strategy

Small business success requires discipline and guidelines around these five sectors. Return on Investment (or “ROI”) measures the gain or loss generated on an investment relative to the amount of money invested. Another way of…

Seven small business goals to make 2020 the best year yet. Your business will only be able reap what your business sows. Therefore, setting business goals for the new year is a great way to make sure that your company is still on…

Outside investors want to understand a business' strategy as well as its financial statements. The need to raise capital from outside investors requires a great deal of preparation across multiple dimensions. Among many…

Five tips to harness the power of both systems of thought and get just the right pace and perspective to your thinking. In reading Daniel Kahneman’s “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” it occurred to me that we, as data analysts, can get stuck in…

Adding up the benefits of small business planning equals a path to success. Conversely failure to plan can negatively impact business vitality and growth.

Eight key factors in selecting the right mentor. A mentor, a counselor, a consultant, a coach, an advisor, a teacher, are titles given to caring persons who are willing and able to provide support and knowledge to individuals who…

Forward motion is a necessity for small business survival. It's hard to imagine that after all the blood and sweat that goes into starting a business, that one has to still repeat the process on an on-going basis. From…

Who Should Develop Business Strategy, the CEO, CFO or COO? In the mid 1990’s the CEO of Rubbermaid developed an executive strategy for growth.  The essence of the strategy was to innovate and grow through new products and new…

My top four 2019 small business resolutions. It’s the second week of January and I don’t know about you, but a couple of my New Year’s resolutions are already on life support (I’m looking at you, 5AM workouts). I’ve always…

5 business change components for which small business owners need to take responsibility. Business owners must keep in mind five things in order to successfully implement change to their business’s processes and operations.…

Four big ideas around learnings and creative thinking methodologies. Over breakfast a number of years back with Bryan Mattimore, I shared an increasingly gnawing concern with an innovation doctor…

How a 50-year-old psychological theory holds the key. Let’s begin with a historical perspective. In 1945, Arthur C. Clarke, the writer famous for “2001: A Space Odyssey,” proposed a worldwide satellite communication system.…

Discipline, attention to detail are just a few of the hallmarks. In today’s world, business owners can learn a lot from those who engage in world class competition, specifically the Olympics. Olympic athletes are…

The importance of planning can not be underestimated in driving small business success Dr. Graeme Edwards once said “it’s not the plan that’s important, it’s the planning”. Part one of a two part series. Throughout the…

A successful small business must move away from the simplistic “consumer contact point message” triangle. I am sitting in this meeting. The guy at the front drones on and on about the latest and the “bestest tool in…

These steps will help develop a comprehensive small business marketing plan Writing a comphrensive marketing plan requires thought and structure. Follow these eight steps will help guide the process. 1.…

5 Qualities Entrepreneurs Need for a Successful Business Sale Transactions The author, Michael Carter, is the founding Partner of Carter Morse & Mathias, an investment bank that represents middle market privately held companies…

As content becomes increasingly more important in digital marketing strategies these 15 tips will strengthen your digital writing and marketing strategy In our new digital communications world of abbreviations, instant…

For small- or medium-sized business owners the use of social media, the answer is a solid “maybe” EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is part one in a three-part series on social media and business. As a small-business owner, I constantly…

A look at the exciting possibilities for the future of The Washington Post No, no one has called it that yet, at least not that I've seen, but news of Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos’ $250 million acquisition of The Washington Post…

Messaging in concert with delivery must engage to activate the desired consumer behavior. Editor’s note this is the first part of a two part series. Why are three creative executions essential? If the objective is to…

Business tips for keeping persuasion the focus of your marketing and advertising efforts. There was a big bang 13.5 billion years ago and, the theory goes, from that singularity everything was created. So, in theory, all matter…

Direct marketing is perhaps the most affordable, approachable kind of advertising for an owner of a small or medium-sized business If B2B advertising is Rodney Dangerfield, direct marketing can only be categorized as the sleazy…

Effective B2B Advertising for Your Business Some of my friends are among the rudest people ever. We were talking about advertising in general and one of them says, Business-to-business advertising is the most boring advertising ever. …

This new Publix supermarket ad is a new approach to watch across all industries EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second part of a series in which advertising veteran and businessman Marcelo Salup shares his personal insights on competitors…

Effectiveness, not efficiency, should always be the primary concern Machiavelli famously wrote: “It is best to be both feared and loved; however, if one cannot be both it is better to be feared than loved.” For years I’ve been…

A local Audi dealer's ad blunder illustrates what not to do in advertising OK, I give up. If it isn't an Audi, what is it? A Beamer? A Benz? A Jag? According to the Ad Age DataCenter, Audi spent $148.2 million on U.S. measured…

JCPenney's Missed Message, Small Businesses Take Note So, first a word of caution: This is not a scientific, or even rigorous, survey. Consider it anecdotal. But go ahead, do your own and see what happens. I have been…

Competing store campaigns illustrate the need for pro-activity One of the unabashed pleasures of martial arts is that you can fight with an opponent - hammer him, really - and nothing happens. Then, as I began taking judo more…

Hold your next event or meeting somewhere your participants will never forget and your business will benefit from In a highly stressful business world, it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget about the importance of…

Communication, creative and media strategies should not be treated independently Editor's note: This is the last in a series of articles on the Theory of Everything as applied to marketing. Read part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4.…

Communication, creative and media strategies should not be treated independently Editor's note: This is the last in a four-part series. In part three, we looked at product/target combination that would have the best chance of achieving…