Do Business Well

As you might expect, conventional wisdom tells a rather different story. First, it spins us this tale: You can be anything you want to be if you hold on to your dreams and work hard. The person you feel yourself to be every day is not the real You. No, the real You is deep inside, hidden by your fears and discouragements. If you could free yourself of these fears, if you could truly believe in yourself, then the real You would be released. Your potential would burst out. The giant would awaken. Continue Reading »

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Here’s what to keep in mind when preparing the visual part of your presentation:

1. Everyone in the group should be able to see and read the visuals easily. Think about the size of the group. The number of people will determine the technology you should use.
2. You want to be able to keep a tight focus on what is presented when. You don’t want to display too much information at any one time. Keep to three or four main ideas on each sheet. You don’t want your audience to get confused or overloaded.

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Every organization, large or small, can use email to establish a dialogue and build loyalty among its prospects, members, and customers. And every organization, regardless of size, needs to follow the guidelines and principles. But size does matter when it comes to the investment a company can make in infrastructure and the number of people it can commit to developing and operating a program. Don’t worry, though. Even small businesses with limited resources have plenty of ways to use email to communicate with their customers.

If your company has only a small number of customers or clients, you may still be able to use your regular email software to send out messages, announcements, and newsletters. This type of program ends up looking a lot like the regular email dialogue you would have with your customers or clients. Continue Reading »

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Your approach to payment of your accounts may have almost as much impact on the performance of your company as does the collection of your receivables.

In a perfect world, we would all enter into small business with plenty of cash. We would make money from the first day, never outgrow our financial resources, and never have a crisis interrupt our ability to pay. I have actually known a couple of small business owners for whom this has been true. Continue Reading »

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Many companies find that after their first few years they hit a sales plateau. Up to a certain volume, business comes easy. Then there comes a time when it seems as if the next sales dollar is very elusive. Ironically, the sales ceiling usually hits just at the point where profits start.

A variation of this dilemma is the seasonal sales phenomenon. I know of one motorcycle parts distributor who made huge profits eight months out of the year, only to lose almost all of it in the winter months. Continue Reading »

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