The Ten Million Pound Question At a meeting last week, I asked what changes each business owner could implement immediately to drive his business forward quickly but without additional cost. Over an hour we heard – in general terms –...

We’ve all got views on this one – should more MPs resign over the expenses scandal??? I’m with the “Ayes” here. The seriousness of this disclosure has been washed over by all parties – why hasn’t there been an outing...

We preach and teach “change” 24/7. The old slogan ” The sign of (business) madness is doing the same thing each day but expecting something to change” – still hits the nail. We know that many times it’s hard to...

Hey – it’s the weekend – so why not rest up and relax a little!...

A short while ago, I observed a training session where the topic was “Influences on the Buying Decision” The trainer put up four categories with the corresponding percentage of influence alongside.. These were Price 8% : Company Pedigree 17% :...

Have small businesses been meeting secretly and agreeing on the answer to one our early fact find questions? It seems strange that the answer that many business owners give has instant signs of “OK Guv – hands up – I...

Just back from a Club La Costa “Holiday Club” presentation in Spain. It wasn’t business – it wasn’t “mystery shopping” or strategy advice – it was pure family time – although this blog is a reflection of my (business)thoughts on...

  P”ing Off the Tax Man The UK Tax Office decided to audit Grandpa, and summoned him to the London office.  The auditor was not surprised when Grandpa showed up with his attorney. The auditor said, ‘Well, sir, you have...

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1920’s, 30’s 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s !! First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos...

What’s this recession about? In three words – debt, debt and debt. It’s about consumer debt, business debt and government debt. Consumers have had a wake up call and many have changed their lifestyles dramatically to cope. Businesses that were previously...

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced a pre-tax loss of £44m for the three months to the end of March.....compared to a profit  of £479m for the same period a year earlier. So, doesn’t it make you feel...

Within just 48 hours of Alistair Darling presenting his budget forecasts, it was announced that the British economy shrank at the fastest rate in 30 years in the first three months of this year.  Official figures showed gross domestic product...

Mervyn Davies, Minister for Trade and Investment, will be interviewed by the BBC journalist, Martha Kearney, on how the government is handling the recession at the British Chambers of Commerce’s Annual Business Convention. At the Convention, which will be held...

Rick Wagoner – the chief executive of struggling US car giant, General Motors has been ordered to step down by US President Barack Obama. The auto task force appointed by Mr Obama released two reports on Monday on the financial...

One product that gives a ray of light in these gloomy times (forgive the pun) is energy-saving light bulbs. In the last three months of 2008, 12.3 million of them were sold in the UK, up from 8.9 million in...

The wide range of opinion regarding both the severity and likely timescale of this recession was illustrated yesterday with comments from the BoE, BCC and IOD. Take your pick who you run with..... BoE Governor, Mervyn King says “The slowdown...

Whilst the Bank of England and the Government continue to make predictions regarding the severity and likely length of this recession, many business owners have stopped listening. It took the BoE & Govt a while to acknowledge a “credit crunch”...

It is amazing that there are still some commentators who are hedging their bets regarding the recession. Here we are, just one week away from Christmas with, hopefully a jolly good time for us all. The outlook for 2009 seems...

Small Business Plan One of the key issues with business success is the small business plan. No plan – no direction – no progress. Each business needs to have an overall plan plus a detailed plan for each quarter, month,...

One of my favorite films is the Shawshank Redemption with Morgan Freeman. It’s about a man condemned to life in jail for the murder of his wife and lover. Tim Robbins plays the man who feels like the walls are...