Cost of Bad Business Services Highlighted on Antiques Roadshow

The recent airing of Antiques Roadshow (AR) underscores how important it is to evaluate a business or professional service provider… in all fields.

Not everyone despite their educational background or business presence may be as knowledgeable and render service…well.

The theme of the AR episode showcased how visitors burst into tears upon hearing the appraisal value of the item they brought. In the example below, I’m certain if the person who originally sold the family heirloom, a Tiffany lamp, watched the episode, she would have wept more.

The original owner took her heirloom to two different appraisers and based on their opinions decided to sell it for $125 back in the late 1960s.

A costly mistake is an understatement.

Trust sometimes cancels out due diligence even when due diligence is taken.  In the example below, the credentials and experience of the appraisers could not have been top-drawer. Consulting Tiffany might have been helpful and a membership association of certified appraisers.

While costly for consumers, even more damaging when a self-employed consumer consults a business or service provider or manufacturer who turns out to be subpar.

Source

PBS.org
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/season/4/tampa-fl/appraisals/tiffany-lamp-ca-1905–/




Naming a New Business Is No Joke

Steve Harvey, Family Feud host

Comedian and Family Feud host, Steve Harvey, dumbfounded by the name of a contestant’s new startup.

Harvey uses humor to tell the contestant that the name is a confusing choice. The exchange garnered a lot of laughter. But contestant Jesse Lehrman explained she loves animals, especially moose,  and altered the word anonymous to name her startup,  Anonymoose!

Hmm.

What kind of business do you think anonymous suggests? Home Rentals? Animal chocolate Parfaits? Moose Rentals? Children’s Book editing? Book author?  Other? See the answer at end of the post.

Check out the article by Diane Sullivan on Medium What’s in a name: The tricky problem of choosing a name for your business. Sullivan, a former scientist, and corporate employee renamed her blog for writers and outlined her strategy but adds suggestions not found in other articles. Insightful tips for non-blog-related startups are included.

“Create a Job Description for the Name. The first step is to imagine that the name you are deciding upon is a real person and describe the job it has to do.” — Diane Sullivan

Sources

Family Feud Videos: https://www.facebook.com/FamilyFeud/videos/1209148456220706/

BetterMarketing.pub: https://bettermarketing.pub/whats-in-a-name-3b6f0a5ef7e4

What’s in a Name?  The tricky problem of choosing a name for your business, June 25, 2021, Medium


Answer:
Housing rentals




Funny Moneywise Lesson from Actor Jamie Foxx

When actor Jamie Foxx appeared ss a guest coach
on the original American Idol, he showed he had the skills
of a gifted teacher.
Recently, he appeared on Late Night with Stephen Colbert
and told a funny story that could be used as a
teaching tool for aspiring entrepreneurs…among others.

Earlier in his career, Foxx had met Sean Combs at a party thrown by the recording star and was stunned when Coombs revealed the cost of the party – $1.5 million. So Foxx offered to throw a West Coast party that would rival  Combs’ bash and for less cost.

And Foxx later staged a house party for Combs.

Laughter filled the audience as Foxx recalled his
budget party menu. Yet he achieved the goal and impressed
Combs.

Cost?  Foxx spent $208.00

A humorous story with a serious takeaway
Many would-be entrepreneurs never move forward
because of the money, they believe they need.
Unfortunately, for some, not even having large amounts of money solve the problem.

Some would-be entrepreneurs may be inspired by Foxx’s story
to rethink their habits and attitudes about money.

Dee Adams is the author of
Finding Your Niche: Discover…




Name Game Revisited

Editor’s note: Portions of this post appeared previously merged with the wrong paragraphs.  The correct copy is reposted below.

What industry would you find these items? And what are they?

magic-cube-1167224_640

  • Purple Fiesta
  • Ruby Crescent
  • Russian Banana
  • Purple Peruvian
  • German Butterballs
  • Rose Fin Apple
  • Magic Molly
     or
  • New Girl
  • Striped German
  • Cobra
  • Valley Girl
  • Paragon
  • German Johnson
  • Yellow Pear
  • Black Prince

Partial Answer: Banana probably pointed you in the direction of the food industry, which would be correct, but if you reasoned that the items were exotic fruits of some kind..insert buzzer. The second group is a different product in the same industry. Can you guess?

Note: The answer to this quiz points to a much bigger issue for aspiring and established entrepreneurs. Details and photos below…

Answers

The first list refers to names of potatoes and the second group of names refers to tomatoes. Seed growers around the world have a reputation for coming up with colorful descriptions of their produce.  A practice that some insiders find challenging because it confuses the consumer. For instance, crops, such as tomatoes and squash have more than 1,000 different names! And often times an offbeat moniker makes it difficult to sell the product, so some industry sellers change the name.

And there are cases where foreign growers unfamiliar with the English language have coined names using canned translation services resulting in product names that don’t relate well with consumers.

For other examples, visit the employee owned Johnny Seeds company.
Check out  Spinach and tomatoes for many creative monikers.

Lessons:

  • Even a simple product has to have the right name to generate sales. A poor name will hinder sales. Ironically, seed growers create the often colorful names to get attention in the marketplace yet the practice adds to consumer confusion.
  • Not every mystery can be solved by using Google to find the answer.

Photo Credits
Note: Had I not spoken to industry members across the U.S. I would have been inclined to think some of the photos were Photoshop trickery….

  • First photo purple and white potatoes/Chiots Run Flicker
  • Second photo Bing Images
  • Pink Potatoes from Recipes for 2

References

Flicker/Chiotsrun
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chiotsrun/

Plant Sciences, U.C. Davis/potatoes
http://tinyurl.com/klb8re7

Johnny’s Selected Seed Company.com
http://tinyurl.com/lv7cqrg

Pink potatoes
Recipe for 2
http://www.recipesfor2.com.au




Why Creating a Product Name, Brand, or Title is Challenging

Why Creating a product name, brand, or title is challenging

Imagine having the task of creating a name
for an ordinary
product like carrots.

The World Wide Web has greatly increased
competition and the need to think all around the box.
For instance, a recent search for a title for
a new food column was dismal: every clever, quirky, offbeat,
humorous, or serious food-related term had already been taken.

Creating the right name, brand, trademark or title takes work
and requires identifying a strategy that inspires creative
effort that will attract interest.

Name Game Puzzle, a previous post, highlighted issues and challenges
of entering a crowded field and finding a way to stand out in the food industry.

Check out how one company solved the name game
branding challenge for their carrots, which enables them to…umm, stand out from the bunch…sorry.
http://www.grimmway.com/carrots/timeline/bunny-luv/

Dee Adams is the author of
Finding Your Niche: Discover…




19 New Boards Added to Pinterest

 

pinterest-793052_640

Dee Adams / Tips for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

The new boards include content from this blog. And Funny Business is a popular new board. Started 10 days ago with less than 400 impressions, one week later,
the board has  4,000+ and is number one!

Reference
https://www.pinterest.com/NicheCreativity/funny-business/




What Beginners Often Overlook: Revisiting the Archive

1 Key Marketing Success Tip Beginners Often Overlook




Why Transferring Talent to a New Field Can Be Challenging : Music Video Insight

Michael Jackson and MichaelJordan appeared in the now poignant and humorous JAM video in the early 1990s. And the music video underscores with humor an important often overlooked lesson… Throughout the video. physical dexterity talent in both superstars are evident but comedy ensues when each
tries to cross over into the others field of expertise.

Check out the closing minutes at the end of the music
in which Jackson teaches Jordan how to dance

Not even superior talent, skill or ability in one field will guarantee proficiency in another arena.

Choosing the right niche is key.

 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbHI1yI1Ndk?feature=oembed&w=1200&h=675]




Update: Niche Creativity Mission Statement

Revised for 2016.
.Niche Creativity curates educational information, digital and print resource training materials for career seekers obtaining insights on artistic and entrepreneurial career paths as well as virtual consulting to educators working in secondary and post-secondary education.

 

 

 

 

 




Promoting A Book And Blog Using Pinterest

Choosing the Right Tips and Tools

Download / By Caleb George Morris

Honestly, “Hell hath a tech department” pretty much sums up my feelings about the Web and the massive changes that the Internet dictates we must follow.

Hours spent handling tasks that should have taken less than an hour to complete,
But delayed by sudden software issues, Whoops, Oops and Error screens, Remember Me check boxes with faulty recall, incompatibility with platforms, unexplained login lockouts…sometimes for months, clear as mud user manuals. and a litany of other Techno Twilight Zone situations often commented on with a familiar phrase from tech support, “I have never heard of something like that happening before!”

The decision not to engage in social media platforms,
with the exception of my blog, in large part to curtail the list of
aggravations just described, was an easy one to make.

So when an email arrived last month about a free Pinterest Webinar,
Drive 122, 547 Targeted Visitors to Your Kindle Book.. I was less than thrilled.
Then I saw John Kremer’s name and paused.

I’d sought Kremer’s advice on my blog and books before and had not
forgotten he’d made suggestions, which I would not have thought of and had proved fruitful.
For example, his advice to contact a particular kind of site, which I did not initially think would work, had eventually resulted in thousands of visits.

But I later neglected blog marketing while I juggled other responsibilities. And I knew I had to find a strategy I could stick with on a regular basis.

John Kremer has a reputation as a go-to book-marketing expert. I reasoned that my turning down the offer would have been stupid. I decided to attend the webinar.

So glad I did!

Don’t get me wrong, social media and technology are not now my new BFF’s
But I like [dare I say love?] the overall Pinterest concept.
It’s a fun, educational, addictive, at times, exhausting hunt.
Time spent n my Windows XP laptop has increased exponentially
in my search for eye-grabbing images with an interesting or useful story.

Takeaways from the Free Drive Webinar
• Overview of Pinterest Popularity
• Pin creation Do’s and Don’ts
• Using the Pinterest as a marketing tool
• Q & A Pin frequency

The Drive webinar cut through the hype and buzz that I had previously tuned out.
Pinterest was not merely scrapbooking on the Web but could be used as an effective marketing tool that fits my skill set.

I studied my notes and wanted to learn more about the concept.
The search term “Pinterest Business Use How-to” listed 139 million hits.

A comparison of Drive notes versus an extensive number of online references; from articles to videos to forum sometimes revealed dated, contradictory or questionable content. Not even the Pinterest Guide or Terms of Service covered all the questions I had. So it’s little wonder that many people are confused about how to use the platform properly.

I was indeed grateful I’d taken the Drive webinar because I don’t think I would have signed up for Pinterest otherwise. In fact, based on some of the tips found, I thought the writers had to be joking if he or she thought I was going to follow the pinning schedule advised.

Creating or choosing impressive images for marketing purposes  o is not as simple as it seems. If, for example, one refers to the helpful Copyblogger primer  about Pinterest, understanding which tips would apply, and which ones to ignore or adapt is key.

Effective pinning involves marketing and communication skills, two areas that
require knowledge and training, or time-consuming trial and error.

There are still things about Pinterest that I don’t understand. Meanwhile, I will continue to pin and evaluate results. I have elected to try Pinterest on until I can replace my equipment and non-wireless hookup.
And the Drive webinar will be first on the list for training.

What was impressive was the value of the free content.
Check out the webinar information and free download.
Note: I do not receive a fee for mention of any organization or business in my writings.

First 30 Days:
Pinterest Results: 
Tiny, gradual, noticeable...
Note:
 Based on minimal pinning activity: And only a general idea of what the heck I’m doing, even using remarks heard on TV as inspiration for ideas for meaningful pins.

• Launched board “Tip Entrepreneurial” and gained a follower before I’d even posted content.
• Invited to join a Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) group board trio after the first few days of solo pinning.
• Gained six followers

• 29 notifications of repins or likes
• Despite several attempts, unable to get site verification and Pinterest analytics,
• WordPress.org blog traffic counter show visitor increase..
• TpT views: Increase at a faster clip than BP [Before Pinterest]. For example, a new product that had slowly climbed to 19 views jumped to 43 overnight, and the only explanation might be a YouTube that I’d pinned about graphic novel self-publishing.

Pinterest is a nifty teaching and educational tool. Not only for marketing an established blog or business product but the concept is a creative no-cost tool for the aspiring entrepreneur trying to decide on a business.

Dee Adams is the author of
Finding Your Niche: Discover…
http://wp.me/P3Kr4S-Uz

References

Note: Reference list revised
April 2015

Drive 122, 547 Targeted Visitors
to Your Kindle Book
BookmarketingBestsellers.com
http://tinyurl.com/ldmlzbc

Daniel Hall Webinars
http://tinyurl.com/kh9n3a4

56 Ways to Market Your Business on Pinterest
Copyblogger.com
http://www.copyblogger.com/pinterest-marketing/

Business Pinterest.com
9 Ways to Drive Traffic
Summary: Changes to the system
http://tinyurl.com/k6f55r8

How Writers Can Use Pinterest
Peg Fitzpatrick.com
Note: Although written in 2013,
several useful references in the popular share.
http://tinyurl.com/nto5rcm

Engineering Pinterest.com/August 2014
http://tinyurl.com/lz86mq5

All About Pinterest/KellyLieberman
Pinterest.com
http://tinyurl.com/nfz35th

How to Be Found on Pinterest/March 2015
Note: Topics include changes on Pinterest
2
015, and statistics about the growing interest
of men in the platform.
Overgovideo.com
http://tinyurl.com/nlek92t

Business News Daily.com
Pinterest Business Guide
http://tinyurl.com/kkhekyq

5 Pinterest Mistakes
Businesses Should Avoid
Oh So Pinteresting.com
http://tinyurl.com/lg6xkxf\