Author name: Steven Imke

How to Use Stories to Create a Great First Impression

How to Use Stories to Create a Great First Impression

Small Business Sales /

There is a lot of information about the personal side of making a good first impression, such as how to dress, a firm handshake, and so on. However, too few people focus on what makes the encounter both memorable and shareable with others. Great stories use mental imagery and associations such as similes, metaphors, and analogies as well as emotional appeals to make them memorable.

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Value Proposition - Business Model Canvas

Value Propositions and Your Business Model

Small Business Operations / ,

The second step in creating your Business Model Canvas is to identify your value proposition. What is a value proposition? Simply put, a value proposition is a collection of products and services a business offers to meet the needs of its customers that helps to differentiate it from its competitors. For example, several manufacturers offer

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Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas Series

Small Business Operations / , , , , ,

The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management and lean start-up template that a business can use when developing new or documenting existing business models. Basically, it is a visual representation that describes the nine critical elements of a firm’s product or service offerings.

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Gold Digger in a stream

Don’t Be a Gold Digger – Why You Need To Be Main St. Instead

Before Starting a Small Business /

Want to Strike It Rich? History Shows That Chasing Gold—or the Next Big Startup—Rarely Pays Off. The Real Winners Weren’t the Prospectors, but the Main Street Businesses That Sold Them Tools, Food, and Shelter. Today, the Same Lesson Applies—While High-Risk Startups Get All the Attention, the Smart Money Is in Steady, Reliable Businesses That Support Them

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Not Enough White, Too Much Purple

4 Business Lessons from Charles Tandy – Not Enough White, Too Much Purple

Lessons From Successful People / , ,

Tandy Leather was a family owned business located in Texas. Dave Tandy was a partner in a leather heel and shoe repair business which was founded in 1919. Charles Tandy, the son of Dave, took over the business after World War II and changed the business’s focus to leather craft after seeing how leather crafts

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man looking into the wrong end of a telescope

Don’t Flip the Telescope: Focus on Execution, Not Protection

Risk Factors for Small Business, Small Business Operations / , ,

Are You Looking Into the Wrong End of the Telescope? That’s What It’s Like When You Focus More on Protecting Your Idea Than Sharing It. Innovation Thrives on Collaboration, Yet Too Many Inventors Get Stuck Getting Patents to Protect Their Ideas vs. Bringing Their Vision Into the World. A Great Idea Isn’t Valuable if No One Ever Sees It.

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Arthur Blank of Home Depot -Who Will Destroy Me Today?

4 Business Lessons from Arthur Blank – Who Will Destroy Me Today?

Lessons From Successful People

Arthur Blank, one of the founders of Home Depot, wakes up every morning saying “Who will destroy me today if I don’t keep my eyes open.” Knowing that retailers can’t sit still or they’ll be eclipsed by the competition, Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus started Home Depot after being laid off unexpectedly from Handy Dan

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Make Entrepreneurship Easier

Government And Small Business / ,

Community leaders are always interested in creating a vibrant economy to provide prosperity for their citizens. Promoting entrepreneurship is often at the heart of any economic development initiative. However, entrepreneurship comes in many different flavors from technology start-ups to micro-enterprises. Moreover, small business enterprises run the gambit from high growth companies to more static main

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Exposing Yourself

Why Entrepreneurs Must Escape Groupthink to Unlock Opportunity

Concepts Entrepreneurs Need to Know / , ,

How The Civil Rights Act And A 1950s Ice Distributor Reveal Timeless Entrepreneurial Lessons
How the Civil Rights Act and a 1950s Ice Distributor Reveal Timeless Entrepreneurial Lessons
Discover How Groupthink Holds Entrepreneurs Back, and Why Venturing Outside Your Circle—Like One Bold Man in the Jim Crow South—Can Lead to Lasting Success.

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The Power of a Person's Name and Focus

The Power of Using a Person’s Name

Small Business Sales, Lessons From Successful People / ,

Hearing your name has a profound impact on the brain. Research published in Cerebral Cortex shows that hearing your name activates your cortico-subcortical auditory attention network, a complex way of saying it grabs your focus whether you’re paying attention or not. Similarly, studies in Brain Research demonstrate that hearing your name sparks brain regions tied

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Arnold

Recognition Or Doom – Failing To Recognize Outstanding Performance Is A Colossal Mistake

Risk Factors for Small Business, Small Business Operations / , , ,

In business, many of the most promising and productive individuals have fragile egos. As the owner of a company, you need to be able to recognize and reward behaviors from employees that move the business forward or risk creating a Benedict Arnold in your own ranks.

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Determine Your Hourly Rate

How to Determine Your Hourly Rate as a Freelancer

Small Business Pricing Ideas / ,

Most Freelancers Dramatically Underprice Their Services Without Realizing It—Leading to Overwork, Financial Stress, and Eventual Burnout. Did You Know That 82% of Small Businesses Are Solo Operations, Relying Solely on Billable Hours? If You’re Not Charging What You’re Truly Worth, This Guide Will Show You Exactly How to Calculate Your Real Hourly Rate—and Why Getting It Wrong Could Be the Biggest Threat to Your Business.

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Are You Reading This?

Are You Reading This?

Concepts Entrepreneurs Need to Know / ,

With today’s 24/7 news cycle, there is no excuse for an absence of information. There is only the eroding sense of duty felt by Americans to remain informed. If you are reading this post today, share it with your friends and make a commitment to talk to your children tonight and instill in them the value that we as Americans have to remain actively engaged in the news and public issues affecting us all.

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An Entrepreneur's Perspective on Education and Success

An Entrepreneur’s Perspective on Education and Success

Concepts Entrepreneurs Need to Know / ,

As you might imagine I have the occasion to speak to lots of successful business people and spend much of my time trying to understand what attributes make for a successful entrepreneur. One difference I see is how non-entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs approach education. The vast majority of my friends that have successful jobs working for

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