You probably already know there are only three ways to grow your business.

Get more customers
Increase the per sale profit margin
Increase the purchase frequency of existing customers

Getting new customers is always a challenge. Increasing profit margins can be done any number of ways with upsells, point of purchase displays, extended warranties, coupons, discounts, etc…
Increasing the purchase frequency is something can be handled with frequent mailings of new and exciting offerings, scheduling followup services in advance, memberships, cross promotions etc…
But how do you get new customers? Here are five ideas to add …

I have been on the buying end of a lot of business to business sales lately. Throughout this process I have been thinking about why I choose one company over another. These insights into my own behavior as a consumer remind me of qualities and traits I need to be conscious of when I am the one trying to make a sale.
Let me give you a little background on the situation. Over the past few months I have been working with a company that is developing a monthly online subscription …

Membership sites can be a great way to earn recurring income each month. Nearly everyone has something they can teach that people are interested in. But, even if you don’t have something you feel comfortable teaching you can always find something you want to learn,  hire someone to teach you and then record the process with audio and video and turn it into content for your site.
We have four magazine subscriptions. Half the time I don’t even look at them. I find myself going online  because the content is more …

If you are going to be an entrepreneur or solopreneur you’ve got to be a leader.  You are captain at the helm and unless you steer your ship nobody will steer it for you.
I see people buying course after course, waiting for one of those courses to have some magic formula that propels them toward instant success. It just doesn’t work that way, and the more I have thought about why people fail in their businesses or fail to make the most from courses they buy the more I think …

Remember dreaming about all the things you would do and be and have growing up? If your life is anything like mine then you know that the reality of adult life doesn’t necessarily play out like the dreams of childhood.

I have climbed more than a few mountains and yet the most difficult mountain to climb has been the mountain of entrepreneurial success. There is no set pathway or trail, the climb is long and steep, many times we are surrounded by people we need to carry or pull up the mountain, we are in charge of planning, logistics, mapping, charting, organizing the expedition, operational details and execution.

By David Ogilvy
Ogilvy & Mather has created over $1,480,000,000 worth of advertising. Here, with all the dogmatism of brevity are 38 of the things we have learned.
1.  The most important decision. We have learned that the effect of your advertising on your sales depends more on this decision than on any other: how should you position your product? Should you position Schweppes as a soft drink – or as a mixer?  Should you position Dove as a product for dry skin or as a product which gets hands …

I am definitely a broken record when it comes to learning by doing. You can read, and read, and read but unless you get out there and do something nothing is going to happen.
Of course we can’t act on all that we read but…I know people who read everything on self help and personal development but who have been in the same place in life for years. They certainly have the foundations to do something to improve their lives but  never act.
The online world can be another great place to …

I am sorry, but I just have to rant. I have hired so many friends and family members over the past couple of years only to be let down in every single circumstance.
My advice, don’t hire friends or family. My situation may not be applicable to everyone. I have heard many cases where people work peaceably and prosperously with family and friends all the time. This has not been my experience.
I remember a few years back I hired a friend to create five microsites for me. I offered to pay …

In the direct response marketing world you often hear advice to test - test - test reiterated so  many times it’s easy to discount or makeup some excuse as to why you know better.  You say to yourself…“We have done this in the past and it worked”…or…”I know this market I understand what they want.” But, conversions are a tricky thing, and now because you have assumed too much,  that sales page you had that was converting at 1.5% after a few of the improvements you made is now converting …

That was a headline from a Yahoo News article today. The article went on to list various careers and the impact that going to a top school would have on the wages of workers in those careers.
Undoubtedly going to a top school will open more doors and provide more opportunities for higher earning.  As the saying goes, “birds of a feather flock together.” That’s not to say that you can’t earn a decent living going to an average school.
What I found most interesting about the report however was it’s reinforcement …

If you answered yes, I recommend Michael Gerber’s book, “The E-myth Revisited.“  I have to say, that out of all the books I have read on business or entrepreneurship this is one of the best.
Something like 90% of all small businesses fail within the first 5 years.  Why? If you are in business for yourself now you may be acutely aware. If you aren’t, let’s look at the scenario.
You…are some kind of technician, perhaps you are a programmer, engineer, carpenter, plumber, cake baker, or retail worker. Whatever the case, you …