As a first time small business entrepreneur, the single biggest thing you don’t know is . . . everything that you don’t know. That wasn’t meant to be a joke, and certainly not as an insult. Rather, it’s a simple statement of fact. You’re embarking on a journey you’ve never taken before, and it’s perfectly…… Continue Reading
Author Archives: Ron Ferguson
Remember – Your Best Customer Is . . . Your Best Customer
As a small business entrepreneur, a primary goal is to find new customers, and it’s one of the best ways to grow a business. You must walk a fine line, though, keeping your current customers happy and eager to continue buying from you, at the same time as you dig for new customers. All the…… Continue Reading
Sexual Harassment in Small Business
Credible claims of harassment in the workplace are occurring so frequently it makes one’s head spin. There are few places in our world that are free of harassment claims, and in several industries and workplaces it’s a veritable epidemic. The one place we don’t hear much about sexual harassment is in the small business environment…… Continue Reading
Can Your Company Survive A Disaster
With the hurricane season upon us, it’s appropriate that September has been designated National Preparedness Month. The theme for 2017 is: Disasters Don’t Plan Ahead; You Can. The trouble is, as a small business entrepreneur, your head is almost certainly focused on basic survival – and the last thing you want getting in your way…… Continue Reading
Scaling Your Small Business’ Revenue
This 2-part series of articles explores the difference between growing and scaling the revenue in your small business. Part 2 explains revenue scaling, which is an often-confused term, but in our context here it refers to your ability to increase revenue without increasing resource costs (or increasing resource costs at a lesser rate). Many small…… Continue Reading
Revenue – Growth vs Scaling In Your Small Business
This is Part 1 of a 2-part article series – and explores some thoughts and cautions about growing revenue in a very small business. Part 2 discusses ideas for scaling your revenue. These are two very different things: Like many others, my small business started out as a one-person operation, and deficient…… Continue Reading
Business Plans, Luck, Serendipity, and Re-Inventing the Company
“Serendipity – The faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.“ Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary If you play it right and are always on the lookout, serendipity can play a very large part in the successful running of a small business. Many people call it luck, and that’s an OK word…… Continue Reading
Strategic Alliance Partners
“Alliances have become an integral part of contemporary strategic thinking.” Fortune magazine Strategic alliances can be extremely important for small businesses. As I’ll illustrate in a couple of paragraphs, forming strategic alliances was key to my…… Continue Reading
Thinking Outside The Box (a.k.a. Lateral Thinking)
“Lateral thinking is solving problems through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic.” In my last blog post I urged small business owners to break out of their comfort zone. One really good way to do…… Continue Reading
Break Out Of Your Comfort Zone
“Do one thing that scares you every day.” This quote, attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, epitomizes the concept of breaking out of your comfort zone. Inside your comfort zone, you’re safe . . . and you’re comfortable. But you’re also treading water, not growing personally, and you’re probably not growing your company. You can get away…… Continue Reading