Rising Above the Crowd

In this economy business growth is difficult for many, especially for those of us who are self-employed. We continually look for professional, yet cost effective tools to make our business rise above the crowd.

How do we keep up with up changing business strategies, keep our head above water, stand out from the crowd and do it all on a budget? Luckily, the Internet offers thousands of articles written by leaders in the industry, including my friend Bill Lampton, and they are just a click away.

Here are some articles I offered in the Business Buzz section this year in my newsletters. I have compiled them below to make it easier for you to find. You may also sign up for the free bi-monthly newsletter and access the archives as well at http://storybugnewsletter.blogspot.com/ . At the bottom of this post you will also find three links to previous blog posts I have shared with additional business resources. Come on, get clicking and start raising your game!

6 Low-Cost Marketing Strategies by Sharron Senter http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/affordmark.htm

7 Habits of Highly Horrible Networkers by Scott Ginsberg

http://tinyurl.com/3x92f8z

10 for '010 - 10 Smart Leadership Questions for 2010 by Gayle Lantz.

http://tinyurl.com/yzr5fxb

10 Ways to Differentiate Your Customer Service & Make Your Clients Actually Feel Valued by Sara LaForest and Tony Kubica

http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/differentiatecs.htm 
17 Lost Cost Ways to Get Newsletter Subscribers by Janet Attard

http://tinyurl.com/6kzdxj6

Business Conferences: A Chance to Breathe New Life into Your Business by Brad Egeland
http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/businessconference.htm 
 
Differentiate and Dominate: 10 Ways to Make Your Business Stand Out by John Jantsch 

http://tinyurl.com/3zfh49y

Email Newsletter Design Guide by Hostway

http://tinyurl.com/ygv7589  

Five Tips to Organize Your Home Office by Kirsten M. Lagatree

http://tinyurl.com/ktkvnb

Getting Organized: 5 Secrets to Help Get You Started by Marcia Gracia 

http://tinyurl.com/yd275nn 

Hallmarks of a Good Podcast by Sharon Housley

http://www.businessknowhow.com/internet/podcast.htm 

How Branding Can Lead to Your Business's Success or Failure by Michele Pariza Wacek

http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/businessbrand.htm 
How To Make A Strong First Impression by Bill Lampton
http://tinyurl.com/n6pxss
How to Target a Local Audience Online by Hostway
http://tinyurl.com/34ndrkb


Staying Positive About Business Success in a World Full of Negativity by Stacy Karacostas. http://tinyurl.com/372pc24
Storytelling When Creating a Press Release by Kate Engler 

http://tinyurl.com/38m55mm

Ten Tips to Ignore When Starting a Business by Cathy Goodwin 

http://tinyurl.com/3xx2mqp

Three Secret Weapons for Entrepreneurs by Renee and Don Martin 

http://tinyurl.com/6bd7cej 

Top 10 Network Marketing Newbie Mistakes by Laura Paulson
http://tinyurl.com/33289ff

Top 10 Things Customers Don't Want to Hear, And What You Should Say Instead by Bill Lampton, Ph.D. http://tinyurl.com/3aeqedl
What to Do when Someone Copies Your Web Site by Hostway

http://tinyurl.com/5rjd2e2

Storybug.net – You will find more business resources on three previous blogs posts:
Hitting the Business Bulls-eye at http://tinyurl.com/3tpqku2
Grow Your Business in 2010 at http://tinyurl.com/2ep3j42
The Business of Storytelling at http://tinyurl.com/37bvamh    

This blog post was painstakingly researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my newsletter via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Hitting the Business Bullseye!

The Archer's Arrowadapted by Karen Chace  © 2010

Long, long ago, in a certain realm, in a certain land there lived a king who spent many seasons practicing the skill of archery.  But no matter how many hours or days he practiced he always fell short of the mark; he was unable to hit the bull's-eye on the target.

One brisk autumn day he gathered his retinue, mounted his favorite steed, and set out on a hunt. After many hours riding through the colorful countryside they found a clearing and stopped to rest. The king dismounted and the servants began to lay the afternoon meal out on a  woven cloth of white.

While the king waited for the food to be arranged he walked through the meadow and noticed a weathered gray farmhouse and barn standing in the distance. As the king moved closer he saw that the entire side of the barn was covered from the roof to the ground with red and white circles. In the middle of each circle an arrow was firmly lodged in the center. He was astonished by the sight that lay before him for he knew the skill required to accomplish such a task. Turning to his servant he commanded, "Find the marksman responsible and bring him to me!"

The servant didn’t have to travel far for the marksman was none other than Diana, the young daughter of the farmer on whose land they stood. She was brought to the king, and curtsying low she softly asked, “Sire, how may I serve you?”

For a moment the king was startled and surprised! A young woman, how could this be? The king asked, “Tell me your secret. How has one so gentle become so skilled in the art of archery? Each one of your targets boasts a bull's-eye, no small feat for my greatest archer and surely not for one so young and fair!”Diana smiled and answered, "Sire, truly it takes no skill at all. I simply shoot the arrow and then I draw the bull's-eye around it!”

Wouldn't it be grand if we could hit a bull's-eye every time in business with very little effort? Storytellers sometimes shy away from the marketing aspects of our work because in this era of burgeoning social media it can seem overwhelming. But if we are to move our ancient art into the modern age we must learn to embrace the diverse tools we have at our disposal.

Yesterday I posted the final Catch the Storybug newsletter for 2010. To make it easier for you to access all of the business articles highlighted during the year I have assembled them below. Each one offers bits of wisdom to help you hit your target royally each and every time!

5 Free Tools That Make You Look More Professional by Brad Egeland - “…Limited budget, smaller customer base, an operating budget that gets tugged in 100 different directions. Anything that you can do for free… and not affect your bottom line is a good thing.” http://tinyurl.com/yaspdtr

5 Top Tips for Using Social Media to Help Launch Your New Business by Rick Mathieson  “Social media can be one of your best tools for building a new business - if you use it correctly.” http://tinyurl.com/33696ul  

5 Ways to Work Smarter and Be More Productive by Stacy Karacostas -“…it’s not how hard they work. It’s how smart they work.”  http://tinyurl.com/2u6ej6o  

7 Tips for Money-Making Postcards by Ivan Levison - “There are times when it makes sense to spend a lot of money on a direct mail package….However, there are times when going with a humble postcard makes a lot of sense.” http://tinyurl.com/yhoxq9w

10 Dead or Dying PR Tactics by Steve Mullen - http://tinyurl.com/cg23j6    

10 Newborn PR Tactics by Steve Mullen-  http://tinyurl.com/cjsbsk  

Blogging, Tweeting and Fan Pages Oh My! Does Social Media Really Benefit SMBs? by Shannon Suetos “…"The hype right now exceeds the reality." But recent statistics are showing despite the hype, business owners are in fact implementing some sort of social media efforts.” http://tinyurl.com/375ssux  

Building Lessons Learned in 2009: What Highly-Successful Small Business Owners Are Doing that You Can Do Too by Stacy Karacostas “…what are successful entrepreneurs doing differently?” http://tinyurl.com/yjj4obv

Calm Customers in Six Quick Steps – “You’ll work nine times harder attracting new business than you will retaining your current client list. That means you can’t afford to anger even one customer.” http://tinyurl.com/36txmy8

Color Yourself Successful by Ken Peters – “Color communicates. When language fails color can offer valuable associations with people, places and things…Because color's impact is so profound, its role in branding your business is critical. When applied effectively, color can achieve extraordinary results”. http://tinyurl.com/252m8px

Download Free Pictures.com - Looking to spice up your storytelling, classroom or library information? Little Red Riding Hood, our old friend Jack, and other famous fairytale folks can be found here ready to play! To the right you will also find links to other free clip art photos in a number of categories, including holiday, animal and nature photos. http://tinyurl.com/35o8qj

Eight Steps to Attracting Clients by Bernadette Doyle – “There’s a logical sequence to building a business, whether it’s online or offline. There are certain things that must be done in order to see your business grow. By committing to follow these eight steps, you can attract more clients and have the kind of income you want.”  http://tinyurl.com/2bn2ha4

Email Newsletter Design Guide by Hostway – This article will walk you through the process of designing your own newsletter. http://tinyurl.com/ygv7589  

More Ways to Monetize Your Web Site by Hostway – “Once you have a solid ecommerce process like Paypal or a shopping cart, there are some other ways to make your Web site work for you and start making some money.”  http://tinyurl.com/34wn6s5

Pack the 3R’s While on Holiday Travel - Although the busy holiday season has passed, these tips will serve us well throughout 2009. From the U.S. Environmental Agency, information on ways to reduce, reuse and recycle when you are away from home. http://tinyurl.com/75a2ox

Rid Yourself of These 10 Damaging Word-Habits by Stephanie Bickel – “Here are some quick-tips that will elevate your elocution immensely. http://tinyurl.com/yzu6oux

Seven Tax Tips for Businesses and the Self Employed – “Here are Seven Tax Tips that can possibly save you a lot of money on your 2008 taxes.”  *While this article is from 2008 the tips are still valid for small business owners. http://tinyurl.com/b8pvd4

Six Advantages to Virtual Trade Shows by Susan A. Friedmann, CSP – ‘… industry experts expect that by 2015, more than 25% of trade shows will be conducted in virtual environments. That's a market you can't afford to ignore." http://tinyurl.com/c9m2mb

Ten Tips to Ignore When Starting a Business by Cathy Goodwin – “Everyone has advice for you when you're starting a business, but it's not all good advice! Here are ten tips you'd be better off ignoring.”  http://tinyurl.com/3xx2mqp

Three Ways to Take Control and Grow Your Small Business in Any Economy by Stacy Karacostas “Has your business slowed because of the economy? If so, you’ve got two options. Keep doing what you’ve always done and hope it turns around on its own…Or, do something different. “ http://tinyurl.com/32ou24d

Top 7 Common Mistakes Made by Small Business Owners – “Though it is easy to start your own business, it takes a lot more to succeed in business. There are seven common mistakes made by small business owners.” http://tinyurl.com/l4ggh2

Weaving Storytelling and Business with an Authentic Voice - I recently put together a handout for a college class on storytelling and business. I have placed it on my blog for your use. http://tinyurl.com/yhnnpaa

WhoFish.org -  Do you have an event to market? Then this site is just what you are looking for. Publish your events for free and let the cyber world know how to find you! http://www.whofish.org/

Why Do People Write This Way? (And How You Can Avoid Doing the Same) by Ernest Nicastro – “Leverages a proprietary coaching framework...purposeful investments in human capital...aligning people and systems in pursuit of”...why do people write this way? http://tinyurl.com/28z4xgg  

Words. Words. Words. by Nan S. Russell  - “Words create impressions, images and expectations. They build psychological connections. They influence how we think. Since thoughts determine actions, there's a powerful connection between the words we use and the results we get.” www.careerknowhow.com/improvement/words.htm   

Virtual Press Release Faux Pas by Janet Attard – “Using email to send press releases to editors can save you considerable time and money. One click and your release can be on its way to dozens of editor but one click of the mouse is all it takes for each editor or writer on your mailing list to delete the release, often without opening your email at all.” http://tinyurl.com/2etev8u

Storybug.net – You will find more business resources on my two previous blogs posts:
Grow Your Business in 2010 at http://tinyurl.com/2ep3j42
The Business of Storytelling at http://tinyurl.com/37bvamh