A Fool & His Money (Part 3)
You’ll also find this post at The Pulse
Parts 1 and 2 have brought us to this stage of my better-bank-deal quest.
Thank you so much for reading and responding!
Today the plot finally crystallises.
Bert
As Sheryl the Specialised Case Manager presaged, Bert the Bank Manager and I had ‘fruitful conversations’ (via email).
Alas, the fruit was small, hard and [...]
A Fool & His Money (Part 2)
You’ll also find this post at The Pulse
Thank you for reading Part 1. (If you haven’t, here it is.)
So there I was, clutching my mouse mat with anticipation of my bank’s direct message (DM).
Sure enough, it came through, requesting my contact number.
I replied that, since all prior phone conversations had failed, I’d rather communicate by [...]
A Fool & His Money (Part 1)
You’ll also find this post at The Pulse
I’ve been reading with increasing frequency that it’s a fabulous time to negotiate a better interest rate with your lender.
In a world first, Choice has gone one step further by grouping borrowers for a better deal.
Their target was 1000 people prepared to look at switching loans.
In the first [...]
Paper Runs
I must get a proper NO JUNK MAIL sign.
Each time my home-made one falls off, I have a Brazil moment.
Someone, somewhere, must benefit from this bumf.
But who?!
Client companies?
Ad agencies?
Graphic designers?
Printers?
Paper mills?
Plantation foresters?
Walkers?
Dogs?
Customers?
Australia Post?
Certainly not me. How about you?
Do you like receiving unsolicited print advertising?
Is (or was) it part of your business marketing mix?
Captive Audience
Keep Australia [...]
Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em
Here’s a business tip I learnt the hard way:
If you get a gig, job, order, project, piece of work or commission, do it NOW.
If you don’t, it may not be there tomorrow.
For several reasons.
Unkind Cut
A large IT firm gave me 100 recruitment ads to critique.
I toiled for much of Easter, getting 50 done.
Then I rewarded [...]
Sour Cream & the Metagame
We can reasonably describe business as a game.
There are certainly winners and losers.
Gaming is an important analogy.
These days, it’s not enough to merely play the game.
Because chances are, your customers are playing the metagame.
What’s the Metagame?
The metagame comprises all out-of-game elements that affect in-game decisions.
You’re playing the metagame if:
Having learnt from past poker nights [...]
Should We Tell Them about Nanna?
Disease is visiting my family.
I’ll spare you the details; it’s life and we all must live it.
The question is, do our private lives concern our customers?
Family Feud
Fonnie and I differ on so little, it’s significant when we retain opposing views.
Hers is that family affairs have nothing to do with business.
Mine is that clients appreciate candour [...]
What Does Exclusive Mean?
Not with those shoes!
As we’ve gathered a galaxy of brilliant brains to this blog, there’s something I wish to ask.
Something that’s been bugging me for decades:
Does exclusive actually mean anything in business?
I’m not sure it does.
A Lot of it about
Google yields 0.9 billion results for exclusive. That’s thrice more than for bread.
It’s obvious exclusive [...]
Special Treatment
Some eBayers are less equal than others.
I’m pretty miffed at eBay.
Yet again, a firm has punished my loyalty by excluding me from special deals offered to new customers.
We’ve seen this time and time again.
My latest experience teaches the value of:
Avoiding sudden moves.
Keeping customers informed.
Ensuring your definition of ‘good’ matches theirs.
We’ll also see how ‘online [...]
Turning the Page
You’re SO welcome!
We share many stories on this blog.
It’s so nice when one has a happy ending!
Previously on Small Business Owner …
In June 2009, I described my struggle to avert the Yellow Pages juggernaut.
Seems I wasn’t alone.
We thrilled as Steve@Sensis kindly (and bravely) fielded our questions and illuminated the path to freedom.
Despite [...]
