A FREE electronic magazine... August 30, 2001
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B I G B U C K S I N A B A T H R O B E
Make More Money & Have More Fun With Your Small Business!
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Publisher: Dave Balch, "The Stay-at-Home CEO"(tm)
Comments, suggestions, or questions are always welcome.
(Scroll to end for subscribe / unsubscribe instructions)
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I n T h i s I s s u e . . .
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1. About "Big Bucks in a Bathrobe" Newsletter
2. Article "Imagine"
3. "Ask Dave" - Can I Help You With a Business Problem?
4. "Meanwhile, back at the ranch..."
5. Who the Heck am I, Anyway?
6. How to Subscribe / Unsubscribe
PLEASE FORWARD THIS to each of your friends who have small or
home-based businesses; they'll LOVE you for it! (Be sure they
know it's from you, or they'll think I spammed 'em!) Thanks!
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11111 A b o u t "Big Bucks in a Bathrobe" N e w s l e t t e r
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Welcome! You are receiving this because either:
-I know you personally and thought you'd like it
-I asked you if I could send it and you said "Yes"
-You requested it on my website or after seeing me at a
speaking engagement
-Someone forwarded it to you because they thought you'd
like it. Scroll to the bottom for subscription instructions.
My goal is a bi-weekly newsletter that will:
-help you with your small or home-based business
-share articles of interest
-be informal and informative
-answer specific questions asked by readers
(c)2001, A Few Good People, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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22222 A r t i c l e "Imagine"
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By Dave Balch, the "Stay-at-Home CEO"(tm)
I was driving through the fog in 35-degree temperatures and a
forestry truck passed me. I remember thinking that the fire
danger must be zero; "It's hard to imagine that it will ever be
so hot and dry again that the fire danger will be high." But I
knew that it would be. Then I realized that when it is so hot
and dry, it will be hard to imagine it being as cold and foggy as
it is now. But I knew that it would be.
This area has been going through the same cycles since the
beginning of time, and will continue to do so until the end of
time. It occurred to me that the same could be said for many
things in life. Take your health, for example. When you are
feeling well, it's hard to imagine that you will ever have
another cold; that sore throat, stuffy nose, headaches, muscle
aches. It's hard to imagine, isn't it? I'm sorry to say this,
but you undoubtedly will have another cold. By the same token,
when you are sick it's hard to imagine feeling well again. But
you probably will be. Cycles: sick, well, sick, well. What a
funny world this is.
The same can be said for your business. When things are not
going well, it's hard to imagine prosperity, but if you stick
with it better times are bound to be around the corner. By the
same token, when things are going really well, it's hard to
imagine hard times, but don't be lulled into complacency, or they
will be upon you faster than "you can imagine".
I remember a time when I had a problem with an employee that was
draining me financially. He wasn't stealing from me, at least
not in the literal sense. But he was costing me plenty and not
producing. By the time I got it resolved I had gone from doing
pretty well to $50,000 in debt. My business credit line was
max'd out. I remember thinking that I couldn't imagine getting
out of this hole and "doing well" again. It was very
discouraging but I kept at it and, sure enough, was out of debt
sooner than I expected.
Think about that example. I said "...I had gone from doing
pretty well to $50,000 in debt." When I was "doing pretty well",
I couldn't have imagined that I would ever be in the pickle I
found myself in; namely $50,000 in debt. There are those cycles
again! Is it possible that when things were going great that I
got a little complacent, a little lazy? Very possible! Did that
complacency or laziness contribute to the decline? Probably.
The lesson is this: understand that your business, like many
things in life, will run in cycles. It's easy to get complacent
when things are great, and it's easy to get discouraged when they
are not. So don't. If you keep at it all the time you can
exploit the good times and minimize the bad.
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33333 "A s k D a v e"
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Ask whatever you'd like... all letters will remain anonymous.
Maybe my 2-cents'-worth will make you "Big Bucks"!
(Maybe not!)
Today's question:
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Dear Dave:
Working from home how do I sound professional on the phone with a
dog barking in the background?
C.T., Wisconsin
There are several ways around this one.
1. Keep the dog away from your office during times when you
may get important calls. (I know this is a hard one... one
of the reasons we work at home is so we can have our critters
around us.)
2. If the dog barks during a call, you can handle it one of
these ways:
a. Ignore. Keep on talking like nothing happened.
b. Deflect. Apologize for the interruption (if there is
one) and say that you brought your dog into the office
today (which, technically, is the truth!). Or, an
alternate would be to say that you are working at home
today (which, technically, is also the truth!).
c. Admit. Apologize for the interruption (if there is
one) and mention in a light-hearted way "Ah, the joys of
working at home!".
3. Get rid of the dog. (JUST JOKING... IT WAS JUST A JOKE!)
NOTE: NEVER LIE! If you are asked, point-blank, if you work
out of your home, say "Yes" but don't apologize, get
defensive, or start explaining. Be proud that you are
independent and industrious; I'd be willing to bet that the
person on the other end of the phone will either be working
at home as well, or wishing that they were! If you choose to
lie, that lie will come back someday and bite you in the
rear-end. Guaranteed. NEVER LIE ABOUT WORKING AT HOME!
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44444 "M e a n w h i l e, b a c k a t t h e r a n c h..."
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A Glimpse Into the Life of This "Stay-at-Home CEO"
Poncho doesn't like me, and the feeling is mutual. Chris lets
him out occasionally so he can walk around on top of his cage.
When she does I keep my distance, because he usually lunges at me
whenever I walk by (what a fine, family pet). On this particular
day he was out and I gave him a wide berth, as usual, and he
lunged, as usual, but this time he actually LEAPT OFF OF THE CAGE!
And he landed on me, too, just south of my right shoulder.
Oh, mommy! He was flapping his wings furiously trying to get his
balance as I danced frantically around the living room trying to
knock him off before he started chewing on my face, and believe
me, he would have. If you had seem my gyrations you'd have
thought I was on fire. Just as I finally knocked him to the
carpet, Chris came into the room to see what all of the ruckus
was about. (She heard my screams OVER THE VACUUM!)
I told her what happened and she checked me for injuries (just
minor scratches on my chest where he had been clawing - through
my shirt - for support). Then, when she determined that I was
okay, she began to laugh. She laughed so hard she could barely
dial the phone. When her brother answered, she could barely get
the story out between her squeals of laughter. She finally
collapsed on the floor, where she became completely incoherent; I
thought she was going to pass out.
Considering my history with Poncho, I can see the humor in it. I
guess.
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55555 W h o t h e H e c k a m I, A n y w a y ?
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I've generated over $5 million (so far!) from my own home-based
software business and I have a lot to share with you about how I
did it and what I learned along the way. Now, as a professional
speaker, I offer programs that will help you and your employees
"Make More Money and Have More Fun" with your small or home-based
business!
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66666 H o w to S u b s c r i b e / U n s u b s c r i b e
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anyone for any reason. PERIOD.
A Few Good People, Inc.
P.O. Box 824
Twin Peaks, CA 92391
1-800-366-2347
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