There was recently a bestselling book that discussed decisions that had to be made that affected all of us as individuals in this country as well as other countries. The decisions made, had and still are having an effect on us as a nation as well as the entire world. That book entitled "Decision Points" was by President George W. Bush. Decisions, as we well know, by someone in an authoritarian position of our government have always affected our world.

So! What makes you so special?

Nothing turns me off more than the scramble to the bottom line. No matter how low you go, there is always someone else out there willing to beat you up. The result? Low prices, lousy products and horrible service. One out of three of those characteristics is attractive to customers, but sooner or later, expectations drop so low that customers are no longer interested. Sadly, it’s happening all around us. Ultimately, it is self-defeating.

Viruses! They can spread so rapidly from person to person. I guess ‘recession’ has replaced ‘pandemic’ as the word that dominates our everyday anxieties, but for a while there I thought we were going to drown in a tsunami of antibacterial hand lotion.

Thank goodness, it’s almost summer vacation time. Perhaps you and your family are planning a trip to an all-inclusive beach resort or are taking the cruise of a lifetime. You determine that the quickest way to get to where you need to go is to fly there, so you score a sweet deal on the airfare and think that most of your vacation is pre-paid.

The old saying "Rome wasn't built in a day" takes on a new meaning for the business entrepreneur when building a business or maintaining a business in our world today. Hold on to this thought as you continue to search out new markets and review old markets in this rogue economy. This old adage states "relax" but adding another thought keeps us on our toes: don't fiddle while Rome burns. In other words, there are still others doing new business as well as old business. There is still money to be made. They have been printing more money (which is not necessarily a good thing) daily, and of course, no one has been caught burning that green stuff! However, it remains a scavenger hunt to find new business and new products. Use the three Ls.

Beyond word of mouth (one of the most reliable sources for bringing in new clients) and a Yellow Pages listing in the local phone book (back in the day when the phone book was the gold standard for finding anything), the word ‘marketing’ did little more than cause me to break out in a cold sweat. I can’t begin to count the number of boxes of unused, outdated business cards that ended up in the trash. So much for good intentions.

In 2009, I looked into adding to my repertoire of services the capability of hosting webinars, conducting virtual meetings and facilitating distance e-training via web conferencing. At the time, there were three major players in that market who were all promoting their products and services with vigor and highly competitive pricing. Technological advances in the web-conferencing arena came fast and furious back then, and the demand for these products was off-the-chart.

My last blog, “Taking Time To Think”, discussed using a log method to list ideas that float around in your mind. I have been using this method and call it a “think journal”—logging ideas so I won't lose track of possible thoughts that can become basic foundations to increase business as well as to accomplish personal goals.

Will this idea work for you? I don't know. It is working for me. I don't see any risk involved in trying this idea. American writer John Greenleaf Whittier said it best: "For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest words are these: “It might have been”.

Recently, I received a promotional offer from a bank with which I already have a credit card relationship. The offer of a credit card—for which I was deemed to be “preapproved”—boasted zero percent APR for 12 months, no annual fee, and—the best part of the deal—ten percent earnings for the first six months (and 5 percent, thereafter) that can later be applied toward the purchase of a new vehicle. That’s some heckuva deal, don’t you think? There was just one problem. I already have one of these cards—from the exact same bank that mailed me the letter making me the offer and stating I was preapproved.

Now before you start running en masse for the exit signs, just hear me out. You might assume that I am trying to peer through some questionable new age aura lens at hardcore business practices, but really, it’s quite the opposite. No, I don’t come into my office wrapped in a sheet and spend half my day sitting cross-legged trying to meditate customers into my shop.