The Psychology Behind The Dirty Little Secrets of Pricing

This has been one of my biggest pet peeves since I’d say, the turn of the Century.


A product is sold for $9.95 or $9.99. A professional service is offered by an MBA Graduate for $795.00


Please don’t insult my intelligence!


Just make it $10 or make it $800 for friggen sake!


Why on earth are you even bother doing your accounting in ridiculous numbers such as these instead of working in whole rounded numbers?


Why aren’t you standing proud next to your product or service and (gasp) charging that whopping 5c more or that whopping penny more or (louder gasp) - a whole $5 more.


If 1c or 5c or $5 is really making or breaking the purchase of that consumer, then they aren’t going to buy from you anyway. In fact, they shouldn’t even be in your target market if they are that penny pinched. If your target market consumer is so desperate to save 1c or 5c, my gosh, how dare you tempt them with a product they probably don’t need and entice them to spend when it’s clear they can’t afford. What are you contributing back to society here except ongoing debt or struggling times. Some backwards corporate Social Contribution strategy you have there, Mr. business person.


So, I want all those that charge these insulting prices to stand up and acknowledge yourself. That’s it - be bold. Raise your hand high. Don’t be a coward now - stand proud behind your ridiculous pricing. Be willing to show your face to all those consumers you think you are ‘tricking’ buy doing this ‘psychology pricing’.


For those that don’t know what psychology pricing is, it’s being able to say some cheesy statement in your advertising message such as: “For less than $10 you can have xxxx” That’s right ,for $9.99 it’s all yours!”


The consumer then thinks that they are saving a lot because it’s “under $10″. This is the oldest trick in the book and frankly it just doesn’t work anymore.


Consumers are smarter now. We are more intelligent individuals overall and we are smarter shoppers - both thanks to the proliferation of the internet and the vast amount of knowledge for free you can learn on it. Additionally, I, for one, am tired of seeing these $9.95 or $9.99 pricetags endlessly for decades.


Generations are smarter now as less is kept in the dark about how business works, politics work, life works - due to the explosive demand of transparency. This pyschology price tag practice might have not been so obvious years ago, but it’s now boldlytransparent. And I have got to tell you, as a consumer - it doesn’t fly anymore. In fact, it deems you as less desirable in my eyes -and it crosses an ethical line with me.


So here’s what happens when I see that type of pricing - even with the MBA experienced business service for $795 (which offers a phenomenal service….such a shame). I look the other way. Yep, ya just lost me as a potential customer or client. Simply because I am aware of this tactic and I am not here to make you ‘feel good’ about the ‘bargain’ you think you are giving me, when you know it is absolutely no bargain at all. You know this is not what business professionals call a ‘pricing strategy’. This is all about psychology.


A bargain to me is if something is really supposed to be $10 and you make it $9.50. That shows class a bit more, not my ideal bargain of course (like $9.00 would be) but it shows you aren’t insulting my intelligence and you are still trying to keep it under $10. I’d gladly pay you the 50c more vs the one penny more simply because you respected me as an individual and you respected me as your client/customer. You related to my intelligent world - you related to your consumer.


So how does all this cross the line of ethics? It crosses the lines of ethics with me because it is abuse of power by a business over a consumer.


Ethics as it relates to business or the course of business, does not require the consumer to have actually engaged in the business for the ethics violation to happen. It can be the mere suggestion or the impression that business makes to the consumer standing alone (ex: advertisement). This is my point of view on it, and from my study of ethics in business and prelaw college classes.


Another reason I won’t buy from you is because you think it’s a smarter business move for you to try to trick me, then to gain me as a loyal customer and ask me for 1 penny or 5c or $5 more. You put lot of time and energy in trying to cheapen me, vs raising me up and commending & honoring my intelligence, and putting the time and energy into enticing me and keeping me as a customer. You put all your energy into the wrong ‘pricing strategy’.


There is a reason Nordstrom doesn’t price items for $29.99. And even if they do reduce items, they do it respectfully and with class. You don’t see red pen ink on price tags with $25.99. Instead you see a red ink on a tag as $25-. They make it easy for their client in the store, when they are thinking about the purchase, when they are at the counter purchasing (say they pay with cash) and when they are at home balancing their checkbook - they aren’t working with change, it’s all simple, whole numbers - don’t even need a calculator (I round up in my check book anyway, but some are meticulous and want receipts to match exactly in the checkbook).


Even if I did purchase with you because of a necessity - it would be a one off, and just in case you weren’t aware - as it seems your tactics are quite outdated a Century or so - one-off companies will not survive in the 21st Century. They are being squashed daily as the global business community is having intelligent conversations with their prospects and creating trusted and valued long term relationships.


So even after reading this if you still insist on going about your immature business practices - be my guest. You know I won’t be in your database, and worse, I won’t be a fan, I will be a critic. Even worse, I have now exposed your Dirty Little Secret.


But in being an advocate for the rest of the population that is to scared to say no to you and really believes in your ‘bargain’, so much that they are still willing to give you their hard earned money, my one simple request is this:


PLEASE at least stop with the $9.99, $12.99 or the $55.99, etc. My gosh, a penny isn’t even worth anything today except an old fashion toss in a fountain or lake with a wish! So at the bare minimum, please at least raise the bar slightly on what you consider your prospect’s intelligence and add a dash of respect to it while your at it.


Ps: If you really don’t need that extra penny or 5c or $5 - well, then change your Corporate Social Contribution strategy to a sensible one - and donate all those pennies to a good cause or charity! I have a few listed on my home page in case your not sure where it should go:)

Debates In Business

Some view debating as bad. They envision nasty comments back and forth and there being a winner and a loser.

That might be so in politics or in structured debate challenges, but not necessarily in business.
In business, I believe debating is actually an empowering conversation - a good thing! :)

Debating is the flow of ideas. It's a place where ideas & information from both parties (or both sides) can flourish and topics and agendas can be solidified or finalized. There is nothing healthier & stronger in business than these 2 things alone!

On a personal level, there are even better aspects that comes from a debate. Your intellectional development is enhanced because you learn different points of view that might allow you to see things differently, or you learn an entire new set of data that you weren't aware of that the opposite party presented.

At times, you also utilize your negotiation skills because with certain topics, especially in business -it's not about right and wrong, it's about coming to a meeting of the minds, a mutual agreement, and perhaps a compromise on one party's part. Negotiation skills is one of the essentials for a business professional to be successful.  Great place to practice them is in a business debate. :)

Debates in business can often be referred to as a heated discussion or a challenging conversation. But with those negative words, comes some outstanding situations at times.

The values debate encourages - reason, tolerance, the careful weighing of evidence - are applicable in life. As you grow as a person, the more practice you have with these, you become more of your best self and thus become better for others. So these values should be cherished and nurtured.

Debate is what makes democratic societies so free and flourishing - rich in people driven thoughts, values and ideals. True democracy can not exist without debate.

There is no such thing as a debate without at least 2 passionate people coming to the table. The icing on this cake is that a debate inspires creativity and it re-charges passion! It takes ordinary topics or issues and brings explosive life to them!


And it also envokes a sense that anything is possible when two differing viewpoints get combined or when two people come together to address a topic or issue. It also sheds light on the understood message: that there is much to always learn, no matter how experienced you are, how old you are, or how knowledgeable you are on a topic.

So as you can see, what some would view as a negative situation filled with harsh words or underhanded tricks, (oops, that's politics :) ) is actually a positive, empowering and transparent action in business!

Now that you have my point of view - why not start a debate this week? Remember, you aren't stirring trouble, you are encouraging the open exchange of thoughts and ideas. Nothing could be healthier & more empowering for you or your business!

See what comes from it. :) See who is eager to participate & who shys away. See if you can finally fix that long term problem. See if you can figure out that way to align with another or that company you have always wanted to, or to solidify a partnership, or to once and for all, establish a collaborative work environment, etc.

The key to a solid & fair debate in business is you go into it with the mindset that something good will come from it, you might learn a thing or two, and you will keep it civil. If that is the driving & underlying message both sides begin the debate with, it should go quite well.

I would love to hear how this goes, so please share your stories with me!

“Men are never so likely to settle a question rightly as when they discuss it freely.”

– Thomas Babington, Lord Macaulay

Positive Thinking is NOT the Key to Personal Development

There is a very big misconception that hovers around what a life coach does for you or can do for you.

Many believe life coaches tell their clients lots of positive things about their clients to inspire them, and ultimately try to get them to change their mindset to think more positively.

While positive thinking is a crucial aspect when you are undergoing transformations and making changes (some usually hard) in your life, it's not the only thing life coaches do for or with their clients. In fact, it's usually the starting conversation and only touched on again if the client digresses into self destructive negative thinking patterns.

About a decade ago, more weight was put on positive thinking and even affirmations. But to be practical and sustainable, great coaches recognized that much more was needed to help their clients make the tremendous impacts or the small tweaks in the clients life they were seeking.

Positive thinking is necessary for personal development growth, yes - but it is by no means the answer to how you will achieve this growth nor will it make the progress for you.

You can sit around all day and think positively, which is good to a point - because at least you have a very strong mindset and a great outlook on life and you enjoy and appreciate things in your life more. But your life will pretty much still stay the same unless you start to take action in some way.

Now don't get me wrong, it's key to have a positive mindset always in life. There is really no other way to handle day to day problems and enjoy life without this, but positive thinking is not the key to personal development. Big difference.

Positive thinking needs to be coupled with a few more aspects to really make headway with any of your personal development goals.

So what great coaches help their clients with (if it is not already strong/positive) is shifting their mindset in the beginning of the coaching timeframe, and then after that, they start to focus on the more important aspects about the client and of the clients lifestyle to create the strategy, plans and actions necessary to pursue each ideal the client is striving towards.

Some of these things are intelligence (the client's intellect), resillience, potential, skills/talents, etc.

So, for example: as a personal coach, I would factor in their intellect and I would focus in on some of their skills/talents that they have - that they might not be aware of, or that they don't use that much  and I would challenge or raise the bar on it's capacity, and I would have them consider what they could gain from these 3 (either or all) if it was strengthened/enhanced - so they could reach more (or all) of their potential. This can really make all the difference in the world.

It's identifying and giving them better tools for them to have 'as your person' (within themselves, to draw upon) to achieve what they are setting out to aspire to.

There is more to it than that, but this was the best example to show you how positive thinking is vital in the beginning of personal development, but it's not going to get you to the results you want - so it's not the key to personal development, it's just a necessary part of it.

Positive thinking needs to be combined with many other aspects of you as a person and your lifestyle in order to start the energizing pursuit of personal development and have this be a successful pursuit.

The most simplest example of a life coach's work is: think of a personal sports coach for a sports figure.

The sports coach offers words of encouragement – sure, & they keep that sports figure's mind sharp/strong/positive and focused - absolutely! But they mostly give pointers, share experiences, try to point out and correct what they see are things their client isn't doing properly, or is putting effort into, just at the wrong time, etc, etc.

Again, this is not all inclusive of what a life coach does, but it's the most basic way to describe the true impact a life coach can make on your life.

Positive thinking is a big part of personal development, but actually, thinking positively is a lifestyle. To me, it's the best andonly way to think!

Don't Go To Barnes & Noble Without Reading This First!

If you haven't stepped foot into a Barnes & Noble since early July, quite a lot has changed. I was there about the 2nd week in July 2010 and back again today, and I can tell you - it is under a massive transformation.

Transformation: They are going to be primarily selling only educational material and will be depleting an enormous amount of their book selection...of which has already been underway for over a month.

Now interestingly enough, this even includes the business section. Three weeks ago when I was in Barnes & Noble - the business/sales/entrepreneur/marketing/management, etc. section was pretty big.

Today, for all these categories combined, it was 3/4 of that. And, except for some new releases, there was only 1 book per title, not the 4-5 you usually see for easy grabbing.

My book wasn't there, and it wasn't at another location either. It's a popular book, but not a new release, so they only keep one copy of it, so if someone grabs it, your out of luck. New releases still show multiple books.

To me, this is very strange, as books in the business section ARE educational - for those involved in business in any way, and especially for business owners, or for individuals who are interested in pursuing their own business.

If you are a business owner like me, this is where you occasionally frequent to pick up select books to continue your growth in this area.

I guess Barnes & Noble defines 'educational' in a different way than a business owner.

I believe Barnes & Noble is a bit short sighted in this area - or shall I say, a tad 'uneducated' on business. If they were current with the times and news, they would know small businesses and entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of America and are what keep America's economy strong.

Moreover, with millions of American's unemployed now due to the economic layoffs- more so than ever - these individuals are considering starting a business, and business books are usually their first starting reads.

Yes, of course, there is a lot you can gather on the internet, but sometimes it's just easier or more helpful for things the specific information you are looking for to have it compiled together in a highly recommended book.

They should remember, not everyone has Kindle, and not everyone had the luxury to purchase an iPad ---in the midst of these economic hard times (I don't have Kindle or an iPad).

So, for me, Amazon will now always get my business, as opposed to 'just on occasion'. It would be interesting to see the hit they take  - as they are handing thousands of dollars of business over to Amazon.com instantly.

Yes, you can order online via Barnes & Noble - but why would you do that if Amazon has a much cheaper price? I am not sure how much cheaper - as if you are a B&N member card holder, you get a discount, but I would almost bet Amazon is still a tad bit cheaper. I am not a B&N card holder.

So basically, Barnes & Noble is transforming their store to reflect the success of Kindle - they have found more of their customers are on this than buying books now - and they are both streamlining and changing their product line so they can appeal to their customer's needs and desires more - which, if they are undergoing such a massive transformation, is clearly leaning towards educational material.

But remember, they don't think business books are educational material.

LOL....or just sad.

They might be back to the drawing board about this one, this time next year.

Until they change this, they have, officially as of today, lost me as a customer.

I congratulate them on their foresight to jump in quite quickly on a very significant hot topic - which isn't a trend by any means - its a Revitalization...the revitalization of education.

Each day, America leaders, Government, and ChangeAgents are placing the utmost importance on this topic again.

And it seems Barnes & Noble thought that unless they become akin to a school or university library, they might be out of business.

So, since they couldn't expand their physical space in each location, they chose to deplete a lot of their book selections to make room for the influx of educational material that will now be their primary product line - as you can see prevalently when you are in their store today, vs just even 3 weeks ago.

So now that you have read this - go pop on over to Barnes & Noble - well, unless you are interested in Business or Sales/Mktg books. :) Then I suggest you just stay put and open up Amazon.com.

Either way, I encourage you to read - learn and grow and really enjoy whatever you are reading and learning this month!
Jaxi :)

Kickstart Your Idea/Project

A few days ago, I came across a new company based in the USA called Kickstarter.

This is a genius idea! :)


This is a way to take your project to the masses to gain market interest, and to gain money to fund it!

This is the best way to do it these days, as there are zillions of projects and not enough money or real investors to fund them all.  So I rank it exceptional - for a bunch of reasons:

Ease of use, it's organized, anyone can do this, the chance to get your project in front of the world, the chance to fund your project, less hassle then with angel investors, partners, VCs or banks, the wait time is how far you set the deadline out - so you have control of this, you get to meet other innovators and entrepreneurs, it's a free and great way to test the market interest, but mostly because it does exactly what the name of the company is - it gives a kickstart to your project! :)

Here's how Kickstater.com works:

1. Your project can be about anything. The categories are large. It can be for fun, or for business.

2. You must set a deadline date (so your project can't run endlessly).

3. You must set the dollar amount you wish to have donated.

4. People can still support you/your idea, even if they can't donate money.

5. People can donate money if they want - it is through Amazon, so it is secure and global. The smallest donation is set at $1 USD.

I think this is key. If people really love what you have or they find it will fill a need, they will donate, even if it is only $1.

Steve Jobs proved it. We are in a massive recession with high unemployment numbers and many struggling, yet on April 3, 2010, Easter Weekend to boot, everyone had money for an Apple iPad that they didn't need (lowest price starting at $500+tax) and had extra $$ to buy more cool Apps. If $550+ was nothing to 2 million+ people, I am sure $1 is the same - if your idea is great enough to them.

6. No risk. If the amount you set as the dollar amount is not achieved by your deadline date, then no one's credit card is charged (that originally did donate). So that means if you set a goal of $5,000, but people only donated $2,300, you don't even get the $2,300, you get nothing. But if you did make the $5,000 goal by the deadline date/time, only then is everyone's credit card charged.

7. You can surpass the amount of money you set as the donation request amount. So if you set the donation amount to be $5,000, and you still haven't even reached your goal date yet, and you have already raised $5,500, you can keep collecting money up until that deadline date (from then on out, donator's credit cards are charged immediately)

8. Kickstarter keeps 5% of any project money gained. {Very lucrative for them - as they do nothing really - outside the original hard work they did to build this robust platform and promote themselves too}

This is a fabulous, organized system that allows you to push your project really hard for xx amount of days, without going through the horrendous process of angel investors, VCs, etc.

And again, I like it because it is also a viable, real-time indicator if your idea/project is really great or not - but then again, you have to spend the effort to promote it like wildfire, so the indicator is not without its errors.

They are in beta mode -so currently only USA projects can be accepted, although anyone globally can donate. They are also - at this point - capped on the amount of projects their system can handle, but they are taking requests for when they can add more.

This is a cool way to get your project known, and do the grassroots efforts efficiently. :)

Give Kickstarter a look! I really loved one on there - BioCurious.org - so I donated a few bucks to support them. I look forward to them reaching their goal and seeing 'my investment' go to good use:)

A Twist on the 'To Do' List

Engaging in an email today, someone was telling me about their ‘to do’ list.

I use to make these. I stopped a little over 2 years ago.

Why?

Because that list was never ending - and for all I crossed off or deleted, so many more things were added by the end of each day.

I found it a dreadful list that was not rewarding me really at any time - but for the split second of crossing one thing off.

Think about it - if you are an ‘open’ business - that list will never be completed - not even on the last day of any year - as your business never stops.

Having that list can sometimes do more harm than good on a psychological level - and that might affect how you conduct your business or day without you even realizing it’s subtle yet powerful effect. That ultimately leads to it affecting your success.

When most look at their  ‘to do’ list, rarely are they jumping for joy. Usually, they make a big sigh or something - or read the list a few times to decide what they could get done to cross off something for the day - to make them feel like they at least achieved that.

And if you had 10 things you were supposed to get done, but only did 1, it’s hard to think really awesome about yourself or feel even great that you accomplished that 1 task - when you know that now the next day you will have 10 more things on top of what you add for that day to do.

So see - it’s really a horrible list.

I am aware that not everyone dreads this list - but I am talking about the majority of individuals. And I am also aware that some professionals really do know how to reward themselves for even just one task accomplished. And for those: kudos! - you ‘get it’ :)

But to make this situation a lot more fun and something you look forward to whether you are in either of those categories above, I have made a twist on this ‘to do’ list.

Mine is:  “Actions That Get Me Closer To What I Want”

It’s a longer title - but who cares. No one sees it but you.

Look at how uplifting and powerful that statement is!

It almost begs you to jump right in on all of the tasks instantly! And you are filled with excitement to do so! You are all pumped up before you even read item #1! Isn’t this a better way to start your morning --- and keep you going throughout the day? Amazing what this does to your psyche! :)

You can tweak this title if you want - make it shorter or more specific.

Ex:  Replace the ‘What I Want” with the goal you have for the year or month or week - however you set your ‘to do’ list up.

or shorten it:

Ex: Actions Towards My Success

You get the idea. Play around with it some.

But the words need to be powerful, filled with energy and the statement needs to resonate with you. Once you craft it this way, you incorporate the tasks into your work easier and you enjoy engaging in whatever these tasks are more - without you even realizing.

You can have more than one way to phrase your old ‘to do’ list and more than one ‘to do’ list also. Maybe use one name for your typical ‘daily’ to do’s and maybe use another for your longer term goals -  your monthly or yearly or even 5 year plan.

But there are 2 Crucial Keys you should take in order for this twist to be even more effective, refreshing and fun!

1. You replace the words ‘to do’ with the word Action

2. You get rid of the word ‘list. It’s irrelevant. You don’t even have to put your tasks in a listing format.

Make this more fun. Work should be enjoyable. We do it for so many hours of our lives, you need to find ways to incorporate fun into it.

Ex: Take a blank piece of paper and hold it landscape style. Put all your items in bubbles and have them float around. Don’t number them. Just put the words in the bubbles and arrange them however you want.

Use different colors if you want to represent the more important tasks that would normally be labeled in the Franklin Covey way of A, B, C. So make A red or your color preference. You get the idea. Or just keep them all the same color. Experiment with this and how it works for you each week/month.

If you do this, there are 3 hidden benefits:

- you might discover that you can link some tasks together and accomplish two things in one

- you might start to recognize a pattern about your ‘to do’s that are a waste your time or that you write down as habit - but you already know and never forget to do

- it might cause you to see some things about your business in a different way - such as associate people or ideas together that you would have never thought of - if this was in list format and one task was #2 and another task was item #10

The last tip I will give you is to create your daily actions on a white board.  I won’t take up your time to state all the incredible powers of this fabulous board - but once you start to use one - you will know :) I love all my white boards!

But the purpose of this blog topic was to reinforce: You should like what you do and be excited to start each day and work your day.

Your new “Action xxx” (whatever you call it) is a catalyst to help make this happen for you. It gets you into a positive and energized mindset and it allows you to have some fun doing what you do throughout each day.

When you constantly go back and read that top line (of what you have called this) - no matter what kind of day you are having or if you are feeling tired - this will instantly pump you up and keep you going! Or if you are like me and always are energetic and positive minded - it just fuels that more!

All of this ultimately will help you achieve more each day, so you can reach success quicker or maybe just elevate the level of success you already have overall. At the very bare minimum - it will be something you now look forward to reading and writing even - vs something you normally haven’t.

Let me know how this works for you. I would love to know - so shoot me an email.

Jaxi  :)
ps: If you would like more help on this topic or anything else - get in touch. I would be glad to discuss with you how I can be your personal Silent and Strategic Partner in All Your Endeavors!

How Is Your Business Plan Different Than Others?

Over the past 3 years, I have seen quite a lot of business plans of all sizes for numerous ideas for different countries.

I am not even an investor and there has come a time when I have occassionally glossed over a section due to the doldrum of 'been there - seen that' situation - akin statements and statistics just different specifics/details.

Since I know longer run the same business model, I am not reviewing them as much. But over the past month I have reviewed a few out of courtesy, and it spurred me to write this blog to offer some suggestions to help separate yourself from the extremely competitive area of securing money for your business project /idea.

There are some things that are absolutely required, that you must put in, and there are sometimes no ways to make that creative, but there are other things you can do to spice up your business plan to either keep your reader/potential investor engaged, or at least catch his attention as he skims through your lengthy project.

A. Table of Contents

This is the first place the investor will look so he can instantly go to what is important to him.  Not many start from page one and read to the end (unless you are new to the investing world).

1. Take a look at your sections. What do you have them called?

Is there any other word or phrase you can choose to make that slight distinction between you and your competition to state the same thing?

That shows you are sharp and creative, and the investor might take note of that.  He will see you put effort into something as mundane and required as the Table of Contents. Just for that reason and the different word or phrase you used (even if it is only in one section), he might be intrigued by you. That might get that investor to actually read the entire project to see where else you surprise him like that - or to follow your creative genius pattern of thinking -  as you have already set yourself from the others.

2. Is there a unique section you can add in the middle of listing the typicals: 'financials', 'mission, vision statement', etc to catch their eye?

This will keep them reading down the list and maybe even get them to go instantly to that section - thereby already getting them engaged in your project.

Today, I suggested to a colleague - whose business plan I reviewed  - to create a new section and I gave him the entire idea of what to state in that section.  I suggested where he strategically put it as well.

It wasn't going to be a big section. Perhaps three short paragraphs at the most. But it was what was IN that section that was separating himself from the competition in the business investing industry and also from other individuals globally. This section loudly but subtly states -"I am different & take a look at what else..."

B. Presentation

This is crucial. Not many want to sit down and read a 35 - 100+ page document that is tightly packed with enormous detail in 10pt font print that also include a bunch of statistics with maybe one or 2 pictures and one pie chart or graph shoved in.

You must keep your reader enlightened, engaged, and not falling asleep - but more importantly absorbing the information so he remembers your project at the end of the day and not the other 20 he read that day (and, so he doesn't get them mixed up when he is processing his thoughts on them during the evening or 'off ' hours)

Just as in when you are writing marketing material - you should constantly ask yourself "so what" to determine if what you are providing is of value or really is needed or relevant in the material you are creating.

You should also constantly read what you have on the paper from top to bottom, from left to right, and ask yourself the following questions:

"where on this page do we loose the reader - or where on this page is their a chance we can loose the reader"?

"Is there too much information, or is there not enough"?

"Are we using the right amount of pictures with words"?

"Are we even asking questions"?

etc.

Questions make the reader stop for a split second and think - about the question - and how this might all pertain to them. Many don't realize that marketing material with questions interdispersed in them (2 max per page) help keep the message personalized to them more.

These are just starter tips that might help you enjoy the process of writing a business plan just a bit more :) It's important to put relevant information, of course - but you need to constantly keep the reader and their attention span in mind and keep your competition in mind just as much.

Strive to carve yourself out from your competition in this multi-package document any where you can. You might have a better chance of grabbing the attention of an investing party because these things grab their attention - and they figure out that you and this project is different.

A Picture of You


I find it amazing that people want to connect with other individuals on the internet though business platforms such as Linkedin and not provide a picture of themselves.


You provide all this information about you on your profile, why would you not include a picture?

This has nothing to do about you liking your appearance - or having a recent photo. You could use an old photo even. I have nothing more recent, so I use this one that is 3 years old (but I pretty much look the same).

A photo is more important than listing all the jobs you had. It's more important than your birthday showing, and it's more important than the clubs you have joined. I see all these things filled out on many profiles, sans the picture.

I personally will not interact with someone until they have a picture of themselves on their profile. When people like this contact me, I am courteous, and request they get one up and get back in touch with me when they do, or I ask them to email me one privately, as some are concerned about identity theft (btw, there is a way to ecrypt your photo).  I also bypass anyone who doesn't have a picture when I am looking through profiles. That becomes your loss because I could be the one person that helps you instantly. I do not trust you because I can't see you.

The internet is filled with frauds and fakes. Your frauds and fakes usually don't put pictures up. Even if you are absolutely nothing about that - just remove yourself from that group instantly by getting a photo of you on your profile.

I find the the same thing with these Ning platforms. People put a picture of something else up - a pretty scene or something. We are all too busy to deal with people who aren't serious enough about connecting with another individual globally by letting the other person see who they are.

I have bypassed my rule when someone has their company logo up on a Ning platform - if when I read something in their profile that lends that trust or credibility almost just as instantly (they are the owner of the company and have been in business xx amount of years, or are former military - things that show chances of them being a fraud are slim to none). But I am usually only lenient on Ning. For Linkedin - because of that platform's rules/regs and standards, and it is strictly for business - I'd say it is essential.

A picture of yourself establishes almost instant credibility. It sends the message to the viewer that you are proud of who you are, and offers that instant 'meet and greet' that is missing without the picture. There is a lot to be said about you when someone can see your eyes (so that means a picture with no sunglasses if you can really pick and choose).

I laugh when people don't have one up. I ask them if they would walk into a company to hand their resume to a secretary or manager with a paper bag over their head. Or if they would meet up with a potential JV partner to fund their project/business idea at a restaurant with a paper bag over their head.

Not having a picture of yourself up on the internet when you are promoting yourself on any business networking platform is the same thing.

We sometimes forget the etiquette of personal interaction and acting in a more natural way when we are behind a computer and interacting through technology. I am constantly saying that advanced technology for how we communicate is fabulous, as long as you keep in mind the personal touch, and you always pretend that you are in front of the person when you are presenting yourself to others through the internet.

A picture really says a lot. It allows the viewer to get a sense about who you are. That takes away a lot of doubt and establishes a quicker trust to a certain level. It puts the two of you almost in a room together. When that happens, bigger things result from it. I am presuming you have a reason for having a profile up on linkedin or any other business platform....correct?

The importance of your picture being associated with your profile is unquestionable.  It has now become a requirement from certain business platforms as a way to eliminate the frauds. And in todays world, because our technology allows access for it, it becomes the understood requirement as well.

So just put one up. You will be surprised how much this will increase the inquiries you get, or improve the leads that come to you, or whatever your reason is for having a profile up to begin with.

It might not happen all at once, and sometimes things like this are not measurable (although, I could run a poll) but as I say with anything I suggest: this makes you no worse off, it can only do you good.

Why You Should Use A Consultant or Coach

Most individuals and companies only seek consultants or coaches when they have a problem and they can't fix it themselves or figure a way to solve it best.

But I tell my colleagues and clients, that sometimes, the best referral is someone or an SME that is doing okay, but would be interested in exploring moving ahead, or spicing things up to produce better results, or just doing better than okay, and doing exceptional!

When you wait until you are at the problem level, there is more to tend to, and 9x out of 10 you that problem has trickled into other areas.

If you have a coach and consultant as you conduct your business, that problem most likely will not show up, because they have the objective point of view and are able to evaluate your situation in a different way then you are.

They have had the chance to spot that problem breeding, and will suggest the precautionary measures to make sure it never forms to an actual problem.

Since I always encourage taking action vs contemplating for weeks, why not consider exploring what I might be able to do for you?

If you are the cautious type, please consider this: I can only do you or your business good, I can not do it worse.

After our first few interactions, one of the following will occur:

1. You walk away staying the same
2. You inch more into that potential problem area
3. You hire me so so we start taking strategic and positive action towards improvement and simultaneously discover so much more together

Option 3 sounds exciting and a lot of fun to me!

Get in touch.  
Jaxi :)