Anita's Biz Talk posts

How do you handle negative reviews?

I just got my first negative review and I feel like someone has kicked me in the stomach.

Why don't clients try to talk to us to remedy a problem/complaint before complaining to the world? Wouldn't that be common courtesy?

I figured out who posted the negative review and sent an email to them apologizing for causing them displeasure and offering to come up with a solution to resolve the issue as best as I can.

I'm sure others have been through this. Did I handle it right? Do you do something different when you see a negative review about your business? Or do you just shrug it off and move on?

Free workshops for members

A lot of people are going to hate me for this topic, but here goes...

Since Biznik has grown, it's getting harder to sign up for free workshops. I notice that members that don't pay a monthly fee usually fill most of the slots. It doesn't seem quite fair that paying members are unable to attend popular events.

I suggest that non-paying members be limited to no more than two free workshops. It will help them see the added benefit of being a paying member and it will free up some of those valuable slots.

Travel Blog/Research Site

A really good website to post your travel blogs, share photos, research potential travel spots, write and read reviews, and make new friends is at http://www.travbuddy.com.

Before traveling to Thailand, I used this site to get information about where to go, what to do, where to eat, etc. Plus, I met some really great people real time when we met up in Bangkok!

(My screen name there is aelder2259 if you want to connect on the site and read my travel blogs).

Need some marketing/branding advise...

Two years ago when I started my freelance business, I named it after my cat since I couldn't think of anything better. Now that I have a bit of a brand going, I'm wondering if would be a good or bad idea to give myself a new business name while still maintaining the same look & feel.

I've attended a lot of Howard's "Greet, Meet & Eat" events, and he's always touting "That Name Tag Guy." I was surprised to learn that the domain name "thatdesigngal.com" was available, so I bought it along with "thatdesignlady.com". I want to be known as "That Design Gal"!

Will changing my business name hurt my business? Or do you think as long as the look & feel remain the same, it will be ok?

Free Business Card Design

If you make a donation of at least $100 to the Breast Cancer 3-Day through my site, I'll design your business card for free! This offer is good through September 15, 2008.

Go to http://08.the3day.org/goto/anita to make your donation.