Category Archives: Blog

FALSE FORECASTS

Just read a list of expensive mistakes that businesses make in Forbes magazine, and one error in particular struck a chord – making wildly optimistic sales forecasts.

One of the recurrent head-in-hands moments for me, is when someone hoping to do business with us says something along the lines of…”If just one person in a thousand who reads our ad places an order, we’ll make…”It sounds logical, it sounds viable but it rarely is. It’s usually based on nothing more than guess work…surely one in a thousand will be easy. Most of the time it won’t.

The bottom line is to always make sure your sales forecasts are based on hard facts rather than what ‘common sense’ tells you what should be a viable response from a big target market. It rarely works the way you expect.

Motivational Quote Of The Day

“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.”                                       

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George S Patton

Alternative Quote Of The Day

“The biggest thing in my life right now is my girlfriend. I love this girl. I know I love her because she told me.”                                                                    

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Adam Ferrara

Are You Doing Too Much?

Sometimes, what seems like a retrograde step turns out to be quite the opposite. When Terri Urbash left her job as a court reporter to start a family, she expected her income to go into reverse, but in fact the opposite happened. 

You see, the assignments continued to come in, and because she couldn’t now deal with them personally, she started farming them out to other court reporters. Then a large insurance company was looking to hire a deposition service. Urbash assumed it would go to a national competitor, but she applied for the contract anyway, and she got it. Network Deposition Services has soared since landing the client, expanding throughout Pennsylvania and now moving across the country.

What Urbash discovered perhaps by accident, is that you only start to make some real money when you stop DOING the work and start ORGANISING the work. There are only so many hours you can personally work each day or week, but when you start organising the work of others, you can profit from an almost infinite number of hours worked.

Are you guilty of spending too much time doing it, and not enough time organising it? 

Today’s National Day   

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NATIONAL LAZY DAY!  

         

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

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Hello, 

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Take a look today:

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Best Wishes  

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John Harrison 

WHERE DO OLD FOOTBALLERS GO?

In the days before footballers got paid £100,000+ a week, you always knew where you’d find an ex-player after retiring – behind the bar of his own pub. It was the career of choice for any player who hadn’t gambled away his wages. Did you ever wonder why?

I think it’s because people naturally gravitate towards businesses they enjoy patronising themselves. If you enjoy spending your leisure time in a pub, why not get paid for it instead? It’s the same thought process that has led people to open coffee shops, gyms, and myriad retail establishments. But does this make sense?

Well, yes and no. If you’re an enthusiastic consumer of something, you should have a good feel for what the market wants. That’s bound to be an advantage. But at the same time, it would be an extra-ordinary coincidence if the optimum business for you turned out to be the type of business you personally enjoy frequenting most as a consumer. And there’s always the chance that you will metaphorically ‘drink the profits.’

The lesson to take away from this is to thoroughly question your motives for following the business path you’ve chosen. If it’s nothing more than an extension of your consumption preferences, it could be worth a rethink.

Motivational Quote Of The Day

 “Most of the important things in the world have been achieved by people who have kept on trying   
when there seemed to be               no hope at all.”                                   

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Dale Carnegie

Alternative   
Quote Of The Day

“I’m in no condition to drive…..wait! I shouldn’t listen to myself, I’m drunk!”  

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Homer J Simpson 

Pin-Picking Advice

Let me ask you to choose a number between 1 and 50. Pick it at random. Okay? Now, if, like me, your choice was thirty seven, you are in potential trouble. You have what’s known as a ‘group mind’. Apparently, we all follow the herd.

That’s a problem when it comes to picking a PIN number or a password most of us are very predictable! For a PIN, we pick our date or year of birth. Common passwords are 123456, abc123, qwerty, computer, password and the name of the website we’ve accessed.

Other favourite passwords relate to the names of our partners, children and favourite football team. Bottom line? Stick with the random four-digit number sent to you by your bank or, if you prefer, choose a random one of your own. Likewise, passwords – one for each site etc – should be a random mix of letters and numbers, upper and lower case etc.

Today’s National Day   

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NATIONAL BEST FRIENDS DAY!  

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

Forty-year Betting Veteran Makes Shocking Confession…

“I Still Don’t Have A Clue
  Which Horse Will Win!”

But By Analysing The Result Of Over
100,000Races, I’ve Discovered A Back Door
Route To a £20,000+ Guaranteed Year
Round Profit From Carefully Selected UK
Races…

Anyone Can Copy Me, It Takes Just
Ten Minutes A Day. And You Get To
Choose How Much You’ll Win…£10…
£20…Or Even £50 A Race!

For the full story visit;

www.streetwisenews.com/shotgun

THE POWER OF CURIOSITY

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Bulletin reader Bob Gregory received this envelope from a restaurant he’d visited before. Rather than a straightforward discount voucher, this is a bit different. It demonstrates the power of one of the most important influencers on human behaviour – curiosity.  

As you can see, the envelope offers money off  a meal at the restaurant, but here’s the  difference, you only find out how much of a discount after eating the meal and opening the envelope on receipt of the bill. It could be 25% or it could be 50%. It’s a surprise and you’re not allowed to find out beforehand.

Will it work? Well it certainly worked on Bob because he booked a meal, and I can see why. It’s something different to the ubiquitous discount voucher, and there’s an element of intrigue and excitement. Bob won’t know how much he’s saved until afterwards. 

Now he may suspect, as would many others, that the discount will be 25%,  but he doesn’t know for sure. Maybe it will be more. There’s only one way to find out.

Is this something you could use in your business? It seems to me there are many different ways this idea could be used. I’ll certainly be thinking about it.  

Motivational Quote Of The Day

“You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.”                 

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Charles Buxton

Alternative Quote Of The Day

“Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.”

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Steven Wright

You’re Never The Wrong Age

I never like to miss the chance to nail the “I’m too young/old excuse, and Nathan Clark has given me another chance. Eleven year old Nathan was doing his maths homework and needed to find a ruler. He looked down at his pencil and that’s when the inspiration hit – why not combine a ruler with a pencil? 

He went out and found a manufacturer, but their minimum order was 1,000 pencils. Not having the funds to proceed, Nathan made a video appeal and approached a fund raising company called Kickstart to raise the $350 he needed. Three days later over $2,500 had been pledged. 

 Will this make Nathan a millionaire? Probably not, but with the ambition and drive that he clearly has, Nathan will have a big success on his hands at some stage in the future.

Now consider this, if he can do all this at eleven, do you have any reason for not taking action with your own pals? 

Today’s National Day   

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NATIONAL FLUFFY SLIPPERS DAY!  

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

Forty-year Betting Veteran Makes Shocking Confession…

“I Still Don’t Have A Clue
  Which Horse Will Win!”

But By Analysing The Result Of Over
100,000Races, I’ve Discovered A Back Door
Route To a £20,000+ Guaranteed Year
Round Profit From Carefully Selected UK
Races…

Anyone Can Copy Me, It Takes Just
Ten Minutes A Day. And You Get To
Choose How Much You’ll Win…£10…
£20…Or Even £50 A Race!

For the full story visit;

www.streetwisenews.com/shotgun

REAL LIFE CATCHES UP WITH BATMAN!

When I was a kid, my favourite TV show was Batman – not that modern serious nonsense, but the tongue-in-cheek 1960’s series starring Adam West.

One of my favourite scenes (which actually appeared in the feature film) is when Batman is lowered into the sea from a rope ladder attached to a helicopter. His legs disappear below the waves, and when he’s hauled back up, we see that the most unconvincing rubber shark has attached itself to his leg.

Batman is unfazed. He reaches into his utility belt (how I wanted one of those!) and pulls out an aerosol can. On the side are printed the words ‘Shark Repellent Spray.’ One squirt and the unfortunate fish is forced to loosen its grip and crashes back down in to the sea.

It was a bit of frivolous fun maybe, but there’s nothing funny about shark attacks. Recently there have been two high profile cases in which tourists have been killed by sharks while out swimming. I don’t think anyone has developed a repellent spray yet, but Joel Centeio may have come up with something even better.

It’s an electronic repelling device which a swimmer can attach to his arm or wrist by Velcro. In tests carried out by divers, the compact and watertight device drove sharks away. Apparently it works by emitting an electrical pulse which affects the gel in the sharks nose.

There’s no doubt that the perceived danger of shark attack is a lot higher than the actual danger, but that will only serve to boost that market for this device.

Even paranoid British surfers and swimmers could be a viable market!

Motivational Quote Of The Day

“It’s important to have a plan, a big picture. You can deviate from it or change it completely, but it gives you something to work for.”             

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Shannon Miller

Alternative   
Quote Of The Day

“Ah, yes, divorce…from the Latin word meaning to rip out a man’s genitals.”

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Robin Williams

Talk O Clock

I checked the calendar and it’s not April 1st. This is a genuine business, but it has to be one of the strangest we’ve seen this year.

So you need to get up at 6.00am tomorrow morning…. What do you do? Set your alarm clock? No that’s too simple. What you do instead is contact Talk O Clock, who for a fee will get a complete stranger to ring you up and wake you in whatever way they see fit. The company have a panel of ‘wakers’ who (for reasons I can’t imagine) feel that waking a complete stranger at the crack of dawn is an enjoyable use of their time. If the customer doesn’t answer, he is called again by a robot. Amazing.

The more I think about it though, maybe it’s not such a bad idea. You have someone who wants to be woken by a stranger, and someone else who wants to wake strangers. Maybe a pair of weirdo’s who are made for each other!

Today’s National Day   

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NATIONAL LEAVE THE OFFICE EARLY DAY!  

———————————————————————————–

IMPORTANT PUBLISHERS NOTICE

Forty-year Betting Veteran Makes Shocking Confession…

“I Still Don’t Have A Clue
  Which Horse Will Win!”

But By Analysing The Result Of Over
100,000Races, I’ve Discovered A Back Door
Route To a £20,000+ Guaranteed Year
Round Profit From Carefully Selected UK
Races…

Anyone Can Copy Me, It Takes Just
Ten Minutes A Day. And You Get To
Choose How Much You’ll Win…£10…
£20…Or Even £50 A Race!

For the full story visit;

www.streetwisenews.com/shotgun

Do You Really Need Investment?

It’s a bit of a knee-jerk reaction for many entrepreneurs to automatically think they need investment when they’re attempting to launch a new business, but it isn’t necessarily the case.

There are many ventures that don’t need outside funding at all, and to seek it out, can be expensive in either cash or equity loss. Having said that, there are circumstances where there is no alternative but to seek funding. For example

1.  If you need a prototype – where you have created something new. Having samples made, testing and modelling can be expensive.

2.  If you need specialist equipment – This will be particularly relevant in high-tech and engineering. Computer technology and bespoke tooling  doesn’t come cheap.

3. Where you have a run away success. This is something a lot of people don’t think about. Strong sales can create a problem if you don’t have the funds to finance production and distribution.

If none of the above apply, think very carefully about whether you really need outside funds. It’s always best if you can retain full control of your venture and aren’t weighed down by heavy interest repayments. 

Motivational Quote Of The Day

“A sense of humour is a major defence against minor troubles.”  

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Mignon McLaughlin

Alternative Quote Of The Day

“A friend is the guy who will bail you out of prison, but your best friend is the guy sitting in jail with you.”                                             

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Joey Diaz

Tow And Go Service

It doesn’t take a great deal of ingenuity to set up as a taxi driver, but even with a simple service like this, it’s possible to add a twist and set yourself apart from the crowd.

Jackie Robinson Jr, a taxi driver from Kentucky, set up what he calls a ‘Tow and Go’ service….although strictly speaking, there’s no towing involved. The idea is quite simple. When you call for the service, Robinson takes along a colleague who will drive both you and your car to it’s destination. Needless to say, this is potentially life and livelihood saving for someone who’s had a few drinks more than intended and doesn’t wish to leave their car in a vulnerable place.

There are obviously insurance implications to a service like this, but it’s definitely something you could change a premium price for. I can see a high demand for this is any urban area – particularly at weekends.

Today’s National Day   

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NATIONAL SAY SOMETHING NICE DAY!  

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

Important Notice:

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From The “Get-Rich-Quick-Gurus”

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www.streetwisenews.com/fortune