Small Business Blog

Archive for May, 2009

In today’s world having and running a successful small business is more than ever about having the information on what you need to know and who you is giving you that information. You may say, now wait a minute. I can get the information I need. What is the significance of who I get it from? We’ll examine that shortly.

Let’s say you have a cash flow problem. There are solutions either you know to implement or you can get the information. Yet, somehow the problem persists. Maybe the first step is to get some education on the various aspects of cash flow. You can read some small business books or a small business ebook.

Yet, after you spend a great deal of time learning about the problem you still have the bigger questions. What area do I attack first? Is it the receivables? Is it the pricing? You get the idea. When you are the sole filter for the information you are receiving and prioritizing what to do first. Since you are uncertain, even though you have your information, you do not take action. The problem remains.

One of the things I have seen repeatedly over the years is that small businesses fail, not because of lack of information but because of lack of action. More often than not, when faced with a problem or challenge, the majority of small businesses opt for self-help. The sad truth is that an expert or someone with an outside perspective is needed to help implement the solutions. The result when small business relies on self-help is like do it yourself heart surgery. It is not very successful.

One thing most small businesses lack is a board of directors. A board of directors for a corporation provides accountability for the CEO and management team. They provide an outside perspective and encourages and sometimes force the people who are in charge to get out of their own way when things need to be changed.

Yet, who forces or encourages the owner of a small business to get out of his own way when things need to be changed. Typically, there is no one. The owner or founder is truly his own consultant. He is the doctor for the problems that occur in his business. Successful business, whether large or small, is about getting out of your own way.

When the small business owners understand that the first investment they should make to have a better business is in themselves then they are more willing to look at having a business advisor, business coaching, small business coaching or business mentoring.

When you understand that one of the most important steps to business success is relying on the help of others then you will greatly increase the probability of having the business and life you desire.

How many of you have spent hours or days toiling over the title for your book? My first book, The Cliffhanger, was renamed probably six times before I stayed with the current title. Naming your book can be difficult, especially if the book will work as a sort of branding for everything else you do. Non-fiction books are often seen as a stepping stone to speaking engagements, product launches, and a variety of other business endeavors. In fact, the naming of a non-fiction or business book is so critical that a poorly chosen title can actually make or break a books success. If you’re in the midst of picking a name, or planning future titles. There are some basic strategies you should consider before you finalize your book cover.

The name of your book must tell people what it’s about. If you try to be clever and make them guess, your potential customer will just put it down and move on to a title they do understand.

Put the benefit right in the name – for example Chicken Soup for the Soul tells you right up front that much like a cup of chicken soup when you’re sick, this book is going to make you feel better. If this leaves you feeling perplexed, take a moment to list five benefits of your book – once you have those benefits listed slowly but surely a book title will begin to emerge.

Think about all the different uses you might be able to derive from the name of your book. Is it going to be on your web site? Is it a stand alone book or part of a product line? Or is this book one of a series? Determining the exact uses of this title will help you define it further.

And finally, go see what the competition is doing. Spend an afternoon at the bookstore and see what titles have worked well for similar books in your genre.

Other Naming Tips
Did you know that some words are easier to remember than others? Sound odd? Not really. Language experts will tell us that we just react differently to certain sounds. The letters K and P for example are what language experts call “plosives.” A plosive is a little bit of language that pops out of your mouth and draws attention to itself. A plosive is a “stopper” in language. A plosive makes us pause for emphasis when we say it. The letters B, C, D, K, P and T are all plosives.

IWhat’s especially interesting is that brand names beginning with plosives have higher recall scores than non-plosive names. Several studies of the top 200 brand names have made that point. Examples: Bic, Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, Kodak, Pontiac, etc.

If you’ve picked a title for your book or a name for your business or product line that is “unusual” – you might want to check the meaning first. That goes for foreign translation as well. Here are a few examples of names that were chosen without the proper research:

In 1997 Reebok issued a mass recall of their new women’s running shoe dubbed “Incubus” – a savvy news reporter brought their attention to the fact that incubus means: “an evil spirit believed to descend upon and have sex with women while they sleep. Estee Lauder stopped short of exporting their line of Country Mist makeup to Germany when managers pointed out that “mist” in German is slang for “manure.” Trying to be clever, The folks at Guess jeans placed the Japanese characters “ge” and “su” next to a model in Asian magazines, intending them to mean “Guess.” But “gesu” translated in Japanese means “vulgar,” “low” class” or “meanspirited.”

Naming Tip!
Stumped for a name? Try heading over to The Naming Newsletter. While this site is designed primarily for naming and/or branding companies, there’s a lot of great information on titling strategies and tips that can translate easily to your book title.