Posts Tagged ‘Small Business’

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: The Reason I'm not Working on My Small Business Tonight

As a nights and weekend entrepreneur, every night I have a list of things I need to do to work on KikScore.  Usually I find the time.  But not on Thursdays.  Thursdays belong to Camille, Kyl, Lisa and Taylor — the ladies of RHOBH.  And I can’t be the only guy who thinks the same way.  In fact, there has been more than one drive home where I’ve talked about the show with Raj. 

Now besides being a fascinating study of human (mis)behavior, there are some decent business lessons to be found (at least that’s what I tell my partners so they don’t get made at me).  Here’s a start at what they are:

1.  Own Up to Your Mistakes:  We all know that Taylor talked trash about Kyl to Camille early on in the series.  Ever since, Taylor has been denying it and losing face every day.  Your customers know when you screw up, so instead of making excuses, just own up to it (you’ll be better off in the long run).

2.  Publicity May Not Always Be the Best Thing:  So you’re married to Kelsey Grammer and you want to establish you’re own identity.  Signing up for the RHOBH make sense.  But then it blows up.  Soon the whole world finds out that you’re a dim, manipulative harpy, whose only friends are on her payroll.  Maybe you don’t seek out publicity for your business, and only hope for attention for positive reasons (not because you’re desperate for it).

3.  Don’t listen to Mediums (or Larges).  During a memorable dinner party, Camille brought along her novelty friend, who was the inspiration for the show “Medium” (now cancelled).  In not a surprise twist, Camille’s friend started predicting all sorts of bad things for Camille’s frenemies.  She clearly saw that Kyl’s husband was going to cheat on her.  What the medium missed was the fact that Kelsey was, at that exact time, in NYC cheating on Camille.  Kind of a big miss.  So don’t believe mediums or proformas.

That’s the best I can do…i’ve no got to watch the show.

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Posts Tagged ‘Small Business’

DC Area Friends, SmallBiz & Startups – Come to the 28Corridor Tweetup This Thurs #28ctweetup

I talk to the Swami on my way home nearly every night from Herndon.  No I do not talk to myself or my imaginary friend in the passenger seat (though if I had one, I would imagine I was sitting with Mike Holmgren and ask him when will the Browns return to relevance in the NFL?).  The person that I talk to is the Social Media Swami, Shashi B.  That call often begins on Route 28, right off the Dulles Toll Road and next to beautiful Dulles Airport.  We typically chat about our day, what is going on with KikScore, how Shashi’s daughter (and Kikscore intern) Mitali is enjoying college as well as a host of other things.  It allows us to catch up with each other during the nearly 40 minute drive home to our respective homes in the District and in Maryland.

So it is only fitting that Thursday, Shashi is organizing the first ever 28 Corridor Tweetup.  That would be the same 28 that we drive on every day.  For those not familiar with Route 28 in Northern Virginia, here are some “beautiful” aerial pics!  The “excuse” (as if we need one!) for the tweetup is to get together to welcome the wonderful Lisa Byrne, @dceventjunkie, to Network Solutions  (our co-sponsor from last year’s fantastic Social Commerce Camp). Lisa just started working on Shashi’s fantastic team last week.

As more folks started to tweet about the tweetup, it dawned on us that lets try to get area small businesses, startups, bloggers, nearby airport baggage handlers (bet they have some great stories!) and anyone else together to join us at Ned Devine’s in Herndon, VA for the tweetup.  So please come on out on Thursday.  We would love to see you there.  Spread the word and tell your friends.

By the way here is some extra incentive, if we get more than 30 attendees, the Swami will sing the Lady Gaga song of the crowd’s choice (I hear there are a lot of people voting for Poker Face!”).

Click here for the details on the 28 Corridor Tweetup. The hashtag by the way for Thursday’s event is #28ctweetup.

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Posts Tagged ‘Small Business’

Swami Speaks & You Should Listen – An Excellent Article For SmallBiz

We do not usually do this and we are probably breaking an unwritten rule for your own blog about sending readers to another site.  But we do not really care because the article that our dear friend, Shashi B (the Swami!), recently wrote is worth a read for every small business, startup and entreperneur.  The article is posted at one of our favorite sites, Small Business Trends that is run by the small business expert, Anita Campbell.

The reason why the article is so good is it deals with what is probably one of the most important marketing tools for a small business or startup: your website.  The post is titled Top Website and Website Design Trends for 2011.

Please tell us what you think about the Swami’s post.

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Posts Tagged ‘Small Business’

Happy New Year!

Just want to send a note to wish you all a happy new year from Kikscore. In the spirit of the new year, I’m sharing a few of my new year resolutions:

1. Eat less cheese – cheese is now being packaged in very mobile, snacky packaging. I’ve spent 2010 eating a half brick of cheese a week due to this development.

2. Stop caring about the Minnesota Sports teams – 4 sports teams, all of which are terribly disappointing. They are worse for me than all that cheese.

3. Fewer magazine subscriptions – through redeeming airline miles, I receive 6 different weekly magazines. I can’t keep up and I feel like I’m behind on my homework every time I get a new one in the mail.

I know I have other things to work on, but this is my start for 2011.

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Posts Tagged ‘Small Business’

7 Posts from 2010 That Will Help Your Business Now – 2010 KikScore Blog Greatest Hits

As 2010 winds down, we wanted to share with you a few posts that if you only have a few minutes on the KikScore blog we want you to read.  As many of you know, we pride ourselves on publishing good content that covers small businesses, startups, entrepreneurship, while telling the first hand accounts of small business that sell online and trying at the same time to be a little humorous and even including some references to sports and pop culture.

So here are our greatest hits that we hope you check out:

1. Should Start up Companies and Small Business Release Their New Software Early or Wait Until Its Perfected? – This is our post that discusses the age old dilemma for startups on when is the right time to launch your product.  We had some very personal experience on this issue.  I am sure there are many startups that are facing this very issue right now so that is why it made our list.

2. Issues Escalation and Support Guidelines in a Startup Environment – This is a very detailed and thoughtful post about the process needed to approach the inevitable support issues that get escalated to your service department by your customers.  The post frankly applies to many different types of businesses, from small, medium to large but is especially fitting for startups.  It is a must read especially for software startups.

3. Lessons Learned for Small Business from Sandra Bullock’s Heartbreak – Everyone probably remembers the shocking news that came out this spring about Sandra Bullock’s husband Jesse James and his infidelity.  This post is especially helpful to small businesses and startups that are looking to partner with other companies or use new vendors and contractors for key business operations.  It gives key information and tips to help with conducting diligence before you make these important decisions.  And we do this by tying it all back to Sandra Bullock and Jesse James marriage!

4. Our two posts on reviewing your business on Memorial Day (Check that BBQ and Your Business’ 2010 Goals) and Labor Day  (5 Steps to Help Close 2010 Strong) – Every business should take the time to periodically conduct self-assessments to measure progress.  These posts give detailed tips on conducting the self-assessment for your business at key times of the year and the Labor Day post also outlines concrete steps for taking the learnings from your analysis and acting on those learnings.

5. Building a Startup Company and Having a Family at the Same Time – Ever wonder how entrepreneurs, small businesses, startups balance work, life, family and crazy schedules.  We all face this issue frankly and in this post we discuss tips on helping to find that work/family balance.  To be honest, this is a post worth re-reading throughout the year to keep yourself grounded.

6. Manly Cupcakes and Tips on Finding, Understanding and Appealing to Your Target Market –  This is a straighforward post that appeals to all businesses and startups.  The reason why it is one of my favorite posts of the year is that every company should ask these key marketing and customer demographics questions  about your product, customers and market.  These questions and your answers to them will keep your business and startup more sharply focused and successful.

7. How Do You Judge a Website? –  This post is important for every business because it frames the way potential customers, leads, partners and even investors get their first online impression of your business.  It is a valuable post that businesses can come back to in order to remind them that no matter what you do, these key features of your website will drive the way key influencers view you, your business, your website and your product.

We hope you enjoyed all of our posts this year and we look forward to a great year of content in 2011.

We would love to hear your favorite posts as well as any feedback on our content.  Also let us know if you want us to cover any particular topic and we would be happy to consider writing on a certain subject, especially if it helps the small business, startup and entrepreneur community.

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Posts Tagged ‘Small Business’

End of the Year Thank You to Friends of KikScore for a Great 2010

As 2010 rolls toward a quick end, we at KikScore wanted to take this time to do something that so many people sometime neglect to do.  That is to say some important thank yous.  2010 has been a year of huge successes and new beginnings for us at KikScore. That success is attributable to many factors, but much of our achievements are a result of a core set of folks including our customers, friends, colleagues, partners and advisors.

KikScore’s 2010

First a little about our 2010. We launched our core product, KikScore, to help small businesses use their trackrecord of success and reliability to show that trackrecord to shoppers that they should be trusted.  Then quickly thereafter and based on feedback we received from the community, we launched another new product for small business that do not sell online, but market their services such as consultants, contractors, servicers.  That new product allows these servicers to take their prior trackrecord and their strong history of dependability and show potential clients and leads that they are trustworthy. Yes, that was two new products in less than a year!

Beyond the new products, KikScore gained quick and significant customer acceptance with a surge in signups in 2010 by small businesses all over the world.  That acceptance was driven by a host of factors, just one being the number of key partnerships we launched throughout 2010.  We were busy launching partnerships and jointly sponsored events throughout the year that focused on our small business customer needs.  It was a blast to connect with so many small businesses, bloggers and members of the media throughout the year….the coverage was flattering too!  We even spoke at some great small business focused webinars and conferences.  Thanks Anita Campbell for your recommendation and introductions for us to speak about security and small business!

A Special Thank You

So we get to the main point of the post after some “horn blowing” by me.  Ok, I was just setting some context for visitors that are new to the site!!! We want to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of our friends and supporters that helped us out this year.  There are too many to name each one here individually by name, but a few we really do need to have to thank including the one and only Swami Shashi B, Jill Foster, Shonali Burke, Eric A, Jason K, Harry L, Roy D, Rick Juneja, Neel K, Joe K, Steven Fisher, and so many, many more.  These are just a few great folks that helped us out.  On top of them, we have to thank our many partners, but most importantly our friends in Calgary at Shopster.

A special, special thank you goes out to all of our customers.  We really appreciate each and every one of you.  Even the customers that did not stay with us, we learned from you.  But more importantly a thank you to all of the customers that took precious time out of their busy days to send us comments, feedback or your appreciative notes about our service and what we are doing for small businesses.  Also thanks to all of those customers that gave us some great small business interviews on this blog.

Ok, not really last but thanks to each of our families, the new additions to our families and loved ones that supported us throughout this year!  Your patience during our late nights and long weekends of work on KikScore is truly appreciated.  We could not do any of this without you!

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Posts Tagged ‘Small Business’

Video: Top Web Design Mistakes Small Businesses Make

This is an excellent short 4 minute video on the top web design mistakes that small businesses make from Entrepreneur Magazine.  It covers the problems with:

1) Flash websites;

2) Poor design backgrounds;

3) Not having good About Us and Management Pages; and

4) Not having contact information, especially for your customer service operations.

What other mistakes do you see small businesses and startups make with their websites?

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Posts Tagged ‘Small Business’

Lessons from Arnold Schwarzenegger: The Mental Game is Key to Success

I have to admit when I was growing up back in Ohio I idolized Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yes, I used to get Muscle & Fitness magazine and I watched every Arnold movie from Conan the Barbarian, Commando, Predator, and of course through all of the Terminator classics.  At that time I looked up to Arnold mainly because I was (ok now dont laugh) big into weightlifting and well the movies were just the movies – pretty cool for any teenage kid.

It is funny that nearly 20 years later my wife sent me the video below which is a recent interview of Arnold where he discussed his approach to the success he has had a different phases in his life.  It wasn’t until I watched the short 10 minute video that I realized that Arnold reinvented himself three separate times and was wildly successful in each instance. First, as the bodybuilder and multiple Mr. Olympia, then as a huge action movie star and finally as Governor of California.

The punchline for the video and largely this post is that Arnold said the difference between himself and others in each of the three major  roles in his life was the mental game.  As an example, he said there were plenty of weightlifters when he was competing to win bodybuilding competitions that were just as big as him, trained just as hard as he did, but the difference between Arnold and these other folks was their approach to mentally winning. Arnold always envisioned success and winning as well as achieving his goals.  His goal was not just to be a good bodybuilder, but it was to win Mr. Olympia repeatedly.  And so as opposed to other bodybuilders who were just good at training, Arnold continually envisioned mentally winning Mr. Olympia.  And he won it not just once, but six consecutive times! In the video he says the difference between himself and others was not being physically bigger or having more defined muscles, it was instead the mental aspect of training, focusing and envisioning success at all times.

This was Arnold’s approach to the mental game:

a) constantly envisioned success and accomplishing the near and short term goals he laid out for himself;

b) was always mentally focused on that success and accomplishing those goals;

c) carried that focus into everything he did and his approach to training and executing his plans; and

d) was relentless in his pursuit for the success that he set out to achieve.

For startups and small businesses there are strong parallels and lessons learned from Arnold’s approach that he has taken in his life to succeeding not once, but in three completely separate areas as diverse as bodybuilding, acting and being elected as to the highest office in the largest state in the United States.

Watch, listen, take notes and start acting on the Arnold’s guidance! You will not regret it.

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Posts Tagged ‘Small Business’

Great Videos For Small Business & Startups from the 2010 GrowSmartBiz Conference

My wife and I were so looking forward to attend the 2010 GrowSmartBusiness Conference in Washington DC. We previously covered the reasons that the small business and startup community should have attended this event.  Unfortunately for us we had to miss the great conference due to the stomach flu making an appearance in our household.  So this post is as much for me as it is for the entire small business and startup community.

Just a simple following of the #growsmartbiz hashtag on Twitter will show you that the conference was a huge success.  But the organizers went a step further.  They have put most of the content online in the form of the speakers videos from the day.

So here is a tally of the links you should visit to watch and learn from some of the wonderful speakers from the 2010 GrowSmartBiz Conference:

1. The lunch keynote from Raul Fernandez, Chairman of ObjectVideo, Vice Chairman, Monumental Sport and Entertainment is here.

2. The marketing and innovation session was given by Barry Moltz, author of “Bust a Myth” and it was titled “How Social Media Has Made Customer Service the New Marketing.”

3. Another great session was “Reinvigorating Small Business Innovation” with small business experts Jason Falls, Steve King, Jeremy Epstein, and Duncan Alnay.

4. The final session that included the Marketing Keynote with Rohit Bhargava, Ramon Ray on 6 Rules for Tech Success, Rieva, Lesonsky, 3 Top Small Business Trends for 2011, Shonali Burke on PR & Small Business, and Jill Foster on Public Speech 2.0 in an 140 Character  World.  Check out all of these great videos here.

I sure hope we can make it next year.  What a great conference and thanks for the fantastic content!

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Posts Tagged ‘Small Business’

4 Reasons SmallBiz & Startups Should Attend Friday's GrowSmartBiz Conference in DC

On Friday, November 5, 2010, the Second Annual GrowSmartBiz Conference will take place at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Washington DC.  If last year’s conference gives us any idea about how this year’s one will be, you can expect a full day of great tips from real subject matter experts across a wide range of topics that impact small business and startups. I have to say last year my wife (who owns a small business) and I both attended and we could not stop talking about the energy, the people we met, the important tips we learned and frankly all of the fun we had in one day.  Besides our experience going to SXSW in 2009 when I co-presented, this is hands down one of my personal favorite conferences I have attended – and I even worked the conference last year manning the “SmallBiz Answers Booth” with PR specialists, lawyers, marketers, developers and startup founders.

So here are 4 independent reasons to attend this year’s GrowSmartBiz Conference:

1. The Speakers Are Awesome and Experienced Starting with the keynotes that include Successful Entrepreneur Raul Fernandez all the way to the speakers and moderator at the four track sessions and excellent.  The speaker list includes small business, technology, social media and PR kings like Ramon Ray (recently on MSNBC), Brent Leary, Marissa Levin, Joe Libava, Steven King, Jill Foster, Shonali Burke, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Ken Yancey and Rohit Bhargava. And this is just a few of the names that will be there on Friday.  The full speaker list can be found here and Jill Foster has a great summary of the lineup on her excellent blog Live Your Talk.

2. The Topics Are Going to be Highly Informative Building off last year’s conference, the organizers this year broke the conference into four main tracks: 1) Marketing & Innovation; 2) Small Business, Government & Non-Profits; 3) Technology as a Tool for Your Business; and 4) Entrepreneur Bootcamp.  Each of these four tracks has a dense topic list that includes Socal Media Marketing, Learning How to Tell Your Business Story, How to Track and Keep Customers, 6 Rules for Tech Success and Tips for Smart Hiring Practices.  These are just some of the great topics (see full agenda)  that will help any small business and startup.

3. Great Networking Opportunities It has been reported in many places (and I have heard first hand) that small businesses would like to spend more time networking and learning from each other.  Well GrowSmartBiz took the feedback from last year;’s conference and created more opportunities for the small business attendees to network and meet each other.  This year there are multiple times during the day when you can meet the fellow attendees and also ask the speakers questions after their presentations.  More networking means more learning and more business opportunities for your business.

4. Pre-Event Happy Hour This year a night before the conference happy hour for speakers, bloggers, the media, attendees and sponsors is being organized.  This way you can start networking even before the conference begins!  Who knows your question or story may end up being referenced or mentioned on Friday by one of the speakers.  My wife’s website got mentioned last year during Ramon Ray’s presentation after he met her right before his speaking session. Here is the information on the Thursday evening Happy Hour!

These are just some of the reasons to sign up and attend on Friday.   Last year there were well over 400 attendees live in person and hundreds more that watched it streaming live from as far as Australia.

Hope to see you there! By the way, here is the signup information at the Washington Business Journal site.

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