perform the tasks of conventional financial software, but that also serve to help individuals and families make day-to-day decisions about their finances.

This is the primary difference — and advantage — of these new cloud-based financial sites. While financial software passively absorbs the banalities of one’s utility bills and investment portfolio, sites like Mint actively advise users—effectively acting as a personal financial manager, helping users stick to monthly budgets and achieve long term financial goals.

Getting started with a personal finance site is also much easier than installing and inputting data into a software package. Logging in, a new user will be asked to provide either a bank account or credit card account number, the website then takes over to import all the relevant information about this primary account.

Many Americans already pay most of their bills through automatic payments drawn from their bank accounts, so sites like Mint are designed to prompt and actively acquire this information as well.

Users will be prompted to add more and more information about their financial lives to their personal page. This can include mortgages, investment portfolios, automobile payments, loans, and also things like projected spending on necessities, as well as the not so necessary.

What makes sites like Mint so extraordinary is that they not only process and aggregate this information; they also make sense of it and then take action.

Mint will calculate average spending and then lay it against a projected budget, providing comparative analysis with the deft and accuracy of a CPA with a Masters in Accounting . The site will not only alert users to the potential for overdraft fees, but will also alert them when spending threatens to overwhelm a budget or when expected income falls short.

Some still have lingering concerns about managing personal finances in the more ethereal realm of the cloud, where a faceless entity directs our most important financial decisions. But, of course, herein lies the true genius of sites like Mint.

Daily finance, budgeting and investing might seem like the more cut-and-dry, analytical parts of our lives, but actual personal finances are bound up with the most emotional decisions we make for ourselves, including how we support our families, and how we imagine our future. As such, these decisions are often made through the haze of our anxieties and desires rather than with a cool head, rationally calculating factors with an eye on the future.

Personal finance sites like Mint not only organize and simplify the various machinations of our financial lives; they also gently disengage monetary decisions from the sometimes-tumultuous emotional world of daily life.

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Author’s Bio:
Tony Radford writes for Accounting EDU, an online resource for individuals interested in career advancement, education, business, and finance tips.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!