Looking for an Excellent Speaker for Your Next Event?
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Excellent experts like Craig Amos are available to speak to your organization. Numerous organizations participate in our program in order to get great speakers and to get promotion for their organization on the radio, our web page, newsletter, and other media. |
By Kim Gebron, special to DBA Business Media
Some people have the knack for easy conversation. These are people who are able to start a dialogue with everyone they meet, regardless of where or who it is. They are always smiling, outgoing, and comfortable with their surroundings.
What about the rest of us? For many, talking with others is difficult as we struggle to come up with something more than our name. One reason for being tongue-tied is our fear of speaking with people we don’t know (remember Mom’s warning about talking to strangers?) and also our lack of confidence because we are not in our comfort zone.
Smile. Look for someone who is alone; they will be relieved to have you approach them. Introduce yourself and shake hands. After the other person has introduced herself, ask a question that encourages her to talk. Here are some things you can say to open a conversation.
- What made you decide to become a business owner/sales rep/computer technician/psychiatrist? (Fill in the person’s profession.)
- How did you come up with the idea for your business?
- What do you enjoy most about your work?
- What advice would you give someone who is considering your profession as their career?
- What changes have you seen in your field since you began working in it?
- What is the biggest challenge you face in your profession?
- When did you know that you were interested in becoming a (fill in their professional title)?
- What other networking functions do you attend?
- Which would you recommend for me?
- Why would someone select your firm rather than one of your competitors?
- What an interesting speaker we had at our meeting today. What did you think about his speech?
- Tell me about your company, I’m interested in learning more.
- Look for commonality. If you see someone wearing a college ring and you have a connection with that school, bring it up.
- Are you a native Houstonian? If yes, and you are also, you can ask questions about where she lived, went to school, and share your information.
- If you are not a native Houstonian and she is, you can then say: “You’ve probably seen a lot of changes. What are the biggest changes you’ve
- experienced as someone who has lived here your entire life?”
- If the person is not a native Houstonian, you can then ask: “Where did you live before Houston? What brought you to Houston?”
- How did you hear about this networking function? Have you attended previous events by the sponsor?
And if all else fails, you can always resort to one of the tried and true conversational starters by commenting about the weather!
Next month’s article is about the various ways to utilize your networking contracts. Until then, Happy Networking!
NETWORKING TIP: Consider joining a Toastmasters group or enrolling in a Dale Carnegie course. Both will instill self-confidence when speaking with people you do not know.
Kim Gebron’s column appears monthly in DBA Business Media and online at DBAmedia.biz. Kim is a Networking Queen who enjoys connecting people.
She owns a merchant cash advance business and is also a professional organizer, specializing in clearing cluttered space to provide more leisure time. Networking questions can be emailed to:
kim@itscooltobehip.com.
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Ever wonder how CEOs of large companies like Houston’ s Hewlett Packard or Apple Computers succeed at leading such cutting edge businesses?
Ever wonder what they have that their competitors don’t? Well, the answer is simple- leadership skills. Not just any kind of leadership, but what experts like Ken Blanchard calls High Performance Leadership.
Mr. Blanchard and several other scholars of management and leadership contend that the quality output of a company is directly related to the quality of that particular company’s leadership.
Leadership is about influencing others by tapping into their power and potential to impact a greater good. Leadership should not be purely about personal gain or goals; it should have a much higher objective. What is a higher objective, you may ask? It takes priority over short-term goals such as profit and is considered noble or honorable. Leaders don’t always take morale and job satisfaction into consideration. For some, results are the only thing that matters. But we are talking about the next level. At most Fortune 500 companies, leadership has a higher responsibility. There should be a both/and standard to follow. Developing people-both customers and employees-is of equal importance to results. Therefore, leading at the next level is all about long-term results and human connections.
There are 4 things leaders of the next level argue are essential to the success of a company: the vision, proper treatment of customers, proper treatment of staff/employees and the type of leadership.
Vision: Leadership is about going somewhere. If you and your people don’t know where you are going, what good is leadership? The biggest issue blocking most managers from being great leaders is lack of vision. Vision helps people make smart choices, because their decisions are being made with the end result in mind. If there is no shared vision, leaders can become self-serving. Self-serving means leaders begin to think the staff/employees are there to serve them rather than the customers. It is this type of behavior that spawns such management catastrophes as seen in Enron and WorldCom.
Customers: In companies that are performing at the highest levels, it is all about the customer. This is a shift in thinking from those companies who seem to put the customer at the bottom of the food chain.
If you want to manage at the next level, you must have face-to-face contact with your customers-not just the happy customers, but the angry or frustrated ones as well.
Employees: How do you keep your workforce motivated? One word: empowerment. Empowerment means letting people bring their brains o work with them and guess what? Allow them to use their brains while doing their job. What a novel concept. Leaders of the well-run companies know that empowering people creates positive results that are not possible when the success is dependent solely on managers.
Leadership: To bring out the best in others, leadership must match the development level of the person/people being led. Over or under-supervising someone can have a negative impact of that person’s professional development.
Leaders of high performing companies know that their bottom line depends on three things: their customers, their people and their investors. They must strive to be the provider, employer and investor of choice. Leaders also know that this is not easy to accomplish.
Leaders now realize that their companies will not go anywhere without loyalty and commitment of their customers. Companies these days must create a rowdy fan club. The fan club consists of customers who are so excited about how you treat them that they tell others. It is at this moment that your fan club becomes your sales force.
While it is true, that some workers will go elsewhere for higher pay; however, today’s workers want more. Today’s workers seek opportunities where they feel their contributions are valued, where they are empowered, can develop skills, see advancement and feel they are making a difference.
To be willing to invest, people must believe in the company’s ability o endure and perform over time. They need to have faith in the leadership, the quality of the products and services and the people.
So what about revenues? If you develop committed and empowered people who help to create your fan club, you can’t help but have an increase in revenues.
So, how does this work again? Your fan club wants to brag about you.
By doing so, they become part of your sales force which increases your sales and/or visibility and makes your company more attractive to investors. If you successfully do all of this, you will be able to make the claim that you are leading at the next level and are leading a high performance company.
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Shantera L. Chatman is president of Professional Solutions (Leadership, Motivation & Communication skills development organization). For more information on this topic or training in the aforementioned areas, please visit www.1professionalsolution.com.
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IT’S HIP TO BE SQUARE
No one wants to be average. No one wants to be like everyone else.
Entrepreneurs have the desire to be different to be weird to be square.
They need to break out of the pack to achieve excellence.
Many take chances. Many have passion to invest time, money, resources
to win. If you don’t go in you absolutely will never win. You
got to be in it to win it. It’s like buying a Texas lottery ticket and
getting a chance to win millions of dollars. Many people hope to win
the lottery. But these same people don’t buy lottery tickets. How can
they win if they don’t buy a ticket? You got to be in it to win it!
This also applies to entrepreneurs and marketing. How can you grow
business if you don’t take steps to advertise and promote your
business? You got to advertise to get business you got to be in it to
win it. Which Houston businesses are in it to win it? Which
Houston business owners advertise to get business? As you answer these
questions you’ll discover who is a marketing player here in Houston.
Who is weird? Who is a square? Think about it.
OBAMA MARKETING
Any publicity is good publicity? The New Yorker Magazine recently put
a caricature of Michelle and Barack Obama on their front cover. The
photo spoke loudly on the perceptions of the Obama campaign. The New
Yorker claims that this cover was a satirical look at the Obamas. Many
were outraged at the design. They say that The New Yorker crossed the
line.
What do you think? Is bad publicity good publicity?
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This column appears monthly in DBA Business Media and is compiled by
Marketing Buzz editor, Joe Libios. Joe Libios is president of JOEMAMA
MARKETING, a strategic marketing solutions firm that specializes in
non-traditional marketing and promotional campaigns.
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In September, The McKenzie Group will host a workshop entitled, “Now What?!” Since developing the concept many months ago, it seems appropriate to take a little time and explore what this means…and why not do it right here?
The QuestionMost will fail to acknowledge the emergence of the question directly. However, they will be overcome with a feeling of “I just don’t know what to do,” perhaps followed by “what am I doing?” That’s okay. Once you’ve concluded your inevitable bout with those questions, acknowledging them and deliberating on them for at least the next few hours (and that’s all you get), you might be led to the question of the day (at least of this article)…
“NOW WHAT?!”
The Question You are Really AskingIn two words you have just made a most-needed revelation as it relates to your burgeoning vision—and though this may come as a shock—the revelation is that you don’t know everything, (and/or you cannot do everything).
It’s okay, it was a shock to me, too (smile).
But, you don’t know everything, and anytime you are dealing with something bigger and greater than you, you cannot know everything. If everyone knew everything about what they are doing, there would be hoards of people running around doing great things—everyday, with nothing to stop them. Why? Because they can do it alone, they know everything, there’s no need to subscribe to the greatness of others (or the greatness of partnership), you can vehemently proclaim, “I am great all by myself—at all times, in all things (I hear someone saying, “you’re darn right!”)”
And while you are correct in being a bastion of greatness…You are also very, very W-R-O-N-G (I hoped spelling it would take the sting away).
Oh well…you are WRONG!
There is no “I” in team (but there is an “M” and an “E”—little joke), and the reason is because you must surround yourself with people that know more—or at the very least, different—things than you do. It’s not a partnership, if we both know marketing. Your team is supposed to be a complement to you, not a “competitor” with you.
Moment of truth: You don’t have to have a team, maybe it’s a person, and truth be told, you could go on without any of them, but remember if nothing changes, nothing changes.
I digress.
In the beginning, you did your part, you bought the domain (and retired your Yahoo!), you got those snazzy business cards made, you designed the website (ok, your brother-in-law did it—but you get the point), you, you, you, you, you. It was the “You Show,” all you …all the time. Mostly out of necessity, and definitely because this thing you you, its “your baby.”
All of that being said, the question that you are really asking, actually, the declarative statement that the question acts as cover for is:
HELP!Yes, it’s true, you finally need help. After days of making it happen, which transformed from nights of comatose-like rest (because you were so tired) into nights of relentless insomnia (because you’re so tired), you have to acknowledge that you need help.
BREAKING NEWS: Help is on the way!
The AnswerOf course, we cannot have a question without an answer, and to this one, it is this: You must take the time now to list your needs. A good friend on mine uses the “Important Urgent” system, some of you may know it. Without taking up too much space, this list helps you set priorities with the following categories:
· Important and Urgent
· Important, but not Urgent
· Not Important, but Urgent (trick category)
· Not Important and Not Urgent
However, even if you don’t use that system, its still time to look at your needs, this is how you will begin the organization that will take you to the next leve—cliché, but true. This the litmus by which you will develop systems and put people into place (especially that person that continues to ask you, “how can I help you?”) that are in agreement with the vision at-hand.
Note how well Bill Gates creates and builds Windows programs for you…he doesn’t. He does, at least until the end of this week, oversee the organization that does create and builds Windows (all those versions of Windows) for you.
Now’s a good time for an “a-ha!” moment.
Now, notice the words “write,” I admonish you not to attempt to keep such things in your head. The reason why business has slowed, or your life has slowed, is to give you time to take out some paper, to grab a pen (or two), and to plan.
So, the simple answer to the question, “now what” is “make a plan,” and the complex answer? Well, that’s why there’s a workshop.
Of course, to register for the workshop on September 8, 2008, visit http://nowwhat.eventbrite.com
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As a small business owner you probably spend so much time dealing with the day-to-day responsibilities of managing your business that you may overlook retirement planning for your employees or even for yourself. Because Social Security is expected to continue to provide a lower percentage of retirement income, individuals are becoming more responsible for saving for their own retirement. The predominant sources of income in retirement will come from individually driven, personal savings vehicles, like 401(k)s, IRAs, savings and investments. All of this means that it’s even more important for business owners to consider ways to secure their own financial futures and help their employees do so as well.
It’s well known that defined contribution plans such as 401(k)s have become increasingly popular in the workplace. But if you’re like many small business owners, your company may not offer a 401(k) plan—or any type of retirement savings program yet. According to a Spectrem Group report, only 15 percent of businesses with five to 99 employees currently offer a defined-contribution retirement savings plan. Of firms with 11 to 50 employees, only 31 percent offer some type of retirement plan.
Even if you do currently offer some other type of retirement plan, you might find that a 401(k) provides attractive benefits. But what benefits do 401(k)s offer that other plans don’t?
The Advantages of a 401(k) Plan
A 401(k) plan can have a significant positive impact on the success of your business and is best suited for mature businesses with stable cash flows. These plans provide the greatest number of features and tax advantages and are one of the most popular types of employee benefit plans because they meet the needs of both employers and employees.
As an employer a 401(k) plan can be one of your biggest allies in attracting and retaining superior employees who will help your company grow. Competition for skilled workers is often fierce, especially with millions of baby boomers nearing retirement. Some tax benefits of offering such a plan include being able to deduct a percentage of the “matching” contributions from your federal taxable income as a business expense, and being eligible to receive a tax credit to cover 50 percent of a 401(k) plan’s set-up costs, up to $500 a year for the first three years.
Along with health care benefits, a 401(k) or similar retirement plan is one of the key factors most people consider when they decide where they want to work. For employees, 401(k)s are attractive because they can reduce their taxable income by making salary deferral contributions. Employees also value this type of plan because it offers a broad range of investment choices, while also providing flexibility to move plan assets if they leave the company. Having a 401(k) can go a long way towards keeping existing employees happy, productive and loyal.
A Wide Range of Options
The most common type of 401(k) plan used by businesses is a traditional plan, funded with employees’ pre-tax contributions through payroll deductions. These contributions are fully vested immediately, meaning that they cannot be forfeited. Additionally, employers can choose to make contributions to employees’ accounts. These contributions can be set up to become vested over a period of years, which can offer a powerful tool for helping you motivate and retain workers.
There are other types of 401(k) plans that are also worth considering based on the unique characteristics of your business and if you’re looking to provide greater benefits to highly compensated or preferred employees.
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Safe Harbor 401(k)
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Simple 401(k)
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Owner-only 401(k)
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Roth 401(k)
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- Has all the features of a traditional 401(k), but automatically satisfies certain compliance testing in exchange for mandatory employer contributions.
- Allows highly compensated owners and employees to maximize their contributions without limits tied to the participation of other eligible employees.
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- Aimed at helping smaller businesses.
- Available to employers with 100 or fewer employees who have received at least $5,000 in compensation during the previous year.
- Contributions to a Simple 401(k) must be fully vested immediately.
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- Designed to cover only the business owner and his or her spouse.
- A potential option for sole proprietors and independent contractors.
- Helps maximize savings and tax deductions by allowing you to contribute as both an owner and an individual.
- May enable you to make higher contributions than you could through other types of retirement plans such as a SEP or Simple IRA.
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- Contributions are made with after-tax dollars. That means no initial tax break, but the account grows tax-free—and withdrawals can be taken without incurring income tax if you’re at least 59 ½ and have held the account for five years or longer.
- Best for individuals who expect their tax rate in retirement to be higher than it is now.
- Relatively new plan that can be incorporated into new or existing 401(k) plans.
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A Financial Advisor can assist in helping you choose the most appropriate plan for your business in the context of your overall goals and objectives. Plan selection will be based on a variety of factors, including the size of your business and number of employees, the benefits you’d like to offer, the degree of flexibility you’d like in making contributions, as well as costs and administrative requirements. In addition, a Financial Advisor can help identify 401(k) providers that will handle the administrative and reporting duties associated with a plan—giving you more time to focus on growing your business.
Regardless of which plan you choose, the message is clear: There’s no time to waste. By setting up a 401(k) plan now, you’ll strengthen your business’s ability to compete in the marketplace—and help ensure a successful financial future for you and your valued employees.
This article appears courtesy of DBA Business Media. DBAmedia.biz
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The world of BUZZ Marketing is alive and kicking here in Houston! And the summer is the best season to create your buzz.
Companies create their buzz by forming a carefully strategic message to tell a few in the community who in turn tell more people, and they tell a few more people, and so on, and so on. They take their message to the streets, the nightclubs, the malls, internet, and other social places. Basically, they create a tsunami of chatter and transform their product into a mass phenomenon. Companies currently buzzing in Houston:
- Cricket Wireless has a city wide teen ambassador program made up of students from HISD, CFISD, SISD, and other various school districts;
- Movie companies give away free tickets to special sneak previews of current movies;
- The Louisiana casinos contract people to bring busloads of Houstonians to the casinos.
- The Democrats and Republicans have contracted local community leaders to talk about and promote the party message;
- McDonalds is currently in an aggressive campaign to giveaway free Iced Coffee samples to Houstonians;
- DIGAME Phone Card Company distributes sample phone cards to users with hopes of them re-using their service;
- DBA Business Media has turned local entrepreneurs into raving fans that spread their message to others in the city.
BUZZ Marketing is one of the most efficient you can create. Each recipient of your message becomes a powerful carrier and spreads the word to more carriers, just like a virus. All you have to do is identify a core target group, share your compelling message to them, and see how far your message can turn into a tsunami of chatter.
Houston Summer Marketing In 60 Seconds:
Here’s a 60 second snapshot of summer marketing opportunities here in Houston,
HISD high school graduatio, 101 Days of Summer, June 15th World Cup Soccer at Reliant Park, Broadway in Houston, June 20th:First day of summer, June 24th WWE Smack down at Toyota Center, Hurricane Tracking Chart, Fourth of July Freedom Festival at Buffalo Bayou , Astros Baseball, June 21st Juneteenth Multicultural Festival at Discovery Green Park, June 28th PRIDE Parade at Westheimer and Montrose, July 12th Greenspoint Mall Sports Collectible Show, Beach party, Fathers Day Dad-O-Lympics, Houston Comets Basketball, Snow in Houston, Beat the Heat, Miller Outdoor Theater Summer Series, Low Rider Car Show, Houston Dynamos Soccer , Summer Job Employment, July 20th Colombian Festival at City Hall Park, Aug, 10th PUPUSATON Salvadoran Festival at City Hall Park.
Gas $4 Per Gallon.
Houston Gas is going up, up, and up. According to local insiders it’s going to reach $4/gallon by the Fourth of July holiday!
How do high gas prices help in the marketing and branding of your company? The answer is simple. Gas is the hottest topic in consumers’ minds. Everyone knows about and is affected by high gas prices. As a company you can take advantage of this travesty and make it good for your customers:
- Give away free gas cards with purchase.
- Partner with a gas station and offer $2.00/gallon gas for a limited time.
- Promote to your customers the location of the lowest priced gas station.
- Promote alternative transportation and giveaway METRO Q Cards
- Deliver your product to your customers.
- Provide discounts to car poolers.
- Buy gas and get your company product for free.
- encourage customers to phone-in or order thru internet.
- Offer a $5 gas card to each customer that comes to the store and purchases a special product.
What’s Hot In Houston:
Gas is reaching $4 per gallon this summer, Astros Lance Berkman is the hottest player in MLB, Comets are playing in their new home at Reliant Park, Dodge hybrid cars are the best alternative to your Houston travel, new radio station HOT 95.7 is playing the hits, DBA MEDIA on CNN650AM’s Houston Business Show, Adrian Garcia, WWE Smackdown live at Toyota Center, 80s Rock is coming to Houston this summer with live performances by Bryan Adans, Foreigner, Styx, Journey, Heart, Cheap Trick, Yes, Judas Priest, Tom Petty, Stevie Winwood, Boston, Night Ranger, Chicago, Doobie Brothers, and more!
What are you doing to market your company this summer? Get more out-of-the-box marketing tips and ideas each month in DBA Business Media. Visit us online at: DBAmedia.biz to view entire issue!
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Corporate graphic artists have long understood that design is a powerful management tool. Not every corporate leader would accept this, even in consumer-oriented industries.
Competition for readers’ attention is fierce. Good design can make important corporate literature, such as a simple business card, accessible for a wider range of people and can help to focus the communication better on specific, important audiences.
The impact of corporate symbols on our lives is immense. Over the years we accept the identity of products and services in visual terms, whether it’s a trip to the supermarket or to the other side of the world.
Corporations of all sizes make their lasting mark with their public identities. Some are appealing, some abhorrent. However, this often depends from which point of view you’re looking.
The Logo
The logo is the germ from which all other elements of the corporate image stem. If you don’t see it as the company’s all-embracing image, get rid of it. A logo is usually carried through on every piece of company communication — whether it’s product, stationary, signage, vehicular, and in some cases on clothing too.
Whether your company is a start-up, medium-sized, or a large corporation, you will eventually confront the issue of your company’s self-image. How are you perceived by your customers? How are you perceived by the general public? How does your company come across to potential customers? How do you compare to your competition? The answer lies within any marketing communication material that represents your company, ranging from your business cards to a promotional brochure, to a nationally broadcast commercial. Above all, you might need a logo with sophistication, elegance, and impact. A graphic designer can help you with a solution for your logo.
Essentially, all logos can be organized in four separate categories: glyph, alpha-glyph, alphanumeric or a combination thereof. What exactly the logo will be for you depends upon a myriad of factors too numerous to list them all here. Again, a professional designer who is experienced should be hired for the logo design process.
The Right Company
Matching the right design company with your company is important if you want to produce a quality, informative, up-to-date company image. You need to know that the selected design company can produce everything you require and more.
You need to know they will produce within your budget and on time and also have the ability to be flexible as to ideas, and the way to show those ideas. Smooth cooperation is important and will eventuate in a better job all around.
When making the selection, the majority of corporate communicators use both interviews and samples. Word of mouth comes into the picture — but not to a large degree. Having found a design company, most corporations tend to use that design company for several years. Five years minimal is not unusual. Among the main reasons for returning to the same design company is one of empathy and holding a tight line to budgets.
Many corporate managers tend to favor the smaller design companies where they can achieve a relationship with the principals of that company or the enterprising designer himself.
In today’s highly competitive marketplace some designers have decided to sell their company based on price. And because many entrepreneurs posses limited budgets they are attracted to these designers. 5,000 post cards designed and printed for under $400 was unheard of years ago now they are expected. But it’s “quantity” not “quality” driven, and that has some customers paying a higher price for choosing to do business this way. Many clients have noticed their designs spread around to other businesses — even competitors. So then the unique company “branding” is no longer unique.
Creating a perfect company image requires experience and talent and, if done by a non-professional, might look amateurish, unattractive and may even take away from your company’s credibility. BEWARE!!!!
Send it Out
What do garbage collection, legal advise, graphic design, and computer operations have in common?
Each represents an example of how corporations are achieving significant strategic advantage or cost savings through the implementation of ‘outsourcing’.
Today’s competitive pressures demand that we strive always to create the best and eradicate mediocrity. The question as to whether a particular set of tasks requires the use of an expert can only be answered by judging the potential difference in results.
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SOME MEN AND WOMEN ARE MEANT TO BE JUST FRIENDS; others inexplicably click, fall in love, and become couples for life.
Among those, a rare few know where their other half is at all times, they’re as likely to have lunch together as dinner, and they shamelessly poke their noses into each other’s business, literally: They’re entrepreneurial couples — partners who share a home and also a company — and they make up one of the most dynamic and unexpected forces in small business today.
While couples have launched businesses together since before the first pioneers peddled farming implements from their wagons, today’s mom and pop shops are different. More often than before, they’re professional instead of retail, global rather than local, and “mom” is likelier to have birthed the business and own most of it.
Gwen Martin at the Center for Women’s Business Research, in Washington, D.C., counts 10.4 million woman-owned companies (defined as at least 50 percent owned by a woman) in 2006; 74 percent of those are majority-owned by women. Of the 26 percent that are equal partnerships, it’s unclear how many are owned by spouses, but related statistics suggest an uptick in couple-run firms.
According to the American Family Business Survey conducted by the MassMutual Financial Group and the Raymond Institute, husband-and-wife CEOs of family businesses increased from 8 percent in 1997 to 14 percent in 2002.
Glenn Muske, an Oklahoma State University professor who has spent the past six years studying the topic, estimates that 3 million of the 22 million U.S. small businesses in 2000 were couple-owned. He doesn’t expect updated figures until late summer, but he and other experts believe that further growth has occured in the past half-decade.
What has triggered this transformation? Turns out that mom and pop shops have changed in large part because Mom now often has as much education as Pop (if not more), and she’s determined to use it.
Women now hold 59 percent of all college degrees, and are moving rapidly into traditionally male-dominated fields, such as engineering and computer science, that prepare them to launch scalable companies, as opposed to the stereotypical home-based catering business.
Making it Work
Most entrepreneurial couples say they work out strategies to separate home from office and to divide labor in both places. And they treasure the advantages of their arrangement. When you have to explain to your business partner that you need to reschedule a meeting because your child is in a play, it’s a lot easier when that child is also your partner’s.
What’s more, running a business adds another dimension to the relationship and deepens it. Many couples say it’s like raising a child of a different sort.
Men and women are seeking work-family balance, and they have more control of their time as owners. Who better to join forces with, they say, than someone you trust professionally and personally — someone you’ve been bouncing ideas off anyway?
Kathy Marshack, Ph.D., author of Entrepreneurial Couples: Making It Work at Work and at Home, says, “Husband and wife teams are investigating different markets all over the world.”
Sophisticated businesses and lofty goals can, of course, bring high stress levels — and in a husband-and-wife-owned business, you can’t come home and complain about your business partner.
How do today’s successful entrepreneurial couples make their partnerships work at the office and at home? How do they prevent constant contact from breeding contempt? How do they keep their romance alive?
Entrepreneurial Couples’ Checklist for Success
So, do you think you have what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneurial couple? Dr. Marshack has developed this checklist of 10 items that are necessary for a thriving business and a strong marriage.
1. Does at least one of you have the entrepreneurial spirit? Does at least one of you have business acumen? You both don’t have to be entrepreneurs, but one of you must be, or you will fail.
2. Are you a supportive spouse? The entrepreneurial lifestyle is not just for the entrepreneur. Much is expected of the spouse, as well. Expect the marriage to be challenged in ways you have never experienced before.
3. Are you both good problem solvers? Entrepreneurs are highly practical people who view problems as challenges to their creativity. If one of you always views the glass as “half-empty,” the partnership will suffer.
4. Are you a good listener? Effective communication starts with listening, which helps you determine if you and your partner are on the same page.
5. Can you confront your partner with love and respect and still get to a win-win solution? It’s essential for each partner in an entrepreneurial couple to be a good communicator and negotiator. Failure to quickly confront problems can bring disaster in the marriage and the business.
6. Can you accept change in the marriage? Starting an entrepreneurial venture will change the dynamics of the marriage and each individual. Be prepared to rewrite your marriage contract many times over the course of your lives together.
7. Have you assessed your own values, beliefs and goals regarding life, marriage, family life, business, wealth and health? Successful people know who they are and are always in the process of revising themselves. Develop a Personal Life Plan, out of which evolves your marriage and business identity.
8. Do you know your spouse’s values, beliefs and goals? In order for you to have success with your life/business partner, your personal life plans must mesh well.
9. Does your Business Life Plan mesh well with your other life plans: Personal Life Plan, Marital Life Plan, Family Life Plan, Financial Life Plan and Health Life Plan? Entrepreneurial couples who focus only on work often end up getting divorced, alienating their children or developing health problems.
10. Finally, do you have what it takes to “rise out of the ashes”? Can you and your spouse pull together in the face of adversity? Even the best-laid plans can’t always prevent disaster, such as a downturn in your industry or a death in the family.
©DBA Business Media. Houston’s newest business monthly newspaper dedicated to the entrepreneur and business professional. Visit us online at DBAmedia.biz.
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Craig L. Amos is a professional visual communicator, publisher and entrepreneur. His ability to effectively provide visual communications and adapt to a wide variety of clients has been the key to his success as a graphic designer. He has had the privilege of sharing with businesses, corporations, social organizations as well as other entrepreneurs the ability to communicate their message with style and in a professional and effective manner.
After honing his skills as a design student in college and several years as a graphic designer in corporate America , Amos decided to satisfy his entrepreneurial appetite and launched Wall Street Design Studio (WSDS) at the seasoned age of 31. Within the first two months Amos had acquired two large accounts that each lasted five years, CenterAmerica Property Trust — at the time Houston’s largest developer of shopping centers and ranked #13 in the nation by the Wall Street Journal; and Tilson Home Corporation — Texas’s oldest build-on-your-lot builder. Although primarily a graphic design firm, WSDS executed advertising agency tasks and became the single source to write and produce television commercials and print ads for satellite offices across the state.
Days before reaching his 40th birthday, Amos decided it was time to pursue another passion: publishing. He retired as a graphic-designer-for-hire and began publishing Simply G Magazine and instantly became the most admired and recognized magazine to ever represent Galveston Island . However, Simply G only got his feet wet and Amos knew that the challenge would be bigger in Houston , so he put two things that matter most to him together — his enchantment for the entrepreneurial spirit and his hometown. He now uses his well trained graphic design skills to give his new publication a polished look and publishes DBA Houston Business, a colorful business feature crafted in fine lucid prose, combining professionalism and panache to deliver a breath of freshness that goes lacking in traditional business publications. Amos loves the challenge of entering a congested newsstand but bristles with confidence that there is plenty of room for him in the inn.
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