• BUSINESS PLANNING: What You Don't Know is Hurting You



• (YOUR) CLIENTS: Women are Taking Charge in the "Female Economy"



• HOLIDAY: E-Mail Tips that will Increase Your Holiday Sales



• LEADERSHIP: The American Woman - Incurable Pleaser?



• MANAGEMENT: 10 Ways to Safeguard Your Business



• MANAGEMENT: The Best Staff Meetings... Aren't



• MARKETING: 5 Marketing Musts During a Recession



• STRATEGY: 8 Steps to Attracting Business in a Lagging Economy



• STRATEGY: 10 Business Lies You Tell Yourself

October 17, 2008

BUSINESS PLANNING:  What You Don't Know IS Hurting You
- ceostrategist.com
 
When it comes to the business and marketing plan, some pieces come easily. You know who you are, your values, your core principles, your customers. But when it comes to the competition, many companies rely on what they think they know or rumors heard in passing. You’re missing a great opportunity to tune up your own operations when you take a pass on analyzing the competition. CEO Strategist gives you an easy to follow checklist for getting a start on this valuable part of your business, branding, and marketing plan.

(YOUR) CLIENTS:  Women Taking Charge in the "Female Economy"
- destinationcrm.com
 
It might take government intervention to save the country, but it's women who are making the personal financial decisions to protect themselves and their families.

HOLIDAY:  E-Mail Tips that will Increase Your Holiday Sales
- constantcontact.com
 
Impacting your bottom line requires more than just filling up inboxes. Your success depends on earning trust and putting the subscribers first to ensure they receive emails that are timely, meaningful, and relevant. Here are five business-to-consumer (B2C) and five business-to-business (B2B) holiday email tips that go beyond simply sending more.

LEADERSHIP:  The American Woman - Incurable Pleaser?
- womenentrepreneur.com
 
American women are raised in a culture that encourages them to please everyone else, so women who are entrepreneurs need to be careful that tendency does not affect their bottom line, writes business coach Suzy Girard-Ruttenberg. Read these five tips to gauge whether a woman is debilitating her business by catering to others.

MANAGEMENT:  10 Ways to Safeguard Your Business - itworld.com
 
You have to remember who's in control," says Goetz, a Distinguished Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at Goizueta Business School, Emory University. "It's you. And only you. As a small business owner, you should certainly know what's going on in the economy, but remember that you are the captain of your ship. And if you take the proper action, you can steer your business around this economic mess." Hess and Goetz provide a few small business safeguarding tips based on their decades of experience teaching and advising entrepreneurs, beginning with: Protect your credit.


MANAGEMENT:  The Best Staff Meetings... Aren't - salonsblog.com
 
The very word, meeting, has implications, summoning mental phrases like “meeting of the minds,” “common ground,” “neutral turf.” Having been to about a million meetings myself, give or take, they conjure up memories of sometimes tortuously boring or tempestuously tense but nearly always long, drawn out affairs where much is discussed but little is settled. Where problems, blame and the negatives get center court and praise is rarely bestowed and success rarely celebrated. Meetings. Ew. I prefer huddles. The very word brings relief because whatever else it is, it will be brief. It will be limited, purposeful, and then it will be over! But there are more reasons to embrace the huddle (no pun intended) as a regular part of your staff and business operations on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis and there’s a right way to conduct them.

MARKETING:  5 Marketing Musts During a Recession
- drewsmarketingminute.com
 
I understand the lure of just hunkering down and waiting out the economic lull. And I know you're probably tired of hearing this....but if you are smart -- this is a huge opportunity for you to capture market share and solidify your position in the marketplace.
 

 quoteable...
"A good message will always find a messenger." - Amelia Barr
 

STRATEGY:  8 Steps to Attract Business in a Lagging Economy
- managesmarter.com
 
How to attract new business, get more clients, accelerate your sales and achieve higher results without increasing your cost of sales.
 
 
STRATEGY:  10 Business Lies You Tell Yourself - amanet.org
 
I have seen great ideas wither and die because companies tell themselves lies that are ingrained in their corporate makeup, and thus they fail to fix problems. This is why one of the biggest barriers to optimizing a company’s profitability is not external (unless the market strategy is extremely flawed). It is the culture of the company. So what are these lies?

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Salon Services partnered with David Hanen, Founder and Owner of LOMA-Pearatin, to donate a dollar for each bottle of "Pink Bow" Fortifying Repairative Serum that you purchase between now and October 2008.

Proceeds benefit the Susan G. Komen foundation's annual 3-Day Walk - our own Stacy Kurtz just completed her 3-day walk. Watch your e-mail for an upcoming story about her experience in her own words - and find out how you can start preparing now to be part of the team next year!

Read about her story or make a donation online [click here].


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GOVERNMENT AND REGULATORY:  PBA Tax Alert for Businesses on Stimulus Package - Professional Beauty Association
 
There is more to the Economic Stimulus Act than the rebates that most of us will be receiving this summer. Included in the Economic Stimulus Act are two provisions to help small businesses. These opportunities are only available in 2008, so if you want to take advantage you must act quickly. These provisions have not received as much press as the rebates have. But, overlooking these provisions could be a costly mistake. Here is what you need to know to take advantage of the new law.
 

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