Rant and request for help - maybe even Brad may...

I am a small business and I have gained the help and support of a dragon - Rachel Elnaugh (http:rachelelnaugh.co.uk) she is providing the forward for my book "Blooming Business: Seeds of Wisdom" which is a book full of quotes by entrepreneurs in response to "As an Entrepreneur, What do you know now that you wish you had known then." This book is also a fund raiser for orphanages in Haiti -£5 from the sale of each book goes to this charitable fund. Rachel is not providing financial help to me but I have gone to the SME's for sponsorship in return for acknowledgement in the front of the book by way of mention of business details- website and a short sentence on what the business offers. This is a superb deal especially with the offer of free advertising in a book which is getting a high level of support and appealing to all small business owners to purchase.
If only 10 SME's paid £50 ( not much for an advertising deal is it?) then that would be £500 to help support the print run - which would be fantastic.
I put it to you that today too many SME's are too busy shouting help and expecting it - Why should the successful business people help those less successful if they just demand it like it is their right - it is not!
To be en entrepreneur, a successful business owner you have to put in the effort, you have to make it work, stop complaining and start doing things for yourself.
For those of you still listening and not moaning even more now - I am doing something to help those in need of our help in Haiti, I am asking any one who is interested to support and do what they can also - In return I am offering a complementary advertising deal - which is set to reach a wide and specific niche that is attractive to the SME.
If you are interested, then I am very interested in helping you also - please PM today
Joy

A very mixed message there.

Not really sure what you are ranting about OR what you want help with. Or is it that you want a £50 donation (which I will get an acknolegement for AKA an add in your book) and you are ranting because everyone has not taken you up on it?

Read it again! I think that the message is a clear as crystal!

am I likely to buy the book? nope

am I interested in giving money to Haiti? nope

am I interested in advertising in a book full of quotes? nope

not sure what this thread is about, promoting a book on nothing but other peoples quotes, promoting a charitable cause? trying to get ther authors book printed or dunno.

as they say in the Den, I'm OUT!

Sorry Joy, I agree with Ross.

How can you rant at this community when this is the first time we have been introduced to your 'opportunity'?

Also, if you wish to pitch for support then I think you need to provide a bit more information on the likely audience for the book. SMEs cover a massive range of businesses some of which will be of interest to one person some to another. And what size is the anticipated print run?

If you want £50 for my details to be advertised to 100 SMEs who are not my target market - then I'd prefer to donate it directly to Haiti, but if we are talking 10,000 SMEs of which a significant percentage are people I'd like to know about my business then it could be a very different proposition.

But I doubt it.

What I think has happened is you have got a little too close to the project. It is obvious you feel very passionate about both the book, the opportunity and the cause in Haiti.

I'm not clear what is being asked for here.

If I donate £50, does any of that go towards a Haiti appeal (it would be good to know specifically which charity?) or is this post actually selling advertising? In which case maybe it should be in the Blatant Ads section.

Which 4Networking groups do you go to Joy, have you talked to the local members about it?

I take your comments on board. and to be fair I have put the same post up that is on the uk forums - in response to a load of moaners who expect Alan Sugar and the dragons to support the SME. Fired up by this I have responded in haste, but I do not want to withdraw this post/discussion as I think that my observations are shared by quite a few.

It is through listening that we gain knowledge, and it is through experience that we gain also.

"am I likely to buy the book? nope

am I interested in giving money to Haiti? nope - sad that you even admit this one!

am I interested in advertising in a book full of quotes? nope - relevant quotes from entrepreneurs answering the question "As an entrepreneur, what do you know now that you wish you had known then?" - are you that knowledgeable yourself that this does not interest you at all Les????

Les this is just the kind of comment that portrays the SME in a bad light - stubborn and self centred - sorry! your blunt hands up to such puzzling

I do not want to go down the rather childish route of personal bickering - I take your point and have made mine, Just glad that there are people who care and hope that they out way those who don't.

May be you are right Kevin - not the place to add this rant. Just one point though for you - If £50 is all some one can afford to donate to Haiti - then great as that is a considerable amount especially today, but if the £50 contributed to making the sale of 2000 books possible and every sale of the book put £5 into the pot for Haiti - then we are talking of £10,000 are'nt we, simple maths I know but £10,000 is my aim and I do not have that kind of money to donate - but with this book and with others understanding and supporting such this joint venture would make a real difference.

As a marketer I am always advising of ways to get the best ROI, old advertising strategies just do not work, yet still many SME's still continue to pay out hundreds in this way. £50 is very little if seen in this light, and as the book ( http://bloomingbusiness.co.uk/productsservices - I don't have space here to fill in all the details so please take a look if you would like more information) is full of information to help the SME, start up , entrepreneur or indeed any one who wants to gain in knowledge from others experiences and advice, then the target niche is pretty big yes? I have been successful in gaining publicity to a wide audience via different routes- press releases and support from large service providers for the SME, so I am confident that the sales will be forth coming.

I am sorry if I have offended any one - I feel offended and frustrated in some ways today, and I would love some postive reasons to feel proud of being an SME, a genuine honest business mind set, wanting to give as well as take to be more apparent from more in this field - even in this tough economy that we are now in.

I agree with the others here it is not clear from your posting exactly what your requirements are. Your post comes across as a general whinge because SMEs are not falling over themselves to pay for a book of quotes. Surely, as an entrepreneur. you could be more creative with your advertising because at the moment you are trying to sell something that people don't want or at least are not buying into. Instead of directing funds to Haiti why not donate them to causes here in the UK eg. Help for Heroes, the Royal British Legion, your local Air Ambulance service, etc. I would rather give my money to any of these charities but won't give to Haiti.

If I were you I would be using Rachel Elnaugh a lot more - get her to put you in contact with SMEs who may want to buy in.

Anyway I wish you well with your project.

This OP may be a rant & request for help here - it's similar but slightly more aggressive in the GOYA forum!

I for one am put off helping anyone who asks for help at the same time as criticising / ranting / insulting others

The charity that is to use the funds raised is the Robin Hood Ministries who liase with Business Against Poverty.

Each book is £10 , £5 of this amount goes to the charity. Yes that leaves £5 which goes to the print runs, the costs that have gone into producing such a book, the marketing needed to really make this a big seller etc. Yes I hope that does leave some in the pot for my business, but then this is my job and I am using my job, my expertise to make a sizeable amount to go to those who really need it in Haiti.

I did not want to have this post in blatant ads as this is not in truth what it is. It started as a rant to get attention and that it is most certainly what it is getting which is good. It also purposefully antagonised to get a reaction, a marketing ploy that does work in times like this - those who have responded by posting a reply for all to read are those so far who cannot see the positive in this opportunity given to them - but then this has given me the opportunity to explaing further, and I thank you for doing this.

If any one can see another way to benefit any one who may like to donate to Haiti by using the sales of a book targeted at and benefiting small business owner then PLease share - Lets do this!

If the music industry can produce a record to sell and donate the funds then why can a book not do the same. Sorry I am not Simon Cowel and so I do not have a huge pit of money, One thing for sure is that the contributers in the song donated their time - Similarly the contributors to "Seeds of Wisdom" , they like wise had costs to meet in terms of recording and cutting discs, marketing etc etc.

Give me a tick and I will post a link up to see the music video

Joy

Sorry but I too am getting mixed messages here, part of the membership of 4N is being able to ask each other for help, that is what we subscribe too, but you appear to be accusing us all of of not being entrepreneurs because we are asking for/ using that experience that others may have? We don't demand it we ask for it to be freely given, and those that feel they have something to share, do so willingly - and then you quite blatantly contradict your message by doing that exact same thing? You ask us to help you, help Haiti?

Part of being a successful business person/ entrepreneur (and I don't necessarily think they go in the same category) is accepting that you do not have all the knowledge available, that there is always something to learn and maybe just maybe someone else has a tiny piece of the knowledge that you seek?!

Being able to accept that someone else's knowledge could make you, stronger, more successful (depending how you wish to measure success), richer, more powerful etc. etc and having the common sense and strength of character to ask for that help, is what makes you a better person, whether in business or in life.

Joy

I do take offence at your post,

I am a personal believer in not supporting charities, they don't spend it where they are supposed to and when I do see a need I act on it and you will never know about it. Thats the way it works for me. As it is there are needs closer to home that are forever left unaddressed.

You live with your conscience, I will live with mine but, I still wouldn't buy your book. Personally, I would buy a book written by one of the dragons but, not one that just slammed a load of quotes together and called it an entrepeneurs handbook.

"To be en entrepreneur, a successful business owner you have to put in the effort, you have to make it work, stop complaining and start doing things for yourself." I would add 'and not from reading about it in a book of quotes"

I think your attitude towards everyone who doesn't immediately jump on your bandwagon is terrible. You need to step back [about 30'] and take a look at yourself in this and then try again.

I'm still OUT!

click on the link if you want to know more.

Sorry Les - may be take a leaf out of your own book on this one.

Joy

Maybe I will sell my book too, eh?