Posted: March 3rd, 2010 | by Tesi Johnson | 1 Comment »
They won’t make you run faster, jump higher or stay awake long hours, but Reebok’s newest sneaker ZigTech looks so sleek and cool, one feels compelled to buy. These design guys I tell you, they know just how to coerce the money out of your pockets and into their hands.
According to Reebok, ZigTech footwear is “designed to conserve and return energy to the athlete for a soft and springy stride”. The sole features an innovative, lightweight foam that is engineered into an attractive, geometric, zig-zag shape. Reebok dubs it “energy drink for your feet” because “the unique zig-zag sole absorbs the impact of heel strike and sends a wave of energy along the length of the shoe to help propel the athlete forward with each step”. So basically, ZigTechs are just another pair of running shoes, only sexier, and with a more creative copywriter selling it.
Dan Nosowitz of Fast Company reviews the ZigTech Sneakers, with hilarious results.
Posted: February 28th, 2010 | by Tesi Johnson | No Comments »
Just when we were figuring out Google Wave, Google debuted yet another social media platform for us to decipher: Google Buzz.
Google Buzz is a mash-up of the features of Facebook and Twitter, with added elements that existing social media platforms don’t offer. It is integrated into Gmail, so it has a probable user-base of tens of millions of people who you could be communicating with about your business.
For one, Google Buzz could prove useful in gathering customer feedback. Just like Twitter you can post messages to your “followers”. However, your messages can be more than 140 characters, and replies are grouped under the original message, making it easier to monitor feedback.
Mashable lists four more opportunities for small businesses to capitalize on by using Google Buzz.
Posted: February 26th, 2010 | by Tesi Johnson | No Comments »
Ludicrous costumes and bizarre hair aside, Lady Gaga is a marketing genius.
In just two years, she has rocketed from sheer obscurity to global stardom, and cultivated fierce loyalty amongst her fans, or “little monsters” as she calls them. Her chart-topping tunes, art-style stage performances and way-out dress captured the attention of the media and the little monsters, but it’s her loyalty marketing methods that may sustain her for years.
For one, she has made her fans feel special by giving them their own moniker – little monsters. Fans can now identify with this special ‘club’, and the little monsters even have their own distinctive symbols and gestures, including the outstretched monster claw hand. Her fanbase is like a big family, and that’s sure to garner loyalty.
Church of Customer identifies more ways you can build brand loyalty just like Lady Gaga has.
Posted: February 24th, 2010 | by Tesi Johnson | No Comments »
It’s an open secret really, and all it takes is five minutes. Tell your employees you value and appreciate their work, and that simple exchange is likely to dramatically increase their productivity.
Wharton management professor Adam Grant, disclosed this much-known, but hardly practiced concept in a series of research papers on what motivates employees. Grant says, “Employees who know how their work has a meaningful, positive impact on others are not just happier than those who don’t; they are vastly more productive, too.”
Forbes.com gives more results from Grant’s study.
Posted: February 23rd, 2010 | by Tesi Johnson | No Comments »
For every invention that becomes a hit, there are hundreds more that never find their niche market. Acquiring a patent is not exactly a cheap process so the inventors of these quirky gizmos must really believe in their product to spend upwards of $15,000 to protect their idea. And for every confident inventor who swears his creation will be the next big thing, there are millions of consumers who might not get why his thing is so great anyway.
But as long as man has imagination, he will create.
Forbes.com lists 15 kooky inventions, including the cheese-filter cigarette, Middle East conflict board game, and the dust cover for dogs.
We also recommend: 1001 Inventions That Changed the World
Posted: February 21st, 2010 | by Tesi Johnson | No Comments »
Profits aren’t everything, they are the only thing. And to achieve super-normal profits in your business, you must be ready and willing to “run over anyone or anything that gets in the way of your company’s paramount need for profits”.
So says author George Coultier in his book “Profits aren’t everything, they are the only thing”, where he doles out hard-hitting advice for business owners. Central to his message is the notion that unrelenting discipline is the only way to achieve any measure of success. And this requires an “attitude adjustment” where owners routinely place their businesses first, even on weekends. Yikes!
Pierre DuBois reviews Coultier’s provocative book in a post on Small Business Trends.
Posted: February 20th, 2010 | by Tesi Johnson | No Comments »
If you are self-aware enough to acknowledge that you will not excel at eveything, then you have already taken the first step towards becoming a great leader.
Great leaders do not micro-manage; they allow others to tackle the day-to-day, problem-solving activities of the company whilst they focus on developing strategy and promoting relationship-building exercises.
So first note your areas of strength and weakness and seek out a team to fill in the gaps where the weaknesses lie. Encourage your team members to do the same self-assessment and make the best use of their talents for the good of the business.
Marshall Goldsmith of the Harvard Business Review lists four more things you can do to achieve personal mastery in leadership.
Posted: February 18th, 2010 | by Tesi Johnson | No Comments »
Behind the welcoming smile of uber-housewife Debbie Meyer is a shrewd entrepreneur who has built an empire out of inventing and selling gadgets and gizmos for use around the home.
Fans of the home shopping network (HSN) might recognize Mrs Meyer, 59, where she is regularly featured selling her nifty innovations, such as the kake-kut’r (cake cutter) and the best-seller Debbie Meyer GreenBags. Also, her patented products are sold in Target, Kohl’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, and other stores.
Meyer, whose company Housewares America Inc. of Clearwater, Fla., enjoys more than $100 million in annual revenues, spoke with Colleen Debaise of the Wall Street Journal on how she made home-making into a multi-million dollar business.
Posted: February 16th, 2010 | by Tesi Johnson | No Comments »
Together women and minority entrepreneurs own more than 10 million U.S. businesses and that number is increasing daily. Growth in that sector is being promoted by several government and private organizations that offer tools and resources to help these companies improve their businesses. These range from business planning advice to certifications that position entrepreneurs to win government and large private contracts.
Some commercial banks such as Wells Fargo, have active small business lending programs for minorities. While entities such as Springboard Enterprises help connect women business owners with investors and help them develop their pitches and business plans.
Business Week presents a guide, plus links to organizations that help women- and minority-owned businesses.
Posted: February 14th, 2010 | by Tesi Johnson | No Comments »
Every year millions of people dive head-first into entrepreneurship; some find success, while others don’t. Should you join them?
Not everyone has the cajones to start and succeed at their own venture. It takes a strong internal drive and discipline to create your own business. Just about anyone can come up with a feasible business idea, but do you have what it takes to be successful with your own business?
Daniel Isenberg of the Harvard Business Review developed a 2–minute Isenberg Entrepreneur Test, to help you find out.
