Tips for Baby Boomers in Business: * Startup marketing * SEO copywriting-content * Online marketing trends
I wasn't going to blog any New Year's resolutions - and I'm still not going to - but I am breaking my rule of always providing original content, because I found these 7 Truths from Scott Ginsberg (NametagTV.com) that I really must share.
Many of us have already quit our cozy corporate jobs, and probably need to be reminded of these 7 Truths. They're not easy, and only a few of us actually have them all mastered when we go out on our own. But some of us are divers and some are toe-dippers. We'll all get there in good time.
Click on the link below to read Scott's full article:
It's probably easier than you think to make a mistake in choosing your online marketing keywords. Most people assume that the knowledge already in their heads is enough to target the best search words. It's a common error, forgetting to get into the mindset of your client or customer, but top marketers do the research that gives insights about how best to serve the customer or client.
The most important thing to know about keywords is which ones are already being searched for the most often.These will be the words you choose from, rather than the ones in your own head. After all, you want the greatest number of new online searchers to find their way to your site. However...
Another important consideration is: Who else is using the same keywords as you?Your choices could have you going up against bigger businesses with flashier sites and more ads. In that case, you would be wasting your effort -- and if you are doing a pay-per-click (PPC) ad campaign, also wasting your money.
When you analyze it, your small business needs to find its search engine opportunities in areas that relate to your business without putting you up against 10,000 of your strongest competitors!
So, somewhat counter-intuitively, your small business marketing plan will not employ the keywords that were searched 200,000 times last month. That "niche" is full to bursting. You'll be better off using keywords that 2,500 - 5,000 people searched for last month, niches that are not 100% saturated by your competition.
Another important thing to know is that keywords are often comprised of more than one word:e.g., "small business marketing," rather than "business." When you research keywords, look up as many of these keyword phrases as you can think of. Savvy use of these key two- and three-word phrases can greatly improve your success rate.
Once you have determined a set of keywords that should work well, make sure they appear in your page content in various ways:
First, they are most easily found by the search engines in your headings and bullet points.
Next, they should be sprinkled in your textual content as well, of course, but not in suspiciously high concentrations. This can be offputting to both search engines and visitors.
Use them in your tags, page names (for example, don't title a page "homepage" -- work in a keyword, such as "eye care" or your band's name) and in your site's name (as in "alternative-medicine.com").
Most important of all, never become complacent.Update your keyword research every month or two to be sure you're competing in the right niche. Also, study your Web analytics (e.g., SiteMeter, Google Analytics) carefully. Which keywords increase traffic to your site?
A social marketing plan is part of your overall marketing strategy, and as such must be tailored to your specific needs. But various forms of social marketing can eat up a lot of your time unless you carefully target your goals. In order to do that, you’ll need to:
1.Create a presence.
You can do this at no cost. Linked In, the social site for professionals, is a good place to start, precisely because, besides giving you a free page that links to your Web site and blog, it is fundamental to establishing your credibility yet, once set up, does not require much in the way of updating.
The exercise of setting up your page is much like writing a resume – not much fun, but worth the effort. In addition to trumpeting your experience, the site helps you learn to pack a lot of information into very few words by answering the question, What are you doing? As you answer – and update – this question, be sure to use your keywords.
2.Make a schedule you can stick to.
Remember to make a schedule for tweeting on Twitter.com – both because you don’t want to forget and lose your online presence, and because you don’t want tweeting to be the only thing you accomplish all day.
3.Provide good, engaging content.
Always be brief, direct and casually friendly in your marketing communications. Try to be as helpful as possible, and remember that the magic words are “you” and “free.” Dishware, toasters and matchbooks are so last century – so find something you can give away instead, even if it’s only a daily factoid, an interesting llink, a monthly eNewsletter, a quantity discount or a limited time offer.
A large part of marketing is getting into the customer/client mindset. What are your Web site or blog visitors searching for? What is the problem you can solve for them? If you go there, your marketing communications will be more successful.
4.Do your keyword research.
A good way to get into the customer/client/patient mindset is to use a keyword tool such as Google’s (https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal). The exercise of finding out what people are searching for will go a long way toward answering the question: What do your visitors need? (More about keywords in a future post.)
5.Be consistent in your delivery.
Get your social marketing plan in writing and refer to it frequently – at least weekly – to be sure that your efforts remain in the category of “effective,” and don’t slop over into the zone of “inefficient time-eaters.”
Tweeting, like blogging, takes a real commitment to refreshing content and establishing a strong online presence. So, why not do these activities together? When you complete a blog post, tweet a link to your post with an inviting short statement (e.g., 10 Ways to Maintain Good Health + url). Likewise, your blog can provide ideas for more tweets.
A good rule of thumb is 2-3 blogs per week, with the best days to post being Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. It’s also valuable to reply to other tweets and to retweet interesting tweets for your followers, as well as to comment on other blogs and tweets. For twitter, you really need to spend a few minutes each weekday. If you have someone who can handle tweeting for you, then the guideline is “the more, the merrier.”
Once you get beyond the newness of social marketing activities, you’ll see that connecting to people in this way can be very enjoyable, especially when you elicit responses, and you’ll receive at least as much as you give.
Tips for Baby Boomers in Business: > Startup marketing > SEO copywriting/content > Online marketing trends
You wear many hats, and your time is valuable. You can't spend time twittering like Ashton Kutcher or Roland Hedley. How should you use social marketing, and what should your marketing plan encompass?
If you're a solopreneur, very-small-business owner, health care or arts professional -- your social marketing plan needs to be: carefully thought outsimplebrieftargeteddoableconsulted regularly. My advice is to begin with the basics -- ignore Facebook for now, set up your profile as an expert on LinkedIn, and start using Twitter, sending a regular e-mail newsletter and blogging to stay in contact with your clients/customers/patients/fans.
1. Begin with your client list.
This should include not only family and friends, but also colleagues and acquaintances. Stretch out your circle to include even slight acquaintances, secure in the knowledge that your social marketing plan's goal is to stay in contact and nurture relationships, not to bother people with spammy ads. If you're a health professional, you may never have collected your patients' e-mail addresses -- they will feel flattered that you want to stay in touch.
This is the basis of your bona fides as a business person or professional. You are the expert. This is where you explain precisely what you are doing: what your specialty is, and how you can be contacted. Be sure to pursue the Recommendations feature. LinkedIn will show you who you already know on the site, and you can write recommendations for these contacts. People usually reciprocate and recommend you back.
Use your business name. Be sure to fill in your location and bio so that people can easily search to find you. Follow other companies in your business to see what your competition is doing. The most important thing is to establish your presence, and your value, by actually twittering. Don't just read what others write.
4. What to tweet.
Here's where I disagree with common practice. It is common for twitterers to send personal tweets about their day, as in "I was out running with my dog on the beach this morning." Who cares? These are, for the most part, boring, useless tweets, and they'll clutter up your followers' pages. Visit Mashable and follow their tweets. They always provide a friendly face and useful, usable information, or what we call good content. This, I think, is the prime directive.
5. Learn to Bit.ly or Tiny URL. To add value to your tweets, add a link -- to your blog, to a Web page you find interesting and on-topic, to a home or landing page...to good content. To save room for your tweet, shorten the link's url by signing up on http://bit.ly or http://tinyurl.com, copy your chosen link into the box to shorten it. Bit.ly allows you to tweet right from its page, then provides information about how many people clicked on your tweet's link.
These are the basics with which to begin. In subsequent blogs, I'll cover more details about your social marketing plan.
Tips for Baby Boomers in Business:
> Startup marketing
> SEO copywriting/content
> New (targeted) online marketing trends
What are the most important qualities for small buinesses?
1. Produce Results.
In your small business or practice, it's results that matter more than anything else. According to business consultant Nancy McKinstry, CEO of Wolters Kluwer, a consulting firm based in Holland, no matter how much clients or customers like you and trust your capabilities, you must demonstrate that you can produce the order, treat the ailment or put on the show.
2. Determine Your Direction.
The second thing you must have to thrive in business is direction. Set a direction for your business from the outset, create a plan, and get engaged in it. In a sense, what your business is, is who you are, so invest yourself fully and revel in the experience.
3. Develop Perseverance.
Ms. McKinstry also says that, because perseverance is so important, if you can find your way around or through the obstacles you encounter along the way, and keep moving ahead, that's just the quality you need for success.
4. Overcome Adversity.
Nobody drives straight forward all the time -- in setting up any business you’re going to be confronted with challenges. To persist when things go wrong is vital to your ability to survive and grow. What do you learn from adversity and setbacks? You find, McKinsky points out, that you're able to fall down, dust yourself off, and keep moving forward the next day.
5. Become a Problem-Solver.
Are you a good problem solver? Because starting your own business is like inviting a new set of problems into your life. But if you have -- or can learn -- a problem solver's mentality, you have a shot at reaching any level you aim for.
These are not necessarily qualities you have to have before you begin a business, but to consciously set out to master them is one of the best ways to keep yourself from becoming discouraged and giving up when the going gets tough.
Health, Arts and Small Business (SMB) Professionals:
Here we are being overwhelmed by a tidal wave of innovations in technology. I don't understand what Blu-Ray means. I think hi-def TV is a little creepy. And I worry that if I got an iPhone, I wouldn't be able to learn how to use it or its 10,001 apps. (I test drove a Prius once, and it's lack of "normal" controls made me feel like the car was controlling me instead of the other way around.)
Yet new technologies are transforming how business is done. And I guess the good thing about the Great Recession is that, because many of these new technologies are easily accessible and low-cost, it forces us to take advantage of them -- and rely on our own creativity -- sooner rather than later. Small business loans just don't exist right now, and costs must be cut, but marketing must continue.
1. Social Networking:
Certainly Twitterand Linked In are easy enough to use for marketing purposes. When I complete a blog post, I "twitter" about the topic and include a shortened link (see http://bit.ly/) back to the blog. This establishes me as a Twitterer who delivers helpful content on a certain topic. Meanwhile, back at the blog, I have attached a couple of Twitter gadgets: a button that encourages blog readers to follow me on Twitter, and a sidebar containing my latest Twitter topics.
Linked In helps me network with other professionals, and my profile contains a link back to my blog. I can also post a short "What I'm doing now" message that can attract searchers through my use of key words. Also available on Linked In is box.net, which allows my co-writer, a doctor, to share files with me as we write a book together. And as we write it, we are contantly sharing that fact with our followers, to build interest in our topic.
2. Images, Film, Video:
I was especially interested in Thomas L. Friedman's recent column in the New York Times, "The Do-It-Yourself Economy." At the same time that marketing budgets are squeezed, some easy-to-use Web sites allow the SMB do-it-yourselfer to enhance a blog or Web site with photo images, illustrations and videos from istockphoto. Check out the "Dollar Bin" -- you may find just the right images to spruce up your site.
3. Podcasts, Music:
If you're like me, you may think adding audio to your site is too "techy," but here are a couple of sites that make it easier. If, for example, you'd like to podcast on a topic that will interest your following, start with a script. Write it yourself, or use box.net to co-write it with a colleague. When the script is to your liking, visit voices.com to select a professional narrator. Instead of you spending days or weeks re-recording every time you make a blooper, a specialist you select in a bidding process will e-mail you a professional audio within hours of your request.
If you make a film or video, you may need a soundtrack behind it. Some sites even play an ambient tune or sound to welcome visitors. For example, when you land on a writer's site, you may hear the sound of typewriter keys clicking. Available downloads at audiojungle.net include music suitable for business videos, ads and Web sites. Some of the tunes play a loop, and all of the ones I tested were of high quality. A typical price is $12.
While you want to have an "online presence" -- the most important elements of which are your site, your blog and a LinkedIn profile -- it's also important to find ways to nurture your "local presence" as well.
But what are the best ways, given the demise of most of those low-cost print mechanisms of the not-so-distant past (e.g., Yellow Pages, fliers and newspaper inserts, Pennysaver ads, free toothbrushes or ballpoint pens with your name and number printed on the barrel)?
1. Tailor your approach to your locality:
The "generic" -- therefore not always useful -- advice given by many online marketers is to place low-cost ads in your local newspaper's online classified section and service directory (for example, under Chiropractor or Wedding Music).
However, many of us live in areas where the newspaper is either too large and expensive (e.g., The New York Times), or too small to be a helpful marketing tool (classified service or directory sections so tiny and buried, for example, that it would take a well-financed archeological dig to unearth them, which your typical online news reader is not about to do).
My local paper's site, for example, provides classified sections only for the most popular functions: Buying a car, selling a home, renting an apartment, finding a lost pet. A service directory exists, has it's own page even, but contains an insignificant number of entries, mostly imported from nationwide databases. It's irrelevant, hard to find, and no one will ever use it.
2. How to make the digital world work for you:
If you have not already done so, check out your local online resource. Many news organizations are suffering from the fact that local advertisers have not rushed to buy online advertising space, and neither should you, however...
These sites do offer something that can't be found anywhere else: truly local online communities. Seek out your newspaper's blogs, which have taken the place of "columnists." Read the articles that affect your business, then respond as an expert commentator -- as often as possible.
3. You can build your local presence very effectively simply by following a couple of local online communities:
Remember that you are commenting online as an expert -- that is, as an acupuncturist, jazz musician, chiropractor, painter, osteopath, photographer, holistic dentist, etc. (Artists also can comment on or review local arts events.)
Succinct, frequent expert commentary online builds name recognition. The pitfalls are: sounding arrogant, judgmental or too obviously selling your service. Don't become the local crank who comments just to vent or see his name in print.
But the rewards of this type of personal marketing are well worth the effort: First, what may just save online newspapers is their local blog communities. As they grow, so grows the influence of the organization -- and your impact along with it. Build a name for yourself as the go-to healer or artist in your community, and let your clients come looking for you!
Health and performing arts professionals: Is your Web site content working for you? The realization that you may need something better or less static is the first step in optimizing your site...but what's next?
Ask yourself: 1. What content could boost the number of visitors who schedule an appointment, listen to a demo then make a purchase, or contact you about a gig? 2. What can you offer that no one else can? What's unique about you? Continue to brainstorm: 3. What would visitors like to do on your site?
4. What do they need to know? What are they looking for?
Answers to health questions?
A quiz or contest offering a prize (CD) or a discount (on serial sessions)?
A free demo recording?
Fun facts about Chinese medicine and astrology?
Referrals, advice?
Now go back over your list: 5. Why is each topic necessary -- not for you, but for your visitors? (If it doesn't have a purpose, take it off your list.)
6. What will you need? For example:
Text
Pictures and profiles
Credentials, awards, testimonials
Completed projects, PDFs, links
Audio
Video
A way to collect e-mail addresses.
7. How can you project a friendly, talented and professional persona so that visitors see you're qualified to offer what you offer?
Updating the text on your site may not be enough: Consider completely rethinking your approach from the point of view of people interested enough in your topic to visit your Web page. Try to get inside the heads of the people who need you!
Boomers will create more small businesses over the next 10+ years -- and, therefore, more jobs -- than any other age group, according to John Martin, co-founder of the Boomer Project.
Not only will Boomers be creating small businesses, Boomers will also be spending:
According to McKinsey, Boomer households will outnumber younger households until 2016.
Boomers outspend younger generations by $400 billion, according to the Consumer Expenditure Survey.
The U.S. Census projects that the 50+ demographic will grow by 23% in the next 10 years, while the 18-49 group adds only 1%.
Boomer solopreneurs and entrepreneurs looking to bounce back after this recession should be getting ready to rock 'n' roll!
Here are three steps to getting those vital reviews.
1. Create an announcement: Your Web site is offering a specific number of free Ps/Ss -- in exchange for a review and a link back to your Web site.
2. Define the terms: In order to qualify for the free gift, the client or customer must have a blog or a major social network of followers.
3. Send the offering to your entire list. Also, of course, it goes on your Web site. And make a special effort to get your notice to the top bloggers in your industry.
Who has done this well: Check out a good example of this marketing tactic (during November only) at: PujBaby.com.
Boomers in Business: So the predictions are that this is likely to be another slow holiday spending season, what can you do about it? Here are seven savvy tips to help you zero in on the business that's out there this fall: 1.First, be sure to define your target customer precisely. Begin by knowing what problem your business solves or what pain it puts someone out of. Unless you have a very clear vision of who needs your product or service, you'll spin your wheels -- spending too much time or money to make money.Great example: Warm-Mouse by ValueRays.
2. Don't try to be all things to all customers. It is more effective to carefully delineate your benefit to the customer you have defined in step 1. What specific problem do you solve? What precise need do you fill? In one sentence: What service do you provide? (See Warm-Mouse above.) 3. Learn more about what your customers want. Many lacklustre entrepreneurs assume their customers want exactly what they want. Survey your customer list, your blog readers, your Web site visitors. Or use a service like surveymonkey.com. Let your customers tell you what they want: "Great product but your shipping cost's too high," etc. Then do your best to ease their pain.
4. Pitch to more affluent customers this season. They are more optimistic about economic conditions and are spending more and doing it earlier than other demographics. 5. Wrangle some product or service reviews. Give out some samples and let the power of the product review work for you. Depending on your offering, this will work better locally or nationally. Remember your customer demographic when going after reviews. (Don't forget to post any resulting quotes or testimonials on your Web site!) 6. Really work that list. Do you send one "thank-you" e-mail or make one call and that's that? Repetition works -- be there when your customer is ready for another solution. If possible, include social networking in your customer outreach. Incessant e-mails may not be ideal, so try to be where your customers are. Know who does this really well? JJill.(To keep this effective marketing going, you'll need to develop a process and a routine.)
7. Charge what you're worth. You may be tempted to repeatedly offer deep discounts, but experts say that's not an efficient way to make your business successful. Consumer psychology is complicated but, generally, people understand that they get what they pay for. And they will pay for what they believe is worth it.
Ever have one of those truly blah days -- it's overcast outside and foggy in your brain? Let's say you finally sit down to blog anyway, just to see what might come up.
My rationalization for just going with the blah mood today is that there's really more time than I think, and sometimes these fallow days are when my imagination gets some exercise.
Give creativity a chance
These little breaks give new information and ideas the opportunity to combine in new ways and bubble up from the cortex where they've been collecting them all week. For freelancers, bloggers, art/music/medical professionals and solopreneurs -- this is creative, from-the-heart time, and it usually holds a payoff for clients, customers and students.
This morning my Yogi Tea Ginseng Royal Vitality Daily Energy Tonic tea bag tag offered far better economic advice than Alan Greenspan ever did or Ben Bernanke is likely to: "Gratitude is the open door to abundance."
As the ungrateful bankers, traders and investment brokers of Wall Street line up to receive more giant year-end bonuses -- because they are much too valuable to endure the depredations faced by the rest of us -- we are left to wonder how we'll make it through the coming winter. Consumer confidence "unexpectedly" has slipped again, as Main Street gears up to cut back: on shopping, spending and gifting again this holiday season.
Where's that door?
We have been told that the economy has bottomed out and is recovering, but there's precious little evidence of that for freelancers, solopreneurs, alternative medicine practitioners and arts professionals: The Dow Jones goes up, the price of our gasoline follows.
Yet we can be grateful that things are not as bleak as they were a year ago, when people were being laid off right and left. And grateful that some sectors are again growing, at least in spurts, so that we occasionally get a trickle-down spurt of business as well.
Why is gratitude the door?
I'll answer that with more questions: Ever try to get a great business or marketing idea while you're in the midst of anxiety, worry and fear? When do the best ideas come -- in the shower, in your sleep, while you're thinking of something else entirely?
Yes to all that, right? All our "nightly news"-"instant news" -"morning news" mania does for us is show us what's going wrong. Only the long view turns out to be the accurate one. So relax a little, and plan for the upturn. Take stock of what you already have -- so much more than millions of people in this world -- and be thankful. Then open the door.
Boomers in Business: My circle of friends includes other freelancers, medical professionals, musicians and music teachers, entrepreneurs, graphic artists, writers, camp directors and substance abuse counselors. Only a few have health care supplied by an employer.
I am particularly fortunate -- I attained the freedom to do what I love for a living by first putting in my time as an employee of the State University of New York and the Counties of Westchester and Rockland. As a result, I have a retiree health plan that will carry me till I become Medicare eligible, and back me up -- by paying whatever Medicare doesn't.
What it's like to be without heath care coverage In the 1980s, when I divorced, I had no health insurance for myself or my daughter. We got by, eating healthfully, paying for doctors out of pocket and keeping our fingers crossed until I finally found a job with benefits. I remember my enormous sense of relief when that happened.
Around that time my daughter needed a great deal of testing and treatment for severe allergies, and I was able to see to it that she got everything she needed without missing much school. Medical care's more costly than ever before At today's prices, we would not have made it. Allergies, athsma, anxiety, rhinitis and sinusitis, bronchitis and hypothyroid are all conditions that seem to pass from one generation to the next in my family. As such, they could all have been counted against me as "preexisting conditions." Again, I was lucky.
What it's like to have good health care coverage Being covered by a plan that allows me to choose my own doctors and has never balked at paying for a lab test has meant incredible peace of mind. I've been hospitalized five times over the last 12 years -- about 25 days in all.
My husband, covered by my plan, has been hospitalized three times in the last five years, twice for kidney cancer. The cancer part was not easy, and took a lot of phone calls, but in the end, it was my PPO plan provider that assigned us a case worker who helped us find the information, doctors and hospitals that would be best for Stuart's condition...almost all of which was covered.
What it's like to fend for yourself The flip side, however, is that we were also people with medical insurance who were jerked around by hospital anesthesiology providers -- on several occasions. Everything would be covered except the anesthesiology -- because the hospital had agreements with private anesthesiology practices rather than its own staff anesthesiologists.
Those private practices were free to reject our insurance payments and demand enormous cash payments from us, and there was no recourse. Our experiences ran the gamut from the anesthesiology groups refusing to speak to us or negotiate, to hounding us with collection agency calls and quietly threatening lawsuits.I don't know that there's anything in the reform plans that will fix this -- I hope so. Do we need health care for everyone? Of course, we do. Costs are now so prohibitive, no one can make it without health insurance. We're way beyond the place where the neighbors bring in casseroles for a week, and the church takes up a modest collection. Those communities, for the most part, no longer exist. We must forge a national community. With everyone on health care insurance, the risks are spread out and the cost goes down.
Most of my friends purposefully keep their small businesses small -- it's hard enough providing health care for your own family, let alone for employees. Because the reforms support lower costs, they are good for small business, whether you have employees or not. Let your congressional representatives know you support HC reform and a public option.
Boomers in Business: If you're in the business of selling something, you can't learn too much about human psychology. I find today's news from Sweden intriguing. Here's a progressive, prosperous country with universal health care. It is moving forward on global warming issues, the latest of which is monitoring the carbon dioxide emissions from food production. Food products in Sweden now carry labeling that divulges the number of kilograms of carbon dioxide released into the earth's atmosphere during its production.
This means that raising beef for human consumption, for example, shows up as very inefficient and actually bad for the planet. Cattle are raised on huge agrifarms that create a methane mess. They are often given imported feeds that arrive via carbon-based, fuel-combusting transportation. Then they are shipped hundreds of miles to feed lots near slaughterhouses, and shipped again to distributors, etc. etc. All this produces a lot of nasty, and some unnecessary, emissions.
But wait a minute... On the other hand, chickens have much less of a negative impact, and beans grown locally in organic soil have almost no detrimental effect on the environmnent. At the fast-food restaurant, these facts translate into 1.7 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions for a hamburger compared to 0.4 kg for a chicken sandwich.
You'd think that rational, easy-going Swedes would just give up beef and choose chicken -- or edamame (soybean) salad. But they're just as resistant as the rest of us to changes in diet and giving up fatty foods -- despite the rational fact that paying attention to the food issue could cut "greenhouse" emissions by 20% to 50%.
Cater to the highest or the lowest impulse? People consume emotionally, not rationally, just like children. In this country, many people with diabetes so advanced they are in danger of losing their toes to gangrene continue to consume vast quantities of sugar, salt and fat to their heart's discontent.
But people can change I was lucky. When told mine was a high-risk pregnancy and that I could lose the baby, I started eating real, fresh foods, cooked at home without added salt or sugar. I gained only 12 lbs. over nine months, the baby arrived only slightly early, and her Apgar score was 9+. Best of all, over that space of time, I found out that real food tastes better. I've never craved hamburgers since, and that was 30 years ago.
Instead of catering to the lowest common denominator -- selfish indulgence of the same-old, same-old patterns -- smart businesses leap ahead of the trend, develop a product that's naturally and healthfully delicious, and don't brand it as a sacrifice. It works for food, clothing, energy, services and practically everything else.
Get out in front -- ethically People may complain briefly about yellowish light bulbs that take a couple of minutes to reach full brightness -- but eventually they respond to the "warmer," more flattering color and get used to lighting that "dims up." The "warm glow" compact fluorescents save money -- and they're actually kind of cool.
Why should The Next Best Thing have to be unhealthy for planet or people? Why not use your age and experience to just be cool!
Boomers in Business: Has America gotten into the business of prosecuting thought crimes? Here we are arresting another disgruntled American, Tarek Mehanna, and charging him with "conspiring to support terrorism" even though he was unable to become a terrorist, take any terrorist action, or support terrorism in any material way.
Tarek had seven long years -- 2001 to 2008 -- in which to plot. And two co-conspiring buddies. But this "terrifying trio" never even came close to pulling off an attack: They were repeatedly rejected for terrorist-camp training, in multiple countries. They abandoned their mall attack plans when their one weapons contact told them he could find no automatic weapons. And their so-called political targets have not even been identified because, say the authorities, they were never in any danger.
Plot or pipe-dream? Tarek's thoughts were pretty scary, yeah. The way he construed events, his own country was using the land of Mohammad as a base to attack Muslims. That's a fairly edgy outlook. And Tarek also thought he could justify killing civilians because they pay taxes to a government that "kills Muslims," and besides, most of them would be "non-believers" anyway. A thorough wack job, but apparently, not very threatening: more like inept, inexperienced, and ill-informed.
So at what point do irrational thoughts become an actual plot? Tarek the Pharmacist sort-of tried, ineffectually, to carry them out. Along with his two "friends" who are now telling the F.B.I. whatever it wants to hear in order to avoid jail time themselves. How trustworthy are they? We can't know: Only one has even been identified -- the other is tucked away somewhere growing beans to spill.
Beware the Source Even the evil "contact," Daniel Maldonado, now serving 10 years for getting himself into a terrorist training camp and plotting to overthrow the Somali "government" -- which hasn't even existed since the '90s -- couldn't lay his hands on three automatic weapons. Or maybe he just didn't take Mehanna and his pals too seriously.
Listen, I'm very glad the F.B.I. is aware of these killer wannabes. I'm just wary of frightening the populace into locking up American citizens and throwing away the key when crazy, homicidal ideas were, seemingly, all they had to throw at us.
Boomers in Business: One thing I actually have learned over time is to occasionally turn something over and look at the other side. I call these excursions into another dimension my "180s" because, surprisingly, things don't look wrong upside down, just more interesting, and more complex.
This time, what I found more surprising and interesting was not Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, but the absolute lack of pleasure taken by Americans in that honor. From the fundamentalist Right to the comics of the Left, all anyone can talk about is Mr. Obama's singular lack of action and the absurdity of receiving recognition for it.
Action: Is there a more American word? We get things done. We take military action. We are an active people who exercise rigorously. We prefer action movies. The action of our NRA rifles is well-oiled. A highly litigious society, we take legal actions against our doctors, hospitals, neighborhood restaurants, and neighbors. We carry through and put into effect, carry out tasks, execute decisions, and action the operations. Most of all, we go "where the action is," because that is the singular value we hold as a nation.
Intention: We have always cared less about intentions than actions--we forged a nation, demanded independence, and opened up the West. Intentions mean nothing to us without accompanying actions, follow-through, and resultant wins. That's why we don't get the same feelings of amazement and admiration a lot of the rest of the world has experienced since roughly a year ago when America renounced its Cowboy "action-figure" and voted in the man of values that include family, openness, honesty and diplomacy.
We don't even understand how Mr. Obama's could have won, but now that the fellow who renounced torture and secrecy and embraced openness and talk has taken charge, we can do nothing but carp about his "lack of achievement."
What Is Achievement? No one, from the Nobel committee to Obama himself, has claimed this prize in the name of achievement. Though the citation itself is short, apparently few of the pundits have bothered to read its text. For it is a recognition of "values and attitudes," as well as a call to further action rather than a prize for actions already taken.
The Prize is in recognition of extraordinary efforts made, a vision of peace shared, a new climate created, multilateral diplomacy emphasized, dialogue and negotiation preferred (all actions as well as achievements). From this side, it looks as if Mr. Obama has accomplished quite a lot and intends to do even more. Why Was the Prize Awarded? Not, actually, for the reason(s) most Americans assume (without checking the facts). The Nobel Citation literally encourages the pre-eminent global spokesman, Obama, to continue to work--in full view of the world--for arms control, toward constructive steps to slow climate change, and to further strengthening human rights.
The last line of the citation holds the key that Americans have largely ignored in their jaded and hot pursuit of snarky ingratitude. It is the one thing Americans most need to hear that has been most ignored. Aren't we willing to bend our necks a little and look at the bottom of this thing? What's there is a surprise, all right; it's a hopeful call to action, not to but from our "singularly under-achieving" President:
"Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."
Actual Text of the Nobel Citation:
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples.
The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.
Obama has as president created a new climate in international politics.
Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play.
Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts.
The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations.
Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting.
Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.
Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future.
His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.
For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman.
The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."
I know several Baby Boomers who are involved in the difficult balancing act of getting a small business going on the side while maintaining their day jobs:
When is the time to make the "leap" to self-employment?
What are the top priorities for your incipient business?
How do you keep from resenting your day job? Or worse, keep your boss from noticing your dwindling commitment?
Are you excited about your new business idea?
Can you ever really balance the two?
First, Know Yourself
If you are feeling the least bit uncomfortable or unsure, there's a good reason, and it's likely that it involves your intention. If your intention to start your own business is less than 100%, part of you is clinging to the security of your day job. As you look around, you see everyone getting steady paychecks and health benefits. It's going to be scary to go out on your own. And, you will be on your own—not surrounded by a lot of co-workers, at least not at first—and suddenly totally responsible for the success of a new enterprise.
Second, Lift Your Intention, or Let Go
It is very, very difficult to make the leap into self-employment—if you are paralyzed with fear or unsure that you are really capable of pulling it off. Your motivation needs to be very high—so, where does your motivation come from? How strong is it? Are you escaping from a day job that's a bad fit for you, or running away from challenges on the job that, if faced, could lead to higher satisfaction at work? If being your own boss is for you, go for it...if it's driving you crazy, let it go now. Before you've spent your life savings and disappointed your boss is the time to answer these hard questions. Then set a schedule for launching the new and leaving the old, and stick to it!
Third, Really Define Your Business Plan
If you're still unclear about how your start-up is going to succeed, that's where you need to focus all your attention. Think hard about who your customers will be, how you will find them, and what they will want from you. Do your "due diligence":
Research the market.
Study the competition.
Identify your niche.
Be very honest about what it will take to make your plan work.
Until your business plan is sharp and credible, you will have an "excuse" to take it slow. And you cannot do justice to both a job and a business. What if this were the last day of your life? What would you want to be doing and to have accomplished?
Fourth, Visualize Your Ideal Work Day
Part of your confusion about leaving the safety of your day job may be misunderstanding your own needs. How do you enjoy working? Are you a phone person? Are you a computer person? Are you an "outside" person who likes to give talks, visit companies, and persuade people in person? Close your eyes and imagine yourself at work at your new business: What does that look like? Your success may very well depend on matching your business plan to your personality. It's a mistake to leave yourself—and an honest appraisal of your strengths and weaknesses—out of your new-business equation.
Finally, Share, Share, Share
The more you talk, the more refined your "elevator speech," will become—and the more compelling your product or service will sound to yourself and to others. Sharing your business idea can make you feel more confident and stoke your motivation. Practice on people you know and then move on to people you meet. Stuart has been refining his ES by giving it every Wednesday at his networking group; I've seen "what he does" gradually become a part of "who he is." This is a good place to be—identifying yourself as the person who has left the day job behind and become the spokesperson for a new business.
Put an end to the discomfort of being caught between two voracious time-eaters (your job and your business):
Small business boomers: Where does Web page content come from? Yes, Virginia, there are experts who can help you with this. As a writer myself, my perception is that many, if not most, expert entrepreneurs have very little patience for putting their messages in writing, often with disastrous results. I'll give you a few quick examples.
1. "They'll get it--it makes perfect sense to me!" I've worked with all kinds of consultants--from financial services and risk management wizards; to human resource, benefit and retirement plan experts; to green building aficionados. These people are whip-smart in their fields, but many are lazy and impatient when it comes to writing up their findings. They slap something on the page using elaborate, often mysterious jargon, arguing that everyone who might read it already understands these things. So why write advisories or market your service at all? Who needs it? Everyone already understands everything. Except--studies show that people turn to the Internet to educate themselves, not to be mystified.
2. It would just take too much time to explain all this! Doctors, acupuncturists, optometrists, psychologists--these experts don't have time to sit and fuss with the written word. They already have too much paperwork, and packed schedules, too. Rare is the professional who will sit down to write a journal article or op-ed piece, let alone write informative copy for a website. One client set up a blog at my suggestion--to educate people interested in acupuncture and make her site more dynamic. I wrote the first few blogs, then she took over--and the frequency of posts slowed way down. So much for a dynamic website.
3. I'm too busy starting my business--I can't be bothered with a website! Surprisingly, given the enormous amount of activity on the Internet, more than 40% of small businesses have not even bothered to put up a website. Of course, it's not really all that surprising, given how confusing and time-consuming it can be to do just that. Even if you decide to invest in a full-service Web host, you're still going to have to organize what you know, what you do, and what you offer into a compelling written presentation. And if that seems overwhelming, how would you find a copywriter, anyway? And if you did, how much would one charge?
4. I put up a website--been there, done that! I know a dynamic entrepreneurial couple who have a website they worked very hard to put up, and their business has done quite well until it began to fall off this year. However, that was years ago, when they were just starting out, and since then nothing on their site has changed. They still a have gateway page with a lame logo animation. Gateways are rarely used anymore--they tend to irritate or discourage visitors. The site has no photos for visual interest and no handy contact page--buried somewhere at the bottom of a page is a telephone number. You can't click on the logo to instantly get in touch with them. The options they offer are not clearly and simply presented. Though their business relies on frequently updated technology, their website reflects old-style text and graphics, giving an impression of stodgy performance--yet nothing could be further from the truth. If only visitors could see what a wonderful business theirs really is! 5. I don't have the time or the patience This attitude can afflict all of us, even writers. However, the way to get past it if you are a budding entrepreneur is to get some sound advice--and fast. Find and hire an Internet marketer/content expert who will get excited about your business and guide youto a professional-looking website--and then keep it vibrant and updated as you build your enterprise.
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