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Advertizing ??????

6K views 68 replies 17 participants last post by  hardworkingstiff 
#1 ·
ive started a small electrical shop and im not really pulling in any jobs at the moment ,,, we've done the business cards and fliers but it just is'nt enough,, what did you guys do in the stating up of your shops ???? i need to get my name out there but the adds on radio and in the news papers are outragesly over priced,,,,,,,,,,
 
#2 ·
Unfortunately, what we did 30 years ago to start our businesses is not relevant in today's economy. Here's the current situation: The market for electrical wiring has contracted profoundly, in other words, there's far fewer people in need of electrical wiring than in the last 30 years. This has caused established electrical contractors to lay off thousands of electricians. These laid off workers have been forced to go into business for themselves, either informally as Craigslist side job hacks or formally as newly licensed electrical contractors...

So we have a peculiar situation here, we have far few electrical projects then ever before and ironically, this has caused an increase in the number of businesses that are competing for what few projects are out there. I know of no other industry where massive lay offs actually increase the number of businesses in the industry.

Think about it, when the economy caused people to stop buying cars, did the number of car dealerships suddenly double over night?

Yet, in the construction industry we have this perverse economy, when work gets tight, the men we lay off go into business and suddenly to add insult to injury, there are now twice as many businesses chasing half as many jobs.

But wait, there's more...

These new "contractors" enter the market and because either they are ignorant or desperate, they artificially lower prices in the industry. They take what little work there is and the do it at below market rates. This causes further economic stress in the industry.

So currently we have a "perfect storm" of problems in this industry, we have this truly remarkable situation where a reduction in the workforce creates an increase in competition.

Most of the rah-rah-sis-boom-bah cheerleaders and perennial optimists on this site will give you a thumbs up and tell you what amazing opportunities exist for people who think positively and vote Republican, but the grim, meat hook reality is this is the worst possible time to start a business...
 
#8 ·
Unfortunately, what we did 30 years ago to start our businesses is not relevant in today's economy. Here's the current situation: The market for electrical wiring has contracted profoundly, in other words, there's far fewer people in need of electrical wiring than in the last 30 years. This has caused established electrical contractors to lay off thousands of electricians. These laid off workers have been forced to go into business for themselves, either informally as Craigslist side job hacks or formally as newly licensed electrical contractors...

So we have a peculiar situation here, we have far few electrical projects then ever before and ironically, this has caused an increase in the number of businesses that are competing for what few projects are out there. I know of no other industry where massive lay offs actually increase the number of businesses in the industry.

Think about it, when the economy caused people to stop buying cars, did the number of car dealerships suddenly double over night?

Yet, in the construction industry we have this perverse economy, when work gets tight, the men we lay off go into business and suddenly to add insult to injury, there are now twice as many businesses chasing half as many jobs.

But wait, there's more...

These new "contractors" enter the market and because either they are ignorant or desperate, they artificially lower prices in the industry. They take what little work there is and the do it at below market rates. This causes further economic stress in the industry.

So currently we have a "perfect storm" of problems in this industry, we have this truly remarkable situation where a reduction in the workforce creates an increase in competition.

Most of the rah-rah-sis-boom-bah cheerleaders and perennial optimists on this site will give you a thumbs up and tell you what amazing opportunities exist for people who think positively and vote Republican, but the grim, meat hook reality is this is the worst possible time to start a business...
I dont often agree with your point of view, but, this post is spot on!:thumbup: I have been in the business for 26 years and these last 18 months have been very dissapointing........
 
#15 ·
Yep it sure as hell does make a difference. I started my company in 1984, had a lousy first year cause I didn't plan or advertise but I wised up right away. Year two wired an entire condominium complex and two TCBY yogurts. Year three wired another dozen TCBYs, picked up a few Little Ceasars and a tire store. Ronald Reagan was in charge along with his tax cuts. Best part was the fact that there wasn't enough electrical contractors on the island back then to handle all the work. Now there is enough to tip it over if they all migrate to one end of it like they did on Guam......
 
#16 ·
Not directly..... everything is so messed up right now, it is gonna take several years to right this ship. I dont know that anyone would know where to begin....... I dont even know if Dems and Repubs even know the difference between themselves anymore...... I sure cant tell most of them apart.

I dont even know what I am anymore..... for abortion and gun rights.....what does that make me???
 
#20 ·
Do you do any residential service work? If so pm me I will tell you one place I advertise where the customers are always high end and dont mind paying 100.00 hour for quality service. This one place increased my service work by 30 to 50 calls a month.
 
#21 ·
In the national news today there appeared to be some sort of denial of service overload attack directed at a mail server located in North Carolina.......
 
#23 ·
For the OP.
How to Run a One-Person Business Starting and running a business alone isn’t for everyone. If you’re up to the challenge, here are a few tips to make it work.

So you’re sick of your corporate gig and dream of making a living as a solopreneur? Actually, you’re not alone (pun intended). There are now more than 20 million single-person businesses in the United States, accounting for more than three-fourths of all U.S. businesses, according to recent U.S. Census data.
The prospect of running your own business has some obvious appeal. Being your own boss lets you set your own schedule – at least theoretically. This has some clear advantages for the family man or woman.
But be warned: working for yourself isn’t for everyone. “Just because you’re a great technician at what you do doesn’t mean you’ll automatically be a great entrepreneur, too,” says Marla Tabaka, a business coach who writes The Successful Soloist blog for Inc.com. “They’re two totally different hats to wear.”
Running the show solo requires ample amounts of determination, discipline, and fearlessness. “I’ve had many days where I just want to bury my head in the sand and ask, What did I get myself into?” says Chris Jordan, owner of Atlanta Insurance Live, an insurance firm based at his home in Atlanta.
But if you think you’ve got what it takes, follow our tips for building the foundation of a successful venture.
Running a One-Person Business: Getting Off the Ground
Getting a solo business off the ground takes more than a great idea. Like any start-up, it takes a specific, concrete business plan that includes your goals for becoming a solo practitioner. (Do you want to sell your business eventually, or do you just want a change of lifestyle?)
Putting together a plan will force you to think through that bright idea as an actual business. You might find your can’t-miss opportunity was nothing but a pipe dream.
“The biggest mistake I see these days is thinking that a business idea will automatically turn into a viable business model,” says Terri Lonier, president and founder of Working Solo, a New Paltz, New York-based business strategy consultancy, and author of Working Solo: The Real Guide to Freedom and Financial Success with Your Own Business.
Then again, what if the idea really is viable?
“A lot of people start with a kitchen table idea,” Tabaka says. “It’s a great idea you come up with your cousin at dinner. But then the business booms, and your growth gets out of control. You need a plan.”
Another important consideration is your personal financial resources. Make sure you have a considerable amount of capital set aside, especially because in a sole proprietorship you assume personal liability for all activities of that business. If you borrow money and can’t repay it, your personal assets are at stake.
It’s also smart to play to your strengths. “The best thing you can do is to make sure that you’re getting into something that suits you and what you want to do,” Lonier says. “It should be something that uses your unique capabilities and experience to allow you to position yourself uniquely in the marketplace.”
Indeed, drawing upon your previous professional experiences can really get the ball rolling for your new solo venture. “It took me seven years working at a big company to build a clientele,” says Michael Nunziato, a now independent hair stylist in St. Charles, Illinois.
So remember: just because you spent a lot of time in coffee shops while peddling insurance doesn’t mean you’re ready to open that espresso bar.
At the beginning, it’s really up to you to determine how the business functions, so be prepared for a migraine or two. “There’s a lot of scrambling,” Lonier says. “It’s like a lot of ducks paddling underneath the water line.”
Dig Deeper: How to write a great business plan
Running a One-Person Business: Stay Focused on What’s Important
Time is a soloist’s most valuable asset, Lonier says. A hawk-like focus on your most important functions as a business owner is essential. Don’t get bogged down on administrative work when you should be focused on marketing your business and driving sales.
As a one-person show, that might prove to be especially difficult. More than one-third of sole proprietors said that their biggest challenge is finding the time and resources to generate new business, according to a recent survey conducted by Visa USA and SCORE, a nonprofit group that counsels entrepreneurs.
And if you aren’t bringing in business to your company, who is?
“The hardest thing for me was leaving the security blanket behind,” Nunziato says. “Having a big name behind you really helps bring people in the door.”
If you’re trying to build a marketing strategy from the ground up, you need to be clear on who your customers are, because you don’t have any time to waste on marketing to those who aren’t. “That’s really the biggest challenge, determining who exactly your customers are,” Lonier says. “Many times [business owners] think they understand who they are, but you need to be willing to interview and test potential customers, particularly in the early days of a company, in order to be able to build those relationships.”
One way to make marketing easier is through joint-venture marketing, Tabaka says. When she owned a coffeehouse in Naperville, Illinois, she realized that her company and a major drugstore in the same shopping center could work together and support each other’s marketing goals.
Another important and relatively easy way to get your name out into the market is building your web presence through social media like Twitter and Facebook. Be sure you familiarize yourself with and utilize Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to make it easier for people to find your website.
http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/05/running-one-person-business.html
 
#29 ·
Yeah republicans fell away from their conservative roots and became "rino's". Hopefully those weird crazy extreme right wing tea party people who believe in low taxes and limited gov't (sounds damn libertarian) will hold repub's feet to the fire.
 
#39 ·
What Obama Has Done

News Analysis By any ordinary measure, President Obama’s first year in office would be considered commendable. But these aren’t ordinary times, and the president was called upon early on to make some extraordinary decisions. In many cases, he put politics aside and did what he thought was right for the country.
At the same time, he started the process of righting the wrongs that led to the country’s current predicament and moved forward on his principle campaign promise -- to restore the nation’s standing as the world’s political and economic leader in the twenty-first century.

“Even though it was politically unpopular and counter to his own political beliefs, the Wall Street bailout was a necessary evil to prevent a far greater economic calamity.”

If the president did nothing else, the passage of health care reform alone would be enough to merit high marks during his first year in office. It’s already being compared to monumental accomplishments such as the passage of social security, Medicare, and voting rights legislation.
This new era of health care is especially meaningful to small businesses, many of which have borne the brunt of the spiraling health care crisis. More than 30 million people will get coverage, most of who work for small businesses.
Average health insurance premiums for family coverage for small employers have more than doubled from $5,683 in 1999 to $12,091 in 2008, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. A separate survey by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association found that 61 percent of small firms did not offer insurance because owners did not think their employees could afford to help pay the premiums.
The legislation will help reduce costs; millions of small-business owners will be eligible for tax credits that will help them cover the cost of insurance for their employees. And it will ban some of the more egregious health insurance practices that are used to jack up rates or purge small firms.
The health law may also boost employment at small businesses this year, according to Alec Phillips, an economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Companies with fewer than 25 workers will receive subsidies to offer insurance. Firms with fewer than 10 workers may have the most to gain; they’ll receive a 35 percent subsidy to help pay premiums, Phillips said.
And while history will be the ultimate judge, Obama has accomplished something that presidents Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton couldn’t.
Though the health care reform bill is arguably riddled with compromises and certain to contain flaws, such is the process of democracy. As Winston Churchill said, "it is the worst form of government, except for all others that have been tried."
The significance of health care reform is second, however, to the president’s swift action in the first days of his administration to contain the financial crisis. He moved swiftly to carry out the bailout of Wall Street initiated by the Bush administration.

Even though it was politically unpopular and counter to his own political beliefs, the Wall Street bailout was a necessary evil to prevent a far greater economic calamity. The $787 billion economic stimulus he signed in February was equally controversial. But a growing body of evidence suggests it helped stabilize the economy.
For instance, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office issued a report estimating that "in the third quarter of calendar year 2009, an additional 600,000 to 1.6 million people were employed in the United States" due to that legislation.
The president’s decision to bailout General Motors and Chrysler – again highly controversial – was also pivotal to preventing the severe recession from becoming a depression. A General Motors bankruptcy at that point in the crisis would have touched off a chain reaction that would have thrown millions of additional people out of work and clearly driven the unemployment rate above 11 percent. The measure not only kept General Motors in business, but thousands of small businesses.
Independent suppliers manufacture 70 percent of the 15,000 parts -- including seats, engine blocks, electronics, and bumpers -- that go into a single automobile. Collectively, they make up a $388 billion industry that accounts for more than 600,000 of the 2 million American jobs tied to the auto industry. Of those, the overwhelming majority are small businesses with an average of 80 to 100 employees, according to industry experts.
While the economic crisis and the health care debate have dominated the news, the president has also made several other significant policy decisions.
Obama signed into law some of the most sweeping changes to the credit card industry in 40 years, adding restrictions on interest rate increases and fees and restricting the marketing of credit cards to college students.
Credit cards have become a principal form of financing for small businesses. Up until the early 1990s, only about 16 percent of small business owners used credit cards for capital. But a National Small Business Association survey found that more than 44 percent of those polled had used credit cards for financing by 2008.
Also compelling is that a majority of small business owners (53 percent) say their credit card terms have grown worse over the past five years, according to the NSBA.
Obama also signed an executive order easing Bush-era restrictions on the use of federal money for embryonic stem cell research and signed another bill creating tax incentives for developing nuclear energy and other alternative forms of energy. Small firms stand to be big beneficiaries of both measures. The president set the stage for expansion by proposing tax credits for new hires and wage increases; elimination of capital-gains tax on investments in small business, and tax incentives for investment in new facilities and equipment.
Given the backdrop of the economic crisis which overshadowed his administration, Obama has still managed to move forward on key elements of his presidential agenda. By any measure, that’s a successful first year.
 
#40 ·
What Obama Has Not Done

News Analysis When President Obama’s popularity dove below 50 percent in the polls, critics saw it as a sign that the president had simply stumbled during his first year in office. When he lost actor Matt Damon, however, just exactly how much he had stumbled finally came into focus.
Damon was one of the most visible and ardent celebrities campaigning for the president during the election. More recently, however, the actor told The New York Daily News that he was "disappointed" after the president’s first year in office.
"Everyone feels a little let down, because on some level, people expected all their problems to go away," Damon said.

“The president set the stage for failed expectations, especially among ardent supporters, by promising more sweeping change on the campaign trail than he could deliver once elected.”

Indeed, perhaps Obama’s biggest shortcoming during his first year in office may have been his inability to manage expectations -- not that he didn’t try. He repeatedly warned about the depths of the nation’s ills, and the lack of easy solutions to correct problems that have been festering, in many cases, for decades.
But his message was lost on the public for reasons that can be traced to the nature of his campaign, the complexity of the issues he faced entering office, and his underestimation of the impact of the hard-right’s misinformation campaign against health care reform.
The president set the stage for failed expectations, especially among ardent supporters, by promising more sweeping change on the campaign trail than he could deliver once elected. In fact, Obama moved noticeably to the right once in office.
His decision to drop into the background and let Congress hash out the details of the health care reform bill caused confusion and made the effort appear leaderless, especially since the public was expecting a proposal directly from the Oval Office.
And it’s been that lack of clear direction and strong leadership from the president that has left the issue vulnerable to right-wing misinformation.
One example of how that confusion over the issues has manifested itself was when seniors turned out at boisterous town hall meetings to protest the government’s so-called "take over" of health care, yet fiercely defended Medicare, a government-run program.
The president’s misjudgment of his role, his over-extended plea for bi-partisanship, and slow response to the misinformation campaign nearly cost him the bill. It also hurt his approval rating.
So how does his track record compare?
During his first year in office, Obama averaged a 57 percent approval rating, according to Gallup. Meanwhile, former presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush all ended their first year in office with higher job approval totals.

But former President Ronald Reagan, considered the greatest Republican president in the modern era, tied Obama at 57 percent and Bill Clinton, the only president to leave office with the federal budget in surplus, record employment, and a booming economy, scored even lower, at 49 percent.
From a small business perspective, Obama’s biggest shortcoming was his failure to move quickly enough to recognize Main Street’s problems and to craft more effective solutions to the credit crisis.
In retrospect, his signature program to boost small business credit, the $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund, looks more like a back-door effort to bail out community banks. It funnels low-cost capital to community banks along with incentives to increase their small business loans beyond 2009 levels. But with 40 percent of the nation’s small banks facing significant over-exposure on troubled commercial loan portfolios, it remains to be seen how much money will actually be lent. It could turn out that most of that money will be socked away to build up loan-loss reserves, a move mirroring what the big banks did.
While he has significantly bolstered lending programs at the Small Business Administration, the effort is too small to have a significant effect on the credit crisis. Only about 1 percent of small firms are involved with SBA loan programs.
The president, so far, has steered away from more dramatic efforts, such as a program to make direct loans to small businesses, even though Democrats in the House are pushing legislation to do so.
The administration has also yet to crack the code on the nation’s real estate crisis. A record 2.8 million households were threatened with foreclosure last year, according to RealtyTrac, an agency that tracks the data. The number is expected to rise to more than 3 million homes this year, while an untold number of mortgages are under water.
The problem directly impacts small businesses, because home equity loans were one of the biggest sources of small business financing before the downturn. The president’s program to modify mortgages has failed to put a dent in the problem.
In that sense, small businesses probably feel a lot like Matt Damon. They entered the year with high hopes and suffered a failure of expectations.
 
#41 ·
What Obama Should Do

News Analysis President Obama’s sweeping victory on health care reform shows that it is possible to pass transformational policies in Washington. But the real test for his second year in office will be his efforts to restart the economy.
Although a recovery is underway, it’s fragile and still prone to a double dip recession. As the stimulus funds work their way through the economy, the private sector must kick into gear by hiring and spending on new plant and equipment. So far, that’s not happening on a level that will sustain the turnaround.
“The president demonstrated during the health care debate that his powers of persuasion as chief executive can be critical to rallying Congress and public opinion. He needs to provide the same level of leadership on jobs legislation pending in Congress.”
What’s needed are consumers who feel secure enough in their jobs and futures to start spending, which, in turn, will increase sales at small businesses. One third (34 percent) of small business owners said poor sales is their biggest problem, according to the latest National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) survey. It was the highest response to that category in the survey’s 24-year history.
Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, best summed up the problem when he said in a speech, "the recovery under way seems at this juncture to be tentative and fragile." He added that a "weak banking sector" is what led to muted consumer spending, while "extremely cautious business investment" held the economy back.
The good news is job losses have slowed to an average of 27,000 per month between November 2009 and February 2010, compared with an average of 252,000 between July 2009 and October 2009. And President Obama is also taking steps to generate jobs. Last week he signed into law a bill that includes a $13 billion payroll tax cut for businesses that hire unemployed workers and $19.5 billion for highway-repair programs. Other measures pending in Congress (measures Obama should be pushing) would expand subsidies for state and local construction bonds, extend jobless benefits through the end of the year, and help states pay the salaries of teachers and other public employees.
But these measures are caught in the same logjam that plagued health care reform. Republicans are attempting to block much of the legislation, or modify it substantially.
The president demonstrated during the health care debate that his powers of persuasion as chief executive can be critical to rallying Congress and public opinion. He needs to provide the same level of leadership on jobs legislation pending in Congress.
But even that is not enough. The administration needs to press forward aggressively with financial reform to restore trust in the financial system. Consumers saw their retirement savings vaporized by Wall Street greed. Once bitten, they are now twice shy and need to be assured that their savings will be protected from future implosions. This will be difficult to do without substantive financial reform. President Obama should use his bully pulpit to do just this.
Legislation drafted by Senator Christopher Dodd and the Senate Banking Committee is facing a full Senate vote after passing the committee 13-10, without any Republican support. The bill includes a slew of Wall Street reforms, creates a potentially powerful consumer financial protection agency, and curbs excessive executive bonuses and risky investments. Obama needs to take the lead to make sure these reforms reach his desk to be signed into law.
He also must do more to convince the public that the worst of the financial crisis is behind us and to break the recessionary fears gripping the country.
Once the president has bolstered consumers, his attention should turn to making sure small businesses have access to capital to expand their operations. Until now, many small businesses have been simply trying to survive, not grow. But over the coming quarters, as the economy recovers, small business loan demand is expected to explode, according to Cambridge Winter Center, a nonpartisan think tank dedicated to researching U.S. financial policies. The problem will shift from a "deficit of demand, to a deficit of supply."
During his campaign the president vowed to make small businesses the cornerstone of his recovery plans. The nation won’t recover until the economy starts generating jobs again, and small businesses are best positioned to make that happen. But given the nature of our current downturn, the administration needs to realize that its work has just begun.
 
#44 ·
Who wrote that? The New Republic? MSNBC?
Garbage, mostly. National Health Care will bankrupt us, just like Medicare and SS have.
The stimulus did nada. Cutting the federal budget and cutting taxes further would help waaay more.
He's a freaking typical tax and spend liberal, worse, look at his influences over the years, the man is socialist.
 
#50 ·
What a lot of people do not realize is that the National Health Care is not about money at all. It is about making it so expensive that we would have to rely on the government to get ANY help at all. The Federal government would supply it but at a cost and that cost is subservience. It is the progressive's way of causing fear...and gaining control of our lives.
 
#55 · (Edited)
Bob, I posted the governments own database in my link. There has been claims made that the economy was in the tank before the selected one showed up. The database numbers simply do not support those claims. The media may have tried to convince us the economy was in the tank during the last presidency, but the actual numbers do not support that at all.
 
#57 ·
You gotta love the entertainment value of this thread.

So far, 100% of you are believeing everything you're beloved news media is feeding you.

:laughing::laughing::laughing:

Back to the OP.


Zog hit the nail on the head. Don't follow the herd and go around in circles, find a niche and live the dream.

Cheers.:thumbsup:
 
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