Value Building · 01. August 2016

Speed of change is the new norm in building a business. Agility is critical to growth and even more critical to value-building, sustainable growth. If you are not strategically building your business based on this fact, you are already falling behind. Your company's ability to scale is contingent on four critical success factors. Effectively aligning and leveraging its Intelligence Quotient (IQ), Emotional Quotient (EQ) and Velocity Quotient (VQ) will directly impact your ability to realize a...

01. May 2016

Customer Attraction/Retention: Part I of II - Over 32 years in interviewing thousands of customers of clients in almost every industry, I have been able to document key factors of attraction and retention of customers that every business should pay heed to in order to realize a continually growing and loyal customer base. If you feel that you must always be pursuing new customers, chances are you are not truly understanding how successful businesses attract and keep customers through how they...

Confidence Building · 01. July 2015

Part II of II - Last month, I shared insights on how Wishful Thinking can stagnate business progress. While Wishful Thinking is often openly expressed in a somewhat exasperated state of mind, Fearful Thinking is often not shared or spoken, but lies within one's subconscious, impeding decision making or effective action through an undermining whisper. Are any of these Fearful Thinking mindsets impacting your business? 1. Fear of Losing Control: If you or someone within your company have been...

Momentum Building · 01. January 2015

The New Year always brings a new resolve for how business is going to get done. For many, it is also the impetus that results in the decision to finally start a business. Starting a business is hard work, there is no doubt about it. Where newbies misstep the most is in how they don’t build their business before it officially opens.Too often, the focus is on the basic operational set-up before and then surface-level promotion after the business is open. They ignore what should and could be...

Momentum Building · 01. December 2014

Nothing can be more frustrating for a business owner than to put immense time, energy and effort into building a business, only to realize that the effort is not paying off. Not only are the results desired not occurring, but the results garnered are heading the business in an undesirable direction, in spite of what was believed to be the right course of action. In working with small businesses through the years, I have noticed missteps that lead them down a misguided path, even though the...

Momentum Building · 01. November 2014

Is your business implementing a marketing effort or a marketing strategy? I was inspired to write this column after continuing to see a pattern in what I would classify as the top five band-aids companies use with the belief that their sales will skyrocket or when a desperate need for sales exists. Using a "Band-Aid" to resolve any type of a problem is an American idiom for a temporary solution or something that seems to be a solution, but has no real effect. If you are frustrated by a lack of...

Momentum Building · 01. July 2014

How you approach your operations from a marketing standpoint is key to its success. Marketing for many small businesses is viewed as a necessary evil or a mysterious phenomenon that seems to be all too elusive when it comes to getting results for the business. You try this tactic or that tactic. You implement this program or that program.You ramp up your sales efforts or develop exciting new promotions. And yet, nothing seems to have any sticking power. If you are doing any of these five...

Value Building · 01. June 2014

Whether you are in a start-up mode or have been conducting business on your own for years, knowing where your business is headed is critical to your future well being as well as the livelihood of others who may be depending on the success of your venture. This is why strategy is so important in a business, starting with the long-term vision of your venture in order to make better decisions and to identify and pursue opportunities effectively. While some of what I write here will seem basic to a...

Momentum Building · 01. May 2014

I am continuously amazed how often I witness opportunities being missed, time being wasted or resources not being effectively leveraged due to a lack of initiative. While you would think this is something that is not an issue with an entrepreneur, it is more often than you think because of beliefs about what initiative is and isn't. People in general don't take the initiative they ultimately could and then wonder why they are not realizing success or progress as they had hoped. Could you or...

Momentum Building · 01. April 2014

Wearing multiple hats is nothing new in the life of an entrepreneur. However, this column is going to focus on the hats you throw upon others. Too often hats are being tossed onto the wrong person or for the wrong reasons, which have a negative impact versus the positive relief you envisioned. Have you or are you placing hats on the wrong heads, causing more confusion or chaos than collaborative gusto? 1. Just for a While Hat: I witness this all the time. An employee is asked by the business...