-By Adam Witmer-
I eat out several times a week when I travel. As I usually eat a gluten-free vegan diet, my options are fairly limited and I often find myself eating a Subway salad. I have been to literally dozens and dozens of Subway restaurants, and most often, they are very consistent in what they offer. But I have found one Subway restaurant that does one thing slightly different than all of this others.
Read MoreBusiness plans can be overwhelming. They take a great amount of diligence and work to create. They require all kinds of information that isn't always available and many people think they need help writing a business plan. I am here to tell you that you don't.
Read MoreI final did it. I made my first video.
To be honest, ever since I hired the videogropher and scheduled a date to shoot this two minute video, I have been extremely nervous. It is hard to put yourself out there every week when you write a blog, even though you can somewhat hide behind those black and white letters. But a video is a whole new ball game.
Read MoreEver since I first read (listened to) The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris, I have been intrigued with the idea of outsourcing work to a virtual assistant for a low price. So when my friend Herby told me about Fiverr, I knew I had to try it out.
Read MoreChange is an essential element for any business today. Change is no longer viewed as merely a way to gain a competitive advantage, but is now essential just to keep up with the competition. But change isn't easy. In fact, many of us seem to have a genetic disposition to despise change. This means that, while we may intuitively agree with change, we are going to, at least initially, resist it. To ensure that change is effectively implemented in an organization, it is important to develop a process to manage change.
Every leader can develop an effective change management process by following five simple steps.
Read MoreThe fourth of July is a celebration where we burn money. Literally. We buy fireworks and other explosives and blow them up with nothing to show for it. Well, something to show for, but then it is quickly gone. In my youth, I spent several summers working selling fireworks and that industry amazes me even today. Products are sold only 2 and a half weeks a year and can bring in millions for just one owner, as Mark Lazarchic explained on a Mixergy interview. But what is more interesting to me is that our society has gotten used to paying for disposable products.
Read MoreDeveloping a sales strategy is one of the most important things you can do to increase your profits and strengthen the health of your business. A sales strategy is a pro-active means of identifying prospects. It is a carefully designed group of products that meet the needs of customers. It is an intentional effort to usher prospective customers into paying sales. In a day of increased competition, reduced barriers of entry, and overwhelming regulatory burdens, small businesses can no longer sit back and wait for customers to come to them. They must pro-actively see out sales by developing a sales strategy.
Read MorePolicies can be frustrating. Bureaucracy can slow efficiencies and make us less effective in our jobs. Procedures and systems can seem especially ridiculous when we don't understand why they were established in the first place. And I agree that many policies and systems actually decrease effectiveness and efficiencies. But mapping business systems can be beneficial on a number of levels. Specifically, to systematize through policies and procedures can enhance your customer service, and ultimately the customer experience.
Read MoreOver the years, I have worked with quite a few detail people. These employees are great with systems, operations, and "back room" functions; functions that are essential to every business, but require a certain personality type to complete. While these employees excel with crossing every "t" and dotting every "I", however, they often struggle with relational skills such as sales and communication. They struggle to understand the importance of building relationships in business.
Read MoreAs I have been recently writing on the topic of developing an effective sales process, I thought I would show a few examples of how successful sales funnels have been applied. In my post on How to Design a Service Industry Sales Workflow, I broke down the process of how to design a sales funnel for a business in the service industry. Businesses that offer a service, rather than a product, have some unique challenges over businesses that sell physical products. Martial arts marketing can be challenging on a number of levels. Therefore, I think it is worthwhile to take a close look at a business that has done a good job refining their sales funnel. This business is my son's taekwondo academy.
Read MoreThe retail industry in the United States has long been criticized for paying wages that no one can realistically live off of. Many retail workers must work multiple jobs and struggle to get ahead in their careers. One of the greatest challenges that retail workers face is that those who want to get ahead by attending college to earn an advanced degree really can't afford it. With rising tuition costs and increases in living expenses, earning a college degree while working in the retail industry has become a very, very challenging task. For this reason, one company has decided to offer an innovative solution to this problem; the Starbucks college tuition reimbursement program provides up to two years of paid college tuition.
Read MoreEmployees can make or break a business. Finding and retaining superstars who excel can be extremely challenging; like finding a lost diamond on a beach without the use of a metal detector. This is a difficult task for any business, but especially for small businesses and entrepreneurs who have so much at stake with any one of their few employees who make up their limited workforce. Therefore, many small businesses end up turning down an eccentric applicant who may seem to otherwise fit the bill, but doesn’t look the part of the job they are hiring for. But should these applicants be passed up merely because they may not fully conform to the boring culture we have established in our businesses? What if there was a way to leverage eccentric employees for a competitive advantage?
Every employer can create a competitive advantage with eccentric employees by taking one of three approaches.
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