Here’s the issue:

President Obama is attacking the banks, encouraging them to “lend more.”  He says (to banks) “you are making too much money and “you guys caused the problems.”

In my discussions with small business owners, its not “bank lending” that is at the core of their issues but its

1. how can I get more customers in the door — I’d be fine if I could get that fixed; and

2. I’m not sure what the rules will be next year (i.e. will health care costs and/or increased taxes affect my bottom line)  so I’m not going to risk a bunch this year on increased marketing and/or hiring.

So I wonder….if you are a small business owner….which is it for you?

If its “none of the above,” then maybe you are having a break out year and will share what you have done.

There are several ways to distinguish yourself above the competition and they’re not even that difficult if you truly want to improve your business!

So get out there, get marketing, and make the customers you want come to you!

It’s instructive to look at the language she used. Sorry, but its the language that 80% of the population uses. We call them “average” or worse.

• After four years of college I expected my life would magically come together– Comment: like in The Secret, where just by thinking of something it happens? Nope, that’s not the way it works. You provide something that someone else determines is of value to them. They trade you dollars for what you are providing. There is no magic out there there that says oh, a graduate…lets pay her.

• As a philosophy major, I thought that the critical thinking and analytical skills I acquired would be more desirable to prospective employers–Comment: they are if you can show an employer how they will profit by your skills. But smart thinking people are a dime a dozen and you are competing with folks just like you from around the world. It’s got to be something more–what makes you different?

• I have heard that there are stimulus jobs and I have applied for probably a dozen jobs with the federal government alone. Comment: You and millions others…The government’s job is to protect your right to use your gifts and talents to provide value for others, not provide you a job. One of the major flaws in the whole stimulus economy is that it encourages people to sit back and wait…thus becoming even more dependent on the other (this time the government) for survival.

• I fell as if I am being enterprising in my search, using Craigslist, Indeed, CareerBuilder and The Post: Comment: Enterprising would be tracking down the the CEO of a company you want to work with and sending her a shock and awe package that markets yourself, causes her to pay attention to you and makes her say I’d be an idiot to not at least interview Meredith.

• I went to college with the dreams of working on government policy, writing for a newspaper or serving a on a bioethics committee. Who knew that the economy would go into crisis when I was in college. Comment: sure, its tougher out there than it was a few years ago but there are lots of kids graduating from college who did get good jobs. Probably better to figure out what they are doing and model that.

• After sending what seems to be my millionth resume and cover letter, I am realizing that I might need to go back to school sooner than expected: Comment: first, every employer is getting resumes and cover letters. How are you making yours stand out? Why would you expect that an employer would choose you over the others or over the choice of doing nothing at all? Second, why in the world do you think that more school and more debt is going to fix your problem? That sounds like running away. Frankly, spending some time hanging out with winners/entrepreneurs in order that you can see first hand what successful people were doing would be far more valuable. I know lots of people who have no college degree, let alone any advanced degree, who are enormously successful.

• GWU’s online jobs site used to be a great place to look for paid positions but with the economic situation, jobs have been scarce: Comment–don’t blame the economy.. that just gives you an excuse. Take full responsibility for your success or failure. Winners don’t blame others or the economy or the government or anything…they figure out how to get things done.

• I’ve been checking my email, hoping for a job offer….I thought once college ended, all my dreams would come through. Comment: the four years you just spent are just the beginning. But no one promised that all your dreams would come true just by hanging out GWU’s writing center for four years. Life is not about hoping– its about planning out what, exactly, its going to take to be successful…setting goals….never leaving it up to the other.

Let me make a few book recommendations for you:

Think and Grow Rich–Napoleon Hill– a little hard to read the first time. Many, many successful people read this book once a year for its timeless principles of success

The Millionaire Next Door– what to the financially successful people in America really do…not just theory, but survey results…how do they think and act?? Who do they hang out with.

No B.S. Wealth Attraction: Dan Kennedy…more timeless advice about how really successful people really act and think.

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel…you only need to look around at what made others successful and model that.

Get started.

Hey, we all hate disputes. But disputes sometime do arise. This dumb RV manufacturer (not exactly a booming business these days) just announced to the world that “doing business with us is going to be very difficult if we have a dispute.”

Read how Gulf Stream Coach just made things worse for the consumer.

Here’s their secret. They know who their perfect customer/client is and they go for it. They don’t leave to random chance (and whine about later) the fact that “my customers are so cheap.”

Dan Kennedy talks about this quite often. He says that if you have “D” customers you have only yourself to blame.

You can’t play “blind archery.” Ninety percent of marketing success is not the message or the media you are using.. its the “who.”

Who is your perfect customer? Don’t know?

Stop what you are doing.. call timeout.. go figure it out…then design marketing messages and use media designed to attract that customer.

For more information about the Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle Northern Virginia Chapter, click this link.

Time to quit?

Heck no. Time to thrive. Consider it the “thinning of the herd.”

Hunker down. Get smart. Invest in yourself.

Be like Hans Beck. Who? Read about a huge, enduring business that started because of a severe crisis.