Blogs

It’s safe to say that none of us could have foreseen the events of recent weeks as the world grapples with containing the COVID-19 pandemic. Here in the United States, schools, places of worship, and many businesses are shuttered as people shelter in place hoping to avoid infection, including this monkey who is fortunate enough…

The rites of late winter are upon us. The Superbowl is over. Major League Baseball pitchers and catchers will be reporting to spring training soon. The days are getting longer, and warmer temps are with us more consistently here in southern California. My Dodgers seemed primed for another stand-out year, especially with the recent addition…

It’s award season in the American entertainment industry. You can barely get through a news cycle without hearing about this actress, that producer, or some pop star talking about his or her craft and how simply being nominated for an award is an honor. NOTE: for those who have been sleeping under a rock for…

I’m a firm believer that every day when we wake, we intend to do and be the best for ourselves, our friends, our families, our communities, and for our businesses. I also believe that the start of a fresh year is a special time for reflection, renewal, and re-invigoration, both personally and professionally. What worked…

Most marketing novices think selling is simply a matter of telling your prospective customers all about what you do or can do—a cataloguing of features the prospect is likely to be interested in. I call this the “laundry list” approach to marketing. But in a world where all “features” are equal, what makes one product…

There’s an old adage that says “You can’t be everything to everybody.” Attempt to do so in your personal life, and you’ll constantly be trying to please everyone to the point where you stretch yourself so thin that there’s just not enough “you” left to go around for family, friends, and all those relationships that…

Inbound Marketing is the best way to turn strangers into customers and “brand fans” excited to promote your business, and at the center of this Inbound Marketing universe is your website. Companies are 3 times as likely to see higher return on investment (ROI) on Inbound Marketing campaigns than on outbound. 84% of small businesses…

For any business, big or small, sending out an invoice should be a delightful experience—the crowning culmination of all the hard work that generated a slew of billable hours resulting in said invoice, the glorious banana treat the end of a long day’s, week’s, or month’s labor. Sadly, invoicing—especially for smaller businesses, independent contractors, and…

Scope creep—the tendency of a project to grow beyond its original parameters—can happen to the best of us, often despite the best intentions of all involved. Scope creep can rear its head in virtually any aspect of our home or work lives: You stop off at the grocery store for “only” a couple of items…

When this King Monkey decides to part with his hard-earned dough, he expects to be treated well. I don’t think I have unrealistic expectations. I simply expect the product or service I buy to deliver on its promise—that’s first and foremost. If it’s supposed to slice and dice, then it darn well better slice and…

If you’re lucky, website visitors will give you 10 to 15 seconds to capture their attention before they move on to a shinier, more engaging web experience. As the marketing/sales leader for your organization, you need to be asking, “What are we doing on our website to capture hearts and minds in those precious few…

It’s 2016. Do you have a website? According to a 2015 Inc. Online article, more than half of small businesses do not! I find that number astounding, even a little hard to believe. Of course, what they consider a “small business” is quite broad. For example, one of the small businesses Inc. cited is a…