Archive for the Small Business Category
It’s the Economy. It’s all Local. Its Cure is Customers.
The Clinton/Bush election campaign popularized the saying “It’s the economy, stupid.” Add to that one of the oldest and wisest political axioms: “All politics is local.” The combination describes the thoughts of owners today wondering if they should hire, expand, promote or take other actions to improve their businesses.
The single most important factor for business [...]
Southwest Airlines Apologizes the Right Way
The way that Southwest Airlines apologizes to customers for a bad trip – for whatever reason – was the topic of a large story on the front page of the Chicago Tribune’s Business section on Wednesday, August 25.
Not every one of your customers has a perfect experience, and it can happen for a variety of [...]
Trust: Having it. Getting it.
Trust. One little word that can give a lot of meaning to anything connected with it. A recent Gallup poll shows many people do not trust the news media. Only 25% have either a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in newspapers. Even fewer, 22%, have confidence in TV news.
As a business owner, [...]
Hewlett-Packard’s Ex-CEO Hurd Let It Happen
Reading accounts of why Hewlett-Packard’s board of directors fired CEO Mark Hurd shows how his cover up of a personal relationship with an H-P marketing coordinator caused the H-P board to take decisive action.
Reports state that the board took action because he had a personal relationship with Jodie Fisher. Perhaps more importantly, Mr. Hurd filed [...]
What Business Can Learn From the Blago Trial
Well, the trial (or at least the first trial) of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (Blago for short) is over. He was convicted on one of the 24 counts against him. That one was lying to federal agents. So what can small and mid-size business owners take away from all the talk and events swirling [...]
The Human Side to Alternative Energy
The energy crisis has taken on a new, more human element following the BP oil spill and its ongoing destruction. In the past, disasters like the Exxon-Valdez spill were bemoaned because of the environmental impacts. Volunteers came to protect and save as much wildlife as possible.
But this new oil spill has put so many humans [...]
The Best Industries for Starting New Businesses
With investments coming under more and more scrutiny, the same prospects for wealth in 2006 don’t necessarily pay the dividends they once did. The changing marketplace has eroded some fields and brought others to the fore.
There are still billions to be made in the American business world, but the approaches will have to be different, [...]
