Posts by Mark Morgan Ford
A “Tipping Point” Business Worth Barking About
Start your own dog-sitting theme park. It’s the latest thing. You drop off Lassie on your way to your business trip, your cousin Sally’s wedding, the annual ski jaunt, etc. Instead of being cooped up in a cage for days on end, she’s treated to fun and freedom in a wonderland of doggie delights, including…
Read MoreThe “Great, But…” Dilemma: Yet Another Solution
We’ve talked about how it’s not such a good idea to use the “great, but …” technique in dishing out criticism. You might say, for example, “Great looking dress, Josephine, but is it supposed to be that tight around your hips?” or “Great presentation, Sal, but I didn’t understand what you were trying to say.”…
Read MoreA Very Important Secret About Communication (And About Life)
Consider any great marketing campaign — Burger King, Charmin toilet paper, Marlborough. Examine any best-selling, nonfiction book — “The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People,” “What Color Is Your Parachute?,” “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” etc. What do they all have in common? Simple themes. Ideas so simple they can be expressed — and understood…
Read MoreDo You Make This Classic Success-Thwarting Mistake?
I sent a memo to IWT last week reporting on a clever and very effective scheme that one of our competitors is using to make a lot of money. IWT’s response was to explain to me “what’s wrong with what he’s doing” and “why our way is better.” There may or may not be something…
Read MoreCreating A Second Income
Dear Early to Rise Reader, You want more money. Nothing wrong with that. And you’ll get more — a lot more — if you… 1. make yourself more valuable at work, and 2. get yourself a second income. Let’s talk about how you can create a second income. One thing you don’t want to do…
Read MoreWhen Your Marketing Founders Take Charge of Selling
We are in a recession, and, though most of the businesses I know are still profitable, the margins have fallen and profits are low. Back-end sales are still healthy. What’s changed is the new customer income. All those sales and marketing tricks that worked so well for so many years are barely working at all…
Read MoreIf Your Product Has A Reputation For Quality, Should You Trade On It?
For the first time ever, Americans will be able to own a Mercedes for less than $28,000. This will certainly give the German automaker a bigger share of U.S. car dollars, but it sets its longstanding reputation for class in a very precarious place — like bringing a senator to a whorehouse. Advertising expert Jack…
Read MoreHow To Write A Great Business Plan
If you spend countless hours and hundreds of pages planning your new business venture, you are wasting a lot of time. That’s mostly because you don’t know the most important secrets about the new (to you) market. What’s most critical to know about any business is invisible to newcomers. No amount of planning or preparation…
Read MoreWhen You Think It’s Time To Tell Off Your Boss
Joe, a longtime ETR, says his boss is both difficult to speak to and seriously mistaken about some important corporate “issues.” He believes many ETRs may be in the same position and asks, “Should we tell the boss like it is?” It’s impossible to answer Joe’s particular question without specifics, but I will say this…
Read MoreDon’t Let What Went Wrong with Islam Go Wrong with You
Bernard Lewis, the Western World’s foremost Islamic historian (whose new book “What Went Wrong: Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response” is scheduled to be published this month), has an interesting view of Islamic history that provides a lesson to anyone interested in success. Lewis says, “For many, many centuries, the Islamic world was the world’s…
Read MoreTwo Clever Little Ways To Dramatically Boost Your Speaking Power
In Message #513, I suggested that one of the New Year’s resolutions you should consider is to make yourself a more interesting person. And I said that one way to do that would be to develop your strength as a speaker. Yes, you understand the power of words. And, yes, you have made an effort…
Read MoreFive Business Start-Up Secrets
If you want to be a business-building genius — or just make a ton of money this year — learn these five proven (and absolutely true in my experience) habits of highly successful entrepreneurs. 1. Don’t spend too much time planning. Based on interviews with the founders of 100 businesses on Inc. magazine’s list of…
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