Small Business Owner Insights

Repeat Business and Lifetime Customer Value

If you buy something from me one time for $10, that represents $10 of value to me. And that is where most business owners stop. However, if you come in my shop 4 times a month and do so for a year, that is $480 you represent to me. Once you look at it like this, [...]

Credit Cards, Redux (It is still not about you)

Yesterday, I wrote about my frustration that I could not find a small business that would sell me breakfast and let me pay with my debit card. I want to riff on that for a moment, if you don’t mind. If you run a business, you have the right to decide up front how you want [...]

It Is Not About You

I like breakfast. A Lot. About twice a week, I will throw the latest book I am reading into the messenger bag and head off to a greasy spoon, Mom and Pop diner to get some scrambled eggs, sausage, grits and toast. This morning was such a morning. However, because my regular place was closed due to [...]

Seth Godin was a CB Nerd

I like Seth Godin. A Lot. So I was excited when I found an interview with him that I was unaware of, and even more excited when I saw it was not a rehash of his standard fare. There is solid gold here, with him broaching subjects I have never heard him talk about before… [...]

Is There no Alternative to PayPal?

As someone who makes all (or virtually all) of his income online, I am dependent upon PayPal. It is the online currency of the internet, for better or worse. The frustrating thing is that there is NO alternative to PayPal. Not a real alternative, anyway. Why? Market share. According to eBay (who owns PayPal), over 90% of [...]

What Does The Future Hold?

Well, I have learned a lot over the past few years I have been blogging. For example, I have learned how to drive local customers to a store with a blog and how to market yourself and achieve your goals through blogging. Pretty much any success I am now enjoying professionally is a direct [...]

The Reports Of My Death Have Been Greatly Exagerated

About 2 months ago, I tackled about 7 big projects all at once, the biggest being a move across the country to Raleigh, North Carolina. It has been an interesting ride… I will be open and honest with you: I almost quite this blog. It may have seemed to so of you as if I HAD [...]

A Lot Has Changed

As I am sure you have noticed by now, there are lots of changes going on here. We have a new url, a new theme, a new mission, heck, a new name. I have about 10 posts lined out, but want to make sure there are no hiccups with the new design. I will be testing throughout [...]

Working on some things here…

Obviously, there is a lot changing here. (If you are on RSS, you will want to click through to see what I mean…) Some of this is what I was alluding to last week, and some of it is new. I am still tweaking and testing, but all the internal links should be working… Bear with me [...]

Talking ‘Bout A Revolution

Life has a way of changing. It was John Lennon who said that life is what happens while we make other plans, and the older I get, the more I think John was right. As I look back across the winding road that has led me to this point, I see many places [...]