Business Owner’s Blog

Not all your customers are good to have. Some are great. Some actually cost you money. Some are just so-so. Dharmesh Shah has some good ideas on ranking your customers. His post is geared toward software companies. For other types of companies, I would add things like

do they pay on time
do they haggle
do they refer […]

While we’re on the subject of customer service, let me tell you about my BBQ grill. I got my first Weber at a garage sale. It served me for several years. www.weber.com

When it finally rusted out I decided to buy a new one. I even splurged the extra $5 to get red instead of black. […]

This site is hosted by BlueHost.com. I’ve used them for about 6 months. Never had a problem but that’s not a lot of time to tell. What it is plenty of time to tell is that they have WONDERFUL Customer Support.
I’ve emailed support requests several times. Each time I hear back very quickly and, more […]

Jeremy J at 37signals says when writing computer code, he writes the tests first. Then he knows that the code he writes will have to pass the tests. He says it wastes less effort and keeps him happier and more productive.
I sometimes do the same thing when trouble shooting. I write down what I’m looking […]

Old style company
New style company

They make something people want to buy.
They can find enough of those people, and sell to them at a cost that allows them to make a profit.
They do it again and again.
As the desire for what they sell changes, the company adapts to those changes and remain profitable. (Some have a […]

DON’T
Says Seth Godin. I think he gives a pretty good alternative.
Takeaways:

Not all VC funding is bad for every company.
Thinking that funding is always the solution is bad for every company.

Just thought I’d share a nice piece of software I’ve been using called The Journal ($40 with a 45 day trial and as always I’ve got no financial stake in the company.) It’s designed to pop up a new page every day where you jot down your thoughts. Sort of like a journal. DUH!
I’m using […]

The war analogy doesn’t work because business is not a zero sum game. A great business makes the pie bigger for everyone. And in war, you’re focused on the enemy (ie your competition) but in business you’re supposed to focus on the customer.
The sports analogy doesn’t work either. It’s all about getting in the zone […]

Others say it better than I. Here’s a piece by Craig James (was a top recruiter for Hewlett Packard) about how to build a team that does your interviews. Thanks to Guy Kawasaki for the link.

In case you missed it: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

Payback
Payback is the third reason for a company to spend money after COGS and Operations. I don’t mean payback as in sending some goon out to break a bunch of kneecaps. Payback is what I’m calling the money […]