Putting a name on your business or company

These days what you name your business is just as important as what your product is, be it a service or something more tangible. The name is how people know what you sell. You don’t want a name that you need to educate people about before they know what you are all about. Don’t waste the marketing money and time trying to sell the name when you can make the name sell you.

People are not interested in cool exotic names or unusual named companies; they want simple names that quickly identify what that company can do for them or sell to them. Does the name tell people what you do or sell? If not what is the point of the name? Are you going to have to spend fortune marketing or branding your name so people know what your company is about? Why put the effort into selling your company name when you could be spending your time marketing your product with the name. What is more important having an unusual name or one that tells people what your company is about?

How well do you know your product and your target market? You need a name that is connected to your product and appeals to your target market. You want to keep it simple and straight forward, easy to understand, say and remember. What good is a name that is hard to remember or say? You want to have people think of your company when they are looking for your services or product. If they don’t remember the name clearly they will move onto one that they do.

Put some real though and time into picking the name for your business or company. The easier it is to market the better.

Strategy for marketing companies to manipulate social bookmarking sites like Digg

It is a simple concept actually. Company “A” knows that there is a positive online newspaper article about them and they have also paid several blogers to write positive reviews about them or their product. Now they want people to actually see the articles. They pay a marketing company to get exposure.

The marketing company hires people to submit and vote for their client’s stories on social bookmarking sites, like Digg. People are willing to surf the net for pennies a site, there are people who will submit and vote for articles and blogs for money. It only takes 50 or so votes to make an article popular on Digg, so it is quite possible to manipulate the system to get articles popular. If you have a 100 people not connected in anyway submitting and voting on articles that they don’t have any connection to (i.e. don’t work for the company) then it would be hard to catch the manipulation.

The way it would work is that the marketing company would bulk email a list of clients stories URL’s a couple of times during the day. Each time an “employee” gets a list they start submitting the articles to Digg. If it has already been submitted they Digg it and move on to the next URL. Once a person has Dugg the list they email the marketing company that it has been completed. All the marketing company has to do is look at the persons recent Digg activity and they have proof the person did so. The “employee” could be paid 5 cents per Digg or Vote, 10 cents per story they submit and a $5.00 bonus for every article they submitted that goes popular.

It may not seem to be a lot, but if a person submits and votes for 50 stories in one day they would make at lest $2.50 for just voting. If they submitted 10 of the stores they would make at lest $3.00. Not much but if the 10 stories all became popular they would have made $53.00 just for a little bit of work. There are people who have the time and could use the money, even $2.50 with the possibility of $250.00 if they submitted all 50 stories and they became popular.

As people would be trying to be the first one to submit the story the order of submission and voting should be random again making it harder to catch. Also it you had a 1000 people willing to vote for money and you only gave each list to a 100 of them it would again make it harder to track or catch. This system would also motivate people to make stories popular, as they get a bonus out of it. This would be very cheep marketing. The cost to have a 100 people vote and make popular would be $10.05. So lets say the marketing company charges $25.00 per article, that would still be very cheep marketing for almost any company considering that when a story becomes popular on Digg it can receive 1000’s if not in the 10,000’s or more hits. This would be a winning situation for both company “A”, the marketing company and the people being paid to vote. Not so fare to anyone else though.

Please note that this is just a theory. I do not know of any one doing this, I just think that it is possible and would make people money. I used Digg as an example because it is one of the largest ones out there, but it could be done on any social bookmarking site. Would it be right, no but I think it would be an inexpensive marketing strategy that would appeal to many.

Running an online retail store is harder then it looks

At first when you look at it it seems easy enough. But when you get right down to it there is a lot of work involved. When you get started you have to decide between building a site, renting a site or shopping cart by the month. Both require some time and work to find out what is best for you in the short term and long term. Once you have you decided and things are set up the real work starts.

Unless you have a limited product line there is going to be a lot of work put into getting product into your shopping cart. It is not just a matter of slapping a picture on and the products name and price. No each product is really a mini add and should be treated as such. What information you have in the description and title are what is going to be used by search engines to find your product. Then the description that shows up under your link is what people are going to use to decide to look at your product. The competition starts way before people see your product. You are competing with millions for each view. Please note that was view not buy. Just because you get someone to view your product does not mean they are going to buy from you.

The idea is to market your product online with a description and key words that will attract the people interested in your product. There is no point in using key words or descriptions that will bring lots of people to your site, but only a few of them are people interested in your product. You want to focus on your target market and attract them to your website or online store hoping that once they are there they will buy something. These means you have to think about what you put into the description and title of your products. What key words will your target market be using to find the product? Are they in your description or title? Once it come up in a search will your description stand out from all the others? Will it attract your target market to your site?

So now you put some time into reaching your target market and they click onto your product, what will get them to buy? There are a million and one other web site’s selling the same or similar items, why should they buy from you? What are they going to see first your product or home page? If they are searching for a product your link should open to the product. So how you have your shopping cart set up is going to give people their first impression of your company. How it looks is going to influence people to buy or not buy. Other things that will influence people to buy or not buy are your prices for the product, product image or picture, shipping costs, shipping options, return policies, where you are located, overall appearance of site; feed back from other customers, your home page, about us page and any other information you provide. How much information you provide or don’t provide will help people decide if they want to do business with you and not the other million sites.

At all points of contact with potential customers you need to be marketing your company, store and product. This is from the fist search people use to find you, to how easy it is to use the check out to buy and pay for your product and how the product was shipped. Even how the product was packaged can influence a repeat buy or not. Once you have a customer you need to do everything you can to keep them. Word of mouth is still the best marketing tool out there. Once you have a customer keep them happy and hope they tell everyone about you. But first you have to get that customer, and that is not always easy to do no matter how great your product, prices and company are. It is not just a matter of putting your product out and having it available to buy. You have to put a lot of time and some times money into marketing your product, store and company even after you start making sales. The marketing never ends because there are new online stores showing up and you have to compete with them and any local stores that can and will sell to your customers. In other words the work never ends if you want to keep brining in customers and making sales.

So if you are thinking about opening up an online store because it is easy money, think again. You only get out of it what you put into it. If you plan to put product out and sit back and wait for the sales to come in, save your money and find something else to do. There is no easy money to be found on the Internet anymore, it is a highly competitive market that is becoming more competitive everyday.

Your trade show booth is as important if not more so then your product

If you are a whole seller you already understand how important your trade show displays are. They are what sell your company to the buyers. Having an excellent presentation of your product increase orders, just the same way as having a good commercial will sell a product. Your booth is your ad or commercial and you must use it to sell your product. Retailers are looking for something that will sell in their stores, but you have to get them into your booth before they will buy.

Wholesale and trade shows are nothing but extreme competition these days. It truly is a world market now. At some of the larger shows you can have companies from all over the world all with Trade Show Display Booths designed to capture buyers attention. It is no longer enough that you have great product, prices and reputation you need to have a Trade Show Display Booth that will bring in new customers as well as old customers. Your booth has to sell not only your product line but must also brand your company image.

A booth is no longer a table and walls with product and info packs and cardboard displays, now they are mini stores and show rooms. They have to be very professional looking and give a company image that buyers will be using to judge your company even before they look at your product. It can be more important to invest into your booth then invest in any other type of marketing as this is going to be what the people who buy will see when they are looking to buy. It will have more impact at the time then a flyer or catalogue later on. It is as simple as this, you are not going to make sales to the end customer and create a demand for your product if you cannot get your product into stores and your not going to make the sales to the retailers if you don’t have the right display booth.

What you need to know before contracting a web designer or developer

We learned a lot over the last few years about the do’s and don’t when dealing with a web designer. We had some real problems. I would like to keep others from having the same or similar problems. The first thing you need to understand is that there is a big difference between a web designer and a web developer. A web designer will make pages for a web site and are wonderful if you have an information site. Web developers create the coding and programs that web designers use to create the web sites. Web design is the icing on the cake; the web developer made the cake the icing goes on.

If you are doing anything that is more then just an information site I recommend going with a web developer or learn to do it yourself. If you have just an information site that does not require the integration of other programs like a shopping cart then a web designer is the right person to go to. However, if you have the time and inclination you can also pick up a great book called “Beginning HTML with CSS and XHTML modern guide and reference” by David Schultz and Craig Cook. My husband used it to create our new web site.

There are some wonderful web developers who can integrate existing programs and software into the pages they create for you. The main purpose of a web designer is to design the look of your website and that the programs being used on your site function well together. The more complex the site is the more knowledge and experience will be needed. You need to understand what you want and need your web site to do before you design how it looks.

This means that you need to find out if pre-existing programs will work for you and will work together with any other programs you want. If they do then great find a web designer, buy the programs and let the designer make your site look and work how you want it to. If there needs to be a lot of tinkering with the programs you are interested to make them work the way you want and together then you need to make sure your web designer can do the work, or find a web developer who can make them work or create a new program that will do what you want. Do not assume that a designer can do it; their job is to design the look of the site, not create programs.

That is the biggest thing most people do not know, a designer creates the look, a developer creates the programs and can create the look you want. We made that mistake thinking that a designer was a developer. We needed a developer as our site was more complex then what our designer could do and he used up our service contract with our shopping cart program provider to get them to do the installations of their programs. We know this from the from our shopping cart provider after we forced our designer to transfer our shopping cart licence to us. We now have to buy a new service contract if we need their help with the shopping cart program. This would not have been the case if we had hired a web developer. Know what you need for your website and hire the right person for the job.

Does negative marketing work?

I understand marketing and advertising. I know that Realtors leave their signs up, with a sold sign, after they sell a house because it reinforces that they will sell your home or find you one. It is a good way to get clients. Toy companies will create a cartoon with the sole purpose to develop a market for a toy line. It is the best advertising possible for a toy line. Stores always place the candies or other impulse products right by the cash register so you see them as you wait in line. This all makes sense; it all reaches a specific market.

Suddenly I am seeing more negative ads. The ones that tell you, "don’t drink and drive", "don’t smoke it kills you" and "put on a life jacket when boating." I have to wonder how well these work. It is easy to understand positive marketing and advertising because it is targeted to our needs, wants, desires and impulses. How effective is advertising at keeping us from doing something?

I completely understand and support why the Canadian Government is using negative ads and restrictions to reduce cigarette sales. I even use negative conditioning with my kids, young as they are. I tell them cigarettes are yucky; they make your teeth yellow and your breath stinky. I hope it has an impact on them when they are older. I have watched all the changes forced onto the tobacco industry, both to the companies that manufacture and sell cigarettes.

First it was the regulations on what they could show in ads, they could not be targeted to the young anymore. Then they could not advertise or sponsor events and activates any longer. You had to show id to buy cigarettes and can be charged for buying for or selling cigarettes to minors. Soon the negative advertising started with comments and pictures on the actual cigarette packaging. This did not seem to work very well. Though I did like the TV ad that showed teens how smoking changes their appearance, makes their skin shallow and their teeth stained, that it ages them. That one seemed to work by targeting vanity not health. There came kids against smoking ads, famous people against smoking and now people who are dieing of lung cancer or have lost people to lung cancer ads.

The newest negative marketing strategy came as a shock. Behind the counter at a corner store appeared to be at first glance empty shelves where cigarettes had been. Nope it was metal doors hiding the cigarettes. You can still buy them, but you cannot look at them. This is to try and reduce impulse buying I guess, or the out of sight, out of mind idea. It is going to be interesting to see how it works. It is becoming expensive to sell cigarettes with all these restrictions and fines. I wonder if it is still worth it to stores to sell them. I think that eventually it will not be cost effective and they will stop. If stores stop caring them then the Government will have effectively reduced sales of tobacco products with out actually banning it. But is it going to work?

Be smart when starting and running your own business

Over the years we have built up our business the hard way, mostly with luck, hard work and unexpected opportunities. The biggest thing we have realized is that you have to be constantly learning and changing. Just because something works or sells today does not mean it will tomorrow. It is a lot harder running your own business then being told what to do by a boss.

If you are your own boss then you need to be smart about it. Put the time into market and product research. Don’t assume that because you can sell something at place A that you can sell the same thing the same way at place B. We started selling to a very large hobby group, with a very focused market.

I started buying and selling used items to a medieval historical re-enactment hobby group. I was doing what everyone else was doing and that was working well for me. I made some money and had fun. Then I started talking to everyone, found out what they liked and were searching for; Market research. I made sure that is what I brought in; Meet the needs of the target market. I ended up having people giving me shopping lists and they would pick up the items from me at the next event we were both at. This was great, I was making money and people where getting what they wanted. I soon discovered that I could not always find what people were looking for as used items. I saved my money and then started buying from wholesalers and designing my own line of jewelry; Created a new way to better meet the target markets needs.

Suddenly it was a whole new ball game. I was the only local merchant selling new product; Created a market. My sales when out the roof, I had cornered the market. I re-invested the money into more stock and displays; Meeting ever changing needs and building a brand image. Sales increased and I started selling all over Ontario; Increasing my target market. After about two years other people started to copy me and eventually I started to loose some sales as the market was small; Recognized a change in the market. I expanded to a larger market, selling at craft fairs and then moved to large festivals all over Ontario; Changing my target market.

Again I had an unusual product as everything had a medieval theme to it. This helped make us stand out from other vendors; Creating an image branding my company. However we had to learn how to sell at festivals, it was much different from selling at smaller group events. Both my husband and I had to be there, selling and creating; Expanding the business to meet customers needs in a timely manner. Before I had an established market and because we had consistent contact with our customers we could take orders and almost guaranty sales at the next event. Suddenly we had to earn peoples willingness to part with their money to buy from us with out the established relationship I had with my other customers. We had to develop an entire different way to market our product and ourselves.

We were very fortunate in that we only sold at juried festivals, this limiting the number of competition and pretty much guaranteeing that no one else was selling exactly the same thing as us. We also had several different product lines and prices, that all fit the theme we were able to meet the demands of several different target markets at the same time. As one of the only theme vendors we stood out enough that people brought their friends just to look at our both, and usually buy something.

It was strange because what sold at one festival was not what sold at the next. We had to be able to quickly identify how to market our product and our company at each festival. This was usually accomplished with our displays and even what product we displayed front and center. It was learning experience every festival. Eventually we developed a brand image as we did the same festivals every year. Again though people saw what was working for us and suddenly we have competition starting to sell at the festivals. So we are no longer as unique and different as we used to be. Time to make some changes.

Just over a year and a half ago we opened a theme online store, http://www.medievalmagic.ca/, yet again expanding our target market. We have spent the time learning about selling online. It is a completely different beast then selling retail to impulse buyers or established customers. There is no end to the competition so you don’t market your product you have to market your site and build a brand image. It is a lot harder then it sounds unless you have a lot of cash to throw around.

We have taken what we have learned have made some drastic changes in our website this month. We changed the look, redesigned how our site works, whom we market to and how we market to them. We are even changing our product from mainly manufactured product and some of our handcrafted pieces to a 50/50 split. We will slowly move away from pieces we buy from a wholesaler to what we make. However the key is flexibility to change with market demands.

I went for a internet marketing conference, not a sales meeting

Today I spent almost three hours of what I consider my valuable time at what was supposed to be a conference on Internet marketing for retail websites. What I was actually at was a presentation focused on telling me I could make lots of money on the internet, but I need to use this companies store front that is included in their hosting package. Come on people, I could not believe what I was put through. The worst part was that if I wanted to get the actual course for marketing it was included in the package as part of a full day of how to be successful using their store front and hosting company, but I had to pay the one time fee of $25.00 right then and there (which is $199.00 any other time, don’t you know!)

They tried to pressure me by telling me that I must not being doing everything I need to do in marketing my web store Medieval Magic, because if I were I would be rolling in money and would not be there. Um, actually I was expecting to have spent my time learning about other methods of online marketing and had hoped to find some new ways or better ways. I am always looking for a way to positively market our product and web site. Only a fool thinks that they know everything and does not understand that there are new programs and methods developed all the time. I am not a fool and did not like being treated as one.

What I did find shocking is the number of people signing up and handing their $25 for their new website. They don’t even have an idea of what they want to sell or who their market is, but they have a web site. Next week they are going to this full day course on how to be successful with their stores. These are set up to hold them by the hand and show them what to do step by step, including giving them a list of drop shippers and some one-on-one time with someone who is going to help them do it all.

The basic idea is that they are getting an out of the box web site, a list of drop shippers and instructions on how to market the web site. As this wonderful company pointed out, if these people are not making money they will not keep their website up and they will not get their $24.99 a month. They want people to succeed. They also want people to have multiple web sites as diverse income streams. All good ideas, except I feel it has more to do with the $24.99 they get each month for each site you have. The more sites you have reaching out to different markets, or using different branding strategies the more money they make off of you.

I may or may not be going as a guest with one of the people who signed up. It depends on them right now. For me it is just to make sure they don’t get pulled into the, "oh by the way to be successful you need to add these add-on’s to the original shopping cart." The company has already indicated that you need $5,000 of add-ons but they are selling them for $3,000 but they are willing to give you a deal on the day of your training. The sad part is that up until I heard about the add-ons I was actually comparing their price and service favorably to other companies I did research on when we were looking for a new shopping cart. I don’t like any company that said here is a web site and hosting fee, oh but your going to need to buy all this other stuff to succeed. I don’t think they are going to have much to add to my online marketing strategies, or at least not ones I am willing to use. It will be interesting to see what they have to say if I end up going, but I would not be upset if I don’t go.

How to go from entrepreneur to successful manager

So you are an entrepreneur with a successful small business, you have grown enough that you need to hire people. You have to take time from "doing" to interviewing, hiring, training, motivating, supervising, disciplining, and firing. You have to depend on others to keep your business successful. You have to let go, trust others to do as good a job as you do. On top of that you are not going to have as high a profit margin as staff are expensive and increase your cost in many ways. You need to find quality, skilled people that are reliable because poor staff can damage your business. Now your role changes from doing what you love and do yourself to being a manager dealing with paperwork, payroll, scheduling, and employee issues. How do you become a successful manager and keep your business going?

To be a successful manager you need to know what the needs of your company and employees are and how to balance them. Keeping your staff happy is very important to keep up productivity and reduces turnaround. Most research has shown that employees who feel valued work harder, take less time off and are loyal to their employer where those that do not feel valued slack off, take more time off and are often looking for a new job. Taking the time to hear what your staff needs can be extremely beneficial to you, and your company. Your employees are the people doing the jobs, you never know what insights they have about their job that can improve the job or save money for the company. People are more willing to change or work harder or meet unusual dead lines when they feel a part of the company, not a clog in a big machine.

Being able to deal fairly and promptly with your staff and their concerns goes a long way towards the perception your staff has of you and their willingness to work with you. For example, if your employee has issues with scheduling and your able to help them out then they are more likely to put that little bit extra when the need is there. Treat people with respect, you hired them, if you did not respect them or their ability to do their job why did you hire them. If you no longer feel they can do the job, let them go with their dignity intact.

You also need to be consistent and clear in your expectations and instructions/directions to your staff. Train your people to do the job the way you want it done. Do not assume that they know to do it your way. Once they are trained trust them enough to let them do the job, but still be available for when they have questions, concerns or some thing unusual or unexpected happens.

At the same time you need to keep meeting the demands and needs of your customers. You cannot sacrifice the needs of the company to meet the needs of your staff. As important as it is to work well with your staff you have to be able to recognize that having a good relationship with your staff helps but is not all that being a manager is about. Getting work done is. You need to be able to fire people as well as work with them. Liking some one is not enough of a reason to keep someone if they are not doing their job.

Knowing what needs to be done and when is also very important. As is being organized and able to prioritize. You need to make sure that you keep on top of deadlines, make sure you have everything your staff needs to meet them as well as make sure your staff is doing what they need to do to meet them. If you are a good manager you will have staff you can trust to do the work, being a successful manager means keeping on top of it and keeping things on track.

To be successful you need to be well organized, able to prioritise and work well with people. You have to have an understanding of how to get the people working under you motivated and wanting to get the work done. It is a mix of talents and personality. Some times it is better to hire a good manager then doing it your self. If you are not as good at managing your people as you are at managing your business you could be doing more harm then good. Poor management can destroy a business as fast as poor employees.

Small business cash flow problems, credit cards solutions?

More business go under because of the discrepancy between the inflow and outflow of cash. What good is it if you have $1000’s in accounts receivable if you cannot pay your debts and daily operating costs today? This affects both small and large businesses, it is the way you handle the difference that counts.

If you have a cash flow problem you need to look at your payment terms and contracts. See what you can change. Can you do a % discount on the receivables if your customers pay in 15 days instead of 30 days? This can speed up the turn around from invoice to cash in hand. Also take a look at your budget, can you decrease the discrepancy by changing your budget. There are lots of ways to improve cash flow.

However, no matter how good your cash flow is you still have to deal with slow payers and no payers. This can have a large impact on your cash flow. Large projects can also place a strain on cash flow. So how do you supplement your cash inflow with out ending up with a crippling debt load?

Budgeting always plays a big part of business. You budget your expected returns and expenses but always try to leave a cushion of cash to off set the unexpected. Like having to go to court to get payment or having to write off a large account receivable, or actually getting an unexpected contract. When budgeting alone is not enough and you have to look out side for an influx of cash what do you do? Where do you turn to, what options are open to you? Well that depends on your existing debt load, how much you need and for how long.

Selling your accounts receivables is a good way to get ready cash with out going into more debt. The question is, will any one buy them and at what % on the dollar will they buy them. What good is selling off our receivables at a loss? It might help now but in the long term loses you money and throws off your cash flow and budget. Only use this when things are dire or you are selling off bad accounts you expect to have to fight for, or wait a long time for, or not receive payment.

A loan or mortgage lets you pay it off over a long period of time. This is good if you expect a long time between spending the money and getting a return on it. It is also good if you expect a long-term cash inflow from this investment of cash. Not so good a choice if this is for a short-term solution.

Short-term solutions, for when you expect a quick turnaround, are line of credit, over drafts and credit cards. If used properly these are great tools for day-to-day operations. Like when you have a cheque to be cashed on Monday but payroll is due on Friday. These options need to be used in the short term, when you can pay them off in days or weeks, not months or years. Real problems arise when people use these short-term solutions for long-term problems. These options usually have higher rates of interest then loans and mortgages can eat deeply into your profits if not paid quickly.

You need to know what your money needs are and find a financing solution that is best for each situation. All the planning, barrowing and such will not work if you don’t have a good understanding of your cash flow, develop a good budget and follow it.

The value of human contact in branding and marketing

There is a lesson to be learned by examples set by some of the larger companies who have forgotten the value of human contact in branding and marketing. There is nothing like getting an automated system when you call a company verses getting a real person. I know of some companies that have lost a lot of customers, like me, this way. All you ever got was a machine you had to fight with it to get an answer or directed to the right department, then maybe you might get a real person. I am now dealing with a company that advertises that they have real people answering the phones. I know that a lot of companies have re-evaluated the cost savings of automated systems verses customer loss due to perceived poor customer service. Quit a few companies now advertise the fact that you reach real people when you call.

If you have a store and your customers spend more time looking for some one to help them then looking at products you have a problem. If the staff they find tells them it is not their department so they cannot help, you have a problem. Every thing people do or do not do when representing your company affects how people view your company. If some one gets poor service in a restaurant, they are not likely to go back. It’s the same in any area of business. Word of mouth is one of the strongest marketing tools out there; the people working for you have a direct influence on what is being said.

If you don’t have good people in contact with your customers you will not have a good relationship with those customers. This goes from the person who answers the phone, to taking orders, or resolving issues. If you are not going to take the time to help me I will take my business else where thank you. To day the customers control where they buy from, and if you don’t meet their needs and wants they will find some one else who will.

There are more companies out there succeeding because they know how important any and every contact with a customer or potential client is. People are willing to pay more when they get good service. People judge your company on how they perceive their treatment and the quality of your goods/product. I don’t care how good your product is, or what a great deal it is price wise if your employees treated me poorly.

The bottom line is customers want to feel valued. Having a person willing and able to help resolve problems effectively and efficiently makes some one feel more valued then having to fight with a phone system, or search on a web site for answers or dealing with an unhelpful person. Every person who works for a company represents that company when dealing with others, they are branding your company no matter how much marketing you do.

Should you butter up your boss?

It seems like such a good idea at the time. Maybe if you butter up your boss they will remember that next performance review, job assignment or promotion. It cannot hurt to try, right. So how do you butter up your boss?

The whole point of butting up your boss is to get on their good side. You want to be well thought of by your boss and get some sort of benefit as a result. Are you doing this as a short cut, to bring positive attention to yourself, or deflect their attention from your work? Unfortunately how we do our job is not always what gets the promotion or raise.

There always seems to be some one who gets away with all sorts of things just because they are "friends" with the boss. As an extreme example, I remember one who would come in, sit at his desk and spend his shift on the phone with his friends and doing artwork. Some how he never had any problems keeping his job or meeting his quota. That was until the people above his supervisor noticed a change in staff productivity and retention. No one wanted to work when he did not, and some how he was reaching his quota but other people got fired for not reaching them. Lots of questions about what was going on. Turns out he was the supervisors boyfriend and they both got fired.

Now I would not recommend going to that extreme, but we all know having a friendly relationship with the boss can have its benefits. Another extreme example; at another job all of the long-term employees in the department were "friends" of the manager and supervisor. Some had started as school friends but all the long-term staff was a tight nit group who spent evenings and weekends hanging out with each other. If you did not have the time to hang out with the manager after work or go to their parties then you did not fit in and it showed in your job performance reviews. Several of the people would even bake and bring cookies or cake in to share with the department every week. The manager had a sweet tooth. You either conformed to fit in or lost your job or you found it so difficult to work with them you looked for other work. This resulted in the loss of quite a few skilled and educated employees and the retention of people who had on the job training but not the education.

In most places of employment things are not quite that bad but there is usually some one who goes out of their way to cultivate a "friendship" with their boss. They can be seen doing any number of things to get an in with the boss. Buttering up the boss with complements, gifts or finding ways to socialize outside of work. They always seem get the good assignments, or raise and some times the promotion.

Some people can argue that their work performance is what gets them the good assignments, raise or promotion and that buttering up the boss only gave them an edge. We know it works with some bosses, the question you need to ask before you try to butter up your boss is, will it work? And then figure out what will work with your boss without alienating your coworkers. Bringing in a batch of brownies for the whole department, not just the boss is a good way. In the long run though only you can see what will work with your boss, or if it will work at all. However, being friendly and helpful with your boss and co-workers should not hurt their opinion of you and may open up some opportunities for you.

How to avoid sabotaging your career

There is nothing like the fear of success. So how do you avoid sabotaging your career? There are a lot of ways to sabotage a career. Don’t think that just because you have the job that’s it. You still have to keep the job, work with others and survive the politics. Being able to do the job, and doing it well is not enough.

There is nothing that destroys a career faster then alienating your co-workers. Trust me, management notices when some one does not fit in, or work well with others. No one likes some one who is disruptive to the harmony of the work place. If you don’t fit in will anyone recommend you for a better position, or more responsibility? You may even find yourself with out a job. Working as part of a team toward a common goal looks much better.

Take all jobs seriously. Doing poorly at one job can have a long-term affect. If you are looking for a job would you be able to use that job as a reference? Even if you'r boss gives you what looks like a make work job still do the work to the best of your abilities. If you don’t then how will that look, will they trust you with other jobs, more important ones if you slack off on this one.

Follow through. If you commit to doing some thing, do it, even if it is just picking up coffee. Other wise you are just full of empty promises and are not to be trusted. Not following through means you are not dependable or reliable.

Be truthful. Take responsibility for when you make a mistake. If you don’t know some thing then be honest about it and ask for help. Don’t hid it, dishonesty in any way will always come back to haunt you.

Be on time, both getting to work and completing your work. It is a sign of disrespect when you do not show up on time. Not showing up for work on time means you do not care about the job. Not getting your work done on time can be seen as you are unable to do your job.

Dress appropriately. Appearance does affect how people perceive you. If you dress like a slob, or like you don’t care it does not create a feeling of confidence in you or your abilities. If you don’t show that your respect yourself, why should others respect you?

Don’t make work your place to socialize or over share you life. There are times and places to make friends, and share what ever you want with them. Work is not that place. It is not professional for one; you are there to work. Being friends with your co-workers is fine, but do your socializing and chatting outside of work. Never say bad things about co-workers and keep your personal life private. You never know when you tell some one some thing if it can be used against you. It is office/work place politics, never give people ammunition.

Treat others with respect even if you don’t like them. You never know how you deal with some one is going affect how people see you. If you blow up at some one then you are a hothead, unstable and untrustworthy. If you keep your head, be polite, use your inside voice for what you are really thinking, it looks like you are diplomatic, a team player, and dependable.

Don’t take a job just because it is offered; make sure it fits your needs. There is nothing like a bad fit. If there are no growth options then how are you going to move your career up the next step? You are going to have to look out side of that company or be stuck in the same position. So you have to spend your time doing the job searching, find the right job, and establish yourself all over again.

Most of this is common sense. When you are stressed, or unhappy at work or with work it is easy to forget how this job can affect your long-term career. How what you do and say today can haunt you or help you. You never know when some one in your past can be part of your future, or how they can affect your career.