Way to Promote Your Business!!

My wife and I have a water garden and keep koi. We belong to a club of other people who do likewise called the Capital Area Koi and Water Gardening Club.

Last night a fellow from a Michigan gardening business called Grass Roots, that deals in water gardening supplies and pond fish gave a presentation on how to open and clean one's pond in the spring. Given the matter-of-fact subject we could have been in for a llllooooonnnnggggg night.

But Scott was interesting, imaginative, and funny. How do you get funny out of cleaning the guck from the bottom of your pond?

Well, I don't know how but he did. He looked and sounded like someone from The Sopranos. He was chewing gum. He read from his notes.

Was it a polished, perfectly articulated, presentation complete with PowerPoint?

No. It was better! It was REAL! He was REAL!

He earned Grass Roots a lot of goodwill with about 40 folks who buy a lot of supplies and fish.

That means business.

Speak Up! Promote your business, your career, or your community organization by speaking to groups who can, and will, buy.

Try this on for size.

Let's say your aspiration is to start your own business. Your problem? You've never run a business. Well, don't quit your job and spend your life savings starting it up.

Instead, find one of those direct selling companies (like Avon, Pampered Chef, etc.) that let you get started for next to nothing and try that for a while. Hey, it's small, easy, simple, and right now. Boom you're in business.

Here's what this does for you. It gets you information. Most of these companies give you a manual of information about how to get started. They show you how to keep simple business records and how to market yourself. All valuable business tools.

One great idea is to make a list of 100 people you know and then contact them to tell them about your new business. Yes it's simple but how many actually do it? Sometimes building a business is one warm call (not coldcall, cold calls suck) at a time.

At least you'll get your feet wet and find out what you like and don't like about business.