I absolutely love that virtually everyone I meet is an entrepreneur, and although that probably says a lot about the company I keep – it is exciting to see people following their passions and start a business. So if you’re thinking of making the leap here are my top 7 things you absolutely should know! […]
These 11 insights come from a long career in advising small business CEOs and running companies as CEO myself. They are not platitudes merely crafted for this article. This list is real advice for growing a successful business and helping you through the storms which you will invariably experience: Revenue and scale are important, but […]
There is nothing worse than the meeting that drags on aimlessly without apparent purpose, and without any outcome. Having our time hijacked by inefficient meetings should never happen. The only reasons we should have structured meetings as opposed to ad hoc discussions and catch ups on the fly are: We need to work through something […]
Acquisitions can seem like an exciting strategy to grow your business, offering a fast-track to quick growth and scale. Big companies do acquisitions! The prospect of doing one for your own company can be alluring….. Before you go down this path and spend time and energy focusing on what may not be the right strategy […]
When the time comes to ramp up your business, and invest resources for growth, you really need to know your numbers so you don’t invest in the wrong things. Here is a very simplified summary of the key numbers you need to know: Sales Where are they coming from? Where do you make most of […]
I personally believe that you cannot change the culture of a business without changing the people. It’s like hitting the ‘refresh’ button. I also know this from personal experience, having had to change the culture of a few organisations along the way, and it can’t be done with a few workshops and bonding weekends. People […]
I was once asked by one of our Corporate Sales Managers to attend a client meeting with our then largest customer. I thought I was meeting with the client and one of their team, so there would be four of us with me and my colleague. This was a very big corporate client so trying […]
Getting through to your target market with online and offline marketing messages is increasingly harder to do. In my book, ‘Small Business CEO’, I take you through the key marketing strategies to focus on when your business is in Foundation Stage. This includes getting your value proposition right, and your core messages, and creating a […]
Most people who run a business or part of a large company struggle when it comes to setting KPIs – Key Performance Indicators. Here are three steps for setting KPIs for your team: Ask what the person is responsible for and what you want them to focus on. Check their position description and adjust if […]
It can be really time consuming, when you want to track how your business is performing across multiple departments or product lines, or other variables, when you don’t have that information at hand. You have to find it, maybe pull out a comparison of last year’s figures, and then wade through it all. That’s why […]
