Opp Biz Dev

Can We Really Do Anything About The Economy?

Some thoughts while starting the day today--thoughts about this "down economy" we are in.

I travel a lot and have the opportunity to speak with business people from all around the country.  When the subject of this economy comes up, there is something I have noticed that is almost universal in individual attitudes to this subject: people talk about it like the economy is something out of their reach completely, something over there. 

To some degree that may be true.  Surely there are other forces at work.  But is the economy something we can control?  Or should we all just throw up our hands and ride it out, hoping it doesn't have a bad ending for one and all?

To answer that question, I think we have to take a peek at this question:

    Of what is a an "economy" composed?  What is an economy?

One definition I like comes from Merriam Webster:

"A system especially of interaction and exchange <an economy of information>"

If we use that definition, we can take a look at almost any area and essentially see how much exchanging and interacting is going on.    That might apply to a whole country or a even just a household.

It also implies something else.

Getting more done in less time

If productivity is something you'd like to improve at your company, watch this video.

Virtual Asistants--Some Feedback

Been meaning to do a post on this virtual assistant phenomenon lately.  If you don't know what I mean, there are firms offshore (and individuals in the States) now that will let you have an assistant for 20 or 40 hours a week, let's say, at a very affordable rate.  They are committed to your business for the contracted period.

Typically these are MBA-quality people in the case of those in India.  They are adept at research, digesting information, preparing it for presentation (powerpoints, etc.) and that sort of work which would not require their physical presence.  If you consider it for a moment, this could be an awful lot of things which traditionally can get in the typical executives hair and distract them from income-producing activities, such as:

• Travel arrangements
• Copywriting
• Various creative services
• Legal work
• Administrative duties of almost any shape and size
• etc.

This is a growing profession and according to Wikipedia, has between 5,000-8,000 members (VAs) in the States.

A business partner and friend recently used an offshore VA for a month.  I was dying to know how it went since I had just read a book about VAs and it seemed very innovative as a way to get more done without having to take on a lot of salary.  Greg, my friend, said you can get a VA overseas for about $1,000 for 40 hours of work, if I'm not mistaken.

We caught up today and had a quick Skype chat where I asked him how it went. Here's what he had to say...

How Strong Are Your Customer Relationships?

The first person I spoke today on the phone was my friend Mike.  He's got a business selling a certain kind of automotive part to auto shops and the like.  He does very well for himself and I often like to hear what he's up to, but today was particularly interesting because he was under attack.   And let's face it, there's nothing quite as invigorating as a good fight!

Tracking Customers and Contacts

One of the most important things you can do is track your clients and/or contacts.  There are about as many programs out there today which supposedly help one to do this as there are people to track.  ACT!, Outlook, Goldmine, Salesforce.com. These are just a few.

One of my personal favorites, lately, is one called Highrise HQ, by a company called 37 Signals.