Last Tuesday I received an email from a local small business owner inquiring about our SEO (Search Engine Optimization) services. We met for coffee 3 days later to discuss her needs (let’s call her Lilo). As I always do, I asked Lilo how she found out about our business. Her answer gave me good insight into 4 simple ways that …
Earlier this week we had Jason clean the ducts in our house. This is the second time we have hired him. The first time Jason helped us he was friendly, polite, and took the time to explain why duct cleaning is important and what his process was. We liked the guy, so we hired him again. He gave us a …
I just finished “reading” Steve Case’s new book, The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future. I put “read” in quotations because I read half of it and browsed half of it. Some books are worth reading word for word. This one wasn’t. But it did have some very good points, which I’ll share with you today so you don’t …
There’s an important difference between marketing strategy and tactics. Many business owners I work with don’t understand the difference. Marketing strategy is big picture. Marketing tactics are the day to day decisions.
“The task of marketing is a never-ending exercise in reduction,” said Terry O’Reilly, the author of a new marketing book titled This I Know: Marketing Lessons from Under the Influence. From my 4 years of running a marketing company and working with over 50 clients, I can say that this is the truth. When it comes to a business, it’s about communicating …
I just finished reading High-Hanging Fruit, the story of how Mark Rampolla started ZICO Cocunut Water and turned it into a multi-million dollar company and eventually sold it to Coca-Cola. The story that fascinated me was how Mark and his wife went through a process of reflecting about and clarifying their calling before coming up with this business idea, and that proved …
Our team is currently working with a private school on redesigning their website. “Is your website’s home page primarily for potential parents and students, or is it for current parents and students?” I asked them. This is an important question that every business should answer before designing or redesigning their website. The school’s website will be used by both potential families …
There’s a certain type of person that rubs me the wrong way: the arrogant jerk who is full of himself (I say him, because it’s usually a guy, though women are not immune from this attitude). Every now and then I come across a jerk and talking to him makes me angry. I used to dismiss everything a jerk says, …
Every business has the challenge of standing out from their competitors. For your customers to enjoy the benefits of your product, they need to know about it. For them to know about it, you need to get their attention. To get their attention, you need to stand out.
My daughter started kindergarten a few months ago, and I usually take her to school in the morning. Most mornings we make it school just in time. I feel like I have to constantly keep my daughter focused and moving in the morning so we can make it. I started saying, “Put your hurry pants on,” which seems to work …
