My advice to small business owners making sales calls is to use some type of icebreaker gift and share your story to make you stand out and be more memorable. Several years ago, a delegation from South Korea visited our company. At the time we were working with a publicly traded company whose product, floppy […]
Make Client Interactions Be More Memorable with This Technique Read More »
In the old days, companies would do extensive research to try to predict what the market would buy. Once they felt that they had a good idea about what would sell and how much of it they would need, they would build a product line to produce it and develop a strategy to deliver it.
Why Advertising Is Dying In the Long Tail Marketplace Read More »
My 89-year-old mother lives in an independent living facility that has several businesses connected to them. They have a bank, a maid service, and even a beauty parlor as my mom calls it. During a recent visit, my mom was telling me about how her hairdresser was let go because she was in such high
Are Your Employees Free-Agents? Read More »
Do you say “hello” and “goodbye” to your customers? Simply saying “hello” and “goodbye” can earn you healthy profits with almost zero investment. We have a local restaurant that I often go to for lunch where all the servers say “hello” as soon as you walk in the door. At my bank, they know me
The Value of Hello Read More »
Most people work from 9 to 5, Monday through Friday. It always perplexes me why some business to consumer (B2C) businesses are open during these same hours. How can they build their business when their customers are all trapped at work? It doesn’t make any sense! Increasingly, many successful business owners see the folly in
Hours of Operation Read More »
When it comes to selecting a location for a retail business, there’s a variety of criteria you should use, including: Many entrepreneurs have become bankrupt because they invested too heavily in a location that fell flat. Often, the location failed because other aspects of marketing were not properly attended to. If your location is hard
Choosing the Right Location for Your Retail Business Read More »
The SBA has it wrong. A business plan is not always what you need. Financial planning is advisable to the extent that you have access to enough money or capital to conduct your first few experiments. However, small business counselors, mentors, and the SBA often encourage ALL fledgling businesses to write a business plan. This
Forget Writing A Business Plan Read More »
In 1913, five investors each contributed $100 in cash to a new enterprise. Each also brought a special skill to the enterprise. There was a salesman, accountant, miner, banker, and lawyer. After forming the company, they raised $75,000, which is just shy of $2 million in today’s money. The founders hoped to create a super-concentrated
Is it Time to Bleach Your Business? Read More »
EBITDA is an acronym for Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. The EBITDA Appraisal Method attempts to remove all the factors that are viable from one owner to the next in privately held businesses. That said, the EBITDA Appraisal Method is most often used for public companies where their enterprise value can be computed.
EBITDA Appraisal Method Read More »
The inverse to why sellers sell a business is why buyers buy. Often a seller may only sell one business in a lifetime. However, buyers often buy several companies during their lifetime as they assemble pieces to help another business grow. Many buyers purchase a business to avoid the risk associated with start-ups and are
Why Buyers Buy a Business Read More »
