Viewing by month: October 2009

Oct 29 2009

Third Person Narrative

Third-party perspectives help a company better know itself, even as a one-person start-up. After your business gets big, outside points of view become essential, because when you reach the top of a mountain, you can see a lot, but you can no longer see the mountain. 

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Categories: Corporate Culture | Management Skills | Entrepreneurialism | Leadership | Competitive Advantage

10 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 12:25 AM

Oct 21 2009

Fads, Trends, and Brands

For those with an entrepreneurial spirit, trends and fads are fun to spot, but it's extremely important to distinguish the two. Fads come and go reasonably quickly, with a small window of profitability. Obvious examples are pet rocks, pogs, and Pokemon cards. Trends mirror or exploit large-scale socio-economic shifts, and offer varied and sometimes repeating profit life cycle opportunities.

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Categories: Marketing | Entrepreneurialism | Investing | Competitive Advantage

10 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 3:31 PM

Oct 19 2009

De-Automate Accounts Payable

Most of us run businesses considerably smaller than Bank of America - or even Exxon. A good way for us "mere mortals" to keep track of things is to enlist more of our coworkers to review expenditures - by signing or approving checks. I know that check generation and bill paying can be automated, but the time saved sometimes deprives us of valuable oversight and coworker education. Few things help coworkers appreciate the business more than reviewing a month's checks, and understanding - in very concrete terms - the real costs of doing business.

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Categories: Corporate Culture | Management Skills | Entrepreneurialism | Finance | Economics

2 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 10:57 PM