Walt Goshert » Business-Building

How to Grow Your Small Business Got Ya Stumped?

Walt Goshert — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:25:11 +0000

Check out Ryan Healey’s 31 Ways To Grow a Business.

You’ll want to:

Print this post out…
Check out the links…
Study it…
Apply the ideas to your business…

And…

Do It!

Oh yeah, thanks to Jonathan Fields for Tweeting this post of Ryan’s today. Picked up Jonathan’s Tweet scanning through my Google Buzz stream.

Photo Credit: Flickr

Gurus and Clients Suck

Walt Goshert — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:38:43 +0000

I’ve been meaning to post something here.

Been seriously thinking about sending something out to my list…

Pretty much disconnected from social site time… rarely Tweet or Facebook or Buzz.

Heck, some of my online friends sent me emails asking if I’m alive and ok.

Yep.

Doing great.

Playing golf.

Wrapping up work with two remaining real-world offline clients.

And actually fired a couple other clients. Not actively looking for any new clients.

Not looking to become a GURU or do any big product launch.

Just quietly working away on some little niche sites.

Maybe someday I’ll share some How-to’s and secrets.

But, thing is…

There ain’t really any secrets.

It’s focus on a Starving Crowd.
Understand EXACTLY what problem this Staving Crowd wants to solve, or desire they want to fulfill.
Give ‘em what they want.

Yep, there IS a Big “How do you do that?” question around those three things.

But, I’ve found only a rare hand-full of clients appreciate the value and the investment required to deliver this to their businesses.

And, I don’t have the ego and the moral fortitude to become a GURU and teach the “How To”.

So, I’ve decided to simply…

DO IT!

Thanks Doberman Dan. I’ll make my MILLIONS the old-fashioned way too.

P.S.— For a more detailed explanation of where I’m coming from, click on the link to DD’s post above.

What he said.

How to Turn 10 Bucks into One Million Dollars

Walt Goshert — Wed, 19 May 2010 22:48:22 +0000

Something quick for you today…

Troy White opened my marketing mind with his rewrite of a Bad Marketing Email message.

Some months ago I downloaded and read Troy’s Million Dollar Lobster Report… and promptly saved and filed it away on my computer hard-drive.

Do yourself a favor…

If you’re grappling with how to use the Internet to boost your local business sales, grab Troy’s Million Dollar Lobster Report.

It’s an entertaining story. Troy isn’t kidding… in the right hands, the information in the report is GOLD.

You just might catch an idea you can use in your local business… and turn it into a Million Dollars.

Or…

You’ll become a card-carrying member of the Ready brothers Lobster Club.

Enjoy!

Photo Credit:Flickr

The Referral Engine: “Tune Up” Your Small Business Marketing

Walt Goshert — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:52:28 +0000

Is your small business “Referral Engine”…

… a sputtering, oil-leaking, smoke-spewing, back-firing, about to blow a gasket wreck?

Or…

… a fine-tuned, high-pitched, ear drum busting, screaming, turbo-charged, world-class racing machine?

Yes, as Chris Brogan says, it’s hard to believe John Jantsch could top Duct Tape Marketing…

But he has!

Indeed, John puts you in the drivers seat of your word-of-mouth marketing with The Referral Engine.

Buckle up, put on your helmet. Get in the race to win the hearts and minds of clients who know, like, and trust you… and Teach Your Business How to Market Itself with the The Referral Engine as your new Word-of-Mouth Owner’s Manual.

This Ain’t Grandpa’s Word-of-Mouth World

Sure, movers and shakers back-slapping over 3-hour, 3-martini lunches at the Club, mid-week, mid-day rounds of golf, volunteering on charity boards, and attending private big-wig cocktail parties still grease the skids of business… always will.

And, keeping your head down, minding your business, delivering good service at a fair price… well, that’s kinda expected in today’s New Economy.

You’ve no doubt noticed that newspaper ads, your Yellow page ads, Val-Pak mailers, Trade Shows, TV and Radio ads don’t seem to work the same magic as in the “Good Old Days”.

Yep, even getting a steady, consistent stream of quality referrals… the bread and butter of nearly all local small business marketing… is different now a days.

The Internet has Changed the Referral Race

Forever. And, for businesses who plug into John’s advice in The Referral Engine, for the better.

Yes, in the back of the book, John shares tons of real-world, practical “Snack-sized Suggestions” on how to get your clients and business community spreading the word about you that have little to do with SEO, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, or cutting a YouTube video.

But, before you get to John’s “Snack-sized Suggestions” and his Action Plan Workshop, John “refers” you to…

112 Online Case-Studies, Resources, and Tools

Throughout The Referral Engine, John points you to Case-Studies, Business Examples, practical SEO Resources, Social Media Marketing Resources and Tools, Business Blogging and Content Creation- Text, Audio, Video, Tools to Monitor and Spread the Conversation about your business, and Time-Saving Productivity Tools.

To help you take ACTION, implement, and build your race-ready Referral Engine, here are the links: (pretty much in the order as they appear in The Referral Engine)

The Referral Engine.

Buy it. Read it. Drive it. Use it to Build Your Business.

Disclosure: While, yes, I do have affiliate relationships with some of the links on this post and an affiliate relationship with Duct Tape Marketing, none of the links on this post are affiliate links. John was kind enough to give me a copy of The Referral Engine in return for this review.

Win Copies of John Jantsch’s “The Referral Engine” (marketingpilgrim.com)
10 Observations about Duct Tape Marketing’s Dirty Little Market Research Secret (inklingmarkets.com)
Weekend Reading: The Referral Engine, by John Jantsch (Preview) (readwriteweb.com)
Referral Engine Preview and Book Giveaway (ducttapemarketing.com)
“The Referral Engine” – New Book by John Jantsch (realestate.about.com)
Making Referrals As a Job Creation Engine (ducttapemarketing.com)
Making Referrals as a Small Business Job Creation Engine (prweb.com)
5 Creative Ways to Get More Referrals (ducttapemarketing.com)
The Referral Engine Overview (ducttapemarketing.com)

Photo Credit: Flickr

Mari Smith’s Free Facebook 3-in-1 Report

Walt Goshert — Wed, 05 May 2010 12:37:17 +0000

With all the recent changes, lots of small, local business owners have questions about Facebook.

How do I get started on Facebook?

How do I avoid making stupid, costly and time-sucking mistakes?

How can Ii use Facebook to attract more customers to my local business?

Muhammed Saleem, a leading social media consultant, shared this Facebook Factbook on Mashable to illustrate the explosive growth of Facebook in 6 short years.

Notice… more than 700,000 Facebook Pages for Local Businesses!

Get answers to all your Facebook questions TODAY.

Mari Smith is one of the THE leading expert on how to use Facebook to grow your business.

Mari has put together a Special Free 3-in-1 Facebook Tips Report.

Ten Steps To Getting Started on Facebook
The 5 Mistakes Newbies Make on Facebook
Mari’s Five Success Secrets for Using Facebook Effectively to Grow Your Business

Get Smart… Get the Info You Need… Learn the Tips and Tricks to using Facebook to Grow Your Business

(Click the link below… Yep, it’s an affiliate link. To grab Mari’s Free report, you must opt-in. If you buy any of Mari’s products down the road to help you with your Facebook and Social Marketing efforts, I’ll make a couple bucks)

Grab Mari Smith’s Free 3-in-1 Facebook Report

4 Opportunities to Assure Your Business Thrives (biztipsblog.com)
Facebook Upgrades Events, Integrates Wall Publisher (allfacebook.com)
Facebook Webinar Recording and Resources (ducttapemarketing.com)
Facebook Pages Are Fast Becoming Essential for Business (biztipsblog.com)
14 Smart People with Social Media (myventurepad.com)
Free Webinar: 8 Hot Social Media Marketing Tips You Need to Know (biztipsblog.com)
Free Live Training Facebook for Small Business (ducttapemarketing.com)