July | 2010 | Accessa

Wanted: small niche players. Space available

Consider your options well As a small business, are you alone, doing your thing, providing a great product in the metalworking or surface treatment industries? Do you think anyone else in the whole world shares some of the same challenges? Are they also trying to keep “clean” (let alone “green”) while using advanced chemical lubricants, cleaners and strippers? Small industrial niche businesses ...
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Signs outside directors can help you grow.

Call me overly optimistic but I predict the next challenge on the horizon will be figuring out how to manage growth opportunities. The markets will eventually ramp up with fierce activity from pent up demand created during this long recession. There will be opportunity for every small coatings operation—a select few will make the most of it. If you’re not sure how to take the next step, it’s tim...
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Use these 6 tools to tap in and listen to the social media marketplace.

Plot your objectives and strategy. You didn’t become successful in the metal business by jumping into it with some vague notion of how the business works. I’d advise you to handle the topic of Social Media (SM) the same way. It could be hazardous to jump in without some knowledge of the medium; it’s tools and the marketplace. After all we don’t want to embarrass ourselves. But I also urge you t...
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You have to be (true to) your own brand

Because most coatings businesses are small, the company brand is closely tied to the character of its leader or ownership. When you think of the company you get an image of the leader—the two can be somewhat inextricable. Here we briefly discuss the importance of the brand called YOU. After all, getting the business often depends upon people buying just that, YOU. It really doesn’t matter who y...
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Name an irreversible trend that your business cannot ignore.

What technology offers expression, stickiness and competitive advantage? Many of my clients still ask me, why is Social Media so important? Is it really relevant for business to business? And, how did we get here so fast? These questions come from people on both sides of the fence and most have dabbled with at least some of the available Social Media (SM) tools. I had planned for this posting to c...
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