Just how important are stamps?

I just came from a meeting where one of the members, a newlywed male, was sharing a conversation he'd had with his wife.

Actually, the way it started was with a female member of the meeting saying that she and her husband had a mis-communication about a project she was working on. I commented that often we communicate poorly with members of our own family.

The newlywed pipes in and says, "Yes, I had a miscommunication with my wife as I drove to the meeting tonight. She'd called to see if I had used the last stamp."

The women in the meeting all gasped.

He said, "Yes, I think I did use the last stamp." His wife went on to explain that she'd been addressing the envelopes for a bridal shower and needed that stamp for the last envelope.

The women in the meeting said, "You didn't use a LOVE stamp for a bill, did you?"

"Yes," he admitted. He had. "It's just a stamp," he failed to defend his actions.

He went on to explain that he should have known better because earlier in the week he had been sent to the post office to purchase the stamps and originally came home with VEGETABLE stamps.

The women in the meeting knowingly chuckled.

"She said, what are these?" the newlywed told us. "Stamps," he told his wife.

"No they aren't, they have vegetables on them, I can't use these."

"What do you mean," he was clearly confused. "It is just for an envelope, no one will care."

"Women care," his wife countered.

The women in the meeting collectively nodded their heads. Yes they do.

As a writer, I hand-write most of the envelopes I send to clients and prospects. I am careful about the stamps I use - never using a postage meter - selecting a stamp that reflects my business. When the stamps rose in price to $.39 it wasn't the cost difference that most irked me, it was the fact that I could no longer use the Dr. Suess stamps. He was also a writer.

I am currently using the Disney stamps. Not to reflect that my writing is "Mickey Mouse" but that I am creative.

Actually, when mailing to a client or a prospect, it pays to take the time to hand-write the envelope and use a real stamp as oppoesd to a meter and typed label. In the midst of the mail received, your handwriting will be noticed and will stand a better chance of being opened.

So just how important are stamps? Clearly, in one marriage tonight they are of great importance and I would argue that in your business they should be given some consideration.

Photo courtesy of OKAGGI

People competing to give you money???

In the May edition of INC. Magazine. there was a small blurb sharing this exciting tip:

e-Bay is now auctioning off small business loans. You can log onto eBay with basic information about your business type, the reason for the loan, the amount you want and your credit score. Then people can offer up all or part of the amount you need.

You can even request what interest rate you want to pay!
For more information visit www.prosper.com. Loans range from $2,500 on up for schooling, surgery, debt consolidation and business ventures.

Check it out!

BizInformer.com

Guess what? I am now blogging on www.bizinformer.com. Check it out - there are several great writers sharing tips that will help your business. Additionally, there are links to additional sites and blogs with a wealth of valuable information.

Currently, I'm writing about how we communication through our body language.

DCB

Blogs Galore

I am amazed at the number of blogs available for small business owners to learn from, ask questions of and share tips with. One such repository of blogs is www.allbusiness.com in which they are currently highlighting "The 6 for '06 Resources." They are following six vastly different businesses, each with a different business challenge:

1. Improving marketing
2. Recruiting and keeping great employees
3. Creating a technology investment strategy
4. Improving cash flow
5. Managing cost centers
6. Creating a growth-oriented business plan

Allbusiness.com will report on these businesses for six months (April - October) and you can follow along. If one of the business challenges touches a warm place in your heart, check out the blogs associated with the challenge. The suggestions are being made by experts in the associated field and you can apply the guidance offered.

Speaking of great business blogs: www.bizinformer.com is another great place to land, and one on which I've been asked to blog occasionally. So check it out!

DCB

5 Ways to Get Rich

This week I attended a seminar for the Trump Institute.

The truth is, I received an invitation for a free seminar with a coupon for a copy of his book, Think Like a Billionaire. Whether you like Trump or not, you have to admit that he has access to some amazingly talented people and I have found great tidbits in his writing.

The seminar was a pitch for a 2-day class, (only $1399) that would teach me all his real estate secrets.

"If you are here for the free book," the speaker (not The Donald) announced, "You are here for the wrong reason."

Guess, I was there for the wrong reason. But I did hear a few interesting facts. For example, 5 ways to get rich:

1. Win the lottery
2. Inherit a fortune
3. Marry money
4. Own a successful business
5. Become a GREAT investor

Well, I don't buy lottery tickets, I hope to never loose a family member and I married a librarian, so the first three are out!

Guess I will have to concentrate on numbers 4 and 5.

DCB

A Great Picture is a Work of Art

As you strive to combine all of the lessons learned, you hope to create a work of art. This picture of one of the nurses in the Nurses Memorial statue in Washington DC is my favorite of all the pictures I took.

It has emotion, light, focus and it tells a story.

Now think about your communications. Although your message is conveyed through the words you write, how it looks is equally important.

A few tips for creating a visual communication:

• Use white space - it gives the eye a place to rest between important thoughts on the page
• Use bullets, lists, key phrases instead of lengthy sentences - they are easier to read
• Add graphics and color to emphasize or enhance your message
• Keep it short and sweet - remember to be focused on one single thought or key message

When you create a visually appealing message along with words that are easy to understand and reader focused, your finished product will be a work of art.

DCB

Is Your Subject Well Lit?

This photo was taken of a portion of the Nurses Monument in Washington DC. At this point in the lesson I was beginning to combine all that I had learned:

• Determine the subject
• Come in close
• Make sure there isn't anything in the photo that you don't want
• Edit in advance

And make sure the subject is well lit. I got down on the cold ground to take this picture so that I could capture the sun as it glinted off the face of the wounded soldier. The shadow on the nurse's face mimicked the despair she must be feeling - out in the battle field with limited medical treatment for the thousands of soldiers she and her peers were trying to save.

When I look at this picture, I feel the hopelessness of both participants. I am reminded that although the Vietnam War was in my youth, my children are now faced with another such brutal activity involving fighting and death.

In my communications, I work to create the same image, the passion, the focus and the spotlight on the key message that I'm trying to convey.

Often when we communicate, we are in a hurry. We have a message with a task and deadline that needs to be communicated. Who has time to ensure it is crafted in a way that will evoke the necessary emotion?

I challenge us all that we owe it to our readers to try. Begin to implement some of the tips I learned from my photography teacher in your corporate writing. You'll be amazed at the results.

DCB

Add a Touch of Color

If you have been to the Vietnam Memorial, you know what an amazing work of art it is. A wall of names as far as the eye can see in a reflective marble that allows the visitor to see their own reflection in the names on the wall.

Our photography teacher told us to look for the opportunity to add a dash of color to create a contrast in the picture. So when I took this picture I found a section of the wall that had been decorated with a single rose. Note the reflection the rose makes. The simplicity of the single rose speaks of the love that someone must have felt for a name etched in the wall close by. Was it a relative of Robert Staley or Larry Tolliver? I don't know, but that rose made me pause and pay closer attention to that section of the wall.

Adding a dash of color to your communications will also add to its impact. You might select colored paper or well chosen colored font to make certain points stand out in your message. Adding graphics or photos that enhance your message will also make it more appealing to the reader. A more visually appealing message increasing the odds of it being read, understood and acted upon.

So add a little color to your communications.

Planning to Edit? Do it before you hit send

This is a picture of the inside of Union Station in Washington DC. The architecture is magnificent. Before taking the class, I might have taken this picture with the idea of zooming in with my computer photoshop and focusing on the ceiling design and editing out all of the people.

Why wait. I'll just have a zoomed in picture of an image that was taken from far away.

Move in closer and get what you want the first time.

It's the same with your business communications. You might write down a whole lot of details thinking that the reader can edit and find the nuggets of information that are the most important. Why make them work that hard?

Through the use of captions, bolded phrases and bullet pointed lists you can zero in on the most important details and edit out the extra stuff that really isn't all that important.

Targeted communications are more likely to be read. Just like a focused picture that zooms in on the desired object is more enjoyable to look at.

The Brain Edits But The Camera Doesn't

In the third session of what I learned from the DC photographer, he told us that when we look through the camera, our brain edits out the stuff we aren't concentrating on. Then, when we get the picture developed, we find something in the frame that alters the art of the picture.

In this picture of the Korea Memorial, the 38th Parallel, I was concentrating on the haunted look in the soldier's eye and totally missed the honking big green bus in the background. For me, it ruined the feeling I was trying to capture in the picture.

Now think of your business communications. When you have an important message to communicate, make sure you look at it from all angles to ensure there isn't a pesky detail that might alter the tone of your message.

Example: in my previous company we would frequently receive information in our paycheck envelopes. One such message was printed on PINK PAPER. Talk about receiving a "pink slip." My colleagues and I had a hard time getting past the color of the paper to see what the message was.

Another example is the timing of your message. Are you sending out a sensitive message to arrive on a Friday? From the reader's perspective, they will now have to wait the entire weekend to call with questions or for clarification thereby increasing their emotional response.

I'd recommend having someone proofread your message prior to sending to ensure that you haven't missed a detail.

One final story on that subject. In my past company, the president would frequently hold open-door meetings and invite all associates to come and ask company questions. My department would create a flyer announcing the details of the meeting and post them around the building. One such poster was supposed to say "A Message From the President."

Luckily, we proof read everything we sent in our department, and found that the flyer actually read: "A Massage From the President."

Changes the tone of the message a little bit, doesn't it???

Focus on the subject - come in CLOSE

In the last post, I talked about determining what you were taking a picture of (or writing a communication piece about).

Now for the next step. Before you hit the shutter button on the camera or the SEND button on your email...come in closer.

Photos; When taking a picture of your loved one, in this case, my husband - David - in front of the White House, focus on the person rather than the building.

In most cases when we are on vacation taking pictures of loved ones in front of famous sites, we step back and take a tiny picture of the person waving in front of the large object. The end result - a photo that isn't really focused on anything CLEARLY.

So come in close - position the person in the left or right corner of the picture - focus on the person with the famous site in the back and slightly blurred. Hey - it's a famous building; we all know what it is right? So why not focus on the person - crisp, clear and close.

In communications: Same story holds true. You've selected the subject you want to communicate. Say you are writing to your customers/prospects about a new product you have to offer. Don't muddle the message with features or extra information that is unrelated to the topic.

Come in closer: look at the message from the reader's point of view. What problem will this new product solve? How will it make the person's life better? What is the BENEFIT to the customer?

Focus clearly on the benefit and your communication will be crisp, clear and close to the heart of the reader!

Determine Your Subject

In the first of 7 posts connecting business communications and what I learned from the photographer in Washington, DC, we'll start with determining your subject.

Photos: In a photo you want to determine what the focal point of your picture will be. Rarely do we randomly point and click and expect an artistic finished product.

Select your subject and then position them/it in the center of your frame.

Business: This works perfect in business communications. Have you ever read a piece that was "all over the place?" There was a little bit of this and that and at the end of the piece you were confused as to the main theme or subject of the communication.

To clearly communicate your message you need to determine what the subject will be and what the objective of that subject is.

Once you've determined the subject and objective, your communication piece will be clear, in focus and easy to understand.

Example: You would like to send a communication to your customers about a new product that you are offering. Wrapping that product data around several other messages, like an industry update, the staff holiday party and a great recipe for cole slaw, will dilute your message of informing customers about this great new product.

When sending a message - make sure that everything else, from articles to photos, supports your subject.

What I learned at the Library of Congress

I had the opportunity to conduct research in the Library of Congress Business and Science Reading Room this week. What an amazing experience. The next time you get to DC, I highly recommend taking the time to obtain a library card and visiting the reading rooms.

Two copies of every copyrighted item: song lyric, business concept, book, picture, play, recipe, et al, that has legally obtained a copyright is located within in the Library of Congress. The copyrighting department is so huge that the building has its own zip code! Over 10,000 items are received and catalogued each day.

I had the opportunity to walk among the stacks and view a variety of business and marketing books. In one book, "Business Writers Book of Lists," by Mary A. DeVries, I learned about the most common objectives in a business message (I'm paraphrasing):

• make initial contact
• acquire, provide or exchange information
• instruct
• ask or grant a favor
• thank
• change behavior or attitude
• praise
• reprimand
• strengthen a relationship and encourage feelings of goodwill
• build a favorable image of one's self or company
• buy or sell
• begin or end something

In additional to conducting research for a business project I also had the opportunity to view the city through the eyes of a professional photographer. Continue reading here over the next few postings for what I learned about my business through the eye of a camera!

5 Paths to Sanity

I recently read an article in Fortune Magazine (March 20, 2006 edition) that had 5 simple rules to keeping your sanity at work. I thought I'd share:

1. Keep your meetings rare
2. Show your technology who's boss
3. Give yourself a time-out
4. Say no
5. Delete

My favorite is giving yourself a time-out. It suggests first thing in the morning with no phone calls, email or chitchat - just a time to quietly think strategically about your business. As a business owner with my office in the home - I have to get up pretty early to enjoy any quiet in my home and so I've taken off to the library for my quiet. Especially now that they have a coffee bar!

There is a lot of merit to having "me" time. Time to read the business journals that you keep meaning to get to, time to list out the goals you have for your business, for yourself, for your family.

As a writer, I also use that time to be creative. I write thoughts, dreams, fiction or my blog.

It's a new month - time for new initiatives - consider giving yourself an hour a day - just for you. You'll find it makes you more productive, more creative, and more tolerant. All good things!

photo courtesy of powerbooktrance

Vocabulary-Schmabulary

I'm taking a book discussion class in which the teacher (via a video training session) uses a vocabulary that turns off the listeners. In his bio, he says that "when he is not teaching hermenetics or researching some minute exegetical point..."

Admit it - did you have to look up those words in the dictionary? I did.

If you are trying to impress people with your $100 words, you may be surprised to find that your efforts are back-firing. People don't want to be made to feel stupid or wanting when communicating with a "big vocabulary" person. They'll focus on the words they aren't familiar with and totally miss you point!

Choose your words carefully - use simple, easy to understand words and phrases if you want people to pay attention. Use the big words to impress your folks - after all, they probably paid for some or all of your education!

"It is inevitable that we dispense with the bureaucratic details and consider only the practical aspects of the situation."

In other words: CUT THE CR-P AND GET TO THE POINT!

photo courtesy of srozekrans' photostream

Some Places Should be Off Limits to Advertising

In a recent Times Magazine, there was a small blurb that caught my eye. A new and unique place available to secure for your company branding - your product and service message.

THE PUBLIC TOILET

I'm sorry, but isn't there any place where we can go for a little privacy without being bombarded with advertising messages? People can reach us on our pagers and cell phones, snail mail, home phones and faxes, computer email and instant messages - and now the loo? Remember those old commercials for the bath bubble product Calgon and the woman would pull on her hair and whine, "Calgon, take me away?" Well, evidently the bathroom is no longer a place we can escape.

According to the Times blurb entitled, "Caught with Your Pants Down" by Nadia Mustafa, Lifetime Television has a 20-second plug for the reality show Cheerleader Nation airing in stalls in 15 cities.

As you are putting your marketing plan together for the 2nd quarter of 2006? You might consider this new avenue of advertising. However, consider also consumer Leia Jervert who heard the Cheerleader Nation advertisement four times while visiting a NY pub facility and was quoted as saying, "I would prefer not to have my business solicited when I am doing my business."

'nough said.

Photo courtesy of Tracy Hunter

More Email tips

I just got back from a week in Arizona - marvelous! So I decided to try the email tips I discussed in my last post and realized that I have a couple more tips that I use when I have a large number of email to review:

1. Sort by name - it makes it easier to delete those unwanted emails or those that quickly accumulate - like those I received from Joann Fabrics or other businesses.
   
2. Sort again - this time by subject matter. Now look for long strings of conversation. You may have been copied on a series of emails on one topic. Select the most recent and see if the string is in tact - in other words, that all of the other email with that subject title are included as part of a long string of messages on the most recent missive. If so - delete all the others - and now you have one email that has the whole conversation included.
   
3. Do the four tips listed on my previous post.
   

There you have it - a quick way to review large numbers of email messages.

Speed Emailing

How many emails do you get in a day, a week, a month. What happens when you go on vacation and don't take your computer. Do the emails number in the hundreds?

Amy Schulman, partner at DLA Piper Rudnick, Gray, Cary has this advice for quickly devoring your emails:

Divide them into four categories:

1. emails you can send to someone else
2. emails that contain information someone is waiting for to move forward on a project
3. emails you can read later
4. emails you need to respond to immediately.

When you group your emails into categories like those Amy suggests, you'll be able to focus on those that require your immediate attention.

Remember - if you touch it - do something with it (pitch, file, delegate or respond) so you don't have to deal with it later.

Listen - The Key To Being a Good Boss

I am way behind in my reading and so today decided to read a few articles I'd set aside that had previously caught my eye. In the BusinessMonday section of the Plain Dealer on Monday February 20, there was a front page article entitled, "ABCs of Taking Charge" written by Janet H. Cho. In the article it listed the Dos and Don'ts of a good manager.

One of the Dos that caught my eye was "Listen to employees and learn from them."

The article goes on to say that being humble is a good thing. Especially in the beginning when you are learning the lay of the job, the department and the people in it. However, I would add that established managers need to take note of this tip as well.

Too often, we become engrained in the role we play at work (this actually goes for our home life as well) and we forget to ask for advice, opinions or suggestions.

The articles reminded readers about the Major of New York City, Ed Koch, and his "How'm I doin'?" question that he asked residents.

Do we know how our employees, vendors and customers think we are doing? Have we asked them lately?

The Benefits of a Comedy Show

On Saturday evening I took my son to see Brad Sherwood and Colin Mochrie of the television show “Whose Line Is It Anyway”. They are award winning improv actors and put on an extremely entertaining show.

There were three things I noticed during the two+ hour show:

1. They are quick witted and topical. Their comments were quick, funny, and included a wide variety of references from politics to Hollywood to literature.
   
2. They kept the language clean. With the exception of an occasional reference to a donkey-like animal that begins with an “a”, they were funny without resorting to inappropriate language.
   
3. They were master listeners. One of the skits involved Brad leaving the auditorium so Colin and the audience could develop a wild and wacky crime that Brad was to have committed. Ours involved Brad wearing a chastity belt, a lace monocle and dead fingers. His crime was stealing a possum van while drinking whiskey from an enema. The crime was committed in Wapakoneta in Al’s Nose Hair Supply and Ump a Loma Factory with a canoe.
   
   It was through a series of clues, references and comments that Brad was to glean this improbable crime. He not only listened with his ears but he listened and observed the body language of Colin and those in the audience that he could see.
   
   So I ask myself – what can I take away and use in my everyday life from this evening of fun and frivolity?
   
   

• Read – the more I know the more likely I’ll be able to provide some interesting fact or opinion
  
• Use vocabulary other than the famous “Seven Words You Can’t Say On Television” that George Carlin coined more than 30 years ago. You'll appear smarter and gain the respect of those you communicate with.
  
• Listen - it's amazing what you'll learn.
  
  If you haven’t seen “Whose Line”, is it on ABC Family – usually at 10pm EST. Check it out – it’s very funny.