A SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning tool to help you position your business within your market and your industry. The components that make up SWOT are: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. As a bonus, you can also throw in an additional T (SWOT-T), Trends. Here’s a short description of the SWOT components: Strengths: What are your business’ strengths, […]
Leadership
How One Company Thinks Outside the Box with On-Demand Packaging
It’s a frustrating and common e-commerce experience: receiving a small item in a huge box filled with plastic air pillows or other packing material. The shipper may find it convenient to use just a few box sizes, but it’s a big waste. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, containers and packaging make up a major portion of municipal […]
The 4 P’s to Help You Build a Great Business
How do you manage a great business, as opposed to be a survivor? Well, here are the four areas you should focus upon every day. Now, some of us remember things better when given a catchy phrase or rhyme. So, here’s one to help you with squeezing the most out of your own available resources. In […]
Want to Be More Productive? Prioritize Your Health
Every entrepreneur and small business owner is constantly on the lookout for ways to increase their productivity. They invest in the latest gadgets, hoping they can clear out their daily emails a little bit faster, they look at the management apps they use and cycle through new options periodically, and even turn a critical eye […]
Customer-Centric Strategies Win Over Product-Centric
Is your marketing focus product-centric or customer-centric? If you only sell products, it’s time to realize that times have changed. With a wealth of products now available, customers look for the most memorable experience, not just the best product. These days, a fun shopping experience, or no-question returns, often tips the scales over extra product features or […]
Common Mistakes to Avoid in Your Law Practice
Mistakes are a fact of life. They help us learn and improve. However, they can also be painful, embarrassing, and even harmful to your career, depending on the context. So, how can you acquire the hard-won knowledge without the consequences? As author and speaker Jim Rohn said, “It’s important to learn from mistakes, but it’s […]
Non-Profit Texting: This is Creative!
Just the other day I was introduced to an East Coast non-profit providing year-round licensed childcare. They are a paid up customer and using text messaging in a very creative way. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get permission for me to use their name or logo… BUT they were using our texting service in such […]
Mindfulness in the Workplace: Why It Matters and How to Cultivate It
Mindfulness: a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique. As we get busier, more connected, and more hooked up with technology, we are all striving to maintain our balance and live in healthy and stress-free […]
7 Action Items Build a Sustainable Innovation Culture
Every business founder knows the need for a culture that promotes continuous innovation, an entrepreneurial spirit, and one that creates sustainable value across all functions in the business. Yet most don’t really know how to create that environment, or assess when they have achieved it. They only know in retrospect too late when they don’t […]
5 Strategies to Effectively Increase Employee Productivity
The productivity of employees and the workplace is as essential to business success as breathing is to life. Productivity is vital to keeping your business alive and well. When everything is running fine, you probably don’t think about it too much. However, when large blockages or falloffs occur, operations can quickly become paralyzed. How does […]
