Dawn’s Stop-Doing List
Stop cutting your prices to find more clients. Do mine your existing client base for new revenues and referred business. A 5% increase in retention of a profitable customer yields a 25-85% increase in bottom line. Engage and reward existing clients. And ask them to partner with you to reach more of their friends. Eagles…
Read MoreKilling the Conversation
Over the past couple of days, I’ve participated—at a distance—in an interesting conversation. Let me clarify, the conversation was interesting, but the dynamic of the conversation and what destroyed it was more interesting. To provide some background, the conversation was on LinkedIn, I had gotten involved because it was about an article I had written…
Read MoreHow to Attract Talented Engineers to Your Fledgling Business
Getting a fledgling business off the ground requires capital and talent. Hiring talented engineers to work at a startup can seem next to impossible, especially when a small business is competing against the juggernauts like Facebook or Google. Just because it’s difficult does not mean that it is impossible. Don’t Compete with the Big Guys…
Read MoreDifferent Kinds of Online Businesses
If you’re an entrepreneur, you may be interested in starting an online business. You’ll save certain expenses, and you may be able to operate out of your own home office. So what types of online businesses are there? What options do you have if you want to start a business online? Read on for a…
Read MorePersonal Branding and Social Media: The Potent One-Two Punch
A smart personal branding and social media program make it easy for people to find your needle in the haystack – whether that “needle” is you personally or your business. There has been a growing trend in recent years to associate business owners – their personal brands – with the companies they run. This is true…
Read MoreLogical Logistics: How to Get Your Products Where They Need to Be
Logistics is one of those essential business aspects where poor performance can result in a huge waste of profits. Establishing measurable value is critical to sustaining your growth. This can be difficult with rising costs on shipping, materials, and labor. Implementing a strategy of continual improvement helps to offset costs, while the ability to get…
Read MoreWhy Small Businesses Need to Embrace AR and VR Now
When you go to buy a new smartphone these days, oftentimes they come with virtual reality headsets. While they are fun to play around with and there are some neat games available, you might find yourself wondering what the practical real-world application for them might be. The truth is developers are just starting to dip…
Read MoreNew Manufacturing Jobs Require New Manufacturing Skills
Making spare parts doesn’t sound like ground zero for a technological revolution. But at a time when the entire manufacturing workforce is bracing itself for the changes sweeping the industry, the concept of “replacements” takes on extra resonance. I recently met with managers on the shop floor of an industrial machining company, discussing the challenge…
Read MoreThe Ultimate Facebook Live Streaming Guide for Entrepreneurs
Video marketing is an expensive investment. If you want a video to attract tons of views, shares, likes and comments, you’ll have to make it perfect. Thanks to social media, however, video marketing can bring a good return on investment. Even Facebook live streaming, which doesn’t require an enormous budget, is viewed as a nice…
Read MoreService for Equity Formula
Say you are a service provider—consultant, designer, coder—and somebody offers you startup equity in exchange for professional service. I pondered this question after seeing it on Quora. I turned back to decades as a consultant, and decades dealing with startups, to come up with this sure-proof service for equity formula. Try it. You’ll be glad…
Read More