Attended an exhibition full of visionaries, but the roundtable discussion reminded me: don’t play it safe to the point of boredom. In business marketing, avoid clichés and truly engage your audience by being genuine and innovative – and yes controversial when appropriate. That’s why it’s all about the real conversations and finding real solutions at our Owner’s table..
Most people do not know how to sell and then there is the Networking Robot. He is in a class by himself. If I hadn’t experienced him in real life I would think he was a cartoon or a boogey man to scare business owners with. Alas, he is real.. and he’s looking to find you at a networking event.
You become who you hang out with. It’s almost a law from the playground to the boardroom. And in any group you join.. it’s in the actions where you see the real value or lack of they provide. And time is too valuable to waste in a group that at best keeps you stuck but at worse sinks you into the swamp.
Watching my eldest daughter taunt my youngest until she bellowed a frightening howl that silenced a restaurant highlighted what we face in a noisy market. Lot’s of big promises and the waving of amazing rewards in front of our faces to make us want badlty what they are selling. Unfortunately, like spoiled brats everywhere, they do not have the ability to deliver on the big promise to us.
Listening to the frustrations of an 8 figure business owner highlights that the challenges we face on the business journey are not isolated or unique to us. That we can learn and tackle them together with sound strategies and common sense solutions
There is an asset in every business that can drive profits and growth by 5x or greater if it’s properly measured and utilised. Just a preview but one we will talk more next week and I will share clips from the presentation I gave today.
Your pricing speaks volumes about the value you offer and the clients you attract. Just as we’re influenced by the company we keep, businesses are defined by the customers they cater to. Join our next Owner’s Roundtable to discuss the power of pricing, growth strategies, and more
The biggest mistake I ever made in my career was the one where I underpriced myself -not due to lack of confidence but to the allure of huge commissions without a realistic diligence that the place I was going was the right option
Your pricing communicates a great deal about how you feel about what you provide and now special it is.
If you price too cheap… your quality is called into question..
Price too high.. your grasp of reality.
But ultimately your pricing should Attract who you want to attract.
And..Repel who you do not want.
Are you one of the vast majority of businesses that ignore your pricing strategy at your own peril. Discover the shocking reality Peter discovers when overlooking the most efficient way to drive up his profits.
Have you ever had a client question your price, asking ‘how long will you actually be working on that?’ It’s time to shift the focus from how long a task takes to the value of the solution provided. Join us in the coming weeks as we explore better ways to price, focusing on value, not hours.
Success isn’t about luck or fate, it’s about building a business that creates opportunities. Learn from those who’ve been there – who’ve built and sold businesses, and unlocked the life they’ve dreamed of. Join us at our next Owner’s Table to discover how you too can create a business that gives you the freedom to live life on your own terms.
When you think of World War I, you think of armchair generals eating shrimp and sipping champagne while sending millions to their death with outdated tactics and strategies that produced only corpses. This is what most entrepreneurs face when the “experts” they hire prioritise making the sale and buying flashy cars over providing solutions that will actually bring the real results they are seeking.
Imagine the disappointment of having a $13.75 million deal fall through just moments before signing the agreement. Instead of a dream holiday, Mark suffered a suffocating silence from an oft disappointed spouse, and retirement plans were pushed back “another 3 years”. It’s more common than we care to admit but you can avoid such a fate..
Just like a relaxing drive can be interrupted by an unwanted driver riding too close behind us so often our customers are disturbed when we come in fast and close demanding a new purchase or more money. Avoid that common mistake and watch your profits soar.
Just like a relaxing drive can be interrupted by an unwanted driver riding too close behind us so often our customers are disturbed when we come in fast and close demanding a new purchase or more money. Avoid that common mistake and watch your profits soar.
Spam is the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to identifying what’s wrong in today’s business. By acting opposite of the majority who employ spam or buy into the purveyors of it you will stand out and be more attractive to prospects and customers than spamists who whistle and holler
Complexity Clowns are another bane on the existance of SME owners. They come and try to sell complicated solutions that have no relevance or practicality to you and your situation by showing off corporate owners and others who were fleeced. Find the simple test you can ask them to find out who is and who is not a clown.
As Business owners we often make the mistake of thinking complexity equals quality and overpaying on complicated solutions that have no chance of success but which are sold to us magic solutions. Protect youself by going back to the basics.
PIA (Pain in the A**) Pythons – these creatures latch onto a business owner as a normal customer and then they squeeze the owners dry by immobilizing them with complaints, questions, issues so they monopolise all their time and energy until the owner pretty much loses the will to live or gives in on price and other demands. Customers are not always right and you should never have to be stuck with a Python.
Shame can keep us from doing what is best for us and often lead us to disastrous paths as a character in a movie I saw recently experienced. When you speak to your customers are you identifying where they might be too embarrassed to ask for help and so making it comfortable for them to do so with you… and finally have the solutions they so desired.
We are often passionate and very knowledgeable about what we provide. It’s good to know what we are doing but it can be major trap when we fall into the curse of knowledge and assume our audience knows as much as we do, or are further along the journey than they really are. Overcome this curse and see your conversions begin to skyrocket.
Snake Oil Branding Bats are a scourge for modern entrepreneurs as they manipulate and sell them worthless solutions around vanity measures that do nothing for the underlying business. Read in this article to see what one of these “rebranding” victims look like.
Accountability and measuring employee performance is critical but when do you take it too far and it becomes a liability that threatens the business itself. Read this example.. based on a true story but details changed and some light literary license taken.
False Messiahs and Slick Salemen are the expensive vampires hunting each business owners and looking to sell them the dream of a quick fix or solution regardless of whether it will work or is even appropriate. You’ll save countless hours and money in knowing how to identify and avoid the false messiahs who will do all they can to try to stick their claws in you and convert you.
Can we learn from depraved moments in history. In fact we can. What is scary is what allowed ordinary people to become professional killers and how they rationalized it away. This Rationalisation mechanism is what we have to identify and address when it comes to our business. Because often it traps us in routines and practices that at best keep us stuck and at worst set us up for failure.
Once again we see the finest in cold emails form people actually getting paid to deliver this crap. I’m being nice and not revealing this person’s full name and company but the email is his. And for someone whose promise is to give me tailored content…. It’s generic and plain stupid.
The cliché getting hit by a bus may be in need of getting hit by a bus itself. Only 6,000+ people have bene hit by bus in 20 years. Divorce on the other hand claims nearly 50% of all marriages where there is an entrepreneur. So it makes sense not to prepare for divorce but have a business that is prepared at all times – for every opportunity or D challenge.
Often opportunities are once in a lifetime event. Some business owners had their life changing opportunity in their hands but were not ready when it came and now it’s gone, if not forever, for years. All it may take to be ready.. have your financials and records in order.. starting from today.
It’s easy to get trapped and lose the spark in loving your business and forgetting why you started it in the first place. There are some practical steps you can take but it all starts with the right mindset and the right playbook. Reginite the spark and you will enjoy not only running your business again but owning an asset that puts more money in your pocket and is attractive to investors and customers.
Aileen came to us stuck.
She needed to decide whether to invest in or divest one of her divisions—a decision worth millions.
In 60 minutes, she had her answer.
Not because I told her what to do. Not because I overwhelmed her with frameworks or formulas.
But because I guided her …..
Delegation isn’t about “letting go”—it’s about leading smarter. Yet so many business owners struggle to step away because their team just can’t handle the load.
Here’s the kicker: it’s not your team’s fault. It’s a skill you need to master.
Want to know how one business owner went from being the bottleneck to having a business that runs without him?
I break it all down here
7 out of 10 business owners aren’t ready for the big payday they’ve worked so hard for.
Just like a team that dominates the season but falters when it matters most, many businesses fail to sell—not because they aren’t profitable, but because they aren’t ready.
If your business depends on you for survival, it’s not sellable.
Here’s what you need to know to prepare for your moment:
Life doesn’t warn you when it’s about to change everything.
Most people live like tomorrow is guaranteed—but it’s not.
In my latest article, I dive into a critical question every business owner must ask themselves to safeguard what matters most.
This one shift could mean the difference between thriving in uncertainty—or scrambling to recover.
Because the best time to prepare isn’t after the phone call. It’s before.
Lose in the playoffs? Tough break, but you dust yourself off, train harder, and take another shot next year.
In business? Let’s just say the rules are a little… different.
How different?
My first hit on the high school baseball team? A home run.
Sounds impressive, right? But what happened before that might surprise you. Let’s just say I wasn’t exactly team material when I started out…
It took a mentor, some tough lessons, and a total transformation to make it to that moment at home plate.
The same kind of transformation your business needs to break through to its next level. Ready to see how?
“For she is more profitable than silver, and her gain is better than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.” (Proverbs 3:14-3:15).
We’re talking about Sophia…
More specifically, the Greek word for wisdom.
And how tapping into Sophia or wisdom can transform what your business provides you.
“Sing us a song, you’re the piano man…”
Hearing those lyrics took me back to a snowy Christmas Eve years ago, driving through Chicago in a blizzard to pick up my friend Don. We slid into snowbanks, laughed until we cried, and celebrated late into the night.
Years later, Don built a thriving business and a life he loved abroad. But his story has always stayed with me—and not for the reasons you might think.
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