Better Business Building

It’s long been reported that only 5% of businesses survive long-term, and the other 95% go under. If you’ve ever wondered what factors determined who rises to the top 5%, wait no more.
We’ve just launched our brand-new audio newsletter Better Business Bullets. It’s a monthly in-depth tell-all of specific, actionable things […]

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Most mission statements are completely useless. Complete with homages to all cogs in the wheel of commerce and insider industry jargon that most people cannot pronounce, much less understand, they make little sense and add nothing of value to the organization.

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Some business owners refer to their companies lovingly as “2nd marriages”. When an entrepreneur hasn’t learned the ways of designing a self-sufficient business, the venture begin to take precedence over all else, and before long your business owns you.
For some people, their business is their life. They have become a slave to their […]

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"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, […]

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"The ultimate measure
of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience,
but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) civil rights leader

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When it comes down to pitching your business to investors, potential partners, vendors, etc  it’s best to develop a slightly different elevator pitch than for your potential customers (mentioned previously).
When pitching the overall business, you need to be sure to develop a pitch that expresses the distinctual (did I just make that word up?) parts […]

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When you meet someone on an elevator, how do you answer that question?  You’ve got about 10 seconds to make an impression before the thing hits the ground floor. 
What do you say?
Utter "I’m an attorney" or "I buy houses" or "I do graphic design" and the other person is free to decide what that means […]

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Carl Schramm is a man on a mission. 
As head of the charitable Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, he has partnered with the Walt Disney Company to produce Hot Shot Business, an online game of entrepreneurship, where players can start all kinds of different businesses.  It’s an educational "SIM" game in which players face many of […]

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If you see your customer’s role solely as the purchaser of your stuff, you are operating from a paradigm that is shifting beneath you.  The days of designing one’s product in a void, and cramming it down the throats of the unsuspecting public are over.
It’s always paid to understand your customer better than your competition.  […]

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On Saturday, we lost one of the most innovative thinkers of the modern business era.  Peter Drucker’s career as a business educator and theorist spanned 75 years. He wrote 35 books, 15 on mangement, 16 on society, economics and policy, 2 novels, and a collection of autobiographical essays.
To give you an idea as to the […]

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