Author Archives: Jon Stow

Freebie folly

I had an email from an accountancy firm asking if I would give free tax advice in half-hour sessions over the telephone. I thought the guy must mean free to the client, but his firm would be paying my business. … Continue reading

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Cancelling your goodwill credit

A while back we had the builders in and they threw away some fixings which they should have kept and put back up. I went into a local shop to enquire if they could sell me any replacements. They went … Continue reading

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All our yesterdays today

As customers we all appreciate good service. Yet technology makes our interaction with many businesses so impersonal. Bank branches are closing all around us. Yes, internet banking is very convenient and enables us to swap money around and pay bills … Continue reading

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Wasting your free time?

We are never short of advice in our daily on-line lives. We are bombarded with newsletters, links to blogs and articles. Many of them tell us what we should be doing when we are not actually working. Should we be … Continue reading

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Making a meal of it

And so to last Sunday’s lunch… Booked for 1:30 we had ordered within ten minutes. So far so good. From there we waited half an hour for our “starters”. Three fine. Mine not so good. An hour later our main … Continue reading

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A clear business message?

The other day I had a connection request on LinkedIn. When I looked at the person’s profile, I was none the wiser as to what he did for a living. There were two paragraphs of jargon. I did not understand … Continue reading

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Asking for help

I was having a chat the other day with the chairman of our local Chamber of Trade. He said that many businesses are struggling around our way. I guess he would be in a good position to know, albeit his … Continue reading

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Self-belief in business

It stands to reason that if we have our own business we need to believe in what we are doing. That means that we should believe sincerely in our product or service. If we are honest with ourselves we can … Continue reading

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Value, price and knocks

I lost a client recently. I wondered why. She said to me that my service had been great over the last eight years, and she could not have been happier. It was just that someone else was cheaper. I had … Continue reading

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Brands, value and me

I would normally avoid medical matters in this blog, but it is relevant that I am allergic to pollen floating about from early spring to mid-summer. You see, I buy anti-allergy pills which I find very helpful. I needed some … Continue reading

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