... So the guy stands there with his mouth agape and says, “But Doc, why do you have to operate on my foot? The splinter is in my finger!” What does this punch line have to do with fashioning a successful website? Its underlying lesson applies to about 80 percent of people who can’t figure out why their website doesn’t “work.” Pretend your website is the patient in my … [More]
How to Set Owner Compensation
You may have decided to take no wages or below-market wages at the start of your business. But, by not accounting for the real cost for your services as if you paid someone else to do your job, you have distorted net income (or loss!) from your business. You are not at breakeven until you are paying yourself a market-based wage and you are profitable. Salary vs. Return on … [More]
Strategic Planning Vitalized
It’s that time of year again: strategic planning season. As annual planning and preparation tasks begin popping up on corporate calendars across the country, leaders cringe at the distraction. Given the current atmosphere of uncertainty, many executives approach planning with urgency and impatience — simply looking to get it over with — rather than approaching the process with … [More]
What Manufacturing Means to the Valley Economy
“Thirty years ago, manufacturing accounted for about 15 percent of output in [Arizona’s] overall economy. Now, it’s about 8 to 9 percent. That’s because other parts of the economy have gotten bigger,” says Research Professor Lee McPheters, director of the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. He sees … [More]
Social Networking — Off-limits in Employment Decisions?
In the last several weeks, a minor firestorm has developed over private employers’ use of social networking sites, such as Facebook, to inform their employment decisions. Though the controversy about social networking sites was not exactly news to employers — many of whom have been monitoring employees’ Facebook, myspace, and similar pages for years — recent reports that some … [More]
Priced for Business: Starting a Consumer Enterprise
It’s common sense but often overlooked: To start a business, you must plan a strategy to decide what part of the potential marketplace you are going to attack. First, obtain the relevant facts about your competitors and the importance of your chosen marketplace and its potential for growth. From this, assess what you can aim to achieve and how you can be different from what … [More]
Creating a Corporate Dynasty
Winning businesses follow the championship formula: People + Personality + Process + Purpose = Dynasty. People, naturally, are the first element needed to be in place in order to build a business with sustainable success. It is the people at the top — plus their personality traits along with processes and their purpose in life — who provide a more complete answer to identifying … [More]
Social Strategizing with LinkedIn
LinkedIn was founded by Reid Hoffman in 2002 as a business-oriented social network. It differs from Twitter and Facebook because its primary use is professional networking, job searching and recruiting. Executives from all Fortune 500 companies are LinkedIn members, and more than 2 million companies have developed LinkedIn Company Pages. With more than 150 million users in more … [More]
Security and Technology: The Growing Risk of Compromised Data
There’s no disputing a company’s data is as valued as its best worker. But that “best worker” employee could be the source of data being compromised. Hunter Bennett, vice president of managed hosting of Scottsdale-based OneNeck IT Services, offers this rundown of risks that are too close to home for any business: internal breaches from employees (70 percent of security … [More]
Strengthening Your Bench
Our last article made the point that you should know what selling style you need in order to acquire the right talent for your sales team to be successful. This article will give you some interviewing tips that will reduce mis-hires and increase productivity. Going Shopping or Hunting? A good catch is a rarity. I get asked every week, “Where do I pick up a sales rep?” It … [More]
The Media Mileage of Corporate Philanthropy
Though the economy continues to endure the deeper valleys of a rollercoaster half-decade, with employment rates still sagging, real estate sales only beginning to regain a pulse and consumer spending remaining stagnant, many Arizona small businesses and corporations are nevertheless embracing philanthropic opportunities as a means of staying connected to their communities while … [More]
For Brand Power, It’s Moments that Matter
Here’s a humbling fact for all us marketing professionals: Personal involvement with your brand is far more powerful than simply watching a TV commercial, even an attention-getting, racy or annoying one. It’s time we all recognize that the mere presence of the brand isn’t enough anymore. It’s our interaction with it that makes a lasting impression, so it had better be … [More]
Leadership Succession: Empowering the Company’s Future
Though there are many reasons for introducing new corporate leadership — a reinvigoration of a business’s long-term vision, a retirement or, worst case, an unexpected illness or death — the steps required for a healthy, successful succession are almost carved in stone and, best case, the result of vision, development and preparedness. “Succession is a process, not an event,” … [More]
Building a Culture of Trust Empowers Your Company
Do your employees trust you? The brutal truth is probably not. It may not be fair, and you may not want to hear it, but chances are that previous leaders have poisoned the ground on which you’re trying to grow a successful business. Make no mistake: Unless you and all the leaders in your organization can gain the trust of your employees, performance will suffer. And considering … [More]
Employee Engagement: The Proven Key to Increasing Productivity, Revenue
Over the past few years, most front-line managers have been forced to accomplish more with less — less in resources, less time, fewer costs. While a lot of companies have succeeded in maintaining or increasing their bottom line (despite unfavorable economic conditions), they’re also beginning to see the unfortunate side effects of that success. To wit: Employee engagement … [More]
Staying Power: Survive Economic Downturns
Goodmans Interior Structures Adam Goodman credits his father for giving him sound advice when he joined their family-owned business, Goodmans Interior Structures, in 1993: “Stay agile. You want to be able to duck low when the sail’s boom comes around,” Murray Goodman told his son. The older Goodman had seen Arizona weather several economic downturns since their … [More]
