I don’t often weigh in on big corporate issues, but there are some good lessons from two contrasting recent promotions. Fast Company is a well known forward-thinking business magazine. Conventional wisdom says they should have succeeded in a social campaign. P&G is the corporate behemoth behind the brand Old Spice. They should have had trouble…
Our friend Linda, @MissDazey42, is a retired business owner, with experience in sales, market research, etc. (Her motto: “If I had my life to live over, I’d pick more daisies.”) Linda shared this story about her experience with a local business for our series on mistakes small businesses make. Two years ago, I had the best experience…
My friend Chaz French just emailed me from the road: I’m at a take out falafel place that apparently does delivery but nowhere in here can we find a menu to take and they didn’t come up in a web search for delivery in the area. If you aren’t sharing your critical information with your…
Every so often, we feature common small business mistakes, so you can learn from them. Lots of small business make a mistake in setting and keeping their business hours. Here’s an example from a retail business, open only 11 hours per week. But hey, they do say you can call and they’ll come open up….
Are you the kind of person who has lots of small business ideas? How do you corral your thinking so you can focus on one opportunity at a time? Should you? What direction should you go? Yes, build one business at a time. Create the systems that enable you to delegate most of it. Then…
Common small business mistakes have become a regular series here. Here’s the example of the day: Feel bad after suggesting that daughter buy shoes in downtown Oakville rather than at a chain. Now store won’t accept return. @DonnaPapacosta, via Twitter Ouch! You want to gain more business; you want to beat the big chains. In…
Two examples of customer service opportunities. The other day I walked into a donut place for a cup of coffee. I was pretty focused on my next task as I ordered a small decaf. I got my coffee, paid my $1.39 plus tax. As I turned to walk out, I saw the sign. “Large coffee…
You are thinking business card, right? I mean after reading that title?Nope. I’m talking about giving someone my gift card, for coffee. This week I almost ran out of a coffee shop to give a frustrated customer my giftcard for the place because they hadn’t been served well. The store’s mistake and I wanted to…
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