Last Christmas, we received an unusual present from our kids… …A robot vacuum cleaner, who has since been christened “Robbie”. We keep it in our house in Wales, and it does an exceptionally good job. Each visit, before we leave, we can set Robbie to work and by the time we return, the floor is […]
Tag archives: growing business
Out with the old…
The start of 2023 is, fittingly, all about new beginnings for me. After 35 years in the same house, Thelma and I are moving to Gloucestershire. We’ve always fancied slightly more rural surroundings, which will be slower and calmer than our Essex life – although we will be returning to Essex frequently for the business […]
The devil’s in the details. So are the opportunities
One year, we had a new client who wanted us to work out in a lot more detail which parts of his business were profitable over the past 12 months, and which weren’t. It was a wonderful idea, because you need to understand where the profit lies in your business in order to grow faster. […]
Genius ideas for your business – from an unexpected source
In the early 1990s, an employee of Swan Vesta, the matches company, told his bosses that he could save the organisation millions each year. Initially, they laughed at him. But he persisted, and was eventually granted a few minutes with the Board. His proposal? Instead of using the sandpaper strike on both sides of the […]
Terrible financial advice on social media
I’ve come across a lot of advice on social media recently on how businesses can improve their finances during the economic crisis. One expert recommends that you cut back your overheads and pay down debt. Another has 10 ways to keep your energy bill manageable. A third believes you should create alternate revenue streams… It’s […]
I’m moving up in the world (literally)
They say that moving house is one of the biggest stresses in life. If so, I’ve just been through its younger sibling – moving offices! After years working on our company’s main floor, surrounded by our team, I’ve moved upstairs to the penthouse suite (it’s actually a loft conversion but we thought this grandiose title […]
Preparing for growth – and sabotaging it instead
Years ago, I was invited to consult in a business that was constantly running on a shoestring and in danger of running out of money. The business owner thought they were profitable. But looking through their very messy accounts, it took me just 30 minutes to show they were actually running a loss. “It’s like […]
Don’t believe these 3 myths
Last week I mentioned I’ve always had an interest in the Tudors. I’ve learned an enormous amount about them… …And I’ve also discovered that some of the things I believed for many years are absolutely untrue! For example, Walter Raleigh didn’t introduce tobacco to the UK in 1586 – a fun fact I had learned […]
Rich vs King
Would you rather retain complete financial control of your company – or make more money from it? That’s the “founder’s dilemma,” says Harvard Business School professor Noam Wasserman[1]. He studied 212 start-ups that were determined to grow large (not ‘lifestyle businesses’ that simply made their owner comfortable). What he found is that owners could optimise […]
A cautionary tale from LinkedIn
Over the past few weeks I’ve become a lot more active on LinkedIn. I’ve noticed an enormous improvement in the quality of the posts since I was last heavily involved on the platform, a few years ago. There’s still a bit of boring, salesy material. But there are also a lot of people sharing knowledge, […]
