November 13, 2024
Marketing – A Subtle Value Driver
I lost track years ago of all the business owners who said something like, “If someone knew anything about marketing this business would grow so…
November 6, 2024
Build a Team – Increase Value
A business owner is like the quarterback of a football team (not counting the coaches). He leads the offense, which directly affects the defense (because…
October 23, 2024
Don’t Brag – Find the Issue
We had meetings last week with a couple prospective business owner clients. One said it more directly than the other on why he liked us.…
October 16, 2024
Bad PR
I’m not a PR person (public relations) and still can tell you the Seattle Mariners blew it when they fired their manager. He found out…
October 2, 2024
Innovation = Increased Value
Over the weekend I tested three mid-price-range LED projectors as we plan to take 30-40 to Antigua in February for their primary schools. They all…
September 18, 2024
You Can Only Coast Downhill
It’s a nice business. They do about $20 million in sales with 10% net income margin. It’s been around a long time, has loyal employees,…
September 11, 2024
They’re Not Paying Attention
We recently attended a NW Family Business Advisors meeting and heard Jasmine Donovan, the CEO of Dick’s Drive-in Restaurants. I came dressed for the event,…
August 30, 2024
Deliver What Customers Want
Auto manufacturers are shifting. They’ve realized car buyers want hybrids and plug-in hybrids more than EVs (despite the government pushing EVs). They’re changing their production…
August 28, 2024
Do You Have a Super Dependency?
The blue screen of death was the description used for the July 19 collapse of Window’s operating system. A bug in cybersecurity software from CrowdStrike…
August 21, 2024
Make it Easy for Your Customers
From my very first visit to my many years living in the Seattle area, I’ve always found it endearing one could park on side streets…
