photo by akk_rus There’s no doubt we live in serious times.  The economy is awful, millions out of work…more bad things going on than you can shake a stick at.  And business is generally a very serious topic as well – try reading a book on lean manufacturing, business strategy or leadership and see […]

Cartoon by Tom Fishburne at Brand Camp It was short, succinct, 10 question survey; each question followed by a 1 – 10 rating scale. The survey participants were all seasoned business professionals and business owners. The theme of the survey was referrals or intentional “word of mouth” endorsements recommending another business. In a perfect world […]

If you want my business, I’m going to have to get to know you.  It’s important that I like you (or at least that I don’t dislike you), and I absolutely have to be able to trust you.  That feeling of Know, Like and Trust isn’t going to come from a cold call, it’s not […]

Life’s too short to… I’m sure you’ve heard that hundreds of times – maybe a bumper sticker or quick comment about the quality (or lack of quality) of a beverage.  “Life’s too short to drink bad beer!”. If you think about it, it’s a pretty deep thought (maybe not Jack Handey deep, but thought provoking).  […]

photo by Yodel Anecdotal Seth Godin makes me nervous – but for all the right reasons. Godin published ‘Purple Cow – Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable’ in 2002 and he explains the title in the first chapter by talking about a trip his family made to France where they were amazed at the pastoral […]

  Photo by andy_c Maybe this has happened to you.  You’ve got a great idea for a new product or a new business – something you just know people are going to be lining up to buy.  You do some quick back of the napkin business planning and realize that you need to get the […]