Are you getting what you want out of your business? Quite often, we, as people, get into a funk. We take a look at our surroundings and wish that things were different. This certainly holds true for small-business owners. So what can we do to change our attitude and direction? Last month, I discussed one activity…
We want our downtowns and our retail stores to be welcoming for all kinds of customers. We’re especially interested in bringing young families downtown for shopping and for special events. To do that, we have to think from their perspective about what keeps them from coming downtown. Their answers might surprise you. Jennifer Carlson…
People are happily using smart voice assistants more than ever. You know their names: Alexa, Siri, Google, Cortana. It’s so easy (and fun!) to just say what you want, and your magical assistant orders it for you. Then it shows up at your doorstep, and you’re living in the future! This isn’t great for…
Many retailers experience a sales slump during after the holiday season. How do you respond? The slump comes as no surprise and most small-business owners know they just need to plan for it and ride it out. They think of it as time to work in the business and perhaps to grab a short vacation….
I was talking with a friend about finding work as an independent professional. He was talking about finding work speaking for corporate clients, and together we came up with these questions. I think these questions might work for rural professionals like you, too, so I wanted to share them. Who are the next…
Success for a small business means watching your pennies. Margins are usually small, sales are often weak, and there is little or no cushion available to absorb a mistake. It is also true that small business owners must not get so caught up in watching pennies that they miss the holes that are leaking dollars….
Despite the headlines, what we are witnessing is not the death of all retail. Retail is splitting in two. This time, small retailers are the big winners. Future of Retail Webinar Deb Brown and I are making this Future of Retail the subject of our next webinar at SaveYour.Town. We’ll talk about the underlying consumer trend driving this…
Let’s start with Best Wishes for 2018. That wish was to be a part of my post last week. But as you may or may not have noticed, I didn’t get a post done. This is not the first time it has happened but those missed times were typically planned for some reason. Last week…
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