Having High Standards in Business Starts with People
They say how you do one thing is how you do all things. In business, character stands out, whether good or bad, and you will end up being known for it. Having high standards doesn’t mean treating people poorly when they don’t share your standards. In fact, exactly the opposite is true. When dealing with…
Read MoreHigh Standards: Do what you can with what you have where you are
“Do what you can with what you have where you are.” -Theodore Roosevelt I’ve had an insatiable hunger in my bones now for as long as I can remember. My earliest memories began during tennis conditioning, hurling my body up and down the court running lines, pouring sweat, and leaving it all out there. In school,…
Read MoreBusiness Planning Happens in Various Ways
Business planning isn’t only about an annual plan, nor about an official document, it happens in many various ways. Planning can be used in almost every area of business and since it comes natural to me, it has always been an important part of my personality and life. In this article, I’m talking about all…
Read MorePlanning Ahead: Make your Efforts Work for You
Planning Ahead for Your Business Business masters do it religiously. Investors bank on it. Vision can limit or extend it. And, to the level it is applied and maintained translates directly into its success. Planning – an intention or decision about what one is going to do. It’s not just a word. It’s a mission…
Read MoreSmall Business Organization: Where Should an Entrepreneur Start?
Small business owners and entrepreneurs face the challenge of wearing ALL the hats. With or without team members, we are responsible for making or doing the thing we sell, answering the phone, responding to emails and incoming inquiries, and handling sales and marketing and bookkeeping and taxes, to name a few. It’s no surprise overwhelm creeps…
Read More3 Steps to Successful Competitive Market Research
As the saying goes, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. When you’re a business owner, it’s critically important for you to be aware of what your competition is doing. Of course, this is important when you’re in the startup phase, but even once you’ve been established in business for years it’s still a…
Read MoreThe Customer Experience: What Good Customer Service Really Looks Like
What does Customer Service really mean? From a very young age I’ve had the privilege of learning about good customer service from the master of them all: my mentor, my dad. As a manager at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor, and then at Newport Bay restaurants in the Portland area, dad learned from Bob Farrell, author…
Read More5 Keys to Actually Making a Difference with Your Customer Service
We’ve likely all experienced good customer service and bad customer service. Chances are, they both stick out in your head for different reasons. And while our individual experiences differ, the statistics don’t lie: According to Retently, 82% of consumers are likely to leave your brand because of the service they get, not your pricing or…
Read MoreThe Impact of Branding (it’s not just about a logo)
What impact does branding have? Let’s start here: When you hear the word ‘brand’ what do you think of? It may be a company like Nike, or Apple, or Target. You might picture a particular product that a company has advertised or that you’ve come across that impacted or spoke to you. You may recall…
Read MoreEstablishing A Brand Voice
“This widdle piddy went to market…” Tweety bird says as he pulls off one of Catstello’s toes from the wire he’s hanging onto in ‘A Tale of Two Kitties’. (1942) But how does a business create a unique voice? Let’s review a few key components… #1. What is your mission? Without a Mission Statement, a business can get trapped…
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