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There was a time that businesses could operate successfully on a whim.  Without data or knowledge.  Just put out a product or service and people will buy.  No strategy. No plan. No understanding of what was happening around them.  Ohhh, those were the days.... Or were they? Those days feel so long ago that most of us old enough have already forgotten about them.  And the younger generation[...]

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Conversely, what good is the balloon without hot air? It’s a lot like your people if they can’t or won’t implement an organization’s strategy? A business will not maximize its value if it doesn’t have a meaningful strategy and the right people organized to execute it. Planning to sell your business? Most owners want to believe that they are getting the most out of their business; [...]

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Digital Complexity continues to grow at an exhausting pace Marketing Technology Landscape 2017 (click on the image to view the high resolution version) As you can see from the above, the digital marketing landscape is very complex and continues to evolve rapidly. Not only do products evolve in existing categories, but new categories are coming on track faster than we as humans are able to [...]

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Digital Trends Report To access this "Top Social Media and Digital Trends Report for 2018", please complete the information below. From time to time we would like to share our newsletter, blog postings, updates on business, event/seminar invitations and other communications with you. We respect your privacy and rights under Canada's new Anti-Spam Legislation ("CASL") and appreciate your express [...]

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I was doing some research recently on why companies fail, as well as why companies don't grow.  It struck me after reading a number of opinions and viewpoints that there were indeed some common themes between these two situations.  While that did not surprise me, the common themes were quite striking, as was the one factor that applied to non-growing companies only. Success and failure have [...]

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Canada EU CETA It was 4 years in the making, and the timing of the signing of the Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in the light of the protectionist approach being promoted by the new Donald Trump administration should not be overlooked.  The timing for business expansion into new markets may be just right for you. Yes, the USA is Canada’s [...]

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An article in the September 2016 edition of Building magazine titled Bases Covered, Why a Due Diligence Review is essential in a business acquisition, discussed both why a due diligence review is essential for the acquirer and also the significant benefits to the seller of preparing for a review. In the article James Phillipson, Founding Principal of Mastermind Solutions Inc. was quoted “I [...]

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Marketing is getting complex and, as a result, very complicated for the average business person. The graphic below is a case in point (Just click on the image and it will open full screen - then you can scroll to see it in all its glory). Complexity drives the need for a marketing coach However please realize that this graphic is just showing you the Marketing Technology space - it does [...]

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In an article in the September 2016 edition of The Canadian Business Journal, the writer of an article on "Due Diligence, Preparing for a review", cited James Phillipson, Founding Principal of Mastermind Solutions Inc. as a subject expert. James said “In the ongoing day-to-day running of a business, many potential obstacles may have been accepted by the current owners and are not top-of-mind, [...]

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Tom Dalton (not his real name) ran a very successful distribution business.  He had been in business for 42 years and the business had been successful for a long time.  He has seen the ebbs and flows of the economic roller coaster, so it is not new to him.  For the last two years, business had been expanding quite aggressively, albeit with only two customers.  Both these customers were [...]

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