In our last discussion, we were talking about how clients hire expert firms to reduce their risk. They want a job done promptly with the expected benefit. For that certainty, they are willing to pay money! 2020 has undermined our ability to offer assurance to our clients, making it harder for them to decide to…
My wife and I have gotten hooked on the History Channel series Alone They take ten people and drop them off in the wilderness with the bare minimum of tools, and they need to get water, fire, shelter, and food on their own. It’s fascinating to watch. One thing we’ve noticed is that almost all…
When you started out on your entrepreneurial journey, what were you looking for? If you are like most people, you’ll answer some mix of, “I wanted to be your own boss,” have more control or freedom, try something new, and make more money. Also, if you’re like most people, you aren’t feeling as free or…
I spent a summer working as a lifeguard and, I’ve got to tell you, it was a pretty great job! Mostly I would twirl my whistle around my fingers, first one way, then the other. When kids were running, I’d yell at them, “No running on the deck!” The whole summer, I didn’t have to…
There are no bad clients… ~Jason Swenk I heard Jason say this on a podcast recently, and I stopped in my tracks and rewound to listen to it again. There are no bad clients… “Of course there are bad clients, Jason! You ran an agency; you should know that!” Just listening to him say that…
I’m known for making amazing spreadsheets. I can whip up a spreadsheet that helps to illustrate a financial issue, or helps leaders to plan for the future, in no time. I have a color code that I use so folks don’t mess up my formulas. The charts that I create are clear and easy to…
The meeting I was having with my client kept getting interrupted. Every 8 minutes, someone would walk in with a question or something that needed his immediate approval. This parade didn’t seem to bother my client; in fact, I think he kind of liked it. He felt important and involved in the details of the…
What if you worked ALL DAY with clients who LOVE what you do, who are fully engaged in the process, and who want more from you in every meeting? What would that be like? There’s a secret formula to attracting those kinds of clients, Raise Your Prices! When you substantially raise your prices the only people…
Most people start their business with a broad target. We throw some things up against the wall to see what sticks. Our biggest fear is that no one will buy, and so we try to sell to everyone! By trying to be everything to everyone, we weren’t the perfect thing for any client! Plus, we…
2020 started with protests in Hong Kong, then bushfires in Australia. In the US, we had impeachment hearings and an over 1000 point drop in the stock market. Then came COVID and shutdown/quarantine, which sent millions of workers into a long work-from-home (with children “e-learning”) experiment. That was just the first quarter. Since then, we’ve…