Blog entries

When to Call the Question

Steve Marr — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:26:07 +0100

During parliamentary debate a member may “call the question.” It means a vote is requested now. If the majority agrees, the debate stops and they take the vote. In any discussion, there comes a time to stop talking and move on. A wise leader understands the right time. Isaiah wrote, “"Give us advice, make a decision.” (Isaiah 16:3, NASB) This is good counsel for us.

When I talk with a prospective client, I reach a point when I ask, “Wo...

Long Commutes Impact Health

Steve Marr — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:54:49 +0100

Most of us commute to work with varying distances. I have a short commute, just a quick walk across the house to my home office which takes only a few seconds. At times I drive into Phoenix for a morning meeting. That trip may take between 20 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes, depending on the location and time of day. Others have longer commutes.

A recent study from Sweden by Erika Sandow indicated that those with longer commutes by car, bus, or train were more likely ...

Self-employment: Marketing

Steve Marr — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:02:47 +0100

I have covered the need for small businesses to invest time and money in marketing. Customers don’t just walk through the door.

I have met with many excellent people who struck out on their own. They were plumbers, landscapers, and others representing many other fields. When these people failed to market, their businesses (and their families) suffered.

Search this site under “getting and keeping customers,” to find ideas that may work fo...

Self-Employment: Benefits

Steve Marr — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 04:48:30 +0100

When I held down a corporate job, I received an excellent benefit package with full medical insurance, life insurance, vacation time, long term disability and more. Now that I am self-employed, I need to pay for these benefits myself or go without.

Most self-employed people understand the need to have some type of medical coverage for the family and themselves. Other benefits are easily forgotten.

I encourage self-employed people to plan for these expenses. Disability insurance is...

Self-employment: No Sick Time

Steve Marr — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 07:04:06 +0100

We all get sick. In some instances we can still work, albeit at a slower or less effective pace. Other times we must stop entirely. Clients and customers expect to do business every day. So how does a self-employed business person work out sick time?

First of all, do whatever you can to prevent illness. Get enough rest, eat well, use exercise, and some sickness will pass you by.

If illness does catch up with you, be proactive. Notify clients that you will...

Self-employment: Working Solo

Steve Marr — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 06:35:03 +0100

Making the shift from the corporate or business environment to working at home or starting your own business requires many adjustments. One adjustment is reduced social interaction. Don’t underestimate the impact of this change.

When we are around others we can have casual conversations about family updates, ball games, or enjoy friendly interchanges with each other. We can bounce ideas off others, discard bad ideas, or embrace those that make sense. Lunch time may include going...

Thoroughly Test E-commence

Steve Marr — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 17:39:56 +0100

Many sell digital products on a website. This is a good way to generate new sales without increasing delivery costs. Setting up an e-store and delivering product looks easy. Often, delivery is not so simple.

I have seen many who launched an e-commerce initiative thinking that the system was working only to discover that serious problems blocked sales or content delivery. You must test your system. This test should involve more than you and your web person.

Get ...

Limit Interruptions

Steve Marr — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 09:00:19 +0100

Interruptions kill productivity. I limit the number of interruptions. You should consider a similar strategy.

When I am writing, working on client work, or other projects; interruptions are a major problem. After each interruption I have to refocus myself to return to my scheduled work. This takes time. Many others have the same problem. We need to preempt these interruptions as much as possible.

I developed a list of people who I allow to interrupt me.&n...

Generate Leads

Steve Marr — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 10:11:20 +0100

Generating leads is important for any salesperson. However, cold calling without a plan wastes a lot of time. I used to make cold calls on prospective customers in my international trade business, but it didn’t involve knocking on doors to ask if anyone imported or exported. Instead, if I saw a shipping container at a dock, I knew they were doing some international trade and the business was worth calling.

Any sales lead is better than a cold call. Why call on someone who...

Full-Time or Part-Time Ministry, How to Discern God’s Will

Steve Marr — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 05:01:26 +0100

How do you balance a call to minister if it is not financially responsible to let go of a full-time job? Often people contact me who are considering full-time ministry or who have shifted to full-time ministry, but are financially struggling. They don’t understand why their call to ministry didn’t equal permission to give full-time focus to it. When working through the process I talk about what the call to ministry means, and how a workplace calling may or may not be the sam...

Competitors that Look Easy

Steve Marr — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 04:37:49 +0100

Do you take competitors lightly?

When Goliath "looked and saw David, he despised him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy..." (1 Samuel 17:42 NASB).

Goliath took his competitor lightly and paid with his life. Fail to take any competitor seriously, and you may pay with your business.

Swiss watch makers laughed at the new quartz movements, only to lose 92% of the watch market.

When a competitor appears, analyze the threat. If you have a weakness, shore up the brea...

Changing Circumstances Require a Change of plans

Steve Marr — Fri, 31 May 2013 10:19:55 +0100

It is easy to get stuck applying the same strategy and steps in our business. When you experience success you don’t want to change. You just repeat more of the same successful steps. Often this is wise. Why break a successful pattern?

However, when the circumstances change, you need to rethink how we do business.

I frequently rent cars when traveling. I decline the additional insurance because my personal insurance covers any liability or car damage. I don&rsqu...

Say Nothing

Steve Marr — Thu, 30 May 2013 06:23:56 +0100

Some people have a tendency to say too much. Often saying nothing or saying little is good strategy. King Solomon wrote, “Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.” (Proverbs 17:28, NIV)

Consider my experience when I wanted to replace my air-conditioning unit. The contractor talked on and on about the proposed system. At one point I was 80% sold on signing the contract. Then, he kept talking and talking. ...

How to Help a Local Christian Newspaper

Steve Marr — Wed, 29 May 2013 10:54:06 +0100

I know that a publisher of a Christian newspaper is struggling. This isn’t a new problem. I have written before about the challenges facing print newspapers. When I talk to newspaper owners, they tell me about how the costs of organizing, printing and distributing the paper are high. They struggle with limited revenue for advertising.

I generally advise the following steps for newspapers in trouble:

1. Engage local writers.

At...

Knowing Your Compitition

Steve Marr — Tue, 28 May 2013 06:46:24 +0100

Scripture tells us, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6 NASB)

Customers have a choice of where and when to spend their money. Our job as salespeople is to convince them to become our customers. When we advertise and communicate with prospects, we need to understand how our offerings stack up against others, and this requires a clear knowledge of our competitors’ offerings.

A furniture store may offer the best selection of leather furnishings, but t...

Reliability: A Senior Edge in the Job Market

Steve Marr — Mon, 27 May 2013 10:22:56 +0100

Many older workers need to stay in the workforce as a necessity to get by. Others simply prefer working full or part time. Some employers are reluctant to hire older workers. If you are a senior, you need to learn how to use a key advantage to overcome this obstacle.

Consider the dependability issue. Young workers are not always as dependable as older workers. They may not have a consistent on-time record. A business I assisted let 33% to 40% of new hire...

Is Your Ad Working?

Steve Marr — Fri, 24 May 2013 10:18:51 +0100

Advertising is expensive. My experience is that over 50% of ads fail to make money. Most business owners do not know which advertisements work and which do not. Don’t get yourself into this predicament.

Direct mail or newspaper ads should have some coupon the customer brings in to save money. That way you can validate how many customers an ad brings in. Then you can check your costs against the response to determine if you should continue to spend advertising money that w...

Commuting Costs

Steve Marr — Thu, 23 May 2013 07:23:20 +0100

The American Automobile Association released a study of the costs of driving to work. The average person will spend $9,100 for car expenses to drive to work. The study assumed that a worker would buy a new car every five years and drive 15,000 miles in a standard sized car. Those who drive SUV’s, travel longer distances, or buy new cars more frequently will pay around $2,500 more. This is a lot of money for any family.

One factor to consider is that savings from automobil...

IRS Takes The Fifth Amendment, Can You?

Steve Marr — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:17:06 +0100

Ms. Lois Lerner, director of the IRS division that was alleged to signal out groups for intense review based on ideology, has refused to answer questions from a congressional committee. This is her constitutional right.

However, do we have the same right with the IRS? We can refuse to answer questions from an IRS examiner, but the result will be imputed taxes, the examiner will make assumptions, that may or may not be correct and then issue a tax notice. At that point, you can p...

Tax Policy Encourages Corporate Debt

Steve Marr — Tue, 21 May 2013 07:18:25 +0100

The tax code from the IRS encourages debt rather than equity. When a corporation earns money, they pay an income tax on the earnings. If earnings are distributed to shareholders, those dividends are taxed again as personal income. This represents double taxation and discourages dividends to investors.

However, when a company borrows money, the interest paid is tax deductible. It is only taxed once as income to the investor.

Consider how a business thinks given ...