When I was a young assistant manager at a fast food outlet, I would often feel a bit unproductive. The crew members were working hard, pumping out food and sometimes I was just watching the action. So I would step in and restock positions, empty the trash, wash the dishes. I was productive and making [...]

The 3 Point Series: Common Marketing Mistakes
Business owners generally feel they should do marketing, but a surprising number do none. They have tried some things before which didn’t seem to work, so they are reluctant to spend more money. But a nagging thought remains that they should be doing something. Let’s look at three common [...]

If you’re a business owner, this year is over. The plans you’ve laid, the training you’ve done, the structures you’ve installed will determine how the rest of the year goes. There are many things you can do to improve the outcome, and you should prepare your 90 day plans to do this. Your ActionCOACH can [...]

The 3 Points Series: The Most Dangerous Phrases
Here are three phrases I consider the most dangerous in business: How?, I Know, and Not Now.

How? Ever have a great idea and tell someone about it? Did they ask “How are you going to do it?” If so, chances are you were totally deflated. Without a solid [...]

The 3 Point Series: Repeat Business
Repeat business is the ultimate goal of your business. To generate an initial lead is expensive and time consuming. Think radio, tv, cold calling, etc. There are times when these efforts are necessary, but a key way to increase sales is to find ways to bring past customers to you [...]

The 3 Point Series: Communication
I would guess that the biggest cause of frustration to business owners is miscommunication. When things aren’t done as expected, when people fail to act as we expect or we make decisions on incorrect information, we are faced with failure or, at best, having to redo a task.
I define communication as [...]

Here are three tips on how to improve your advertising.
1. Know who, exactly, you are speaking to. Picture them in your mind, male/female, age, favorite activities, income. The clearer you are in your mind, the more effective your marketing will be.
2. Decide exactly what you want them to do. Envision how they will react to [...]

As I’ve met business owners from all industries, a common problem seems to pop up. Business owners seem so focused on the day to day running of their business that they don’t allow themselves any time to plan, review, celebrate or even to rest.
In a conversation, everyone agrees that these things are important - probably [...]

We all started our business because we saw an opportunity to provide a product or service better than someone else. No one starts a business thinking I can be worse than the others in the market! We may think we can do a better job (quality) or do it cheaper (price). Sometimes we have a [...]

One of the most fun things about being a business coach is seeing clients move their business towards making it work for them instead of them working for the business. Instead of a job, they begin to develop a vehicle that moves them towards their goals.
We call this the 6 Steps in ActionCOACH, but the [...]