01 Jul 2021

While the last year has impacted businesses and individuals in a million ways, there’s something in the undercurrent we’re all starting to realize – the pandemic has helped us get back to seeing people as people. They’re not numbers. They’re not cogs. They’re individuals with their own motivations, successes, challenges, strengths, weaknesses and needs. As we get to whatever our new norm...

10 Aug 2020

Not every business owner or company leader is a planner by nature – it’s a fact of life that we are all wired differently. But whether you call yourself an INTJ, a South, an 8w7 or any of the other many, many personality types, everyone  can learn to step back, see the challenges and opportunities at hand, and create a plan to reach (and hopefully exceed) your goals. Gre...

15 Jun 2020

Almost everyone has had a pizza. Most pizzas have the basics – crust, sauce, cheese and toppings – but it’s how you make those basics, the ingredients you put into them and the way you serve it to your customers that makes the difference. Some pizza is great and some pizza is terrible, but most pizza is just OK. It’s enjoyable and filling, but it’s usually n...

18 Oct 2019

Building strong relationships is an important part of the success of any business, but when you’re a new business owner – or when you’re not an extrovert – knowing how to get started can be challenging. While relationships are complex and every relationship is unique, here are the four basic steps to creating, fostering and maintaining business relationships. Meet: Being an entrepreneur ...

23 Sep 2019

Business owner burnout is an epidemic. Our society values entrepreneurs and business leaders who work tirelessly to build success, but working 80 hours a week, never seeing your family and never having a free second without feeling on call is exhausting. There are articles all over the internet – including this blog – about the importance of taking vacations, making sure your staff can r...

26 Jun 2019

5
Even the best entrepreneurs can’t (and shouldn’t) run an entire business alone. Even if you have the skills, doing everything yourself leads to burnout, stunts business growth because of capacity and keeps you from having a diverse team that helps you innovate. Having a staff you can depend on is vital, but that’s about more than having people with the right skills… they also have to be ...

23 Jan 2014

5
In any business, a solid referral usually means additional customers and subsequent growth. It’s the snowball effect of a great service experience! Of course that’s only true if the customer who had the great experience does one or both of two things: refers someone who would benefit from your company and tells others about the great experience they had. So where do you start? The answe...

25 Apr 2013

5
The weather is getting warmer, the flowers are blooming and the neighborhood kids are getting antsy about being out of school for the summer. Summertime is the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with your family – whether it’s a day trip to the park or a longer vacation – but if you’re a business owner, unplugging from the everyday demands of your company can be a challenge. ...