What I learned about business from tea sandwiches
When I launched my catering business in 1997, I was starved for work. While I had a clear mission of the kind of events I wanted to do, I also needed to pay the bills. So when a prospective client…
Lean Business Planning
I received a call the other day from Danielle, a woman I met at workshop I led. She wants to start a private chef business. She reached out to me because she wants to have everything planned out…
10 Tips for Getting the Most from Your Advisors
“Opinions are like armpits: everyone has them, and they usually stink.” When asked my opinion, whether in a casual conversation or through my consulting work, I’m quick to acknowledge that I don’t…
Four Steps to Successfully Grow Your Business
Naomi and Reid are thinking about retirement. Sure, they’re still young, in their early 30’s, but they know that if they don’t start socking away some money now, they will never save enough to…
9 Resolutions to Boost Profitability
Whether you’ve been in business for 10 months or 10 years, you’ve probably turned over the calendar to 2017 with the goal of increasing profits. I know I have. For me, I spent the last week of 2016…
Excelling at Excel: Mastering Spreadsheets to Master Your Business
Who doesn’t love a good spreadsheet? Beautiful and clean formats with elegant formulas and cell references, they are the epitome of grace in business. They not only look great but they can help…
QuickBooks QuickTip: Keeping Track of A/R
What do most entrepreneurs dread more than bookkeeping? Calling a client to find out if they’ve paid an invoice or not. Small business owners send out dozens of invoices a month (a food producer or…
The Skills for Success
Math, along with numbers in general, scare many small business owners. Rather than deal with this fear, they often stick their heads in the sand and ignore the hard truths and opportunities that come…
Actionable Sales Goals
How much revenue do you want to earn in the coming year? $150,000? $300,000? If you’ve read books like The Secret you know that you need to put out into the universe what you want. But putting down…
Growing Your Business: From Bootstrapper to Manager
For many entrepreneurs, planning growth through spreadsheet analysis is pretty straightforward. Though entrepreneurs may not like numbers, or have a particular affinity towards them; numbers are…