Category: Growing a Business

The Inner Circle: How Your Peers Could Be the Key to Business Success

The Inner Circle: How Your Peers Could Be the Key to Business Success

Ric Franzi is the owner of Critical Mass for Business, a company dedicated to making a lasting positive impact on the lives of business leaders through the power of peer learning. Ric’s presence both in Orange County, California and nationally is accomplished through his CEO Peer Groups, a weekly podcast and authoring the first book on peer learning called Critical Mass: The 10 Explosive Powers of CEO Peer Groups. “I believed in this business and the power of social learning… Read More
3 Tricks to Write an Email People Will Actually Read

3 Tricks to Write an Email People Will Actually Read

Imagine what it would be like to receive over a hundred versions of your favorite thing every single day. At first thought, it seems really nice, right? But the more you ponder the sheer room those things would take up, or the calories you’d take on, or god forbid the zoning and code enforcement regulations some of us would be breaking, over a hundred of anything on a daily bases seems like a horrible idea. Realistically, our email inboxes tell an… Read More
How One Woman Grew Her Business 6X in 2 Years

How One Woman Grew Her Business 6X in 2 Years

When Ingrid Murray took over Prospect Cleaning Service Inc. in 2014, she didn’t have direct experience in the janitorial industry. But she did have an accounting background and the drive to grow the business — a commercial janitorial service started by her husband — beyond the $75,000 or so a year it had been earning. While she knew she would do whatever it took to make it a success, she likely had no idea that in just a couple of years she… Read More
How to Get Your Employees to Do Their “Homework”

How to Get Your Employees to Do Their “Homework”

Last week I shared some sites that offer free (or nearly free) professional development opportunities, specifically online courses. It’s true that these sites can offer your employees a great way to improve their skills while solidifying the internal workings of your company, but how do you motivate your employees to enroll and complete the courses? Of course, making them mandatory is an option, but forcing this type of growth isn’t always the best approach. Instead, you may want to try… Read More
4 Small Business Groups You Can Join for Free

4 Small Business Groups You Can Join for Free

The work of entrepreneurs and small business owners is filled with pitfalls and challenges, and sometimes youjust need to talk to someone who can share a few pieces of good advice. Business networking groups are a great way to meet advisors and mentors who can help during the journey, as well as to find new professional connections, opportunities and ideas. Whether you're looking for suggestions for your next product, emotional support or advice on taking your business to the next level,… Read More
The First Thing You Need to Do If You Want to Grow Your Business

The First Thing You Need to Do If You Want to Grow Your Business

So it's Friday evening and you are back home after a long week of work in the shop. You've decided to take the weekend off, leaving the shop's management solely to your more trusted employees. As you sit at the kitchen table on Friday evening with your spouse, kids and the dog in the background, you take out a sheet a paper to formulate some ideas to grow your business. You come up with a list that looks something like… Read More