Just because you can’t do exactly what a customer asks doesn’t mean you can’t do something.
Let’s say someone was going to ride a 105 mile endurance bike race and the day before the ride their bike broke. First they would freak out with the thought of four mountains and over 11,000 feet of climbing ahead of them and the months of training behind them. Then they would hustle down to the local bike shop – your bike shop. Continue reading
Are you considering making your business idea pitch at the Cumberland Business Incubator Fast Pitch during Global Entrepreneur Week? You know it’s a great opportunity to share your amazing, world-changing business idea with your community. You’re excited and a little nervous. You might not have ever done a pitch session before, so you may not know quite what to expect. What follows should help you prepare. Continue reading
It’s all about getting everyone and everything ready for Global Entrepreneurship Week, or so it seems, at the Cumberland Business Incubator. Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is the world’s largest celebration of innovators, inventors, entrepreneurs, business owners and job creators who bring ideas to life, driving economic growth and expanding human welfare. Continue reading
There are few things that business owners and managers hate more than employee performance reviews. With the exception of a very few companies that do it right, the process is generally considered to be a huge waste of time by employees and managers alike while generating a lot of ill will. Continue reading
I visited Arkansas over the holiday weekend recently and picked up some interesting information from small business owners there. As we all know, new businesses face daunting odds: only half of all businesses launched annually will survive five years, and only one-third will survive past 10 years, according to the SBA. Arkansas has more than 241,000 small businesses, some quite successful. Business owners everywhere who succeed do more than build it and hope buyers will come. They stick to a written business plan vetted by a professional. They spend judiciously and reinvest in their business, and many effectively use the power of social media. Continue reading
Personally as the entrepreneur in residence and business coach at the CBI, and our volunteer CBI business mentors, our job is to help business owners develop bigger better businesses. If you are actively trying to build your company, then you could benefit by looking for an advisor/coach/mentor to help you.
What can an advisor/coach/mentor help you do? Continue reading
You’ve heard it before I’m sure: focus on the benefits to your clients, not the features. When you are writing copy, talking about what you do, or in a sales presentation, it’s the benefits and results of the service or product you provide that people are interested in, rather than its features or how it works. A lot of people struggle to get this right. Continue reading
Funding can help you do things in your business that would otherwise be impossible with your current budget. If you need expensive equipment or workers, you may need outside funding instead of bootstrapping your business on your own. Continue reading
Do you want to be highly productive when approaching a big project? Here are five insights from a Harvard expert to help you start and finish with ease.
For most people, the best part of taking on a big project is the end. It feels great to look back and see all you accomplished. But the beginning has a different emotional impact, and many feel overwhelmed or intimidated. They don’t know where to start. Others procrastinate until deadlines become imminent. Continue reading
Tyson Hartnett wrote the following blog. He is a 20-something CEO who started his own business, Basketball Training Club, in May of 2013. He did a great job on his blog and I wanted to share his words with you.
That Moment When You NEED To Start Your Own Business
“Dude, the margarita mix is only half full!”
“What?”
“You didn’t fill the margarita mix! What the ^&*% have you been doing all day??” Continue reading