When you stop learning your small business starts dying, seems like an odd title for a blog post about small business, doesn’t it? However, it’s the truth, as a leader of a small business when you and your leadership team stop learning it’s the death knell of your business. Sticking with the ways of doing [...]
Several years ago, I sat in a conference room and brainstormed how to grow a business and expand its audience. I was part of a vision team charged with developing a growth plan for a specific organization. The vision team included two employees, two vendors, two customers, a banker, an attorney, the president of the [...]
Maybe this should be titled why you should create an employee candidate profile. Are you involved in the interview and hiring process for your organization? Having advised managers about hiring over the years, I've learned too often they don’t know exactly who they should hire. Do you know who to hire? Have you looked beyond [...]
What to do when you lose a customer begins with learning from it. You've recently lost a long-standing customer to competition. You've worked with this customer for years, built relationships, played golf, and watched their children grow. The thought of losing them makes you physically ill. So, what can you learn? What to Do When [...]
It's a new year and high time to stop putting off or ignoring your business plan. Even if you're self-employed, you need a business plan. Whether you're an independent contractor, solo-preneur, or overseeing a five-million-dollar operation with fifty employees, you know you should have a business plan. You may even have one, you just haven't [...]
If you want to destroy your small business, stop learning and start dying. When you and your leadership team stop learning, it's the death knell for your business. Holding on to doing business the way you've always done will eventually lead to a time when those methods are no longer viable; just ask Blockbuster, Polaroid, [...]
How to create a customer service survey that works begins with knowing you organization. For example, from 1997 to 2010 I worked for a home remodeling company. At that time, the company grew to be one of the fifty largest home remodeling companies in America. More importantly, we were recognized locally and nationally for outstanding [...]
What are the 10 steps to building a business brand? First, let's talk about branding. Branding has become one of those trendy business words that businesspeople throw around to make unrelated topics seem like they relate. For example, although customer service can affect a brand, it isn't branding — it's customer service. Sales isn't branding; [...]
Historically, people think of the cottage industry as home-based work, such as sewing, assembling, and light manufacturing. The product-based home industry continues to thrive. It's an important part of many emerging nations' economies. But there's another take. Is the cottage industry defined by producing tangible products alone, or is providing services part of the equation? [...]
There are multiple ways small businesses self-destruct. "Many people think that small businesses have it quite easy due to the wealth of entrepreneurship in the United States. The reality, however, is that 18% of small businesses fail within their first year, while 50% fail after five years and approximately 65% by their tenth year in [...]
