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Helping business owners grow their companies and transition with confidence, added value and complete control.
Category Archives: Strategy and Planning
Choosing Not to Maximize Profits
The other day, a client asked me to review some questions from an MBA student studying business ownership. One of the questions was “Are you doing everything possible to maximize profits?” I’ve seen the same question asked in a number … Continue Reading
Posted in Business Perspectives, Customer Relations, Entrepreneurship, Incentives, Managing Employees, Marketing, Sales, Strategy and Planning
Tagged Baby Boomers, business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, management, sales, small business, small business advice
2 Comments
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
1 Comment
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
1 Comment
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
1 Comment
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
4 Comments
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
5 Comments
Time to Grow Up
Young industries no longer have the time to grow up. The cycle of maturation has long been accepted as a fact of life when a new concept becomes a business. There are a few pioneers (defined here in Texas as … Continue Reading
Posted in Business Perspectives, Marketing and Sales, Strategy and Planning, Technology
Tagged business ownership, business planning, business strategy, economy, employee performance, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, leadership, management, new business, small business, small business advice, startups
3 Comments
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
2 Comments