Last week we talked about the art of negotiation from the point of view of the person with a product or service to offer. But there are two sides to every coin, and this week we'll be looking at the other one. That of the person trying to do the haggling, trying to score themselves a deal, and as such, hopefully earn themselves a slightly larger piece of PIE. The...
Many of you will probably remember making presentations from school, or worse, your time as a 9-5er. They're awkward, uncomfortable, nerve-wracking experiences. They're also essential to success. There will come a time, regardless of your business, where you will be faced with the task of presenting yourself and your business to prospective clients. There isn't really any getting around it. Fortunately, there are ways to make it a little easier...
Forget every racial stereotype you've ever heard. Everyone on the planet loves to haggle. Everyone loves to try and get a deal. Some may be more aggressive than others (and again, this has nothing to do with race), but in general, everyone will try to get something from you for cheaper than what it's offered. Make no mistake my friends, this is going to happen to you. It is unavoidable,...
As we're so fond of saying around here, there's an old saying. "Time is money." And it is. Time is definitely money. Time you spend doing other things, is time you could be spending making money. As we've discussed previously, self-employed people are generally the hardest workers, with the longest hours. That doesn't mean spend your every waking moment working. Far from it. But your time is valuable, no matter how you...
This is a subject we've touched on multiple times on this blog. The reason for that is because it is of the utmost importance in all facets of life, not just business. We've talked about how to properly make a good first impression, telling the difference between confidence and cockiness, communicating effectively via social networking, the importance of communicating over marketing, and so many others. It wouldn't be too much...
It is the tendency of far too many people out there to over-analyze things. An idea is put forth, and we immediately run over the possible variables and outcomes in our heads. This is without a doubt an important step in making a decision on whether or not to pursue a business venture, but it is by no means the first step you should make. After all, figuring out the best way...
It's been a while since I've started a post with this, so here's one for nostalgia's sake. There's an old saying that goes "think outside the box." You'll hear this one a lot in life. Work, school, social interactions, this particular phrase pops up literally everywhere. I'm sure I've even said it on this blog once or twice before really giving it some serious thought. And after doing so, I've...
Last week I spoke about holidays, and the importance of taking the time to enjoy them as your 9-5 brothers and sisters do. This week, both Canada and the United States celebrate the birth of our respective countries. And to quote a popular television series, "what better way to celebrate the birth of your country than by blowing up a small part of it." This of course means fireworks, which...
You want to talk about modern advertising, and lots of buzzwords will come up. "Social." "Integrated." "Consumer-focused." You name it. And hey, why not? They're all good ideas. But let's talk about good old fashioned guts. Now, there's a lot of different kinds of advertising. If you're making a sales pitch, you've got one set of goals, but building brand awareness is something else entirely. With brand awareness advertising, you're...
This should really go without saying, but first impressions are tremendously important. In life and business, the first impression you make can go a long way towards establishing how your future dealings, be they personal or professional, with a person (or company) will go. A good first impression can lead to a long-standing, beneficial relationship. A bad first impression can lead to no relationship at all. Obviously, the former is...