Far too often the reason that businesses do things for the way they do is nothing more than “because that’s how it’s always been done”. It’s not just businesses either we do it at home too; we eat three meals a day, because that’s what we do; we point the sofa at the TV; we [...]

It never ceases to amaze me how many small businesses don’t clearly communicate what they offer to their customers. Then they’re surprised that their customer “just don’t get it”, some even moan that their customers “are too stupid”. More often than not however the fault lies with them and their communication.

I hate to admit it, [...]

The Independent is reporting that the Prime Minister has backed academy opened by star of ‘Dragons’ Den’ (Peter Jones to you and I). They report that Jones says that the difference between us and the Americans is that we say “can I?” where they say “I can”.
He’s right, Americans do have a far better attitude [...]

Nike have been using “Just Do It” since 1988 when it was apparently coined at a meeting between Nike’s ad agency of the time Wieden and Kennedy and a group of Nike employees. Since then Nike have grown to become one of the worlds most successful brands and “Just Do It” one of the most [...]

On a number of occasions recently I’ve been asked to suggest a top 10 business book list. As it’s usually something that people thinking of starting a business ask me for I don’t think they really want my views on the top 10 business books (which would no doubt include books by Drucker, Porter [...]

I came across a post this afternoon titled Untapped Niches and the Mile High Club in which the Michael Gray says:

… tonight I came across a story about a mile high tower being built somewhere and it triggered a thought. Why doesn’t someone run a private jet service that caters exclusively to people who want [...]

If you’ve ever experienced the frustration of trying to get into your car after some idiot parks too close, or not being able to use a parking space because someone has parked across two space then you’ll no doubt be tempted to buy some stickers from IParkLikeAnIdiot.com. I know I’m tempted!
The stickers are designed to [...]

Last night someone rang my doorbell and tried to sell me a daily newspaper - presumably delivered to my door each morning. They failed. It’s not that I don’t read a newspaper, I do, nor is it that I wouldn’t want a newspaper delivered to my door every morning, because I would. So why did [...]

A reader asks:

Can you tell me how to get my business on Google?

Well Google is pretty big and offers a lot of services so the first question is, which part of Google? Here’s some pointers to get you started:
Google Search
You can get your site included in Google’s search engine by submitting the URL here http://www.google.com/addurl/, [...]

Whenever a person buys something, they calculate (formally or informally) the simple equation:

Will I get more back from this purchase than its full cost.

In promoting your business, it is imperative that the benefits you claim to deliver outweigh the costs and risk to your customer. Once you understand this (properly) you can then refine your [...]