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As a business owner, you know what it’s like to lie awake at 2 a.m. Maybe it has happened when you are excited and full of new ideas for your business. More often, it’s because you are worried about issues you will face the next day. Sometimes, it’s because you just woke up with the solution to a problem. I’ve experienced all those emotions about my businesses over the years. Awake at 2 o’clock? is where I share them with you, and hopefully help with answers that will let you sleep.
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Tag Archives: entrepreneurs
The Quest for Recurring Revenue
Recurring revenue is the current Holy Grail of business. Barriers to Entry, a traditional way of assessing your differentiation against competition, have been replaced by Barriers to Exit, how to make it at least inconvenient or at most excruciatingly painful for … Continue reading
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Sales
Tagged business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, economy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, leadership, management, marketing, new business, promotion, sales, sales management, small business, small business advice, startups, trade
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One Response to The Quest for Recurring Revenue
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When a Customer Outgrows You
There is nothing that quite matches the excitement of landing your first really big customer. It often brings with it the confidence that comes with knowing, really knowing, that you can compete in the big leagues. There could be the added security of … Continue reading
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2 Responses to Is Your Business in the “Neutral Zone?”
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Thanks John. Interesting what the future will hold for these businesses…Buying businesses for millions of dollars seems like pie in the sky for most of us Xers or Millennials. I totally agree with the “hire a buyer” future. When I told my boomer boss that I may be interested in opportunity for buying I think he woke up a bit and has started me on an upper mgmt ladder. I call this Intrapreneurship and have even started a community at http://www.IntrapreneurOnline.com where we IPRs can share our wins, grow and help each other. Maybe it will even turn into a place for nurturing these “hire a buyer”s.
Thanks again,
Clint. -
Great article, thanks for sharing! We\’ve written a blog post on why 2017 is the perfect time for baby boomers to consider selling their businesses. Read it here: https://www.tkomiller.com/blog/baby-boomers-and-business-owners-2017-is-your-year
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Police Deadly Force and Management
The outcry over the use of deadly force by police officers has dominated headlines. Ferguson Missouri, New York City, Virginia, Texas, Florida. Although incidents involving unarmed black men have dominated the headlines, the total number of deaths by law enforcement … Continue reading
5 Responses to Police Deadly Force and Management
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So what are some examples of “nightsticks”?
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Perhaps some commercial examples might illustrate the point?
1. Most serious examples short of termination might include probationary status, docking pay, demotion.
2. Less serious examples might include a letter in the personnel file, attendance at a seminar on the topic causing the problem, loss of privileges such as parking space, etc.
3. Least serious might just be a verbal reprimand without the “or else” attached to it.
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Don’t Train with Customer Pain
I have lot of favorite books. In business, they range from cutting edge theory to some of the little “quick reads” that build a single management or behavioral point around an allegory. One of the best in the latter category … Continue reading
2 Responses to Don’t Train with Customer Pain
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John,
You can usually recover from your pain, but not always from your customer’s discomfort – and especially if you do not know about it.
With my firm, I would call every client every month just to say “How are we doing”? 99% of the time, I was met with appreciation. The other 1% sometimes involved yelling and occasional unpleasant suggestions. My response was always, “Thank you – now that I know about it, I can fix it.” And we always did.
In 15 years our collection period was always less that an month and I never had a claim for any cause. I attribute it to good will and the ability to solve a problem before it resulted in slow payments, or worse, lost business relationships. -
I think they used to call it customer relationship management
I am striving to achieve different recurring revenue streams over time, so I will check out the book, The Automatic Customer by John Warrillow.