Travelodge Tales & Customer Service Do-Over!

Some of you will remember a few months ago when I published a humor piece about Retiring to the Hilton? Well leave it to my Brit readers to point me to an update, and it's not fiction!

A couple in England has done it for real. David and Jane Davidson have been living in Travelodges for more than 20 years:“The couple stayed at the first ever Travelodge in Barton-under-Needwood, Staffordshire and liked it so much they began to stay more and more often, finally choosing the hotel in Newark. “By booking 12 months in advance, they pay £90 (US$181.00) a week and have all housework done...You can read the rest of this post at Time Goes By


In a previous post I shared the lack of customer service at Bank of America (ok, it was more like an episode from 'Day Among the Brain-Dead Bank Employees) but it made a point. If you focus on giving good customer service, you will put your solo enterprise far ahead of the average small business out there.

While checking up on a few blogs I ran across this one at Nitro Marketing. The post titled Horrible Customer Service, No Sale which proves just how deadly being an idiot running a business can be.

We may be living in the 21st Century but common courtesy and civility are seriously lacking in many businesses. It may be just me, but I refuse to take shit off you and pay you too! There's something morally and ethically wrong with any business that allows employees to insult a customer's intelligence or approves rudeness with benign consent.

I'm not telling you how to operate your business, it's yours and good luck to you. But and this is a biggie - if you make it a practice of being rude, making nasty comments about your customers or prospects in front of your employees or colleagues - then Bye-Bye, see ya-don't want to do business with ya! There's enough stupid, brain-dead, ignorant people in the world and you can choose to not be one.

Short and sweet today but I leave you with this:

Success is not an accident, it is a skill. It is predictable, and it can be learned, and it can be learned by you, and it can be learned by anyone. ~Brian Tracy

BlogRush Widget - Before you panic!

Hey Folks,
You'll notice that I put the Blog Rush widget on the blog. It's a trial thingy, don't panic and think I'm going more to the internet marketing darkside on you!

I'm trying things out - don't you feel special! I get to try things and you get to tell me 'Get that @#@#%#' off our blog! Ok, I don't allow anyone to cuss on this blog except me - but if it gets in the way of you reading important things, let me know and I will remove it.

Otherwise, expect to see that sucker for at least a month (how am I going to tell you if something works or not if I don't try it first..hmmm?).

Just wanted to stop by and let you know I'm begging and pleading for a guest to post something on this blog next (he's playing hard to get) but I'll keep being a pest - and I'll see you folks again on Sunday, September 23rd there-abouts.

Lazy Sunday & All That Jazz

I'll admit, there are days when the most attentive response you're going to get is what do you want and why should I care?. Today was one of those days and to stay in this 'lazy-ass' mode, I'm giving you some resources to help you join me....after-all, we all need one lazy day.

Here's the resources to help you think and do - a little of each.
1. 10 Minute Mail
This one I may have told you about in a past post and for those who missed it - I still like this idea. Say you want to sign up for a site which requires that you provide an e-mail address to send a validation e-mail to. And maybe you don't want to give up your real e-mail address to end up on a bunch of spam lists. This is nice, disposable and it's free. Enjoy!

2. Mark Yarnell Audio
This audio is 10 minutes long, so don't complain to me when you find yourself missing the first part of your favorite boob-tube show! It's worth listening to and as a solo entrepreneur it doesn't matter what vehicle you are using to create your income, think long term. Take the 10 minutes to listen.

3. Brain Hacks
Simple tips to use when you are mentally fatigued and other tips on stirring up the 'little grey cells' when productivity lags.

4. Country Retreat - Aussie Style
50 minutes by car from central Perth to Gidgegannup is the Country Retreat. Summer is on the way down-under in lovely Australia (gotta make more money to follow the sun!), and if the winter weepies is something you're looking to avoid this year - why not? No Survivors crap issues here, it's about rejuvenating your mind and body, eating a bit healthier for once and just taking some much needed down-time.

5. Business Fastlane
Want to find out how other entrepreneurs are making money and get some new business ideas? This is a membership site ($5 at this link for 30 days, then $17 a month after). I subscribed to find out what entrepreneurs are doing, for 30 days it's worth a trial period. There are offline businesses also, so take a look and see if it works for you.

6. Fly Low - Collect Dough
I'm a fan of Gordon Jay Alexander (Sow Pub Forums) and the e-books on this page are good examples of simple products that make money. Too many times we think because 'everybody says your business must make $put-here-whatever-you-want with our business, we must play catch-up.

Not according to Gordon! We can have businesses that aren't sexy, hot or getting hyped attention and make serious money. Take the How To Detail Car Interiors report for example. It's not sexy and sounds like manual labor to me, but I'm paying over $2,000 to have my car's leather interior spiffed up next month and my appointment is number 20 in line!.

Think about it....really un-sexy, highly doable and a report to tell you how to do it is only $29.97. Sell only 10 a month and that makes a nice dent in a bill every month, on autopilot - nothing else needs to be done to that site. Do the numbers - one page, create one report a month, sell it for say $10 (I like round numbers) and make maybe 5 sales a month x 12 sites - not a fortune but not physical labor either. Check it out.

7. Life Boat Strategy
This will set you back $99 and only you can decide if it's worth it for a book. Now If all the intrusions on your personal privacy is getting to you, the book will give you some interesting tips and techniques to regain your privacy in a world of Orwell's 1994 - Homeland Security worries.

It's interesting reading, fast if you're used to reading non-fiction but if the only thing you have read in the past year is the Sunday comics, you might want to pass. This book can make you a bit paranoid about giving out your personal information ever again, But if you are seriously thinking of taking responsibility for your own life, then it's worth the money.

That's it for today and I leave you with this

"The only thing that stands between a man/woman and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible." ~ Richard M. DeVos, founder Amway

Solo Entrepreneurs - It's Back To School Time!

Ok, so it's Sunday somewhere in the world - where I sit, it's Saturday!

I just finished reading a very good business book that you might like. Think of all the business books I've read this year, this is one of the better ones. Be the Elephant by Steve Kaplan (Difference Maker) gives very solid information for solo entrepreneurs intent on getting a grip on having a profitable business.

Initially I wasn't interested in this book, the blurb is talking 'employees, buildings, and all that nonsense' but once I started reading it I found some tidbits that fit solo entrepreneurs to a tee!

Chapter 3, Think You're Ready to Grow forced me to go back and re-do the assumptions I had made when starting my business. If you hear yourself saying anything on page 19 - it's time to regroup, and fast!

Chapter 5 is going to bother some of you because you've been 'playing at' having a business.

This chapter had me blushing because as a trained accountant I did a bit of my own 'it'll work out' fudging. Now I see where my numbers needed to be more accurate especially since I'm not making the income I wanted after 2 years - and I'm working harder. Something had to go and only after I sat with my own 'Baby Elephant' over the weekend, I didn't know what that something was.

My suggestion: Buy this book, get it from the library or borrow it from another successful solo entrepreneurs because it's that important. Put it right beside your computer with The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber.

Take actions suggested from either one when you feel yourself getting overwhelmed by everything that still needs doing in your business.

Entrepreneur Education Resources
One thing we all must do, if for no other reason than to keep our brains working, is to keep ourselves in the loop on what's important to run our business. These are a few I've found and will share more as I find them.

IRS Offers an ongoing series - Small Business/Self-Employed Virtual Small Business Tax Workshop that can help you figure out the ins and outs to stay out of trouble but it also shows you how to keep more of your money in your pocket! Strange....the IRS helping solo entrepreneurs for a change!

SBA These courses are all self-paced and should take a little over 30 minutes to complete. Most of the courses require a brief online registration but it's worth the information.

SCORE Some of these are basic for those still thinking about starting a home-based or road-warrior business, but there are also more advanced courses that are ongoing to help your business grow.

Agile Conference For my UK readers, this is a great place to find out what the large companies look for in outsourcing partners and gets you in front of decision makers if you want to supply your products or services to the big boys.

Women and Minority Owned Business 2007 Conference and Business Opportunity Fair being held in Miami. Here's where you get to network with hundreds of successful entrepreneurs and business prospects in one setting.

This site is where to go online if you prefer to do your networking at industry trade shows, Ultimate Trade-Show Find trade shows for just about any industry and anywhere on the globe. You can check by location, dates or by industry. 2008 is just around the corner, so be sure to download one of the free Excel spreadsheets for planning your business trip next year.

That's it for today and I leave you with this

The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.~ Vince Lombardi

Quick Warning: New Email Scam Running Rampant

Hey folks,
I'll be back with a new post on Saturday but I wanted to give you a heads up about a new scam I see.

My throw away email account received 150 (buggers must have been bored!) bogus 'mailer daemon: mail undeliverable' notices over the weekend. It wouldn't have seemed strange except I get to see where all my email messages originate - these were not from valid email addresses from my address book.

Before you click one thinking it may be legit - consider how many emails you have actually sent in the past 24 hours. It wouldn't hurt to also clean your email junk and bulk folders once in a while, if you use Yahoo then you know how many spam emails slip through.

Just a heads up and be careful out there!