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Helping business owners grow their companies and transition with confidence, added value and complete control.
Tag Archives: employees
What Should A Small Business Insure?
Every business carries insurance. Some is required by law, such as unemployment insurance or coverage on vehicles. Most is optional, but there is “common sense” coverage and more esoteric policies intended to help you recover from company-threatening events. I’ll spend the … Continue Reading
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Exit Planning, Strategy and Planning
Tagged business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, financial, health care costs, leadership, management, selling a business, small business, small business advice
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The New Information Direction: Push Over Pull
Ever since we started using computers in virtually every business, we’ve been putting data into them. Unfortunately, the issue has been getting information back out. In the middle 1980’s I ran a manufacturing company together with a couple of Australians. They thought … Continue Reading
Posted in Customer Relations, Entrepreneurship, Managing Employees, Marketing and Sales, Strategy and Planning
Tagged business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, financial, leadership, management, marketing, media, new business, promotion, sales, sales management, small business, small business advice
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Help Your Friends, Not Your Competitors’
I hear it all too often. “A customer just called us for a quote. They have always done business with our competitor. We’re going to give them our best deal, and see if we can take their business.” Before you … Continue Reading
Posted in Customer Relations, Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Sales, Sales, Strategy and Planning
Tagged business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurship, leadership, management, marketing, new business, sales, sales management, small business, small business advice, trade
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Is Two Weeks Fair Notice?
I formerly employed an assistant who held a Masters Degree in Human Resources. On occasion she’d say “I love working here. I’ll never quit.” Of course, as a good employer I felt an urge to reply with equal commitment, but … Continue Reading
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Incentives, Leadership, Managing Employees
Tagged Baby Boomers, business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, hiring, leadership, management, small business, small business advice
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Extreme Democracy
Last week the British government announced that it was naming their new scientific research ship the RSS Sir David Attenborough, acting counter to the people’s selection of “Boaty McBoatface,” despite that name being an overwhelming 3:1 favorite over the next closest choice. … Continue Reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, downsizing, economy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, exit planning, hiring, leadership, management, media, politics, sales, selling a business, small business, small business advice
4 Comments
What Does HR Do?
What are the roles of a Human Resources professional in your organization? A common rule of thumb is that a company should have a dedicated HR function once it reaches 80 employees or so. This post comes from a recent meeting of … Continue Reading
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Incentives, Leadership, Managing Employees, Strategy and Planning
Tagged Baby Boomers, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, health care costs, hiring, leadership, management, promotion, public relations, small business, small business advice
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Small Businesses Fantasies: Service
As an evangelist for small business, I am the consumer equivalent of the locally-grown food movement. I spend as much of my discretionary income as possible with the owned-and-operated businesses in my area. As a consultant and coach to owners, I also … Continue Reading
Posted in Customer Relations, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Managing Employees, Marketing, Marketing and Sales, Sales
Tagged business ownership, business planning, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, leadership, management, marketing, media, promotion, public relations, sales, sales management, small business, small business advice
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Let the Business Owners Pay for It
When it comes to “No taxation without representation,” the rallying cry of our founding fathers, few identifiable population segments are as abused as business owners. One of my long-time clients is a franchisor, and until very recently I was a … Continue Reading
Posted in Business Perspectives, Entrepreneurship, Politics and Regulation, Strategy and Planning
Tagged banks, business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, credit cards, economy, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, health care costs, leadership, management, new business, politics, small business advice, startups, trade
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Talk to Your Competitors
In my two decades of managing over a dozen peer groups, I frequently had the opportunity to sit in meetings with a business owner who competed with a member of another Board. I occasionally had to bite my tongue as someone vilified … Continue Reading
Posted in Business Perspectives, Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Sales, Strategy and Planning
Tagged business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, hiring, leadership, management, new business, sales, small business, small business advice
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The 7 Deadly Sins of an Entrepreneur — Reprise
I make no claim that using the Seven Deadly Sins as a metaphor for business behavior is original. Of course, the original concept is a codifying of “undesirable” human behaviors, or sins. The work probably comes from the Latin word … Continue Reading
Posted in Building Value, Business Perspectives, Entrepreneurship, Exit Planning, John's Opinions, Leadership, Managing Employees, Strategy and Planning
Tagged business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, hiring, John F. Dini, leadership, management, selling a business, small business, small business advice
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The Seventh Entrepreneurial Sin — Pride
Every business owner should be proud of his or her business. If you are the founder, you built every system, and probably landed the biggest customers. If you bought the business, you took what was in place and made it … Continue Reading
Posted in Building Value, Customer Relations, Entrepreneurship, Exit Planning, Leadership, Managing Employees, Marketing and Sales, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning
Tagged business ownership, business strategy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, hiring, leadership, management, new business, small business, small business advice
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The Sixth Entrepreneurial Sin — Envy
This week we start on the two remaining deadly sins of an entrepreneur. Envy and Pride are the strategic sins. The first two (Lust and Gluttony) are operational; they interfere with how you function as an owner and leader. The … Continue Reading
Posted in Building Value, Business Perspectives, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Strategy and Planning
Tagged business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, leadership, management, small business, small business advice
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