“The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.” — Michael Porter Not every growth plan dies with a bang. Some fade slowly, drained by investments in marketing and sales channels that look shiny but don’t move the needle. If you’ve ever watched your acquisition costs climb while your conversion rates stay flat, you’ve…
Read More“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” – Steve Jobs Consider this real-life scenario: A small consulting firm had decent website traffic over 3,000 visitors monthly—but only received around 5-10 inquiries per month. After a website redesign focused explicitly on conversion optimization, their leads jumped to…
Read More“Take care of your employees and they’ll take care of your business.” — Richard Branson A few months ago, I spoke with the founder of a 75-person SaaS company who was proudly rolling out a new employee wellness initiative. His tone was upbeat. “We’ve added a meditation app subscription, weekly yoga on Zoom, and Friday…
Read More“Burnout is what happens when you try to avoid being human for too long.” — Michael Gungor Let me paint a picture. A fast-scaling consulting firm out of Chicago hit $20 million in revenue in record time. But in the fourth quarter of last year, something odd happened. Projects began slipping. Client satisfaction scores dipped.…
Read More“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” – Benjamin Franklin Let me begin by sharing a cautionary tale. In 2021, a small healthcare provider in New Jersey faced a crippling fine of $62,500. Their crime? A relatively minor violation of HIPAA improper disposal of medical records. While the penalty might seem steep,…
Read More“It takes months to find a customer… seconds to lose one.” – Vince Lombardi Imagine this scenario: Your most loyal customer receives a call today from your biggest competitor. They offer slightly better pricing, a faster turnaround, or perhaps just a fresh perspective. Ask yourself honestly, would your customer stay loyal or jump ship? The…
Read More“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Picture this: It’s 2010, and Starbucks, one of the most successful global brands, finds itself in an unexpected financial crunch. Profits were shrinking, costs were soaring, and competitors were rapidly gaining…
Read More“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker If you’re in business today, you’re also in the data business whether you like it or not. From newsletter sign-ups to shopping carts to customer service chats, every digital interaction leaves behind a trail. And for many business owners, collecting that…
Read More“Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship.” — Benjamin Franklin In 2019, a mid-sized logistics company approached a consultant for help scaling. They thought they had a revenue problem. But after a three-week audit, something else emerged: they were bleeding nearly $800,000 annually in overlooked expenses duplicated software licenses, unused…
Read MoreThe best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.” — Tom Fishburne Last year, I sat across from a CEO who had just wrapped her annual marketing review. Great website. Decent lead volume. Solid paid ad ROI. But here’s what kept her up at night: her top competitor, with fewer employees and a smaller budget, was showing…
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