I first started doing these #FollowFriday posts last year so I could highlight some local people I knew that were very smart and delivered great content. I got the idea from one of my favorite blogs Spin Sucks driven by Gini Dietrich. As I got into doing these posts I found them to be some of my favorites. Over time I started to know more people on-line that were worthy of mention on the #FollowFriday posts and I expanded my criteria to include not only locals I have met but also others that I know from social media. Well today I was trying to decide who to feature and I was hit by an incredible blog post from Laura Scholz, president of the PR and communications micro-agency Scholz Communications in Atlanta. I knew right then that I had to create this post and highlight Laura.
I first became aware of Laura on Twitter and DailyMile because she was a runner. (No you don't have to be a runner to be highlighted here it just seems that way sometimes.) She was training for the Georgia Marathon (Which she rocked by the way). Following her training was a motivation to me as well as her positive comments on my workouts. From there I discovered her site and blog and was very impressed with what I was seeing. Her blog is a mix of work and personal posts discussing items from the demands of building a business to her running experiences. She describes her blog as "uber-confessional", it is great.
OK back to post I saw today. I was catching up on my blog reader while waiting for a business client to show up and I saw her post "Dear CEO". The post was related to a project Laura was involved in where business professionals were to write letters to CEOs with advice for 2011. Three pieces of advice I really liked were:
"...trying to please any and every one is a pretty lousy business model."
"The reality is not everyone is going to like you. Or your company. And not everyone is going to buy your products or services. "
"Stop worrying about the 99 percent of people out there who don’t get or understand or even need what you’re selling. Focus on the ones who do. The ones who care. The ones who share your passion and vision. Those are your customers. Your zealots. Find them. Focus on them."
Click here to read the entire post...you'll like it.
This is the kind of advice that I give small businesses all the time. The more you understand about your market, the more narrowly you can define your target the better you will do. You will be able to create messaging and communications that will attract those that you can truly create value for. Some people or businesses aren't your customer and the sooner you realize that the more successful your business will be.
Given all that this is my #FollowFriday recommendation for March 25, 2011. Be sure to check out Laura's site and blog at LauraScholz.com, track her running on DailyMile and follow her on Twitter at @LauraScholz.
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