Bruce Outridge

Want to grow your business, head out for inspiration!

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Bruce

The last few years have been very busy for us and that can lead to leaving people tired and worn down. The problem with being an entrepreneur or small business is that you can never let your guard down. You always need to be forging ahead and moving forward. That constant push whether in your business, job, or personal life with goals can wear you down.

Most folks when they get to that state will say, “Let’s take a vacation!” That certainly is a good place to start and vacations and time off should always be scheduled on a regular basis, but, that doesn’t always do the trick. In fact often when you return from a vacation you can feel tired and lazy. You do need that rest to recharge your body and get you into a frame of mind where you can accept new ideas and clearly review past performance. What you need is to go out and find inspiration in what interests you!

Bruce Outridge

We recently did this in our business. Since we are incorporated we have to hold an Annual Shareholder’s Meeting each year. This year we combined it with other items like goal setting, and inspiration fact finding and it was really surprising to find out how well it worked. The inspiration programs don’t have to be expensive. I found a lot of inspiration in visiting some used book stores for information on my favourite artists that I find inspiring. We had a lunch at a favourite spot for Authors for writing inspiration, and just discussed things that will help the business going forward.

So if you’re feeling like you need some revival in your business or position then maybe you need an inspiration day. It can help you decide where to go for the future or evaluate where you have already been. Try taking one regularly to keep you moving forward all year long. You will be glad you did!

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is an entrepreneur and author of the books Driven to Drive, Running by the Mile, and How to Start an Artistic Business in 12 Easy Steps. To learn more about Bruce and his work please visit his website at http://www.outridgeenterprises.ca

What are you doing to improve your business or career?

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Bruce

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It doesn’t matter whether you are an entrepreneur, an employee, or someone looking for their next career, you are in some type of business. It may be the business of finding work, but you are still in business. I don’t know about you but I am constantly looking for ways to make my business better. If you don’t you begin to plateau and stagnate which will cause your business to go the other way, down hill. Most of us get very busy within our businesses or jobs but how many of us stop to see the bigger picture? Maybe you are thinking, I don’t own the business why should I care about the business?

The truth is that you should treat your position at the company much like if you owned the business. I call that “Owning Your Position” and talk a lot about it through my books and training seminars. To me it makes the difference between middle of the road employees and the ones that exceed and prosper in their positions. Where a business owner may automatically be looking at their business for growth an employee may not be so inclined to do so. If you want to prosper in your career it is important to take time to look at the bigger picture.

So if you are trying to improve your career or business here is where I suggest you start. You need to be relaxed to think clearly so try to clear some time for relaxation and exercise. Get out of your work environment if possible and take stock as to where you have been, how you got to where you are today, and where you want to go for tomorrow. Writing down goals will be very helpful in deciding where you want to go in the future. Once you have your goals try to think about how you can improve your business or career. Don’t be afraid to think out of the box here. Realize all you need is one change that takes you above the competition to make your career soar. Taking time to work on that larger picture may give you that one idea you need to change the course of your business. I know its worked for me!

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is an entrepreneur and author of the books Driven to Drive, Running By the Mile, and How to Start an Artistic Business in 12. Easy Steps. To learn more about Bruce and his businesses please visit his website at www.outridgeenterprises.ca

I’ve got a product now what?

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Bruce

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We have all heard the saying, “build it and they will come!” That saying is very true, they may come if you have something of interest but they may also walk on by. So in order to offset that people will put out a big sign outside of their location, then their competitor will put out a bigger sign, and then everyone waits. They’re waiting for all the people to flood into their store because they opened a shop and put out a sign. Since they spent all their money on the sign they wonder why no one is coming into their shop, after all they built it, they should come! That may have been how it was done in earlier years but the truth is that anyone can build a store front now online. So people set up a store front and wonder why people don’t buy their product. They spent all this money on a website so there should be traffic.

People have so many options these days for products and services that it is not enough for you to set up shop whether online or brick and mortar hoping people will visit. The marketing is the secret and I see the difference all the time. I see people set up complex systems to sell their product online, create products that are exceptional, and then sit and wonder why no one is buying it. They didn’t market it. How many times have we seen a silly product make millions and wonder how the heck the company did that? They marketed the product very well and people became interested. The argument comes when people think that it is all about the money you throw at a campaign and the people you know. The truth is that grass roots marketing is very effective. It doesn’t matter how you decide to market a product because all marketing is doing is telling people about a product or service. If that means telling two friends so that they tell two friends then you’re marketing. If the product is good enough it will slowly catch on. If you don’t tell anyone then you may have a great product but no one will know about it.

Selling is not having a bigger sign, building a luxurious store front, or having the best website. All those things may be important to your customer but no one item will sell your product. Its how you market the product that is the secret. You need to let people know about your product and that means telling someone. Find a way to talk to people about your product without being in their face. When you can talk about your product comfortably you will then find it very easy to market your product on an ongoing basis.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is an entrepreneur and author of the books Driven to Drive, Running by the Mile, and How to Start an Artistic Business in 12 Easy Steps. You can learn more about Bruce on his website at www.outridgeenterprises.ca

Marketing is a two way street

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Bruce

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We have all heard the stories of those companies that went on line and sold thousands of dollars of goods in moments. Musicians release albums and they sell overnight and so everyone feels that will happen if they offer products for sale online. So why doesn’t that happen when you place that one product you have online? Many that don’t like marketing or promoting in general will spend more time trying to market on line because it acts as a safety net. The problem is that sales online can give you a false hope for your own product.

Where many go wrong in marketing online is that they spend all their time there. They have websites set up, they get on social media, and they live online. There is nothing wrong with that but they are missing a big part of their marketing power. They are missing the part of people knowing you as a person or brand. If you are an entrepreneur starting out try meeting people one by one so they get to know you, feel comfortable with your brand, and are comfortable enough to buy your product. The same thing happens when you hear a new song even if you don’t know the band. You hear a cool song, investigate who sings it, learn more about the band or person, then if you enjoy their music when they release a new album you are on line buying it. Either way the people buying your product must know about you. It is harder to do that online than to build a following locally and getting other people to help build your brand.

So the best solution is to build your brand online and offline at the same time. Get out there and meet the people that may buy your products. Let people know who you are and why your brand is the best. People will buy from you because of you if they know you personally. Remember you are the brand of your product. Make sure people can trust your brand!

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a business and leadership consultant and author. He is the author of the books Driven to Drive, Running by the Mile, and How to Start an Artistic Business in 12 Easy Steps. To purchase his books or to learn more about the company please visit his website at www.outridgeenterprises.ca

Celebrate that you are a business owner!

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Bruce

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In case you didn’t know it’s Small Business Week in Canada. That’s a celebration for those that are entrepreneurs or owners of small to medium sized businesses. We urge you to shop and buy from local businesses not just this week but always if possible. I try to use local businesses whenever possible to do so and although it isn’t always better in price it is usually better in service. That argument is an individual choice and not one that I will be discussing here. What I want to talk about here is the benefits of being a business owner.

I enjoy being in business owner and I think that it is something that anyone with the drive to do so should try and give it all they’ve got. Oh sure there will be those days when you don’t make a penny, there will be those weeks when you have so much work you would have more time off if you had a regular job, and there will be days when you spend your time trying to get paid. Even though most entrepreneurs work more hours than many employed people there is a sense of satisfaction that goes along with that and makes it all worth while. The fact that you are in control of your future, you are working at something you love, and your work ethic and values play a direct part in your success all make the long hours okay. The benefits of being able to move your time around as you see fit, enjoy family time when it is important to do so are all strong benefits that out way some of the negatives of being in business.

So if you are in business celebrate the fact that you had the guts to take it out on your own. Celebrate the fact that are able to control your future. You are making a difference to you career, family, and best of all you. Celebrate the fact that you are in the game. If you are a business owner I salute you. If you are thinking about becoming a business owner, do your homework and by all means join us in the game of business. We invite you to join the team.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is an entrepreneur and author of the business books Driven to Drive, Running by the Mile, and How to Start an Artistic Business in 12 Easy Steps. To learn more about Bruce or purchase his books visit his website at www.outridgeenterprises.ca