The Blog - Where Business Collides with Human Nature

The slideshow below reviews the last 36 months from random websites to consider B2B website traffic trends.  Consider these as you answer "Does it matter?" or "Let's take it easy, no one cares".

Considerations:

The charts show 36 months of history. Some websites will only show what is available.

These charts are from B2B websites, and each company have a different level of engagement along with a unique marketing strategy.

All of the websites from this random selection use HubSpot. The reports are from the “Sources” tool inside the all-in-one marketing system.

Small business owners begin the journey with hope and determination as they overcome fears and persist regardless of barriers. Fortunately, there are support programs to ensure success. 

Fifteen small business owners across the state of Washington graduated from the SBA Emerging Leaders program, a seven-month executive education program for local business on the brink of growth.  

“Small business owners often know where they want to take their business, but struggle with how to get there. The Emerging Leaders initiative provides the tools and expert guidance to spark sustainable growth,” said SBA Seattle District Director Nancy Porzio.

According to Seattle Emerging Leaders Instructor Mary Marshall, “every $200 the SBA invests in the Emerging Leaders program creates a new job in the local economy.”

As you read the names and businesses of the graduates, remember how recognition, celebration, and congratulations are as easy as:

1. Picking up the phone.
2. Sharing a blog.
3. Pointing others to their business via social media or email.
4. Making a comment on their social media accounts.
   
5. Sending a personal "Way to go!" card in the mail. (Yes. The mail) 

Or if you are local, you may decide to visit in person on the way to your next destination.

The SBA has done the work and made the announcement. I have added website links for you to click below. It takes less than five minutes to make an introduction and make their day. 

This particular marketing chart shows how social media accounts does little to influence decisions while peer recommendations is an important influence. 

What it does not tell you is whether the vendors use social media tools to connect and add value or instead used in traditional methods similar to broadcasting.  However, the study also demonstrates that buyers feel that vendors’ social activity can help establish a company’s credibility.

MarketingCharts.com article refers to the survey:

There appears to be demand for more marketing technology, according to the report, as more than 4 in 10 feel that their existing stack is out-of-date and insufficient."

You have seen tutor signs similar to the one above and while their entrepreneurial commitment is appreciated, you will move on to another who has more skills.

Needs

"Learn" is one of the four "Ls" in "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey. (Live, Love, Learn, Leave a Legacy) When a person stops learning, part of that person dies. Learning is more important than many realize. I highly recommend the book by Mr. Covey.

Free Educational, Training and Testing Resources

Free educational resources are available at Varsity Learning Tools. Over 75,000 professionally have written problems and thousands of distinct practice tests across 150 subjects. This includes subjects like history, math, foreign languages, and science for all experience levels.

This is especially important now for more professionals who compete in the world where the youth appear to be more "up to date". Those of us over 42 years of age know this is NOT true but must still find ways to prove that we are not antique dinosaurs ready for pastures.

Varsity Learning Tools also offers practice tests and problems for common standardized tests like the ACT, SAT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, ISEE, and SSAT.  http://www.varsitytutors.com/practice-tests

40 million

To date, students have completed more than 40 million problems on the Varsity Learning Tools platform. Each question is tied to a specific academic concept, which means your students can pinpoint their particular strengths and weaknesses in almost any area.

Nothing is as simple as it sounds but understanding the principles keeps you on the track. Five key elements to getting rich:

Mindfulness involves acceptance, meaning that we pay attention to our thoughts and feelings without judging them—without believing, for instance, that there's a “right” or “wrong” way to think or feel in a given moment.

Mindfulness is a popular method to handle emotions by paying attention to them. It is derived from the Buddhist concept Sati. 

You may practice mindfulness since a very young age but not realize it. Here are a couple examples:

At Lafayette Elementary School in Northwest Washington, Sofia Parodi recently took a coveted seat at the head of the classroom and asked a fellow fourth-grader to switch off the lights and instructed the class to “Close your eyes and take three deep breaths,” They fell into a familiar rhythm of silently counting their breaths, then sharing their experience with their classmates.. Source: The Washington Post

Mumpreneur Dani Matthews shares the weekly mindfulness schedule she has set. Source: The Huffington Post

Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist leader who introduced mindfulness to Westerners (Google got first dibs on him as a guest speaker), once said, “The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention.” Yet for the majority of sentient beings today, simply getting through an episode of “The Big Bang Theory” without tending multiple screens is a quasi-mystical triumph. Naturally, the architects of our electronic age approach the situation as if it were an engineering problem.

... the architects of our electronic age have invented an app for that!

If you’ve ever been told that you could make easy money and it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Pyramid schemes often sound like enticing business deals, but fraudsters may use this “business model” - to take advantage of you.

"The SEC’s guidance on pyramid schemes advises investors to “exercise caution...if what is being sold is speculative or appears inappropriately priced.” But experts say this can be difficult to judge.

Pyramid-scheme operators have “learned the techniques of saying we’re a legitimate company,” by purporting to want to make money mostly from sales, rather than new recruits, said Joseph Mariano, chief of the Direct Selling Association.

There is no hard-and-fast test of whether a scheme is legitimate, according to lawyers. Instead, the decision rests on what is often a complicated analysis of revenues and other factors. “It can be like nailing Jell-O to a tree proving they’re pyramids,” said Kevin Thompson, an attorney for multilevel-marketing companies." - WSJ,com

Before you invest your time and money, it’s important to ask good questions and research the company.

Here are some typical characteristics of a pyramid scheme:

• Emphasis on recruiting
• No genuine product or service is sold
• Promises of high returns in a short period of time
• Easy money or “passive income” (money you earn without doing anything)
• No demonstrated revenue from retail sales