Company culture is a term you hear thrown around a lot but usually in reference to larger businesses. The reality is though that every business has a culture even if there is only one person there. The culture is generally determined by the owner because they determine what the business is, how it operates, who…
Even though Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol nearly 200 years ago at this point, it’s pretty hard to not end up hearing about it every year around this time. In fact, this year our family went to see the play performed at the Old Globe Theatre here in San Diego. It was mostly the original…
I will freely admit that what originally interested me in being my own boss was the idea of making a lot of money. A million dollars in particular seemed like a great benchmark to reach. But I will also freely admit that this was back when I was ten years old and had no real…
I often hear bad advice given in business and do my best to give a good counterpoint or flat-out retort to help offset someone going down the wrong path. This task is harder though when the bad advice is coming from one of the biggest names in business with a literal trillion-dollar success story. In…
There are only three ways to grow any business: Most business owners focus hard on number three. “If I just had more customers, I’d be in great shape” is a pretty common statement to hear from the average business owner. But often, that’s the hardest one to achieve. And in reality, of course, you should…
Nearly every small business launch I’ve ever seen, including most of the ones I’ve started(!), have made competing on price at least part of their pitch. It makes sense. When you have a brand new business, you’re essentially saying to your potential customer, I know I have no history, experience, reputation, reviews, or references to…
Well, the title may be slightly misleading, because when I tell you the “secret” you’re going to say that’s not a secret at all. But, in my defense, I see SO MANY small business owners blow this that it almost seems like it must be a secret or why else would it not get more…
There are lots of ways to know if your business is doing OK. The number one way most business owners judge is by how much is in the bank account and how tight things feel when it comes time to pay the bills. My business has gotten years and years past the point of being…
When you are just starting out in business the strong temptation is to work with anyone who knocks on your door and offers to pay you, no matter how far off it may be from what you were planning to do. If you started a house painting business but someone sees you have a ladder…
I recently completed my training for a private pilot’s license and am now certified by the FAA to go fly an airplane all by myself. I can even bring passengers! Which is, honestly, a little terrifying. But the more I fly the better I get and one day I probably will be able to talk…