“The most valuable commodity I know of is information.” – Gordon Gekko (Wall Street) It never fails. Just when you think you have all the answers, someone changes all the questions. For years, business owners were advised to consider the “Four Ps” when...
Here’s the key to writing a good business plan: Think of your business plan as a key to the long-term growth and success of your company, and not only as a short-term sales tool for raising capital. If you remember that, you’ll naturally cover all the bases, and...
Some 15 million lawsuits were filed in the U.S. during 2011, which works out to a new lawsuit every two seconds, or one for every 12 adults. Americans are fairly litigious people, but that’s still a lot of legal activity. And unfortunately, small business owners are...
Forget the upside for a moment. Here’s the best advice you’ll get all week: Always know the possible downside. Yes, know and understand the downside and its ramifications, and then determine if you can live with them. That goes for betting at the track, investing in...
Truth be told, books focusing on business strategy often disappoint, and that can usually be traced to the perspective brought to the project by the authors. Sometimes the steps or processes recommended for developing a strategic plan are difficult to apply to...
“Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or come with me and change the world?” – Steve Jobs to PepsiCo CEO John Sculley Are you a leader or a manager? Is it possible to be both? In the age of Jobs, Gates and Branson, conversations revere the...
After three generations of listening to “Cat’s in the Cradle,” stories of the over-worked, over-tired business owner, who grows his company but in the process ignores his family, are hopefully less common. Today, hopefully even most borderline workaholics have a...
A trade or industry group can provide your company with important information, valuable contacts, and the sense of support or community that comes with knowing there are others out there facing the same challenges and issues as you. But industry trade groups can be...
The customer is king, of course. That’s because nothing good happens for your company unless and until a sale is made. And that’s why most of the attention in this space directed at the buyer/seller relationship has focused on your role as a seller. But consider the...
With an open mind and a couple dozen listens, you can learn a lot from the likes of Warren Zevon or Bob Dylan. But as it turns out, the lessons aren’t always in the lyrics. The business of rock and the actions of certain musicians can be instructive when it comes to...
