We know having a safe workplace is important. We know it’s a good business practice. We know it can save us money and maybe even save us from financial disaster. We know but do we always practice? And is it high priority? Moreover, have we instilled it into those working at our company, whether employees,…
Market research focuses on understanding your customers. There are a variety of tools to help you do that. Yet one of the most overlooked tools that offers a great deal and costs very little, except for time, is conversation. Conversation is great in terms of getting to know your customers as individuals. What are their…
Some of you may remember the Ford slogan of the 1980’s, Quality is Job #1. That slogan was true then for businesses. And it remains true today. Yet, quality sometimes remains hard to find. For example in the last year, two households in my family had to purchase dishwashers. Two different brands were purchased but,…
Do you have a dream of starting your own business? So what’s holding you back? For some, its not having an idea. For others, it is fearing the lose of hard-earned savings. Others think about what their friends might think of them. All of these and many of the other reasons given really come down…
A common concern among small-business owners is how to increase revenue. Often, they try to do this by finding new customers. That is an expensive way of doing it. On average, it will cost from $20 to $50 to get a new customer. Yet it only costs from $1 to $5 to expand sales to…
People form impressions in the first couple of minutes after entering a new place. Have you ever considered what your business says to them? Businesses offer many types of nonverbal communication, just like people do. It makes no difference if it is a physical place or an online location. Customers look for these same key…
Business owners work hard to achieve success. Yet when they achieve that goal, sometimes they are not ready for the consequences. Owners often are focused on being able to overcome all sorts of hurdles as they open and run their business. It rarely occurs to them that they also need to do some planning for…
Local food interest is creating opportunities across the country. This interest is evident when you examine the growth in the number of growers and farmers markets. It also is noticeable in the news and on social media, where you see and hear phrases such as “local foods,” “local producers,” “food hubs,” and “regional food systems,”…
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