I often receive e-mails from business owners asking for advice in marketing, publicity, finance and operations management. Unfortunately, most of the advice I give has to be in fairly general terms because in order to give advice that will benefit each specific business, I would need to fully understand the dynamics of each individual situation, [...]
It’s June. Have you made vacation plans? If you haven’t, you’re not alone. Self-employed professionals and small business owners are notorious for delaying vacation time. You might escape to the golf course for a half day or take a three day weekend to attend a wedding, but a full-blown pack-your-bags-and-get-out-of-town-for-a-week-or-two vacation is tougher to justify. [...]
Every day I turn on the news, it seems there is another report about some company ready to lay off thousands of their workers. While it may not be the worst times there ever were, there’s no denying that the economy is throwing some tough challenges our way to keep our businesses going. Big business, [...]
I’ve been fascinated by magic and magicians since I was little. A successful magician can reach behind my ear, say “abracadabra” and – voila – pull out a quarter. Or with focused concentration, and two taps of a wand, a rabbit comes out of a top hat that was previously proven empty. On a bigger [...]
Whenever I sit with a client who has hired me to assess and identify ways to streamline their business operations, we eventually get around to what I call the “no pain, no change” discussion. I can present a neatly packaged assessment report with recommendations for increasing efficiencies or streamlining processes, but new efficiencies and streamlining [...]
Tired of hearing the word turnkey? It’s a little overused these days. It’s an age-old buzzword that has surged back into popularity with the advent of doing business on the Internet. Why? A turnkey business is an automated business. And, on the Internet, this automation is imperative to be successful and serve customers who are [...]
Independents, sole proprietors, freelancers… anyone who deals with minimum cash flow knows the anxiety that comes with a client or customer who doesn’t pay. You can put “net 10 days” on your invoices, but most of the time it’s ignored by both big business clients and small business clients. As an independent myself, I face [...]
29 Ways to Increase Profits & Productivity