Chances are you’ll have fancied yourself as someone who could run your own business at some point during your career or within the last few years. Who hasn’t? What could be better than being your own boss, controlling all the money, deciding who you work with and taking time off when you choose. And, anyway,… Continue reading
This is a term that’s quite often used in Start-Up land. In most cases it’s fundamentally a technical/financial vehicle that allows an owner (entrepreneur) to get access to resources to help them build and drive the business in its early days, without having to pay cash for them. Instead, or in-lieu of cash, resources (read:… Continue reading
Why have a dog and bark yourself? What, exactly, is the point of having staff that are supposed to be performing certain tasks, in a certain order, if you only end up doing (or re-doing) all the work yourself anyway? Sound familiar? Well, perhaps you need to slow down a little bit here in order… Continue reading
I don’t watch Dragons’ Den or Shark Tank often. They just make me cringe. I end up feeling sorry for the entrepreneurs, but most of the time the unsuccessful ones are really masters of their own downfall. If you can’t pitch, you can’t sell. But these aren’t the only issues on show here, are they?… Continue reading
What do Kitty Litter, FedEx, Hamersley Iron Ore, Velcro, Vaseline, Viagra, Popsicles and Post-It Notes all have in common? They all came into existence or thrived due to a huge slice of luck. I particularly like the story of Fred Smith (founder of FedEx) who, in the 1970s was in severe financial difficulties with a… Continue reading
Sales & Marketing (or Marketing & Sales as I prefer it). It really is a numbers game. I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but do you really understand what it means in the context of how you can continuously win new business? Managing sales people and their activity (particularly if you have a multi-person team)… Continue reading
“…and, knowing that he had committed the most heinous of crimes, he retreated slowly back into the shadows, never to be seen again.” Sometimes, when I’m reading a sales pipeline and comparing it to the previous version, I feel like I’m reading a chapter from a bad Murder Mystery novel. Ever felt the same? A… Continue reading
Do you find it hard to be objective about your own business? Most people do. It’s very difficult to be objective about something that you’re close to or perhaps have a bias towards (unconsciously or otherwise). If you’ve been running your own business for some time, you may begin to recognise areas where, perhaps, you… Continue reading
Customer Services have always been a highly integral part of building a successful business. These days good service levels do so much more than just produce happy customers; they can accelerate the acquisition of new ones too. Think about it. When you’re looking to buy a new commodity or to access a new service for… Continue reading
I’ve led and managed hundreds of staff over my career, and I’ve been privileged to work with some outstanding people, who also turned out to be outstanding human beings. Who knew! That said, like most business owners, I’ve also had to endure some employee relationships that were, how can I say this kindly, less than… Continue reading