Lessons We've Learned...

This is our first post of a new series entitled Lessons We've Learned. This week, we are featuring the business lessons we've learned from Bender Rodriguez. We've assembled quotes from Bender that we love and explain how they relate to business.

1. "Bite my shiny metal ass." If you've ever watched Futurama, then this is the quote you are most likely to remember. Yes, it does have a business principle that you can apply. When you're in business for yourself, you'll attract a lot of people who have ideas on how you should run your business. We don't mean the people you go to with a business problem who then offer you a solution. We mean your friends and relatives who, although they are not in business in their own right, somehow know exactly what you need to do in your business...and they forcefully tell you how to run your empire. You must learn early how to run your business in the way that best suits you. While you don't have to be quite as direct as Bender, you should certainly let it be known that you will be making the business decisions...but thanks so much for your input.

2. "Shut up, baby. I know it." Bender is not known to mince words. You're wondering how this phrase could possibly help you. Well, simply put - it can serve as a reminder to stay confident. Often, you'll give ideas and suggestions to clients. When they are implemented and your clients gain success, you will hear from them (you'll hear from them if they don't work, too). Don't live and die by their compliments and criticisms. Always remain confident in your work.

3. "I'll start my own religion! With blackjack and hookers!" This Bender-iffic saying can get you through planning and executing your business. We've used it as a guide to expand our business offerings. Don't look so shocked. This quote has a great business lesson. If you don't like the way something is happening, improve it. Keep Bender in mind during your analysis stage when you are beginning your venture. You need to know what sets you apart from the competition.

4. "Anything less than immortality is a complete waste of time." You won't live forever. However, there's a chance that if your business is successful that it can continue on long after you're dead. You need to make sure that you always keep your brand and business image in mind. Anyone that you bring on to work with you also needs to have the business image in mind. It's the only way to ensure success after your dead.

5. "Another pointless day where I accomplish nothing." In this particular episode, Bender is seen relaxing and drinking. Business moral: it's okay to occasionally do nothing. It's possible that when you first start out that you'll have several days where you have nothing to do. In our opinion, there's always something that can be found to do...but the moral here is that it's okay to occasionally take some time to relax.

Don't Make This ONE Twitter Mistake

Most people love to tweet. I have a Twitter account. It's a mix between just me being me (including my personal opinions) and sending out helpful information about SEO, business, writing, or something I found to be a very interesting read. I don't have thousands of followers...and that's okay to me. I don't need to be Twitter famous. I don't do the whole "follow back" thing simply because then my timeline would be filled with stuff I don't want to read. That's not the mistake I'm referencing.

If you use Twitter for business, there's one huge mistake that you could be making that can and will drive your potential customers and prospects away. They could mute you....or even unfollow you. It's something that I've recently noticed several of my small business tweeple doing recently...and it even annoyed me.

This is the worst mistake you can make on Twitter with your small business: sending the same message and link over and over and over and over and over.

There are only two exceptions to this rule. If you are looking for the best time to tweet that specific message then it's at least understandable why you're sending out the exact same message three or four times per day. We all want to tweet at the time that most of our followers are online. The other exception is for A / B testing. Certain words have more power than others. So, if you are trying different versions of your ad or message then that is a good reason to send the same message.

If you send the same tweet multiple times per day, your engagement will decrease in two ways. First, you will lose followers. No one wants to see the same message 52145 times per day in their timeline from you. It doesn't matter how awesome your product or service is....your followers don't want you to overwhelm them with ads. They will mute you which means they won't see ANY of your tweets. It's like unfollowing without actually unfollowing someone. It's like they want to break up with you, but they don't want to hurt your feelings...so they'll tell you that your relationship must be a secret. Then again, they may just unfollow and block you. Congratulations - you annoyed someone and drove them away.

If you want your followers to interact with you, click your links, and stick around then you need to do more than sell on Twitter. I know, I know. We are all in business to make a profit, but guess what? People like to buy...they do NOT like to be sold.

• Offer content of value. Yes, I know you think your product or service is the most valuable thing out there, but it isn't to all of your followers. They have no idea how it can solve their problems. You need to provide content they want to read.
• Reword your tweets. There are lots of guides out there about how to write a tweet that converts. Remember, conversion on Twitter is getting them to click your link. "Buy my super awesome book that will change your life by visiting this website!" isn't going to get many clicks or retweets. It's not offering any value. I recently wrote a tweet for a client about her natural supplement that has shown some promise in treating ADHD. So, what I wrote was something similar to "What if you had a more natural treatment to manage your ADHD symptoms?" Of course, I included the link. I hope you see and understand the difference.
• Interact with people on Twitter. Respond to tweets from your followers. Get involved in conversations. Come up with good search terms and go talk to people. It's a great way to organically grow your followers and learn about the needs of people that you want to provide a service or product to. 
• Follow industry leaders. They won't necessarily follow you back, but you can find great content and ideas to create your own content to share with your followers.