Meet Up

How do you advertise your business or product, meet new people, business professionals and friends? For us, it's all about networking and word of mouth. We have a fantastic group of local business owners in our community that have formed a local MeetUp group. We meet every third Tuesday of the month at different locations to discuss current events, share experiences and network with other people interested in business. The support and turn-out is phenomenal but we have to "work" the crowd. We have to make the effort to talk to as many individuals in the room as we can and we have to create that personal connection to not only be remembered but remember the connection as well. Nothing's worse than coming home with a stack full of business cards and not being able to put a face with the name. We are often reminded in our networking groups that it's not NetSIT or NetEAT, it's NETWORK. We have to work to make an impression.

As I said, we do a lot of networking but we realize that other forms of advertisement are necessary. I received a very memorable tip sheet from a printing company that I'd like to share with you. It's called "How to Kill a Business in 10 Easy Steps:

1. DON'T ADVERTISE - Just pretend everybody knows what you have to offer.



2. DON'T ADVERTISE - Just assume everybody knows what you sell.



3. DON'T ADVERTISE - Forget that there are new potential customers who would do business with you if they were urged to do so.



4. DON'T ADVERTISE - Tell yourself it costs too much to advertise and that you don't get enough out of it.



5. DON'T ADVERTISE - Be sure not to provide an adequate advertising budget for business.



6. DON'T ADVERTISE - Tell yourself you just don't have time to spend thinking about promoting your business.



7. DON'T ADVERTISE - Convince yourself that you've been in business so long customers will automatically come to you.



8. DON'T ADVERTISE - Forget that you have competition trying to attract your customers away from you.



9. DON'T ADVERTISE - Overlook the fact that advertising is an investment in selling - not an expense.



10. DON'T ADVERTISE - Forget that you have to keep reminding your established customers that you appreciate your business.

Silence is Golden

Well, as Indian Lake Outfitters, we survived our first weekend at the flea market! We set up Friday afternoon and the doors opened Saturday from 9-5 and Sunday from 10-4. The weather was gorgeous and the breeze came through the building just enough to spin our ceiling sign display. What a great place to people watch! I found myself studying customers movements and body language more than conversing. If you want an honest opinion from your ideal target market, step back and watch their reactions! Sometimes silence is golden!

Free ILO.COM Shirt

The Indian Lake Outfitters brand is starting to catch on and our t-shirt's are in high demand!

We had our top follower wash the company car for a FREE ILO.COM t-shirt. What would you do for a FREE shirt? Send us your pics, posts and videos to showroom@indianlakeoutfitters.com!

Operation Store Front

The beginning phases of a physical store front for Indian Lake Outfitters.

The Conception

It all began with a board game - a graduation gift to be precise. The day came when I had finally graduated college and a very wise man gifted me a book and a board game. Little did I know it was not just any gift, it was the beginning of my future. It was a very popular book, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and the board game, "Cash Flow 101". Later when I had opened the gift, I chuckled to myself - my Dad was always reading books about rising to the top, maximizing the dollar and being your own boss. I wrote my thank you and kinda tossed the items to the side. I never did open the board game and on two different occasions had tried to sell it at a yard sale for $10. Three years later, being desperate for cash to get a website started and open an e-commerce store, I tried my hand at eBay. It was time to move the game out of the closet and into someone else's hands. I began to search the auction site to see if there were other similar items listed. WOW, they were listed all right and for way more than $10! I took pictures of my gold mine, posted the item auction style and waited 3 days for the highest bidder to come in. By the time the auction was over, that board game brought over $199! Needless to say, I was tickled pink with my first "official" sale. I turned around and used the money to create the web-site you now know as http://www.indianlakeoutfitters.com.

An Owl in the Woods

While shooting bow Sunday at the Sidney Fish & Game an owl was perched in the tree next to me.

2009 NRA Banquet