Category Archives: marketing

Delivering the goods

A lot of people who don’t have a business think that there isn’t a difference between a large one and a small one except in scale. But managing and running a small business is nothing like big business. I have had difficulties dealing with large businesses such as the telecoms giants. If I didn’t know…

Don’t turn your back on me

Have you ever been networking and come across one of those little groups who are closed off? Maybe three or four people who are having their own meeting within a meeting and will be darned if they talk to anyone else? Of course anyone is entitled to choose their companions but it depends on the…

Small businesses making the difference

Is your business just like the one down the road? If it is that might be why you are struggling to keep afloat. In the good times you might get away with surviving. In the harder times we are in now, if you are not different, if you are not standing out from the crowd…

Referral networks and joint ventures need teamwork

Over the last ten years I have belonged to several breakfast groups and even run one. I have also belonged to networks meeting at other times of the day. Some of these groups produced great relationships and also business. One produced really a lot of business for which I will always be grateful. Networking groups…

Learning from experience – the choices we make

It is only natural to wonder about “what ifs?” which are the choices we might have made in our lives but didn’t. Mostly we will form a view when it is too late to change. That is because as time passes we have the benefit of experience and feel we might have made a better…

Planning a small business failure

I don’t always like to be right, but when a bookshop opened in our village, I really couldn’t see how it would stay in business for very long. It has lasted only about six months and has now closed. It really is very sad, and I can imagine the owner’s happiness at the start as…

Taking our business lives seriously

Playing at business You may think the title states the obvious, but some people don’t use their heads. They take short cuts in their work, such as the carpenter who does a quick botch job, or they take long holidays and wonder why their business income falls and they are broke. It would be hard…

You can lead a consultant to market…

Confession Here is a confession: I am a consultant. I am consulted about tax issues and I am consulted about business problems. Luckily my potential clients know where to find me. Luckily? Well, maybe not. I have to market to get business. It is obvious really. I know quite a few other consultants. Many people…

Can small businesses live off referrals?

In my work I talk to many small business owners, and on a daily basis. Some in professional services are doing pretty well without making any effort to market. This is because they provide their clients with reliable, dependable support, and in return their clients recommend them to others. That way they have a steady…

Is knowledge power?

I have seen the expression “knowledge is power” a number of times in blog posts recently. Jim Connolly is correct in saying that knowledge is only effective when you take action. I believe knowledge is currency. It involves action, but it has to be the right action. Knowledge is what you use to pursue and…

Category Archives: marketing

Delivering the goods

A lot of people who don’t have a business think that there isn’t a difference between a large one and a small one except in scale. But managing and running a small business is nothing like big business. I have had difficulties dealing with large businesses such as the telecoms giants. If I didn’t know…

Don’t turn your back on me

Have you ever been networking and come across one of those little groups who are closed off? Maybe three or four people who are having their own meeting within a meeting and will be darned if they talk to anyone else? Of course anyone is entitled to choose their companions but it depends on the…

Small businesses making the difference

Is your business just like the one down the road? If it is that might be why you are struggling to keep afloat. In the good times you might get away with surviving. In the harder times we are in now, if you are not different, if you are not standing out from the crowd…

Referral networks and joint ventures need teamwork

Over the last ten years I have belonged to several breakfast groups and even run one. I have also belonged to networks meeting at other times of the day. Some of these groups produced great relationships and also business. One produced really a lot of business for which I will always be grateful. Networking groups…

Learning from experience – the choices we make

It is only natural to wonder about “what ifs?” which are the choices we might have made in our lives but didn’t. Mostly we will form a view when it is too late to change. That is because as time passes we have the benefit of experience and feel we might have made a better…

Planning a small business failure

I don’t always like to be right, but when a bookshop opened in our village, I really couldn’t see how it would stay in business for very long. It has lasted only about six months and has now closed. It really is very sad, and I can imagine the owner’s happiness at the start as…

Taking our business lives seriously

Playing at business You may think the title states the obvious, but some people don’t use their heads. They take short cuts in their work, such as the carpenter who does a quick botch job, or they take long holidays and wonder why their business income falls and they are broke. It would be hard…

You can lead a consultant to market…

Confession Here is a confession: I am a consultant. I am consulted about tax issues and I am consulted about business problems. Luckily my potential clients know where to find me. Luckily? Well, maybe not. I have to market to get business. It is obvious really. I know quite a few other consultants. Many people…

Can small businesses live off referrals?

In my work I talk to many small business owners, and on a daily basis. Some in professional services are doing pretty well without making any effort to market. This is because they provide their clients with reliable, dependable support, and in return their clients recommend them to others. That way they have a steady…

Is knowledge power?

I have seen the expression “knowledge is power” a number of times in blog posts recently. Jim Connolly is correct in saying that knowledge is only effective when you take action. I believe knowledge is currency. It involves action, but it has to be the right action. Knowledge is what you use to pursue and…