Are You Smarter Than Your Dog?

by Michael Dalton Johnson, author of Rules of the Hunt

Dogs and philosophers do the greatest good and get the fewest rewards. -Diogenes

Dogs can teach a lesson to anyone in business.

Canines came in from the wild many millennia ago. They are the oldest domesticated animal and one of the most common household pets. These intelligent creatures brought with them huge benefits for humanity. The many jobs dogs perform for us is mind-boggling. They are guards, rescuers, herders, entertainers, guides, therapists, crime fighters, and much more.

Above all, dogs are skilled entrepreneurs who have mastered the arts of communication, persuasion, and selling.

Like any good businessperson, dogs are honest. There is not much chance of misunderstanding them. Happy, angry, wary, hungry, or on the alert, they let you know their state of mind.

Like successful businesspeople, dogs know how to ask for what they want. It's a job they do with great expertise. While dogs can't speak, they do tell us their needs via body language that's easy to understand.

Dogs understand how to engage. Their sincere excitement about and interest in their business partner (that would be you) is flattery on a level that's hard to resist. Whenever you are greeted by your dog, it's easy to understand the famous quote, sometimes attributed to Mark Twain, "My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog thinks I am."

Tasha Lee Design, Chicagoland Graphic Designer
Email Me: tasha@tashaleedesign.com

What is Your Niche? Clients That Tower Above

A great struggle of business owners is finding their niche market. Competitors are all around you and determining what makes you different, more valuable and which niche you belong in can be an intimidating task.

I attended a seminar last Spring that mentioned the idea of placing your clients into towers. What!? That was exactly my response, let me explain.

Each one of your clients can be categorized, as you go through the list, start placing your clients into their corresponding category. This can be based on the type of project, demographics, industry for businesses working B2B or a number of other options. As you start categorizing, you will see one of your lists TOWER about the others.... this is your niche market. The market you work with most often, have the most experience with and can best determine their needs. Since the category far exceeds and towers above all other categories, you can then leverage this as your niche market. Use this information to start marketing to that particular niche using words such as, SPECIALIZE or CATER TO.

Knowing what your niche is the hardest part, once it is determined, run with it! Now that you know what type of client you work with most often, you can building case studies and position yourself as an expert in your newly defined niche. How exciting! You have the start to a marketing plan. Start creating your marketing materials to reflect your niche and spark the interest of your ideal client.

WAYS To Target Your Niche Market:

• Advertise in printed publications that your niche is interested in
• Become a member of a forum or chat board and start answering questions / giving advice within your niche market
• Customize your website design to appeal to your niche market by offering resources, products and solutions that meet their needs
• Define new products and services that cater to your niche market
• Define / Position yourself as an expert through public speaking, blogging or seminars
• Ask current clients for referrals or testimonials that fall within your niche market
• Build case studies to show that you have had success within your niche market
  

Tasha Lee Design, Chicagoland Graphic Designer
Email Me: tasha@tashaleedesign.com