Thou shalt be attractive - Michael Leunig - Opinion - theage.com.au

Michael Leunig looks at the modern curse - Be Attractive Or Be Nothing.

Style over substance? It seems to extend beyond mere physical looks.

Mortgages given to people with no capacity to pay once the 'honeymoon' rate reverts to normal. What were the banks thinking?

"That's how much it costs..." is not equivalent, when making a purchase, to "That's what I can afford."... No matter how much we might want something.

Is humankind really becoming so shallow? Is there potential for this to turn around some day?

"It is difficult to imagine any time in history when so many people claiming to be so free have lived in so much fear of being unattractive." - Michael Leunig


Thou shalt be attractive - Michael Leunig - Opinion - theage.com.au

Offline Business Networking - Online

I'm finding it interesting the difference with online social networking and personal networking groups 'on the ground' as it were. It is almost like two different animals, and yet the purpose for both would seem to be the same.

Interestingly, I'm exploring a personal network for people to use online facilities to manage their personal network (on the ground) with online functions and a profit sharing component. It is available for members to join in any location, and seems to be an interesting way to combine in-person and online into a system that allows one to create a strong, systematic approach to endorsing those who are known to us as being reliable, ( and to whom we would refer now to the appropriate people), and allowing a way to monetize that as well. Since it is being put together by someone who is not involved online, it is going to be interesting to see how that develops.

For many trades people and bricks and mortar businesses, social networking is not even in their vocabulary. And meeting at regular functions is outside the constraints of their working day schedule. This might be a nice way to open up the door to the benefits of networking for these people who have really been doing it on their own up till now.

Let me know if this is something that might interest you.

Do Your Commitments Match Your Convictions? on BNET

Nice article from the Harvard Business Review posted on BNET, on values, obligations and commitments we make in our lives.




Do Your Commitments Match Your Convictions? on BNET

Corporate social responsibility - Focus for Executives at The Big Chair

Corporate social responsibility is still in it's infancy. What will it take to become mainstream? And when will small business begin to build their business model with even a nod to CSR?

Interesting times ahead .


Corporate social responsibility - Focus for Executives at The Big Chair:

"Although there are many businesses in Australia that are making advancements in this area, Longstaff says there are still large sectors of the Australian economy that are not yet really engaged in corporate responsibility.

“Not only is there really uneven participation amongst the largest of Australian companies, which have been really reluctant to make commitments in this area, but also there’s that whole area of small-to-medium enterprise which is yet to be really engaged in a way which makes sense to them,” he says."

How To Start An Ebook Business | Business Opportunities And Ideas

Business Opportunities And Ideas is a rather nifty blog on the subject.

Groovy!


This is worth a look.

How To Start An Ebook Business | Business Opportunities And Ideas

What You Do & How You Do It - Marketing Basics

Marketing is still the big issue for business owners and when I say marketing, I mean right from the basic level of "what is it that I do, and how do I do it".

Knowing how to tell people these two things, can be the starting point to a good clear marketing message, and without them... it isn't going to be much of a marketing strategy!

I still think the Action Plan marketing resources are the best I've seen for starting out and clearly articulating both:

1. What you do, and
2. How you do it.

This is basic, basic stuff, and yet so often I see business owners trying to attract business without any clear idea in their own mind, what the answers to these questions are - so good luck finding a customer who can work it out!

Looks like there's been a bit of a revamp on the free workbook so check out the new offer and get your copy here




Need to attract more clients? Get a copy of Robert Middleton's Action Plan Marketing Plan workbook right here!

Basic rules of conversation

Interesting topic today caught my eye, on the basic communications rules.

The four Conversational Maxims

A. Maxims of quality
1. Do not say what your believe to be false.
2. Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.

B. Maxims of quantity
1. Make your contribution as informative as required.
2. Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.

C. Maxim of relation
1. Be relevant.

D. Maxims of manner
1. Avoid obscurity of expression.
2. Avoid ambiguity.
3. Be brief.
4. Be orderly.


Full details in article on the link below:

Basic rules of conversation

Join Me On Merchant Circle

Do you have a business in the US? Big business, small business, NGO, charity, community group. Whatever it is, if you need to promote it in your local area, then this is for you.

Okay so here is the plug. Your free listing on Merchant Circle gets you....

* all the space you could want to promote your products and services on your own business listing (yes, it is already there, just go claim it and make it work for you!)
* facility to add photos or videos to promote your business
* a way for your customers to give you a review
* A way to monitor and manage your business reputation. Yes! You have one - who knew?!
* a newsletter function that allows you to create professional newsletters that look great and allow you to track how many you send it to actually open it
* a business blog attached to your business site. Simple, simple, and did I say, simple to add to, even if you know nothing about writing blogs
* coupons and advertizements to appear on your page AND on the pages of all the other merchants you connect with to network
* prominance in your local area in online searches
* enhanced traffic for your regular website if you have one
* a simple (again!) way to have a website even if you don't have your own yet
* interface to communicate with customers and potential customers direct from your Merchant Circle page
* an easy way to connect with other business owners in your area for joint promotion and referrals to help you both
* an easy way for your customers to FIND you when they need what you do
* remember, I said this is free, right...
* reports to show you how much traffic your site is attracting
* access to the Merchant Circle forum where you can mix, mingle, moan and marvel at the great information and helpful contribution that the members make to help each other

Well that's part of it. There are other things if you are an accomplished webmaster, or even a shakey one, including scripts to add your Customer Reviews and your blog to your regular website easily. Talk about making your main website easy to update!

More widgets and the like are added all the time so you probably have enough to know that there is something there worth grabbing. And I should mention I suppose, if all that isn't enough, you can upgrade to a range of paid services that turbo charge your ads with Google, Yahoo and the like.

The strength of any online community can only come from the people who participate. I have been honored to be asked to moderate this forum and for that I need active members asking questions, fielding answers, making suggestions, and sharing their successes, and not-so-successful efforts to promote their business. The tools are there... all we need to do is use them well.

Come join us - and drop by the Forum and tell us your story.