Nothing, really! Given that most small businesses do very little with regard to planning, a formalized strategic planning process is certainly a far better path to take than doing nothing at all. I mean that sincerely. I would much prefer that my clients immerse themselves in the strict methodology of someone else’s strategic (more…)

When I was a young boy, my brother and I sold peaches from our backyard tree door to door. By age 10, I had a pretty good handle on capitalism. The idea that “The customer is always right” was ingrained at a very young age. I had heard it from family and friends, but experience brought the message home. To this day, in a customer service environment, I still believe that the customer is always right. However, your customers (more…)

I discussed your need to have a real reason for being and to develop the stories and legends that define what you are and where you came from. I’ve heard hundreds of these stories while talking to owners and managers of growing companies. It is amazing how much of their success has come from simply seeing and (more…)

Why did this happen? Not because we were so smart, but instead because the other guys were so slow to first recognize, and then adapt to, fundamental changes in the marketplace. I would also argue that it was my relative ignorance about the “proper” day-to-day operation of this kind of business that gave me the time to see the macro view. Had I known more about fabric utilization software or the latest sewing machine attachments, I might never have taken the time to consider the fundamental, near-term future of our company and industry. Ultimately, seeing the macro proved to be our most important competitive advantage.

You can’t prevent the market from changing. But by having a macro view, you are able to cut down the time between realization and action, between attack and counterattack, or between defense and offense.

In the 1980s, I became president of that small apron manufacturer. The aprons we produced were not the type people buy at retail stores to wear in their kitchens, but the kind you see employees wearing in bars, restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, and the like. These garments have a dual purpose: protecting an employee’s (more…)

You don’t have to be a giant corporation with millions in-vested in market research to get it right, however. What you need is that seemingly uncanny ability to recognize what customers are looking for and how to respond to it. Among the 2003 Inc. 500 winners, 84 percent had started their companies without the benefit of (more…)

When I came to the bank with application to get home mortgage, I saw a man, look like a businessman, and was waiting a bank officer. I walked closer to him and said hello to him. We introduce each other and started conversation about our business and its current condition. We talked for along (more…)

Certain types of businesses require one or more licences and/or permits before they can begin trading. This is often a perplex-ing problem for the new starter because licences can be required by a variety of Commonwealth, state and local government authorities.

Your first stop should be the Business Licence Information Service located (more…)

When we say about health, there are so many options to implement the health of our body. We all agree that healthy is the most valuable property in our life, nothing can substitute it even with the highest value of money. If people get idea to sell the health product (more…)

Is there really any such thing as small business? The term conjures up a wide range of imagery. The U.S. Small Business Ad-ministration (SBA) defines both a sole proprietorship and a firm with 499 employees—and everything in between—as being a small business. An individual selling quilt at a monthly flea (more…)