In my last message, I talked about the problem of retainers, they seem like a great way to smooth out revenue and make delivery more predictable. Still, in reality, they may turn into a bog of over-servicing and under profitability. I asked you to tell me about your experiences, and you were very generous with…
Maximizing monthly recurring revenue (MMR) is a goal for most business owners. Knowing that we are going to have that retainer payment coming in each month makes it so much easier to plan our cash flow, our staffing and makes it easier to sleep at night. When I talk to agency owners they want as…
Which is worth more to your company; a great employee, or a perfect fit client. I think for most of us, the answer is simple; I’ll take a new client (revenue) over a new employee (expense) any day! But before you answer, think about one of your top team members; how much do they improve…
When I talk to folks about the chat app Slack, I’m amazed at how folks either love it or hate it! Those who have embraced it tell me about how it reduces their internal email load to almost zero. They feel like everything is easier to find (Slack’s search is excellent) and better organized. They…
Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, tells the story of James Stockdale. As a POW in Vietnam Stockdale experienced almost continual torture with no way to know when it would end. When asked how he survived he said, “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end — which you can…
I was working with a client going over his sales pipeline (which was not as firm as we both had hoped) when he let out a big sigh. “I’m just not comfortable with this! Shouldn’t I be feeling more comfortable by now?” My client’s question brings up two issues. First, should he be feeling more…
Running your own business can feel a little like being on a treadmill. You get up every day with a long list of things you could work on to improve your business. Then you get interrupted a dozen times and end up knocking very few things off your list. Uncertainty about “am I doing enough”…
If you are the only one who can close deals in your company, your growth is capped by your desire to spend all day selling. Even if you are a non-stop selling machine, there’s a limit to how much you can sell! So if you want to grow your business beyond that point, it can’t…
Do you ever feel lonely leading your own business? When I first started my business, I joined a group of new business owners, like me, in different geographies. We met up in an online forum where we could ask and answer questions, exchange advice, and learn what was working and what wasn’t. This group…
I’m excited to see some new faces in our Business Owner’s Slack Group. It’s amazing to have a place to go where folks are generous about helping one another. For example, I was researching the Jobs to Be Done framework for helping to identify the attributes of your service that clients are excited about and there…