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Hang
in there! Entrepreneurs are creative, tough, and embrace challenges!
Stay positive and you will come out smelling like a rose! |
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Business
growth is important, but sometimes, it is important
to simply hang in there and weather storms. No doubt,
we are all facing challenges, but with challenges also
come opportunities. Capitalize on the opportunities
available and you will be sitting pretty when the cycle
comes back around in your direction.
What opportunities you ask? Great question.
To begin with, you may have to look for silver linings
in grey clouds. Are you a "the glass is half empty"
or "the glass is half full" type of person?
Good.. lets continue...
Little slow in the office? Get creative and re-assess
existing strategies. What are you doing different in
2009
compared to 2008? Giant overhauls usually aren't needed,
but slight tweeks can be beneficial. |
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small business has limited resources and a finite amount of
hours to work with every day, every week, and every month.
How best to
allocate those resources is the challenge we all face. As
the economy tightens, we have to even be more careful as there
is no big government bailout waiting for us. But unlike the
whiners in DC, we don't need one. Quality small business owners
are tougher than that!
Ideas? One strategy is to leverage relationships and find
members to merge services with to increase sales. For example,
one of our gift basket members is now using one of our health
and beauty product suppliers in their gift baskets. She is
also receiving a discount on the products so her costs are
lower, quality has increased, and a fellow member is used.
It's a win-win all the way around.
Over the years, GMS has put emphasis on The Network, The Network,
The Network! I still believe this is the correct avenue, but
over the years, members have also been interested in better
IT services, effective web design, unique email services,
and ecommerce
solutions.
We have successfully been able to deliver all of these, but
I have to be honest, it is not easy running a network. We
have many different personalities and the needs of all 400
members is never a "one size fits all" solution.
We all have different schedules, needs, and expectations.
GMS is always looking to improve and we love to get your
feedback on what you need most from us. Our GROA Reward
budget is going to stay intact with a slighter emphasis on
"specific contests" and time sensitive challenges.
The
Breakfast
with GMS events are going to continue so long as participation
stays high. This one-on-one networking is really effective.
Increasing these opportunities to twice per month or inserting
a Lunch with GMS will also take place on occasion.
Lastly, we are going to showcase some of our services that
you may or may not know about and highlight a few value-added
services and benefits you receive from GMS that you probably
didn't even know you were receiving. We don't toot our own
horn around here much, but I think it is a good thing so that
you can see some of the ways in which we are working hard
behind the scenes.
Lets start with Search Engines! Vrrrroooooom! |
| GMS
is Search Engine Heaven! |
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GMS
offers Search Engine Submission (SEO) services with every
new site we build and for good reason... It works as we
use it ourselves!
Results vary, but over time, if your site is built properly,
traffic can be dramatically increased by SEO and SEO Mainteance.
If you have not had your site optimized or submitted,
now is a great time to get that ball rolling.
What
is the #1 small business Network in New Jersey?
- See for yourself!
GMS will discount SEO Service by $200 for any GMS Member
in good standing and in house financing is available.
SEO is mandatory if you have a good website and would
like it properly promoted.
Below are some results from our site and key words used.
Click on images for results to see for yourself. Leverage
the power of the Internet for your website! |
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"Auto Services in NJ"
2nd out of 65,700,000! |
"Home Improvement Services
in NJ"
5th out of 49,000,000! |
"Health
and Beauty in New Jersey"
2nd out of 1,130,000! |
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| Ragin
Cajun Dinner Feast! |
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All
I can tell you is that the Bayou Cafe's food is off
the chain!
If you have not eaten there, you are in for a real treat.
They are having a "Grand Opening" for their
new Freehold location in February and we are lucky to
be able to experience the new decor on Wednesday, February
18th at 6PM!
In less than 7 days over 75% of the FREE RSVP's have
been taken, so I expect this event to sell out by the
end of January for sure and possibly be our largest
event ever.
Bernadette
and her husband Robert (left) are excited to give you
a night your taste buds will not soon forget. RSVP for
this event asap. Details
and RSVP Here! |
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GMS
Racing 2009 is underway! We have plenty
of unique marketing opportunities for those
interested in sponsoring the team. Most
sponsorships do not truly promote the sponsoring
business. Ours do.
We
have many practical solutions and even design
services for our sponsors that we bundle
along with GMS Membership. To see if sponsorship
may work for you and your business, give
us a call.
Hope
to see you at the track in 2009! |
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Brrrr!!
It is cold! Finding time to practice hasn't been
easy, but we make time. There were a few days
in December where the sun came out and gave us
golden opportunities.
New for 2009 is the new addition to Team GMS with
Xavier Ellis now getting
seat time on the KX 65. As you can see from the
photo to the left, he is still
in training but loves every minute of his crash-and-burn
experience as evident
by the #1 hand in the air after a tumble in our
practice pit in Lakehurst
Marvin Ellis Jr. is leaving the 65cc class altogether
as we will focus on the 85cc and Super Mini classes.
Races start up again in early March weather permitting.
Thanks to all of our sponsors below who make GMS
Racing possible! |
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2008
GROA CONTEST FINAL RESULTS
Congrats to all and Awards will be given out
at the GMS
RAGIN CAJUN FEAST |
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