Success in Business: Lessons I Learned from My Youngest Child

I didn’t know when I first began having children that I would learn more from them than they would from me.  I certainly didn’t expect to learn about success in business from watching my youngest child, but that’s what happened. 

               For awhile, I’ve been working at making freelance writing into a full-time career.  It’s a dream I’ve had since college.  I’ve always known how to write, but I needed to learn how to market myself to succeed.   There have been many days I’ve just wanted to give up and do something else.  Then, I thought the successes of my 11-year-old son.    

               This child is the youngest of four.   He is the classic youngest child.  He is funny, smart, loves attention, talks incessantly and everyone in the family adores him.  My husband and I also believe that he’ll probably become a millionaire at a young age but will continue to live at home for free, because, well, it’s free. 

               Since he was able to walk and talk, this child has been intrigued by money.  He would pick up coins he found and put them somewhere safe.  He’d watch transactions that involved money.  Quickly, he figured out that if he had something to sell, people would pay him money.  And off he went. 

               These are the lessons I’ve learned from him. 

               First Lesson:  Plan and Execute.   When he was 4, we were doing some large scale renovations to our house.  My son decided that old scrap pieces of sheetrock provided excellent material for large artwork.  He began gathering them up, painting pictures on them and created an art shop in the corner of the house.   To him, this was not a pretend shop.  Each piece of art had a price and family members were expected to purchase something for full price.    He succeeded and made the sale not just because he had a captive audience but because he had an idea, put together a plan and executed it.  At age 4. 

               Second Lesson: Have confidence:  A year or so later, my child was a little older and still finding ways to make money.   One day, he was bored and I gave him play-doh.   Instead of seeing it as a child’s toy, he saw an opportunity to make more money.   He began making play-doh sculptures.  Then, he got a box and a chair and went out to the cul-de-sac with his sculptures.   I almost wanted to cry for him.  He wanted to sell play-doh sculptures on a quiet cul-de-sac in the middle of a workday.   My son located the contractors who were doing work on a neighbor’s house and sold a couple of his sculptures to them.   My son never lacks confidence that he will succeed and make the sale.  As a result, he always does. 

               Third Lesson:  Just do it and don’t waiver.   The same weekend every year, our neighborhood has a garage sale.   It’s a great day to have a garage sale, especially if you’re like me and hate putting them together.  You don’t have to advertise, because the neighborhood has done it.   My son has frequently put out items he wanted to sell.  This year, at 11-years-old, he took it to a whole new level.  The night before, he found items he wanted to sell.   These were not just one dollar junk items.  Instead, he looked for higher dollar items and researched what they were selling for online and then developed his price points.   His garage sale was about quality not quantity.  The next morning, he was up early and working hard.   A few times, people would ask if he had specific items they were looking for.   If we had them, he’d sell them, with my permission, of course.  Before noon, he had sold almost every item he had put out.   He negotiated very little on prices.  It was his best money-making venture ever. 

               I’m sure I’ll continue to learn from my son.  My future success in business will largely be owed to him.    

  

What You Should Include in a Press Release

     Writing and distributing press releases to promote your business should be an important part of your marketing plan.  Here are some tips on what you should include in a press release in order to make it work for your business. 

     Start with the 5 W’s.  Every press release should include basic information such as the 5 W’s: who, what, where, when and why.  By including information related to each of these, you will ensure that your audience has the most important information about your business or business event. 

     Begin with the most important information.  To write a press release, put the most important information at the beginning, preferably in the first paragraph.  While you don’t have to include the answers to all 5 w’s in the first paragraph, doing so is a great strategy.  Ideally, you want the reader to get the most important information first so if he doesn’t read past the first paragraph, he still gets the most important facts.  This is especially true if you’re writing a press release about an event.  In the first paragraph, you want to include the dates and times (when), type of event (what), location (where), who (your business) and why. 

     Include quotes and details for interest.  Quotes and statistics help lend interest and credibility to your press release.  Of course, what you use depends on the topic of the press release.  For example, if you’re having a special event or promotion, you may want to quote someone within the organization on why you’re hosting this event or making this offer.   If you’re issuing a press release because your business or employees have earned an award, distinction or training, you may want a statistic about how many businesses have earned this.  You could also have a quote about why this is important and how it sets your business apart from your competitors. 

     Contact information.  Many times, local news organizations will print your press release as is.  However, other times, the news organization may want to follow up with you.  Be sure to make this easy for them by providing contact information.  This should include the name of a person within your organization who is prepared to talk to the press and a phone number and e-mail address for that person.  You want to make it easy for a member of the press to get more information from you.  It could lead to a bigger story or live remote. 

     You can use press releases to accomplish a number of goals.  They can be sent to local news organizations to promote your business and your business’s special events.  They can also be posted online to help drive traffic to your website. 

     Don’t be discourage if you don’t get the media to cover your business in response to press releases.  Press releases also help introduce your business to the media.  This allows them to call on you as an expert when they’re looking for resources related to a story.  For example, a lawncare company that is known to the local media may be called upon for interviews about lawn care during a drought.  This is better than advertising.  This is free publicity. 

     Press releases are an effective marketing tool.  With these tips, now you know what you should include in a press release. 

     

6 Tips to Improve Your Writing

6 Tips to Improve Your Writing  

               In a world in which we communicate primarily by e-mail and text, correct spelling, grammar and mechanics are either fixed by electronic devices or are ignored completely in exchange for quick and easy communication.  However, there are still many situations in life when good writing habits are necessary.   Here are a 6 tips to help you improve your writing. 

               Use complete sentences.  A sentence doesn’t have to be long to be complete.  A complete sentence requires only 2 items: a noun and a verb.  The following is a complete sentence: The boy runs.  That’s it.  That’s all it takes.   When in doubt about whether you have a sentence or not, find the noun (person, place or thing) and the verb (the action word). 

               Use the inverted pyramid:  Journalists use an inverted pyramid style of writing.  That is, the most important information is at the top and details are included in descending order.  This means that you start with the most important, relevant details and move toward less important details as you go.  This allows for the less important details to easily be edited out by chopping off the bottom.  In terms of other documents, assume that the reader will only read the first couple of paragraphs.  Include the most important information there. 

               Keep it short.  Unless you’re writing a research document or dissertation, most everyday documents such as letters should be kept short and straight to the point.  One page is sufficient most of the time.  Any business letter such as a letter requesting information or a cover letter to be included with a resume should only be one page.  Any more than that and you’ll lose the reader’s attention. 

               Check your grammar and mechanics.  Look for words in which you’ve used an apostrophe.  Did you use it correctly?  Did you mean its (possessive) or it’s (it is)?   Have you used commas?  Did you use them correctly or did you just sprinkle them on the paper randomly?  A good rule of thumb with commas is “when in doubt, leave it out.”  That goes for semi-colons, too.  Unless you know you’re using them correctly, just don’t use them. 

               Spelling. Letters and formal documents should not include texting abbreviations such as “ty” –thank you.  Also, ensure your words are spelled correctly.  No matter what you’re writing, spelling matters.  While most word processing programs will fix numerous spelling problems for you, don’t count on these programs to do all the work.  They won’t fix the spelling of proper names, for example. 

               Know your audience.  Knowing your audience will give you some idea of how much background information you need to include, how much background information to provide and how much industry jargon to use or not use. 

               Once your piece is finished, revise it.  Then, proofread it.  Then, proofread it again.   The more times you look it over, the better it’s going to be.  These 6 tips will help improve your writing