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In the March 2010 article on Measuring Profitability I reviewed the importance of a business taking steps to ensure that profit is properly measured in each month and year and discussed some of the challenges that small businesses face in doing that with some suggested solutions. One of the larger challenges that I did not discuss is for a business that has large contracts or jobs that span a [...]

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Boomers vs Generation Y - the generational divide is making an impact on business and we all need to start dealing with this reality. Whether they are our customers or clients or vendors or referral sources or employees or partners, the differences in these generations need to be taken into consideration whether we like it or not. Generation Y thinks differently. They communicate differently. They[...]

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Several clients come to mind when I consider measuring profitability. These examples illustrate the challenges that many small and medium sized businesses face when the owner/CEO is not sure what profit/loss the business has made in a given month, or even over a year. I recently reviewed a new client's monthly income statements for the previous year. The first thing that caught my eye was the [...]

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It is clear that the world is going digital and that is impacting on the ability of companies and marketers to effectively market their wares. Whether it is websites, search engines, social media, email, video, marketing automation, digital advertising, or a multitude of other media or marketing techniques, digital in itself is becoming a miniature industry, with numerous specializations entwined [...]

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With each renewal of your group insurance plan you likely enhance your understanding with respect to pricing and have a better sense for what is fair and not fair. With good education you can feel more confident that you are getting a reasonable deal from your supplier/carrier. Let's spend a few minutes to address some of the hard and soft facts around price. To begin with insured benefits like [...]

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As the digital world expands and grows, it is taking all of us for a ride. Do you remember the day that the fax machine was the next new thing? And a really big thing it was back then. I know I'm dating myself a bit, but back in the 80's I just could not work out how they got that darn piece of paper through the telephone line, and why there wasn't a paper traffic jam with all these pieces of [...]

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As an entrepreneur, you face a multitude of challenges in running a successful business. You must keep your eye on the ball in order to navigate the often turbulent waters of the marketplace. To that end, it is important that you have a trusted accountant/business advisor who is proactive in identifying opportunities for you and your corporation. In our last column, we discussed some high-impact [...]

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…the Sustainable Right to Succeed We now have undisputed evidence that more than two thirds of publicly listed companies do not create shareholder value. Moreover, a large number of those who succeed seem to derive their success from events or items over which they have very little control. A case in point is the rising share prices of oil and gas (or gold) sector companies due to a rise in oil[...]

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One of my colleagues recently asked me, out of all the aspects of marketing including online marketing, marketing strategy, Web 2.0, market research, etc., what was the most important? Without hesitation I replied, "Testing". Many of my marketing friends might argue and profess that if you don't have the right message, reach the right audience, the right timing, or the right offer, you won't [...]

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Let's face it - running a business isn't easy. As an entrepreneur, you face many challenges in building your business, fending off the bank, delighting customers, dealing with suppliers, handling employee issues, winding your way through government bureaucracy and red tape, and the myriad of other issues that keep you awake at night. But for those who persevere and conquer the challenges by [...]

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