Corey Smith's Business and Technology Blog

I've moved my blog

Corey Smith — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 23:56:11 +0000

Well, I haven't written on this blog for a long, long time. I am not sure if there is anyone that is even paying attention.

However, I figured it was probably time that I started blogging again but I decided to start over from scratch.

So, I've moved my blog and you'll want to subscribe overthere.

One thing that is different is that I have combined my personal and business blog into one. Go check it out at www.coreysmith.ws/blog continue reading...

It just takes a little time

Corey Smith — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 21:49:05 +0000

There are so many things to learn and nobody seems to have the time to do it.

I find myself always wanting to learn more and wondering when I am going to fit it in.

I started thinking a little today about learning and the time it takes to learn.

Often people will ask me, "How do you know what you know?" I think that the primary reason I get asked that question is because many times people will be struggling with something (related to what I do on a daily basis, of course) and I'll figure it out in a quick moment.

What I know is that I don't know things because I am smarter than the people that are trying to do something (guaranteed) but simply because I have spent the time working.

What people don't see when I seem to be smart is the time that I have spent hidden away learning, studying and researching. I don't talk about the late nights doing research. I don't mention the information I glean from other conversations. I don't comment on how I am learning from my mistakes and the mistakes of others when people aren't watching. continue reading...

Is Conformity a Strategy?

Corey Smith — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:24:09 +0000

Last week I was driving in an old neighborhood and I remember distinctly commenting to myself, "I really love these old neighborhoods. I love how the homes are different from each other. I love how there is no guideline that certain things need to be done a very specific way except that they should look nice."

Each house was different. Occasionally I would see two houses that looked like they might have been built by the same builder but, for the most part, these homes were very different from each other.

Different layout, different yards, different fences, different colors.

All were just very different from each other.

I really loved the way it looked and thought how nobody was required to conform but each were allowed to be their own unique selves.

Then, I went home and got a nice letter from a home owner's association for a rental property I own. continue reading...

Do you have a battle plan?

Corey Smith — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 04:23:25 +0000

I have the opportunity to talk with business owners on a regular basis. Sometimes I'll hear comments that the economy is poor and other times I'll hear comments that indicate that the times couldn't be better.

One thing that I know is that business is good for those that learn to roll with the times. It is good for those that learn how to adapt and change with the realities of the current marketing conditions.

Not often enough do business leaders actually plan for the future and plan for contigencies. Even more infrequent is being willing to change the plan as the situation indicates. continue reading...

A Thinker’s View of Health Insurance

Corey Smith — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:51:06 +0000

Hold your horses. I am going to talk about health insurance.

However, I am going to avoid waxing too political... primarily because I am tired of the politics surrounding a financial decision. I am tired of the Democrats accusing the Republicans of being partisan and vice versa.

I think that if people understood that health insurance is a financial decision and not a decision based on “caring” or “compassion” then we would probably come to a solution to our problem.

The premise of this post is that the problem with the health care debate is the assumption that health care insurance actually costs less than just paying for the service.

So, follow me on a couple of key concepts. continue reading...

Don’t Oversell It… It Will Just Be Spam.

Corey Smith — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:34:25 +0000

You have the picture in your mind of the stereotypical salesman.

Pure CHEESE!

Just because we apply this vision of a sales person to car salesmen, you see people like this all the time.

It’s the multi-level marketer that always want to talk to you about “a once in a lifetime business opportunity.

It’s the real estate broker that is always pitching how much he can sell your house.

It’s the person that always is trying to convince you that what you are doing can be done better if you just try the latest and greatest.

When someone is overbearing, we know it.

When we are overbearing, no one tells us. continue reading...

What are you willing to change?

Corey Smith — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:42:54 +0000

Yeah, I get it. It is a rough economy. Businesses are failing. People are out of work. Making it through the tough economy is just plain tough.

Blah, Blah, Blah.

Forgive me if I sound insensitive… or don’t forgive me, I don’t care.

Times change (the people voted for change, didn’t they). Situations change.

The real question is, “Are you willing to change?”

Are you willing to change your life style? Are you willing to change the amount of money you make? Are you willing to change your approach to the way you run your business? continue reading...

Combined Experience is Meaningless

Corey Smith — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:13:28 +0000

I see companies all the time try to put their experience in terms that seems to make them look better than they are.

The way they often will do that is say they have so many years of “combined” experience.

I, personally, think this is a bunch of bull and you need to watch out for companies that do it.

Let me give you a scenario.

Let’s say you deal with a company that says they have over 25 years of combined experience.

Now, ask yourself, what does that mean? Are there 3 employees with an average of 8.33 years each? Are there 10 employees with 2.5 years each? Are there 25 employees with 1 year each?

See the problem?

But way, there’s more! continue reading...

You Can't Win Them All

Corey Smith — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:57:25 +0000

As an ethical business owner, you try to provide the best product and service you can to all your clients and potential clients.

If you are a sales person (a good one) you'll do the same.

Every day, I have to remind myself that sometimes that is just not possible.

The key to success, in my opinion, to any business is appropriately understanding when to be willing to lose. You have to be willing to understand that you can't (and shouldn't) win them all.

Two and a half years ago, before I started Tribute Media, I wrote a simple blog post on the concept that if you try to be everything to everyone you'll end up being nothing to no one (I know the grammar problem... but you can read the post here.)

The challenge for a business owner with everything on the line (the same goes for a salesman trying to make a commission) is to remember that it is okay to say no. It is okay to lose a deal once in a while.

I am not suggesting that you go out of your way to lose a deal. What I am saying is if the deal doesn't work for your company, you need to be willing to walk away.

As a simple example... continue reading...

Snagit for the Mac - NOW HERE!

Corey Smith — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:30:37 +0000

I am giddy as a school girl... well, maybe not that giddy, but I am pleased.

I moved to a Mac about 4 months ago (best decision I ever made). There was one piece of software that I missed above all. That was Snagit. I use screen capture all the time to communicate with my team and Snagit, by far, is the best tool out there.

I found a number of other tools that approximate what Snagit can do, but none are as good. continue reading...