Why waiting to feel motivated could be the very thing stopping you from making progress. Have you ever come away from a meeting, seminar, book or conversation feeling really inspired? You’ve got a great idea. You can see exactly what needs to change. You’re excited about the possibilities, and you Read more
Why another email, WhatsApp message or new system won’t solve a problem that needs a conversation. Have you ever walked into a business and seen a notice on the wall telling people to clean up after themselves, put things back where they belong, follow a particular procedure or do something Read more
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
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
Why Most Business Owners Are Solving the Wrong Problem Most business owners go looking for information on how to improve profit, cashflow, growth, recruitment, accountability or time. Having worked with owner-managed businesses for many years, I’ve found that those problems are often symptoms rather than causes. The real challenge is Read more
How to get better answers About two years ago, a contact introduced me to Rico Swan over a coffee. He’d actually come to talk about something completely different. But as the conversation developed, I started asking him questions about the business. Not complicated questions. Fairly simple ones really. What do Read more
Why good businesses balance belief with managed risk Most business owners are naturally optimistic. They have to be. Very few people would start a business if they looked at the statistics objectively and relied purely on logic. Optimism is often what gives people the courage to begin in the first Read more
Why most people quietly avoid the truth about where they are — and what it would take to improve it One of the most interesting things about human beings is how good we are at protecting ourselves from uncomfortable truths. Not consciously. Most people aren’t deliberately lying to themselves. In Read more