Conditions Apply*
The devil’s in the detail.
I hate ‘offers’ whose conditions render them impractical, untrue or even pernicious.
For months I’ve collected samples for a post on this debilitating aspect of human nature.
Then my wife handed me One Offer to Rule Them All.
All That Glitters
The Gold Coin to Join* offer (see above) seems the soul of simplicity. You:
Pay [...]
Twitter Truths
Having just clocked one year and 10,000 followers on Twitter, I felt I should report my learnings.
At first I thought I’d just cover basic stuff (e.g. who to follow, how to list, behaviours to avoid).
Then I realised Twitter ‘truths’ were far more important than Twitter ‘tips’.
It seems impossible such a simple (and apparently frivolous) application [...]
Pain Points
Part 1 of 2
Megan told me about MYOB’s quarterly Business Monitor.
I’d not heard of it, but when she mentioned ‘pain points’ I wanted in.
Below is the latest ‘league table’ of 16 top business hurts.
1165 SMEs have ranked them from AAARGHHH!!! to meh…
I’ve added my thoughts on 2009-10. I hope you will too.
1. Marketing to get [...]
A Great Gift
At Christmas, my wife* gave me an amazing gift. The beautiful, rust-proof aluminium name plate you see in the photo. I loved it the moment I unwrapped it.
This plate has since proven its worth beyond anything we imagined. Here’s how.
Postie
Within days of the plate going up, our postie (mail delivery officer) accosted me from [...]
Do your thing and do it well
Today we welcome back Joanna Maxwell of WorkInColour to Small Business Owner. Joanna shares how great tapas inspired this post!
I recently had an amazing lunch at Melbourne’s MoVida tapas bar, and the experience reminded me of some great business advice – find what you do really well and focus on improving it, becoming expert at [...]
Jokers on Me
I thought I’d take a break from all this blog-based learning and have a play in eBay. Blow me down if there wasn’t a lesson there for me too!
A lesson in listening.
I’d advertised my childhood collection of playing card jokers. My ad featured a panoramic photo of all 177 permutations.
Certain of a bidding war between [...]
The Dirty Dozen – Part 1
Today we welcome back Malcolm Owens. With experience as both a small business owner and in senior management in large corporates, Malcolm has a unique perspective from both sides of the tracks. Today he shares the fruits of his two decades in marketing to highlight the most common marketing mistakes made by small businesses.
As the CEO of a [...]
There’s a change in the air…
Today we’re lucky to have a great guest post from Malcolm Owens. Malcolm’s a bit of a marketing guru who’s had experience as a business owner and works at a senior level in the corporate sector – so with a foot in both camps, he’s got a unique perspective.
Have you noticed that some business people have little [...]
A New Age of Empire
Five weeks ago I was frightened. Today I’m happy to say the fear is gone. Andrew Hurl (my IT Guy) has delivered a new Empire website that exceeds all expectations. He did it on budget. And would’ve nailed it last fortnight, had I coughed up my content on time.
Andrew’s firm is SilverDimension. He should [...]
Best Headline I’ve Seen
Remember how I unintentionally ‘mozzed’ my neighbour’s auction by invoking a thunderstorm? Well, I just got a letter with the best headline I’ve seen:
This isn’t the best headline you’ve seen, but it wasn’t written for you. It was written for me, by Andrew Crotty from Biggin Scott, who wants to sell my home. I am [...]
