Seth Godin’s book The Dip talks about how every project has at least one ‘dip – a point where you seem to have taken too many steps backwards and you are not sure if you will ever get moving forward again. The Dip is that point where you are askling yourself if it is worth […]
Once you are clear on the why to organize a conference you can start work on the how to organize a conference. Who Will AttendBe very clear about your market from the beginning. Who will attend? What do they want? How will you reach them? What is important to them? The best way to find […]
Chris Guillebeau just posted a great article about Community. I just forwarded it to my mastermind group because we are building an online community for off-line business. I think that small business is the backbone of most economies and I think that many of the world’s problems would be solved through strong small businesses all […]
Strengths Based Leadership by Tom Rath Our book club studied this book last time and it sparked deep and meaningful discussions about what leadership means and where it begins and ends. Do we have the responsibilty as leaders to ensure that all of our staff are working to their strengths or is it their responsibility […]
I believe in working from your strengths. Everything I’ve read about it is focussed on a work environment; usually a corporation. Not a one-person shop, not a 2 or 2 1/2 person business, net even a small group. Here’s how you can use this if you are just you, or you and a few: 1. […]
There are 4 acknowledged pillars of business: marketing, production, human resources and finance. The theory is, if you can master each of them separately, you will have a successful business. Let’s look at this a different way. What if they are inter-related and the goal isn’t to master each separately, but to master the relationships […]
What do you call HARD SKILLS? Accounting (my fave), copywriting, inventory control, employee relations, sales, collections, purchasing, etc. These are acknowledged to be essential for business success. Then there are the SOFT SKILLS: listening, empathizing, being optimistic, problem solving, showing compassion. They are much more difficult to measure. They are not the focus of the […]
Most people start a business because they are good at what they do – bookkeeping, hairdressing, selling, fixing cars, cooking etc. They start off as self employed…(bookkeepers, hairdressers, mechanics ) and do fine. Over time they decide to grow their business. Soon they find they spend less time doing their business and they have to […]
The statistics tell us that 80% of businesses fail in the first 5 years. The reasons cited include: lack of basic business skills not enough good advice cash flow problems lack of sales losing focus pricing poorly not seeking help underestimating the competition and the market undervalueing promotion Usually the reasons are directly related to […]
Today is blog action day. Today thousands of bloggers will unite to discuss a single issue – poverty. We aim to raise awareness, initiate action and to shake the web! After reading Inspire by Lance Secretan, I closeted myself in my bedroom and worked out my destiny, cause and calling – why I’m here on […]
