Have you ever been caught off guard with a tough question? “Can you just send me a bill?” “How much for a water heater? I’ve been calling around. I’ve heard prices from $250 - $400?” “My regular plumber finally called me back. He said you ripped me off! What are you going to do about [...]
I met Aaron at a business building seminar. The in-class assignment was to introduce yourself to someone and sell them something. Aaron is a kid….20 something. He shook my hand, looked me in the eye and said, “I offer relationship advice. Help guys go from ‘Non Juan’ to ‘Don Juan.’ I also have a video [...]
My rookie year… Once upon a time, I quit my real job (restaurant manager – good salary, benefits and someone to cover for me when I wasn’t around) and went to work for my husband, Hot Rod, in his contracting company. It was the dumbest decision I have ever made. It was hell. I left [...]
“Keep walking, Fievel.” ~ from An American Tale Enough with the Whining… It was the incessant discussion of per gallon fuel prices that pushed me over the edge. “I paid $2.89 this morning.” “You think that’s bad. I tried to fill up at $3.05 and the pump shut off at $100. Couldn’t even fill the [...]
Sandi and Peggy were laid off from their executive jobs after 9/11. They had worked together on a few complex projects and dealt with high level stress situations. They liked and respected each other and felt a kinship of shared values. As they considered next moves they discovered they both wanted to a grow a [...]
Once a month, I invite a smart business expert to be my guest star on the Bare Bones Biz Teleseminar call. We ask folks to join us on the call to share and learn and have some fun with business building. In April, my guest was Simon Sinek. You could call Simon a marketing expert. [...]
In the small business game, making Sales is playing offense. If you play offense well enough, you can make a few mistakes on defense and still win the game. If your Sales are down, playing defense becomes more important. In business, defense is controlling costs. The business owners I know who make money every month [...]
My mission, my why: Expanding freedom through extraordinary businesses! THAT is what gets me out of bed and into the office every day. That’s what inspires me. To do that, we try and make business help available…a little or a lot, as desired or required…through our site, programs, BlogTalk Radio show, etc. So, here’s a [...]
You dreamed of a profitable business, hoping for more…more money, more time, more options. However, now that you are in it, your ‘ball-and-chain’ of a business may be sucking the life out of you. I’ve lived the nightmare. And, I have used simple business planning to build rockin’ businesses and a fantastic lifestyle. No matter [...]
An Operations Manual is a written list of WHAT to do and HOW to do it specific to your company operations. Sometimes it doesn’t include what Mama did or didn’t teach. If you have a “stinky” employee at your shop…start with a Procedure. Here is a sample Procedure…about Grooming. First [...]
