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If I were to say “The Golden Arches”, would you know what company I’m referring to? I’m guessing you know exactly the company I’m talking about, without even giving it a second thought.

Would you recognize which auto company is the “Heartbeat of America”? Is there a certain insurance company that makes you think of a duck?

These are all examples of Branding…….that little something that makes a product or service stand out in your mind. I’ve always basically known what branding was, but never really knew anything about it. Shane Navratil, the author of one of my favorite blogs, Zoomstart, has just put out an eBook about branding that is quite impressive. From it’s very professional looks, to the great content, it’s very well put together. The cool thing is, it’s not just about blog branding……….it’s business branding. Branding a product, a service, a blog, or even yourself – the same rules apply. The contents include:

• How Branding Works
• Defining Your Brand
• Designing Your Brand
• Promoting Your Brand
• Branding Resources

Although the book has a lot of great information, it’s not so long that it takes forever to read. As a matter of fact, it’s about fifteen pages that you can easily read in one sitting. Now to get all this information, how much does it cost?…………..just a quick visit to Zoomstart.com. No tricks, no gimmicks, no money. The book is absolutely free, so what are you waiting for?

Tags: Business by Anthony ∗ 4 Comments »

I would imagine that most people have experience on eBay – if they’ve ever been on the internet. eBay is seen by many as a great opportunity to make a living from home, as long as you can find the right products at the right price to resell. My wife is a Powerseller on eBay, and it’s anything but easy. It’s work. But she enjoys it, and makes a great sideline income from it.

Those of you who are sellers on eBay, what do you think of the feedback system?

It seems that no matter how careful you are, and no matter how good the customer service you provide is, sooner or later some idiot is going to leave you negative feedback. Personally, I’ve dealt with a few people who probably deserved a negative, but I’m slow to leave a negative because of the permanence of a negative comment. You see, if you leave a seller or a buyer negative feedback, it hurts their feedback rating…..permanently. On eBay, the feedback rating you have is your reputation. With this knowledge, there are some buyers who will use this to try and bully you into doing anything they want. They will hint around that they’ll leave negative feedback if they aren’t 100% satisfied (this usually comes with the feeling that they are gonna be extremely hard to satisfy).

Do buyers really look at that feedback rating seriously?

You better believe they do. On a number of occasions, I’ve decided not to bid on items due to the seller’s feedback rating. On the other hand, if a seller has a couple of negatives out of a huge number of positives, they’re probably very good to do business with. If you actually go to their feedback page and read through it, many times those who left a negative are obviously in the wrong. What prompted this post, was a negative my wife received back four or five months ago. At the time, she had built her feedback rating up over 1200 transactions, with 100% positive feedback. After receiving the item, a buyer decided they didn’t want the product after all. They were offered a refund. Because she wouldn’t refund their money + the shipping charges paid sending the product to them, they left a negative.

Since that time, she’s come in contact with, what’s the best way to say it, other buyers who were unreasonable. To date, she still only has the one negative in her career on eBay, despite this. I was thinking about a few traits that seem to be common among eBay buyers who are quick to leave negative feedback and/or be unreasonable:

• They usually have a fairly new eBay id. This makes you wonder if they are really new, or they had to start over due to their past on eBay. If they are new, they really should learn how the system works before bidding.
• If you look at their “feedback left for others“, they leave negative feedback on a regular basis. I know we’ve dealt with a few people we thought were going to be a problem. When we looked at what type of feedback they left others, that didn’t help our feelings in most cases.
• They are usually slow to pay when the auction ends. It’s a bad sign when you’re paid through Paypal a week after the end of the auction. That’s usually the buyers who start sending emails wanting to know when the package was shipped and how quick they can expect it.
• They are usually the ones who will not answer emails at the end of the auction. Then all of a sudden they are unreasonable.

So my little piece of advice is this – if you can’t be reasonable, you’re better off not using eBay. The eBay community will be better off without you as well. If a buyer or a seller deserves negative feedback, by all means leave it for them. Let others know that this person wasn’t that great to deal with. However, understand that you are doing PERMANENT damage to their reputation. Once you leave it, it can’t be undone……..so think twice before you do it.

Tags: Best Practices, Business, Web, eBay by Anthony ∗ 5 Comments »

On several occasions, I’ve read information on the web about ‘work-life balance’. – You know, how companies are realizing the importance of balance between work and life. It’s important for their employees to have a balanced life, because a happy employee, is a much more productive and creative employee.

I’m not sure exactly which companies are concerned with their employee’s stress levels, because I don’t think the one I work for is. I’m not knocking them, I’m just saying that customer service, efficiency, and profit is the focus and the bottom line. Working out stress and creating balance in the other aspects of life, is primarily a responsibility left to the employee.

So, is keeping balance between work and the rest of your life important? I sure think so, but I don’t think a company can or will provide that for you.

According to David B. Bohlof Reflections on Balance,

…companies attempt to frame the work-life discussion in a way that is most favorable to them………The discussions that companies have with their employees about work-life balance are adversarial by nature. At the heart of it, the company wants more work from the employee and the employee wants more time off. Thus, company-employee discussions are win-lose propositions because they invariably end up being about the corporation versus the employee.

The fact is that to achieve a balance between work and the rest of your life, that’s something that you will have to do for yourself. Waiting on your employer to provide that, is like waiting for the government to provide it……..as they fix all your other problems as well. That’s how I see it….

Tags: Business, Career by Anthony ∗ 19 Comments »

Must I Play Golf To Get Ahead? is an article from Anne Fisher on Yahoo Finance from a few days ago. I think that’s a really good question.

I’ve read in business books before, that some of the best business relationships are made on the golf course. I’ve also witnessed it first hand to an extent. I see people move up the ladder, who are generally considered good golfers. Obviously, playing the game of golf is not a prerequisite for being successful in business, however it is a great tool, and that’s a fact.

I used to play golf, or played at golf may be a better way to put it. It is an enjoyable activity, leisurely playing the game surrounded by beautiful scenery. However, I felt that to really improve, I needed to devote more time to it than I had to give. I also felt that if I wasn’t going to actively try and improve, that the time and expense wasn’t worth it. That may or may not have been the best decision.

There’s no doubt that golf can bring new opportunities your way. Especially if you’re fairly skilled. The better you are at the game, the more people are interested in setting up a tee time with you. Golf is the game of the successful, and the successful like to congregate on the golf course.

I see one way that golf could actually hurt your career. If you wore those silly plaid pants to your job, you’d quickly become a laughing stock! Can you imagine this dude to the left showing up at the office looking like that? Can you imagine this guy trying to sell you an insurance policy or managing your portfolio? Personally, I’ve never understood why so many golfers dress so goofy…..

Tags: Business, Career, Goals by Anthony ∗ 7 Comments »

You probably know right off what your strengths are. This knowledge probably helps you make a lot of decisions. On the other hand, knowing your weaknesses is a little harder to come to terms with.

Every year at work, when my annual evaluation comes around, I’m faced with this. The term for weaknesses is “areas of opportunity”, but let’s call it what it is. Everyone has weaknesses. That’s a fact. It’s not something to be ashamed of. You can’t be great at everything.

Defining what those weaknesses are can be tricky. Some people can quickly name off a few, like public speaking or selling, but it’s easy to get confused between what you don’t like to do, versus where you’re actually the weakest.

Ben at the Instigator Blog, suggest that once you figure out what they are, there are many ways to turn them into strenghs. But figuring out what they are is key.

If you work for someone else, one way to figure out what your professional weaknesses are, is to directly ask your boss. I’ll guarantee you, that he/she already has an opinion on the matter. More than likely he or she will be more than happy to share their thoughts on this with you. If you do this, I’d suggest deciding up front that you aren’t going to get upset, and that you’re going to be objective in the spirit of self-improvement. The whole purpose is to identify them and then try and improve on them.

Identifying both your strengths and weaknesses can help give direction in life, can make you much more effective in setting and reaching goals, and will make you a more well-rounded person.

Tags: Business, Career, Goals, Personal Development by Anthony ∗ 4 Comments »

I’ve read in several different places recently, how many prospective employers may partially base their decision on hiring you – based on your blog. The blog is the new resume? That could be good or bad.

Apparently, some prospective employers go as far as to “google” your name and see what turns up. I’m sure that would be bad news for a lot of folks. On the other hand, it could be a very positive thing. Just think, your blog could be like an ongoing resume, keeping up with your accomplishments in real time. Adam Darowski says:

Blogging is the perfect way for a candidate to give an employer a more detailed sales pitch—to show they can “talk the talk” (as opposed to just fill a resume with buzzwords). I can’t think of a reason for any serious tech professional to not have a blog. Not only does it serve as an excellent notebook for storing ideas and links, but it can come in handy in a job hunt where what interviewers really want to just know what, professionally (and somewhat personally), engages you on a day to day basis.

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, corporate recruiters have been doing this for quite a while. The article goes on to suggest that recruiters not only focus on industry related content, but they also check the candidates’ blogs about “noncareer-related topics for evidence of writing skills and clues to how rounded they are”.

It makes sense to me……. and it’s only been a matter of time in our high-tech society. If you needed a good reason to take your blog more serious, this could be it. If you were in the market for a job, could your web presence help you in the process, or would it come back and bite you?

Tags: Best Practices, Blogging, Business, Career by Anthony ∗ 18 Comments »