Rick's Blog - Common Sense Experience for Small Businesses

Well, are you? All of us in business consider our customers one of the most important assets to our business. There is no arguing with the fact no customers means no business. More on point perhaps is what is the effect if we lose what we define as good customers. Those are the ones that spend the most with us and do so more frequently. My first question is, “do you know who these customers…

How do you currently lead your business? Do you lead from the front or do you delegate the role to others? Either of these choices can be the right one or they can be the wrong one for your business. There are literally hundreds of theories about what constitutes leadership and what is the best kind of leadership. In the field of business writing there is a new “flavor of the month” published every week.…

Open your newspaper, turn on your T.V. or go online and you will find a ton of information about the health care system in America. More information, more conversation and more debate about the issue than any current issue in our country. We are in a period of information overload. There are times in the life of any business that critical or important issues arise that can put you as a business owner in a…

At this point every business should have two months of accurate financial results for 2017. Also everyone on the management team, whether there is one (sole proprietor) or a dozen should have reviewed and discussed the results. A part of that discussion should be “how are we doing compared to the budget we worked up?” The answer to this question at this point in the calendar year can have a big impact on how you…

Trust can be everything in a business transaction. If your customer or client does not trust you and or your product or service, then the chances are they will not do business with you. The level of trust that a potential buyer needs to do business with you can vary. If you position yourself as the low-cost alternative, then the level of trust needed is lower. On the other hand if you are seeking a…

Ever business owner needs an exit strategy. At some point in the life of a business there will be a time when an owner needs or wants to step aside. Therefore, it is important that every business owner develop their own exit plan. Change in a business should be as smooth as possible. Planning the change, such as an owner’s exit, is obviously critical to for the change to be effective and smooth. When a…

I came across a short article the other day by David Finkel, CEO of Maui Mastermind® entitled “The Backbone of Your Company.” In the article David talks about how most companies try to build their company on a one-legged stool called “Team”. We all know how stable a one-legged stool is and if there is just a little bit of sway the entire stool and its passenger can fall to the ground. This same effect…

How fast and how far do you want to take your business sounds like a fairly simple question for any business owner to answer. However, the reality is much, much different. It just happens that many business owners never really ask the question or if they do they fail to provide a complete answer. What is a complete answer to the question? A complete answer would first include the development of a clear Exit Strategy…

There is always a lot of excitement and joy that surrounds the arrival of a new year. Many resolutions are made and new plans are drafted for a new beginning. It is almost as the arrival of a new year brings with it a sense of great energy and hope. In reality the only thing that has really changed is the date on the calendar. The again we should never diminish or be negative about…