AEX Small Business Finance Blog

Always Have a Plan (and a Plan B)

1/24/2020

The benefits of planning (and having a Plan B) are made crystal clear when implementing strategies for both thought leadership and retirement planning. As with many decisions and challenges, alternative solutions should be considered before finalizing choices. For example, I recently published an article that used a true-or-false format to discuss options for overcoming retirement challenges.

Cost-Effective Alternatives for Thought Leaders

Successful thought leadership involves publishing content that consistently establishes an individual or an organization as “different” and “better than competitors” — but aspiring thought leaders inevitably struggle with how to do this. As illustrated in the SlideShare presentation shown below, four of the most effective and practical choices include the following:

Case studies
White papers
Extended articles
True or false series

True or False? Thought Leadership Choices from Stephen Bush

The next step:

Prior to beginning a consulting, ghostwriting or business coaching project with Steve Bush, you can book a no-cost call here:

Call Scheduling — Steve Bush

Thought leaders should always have a Plan B.

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Content Marketing and Writing: 5 Examples of the Best and Worst Strategies

3/6/2019

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Consumers continue to raise their standards and expectations as they read marketing content in various formats. While inbound marketing is a popular concept with businesses of all sizes, the well-meaning process is likely to be confusing to buyers and readers if the underlying content is based on obsolete communication techniques. This brief overview will focus on two extremes — the best and the worst strategies (based on an in-depth content writing article that I published earlier this year).

For those who want their good news and bad news briefing in a video or presentation format, both options are provided below (SlideShare presentation and YouTube video). Please note that my original article contains seven examples of strategies that work and seven approaches to avoid — the video and presentation versions (as well as this condensed summary) omit a few examples in the interest of brevity.

Content Marketing Strategies That Work (and Some That Don’t) from Stephen Bush

Five Examples of the Best Content Marketing Methods

Here are five illustrations of content writing strategies that work:

Customer-Centric Content Marketing
Educational Content
Thinking Outside of the Blog
Enhancing Content Research and Communication
Personally Created and Original Textual Images

Including one or more personally created textual images is a prudent strategy for multiple reasons such as these: (1) A textual image provides valuable and concise information for visual thinkers as well as readers who increasingly scan articles instead of reading from start to finish. (2) A personalized and customized textual image facilitates targeted communication by including short phrases that are directly relevant to the content of the article. (3) Emphasizing the practice of using original textual images helps to minimize the inclusion of non-original stock photos. (4) Some search engines appear to penalize content with duplicate images and reward content with original images. (5) With proper planning and design, textual images provide another method to communicate with prospective consumers and busy readers. Lee Iacocca’s ageless business wisdom might be helpful to reinforce the value of this particular benefit --

“You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.”

Five Examples of the Worst Content Writing Strategies

Some approaches to content writing are especially ineffective in making a positive impression with potential buyers of products and services. Five of the worst methods are the following:

Recurring Use of Non-Original Images
Blog Networks
Traditional Press Releases
B2B and Other Strategies Without a Personal Touch
Developing Content by Using the Lowest Bidder

For those who are unfamiliar with the potential problems created by using a low-bidder mentality, I will illustrate how the concept works on freelancing websites. If a business owner, corporate executive or marketing agency wants to create a series of articles in support of a company’s marketing strategy, one way to proceed is to search for a freelance business writer to complete the project. By listing the project on a freelancing website, the hiring individual can then select from among competing proposals and bids. It is not unusual for content managers to select either the lowest bid or one slightly higher in an effort to keep costs as low as possible.

On the other hand, many of the best writers frequently submit bids that are much higher than the low-bidding competition. For example, I am frequently among the highest bidders for many successful projects. In a recent article, I spoke about the limitations of selecting the lowest bidder to produce content designed to help consumers make a buying decision: “The potential for problems is often increased when business writing is outsourced to a ‘low bidder’ from a crowdsourcing website. Customers seeking educational content have high expectations — is it reasonable to expect that a low-bidder mentality will meet and exceed these expectations?”

The next step:

If you would like to talk before starting a business writing, consulting or career training project with Steve Bush, you can arrange a no-cost preliminary call (15-30 minutes) here:

Schedule a Call with Steve Bush

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Defining Business Rules and Terms of Engagement for B2B, B2C and H2H

3/6/2018

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Since work environments and business development campaigns often involve potential conflict, it seems appropriate to inject terminology usually reserved for military confrontations — rules of engagement. This military concept refers to guidelines for handling provocative actions by opposing forces. In extending the term to business applications, it is my intent to suggest a clearer path for making decisions about everyday issues such as blogs, business proposals, press releases, marketing and planning.

Defining and understanding key constraints and problems is a critical step in formulating workable business rules of engagement. While I could easily devote several thousand words to this thought process, my mission here is to introduce six terms that might be unfamiliar to some:

Zombie Business Problems
Thinking Outside of the Blog
Unsolicited Business Proposals
Textual Images
Customer-Centric Content
The Power of No

More details about each of these business concepts are provided below.

Zombie Problems

Perhaps the best way to explain Zombie Business Problems is by referring to challenges that continue to recur in organizations of all sizes. The “Zombie” descriptor is appropriate because these are problems that keep on coming back to haunt you. Regardless of what you choose to call these challenges, they will typically cause irreparable harm if allowed to continue unabated. Here is a short video that I produced about these special recurring problems:

Think Outside of the Blog

Business blogs continue to be misunderstood and misused by many. I believe that alternative content strategies will pay (much) higher dividends than a traditional blog post. Key examples include extended articles, case studies and white papers. I produced a series of presentations, articles and videos about Thinking Outside of the Blog — here is one of them:

Thinking Outside of the Blog from Stephen Bush

Unsolicited Proposals

Business proposals are traditionally submitted in response to a formal RFP (Request for Proposal) process. But unsolicited proposals are often more effective (and successful) than those that are requested because of less competition and the opportunity to be a standout in the crowd. Instead of only using proposals for RFPs, seize the initiative and submit proposals to prospective clients without either a formal or informal request to do so.

Unique Textual Images

The changing landscape for both online and offline content presents serious challenges because an increasing number of readers scan articles rather than reading everything. While short videos and presentations can be effective in meeting this challenge, another viable alternative involves the use of textual images — showing relevant phrases instead of people or things. Two examples are provided within this article. The first one involves a GIF format that only works for online content; the second example is a collage of five separate textual images that I published. In addition to providing a visual communication opportunity, textual images allow users to include unique visual content rather than duplicate stock photo content.

Content That Is Customer-Centric

The “old-fashioned” way of selling goods and services is known as marketer-centric (also referred to as brand-centric) because marketers were typically in charge and insisted on controlling how and when consumers would receive information. Key examples of this outdated sales process are cold calling and traditional advertising. In contrast, today’s buyers increasingly insist on being in control and at the center of the sales process — hence customer-centric. This is exemplified by inbound marketing processes and educational content that is not promotional.

Using No (and Yes) More Effectively

“No is perhaps the most important and powerful word. Saying No the right way is crucial.” (William Ury)

The ability to use both “no” and “yes” effectively can be a challenge for even skilled negotiators and managers. If you need help in this area, William Ury has written a practical and useful trilogy — The Power of a Positive No, Getting Past No and Getting to Yes.

Two Common Themes for Business Rules of Engagement

The Bottom Line:

H2H (human to human) sales processes are frequently more successful than B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to consumer) sales processes. I consistently see two themes appearing in B2B, B2C and H2H scenarios:

The importance of preventing or minimizing mistakes — especially recurring mistakes.
The ongoing value of contingency planning — Always Have a Plan B.

The next step:

If you would like to talk before starting a business writing, consulting or career training project with Steve Bush, you can arrange a no-cost preliminary call (15-30 minutes) here:

Schedule a Call with Steve Bush

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Commercial and Residential Pest Solutions

9/15/2017

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Non-Toxic Methods: Mosquitoes, Bed Bugs, Termites, Ants, Ticks, Flies and Fleas

Are you looking for successful and eco-safe ways of dealing with mosquitoes, fleas, bed bugs and other common pests? If you truly insist on “success’ and “non-toxic” as your primary criteria, you will probably end up with a very short list of viable candidates. My personal finding is that scientifically formulated cedar oil products belong on this short list — but unfortunately in taking this route you will need to avoid some “pretenders” and “cost cutters” when making your final cedar oil product selection.

Flood waters and high temperatures can produce an ideal environment for many pests, but even routine weather can be conducive to a burgeoning pest presence. Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma produced multiple impacts that were felt immediately by both commercial real estate and residential property owners and renters. However, some of the most complex challenges will appear a few days and weeks after initial storm damage in the form of increased pest populations that include mosquitoes, ants, flies and termites. While there are many “traditional” pest solutions for these ongoing problems faced by real estate owners everywhere, most of these annoying and dangerous pests have been able to outwit a high percentage of the pest control strategies.

Multiple Strategies for Handling Fleamageddon and Other Pest Problems

Many of us probably limp along with less-than-satisfactory pest solutions — until the problem becomes overwhelming. For example, the most recent winter in Ohio was so mild that it contributed to a larger population of fleas during the following spring and summer. Our “normal” approach of using Frontline Combo for both cats and dogs seemed to have little or no impact this year. For a detailed overview of our response, I suggest that you read my wife’s recent accounting of our experience — A Multi-Pronged Approach for Fending Off Fleamageddon.

As Blythe notes, pest control for fleas or anything else is rarely a straightforward “one and done” activity. Almost always, genuine success usually involves multiple strategies and actions taken to cure what ails you. I strongly urge you to do your own research (as I did) before going down a new path. For example, in reviewing the viability of cedar oil as a non-toxic alternative for killing fleas, I discovered some controversies a few years ago about the claims made for reducing bed bug problems with cedar oil. In my opinion, the bulk of the controversy was spawned by chemical manufacturers and professional pest control companies that did not want their current and potential customers to discover an effective non-chemical approach to the problem.

Fast-forward to today and I believe the biggest current challenges with cedar oil for successful pest management are threefold:

The “other ingredients” in cedar oil sprays such as silica hydrate (aka hydrated silica)
The source of the cedar oil and subsequent fractionating
The amount of cedar oil used in a spray formula

Cedarcide and Cedar Oil

Several cedar oil marketers have stopped using silica hydrate altogether because of “supply issues” — the real reason appears to be one based on reducing their costs while still charging the same (or more) for their product. Cedarcide ultimately found (with about 20 years of research) that the Texas Red Cedar (just one of more than 300 cedar tree species) was the “winner” in cedar oil sourcing — but only by also modifying and fractionating the cedar oil. As a direct result of the scientific sourcing and modifications, Cedarcide spray is safe to use on cats and kittens. Cedarcide fractionates the cedar oil to remove toxic ingredients such as terpenes and phenols that can be dangerous for small mammals.

The Cedarcide original spray continues to contain 10% cedar oil and 90% silica hydrate while the much cheaper Cedarcide D.A.S. (domestic animal spray) uses a 3% cedar oil and 97% ethyl lactate and water formula. With our own fleamageddon, we ultimately used both versions in addition to the Cedarcide patented flea and tick pet brush — I strongly endorse all three Cedarcide products based on our recent personal experience with fleas, and the company has many more pest solutions to consider for dealing with fleas as well as mosquitoes, bed bugs, termites, ants and ticks.

As noted above, pest control involving fleas and other pests is likely to be more successful when applying multiple solutions. As I reiterate throughout the AEX Commercial Financing Group website, “Always Have a Plan B.” With our first-hand indoor flea experience, the use of Cedarcide, both a flea brush and flea comb, flea traps (with light bulbs) and a top-notch vacuum cleaner (the Miele C3 cat and dog canister vacuum) each contributed to our final success. But we will need to be vigilant in coming months and years as well! As a favorite quote from “Galaxy Quest” suggests, “Never give up! Never surrender!” And never forget Plan B, C and beyond for lasting success with pest solutions.

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AEX Commercial Financing Group does not accept paid advertising, links or sponsored content on this website. AEX and Stephen Bush may earn revenue based on business relationships with partners.

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Making Better and More Informed Choices: To Avoid or Use?

5/26/2017

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Food (and Water) for Thought

I want to share four observations about common components often involved when taking personal healthcare supplements — I strongly believe the following ingredients should be avoided whenever possible:

Number 1 to avoid: Stearates in all forms
Number 2 to avoid: Maltodextrin
Number 3 to avoid: Strontium in higher doses
Number 4 to avoid: Fluoridated water

Here is a more detailed summary of my findings:

1 — Stearic acid and other close relatives

Magnesium stearate (and its many variations such as stearic acid and vegetable stearates) continues to be used in far too many supplements. In our own household, we were using approximately 10 different supplements with this highly suspect ingredient at one point. There are additional unworthy ingredients in many supplements — key examples are carrageenan, dioxides, laurates and sulfates. A number of commercial concoctions contain multiple culprits. For example, Allegra 24-hour tablets have silicon dioxide, magnesium stearate and titanium dioxide; Dr. Tobias multi-vitamins have vegetable stearic acid and vegetable magnesium stearate. After much research, I have personally decided to focus on manufacturers that take the “high road” — one prominent illustration is NutriGold with a highly principled stand concerning magnesium stearate and similar ingredients. However, some of the attempts to avoid these questionable components are likely to be much harder than others. To mention just one frustrating experience, seemingly all of the readily available tablet or capsule alternatives to Allegra tablets have at least one (and frequently more) problematic ingredient. My own solution to reduce congestion and allergy symptoms (developed with the involvement of my ENT specialist) involves Flonase Sensimist. This is a 24-hour product (since February 2017, available over-the-counter without a prescription) that is both alcohol-free and scent-free — an important consideration for anyone who dislikes the often objectionable fragrance of regular Flonase sprays.

2 — Maltodextrin regardless of the source (but it comes from corn more often than not)

Avoiding maltodextrin is also advisable with both supplements and foods. This ingredient is often derived from corn but can also be produced from other starches such as rice, potato and wheat. If you haven’t already noticed, the corn industry has an almost infinite number of corn-related ingredients that have made their way into our foods. For example, in Multigrain Cheerios, you will find whole grain corn, corn bran and corn starch. In other products, corn variations can include citric acid, confectioner’s sugar, sorbitol, corn flour, monosodium glutamate, corn oil, diglycerides, corn meal, corn fructose, dextrose, dextrin, malt and fructose. Even if you’re not allergic to corn, the sturdiest body can begin to rebel from an internal assault due to the numerous and common variations of corn. For example, many versions of vitamin C supplements use ascorbic acid as the source of vitamin C — the source of ascorbic acid is typically either GMO or non-GMO corn. Viable vitamin C solutions that do not include corn are offered by responsible supplement providers such as Garden of Life.

3 — High doses of strontium

Strontium is simply not the helpful ingredient that many of us probably thought — I know that I was initially fooled. While it continues to be acceptable to take in small doses incorporated in some organic plant calcium supplements, larger doses included in most strontium supplements appear to be problematic at best — make sure you do your own strontium research before continuing or starting supplements that have more than nominal amounts of strontium.

4 — Fluoride in your water

For those convinced that all fluoride is a good thing, please think again and examine the issue more closely. A suggested starting point is a discussion of 50 reasons why fluoridation should be avoided by most of us. As for practical solutions, I advocate reverse osmosis for all who are financially willing and able to spend a little to avoid a potentially big problem — for about $20 per month in many cases.

Food (and water) for thought? My hope is that the observations above will at least serve as a starting point for further review and consideration.

Avoidable Risks in Supplements

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<<Previous

Always Have a Plan (and a Plan B)

Content Marketing and Writing: 5 Examples of the Best and Worst Strategies

Defining Business Rules and Terms of Engagement for B2B, B2C and H2H

Commercial and Residential Pest Solutions

Non-Toxic Methods: Mosquitoes, Bed Bugs, Termites, Ants, Ticks, Flies and Fleas

Making Better and More Informed Choices: To Avoid or Use?

Thinking Outside of the Blog

Stephen Bush: Business Coaching — Consulting — Training — Business Writing