The Business Adviser

Very well said Ron! I couldn't agree with you more...

2009-12-01T13:19:07.819-05:00

Very well said Ron! I couldn't agree with you more, but sadly, history proves we DO NOT learn from the past; we simply redo the same mistakes. Crash in 1987, Russia not making good on debt in 1997, dot.com bubble, real estate speculation.

My thoughts on the next bust? Perhaps the "social networking sites" and the valuation that comes with those IPO's. Ride the market on them up, short them near the top and ride them to the bottom.

Hope your holiday was a good one and hope to see/hear from you soon!

Christian

Thank you for your knowledge sharing! I'm a busi...

2009-09-05T15:18:24.422-04:00

Thank you for your knowledge sharing!

I'm a business student studying my last-year bachelor progam in Singapore. I gained a lot of useful information from your blog.

-Tiffany-

"Sometimes losing money on a sale is necessary for...

2009-04-08T08:27:00.000-04:00

"Sometimes losing money on a sale is necessary for future sales. But be careful you don't sell at a loss because the customer "promises" future purchases." - Very good point.That's where relationship, trust and good business acumen come handy.

Ron, very good article. Something even marketers w...

2009-04-08T08:15:00.000-04:00

Ron, very good article. Something even marketers will miss out while strategizing. So ad agencies, design houses and PR firms' competitors may not be their same kind, but the clients themselves! In this economic winter, many business owners chose to put on marketing caps. :)

I am not familiar with ING Direct's practices. I ...

2009-03-25T18:13:00.000-04:00

I am not familiar with ING Direct's practices. I would add that having a demanding customer is not necessarily a bad thing .. IF .. the customer is willing to pay extra for his/her demands. I had an EXTREMELY demanding customer many years ago in a former business. He often bragged about how demanding he was. However, he was willing to pay top dollar for his demands and he always paid on time without the slightest complaint beause we satisfied his demands. He was a very profitable customer.

Interesting post, Ron. I'm reminded of something I...

2009-03-25T17:01:00.000-04:00

Interesting post, Ron. I'm reminded of something I read once about ING Direct; their CEO Arkadi Kuhlmann remarked that they do in fact fire customers who are too demanding. Are you familiar with their practices?

I agree with what you discussed. There were times...

2009-03-20T08:29:00.000-04:00

I agree with what you discussed. There were times when I was manager at Wendys that I wanted to FIRE a bunch of customers,(regular customers) because they thought we should wait on them hand and foot. If some day I own my own business this will be very helpful. Thank you.

Hello Ron. I really enjoyed your article about th...

2009-03-15T16:04:00.000-04:00

Hello Ron. I really enjoyed your article about the Business Scoreboard. I am the founder of www.yes941.com and I am urging my entrepreneur group to utilize scoreboards in their businesses. The scoreboard that you talked about it probably the most important tool in any business. John

A great businessman should always answer yes on th...

2009-01-04T10:46:00.000-05:00

A great businessman should always answer yes on the question whether his business be better or worse regardless of the year. As a saying...if door closes, we can always open the windows.

Banks lend you money when you don't need it... the...

2008-12-21T18:41:00.000-05:00

Banks lend you money when you don't need it... the prettiest girl wants to date you after you get engaged.

Some more of life's little idiosyncracies that drive me nuts.

You are SO right, Ron. We get stuck in the day to day grind and forget to stop, look around, take some notes and do things to ready ourselves for the future, whether it is tomorrow, next month, next year or next generation.

Like the Boy Scouts Motto, "Be prepared!"

Merry Christmas

We have to be flexible to adapt to the flows and e...

2008-12-10T21:31:00.000-05:00

We have to be flexible to adapt to the flows and ebbs of water. Darwin's Theory is made so real in this financial tsunami. With our clients scaling down their budget in marketing, we have to be creative to cater to their needs while watching out our bottom lines. Creativity and versatility in marketing, payment and client relationship are all called for.

Assembling a board of director, think tank or mast...

2008-12-10T21:26:00.000-05:00

Assembling a board of director, think tank or mastermind group to leverage is great. We can learn and support each other, and thus reducing a level 10 problem to a level 1 challenge. However, what I found most challenging is to find like minded and committed members to sit in such bodies. Many petered out after a few months. :(

"I know that" are 3 dangerous words. They kept us ...

2008-12-10T21:23:00.000-05:00

"I know that" are 3 dangerous words. They kept us from learning. Like a plant, we start dying when we stop growing.

Your post reminds me of Domino Pizza. Very few sai...

2008-12-10T21:20:00.000-05:00

Your post reminds me of Domino Pizza. Very few said their pizza is great but the promise of delivering within 30min stuck to people's mind even until today.

I couldn't agree more! Employers believe they are...

2008-11-24T17:00:00.000-05:00

I couldn't agree more! Employers believe they are doing a good thing by offering bonuses but most of them get it wrong and it becomes a failed system within their company- usually joining other failed systems that have piled up along the way.

If a company is going to offer bonues they must have clear expections, measurable progress, and a trusted overseeing body.

And, while I'm on the subject. Let's think about what bonus your employees should get. They are not only monetary. Get creative. Get to know your employees. What is it that they would most appreciate from you?

Happy Holidays!
Lisa Spahr www.spahrconsulting.com
Your Life Coach for Better Living!

Hi Ron, Your #6 reminded me of my own post on elev...

2008-10-24T22:55:00.000-04:00

Hi Ron, Your #6 reminded me of my own post on elevator speech. :)

What I do when I go network is I'll write something at the back of the name card. The date, venue and even time I met this person. If necessary, a comment on the person or how I think we could leverage on each other. It helps a lot as I cannot trust my brain to remember distinctively every stranger in a networking session.

Of all, your #10 is the most valuable advice. NATO is not the way to go.

Just sharing ...When I was a rookie in an ad agenc...

2008-10-24T22:49:00.000-04:00

Just sharing ...

When I was a rookie in an ad agency many moons back, I thought brain-storming session was a waste a time. There were 5-7 of us talking from anything to everything in the room for 3-4 years. Some ideas were so far fetched and ridiculous that I zoned out. Only when the big idea came did I realized that one idea leads to another yet to another and so forth, until the bright light. After that enlightened moment, I gleefully stayed on each and every brain-storming session no matter how absurd some of the ideas were. I knew something will come out of nothing. The tough part is to get everything to think out of box, without restrain, without boundaries imposed by ourselves or the client. Only when ideas flow freely, will the mother of all ideas come.

You are right that small business owner wears many...

2008-09-18T22:00:00.000-04:00

You are right that small business owner wears many hats. That's probably what wore him down eventually too. Outsource is a smart way of leveraging other people resources and strength.

Well said Darren. I think if we had a law that sa...

2008-09-17T20:26:00.000-04:00

Well said Darren. I think if we had a law that said you had to be a small business owner before you could run for any office, all levels of government would run much better ... and we would have a lot less government.

Hi Ron,I also run a small business and I would hav...

2008-09-17T10:28:00.000-04:00

Hi Ron,

I also run a small business and I would have to say that your analysis is spot on.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could elect someone with small business experience to the office of President of the United States?

Not only would such a person know that money can't be magically created out of thin air, but he or she might actually be able to recast the United States as a small, limited, Constitutional entity as common sense dictates and as the Founders intended.

Darren

well said Ron and I couldn't agree with you more.

2008-09-05T07:41:00.000-04:00

well said Ron and I couldn't agree with you more.

Thanks for your comments. It is a shame that many...

2008-08-05T16:07:00.000-04:00

Thanks for your comments. It is a shame that many business owners don't realize how important suppliers are. When I hold my appreciation events, I always invite both customers and suppliers.

Thanks for your comments. They always make some v...

2008-08-05T16:04:00.000-04:00

Thanks for your comments. They always make some very good points.

I consider my suppliers among my biggest assets. W...

2008-08-05T06:58:00.000-04:00

I consider my suppliers among my biggest assets. Without their relent support in quality management, punctual delivery and flexible terms, I would not be able to support my clients 101%. I always tell 2 of my most trusted suppliers that I can sleep in peace when I know they are handling my jobs.

Another great blog Ron. I find the best way to fin...

2008-08-03T16:48:00.000-04:00

Another great blog Ron. I find the best way to find what motivates people is to not ask about what motivates them- but rather come at it from various other angles. I often ask people to tell me what they'd be doing (with their time or money) if they weren't working here? That is telling on what their goals, dreams, and ambitions are. These are the other avenues to get us closer to truly understanding their motivations. You are absolutely correct- most people don't know how to answer the bigger questions. So, I like to start small.
I always look forward to your blogs.