The Freestyle Entrepreneur

The Issue:  Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes, from Mom & Pop retail operations to independent professionals, manufacturers and, increasingly, developers of on-line businesses. This last group is the focus of this Issue of the Week.   What I Think: Although the nuts and bolts of online business vary widely, one thing is true [...]

By Bill Willard Contributing Author The Issue: The nation’s economy is in dire straits, but Congress, whose charge is fixing the problem, has demonstrated one thing: They’re not up to the job.  What I Think: As Ronald Reagan always maintained: The Federal government is not the solution, it’s the problem. indeed, the perfidity of many [...]

By Bill Willard Contributing Author The issue:  Take a minute: How many ways can you think of to leverage the simple question: “Is That the Best You Can Do?” What I Think:  As a writer, I use it to edit my work—right after the spell-checker—before sending anything to clients or posting to Internet sites like [...]

The Issue: Formal education is a fine thing, but before setting out on their own, would-be small-business owners are advised to have completed a semester or two at The School Hard knocks: at least one pass through the proverbial meat grinder of life (ouch!). Those who’ve been there and done that value the practical experience [...]

A Business Model for Surviving Armageddon By Bill Willard Contributing Author The Issue:  It’s official: The nation’s financial meltdown and economic nose dive made 2008 one lousy year, deep-sixing everything from banks and airlines to scores of retailers whose brands we all grew up with, and dragging untold numbers of once-secure jobs along with them [...]

Recruiting  & Selection Tips SBOS Can Put To The Test – Part 2 EEOC/ADA Do’s & Don’ts By Bill Willard, Contributing Author The Issue: Every question you ask in selection interviews is subject to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations. What I’ve Learned:  Thanks to Uncle Sam, “Freestyle Entrepreneur” is [...]

The Issue: With the holidays approaching faster than any foreseeable end to our current economic meltdown, Mike McDerment, CEO of FreshBooks (freshbooks.com), a leading online invoicing service for small businesses, offers some expert advice that can help you and your business enjoy this holiday season, despite the lousy economy.    What Mike Thinks: These 10 [...]

The Issue: When retailers file for bankruptcy, gift-card and other account cardholders could be left high and dry. What I Think:  Of course, we wish only the best for small businesses of all types. But while understandably not their first concern if going out of business is at hand, retailers should be aware that gift-card [...]

The Issue: Customer service means meeting the needs of your key constituencies: Those sainted souls who have bought, will buy or might buy your products and services. Performed well, it can easily make your business; neglected, it can break it like a matchstick. What I Think: Routine customer service should be wind-and-go. At times, though, [...]

The Issue: Judging by the volume of mail generated by the October 20 Issue of Week, “Getting Your Bills Paid” is a red-hot topic for small-business owners! So this week, instead of spouting off what I think, we’re going to share ideas from a reader about how SBOs can get their bills paid despite the [...]

The Issue: SBOs barely have enough time to change their socks once a day, so getting to those piles of non-business reading is usually a non-starter.  Ever feel if you could only read faster you’d miss out on less important or interesting information? What I Think:  I never could speed read the old way. Remember? [...]

How SBOs Can Get Customers to Pay Up in Spite of it All The Issue: With American consumers drowning in the unsecured-debt crisis, and the financial industry in turmoil, Congress responded with the $700 billion rescue plan (Was there no better way, people?). Whether they believe the bailout will work or not, however, financial experts [...]

Keeping Your Small Business from Being Swallowed By the Big Boys The Issue: Wall Street nose-dived this month when investors realized the administration’s $700 billion rescue plan and steps by other governments were not unfreezing credit markets fast enough. Predictably, the effects of that market shakeup have been reverberating all over Main Street. What I [...]

The Issue:  Long-term care is a variety medical and non-medical services to help people with chronic illnesses or disabilities meet health or personal needs, including the activities of daily living: dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom. Long-term care services can be provided at home, in the community, and in assisted living centers or nursing homes. [...]

The Issue: We are at another of those moments in history that reveal what people are all about. Specifically, the differences between Republican “Traditionalists” and Democrat “Radicalists” (to coin a phrase) are as clear as they have been since 1968, and are no prettier now than they were then. What I Think:  Last week’s financial [...]

The Issue: Two major Wall Street giants collapsed this week, unemployment was up, and the stock markets fell some 500 points. Some say the End of the World is lumbering into view. What I Think: Democrats and their Media pals have enjoyed hyperventilating over an Economic Dooms Day, but they can calm down and come [...]

“Eighty percent of my business comes from existing clients.” – A Financial Services Representative The Issue: Developing and maintaining healthy customer relationships means that you can expect repeat business, and spin off endless chains of high-leverage, well-qualified referrals. What’s more, building on a growing customer base increases profitability by cutting front-end marketing time and costs. [...]

The Issue: Sure, SBOs have to do long-term planning to build and maintain successful businesses, and they’d better be able to anticipate potentially damaging situations that develop over time: rising business costs, legal changes, unexpectedly deft moves by the competition—to name three. But some issues come at you from out of the blue, and with [...]

 How to Screw Up an Otherwise Outstanding First Impression  By Bill Willard Contributing Author  The Issue:  Some people never get the message about how badly a limp, wussified handshake comes across in business or non-business venues—and from women as well as men. This week, we straighten the picture on the wall about that.  What I [...]

It’s not enough to be anxious to please. One must please! The Issue: Celebrating my bride’s birthday at an upscale seafood restaurant in Clearwater this past weekend, Sue and I enjoyed the food, but were turned off by our waiter’s annoying habit of fielding our comments and compliments with the same lame reply: “No problem.” [...]

Finding and Keeping Good Employees By Bill Willard The Issue: You’ve always wanted your own business, and now you have it. Your business has a name, you have products, a location, a business plan, and (we hope) customers lining up—out front or online. What’s missing? Employees! The question of the week: How to find the [...]

Diversity: Decisive or Divisive? By Bill Willard Contributing Author The Issue: Diversity means understanding that each of us is unique, and that no matter who we are, what we look like, where we come from or what our backgrounds may be, there is a place for us. In the workplace, however, diversity has been a [...]

National Health Insurance and Your Business The Health Care Debate By Bill Willard Contributing Author The Issue:  Many of the millions of Americans without health insurance are small-business employees and the self-employed. That’s one reason so many voters rank health care reform as a pressing concern facing policymakers this election year. Neither presumptive presidential candidate [...]

The following is an editorial point of view offered by one of our most experienced writers, Bill Willard, as part of our “Issue of the Week” series. Below is Bill’s opinion on a hot topic of interest to many of us. What’s your opinion? Please share it with us. Two cautions: (1) No profanity; (2) [...]

This is one politically hot election year.  Everyone has opinions.  People have even gotten into fisticuffs over their fav candidate.   As an SBO, what do you think?  Can you afford to have an opinion or should no one know how you will vote or why?  I say zip the pie hole, unless you know that your [...]