I don’t talk about “b word” too often, but branding is really what a lot of our discussions are ultimately about. One of the more incisive definitions of branding that I’ve seen is “What people think when your business name is mentioned”. If that doesn’t cut right to the bone, I’m not sure what does. […]

Do your customers and prospects let your calls go to voicemail? Do they open your emails? If they do, you’d know (or should). Think about why you let calls go to voicemail and why you ignore certain emails. While you might be busy and decide to let calls go to voicemail, more often than not, […]

The most painful (and scary) conversations I have with small business owners are about marketing. One of the more common ones relates how another company “stole” their business with “more aggressive” marketing. The victim of this “theft” blames it on someone else’s marketing despite watching it happen right in front of them and doing nothing […]

Recently I was doing a little business with a large Microsoft distributor – a sale that required a license agreement. Initially, the deal couldn’t be finalized because I use a PO Box for my business address. Trouble is, they “don’t allow” license agreements with a business that uses a PO Box. Irony: That I can […]

Recently I had a tech conversation with someone I’ve known for at least a decade and have great respect for. During a dumb conversation we didn’t even start, we disagreed about spaces in file names and software that doesn’t support them. My friend is like the NORAD of user interface look and feel. His work […]

Change is hard. We often don’t make a change because just thinking about it tends to be unpleasant, never mind the change itself. We’ll think about it and mull it over and consider our options like we do about stopping for gas. We’ll glance at the pump as we pass by and put off the […]

Over the weekend, I had a brief conversation about a Wall Street Journal article I had posted to Twitter about the average nationwide earnings of a partner in a U.S. law firm. I almost didn’t post the link because I had the feeling it would generate a political conversation. Politics was not the point of […]

Recently, a small business owner hugged the President. He wasn’t tackled by the Secret Service, or cuffed and taken to jail. Instead, his business’ Yelp page was inundated with fake reviews from political loyalists from sides of the aisle. Yelp is a social media business rating/review websites. The timely, personal reviews on this site, like […]

Even when business is going well, it’s not unusual for a business owner to take a hard look at their payroll. When they pass you in the hall, it’s entirely natural for them to wonder to themselves… “Is that person pulling their weight?” Outside of that situation, you should know if your staff members are […]

Last week, we discussed a big reason why clients won’t take your advice. Reader David commented about a fairly common situation: Interesting concept but whenever I have tried to apply it (which has been many times before reading this post) I find the client still wont listen and will ignore my advice. This leaves me […]

A software business I work with has wisely decided not to support Windows Vista. Vista was released in November 2006 and while old, it’s almost half the age of now-prehistoric Windows XP released in October 2001. Yet plenty of people still use both. So why is it wise not to support Vista? In this case, […]

The old Gloom, Despair and Agony” TV sketch reminds me of a lot of business news these days. Is this what you take in every day by watching and reading mainstream business press? Do you have any idea how it poisons your mind? As election material, it’s expected. At the office, it’s poison. As “mainstream” […]

Recently, I spoke at a national organization’s regional trade show here in Kalispell. As you might expect, we talked about personalizing their businesses – in their very narrow market context. What always makes me wonder about these events is why they aren’t standing room only. Why aren’t people lined up at the door, so to […]

Today was yet another one of those days that come far too often. A day when someone tells me their computer crashed and they have no backups. This isn’t a computer at home that’s used for recipes, photos, genealogy, Google searches, email, Facebook and maybe an occasional game. This computer is used to manage their […]

When things are going really well, we think we’re really something. We describe it as being in a groove, smooth and steady, in a rhythm or “working like a well-oiled machine”. In electrical engineering, steady state describes the “normalcy” of a current or signal after it settles down shortly after being powered up. Sometimes, normal […]