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Tennis Balls And Business Strategy

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I play tennis about four times weekly in leagues, clinics and hitting. In clinics, tennis balls are all over, and that means you need a ball hopper to pick up balls and dump back into the coach’s wheeled cart.

The balls are scattered; like stars in a galaxy. There’s no rhyme or reason how to pick up tennis balls efficiently. As I gaze around the courts, I deduce the best strategy to get the most balls in the least amount of time so I can resume drills.

Stay with me here…

1. If a single ball has landed all alone off to the side, I ignore it. I see some  players use their racquet to flick all the balls into the general vicinity of other balls grouped in back corners. I’d rather head to the area of highest concentration to pick up the most balls in a grouping. If I flick all the balls toward a corner from other areas of the court, it’s like playing marbles — there’s no guarantee the ball rolls nicely to land next to its cousin. And, why waste my energy flicking balls with my racquet? That’s expended fuel I need for playing time!

2. If some balls are off to the right and some are off to the left at the back of the court, I select a logical division point and pick up one ball and proceed towards the grouping with most balls together.  As I play with a variety of ages of women, some don’t have enough arm muscle to carry a heavy ball hopper, or turtle speed is preferred when picking up balls because they just don’t like it.

3. The ball hopper is steel with open gaps in the bottom. When you push the handles of the hopper down on top of a ball, it squeezes into the hopper and pops up into the bottom. Here’s the rub…I’ve tried to pick up three balls at a time with the hopper, but invariably something goes awry. Three just isn’t efficient because I add an extra step to capture the ball that squeezed away. Picking up two at a time is perfect; goes smoothly, and I can get into a rhythm and be done faster.

Tennis Balls and Your Business

When you read the items above, did you begin to see a correlation with tennis balls and your business?  Let me help:

1. When you try to rush through an exercise without methodical planning and execution, something will become chaotic or a crisis which sets you down an unplanned path.

Do use thoughtful strategy when planning a campaign or growth goals.

2. Is your team handpicked with high energy? Do they contribute to your business with the same level of knowledge and expertise so you can realize your growth goals?

Do examine your human assets and ensure they’re right for your business longterm. 

3. How frequently do you permit yourself or your team to get pulled off track to an interesting tangent that looks juicy until you dive in?

Don’t waste time on programs that take you off goal. Stay the course and only add additional programs/tasks when they directly benefit your opportunity. 

4. Think about how you approach a problem; better yet, think about the solution you execute to solve that problem. If the balls are scattered in all directions (like so many balls in the air), think carefully how you will approach each ball to address it independently or as a grouped situation.

If one situation, person or ball is screaming loudly, step back and assess the situation and see how best to manage it in a streamlined fashion.

Business owners, whether startups or 10-year-old companies, need to remember that how you pick up a tennis ball provides a thoughtful look at how to grow a business. Can you see that analogy?

Emulate, Collaborate, Create To Drive Blog Success

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Look around at the bloggers who influence you. I’m going to bet they post frequently, lead with news you’ve yet to learn, educate you about some tech thing, and generally fuel oodles of comments and engagement.

There’s something else you should take note of, too:

What new collaborative project are these bloggers announcing of late?

Let me illustrate what I’m talking about:

Gini Dietrich

A favorite blogger, author, speaker and friend extraordinaire Gini Dietrich, of Spin Sucks fame, recently announced her collaboration called The Three Things with Howie Goldfarb and Michael Schechter to run one post each Sunday about something that’s new and is meaningful.

Danny Brown

Danny Brown spins more creativity than anyone I’ve ever seen.  Back in the day, 12for12K was his pet project; it’s how I was introduced to him. Since that time, I’ve been privy to his blog changing focus, changing design, and announcing new collaborations.

His latest is For Bloggers By Bloggers, and peeps can jump in there and ask questions of leading bloggers and gain access to just about any topic.  Danny has other blogs, too, with a band of writers. Don’t forget the recent event in Toronto on social media he just put on.  Here’s a post from one of my favorite search marketing experts, Brankica Underwood.

Mark W. Schaefer

Mark Schaefer has two books under his belt, a smashing success with Social Slam (third year upcoming), and a new collaboration with some big names in Jay Baer, Tom Edison, and Jason Falls called The Social Habit.  His Sunday post shows how Mark gets out of his box to interview  the founder of Storify…a channel I need to look into.

The SMB Collective (shameless  plug)

I’d be remiss not sharing my pet project that began with Neicole Crepeau two years ago and engaged a community of small business owners to contribute posts to The SMB Collective. I’m trying desperately to resurrect this wonderful blog (gosh, where is my time), because it’s an outlet for each of us to focus on business issues and share tips.  Let me make this my call to action for you to join me. Submit a post from the archives with links and an image if you choose, and you can earn some link love.

 

Continuous Creativity 

These are just 3.5 examples of leaders on the ‘sphere who are continually innovating to keep things interesting for themselves, their brand and their community. I could interview them for this piece, but I’m going to do something I rarely like to do, and that’s assume.

Here’s what I think these three blogger leaders are doing:

1. Innovation is a requirement of growth to keep fresh ideas and content in front of an audience and community.

2. With new concepts comes more attention from a wider array of audiences.

3. Without change, the blogging journey would be boring and a community would also get bored.

4. Collaborations help everyone be on top of their game and engage with the smartest minds and close the six degrees of separation forever.

 

What does that say about your blog:

  • If you’ve been blogging 12 months, it’s time to change it up.
  • Ensure you tweak your design every six months or else the landscaping gets stale.
  • Invite more guest bloggers to write and expand your network beyond just your own writing.
  • Do more video or try podcasting. (When you upgrade your technology, you can do podcasting much easier.)
  • Do Q&A with someone you admire or who has a high level of influence.
  • Add calls to action to the blog to encourage people to subscribe and/or download a study, e-book or something.
  • Always have something in the works. There must be a top-secret project you’re working on to drive your creativity?
  • Start  on a small scale and grow from there; people are in your tribes, in your stream, in your network…ask them to collaborate!

 Think first.

Please do emulate the leaders, but engage on a scale that works for you. With more creative juice flowing, you can also boost mojo that leads to long-term success.

This Business of Breasts

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October. The. Pink. Month.

Who doesn’t know by now that Is this the month that companies must do or die? The local fire engine is now pink — really? How many tax payer dollars were used for that?

(Aside: This is not a post against victims and survivors of breast cancer; I have the utmost compassion for their plight.)

I’m wondering how the gents feel each October; I wonder if prostate cancer should have a huge splash, too.

This business of breasts is quite the marketing opportunity for companies to show ‘raderie. Heck, it seems girls and women’s bodies are incredible treasures of opportunity for pharmaceutical companies.

 Merck’s Gardasil

Gardasil, the Merck creation of a series of three injections for pre-sexual teen girls to ward off human papillomavirus which causes cervical cancer, recently …albeit the drug launched in 2007. Turns out one of the side effects was fainting on the day of the shot (do you think that was purely anxiety for these young ladies?).

The Texas governor Rick Perry mandated all girls get the shot while 24 states launched legislation requiring all school girls to get the shot in 2007 prior to safety studies.

Barr Pharma Plan B Contraceptive

How about the from Barr Pharmaceuticals called Plan B, to all the teen-age girls’ families throughout 50 schools in the 1-million student body?

The Associated Press broke the story Sept. 26, 2012 .

It’s being given to teenage girls many who have yet to have intercourse and to parents who have the option to opt out of the program. Only 1 to 2 percent of parents refused.

Here’s more:

  • More than 7,000 New York City girls ages 15 to 17-years-old get pregnant each year.
  • More than 2/3 of those pregnancies end in abortion.

A parent and president of the parent association at a high school on Staten Island quoted in the story by the Associated Press said, “The children nowadays are not going to abstain from sexual intercourse. How many unwed mothers do we need?”

How Do You Feel? 

As a mother of a 10-year-old girl, I cringe. The message I hear for our daughters is one promoting promiscuity with a drug safety net. Let’s not even address birth control measures for teenage girls, either.

Boys and Condoms

Here’s what I’d like to know…are condoms being passed out to families and all the teenage boys in high schools? Are boys suffering the consequence of teenage pregnancy as well as the girls? Do boys have to carry around the computerized babies that actually throw a tantrum, puke and poop in the night? I have never seen a boy carrying those faux babies; but, they should!

From what I’ve read of late, the consequence of teen intercourse is a one-sided situation skewed to the girls. When pink October arrived with a bang on the heels of the Gardasil news last week and the morning-after pill the week prior, I knew I had to speak.

This about firing up your blog pushed me over the edge to publish.

I’m a concerned mother of a pre-teen daughter, a business owner who sees females being exploited in pharmaceuticals, and a parent on the fence about these new fixes that may or may not be a good thing. I just don’t know yet.

What I do know is that gender inequality about this business of breasts and sexual promiscuity is alive and well.

Bring it…

 

 

 

7 Reasons Why PR Should Not Share Hourly Rates

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Public Relations practitioners are a dime a dozen, or so I’ve heard. Who’s not a dime a dozen are really good practitioners who bridge business and marketing with public relations (ok, here’s a plug, close your eyes…like Jayme Soulati).

Of late, more small business owners are asking me for hourly rates, and the answer is not one I ever provide immediately. Here’s why:

1. Hourly rates vary per client, project, budget available, deadline, and other parameters.

2. Marketing and public relations practitioners do not bill like lawyers. If someone in our field is billing $300/hour, that is extraordinary, and the small business is likely looking too far up the ladder or in an agency for a business partner. (By the way, even lawyers are getting slammed for hourly rates; more clients are demanding alternative fee arrangements.)

3. Independent practitioners should recognize that if a business owner is asking for an hourly rate, there’s an opportunity to sell a project or a retainer that becomes a long-term partnership versus a one-off hourly gig.

3. Before sharing an hourly rate, schedule a call (call it a “free consult”) with the small business owner to ascertain what the needs are or what project is looming that requires some marketing help.

4. After listening, assess the project duration. If you’re still tied in with the traditional ways of accounting, then multiply the hours to complete the project by an hourly rate.

A typical press release, for example, should be billed at about $500 (this includes research/interview, writing, approvals, publishing). That happens to be a project fee and not an hourly rate x 5 hours — why? Because senior practitioners who know their stuff can write a press release faster than it takes to engage on social media every day. Why should that expert penalize her expertise with an hourly rate to accomplish something more efficiently?

5. When someone asks for an hourly rate, push back and say, “how about a phone call?” Assess what the needs are. If you don’t do this, you’re worse off than if you provide an hourly rate. People are fishing and comparing notes — well, Sally in Miami is $250/hour and John in Little Rock is half that, guess John gets the business!

6. If you provide an hourly rate, you get no chance to sell your expertise. This is the clincher, so let me repeat…if you think that informing people of your cheap hourly rate is going to earn you business, you’re sadly mistaken. Don’t denigrate your expertise just to win a project for a few hours; you’ll find yourself backtracking and expending too much time for too little money.

7. Those business owners seeking hourly rates are likely shopping amongst a cadre of practitioners (because there are hundreds seeking work today) to find the cheapest labor. Remind yourself “people get what they pay for.” When you as a practitioner refuse to play that way, you’re doing yourself and your profession a huge favor. Be mindful of that.

If your response below happens to be, “yes, but it pays the bills.” I’ll argue and say, “I beg to differ, respectfully.” When you realize your valuable time is being eaten with a gig that went south, you can do nothing about it but lose money and deliver on the plan to save your reputation.

 

 

Tomorrow’s Tech Today For Bodies and Homes

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Today’s is so chock full of tech gadgets, apps, solutions and gizmos for all parts of the body, the home and our pockets that I have to share the latest incarnation of cool new toys with you:

  • Google, ever the inventor, is spawning , a Star Trek type of eyewear that puts a screen in the upper corner of the right eye and gives wearers the chance to take images, video and send mail without using a smartphone. The Google X lab is still honing the software, but a reporter got a sneak preview and insists this wearable electronic gadget is going to be the next biggest must-have toy.
  • Make no mistake, the Google piece above was well timed as is set to hit the market tomorrow! The iPhone latest iteration has carriers clamoring for more subscribers to big data plans while at the same time the big data plans are being limited so we pay more. iPhone 5 will run exclusively on 4G so data arrives quicker at less cost; figures the carriers would skew that to ensure more money in some way, shape or form.  (Aside: I have to wonder how Apple will continue to jolt the industry so everyone jumps when Apple launches? Consumers will tire of the next best plaything because cost to buy is so prohibitive when nothing is wrong with the current model, iPhone 4S…mumbled Jayme to herself.)
  • Tech for Tweens has taken shape in a software solution called that gives the highly profitable demographic, 5 to 12-year-olds to play fashionista and create unique designs and wearable art. T-shirts, leggings and dresses can be customized with little-girl accessories like ribbons and sequins, and the product is created and shipped directly to the budding designers’ hands.
  • is a square flat little box that looks like an iPass transponder. For $99, it senses changes in temperatures or vibrations and alerts homeowners via WiFi text message. If a plant needs water or the pipes are freezing in the vacant rental property, this gadget does the deal. has kids’ dental hygiene in mind with a $49 toothbrush sensor, a downloadable mobile game and cartoons to keep kids brushing for two minutes.
  • help everyone boost auditory skills without paying ~$8000 for prescription hearing aids. These over-the-counter devices are intended for kids who listened to loud music, construction workers using jack hammers every day and anyone else wanting to boost hearing with less price. Imagine the industry revolution right around the corner when another ridiculously costly device gets replaced by Bell + Howell Silver Sonic XL for a total of $40…REALLY?!
  • Extreme heat or a bunch of teeny needles in your face are what’s being used to reduce or eliminate wrinkles for those wanting to beat the clock. A company called Ulthera went to market in 2010 with a machine that heats up to 150 degrees F and penetrates 4.5 millimeters under the skin to reach fibrous tissue that shapes the skin. Get this… is considered the most painful treatment and doctors administer narcotics or ibuprofen to help patients weather the aftermath of sagging necks and jowls. Ohmygoodness…is it worth it? Ask me in 20 years.
  • Guys? Promise, scientists are seeking They’re looking at Vitamin D receptors, inflammation as a culprit, Rogaine (a good solution), and hair transplants (that need to be repeated?), and anything else possible. But, sadly, a solution is far from ready to hit market. You know what? Bald is sexy, fellas…just sayin’, and it keeps you younger, too, without the silver fox look…so why not embrace your inner baldness?
Which device, app, gizmo or gadget appeals to your home and body of the future?