Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Good Question

Kevin Liebl asks businesses an interesting question this week:
Has Your Company or Product 'Jumped the Shark'?
Liebl goes on to explain that "jumping the shark" refers to a company's last ditch effort to save a dying product or service.

I wonder how many business owners are blaming the economy for their lack luster performance, when in fact their main product or service has reached the end of its life cycle.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Do You Believe In Miracles?

Congratulations to the 2010 US Olympic Hockey Team on their 5-3 victory over the Canadian team. This allows the team to advance to the quarterfinals. Just one day shy of the 30th anniversary of the historic USA win over the Soviet team in 1980, some are calling this win a second Miracle On Ice.

Today marks the 30the anniversary of the original Miracle On Ice. This has always been my number one favorite sports moment.

In the book Finish Strong, (published by Simple Truths) the author Dan Green recounts the events that led to the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team's gold medal. The story demonstrates the winning effects of combining strong leadership with a strong team. And, of course, how "belief" contributes to one's ability to Finish Strong.










As I've suggested earlier, I would like to recommend that businesses hold a special session with their team and watch the movie version of this story as an inspiration on how the business can Finish Strong.

Brenda Richter, CPA and other members of the Principa Alliance can enhance your team building activities with Team Advisory Boards (TAB) and Towards Awesome Service (TAS) training.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Who Are You Putting First?








Congratulations to Alexandre Bilodeau for winning the Olympic gold medal in men’s moguls. This was not only a great honor for Bilodeau personally, but also for Canada. By winning the moguls gold medal, he ended what some have called an Olympic curse. No Canadian has won a gold medal in the two previous Olympics hosted in Canada.



Bilodeau started his athletic career as a young boy on the ice. And while he showed much promise, he changed to skiing since it provided greater access for his older brother Frederic who has cerebral palsy. This single unselfish decision has led to success for Bilodeau that most would only dream of or consider unimaginable.

Truly awesome.

What about your business? What type of success could you achieve if you put someone else first?

Your customer.

With a single unselfish decision to make your customer the primary focus of your business, you too can have an awesome business and achieve unimaginable success. Think about your product/service mix, the design of your products/services, the delivery process, your pricing structure, your guarantees, and any other customer service issue for your business.

CPAs who are members of the Principa Alliance are not your average advisory firms. Far from it. They do so much more than just “keep the score.” These firms will work with businesses to identify areas in the business that are not realizing their full potential and help improve them to build a stronger and more profitable future. A firm’s membership in the Principa Alliance means that customers have access to the collective knowledge and expertise of an international network made up of hundreds of professionals who specialize in consulting to small and medium-sized businesses by providing services such as the Team Advisory Board (TAB). Everyday team members are on the front line of customer service. The TAB workshop is a facilitated interactive session designed to tap into a team’s collective experience and develop a business strategy to put the customer first. Other services include Customer Advisory Boards (CAB). This is a facilitated meeting of your top customers to discover what they truly value about doing business with you.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Congratulations

Congratulations to Brenda Richter, CPA who was featured as a guest blogger on America's Best Business Practices.

http://bestbizpractices.org/2010/02/08/tips-for-small-business-2009-income-tax/

Monday, February 8, 2010

Drew Brees and The Saints Finish Strong

The Team at Simple Truths is thrilled about the Super Bowl. Back in the Spring of 2009, Drew Brees, quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, picked up a copy of their book
Finish Strong. He felt so motivated by it that he got copies for his entire team to use as their season theme.

When I first saw the Finish Strong book and video featured on the Simple Truths web site, I was awe struck. I immediately saw that this should be the theme for business in 2009. My New Year message to my customers and business associates was to FINISH STRONG! And, like Drew, I purchased copies of the Finish Strong book for my customers and some of my associates. Through out the year, I sent on going messages to these same people to remind them of the commitment to Finish Strong!

In approximately six months, Drew Brees used Finish Strong to take the Saints to a winning season, to the NFL play-offs, to the Super Bowl, and won the Super Bowl. Most of you have had the Finish Strong message for over a year now. What did you do with it?

Brenda Richter, CPA continues to be available to help your business with these concepts. The firms can work with you to identify areas in your business that are not realizing their full potential and help you improve them to build a stronger, more profitable future. This is a step-by-step process that includes creating a strategic plan, plan implementation, systems development, customer service and team training, and ongoing monitoring and management advice.

Friday, February 5, 2010

How to Ensure Your Entrepreneurial Venture Will Fail

"How good could your business plan be if it doesn't even contemplate the cost of having to keep records and prepare income tax? Can you really say that you have adequately identified your capital needs if professional fees for accounting and income taxes haven't been included in your cash flow projections?"

Read more from Alex Vuchnich.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Three Little Entrepreneurial Pigs

For well over a year now, we have been experiencing an economy that includes an enhanced feeling of financial uncertainty that is having an impact on business and consumer activity.

This does not have to be bad news. Uncertain economic times create opportunities.

Traditionally slow economic times are when the weak get sorted out and the complacent get pushed aside. They are therefore times of great opportunity for companies that see and seek the opportunity to break away and experience unprecedented growth. When times are good, virtually anybody can make a profit. But, in tough times true strengths and weaknesses are revealed.

Join us to learn about three businesses that took three different approaches to dealing with uncertain times in business.

The Santa Barbara Networking Group presents The Three Little Entrepreneurial Pigs - A Story of Doing Business in Good Times and Bad. Thursday, February 18, 2010 7:30 am at Marmalade Cafe.

To register: Flyer & Registration Form