This is one of those oh-so-fascinating cases where just about every business owner or manager does the exact opposite of what he or she is supposed to do, even when they know they shouldn't do it. Whenever you are working with someone who takes your money on regular basis and who performs regular, needed functions in your business, such as: An employee (part time or full time) A regular vendor A subcontractor A virtual assistant ...then the rule hire slow, fire fast ... Continue Reading →
The Best Business Success Analogy I’ve Ever Heard
Today I'm going to give you the best analogy for business success I've ever heard in my life (and I've heard a lot). I'm no pilot, but my understanding is that when you're tearing down the runway right before takeoff, you need to push the throttle to 100% power. Only at 100% power can the plane actually leave the ground and get airborne. If you back the throttle to even 98%, you'll never take off. If you keep it at 100%, get off the ground, and then back off the throttle even a little ... Continue Reading →
Track Your Daily Numbers
One of the fastest ways to boost your productivity and results is to implement a system of daily accountability with yourself. There are lots of ways to do this, but the easiest way is to simply track your key numbers every day. "Key numbers" can mean different things to different people, and you can decide what your key numbers are, using the key result areas as a starting point. A salesperson could track number of calls made. A writer could track number of hours spent writing, or number of ... Continue Reading →
Why You Want Your Employees To Quit
Zappos, the online shoe store (recently purchased by Amazon) has a very interesting employee management system. The have a "standing offer to quit." At any time, they will pay $5,000 to any employee who wants to quit. What? Yep. Any employee who wants to quit instantly gets $5,000, and all the Zappos employees know this. Why in the world would any company do something like this? If you have some corporate management experience, you might already know the answer. It's because they ... Continue Reading →
The 4 Branding Questions
Full credit for this concept goes to Gerry O’Brion. When developing your brand, from which your marketing should spring, here are the four questions you should ask. These are the same four questions used by successful, multibillion dollar corporations. 1. Who is your ideal client? Write out exactly who your ideal client is, regardless of whether it’s a business or individual. If your clients are individuals, are they male or female? How old? Where do they live? How do they live? How ... Continue Reading →
Lifetime Value of a Customer
Customers are worth more in some businesses than in others, based on the number of times that same customer buys from you. If you sell blu-ray players, a customer doesn't have much long-term value. He buys a blu-ray player and then you'll probably never see him again. If if you do see him again, it will be many years later. Seriously, how often do people buy blu-ray players? If you sell toothpaste, you're in much better shape. That customer buys your toothpaste, uses it up pretty quickly, ... Continue Reading →
People Will Pay More For Better
I used to frequent a dry cleaning establishment located about four minutes away from my house. The location was very convenient because it was close and always on the way to just about anywhere else I was going. They did an adequate job. They didn’t screw up my clothes or my orders, but didn’t do anything special either. Sometimes I would see little stains they didn’t get off my clothes. I would usually shrug this off. One day I had a bunch of shirts in my car and wanted to drop them off ... Continue Reading →
Nothing Is Neutral
Utter neutrality is not a condition that exists in human life. Everything you do or do not do either harms you or helps you. Everything either gives or takes away. Everything either adds or lessens. There isn’t any action (or inaction) that results in “nothing.” Nothing is neutral. Every action you take today either makes you happier or less happy, at least a little bit. There is literally nothing you can do that makes you “neutral” or “the same.” Every action you take today either brings ... Continue Reading →
Learning Gets Harder
When my daughter was about three years old, I sat her down in front of a computer for the very first time and showed her how to use the mouse. We used a simple coloring app at Barney.com (yes, the purple dinosaur). I showed her how to click, double-click, and drag. Within about 60 seconds, she had all three of these skills pretty much mastered. I remember how surprised I was at her ability to handle the mouse so quickly at such a young age. In about a minute or two, she was using the mouse to ... Continue Reading →
How To Determine Your Ideal Customer
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