How’s business right now? If you’re like most people, it’ll be somewhere between “slow” and “shut down.” So, if you’re short of client work, but have a lot of spare time on your hands, here are 10 things you could be doing over the next few weeks… #1: Read a Read more…
Today’s the start of Wijk aan Zee. “The what and what?” “Wijk aan zee.” (pronounced “Vike an zay.”) It’s a small seaside town in the north of Holland. And, normally, it’s home to just 2,400 people. But, for the next couple of weeks, it’ll be the centre of the universe Read more…
The French are weird. I love them, but they’re weird. Take yesterday – my first full day since I moved to Nice… It was 17 degrees (63F) outside. Half the people were walking around in puffa jackets. The other half were in t-shirts (no jackets). And, if you went down Read more…
Someone once said, the things that are true in life are not the things you want to be true. Well, I’m going to tell you something that’s true, but you might not like it. Here goes… Want to increase your sales overnight? Probably the easiest way is to add a Read more…
We’d only been in Genoa for 45 minutes. But we’d already been ripped off by a taxi driver, found our hotel room wasn’t ready, and I’d punched a kid in the face. Maybe I should rephrase that. We’d been ripped off by a taxi driver, found our hotel room wasn’t Read more…
In his excellent new book, Overdeliver, Brian Kurtz talks about the “bogey.”
It’s a term he learned from direct mail genius, Dick Benson.
It means the lifetime value of a customer. And it’s one of the most important numbers in your business.
Why? Because it tells you how much you can afford to spend to get a new customer.
And how much you can afford to spend to get a new customer determines (more…)
When I first heard the phrase “start ups,” I assumed it just meant new businesses. But I soon realised I was wrong.
They meant tech businesses whose goal was to get funding and then be sold to a larger tech company.
I would listen as they explained their plans. They’d talk about getting “users.” They wouldn’t talk about “customers” – because no-one was paying them any money.
And that’s where my (more…)
A few weeks ago, Tex Gilligan was shot and wounded by one of his dogs.
According to the Las Cruces Sun News …
“Gilligan’s son, Mark Gilligan, said he wasn’t surprised to hear one of the dogs accidentally shot his father. ‘They’re kind of rowdy.'”
I can just imagine him saying, “Dad, if you don’t get rid of those dogs, one of them is bound to end up shooting you…”
But I get his point: (more…)
This is a true story. It happened around 10 years ago…
I was living in a highly-populated area of Edinburgh. One day, I noticed a Turkish barbers had just opened. I thought to myself, “He’ll do well. He’s got a big market to himself.”
A week later, what did I (more…)
This month, they were filming the next Avengers movie here in Edinburgh.
I’ll admit, I’m not a big superhero fan. The heroes tend to be pretty one-dimensional, and I’ve never understood the villains.
Why do they feel the need to kill people?
Why don’t they just use their abilities to make a load of money?
Take Magneto – the X-men nemesis – why doesn’t he go to Vegas and use his powers to control the roulette ball?
“Black 26. You win again, Mr Magneto!”
(Man, I’m going to get some hate mail for this…)
But, no, instead of getting rich on easy pickings, these villains have another idea: (more…)