Do everything better - 18 ways to improve a small business - Industry Trend or Event

Home Office Computing, Oct, 1997 by David Wallace

Simplify Any Complex Task

Dan Gookin originated the For Dummies (IDG) series and has demystified everything from parenting to DOS in 26 books so far.

* Identify an objective and what the results will be. Otherwise, you don't know when you're done. Ultimately, you've got to know when to stop.

* Compare a project to what you know in everyday life. Is there an analogy to a car or a phone, or some other object you know well?

* Learn the terms -- you can't call something a lever if it's a knob. You can't call it a gizmo. Allow a two-week period to get familiar with software, for example, then go back and read the manual.

* Do what you can do: There's always something you can do to start. First tackle the projects you know or like, then move on to the tough part.

Cast a Wider Marketing Net

Lisa Skriloff is president and founder of New York-based Multicultural Marketing Resources Inc., a public relations and marketing firm that specializes in representing women- and minority-owned companies and organizations targeting them.

1. Advertise in ethnic papers and send press releases to their editors. Some editors consider it news when a company reaches out to a particular ethnic community.

2. Focus your attention on one new audience at a time. Use diverse approaches, including ads, direct mail, and introductions to a regional or ethnic chamber of commerce.

3. Display a sign in your window, such as Se habla espanol, when you offer aid in a second language.

4. Study industry or regional reports that identify significant markets. Two Miami companies, MSR Group (315-669-3900) and Strategy Research Corp. (305-649-5400), offer unique market details that are worth checking out. For instance, did you know that the amount of cold remedies and cosmetics that Hispanics buy is higher than the national average?

5. Seek input from someone familiar with the culture of the international audience you're addressing. New product introductions can be torpedoed by an inadvertent language blunder or cultural insensitivity.

Brainstorm New Business Ideas

Steve and Lori Leveen have expanded Levenger, their stationery and writing tools catalog business, each year since its conception in 1987, with annual sales today reaching $65 million.

Chart a new course. Zig when others zag -- there's a lot of opportunity in low technology and doing old things in new ways. Technology has a way of reaching its zenith after it's obsolete -- we have jet planes but people are still perfecting propellers.

Ask the experts. At least once a day, send a handwritten note to someone seeking advice. Snail-mail has become more powerful than ever. It stands out.

Be the expert. Gain credibility in your customers' eyes: You wouldn't buy jeans from Tiffany & Co. or jewelry from the Gap -- learn what your customers need and provide it.

Don't fear mistakes. If you don't occasionally have losers, you're not taking enough chances with product development. There's a lot of sameness out there today. You have to recognize which ideas are incremental changes and which are evolutionary or blue-sky.