Don’t under estimate the value of your company’s human capital. As your company grows larger and you add more employees your payroll and benefits expense rise. For many companies, this is the largest monthly expense they face. Some business owners … Continue reading
Margin IS Your Gross Profit “What should I charge?” Many small business owners do a lot of hand ringing when grappling with pricing their goods or services. It doesn’t have to be hard. Here are some ideas that … Continue reading
You’ll never know unless you ask. A well planned survey can provide information to help you learn the “voice of your market”. Marketers can get a good idea of customer preferences by analyzing a business’s existing records: Clients, Inventory or … Continue reading
Big Data “Big Data” has been a “hot” business topic for the last several years. It refers to high volumes of information that may span multiple content types (words, numbers, graphics, sound, etc.). The idea is to use big data … Continue reading
The Baker’s Dozen A long an honored tradition in retail baking is to “add one more” whenever someone ordered a dozen. Thirteen for twelve, not bad. Before the advent of hyper marketing, it might be the only value proposition one … Continue reading
Are up front marketing expenses threatening your cash flow? “I want to grow my business” is the refrain of many small business owners. If you are looking to grow the top line, “sales revenue” then you have essentially 2 choices. … Continue reading
Last week I spent 3 days at an all girls camp nestled on 240 acres in Harrison, Maine. My clients, Jim and Beigette Gill own and operate Fernwood Cove offering “extraordinary summers for girls.” And extraordinary, it is. Fernwood Camp … Continue reading
Too frequently the small business owner moves from one short-term focus to the next paying little attention to the mid or long term goals and strategies that are real “force multipliers” to increase sales, lower risk, retain the best employees … Continue reading
Small business owners decide when and how to spend money on their businesses. Knowing the “why’s” and the “what’s” of business spending can make a significant difference on your profits and on the value you acquire. Reasons to Spend There … Continue reading
Is Vertical Integration For You? So you’ve had a great idea to service a segment of the market by supplying products, services or both. Before “rushing to market” stop and think how much of the product or service you should … Continue reading