One of the best things about running your own business is that you haven’t got a boss. One of the worst things about running your own business is that you haven’t got a boss. Because when things are going well, that independence feels brilliant. But when something goes wrong, when Read more
I quite often tell my clients that they need to ban the word “cost” from their vocabulary. Because I don’t think anything in your business should be a cost. Everything should be an investment. That might sound like semantics, but changing the word changes the way you think. Ask: “How Read more
There are some phrases I hear from business owners all the time. “People are difficult.” “Cashflow problems are common in business.” “Nobody cares about the business as much as I do.” “If I don’t do it, it won’t get done properly.” “That’s just what happens when you employ people.” “Running Read more
After more than 25 years working with business owners, I’ve learned that business will never be easy. But there are things we can do to make it a little bit easier. I’ve spent more than 25 years working with business owners. Different industries. Different personalities. Different sized businesses. Different problems. Read more
Business is never going to be easy. But that doesn’t mean we have to accept everything that makes it difficult as simply part of owning one. I’ve been making the same joke for years. Just once in my life, purely for the sake of novelty, I’d like one thing — Read more
Hard work may be part of building a business. But it doesn’t have to be the permanent price of owning one. When you start a business, working hard is often unavoidable. There isn’t anybody else. You’re selling. You’re delivering. You’re sorting the accounts. You’re dealing with customers. You’re answering emails Read more
Most business owners expect the first few years to be difficult. What they don’t expect is to still be asking the same question ten or twenty years later. Why is running my business so damn hard? It’s probably a question most business owners have asked themselves at some point. Not Read more
Two businesses can have the same turnover, the same number of staff and operate in the same industry—yet one feels effortless to run while the other exhausts its owner. Here’s why. I’ve worked with hundreds of business owners over the years, and one thing has always fascinated me. Two businesses Read more
Why the Most Dangerous Stage of Business Growth Isn’t Failure If I asked you what the biggest risk to your business was, you’d probably say cash flow, the economy, finding good people or winning more customers. They’re all genuine risks, and every one of them can cause serious problems. But Read more
Why untidy kitchens, overflowing bins and dirty bathrooms usually have nothing to do with cleaning. One of the things I hear surprisingly often from business owners is: “Why won’t people just clean up after themselves?” It might be the kitchen. It might be the toilets. It might be the recycling Read more