While these statistics aren’t particularly new (they come from a 2005 Industry Canada report) I came across them this week while working on a white paper and I think they bear some brief discussion here. In Canada, 94.6% of businesses by number are ‘small’ meaning that they have less than 50 employees. The actual number startled me […]
The 80/20 Rule and Your Market
We all know the 80/20 Rule, also known as the Pareto Principle. We’ve heard it over and over and seen the power of the rule in our own businesses. 80% of our business comes from 20% of our customers. 80% of our problems are solved by 20% of our efforts. The richest 20% of the […]
Packaging Matters
As I noted in my last entry, platform thinking is a problem when you try to communicate the value of your product or service offering to a potential client. The problem is that I have been struggling with the same issue for the past couple of months and only now have been able to put together the […]
Value is in the Eye of the Beholder
I’ve had some great conversations with some really smart people in the past couple of months since I got started working with small businesses and new Entrepreneurs in this capacity. There is one common theme that seems to be emerging though as I work particularly with young technology entrepreneurs: unclear value. Perhaps a good way to […]
Great Business Books for Small Business
I’ve been known for some time as a voracious reader and I’m often asked for recommendations of good books for specific situations. I promised in an entry earlier this month that I would list some of my favourites, so that’s what today is all about. This list is by no means exhaustive, but hopefully it […]
It’s All In The Follow Through
It’s been said many times that follow up is key to success, but I would suggest that it goes deeper than just a simple follow-up if you want to dominate in your field. Just like a good golf swing, the best hitters in baseball, and a great slapshot, the key to exceeding the expectations of […]
The Power of Connected Advisors
This week I have been lucky enough to meet a number of dynamic new people that I am happy to have added to my personal and professional network, and I am very thankful for the opportunity to have met them, learn about their businesses and challenges, and hopefully help them in some way to achieve […]
Great Tips from Mike Splinter
I was reading the current issue of Fortune Magazine and there is a regular section in the Technology pages called ‘The Best Advice I Ever Got‘. This week I particularly enjoyed the tips that were shared by Mike Splinter, CEO of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in California. In my opinion he has really hit the nail on the head in terms of some […]
Intelligent Perseverance Yields Results
In my last entry I talked about some of the key traits that an Entrepreneur needs to have, one of which was an ability to ‘relish the door slam’. Ironically shortly after I wrote that entry I received this week’s Harvey Mackay column (highly recommended) that spoke about perseverance in tough times. While Harvey was speaking in general about […]
It’s Game Day!
I was reading through my news headlines in Google Reader this afternoon and was reminded that the NHL hockey season is once again around the corner and in fact today is the first pre-season game for my beloved Toronto Maple Leafs. You can pity me all you want… I was born with the Leaf blood running through my veins […]