Why is it that we put so much emphasis on a business plan? The goal is to be able to determine if you have a viable business. What is a viable business? A business that is freestanding, self-sustaining, capable of making it without outside financial support. That means no credit card debt, no loans, just the business itself, standing alone, able to meet all the expenses from the transactions of the business. Continue reading
We had the Small Business Marketing Analyst for a major package moving organization in recently to conduct a workshop. We were reminded that sometimes it is the relationship that counts when doing business. A representative from a company in our area attended the workshop. The company had a critical shipment that had to arrive at the destination by a specified time or they would not be considered for the project they were hoping to get. They sent the materials to arrive in time. Continue reading
You’ve got to think about the big things while you’re doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction….Alvin Toffler
Not all tasks are created equal. Some are more important than others. Continue reading
It’s trade show season – home and garden shows, health and wellness shows, industry shows.Dave Lavinsky of Guiding Metrics Executive Dashboard recently had his organization’s first booth at the Traffic & Conversion Summit. His six biggest takeaways from his experience and other things to keep in mind are summarized below.
1. Location, location, location Continue reading
Thomas C Corley studied the daily habits of hundreds of wealthy people in preparation for his book Rich Habits – The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals.
Corley’s definition of wealthy people is those earning at least $160,000 annually and owning assets of at least $3.2 million.
Some of the characteristics Corley identified of the wealthy include: Continue reading
In Part 1 I mentioned that John McCarthy, computer and cognitive scientist who coined the term “artificial intelligence” stated…”he who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense.”
Recently I wrote about KPIs, Key Performance Indicators. In Part 1 of this series, I presented a few ratios that might be your KPIs, or a part of your overall watchfulness of the numbers in your business. In this post I’m going to review some calculations to determine what typically happens in your business. There are four common methods of calculating a typical value: mean, median, mode and midrange. Don’t run – stick with me – it will be painless, I promise, and if you need more help, call for an appointment to work on the numbers for your business. Continue reading
John McCarthy, computer and cognitive scientist who coined the term “artificial intelligence” stated…”he who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense.”
In the next few newsletters I hope to help you through some of the numbers of business. Recently I wrote about KPIs, Key Performance Indicators. Many of the KPIs in business take at least a basic understanding of a few mathematical concepts. In this article I’d like to introduce or reintroduce you to Ratio. Don’t run – stick with me – it will be painless, I promise, and if you need more help, just call for an appointment to work on the numbers for your business. Continue reading
There is a primary problem with measurement. You can measure a million different things. Measure too much and you’ll drown in a sea of meaningless data.
Some measurements are more important than others. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are measurements of the critical parts of a system. Measurements that don’t help you make improvements to your system are worse than worthless: they’re a waste of your limited attention and energy. You don’t have time to pay attention to everything – just a few key measurements that actually matter. Continue reading
Many of our clients are making the commitment to network more this year to help get the word out and grow their business. A quick review of what not to do may help make this year’s networking lead to greater results.
Upstart Business Journal posed this Up Take and question. The responses that follow are from entrepreneurs regarding their networking experiences.
The UpTake: Networking events are an opportunity to build future relationships, not sell your product and life story. It only takes two to form a healthy business relationship, so don’t waste it by dolling out business cards after saying “hello.”
Question: What’s one common networking mistake or turnoff that you see business owners make? Continue reading
Which of these scenarios is more likely: