On Words and Business

This will be my last post until 2008, as I take a break to celebrate Christmas with my family. Unless, that is, I can get the publish ahead function to work on this thing. The last few times I tried, though, no luck.

If you celebrate Christmas, have a wonderful holiday. And cherish the time you get to spend with your loved ones. Family and friends are precious gifts. Even if they drive you crazy!

If you don’t celebrate Christmas, have a great day next Tuesday, too. Enjoy the time away from the hustle and bustle and your daily grind. A little break is always a good thing.

I hope 2007 saw some of your dreams come true. And that 2008 brings you joys and surprises and love.

Along with wish lists and reviews of the past year, December is a time to reflect on the top ten of anything. Time Magazine has listed, among other things, the 10 Best Chores to Outsource. While none of these is strictly business-related, I just love some of the choices (and am shocked by a couple of them!).

10. Designing a dress (check)

9. Decorating a home (not yet, but I’d love to)

8. Being your concierge (on my list!)

7. Sculpting a bronze bust (I so want to find someone to do this, as a birthday surprise)

6. Preparing your tax returns (check)

5. Making a video tribute for your sister’s wedding (I don’t have a sister)

4. Tutoring your son in math (don’t have a son, either)

3. Illustrating a book your mother wrote for her grandchildren (I know who I’d hire for this!)

2. Playing a video game to reach higher levels (I wouldn’t even know which game to have ‘em play for me)

1. Pregnancy (Have things gotten a little bit carried away with offshoring? According to the article: “…now you can hire someone in India to carry your child.”)

Happy Top Ten!

Anyone in a business with customers knows they have to listen to what their customers want or need. This is, as with many things, easier said than done. The MarketingProfs Daily Fix has some hints about the art of listening. A few of the good traits include being prepared to take notes, repeating what you hear and asking for clarification, being present, and being interested. All of these work when you are sitting next to or across the table from someone.

Listening to customers in other ways takes different forms, but is effectively the same–being interested in what the other person has to say. A blog, for example, is supposed to be a two-way conversation. But in many cases, it is really a one way communications tool. That can be by the choice of the blogger–to disallow comments–or simply that the blogger hasn’t said anything worth commeting on. The article ends with this:

However, most of us continue to use it as a talking tool (one-way communications), evidenced by our blog posts, podcasts and vlogs. We need to do better. But two-way and 360-degree communication only happens if our readers and listeners choose to participate. That is our challenge, not theirs.

So, how do we create a communications environment, where listening takes place? I think that is the key question surrounding the use of Social Media and that dreaded acronym, ROI.

This is a question I struggle with every day I write a post. What can I do to let you know I’m here to listen?

We’ve all done it…started working with a client we don’t know. And then when it was time to get paid had more than a little difficulty getting the client to follow through. Or they were just a nightmare to work with.

Here’s an idea: run a background check. Big companies do it. So should small companies, especially freelancers. It doesn’t have to be difficult nor does it have to require the services of a private detective skulking around behind the scenes.

You’re just looking out for your reputation, your business, and, if you are a freelancer, your sanity.

What do you and your business need to be successful next year?

Thanks to Marketing For Success for this idea!

(Apologies to Monty Python)

According to the November/December Marketing Management magazine, the U.S. relays more span than any other country (19.6%), according to Sophos, which scanned all the spam stuck in its traps and traced how they traveled there. China is next in line with 8.4%, then South Korea with 6.5%.

The brief goes on to say that it’s estimated that Americans spend about “$7.8 billion for computer repairs, parts, and replacement over the past two years as a result of viruses and spyware alone.”

Just a hunch, but I bet not much of that $7.8 billion was spent by Mac users.