Business rules are not the rigid things that tie you up and rob life of excitement and fun.  May it never be...  No, what business rules are or do is define the treacherous path of business so you don't kill yourself and therefore take you completely out of business.  You must pay attention to the rules in business or you will die a slow and sometimes agonizing death. 

Probably the number one thing most companies do not understand is that marketing is not a department or an activity but is what every part of a business is about.  We call it the Marketing Chain and it is what connects every part of the business to a single focus, creating a customer.  Isn't that what we are all in business for?  Don't we all need customers to stay in business?  Peter Drucker, the father of management and most other things to do with business said that a business's main purpose was only two things, innovation and creating customers. 

This blog entry is not encouraging and it is not uplifting so beware.  If on the other hand you want to go forward with your eyes wide open then read on.  Kathryn and I believe that having your own business is a great thing but it is also one of the hardest things we have ever done.  We believe with all our heart that if you are not compelled to pursue a dream to have your own business or to create something significant in the world then work for someone else.  You will save you and your loved ones a lot of heartache and a lot of money.  This is part of the shpeal that we give people thinking they are going to start a business and it starts with the advice, "Weigh the cost."

I like to tell the story about the plumber who has bad pipes at home or the cobbler whose children all need new shoes.  I like to tell these stories because for a very long time my wife, who is my business partner, and I have had bad pipes at home. 

What I mean by this is that for most of our formative years in business we didn't pay much attention to our own marketing and we didn't execute our own business affairs in the same way we advise our clients.  I don't completely understand why 

I've been thinking recently about the main points my clients all need to know.  This last week I had one client contact me and tell me that they are shutting their entrprenurial venture down because it will cost them too much.  They are two Moms that had an idea and didn't realize the cost.  They invented a cool thing for parents and their kids and even spent several thousands of dollars having it developed in China but didn't realize what it would take to go to market. 

Death is an important part of life but it is also one of the worst things of life.  We must go through deaths in our lives to see new things.  Death in bad habits, death of things that hold us down and the death of our selves.  We mourn the passing of a hero, the passing of a job and the passing of a friend or loved one.  One of the things that I hate in passing is when I have to give back a set of keys.  It has happened when I moved, when I ever changed jobs and when I have sold cars.  Giving back keys always makes me sad.

Today I encountered two stories today about the barriers to "Becoming", or said another way, achieving our God given potential.  One of them was a movie my family and I went to go see called "The Longshots" about a the first girl to play at the Pop Warner Football Superbowl.  It was a great reminder of how we all have talents deep within us and sometimes they are in areas we orginally had no interest in. 

I have been thinking about what it is that my wife and I do in our business that is so unique. 

Since we run a marketing and advertising firm some would say that we offer marketing and advertising advice but that seems too simple.  Since I am in marketing I care about the message, the story that is told.  So indulge me if I try and sort out for myself what our story is....what it is we actually offer our clients.

So what actually happens for our clients when they come through the door?  What is the transformation they go through between the time they inquire if we can help them and the moment they trust us and believe we can help?

It never fails to amaze me how powerful the words we use are and in my industry, marketing and advertising, we strive to make sure we choose those words very carefully. They have the power to communicate our thoughts, ideas and feelings. They also are subject to people understanding or misunderstanding what we said based on the grid they are interpreting the message through. Everyday I come across messages that are trying to communicate one thing and end up communicating something completely different.