Do You Have the Right Stuff for a Growth Business?

As an angel investor, I get approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who can talk endlessly about their latest great idea, and little else. While I recognize that every new venture starts with an idea, a successful business of lasting value is all about people and execution. Every investor is looking for someone who can turn…

Read More

Small Business Lessons from “Game of Thrones”

“Game of Thrones” has developed a cult-like following during its six seasons on HBO. Based on the buzz surrounding the season seven premiere, which garnered the highest ratings in the show’s history, the series’ popularity continues to grow. There are several lessons for small business owners that can be derived from the HBO fantasy series:…

Read More

Is Your Leadership Style Motivating or Demoralizing?

Every business leader realizes their primary objective is to motivate people to do what is required, yet all of us with any experience in business tend to remember most those times when we felt highly demotivated by our leaders. Since I can’t imagine any leader demoralizing their team intentionally, I’ve concluded that the challenge must…

Read More

How to Best Deal with Business Confrontations

Generally, people don’t like conflict. Yet the reality of running your own business is that there will be times where you have to deal with confrontation. Whether it’s an unreasonable client, two members of staff who dislike each other, or even learning to manage your own response to disappointment, working with others makes occasional feelings…

Read More

Improve Your EQ to Improve Your Business

“The customer is always right” doesn’t seem to apply to many situations anymore. It’s an artifact of a bygone era when daily life was slower and maintaining relationships with your regular customers at all costs was the most important part of your job. It’s still important to maintain relationships with your customers these days, but…

Read More

Transformative Leadership and Change Realization

Change is not easy, but it is necessary if leaders want to achieve their strategic goals and objectives. It is inevitably much easier to maintain the status quo, rather than make the tough decisions needed to sustain growth over time. People are inherently resistant to change, even positive changes that are beneficial to team members…

Read More

10 Tips to Keep Your Team Positive and Engaged

Keeping your team positive and engaged can be challenging. There will be times when it’s more difficult than others. Here are ten tips to help keep your team positive and focused on the task at hand: Your sales and customer service team are the primary customer contact for every business. What does their attitude say…

Read More

5 Simple Tactics That Will Make You a Better Leader

Whether you’re an entrepreneur who’s started hiring staff for the first time or you’ve been in the management game for a decade, odds are good that your leadership skills have room for improvement. That’s because the work of being a leader is never done. Instead, new challenges arise all the time, and the managerial skillset…

Read More

5 Budget-Friendly Ideas for Celebrating Employees

Keeping employees motivated and feeling appreciated is one of the most important ways for an organization to improve productivity and morale in the workplace: “Research shows that feeling appreciated—which comes from recognition from others—is one of the top three drivers of employee engagement. The best news is that showing appreciation doesn’t have to cost a lot…

Read More

4 Ways Finding and Retaining Customers Starts with Management

The goal of management in any business is finding ways to create customers. This means sound policies for developing relationships not just with existing customers, but with as many potential customers as possible. Here are four ways that management can promote customer acquisition and retention. 1. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) Many companies tend to focus…

Read More