Aaron asked me whether he should work from home or obtain a small, independent office. I asked Aaron to list the pluses and minuses of each possibility. Here is his list:

Off-site office:

            +  Closer to customers

Frequently in today's business environment, people burn their bridges to other people or relationships.  Someone has a bad experience, becomes angry or frustrated and they terminate a business relationship. However scripture gives us a different model: “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14, NIV)

When I consult with a business for the first time, one of my first questions often is: “What is the purpose of your business or organization?” I usually get one of three responses. One response is a clear and concise purpose for why the organization exists.  This is good. A second response is when the person stumbles and doesn't really answer the question. The third response is an answer that is somewhat off target from what the business is actually doing.

Allen asked me to review some ad copy that contained a number of claims: “You will save money;” “The system is reliable,” or “My system is easy to use.” My first response was, “Says you!” 

Allen paused before he asked, “What do you mean?” I explained that his entire advertisement was made of claims without providing any evidence. How did he expect prospective customers to trust his statements without evidence? 

I belong to Business Network International or BNI (https://www.bni.com/), an international network group designed to help each other grow their business. Members are encouraged to share what they do, learn about other members, and refer business to other members of the network. I often recommend this as a marketing step for businesses and have found it to be effective.

BNI teaches three steps to success: visibility, credibility, and profitability. These are steps we need to utilize in our general marketing.