LUMBERTON — Mike Collins describes his personality style as an “F,” which stands for fun in his case.
That explains the Hawaiian shirt.
Collins, a Lumberton native and 1970 graduate of Lumberton High School, recentlhy gave a seminar on marketing for small businesses at Robeson Community College as guest of RCC’s Small Business Center.
As president of the Perfect Workday Company for over 30 years, Collins presents more than 100 seminars, workshops and keynote lectures a year to organizations such as IBM, American Express, Pepsi-Cola and The John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School and Center. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina and a master’s degree from Duke University.
Collins’ fun side got much more serious as he handed out a worksheet on determining personality types.
“How self-aware are people?” he said. “To be successful you have to know yourself and your customers. Understanding other people is critical.”
Collins delivered a high-powered short course on marketing basics. His lecture offered a comprehensive overview and was loaded with nuggets of information that can be turned into golden success.
“If you’re going to put out a sign, it should only have six words, or the message is lost on people driving by,” Collins said. “The most famous example of that is — you guessed it — South of the Border.”
More tips followed: “The back side of your business card is the world’s greatest waste of marketing space,” he said. “Say something meaningful on it.”
“Should you be creative or a copycat?” he said. “Don’t re-invent the wheel.”
“If you’re going to design a print ad, use a dark border to attract readers’ eyes,” Collins said.
Collins also pointed to important resources for small business people.
“What is the world’s greatest educational tool?” he said. “YouTube.com. You can find something on any topic, including personal selling.”
Collins advised the gathering of small business people to spend more time on marketing and to formulate a plan.
“Marketing is the thing small business people hate the most,” he said. “You’re all good at what you do, whether it’s fixing cars or something else, not marketing.”
A final piece of advice: “You don’t have to spend a lot of money on marketing to make a lot of money.”
Collins markets his own talents, which include writing more than 200 published articles and four books. He is an adjunct faculty member in the nationally-ranked executive master’s program at the UNC’s Gillings School of Global Health.
“Mike gives seminars six to eight times a year for the Small Business Center,” said Director Bob Moore. “He discusses a variety of issues affecting small businesses and prospective small business owners.”
Collins will make three appearances at the SBC this fall: Sept. 11: The Best Small Business to Start Right Now; Sept. 25: Low Cost Marketing in Small Communities; and Oct. 9: It’s Called Networking, Not Net Talking.
RCC’s Small Business Center offers a variety of services for small business owners and prospective owners, including seminars, one-on-one consultation and networking opportunities. All events are in the Workforce Development Building.