Turn a prickly pineapple into the perfect vacation piña colada At well-past closing time, you’re staring at an inbox full of emails. With only a day to go until your vacation, it seems like your “time-off” will be spent dodging phone calls from employees. Looks like the golden sand, palm trees, and blue ocean you’...
What happened over the last ten years? For me, it went from door-to-door salespeople and a mailbox full of advertisements to electronic overload. My gosh, my inbox fills up fast. My Facebook feed runs faster than I can run my fastest mile. My phone battery now dies quicker than ever before, and at times, I want to...
Now more than ever, money, technology and personnel are invested in the user and customer experience. In today’s world of instant reviews and feedback, businesses are sprinting to stay one step ahead of their customer to attract their target market, intuit their needs and attempt to exceed expectations.
Are leaders born or made? From business school courses devoted to the topic to books and articles to many a thought leader’s opinion—this question has been debated for a very long time.
On It is a monthly podcast where we tell the stories of business owners and how they transformed their companies. Listen to the latest episode on Soundcloud and iTunes. Jeff Schneider’s business, Marketing Ninjas, was on the brink of failure. He was putting everything he had into it, and getting only chaos in retu...
This is part two in a series. Click here for Part 1. In my last post we talked about marketing and how it starts with you and your Brand Commitment. I left you with two questions to ponder: What do you want your customers to say about your business? And, how do you want your customers to feel in every interaction ...
Frustration is commonly the difference between what you would like to be and what you are willing to sacrifice to become what you would like to be. - Unknown Show me a business owner who hasn’t felt frustrated and I’ll show you someone who is only a few hours into running their business. All business owners know w...
My dream was to work for the best telecommunication company in India. But after a few years of working for that company, my feelings started to change. Every day I was doing the same thing, always working to get a promotion or a hike in my salary—and I was tired of it. I wanted something different so I started Har...
What do oyster farming, planning and your business have in common? If you work in the oyster farming business, then one thing is certain: everything can—and will—go wrong in your business. Wind, rain, tidal swells, oil spills and sea sickness to name a few. Rest assured, there will be an obstacle in your way.
“We need more sales.” At some point during the life of your business you've probably uttered these words. For most business owners these words have become a part of their regular vocabulary. Without sales, there's no business. The employees need to get paid, the lights need to stay on and most companies are lookin...
Trendspotting is a term most commonly used in fashion circles. Top designers will spend thousands of dollars to send their curators all over the world to… spot trends. We’ve notoriously been told that the fashion industry is capable of predicting what colors we will want to wear before we even know we want to wear...
When I started Lumagate in 2006, it was because I saw a great opportunity in the marketplace. No one was looking to be the best player in Microsoft technology for system management. It’s a niche, focused, industry—but I knew we could do it.
On It is a monthly podcast where we tell the stories of business owners and how they transformed their companies. Listen to the latest episode on Soundcloud and iTunes. At only 19, Ovid Figueroa opened his roofing business, Serrano II. His strong work ethic showed up everywhere in the business: if it wasn’t done r...
Do you ever ask an employee for something you requested several days earlier and get a puzzled look? Or, get the response: “I didn’t know you wanted it today.” Or, even more baffling the employee tells you: “I don’t know how to do that.” These are the kinds of answers that cause many owners to hesitate when delega...
What is our purpose? What do we value as a company? What specifically are we going to do? What are we committing to achieve?
On It is a monthly podcast where we tell the stories of business owners and how they transformed their companies. Listen to the latest episode on Soundcloud and iTunes. When Jeff Venn started Create Studios, a web design and digital marketing company, the business was exactly what he wanted. He had more time with ...
This story was written from the perspectives of Daniel Caruana, Director and CEO, and Wayne Spiteri, COO and Head of Sales, of Danrae Waterproofing. Our company operates throughout New South Wales, Australia, providing waterproofing and water-related repairs for new construction and remedial buildings in a variety...