by Lea Strickland | May 26, 2016 | Business Articles, Business Growth, Entrepreneur, Small Business, Small Business, Start-up, Strategy
If you are in the music industry or other creative endeavors (e.g., acting, speaking), then you have been living in a “gig economy”[1] for your entire career. Gigs have been around for centuries. However, the gig has come to a new level of visibility in recent years...
by Lea Strickland | Jan 29, 2016 | Business Articles, Business Growth, Customer, Customer Relationships, Small Business, Strategy
This week a service provider demonstrated to me how important I was to her and her business. Let me share the story. I arrived for my appointment 20 minutes early and made myself comfortable on a bench outside her office suite. I could see through the glass wall that...
by Lea Strickland | Jan 25, 2016 | Business Articles, Business Growth, Business Management, Business Ownership, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Non-Profit, Operations, Resources, Small Business, Strategy
Have you ever worked for someone that proudly stated they had an “open door” policy? Was their door really open to new ideas, feedback, information, and issues? Or was the door physically open but the mind closed? Perhaps you work for someone that has an open door...
by Lea Strickland | Jan 22, 2016 | Business Articles, Business Growth, Marketing, Sales and Business Development, Small Business, Strategy
I have a developing list of bad behaviors in networking. It seems after every event I can add either an entirely new “don’t” or an innovative variant of the core list. Chumming – Method of “baiting” the water to entice sharks to take the bait and encourage feeding...
by Lea Strickland | Dec 27, 2015 | Business Articles, Business Plans, Resources, Small Business, Strategy
SMART2 Goals for Business The typical “SMART” goal is defined as specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely. Another way of looking at these goals could be called SMART2. This means that SMART goals for businesses also need to be: – Strategic: Long-term,...
by Lea Strickland | Nov 27, 2015 | Budgets and Financial Tools, Business Articles, Business Growth, Business Management, Resources, Small Business, Strategy
Goals have to be personalized to your organization. While the majority of businesses may choose to set a sales goal¾as dollars or percentage increase¾the actual goal amount has to be set based on the current results, capabilities, resources, and long-term...
