Don Norkus business growth consulting

07/03/2017

http://www.businessgrowthconsulting.biz/customer-retention-as-a-tool-to-increase-sales/

Good article in the WSJ about McDonalds, on this exact topic. I learned a long time ago that it is far easier to get more out of an existing customer than to add a new customer. And that retaining …

29/01/2017

We are all subjected to them, you know, the volumes of emails, Facebook notifications, that temptation to cruise the internet, interruptions by colleagues for nothing of importance. It’s not just t…

29/12/2016

http://www.businessgrowthconsulting.biz/how-does-your-business-plan-for-2017-look/

In this instance, I am primarily talking about the numbers. We all know about SMART goals, specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time sensitive. The budget forecast I will describe here,…

13/12/2016

http://www.businessgrowthconsulting.biz/team-building/

The fastest way to grow a business, is also the most often overlooked. If you have read the E Myth, then you have heard the term working ON your business vs working IN it. (by the way Ge**er has a …

12/12/2016

04/11/2016

http://www.businessgrowthconsulting.biz/go-for-the-best/

About a year ago, Walmart decided to raise the hourly rates for their team members. They also started paying their managers more, which resulted in attracting more qualified employees. In a recent …

31/10/2016

http://www.businessgrowthconsulting.biz/uniqueness/

Without uniqueness a business becomes a commodity, meaning a me- too, and price becomes the primary focus of their customers. It’s very difficult or impossible to win here. We’ve all seen businesse…

20/10/2016

http://www.businessgrowthconsulting.biz/born-to-run/

Most people would look at Bruce and say wow wouldn’t it be great… I just finished the book, and to me it’s a story of a young boy who had serious challenges on the road to greatness, and yet persev…

04/10/2016

http://www.businessgrowthconsulting.biz/the-road-to-success/

There is NO substitute for hard work on the road to success. Have seen it so many times in sports, music and business. Here is a paragraph from Springsteen’s new book. “not good… great. Whatever th…

23/09/2016

http://www.businessgrowthconsulting.biz/how-is-your-team-looking-this-season/

Chances are you’re thinking about a sports team. Business and sports are very similar, but I want to talk about the business team. As a business grows, (and it must), the greatest challenge I see, …

12/05/2016

Derek Sivers who wrote "anything you want", on starting a business
Derek Sivers

Articles → Don’t start a business until people are asking you to

When you bake a cake, you need to do first things first.
You need to get the ingredients before you turn on the oven.
You need to bake it before you frost it and slice it.
I meet a lot of people who want to start a business.
Some don’t have an idea yet. I don’t understand this. It’s like wanting to wear a bandage when you don’t have a wound.
Most have an idea but no customers. For them I always say, “Don’t start a business until people are asking you to.”
This is not meant to be discouraging. It just means you need to get the ingredients before you turn on the oven.
First you find real people whose problem you can solve. You listen deeply to find their dream scenario. You make sure they're happy to pay you enough.
Don't announce anything. Don't choose a name. Don't make a website. Don't build a system. You need to be free to completely change or ditch your idea.
Then you get your first paying customer. Provide a one-on-one personal service.
Then you get another paying customer. Prove a real demand.
Then, as late as possible, you officially start your business.

14/04/2016

this is a letter i sent to the editor of the APP, and they published today, in response to their editorial about David Tepper leaving NJ

Good morning, I just read your article on Tepper’s exodus, and I
am glad to see you agree we have a problem with the estate tax.

What his exodus does point out, is that so many people are leaving NJ because our overall taxes are not competitive. We all know people who spend six months and one day in Florida, and they are not in the same financial position as Mr. Tepper.

In a business analogy, if you lose your largest, best customers, you better find replacements, or you are going to have to raise your prices substantially on the balance of your customers, in order to remain profitable. So in NJ when we lose large revenue customers, I don’t see where we are replacing them as our population shrinks, and most of the people leaving are on the wealthy side, exacerbating the revenue issue for the state.

So to me, his exodus does point out that we do have this problem with residents leaving, due to high taxes and high cost of living, that in my opinion, is going to increase the tax burden on the rest of the remaining residents.

We need to address the big issue of not having enough revenue, and a very high cost of running this state. Unless cost is taken out of the system, this problem is only going to get worse. I don’t see how we are going to raise the revenue, frankly I see the likelihood of it dropping, as we chase the wealthier residents away.

21/03/2016

Success Magazine
Was listening to this month’s CD, and interview with Kevin O'Leary from Shark Tank. He hit on several things that I totally agree with.
As an entrepreneur, you need to determine what you are not good at, and find someone else to do it. As businesses grow, and you need to add team members this is key.
On failure, which is absolutely part of the process, avoid the potholes by getting sound advice. When it does happen, study the situation and make sure it does not happen again. The Navy Seals call it the book of lessons learned, as they review each mission, success or failure, and learn from it.
Lastly, he said the businesses who come on Shark Tank biggest mistake is not knowing their numbers. I could not agree more; I see this as well with so many business owners. You have to know the score, and you can’t improve anything that you don’t measure.

01/11/2015

this came from Tim Ferris, regarding Derek Silvers. i follow Tim a lot, and just bought Derek's book based on his recommendation.
His incisive thinking has always impressed me, and his “hell, yeah!” or “no” essay has become one of my favorite rules of thumb. From his blog:
Those of you who often over-commit or feel too scattered may appreciate a new philosophy I’m trying: If I’m not saying “HELL YEAH!” about something, then I say no.
Meaning: When deciding whether to commit to something, if I feel anything less than, “Wow! That would be amazing! Absolutely! Hell yeah!” – then my answer is no. When you say no to most things, you leave room in your life to really throw yourself completely into that rare thing that makes you say “HELL YEAH!”
We’re all busy. We’ve all taken on too much. Saying yes to less is the way out.