Rob Kastelic
I’ve been very fortunate in life to have had and still have very successful business owners as friends and mentors. Additionally, in my corporate life…ah yes, my corporate life…feels like a lifetime ago. I worked for one of the wealthiest families in the world and was surrounded by some of the best & brightest business minds for many years. This is not a story about me; heck…I was just a poor kid From Cleveland, Ohio with no pedigree that received a few breaks at opportune times. I was also willing to work harder and smarter than the next guy and I guess people recognized that. This is a story about what I did during this period in my life, I did 3 things…
I watched, I listened and I learned.
Too often in life people think they know it all, I for one…knew I did not. I learned a lifetime of lessons during this time, but I’ll only be addressing one in this blog. There was one constant theme that I heard time and time again from these brilliant minds and successful business owners. But, hold on…one more story to set the stage before I tell you what that lesson was…years ago when I decided to start a consulting business, I asked advice of the “Coffee Club”. This was a handful of people that retired in their 40’s that would get together every week for a cup of coffee and just talk about life. I asked one question- What was one piece of advice that I needed to know before I started my own small business. That was easy for them and they came to a consensus fairly quick and that nugget is…
You must have your company work for you when you are not working and/or sleeping.
This one piece of advice is an integral part of how I set up my company and what I preach to small business owners as a consultant.
Proper Marketing – Your Website
Widgets? It does not matter if you are selling a widget, a service or whatever it may be. Every small business owner must have a dynamic website and a strong presence in the social media world. Sorry for the following observation…I’ve learned that many consumers are inherently lazy and information must be at their fingertips, if it is not…that is an opportunity lost. Consumers are not going to the yellow pages; they are going to Google and doing a simple search. Your company and website must be found on this initial search, hence the reason for SEO – Search Engine Optimization. Your website must explain who you are, what you do, why a consumer needs you or your product and how do I purchase said product or service. If feasible, your website must give an option to buy at that exact moment. You may only have a consumer’s attention for a short period of time and you must grab and engage them.
All small business owners work hard, especially in this dilapidated economy. Just remember one word…reach. You must reach the consumer 24 hours a day and this is humanly impossible. To accomplish this, you need to have a powerful and effective website.
If you do this your business will be working for you…while you were sleeping.
For now, that’s all.
A blog by Robert Frank Kastelic
