Unless you’ve been living in a cave somewhere with Osama Bin Laden, chances are you’ve heard the buzz about LeBron James.

James is the NBA basketball star and free agent that has captured attention and headlines across the country as we anxiously awaited his decision as to where he would continue his NBA career this fall.

Having grown up in the Cleveland area, you can imagine how I feel about his choice. As I sat and watched what amounted to little more than a LeBron infomercial on ESPN, I felt both saddened and angered by the self-proclaimed “King’s” decision to leave the Cavaliers.

His choice wasn’t about the money — it was about winning. And, despite my growing feelings of resentment for being abandoned by our hometown hero, I managed to find a blog post among the headlines. Indulge me a moment, and I promise I’ll drive it home.

James feels that his chances of claiming a championship will be better if he jumps ship and heads to South Beach. Of course, his fans and teammates sorely disagree. In an open letter to Cavaliers fans, owner Dan Gilbert summarized this nicely — “Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there.”

The sentiment really got me thinking — over the years I’ve known and worked with business owners who had a similar approach to success. They wanted to start a business and magically be able to quit their day job overnight.

Sorry to be the voice of reality here, but it just isn’t going to happen that way.

Eddie Cantor once said, “It takes 20 years to become an overnight success.” The path to success is paved with hard work, determination and sacrifice. True, James has put in the requisite ingredients in his seven years with the Cavs; however, the fact that the championship eluded them this year shouldn’t be the impetus to jump ship. Historically, basketball greats just don’t do that — and even this die-hard hockey fan can rattle off a few names without thinking too hard.

All this to say perhaps that’s why those who previously supported James both on and off the court are now turning his jersey into briquettes.

But I promised you I’d get back on point.

As a startup business, the odds are stacked against you. A full 50% of new businesses fail within the first five years. Knowing this, it would be easy to throw in the towel and head for the showers. Or worse yet, perhaps these figures would keep you on the bench, without ever even giving it a fair shot.

Nothing worth having is easy. If starting and operating a business were easy, everyone would be doing it. It takes a special kind of person to take on the task of becoming an entrepreneur. Ask a successful business owner to share their recipe for success, and you’re likely to hear about long days, sleepless nights, and determination in the face of failure.

Business isn’t all that different from basketball — and many of the same rules apply.

Look for the Assist:
Whether you are on or off the court, no man is an island. Look for a teammate to help share the load. Consider seeking out a mentor like SCORE or your local chamber of commerce to help you address areas in which you may be unfamiliar.

Maintain Court Vision:
Don’t lose sight of what’s going on around you. You’ll have a clearer view of your teammates, as well as the threats around you, and you’ll be able to make better decisions based on this information.

Know When to Call a Timeout:
Even the best playbooks have to be amended. Whether you are updating your business plan or changing your promotional vehicles, you should be flexible enough to make changes when necessary.

They Don’t all Have to be Slam Dunks:
Take heart in the little victories. Dribbling can get you to the basket just as surely as a fast break. Know when to take chances, and when to play it safe.

I hope that small business owners that may be watching the LeBron James story don’t follow in his footsteps. True, sometimes you can find a shortcut in life that gets you where you want to go faster. But ultimately, those goals that we work hardest for are the ones that offer the sweetest rewards.

Was this post helpful to you?

Social media marketing is more than having the obligatory Facebook page, blog and Twitter account, according to a new book by Shiv Singh, vice president and global social media lead for Razorfish.

Instead, his new book, Social Media Marketing for Dummies, explains that marketers should be focused on reaching and building online relationships with influencers–those people who can have a substantial impact on a brand’s reputation and sales.

“Social Influence Marketing offers new opportunities for marketers to engage consumers with a brand,” said Singh. “This book cuts through all the clutter about social media in the marketplace and provides clear insights about how to use this new medium to achieve marketing and business objectives.”

In writing the book, Singh drew on extensive client work at Razorfish, including implementing social media marketing programs for Victoria’s Secret, MillerCoors and Levi Strauss & Co. Full of examples, the book is divided into four sections that walk the reader through the scope of Social Influence Marketing, from defining the fundamentals to laying out an actionable plan.

Specifically, the book:

• Debunks common misconceptions about social media marketing and explains how it integrates with other marketing disciplines
• Describes the steps for planning, managing and measuring social media marketing campaigns, even providing advice for choosing technology and advertising vendors as well as specific recommendations
• Discusses how to leverage social media with existing marketing efforts, emphasizing the need for an authentic brand voice
• Presents the 10 best practices and common mistakes in social media marketing

Social Media Marketing for Dummies is available for purchase at bookstores nationwide. More information about the book, including further insight from Singh, can be found on his blog at www.goingsocialnow.com.

About the Author:
As the Vice President and Global Social Media Lead at Razorfish, one of the world’s largest interactive agencies, Shiv Singh advises clients on how to leverage digital technologies to develop meaningful and value-driven customer and employee relationships. He leads Razorfish’s Social Influence Marketing practice, the company’s approach for employing social media and social influencers to achieve clients’ marketing and business objectives. In addition to writing extensively on social media, he has also spoken on Social Influence Marketing at conferences such as South by Southwest, the ARF Annual Summit, Adweek Social Media Strategies, DMA Leader’s Forum, MediaBistro Circus and OMMA Global. He was also recently named one of Advertising Age’s 2009 Media Mavens, a distinguished industry honor and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Ad Age, Adweek, Reuters and USA Today discussing digital marketing. Shiv completed his undergraduate studies at Babson College and conducted graduate research into social networks at the London School of Economics & Political Science. He blogs at www.goingsocialnow.com and his twitter ID is @shivsingh.

Was this post helpful to you?

Easy and often inexpensive ways to do better business may be at your fingertips.

If, that is, your fingertips are on the buttons of some of today’s increasingly important-though sometimes surprising-business technology. Here’s a look at six you may care to consider:

Twitter (http://twitter.com)-this microblogging site, in which updates consist of no more than 140 characters, has proved to be a useful tool to reach current and potential customers in a new way.

Bing Local Listing Center (https://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx)–the new search engine from Microsoft lets you manage your business listing on the Bing Local Listing Center. It’s similar to the Yellow Pages but adds details about a business that its customers most want to know.

HubSpot (http://hubspot.com)–as small businesses consider utilizing online social media tools, software from companies such as HubSpot can help them make this decision. HubSpot helps businesses get found on the Internet by the right prospects and convert more of them into leads.

Social networks–small businesses can benefit from sites such as LinkedIn (linkedin.com) and Facebook (facebook.com), where sharing information about your business or specials on products and services is easier than ever.

Touch screen, Web-connected printers (http://lexmark.com)–these all-in-one devices (AIO’s) are much more than just printers. They now offer customized solutions such as Lexmark’s new line of inkjet, touch screen AIO’s that connect to the Web to save preprogrammed tasks as one button.

Free Web Toolbar–there are several online tools that can quickly and easily increase your efficiency. The Lexmark Web Toolbar, for example, eliminates unwanted ads and graphics. It works with any printer and is easy to install from lexmark.com.

Was this post helpful to you?

You may have heard me recently bemoaning that many of my favorite 80s tunes have become the musical backdrop for hawking all manner of goods and services.

A couple of months back John and I were watching a segment on VH1 Classics (it PAINS me to refer to the 80s as classic, BTW..), and it was noted that a band member of Modern English was paid $90,000 in royalties to allow the song “Melt” to be used in a Burger King® commercial.

That kind of coin can buy a lot of Whoppers® — and I suspect that’s what the songwriter was thinking as well.

All this to say, it got me to thinking — if you could select one of your favorite 80s song to be your business’ musical theme song, what would you choose?

You could use your theme song in any manner of ways:

• Your “on hold” music for your call center;
• Your web or television commercials;
• Your infomercial;
• Played at your annual company conventions, etc.

For the sake of this poll, let’s assume that money is no object — you don’t need to worry about paying royalties.

And, while this little diversion is just for fun, you never know what sort of marketing epiphany might arise from it!

So, would you go for:

• Cautiously optimistic, like Bon-Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer?”
• Contemplative, like “Should I Stay or Should I Go” from The Clash?
• A Survivor anthem, like “Eye of the Tiger?”
• or, are you taking it “Day by Day,” like the Hooters?

Submit your theme song in the comments area below — if the reason behind your choice isn’t immediately obvious, be sure and tell us why you selected it.

One note of “fine print”: this is a family-friendly site, so please keep those submissions G-rated.

Was this post helpful to you?

The question of driving interested traffic to your website or blog is one that all webmasters share.

Watching some webmasters clean up while your site languishes on the vine is a terrible feeling — like being the last kid picked in a schoolyard game of kickball.

You may as well be the ball!

Admittedly, there is no shortage of “experts” out there who offer all manner of formulas, tips and strategies that will drive hordes of traffic your way — so let me ask you this:

Do you want tire kickers and freebie seekers, or do you want buyers?

I don’t know about you – but I choose the latter.

You see, many of those same “experts” would have you believe that the holy grail of traffic domination lies solely in identifying as many high-traffic keywords as you can.

Frankly, that’s a load of crap. If you want to attract traffic that is actually seeking out what you have to offer — folks who are not phobic about opening up their wallets and making a purchase — then you need to focus your efforts on those keywords that deliver the goods.

After all, as the saying goes — “money talks, and BS walks.”

A couple of colleagues of mine, Kathe Lucas and Denise Hall, have created a no-holds-barred 40-page report that will quickly get you up to speed and dominating the “money talks” keyword segment of your niche. Best of all, you can snap up this little gem for less than the price of a pair of fancy coffee drinks.

And as you well know, I NEVER joke when it comes to caffeine.

My only gripe about this report is the sub-title. In light of all the whoopla surrounding Michael Jackson’s passing, the books’ sub-title of “ABC…Easy as 1-2-3” did make me cringe a little.

But I am willing to overlook that, and you should, too. You can read all about this report by visiting this link.

Was this post helpful to you?

It really isn’t a big secret that I am a bit of a caffeine junkie. By this time each day, I am typically cracking into my second (eek!) Diet Coke® of the morning, and taking a quick break. During this time, I like to read something lighthearted or uplifting. It is easy to get bogged down and overwhelmed when you are a one-man show — so it becomes all the more important to take a moment to exhale and regroup.

Today I was working with some public domain materials for a new project, and I happened upon this great poem by Edgar A. Guest. I hope you’ll find some inspiration in it, as I did.

Have a safe and enjoyable July 4th weekend!

It Isn’t Costly – by Edgar A. Guest

Does the grouch get richer quicker than the friendly sort of man?
Can the grumbler labor better than the cheerful fellow can?
Is the mean and churlish neighbor any cleverer than the one
Who shouts a glad “good morning,” and then smiling passes on?

Just stop and think about it. Have you ever known or seen
A mean man who succeeded, just because he was so mean?
When you find a grouch with honors and with money in his pouch,
You can bet he didn’t win them just because he was a grouch.

Oh, you’ll not be any poorer if you smile along your way,
And your lot will not be harder for the kindly things you say.
Don’t imagine you are wasting time for others that you spend:
You can rise to wealth and glory and still pause to be a friend.

Was this post helpful to you?