How Often and How Much Do You Water Your Lawn?

When you're a little fish in the pond of big businesses, you have to concentrate your marketing efforts. A large company will have larger funds and therefore will have the privilege of marketing far and wide because their brands are already widely known and powerful.

A smaller company will have a smaller advertising budget and will have to be careful not to spread their marketing efforts too thinly. For a small company, thin marketing efforts are shallow efforts and shallow efforts will fade long before any impact is made.

Analogy

Watering your lawn is a necessary chore if you want beautiful green grass. If you water a couple of times a week for a couple of hours each time, the water will have the opportunity to penetrate down to the roots and promote a healthy lawn.

If you water your lawn daily for 10-15 minutes, the sun will evaporate the water that sits on the blades of grass, long before the water has even had the chance to make it down to the roots, rendering your efforts useless.

Don't advertise in everything that comes your way. Be selective and plan to do it for a while.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

Are You Focusing On The Wrong Thing?

As a little fish in the pond of big businesses it's easy to get caught up in one detail and neglect the bigger picture of your business. When you focus too narrowly on one thing, especially something that is negative, you miss the opportunity to see all of those positive aspects of your company that far out weigh the acute challenges you may be facing.

Analogy

You have a telephoto lens on your camera and are focused in on an old-dilapidated building and decide that it's far too ugly to take a photo of. Then you change to a wide-angle lens and see that this old house is perched on a hillside overlooking a spectacular valley with wild flowers in full bloom. The rotting house is now no longer your focus, but is a small element within the composition of your masterpiece instead.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

Do Your Prospects Judge You By Your "Book-Cover"?

Those prospects that have taken the time to get to know you, will probably have the opportunity to experience your wonderful product or service, but what about those prospects that judge you based on your visual brand? Most of the time, you will have to pass their "book-cover" test, before a prospect even picks up the phone to call you.

So ask yourself what your "book-cover" is saying. Do you even have an image or a consistent message and if you do, is it well designed, recognizable, sharp and meaningful? If you have answered no to any of these, then you might be missing out on the opportunity to win over new business.

Some may argue and say that they have a high closing-rate of those prospects they do have the pleasure of meeting with and because of that, they don't need to have a great "book-cover", but what about those prospects who never get as far as picking up the phone to call you in the first place, because of your book-cover? Your closing rate might be lower than you think.

Analogy

Like most, I find myself drawn to book covers that are visually appealing, that have catchy titles, brief but well written descriptions and that are displayed and stacked neatly in the appropriate genre-specific areas. Those publishers, authors and booksellers show that they've taken time to identify their audience and communicate the idea of their book in ways that are meaningful to their readers. Sometimes this is enough to get some one to buy the book and in the end, if the author has done a good job and the reader is satisfied with what they've read, then they will seek out that author again and again.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

Do You Know How Important You Are?

As a little fish in the pond of big businesses, we tend to move out of the way and allow our larger competitors to fill the marketplace, but have you stopped to consider that the large companies often can't fulfill every one's order. Sometimes when a company is too big, they can't slow down long enough or mold well enough to accommodate the individuality of smaller customers. Little fish like us are the solution; we have the experience, the flexibility and desire.

Analogy

Imagine a room, and let's call that your marketplace. Now imagine that room filled with larger boulders and in between those boulders is space or crevasses that the boulders can't fit into or mold around to completely fill all the empty and remaining space in the room...Those crevasses are the untapped markets that only you - the little pebbles or the Little Fish can get to! That's how big your market is and how important you are to that market.

Be proud to be a Little Fish. Next time someone says that you're too small, tell them that it's because you're small that you're able to provide them with the exceptional service and products they deserve.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

What Are You Watering In Your Garden?

When you're a little fish in the pond of big businesses, it easy to get caught up in the hype of a potential customer, but have you taken the time to evaluate the quality of your new lead?

Like everything in business, and in life for that matter; the things that grow the most, are the things you give the most attention to. If you give much attention to a good customer, whom you respect and who respects you, then the possibility of growing that relationship into more business and possible referrals, is great. On the other hand, if you have a potential customer that doesn't share your business values and you give them much attention, they will inevitably grow into a potential "problem customer".

Analogy

If you water grass, your grass will grow green and lush. If you water weeds, the weeds will grow big and strong and take over your entire garden. If your garden is full of weeds, no one will want to visit.

It's simple. Concentrate on the type of customers you want to have.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

What Was Your Mark On 2010?

Regardless of your belief, I'm confident that we can all agree that the end of a calendar year is a wonderful time to wish one another peace, joy and good will to all. It's also a perfect time to reflect back on this closing year and plan for the year to come.

As I look back on 2010, I have much to be thankful for. I have incredible and intelligent clients, talented staff and suppliers who provide exceptional service and a loving and supportive family.

Little Fish Cares

Helping small businesses or what I like to call “Little Fish”, is my passion. We are so privileged here in Canada to have access to financing and business development expertise, that we can’t imagine and economy without it. Well, there are places in the world that don’t have the funds to support the development of an entrepreneur’s dream and for those, micro financing is their answer.

Little Fish Big Pond is proud to financially support “Little Fish” in developing countries, through:

Opportunity International

Opportunity International provides small business loans, savings, insurance and training to over two million people working their way out of poverty in the developing world. Through nearly 40 years of experience, they've learned that small-scale entrepreneurs can be big change agents in overcoming global poverty. Clients in more than 20 countries use Opportunity's financial services to start or expand a business, provide for their families, create jobs for their neighbours and build a safety net for the future. Women, who comprise 84% of Opportunity's clients, gain status through their business experience. Loan amounts begin with as little as $60, and a 95% loan repayment rate allows Opportunity to keep more money circulating in new loans.

Solange's Story

With a $60 loan from Opportunity International, Solange Mukakarangwa opened a small store near Ruhengeri, Rwanda. With her earnings and additional loans, she built several houses and offices to rent to neighbours for their own small businesses. Despite living in one of the poorest countries in the world, Solange now provides for her five children and promotes economic growth in her community.

What will your mark be on 2011?

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

Who Do You Want To Resemble?

A few months ago I told you about my two goldfish, Goldie and Fin. Well, over the past while, an interesting thing has happened, they began to look and act more and more alike, until finally they became exactly the same! Goldie remained the solid, bright orange fish, but increased her aggressiveness, while the larger and friskier Fin began to submit and loose the black colour on his fins. I originally chose Fin, because he looked different than Goldie and because I wanted to be able to tell them apart. Now they are virtually twins in the appearance and personality.

As I watched this happen gradually, I couldn't help believe that the same phenomenon were possible in the human world and I don't mean beginning to look like the people you associate yourself with, I mean taking on their character and habits.

As a result of this astounding observation, I recommend that as a little fish in the pond of big businesses, it's important to:

• Associate with peers who are smart

• Do business with those who have integrity and a strong moral code

• Be mentored by those who are wiser and more experienced

• Align with those who are kinder and just outright happy

If you ultimately become like your environment, be sure to choose one that you like.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!