April 29, 2015 My City Is Burning Normally, my blog is a place of happiness. I enjoy sharing my thoughts and ideas on how to make improvements…in life, in friendships, in business, in communication. Today, I approach my blog with a patina of sadness, confusion, anger and disappointment. My city, Baltimore, is burning, and it seems inexplicable to me. My businesses have been in Baltimore City since 1977. Periodically, there has been crime which affects my shops…broken window maybe once or twice a decade, graffiti periodically, those types of things. Do we feel completely safe here? Normally, not completely, but enough that we just have to be situationally…
October 1, 2010 Is Busyness Hurting Your Business? All too often the “shoemaker’s kids have no shoes” effect takes place in businesses. Many business owners get so wrapped up in the day-to-day struggles of staying afloat that they forget to step back and look at the bigger picture as often as they should. Whether you are a small, independent business or not, you should have a marketing strategy that ensures your company is properly equipped and focused to move in the right direction. Sit down with a pencil, and write out your objectives; your long-term goals and vision; your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; and what you can…
April 29, 2010 Don’t Be A Cardboard Cutout! You know what I mean, right? Those life-sized, full color blowups of real people, mounted to foamboard, cut all the way around, and then propped up so they look like a real person? A few phrases come to mind here… “Light’s on, but no one’s home” “As useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle” or a new favorite “The wheel’s spinning but the hamster’s dead.” Don’t be that guy! Bring your brain, your motivation, your desire to do a good job, to every meeting, conversation, activity you do all day long! Show you are listening, by repeating back, using different…
