SME BizLink

• Editor's Take: Six Surefire Strategies to Sustaining your Momentum
• SME Featured of the Month: Passion for Wine: Their Business Line!  
• SME News: BINALOT OPENS ITS 35TH BRANCH WITH A BOODLE FIGHT 13
• Events: Business Expense Savings Training (BEST) Game Workshop (February 14) , ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Standard for Laboratory Competence (February 14), Effective Leadership Skills (February 15), Holistic Health Asia '08 (February 14 to 17), more events
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Passion for Wine: Their Business Line!

Jeri Jalandoni goes for Shea Wine Cellars East Hill Pinot Noir; Fred Uytengsu is fond of Chehalem Reserve Pinot Noir and Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon; while Eric Recto prefers Chateauneuf du Pape; and Jojo Madrid likes Burgundy wines. Though not really connoisseurs, the four friends are indeed wine aficionados. 

They move in the same circle, and used to work together, which paved the way for a business model. At the request of their friends, who frequently consult them about wines and ask where to obtain the type of wines they bring during dinners; they finally decided to dabble into the wine business, named Premium Wine Exchange (PWX). 

Of one mind and one heart. Drinking wines is one lifestyle that they commonly enjoy. It is savored through time just as the years and years of fermentation process. Wines are best enjoyed when shared with friends, with loved ones or partners. In fact, there are wines that suit and complement with varied occasions and dining experiences.

The four partners meet at least once a month in spite of their tight schedule. They get together with their spouses once a quarter to wine and dine. It was the four partners' common vision and passion to run a wine business and it just went on spontaneously.

Back in October 2003, PWX's initial foray featured a portfolio of newly arrived California wines. The collection offers a range of several inexpensive wines that can be considered as collector's items. These wines are from small production, low profile unheralded wineries in California, USA.

To read more, click here!

Editor's Take

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For a first-time entrepreneur, it may be difficult to start it out with when he or she is faced with issues on sourcing out for funds, especially if the entrepreneur is really low on it. However once the business is running and sales are picking up, the next issue is how to sustain the momentum in staying on the ballgame. 

Whether a neophyte or a veteran businessman, this is still a reality that cannot be denied. 

When money is not spent wisely on strategies, it might just mess up everything. Let me give it an acronym, the SME in business. It stands for Streamline operations, Market values and Exact results. · 

Streamline your operations. If you are an enterprise who functions in a very primitive way, then you might want to think it over as a business owner. There is no question if your day-to-day business is done in a traditional manner especially if you are gaining profits. But, is running a business involves risk? If you are already afraid to try something new and perhaps, hesitant to integrate the latest technology, then it's your choice to lag behind. Streamlining operations does not involve a total revamp in your business dealings or strategies, you can tailor-fit it to your needs. 

What do we suggest in modernizing it? More and more businesses now conduct business online, so why not incorporate it into your system? Putting up a website is already passé. Do not stop there. Do some writing strategies. And what is it? Write articles, start your company blogs. Submit PR articles to PR sites to rank your site on top of search engines, but don't spam. 

Then create opportunities for speaking engagements. In this day and age, you do not need to exhaust yourself alone with real-world speaking engagements. Mind you, do not discredit its power. If you are already doing it, then go on with it, but this time try coming up with a video clip about your company, what you offer and upload it to YouTube. All you need is a handy cam with a tripod, a good lighting and set an ideal venue for recording the material, a microphone then voila; you already have your own instant video advertorial. 

If you are already wired on the Net, then create publications online, e.g., an e-newsletter or an e-zine. This is your way of establishing connections with your existing or the 'keeping-in-touch' strategy as well as to your prospective clients. Subscriptions to these types of publications more often turn leads into deals. 

· Market your values. This is where your value proposition comes in. But this time, be more aggressive. Why are most books and insurance companies able to generate more and more leads? It is through referral strategy. 

Contacting your client's referrals may depend on how you do it. Some do it subtly and some do it blatantly. It's up to you how you'd want to employ it. 

Some companies come up with a testimonial page in their sites, brochures or publish a well-written PR story. Some really use their existing clients' names to vouch for the effectiveness of their products or services. Referrals are your goldmine particular when you did not just limit in persuading them to buy but the referrers did not make a mistake in endorsing your business, too. 

Here is a reminder, handle carefully your referral system because it might also work the opposite way. Always remember that for every referral, it means building up a relationship, not just allowing these potential clients to smell 'blood' or them catching a signal that you are just after another sale. 

· Exact results. In this category, you can do this in two equally effective ways. One is through networking strategy. If you are the type who is anti-social, perhaps doing such effort is not your field. You might hire someone to do some business pimping for your company's benefit. Gatherings like these are loaded with potential market; of course, you do not need to go to almost all of these. You need to narrow down networking events that suits your business profile. 

Then you have the direct outreach strategy. Religious congregations are the ones doing this, but your company can do it, too. Huge corporations do some corporate social responsibility activities. These efforts can be executed via forums, talks, seminars and maybe road shows or caravans. What makes it effective? You and your business are able to showcase your products or services and at the same time you let your potential market feel that you care. 

How do you exact results from these? Simple, for every projected number of attendees and the batting average of potential buying individuals—you already can predict your profits. So at the end of the day, if you are able to employ these six surefire strategies in sustaining your momentum incorporated in the three categories with an acronym of SME, then you are on the right track. 

Happy Heart's Day!

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