Author Archives: Jon Stow

Don’t be afraid to ask for help in your business

We have all seen how having too many customers coming in at once can ruin the reputation we have built. We have to take tough decisions to turn away business and if we handle ourselves well then we may even … Continue reading

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Are you really giving your customers what they want?

If you have had clients or customers for a long time, do you still know what they expect of you? Have you asked asked them recently? The trouble is that it is easy to assume we know what they want. … Continue reading

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Over-reaching in your business

Over-stretching One of the easiest mistakes to make in a small business, and especially in start-ups, is to take on every new prospective customer or client who walks in the door. The other day a small group of us (actually … Continue reading

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Standing out from the crowd in your business

Boring shopping I was walking through the main shopping area of our county town the other day and I could not help thinking it looked just like the main drag of every other large town I have been to recently. … Continue reading

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Should we buy really cheap services?

  In the course of our business we are receive all sorts of offers. We get mail-shots through our letter boxes, we get emails and we receive telephone calls. Many of the offers sound very tempting, but do we know … Continue reading

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Taking time off from your small business

We all need a break. We know that. Sometimes we let ourselves be tied to the mill. In the early days when we started, we learned that businesses do not run themselves. It might have seemed that the more we … Continue reading

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Customer service, flexibility and common sense

Flexibility Customer service is a hobby-horse of mine, but in a small business or any business, it should have top priority. We can only meet the customer’s needs by being flexible and adopting an understanding approach to give them what … Continue reading

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Keeping your customers’ faith

Why do our customers buy from us and go on buying.? It is because they trust us to deliver what we say we will, and we make them feel safe in our hands. Their trust is essential as Seth Godin  … Continue reading

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Business software magic in the Cloud?

Soothsayers Predicting the future is a fool’s pastime, especially when discussing technology of any sort. Yet we all have to try to anticipate our hardware and software needs in running a small business because we do not want to buy … Continue reading

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Promoting your start-up business – Part 6 – Making business friends

  Most start-up businesses start with one person – you. You might have one or two part-time staff or subcontractors. However there is a danger of feeling rather lonely. After all, you have to make all the decisions, and while … Continue reading

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