Create Your Own Job

Create For Cash is about anything you create and make money from. That could be a business, a product, a service, a piece of art, or an old tennis shoe. As long as it makes money.

5 Reasons to Attend Face to Face Meetings

Face to Face Meetings

A Forbes Insight survey revealed that 8 out of 10 executives said they preferred face to face meetings as opposed to online or videoconferencing to build more meaningful business relationships. This proves what I’ve always believed to be true, that no matter how much technology we have, nothing beats a good ‘ole fashioned face to face meeting for putting together a strong business network.

A friend of mine who runs one of the most successful concert promotion businesses told me that he started his business with the idea that he would always make a point of meeting a potential customer or partner in person no matter where they were in the world. And he has stuck to that to this day. He’s racked up millions of frequent flyer miles and traveled to almost every country in the world.

His extensive phone book isn’t just for show. Because of his years of using this business tactic, he can literally pick up the phone and get almost anyone on the phone. And if he doesn’t have their number, he knows someone who does. But he accomplished that by building his network one person at a time and meeting them face to face.

Return on Investment on Face to Face Meetings

A recent survey by the Meetings Mean Business Coalition found that 96% of small business owners got a return on investment with face to face meetings. For this reason, over 90% of those same small business owners say they plan to continue going to live meetings and events.

This is good news for anyone who works with small business owners. Make sure you find out what conferences and events they attend and arrange to meet them there in person. This is also true if you want to work for a small business. Many say they prefer to find potential employees at a live, face to face event.

Why Small Businesses Should Have Face to Face Meetings: [Read more…] about 5 Reasons to Attend Face to Face Meetings

Do You Mix Business With Pleasure?

As a business owner I spend about 95% of my time working. I’m sure I’m not the only one. It’s well known that business owners almost always put in more time than salaried workers. So, with all of that work, how does a business owner get a break? We’ve been told that you can’t mix business with pleasure. But is that true?

These days business owners are having to find more creative ways to sneek in some fun and relaxation, even if you don’t leave the office. Taking the family along on a business trip is becoming quite popular. There’s even a word for it. “Bleisure”.

Here are some examples of business owners who are combining business and pleasure:

“I own a small business designing, making, and selling chainmail jewelry. I have a booth and sell at a number of craft shows and conventions. I’m established enough to do well at shows, but not profitable enough to employ staff to help. I always invite a few friends or my mother-in-law to help or even just to visit. It’s a great opportunity to chat between customers, they get to attend the show, and I have someone I can trust with the booth when I need to step away to powder my nose or check out the competition.”

Gwendolyn Kestrel

http://mythictreasure.com/

Promote a fun -but professional- environment. Example: At our office, we play ping pong religiously. Employees often partake in games two to three times per day. We have a professional style table, tournament brackets and a plethora of balls. The one thing that everybody owns is their own personal racquet.

Find methods to detox: Work in stressful. What outlets are you providing for your employees to burn off some stress and relax? Sponsoring a group lunch? A nice 5à7? We’ve done both of these every month.

Productivity and exercise: Have business meetings while on a light jog with your employees. This kills two birds with one stone. Why? An elevated heart rate moves you away from laziness, and the things that you see outside spark thinking and curiosity. More than that, you can actually iron out some major points without overthinking things. On Mondays, I run with my Marketing Director. Wednesdays it’s two of the web developers. On Thursdays, the logistics people fill me in during the run about inventory and such. Guess what? We’re all much fitter, happier and healthier…and we’re being efficient while becoming those things!

Sebastien Dupéré

Owner, President and CEO of Dupray

www.dupray.com

We sell steam cleaners and steam irons in six countries.

Why People Play the Odds

It seems that everything is getting harder these days, including the lottery. The recent Powerball odds went from 1 in 175 to 1 in 292 million. More numbers have been added, which means the odds have gotten tougher. It’s also gotten twice as hard to win that second prize if you are lucky enough to get all of the correct numbers except the Powerball number.

Even though we have a better chance of being killed by an asteroid strike, millions of Americans still play the lottery every week. Millions still play the odds. And it’s not just the lottery.

Every year eager young actors, writers, and directors flock to New York City and Hollywood for a chance to make it big. Even though the odds of actually getting on the A list are slim, there is never a shortage of talent that wants to prove everyone wrong.

According to Harvard Business School only 18% of entrepreneurs succeed in their first business venture. Yet every day new entrepreneurs enter the market. [Read more…] about Why People Play the Odds

Can Industry Awards Help Your Small Business?

Several years ago I entered my running product in an industry awards contest that was sponsored by NASDAQ and launched at a large, well-established fitness trade show. After a few rounds it finally ended up being one of the semi finalists.

NASDAQ awards

Before the trade show we were an unknown company with a brand new product, and we were struggling to get some traction and recognition with retail buyers.

Because of the contest we had buyers visiting our booth, which was hidden in the basement floor of the trade show. And at the end of the show NASDAQ had a party for the semi finalists, along with a lot of publicity.

Toyman award

This happened again when we won the Toyman award for innovation and quality, as voted on by consumers, and then became a product of the year in Creative Child Magazine. We got an extra boost in traffic and sales after both of them.

So, is it a good idea for small businesses to apply for awards? Do they help? Here are a few responses from small business owners: [Read more…] about Can Industry Awards Help Your Small Business?

Book Smarts or Street Smarts?

A recent debate at the Eastern Correctional Facility in New York between prison inmates and the Harvard debate team had me questioning whether it’s better to have street smarts or book smarts. In the end the “book smart” Harvard debate team was defeated by the “street smart” prisoners.

But the street smart prisoners didn’t win simply by their street smarts alone. They had a lot of help…from books. Through the Bard Prison Initiative, which gives incarcerated men and women the opportunity to pursue a college degree while serving their time, the prison debate team put themselves through a grueling educational boot camp to prepare. They had no access to the Internet and had to wait for weeks sometimes for a book to be cleared by security.

And this wasn’t a one time fluke. They’ve beaten multiple college debate teams in the past.

Simply having a formal college degree isn’t the answer to everything. Yes, you need it if you want to practice law or medicine, but to succeed in life you need something else that the prison debate team had a lot of… intellectual curiosity AND street smarts.

I put out a request to hear from others about which skill was better. Here’s what I heard:

“I have a sixth grade education and I’ve owned/co-owned three successful businesses over the last 20+ years. I have college graduates wanting to come work for me at $10.00 an hour and they are struggling to pay of $60,000.00+ in student loans. I got my education at the local library for free. I’ve never had to worry about paying back a student loan. [Read more…] about Book Smarts or Street Smarts?