Telephone Book Recycling Program - A Great way to Raise Money

The students of Palsson Elementary School are raising money by collecting old phone books. According to the Lake Cowichan Gazette, Canpages is helping out by doubling the rate:

In addition to helping save paper by recycling, it’s also a chance for the school to raise some money. The school earns 20 cents per Canpages phone book that’s recycled and 10 cents for each Telus phone book.

The CVRD contributes 10 cents for each phone book recycled, with Canpages adding another dime for each of their phone books.

This is a great idea as a fund raiser as it teaches global responsibility and conservation. Canpages is already the only phone book company in the world to be certified Carbon Neutral and they continue to be a environmentally responsible company with these types of initiatives.

I challenge you to find ways to make a global environmental impact with your small business and then send out press releases to help get the word out. If a phone book company can be environmentally responsible, so can yours.


Check out how you can help get this message out

Know Your Customers Buying Type to Know Where to Advertise

Do you know your customers buying type? What type of customer you have will depend on your product or service.

Some buyers are motivated by increasing their image and want the latest gadget and the trendiest products. Their main motivator for buying is what people are talking about, the more people talk about it the more they want it.

Some buyers are motivated by quality and value. They aren't the first people to purchase a new gadget but they aren't the last either. They want to make sure that they are getting a quality product for their dollar. They wait until all the bugs are out and they are sure the product is going to last. They usually buy when there is one or more competitor producing the same item.

Some buyers are motivated by price. They are looking for a deal and usually buy when the item has been on the market for sometime and is being cleared out for the next product. These types of clients are price driven or don't like change.

Knowing what type of customers are your bread and butter will help you budget your advertising dollars. If your customers love the next new trend and you've got it then you will need to make them aware of your product. You will need to invest in creative advertising in media like TV, Magazines, and signs, as well as, viral marketing through the Internet. These customers like technology and you need to use technology to get in front of them.

If your customer is a value shopper then they will already of heard about your product and will go searching for the best place to buy it. If your customers tend to be the second wave of consumers for your product then you need to be where they will go looking for you. Since your product is already known by the time these consumers start purchasing, you need to be where they look to find out where to purchase - online and print directories. These customers are used to technology but also utilize more traditional medias like print.

If your customer is a price motivated shopper then they will be the last wave to purchase your product in the clearance aisle. Since the items will need to be discounted to clearance prices your need to be where people go to find the best deals - fliers. These customers are not users of the latest technology and are impulse shoppers motivated by sale pricing.

To summarize - if your customers are technology savvy and were the first to purchase your product then you need to create awareness about your product or service. The Internet and creative advertising media such as TV and magazines is where you need to focus.

If your customers wait until the technology becomes the established norm then you need to advertise where customers will go to find your product like online or phone directories.

If your customers wait until the technology is almost obsolete before they buy then you need to advertise in fliers or other sale price alert media.

Why you need to AMP up your business during a recession

Why should you vamp up your business during a recession? The easy answer - because your competition is slowing down and cutting back. It will cost you less money to take a piece of their market share.

Look at it this way.... If your competition spends 100K on advertising and 50K expanding or improving their services when the economy is good to compete you will need to spend the same, to take a piece of their market share you'll need to spend more.

If your competition has cut back to 25K on advertising and $0.00 on expanding or improving their services then it will cost you 50K in advertising to have a dominate presence in the market place and an image of being the leader in your area. Your competition will loose top of mind awareness and may have the image of being in financial trouble.

The other plus is that it will cost less for the same ad size or radio spot. Supplies and labour will cost less. Even if the market share has shrunk by 30%, there are still customers who need your business - will they find you? Even if you just maintain your profits from the previous years, you have taken some of your competition's market share and by the time they figure out the market share is growing again you will have secured it.

For example lets say the market share started shrinking in August 2008 and your competitor started reducing their advertising, marketing, and services to save money on November 2008. You continue to advertise and invest in your business during this time, your profits go down in the short term but as you stay at top of mind in the market place you start getting new customers. In February 2009 the market place starts to recover and more people start looking for your services and your advertising is everywhere. In June 2009 the media finally says the market is recovering and your competitor starts to sign advertising contracts but these ads don't hit the market place until July 2009. Those customers who started buying your products or services from February to July will have seen you as the dominant player in the market place and your competition has lost opportunities.

Does this make sense? Let me know what you think about what businesses should be doing during a recession.

What the markting guru's say about 2009
Articles on Saving Money for Your Business in 2009
Should you Cut Back on Advertising during a recession?

Is the Newspaper a Thing of the Past??

I received a call from a telemarketer selling subscriptions to the Calgary Herald for $12.00 a month. Since I need to be aware of what is going on in Calgary for work I signed up, after 1 week the papers were piling up and I just wanted it to stop! Internet Marketing Guru Seth Godin claims papers are no longer necessary as we have the internet, and many technology venture capitalists are funding new technology in hopes the old ways of information will go away for good.

This turn in economic conditions has caused some newspapers to close their doors, the Halifax Daily News, the Rocky Mountain News, and Seattle's Post-Intelligencer. Are these closures a result of economic times and bad business decisions or are newspapers becoming a thing of the past?

I believe that newspapers still have a market but they need to become more efficient and flexible. The newspaper industry has survived the invention of tv and the broadcasting of CNN, but will it survive the onset of the internet?


The Economy and Recession
Advertising and Business

Work from Home Idea - Finding Resources for Time Stapped Families

I am presently trying to find various programs for my gifted 9 year old. His school let me know about all these great summer camp programs at the University of Calgary. However for the last hour I've been trying to find other non summer programs and activities but the internet is getting so polluted its hard to find what I need.

Squidoo is one site that is trying to be a type of road map for links and information but it is still very time consuming. Parents will spend money on things for their kids but trying to find the information I am looking for is very frustrating.

So what about this home based business idea?

Start a business that is a resource for finding programs to meet the various needs of parents and help them save time by creating an organizational chart to help them use their time more effectively.

There are so many different programs out there and if you can create a directory based on specific needs and became the go to person to find the programs with the right criteria would help time strapped families.

So how can you make money with this?

Charge a fee for the directory
Charge a fee for matching programs with families needs
Charge a fee for organizational solutions
Charge a fee to programs to be part of your referral services
Charge a fee for finding services and enrolling children for families moving to the area and organizing them

Do you have any other home based business ideas? Mention them in the Comments section

Home Based Business Information
Information on Advertising
Need a Business Loan?

Real Estate in Calgary - Is it Stabilizing?

I wrote that our real estate market wasn't that bad a little while ago and now with the new graphs coming in I believe even stronger that the Calgary Real Estate market has bottomed out and is beginning to stabilize. Will it jump up and back to previous highs - NO I believe that it will jump up a bit as those who have been waiting on the side lines begin to purchase because they don't want to miss out on a good deal. However, that will be short lived and the Calgary Real Estate market will become more balanced.

What makes me think its stabilizing? The amount of new listings in January and February were lower then previous years and the amount of sales has ticked up. As well the absorption rate is falling towards a balanced market for the first time since the correction.

Real Estate in Calgary was over inflated and the price drop just brought prices down to where they should be. The oilfield has begun to heat up again and that means our Real Estate market will see growth again in the near future. Why do I think this? Because the year before the Real Estate prices in Alberta dropped the oil field had put the brakes on production.

2005 - Oilfield hot hot hot - Real Estate begins to rise
2006 - Oilfield puts on brakes fast - Real Estate market is hot hot hot prices rise
2007 - Oilfield still slow - Real Estate market price correction starts
2008 - Oilfield still slow - Real Estate market still in correction mode
2009 - Oilfield begins to pick up - Real Estate market -- we'll see.......

Update March 26th - After talking with some people it sounds like just recently the oilfield has put on the brakes again and has layed off a lot of men. Not sure why this has happened or if it is just the annual break up.


High Gas Prices and the Price of Bread
After Christmas Sales a Result of Lower Christmas Spending
Will Your Business Survive a Recession?
Do You Measure Advertising?
How is Your Business Special?
6 Tips for Businesses to Survive a Recession.

Calgary Real Estate Market Report Video.

Will Online Advertising make Print Advertising Obsolete?

A perception some more tech savvy people have is that the internet is making print advertising obsolete. Is this perception the reality? The good news is that the Knowledge Network conducted a study to find out. However, before I spill the beans let's look at the question for ourselves.

The personal computer has become a household necessity and lots of homes have more than one computer. Almost every business has a computer and now with the iphone and blackberry we have the internet at our finger tips wherever we are. Facebook has changed the way we network and interact with each other. Instant messenger and skype change the way we talk to each other. MP3s and satellite radio change how we buy and listen to music. Online stores have changed how we buy stuff. The internet has impacted our lives but is it making print advertising obsolete? Consider each point here, have you really changed the way your interact with people and make purchases? or has the internet just created an additional tool to enhance the way you already interact and make purchases?

Directories are now available in both print and online, making it easier to answer the question - Will the internet make print advertising obsolete? In Canada the Yellow Pages' online directory gets approx 11 million business searches nationally a month. Canpages' online business directory gets approx 7 million business searches nationally a month. Sounds like a lot of searches a month - but are their print directories becoming obsolete? I'll answer that in a moment, for now let's look at other innovations that were suppose to make print advertising obsolete.


How did people advertise in the past? The first method would have been word of mouth and signs with pictures. Then came the printing press and that changed how information was spread. Then the radio was invented and once again this changed how information was spread. Then came the television and the spread of information changed yet again. Then the computer was invented and the personal computer was developed promising an end to the necessity for paper. Lastly, the internet was developed and for the last 20 or so years has evolved into what it is today.

So did the printing press make sign advertising obsolete?
Did the radio make sign and print advertising obsolete?
Did the television make sign, print and radio advertising obsolete?
Did the computer decrease the amount of paper used?

Today I can find advertising in the form of signs, print, radio, and television.

So back to the question will the internet make print advertising obsolete? According to the study conducted by the Knowledge Network, not today. When looking for information on a business or service:

48% of people will pick up a phone directory like Yellow Pages or Canpages.
21% of people will use a search engine like Google.
13% will use an online directory like yellow pages.ca or canpages.ca
8% will use 411 directory, free or for fee.
2% will go to the newspaper classifieds.
1% mobile Search

I don't have a crystal ball, I can't say if print advertising will become obsolete but if pressed I'd have to say NO - history has proven new types of media only add to our options.

Voice mail in text format

I love this feature because it is so much more convenient then checking voice mail. The voice mail is converted into a text and sent to your phone - no pen and paper required! If you have a hard time efficiently checking voice mail, then try this feature.

Kijiji Website - Does it work?

I have often wondered if a free site like kijiji works for small business people advertising their services. So I thought I'd check kijiji out for myself and see if I could get quality leads from the site.

I advertised for an automotive service company called Summit Automotive, its a small one man repair shop. In one ad I didn't put any limits on the type of vehicle that he worked on and he received calls for jobs he wouldn't do: Older cars that weren't maintained and needed major overhauls. In another ad I wrote what types of vehicles he worked on and that he did NOT work on anything older than 10 years. He received no calls although there were 21 hits for the ad.

From this small experiment I would conclude that yes there is traffic and yes you can get calls but from people who are very price oriented.

As a small business owner advertising on kijiji, what has your experience on kijiji been like? What is the quality of the lead that is generated? Are they looking for quality work or low prices? Are they willing to pay for your service or want to haggle? Is the quality of work you've been booking what you want for your time and business?

Online Directories do they work?
kijiji

Home Based Business Ideas

Looking for a home based business idea? Think its time for you to start your own business and want to work from home? Is a Home Based Business really for you? Here's a list of home based business ideas and tips to help you be successful.

The first thing you need to do when starting a home based business is figuring out what you are good at, what your strengths are, and what you are passionate about. Then you need to find out if there is a market for it and then market your products and services to the market place, sounds like a lot of work? Well it can be, but prep and making the right decision will save you money, time and energy in the long run.

If you have never run a business before and don't have a lot of capital (money) then a direct sales business is probably the best way to start out. You will learn a lot about business, you don't have to invest a tonne of money, and if you choose a product you like you get it at a discount.

List of some Direct Sales Home Based Businesses:

Tupperware Plastic
Mary Kay Skin Care
Arbonne Skin Care
Latasia Jewelry
Usborne Books
Zija Health Drink
Creative Memories Scrapbook
Memory Makers online Scrapbooks

There are literally 100s of Direct Sales Companies.... Know of some, add them to the comments section.

Direct Sales not for you? Here are some other ideas that may work for you. Basically I opened the Phone Directory and looked at the various headings that are in it to come up with some ideas:

Accountant or BookKeeper
Alterations or Seamstress
Artist
Auctioneer
Automotive Services (if on an acreage)
Baking or Catering Service
Balloons Novelty
Beauty Salon - Hair Service
Book Dealer - Online
Buses - Charter Tours
Cabinet Maker
Carpet Cleaning
Child Care
Cleaner
Computer Consultants
Consultation
Contractor
Counseling Services
Customs Brokers
Distribution
Divorce Mediators
Dog Training
Drafting Services
Driving Instruction
Educational Consultants
Employee - Career Counseling Services
Employment Agency
Entertainer
Environmental Consultation
Estate Planning
Estheticians
Financial - Debt Consultant
Fitness Coach
Funeral Planning
Garbage Collection
Gift Baskets
Graphic Designer
Greenhouse

Well you get the idea how a phone directory's headings can help you decide what type of home based business you want to start.

No matter what business you start from home you have to get the word out about who you are, what you do, and how you can help solve someone's problem or fulfill their need. You have to advertise and get your information where people look when they need you.

Links to more information that will help you run a successful home based business:

Home Based Business Information
Information on Advertising
Need a Business Loan?