FaceBook can KILL your business, why you need to keep your life out of your business more so than ever, and how acting stoopid can cost you money for ever
I’ve always been of the opinion that you should keep your personal opinions out of your business, for the simple reason that we only buy from people we like. An interaction can very quickly start to plummet when your prospect discovers that you’re a die-hard fan of the football team he or she most hates. [...]
How to completely take over a niche and obliterate your competition, and how I finally dumped my local taxi firm
Arnold Schwarzenegger is alleged to have said that he doesn’t do sequels when it comes to films, but that he made an exception for Terminator. Well, this post is a sequel to How to completely take over a niche and how my local taxi firm is driving me mad. What’s more, it’s a fantastic sequel [...]
Is your invoice template making your business look like a joke? Here’s what to do
Appearances are everything, even in business. If you are perceived to be an expert in your field, people will respect your opinion, you can charge more and you will be in more demand. Of course, you need to deliver excellently because that is the proof of all that you say about yourself. But even when [...]
How to completely take over a niche and how my local taxi firm is driving me mad
I travel a lot, often times catching trains at the crack of dawn. So I rely on taxis to get me to the station in time for my train. As it turns out, each time I book a taxi I get a bag of stress thrown in for free. I’m not kidding. When the sky [...]
How to impress your clients beyond words and turn them into loyal customers
Last year I came across a small business owner in a big industry full of competition, and what he did took me completely by surprise and won him my custom hands down. This is a very important lesson for every business owner: one that you can’t afford to miss. So let me tell you what [...]
How to charge what you want, and get away with it, and damn the medical system
To say that December 2009 was a stressful month would be an understatement. It was one of those months when things seem to go from bad to worse. Somebody very dear to me needed to go into hospital, and fast. At the time we were in Glasgow, but location is not relevant to this post. [...]
The car in front is a Toyota… because the accelerator pedal is jammed
Talk about damage control. Toyota are recalling thousands of cars in the UK alone, and thousands more all over the world. In total, the number of Toyota cars recalled was around 8 million on the 9th of Feb 2010. And that was just because of the accelerator problem. Another half a million were recalled over [...]
What Sainsburys do that you shouldn’t
A few days ago something happened to me in Sainsbury’s which caused me to rant for an hour afterward – in disbelief – at their antiquated points system. In fact, every time I drive past Sainsbury’s I’m now reminded of this, which is bad for them and a lesson to every business owner. It’s bad [...]
How one person can bring your company down
This week I’ve sent more angry e-mails than I did in the whole of 2009, and all because of one person and one very inefficient system. Twelve months ago I purchased a technology solution to help me set up membership payments on a website. The what of this matter is not important, so I’ll skip [...]
How 80% of small one-man businesses are loosing sales in 2 seconds flat, and how you can use this to your advantage
When was the last time you thought about how you answer your business phone? As trivial a thing as this may seem, how you answer your phone is a vital piece of your selling process and one that can cost you dearly if you don’t pay attention to it. Let me tell you about my [...]
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