Written by Phil Covington
Founder, ABCIncome.com
(c) copyright 2004 GRPMAX, L.L.C. & Phil Covington
Original URL: http://www.abcincome.com/articles/
Some things, like engineering, physics, or chemistry, largely involve cold, hard numbers, formulas, and logic. While other things, such as fashion, public speaking, or movie making, involve art, sometimes mixed with a little emotion. A few things, such as marketing and building a successful home business, may involve both.
If your home business, or any business for that matter, is to survive you will definitely want to pay attention to, “the numbers.” At minimum you need to know how much you are spending, what your costs are, and how much you are making (your profit).
But because successfully marketing a home business can also involve artful factors such as personality, people skills, and even such subtle things as your speaking voice, in addition to the numbers you’ll also need to master the artful aspects of business and marketing. Some like to refer to it as the art and science of marketing.
The media and marketing blitzes that surround major events like the Super Bowl are a veritable showcase of what it means for art to meet form, function, and plain old fashion business profit. Advertisers go all out to produce Super Bowel commercials that are as much if not more art, than anything else. But, there is definitely function behind the form because advertisers aren’t running those commercials merely to get laughs or great reactions from the audience. They want viewers to react by purchasing the products being featured, thus generating revenue and, hopefully, profits, which is what most businesses, including your home business, are all about.
The problem with all of the above, especially for the home business marketer or individual, is that the artful side of marketing can often be the success ingredient that is the most difficult to grasp. Numbers are much easier: either you make a sale (or sales), or you don’t. How many sales did you make today? How many people did you sign up? All easy to determine with simple arithmetic.
In contrast, how do you measure whether or not your prospective customer or client connects with the way you speak, or the sound of your voice? If you are meeting with people in person then everything from your sense of style (the clothes you wear), to the meeting location, and a myriad of other factors can also come into play.
Over the years how much discussion has there been in the corporate World over such things as whether or not one should be concerned about, “overdressing?” In other words, is it possible to lose points with a prospective customer or client if you happen to be better dressed? And, of course, there is no argument over the potential pitfalls of the opposite end of the spectrum, being under dressed for the occasion. I remember the owners (partners) in one successful small business explaining why they drove top-end Chryslers instead of more expensive cars because driving up in something more extravagant would send the wrong message to their particular clientele…
Again, how do you put a value on such things? How do you gauge? Let alone know all of the possible rules and potential pitfalls. And, of course, artful factors like these can change with the winds, so what works like a charm in one situation today, may not work in another situation tomorrow.
Throughout ABCIncome.com there are a number of “lists” of key, important factors that play a major role in whether or not someone will be successful in a home business. Here’s yet one more very brief list of a few of those key factors:
1. You have to have the right opportunity.
2. You have to have the right product(s) and/or service(s).
3. You have to have the right knowledge and training.
4. You have to have the right attitude or mindset, which includes a, “whatever it takes,” resolve to make your dreams happen.
5. You very likely will have to master the art of marketing.
On this last point I say, “very likely,” because sometimes just sheer determination, perseverance, and achieving massive numbers and momentum will get the job done. In other words, if you just keep talking to enough people you’ll eventually find those people who want what you have to offer. However, any number or all of the above factors can prevent you from achieving this latter method. For instance, if you are simply not one to present yourself well, or you have a poor speaking voice, you may have a difficult time getting very far.
A lack of the, “whatever it takes,” attitude and level of commitment mentioned in #4 above comes in very high on the list of factors that prevent people from achieving the success they are looking for. In other words, some people simply don’t have what it takes or are unwilling to put forth the necessary effort and sacrifice. But, even if you do have almost all of the above, an inability to master #5, the art of marketing, can still prevent you from achieving your goals.
Making art an even more literal example, let’s ask ourselves a question: If someone takes it upon themselves to become an aspiring artist, whose fault is it if that person does not succeed? It is possible that perhaps the paints are no good, or the canvas is bad, or maybe the brushes have bristles that are too stiff? Maybe the art instructor is no good? But, assuming the best equipment and supplies in perfect working order, and the best instruction, then why is it that some people still won’t or can’t learn to paint even under the best of circumstances?
Or, an example that would probably apply to more people: Why is it that some people feel that they can never take good pictures, no matter how good the camera they are using?
The answer to both of the above is that some endeavors, like marketing, or painting, or photography, involve as much if not more art as they do science.
Because not everyone has an artistic eye, and because personal experience, preference, and ability in these areas varies considerably, it means that even under the best of circumstances not everyone’s results will be the same when choosing to market a particular product or service.
There is another key factor that often works to get in the way when people try to build their own home business -- even if they already have or can attain the kind of talent and ability needed to master the art of marketing -- and that is simply that, often, life gets in the way.
Work (in an existing job or occupation), school, family, church, hobbies, mowing the lawn or tending the garden, and an endless number of other things, can derail even the best made plans and intentions of achieving home business success.
And there is also the fact that, even if one already possesses the necessary talent and skill, or can acquire it, maybe you would still rather be spending your time doing other things?
Here is an example from my own life that illustrates that point, and it just happens to tie in quite well with the artful theme that we are talking about here.
Years ago I decide that I wanted to do something special for one of the choir directors and singers in our church choir. Trying to think of something that wouldn’t be just a run-of-the-mill gift, I thought it would be neat to present her with her very own gold record, like the ones that are awarded to celebrity singers with best selling records. I’m sure that now you could actually find a source where you could by a gold or platinum record already made and framed. However, at the time I had to acquire a gold record and label and then look for an appropriate frame to put it in.
I stopped into a frame shop that I remembered often passing on Grand Rapids’ busy 28th Street, where I lived at the time. Before going there I even looked in the Yellow Pages, and that particular store seemed to be the best available option. I was fully intending to walk in, select a frame, and then either wait while someone from the store framed everything for me, or to come back to the store later to pick it up.
Much to my surprise it was only upon my arrival at the store that I discovered that, yes, it was indeed a frame store, but it was a store dedicated almost exclusively to the customer assembling their own picture frame right in the store! Not what I was expecting! However, it was already Saturday evening and I wanted to present my gift the next day, so my options suddenly became very limited. Under the circumstances I chose to roll up my sleeves and build a picture frame, from scratch, right there in the store. Fortunately, it actually turned out pretty well. When I presented her with her own hit gold record the next day she was elated.
While it’s true that that gift became even more special because I literally made it with my own hands, it would have been no less appreciated, or any less sincerely meant, if I hadn’t built the frame myself. Being just as busy as anyone else, and maybe more so, I easily would have opted to have someone else do that part for me if it someone able to provide that service had been available.
Of course, if you’re into arts and crafts, or you like building picture frames, more power to you! It’s obviously a hobby that many people enjoy. Ditto for painting and photography.
However, judging by the fact that that do-it-yourself picture framing store is no longer in business, my guess is that most people, like me, would also rather have someone else do their picture framing for them, while we spend our time on other things that we enjoy more or are better at, than take our time to try to build picture frames ourselves.
If you happen to be reading this article to apply what you’ve learned to an existing business I hope this article helps point out a few of the reasons why people don’t always achieve the home business success they are looking for. Because, if you are to be successful, you MUST master the art of marketing yourself and your business. If you don’t already possess those skills, given the right training, perhaps you can learn.
On the other hand, if you’re more inclined to have someone else do that part for you, remember that ABCIncome.com is the only one with a patent-pending system designed to build a person’s home business with guaranteed results. The pioneering programs that we created are called We Guarantee To Build Your Business! and you can learn more about them at this page:
