Christmas Season

Yet again, it is Christmas season! All I currently hear from my children is their NEED for the newest toy marketed through whatever cartoon/show they have recently seen on t.v.  As much as I hate to admit it, marketing things to children really pays off. Some of these items, I would never decide to purchase these items for my kids on my own. My 4 year old has recently realized she can not live another day without a Chocolate Pen. This is an item that lets you write in chocolate like a cake decorator. Shes 4. There is no way I will be purchasing it. If she saw it in the store, she would pass right by it, but since it has been marketed as the most amazing item ever, she wants and needs it. If I broke down and purchased it, she would love it for the first 5 minutes, the it would go in the bottom of the toy box along with the Elsa doll, and Barbie camera set from last year. 
Christmas is the season where all toy companies heavily market to children because it is universally known that parents will send $300. on a Barbie car and not blink an eye.

Entrepreneur.com

I have recently fallen in love with the website entrepreneur.com. It has a wealth of information from product placement to marketing strategies. If you haven't checked it out, I strongly suggest you do! I love going through the different articles and blogs that are published daily. It gives a lot of insight not only for entrepreneurs but anyone looking for marketing ideas or wacky business ideas. 

online shopping during the holiday season.

I recently came across an interesting news video on Wal-mart.  According to NBC News and the Today show, Walmart is predicted to be in a price war with Amazon.com, the current largest retailer. In a world where everything you want is at your finger tips, Walmart is struggling to keep up with major online retailers like Amazon.com. The hassle of fighting the crowd during Christmas Season has been virtually replaced with the ability to buy items from home. Walmart is partially blaming a plunge in stock (10% in a single day) a raise in their start rate to $9 this year and $10 next year. Along with the struggle to compete with online retailers for price and convince, Walmart is having to deal with workers group protesting for higher pay for the next 15 days.

I has become increasingly difficult to do business without change.





the link to the article and video can be found here: Wal-mart Workers Group Protest

Word-of-Mouth

With so much focus on social media marketing and web marketing, I believe word-of-mouth has been overlooked. I know as a consumer, when a friend tells me about amazing  or even horrible service received, I tend to listen to their opinion. A person reference to a business can draw in a larger customer base just as easily as a web based marketing strategy.  I recently came across an article on entrepreneur.com entitled 5 Ways to Maximize Word-of-Mouth Marketing     The article has some really good points when dealing with marketing and was informative and interesting. One of the points that has really struck home was to connect to the human emotion. Sometimes, I personally feel that although the internet has brought on a wealth of knowledge and innovative technologies at our finger tips, it has hindered personal contact. 

market trends

I was recently informed that half of all sales made in the US last year were made through mobile apps, and that some start up companies are using social media networks such as Facebook to bombard businesses with their product. It seems to be very successful in some instances.
 I can remember a time when the only internet service available was AOL and if you were lucky enough to have a cell phone, it was a nokia brick. AOL and AIM were the basis of social media at that time. I find the growth and movement of technology within the last 15 years to be very exciting. I can't wait to see whats to come within the next 5-10. As a culture, we are making all marketing strategies that are not web based obsolete. 

My Dream Business

After some long evening, I have come to the conclusion that what I really want to do is start a business that I can pour my heart and soul into. A few years ago, I had the absolute pleasure of working for a crazy little lady named Jackie Beavers. Her nickname was Taz, because she was a mini tornado. Just watching her could make you exhausted. With the backing of some good friends, she started a liquor store named "Dandy's".  Her mission was to provide the coldest beer and the largest selection of liquor and wine in Florence, Alabama. Her mission statement was "The Friendliest Place in Town" and it was just that. Dandy's was the island of misfit toys but it worked and quickly became her "baby". Through hard work, determination, and ingenuity Jackie made millions. Since my experience with her, I have desired to have that kind of passion for a business.  

Don't get discouraged

I've recently found myself becoming very discouraged with my business and marketing ideas. This has been a difficult month not only fulfilling my educations and business goals but also dealing with personal loss.  Some days, I want to throw in the towel and give up. Then, I remind myself that there are a hundred people who didn't let discouragement get to them. With enough hard work and know how, I can succeed in anything I want to do.