Market Like You Mean It

[Caution: This message is going to sound like an advertisement...it is...kind of...read on.]

So…a couple of weeks ago, my dad - who runs his own business as a business coach - had his basement flood. Unfortunately, that’s also where his office is. There was about an inch of water all across the floor. It ruined some furniture, some food they had stored, and some books. Fortunately, it somehow narrowly missed killing his computer where he has several hundred business contacts not to mention emails, credit card processing software, VERY expensive programs, and more.

That close call got him thinking though…what if his computer did get ruined? Well he’d be in a whole heaping helping of trouble to say the least.That’s why I suggested he download Mozy, it’s an automatic, offsite, encrypted backup system that my gerbil could use. (No I don’t actually own a gerbil…but you get the idea.) You get 2GB of free storage space and if you need more than that, you can pay $6 a month for unlimited space.

Now I know this sounds like an advertisement but it’s really not intended to be. I’ve just been using it for a while and I guess I’m one of those people who likes to tell everyone around him that they should be like him…(I hate those people).

Anyway, give it a try. Like I said, with 2GB free, you can always just see if you like it and bail out tomorrow if you don’t.

Every now and then we get into a rut. Business is slow and we can’t seem to think of a way to break free. But, to paraphrase my friend Carolyn, “at the end of the day…the only thing that matters is getting new customers.”

It’s true, you can spend entire days ordering inventory, sending invoices, calling suppliers and customers, organizing your desk, and putting out various brushfires but if you haven’t generated any more business, you’re not really making any progress.

This is not by any means intended to be a comprehensive post about how to get new clients. Instead, I just wanted to point out a valuable post that Carolyn made over at the Hundred Dollar Business blog called, “42 Ways To Get Customers!“

Her list offers some ideas that might spark your creativity again. It’ll remind you of things you could be doing but aren’t. So go on, check it out. Then come back here and tell me your thoughts.