Great Business Ideas: Work Hard and Play Harder

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Work Hard and Play Harder The most successful entrepreneurs i know work hard and play even harder. One friend, who built a $60 million company by working seven days a week for nine years, now frequently jets around the world to fabulous places for long weekends to meet her … Read more

Great Business Ideas: Get Help from a Restaurant Consultant

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Get Help from a Restaurant Consultant Isidore kharasch is a skilled chef, but most of his clients don’t even know he can cook. “I’m more comfortable managing the business end of a restaurant,” said Kharasch, president of Hospitality Works, a Chicago restaurant consulting and turnaround company. He’s a very … Read more

Great Business Ideas: Work the Phones or Walk the Floor

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Work the Phones or Walk the Floor Elaine petrocelli, co-owner of book Passage in Corte Madera, California, was named bookseller of the year in 1997 by Publishers Weekly. She’s done many things to deserve the honor, including battling nearby chain stores head-on and continually emphasizing customer service. Book Passage … Read more

Great Business Ideas: Do Something about Your Stress Level

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Do Something about Your Stress Level The entrepreneurial lifestyle is STRESSFUL. And, just as you manage your time, you need to learn how to manage stress. It’s important to your personal health, and to the health of your business, to maintain high energy and high spirits. Dr. Mark Goulston, … Read more

Great Business Ideas: Meet Clients in Public Places

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Meet Clients in Public Places The greatest thing about working at home is that by keeping your expenses low, you can spend more money on high-tech, high-productivity office equipment, travel, and entertainment. But of course there are some drawbacks to this arrangement. Most home offices lack an appropriate space … Read more

Great Business Ideas: Create an Informal Advisory Board

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Create an Informal Advisory Board the largest companies in the world have all sorts of advisory boards, but entrepreneurs are often reluctant to ask outsiders for help. An advisory board made up of industry leaders, deep thinkers, cutting-edge colleagues, and experts can steer you and your company through the … Read more

Great Business Ideas: Solicit a Quick “Yes” or “No”

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Solicit a Quick “Yes” or “No” through the years, i’ve learned that a quick and honest “no” is as important as a “yes” in many, many business situations. While we all love to sign on a new client or make a huge sale, too much time is wasted in … Read more

Great Business Ideas: Always Deal with Decision Makers

Great Ideas for your Small Business: Always Deal with Decision Makers the entrepreneur’s challenge is always to operate at the highest level possible; present proposals to the top decision maker, not the gatekeeper; elicit a prompt response; and move on quickly if the answer is “no.” Even when our company was based in the den … Read more