In this issue
	Kutztown SBDC News Infinity Beads: Doing Everything Right - By Dawn Wivell Why the Conflict? What's the Problem? - By Dan Goldberg The AIDA Formula - by Gerard Bullard Insights to Success

Infinity Beads: Doing Everything Right - By Dawn Wivell

When a friend told Chris Thomas, owner of Infinity Beads in Carlisle, about the KU SBDC, she felt confident she had her business plan complete. She quickly learned there were a lot of things she hadn't taken into consideration. Lou Davenport and John McKowen, consultants at the KU SBDC, quickly set her in the right direction. In return, Thomas introduced Davenport and McKowen to the world of beading - making jewelry and other items with beads. It all started when Thomas wondered into a beading store in the Outer banks. An avid quilter and crafter, Thomas had never tried her hand a beading, but she ended up spending over two hours in the tiny shop. She bought some beading magazines, and when she went on the internet she found there was a whole world of beading out there. She ordered a huge catalog filled with beads, beading accessories, and tools. Her husband Ralph jokes that she took that catalog with her everywhere. She started making jewelry but discovered there were no local places to buy the items other than the big craft stores, and there she found no help with her new hobby. Finally, Ralph suggested she open her own shop. Thomas started doing her research. She visited bead shops and talked to other bead shop owners. Thomas says, many of the owners were very helpful, but there were some that didn't have a business plan or even the slightest idea of what their average sales were. The couple also went to a two-day workshop in Portland, Maine about opening a bead shop. One of the most important things she learned at the workshop was that unlike most businesses, bead shops are not about "location, location, location." She knew from experience that quilters travel far and wide to shop at stores specializing in the craft, saving money for the trip so they can splurge and buy the unique items found nowhere else. The same was true of beaders. Her location just off the turnpike helped make Infinity Beads a destination; most people that entire her shop are there to buy, not browse. Click here for the complete article. »

Why the Conflict? What's the Problem? - By Dan Goldberg

As sales professionals and managers we never know what our customer and/or team members are thinking. Quite often something that seems trivial to us can cause a conflict in our sales cycle or our team's interactions. Problems arise and somehow we usually seem to figure out ways to deal with them. However when conflicts happen they can quickly turn into uncontrollable cancers that eat away at our productivity and teams. But what is conflict? Conflict is a clash or disagreement between two or more individuals or groups. Whereas a problem quite often has a succinct solution, a conflict is surrounded by more complex issues. For instance, employees dealing with the loss of parking facilities, having difficulty in computer skills, and experiencing terrible interactions with co-workers have several problems. Only one of these problems is really a conflict, the conflict with the co-workers. Conflicts are caused by underlying problems. Why have the employees had these terrible interactions? What does each group need? What does each group want? What are the real underlying causes of the problem? Click here for the complete story. Why Don't You Want What I Want? - Reviewed by Phil Landesberg A few months ago, the Hershey Trust surprisingly announced their decision to have Hershey Foods consider offers to buy the company. Surely the Trust's Board knew this proposal would cause concern among Hershey Food's workers and in the Central PA community. The Trust's Chairman noted that the sale of the company would provide funds to ensure financial security for the Milton Hershey School - which is the Trust's obligation. Certainly everyone would understand the idea behind the Trust's actions. As Rick Maurer points out in Why Don't You Want What I Want? paying attention to the idea you are trying to sell and ignoring the perspective of people affected by the change can create show-stopping resistance and alienation. Why Don't You Want What I Want? is the latest book by one of America's most noted experts in dealing with resistance to change. It is easy to read and educates the reader on underlying theory and practical "how-to" tools. Readers will learn that resistance to change can be considered on three levels, each one more challenging than the previous. Faced with a proposed change, people may not understand the idea (Level 1), may not like it (Level 2), or may not trust those proposing the change (Level 3). These three levels may be in play at the same time, as was the case in opposition to the sale of Hershey Foods. Lack of trust towards the Hershey Trust in the community and among Hershey School alumni, emotional opposition from Hershey Foods employees and the community, and failure to understand the need for the sale influenced the Trust's decision to forego a sale. How can you avoid a fate similar to the Hershey Trust's failure and be successful in winning support for your ideas? Why Don't You Want What I Want? will help you understand how to identify different levels of resistance, what preventive or remedial actions to take to deal with each level, and how to win support for your ideas while maintaining or improving personal relationships with all involved parties. Further insights can be obtained in the author's Beyond the Wall of Resistance and by visiting www.beyondresistance.com. Click here for the complete story. »

The AIDA Formula - by Gerard Bullard

Author Red Smith once described the process of writing by saying, "There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein." Fortunately the art of copywriting has some creative alternatives. One of the most successful techniques for writing copy that gets results is known as the A.I.D.A. formula, (and no, it's not from the Broadway musical). Simply put, A.I.D.A. stands for, "Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action." That's all there is to it. Yet when followed sequentially, those four words are the building blocks of most advertising today. Let's see how it works. First we have the 'Attention' segment. Here is where you write to hook the potential customer with an attention grabbing opening. It could be serious, humorous, factual, playful, historical, or whatever. The point is for the customer to stop, have their curiosity aroused long enough to put down that cup of coffee, and to take a look at your offering. Don't forget that the average person is barraged with around 3,000 messages per day from various sources. Your goal here is to create something that is unique and will pique customer or client's curiosity and get them to continue reading. The next item on our list is 'Interest.' It should be organic - a natural, seamless, segue from Attention to Interest. An expansion if you will. At this particular point you'll give some sort of payoff for following your Attention lead. Introduce the product or service here. Then, you'll use your words to provide the benefits of ownership. Click here for the complete story. »

Insights to Success

Insights to Success is a monthly article sharing challenges/learning opportunities encountered by our clients every month relative to their day-to-day business activities. All Insights to Success articles come from our clients' submittals. The format for the piece consists of a brief introduction, the respective challenge, and the solution. Drive Your Dollars with Mileage Logs - By Merra Lee Moffitt With gas prices spiking like the Matterhorn, the new 48.5 cents a mile IRS deduction (effective Sept. 1) may not seem like nearly enough. But if you weren't tracking your business mileage before, now you have an enormous incentive to catch every mile. Here's how to make it easy. Keep a mileage log sheet in your car next to the driver's seat. A clip board is a handy way to hold the sheets so you can write down your mileage daily. I developed one with a column for parking and tolls too. Email me and I'll send it to you. Keep extra sheets so you'll never run out. Click here for the complete insight. Please Email your Insight to Success articles to the Success Connection Editor Dawn Wivell at dwive093@kutztown.edu.