It's The Marketing, Silly

I have a new friend who has been in business for about a year and is already enjoying good success. She loves her work, but more importantly, she understands that it is a business and that she's doing it to make a good living.

This isn't an unusual story, most of us know many people like this who are doing well, even in this economy. But my friend is in an industry where the vast majority of the people in it simply have no clue that they need to be running their business .... like a business. They don't advertise, they don't market, and they sure as heck don't sell.

My friend is an independent contractor in a business with others like her. She says the other people actually make fun of her for putting out flyers, posting signs, and taking part in networking events.

One day, a man in a similar business from across the street came over to ask her how she stayed so busy. "What's your secret?" he asked. She started telling him how she reads business magazines and articles to learn more about marketing.

He immediately lost interest and walked away. Wonder what kind of secret formula he was expecting? One that didn't involve learning and hard work, I guess.