Can You Build Your Business in Half the Time?
I had an unusual coincidence happen last week. Speaking to prospective new members of The Alternative Board (TAB), I wound up with three CPAs in the same meeting. They were from three different smaller firms, and all three identified their current concern as a struggle to develop new business. The idea of participating in TAB is to set aside time each month to work on, not in the business. When I asked if they might find benefit in doing so starting today, they looked at each other and then at...more
A Return to the Handshake?
There are five words that strike fear into the heart of every business owner. They are "Let me call my lawyer." I'm not talking about threats. If I had a nickel for every person who threatens "I'm going to call my lawyer" I'd be very rich. I've found that to be a tactic used by those who really don't understand how to talk through a problem. Something goes wrong in a business deal. Someone has a fixed idea of what the problem is, and what the solution just has to be. When the other side demurs...more
Trimming the Customer Tree
Anyone who has shopped for a live Christmas tree knows the drill. They have some on display, but none look exactly like what you want. You start looking through the trees that are still bundled up. If one looks promising, you have the lot guy cut the twine and spread it out for your examination. The bottom branches are never as nice as the top branches. They get less sunlight, and the branches closer to the trunk are brown and thin. The vendor doesn't like to trim the bottom, since he is usually...more
The Man (or Woman) Who Knew Too Much
Most businesses need salespeople. Most salespeople need to know what they are selling. This leaves many owners on the proverbial horns of a dilemma. Should they hire a great salesperson and teach him the business, or should they take someone who knows the business and teach her how to sell? When I have this discussion with clients, they often seek a third way- finding a competitor's top salesperson; one who knows the business, and whom they can steal away. That tactic comes with a big price tag...more
Credibility in the Lobby
I typically visit over a dozen businesses a week. Only a few have media articles about themselves in the lobby. When I ask the others, they typically answer "Oh sure. We were written up a few years ago. I have it around here somewhere." Attention from the print media is infrequent, but it can have a very long shelf life. I have a front page article about my business in our lobby. It is ten years old. No visitor has ever mentioned the age of the article, although many have read it. Regardless...more
Big Brother is So 2000, but...
Big Brother is Old News This could easily be a post about technology invading our lives. How we are watched and examined and manipulated through out electronic connectedness. But why? If you aren't aware of the erosion of your privacy and risk to your financial security by now, this blog isn't going to help you. I wanted to mention some really cool, or really worrisome (depending on your viewpoint) uses of tracking technology that I've discovered recently. I may be on the trailing edge when figuring...more
Service Needs to be a Defensible Territory
The UN air strikes against Gaddafi's forces raise an obvious question. Why Libya? Although we believe Qaddafi is a really bad guy, there are plenty of other players in North Africa and the Middle East that have to rank somewhere near him on the Bad Guy Scale. Why could the United Nations get support (or at least abstentions from China, Russia and Brazil,) against Libya, when other despots are also killing their own protesters and defying international opinion?I think the answer has a lot to...more
With My Apologies to Ray Davies
"Sooo tired, tired of waiting. tired of waiting for youuu."For those of you who weren't weaned on British Invasion Rock'n'Roll, Ray Davies is the lead singer and songwriter of The Kinks. One of their earliest hits was "Tired of Waiting."The song occurs to me often lately, because I hear the lyrics paraphrased by just about every business owner I talk to. As one said to me last week; "I'm still in the black, and we're still doing business. It's just so damn much harder than it was a while ago."Most...more
Planning for the Strategic Triple Threat
1. The new need for multi-level strategyOver the last 4 months, I've been devouring information on the recession and economic crisis. I have come to the conclusion that small-business owners are faced with unprecedented complexity in their planning process. In order to secure their livelihood, entrepreneurs must be positioning for not one or two, but three scenarios simultaneously.These scenarios will occur over a time continuum, but by their nature will blend in a way that makes the end of one...more
