Many people would love going in the business with a partner for variety of reasons. At the same time you will find equal number of others who hate the idea of working with a partner and losing independence. What is it about the partnership that brings different reactions from different sets of people? In this article we will highlight the pros and cons of being in a partnership.
It is not only possible to fight with large business; but to win big in this battle. Are you the owner of small business that is fighting for customers and sales with the big, national chains? How do you win the battle when you know you are outnumbered in every way? I just found out how one such business is doing one customer at a time.
I was at the auto mechanic shop the other day to fix the coolant leakage on my old car. The service I received there made me think what it takes to make a first-time customer come back for the rest of his life. Let me explain…
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This question keeps coming up in many conversations with existing business owners and prospective ones. In almost all situations I encounter two diverging opinions. In one camp you have those who say the economy is so bad; consumers are spending very little money, banks are not lending and many other issues facing small businesses today. In the opposing camp there are those who say this is the best time to start a business because you have many businesses for sale at good price, your business will be ready to take advantage when things start looking up and so on.
These conversations remind me of a story of two shoes salesmen who are sent to an African village to explore business opportunities for shoes. One salesman goes to the village and finds that nobody is wearing any shoes. She sends a message to the headquarters – stop this project. No one here wears any shoes. The other salesman goes to the village and finds the same situation. However, she sends an urgent message to the headquarters saying – crank up the production in full force. No one here wears any shoes. As you can see the opportunity is in eye of a beholder!!!
Many of the well-known businesses of today were started in bad times.
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It was more than a year ago when I sold my small business to focus on family and personal life. The journey for me had started 5 years before that and it was a heck of a ride. I saw many ups and downs – challenges, opportunities, excitement, frustration all wrapped in one package. I know most of you are thinking – “Are you talking about you or me.”
Since the time I sold my business I have been inching to go back those exciting days – something that would give back to the small business community I dearly love and share my experience and knowledge with those who may still be enjoying the ride or thinking about jumping on board.
And so I am jumping back in the small business world with this blog along with my consulting / advising business. This blog is about small business – be it in the form of a franchise or stand alone operation. I plan to cover a variety of topics that are on top of the mind for all business owners. These include; but not limited to, financing, purchasing, marketing, operations, customer service, employee relations, and overall management of small business. In short, this blog is targeted to the Chief Everything Officer of a small business – YOU!! If you are an existing business owner or thinking about starting a business you will benefit from this blog.
