We may think that there are many different reasons why our clients hire us. We can rattle off a laundry-list of benefits that we offer them. In reality, there’s really only one reason that matters: we know something that they don’t. We’ve got knowledge of a specific subject that they need, but don’t have the time, money, or inclination to …

We all want to be better at what we do, but how do we accomplish these goals? Here are some things to try: If we want to do more of the same: Stay the course Try, try again If we want to try something different: Take a new approach Learn something new Reach out to a new audience Do something …

Everything is marketing. Deciding on a restaurant? That’s marketing. Picking out a movie? That’s marketing. Where are we going on vacation? That’s marketing. What are we watching tonight? Marketing. Everyone gets to make their own choices on just about everything. And when people (our customers) have a choice, it often comes down to marketing. Who’s made the most impact with …

One of the best ways to achieve success in an industry is to be unique. When we’re different from all the rest of the options, then we stand out. Take Chick-Fil-A, for example. When everyone else was schlepping burgers, they did something different, and it worked for them. If we do something that makes us exceptional, especially when compared to …

It’s a new day in the working world. Most of us (if we’re lucky) have a chance to be our own boss. Whether we’re classified as a consultant, contractor, or freelancer, ultimately we’re the one that’s running the show. The tough part of being your own boss shares some of the same difficulties as when we were working as someone’s …

The importance of managing our day to day lives cannot be underestimated. If we fail to handle our daily tasks, like eating, drinking, and caring for our bodies, it’s quite likely that we’ll flounder and perish. But that doesn’t mean we should focus solely on the here and now, ignoring our long term aspirations. Yes, today is important, but without …

Customers are the life-blood of any business. No customers, no business. Armed with this valuable knowledge, you’d think that businesses would be trying every trick in the book to make their customers happy; to turn them into lifelong allies; to create brand ambassadors that will act as an unpaid marketing salesforce extraordinaire. But alas, it’s not to be. Most businesses …

Companies that are service providers are often dealing with more than one customer. Yes, there’s one main client, the one that’s actually paying for our services, but there’s often an intermediary involved who’s responsible for bringing us that paying customer. If we don’t make the process seamless and painless for that intermediary, then the likelihood of future referrals dramatically decreases. …

If you’re really good at operating your software, a mediocre inspector can finish inspecting the average house in under an hour. Wham, bam, thank you mam (or sir). The hard part of doing a home inspection is not the data entry. Once you know your software, that’s easy. According to the Infinite Monkey Theorem, any monkey with a keyboard can …

How do I make more money? It’s a question that we’ve all asked ourselves, at one time or another (or maybe every day). And most of us fall back to the old way of thinking: I’ll just work more hours. Work for a longer amount of time, doing the same menial job, following the same well-worn routine, producing the same …