I have my first business proposal sometime next week. I’m meeting with someone who is a potential client AND a potential investor to describe my idea, the research I have already done into it, and to get buy-in from them. I’m actually not trying to get any money from them at this point, but I’m [...]
I learned something new today about marketing. May be simple to others who have worked in this area for a while, but it was new to me. When trying to sell a product or service, your selling line should not be “This product will save you money” or something of the like. You open yourself [...]
I have a satisfied customer. That’s not unusual, or even noteworthy, for most businesses. However, how I got a satisfied customer is worthy of a post. I had been writing a bunch of scripts for this client over the course of the last 9 months. There have been ups and downs during the work, and [...]
I had a discussion this week with one of my client’s regarding the quality of my work. The client liked the guarantee I put on my work, and is now one of my advocates. He has already sent me business, which I would not have been able to get without him. That client, as well, [...]
I had an interesting set of interactions with one of my clients over the past couple of days. I had written a program to do some data analysis against a set of standards, which they provided. The client (or more precisely, one of the client’s employees) sent me the data I needed, I sent back [...]
When applying to work at a company, take care to write your cover letter carefully. This is not the time to demonstrate your eloquence, it is the time to get them to give you a call. Unless, of course, you are applying for a position as a writer, in which case my statement makes no [...]
As a consultant with several clients, it is of utmost importance that each of my clients feels that he or she is getting the top treatment from me. I rely heavily on recommendations from my clients to fuel my business, and this in turn requires that I treat my clients well. Part of this is [...]
I have, as mentioned in an earlier post, recently attended a networking event. I met with a few dozen people, and a few have tried to follow up with me, but most have not. Personally, however, I have not followed up with very many, and of the few who did try to follow up with [...]
Elie Kochman is the author of Advice for Small Business Owners and the founder of Optimal Upgrade Consulting. Using his experience working in the corporate world along with his exposure to the world of small businesses, he writes these articles to assist others avoiding common pitfalls of growing a business. His experience in the corporate world, building his own business, and working directly with other growing businesses has given him some perspective on the trials and pains of running a business.
