If there’s one thing that can get in the way of a smooth running solo enterprise, it’s the lack of an organised back office. Sadly it’s not unusual to see a business that fronts up well yet is a disaster behind the scenes.
Here are my Top Five back office essentials, see how you stack up:
1. […]

Threshold, a limit you reach where a reaction takes place…
In business this can mean many things, I would like you to explore the thought of threshold and consider how many areas you have a threshold with, any area where you reach a limit and your ‘comfort zone’ is stretched too far and you retreat or […]

As someone once advised, “Grow antennae, not horns.” If you prejudge someone as shallow, crazy, or ill informed, you automatically cease paying attention to what they say. So a basic rule of listening is to judge only after you have heard and evaluated what they say. Do not jump to conclusions based on how they […]

What gets in the way of great service, great planning, great production, great products. GREAT BUSINESS!
A. “Things”.
I guess you could stop work for a while and analyse all the things that get in the way of doing great business but the fact is you probably can not justify the downtime.
May I suggest  you make mental […]

We have a new student from overseas in our house, we have two students we host from a local school and have done it for years, we love it. Each time one leaves or completes yr 12 to go to uni we get a new one. This year was no different and the new one […]

Many new business owners ask me, “Should I offer a money-back guarantee? I know it will help sales, but the risk really scares me.” I offer guarantees on everything I sell, but that doesn’t mean you should too. Here are some factors to consider and some ideas to get you started.
The Pros:
A guarantee puts your […]

It would be lovely to think we only ever attracted dream clients to our businesses, but unfortunately we also get the occasional stinker.
Examples include those who ask us to undertake work that’s beyond (or beneath) our expertise. In these cases we have to weigh up ‘income versus annoyance’ and ensure we are mindful of the potential risk […]

I have come across two similar ad campaigns which have angered me no end. The first, a TV ad, features a beaming bride who keeps smiling as she takes a work call during her ceremony. The second, on the radio, has a dad reading a bedtime story, before taking a call then cutting it short, […]

It’s that time of the year when many take a break (down under anyway…) and they get the chance to sit back a relax a little at least.
How many of you want to forget the business, and how many are still wrapped up in it, failing to unwind even a little!
My thought for you at […]

This week - in our final missive until January - I’d like to explore the topic of gifts.
I’m not talking about what we should or should not give to our clients, friends and supporters, as I rather hope you’ve already handled that one. (He said, smugly).
No, the gifts I’m talking about are the ones you […]

Every week I publish my ezine, I get almost instantaneous feedback. Most of the time it’s wonderful comments like “Thank you for all you do, Ali!” and “I really appreciated this article. It gave me tips I could really use on that subject.” Or “Great teleseminar you’re offering - it’s just what I need to […]

I recently came across this story and it reminded me of a few things I had seen in the past few years.
Quad/Graphics USA is one of the largest printing companies in the world. It is the brainchild of Harry Quadracci Jr. He constantly searches for cheaper, faster, more effective, exciting ways to do business always […]

I belong to an exclusive club called “those of us left behind after a suicide’.  It’s not a nice club to be a member of.  You have a double grieving going on, you grieve for their sad life and their death.  Unless you have experienced losing someone to suicide you can never understand what it’s like.  […]

If you’re considering hiring copywriting help for your next brochure, Web site, or marketing project. Congratulations! You should get great results if you hire a pro to do it right.
Many business owners and marketing professionals have valid concerns about letting an outsider develop their content. After all — it’s your business, you know it best, […]

This isn’t just for CEOs. It’s for everyone. Score yourself with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for each of these and see how many you get out of 11. Be honest: no-one else will know but you.
1. Arrogance. You’re right. Everyone else is wrong.
2. Melodrama. You always grab the centre of attention.
3. Volatility. Your mood shifts […]

“To succeed, your business must not focus on selling, but on providing solutions to your customers. When you focus on providing solutions, something awesome happens: your business product offerings will never become obsolete. Instead, they’ll thrive toward meeting customer needs–no matter the era.”
Inspired by Theodore Levitt
The challenge is knowing what they need, on knowing that […]

I have come across two similar ad campaigns which have angered me no end. The first, a TV ad, features a beaming bride who keeps smiling as she takes a work call during her ceremony. The second, on the radio, has a dad reading a bedtime story, before taking a call then cutting it short, […]

Have you ever accidentally lost an important file on your computer? Perhaps your computer crashed (again) or your cat sauntered over a dooming sequence of keys. Remember that little pang in your stomach you felt when you realized that file was gone for good?
OK, now imagine losing your entire e-zine subscriber list or customer list. […]

I love working with businesses as they are made up of people as the main part of the mechanism to make the organisation work, but all too often companies run into negative people issues and that can mean things may not go quite as planned some times. I developed this list in response to a […]

This one really got me. I must admit I have seen it so many times with clients, and it still intrigues me to no end. But I liked the way this recent article in Mybusiness magazine (Oct 06) put it. “It’s not enough to know how” By Brad Sugars. His analogy of overweight people and […]

Standing on top of a mountain or a very big hill on a clear day it seems as if you can see forever… If the journey there was a hard slog then the view hopefully is well worth it.
In a similar vein I was checking out web resources for business and came across an article […]

Motivate to Activate Your Staff
Love your job or hate it? If you asked your employees the above question how many would say “love it”? For those that answer “hate it” is it because they really are in the wrong job or is it due to environmental factors?
There are strategies that employers can create to foster […]

There are so many average businesses, so why are the excellent ones few and far between?
If you start out to do something, do you start with excellence in mind or mediocrity? I guess the answer is excellence, after all why would you want to create an average thing, where is the logic in that?
So go […]

I walked in the door, no sales person. I called out, no answer. I stood and checked out the display before calling out again, No answer. Finally a person came out and stretched with a wide yawn, “Ehr g’day, I didn’t know you were there… I was taking a snooze out the back. Must have […]

New solo ventures require plenty of planning. Here are five questions that all aspiring soloist’s need to consider.

1. Have I done the right amount of research?
The excitement of starting a new business can cause new soloists to be too hasty. Often driven by the mistaken belief that some imaginary boat will be missed if the […]

When I coach my entrepreneur clients, one problem I often see is that they’re not taking enough time to market and grow their business. It’s not that they don’t understand the value of those efforts, or […]

Many people who know me in business circles know that I am an avid fan of Tom Peters, Tom is a business guru to many and his books and speeches cause people to think in very positive ways. If you want to check out any of his work go for “Re-imagine” a great book and […]

Want an employee to do a job? Make sure the job description is up to scratch. If there is none, create one. If one exists, review it.
Some organisations get the past staff member to write it and hope for the best. I suggest that the whole process could become a great collaboration of the staff […]

Try selling a business as an asset after twenty years of operation only to find it had no value, buyers come and look but fail to put in any reasonable bid.
Your years of blood sweat and tears turn sour, your ‘nest egg’ lookslike it is failing to live up to what you wanted. So what […]

Just as there are the seasons of nature, there are also seasons of business. Many will surely attest to this when they read the information, and may not have thought of business in these terms before. In time it can become very useful to view business from this stand point so that you can keep […]

Can you begin to imagine the fear that the staff felt when they found out their boss was sacked by an incoming executive committee. They wanted a change and the staff got a rude shock!
A step forward
The staff had closely monitored the progress of their leader as he worked his way through the system, spending […]

Have you ever heard someone say they know someone who is lucky in business? I have, on many occasions and have wondered if they realise what they are saying. If it was just luck then why are there so many courses available to develop business skills in a wide range of areas.
For some they may […]

Someone in the business asks for a report and the effort that goes into it would keep and household lit for three weeks. The reams of paper and sleepless nights culminate in a great report that was needed a the time, however does every word in the hefty document work to serve its purpose? Could […]

The scene
Is the villain a mild mannered considerate person with the ability to reason? Or are they a person who shows a blatant disregard for their fellow workers and is often known to arrive late, rule with an acid tongue and generally irritate others at the drop of a hat. You guessed it, the latter.
Our […]

You start a new employee and before long there appears to be a problem, not many know about it because it is cleverly hidden. The employee is starting to lose motivation and interest for the job. Like anything a person can get bored, the role may be too repetitive or un-challenging in some way.
Boredom
Our employee […]