Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
In my ongoing search for interesting/unique occupations I came across one in a Sports Illustrated article a few months back - a “Professional Tailgater”. That’s right, someone actually gets paid (or sort of) to go to tailgate parties at football games. It may not be the best for one’s waist line but it does sound intriguing.
Every week during football season, a fellow by the name of Joe Cahn, 59, tailgates before and after college and NFL football games as well as NASCAR races. A retired businessman , Cahn, has a 40 foot motor home in which he travels to sporting events throughout the country collecting demographic data for Coca Cola, Campbells, Bullseye Barbecue Sauce and other corporate sponsors.
He meets lots of interesting people and helps companies learn what people are eating and drinking at tailgate parties. He never attends the actual event; he is, after all, The Commissioner of Tailgating.
It shows how creative some people can be when it comes to “developing a business” after retirement. Know of an interesting/unique occupation for our readers? Pass it along.
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Posted in 50+, General Business, entrepreneurship | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 9th, 2008
The last time we wrote about Football and Your Business we discussed how important it is for business owners to have results in mind when hiring someone. Just as football coaches recruit players to fill certain positions and produce winning results; you as a business owner need to hire individuals that will produce winning (profitable) results.
It all begins with a clear picture of the results you want from the position you are looking to fill. For example, if you are looking to fill a sales representative’s position you should first conduct a job analysis for that position.
A job analysis is a systematic evaluation of all the elements and requirements needed for a job. Or simply stated, what the employee should do in that position. This analysis is necessary in order to recruit individuals with the right skills to achieve desired results.
Doing a job analysis requires lots of thought. If you currently have a sales force, you can observe what your most successful sales representatives are doing and have them keep a diary of their activities. If you have been doing all of the selling, and are looking to replace yourself by creating a sales representative position you can retrace your own sales activities.
Use the information gathered in the analysis to serve as a basis to develop a job description and job specifications that details the duties, responsibilities, and characteristics of the “right” individual for the job.
More to come about developing job descriptions and specifications that lead to hiring the right person and “getting results.”
Posted in Business Info, General Business, Management, sales | No Comments »
Thursday, November 1st, 2007
Recruiting, hiring, and retaining talented employees are keys to operating a small business. How an employer goes about doing this is paramount if he/she wants to have the right players on their team.
In college football, coaches recruit by position and have a clear picture in their minds of the skill level of the players they are looking for in each position. Much of this is based upon the coach’s philosophy and style of play. If they are looking to build a strong defense against the run they recruit players that can defend against the run; similarly if they focus on defending against the pass, they recruit players who can defend against the pass.
In business recruiting the right players requires the owner to known his job positions, skill levels required, and the results those positions should deliver. The owner must have a plan in mind of how to build a solid team of talented people. So many times we see owners hire someone because they like the person, with too little regard for the results they are looking to achieve. The key word here is results, not just fulfilling job duties and responsibilities, as presented in a job description. Stay tuned and we’ll talk about getting results and hiring to get results in future blog.
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Posted in Business Info, General Business, Management, entrepreneurship | No Comments »
