I was sitting with my oldest son Friday afternoon at our favorite ice cream shoppe in town for an after school treat. We chose to eat our cones outside in the warm sun which presented the challenge. I was constantly having to tell him to lick here and lick there, all the while watching him try to enjoy every bite. It got me to thinking about how that’s kinda like having a small business. You have to do the accounting and inventory at the end of the month. Whew, we made it. Let’s enjoy the success of our business. Oh, wait, got to handle payroll because it’s the end of the pay period. Whew, almost forgot while trying to enjoy our success. Good, got payroll done, so let’s enjoy some time off this weekend. Oh wait, forgot that client meeting was on Monday and I’m not prepared. Whew, got that done. You get the idea. Sometimes it’s hard to eat an ice cream cone outside because you are so focused on making sure you lick all the way around to keep things from getting too messy that you forget to savor the enjoyment of the dessert. In the end, the treat was well worth the effort but, whew, what a ride it was to get to the end. So exhausting, so much to do… but I’d do it again because I have a passion for spending time with my son … and for a little ice cream too.
Maybe your marketing is one of the “drips” off the ice cream cone that you just can never catch in time. You have a lot of ideas but no time to develop or even think about implementation. Wish you had someone to come along side to tell you when the “drip” is coming on the back side of the cone that you can’t see because you’re too busy with the front side? With the Marketing Twins from 1429 Creative, you can get that help with programs like the Star program or the practical, On-Call MD program. These are great resources you should consider or else you’ll have a lap full of marketing “drips” that get kind of messy!!
Just a reminder if you want to meet the Marketing Twins in person, click on the Upcoming Workshops section to the right to learn more about the upcoming workshops in Watauga and Keller. -donny-
Hey brother!
Loved the post – I know as a small business owner, I find myself juggling many hats. Now, for me, the marketing hat fits on easy, although we do our marketing by a systematic approach so even when life is crazy, we’re not just throwing up long-shots to see if they work – we have a plan.
Today – oh the dreaded day before 4/15 and the Quarterly Tax Payment day for many small business owners – I felt like I was swimming in confusion, quite a little overwhelmed and sweating profusely!! And that was just sitting in the parking lot of our CPA.
But once we sat down at the table, had a brief conversation about our needs, our CPA was able to chart a course of logical sense and brought all that confusion into a sensible plan. While preparing taxes ain’t my thing – it’s now not quite as overwhelming. ONE – because the guy who knows taxes shared with me a plan and strategy for getting it done – and TWO – I have decided that in order to maximize effectiveness and lower my stress level, I’ve called in my CPA as a resource for my small business! Could I do it ALL myself? Maybe, but I’d be a crazy person and my family would never enjoying being around me!! In my business, it’s busy enough but I don’t want to get so busy that I can’t enjoy doing GREATER THINGS!
STAR Coaching Program – great mention, DV! People would benefit greatly from these 16 weeks of marketing coaching!!
Just as the CPA is our resource guy who gets us on a plan, we can do that for you and your marketing!
ON-CALL M.D. – we loved creating this marketing solution when we kept hearing small business folks say, “I just need a marketing team for a small window of time” – the Marketing Twins at 1429 want to be your Marketing Department, WHEN YOU NEED IT!
-Randy
http://www.maryschmidt.com/2008/04/14/the-nice-people-at-the-irs/
Mary has a interesting (good) experience with . . . speaking of them . . . the IRS!
If the IRS agent can have good customer service – surprising me – what about your business?
* Automotive Repair – are you in the CONTROL game with customers, acting like they know nothing and therefore you should “sit-down-shut-up-turn-over-the-keys-you-idiot” kinda attitude, OR do you go over-the-top in making customers feel at ease when they are most likely in a place that is overwhelming to them (and they are probably very stressed about how much the damage is going to cost them!)
* Church – do you have a “glad-you-finally-got-here-you-wicked-sinner” attitude OR do you have a welcoming, inviting, engaging attitude among your church members toward new visitors?
Get the point – there are places that people often dread going or at least have apprehension about attending – if you are in one of those places (more than just the 2 examples above), what attitude are you going to have?
If the scary, sneak, dino-like IRS can actually be friendly, are you making a surprising, lasting impression of customer service?