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Vetting A Business Model Concept Using Pricing
In several recent thought posts on vetting a business model concept, I focused on defining the market size and positioning as key elements of a business model concept vetting feasibility analysis. Another key step in the vetting process is to critically think about how you can create/deliver the offered product/service to the identified customer target […]
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Vetting A Business Model Concept Using Market Positioning
In the recent post of this series on vetting your business model concept, I focused on defining the market size as one element in a business model concept vetting feasibility analysis. When discussing market strategy of a business model, it’s inevitable that positioning will be brought up. A company’s positioning strategy is affected by a […]
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Business Startup Myths
Have you been tempted to start a business but don’t because you heard that the large majority of them fail? The biggest reality in business ownership is: about 1/2 (49%) of new businesses fail within the first 5 years. Actually, these are GREAT success results…far better than you get in Los Vegas. The four main […]
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Vetting A Business Model Concept Using Market Size
Many first time entrepreneurs make the mistake of going directly from idea to business plan and implementation. Without first “vetting” the business idea, entrepreneurs increase the chance of losing time and money. The vetting process may include validating the product/service value proposition by customer testing using the least costly modeling method (minimal viable product) to […]
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Startup Brand PR Strategies
Are you starting a new business or looking to grow an existing company? If so, then it’s helpful to learn how to work with traditional media and online press outlets in order to maximize the power of coverage. And while there are standard PR strategy basics that are handy to know, one of the best […]
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Facing An Inflation Price Increase Decision?
In the past, I have talked about adopting a pricing strategy that aligns your business value proposition (VP) with your cost of goods sold (COGS). In other words, set pricing by ignoring your competition and focus on customer value. By focusing on the value to the customer (removing their pain point), you immediately take the […]
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Drive Motivation Using Accountability And Expectations
Accountability throughout the entire organization is critical to its success or failure. All executives, managers, supervisors and, even staff, are responsible for the final outcome of the company. Since any effort is only as strong as its weakest link, the organization depends upon and enhances the ability of its people to work together and to […]
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Do You Have a Natural Disaster Plan?
Any good strategic plan should address how a disaster might affect employees, customers and the bottom line of the business. Now is not the time to lose site of how disasters like the pandemic can affect your business. An acronym to remember the scope of planning for a disaster is…AFECT…Anticipate Financial, Employee, Customer Threats caused […]
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The Key To Good Manager-Employee Communication
In the past, I have discussed the integrated human resource management philosophy. Quick refresher: the integrated HR system management philosophy focuses on HOW the 4 key elements of PA, S, T&D, M work together. This philosophy uses HR Plan (HRP) & Job Analysis (JA) to gather information that is feed into the Performance Appraisal (PA) which in […]
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Thinking About Franchising Your Business?
Expanding your business can help you have a higher profit. Franchising and licensing are two ways to reach a broader audience to build your revenue. Franchising and licensing are two different ways to share your brand information in exchange for a fee. The distinctions between franchising and licensing center around control and operation: Franchise agreement: […]
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Is B2B The Right Distribution Channel Fit?
The 4 Ps of marketing are Place, Price, Product and Promotion. By carefully integrating all of these marketing strategies into a marketing mix, companies can ensure they have a visible, in-demand product or service that is competitively priced and promoted to their customers. Lately, I have had a lot of questions about one of the 4 Ps…Place. […]
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Marketing Analysis Math – Don’t Freak Out
In its simplest form, business is math. If the unit economics work in a businessʼs favor, then the business will succeed, otherwise, the business will fail eventually. Even if youʼre math-phobic, there are a few essential metrics that you should know to better serve your business. I know, there might be others who are able […]
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Human Resource Inflection Point Testing
In past blogs, I have discussed how businesses should always begin with an idea that is tested to see who will buy, for how much, and whether the exercise can be repeated. Small businesses must retain this way of marketing, constantly testing new offerings to new segments while the company continues to market the things […]
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How To Build Customer Loyalty
Customer loyalty has become a necessity for the growth and longevity of a business. However, many businesses today have adopted a transactional rather than a relational experience for their customers. Companies seem to have forgotten that without customers, there is no business. Over the years, I have learned from professional experience what it takes to […]
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Financial Questions For A Startup
One of the questions I get asked when mentoring startup entrepreneurs is “How much money do I need to start my business?” A Shopify survey of 300 small business owners and 150 aspirational entrepreneurs in the U.S. found that they spent, on average, $40,000 in the first year of business. While some businesses still require […]
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How To Choose A Company Name
While mentoring a startup founder last month, I was asked to comment about using their personal name as the company name. I did not share what I thought about it, but instead offered thoughts on how to critically think about using their name. First, I asked if their name was well known in the industry […]
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Remote Work And The Great Resignation
People quitting their jobs at the highest rates on record continues to wreak havoc on U.S. companies. Some surveys have found that nearly half of employees are looking to leave their current jobs, highlighting the labor crisis that many employers are encountering. Some are calling this “The Great Resignation” but maybe it should be called […]
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Validate Your Concept Without Spending A Fortune
Many studies show that businesses fail because they do not take the time to validate “vet” their business idea by building a minimum viable product and gathering feedback from potential customers. To expand on this thought, business failures happen not because the founder didn’t have money in the bank to invest or because they didn’t […]
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Why Do Many Startups Fail?
For over four decades of starting and building businesses, and the last decade mentoring dozens of startup founders and CEOs, I have observed that there seems to be a set of reasons that startups struggle and fail. The US Department of Commerce has found that about 49% fail within the first 5 years. D&B found […]
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Think Hourglass – The Buyer’s Life Cycle
In the past, I have blogged about the importance of understanding the buyer’s journey and how it relates to the marketing/sales funnel. Have you ever thought about how to change that funnel into an hour glass shape by focusing on retaining customers? First, let me quickly review of the buyer’s journey — sales funnel concept: […]
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Penetrate Target Markets Military Style
No matter how great your customer pain-point solution, as a business startup that in an existing industry (see “Threat of Potential of Potential New Entrants” in the diagram above), the bigger challenge may be penetrating your target market. Many of you may not think of it this way, but penetrating a target market with your […]
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Unique Selling Proposition & Business Core Values
While mentoring startups through the early business concept development stage, I have found that many entrepreneurs have a hard time articulating their business target market concept in terms of a unique selling proposition (USP). A USP is a statement of what makes your business standout from the competition. It might speak to a key UNIQUE […]
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Steps To Selling Your Business
How to Sell Your Business You only sell your business once. That thought may be enough to keep you up at night when you decide it’s time to cash in on your years of hard work as if there isn’t enough pressure associated with every step of the sale of a business. But there’s much […]
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Build Your Brand Recognition
For a small business, it can be very important to have a brand name everyone recognizes. People identify businesses in terms of the brand that the business has been able to create. You better define how your business is unique or more valuable than the competition because if you don’t do this well, your customers […]
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2022 SWOT Analysis – Marketing
Consumer expectations are perpetually shifting, and while there’s been some pretty dramatic evolution since the pandemic arrived, fundamentally, this is nothing new. When it comes to shopping, especially online, today’s consumers have one powerful tool at their disposal: choice. It’s driving their decisions about everything from where they shop to who they buy from to […]
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Distribution Channel Assessment Worksheet
When it comes to determining a distribution strategy for your business, the problem you’re really solving is, “what is the best way to get my product/service to my customers?” To answer this, there are a several important factors you must be considered but first you must understand the fundamental differences between distribution channels. At the […]
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You Don’t Have To Pivot In A Crisis
When COVID burst upon the scene in early 2020, startup ventures faced dramatic shifts in markets and the importance of agility became axiomatic: If you wanted your venture to survive, let alone thrive, pundits (including ourselves) almost universally advocated deep internal cuts accompanied by pivots to new markets and business models. Many business owners, however, […]
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Common Startup Branding Mistakes
Being an entrepreneur and launching a brand isn’t easy. It takes a lot of skill, hard work and usually a little luck. When it comes to branding decisions, sometimes one bad mistake can derail even the best idea. To be sure, this doesn’t happen to you, make sure you avoid making any of these six […]
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Should You Sell Through A Distributor
There are many reasons why a company might use a distributor as a channel to market. For instance, some companies need to increase market share and simply lack the sales competencies to capitalize on opportunities. Sometimes companies have a solid product offering, but lack the ability to get that product to market. Yet, sometimes companies […]
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Lessons From A Business Exit Sale
Selling your company is a second, full-time job. Here’s how to do it right. If you lead a startup, there may come a day when it’s time to consider an exit…in my case, I knew and my investors knew that I would have some kind of equity event during year 5 of my startup. Therefore, […]
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What Is Your Business Exit Strategy?
Whether retirement is 30 years away, just over the horizon or not in your game plan at all, a succession plan is vital to ensuring the continued success of your business. A good succession plan can help with the following: Transfer ownership when the time comes Maintain your lifestyle in retirement Provide for your heirs […]
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The Right Way To Off-Board A Departing Employee
Recently during a mentoring session, the manager asked how I would off-board a departing employee and how does that fit into the integrated HR philosophy? My client’s concern was activated when a valuable employee announced she was leaving. Immediately the manager began to worry about losing the departing employee’s institutional knowledge and experience. How can […]
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How To Integrate Sales & Marketing Strategies
Your Sales and Marketing strategy is your plan for reaching, engaging, and converting target prospects into profitable customers. It’s the charter that guides Marketing and Sales in their daily activities, helping them clarify shared objectives and how to achieve them. Without a strategy, all your Marketing and Sales activities and tactics might be for nothing. […]
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Keep Personal & Business Finances Separate
It can be difficult to keep your personal and business finances separate when you own a small business. It is especially challenging to keep your accounts divided if your business is structured as a sole proprietorship. Since sole proprietorship is considered a nonentity, there is no legal separation between you and the business. When you […]
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A Simple Business Plan Format
Almost always successfully starting a new business requires a written business plan. In the past, I have been asked for my business plan format I used to start and manage my companies. The following format helped me focus on the implementation of action plans that supported my business concepts. To start, the business plan should […]
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Where To Find Workers
I have blogged extensively about using an integrated HR system philosophy. Here is another example of using the integrated philosophy to help you critically think about your business. In the USA, seventy-eight million people, or 59 percent of the workforce, are hourly workers. In a survey by the Society of Human Resource Management, respondents reported: […]
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One Page Interview Form
To critically think about Human Resources in your business, you need a philosophy where COMMUNICATION IS KEY…COMMUNICATION IS A TWO WAY STREET (Applicant & Employer). For instance, the candidate’s interview answers are creating manager expectations of them. Here are some suggestions for interviewers to consider during the Selection process: Lead the communication during the interview…reviewing […]
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What Is A Pivot?
A pivot is a structured course correction designed to test a new hypothesis about the product and business model. When we begin a new product or service, we make an assumption (or make a hypothesis) that this product and business model is something that customers will be delighted by and that the business can reach […]
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Set Your Marketing Program Up For Success
You can’t run a successful business without marketing it. And while in today’s constantly changing landscape there is no “right” way to market, there are ways that will be optimal for your industry. The trick is finding these tactics. Strategies that work for another industry may not necessarily work for yours and vice versa. Even […]
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Online Meeting Effectiveness
Just ask any one of your employees or co-workers … the last thing any business wants is another unnecessary, unproductive meeting. Poorly run meetings can waste employees’ (and the company’s) time and leave teams with tension rather than solutions. When making the switch to remote work, many businesses simply replicated the “in- office” experience for […]
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Thought Leadership Vs Content Marketing Tactics
Thought leadership is getting a lot of attention among those aiming their marketing to increase brand recognition. So does content marketing, which is often touted for its ability to create top-of-funnel and marketing-qualified leads. So what are the differences in these two marketing strategies? Here are some thoughts to contemplate. Content marketing is top-down; thought leadership is […]
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Product Development Roadmap
The product roadmap can be broken down into three distinct phases, each one containing its own set of milestones and goals. From the bare-bones proof of concept models to first off the line finished products, the prototyping process represents a progression from idea to reality. PHASE ONE: CONCEPT This phase represents the first iteration of […]
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Common Product Development Mistakes
Many first-time engineers make common mistakes when they approach the product development process. These typically include: Not accurately estimating the cost; Not showing their prototype/s to the end user soon enough, wanting instead to hide their ideas from their customers until it’s “perfect”; Not making enough prototypes to get into the hands of multiple users. […]
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Pandemic Inflection Point Testing
Businesses begin with an idea that is tested to see who will buy, for how much, and whether the exercise can be repeated. Small businesses must retain this way of marketing, constantly testing new offerings to new segments while the company continues to market the things that make them revenue today. As the business collects new […]
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Content Marketing Mistakes
Currently content marketing is one of the smartest investments a small business can make, especially if you are in the early startup stages. Content marketing is a way to provide your potential customers with informative content to questions they seek. According to a 2020 Hubspot survey around 40% of marketers say that content marketing is […]
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How Independent Contractors Budget
During a recent workshop, I was asked if independent contractors can really operate using a budget…if so, how do they budget? Yes, independent contractors can make a monthly budget even though they live the 1099 life. Here’s how. The concept of a monthly budget is a no-brainer for people who rake in a regular paycheck […]
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How To Start Selling Digital Products
Despite fluctuations in the economy, eCommerce continues to flourish – and with technological advances expanding the use of online communities and bringing digital media consumption to the mainstream, it’s no wonder that digital products are still on the rise. Digital products have become so pervasive that nearly all of the top professional bloggers, speakers, and […]
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Effective Sales Process Management
How do prospects decide to purchase your product or service? Does a single decision maker find a product or service and buy on the spot, or does s/he go through many steps and approvals first? Perhaps there are multiple people or departments involved in the decision, each with their own needs? Your sales process management […]
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Why Direct-To-Customer Succeeds or Fails
The term Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) refers to companies that make products and sell them to consumers, usually online but some in their own branded stores, avoiding traditional multi-brand retailers like department stores. One example is Warby Parker (I just bought glasses from them) but there are many others. The concept is simple: sell the product to […]
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What To Expect If You Sell Your Business
You may have heard of the process called, “due diligence.” But unless you’ve been through the process, you might be unclear about what it really means. At a basic level, it’s a process of de-risking the acquisition on the part of the buyer. Their goal is to check out and validate that what you say […]
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Remote Work Transition
The last 18 months of drastic change, for example, brought down a lot of myths like: If people work from home, they’ll work less (they worked longer). Young people are eager to come back to the office (they are less willing than older employees per a recent survey by the Conference Board ). Unemployment is […]
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Employee Retention
Many small business owners assume that their company’s power in the labor market correlates with the unemployment rate and general state of the economy. During a hot labor market, characterized as a candidate’s market, they raise wages and shower candidates with gifts ranging from Moleskine notebooks to Swell water bottles. If it is an employer’s […]
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Lifecycle S-Curve Of Your Business
Here is an uncomfortable truth: in time, everything in your life, as you know it, will perish. This is true of your relationships, your jobs, and, perhaps especially so, your business. In mathematics, it’s referred to as the S-curve. Essentially, the S-curve describes the predictable pattern of anything that develops over time: You’re born, you […]
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Price/Value Strategy Entrepreneur Mistake
Pursuing a high or premium price strategy is frightening and risky, but for many companies, it is the best option. Recently, I mentored a business who is producing a high quality product that clearly differentiates from their competition. The company’s pricing strategy was to undercut their competitors in order to get a foothold in the […]
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Strategic HR Planning
Strategic HR planning links HR management directly to the strategic plan of your business. Even a small organization with a staff of 4 staff can develop a strategic plan to guide decisions about the future. Based on the strategic plan, your organization can develop a strategic HR plan that will allow you to make HR […]
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Start Measuring Downstream Brand Metrics
The Apple’s iOS 15 update rolled out on September 20, 2021 includes new privacy features which could significantly impact tools used by marketers/advertisers. The changes include Mail Privacy Protection which prevents senders from learning whether an email has been opened and hides IP addresses so senders can’t learn a user’s location or use it to […]
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Preparing For The 2022 Workplace
As businesses start into 2022, great uncertainty is hanging over the heads of many executives. Execs are faced with two different realities: a pre-vaccine world of remote work and a post vaccine world of figuring out how to safely engage with employees, job candidates, and customers. To help business leaders better prepare, here are some […]
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What Should KPI’s Really Measure?
No small business (SB) owner questions the importance of measuring their company’s performance properly. Yet many I’ve mentored over more than 20 years generally struggle with the challenge. As an owner put it to me, “they [the employees and managers] start looking for the exits.” Looking at many actual small business KPIs (all the charts […]
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What Causes Bad Decisions
During my recent workshop Human Resource Management System, I was asked what causes bad decisions. My simple answer was humans are often very irrational. If you’ve ever explored behavioral economics or psychology, you’ve likely found a host of examples demonstrating situations when we make objectively and clearly…bad decisions. With the way our brains function, it makes […]
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Build Your Brand Message
Every brand has a unique selling proposition — the one thing they do better than everyone else. Unfortunately, founders often make the mistake of trying to focus on the same unique selling proposition as their biggest competitor, or they try to market themselves as being “the best” in almost every facet of their business. Naturally, […]
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Why Businesses Fail
The famous line from the film Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come,” is commonly used by business professionals and entrepreneurs to imply that if you have a business idea and put forth the effort to create it, people will come to it. In a perfect world, it probably happens. But we […]
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Digital Front Doors Are Here To Stay
The customer journey is being transformed using digital tools and creative customer engagement strategies. Customers can: try on glasses at home and order them online; take classes and learn new skills from industry experts; order groceries, make appointments, and get medical care all from our cellphones and laptops. As I pointed out in my January […]
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Causes For Low Sales Generation
When I started my first business, I was not envisioning an overnight success with orders pouring in night and day. Nevertheless, I was expecting some growth and hoped it would increase consistently as I built the company brand over a period of time. I spent considerable time and resources planning the marketing campaign and reaching […]
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Grow Your Sales Pipeline
How do I get more leads? This is a common question posed by many consultants, entrepreneurs and organizations. Depending on your industry, the question may be even harder to answer these days. Creating engagement content that creates a lead magnet (free content given away in exchange for your audience’s contact information) is one of the […]
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Management Skills vs Business Stage
The management skills required depends on the business stage. The following provides a visual of the change from functional skills to managerial skills required for managers during different business growth stages. I became a manager before I was prepared: what I wish I knew…like every new manager I’ve ever known, I was promoted into management […]
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Effective Elevator Pitch Basics
How to Effectively Describe Your Product in One Sentence Start crafting an elevator pitch by asking yourself a set of critical questions. Whether you’re an artist, service provider, or entrepreneur, you likely want to get your product/service in front of as many people as possible. You know that you need to market the product/service to […]
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Brand Management Strategy
A branding strategy is essentially a roadmap for how you’ll develop and communicate your brand identity to customers. It involves defining who your target audience is, what type of branding content they might want or need from you and where they can find it (including social media channels). It’s about coming up with relevant brand values […]
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Power of Third Party Endorsement
Third Party Endorsement (Word of Mouth) The saying goes that when you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. But when your customers love what you do, you’ll find yourself in a position to unlock the most powerful form of marketing that exists: third party endorsement OR what some call […]
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Website Design Thoughts
Business owners wish to impress clients and prospects with their website design, and rightfully so. But today, your visitors want functionality and ease. Within seconds of downloading your page they expect to know who you are, what you have to offer, and how your offer of products or services will solve their “problem”. Fancy, over-designed […]
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Inconvenient Truths About Content
Content marketing is, without a doubt, the most over-hyped and least-understood marketing tool for entrepreneurs and small businesses owners. And it’s certainly not the panacea it’s been made out to be. The interactive web (social media, blogs, videos, etc.) has made content marketing relatively easy and inexpensive. And therein lies the rub. As with entrepreneurship, […]
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Business Growth Strategies
Most small companies have plans to grow their business and increase sales and profits. However, there are certain methods companies should use for implementing a growth strategy. The method a company uses to expand its business is largely contingent upon its financial situation, the competition and even government regulation. Some common growth strategies in business […]
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Business Startup Steps
There are no limits on who can become a great entrepreneur…I am a good example. You don’t necessarily need a college degree, a bunch of money in the bank or even business experience to start something that could become the next major success. However, you do need a strong plan and the drive to see […]
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Fundraising Pitch Deck Mistakes
Since I raised over $20 million in venture capital for my businesses from top-tier VCs, new founders often ask me to review their fundraising pitch decks. Over and over again, I see early-stage founders repeat the same mistakes, reducing and sometimes eliminating their chances at funding. Here are four of the most common ways a […]
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Common Sense Sales Strategy
As companies focus on content creation and delivery, the marketplace is being flooded with high-quality information. In fact, most of the companies I mentor have reported they are lost in a maze of options, choices and noise. The problem buyers (especially B2B) see is that there is too much high quality content information and that […]
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Digital Ad ROI Measurement
The effectiveness of digital ads is wildly oversold. A large-scale study of ads on eBay found that brand search ad effectiveness was overestimated by up to 4,100%. A similar analysis of Facebook ads threw up a number of 4,000%. For all the data we have, it seems like companies still don’t have an answer to […]
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Business Valuation Methods
Whether you’re thinking of selling your business or you’re looking for new investors, there may come a time where you need to evaluate the economic value of your business. Determining the value of a business isn’t simple. It requires accounting for a number of factors within your business finances. Because this process is so complex, […]
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Online Marketing or Spamming?
Online Practices Marketers Need to Leave in 2020 Doing these five things doesn’t make you a good marketer, it just makes you a spammer. Some things are better left behind in 2020, and that includes certain social media practices. Lately, there is a lot of talk about the dangers of social media and the addictive […]
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Ransomware Attack Disaster Planning
When developing a business strategic plan in today’s new digital normal, make sure your SWOT outside environment threat analysis addresses the threats of ransomware attacks. Be sure to ask the following questions: Who will your company contact once it suspects a ransomware attack? How will you get the word out to employees and clients? Where […]
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Key To Writing A Marketing Message
The key to market messaging is to write in reverse. Writing in reverse is simple: You have to reverse the roles of the writer (you) with the recipient (your audience). Think in terms of the outcome wanted by the reader. For instance, never tell the reader how to feel. Instead use evocative, concrete words that […]
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Is Your Incentive Plan Working?
Right now, believe it or not, is a good time to evaluate your incentive plan and change it if necessary. The reason is simple. The economy is in turmoil, with plenty of companies facing unprecedented challenges. Now more than ever, you need to attract and keep good people and get everyone focused on business results. […]
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Content & The Sales Funnel
Some content is designed to engage those at the top of the buying funnel, some to continue the conversation with the buyer & nurture leads in the middle buying stages & some is for sales to convert prospective clients into buyers. This is applying content specific marketing to the old “Sales Funnel — Hook; Story; Close/Convert”.
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Key To Fund Raising
When starting the process of raising funds for your startup, make sure to start on the right foot. Over my 40 year business career, I have raised millions of dollars to fund my startups. I learned that the three most important words you need to remember when going out to raise funding for your startup […]
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Demand Generation
Get more referrals Did you know B2B prospects are four times more likely to close when referred by someone they trust in their industry? The key to getting more referrals is to build trust with your existing clients. Since the year 2020, we can’t afford to leave these relationships untapped. Asking your clients for referrals […]
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SMART Goal Setting
Many managers and leaders set out to improve without clearly defining how or what they hope to achieve. SMART goals, attributed to Peter Drucker’s management by objectives concept, are a time-tested way to measure a business objective. Before you start, you must decide what you want to accomplish and think about how you can apply […]
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Testing Your Marketing Strategy
In business, what gets measured gets managed…that’s especially true for marketing. It’s important to test your marketing strategy — you won’t know if you’re on the right track until you take the time to analyze the results of your efforts. Your marketing is the link between your product & your customers, so don’t treat it as an […]
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Don’t Overcomplicate Your Strategy
OK, I admit it. My first business plan was drawn on a napkin. Here’s how it looked: $ + $$$ = $$$$$$$$. Translation: Make a little money, put it back into the business, make more money and get rich. However, upon looking back, I wish I would have taken more time like I did with […]
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Business Values
In past workshops and blogs, I have discussed a real-time strategic business planning process. It starts with a business concept vision that is overlaid upon SWOT analysis and typical business areas like values, goals and constraints to arrive at a unified plan. Today, I would like to expand on that tough-to-define word…values. Instead of asking […]
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SWOT Analysis: Industry Profile
Doing SWOT analysis once each year provides a systematic look at the trends in each of the five components that affect your industry. It helps you anticipate and adjust your expectations and pressure points that may affect your company, i.e. new government policies might: encourage more regulation may cause barriers to innovation; raise taxes that […]
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Calculate Gross Profit
Since my last post about understanding the difference between markup and margin, I have been requested to explain how they tie to gross profit. One of the most important financial concepts you’ll need to learn in running your new business is the computation of gross profit, and the tool you use to maintain gross profit […]
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Difference Between Markup & Margin
Markup is a term you hear tossed around from time-to-time…such as “that store really marks-up their products” but what does that actually mean? A markup is, technically, the amount thatʼs added to the cost of a product to derive the selling price. For example, a cheese retailer that wants to have a minimum of 50% […]
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Know Your Business Credit Score
What Is a Business Credit Score? As an individual, you most likely have a consumer credit score, a measure of your creditworthiness that allows lenders to compare you with other people. It’s a single number that’s built using data from your detailed credit report. Likewise, your company may have its very own business credit report […]
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What Is A Business Concept Model
A business model is a conceptual structure that supports the viability of the business & explains who the business serves to, what it offers, how it offers it, and how it achieves its goals…Peter Drucker said that the business model is supposed to answer: Who your customer is: The customer forms the heart of a […]
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Common Accounting Mistakes
Over many past years, I have helped hundreds of business owners grow and scale their businesses. I have had the privilege of helping business clients increase their revenue in a short period of time by teaching them how to create systems and controls and making smarter business choices. Unfortunately, for many business owners the process […]
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Hiring Crisis
The current hiring crisis in the United States represents a serious barrier to our economic recovery and unfortunately, small businesses are again hurting the most as a result. While many factors contributed to this situation, employers increasingly find themselves in a higher wage environment with more job openings and less hiring. The hiring crisis is […]
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Become An Affiliate Marketer
An affiliate marketer promotes offers or products that relate to them and/or their interests. They often appear very organic, and most likely, you won’t notice that it is a promotion at all. Whether you are aware or not, you’ve seen affiliate links everywhere, from social media influencer’s subtle or not so subtle product promotions to […]
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Paid Social Marketing
There are two kinds of social marketing: organic and paid. With audience demographics and interests becoming more diverse than ever, paid social marketing is an efficient way to target customers with demographics and interests that align with your business. It’s considered best practice to invest in social marketing at least in the beginning stages of […]
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Buyer Journey Map Format
In a previous thought post, I discussed, in detail, the benefits of buyer journey mapping. Since that time, I have been requested to post the spreadsheet format used in my past companies and workshops for building a buyer journey map. Several of you also requested the 5-Ws for building a successful buyer journey map. The […]
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Off-Boarding Strategy
Leaders put a high priority on recruitment and onboarding. And for good reason. Those first few days or weeks can be quite influential. In fact, research conducted as part of a 2018 Global Culture Report, which surveyed more than 15,000 workers across a dozen countries, showed that when onboarding is successful — centered on training, […]
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Bootstrapping Public Relations
Do-It-Yourself PR campaigns are difficult when bootstrapped, but still doable with the right strategies. The startup life is nothing short of an adventure that is made of a series of mini-quests along the way. Those quests become increasingly difficult to complete when operating in bootstrapped mode, which forces entrepreneurs to do more with less. The […]
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Building Your Marketing Plan
A marketing plan is part of your business plan and is the foundation for identifying your market, attracting prospects, converting them into customers, and retaining them as customers. Usually a market plan operates at two levels, strategic and tactical. Strategic to identify the overall market play and tactical to execute on the marketing plan. It […]
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Sales Process Steps
Any successful sales process is not based on how you want to sell; rather, it’s a reflection of how your customers want to buy. Over the past year, customers’ buying behavior has changed dramatically, so it is vital to tune, adapt or rebuild the sales process to reflect that change. One of the most significant […]
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Applying Technology To Sales
Understanding the role technology can play in recovery and growth this year, sales leadership needs to consider taking a more holistic digital first approach. As more people adopt a digital mindset and use technology for almost everything, sales teams have to engage with customers in a relevant digital way. Making this shift lets sales leaders and […]
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Think Inside Out To Avoid Branding Mistakes
It doesn’t matter how well you use marketing to tell your story if you miss what makes that story real. I still remember pre-pandemic when I went into a small coffee shop that served gourmet coffee, tea , artisan sandwiches, and gelato. There was a case with fresh-baked pastries, and it smelled like, well, gourmet […]
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Sales Process Steps To Success
Any successful sales process is not based on how you want to sell; rather, it’s a reflection of how your customers want to buy. Over the past year, customers’ buying behavior has changed dramatically, so it is vital to tune, adapt or rebuild the sales process to reflect that change. One of the most significant […]
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Branding Mistakes
Being an entrepreneur and launching a brand isn’t easy. It takes a lot of skill, hard work and usually a little luck. When it comes to branding decisions, sometimes one bad mistake can derail even the best idea. To be sure, this doesn’t happen to you, make sure you avoid making any of these six […]
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Building Digital Customer Trust
As a long-time business executive and mentor to entrepreneurs, I see a definitive shift away from customer trust in traditional business messages, and the executives who deliver them. People no longer trust scripted messages and marketing “speak”. Today’s digitally distracted consumer is led to trust only things that they see with their own eyes. They […]
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Marketing – Buyer Journey Map
What is the buyer’s journey? The buyer’s journey describes the process your buyers go through as they become aware of a problem, evaluate potential solutions to their problem, and ultimately decide on the specific solution that’s right for them. In marketing terms, reduce this down to three stages: awareness, consideration and decision (some call this […]
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Sales Forecast – Backbone of the Business Plan
The sales forecast is the backbone of your business plan. People measure a business and its growth by sales, and your sales forecast sets the standard for expenses, profits and growth. Usually, sales forecasts are based on past sales data, industry-wide comparisons, and current economic trends. It is easier to come up with a sales […]
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Breakeven Analysis – The Key
How many units/service jobs do you need to do on a daily basis to breakeven? To begin to predict where you begin making a profit in your business, you need to know the Breakeven Point…that moment of sales and expenses when you can breath your first sigh of relief. Most businesses spend their first 3-5 […]
Small Business Thoughts
From vision, concept refinement & business plan thru funding, startup & growth.