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“If your business is not growing, it is dying.”

“If you think your business is going to get killed, it is killed”

In general, passive marketing or broadcast advertising are too expensive, especially for small or microbusinesses.  Mimi cautions the class “DO NOT waste any money on any form of advertising that is unmeasured media, with no past history or guarantee.”

Today’s digital marketing tools including websites, emails, search engine optimization, promotions, newsletters are all measured media.  There is no guesswork as to the effectiveness of your marketing promotions if you formalize a system to track the responses to your different offers and promotions on all marketing channels.

Test the effectiveness and the selling power of your keywords, and monitor the effects.  If you can do this, then you are ahead of the game.

In the class discussion, a student talked about how his former boss (in a computer business) signed a one year full page advertising contract with a phone directory for $25,000.  While this strategy worked in the year 2008, it did not work for 2009, and the sales resulting from the advertising could not even pay for the ad.  This is an example of the decreasing effectiveness of broadcast advertising.  His spendings of $40 a month on Google ads brought more results than the $25,000 campaign.

“Out with the Old, and In with the New.”   Print newspaper and directory advertising are quickly losing their effectiveness.  Entrepreneurs must keep themselves abreast of new technologies, and to compete well, businesses must take advantage of the use of interactive technologies in their marketing and advertising campaigns.

I mapped out a business concept for myself in my head, and wondered how I would structure my marketing strategy using the new technologies.

An old gentleman owned a hot dog stand. His hot dogs were famous for blocks and blocks, maybe even miles and miles. People loved his hot dogs. He had a couple of people working for him and advertised in all of the local papers. He hired kids to put signs on poles and he even made calls on groups of people to encourage them to stop and try his hot dogs. Once people tried his hot dogs they were hooked. Business was good, so good in fact that he was able to open a couple more stands and put his son through college.

One day his son came home and begin to talk to his father about what he had been learning. “There’s a recession on out there pops.” The young man said. “You’d better stop spending so much on advertising, and let some of your help go.”

“But business is good son.” The old man defended.

“Sure it is now, but you’ll see there’s a recession on and you’d better get ready.” His son replied.

The old man considered what he had heard and considered the amount of money he had spent for his son’s education. Finally he decided that perhaps he should cut back and wait for better times. After he stopped advertising, cut some of his help and closed one of his stands his business began to pull back dramatically. In reaction to the downturn he cut advertising even more and tried to run the stand by himself. To make matters worse, one of his old competitors built two new stands in the old man’s territory. “Lucky I had my son to warn me”, thought the old man. Eventually his hot dog business failed. His son had been right–there was a recession on.

This is a classic marketing story that will remain forever true.

The moral to this story is: Whatever your store is offering, keep advertising your “hot dogs”, keep all of your “hot dog cooking” and “hot dog selling” personnel. Don’t give another hot dog seller an invitation to enter your neighborhood and don’t listen to the cry of recession or you might just find it to be true.

She adds lots of color to the Institute just with her presence.  I asked her if she is related to Imelda Marcos, because she has a different pair of shoes every day, and she has big, colorful purses.  She answered “Imelda, who?”

With the number of handouts we have to distribute in class, all the male gurus at the Institute use a luggage wheeled cart much like what the flight pilots and stewards/stewardess have.  They are always black in color.  But,  hey, count on Mimi, she coordinated her purse and luggage cart so that they become fashion accessories, and she can walk well with three inch spikes.

Mimi told me that she is preparing her lecture notes on 50 ways to advertise for under $100, another 50 ways for under $100,  and 100 ways for under $500.  I can’t wait.

When I worked at the Humoungous Advertising Agency last year where my accounts included the Big Cola and the Speedy Running Shoes, $100 wouldn’t even buy lunch for me and the media sales rep.  How in the world is Mimi going to find so many cheapskates ways?

I told the story of my high school computer whiz friend Johnny  who developed some Calculus programs on the Texas Instrument programmer calculator.  He gave a copy to his friend Ryan.  Unknown to Johnny,  Ryan started selling this program for $50 a pop to students who are having a hard time with homework.  I told Johnny what happened and advised that he must ask Ryan for royalty payments.  So I told the class, Ryan is the entrepreneur, Johnny is the worker, and I am the consultant.

I concluded that “The entrepreneur does not have to be the one with the know-how, he must recognize an opportunity and capitalize on it”.

I went on to say that when I was a kid, I set up a lemonade stand outside of my Dad’s office, the Pepsi truck, the UPS truck, and the office workers all bought lemonade from me.  After all, I am their boss’ daughter.  So, I too capitalized on an opportunity.  I later sold Avon when I was a teenager. Hurrah!  Perhaps I am a natural born entrepreneur.

Whew!  I am going to speak to Tara after class, let her know that I am on Zombie mode when I’m auditing, and any impromptu questions like this can give me a panic attack.

There’s been argument whether entrepreneurship can be taught? and can it be learned?   Many argue that entrepreneurs are born, not made.   Many still argue, not entrepreneurs can be pushed, and one can grow into entrepreneurship when the circumstances are right.

At the Institute, student admissions are based on the viability of the business idea, the potential, as well as the personality, motivation and enthusiasm factor of the students.

Kissinger says it is about the “Aha” moment,  when the student is awakened by a vision, and says “I can do this!”.    This is because an entrepreneur is a visionary.

Tarragon says it is about wanting to drive your own car, no matter how big or small, and making the decision to go fast or slow, and where to go.    An employee is someone who is simply content to ride the bus and let the bus driver take control.   Small entrepreneurs drive a small car, and big entrepreneurs can fly the equivalent of jumbo jets.

Special Agent says that entrepreneurs are by nature ADD, attention deficit disorder.  They think outside the box, they are non-conformists.

When you have almost 40 people together, and you have a David A, and a David B, and a David C,  three Peters, two Johns, two Alis and Ping and Ling and Wing……  You need to devise a system to help the poor brain.  So, everybody at the Institute get a code name.  Boss, Kissinger, Tweety, Special Agent, Tarragon, Professior, RAM, Mimi (for marketing director),  Number2 for the Accountant, and Admin for some reason, is plain Admin.  See Faculty and Staff.

Students on the other hand, are identified by their business names or type of business.  We have Matchmaker, Pie in the Sky, Private Detective, Mr. Clean, Mrs. Doubtfire……

First day of class is always an assembly day for students, faculty and staff.  Faculty members welcome the students, give a brief introduction of themselves and say some words of wisdom to the incoming class.

The Institute takes pride in its instructors who are “real-world” or “hand-on entrepreneurs” compared to other schools who have “academic entrepreneurs”.  In fact, some of the instructors are “serial entrepreneurs”  who start businesses and sell them as soon as they are mature, one after another, one at a time.

Students are of different age groups,  ranging from as young as 19 to as mature as 65.  The youth entrepreneurs start from age 19-34,  Mompreneurs refer to those who small children who chose entrepreneurship as a lifestyle decision.   Another breed of entrepreneurs are the “Seniorpreneurs”.  It is estimated that 1 in 4 adults aged 55 and over chose self-employment as their mode of work.

Along with the change of technology, new breeds of entrepreneurs are to be expected, such as the “Technopreneurs” and so on…..

I emailed my job application on a Friday, got a call on the Monday morning, went in for an interview on the Friday, got hired on the next Monday.   All of the events happened in the span of 11 days.

It was a group interview at a room just like the photo.  Four people took turns asking me a list of questions and they furiously wrote down what I’ve said.  I was not nervous at all.  I was very animated, and probably talked more than I should.   The interview took an hour.

I wasn’t quite sure how it was received.  I thought I didn’t do so well, because when I got home, my mind was just regurgitating the interview questions, and I had so many ways of answering them better.

I had not expected those interview questions, and I had to be quick with my answers.  Those extemporaneus answers tend to reflect the real “me”, as I had no time to invent or improve on my answers.

Later when I asked CC (my boss) why they picked me, he said it was mostly my sense of humour.  I don’t take things too seriously, and they think that I have an easy going personality, and will get along well with people.