Category: Tales from the Trenches

STRESS RELIEF ESCAPE FANTASIES »

“Because there’s only one thing worse than working for yourself … and that’s working for somebody else!” – JRI As you well know, unless you’re in the first-blush start-up phase as an entrepreneur, business is tough.  It can wear you down.  Long hours, customers/clients who keep forgetting how much they love and need you, employees [...]

TRIBUTE TO SMALL TOWN SBO’S »

Growing up on suburban Long Island about 30 miles outside New York, I saw a lot of successful business people. Most of them (and most were men back then) were crispy clean executives, wearing severely white, starched shirts, impeccable suits and shoes that glowed, and they were groomed like something out of today’s Mad Men [...]

A Tale of Two Customers »

The following is  a guest  article by Dr. Robert (Flute) Snyder of Hudson, Wisconsin, who worked thirty years as a college professor of music, appeared at Carnegie Recital Hall and was reviewed favorably in the New York Times. He served several years as a professional secretary, filled unemployment gaps for almost thirty years as a small [...]

MAKE CUSTOMERS FEEL SPECIAL »

(The following article first appeared in Corporate Report Wisconsin.)  Sometimes we forget just how important the customer is.  And when we do, it costs us.  So, ask yourself, what have I done today to make my customers and prospects feel special and valued?  Example # 1:  I needed a washer repaired last fall.  I called [...]

…AND SOMETIMES THE BEAR GETS YOU! »

HONEST EMPLOYEE EVALUATIONS! »