The Idiot's Guide to Dummies Guide to Small Business

There are many rewards to being in business for oneself. You can work when you need to, take time off when convenient, or work 24/7. That’s up to you, and the market. But the inclination when small or just starting out, is to do it all yourself. To that end, I bought one of those Dummies or Idiots books… I told my business coach about buying it, and he told me to throw it away… Every time I looked at the book, it would reinforce the notio
I was a Dummy or an Idiot. I would like to think that I’m neither, but I’m certainly cheap-my name IS William Wallace, after all-so I couldn’t bring myself to throw away or give away a perfectly good book. BOTH series are brilliant from a marketing perspective-basic methods to move oneself forward in a particular skill or discipline. They also, by their self-effacing names, have an open market for continued purchasing. That is, you buy ‘Macramé for Dummies’, the name degrades you enough that you don’t learn macramé, so you buy ‘Taxidermy for Idiots’ and so on, and so forth.

So what does this have to do with Branding… ‘Branding? Where’d that come from?’ Well, that’s what I do, I brand companies. When my business coach, Michael Fletcher, told me to turf the books, that got me thinking. Then I went to a networking meeting, and everybody, almost to the man, woman and child said ‘I’m a SMALL businessman’ and when they showed me their marketing material, they took pride in having done it themselves. And that they did it themselves showed. It seems that being a SMALL businessman-or woman-goes hand in hand with rugged individualism-which really means doing it all yourself, and none of it really well.

OUCH!

I don’t say that to be cruel, only to point out what should be obvious.

I don’t do my own taxes. When I need legal advice I don’t pore over taped reruns of LA Law-I hire a professional. Brain surgery? I’d hire the best-or the best that OHIP (Ontario Hospital Insurance Program) would provide… Design? ‘Oh, I have Word (or PageMaker, Publisher, an old version of Quark, etc, etc, etc) and I can design it.’ No, no you can’t. At best you desktop publish. That is not meant as an insult to desktop publishers, but they do journeyman work, not DESIGN. This is where the idea of being a SMALL businessman or woman holds you back. Small business, as a term to describe the size or profits of a business, is fine in government documents and web sites, but not in your daily thoughts and talk. If you are a SMALL business owner, then you can only do SMALL business with SMALL businesses. Just as the Idiot and Dummies books holds a person back from doing what they set out to accomplish, being SMALL does the same.

Okay. Sit back, take a deep breath, breathe out… And now, say out loud ‘I’m a businessman-or woman’ if that fits. By being a businessperson, you can work with ANYbody, not just other SMALL businesses. So what? Here’s what. You can do business with any business you want, anywhere you want-because you’re on par with them. What’s holding you back? Connections perhaps, opportunity maybe, there are a number of things that make getting that business difficult. But it isn’t impossible. I’m not saying ‘Go get ‘em Bucky, you can do anything you set your mind to!’ You can’t. Sorry. But, as a BUSINESS owner, rather than a SMALL businessman, you have one less obstacle to stand in your way.

THIS is the first step in your new brand. What is a brand? Give me a call, I’ll buy you coffee, and we’ll discuss.