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Banking and Finance  » How To Make Money And Run A Successful Business In 2006!

How To Make Money And Run A Successful Business In 2006!

Remember the days when businesses were just past on and business

was taken for granted? If you do chances are that you are

thinking about business in the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and maybe

even the nineties. It certainly isn't true in the 21st century.

Business used to think that all they had to do was run a nice

clean predictable business and their loyal customers would keep

coming. Work a little harder, maybe get a new item or run a sale

and you made a little more money. Look at brands like Zenith,

Sony, Woolworths, Kodak, Bell, Corel Draw, Palm, Microsoft and

Google. The ones that have remained successful haven't rested on

their laurels. They continue to invest in training, new

products, new research and development and have paid close

attention to trends in technology and customer preferences. The

ones that did nothing but open their shops are either gone or in

big trouble.

So far it sounds interesting but you're saying you don't run a

huge corporation and don't have an Research and Development

Department. These practices apply to every business profession.

I own a medium sized printing and promotional product company,

solutions Ink in Montreal, Canada whose sales have more than

doubled each of the last three years. During this time my

competitors businesses have diminished. Usually I find my

competition trying to sell the same products and waiting for the

phone to ring for an order. Here they are in a profession that

deals with promotion and marketing on a daily basis and these

people seem clueless. I made it a point to join industry

associations and frequent trade shows on a regular basis in

places outside of my own city.

Sure it costs money to join these associations and sure it costs

money to attend the shows, never mind the lost hours while your

gone but not doing it will cost you a lot more. These

associations are at the front of the industry, researching new

trends, new technologies and new ways of doing business. At the

start of the dot com age I met a company that was a pioneer in

the online ordering systems for printing. I was the first one in

Canada to offer this service. I did it because it made sense for

larger customers to order this way. They could save time and

hidden procurement costs for their companies. It was an easy

sell to my customers and being an early adopter gave me reason

to solicit potential new customers with great success. Once

these customers became users these customers became very loyal.

The same is true for the promotional product side of the

business. Having an online store, www.solutionsink4u.com with

over 600,000 items on it gave me an advantage over the

traditional sales person who came in with the same 4 catalogues.

If customers were willing to invest in a promotion of their

company chances were that they wanted to stand out and not have

the same product as every one else.

Going to larger trade shows outside of my home town gave me

opportunity to see new products and learn how other people sold

them. At most trade shows they have educational seminars. Many

people pass on them, but the smart, successful people are

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usually there. You are never to old to learn something new and

from a business perspective, those that are unwilling to change

usually perish. Successful businesses continue to evolve. A by

product of these trade shows has been meeting many new

suppliers. You might not need them right now, but one day this

connection will pay great dividends. My main lines today are

very different from my main lines 5 years ago. My sales have

increased dramatically together with better profit margins.

Don't be in the "me too" business, try to find your niche early

and become an expert in it. Once this becomes comfortable search

out the next new line or product.

In summary an eduction from school is great and I have a masters

degree. The true education that will be beneficial to your

successful business comes many years removed from your college

days and many miles from your former campuses. If you ned any

help or suggestions on what to do for your business drop me an

email at steve@solutionsink4u.com. I would be happy to help.

Steven Schneidman http://www.solutionsink4u.com

steve@solutionsink4u.com

About the author:

NoneSteven Schneidman has a B.A. in Psychology and an MBA, was a

professor in finance at a Montreal University, worked for the

secong largest bank in Canada and has and does own 2 printing

and promotional product companies. He does work with many

Fortune 500 companies as well as a slew of smaller companies all

over Canada and the United States.