Do you charge enough?
Pricing is a tough subject—do you charge too much or too little? There are a lot of businesses that simply don’t charge enough, making it really difficult to ever make the business successful. I received some very good advice when I was starting out in my business life—a very successful friend and entrepreneur sat me down and said, ‘Someone has to be the most expensive and it may as well be you. Read more…
Mystery shop your way to success(II)
What is needed following this first report is a clear and level-headed plan to rectify any problems and to work at improving the business in any of the areas that need improving. Mystery shoppers can be used to evaluate the following: Read more…
Mystery shop your way to success(I)
Mystery shoppers are used by more businesses every day to provide an independent evaluation of what the business is doing well and what it could be doing better. They are not witch hunts trying to find the underachieving employee who can then be thrown to the wolves. Read more…
Go to successful businesses and find out why they are successful
This is good advice and again it is along the theme of becoming an excellent business observer. Whenever you find out about a really successful business—perhaps they have won an award or your family and friends are talking about them or there may have been an article in the newspaper—I suggest you pay the business a visit. Read more…
Walk around your business—and really look at everything
When you visit the same place every day, year after year, it is very easy to walk in and out with blinkers on. Throughout this book I have made the recommendation that you stop what you are doing and go and really look at certain aspects of your business—whether it is your front entrance, your signage, your staff, your customers, whatever. Well, this tip is really to reinforce that message. Read more…