I'm a big believer in seeking simple solutions before throwing time and money at a problem.
Here are three examples:
A small 3 floor high hotel located in a southern US city had only one elevator and the owners decided to add a second elevator. Architects were invited in to discuss the project. A hotel worker happened to over hear the hotel owners discussing the project and heard that the hotel would need to be closed for 10 months during construction because a hole for the new elevator shaft would need to be made in the second floor. The hotel worker told the owners that they would likely lose their staff who couldn't go 10 months without a job. The worker asked why couldn't the shaft for the new elevator be located on the OUTSIDE wall instead of making a hole through the 2nd floor? The owners said they hadn't thought of that and checked with the architects who said that could be done, would save considerable construction costs and the hotel could remain open during construction. A simple solution to a big problem.
A second example: A school board in England discovered that a "bottleneck" was created by the students crowding the hallways when they rushed to leave at the end of the school day. This was considered to be a serious safety issue. The school board budgeted several million dollars to widen the hallways. An architect was invited in to discuss the project. The architect said that although his firm would like to have the project, why didn't the school board simply buy four alarm bells (each with a different bell sound) and release the students 5 minutes apart? The school board adopted this quick, simple solution costing less than $1,000. instead of spending millions in construction costs and disrupting school activity.
A third example: Many years ago, a large company that manufactures shampoo wanted their customers to use up their shampoo more quickly and buy more. Company executives and representatives of a large advertising agency met and various ideas were discussed. Most present at the meeting believed that the solution would be to run a multi-million dollar national advertising campaign offering the general public millions of dollars worth of free samples. Before the meeting finished all present were asked for their ideas. Sitting off to the side was a new junior employee who was asked what she would do. Her answer: CHANGE the instructions printed on the shampoo label FROM "Wet hair - Apply shampoo - Rinse" TO "Wet hair - Apply shampoo - Rinse - REPEAT". And her simple solution is still used today by shampoo manufacturers.
The U.S. Census shows that the numbers of one-person businesses are booming. There are now over 20 million such businesses. To be exact, the United States has 20,392,068 one-person businesses. Email: onepersonbusiness@gmail.com In the space of three years, 2.7 million more people became the owner of a “business of one.” These one-person businesses account for 78% of ALL U.S. businesses.
One Person Business Ideas
FRED SWAIN, One-Person Business Marketing Strategist "knowing HOW is more important than merely knowing WHAT to do" Email: onepersonbusiness@gmail.com
My business and professional experience spans over 37 years and includes the following:
1) Sales trainer for 4 direct sales companies. Trained more than 400 business-to-business and business-to-consumer sales reps (both classroom and field).
2) Importer - 800 products.
3) Wholesaler - sunglasses, jewelry, cleaning supplies.
4) Small Business Development Consultant - advised small business owners on how to increase their revenues by 30 - 50 % within a 12 month period. I've always succeeded in accomplishing this 30 - 50 % increase.
5) Founder - Sales Lead Generation Company -- 17 employees.
6) Founder/Publisher 2 Business Magazines -- 29 employees.
7) General Manager.
Managed the LARGEST advertising materials distribution company in Eastern Canada. Supervised 6 middle managers --170 employees.
8) Regional Advertising Sales Manager -- Hired and trained 12 sales reps.
9) Retail Management.
10) Publisher's Consultant. Personally created ENTIRE magazines and hired/trained up to 34 ad sales reps (per publication) to sell the advertising.
1) Sales trainer for 4 direct sales companies. Trained more than 400 business-to-business and business-to-consumer sales reps (both classroom and field).
2) Importer - 800 products.
3) Wholesaler - sunglasses, jewelry, cleaning supplies.
4) Small Business Development Consultant - advised small business owners on how to increase their revenues by 30 - 50 % within a 12 month period. I've always succeeded in accomplishing this 30 - 50 % increase.
5) Founder - Sales Lead Generation Company -- 17 employees.
6) Founder/Publisher 2 Business Magazines -- 29 employees.
7) General Manager.
Managed the LARGEST advertising materials distribution company in Eastern Canada. Supervised 6 middle managers --170 employees.
8) Regional Advertising Sales Manager -- Hired and trained 12 sales reps.
9) Retail Management.
10) Publisher's Consultant. Personally created ENTIRE magazines and hired/trained up to 34 ad sales reps (per publication) to sell the advertising.
The opinions expressed on this site along with any comments, external links or forum discussions are given with the intention of freely sharing knowledge and ideas. Neither Fred Swain nor his contributors accept any liability for any loss or damage caused through the implementation of these opinions or ideas. No guarantees of efficacy are intended.
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