The StartUp Blog at PartnerUp

Some people are natural-born brainstormers, and some people are not. If you’re one of those who are not, I know how you feel. It can be tough. Luckily I have some tips that have been given to me over the years to make for more productive brainstorming.

1. Start by throwing out the craziest, most far-fetched ideas. They may not be as crazy as you think.
2. Talk your business issues through with people who know little or nothing about your business. You’ll get a fresh perspective.
3. When brainstorming with others, emphasize the notion that no idea is a bad idea.
4. Try Googling random/weird words or phrases that may only be slightly relevant. It will help get the juices flowing.
5. If you’re stuck in the middle of a brainstorming session, walk away and do something completely unrelated. It will allow you to free your mind and come back refreshed.
6. Don’t just stop when you think you’ve come up with the right idea/solution. Keep going until you’ve exhausted every avenue. The best may be yet to come.
7. Don’t worry about evaluating a single idea until later. Brainstorming time is just for throwing out ideas.

Have a great weekend!

I’ve been writing this blog for quite a while now—one year, four months and six days to be exact. One of the things I’ve learned along the way is that good blogs are about more than just providing good information. They’re a social media tool, and as such they’re also about conversations, communities and relationships.

What I’ve come to realize is that while you may know a little bit about me, I know next to nothing about any of you. Sure, I know that you’re a part of the small business community or are at least interested in it. And yes, I know a few of your names from comments you’ve left on various posts (I really do read all of them!). But that’s not good enough. I want to know more.

So while this may seem a little weird, I’d like to extend an invitation for you to leave a comment sharing a little bit about you, your background and your business. What do you do? Where are you from? What do you love about your business? What are some issues you’re facing? If you have a website or blog, let me know and I’ll check it out. Just write whatever comes to mind.

Don’t be shy! You know yourself and your business better than anyone, so this should be easy. But in case you’re still a little apprehensive, I’ll get the ball rolling with a comment of my own.

If you’re uncomfortable leaving information about yourself in the comments section, email me at: startupblog-at-partnerup-dot-com. I look forward to hearing from you!

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend!

A couple weeks ago I found myself in need of a very specific product—adult-size saddle shoes—for a very specific purpose—a college football game. Don’t ask questions!

Anyway, I immediately went online and did what any normal person would do. I Googled “saddle shoes.” This led me to a small company which shall remain nameless since that isn’t really the point of this post anyway. I quickly located the shoes on the site, selected the quantity and size, and proceeded to check-out.

When the site gave me a summary of what I was ordering and a breakdown of the costs, I noticed that the shipping costs were not mentioned. Fair enough. I’m sure I’ll find out how much that will cost on the next page. Nope. Nothing! Now I was truly at a crossroads. Do I enter my billing information not knowing exactly what I’m going to be charged? Or do I go to a different site that WILL tell me exactly what I’m being charged?

I’m ashamed to say I blindly moved forward with the ordering process. Normally I wouldn’t have, but I REALLY wanted those shoes. And besides, how much can shipping really cost anyway?

It wasn’t until I received an email receipt that I discovered the total amount charged to my credit card. Lo and behold, the shipping cost almost as much as the shoes, which were not cheap!

I felt cheated. Would I still have purchased the shoes had I know the shipping costs? Most likely. I’m impulsive. I can’t help myself. But to have it sprung on me after the fact did not make me happy in the least. Don’t get me wrong. The company has since delivered a great pair of shoes in a timely manner. I’m still slightly irritated though, so much so that I felt compelled to write about it.

The bottom line is that hidden costs make me angry! Many business owners think it’s a perfectly sneaky way to make extra money. It’s not sustainable though because hidden costs make all customers angry, and angry customers talk. I don’t know if this company intentionally did not reveal its shipping costs. But what I do know is that they did not go the extra mile to be transparent. My advice—lay it all out there for your customers and let them decide if they want to do business with you.

Have a good weekend!

OK, I’m not actually asking if you eat dog food. Rather, when a company says that it “eats its own dog food,” what it means is that the company and its employees actually use the products and services produced by the company. This is also referred to as “dogfooding” (not a term that you necessarily need to know, but it made me chuckle).

The whole idea started many years ago when Alpo brand dog food ran a commercial in which an actor said the dog food was so good he feeds his own dog with it. Microsoft manager Paul Maritz must have seen this commercial because in 1988 he sent a fellow employee an email with the subject line “Eating our own dog food.” The email challenged the employee to increase internal usage of their product. Since then the idea has spread beyond the walls of Microsoft and challenged many companies to convey enough confidence in their products and services to use them in house.

It’s true that this concept may not be applicable to certain companies.  Most businesses out there, however, are perfectly primed to make use of their own products and services within the confines of their own company. If you’re one of these companies, then there’s absolutely no excuse for not dogfooding (I really wanted to use it in a sentence!). The fact of the matter is, if you don’t believe in your products or services enough to use them yourself, then how are you ever going to get anyone else to believe in them?

Have a great weekend!

Anyone who’s ever interviewed for a job probably understands how painful it can be to have to answer stupid interview questions. I know I’ve been there. But I’m hoping that by highlighting some of the doozies for you, (business owners and therefore potential interviewers) together we can rid conference rooms across the globe of these inane questions.

1.  What is your greatest weakness?

–“Chipping and putting. My long game is pretty solid though.”

This is likely the most overdone interview question out there. Everyone knows the appropriate canned responses—“I care too much,” “I try too hard” or my personal favorite, “I’m a workaholic.” Take a strength and make it sound like a weakness; that’s pretty much all there is to it. If a canned response is what you’re looking for, then this question will get you one.

2.  Can you work under pressure?

–“I probably could, but I prefer to work at my own pace regardless of what’s going on around me.”

If you run a fast-paced, hectic and/or slightly disorganized business and you’re worried about how candidates might adapt, then explain the situation, alerting them of what they’ll be in for. Talk it through and gauge their reaction to get a more candid answer.

3.  Have you ever brought a lawsuit against an employer?

–“No, but I’m always looking to try new things.”

First of all, this question is illegal. Second of all, the vast majority of candidates never have and any “guilty” candidate with half a brain will lie. This question is a waste of time for everyone.

4.  Why do you want this job?

–“Because I heard you were hiring… and I got wind that there’s a soft serve ice cream machine in the cafeteria.”

Many employers think this is a brilliant question because it gauges a candidate’s interest and enthusiasm regarding the position, but interest is apparent in the fact that they applied, while enthusiasm should be gauged by the manner in which they answer other questions. This question is useless and will garner you little more than thoughtless canned responses.

5.  Where do you see yourself in five years?

–“Celebrating the five-year anniversary of you asking me this question.”

Many employers ask this question to get a better understanding of the long-term vision of the candidate. The problem is that no one knows where they’re going to be in five years. With the way the landscape is changing in industries across the board, it’s too tough to tell where companies, let alone individuals, will be in exactly five years. A better way of phrasing this question is to ask what some of the candidate’s future goals are.

Have a great weekend!

There are times when the office can get a little tense or stuffy, and sometimes people just need to lighten up a bit and have a little fun. Therefore sometimes team members need to take it upon themselves to initiate a little fun—especially on a Friday afternoon!

My suggestion—office pranks!

Gluing the boss’s hands to the keyboard probably isn’t the brightest of ideas, but that doesn’t mean harmless pranks can’t be done and create some fun. You just have to be careful of who you prank and how far you go. Here are some examples of some office-friendly pranks that can be funny and won’t likely ruffle too many feathers.

1. Put tape over the mouse optics of a fellow team member’s mouse.
2. Send flowers from one co-worker to another.
3. Flip the left and right mouse button defaults of a fellow team member’s mouse.
4. Play with the auto-correct on someone’s computer. Maybe configure the word “and” to change to “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.”
5. Swap the regular and decaf coffee.
6. Staple your reports or other paper submissions in the wrong corner.
7. Wrap all of the desk accessories in your coworker’s office in aluminum foil or wrapping paper.

Happy Friday! Have a great Labor Day weekend!

The two most recent holidays, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, didn’t do so hot, at least not from a business perspective. Consumer spending on dads was down 3.9 percent this year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). Spending on moms went down a whopping 10.6 percent.

Now the Fourth of July is upon us. Should we brace ourselves for another cold, hard holiday in the red?

Not according to the NRF. Their 2009 Independence Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey shows that more people will celebrate the July 4 holiday this year than last year. No dollar figures were given, but here are some of the supporting stats:

• 62.6 percent (144 million people) will host or attend a cookout, barbeque or picnic, compared to 61.2 percent (139 million people) last year
• 42.7 percent will attend their local fireworks or community celebrations, compared to 40.2 percent last year.
• 14 percent of consumers plan to purchase patriotic merchandise (flags, decorations, clothing)

With the Fourth of July falling on a Saturday this year, many Americans will be taking their usual holiday plans and kicking them into high gear. I know I’ve taken advantage of the weekend holiday by substituting my usual plans of deciding what I’m going to do the night before for a long weekend in the Windy City to visit my sister and a trip to Wrigley Field. Quite a bit more expensive than last year’s plans, but if it’s for the sake of the economy…why not?

Happy Fourth of July! Have a great weekend!

Handshakes are considered the standard greeting in business. They are used millions if not billions of times each day all over the world, but have we ever stopped to really think about the magnitude of what we’re doing when we extend our hand to that of another?

The handshake itself dates back to the Middle Ages, or at least I think so. There are several contradictory accounts regarding the origins of the handshake, but the most common goes something like this:

Medieval soldiers would put their right hands out to show that they were unarmed. This symbolized a basic level of trust between two men that they would not attempt to stab one another. There is a variation to the story that says an elbow-to-wrist pat down occurred as a way to check for hidden knives, which is where the shaking motion is said to have come from.

Since then the handshake has come a long way. Today it is used in countless types of situations that its exact meaning has become somewhat ambiguous. It can mean anything from “hello” or “goodbye” to “we’re in agreement” or “things are OK between us.” What isn’t so ambiguous about handshakes is that non-reciprocation is a blatant insult. By not extending your hand to an already outreached palm, you’re sending a clear-cut message of rejection. So unless that’s your intention, try to return the gesture. Of course, you’ll always have those germ-a-phobes who prefer to be the exception to the rule, so be aware of that as well.

If you think that the manner in which you shake another’s hand doesn’t really matter, think again. The best course of action is always to provide a firm grip and good eye contact. Some common handshake faux pas include a weak, limp-wristed shake, commonly referred to as the “dead fish,” or doling out far too many pumps that result in you holding the other person’s hand for an inappropriately long period of time. The jury is still out on the “hand sandwich” (placing your left hand on the top of the other person’s outstretched right hand). It’s not for amateurs, so proceed with caution.

The handshake has a profound significance in our culture, particularly in business. Though there probably isn’t much of a reason to ponder its significance, other than to perhaps improve upon our own handshaking habits, it’s certainly interesting to think about—a topic that most likely doesn’t normally enter our consciousness.

Have a great weekend!