by The Boomer Gal | Apr 14, 2014 | Business Networking
Networking is a common strategy to growing a small business. But small business owners do not always think of networking in relation to customer retention. Building a community of happy advocates that are willing to share your brand is an important customer retention strategy and networking helps facilitate that. My friend and colleague Christine Clifton of Client Centric Growth has an interesting analogy about bamboo that helps illustrate the networking and customer retention relationship.
How is growing bamboo like building a business? You’d be surprised. Here Christine explains exactly how this analogy applies to your business during our interview for my podcast, Act Local Marketing.
(more…)
by The Boomer Gal | Mar 4, 2014 | Business Networking
Entrepreneurship isn’t easy. In fact, its one of the most difficult things you can ever do. The effort, financing and sheer bravado required to start a business is overwhelming, especially if you were to put a pen to paper and write all the steps down in advance.
According to the SBA [US Small Business Administration] a government agency and the Census Bureau – our economic world revolves around small business. Here are some of the most recent statistics available about small business start-up that will have you scratching your head either in awe or fear. (more…)
by The Boomer Gal | Jan 15, 2013 | Business Networking
Real Entrepreneurs Practice Brainstorming
It’s my belief, and I have no measured empirical evidence to support this, that real successful entrepreneurs practice brainstorming on a regular basis.
Brainstorming helps me be more creative. Because let’s face it, entrepreneurs live in their own heads way too much. Especially entrepreneurs that are self employed. And when you don’t have another creative mind to bounce ideas off of, your own creative juices can get very stale.
So I want to share with you the top 3 ways that I practice brainstorming that helps me leap forward in my business and could do the same for yours.
(more…)
by The Boomer Gal | Sep 18, 2012 | Business Networking
Lead Systems – A Sure Way To Increase Business
Do you have a follow up system for your leads? Does it look a lot like the photo on the left?
A shoebox where you throw all the business cards you collect. You have every intention of sorting them out later but later never comes.
As the immortal Tom Jones sang, “It’s not unusual, it happens every day, no matter what you say.”
Basically, we’re lazy. However, the fortune is in the follow up. So having viable lead systems that you find easy to use become critical to building small business success. (more…)
by The Boomer Gal | Jun 12, 2012 | Business Networking
Business Networking – The Tale of a Shy Extrovert
For many people, business networking comes easily, naturally. It’s no different from any other social activity and they excel at it.
Me…not so much. At least on the inside. On the outside, anyone who’s met me at a business networking event assumes that I’m one of those people that takes to having conversations with complete strangers like a fish takes to water.
But the reality is, that the whole idea of talking to strangers makes me nervous. In fact, it takes a great deal of my energy and I’m usually drained by the time the event is over. (more…)
Networking is a common strategy to growing a small business. But small business owners do not always think of networking in relation to customer retention. Building a community of happy advocates that are willing to share your brand is an important customer retention strategy and networking helps facilitate that. My friend and colleague Christine Clifton of Client Centric Growth has an interesting analogy about bamboo that helps illustrate the networking and customer retention relationship.
