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Your Business
Find Your Niche
To Grow or Not to Grow?
Maximize Your Money
Service
Phone & E-mail Etiquette
Customer Service & Value
Customers: Saying Goodbye
Following up
Building a Better Business
When someone asks my daughter what "Daddy" does, she sums it up in the eloquent way that only a kid can ... and I quote, "Daddy just sits on his butt all day."
Great, while other Dad's are fire fighters, police officers or do cool stuff like driving trucks, I, in my daughters eyes, do nothing but sit in a comfy chair and stare at a computer all day ... yawn. Unfortunately, she's pretty much nailed a solid description.
I run a global communications empire from my home office. I think in time zones. I work all hours of the day. I report to no one. I am customer service and technical support. I am sales and marketing. I am accounts receivable and accounts payable. I am self-employed.
Coming from the school of thought that excellent service and a fair price is key to success, and with those principles as the foundation, in my column I hope to provide you with some helpful and cost-effective ideas about things you can do to help make your small business better.
Don't worry, it'll be fun! Now, let's get to work!
Current Columns:
- Find Your Niche: Setting Yourself Apart from the Other Guys Now that you’ve hung out your shingle for the world to see, step back for a moment and look at what makes you so special.
- To Grow or Not to Grow: Do you need (and want) to expand your business—and how do you do it and still keep it fun? Now you’ve reached that stage ... do you get bigger or
stay small? - Maximize Your Money: It’s your dollar; spend it wisely So, what can you do to make the most of your buck? Well, lots of things. Let’s take a look.
- Phone & E-mail Do’s: Don’t Leave Your Customers Hanging Are you answering your customers calls and E-mail promptly and politely? Why you must—or suffer the consequences.
- Customer Service & Value—Not Lip Service Why fair prices and top-notch service are still the way to grow and thrive, even in the digital age.
- Customers: Saying Goodbye Why would you not want a customer? Because they can be more trouble than they’re worth—they can take a lot of time and generate almost no revenue.
- Following up: Just getting paid isn’t enough When was the last time a business followed up with you to see how things were going after the sale? I’ll give you a minute to think about that one.
Your Business
Service
About the Author
David Lewis owns and operates an 18 year-old electronic publishing company, taybridge.communications that provides a broad range of online services.
Prior to starting his own business, David did several tours in the private sector - selling everything from e-learning to guns. Yes, guns. For the past several years, David has been in the public sector.
