Business Coaching

If you think franchising can only leverage and optimize revenue and profit for you, think again. It can also help boost jobs in the U.S., according to an article by Jane Applegate, the president and CEO of The Applegate Group.

Applegate tells the story of Jeff Haas, who bought a CertaPro painting franchise last year. The former Chrysler exec who resigned instead of waiting to be downsized, bought the franchise by tapping into his retirement savings at a time when the stock market was hammering his portfolio.

Rather than go it alone, he agreed to let the former owner stay on to work as an outside sales rep. It was a good move for both of them: the former owner now focuses on bringing in new business, while Haas manages the day-to-day operations and supervises the painting crews. Haas has 30 employees, including his wife, Gwen, handles customer service, sets up appointments and offers interior decorating and color consultations.

All in all, buying a franchise turned out to be a good thing for the Haases, and while it does take dedication, a successful franchise can ultimately help the economy, because it’s creating new jobs.

People who buy franchises are among those creating new American jobs—about 36,000 this year, according to the International Franchise Association. The trade association, which represents about 1,250 franchise companies and 10,000 individual franchises, recently reported that new job growth this year contrasts with the loss of 400,000 franchise jobs in 2009.

Read the full article here. Do you agree that franchising might be a good way to increase job growth in a still-shaky economy?

SEO rankings can be finicky, unless you are consistent with what you do.

If you have been reading this blog, you know that search engine optimization (SEO) is a key part of business marketing these days. Every business wants to be sure that they can be found when someone uses a search engine to find them.

But sometimes, your SEO ranking can drop because of factors you may not have considered. Among those factors are age of the site, your site’s content, the keyword density of your articles and the links that connect your site to other sites. There are solutions for these problems that can take your SEO back to the top of the search.

If your company’s site is old, that’s a good thing because it should be easy to find and stable. The problem can be if the content on your site is old and static, or never updated. The easiest way to ensure you’ll always have fresh content is by blogging: just write a regular blog an post it on your site.

Another revelation as to why your SEO ranking might be low is a lack of content. Many search engines won’t even list a site unless it has at least 10 pages on it. Keyword density also plays a big role in SEO ranking. Be sure to pepper the key words you believe people will search when looking for your business in articles or blogs throughout your site. The most places you use key words the better. Finally, you always want to have reciprocal links on your site with other businesses so people that view their sites will naturally navigate to yours.

So what can you do to ensure your SEO ranking stays high? First off, if you aren’t computer savvy, hire someone who is. Second, use multiple websites for your business. The more places you can be found on the Internet, the better your chances that customers will be able to find you. Finally, be sure to constantly update your site to be sure you have fresh content and enough pages to be properly searched.

Now iPhone users will be able to say, "Can you hear me now? Good."

A major change in the cellular phone world here in the U.S. is on the horizon as Verizon will most likely begin selling iPhones early in 2011. This change signals a major shift in the in the marketplace for Verizon, Apple, and AT&T: AT&T has been the exclusive US seller of the iPhone since its inception.

That’s right, iPhone users — no more dropped calls!

For Verizon, there doesn’t seem to be a downside to this change. They expect to gain at least 900,000 subscribers after the change is implemented, not a major bump for such a big provider, but certainly more than a drop in the bucket. Most importantly, Verizon will be able to directly compete with their biggest competitor in a growing industry field. Verizon has already tried to compete with the popular iPhone with their smartphones, but customers have been clamoring for the iPhone and everything it has to offer.

Meanwhile, AT&T may see some serious challenges. Because it was the exclusive seller of the iPhone in the United States, AT&T and Apple were able to keep a tight rein on iPhone content.  Because the iPhone was tied to a single carrier, many aspects of its performance caused frustration for customers. For instance, Apple has cut off Flash development for its platforms, affecting many Adobe and Web iPhone users. AT&T is also notorious for dropped calls and not being able to keep consistent connections. All of these issues may force many of AT&T’s customers to switch to Verizon because of its strong network.

For Apple, this seems to be a good move financially. There is really no downside to opening your product to millions of new customers but since they will working with different carriers, it seems they may lose some control over content provided on the iPhone. Still, the ability to reach new markets and create new revenue streams can only be seen as a positive.

The shift from AT&T exclusively selling the iPhone, to sharing the US rights with Verizon can be seen as a victory for Verizon, its customers, Apple and the public at large. What do you think will happen to the cell phone market with this change?

Obama talked small business with those who are directly affected: small business owners.

Imagine getting a call from President Obama? And not just any call, but a call that he wanted to meet with you, a small business owner, and talk about issues affecting small businesses?

That’s what happened to Steve Wheat and Bobby Pancake, partners in High 5 LLC, a six-unit franchisee of Buffalo Wild Wings based in Bear, Delaware.

The meeting took place on June 11th, and included Obama, Pancake, Wheat, a general manager of a Buffalo Wild Wings in Dover, Delaware, and two owners of a technology company in Rockville, Maryland.

Pancake called the meeting “intimate.”

“We talked about getting the banks to loosen up so business can grow,” he said. “We told him that if Congress were able to make changes, we would like to build a couple more restaurants and add more jobs. He was really interested in what we had to say.”

Specifically, Wheat said, the president discussed the need to raise the cap on SBA loans from $2 million to $5 million.

Following the meeting in the Oval Office, the group convened for a press conference, during which the Obama discussed the Small Business Jobs Initiatives and the need to “make it easier for smaller firms to hire and to grow.”

Noting that small businesses historically have created two-thirds of all new jobs in the country, Obama said, “we’re going to need to make sure that small companies are able to open up and expand and add names to their payroll” in order to replace the millions of jobs lost during the recession.

Think Obama’s meeting with small business owners will jump start any changes for small business?

Troy Casey, a green entrepreneur and known as the “Certified Health Nut,” interviews Brad Sugars after one of his stops on his tour in California.

Brad shares some tips for building your business in the interview above — when Troy asks how everyone can one day purchase their own private jet, like Brad has done, Brad replies a jet shouldn’t be the first goal with building business, but “buying a new car would probably be a good start” — but if you want to learn more secrets and strategies or have specific questions, you can always go see him on tour!

Find out what city Brad Sugars will be in near you next!

Gordon Ramsay has experience with business coaching.

Business coaching has actually helped make chef and TV personality Gordon Ramsay a star.

How? Let’s examine how he’s used business coaching to catapult his fame.

Before his show “Hell’s Kitchen,” Ramsay had a show in the U.K., “Kitchen Nightmares,” where he helped restaurants that were in danger of closing. He visits the restaurants in danger, sample their wares, meet the restaurant’s staff and management, watches them in action, and then synchronizes a plan to help their business. Within a week, everything about the restaurant changes: the decor, the menus and staff are all switched up. And in the end, it proves to be for the best.

Ramsay obviously is skilled in business coaching, because what he recommends the restaurant to do always saves the business at the end of the show.

Business coaching provides an alternate viewpoint and fresh, new ideas and solutions to problems, issues and challenges. “Kitchen Nightmares” is a testament to business coaching and how it can work.

When business coaching works so well primetime TV in the U.K. fashioned a show around it, don’t you think it’s time to find out how business coaching could help you and your business?

The NBA Finals heads back to Los Angeles this week with the Boston Celtics holding a 3-2 series edge over the Lakers after Sunday night’s 92-86 win. Following their loss at home in Game 3, the Celtics looked like they were in trouble, but Boston coach Doc Rivers followed through on his plan and used his bench magnificently in Games 4 and 5. Now they are just one step away from their ultimate goal.

When the Celtics won their last championship in 2008, they had “The Big Three”, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Those three are still starters for the Celtics, but things have changed. Garnett has gotten old quickly and isn’t one of the best players in the league anymore while Pierce and Allen have become far more inconsistent as they’ve aged. In the early rounds of the playoffs, it was the emergence of point guard Rajon Rondo that led the way for the Celtics. But in the Finals, it has been the Celtics’ bench that has gotten them just one win away from another NBA title.

Although they may not be household names, Glenn “Big Baby” Davis, Tony Allen (no relation to Ray) and, Nate Robinson have all emerged to play big roles in this series. Davis, at times, has replaced Garnett as the Celtics’ low post go-to guy. He has proven to be a strong and willing defender and gives the team a toughness it lacked during the regular season. Tony Allen is Boston’s first swingman off the bench. He is one of the better defenders on the team and one of the few Celtics big and athletic enough to give Kobe Bryant problems.

Maybe the most intriguing story of the Celtics’ post season is the play of Nate Robinson. Robinson is one of the smallest players in the league at just 5’9” but he is also one of the most exciting. Unfortunately, he is also inconsistent and seems to play more for his stats than team success.

Robinson was acquired late in the season and played sparingly for the Celtics during the regular season, but Rivers has been working with him to make him a better player. In the Finals, Robinson is playing big minutes spelling Rondo and his athleticism and scoring ability has given the Lakers fits.

It is easy to see the affect of great coaching in the NBA Finals. Celtics’ coach Doc Rivers has gotten three important bench players to peak at the right time. With age creeping up on Boston after a long season, the emergence of young, talented replacements was very important. The Celtics saw this issue, created a plan and found solutions. Now, they are just one win away from another Championship.

Information is everywhere! The relevant and irrelevant bombard you on the Internet, cell phones and all the other technology we take for granted on a daily basis. While communication has never been easier, the information we get is filtered and, often difficult to understand, especially when dealing with government agencies.

Recently, the White House urged federal agencies to make their information available to the public in an easier way and a new internet boom has begun…Dot-Gov startups.

Companies such as Socrata, have become government contractors by simply providing information to the public. And Socrata isn’t the only company jumping on the bandwagon. Interest is high in this relatively new avenue for Internet growth, both from App innovators and business people, as well as the government itself. There have been at least 10 events throughout the United States over the last year devoted to this concept, including the Gov 2.0 Expo in Washington D.C. on May 25^th of this year. The federal government has shown how important it thinks this field is by holding App contests, providing prize money for developers who’ve built Apps with public data.

While many companies have seen internet revenues drop precipitously since the Dot-Com crash of 2003, Dot-Gov startups are doing well for a number of reasons. Most importantly, they serve a useful niche in our world. As government expands, citizens need tools to understand and navigate through certain agencies. Thanks to easier accessibility, citizens are able to participate more freely in society. This leads to a greater understanding of how the government works that was limited in the past.
In our society, almost everybody has access to instant messaging, texts, and the old fashioned phone call anytime, anyplace. And while we all strive for quicker, less-limiting forms of connecting with others, some groups in our society have refused to get on board. The most prevalent of these groups used to be government agencies but that is clearly changing. With so much technology and information at our fingertips, the attitude of government agencies had to change, finally, for the better.

Hsieh wrote the book "Delivering Happiness" about Zappos' culture.

Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Las Vegas was a boomtown. Jobs were plentiful, rent was cheap, taxes were low and thousands of people were moving to Sin City every month. Recently, few places in America have been hit harder by the global recession than Las Vegas. With an unemployment rate hovering around 15%, there haven’t been many business success stories over the last few years but one Las Vegas Company that has found success has been Zappos, which was recently sold to Amazon last year.

Zappos sells shoes on-line and has flourished in recent years. Since the dot-com crash in 2003, Zappos has become one of its industry’s leaders by changing the way they do business. Before the crash, almost 25% of Zappos’ revenues were made through Drop Shipping, the concept of acting as a middle-man between the customer and the manufacturer, while not actually handling any merchandise itself.

Zappos founder Tony Hsieh decided that he needed to change his business model and focus on the customer service aspect of his business. He understood that while Drop Shipping seems like a terrific business model, it makes customer service virtually impossible because the distributer does not control his own inventory. Now, with control over merchandise and a business concept that makes sense, Zappos is one of the few businesses that have weathered the storm in Las Vegas and is actually flourishing.

So what does Zappos do so differently? It begins and ends with their company culture. While they sell shoes, Zappos is first and foremost a customer service company. Their employees understand that dealing with the customer and making them happy is their first priority. Zappos also knows that a happy employee will improve customer service, enjoy their job and do all they can to be productive.

Among other out of the box concepts, Zappos actually encourage weirdness in their employees, not the worst thing in a town like Las Vegas. But there is a method to the madness as employees are encouraged to think and contribute rather than simply going through the motions. This helps to ensure that employees are not only having fun but are also more engaged at their job.

In his book, Delivering Happiness, Hsieh details his story, while also providing insights that helped make him so successful. Hsieh is a poker player and he has taken some of the lessons he’s learned in the casino and applied them to his business. Among the most important are table selection and bankroll management, concepts easily extrapolated to the business world.

Las Vegas is the very definition of post-modern and has served as a prime example of new, and out of the box thinking in many fields, from business to burlesque, from entertainment to apparel. In this environment, businesses such as Zappos, have expanded on the very notion of Vegas, changing the way business is done and building a strong bottom line at the same time. What do you think of the Zappos concept?

John Voigtmann went from record exec to hotel owner and renovator.

The global economic crisis that the Western World has experienced over the last few years has forced entrepreneurs and business owners to take advantage of opportunities and challenges that they might not have considered in better times. In an increasingly shrinking world, the challenges one might experience from nation to nation can differ based on cultural mores, but more and more, business tends to be a universal language, easily translatable if one is willing to take the time to learn.

A great example of this is in the latest Bloomberg Business Week. It’s the story of John Voigtmann, a former VP of International Marketing at Sony Records, who left his position to begin a fulfilling career as the owner of boutique hotel in Tuscany. The eight-bedroom hotel opened in May 2007 following years of legal wrangling with local authorities over topics such as whether a pool would be allowed and whether the pig house could be repurposed. Happily for Voigtmann, both issues were solved and a stay in the “Pig Sty Suite” can cost more than $500 a night. While his experiences in international marketing for Sony certainly helped, Voigtmann also showed a respect for the culture around him as well as a willingness to adapt.

The key for Voigtmann was, in general, not to sweat the small stuff. “There are millions of laws in Italy. You can’t follow all of them,” he told BusinessWeek, “So separate the ones you actually go to jail for and follow those.”

While this may seem obvious, it also offers some insight for business owners who might be attempting a new venture or a move to a different environment. If one understands the landscape around them and how to navigate it, success may certainly follow.