What is Customer Appreciation and Why Should You Do It?
Have you ever put a lot of effort into something, only for it to go unappreciated? It’s disappointing right? So much so that you probably don’t want to do it again. It just seems like it’s not worth the effort. Well, your customers feel the same way… When a customer chooses a company, and are…
Read More9 Basic SEO Tips to Increase Traffic to Your Site
When it comes to SEO, you want to be as effective as possible. This is especially the case if you have a small business you want to successfully start. Search engines like Google use algorithms and factors to effectively direct and deliver traffic, making SEO something that you cannot take lightly. To raise your SEO…
Read MoreWhat Gets Us Into Trouble
One of the most often asked questions I receive during podcast interviews is, “What advice would you give your 20-year-old self?” This is actually one of the easiest questions for me to answer. There are two pieces of advice. The first is, “listen a lot more…and speak a lot less.” (Both were definitely issues.) But,…
Read MoreWhy SMS Marketing Works When Email Doesn’t
Let me say this right up front. I hate email marketing… I really hate it. Why? Because it doesn’t work. Really, it doesn’t. I recently had the opportunity to review the email account of a small publishing company… and what I found was shocking. (I’m protecting the innocent by not naming names here…) Over 10…
Read More10 Mindset Checks Before You Start a New Business
Making the decision to start your own business is a major commitment, with huge implications for skills and lifestyle. Yet there is no standardized testing or certification required or available anywhere to help you decide if you are a good fit for entrepreneurship, or founding a business is right for you. An MBA or other…
Read More3 Biggest Benefits to Co-Working with Strangers
Co-working is a bit of a new idea, and is far different than having co-workers, which most people who have never heard of co-working before will think of. Co-working is when freelancers, independent professionals, or entrepreneurs share one common office or workspace, and the benefits to this new trend are enough to make anyone within…
Read MoreIt’s a Trap! 5 Mistakes That Too Many Business Owners Make
The life of a business owner can prove to be a very exciting and financially fruitful time. It will also be a learning curve of good and bad decisions. Making mistakes is human nature, but make too many as a business owner and it will cost you dearly. Owning a business isn’t a piece of…
Read MoreMillennials and Franchises: What You Need to Know
Forget Baby Boomers. The demographic that is quickly forging its own path in the franchise world? Millennials. Millennials, aged 18-34, now outrank the number of Boomers on the planet. And their numbers are turning up in an interesting place: as franchisees. We’re seeing an increase in the number of franchises run by Millennials, and it’s nothing…
Read MoreHow Good Branding Runs Deeper Than Graphics and Typography
Have you seen what Amazon is doing for Goodwill? You take an old Amazon box, fill it with items you want to donate to Goodwill, print out a label via the Amazon website, slap it on the box, and take your donation to the post office for mailing to the charity. This is a convenience…
Read MoreYou Name the Price; I’ll Name the Terms
I admit that my dad taught me this when I was just a fifteen-year old kid starting a business and negotiating with suppliers for the first time. But I learned it again and again in my various business lives. The most striking example was the one hundred-million-dollar purchase of one of my companies by a…
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