Being a Passionate Entrepreneur

Being a Passionate Entrepreneur Every book on entrepreneurship and every instructor at a business incubator will tell wanna-be business owners to follow their passion.  They say we should only start a business doing something about which we’re passionate. I own a human resources consulting business. Am I passionate about HR? No. When I decided to […]

Modes of Persuasion

Modes of Persuasion   Aristotle coined the Greek terms “Ethos, Pathos, and Logos” to explain both the proof of artistic value and the modes of persuasion. In business, as in life, persuasion is meaningful and important to every exchange with clients/customers and of course people. Presentations in business, especially in marketing, the delivery is meant […]

Business Valuation

Business Valuation   Aside from the sale of your business there may be a few other times in your business life that you need to put a fair market value to your business.  Here are a few of the reasons why you may need a Business Valuation: When looking to sell your business When looking […]

Articulation

Articulation I recently saw a post on Facebook; “I couldn’t love him anymore”. I wondered if that meant their love affair was over, or, quite the opposite, that she was at the maximum amount of love. All too often we think others understand just what we mean when we direct our employees, when we are […]

Working ON your Business vs. IN Your Business

Working ON your Business vs. IN Your Business To the casual reader, this title might seem a bit odd. To anyone who has been involved in services provided to small and medium size business owners, this concept is quite clear. Moreover, the concept is critical for a business owner to understand his/her most significant role […]

How to Write a Business Plan

How to Write a Business Plan In the old days when you wrote a Business Plan the shear volume of it was important to plunk down on a Banker’s desk.  It showed that you have thought through many of the details and showed your due diligence. Today however, brevity is appreciated.  The reader wants to […]

Ideas are Easy, Implementation is Hard

Ideas are Easy, Implementation is Hard You probably have a great idea for a business.  Perhaps it comes from a hobby or interest that you have or people have told you that they love your brownies or your handyman skills. The truth is that most everyone has “an Idea” a few times a year, but […]

5 Costly Consequences When Settling for the Cheap

  5 Costly Consequences When Settling for the Cheap Guest Blog by Brian Bayley (contact info below)   Do You Really Save Money by Having Cousin Louie Build Your Website!?  …Maybe the answer is yes for the day that you make the purchase. But when the job isn’t done well, it’s the days thereafter that […]

Selling

Selling It has always been my contention that “people don’t like to be sold, but they do like to buy”. I had adopted this notion long ago when I was in the tuxedo industry. I was responsible for recruiting, hiring, and training sales and management personnel for a 130-store retail operation in the Midwest. I […]

Recession Proofing Your Business

Recession Proofing Your Business When you turn on financial news everyone is speculating about the coming recession.  I wish I was smart enough to predict with any certainty if, when, and how deep it will be, but I am not going out on that limb. But I can say that preparedness is always a smart […]