Dumb and Dumber

This could merely be a function of age, but the more I look around me, the more I become discouraged by the dearth of imagination and outright stupidity that has spread throughout society like a nasty rash.

To wit: in today's NYT Business Section, a feature on an upcoming campaign in which college kids will have a choice--to jump into a monstrous ice cream sundae or a behemoth mound of mashed potatoes (with honey??), only to be washed off in a promo for a shower gel. The tableaux is complete with mc David Spade (a sure sign we're going to take the high road.)

Yeah, I'm no college kid. But it seems yet another media vehicle through which humiliation is pawned off as entertainment (see reality TV, Fox TV, "Are You Smarter than a 5th grader", et al.)

Lest it seem like I'm some old curmudgeon with a chopstick up his derriere (I am, of course), the same NYT edition has a brief feature in which a law firm tries to recruit new associates by picturing current staffers caroming around a room bestride bouncy balls. ("Your honor, I'll be representing myself..")

These are presumably aimed at an older, more completely educated audience--yet the bottom line is still sophomoric.

It doesn't seem to me that clever, sophisticated advertising and any audience, no matter the demographics, should be mutually exclusive. Over the next few weeks I hope to post examples of just that--engaging, thoughtful campaigns that are no less entertaining than a frat boy taking a header into a swimming pool of salsa.

Jeff

Building a Business Budget

I occasionally get emails from readers who runs small businesses--rather well, as often as not--but who have a hard time drawing up and sticking with a budget.

It's like a household budget--no one's ideal of a jolly time. But there are a few ways to mitigate the sting and make a business budget more workable:

* Accept that it's a work in progress. Be ready to adjust numbers as experience dictates insight.

* Be prepared to be wrong--at least at first--see the first item.

* Err on the cheap side. Better to have too much money on hand than too little to meet your obligations.

* Build up a cash cushion. To make your budget more effective and, ultimately progress from a more conservative approach to a bit more aggressive, start out by stocking up on cash reserves whenever possible. Not only can that money come in handy for predictable expenses such as year-end taxes, it also can prove an absolute lifesaver should an unexpectedly high bill suddenly crop up.

* Ask for help. Know of another small business with an airtight budget? Pick their brains to see how they made it work.

* Review, then review some more. Folks with whom I've spoken who know much more about
this than I suggest at least a monthly review to track cash flow, expenses and other details.

* Above all, stay with it. You know an effective budget is essential to your success--allow enough time for it to take shape and mature.

Jeff

Well, back at it...

It's Sunday as I write this--meaning that, come tomorrow, it's back to five more days of the workaday grind. (Of course, since I'm writing this on a Sunday, that means in my case..ah, skip it.)

What that means to one person will differ radically from another--largely due to the person for whom you work. If yours is a boss who does what he can to make your job engaging and challenging, you may actually look forward to the buzz of the alarm clock come tomorrow a.m.

But, if yours is--as they once quipped on "The Simpsons"--the devil's cabana boy, anticipation quickly melts into a low level dread--anticipation of just what your lord and master will do this week to make your paycheck a deal paid for with drudgery and, as often as not, mistreatment, whether by design or unintentionally.

That begs the question: what goes into making a good employer? If that's the position you're in and you're on the lookout for ways to improve your game, here are a few fast suggestions:

* Be inclusive. Solicit feedback and input from your people and genuinely consider it (read: don't treat it as lip service.)

*Remember, the people who work for you have careers, also. If employees are looking to move up in the ranks, nurture that desire. Tell them what they need to do to improve.

* Coach as well as lead. The prior suggestion segues into the importance of coaching your people. Don't just tell them what to do--show why it's important and how their contributions matter.

* Keep working at your own skills. Even the most accomplished boss on the planet is a work in progress . Stay on top of ways you can make your workplace an environment of consistent improvement--both for you and others.

Jeff

A balancing Act

In a manner of speaking, each and every one of us is on a tightrope--a precarious balancing act between work and the remainder of our lives.

It's a decidedly tough act, one that often mandates constant readjustment to avoid slips in our professional success and, every bit as important, our personal well-being.

I wrote a column about ways to achieve work-life balance. To read the whole smash, go to http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/management/leadership_training/need_work_life_balance_7_tips.mspx

Here's a Reader's Digest version:

* Don't overschedule. Strike a balance between productivity and overkill. Tinker with it until you find the right mix.

* Learn to say no. Not worth your time? Don't be afraid to take a flyer.

* Be ruthless with your time. Know those things that are important and immediate and those that can wait.

* Expect imperfection. The right balance may be hard to come by. Stay off your own back as you look for the optimal work/life equilibrium.

Jeff

Links that matter

The other day, my wife mentioned a business website she knew geared to autistic children. On the site, they had links to, among others, the Autism Society of America. Her point was: what parent with an autistic child wouldn't already know about the Autism Society of America?

Her observation is valid. Far too often, the links provided on business and financially-based websites mean well but are far too run of the mill. If nothing else, they come across as somewhat lazy--the first links that popped into your head.

If your business has a website and you offer links, give them some thought. Rather than offering links to mainstream sites that visitors to your website will likely know about already, direct them to out of the way places they may be unaware of--but which may be no less helpful and informative than more popular destinations. It's subtle, but it's a way to make your website--and you--establish an attitude that's willing to take the extra step to offer genuinely helpful and fresh direction.

Jeff

Live With (not by) PowerPoint

Went to a conference recently where the speaker--like scads of others--had a PowerPoint presentation to augment his remarks.

Trouble was, they didn't really augment what he was saying--rather, through a variety of ways, they replaced him. And, that only led the audience to consider the size of the rest room window--and whether it was large enough to let them slip out unobtrusively.

PowerPoint can, in fact, be a terrific complement to any presentation, provided we all live by a few simple rules. Here are a few, suggested by those far wiser than I:

* Simplicity. The most effective PowerPoint presentations are simple — charts that are easy to understand, and graphics that reflect what the speaker is saying.

* Don't parrot. Alex the wonder parrot, who amassed an enormous vocabulary, is no longer with us. Honor his memory by using PowerPoint along with spoken remarks that augment and discuss, rather than mimic, what's on the screen.

* Time accordingly. A well-orchestrated PowerPoint program brings up a new slide, gives the audience a chance to read and digest it, then follows up with remarks that broaden and amplify what's on the screen.

*Edit heartlessly. Once you're finished drafting your PowerPoint slides, assume you're just one of the folks listening to your remarks as you review them. If something is unappealing, distracting or confusing, edit ruthlessly. Chances are good your overall presentation will be the better for it.

Jeff

A hacksaw at home

Several years ago, I wrote a column for Microsoft Small Business that featured a number of things that clients and customers should never hear coming from your mouth (the title derives from an experience of mine when a hardware store matron exclaimed "Doesn't he have a hacksaw at home?" when an employee was decent enough to cut a piece of pipe down to size for me.

If you want to see the entire story, it's at http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/management/customer_relations/7_things_never_to_tell_your_customers.mspx.

That begs the question--how do you head off these verbal landmines before they explode right in your face? A couple of ideas come to mind:

* If you have any doubts whether something may be apropos or not, take the better part of valor route and keep your yap shut. The fact that you even raise the question in your own mind suggests it's best left unsaid.

* Keep it positive and constructive. If you look over the list in my column, asking out loud whether a customer can afford something isn't exactly Dale Carnegie material.

* If you have something negative, don't broadcast it--share it on the sly, out of a client's earshot.

* Emphasize proactivity. Recently, I experienced a variation on the "we don't have it theme" when I asked a grocery store employee for directions to an item. Reply: "I'm on my lunch break now." Well, bon appetit! Eating your own words hits the spot. No matter how inconvenient, at least make an effort to help someone. "No can do" pushes people out the door.

* Share your guidelines with those with whom you work. You may be all peaches and cream with everyone, but all it takes is a word out of place by someone else to blow that all to H-E double hockey sticks.

Any suggestions? Stories of your own to share? Let me know. I'd like to write more on this topic, but I only work here....

Jeff

All save, no pain

Whether you own a business or are just trying to get your personal finances in better shape, saving is a decidedly tough nut. There always seems to be some bill, some draining obligation or some other nasty payment that saps whatever money you'd dearly love to set aside.

Well, there's an easy way to do it--and to think we can all thank an old bill for the tip (how very thoughtful). Here's the gig--once you've finished paying off a bill or some other financial obligation, just keep making the same payment--to yourself. For instance, if a $200 a month credit card bill has finally headed over the horizon, keep cutting that $200 check, only stash it in savings. It's not as though it takes any sort of Herculean discipline--if you could afford the payment before, nothing should stop you now.

And, bear in mind the money's going to a much more worthy cause--you.

Jeff

If Life Moons You...

So much of what we all encounter in business are challenges or conditions that, unto themselves, may seem insurmountable headaches--my market is too small; too conservative; too diverse; too concentrated; too spread out, ad infinitum.

Many of us tend to deal with them as best we can--a form of coexistence or detente that acknowledges the reality but does little more than that--a problem that can merely be endured.

Truth is, most any condition can be turned into an advantage if approached as an opportunity rather than a hurdle. For instance, if your market is conservative in nature, emphasize the cost-effectiveness of what you do. Too diverse? Emphasize the range of your business and/or the clientele with whom you work. Too small? Play up the fact that, since you work with a limited number of clients or customers, yours is a singularly personal approach--something that a larger competitor can't possibly manage with a client list the size of the Manhattan phone book.

What it mandates is a different mindset--a focus not so much on the problem at hand but, conversely, the singular opportunity it creates. Flip it on its side and see what it can offer you rather than take away.

So, if life moons you--turn the other cheek and see what's there.

Jeff

Trying to reach me?

You may notice two email addresses for me--both work to reach me so, as they say, double your pleasure, if you wish.

Jeff

Welcome to Wuorio@money

Welcome, one and all to Wuorio@Money--the business and personal financial blog by finance journalist, author and speaker Jeff Wuorio.

Yeah, I know--the title is a bit unusual. But I wanted to emphasize the overriding message and focus of my blog--to put you where the money is, no matter if you own a business, want to start a business, manage that business more effectively or just get a better handle on your personal finances.

We'll be mixing it up in the weeks and months ahead, covering a variety of topics derived from my books, columns and articles. But I also want to hear from you--to see what matters to you, what you want to to hear about, learn more and, ultimately, what you want to know to better both your life and your finances.

I also want to emphasize the tone of what you'll be reading. I know and you know that business and finance journalism can be akin to reading the phone book--informative but not necesarily engaging. I hope to use this vehicle to provide an injection of fresh narrative--to be no less informative and provocative, but to do so in a way that's engaging and entertaining.

See ya down the road!

Jeff