SoKy Local Business or "SoKybiz"

May 30, 1783, The first daily newspaper was published in the U.S. by Benjamin Towner called "The Pennsylvania Evening Post."

This was posted by SoKy : 5:46 PM  0 comments links to this post

I avoid cross posting in my blogs and I also avoid personal "stuff" on this blog but I am proud and it is part of who I am so please visit my personal blog @ http://blog.davidfrancis.org to see my son. (He is graduating)

Jesse wanted some nice pictures for graduation but didn't want the hassle of going to a photographer. He asked his mother to take some pictures of he and his girlfriend and these are the result.

This was posted by SoKy : 7:37 AM  1 comments links to this post

There are a lot of things going on around the SoKy.net office right now and I've been unable to post. Some fires, some controlled burns, and some unexpected flare ups but it's all for the good I'm sure. I am reminded of the quote; "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow." By Albert Einstein.

This does bring to light the importance of positioning yourself to be free enough to address unexpected events. Any small business person should put policy, procedure and staff in place so when life spits a fireball at you, you can have the time and resources to address it. I've done pretty well as far as having things set up so I have the freedom to "go with the flow" but as my business continues to grow and change, it is making it more obvious that if I don't the right people on staff soon... that freedom may be intruded upon.

I hope all my readers have a great and memorable memorial day. See you next week.

This was posted by SoKy : 1:29 PM  0 comments links to this post

Any great business plan will include a marketing plan. Just like business plans, many small business owners will postpone, put off, avoid or otherwise ignore the need for a good marketing plan. My opinion is that a marketing plan is the most important part of a business plan.

I recently ran across an article online that makes the point that a marketing plan can be reduced to seven sentences. It's a great concept and the exercise could get the creative and inquisitive juices flowing to create a complete plan.

Write a Creative Marketing Plan in Seven Sentences
By Al Lautenslager

To create a good marketing plan you need three basic things (besides the guerrilla marketing prerequisites of time, energy and imagination). You need lots of information. You need thinking time, analysis, ideas, creativity and imagination, all wrapped up into "brain power." Finally, you need initiative: the ability to want to do something, and the ability to get it done.

Here's a simple process to creating a marketing plan using just seven sentences:

Sentence 1: What is the purpose of your marketing?

Sentence 2: Who is your target market?

Sentence 3: What is your niche?

Sentence 4: What are the benefits and competitive advantage?

Sentence 5: What is your identity?

Sentence 6: What tactics, strategies and weapons will you use to carry out your marketing?

Sentence 7: How much money will you spend on your marketing; what's your marketing budget?

These sentences represent your marketing plan outline.

"Build it and they will come" isn't an effective marketing plan or strategy. A successful plan boils down to two essentials:

1. Knowing your market inside and out, including what customers want and expect.

2. Identifying what's in your way to satisfy customers: e.g., competitors, barriers to entry, costs, outside influences, budgets, knowledge, etc.

Full article

Sentence 1: What is the purpose of your marketing? seems a little wasted on the surface but real focused marketing efforts are more that "to create more sales." The purpose can be introduction of a new product, highlighting a product or service of your business, branding of your business or something very focused like communicating the addition of a new employee. Knowing the purpose of the effort is important and I think that is why the author listed as item one.

Sentence 2: Who is your target market? Do you know your target market? This is incredibly important in any communication and one I talk about often when building websites. Who are you trying to reach? How old are they? What is their education level? Where do they live? What motivates them to buy?

Digging into this one element of the plan can reveal hundreds of hidden treasures up to and including markets that you didn't realize existed. Knowing the answers to these questions will provide answers to questions that need to be addressed later especially when considering how to reach the target market.

I'll write sometime about the "Psychographics" of the target market. It is the emotional part of the target market and it's important. I'm sure you've heard of demographics and this is similar and closely related. In brief, it's the why behind the who.

Sentence 3: What is your niche? No matter if you're a start up or an existing business, discovering your niche is important. Attempting to be all things to all people will be an exercise in futility. Find your niche by looking closely at your product or service, then ask yourself, what do I do best? What do I enjoy doing? This will help build sentence 4.

Sentence 4: What are the benefits and competitive advantage? See... told ya! There is a term in selling called FAB... feature, advantage, benefit. What is your product, service, company features? What advantages do you have over competing products and/or services? And what are the benefits to the customer? This last one is important because in the end, that is what will decide if your product, service or message is accepted and purchased.

Sentence 5: What is your identity? I'm not sure where he was headed with this but brand identity is near and dear to my heart. Identity is much more than a logo, an image, a name or a cool tag line. Identity permeates your entire business. Just like a social identity, sometimes it takes great effort to create that perfect image. However, in this context, knowing the answers to the above questions can help you discover the identity that will assist your marketing efforts.

Sentence 6: What tactics, strategies and weapons will you use to carry out your marketing? I love this one and when considering your answer, you should read the rest of Al's article. This is not something that can be considered lightly. Reducing it to one sentence will be difficult if possible at all.

I've had numerous discussions with marketing professionals about the importance of knowing the market and the tools to reach that market effectively. Understanding the effectiveness of the "weapons" is a key element in an battle plan and so few people have a true understanding of the weapons available in south central Kentucky. I've been researching this myself and will likely post some of my findings, but some will be just for me and my clients.

Sentence 7: How much money will you spend on your marketing; what's your marketing budget? This is complicated because if approached from the "how much do I have to spend" angle only, then your efforts will be handicapped. Personally, I think that this budget needs to be established in three distinct steps. Step one, identify all available methods and their cost, decide for yourself which have historically been effective and which you believe will reach your intended audience at a time they are ready to buy. Step two, establish a reasonable response from the available methods in sales so a return on investment can be established. This will help you with step three, set out a firm calendar with checkpoints, methods of quantifying results and alternate plans when something is performing less than anticipated. Now you can write sentence 7.

This was posted by SoKy : 1:09 PM  0 comments links to this post

Worry, it erodes the soul of many people and for independent small business people, worry creeps into to every aspect of our lives. All the things we must consider like earnings, cash flow, marketing, expenses, leases, employees, deadlines, new customers, lost customers, time, resources and on and on and on, we've got plenty to be worried about. But worry can be overcome through planning, policy, organization and good decisions.

I've recently opened another office and moved all of my "stuff" in. Got it all set up and then worried just a little bit about its security. Was someone going to break in a steal my stuff? How would I recover if they did? What can I do to prevent a break in? What would I do if all my stuff was lost?

I wasn't as worried about loss of equipment or information at my other company because I had a good recovery plan as well as adequate insurance to cover any loss. I was however concerned for the safety of the workers because they are very special to me. I had considered and dismissed getting a security system installed because I felt it was too much trouble, too expensive and frankly too paranoid.

After three bank robberies in the area in as many months and learning that the escape route of the bank robbers was within yards of my store, I decided that it might be a good idea to reconsider my decision if for no other reason, to protect the people in and around my business. I wanted them to have a "panic" button that would call the police instantly if the need arose.

Considering my options, I called a person I had met through my activity in the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce, Mrs. Patricia Corcoran of Martin Security Systems, Inc. She had called on us when we opened the travel agency and I'd seen her at various chamber functions throughout the year. She was always nice and never pushy. Once she and I discussed the alarm system in the past and I told her I wasn't interested, she backed off and allowed me my decision. She was still very nice when I saw her and still offered to pay me for any referrals I sent her way. I was (and am) impressed.

When I had "reconsidered my decision" regarding the alarm system I asked my wife to help me find the number of "that really nice lady who sells ADT." She did, I called and Patricia was more than happy to help me re-evaluate my needs.

Patricia and I explored my main concern and she told me about the remote control panic option which allowed Carrie the ability to call for help from a button on their keychain. Now this is cool. (Sales lesson, address the client's key concern first, establish trust then sell the other features.) She explained the entire system and in that we already had some equipment installed that we inherited, she explained how we could work with that but get a free upgrade with our signed contract.

The installer came within days, installed the upgrades, demonstrated the control panel and "key fob's," and we were protected. If someone broke in after hours, the alarm would go off. Though we had a control panel, the new remote controls allowed Carrie to activate and deactivate the alarm just like a remote door lock on their cars. I was comforted knowing that if at any time they felt threatened or scared, they could press the panic button on the same remote and call the police. Ahhhh... peace.

When I opened my new home office for SoKy.net, I knew exactly who I was going to call... yep, you guessed it; Patricia Corcoran and Martin Security Systems. They had me hooked up in a couple of days and ADT has been great. I didn't need the panic button, but I got it anyway and I didn't need the remote, but I got it anyway because that's just what they do.

One lesson learned however. I guess I didn't read the small print because as it would appear, a permit must be purchased from the City of Bowling Green for the alarm system. We kind of learned the hard way after the alarm went off one night. We received a gentle reminder from the city with the form. Yes, we sent the form and a check... oops.

Now, back to my point. With all of the things on my mind and those things that are causing concern or dare I say, worry, I no longer wake with a concern that one of businesses will be sacked. I don't even think about the travel agency staff and of their safety because I know they are careful and have that panic button.

I was talking to Patricia when she came to set up SoKy.net and told her that I had no idea how much peace a security system offered. I explained that though I wasn't worried about things like that, the added protection of a security system felt better than I expected. At first, I didn't think the monthly monitoring fee was worth it, I stand corrected. I gladly pay for 24 hour monitoring of my businesses for that one less thing to worry about. It does offer peace of mind and an added assurance that I am doing what I need to do to protect my business and my customer's information.

I'll write more about other ways I protect myself through information back ups, network firewalls, passwords and insurance. It's my opinion that thinking about these things in advance saves hours of careful consideration (worry), and though some people might classify it as paranoia or needless expense, my response is simple; just think of all the new things you'll get to worry about after a break in. All the new "issues" you'll be forced to address when your computers, files, rolodex's, phones and other office equipment disappear overnight.

Frankly, disaster preparedness should be part of anyone's effective business plan and to me, it's just as important as the finance, marketing or operational sections. Being prepared for the worst has an extremely direct effect on how fast you can recover from those things we don't want to think about. A security system is one important part of protecting the people, information and assets of your small business... and those are things we all worry... eh... I mean "think" about.

Contact Patricia Corcoran at 270-791-4633 and let her know you read this. You may also want to let her know that she needs an email address and website. (grin) She is very attentive, very informative and very responsive to her customers... give her a chance and I think you'll be glad you did.

Other links

• City of Bowling Green www.bgky.org
• ADT Security www.ADT.com
• Martin Security Systems, Inc. *(no wbsite)* call Patricia @ 791-4633
• Honeywell Security Products (The kind Patricia Sells)
• Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce
• Soky.Net, LLC

Oh... FTR: Neither Martin Security nor Patricia Corcoran paid me to write this up. However, if you would happen to purchase a system through her as a result of this article and mention it when you do, I may be eligible for a referral fee. My motive for writing this is not the fee, it is simply sharing my personal experience and peace of mind with an installed security system.

This was posted by SoKy : 1:54 PM  0 comments links to this post

I made the decision to join the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce... again.

I've written a number of times about my activity with the local area Chamber of Commerce and rightfully so because it is an integral part of my business strategy. By being an active member in the local chamber, I'm offered a number of opportunities to get face to face with other business people in my community, many times discover new opportunities, receiving new leads or making new friends.

When my partners and I were starting a new travel agency from scratch, we unanimously agreed that joining the chamber was important. We felt is was important from a marketing standpoint, but we also felt it would help us understand the local business mindset and underlying politics of out business community. We were right! What I didn't foresee was the number and quality of real friendships I would create through my involvement in the chamber.

Soky.net has been in existence since oh about 1995 in one form or another when I was trained in the Air Force while serving as Superintendent of Public Affairs for the 908th Airlift Wing. While she [SoKy.net] endured the pressures of extremely part-time attention because of other employment, military service or other business ventures, SoKy.net has been there. My experience with the travel agency and the local business community helped me see the potential for SoKy.net because of my unique skill set and a definite need for those skills. My primary source of income has been from my skills as a webmaster since 1998. 2006 is the year I have chosen to share those skills with my community and build my own business.

After reviewing a variety of the networking opportunities (social marketing as I call it) in south central Kentucky I made the decision that joining the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce was something I not only wanted to do, but needed to do to grow my small business.

So... I called one of my favorite "Chamber Ambassadors," Mr. Tim Hunt and asked him to bring me a registration form. It was an easy sell for him because he knew I was already decided and in fact, Tim is one of those good friends I mentioned earlier.

I emptied my piggy bank and wrote a check to the chamber for $290.00. Sounds like allot but really, it's less than $25.00 per month. Next year, it will only be $270 because I won't have to pay the one time Enrollment (flogging) Fee.

 I took my form and my check to the chamber office because I was also attending a very exciting event in the community room; the "2006 Legislative Wrap-up" which was hosted by the Chamber's "Government Relations Committee." (As a partner with the travel agency, I was on the mailing list and invited to attend.) This meeting offered the business community a briefing by top and local legislative leaders who had just finished the 2006 legislative session. Representative Jody Richards (D) House District 20 (Speaker of the House.) Speaker of the house opened the session and Representative Jim DeCesare (R) House District 21 also shared. State Senator Brett Guthrie (R) Senate District - 32 shared some amazing insight to the state senate and more pointedly, the transportation committee.

Or maybe it was the Washington Update which was held on Wednesday, April 12 at the Chamber in the Community Room. Senator Mitch McConnell (R) Senate Majority Whip, gave an update on the 2006 General Assembly.

My point to all this is to help you understand the diversity of opportunities offered through my membership. These two events gave me access to some of our commonwealth and countries top leaders. My membership (partnership) offers me exclusive insight into the minds, methods and motives of the shapers of our community. To me, this is a bonus on top of the networking, ribbon cuttings, golf outings and after hours events.

Side Note: I joined the chamber back in the 90's for SoKy.net (then under Signaweb). I paid my fees, received my stickers and then got nothing out of it. Nope, my phone didn't start ringing off the hook with people wanting to throw money at me as I had dreamed. My mistake wasn't joining the chamber, my mistake was joining the chamber and not getting involved in the vast array of opportunities offered. If you are reading this then you are likely a small business person with a desire to grow or improve your business, if you read nothing else read this: Joining the chamber is just the first step, you have to get involved and attend the functions. To me, the greatest asset of the chamber is not the business office or the publications, the real value of the chamber comes through involvement. Shake some hands, hand out some cards, get to know you prospective customers and yes, even your competition. In my opinion, this is the secret sauce of a Chamber partnership.

So here I am holding my canceled check paid to the chamber and even received my first issue of the bi-monthly chamber magazine "Chamber Connection," where I found my beloved SoKy.net list on page 5. What next? Well besides the nearly daily email updates and announcements from the chamber website, I received a call from Ryan Marcum wanting to schedule a time for he and the famous Dana Matukas to come to my office. I thought that was odd and queried as to the reason for the visit. He said, "To welcome you to the chamber and give you your welcome kit." I thought this is going to be interesting, so we set an appointment.

Ryan Marcum is the new "Partnership Sales Representative" for the chamber. Cool job I think. (Read about it here.) Dana Matukas is the "Partnership Development Director" and a fireball of enthusiasm and excitement. She absolutely amazes me every time I see her at a chamber function because of her infectious good spirit. Dana knows me not only from chamber events but also as a customer at the travel agency. I was looking forward to this visit.

They arrived and we sat, standard enough I thought. Then they gave me my welcome kit and Dana introduced Mr. Marcum. I proceeded to offer my opinion(s) as to the strength of the chamber and all the advantages of membership from a sales perspective. I tried to share my thoughts as to why the chamber is a better choice that "the other" networking schemes in our area. He seemed attentive and eager. Dana admitted that usually she discusses all the benefits of chamber partnership but in that I've been an active member for the past year and a half, it seemed pointless.

One thing did surprise me though; Dana and Ryan seemed genuinely interested in my business. They asked questions and listened intently as I explained what makes SoKy.net better than any other web development and marketing company anywhere. I shared some of my top secret plans for community involvement and also chamber partner assistance and they were patient, kind and seemed interested. Then I began my seminar on good website layout, government requirements for people with disabilities and how my methods of publishing result in the best search engine results possible. Normally, this is where I lose my audience (grin). Not them, they listened and even started taking notes. Thanks guys, I really felt heard.

Oh... my welcome kit. I already mentioned that I received my chamber magazine and have been receiving regular emails so I already felt part of the partnership but wait, there's more...

Dana and Ryan brought me a pile of other cools stuff.

My new Chamber of Commerce welcome kit.

• Front Window Sticker
• Countertop sign
• Committee Preference Form
• Score Information letter
• Make the most of your partnership info
• Bowling Green KY magazine
• 2005-2006 Chamber Directory
• Ryan Marcum's business card

The front window sticker is a reverse printed sticker that you can put in your front window or glass door and let your customers know when they enter that you have invested in your community and are a member of the local area Chamber of Commerce.

The countertop sign {above} is another way to proclaim your commitment to the chamber.

The Committee Preference Form lists 8 difference committees that you can join. This is not my favorite way to get involved but there may be some of interest to you. From the governmental Relations Committee to the Special Events Committee's, as a partner, you can chose to get as involved as you want. I will likely join the Governmental Relations Committee.

SCORE Information letter. This topic is a post in and of itself. SCORE is a wonderful resource for small business and can be found online at http://www.score.org/ The Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce hosts a SCORE team ever Tuesday at 9:00 AM. I've never been because of a weekly conference call I have that conflicts, but I will because there's nothing like free, experienced and impartial advice. Did I mention it's free?

Make the most of your partnership info is a two page presentation of more ways to invest in the chamber and the events. Investments from $25 door prizes to $400,000 building naming rights are explained.

Bowling Green KY magazine is a production of the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce with "CommunityLink," a publishing service of Craig Williams Creative, Inc. This wonderful magazine profiles our entire community from legislators to public services. It offers articles and maps, statistics and contact information and some really interesting stories for and about the Bowling Green Area.

2005-2006 Chamber Directory is a resource that I have used often. Needless to say, it lists all chamber partners and their representatives. It does so with class and in a manner that makes it easy to find what you're looking for. Companies are listed three different ways. By company name alphabetically, by contact email and by category. It also has a number of advertisements from chamber partners that gives a little more insight into fellow partners and their products and services.

Ryan Marcum's business card was an added bonus :) and actually, I'm adding it here because if you are a company who does business in the SoKy area, you should not hesitate to join the chamber. If you are a small business just starting out in Bowling Green and/or the Barren River Development District, you would do well to join this award winning chamber of commerce.

This was posted by SoKy : 3:17 PM  0 comments links to this post