Is Your Well-Oiled Machine a Little Clunky?
Do you feel like you’re getting nowhere quickly? Is your business stuck and you can’t seem to get through your…
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What To Do When Your Mojo Is a No-Go!
I have been accused of being a bit of a Pollyanna, the one with great faith in possibility … but…
Make Space for Things to Grow – Lessons Learned from Growing Tomatoes
You may well ask yourself – What do tomato plants and your plans have in common? If you’ve ever gardened,…
Questions to Guide Your Strategic Planning
This year has sped past. We blinked – and now we’re closing off 2022 and looking forward to 2023 and…
Try Before You Buy – An age-old strategy for growth. 😊
Sampling as an effective marketing strategy has been around for a very long time. A local story – In 1913,…
Moving Forward to Your Next Normal
As the intensity of the pandemic lessens several business owners have commented to me about looking forward to “going back”…
Proactive Money Management – What Is a Budget and Why Do You Need One?
What Is a Budget? A budget is a projection of your future income (Revenue) and expenses for a specific period,…
Planning Helps the Heart Grow Fonder
The world’s oldest form of business partnership is alive and well. In fact, it is thriving and growing. It is…
Remember When You Didn’t Think You Could – And You Did?
One consistent thing over the past two years has been the continued support and camaraderie within the small business community…
Make the Time to Reset Your Focus
When you launched your business, you knew the start-up phase would be challenging. But here it is, several years later,…
Finish What You Started – 7 Actions to Help You Get Things Done!
“I am so good at starting things … why do I suck at finishing everything?” This was the plaintive query…
Magic of Managing Your Money
Despite all the important things we must deal with as business owners, the one constant and most important responsibility we…
Where Are Your Doors to Opportunity?
As I listened to a speaker at a prestigious business conference give advice on how to achieve small business success,…
Look Into Your Future With 20/20 Clarity
We are currently working with our clients to think beyond 2021. We believe 2021 is going to be some rendition…
What One Word Will Guide Your Focus in 2021?
The first weeks of a new year are a time when people make plans, set goals, and make New Year’s…
7 Actions to Take in December to Thrive in 2021!
It has been a very different year, many of us are looking forward to some down time over the holidays…
Create Plans to Take You Beyond 2021!
Every November we embrace planning for the year ahead; for our own business and with our clients. Typically, a big…
Make it Easy for People to Buy!
The greatest responsibility you have as a business owner is to generate revenue for your business. However, you didn’t go into…
5 Actions to Grow Your Business in September!
Published: September 10th, 2020; By: Judi Hughes September feels much more like the start of a “New Year” than January.…
You Don’t Need a Magic Wand or Crystal Ball… But it would be nice.
Published: May 14th, 2020; By: Judi Hughes It’s time to look past our current situation and set our focus on…
What’s Your Career Path for Business Growth?
Published: March 11th, 2020; By: Judi Hughes Do you have a career path to achieve the growth you want for…
Make Your Plan Your Blueprint for Growth in 2020!
Published: December 3rd, 2019; By: Judi Hughes As Philip Orsini wrote, “Companies don’t fail because they grow. The fail because…
Your Business is Worth Celebrating!
Published: October 22nd, 2019; By: Judi Hughes Through experience, we know being in business is not always all it’s cracked…
Convert Relationships into Revenue – Your Fortune is in the Follow-Up
Published: September 10th, 2019; By: Judi Hughes Small Business Owners spend way too much time and money meeting new people…
Accountability Brings Greater Focus to Your Business
Published: July 30th, 2019; By: Judi Hughes It is hard to stay focused – to always put in that extra…
Tools to Keep You Focused This Summer
Published: June 26th, 2019; By: Judi Hughes Hurray it’s summer! The days are longer, the sun is shining, patios are…
Make Your Great Idea Happen!
Published: May 28th 2019; By: Nick & Judi Hughes Are you sitting on a great idea? Have you been carrying…
Take Stock Now to Meet Your Strategic Goals!
Published: April 26th, 2019; By: Nick & Judi Hughes Along with April Showers and spring flowers; April also marks the…
Stop Being Crazy Busy!
Published: February 26th, 2019; By: Judi Hughes I was at a networking event recently when I overheard this conversation: “How…
10 Ways to Make This Year’s Plan Happen!
Published: January 29th, 2019 As business owners, your most important responsibility is to develop and successfully execute the annual plan. Good news is,…
What Does Your Perfect Business Look Like?
Published: September 28th, 2018; By: Judi Hughes When I first started in business, some colleagues gifted me a crystal ball…
4 Ways to Maximize Your Business Success
Published: August 1st, 2018; By: Judi Hughes We love working with entrepreneurs. People who own their own business are some…
Stop Being the Chief Cook & Bottle Washer!
Published: March 29th, 2018; By: Judi Hughes There is actually a dictionary definition for Chief Cook & Bottle Washer –…
Confessions of a Serial Networker!
Published: February 7th, 2018; By: Judi Hughes “I’ve come to believe that connecting is one of the most important business…
Take the Guess Work Out of Planning
Published: November 30th, 2017; By: Judi Hughes “Always plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark”, wrote Richard Cushing.…
Vision & Mission – You Need Them Both
Published: November 17th, 2017; By: Judi Hughes In our experience growing a business without creating and using a plan is unpredictable and risky. …
The Missing Ingredient for Business Success
Published: October 20th, 2017; By: Judi Hughes There is one factor that business owners seldom consider as part of the…
5 Ways to Increase Revenue This Summer
Published: June 29th, 2017; By: Judi Hughes Don’t get stuck in the “everything slows down in the summer” syndrome. Use…
How to Turn Your Website Into a Powerful Marketing Tool
Published: March 15th, 2017; Written by our guest blogger: Andy Bush www.bushmarketing.ca For a successful business to not have a…
Seven Ways to Avoid Running Out of Money
Published: February 28th, 2017; By: Judi Hughes No matter the size of the company, there will be a time that…
Give Yourself The Gift That Keeps On Giving
Published: December 16th, 2016; By: Judi Hughes It isn’t too late! This year give yourself and your business the gift…
Your Business Growth Begins With You!
Published: August 17th, 2016; By Nick Hughes So, you want to grow your business? Great! There’s nothing more exciting than…
Review Your Business Plan Now for Year-End Success
Published: July 13th, 2016; by Judi Hughes If your strategic plan maps out how you will achieve your business goals,…
The Balanced Business Wheel™
Published: June 15th, 2016; by Nick Hughes To grow a successful business you must manage it holistically. You must focus…
Are There Diamonds In Your Backyard?
Published: May 10th, 2016; By: Judi Hughes This short parable explains a marketing strategy that is often forgotten. This story is…
Your Biggest Barrier to Growth
Published: April 8th, 2016; by Judi Hughes Did you know that one of the biggest barriers to business growth is…
Navigate the Economy – 7 Actions to Take Now!
Published: March 23rd, 2016; by Judi Hughes A slower economy can be a great time to grow your business As…
Your Fortune is in the Follow-Up
Published: March 2nd, 2016; by Judi Hughes How much money are you leaving on the table because you don’t follow-up?…
Are You Suffering from SOS?
Published: February 5th, 2016; by Judi Hughes Business owners are some of the most creative people I know. Small business…
Risk Assessment – A Tool to Manage Change
Published: January 12th, 2016; by Judi Hughes As business owners we are in the business of change management. So much…
Look Into Your Past to Plan for Your Future
Published: December 2nd, 2015; by Judi Hughes “Always plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark”, wrote Richard Cushing.…
Creating a Philanthropic Culture in Your Small Business
Published: November 20th 2015; by Judi Hughes According to a 2012 Canadian study conducted by profitguide.com, 76% of business owners…
Are You Growing Your Business? Or Do You Have a Job?
Published: November 3rd, 2015; by Judi Hughes Do you have a business owner’s mindset? When you prepare for a day’s…
Technology – Friend or Foe?
Published: October 7th, 2015; by Nick Hughes Advances in technology have been very beneficial for small businesses. Not only has…
Why Your Business Needs a Marketing Map
Published: September 23rd, 2015; by Judi Hughes It’s been said that it takes between 7 to 12 “touches” to turn…
Conquer the 7 Barriers to Small Business Growth
Published: September 1st, 2015; by Judi Hughes If you are serious about growing your business you will hit barriers along…
The Power of No
Published: August 12th, 2015; by Judi Hughes Steve Jobs, the founder and eventual saviour of Apple, was quoted as saying:…
Small Business Marketing & Sales: Do’s and Don’ts of Sales and Marketing
Small Business – Marketing & Sales 101 We often hear the phrase “marketing and sales” used in small business as…
Pricing Your Products for Profit
Pricing your products for profit is a mix of science, experience, knowledge and guesswork. The science part is the formula.…
Silence – A Valuable Tool for Leaders
By Guest Blogger, Marguerite Orane “But isn’t silence a sign of weakness?” my coachee asked. We were discussing a difficult…
Networking ~ Build your Business by Building Relationships
Published: April 8th, 2015; By: Judi Hughes No one marketing initiative should be a stand-alone activity. One marketing activity must…
Focus on Your Critical Success Indicators
Is there an easy way to manage your business? No! There is no easy way but there is an effective…
Management Information Puts You in Charge
One of the challenges faced by us business owners is being objective about our own business! We are too close…
Is Your Business Actually Making Any Money?
Are your products or services profitable? Or, do you assume that you’re making sales so you must be making money? To…
A-Teams Don’t Need Superheroes
I have always been puzzled by what an A-Team means. I know it is a term from the military for…
Plan for Growth
Published: January 9th, 2015; By: Judi Hughes Many business owners plan to grow; few plan for growth! By this I…
Stress-Busting Tool for You
Our guest blogger this week is Sharone Bar-David, who shares her wonderful tool to help us take care of…
Creating the Plan
The previous blog was all about how to prepare to plan. A plan after all is only as good as…
Preparing to Plan
Planning is not a quick fix; it is the first step in a journey. So like anything in life the…
The Best Plan is the One You Use
Written by our guest blogger Susan Gregory www.susangregory.ca Creating a daily plan is my number one suggestion for better time…
When your Business is Losing Money …. ACT NOW!
In our previous blog we wrote about how important profits are to the growth and success of your business. To…
Profit is Not a Dirty Word
Profit is not a dirty word despite the fact the some people believe it is the result of unethical businesses…
Grow Your Business by Growing Your Team
The previous blog talked about the pitfalls to avoid when building your team. This blog focuses on how to build…
Pitfalls to Avoid When Building Your Team
Building your team does have challenges but it also has huge rewards. You will be energized by your team’s successes.…
The Experts Are Wrong; Time Management Does Not Work
Time Management doesn’t work because we can’t manage time. Time moves forward on its own with no help from us,…
Summer Time is Leisure Time
One motivation for many people starting their own business is the promise of more flexible time. Time to do the…
Power of Attitude
Attitude IS everything. Arrive at work feeling positive and upbeat and the day will be wonderful. Arrive with a dread…
One Step at a Time
As a business owner you are constantly faced with daunting tasks. You know the ones; they stretch out ahead of…
Recipe for Success
When we had our IT Consulting business our offices were in Cabbagetown; the beautifully refurbished old Victorian neighbourhood of Toronto. One…
Diamonds Are Your Best Friends
Growing a business is all about “more”. More people, more products, more processes, more complexity. And, of course, more revenue.…
Business Growth Is Not Magic
Your business will not grow by magic! Its growth requires your dedication, your experience, your leadership, and most of all…
SOS ‘ Shiny Object Syndrome
Park those good ideas for the right time. [vimeo id=”88208044″ width=”600″ height=”450″]
Fragmented Focus Treadmill
Are you stuck on the Fragmented Focus Treadmill? You know the feeling; running and running ever faster and getting absolutely…
Culture & Strategy; You Can’t Have One without the Other
by Guest Blogger Jeff Goldenberg If entrepreneurs focus on building a great culture with the same passion that they exude…
3 Critical Focuses for 2014
Business owners wear many hats and so it is often difficult to stay focused on the really important things. As…
Stop! Get Clarity
If like many business owners you are starting to plan 2014 … STOP! Before you go any further make sure…
Are You a Good Boss?
I was reading a Maclean’s article called “Really Bad Bosses”when I was stopped in my tracks by the following: “So…
Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast
Recently I had the pleasure of serving on a panel discussing the topic “Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast”. It was…
How Do Projects Fall Behind Schedule?
“How do projects fall behind schedule?”Answer: “One day at a time”. Projects must be managed closely at all times, every…
If You Fail to Plan You Plan to Fail
This is the third in a series of four blogs focused on the importance of successful projects in building a…
In Search of the High/High’s
In the previous blog we introduced you to the idea that without projects the business will go nowhere. In fact…
Missing Ingredient for Business Success
What is the single most important ingredient for business success? Having enough clients? Building a great team? Profitable products and…
Summer Time is Leisure Time
One motivation for many people starting their own business is the promise of more flexible time. Time to do the…
Don’t Try and Do Everything
Accept the fact that you will never get everything done! When I tell this to business owners there is a…
The Experts Are Wrong; Time Management Does Not Work
Time Management doesn’t work because we can’t manage time. Time moves forward on its own with no help from us,…
Growth in Sales Can Be Harmful!
“Everyone knows that too few sales are fatal. But very few owner-managers understand that too many sales, made too fast,…
Exercises for the Desk Jockey!
There are a number of simple ways to get some movement into your desk bound day! These exercises are not…
Your Fortune is in the Follow-up
Build Your Business By Building Relationships! You go to a networking event. You do all of the right things. You…
Growing Towards Your Goal
What makes some people successful over others? Why do some people persevere in the face of obstacles and others are…
Best Practices in Time Management
Not only does time spent planning increase your productivity and save you money but it’s estimated that each minute spent…
Illuminate Your Small Business Journey
Published: Mar 6th 2013; By: Judi Hughes Coaching small business owners, I’ve found a couple of metaphors that are very…
Sales Ain’t What It Used To Be!
There are more opinions, more books, more articles and more blogs about selling than almost any other business topic. When…
It’s Tough Being Optimistic All the Time
Being a business owner means you are constantly excited about what you do, invigorated by what the future holds, confident…
Meetings, Bloody Meetings
If you google “meetings bloody meetings”you get over 11 million results and page after page of workshops, how to books,…
How To Make Plans Work
As the previous blogs point out, a good plan is: The key to business success Easy to do What is…
Plan for Success
If you want your business to be successful then you need to plan for it. Planning the future of your…
Why Bother Planning?
There are many reasons why business owners should not waste time creating plans: Things change so rapidly plans become obsolete…
Managing The Risks of Change
As business owners we are in the change business. So much of what we do is initiating and managing change.…
The Disruption of Change
It wasn’t a big change and so we didn’t expect anything to go wrong. How wrong we were! The change…
Power of Purpose
Do you know the purpose of your business? Do you clearly understand why you started your business? Have you communicated…
The Power of Focus
One of the common attributes of successful people, whether they are athletes, entertainers, or business leaders, is their ability to…
The Power of Small Business
“The central element of a vibrant economy may be described in a short sentence: a business owner hires a worker.”…
The Power of No
Why is No so powerful? Because it gives you permission to stop doing what you shouldn’t be doing so you…
The Power of Why
Why is why so powerful? Because it enables you to get to the root of a problem, rather that applying…
Power of Information
Why is information so powerful? Because it is the life blood of managing a business. Without information we have no…
Badge of Honour ~ “I haven’t had a real holiday in years!”
For many business owners they wear it as a badge of honour; the inscription reads; “I haven’t had a real…
Summer Reads: Learn From Other Business Owners
I have 2 great summer reads for you this time. But you won’t want to read them from front to…
Summer Reads ~ Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs by Carmine Gallo
Do you want your presentations to be more effective? Do you want your message to be heard and remembered by…
Where Is the Money?
It is one of the great mysteries of the universe. There always comes a time when a business runs out…
What Is Your Company Worth?
What is your company worth? If you were to close the doors today how much money would you have left?…
Are You Making Any Money?
Do you want to get rid of that nagging voice in the back of your head? You know the one.…
When your business runs out of money it is too late!
Most business owners would prefer to chew on cut glass rather than pay attention to the financial results of their…
The Never Ending Chase After New Revenue
Business ownership is a never ending chase after new revenue. If we don’t get new revenue we won’t get revenue…
Top Twenty Generates Revenue
You don’t build your business by “earning revenue”you build your business by “generating revenue”. And you generate revenue by getting…
Marketing the 80/20 Way
There are numerous, no thousands, of tools, techniques and methods you can apply to your marketing and sales efforts. The…
Take Control of Your Time
We hear it all the time: “I just don’t have enough time to do everything”. And it’s true! So here…
One Step At A Time
When you plan to execute a large project or campaign it is very easy to become overwhelmed. Overwhelm leads to…
How to turn a tax liability into a tax refund? Procrastinate!
Our guest blogger, who wants to remain anonymous, writes: I am a master procrastinator, so well-practiced that the date of…
How to Overcome Procrastination
Not doing something that should be done is called procrastination. While procrastination can be good, for example we end up…
Procrastination ‘ The Art of Avoidance
The blog theme for March is procrastination, which probably means it will never happen! Procrastination is putting off doing something…
Critical Success Factors
As we end our February theme of focus focus focus we introduce you to a powerful tool to help you…
Are You Chasing Shiny Objects?
Business owners are extremely creative people. They build something from nothing; they create new and wonderful products; they constantly think…
Small Business ‘ The engine of the Canadian economy
A recent MacLean’s special feature about Canada’s Small Business World starts out saying “more than a million small businesses operate…
The Perfect Business
We believe every Canadian business owner should have the opportunity to build the Perfect Business. But what is a Perfect…
This Year I Will
The end of one calendar year and the beginning of another brings many of us to embrace setting goals and…
Lessons to Learn from the book Good to Great
The book Good to Great by Jim Collins was the result of a research study Jim and a team of…
Old Habits Die hard
Do you have something in your business or our life you want to change … some situation you want to…
Built to Sell by John Warrillow
It is the Circle of Life of an entrepreneur. We start a business because we have a passion for something.…
A Business Built On A Hat
Alex was bored with his business but that was okay because it gave him plenty of time to pursue his…
Ed Mirvish – Entrepreneur with Bold Vision
Published: October 27th, 2011: By: Nick Hughes Ed Mirvish was 15 when his father died. As a result, he had…
Celebrating Canadian Business ‘ The Four Seasons
Last week we celebrated two Canadian companies that have a significant impact in Canada; Lee Valley Tools and Dufflet Pastries.…
Celebrating Canadian Business
For some obscure reason it has been decided (by whom I do not know) that October is small business month.…
How Healthy Is Your Business?
Cholesterol is often described as the silent killer. High cholesterol is bad for us and yet there are no symptoms.…
If It Can’t Be Measured It Can’t Be Managed
One of the challenges faced by us business owners is being objective about our own business! We are too close…
Customer Service Hall of Fame
This month’s blogs have been all about customers. How to care for them. How to deliver excellent customer service that…
How To Recover from the Customer Service Snafu
We all want to give our customers the very best service. Unfortunately, Murphy is lurking in the shadows to ensure…
10 Ways to Thrill Your Customers
“Do you provide good customer service?” We ask every business owner who crosses our path that question. Not surprisingly, they…
Customers Leave Because They Think You Don’t Care
The statistics are startling. Of the customers who leave you: 3% do so because they move away 12% are lured…
Do You Like Your Customers?
Do you like your customers? Yes you heard me. Do you like your customers? Of course, you say. After all…
Pitfalls to Avoid When Building Your Team
Building your team does have challenges but it also has huge rewards. You will be energized by the team’s successes.…
Build Your Business by Building Your Team
If you want to build your business you can only do it by building your team. So say after me:…
Build Your Business by Building Relationships
I was recently reading an article about the differences between Canadian and Indian business manners. Interesting topic but what really…
There are Diamonds In Your Backyard
David was an ambitious and proud man who was desperate to be very rich. To this end he traveled the…
Not Everyone Is Your Target Client
Not everyone shops at Wal-Mart. Not everyone buys a Mini Cooper; despite the fact that I think it is the…
Empower Yourself ~ Create a Budget!
Business owners are exciting, creative people who have taken the huge step of being masters of their own financial future.…
Know Your Numbers ~ Numbers Never Lie
A business exists for two reasons and two reasons only: To pay its owners a decent income. To increase its…
Are You Paying Yourself Enough?
You went into business because you wanted to do what you love and you wanted to make a good living…
MoneyIn/Money Out ~ Money Makes the World Go Round
No matter how successful you are in business, it is a fact that you will have cash flow problems at…
Very Good Is Not Good Enough
I recently went to see “The Kings Speech”. I thought it was brilliant. I believe it deserved to win Best…
Fear Can Stop Us In Our Tracks
We all have something we fear. Fear of flying; fear of heights; fear of public speaking; fear of spiders ……
Seven Barriers to Business Success
Through the work we have done with hundreds of business owners and the experienced gained from building our own businesses…
Money Now Money Later
One of the biggest challenges faced by all business owners is balancing the Money Now with Money Later. Money Now…
Growing a Business is a Risky Business
Growing a business is a risky business. In fact there are more risks associated with growing a business than there…
Diamonds In Your Backyard
David was a very ambitious and proud man and was desperate to be very rich. To this end he traveled…
The Recipe for Success
When we had our IT Consulting business our offices were in Cabbagetown; the beautifully refurbished old Victorian neighbourhood of Toronto.…
Your Vision ~ Take Time to Dream
Your vision is your unique dream. It is the image of what you want your business to become. It provides…
Not everyone can be your customer!
Not everyone shops at WalMart. Not everyone will buy a Mini Cooper, despite the fact it is the coolest car…
Business owners – are you buildng a business or creating a job?
If you are creating a job you are probably feeling frustrated because your hard work isn’t being reflected in growing,…
Don’t Get Good At What You Don’t Want To Be Doing
I was leaving the Gladstone Hotel recently when the title on a flyer caught my eye ~ Don’t Get Good…
Books n Brew
Rob MacGregor, owner of Koyana Inc (“We Save Software Projects In Crisis!” www.koyanainc.com) selected the Books n Brew book and…
Never Enough Time
In the previous post I wrote about the seven barriers to business success and how one of them is us…
Books n Brew
Books n Brew is an opportunity for Your Planning Partners’ community to get together and discuss business books …. and…