One of the recommendations I’ve heard from marketing people pretty much since the day I started in business twenty-five (!) years ago was that you should have a free gift to offer potential customers. You have to think any advice that’s been around that long has probably survived for a reason. And it does make…
I think the temptation of most business owners is to focus on bringing in more customers as the one thing that will solve nearly all problems. I understand the thinking! More customers mean more revenue and fresh work to keep employees busy and the firm in growth mode. If you are bringing in new business…
I was on vacation with my family last week which was great! But it wasn’t the kind where you are completely unplugged and off the grid, which in hindsight, I kind of wish it had been, considering the news. Unless you were off the grid yourself last week, you would have had a hard time…
I’m headed off in a few hours to Las Vegas for a trade show- flying Southwest for the last time before it all goes downhill (a situation probably worth its own newsletter someday soon)! There is a decent amount of hassle involved in going to in person events, aside from the cost. It disrupts your…
First, I will say, for anyone working at CapForge today, this is NOT about anyone specific or currently working! I know some people tend to get a little paranoid about a topic like this! Instead, this is something that will come up sooner or later when you have employees for everyone, period. There is also…
My wife and I like to go to open houses from time to time just to see what’s out there and how other people have done things. We’ve been doing it forever and it’s just a fun occasional hobby that can give you a glimpse into someone else’s world. Our real estate friend, however, warned…
Pretty much everything I write about in this newsletter comes directly from what I am experiencing in running my own business right now or have run into in helping other people with theirs. Today’s topic is very much what I’ve been thinking about for this business. It’s not anything splashy or “secret” or something you’ll…
There is a scene from the movie The 40 Year Old Virgin where the main character is given the advice that when trying to flirt successfully he should always answer a question with a question. This being a movie, and the character in question being Steve Carrell of The Office TV series fame, he of…
OK, that’s a big claim in the title but let me explain. What makes your days bad? Most days, it’s not a big bad thing, like your best employee quitting or your top client canceling or your landlord not renewing your lease. Sure, those things happen and they suck and you deal with it as…
Last week I shared with you the summary created by Google’s Notebook AI of the 75,000 words I’ve written in this newsletter to date. Without even asking, it grouped them into themes and then laid out a few dozen bullet points that really summarized all the key things a business owner can do to actively…
