5 Fun Twitter Sites to Explore

So you’ve figured out the Twitter thing and you’re ready to explore a bit more. There are dozens of great tools and sites that poke around in the Twitter world and I wanted to pick out a few of my favorites and share them with you. If you hover your mouse over each site’s name you will see a screenshot of that site. Enjoy!

1. Twellow is like the Yellow Pages only for Twitter. Twellow allows you to create a profile page as well as search for other tweeps using various search functions. You can also follow people that you find on Twellow directly from their site.
2. Bit.ly is a URL shortener that allows you to take long URL’s and shrink them down to give you more room in a tweet. I know that many tools like Tweetdeck (see No. 3) have an automatic shortener built in, but Bit.ly allows you track the number of clicks on your link and a few other nice features.
3. TweetDeck is a fabulous tool that integrates the best functions of Twitter and Facebook on one platform. It also has many extras including a built in URL shortener, ability to add photos and videos to tweets, and a translator. This tool is a must have for for the avid Twitter/Facebook user.
4. BackTweets allows you to enter a URL and see who’s tweeted that link on Twitter. It nice to see if someone tweeted your blog or your company’s website and it even can track the URL if it’s been shortened by a URL shortener!
5. TwitterSheep is just a fun tool to see that your tweeps have in common. It generates a tag cloud of your tweeps’ bio information.
Look for future posts on other applications and sites as I find and explore them!
@GabrielGlynn

Running a Low-Cost Business

Having been in business for nearly three years now I have discovered a few simple things to help reduce the costs to my business. Some of these simple tips have given me the freedom to do other things with my money AND my time.
1. Utilize Resources
Having one of the most talented web designers I have ever met as a close friend from college saved me thousands in web design fees. Kevin Krefting of Krefting, LLC has done most of my web work for a fraction of the cost of hiring a design company to do the work. I also employed the services of a my very talented sister, Aubrey Rager, to do most of my graphic design work and having a wife in Marketing/Advertising has saved me a bundle in that arena. Now I know that not everyone has the luxury of having those people in their toolbox but don’t be afraid to reach out to talented friends and family members to get things done!
2. Find Free Help
Your local SBA is packed full of very talented business minds that are just dying to bestow their life lessons on other people that are taking the leap into business. Attend free seminars, email trade associations, and you might be surprised how willing others in your industry might be willing to help you learn the ropes.
3. Swap Services
Legal fees are expensive. Office space is a large cost. Printing isn’t cheap. All of these services that you use have needs themselves. Perhaps you can get a significant break on your cleaning service by offing to clean other buildings for your landlord. Maybe your lawyer could use some graphic design work in exchange for some contract work or maybe your printer could use some IT help. Bottom line is don’t be afraid to ask and you might be surprised to find out how easily you can cut your costs down by swapping your products or services to others that you rely on.
4. Get Testimonials
Get great testimonials from your clients and, with their permission, share them on your website, blog and brochures. It’s always best to ask a client for their kind words immediately after you have satisfied their needs. Photos to go along with your testimonial can give it some pop!
5. Get Support From The Businesses You Use
You banker, lawyer, real estate agent, broker, and insurance agent have a plethora of contacts. Ask them to help spread the word about your company. After all, the more your business grows, the more help you will need from them to keep it going!

Start Small. Think Big. Grow Fast.

Gabriel

Be an Entrepreneur not a Worker

This year was a year of tremendous growth for my first company Asset Protection Specialists, LLC. in the worst economic conditions of my lifetime and in the face of shrinking wallets I recognized that increasing sales might be a bit of a challenge but decreasing costs would be a way to continue growth.  With the help of some close friends and some common wisdom I was able to make a year that should have boasted low sales and profits into one that provided me with the most profit I have posted in the three years of business. The answer was on my bookshelf.
I returned to an old book that my mentor, Tom West of Agility Learning Group, pointed me to last year, titled ‘The E Myth‘.  This book by Michael Gerber is one that nearly every entrepreneur I know has read, and if you have not, you must. The simple concept of the book is getting yourself out of the daily task of working at your business and begin working on your business. With that concept fresh in my mind, I went to work on my business.
I found that prospecting and networking was taking about 20-30 hours out of my week. Now don’t get me wrong, these things are essential to success, but I needed to find a way to work smarter and not harder. I turned to a friend, Adam Steen of 25 Connections for that help. Steen, a prolific/professional networker helped me understand that networking can manage itself if done the right way (won’t give away his secret so contact him if you want to know). He also taught me one obvious things that I will tell you about.  He said, it can be extremely hard for a business owner to let go of portions of the business in order to free up time because most owners feel that they must have control over everything. After all, that’s why most people go to work for themselves. Given that I currently was doing everything for my business I found one thing that I felt I could readily walk away from is, believe it or not, sales.
Sales, the lifeblood of a company, is something that I felt I was pretty good at but realized that there are others out there that are a lot better. Since I didn’t have the structure or money to hire a sales staff I found a different route. Outsourcing sales on a commission-only basis was not only a motivation to the sales people to make money for me, but it also freed up a huge amount of time for me to make a key change in my company that would lead me to the most profitable year on record.
While examining my processes I found that the equipment I was using to create inventories and the product I was outputting for my clients were overly time consuming and costly. By purchasing less than $1,000 worth of new equipment and creating digital inventory files for my clients, instead of the printed booklets, reduced my expenses by 80%! What was even more unbelievable was my production time was cut by nearly 50% as well. I went from an average cost of $148 per inventory to $26 for a savings of over 80%. My production time was cut from an average of 18 hours per inventory to about 7 and a half hours per inventory! All of this restructuring was made possible by freeing up my time so that I could work ON the business and not IN the business. Now I am working on finding the next part of my business that I will be letting go of. Just another great reason to have a mentor.

Driving off a Bridge

A man driving down the road finds himself approaching a bridge under construction (not sure what’s happening with my construction analogy blog posts). He drives by a sign that reads “Bridge Construction Ahead-45 Mile Detour Next Exit”. The man drives past that exit before coming to another sign “Incomplete Bridge-Do Not Enter”. The man continues to drive towards the bridge and comes to a third sign. This one reads, “Bridge Out-100ft Drop”! The man, seemingly suicidal, drives through the construction zone right by a worker yelling “BRIDGE OUT!, STOP!!!” The man doesn’t stop and drives right off the edge of the bridge and drops into the 100 foot deep canyon. As rescue workers pry the man from his mangled car they ask him, “Didn’t you see the signs and hear the people shouting at you?” To which the man replies, “Yes, I did.” The rescuer asks him, “Were you trying to kill yourself?” The man says, “No, I was not.” The rescuer, extremely puzzled, asks, “Then what the hell is your deal!?!?” The man says, “The first sign told me the detour was going to be long and difficult and I felt that it was much easier to continue on my path than to take a detour to my destination.”
This lesson applies very well to businesses today. Often times business owners have a one-track mind and find it far easier to continue down a destructive path despite all of the warning signs.
Being new to business I drove off the bridge on a few occasions until I realized that it’s okay to take a detour if it will save you from the fall. I was fortunate enough to surround myself with great mentors and have the foundation of a great family to get me back on track. All too often a business owner will sit in the canyon after driving off the bridge and never come out. Heed the warning signs and listen to the expert advice of others and you will find that a long detour may be the fastest way to success!

Sales Vs Customer Service

Not surprisingly it took the help of many friends and mentors to make Asset Protection Specialists, my first business, a success. I received great advice and direction from many people, but one bit of wisdom stood out more than all the others and is truly what helped me create a company that has enjoyed an 800% increase in growth since its early stages.
When I first trotted down the road of business ownership I spent a great deal of time with a mentor named Tom. Tom, a business owner himself and former instructor of mine from business school, was a great mentor. He never was there to just pat me on the back and tell me I was doing everything correct. Had he been that kind of mentor, I would have been sunk.
Tom helped me with all of the planning stages of APS and after I finally finished my business plan and marketing strategy I went to have lunch with Tom. I was glowing with pride from my hard work. I handed him my stack of trees that outlined my new company and how it was going to make money and I told him, “I finally have a business.” Tom promptly tossed the pages aside, looked at me and said, “Are you kidding? You don’t have a company.” With that he began to eat his salad, that at that moment I was regretting buying him! Tom got done with his bite and he said to me, “Who are your customers?” I responded, “It’s all laid out here in my marketing strategy” as I began to fumble through the papers on the seat next to him. He stopped me and said “No. What I mean is; Who has written you a check for your services?” “Nobody yet” I said. Tom replied “Get someone to pay you for what you have to offer, then you’ll have a business.”
I thought a great deal about what Tom was saying and I realized something, SALES is what drives a business. Sure, there are many important pieces to this very intricate puzzle, but if you don’t have people buying your product, you can’t provide customer service. I was always a firm believer that customer service is what makes or breaks a company, and don’t get me wrong it can be, but the bottom line is; If you don’t make a sale, you don’t have a business.
I promptly redirected my efforts away from all of the strategy of how to develop my business and started to make sales. With these sales came great demands from my clients. With these demands grew a better product, service, and ultimately a better business. With this success I was able to turn my focus back to growing and developing my business and not spend as much time on the tasks. During this time I found ways to cut my costs by 60%, my time on each project by 50% and have a product with a high enough demand to raise prices by 17%!
So my recommendation to all of you that are struggling with growing a business… Stop trying to push your business in the direction that you feel it should go and let your customers dictate the direction. If you don’t have any customers, find them and then you will finally be able to say… “I have a business!”

Life Under Construction

I was recently driving down a stretch of interstate that was under heavy construction. I cursed under my breath as I came to a stop and began creeping slowly down the bumpy road. In my mind I was thinking, “Why the hell do I always run into construction?” Given the fact that I had a lot of time to think I decided to explore this situation a bit deeper and realized how closely it related to my life.
My life is a series of construction projects. I am constantly finding things that I need to improve upon in my life and I am continually doing self-construction to fix them. I also find myself branching out into new areas that require an infrastructure to bridge where I am currently and where I want to be.
Furthermore I realized that, just as a construction project cannot be done alone, I too draw on the expertise of others to help me with my own personal construction. I require the tools to create reality from my vision and support from key people in my life like my wife and family. Without these elements the construction projects are left unfinished, the road of my life is still bumpy, and progress is never made.
Next time you are sitting in a construction zone don’t look at it as a hindrance to your current route, but instead an improvement on your future travels.