Great Ideas for your Small Business: Listen to the Telephone Doctor Nancy friedman, known as the “telephone Doctor,” is one of my favorite customer service experts. She’s an energetic, intelligent woman who teaches people how to make the most of their most valuable business tool—the phone—via seminars, books, and tapes. Unfortunately, many people take their … Read more
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 Ideas for your Small Business: Create a “Roundtable”Editorial for a Trade Publication Veteran public relations counsel harriett Ruderman dreamed up this great idea for her clients: “You get companies together in a group to discuss a key issue in a specific industry,” she explained. Then you submit the story to a trade publication. Ruderman, … Read more
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 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 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 Ideas for your Small Business: Never Work with Anyone Who Gives You a Headache or a Stomachache If i had a motto, this would be it. Life is too short to work with people who make you miserable. This isn’t emotional hogwash. You can’t do your best work when you hate the person managing … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Make Your Meetings More Productive In this high-tech era, it’s a bit surprising to learn that face-to-face meetings are still the most popular form of business communication. In fact, 44 percent of executives surveyed by Office Team, an office staffing service, said they preferred to meet with people in … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Organize a Company Retreat An annual or semiannual retreat is an excellent way to measure the pulse of your business and keep storm clouds from brewing. You don’t have to book a Caribbean cruise, rent a fancy hotel suite, or even get on a plane to host this event. … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Find a Mentor although finding a mentor seems like a good idea, actually making the connection can be intimidating, especially for people who are reluctant to admit they need help. But a mentor can steer you around the potholes and buoy you up when you are drowning in confusion. … Read more
