Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

Let me ask you a quick question: how would you like to increase your profits this upcoming holiday season?

In this first book, Tony Hsieh shares the different business lessons he learned in life: from a lemonade stand and pizza business through LinkExchange, Zappos, and more. Ultimately, he shows how using happiness as a framework can produce profits, passion, and purpose both in business and in life.

It’s an easy book to read or listen to, if you prefer that, and it will give you a boost just in time to grow your business in the last quarter of this year.

In our business, Delivering Happiness is all we are about.

Here are some reviews by those who read the book:

I recently purchased the audio version so I could listen to it on the way to and from work. I am currently listening to it a second time! Tony is a great storyteller! What is captured in the book is the essence of being open and honest and how this impacts our bottom line. We are all someone’s customer and the relationships that we establish with one another are key to our success! I learned that it is okay to stop doing something that doesn’t fit! Choose to be part of something that is bigger than yourself! And have FUN!

Pure gold! It’s relevant, current and if the ideas fit your intended/current company culture, the info (if implemented) could IMO not only be very profitable, but could help a company set up their legacy path. I’ve already suggested (given) this book to several CEO’s/Presidents of companies I know. We are already implementing some of the ideas in our companies. I was so excited by the material/ideas in the book, both my wife and 17-year old daughter read the book on the same trip! Good to have everyone on the same page.

Wow! It’s very rare that you read a business book that is at once educational, inspirational and so personal. I want to buy shoes and more just to experience the passion that seems to run through the organization to make it so unique. Although it reads like a history of the company. Something to inspire those past, present and future employees, It can still serve as guidance for many companies. Don’t think of this as just another business must-read. It’s quick and you’ll enjoy it.

Read more reviews of this amazing book here. Most are in-depth & very detailed.

Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose	Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

What You Should Know about Business Licenses and Permits

If you’re looking to start your own gift business, first things first. Congratulations! Starting your own business is a huge step and a great way to live your life – in control of your finances, future and freedom. The next step, once you’ve done your planning, figured out what type of business you’re going to open and how you’re going to do, is to make sure you have all of the licenses and permits aligned so you stay safe and out of trouble with local, state, and federal agencies.

Essentially, you can divide your required licenses and permits into two categories:

* Must have
* Might need to have.

Must Have

# EIN. You must have an EIN or a tax identification number. This is acquired by visiting the IRS website and filling out a form. If you’re going to be reporting income under your social security number, then you don’t necessarily need an EIN; however, most of the time it pays to have one and report your business income separately.

# Register with the state. You will also need to register your business with your state. Each state has their own process for this, but you can likely find all the information you need if you visit your local state government website.

But what about all those “might need to haves?”

Might Need To Have

This depends in large part on what your business is, where you live and where you’re doing business. To sell products, you’ll need to obtain a sales tax license. And if you’re manufacturing anything, you may need zoning permits to do this – whether you’re in your home or in an office.

Here are some of the business licenses and permits you might need to have:

# Occupational and professional licenses. These are issued by the state and are specific to certain industries. F

# Employer Registration. If you’re planning on hiring anyone, you’ll need to contact your state Department of Revenue because you’ll need to pay unemployment insurance.

Most of the time, obtaining the proper licenses, registrations and permits is a straightforward process and the majority of it, if not all of it, can be accomplished online. To find out what licenses and permits your business needs, visit your local small business association and/or your local government website.

How To Boost your Ranking on Google Maps

Google maps is one way to boost your search engine optimization. It’s a mapping service application that’s used not only on many people’s computers but also their mobile devices. It’s important to you as a business owner to show customers and prospects where you are but if you’re not listed on the first couple of results, it may be more difficult to capture their attention. Here are __ ways to boost your ranking on Google Maps.

#1 Get a local business listing in your city. This is perhaps the single most important thing you can do. Make sure your address is listed correctly.

#2 Make sure your business is properly categorized. A gift store showing up in the toy store results isn’t doing you any good.

#3 Make sure your keywords are in your local business listing title. For example, if your store’s name is Sue’s Creations your keywords should have “gift baskets” added to the listing title.

#4 List your business’s proximity to the city’s center. This helps people determine how far away you are.

#5 Get customer reviews. This is not only a great way to earn a higher Google maps ranking but they can also motivate customers to visit your store. Reviews provide social proof, credibility and authority. The more good reviews you have, the better.

#6 Make sure your keywords are also contained in the description of your business.

#7 Make sure your location keywords are in your business listing. For example if you’re in Austin, Texas make sure the words Austin & Texas are in your business listing. People search by location and this will help you reach the top of the results.

#8 Aside from your listing there are things you can do on your website to increase your Google maps ranking including making sure your address and phone number are on every web page. This will help ensure the search engines find you no matter what page they’re indexing.

#9 On your website you’ll also want to make sure your city and state, and local keywords, are in the title tags of your website.

#10 It’s important to make sure you have plenty of incoming links. These links of course should be quality links from relevant websites. This shows Google you’re a valid business.

#11 Location keywords in your inbound anchor text is also said to have tremendous weight with Google Maps. So if someone is linking to you they might say, “Check out this Austin, Texas Gift Basket Store.” And link to you with that anchor text.

Google Maps is a valuable tool for both business owners and potential customers. Use the tool, optimize your business for it, and you’ll see an increase in visitors, sales, and profits.

The Importance of a Vision Statement for Entrepreneurs

If you go into any large, successful company and look at their employee materials, somewhere you’ll probably find a vision statement, or some similar form of guidance or goals for the company. That’s because a vision statement is one of the most important things a company can have.

When you think about a long race or long project, which part do you think is the hardest? Which part do you think is the easiest part to just give up? Logically, you would think it was the end, but if you think harder, the end is actually pretty easy. That’s because, even though you’re drained you can still see your goal in sight, which pushes you to keep going.

The purpose of a vision statement is to keep yourself going when you’re tired, but not even close to achieving your goals. A vision statement reminds you that there is a point, there is an end in sight, and if you keep pushing you’ll get there. Vision is what keeps us from giving up on our dreams.

So how do you make your businesses vision statement? Basically you just have to sit down and figure out what you want. Sounds pretty simple, but if you’re ever actually tried to accomplish this, you know it’s a bit more difficult than it sounds.

To write your statement, think about what you want – from your life, from your business, and for your family. If it helps, you might want to write separate statements for your personal life and your business.

While having a vision statement is great, the simple act of writing one is a benefit in itself. It causes you to sit down and think about what you REALLY want out of your business, and out of your life. This is something many of us have never actually done.

While it is beneficial to have an all-encompassing vision statement, it also helps for it to be fairly short and concise. This may take a while to do, but is worth it in the long run.

Once you have your vision statement, be sure to keep it in mind. It doesn’t work to push or motivate yourself if you forget about it completely. Make sure to put your vision statement in some form, whether it be the whole statement or just key words and pictures, where you’ll see it on a regular basis. This way it will keep you motivated and pushing for your dreams.

If you have a business with employees or where customers and business partners come to your office, it could be beneficial to post your vision statement somewhere that everyone can see it. This will help motivate your employees and let your customers know what it is you’re about and what you’re committed to.

It may take some time and some thought, but a well thought out vision statement can be a fantastic tool for your business.

How To Retain Your Customers Through Spectacular Customer Service

In a business world which is getting more competitive each and every day, there’s one thing which will keep your customers coming back again and again – a valuable customer experience. Your customer experience begins and ends with spectacular customer service.

What Is Customer Service?

It’s being there for your customer from the moment they meet you, whether it is online, on the phone or they walk through the front door of your establishment. It’s being there to prevent any potential problems and it’s being there to resolve any issues that come up. Finally, customer service is about being proactive and engaging your current customers so they always feel valuable and appreciated.

For many businesses, and you’re sure to have had this experience as a customer, customer service is an afterthought. It’s when the problem solvers step in and attempt to appease you. While this is certainly part of customer service if this is your approach you’re going to spend a whole lot of time solving problems.

Spectacular customer service means being in communication with your customers to make sure they’re happy, to find out what they need and want and to meet those needs with innovative products and services.

How To Provide Spectacular Customer Service

Be transparent and available 24/7. This doesn’t mean you have to answer the phone at all hours but it does mean providing all the information possible for your customers to have easy access to. A FAQ page and a customer service form on your website can fill in the off hours and you can hire a customer service company to answer phones, address problems, and even have a presence on your website in a pop up customer service chat screen.

However as mentioned earlier customer service is about more than answering questions and solving problems. It’s about creating strategies to solve problems before they occur, to embrace your customers’ needs and wants before they know what they are and solve them.

This can be accomplished with regular communication, surveys and polls, special offers for your loyal customers only and regular tracking and analytics. Data is a valuable asset to providing an ideal customer experience. Think about your last shopping experience at your favorite store. Chances are your satisfaction with the outing was influenced by the sales representatives you encountered but also by the layout of the store – how easy it was to find things – and how easy it was to check out. Online or off these little experiences add up to a spectacular customer service experience.

The happier and more satisfied your customers are the more they’ll come back and the more they’ll talk about you to your friends. It means a bigger and better business and more profits. Focus on your customer experience and you’ll be building the kind of success which lasts.

For more customer service books, check out Amazon.com.