How the Humble Ice Cube Made Business History

Gather round while I tell you the story of Kennebec Ice. It's a story full of valuable business lessons even though it happened long ago.

Once upon a time, before the invention of modern refrigeration, folks kept their food cold by using large blocks of ice. That ice was readily available to residents of my state, Maine.

(For my friends in other countries, Maine is the northeastern-most state, bordered by New Hampshire, Canada, and the Atlantic Ocean. We have very cold winters and the ice freezes deep into lakes and rivers.)

Now, residents of Maine didnt think too much about ice other than for their own use. Ice was just a part of life, no big deal. During the economic depression that followed the Civil War, ships captains in Maine had a hard time finding enough cargo to fill their ships. To compensate for the lack of cargo the ships crew substituted large blocks of Maine ice to act as ballast. The ice was covered with sawdust to help slow the melting process. This need for ballast created a new market for ice.

When the ships arrived in tropics and sub-tropics, it was discovered that the ice being used as ballast was a valuable product to the residents of those regions. They were willing to pay for that ice. Cutting and shipping ice to other parts of the world became an industry for Maine. This new market saw ice being shipped to China, India, Cuba,and many other places.

Now, somewhere along the way, through some clever promotion, the ice harvested from the Kennebec River in Maine became known as the best ice. Consumers thought it was higher in purity and health benefits.

There are many rivers and lakes in Maine, all of them produce ice. There really wasnt much difference at the time, all the lakes and rivers were clean enough to drink from, but the perception was that Kennebec Ice was the best. People were willing to pay more to get it.

Because Kennebec Ice was the best, ice companies all over the world started referring to their ice as Kennebec Ice even though their ice might come from Kansas or New York. Kennebec Ice was the gold standard for ice.

And then along came modern refrigeration. The ice industry died out and Maine residents, who are always resourceful, moved on to other industries to support their families.

So, here are our modern day business lessons from the story of Kennebec Ice.

1. One product can have many markets and uses, even a product as simple as frozen water.

2. The things we take for granted may be valuable to others.

3. Becoming the gold standard increases business and allows you to charge a higher price.

4. Its important to protect your brand to keep it from being cheapened and compromised by others.

5. Watch for trends that tell you its time to get out of the ice business and develop new products or services.

Of course, the ice business is still alive and well in the modern world, driven by a new industry--tourism and recreation. So, next time you fill your cooler,think of the humble ice cube and the proud part it played in creating business history.

Caroline Jordan, MBA delivers icy cold business advice in a frosted glass to self employed professionals in the desert-parched land of business ownership. For more tips and strategies to create a successful, thirst quenching business, attract a deep pool of customers you enjoy, increase your cash flow river, and develop additional streams of refreshing revenue visit http://www.TheJordanResult.com

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Have You Got Your Registered Office?

You might have a nice business plan and you want to execute it now. You have selected the United Kingdom as your place of business. All things you need to give shape to your idea are ready. The capital, infrastructure, machineries, and showroom ─ everything is ready and you are going to launch the business very soon. Well, go forward and let the world wonder at your business abilities!

But stop a while and see whether you have got the registered office or not! If you have got it then well and good; if not then just have a look. It is a must to get this office ready before you launch your business in the UK. It is a legal necessity and you cannot do without it. Basically, this office is an address used for official correspondence. All the posts from the government will be sent to this office.

You have to find out an address for registered office in a place that is legally authorised for the purpose. Once you manage an address for the office, you have to register it with Companies House. If you ever make any changes in the address of the office, you are liable to inform the same to the concerned department. You are also supposed to use the special form particularly used for this purpose.

In addition to this, there are some other legal formalities attached with registered office. UK company law says that the name of the company should be displayed in front of the office. It is also said that the address of the office must be labelled on the stationeries of the company.

If you think it will be a big hassle to manage an address for registered office then you can approach the firms that offer service on this type of office. You can approach those who have online presence so that you can get the address quickly and launch your business as scheduled.

The author is a business writer and writes on business services like Mail Forwarding services, Registered Office Address and Apostille services. Currently he is working for Small Firms Services . To get more details visit UK registered office

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Discover Why MLM is the preferred business model

If you didnt know it already, I have my own small business here in Ireland where I sell solar panels and underfloor heating systems. Since most of my customers have credit, it is such a problem that at the end of every month. I have to go looking for the customers to get cheques off them to pay their account. I got to tell you, its such a drag because they all know what the phonecall means and alot of them avoid it.

You have to be very thick skined when you are collecting money because some customers take the law into their own hands and basically pay you when they want to, period. I hate it. If you think that it will all come in in the post, you'll be waiting a very long time. Thats why I dont have a passion for this business like I have for my mlm business. You are always counting on other people to come up with the goods. And the thing is the money problems go all the way up the line.

Plumber does not usually pay the supplier until he is paid by the end-user and I cant pay the manufacturer until I have been paid. Its a vicious circle and its just needs one rotten egg in the loop for the whole thing to be messed up. The main reason why Im not passionate is because in this game, the longer you are without your money, the less productive or profitable the business can be.

Alternatively the network marketing company Im affiliated with pays weekly and monthly. That means once you sponsor a few people and they do the same, you start to get cheques in the mail every week and every month!. Talk about complete opposites. No looking for your money, no calling your customers, but a fantastic automated system where money gets automatically lodged into your bank account every week and every month. Thats the first beauty but the second beauty is the residual income part of my network marketing business.

You see in my offline business, there is only money to collect at the end of the following month if I sell something this month. Its linear income. I get paid based on what I can sell. With my network marketing company, I get cheques every week and every month no matter what activity has gone on in my organisation that particular month. How cool is that, money coming in month after month no matter what you or your downline sponsored that particular month. This is why I am way more passionate about my web business than my offline business. Its way more automated and has WAY more potential.

Jack Foley Is An Expert Internet Network Marketer & Will Take You By The Hand To Help You Achieve Your Network Marketing Dreams. http://mlm-mentor.info

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Strategic Planning in Small Business - A 3 Step Process for Creating a Roadmap to Success

Okay savvy business owner. Heres a question for you.

You have to get from point A to point B in an unfamiliar city. What one item will virtually guarantee your successful arrival?

The humble map is indispensable when it comes to travel. It points you in the right direction and provides a reference point by which you can gauge your progress and determine if youre still on course. And if youre not, the map shows you at a glance how to get back to where you need to be.

When it comes to travel we all understand the need for maps in order to reach our destinations as quickly and painlessly as possible. Now, youre probably wondering what this has to do with business, and why a CFO-to-go is yammering on about sightseeing.

Whats in a name?

You see, whenever I talk about strategic planning to clients, a funny thing happens. Eyes glaze over and formerly excited business owners eager to improve their profits lose all interest in what Im saying.

I know its the phrase strategic planning. Its one of those phrases that have become jargon, losing all meaning. You hear it and immediately think of futile exercises with no earthly practical purpose, exercises that keep you from what you need to be doingrunning your business.

So I try not to use the phrase, at least not right away. Instead, I explain that there is an exciting, energizing tool you can use to bring focus, vitality and direction to your business, giving you a map leading straight to success.

Dream on

One of the reasons strategic planning has developed a bad reputation is that a large part of the process involves dreaming.

Business owners arent supposed to sit around daydreaming! Theyve got work to do, businesses to run, fires to put out.

We tend to view action as the required ingredient to success. Planning is omitted because, hey, there are only so many hours in the day and youve got to spend them getting things done.

Its true that action is critical if your business is going to reach its full potential. Planning on its own gets you nowhere.

But in the same way, action without defined purposea planis not going to allow you to move forward. Instead, you flail about, using trial and error and taking the long road to a destination you may not have desired.

You need to know where youre going

Visualizing what you want in the future is the only way to develop a plan that will allow you to reach your goals.

Would you laugh at a group of tough, grizzled army generals sitting together and daydreaming? Thats exactly where strategic planning came from.

The military wanted to ensure that the enemy would be met under the most advantageous conditions. So they brainstormed in order to identify those conditions and formulate a way to achieve their goals.

The term was adopted by business in the 1960s to describe a thoughtful, analytical approach to improving companies. It is now the most valuable management tool in existence.

Realistically, you simply cannot experience growth in your businessand increased profitabilitywithout strategic planning.

3 steps to success

The strategic planning process involves exploring and answering 3 key questions:

• Where is the business today?
• Where do you want the business to go?
• How are you going to get there?

You arent trying to create an operational plan. The objective is not to detail each and every step required to achieve your goals, but rather to ensure that you understand the ultimate aims for the business and have a general map leading to the realization of those aims.

For example, you may be strategically planning to introduce a new product within the next year. The plan will include all the major steps to introducing that productsource suppliers, create collateral material, etc., but it wont list each and every step involved, such as telephone supplier A and interview three graphic designers.

Getting ready

Set aside a large chunk of time, like a day or even a weekend, for your strategic planning session. Step one has to be done before the session, so evaluate how long you anticipate this step to take and mark a future date as strategic planning day.

During your session, you wont be involved in actively running your business. You need to focus on the future, not on the day-to-day. This is your opportunity to work on your business, so avoid the possibility of interruptions by getting away from the office.

A word of cautionstrategic planning really cant be done alone. Find someone who can keep you on course, assist you in evaluating your ideas and provide both feedback and support to join you for the entire session.

Step One: Where are you now?

While dreaming is required in strategic planning, it must be based in reality. If you dont understand exactly whats going on in your business today, any plans you make for the future are no more than pipe dreams that will never be realized.

A systematic evaluation of the entire organization that looks at both the internal and external factors affecting the business will tell you everything you need to know so that your planning session is based on fact rather than fiction.

Perform this analysis in the days, weeks or months leading up to the strategic planning session.

Step Two: Where do you want to be?

This is the most exciting part of the process. During this step, youll clarify the vision you have for your business, as well as its mission. Where do you want your business to go? What do you want it to look like? How much profit do you need?

After considering general economic factors as well as those specific to your industry, you can make assumptions about the future that will allow you to develop your goals for the business and formulate a workable plan.

Step Three: Getting there

You know what you want. Now you have to determine how youre going to get there. In this step, youll create specific action steps that will allow you to achieve your goals and move your business forward.

I also recommend establishing timelines and detailing levels of responsibilities so all parties know whats expected and when.

In the future

Life goes on. Youll change; the business will change; the economy will change.

Revisit your strategic plan on an annual basis in order to evaluate progress and determine if the contents of the plan are still applicable. Scheduling at least one strategic planning session a year will keep your business flowing smoothly and ensure growth occurs exactly the way you want it to occur.

Steven Walker is a Chartered Accountant in Calgary, Alberta and founder of BusinessWorks Chartered Accountants. BusinessWorks provides CFO-To-Go services for small and medium size businesses. The development of a tailored 'Profit Improvement Program' is instrumental in creating and managing solid business growth.

For more information, tips and strategies for Profit Improvement, visit http://www.profit-improvement-advisors.com

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