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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.
John F. Dini, CExP, CEPA
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Small business owners are the Hunters of the 21st century. We are 3% of the US population, and yet we create over half of all American jobs. As Hunters, we may not be inclined to manage by the numbers or stick to systems. Are you a Hunter or a Farmer?
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How prepared are you to exit your company?
The Assessment breaks down the four major categories of exit readiness; Finance, Planning, Operations and Revenue/Profit.
Tag Archives: sales management
Help Your Friends, Not Your Competitors’
I hear it all too often. “A customer just called us for a quote. They have always done business with our competitor. We’re going to give them our best deal, and see if we can take their business.” Before you … Continue reading
One Response to Help Your Friends, Not Your Competitors’
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Small Businesses Fantasies: Service
As an evangelist for small business, I am the consumer equivalent of the locally-grown food movement. I spend as much of my discretionary income as possible with the owned-and-operated businesses in my area. As a consultant and coach to owners, I also … Continue reading
3 Responses to Small Businesses Fantasies: Service
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Even if you work on it every day, if you do not do it well the effort is still wasted.
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people have stopped investing in training and expect their employees to intuitively “know” these things. not possible. Really caring is just not that common.
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Service is a nebulous term. It has a different definition whether it comes from the provider or the customer. What supersedes service is the experience from the customer’s standpoint. Today’s independent business owner has a great opportunity to differentiate itself from its competitors. Unfortunately, many do not know how to do this.
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What’s in Your Leadership Golf Bag?
This is one of those posts that more or less insists on being written. Last week I started talking about the pronouns that help to define leadership styles. I felt that clearly I needed to bring in Daniel Goleman’s work … Continue reading
2 Responses to What’s in Your Leadership Golf Bag?
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John
Great article and Happy New Year; Wishing for MORE of “Awake at Two O’clock”
Frank
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John,
Would appreciate a self-scoring matrix that will help me see what leadership styles you use most frequently.
As always, I truly enjoy and respect your knowledge and experience reading and sharing your blogs.
Cathy
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“Congratulations — You are the Low Bidder!”
The sentence that titles this post could be defined as the epitome of mixed emotions for a business owner. You won the business, but only because you are willing to work for less than everyone else. Perhaps you deliberately cut … Continue reading
One Response to “Congratulations — You are the Low Bidder!”
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Price is seldom an issue when service, quality, and consistency are provided. But perspective and experience is huge. The airline industry has been taking advantage of their customers for years because we have little choice and have to travel.
On a Delta flight from Dallas to Seattle a few years ago, a packed Boeing 757, the woman sitting in the middle seat next to me raised her hand, to get the attention of the flight attendant doing her cabin pre-flight check. “Where is the olive oil” she asked loud enough for the majority of the other passengers to overhear. When the flight attendant approached our aisle, with a puzzled look, the woman commented “are sardines always packed in olive oil?” The cabin erupted with laughter and agreement.
Leaders with a vision like Herb Kelleher are very unique. And you are spot on in your observations about how well they deliver on their promise.
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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
One Response to The Quest for Recurring Revenue
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I am striving to achieve different recurring revenue streams over time, so I will check out the book, The Automatic Customer by John Warrillow.
Brilliant. Great summary of the possible reasons and excellently explained reasons why you don’t jump at every chance to bid or propose.