business strategy, Independent Thinking
Sometimes you have to know when to let go: The best small business owners are constantly innovating—rethinking a product, redesigning our Web sites, tweaking our marketing approaches, testing productivity tools and technologies. It’s what we do. But we’re...
branding, Customer Service, Independent Thinking, Workforce
Zappos has nothing on the Corner Parking Lot in Charlottesville, Virginia. Just watch The Parking Lot Movie, a funny, fascinating documentary that debuted at SXSW 2010. It has everything: class-ism, culture, hiring people you trust, empowering your employees,...
branding, Business, Independent Thinking
Assessing value can be one of the toughest challenges facing any business. Bring small business folks together for a conversation, and the topics of rates and handling negotiations routinely come up. Pricing is often in the eye of the buyer—budget, need, demand, and...
Independent Thinking, Social Media
Your work is all around you. The reality in this age of spidered content and 24/7 WiFi is that other people can find out a lot about you really fast. And this holds true whether you’re online a little–or a lot. Heck, I bet even people who live “off...
branding, business models, Independent Thinking
Is your business structured the right way? There are legal, tax, and liability implications to how your business is structured. Not just the legal structure (e.g., LLC or corporation), but also whether you have an operating agreement and how it’s written. And...
