Great Business Ideas: Take Some Advice from the Mail-Order Queen (LILLIAN VERNON)

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Take Some Advice from the Mail-Order Queen (LILLIAN VERNON) The first thing i thought when I met Lillian Vernon was, “Wow, I hope I have as much energy and look as great as she does when I’m older!” This petite powerhouse of the mail-order industry started her business on … Read more

Great Business Ideas: Reinvent Yourself (WALLY AMOS)

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Reinvent Yourself (WALLY AMOS) On march 10, 1975, at 7181 sunset boulevard in Hollywood, Wally Amos, showbiz talent manager, became Famous Amos, the Cookie Man. Using his Aunt Della’s chocolate chip cookie recipe, Amos sold deluxe cookies for the unheard of price of $3 a pound. Celebrities and locals … Read more

Great Business Ideas: Benefit from Volunteerism (HARVEY MACKAY)

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Benefit from Volunteerism (HARVEY MACKAY) From envelope salesman to best-selling author of Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty (Dou- bleday; 1999) to entrepreneurial guru, Harvey Mack- ay makes a big impact on the business world every day. He’s always selling. Selling himself, selling his books and columns and, of … Read more

Great Business Ideas: Two Great Ideas (TOM PETERS)

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Two Great Ideas (TOM PETERS) Tom peters, best-selling author, high-level consultant, entrepreneur, and speaker, was in a state of transition when we met in New York City in the summer of 1997. He had just sold The Tom Peters Group, the training side of his Palo Alto–based communications business … Read more

Great Business Ideas: Translate Your Marketing Materials

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Translate Your Marketing Materials One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is not hiring native speakers to create marketing materials destined for foreign markets. In the 1970s Chevrolet made a legendary cultural faux pas when it decided to market the Chevy Nova in Mexico. The family car was … Read more

Great Business Ideas: Go on a Trade Mission

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Go on a Trade Mission “Going global” is a popular buzz phrase, but talking about doing business abroad is much easier than actually doing it. One smart way to explore the overseas market is to go on a government-sponsored trade mission. Every year, the Department of Commerce’s International Trade … Read more

Great Business Ideas: Learn about a Culture before Doing Business

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Learn about a Culture before Doing Business Sometimes an international business deal that makes perfect sense falls apart for no apparent reason. The numbers look good, but personalities clash, or someone says something that sends the deal spinning out of control. The problem may be caused by a breach … Read more

Great Business Ideas: Explore Opportunities in Russia

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Explore Opportunities in Russia If you want to understand the challenges of doing business in Russia, consider this: Although new ATM machines adorn major boulevards in Moscow, most people are reluctant to use them. Fear of being robbed is one reason, but that’s not all. Until 1997 it was … Read more

Great Business Ideas: Expand Production South of the Border

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Expand Production South of the Border Japanese giants sony, sanyo electric, and Hitachi made headlines by investing hundreds of millions of dollars in Mexican border factories, but hundreds of small U.S. businesses are also taking advantage of Mexico’s affordable skilled labor force. “It’s the big guys and the small … Read more

Great Business Ideas: Wrap It Up

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Wrap It Up One of the nicest things you can do for your customers and your business is send them out the door with their merchandise beautifully gift wrapped. It saves customers time and money, and great packaging is one of the smartest and most costeffective advertisements for your … Read more