Mike McRitchie | Resume and LinkedIn Profile Writer | Telecom Marketing Content Writer

Writing Resumes that Communicate Your Unique Value | Writing Marketing Content for Telecom Business Growth

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To Buy Or Not To Buy? The Big Marketing Question.

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As a small business owner, you’ve probably spent a long time browsing the web looking for marketing ideas and new ways to get your name out into the world. In your search, you will have found loads of resources, giving you a good idea of what needs to be done when you’re starting out with this work, all while improving your chances of success. Of course, though, even with this learning, there will still be temptations along the way. Along with free tools, there are loads of paid services out there which promise to give this side of your business a boost. All are not creating equally, and this post is going to be taking you through as many as possible to give you an idea of what you should be buying to support your marketing.

Marketing Your Business

Social Media

Over the last decade or so, social media has had a huge impact on the world of business. Nowadays, without this tool, it is impossible for a company to get the word out about their work, making it a great place to start. The platforms themselves are free, making them great for those with loads of free time. Along with this, though, you can also buy varying kinds of support, and of them simply aren’t worth it.

What’s Worth It?

Influencers: It can take years to grow an Instagram or Facebook account to the kind of size which will help your company. To get around this, it’s becoming common to hire someone who already has a sizable following to post on your behalf. Known as influencer marketing, this has proven to be very successful in almost every instance, making it a sure bet when you’re getting started. You can pay practically whatever you want for this, with higher follower counts demanding more money.

Content Creation: Putting together the content for posts can be very hard when you don’t know the site which you’re trying to use. Thankfully, there are loads of companies out there with the skills to handle this for you, creating all of the content for your profiles. This can be a little bit costly, but will be worth it once you see the benefits of quality posts, boosting your online presence without much effort. Of course, to make this even easy, you can often request a schedule to tell you when to post.

What’s Not?

Promoted Posts: Most social media platforms have started to find ways to make money out of businesses using their tools. This usually comes in the form of promoted posts. Promising to provide a set level of engagement on your posts, they often fail to provide what they are offering when you first set it up. Unfortunately, users don’t like to see a post which is so blatantly an advert, putting them off the idea of liking it. This is something which the companies themselves are working to solve.

Followers: Click farm and robot generated users are very common on websites like Youtube and Facebook. Giving a business the power to fake the amount of people following them for a very small fee, a lot of people go down this route. In reality, though, this will rarely provide much benefit, and could even see you account being banned, as you are breaking the terms of the site. Likewise, users will notice this sort of behavior, damaging your reputation and opening the doors to ridicule.

Business Listings

Website

Giving businesses a gateway to the outside world, a website can be equally as powerful as social media. Of course, though, it has to be used correctly, and this can be a challenge, leaving loads of companies with sites which are poorly made. Overcoming this is a simple matter of paying the right people. Below, you can find some examples of the services to use and not to use when improving the website side of your marketing.

What’s Worth It?

SEO: Getting a website onto the front pages of websites like Google can be quite the challenge, with even seasoned veterans struggling with certain websites. An SEO company can solve this issue for you in its entirety, handling the structure of your site, research, and managing it all going into the future. This sort of work is very valuable to someone starting out with a website for the first time, giving you the chance to focus on the side of things which you’re excited about working on.

Search Engine Marketing: There are other ways to pay to get good results with services like Google, and SEM is one of the best ways to approach it. Google AdWords is one of the most popular tools for this. Anyone can use it, as long as you set up an account, making it nice and easy to create online adverts which don’t cost a fortune. The keyword research done by your SEO professional can be the best tool at your disposal when it comes to figuring out how to structure your ads.

Link Building: Not a lot of people realize how powerful a link or two on someone else’s website can be for their own. There are loads of companies out there which can arrange for this to be done for you, utilizing popular blogs and information-based sites to provide a strong backlink. While this sort of approach can be achieved on your own, the quality of the site you choose is important, and it will be worth going for something with a significantly higher domain authority than the site you’re working on.

What’s Not?

Business Listings: Sites which offer to present your business to customers are often a waste of time. Unfortunately, most users won’t go to these sorts of places anymore, opting to use options like social media instead. This can make it hard to get much use out of a listing, especially when you’re paying for it. Of course, there are exceptions to this, but it will be worth being careful to avoid putting money into something which isn’t worth it.

Business Listings

Marketing Materials

Flyers, business cards, and loads of other physical marketing tools can be bought for your business. You can get your hands on examples with your own logo without having to go too far, and this can often be handled completely over the web. To help you to avoid investing in the wrong options, you can find some examples of the good and bad below, along with the help you can get in the process.

What’s Worth it?

Business Cards/Flyers: While these are possibly the most basic options on the list, they serve as the perfect combination for most businesses. Giving you the chance to reach people on both a direct and a passive level, while also looking very professional, this is a great route to go down at any level. You can find printing which will suit most budgets for flyers, and designing them is nice and easy.

A Graphic Designer: Only having a couple of pieces of printed material will often save enough money to afford the skilled support a graphic designer. Websites like Freelancer can make it easy to get your hands on people to do this work for you, resulting in much higher quality products than you would have had without them. It is easy to tell when a DIY business card or flyer has been made, and this is a look which most businesses will want to avoid, even with a little bit of cost.

What’s Not?

Freebies: A lot of online resources tout the power of giving away freebies as an incentive your potential customers. This can cost a lot of money, though, and it doesn’t guarantee any sort of engagement, often getting poor results for companies which can’t afford to put enough merchandise into people’s hands. If you want to take an approach like this, it can be better to wait until you have some money behind you, as this will enable you to give out a lot more, improving your chances of call backs.

Mail Outs: Unlike online advertising, it’s impossible to target the right kind of people when you’re spending money on mail outs, instead relying on a small portion of the people who get your letter to use your business. Of course, there are some exceptions to this, and it could work as some sort of promotion. Aside from this, most businesses will struggle to sell themselves effectively using this expensive method, making it far from worth it in a lot of cases.

Hopefully, this post will inspire you to start working to improve the time you put into choosing the services which help you to market your company. While it is easy to be harsh to those which are less valuable, they still all have their place. A big part of marketing can often be finding a route which other people aren’t using. Achieving a goal like this will be hard, especially when some aren’t being used for a reason, though you should be able to find someone to help with it.

Simple Ways to Make Your Auto Business Greener

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While you probably have a lot to think about already, the idea of making your dealership greener can actually boost your sales significantly. Customers are becoming increasingly interested in buying the most environmentally friendly cars and ensuring that the carbon footprint they leave behind is as small as possible – by allowing your business to do exactly this, you might be able to gain an advantage over your competitors.

Business Greener

Here are a couple of ways you can make your automotive business a lot greener and friendlier toward mother nature so that your customers can feel a bit safer about choosing you over your competitors.
Greener car manufacturing

In the early days of green initiatives, car manufacturing was sorely lagging behind. Until the incorporation of recyclable materials into car productions, that is, as well as choosing fuel alternatives that allow companies to reduce their fossil fuel intakes. Today, it is actually quite simple for your business to provide customers with green alternatives when buying a car as many of its parts will be a lot more reliable and environmentally friendly.

Aluminum is an example that quickly comes to mind when considering recyclable material that makes the car lighter on fuel – and there are, of course, all the electric cars on the market which significantly reduces our carbon footprint. You can have a look at Flowmeters.com if you need some other ideas on how to make your business as green as possible and remember that you can easily find tyres that will be lighter on the environment as well.

Don’t know where to begin? Just start small

Going green may seem like a daunting task, especially when you already have a successful auto business up and running. Luckily, you don’t actually have to do an entire remodeling to build a more sustainable business; just start small and work your way up instead. The idea is that, by making an effort and giving your customers what they way, you are also boosting the morale of the community and showing them how easy it actually is to get started.

Try to limit the number of balloons and decorations you have on your next event; it will save you money too, by the way. Swap out the regular paper cups for coffee cups from recycled material, for example, or make an effort to go paperless.

However small it may be, the work you put in it will make a difference, in the long run, and you can pride yourself on having a business that works with the environment instead of against it. Check out Allaboutimports.com for even more ideas on how you can make the repair process a bit greener as well.

The great thing about the auto industry is that it is one of the few that have realized the fault in its ways and is making an attempt at correcting it. Surely, other businesses in your community will catch up with the green wave sooner or later so make sure your company is at the forefront of it.

Creative (And Unusual) Ways To Market Your Business

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Marketing

You don’t need us to tell you that marketing is key to your business strategy. You probably don’t need us to tell you how to market your business, either. From print marketing techniques (flyers, newspaper advertisements, business cards) to digital marketing (setting up a business website, social media, email), you have probably utilized a fair few of these methods to broadcast your business to the world. And that is fine. However, it’s also worth thinking outside of the norm, finding new and creative ways to market yourself. The more ways you can spread the word about your business, the better. We have listed a few ideas here, many of which won’t break your marketing budget.

  • Place your brand on a range of items, not only your business cards, flyers, and staff t-shirts. Check out this service for a range of custom button ideas. Consider advertising your business on car decals, whether that’s your company vehicles, or paying others to drive around on your behalf. Think about caps, mugs, posters, bags, diaries, and other items that can be given away promotionally. Arm yourself with these items at trade shows, conferences, and even on the high street, and get your business brand out into the world to as many people as possible.

 

  • Hire word-of-mouth. Some people love to talk, so why not get them to talk about your services? For example, think about hiring somebody to walk around town, handing out your promotional materials while talking about the wonderful service you offer to passersby. You could do the same online, with an influencer who will promote you on social media, blogs, forums, Youtube video, and the like. You could pay commission based on how many leads these people generate, or offer other incentives, such as a discount on the product or service you are selling to your happy talkers.

 

  • Project a logo. Rather than relying on posters and banners stuck up across town, go one better, and project your logo onto buildings, rooftops, or into the night sky. You will need to find somewhere to install your projector, but once you have overcome this minor hurdle, you will soon have people talking about your business. It cuts down on paper and marketing costs too, as a cheap slide projector will do the job just fine.

 

  • Stop people in their tracks with a publicity stunt, whether you do something wild and crazy in the middle of town, or plan a stunt that will grab the hearts and minds of the world’s public and media. Take inspiration from some of the greatest publicity stunts of our time, from creating viral content to spread word about your business, to one-off events (such as flying an airship plastered with your brand over town). A guaranteed way to get people talking about you, but you do need to be careful. Don’t break any laws or cause harm or injury to yourself or others, as people will end up talking about you for all the wrong reasons.

 

  • Self-publish your own book, and either sell it or give it away for free online through the various eBook sellers at your disposal. There are some tips here on how to go about this process, and providing you do have some written ability (or you could hire somebody to write it on your behalf), you can both share your expertise in business with others, and hopefully garner an interested audience into what it is you are offering for sale.

 

  • Reward your customers in a variety of ways, both securing their loyalty and encouraging them to spread word about your business. This can include remembering anniversaries (sending out birthday and Christmas cards), randomly sending out freebies through the post, and offering special discounts to those clients and customers who have been with your business for a set amount of time. Don’t spam your customers (or go over budget with your rewards), but send them out sparingly for more positive results.

 

  • Volunteer your time or money at a community or charity event, or hire members of your staff to do so. While this can be rewarding in itself, especially if the cause is close to your heart, you will also reap some of the benefits by having your name affiliated to whatever the event is supporting. However, don’t over promote your ego in the process – there is a balance between doing something good for others and helping your own cause – so let the media spread the word about any good deed you have done, and share your branding appropriately.

Volunteer

  • Take a stance on a hot industry topic, and share your thoughts with local media to draw attention to your opinion. To do this, you will need to have an understanding of what you are talking about, and a genuine feeling on the matter. Do your research first, and ensure you don’t say the ‘wrong thing’ as public opinion may turn against you. For example, one of the current hot topics worth focussing on is the environment, as this is something common amongst many industries. How is your company dealing with the issue? How are you different to others? Let people know your thoughts on this or any other matter that could generate interest into your business.

 

  • Hit the streets, and do something that will catch the eye of passers-by. You could commission a local artist to paint a decorative mural on the side of a wall, or something created with chalk on local pavements. You could hire a walking billboard, somebody dressed up as mascot to provide a verbal or a visual marketing aid to your business. You might even hang coat hangers around town emblazoned with your brand (makes a change from flyers and posters). Whatever you do, ensure you have the correct permissions first, as you don’t want to get fined for graffiting, or find yourself being accused of being a public nuisance.

So, let us know what you think. Did any of these ideas take your fancy? You may have some creative (and unusual) marketing tips of your own. Please share your thoughts and ideas with us – promoting yourself in the process – and giving others the benefit of your helpful advice.

How did you land your first paid Side Hustle? [Answered]

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Side Hustle | Land that first paid gig
Photo via Foter.com

Photo via Foter.com

How did you land your first paid gig?

I asked this question in several freelance and side hustle related Facebook groups.

This is a common stumbling block for many first time side hustlers and entrepreneurs.

Great on ideas but often struggle to make that first sale… Or even get off the bench and implement.

The biggest suggestion from experienced entrepreneurs and side hustlers is…

“Just start!”

But with that sage advice the newbie often gets stuck on the…

“How?”

So here’s some answers to your question,

“How do I land my first paid gig?”

The item in parentheses is the Facebook Group name the person responded from.  If you’re looking to get your side hustle off the ground, I’d recommend checking some of these out.

Enjoy!

George Krahn (80/20 Entrepreneurs)

About 10 years ago, I helped my massage therapist sell nutrition supplements online using Google AdWords.

It didn’t pay a lot, but the great results I was able to get and use as proof of success, allowed me to land my first big client.  

That led to me eventually quitting my part-time job and going all in on freelance AdWords management.  

From there, our agency grew to a team of 4 employees and 2 subcontractors:  https://ProvenResultsAgency.com

 

Lee Hills (SH Nation)

Happy to share mine! Mine was through a freelance website PPH. I had the idea for an explainer video service. Back before explainer was a word or thing.

The service was based on explainer videos I had created for myself. I put it together as an offering and someone bought it. This confirmed that there was demand so I kept going! Began to develop the offering and my brand as things grew. Let me know if you want more of the story  or more info 😉

http://www.leelaunches.com/ditchthejob

 

Tiffany Dawn (SH Nation)

I do graphic design and sent an email to a number of my closest business contacts. Told them what I was doing, where I was hoping to taken it, and to please keep me in mind if I could help. One person responded and hired me to do the graphics for her campaign for Board of Directors for a national association. Word of mouth picked up from there! She continues to be one of my biggest cheerleaders and advocates, and has become a mentor.

 

Al Clunnie (Side Hustle Success Lab)

Way back I was chatting to an old friend and telling him I was learning about web development. He said he knew a guy that needed a website and put us in touch. That was it! I’m still working with this client on retainer even though I would never take the same type of client now.

 

CherylAnn Crego (Side Hustle Success Lab)

  1. Right after my marriage ended, before the divorce, an acquaintance asked me to lead sing in his gypsy jazz band, for pay. I know it was motivated by compassion. It was a kindness and it gave me the confidence I needed to become a voice teacher. That was 6 years ago. I started teaching 4.5 years ago. I think our rural area really needed a voice teacher and I filled a void I hadn’t recognized existed. I was used to traveling 6 hours to see my teachers. I said I was doing it and a year later I had a full studio of voice and piano students via word of mouth. When I think back, it makes me emotional. There is a lot more to that story…like it never could have happened if I’d still been in that marriage, I’d forgotten/not listened to the people who said I should do it for years before I did, when I decided to do it I did not believe I was ready or qualified but showed up, transparently, anyway. This work doesn’t pay all the bills but it is consistent and brings me joy.

    2. We started teaching cooking classes out of our home. Then someone who knew we were doing that asked us to be private chefs for a vacationing family. Since then, private Chef work is making a bigger percentage of our income every month. We’ve done a lot of FB ads, have a very active FB page, and stay in front of our email list.

    Really, long story short, we take risks and show up, giving all of ourselves to each person/family we work with. And we have a couple angels who helped us launch in both music and cooking. I hope to do that for someone someday…be an angel that launches them into their fulfilling future.

 

Tracey Minutolo (Side Hustle Success Lab)

When I made the decision to offer virtual services for podcasters, I reached out to a few podcasters I’d been following for awhile and asked them a few questions (which looking back now, amounted to some solid target market research) about what types of tasks they outsourced to virtual assistants, what they liked/disliked about their experiences with VA’s so far, etc.  Two of those three podcasters became paying clients. 🙂

 

Jo-Elle Byrne (Serious Bloggers Only)

I’m lucky, my friend works as an SEO specialist and decided to set up his own business. He landed a gig for a shed company of all things and asked me to do the content marketing for it. Believe it or not it was a great gig and I learnt a lot from doing it. Plus, being paid to write was the dream right? ☺

 

Becky Gallion (SH Nation)

Threw up a post on craigslist.

 

Matthew Miele (Hobby Hustler Community)

Hey Mike, for me it was reaching out to local businesses and offering help for free.

I know some people who went straight to Facebook ads to an offer and that worked well too.

 

Dharmesh Barot (Hobby Hustler Community)

I got my first photography client when I offered free photos as part of a dog trainer’s classes.

My first freelance design client was one of the acquaintances I met during social events. Told them what I do and what I can offer to their part time business. They were so happy I got my 2nd project with them soon after.

I learned this technique from a book I read “Getting The Money” by Susan Lassiter. She said tell everyone you meet what you do and soon people will start recognizing you.

It took me 2-3 events and coffees to show my value.

 

Brian Seim (SH Nation)

I just started selling my services to non-profits I was involved with.

 

Kelly Boyles (Hobby Hustler)

Back in 1985, can’t recall how I found this guy. But I wrote five holiday-themed poems for a funeral home for $100. You can’t make this stuff up!

 

Jonathan Wilson (80/20 Entrepreneurs)

I circled back around to people I’d formerly worked with in other places.

 

Donna Regen (Serious Bloggers Only)

Mike McRitchie I am now getting some paid gigs after a few unpaid gigs, but the unpaid gigs served as published work samples, and that is what helped in securing the paid gigs.  So I would would say they are worth doing.

 

Beverly Boerner-Reynolds  (Hobby Hustler Community)

Hey there Mike. My shortened story goes something like this…9 years ago, my son was born to us through adoption. Shortly before that, I was contracted to created an animated training course, much like Cardone University, for the 10xers in this group. I have 20 plus years of training and instructional design experience and that was the first assignment that caused me to get a DBA, buy my own software versions and learn how to do all pieces of the project.

So, not only did I have to learn some of the software, but I knew that at anytime during the project – our son could be born and make us new parents. I was under a time crunch, but finished it without the audio – they contracted that piece separately and paid me accordingly. That was the first major project that taught me on the fly that I could do all aspects from the writing, development and animation!

Before that project, I didn’t think I could do it, but the project sponsors loved my corporate work and trusted my services, so I had to trust in me!!! This was not my first gig, but my first LARGE-SCALED gig!

 

Heston Glenn (80/20 Entrepreneurs)

Desperation. I was trying to pitch a family member a pyramid scheme, and failed. I needed money, so I asked them if I could coach them in their current business for free for a month. They agreed, and we’re still going 5 years later.

 

Brandon Traynor (Hobby Hustler Community)

Not a huge break, and not my main business, but a while ago I actually got a job delivering pizza 2 days a week just to get to know the owner. Now I run the social media for all his stores for a good bit of money a month. Obviously no longer deliver pizzas 🤣

 

Brian P. Hower (80/20 Entrepreneurs)

I learned something of great value, applied it first for myself. It proved to be a fantastic system and concept. At that point I knew that just about every existing small business and/or business minded individual/entrepreneur should also be doing it. I had no trouble gaining my first paying client because I am supremely confident that my offer is great, that they need it and that I am the best one to help them.

Are You Minding Your P’s and Q’s?

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IQRemix / Foter / CC BY-SA

Do you remember your parents and teachers telling you to mind your P’s and Q’s?

Basically mind your manners.  There are a few other explanations as well – click on the link above to check it out.

But today I want to talk about P’s and Q’s as they relate to your success in your business and in life.

As I was preparing to write this post I was intrigued by the P’s and Q’s that represent so many things it is necessary to pay attention to when growing your business or achieving more in life.

So let’s jump in and explore some of the words that carry so much impact with them.

First the P’s…

1 – Purpose

Your purpose.  This is your mission.  Your passion.  Your reason you do what you do.  And where possible it needs to be tied to how your community of customers benefits in a way from your contribution that they wouldn’t even think of buying from someone else.

2 – People

People in your life can be the difference between abundance and minimal impact.  You need prospects that you turn into customers that become repeat customers.

You need great vendors to support your vision by providing you with the raw material or services to achieve your objectives.

You need employees or independent contractors to handle all the administrative elements that would otherwise slow your progress.

You need mentors and peers to hold you accountable and help draw out your vision and help you see what you are blind to being inside your company.

3 – Presence

Presence is your brand, your marketing, what people know and think of you.  Is it doing what you want?  Does it represent you accurately?  Is it compelling enough to make them want to buy from you?

You need to own your presence.  Your marketing and advertising, joint ventures, and sales efforts all must continually and reliably keep your pipeline of business full.

Are you a proprietary brand?  Are you a thought leader?  A maven in your industry?  How are you leveraging that?

4 – Potential

Potential is all those ideas, experiences, relationships, concepts, plans, etc. all ready to work for you.  Have you identified those areas of you that are waiting to be released?  Do you know how to harness that potential?  Are you working with mentors or consultants or peers who can hold you accountable for tapping that potential?  And making it translate into repeat, fully satisfied, raving fans?

5 – Persistence

Persistence is what translates ideas into results.  It is keeping going when times get tough.  When you struggle to make payroll.  When you’re pounding the pavement trying to make that next sale.  It is pursuing your vision even though your friends and family think you’re crazy and try to talk you out of it.  It is having the inner fortitude and willingness to buck the trend, that keeps you going when things look bleak.

Nothing incredible was ever achieved without persistence.  And with persistence, almost anything is possible.

6 – Priorities

What are your priorities?  Is it work?  Or family?  Or pro football?  Or “Survivor” on TV?

In your business are you working the  priorities that will make the biggest difference on your company’s success?  Are you measuring the results and actions to make sure they’re effective?  Are you leveraging the most impactful and making those areas your priority from the time you wake up in the morning to when you go to bed at night?

Are you handling the most important items during your most productive hours?  Proper prioritization can move mountains. Make sure you’re prioritizing appropriately for your goals.

7 – Perspective

Whether it is your perspective, your unique view of things that makes the difference in your success.  Or whether it is “having perspective” – letting stuff go that really isn’t that  important.  It is what you bring to the table.

Your unique vision for your business is what sets you apart from everyone else.  Your perspective is what keeps you from losing it when things go wrong or people don’t do what you expect.

Sometimes that takes decades to fully develop – getting in those pressure-cooked situations and clawing your way out.

By gaining perspective over time you’re training yourself for success in the higher stakes games that are played when there is more money at stake. Learn early and often.

8 – Power

Knowing who holds the power and gaining that power yourself at the right time is a skill that can pay dividends.  Power can be granted by title (i.e. CEO has a certain built-in power generated by the title).  But it can also be conveyed due to expertise.  If you learn, work hard, and build up an area that you are insanely good at, you can be the power broker in a room of CEO’s.

It may come down to who has or controls the scarce but critical resource or skill set that everyone else desires and requires.  In those cases the lowly receptionist or office manager can make top salesmen and CEO’s quiver at their feet.  Why?  Because they control entry to the top decision makers.  They are the gate keepers.  They may not be paid the most but at times they wield incredible power.

9 – Preference

What do you prefer?  Sometimes there is not right or wrong answer.  It is just preference.  But just because it isn’t black or white, doesn’t mean your preference doesn’t matter.

If you are company CEO or leader, you often don’t realize how much your preferences play a part in how those team members around you react to what you do and say.  So make sure you are aware that innocuous comments you make could be driving behavior around you.

10 – Pain

The strongest marketing offers make liberal use of pain.  They uncover an existing wound, scratch it, irritate it, make you feel like jumping out of your skin.  Then they point to their product or service as the way out.  The magic pill to take you away from all this pain.

11 – Pleasure

The other side of the pain coin.  Pleasure is the good side of motivation.  It is the carrot that goes with pain’s stick.  What is the incredible benefit your customer can expect by choosing to buy from you today?  You need to be dimensionalize it for them.  Make it real.

12 – Progress

Are you making it?  Are you tracking it?  Are you setting goals and reviewing them regularly (quarterly, annually)?  No real progress is made without clarity as to where you’re headed and reviewing results along the way.

13 – Prevention

Whether it is compliance requirements, getting the appropriate business entity in place.  Insurance.  Addressing governmental regulations.  Planning for the unthinkable so you’re not caught in a business killing situation.

As entrepreneurs we often are optimists – even the most pragmatic among us.  How are you ensuring your optimism doesn’t send your business into the abyss?  You need people, processes, and paperwork to handle those potential eventualities.  And make sure you survive.

 

And now on to the Q’s…

1 – Quality

Being the best will take you far.  But even if you can’t be the best at everything, find something you can be the best at.  That can be tied to a personal or professional unique selling proposition or competitive advantage that sets you apart from your competitors.

2 – Quantity

You need volume.  The more the merrier.  Don’t rest on your laurels.  You need to keep pushing ahead.  #1 and #2 in a market often rule (think AT&T and Verizon, Coke and Pepsi, Bud and…).  Everyone else is fighting for scraps.  You don’t want to be below #2 in any competitive arena for very long.

3 – Quibble

Don’t.  Just don’t.  Life is too short to  sweat the small stuff.  If it isn’t material to your success, then just deal with it and move on.

4 – Quiet

Ahhh…the quiet time.  As a leader this is often very underrated.  This is your planning time.  This is where your greatest ideas often come from.  You need to step away from your business.  Step out of the day to day.  And work ON your business instead of IN it.

By doing that in the quiet recesses of your mind you’ll find the solutions to your most pressing problems.

5 – Quit

Never.  No business ever reached success by giving up.  No leader ever succeeded by quitting.  Do you think Richard Branson would quit?  Donal Trump?  What if Thomas Edison had quit?  What if Disney had given up on his dreams?

Whatever you do never quit.  Now go take on the world and make your mark in it.

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