Music soothes the savage customer

Have you ever walked into a business just to turn right around and leave because of the music being played? Seriously folks, music is important. It sets the mood and makes your customers happy. And what does a happy customer do? They buy things. And that makes business owners happy too.


Recently, I was at the Muddy Waters coffee bar in Charleston, SC with a friend when he noticed the fantastic mix of music being played. The next thing I know, he's questioning the barrister and learned it was from Pandora.com , The Music Genome Project.


This amazing website, which is free, allows you to design your own radio station. Created by a group of musicians and music-loving technologists, these music "genes capture the unique and magical musical identity of a song".


It's simple. Put in an artist, a song, or song style that fits the profile of your business and let The Music Genome do the rest. Guaranteed to please your customers.

Ladies....let's start our business

It's a new age. A time when women can actually rule the work force. Now it's not just working for "the man". Women are stepping up. They are taking risks. And many have chosen career over family or at best are looking for a challenge outside of the home. It's the dawn of "the woman".


So don't be afraid, women. There are a lot of resources out there to help us out. First, check out this quiz to see if you are ready to take on the challenge of opening your own business. I took it. It told me: "There are some areas of business ownership that you need to explore before you get started" Ummm, yeah, like I knew that already. But hey, it gave me some things to thing about.


Then when your done with the quiz, check out the rest of the website. It's called WomenOwned.com and I have found it a great resource. Right there on this site you can find advice on how to get the money, health insurance options, website design and best of all...other woman who have done this before!

I feel so empowered!

Yoga and stress

Recently I talked about how to deal with stress by the use of massage, hot baths and essential oils. Now I thought I would share with you the benefits of yoga. Yoga teaches you how to be centered through breathing, poses and concentration.


One of the main philosophies is to Be In the Moment. Let the mind and the body be in the same space. If you are focusing on your breathing or your pose, you are not worrying about other things. The best thing I find about yoga is that you don't have to spend hours a day to get the same benefits. A few moments doing a breathing technique can really help release the troubled mind.


Find yourself at work all day? No problem. Yoga can be practiced anywhere at any time. Take a moment to do a forward bend or a spinal twist. The Yoga Journal has lots of helpful hints on how to take yoga with you.




And then when your ready, go for the inversion. Ok, I haven't mastered the head stand yet, but I'm working on it. As you can see here during my latest trip to Panacea Yoga Retreat in Costa Rica. The inversion does wonders for relieving stress. It helps bring oxygenated blood to the brain, it relieves gravity's pressure on your back but most of all it almost always forces you to have mind and body in one place.....when doing a head stand I can guarantee your not thinking about what ever it was that brought you into the headstand to begin with.

Top cities to start a business

Would you believe it? Rochester NY made the top 100 cities to live and launch a business in 2008 according to CnnMoney.com The article rates cities according to the best mix of business advantage and lifestyle appeal. Ok, so it's number 80 on the list but at least it's still there.

The funny part? Charleston, SC, which is where I currently live, is rated #81. And St Petersburg, where I thought of moving, is not on the list.

Is your city on the list?

Dealing with stress

This morning I woke up not feeling like my normal self. I had a bit of a stomach ache. My head felt woozy. I have a knot in my back that you could use for bowling. And my body felt like it was steam rolled by Jolly the Green Giant.

It's called stress. And we all get it. Lucky me, I have a massage scheduled today. Currently I have insurance that pays for 52 massages a year. All I pay is $10 for the week. So if I have two massages a week, that's $10. If I don't go at all, then I pay nothing. Massage is a great way to deal with the stress of business and life.

But if you don't like people touching you or you don't have the amazing insurance, there are other ways to deal with pressure, anxiety or tension. DON'T REACH FOR THE DRUGS!

Did I say that loud enough? Before heading to the medicine cabinet try a hot bath. The warmth of the water will help ease your muscles. If you like fragrances try adding some lavender chamomile bath tea (to be sold by me soon). Put on some soft music. Maybe light a few candles. And let the stress float away with the gentle aromas of essential oils.

Advertising the business

Although it's too soon for me to do any real advertising, it's never too soon to start thinking about it. And thinking, these days, seem to be all I am doing.

How do you advertise a business? How do you get your name out there? Well there are several ways and here are just a few to get started.

1) The good ol' fashion word of mouth.
And those that know me, well, we know my mouth is anything but silent. So this is a good start. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Tell your neighbors. Tell your doctors. Tell your hairstylist. Tell your favorite bartender. Tell your....I think you get the picture.

2) Flyers
This old standby has not gone bye-bye. I know people scoff at printing up flyers, but it can get the job done. However, being that I'm a bit of a tree hugger (see original post) I don't want to kill too many trees. Other wise, I'll have nothing left to hug. So, here is a compromise. Print flyers only where you want them to hang. Not mass flyers that you put under people's window wipers. Oh, I hate that. The best is to find another business that shares a similar interest and ask to swap flyers. I'll hang your flyer if you hang mine. If they have a clientele you would like to see in your store then it'll be worth it.

3) The Internet
This fad is here to stay, thank you Mr. Al Gore. Blogging is a good way to get the name out. Owning a website will work too. There are lots of programs out there where you can get all kinds of traffic to your website. Surf 4 the Earth is a great traffic site that also takes an active role in environmental conservation. Or find a forum that suits your needs and shamelessly promote yourself and your site. The Independent World Community Forum is a great place to get started with lots of great people, helpful hints and some fun stuff too.

4) Buying ads
Everything mentioned so far are cheap, if not free, ways to promote your business. But if your willing to spend a few dollars you can buy an ad. Think about the kind of people you want to target and then find out what they read. Perhaps the local newspaper. Or a billboard if you really have the funds! Other media could include a small ad in a theater's handbill, a mailing circular, the radio or even on television. Hmmm, me on television? I'll have to think about that.

The "What Ifs"

What if....what if...what if....

I have a case of the 'what ifs'. What if I'm making a mistake? What if moving to Rochester is a mistake? What if starting a business is a BIG mistake? What if my business fails? What if I dive into this and realize I can't afford to pay the mortgage? What if....what if...what if...

It's not like I can take a pill and cure this sickness. I think if we didn't have that running through our heads at times we wouldn't be human. So how do I make it go away?

Well, I could listen to my doubts and scrap the whole thing. But where would that leave me? The fact is, I've made lots of mistakes in my life and am almost guaranteed to make another. But maybe, just maybe, it won't be a mistake. Maybe it will work out. Maybe it'll be the best decision I've ever made. Or maybe it won't.

Oh, the "what ifs" are painful. My head hurts.