If you’re like most humans, you love to talk. More specifically, you love to gossip. Not only is it something we do every day, gossip can be an incredibly powerful motivating tool. As an entrepreneur, you need to take advantage it.

So how do you encourage people to talk positively about your business? In this post I’ll walk you through four things you can do to encourage people to gossip about your business.

Note, this is a companion to one of JuniorBiz’s most popular posts ever, Negative Word of Mouth Spits Like Wildfire.

1. Offer Insanely Good Customer Service

Have you ever talked about a positive customer service experience? Probably.

There’s a legend where a Hilton Hotels staff member (let’s call him Brian) noticed that one of their customers (let’s call him Eric) left his briefcase in the lobby. Brian tried to catch Eric on his way out, but he was already on his way to the airport. So Brian followed him to the airport. Couldn’t find him. Got on a plane right behind Brian, and delivered the briefcase to him once he arrived at his destination.

That’s an example of insanely good customer service. Whether or not it’s true, that story has been told countless times.

As a young entrepreneur, you can’t do that. But what you can do is provide a service that’s far greater than any of your customers could expect.

For example, I was designing a site for a client last summer and couldn’t fulfill part of the contract. Before he had a chance to be disappointed, I knocked $250 off of the job. That’s the kind of customer service that people talk about. And even if he doesn’t talk about it, it made me feel good.

Wildflowers will spread if they’re on fertile ground.

2. Tell People Your Story

People love a good story. As a young entrepreneur, you have a good story. Share that story with your customers so they can talk about it.

A couple years ago, this kid came to my school to talk about his t-shirt business. His name was Johnny and he started selling t-shirts with cupcakes on them out of the back of his car. He branded his business as Johnny Cupcakes and now he has three stores/bakeries. Including one in Boston and another in Los Angeles.

Have you ever heard of Johnny Cupcakes? If you have, it’s because he has an awesome story that people like to tell.

It’s not so much that people like telling stories. They have to get something out of it. They have to be part of the story. And the fact that they hired this awesome kid to do something puts them in the middle of your cool story.

For example, if you start selling t-shirts out of the back of your car and expand to stores across the nation, you need to make sure people know that. It’s remarkable and people want to be a part of it.

Wildflowers will spread easier if they have more seeds to share.

3. Offer Referral Programs

There’s a reason the Internet is saturated with referral/affiliate programs. It’s because they work. And they work just as well offline.

Northwestern Mutual, a well-respected financial services company, promotes themselves through referrals. They give you a free financial assessment session. In exchange, they ask you to consider using their services and to introduce them to three people who could benefit from a financial assessment.

That’s right. A company that has been around for over 150 years and made $22 Billion in 2008 builds their client base almost exclusively through a referral program.

What does this mean for you? Tell your customers that if they refer you and your business to someone else, you’ll offer your customers a discount.

For example, if you offer a house painting service that charges $1,000+ per house, tell your customers you’ll give them a $100 gift card for every customer they refer to you. Then they have a vested interest in talking about your business.

Wildflowers will attract more bees if there’s an incentive to spread their seed.

4. Ask People to Talk About You

People are much more likely to do something if you ask them to do it. Asking your customers to talk about your business and refer other people to you is something you should always do, assuming you offer a good product or service.

A couple months back I was introduced to a fella named Eugene Aronsky and his site that helps you find cheap books. I quickly noticed that Eugene wasn’t afraid to ask people for small favors (like recommending him on Mr. Tweet). At first it seemed a little pushy, but you know what, I wouldn’t have done it unless he asked.

Asking people to talk about you might not be as effective as the other methods, but it’s a good place to start.

For example, if you have a blog and have a couple high-profile blogging friends, don’t be afraid to ask them for a favor every once in awhile.

Wildflowers will spread farther if they know that’s what they’re supposed to do.

Brief Recap

Word of mouth is the best form of advertising, period. To encourage positive word of mouth you need to start with offering an exemplary service. Telling people your story, offering referral bonuses and asking people to talk about you will only add to the gossip.

I’m curious. What else do you do to encourage positive word of mouth? What about when someone’s upset? How do you deal with an angry customer?

If you liked this article, you should get JuniorBiz by email. My guess is that you’ll like the other ones too.

Warning: The next post on JuniorBiz will be a giveaway! I’ll be giving away a free copy of an actual, tangible book. That’s right. Something that will come in the mail and you can hold in your hands. But you can’t win it unless you come back.

Photo by:matt.hintsa

For the last week or so, I have been exchanging emails with a bright young lady who wants to start a business. Initially she wanted to pursue something other than a lemonade stand. However, she weighed her options and decided to go with selling lemonade.

She spent several hours outside without selling a single cup. There are a few lessons to be learned from Chelsea’s lemonade stand.

After she held an unprofitable lemonade stand, I received an email:

“I didn’t do a tie-dye T-shirt business because I didn’t have enough money to start it. So I decided to do a lemonade stand. But there was a problem……as i went up the sidewalk in front of my house…I decided to plant my lemonade stand there…I got a chair and waited for customers…I looked on my sidewalk, and the one, on the other side….no one was there….no one….it was completely silent on my street….A moment later my dad came home from work…he saw my stand and decided to help me bring the table,the lemonade,the cups,and the chair….and he told me that no one was going to buy my lemonade because there was no one (apparently)…..well he was right because there was no one even there to even to LOOK at my stand….
Help….I live on Silent St. …….
-Chelsea”

Chelsea, there are two valuable lessons to learn from this experience that can be applied to any form of business.

Lesson 1: Location, location, location!

I’m sure you’ve heard this before, and that’s because it’s important. When you’re selling a product (i.e. lemonade) you have to set up shop where it’s easy for customers to find you. No matter what you’re selling, if your potential customers don’t know your business exists, then there is no way they can buy from you.

In your case, Chelsea, your street isn’t the best place to set up your stand. It takes a lot of planning, but next time you should set up a lemonade stand where there are already lots of people walking around. You’ll have to get your dad or someone else to help you, but it’ll be worth the extra effort.

It’s important to note that you should always have a parent or guardian with you at your lemonade stand, especially if it’s not out front of your home.

Here are a few places to consider setting up:

• A Park – People who spend time in parks do so because they want to relax. What’s better than relaxing in the park with a tall glass of ice-cold lemonade?
• A Grocery Store – Be careful here. Before you set anything up you will have to get permission from the store. Simply walk inside and ask one of the employees if you can talk to the manager. Once the manager comes over, introduce yourself and ask if it would be ok to set up your stand outside their store. You may consider offering a portion of your earnings to a charity in order to convince him or her to say yes.
• A Busy Sidewalk – Your sidewalk might not be busy, but there are definitely busy sidewalks around your town. Figure out where people are walking around and set up there. Again, if you decide to set up outside a store, you’ll have to get permission from a store owner.

Lesson 2: Sometimes you have to spend money to make money.

It may not be an option for you, Chelsea, but most businesses spend a lot of money before they make anything. You’re right; making tie-dye shirts can be expensive. And if you don’t sell any, then you lose money.

However, spending a few bucks up front is often times the best way to make more money later. For example, look at every store, ever. The store owners spent thousands if not millions of dollars just to set up their store before they ever sold a single product. Yet, it’s usually worth it.

In your case, you should re-consider selling tie-dye shirts. But before you do so, you need to figure out who will buy them. If you’re planning on selling them to your friends, ask them how much they would be willing to pay.

Get a good idea of how many you think you can sell and at what price. If you figure you can make more money than your initial costs, then it’s a good business idea.

For example, let’s say it costs $20 for 10 white t-shirts and an additional $15 for a tie-dye kit. Your total expenses are $35.

Then you figure you can sell anywhere from 5 to 10 of them at $8 per shirt. If 5 is the minimum you think you can sell, then you’ll make $40 of revenue (5 shirts * $8 per shirt). This results in $5 of profit ($40 of revenue – $35 in expenses), plus you still have 5 more shirts you can sell.

If this is the case, then it’s a good business idea.

P.S. Chelsea has since informed me that she has sold framed artwork before, but wasn’t able to sell it all. Now her attic is full of unsold paintings. She said, “So i don’t want to go through an expensive product to sell and end the business leaving my attic with a bunch of framed artwork.” Chelsea is sticking with Lemonade!

By the way, offering a service instead of selling a product is a great way to combat the initial start-up costs of a new business.

Chelsea, thanks a bunch for sending me those emails and letting me use your experience to share these valuable lessons. I’ve really enjoyed talking to you! Good luck with whatever you decide and let me know how it goes!

If you have any suggestions for Chelsea, please leave them in the comments area below. Also, if you found this post helpful, you should get JuniorBiz by Email.

This is a guest post by Thomas Walker.

“Get A JOB!”

If you haven’t heard these words yet, you will soon. Fortunately for you there are plenty of businesses you can run from the comfort of your own home, that aren’t nearly as bad as flipping burgers. Each one of these “jobs” utilize different abilities, so not everyone can do them, but if you have any of the prerequisite skills, each one can be fun and rewarding in their own ways.

Each one requires a fair amount of networking in some way or another, but also leave room for serious growth are great possible career paths for you down the road.

If you want even more business ideas, check out 100+ Business Ideas for Young Entrepreneurs.

Making T-Shirts

Prerequisite: Artistic Ability

Tee shirts are a staple in most people’s wardrobe. They’ve been around for a long time and aren’t going away any time soon. Fortunately, if you’re an artist, you can get into the tee shirt making business for little to no cost. All you need is a screen press, mod podge, and press ink. Oh yeah and an artistic eye. Once you’ve made a few tee shirts, you can sell them at your school store (if you have one), the cafeteria (if you don’t), online, or within your community.

Making tee shirts is a very marketable skill to have. Network with local bands, businesses, or anyone else you can think of who could benefit from having custom tee-shirts.

Estimated Startup Cost: $11.50 + cost of tee shirts

Developing Websites

Prerequisite: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or knowledge of CMS programs

With the explosive growth of the Internet it has become vital for every business to have an online presence. If you know how to read and write then learning how to make a website from scratch shouldn’t be that hard. Take a trip to the library, pick up Creating web pages for Dummies, and spend some time to learn basic code.

Don’t want to take the time to learn code? Programs like Joomla and Drupal are available to you for free and are fairly easy to use. Couple that with a free program called Gimp (free photo shop, basically) and you’ll be able to create beautiful custom pages in no time.

Tell someone you know how to make a website and they’ll start thinking of all the different people they know who could use one. Again, bands and local businesses are a great place to start to build up your portfolio. Once you’ve made a few websites for other people, make sure to build your own. Get some free business cards printed up that have all your contact information. Now you look slick AND you can make a cool website.

Estimated Startup Cost: $0!

Video Production Service

Prerequisites: Video Camera, Creative Mind

If you have a video camera, decent editing software, and free time on your hands, you can start doing video production. Talk to the director of your drama department and see if they’ll let you tape the upcoming school play. The problem with this is most parents will do it for free. If you can convince your parents to help you out and get a couple of cheap video cameras you will be able to set up multiple angles and edit everything together later. Most computers have the ability to burn DVD’s, so you can get away with charging $25 per DVD and you’ll be able to recoup your costs in no time.

Once you’ve done this for your drama department, network with community theaters and local bands (are you noticing a trend here). There are also plenty of online video competitions that are a great way to gain exposure in the online world.

Some things to remember when starting video production:

• Play to your equipment’s strengths.
• Invest lots of time in becoming a good editor (even the grainiest of images look 10 million times better if the editing is well done).
• Plan ahead! You’ll save yourself a lot of heartache and money if you go into shoots having at the very least a rough plan of what you’ll be shooting.

Estimated Startup Cost: $200-$600

Computer Repair (hardware)

Prerequisite: Knowing how to take things apart and putting them back together

There are still plenty of people out there who don’t know a motherboard from a stick of ram. Non-computer-savvy people are more likely to buy a brand new computer than replace a part simply because they’re too afraid to “get technical.”

Stay ahead of the curve, pick up a pc hardware book and study it from cover to cover. That way when someone says their computer is “acting up” you’ll be able to have an idea of what the issue could be.

Doing this one on your own can be kind of tricky. Corporate establishments having programs like Geek Squad are going to get a lot more business than you. So you have two options; work for an established business OR offer the same service at a discounted rate. Most people want to deal with a person they know and trust rather than dealing with corporate entities.

Being able to diagnose and fix computer hardware issues will eventually allow you to start building computers from the ground up. Building your own computer is usually a whole lot cheaper, way more customized, and just an all around cool talent.

Estimated Startup Cost: Trip to the library or approx $70 for books

Computer Repair (software)

Prerequisite: Patience

We’ve all done it. Opened that file that absolutely destroys your computer, turning it from a super computing machine to an over sized paperweight. A pit forms in the middle of your stomach and obscenities start flying. When the computer dies, it feels like a family member has been put to rest, either that, or the battleground of World War III will start in your computer room.

Make the preemptive strike by learning how to combat viruses and spyware. You can find plenty of resources online as well as virus combating books.

Estimated Startup Cost: a trip to the library or approx $70 for books

Blogging

Prerequisite: Persuasive Writing

Pick a topic, start to write, network with people online who are interested in the subject that you’re writing about. Sounds pretty simple right? It can be. Blogging can be a great way to keep your writing skills fresh, and put into practice all of those things your English teacher keeps telling you about. Become a member of affiliate programs that are related to your blog’s topic and you could start to see the money come in.

The most important thing to remember when you’re blogging is to be interesting. The second you stop being interesting, people stop paying attention. No attention=no money. No money=flipping burgers.

The second most important thing to remember when it comes to blogging is to talk about a very specific subject. There are millions of blogs out there, if you are really passionate about something very little people know about, tell the world. Then leave comments on other people’s blogs that are related and try and draw some attention that way. Another great way to gain exposure in blogging is to guest blog for other people’s websites (thanks Nick for letting me write for you!)

Pro-tip: Blogging and Twitter go hand in hand. Use Twitter’s search feature to find other people who are talking about something similar and engage in conversation with them. Also, use services like Blogger or WordPress to get your blog started.

Estimated Startup Cost: Free but it takes some time to gain traction

Internet Marketing

Prerequisite: Knowing how to use the Internet without being a jerk

This one has to be my favorite because this is what I do.

There are a lot of misconceptions about Internet marketing and how to go about it. The only thing an Internet marketer does that other people do not is talk about the company they work for/with in a positive light and to people who are interested.

This means if you’re using Facebook to spread the latest gossip about who is dating who, please stop.

Talk to the usual suspects (local businesses that you really like, bands, etc) and let them know how passionate you are about them. Ask them if they would mind if you started a Facebook page for them and ran it. Most businesses will probably be apprehensive at first but let them know that there are over 215 million people on Facebook, how many people there are in your local network, and how many other people you know would be more than happy to become a fan on Facebook. Let them know that this is a great way to make announcements, offer deals, and have a group of people who will want to know what’s going on.

Of course, Facebook isn’t the beginning or end of internet marketing but a great place for you to start. There are plenty of resources available online to help get you started. Just search Google, you’re sure to find something.

Estimated Startup Cost: Again, free but it takes some time

Thank you so much for reading! If you made it this far than you’re awesome and hopefully you’ll be able to take one of these ideas and run with it.

Is there one that I missed? Start a business that is entirely unrelated to the one’s I mentioned here? Leave it in the comments below. The more suggestions the better.

Photo by: fd