The holidays can be a stressful time for business owners. While your employees (being the selfish people that they are) take time off to prepare for the holidays, travel and spend time with loves ones, you are left holding the bag. It’s clear that no one cares about the business the way you do. Another…
Your IT person, Carla, wanders into your office with a sheepish look on her face. She’s just been working on your Production Manager’s computer that’s been running slower and slower the last several weeks. “So what’s the story?” You ask. “I don’t know how to tell you this,” comes the reply. “I fixed Dwayne’s machine.”…
If I had a magic wand and could wish one thing for each of the business owners I work with, it would be, “Give them a strong team.” That’s because I know the quality of the team behind the leader can make or break a business. It’s the difference between slogging through mud and running effortlessly. Just…
The most important part of any email is the subject line. This is the part of the email that will almost surely be read, often many times. It, more than anything else, determines what the receivers will do with your email. Interesting subject lines get opened. Vague or ridiculous subject lines may get trashed or…
It’s amazing to me how many business owners I have to order to take a vacation. And when I do, I’m usually met with this sort of reply: “But I’ve got too much work! It will just come back to bite me when I get back anyway … it’s not worth it!” Believe me, I…
Why are you here? Really … why? What are you doing every day? What’s it all for? Ok, this isn’t some existential discussion. It’s really important that you know why you work. I’m not talking about your company’s purpose here, though that’s very important too. I’m talking about your purpose. Why do you work? What are you…
Business is coming back a bit can you feel it? The sales cycle has quickened for most of my clients. The hesitation and “putting things off” that was common even a few months ago is waning. But it’s not all cheers of good times are here again. There’s a shadow waiting in the wings- tightening cash flow. Two…
The whiteboard in my kitchen is literally an extension of my brain. I have random notes on there that make sense to me (mostly), but it’s also the checking-in point for the rest of the family. Take Thanksgiving, for example. I write down the name of each dish, when it needs to be made, and…
With the momentum that is starting to build in the marketplace, a number of my clients are putting “upgrade the website” on their 2011 to-do list. It’s understandable; they want to invest in marketing and building their business, and their website is an ideal place to start. But creating a website in 2011 is a…
When you have a project you really need to get out by the end of the day, what do you do? Shut the office door, set the phone to DND, close your browser and focus on that one thing? Probably not, even though you know that switching from project to project reduces your productivity, not…