Stamping Is My Business!

The View From The Coaching Deck - 10/28/08, 8:55 a.m.

Just in time for Halloween!

 

Quote of the Week

"Consumers want a buying decision to be made simpler, not more complex."

 - Athena Schindelheim, Assistant Editor, Inc.

IN DEPTH - Guidelines for Entrepreneurs Explained, part 1

This is the first in a series of In Depth articles examining Norm Brodsky's 'Top Ten Guidelines for Entrepreneurs.'

• Numbers run a business.  If you don't know how to read them, you're flying blind.

I've always been amazed at the number of stamping business owners who can tell me how much they've sold, but can't tell me how much they were paid for selling it.  When I coach business owners in other areas, its a given that they'll be able to quote, from memory, their profit or loss for the month, quarter and year. 

If you don't know how much you're making, how much you're spending AND what your overall profit or loss is, then you have no idea what's really going on with your business.  You have no idea where you're getting the best return on your investments of time and money... AND where you're not getting a good return.  You have no idea which things you need to more of and which you need to eliminate.

Do yourself and your business a favor.  Keep track of your income and expense numbers.  They may not be pretty at first, but if you know what you're dealing with, you can work to make them better.  If you don't know what you're dealing with, though, you're running your business in the dark. 

Top Ten Guidelines for Entrepreneurs

In my October newsletter, I listed Inc. Magazine columnist, Norm Brodsky's, Top Ten Guidelines for Entrepreneurs.  Over the next week or two, we're going to look at each of these individually and expand on them.  To start, though, here's that list again:

1. Numbers run a business.  If you don't know how to read them, you're flying blind.

2. A sale isn't a sale until you collect.

3. When your short-term liabilities exceed your short-term assets, you're bankrupt.

4. Forget about shortcuts.  Run a business as if its forever.

5. Cash is hard to get and easy to spend.  Make it before you spend it.

6. You have no friends in business.  Only associates.

7. Don't focus on the top line.  Gross margin is the most important number on the income statement.

8. Identify your true competitors, and treat them with respect.

9. Culture drives a company.  In the long run, the boss' most important job is to define and enforce it.

10. The life plan has to come before the business plan.

Visit again soon to hear more about each of these guidelines and how they apply to your stamping buisness.  And if you're not receiving my newsletter, you can sign up for my mailing list by filling out the form in the upper right-hand corner of the blog.

Quote of the Week

"Be fearful when others are greedy.  Be greedy when others are fearful"

 - Warren Buffett

Adobe Photoshop Elements on Sale!

Because of the release of Photoshop Elements version 7, Amazon.com has a sale on Photoshop Elements version 6.  The price is just $59.49 ($79.49 - $20.00 rebate). 

You can use this program to edit your phots AND create watermarks.

Use the link below to learn more (disregard the listed price):

The "We've Moved" Card Contest Winner!

Congratulations to Jen Clendineng!  She wins the "We've Moved" Card Contest announced two months ago.  Jen wins a complimentary Boot Camp membership! 

 

Here's the card recipe:

 

Paper - Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Acetate

 

Ink - Close to Cocoa, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette inks.  Really Rust, Creamy Caramel, Going Gray and Basic Black Stampin' Write Markers

 

Stamps - Loads of Love, Loads of Love Accessories, Neighborhood Jumbo Wheel

 

Accessories - Craft Knife, Word Window Punch, Round Tab Punch, Blender Pen, Scalloped Edge Punch

 

We are now looking for Holiday and Seasonal samples!

 

Quote of the Week

"One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time."

 - Andrew B. Dwyer, DVS Group

SIMB October Newsletter

The Stamping Is My Business! October Newsletter is here. This month's issue features:

• Is The Current Economic Situation Going To Hurt My Business?
• Top Ten Guidelines for Entrepreneurs
• Bad Idea of the Month... Doing Something Just Because You Heard About It at a Company Event
• Christmas Is Coming... and so is The Annual SIMB Christmas Sale!
• Card of the Month - The "We've Moved" Contest Winner Is...
• Now Booking 2009 Live Presentations
• Book of the Month

If you're not on my mailing list and/or didn't recieve your newsletter, you can view it online
by using the link below:

http://www.stampingismybusiness.com/newsletter100808.htm

And if you're not on my mailing list, be sure to sign up using the form on the right!

Quote of the Week

"(Our blog is) more effective than any marketing budget for getting our name out there"

 - Todd Cieplinksi, Universal Mind