by Chris Hunter | Mar 26, 2016 | Meetings
by Chris Hunter | Mar 25, 2016 | General - Operations
by Chris Hunter | Mar 23, 2016 | Business Development
Excerpted from “Helping People Grow” by Jim Cathcart This checklist for growth contains ten powerful ideas, any one of which could revolutionize your business results. As you explore each one, take time to answer the questions in writing and to discuss your ideas with...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 17, 2015 | Business Development, General - Entrepreneurship, Performance Management
Small business owners know that when times get tough, tougher business strategies are necessary. And most of the time, that means boosting a company’s productivity level by eliminating inefficiencies. Here are 11 propellants for productivity that will help your...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 23, 2016 | Business Development
by Chris Hunter | Jul 6, 2016 | Bookkeeping & Accounting, Business Development, Start-Ups
by Chris Hunter | Mar 26, 2016 | Meetings
The owner of a firm is often expected to “facilitate” things. It could be training for a team member, or conducting a meeting. It could be to lead a discussion group for the purpose of conducting research or mediating in a dispute. The only problem is that most of us...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 27, 2016 | Customer Relationship Management, Customer Service Strategies, Point of Sale Systems
Increasingly, small businesses are using technology to help modernize aspects of their operations. Many companies may have started to think about publishing their own pamphlets, building a website or even buying a digital camera. But it isn’t necessarily the latest...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 25, 2016 | General - Operations
Most of us have some general thoughts about ergonomics, but this information can easily be out-of-date. Fortunately for those involved with making decisions about office furniture and setup current ergonomics encourages variety and movement rather than rigid...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 24, 2016 | Disaster Planning & Recovery
The workplace is a place of danger. If you think yours is safe, think again! You don’t have to be running a factory to have dangerous situations arise; an office can also be a hazardous place to spend the day. Emergencies come in all shapes and sizes. As an employer...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 27, 2016 | Performance Management, Profit Improvement
Identifying and interpreting statistics for a business does not need to be a scary prospect. Tracking critical numbers helps monitor cash flow operation as well as profitability, which is all-important for businesses. Critical numbers and the mere mention of them make...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 24, 2016 | Disaster Planning & Recovery, Viruses
There’s no particular peculiar virtue in religiously backing up business data. It’s just that the consequences of not doing so are potentially catastrophic. Many businesses feel secure that their data are reasonably safe. They have good anti-virus software or a...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | Business Development, Marketing Plans, Marketing Strategies, Start-Ups, Strategy
by Chris Hunter | Mar 26, 2016 | Meetings
Meetings are often regarded as a necessary evil. If they are not held, stakeholders complain they were either not informed or not part of the decision making process. But when they are held, they frequently disintegrate into time wasting sessions that leave the...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | Business Development, Business Plans, Marketing Strategies, Performance Management, Strategy
by Chris Hunter | Mar 23, 2016 | Business Development
There’s something funny about the organizations we humans create. Almost inevitably a bureaucracy develops in every enterprise, and it grows stronger as time goes by. By definition a bureaucracy can be just a system of rules or a way of doing things, but the kind...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 17, 2015 | General - Entrepreneurship, General - Operations
by Chris Hunter | Mar 24, 2016 | Change Management
by Chris Hunter | Nov 19, 2015 | Change Management, General - Entrepreneurship, Strategy
Businesses need to change if they want to grow. Change can be proactive or reactive, but without it everything stays the same and growth is impossible. Many organizations have found to their detriment that it’s unwise to fail to anticipate changes in the external...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 24, 2016 | Change Management, Management & Motivation
In the modern business world change is inevitable. Embracing change is even seen as a mandatory aspect of business – a “change or die” situation. You may not entirely agree with this but no matter how much you resist change the world will still change around you....
by Chris Hunter | Mar 25, 2016 | General - Operations
Choosing a supplier for the things you need to stay in business is an important process and one that should be approached methodically. If a supplier lets you down you may let your clients down and that can lead to really big problems. The next time you have to find a...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 23, 2016 | Business Development
In the RAN ONE planning framework, business activity and decisions fall into key categories, Vision & Strategy, Systems & Processes, Finance, Sales & Marketing, and People & Culture. Leading a business through an economic downturn means keeping your...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 27, 2016 | Change Management, Leadership, Strategy, Values
by Chris Hunter | Mar 26, 2016 | Cash Flow Management & Modeling, Inventory
Inventories have a way of growing. The justification is usually that “if we don’t have it we can’t sell it”, so a connection is made that translates as”the bigger the inventory we have, the more sales we’ll make”. If only it were so. Inventories are usually made up of...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 19, 2015 | Change Management, Franchising, General - Entrepreneurship, Start-Ups
In today’s crowded marketplace, businesses need a competitive edge to be successful. Yet thousands of small businesses fail each year. According to Michael Gerber, Founder and Chairman of E-Myth Worldwide, much of that failure is the result of letting commonplace...
by Chris Hunter | Feb 24, 2016 | Disaster Planning & Recovery, Viruses
Disaster planning is based around 2 activities: 1. Critical Information Assessment, Recording and Preserving Secure data back up Each business has its own critical data sources though some, such as customer inventory and supplier lists, will be common to most...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 25, 2016 | General - Operations
by Chris Hunter | Mar 25, 2016 | General - Operations
The increasing incidence of electronic discovery requests during lawsuits as well as the requirements of legislation such as the Sarbanes Oxley Act means that any company with an e-mail server should consider the acquisition of an email archiving system. There is a...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 25, 2016 | Customer Complaints, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Service, Customer Service Strategies, General - Operations
by Chris Hunter | Mar 25, 2016 | General - Operations
by Chris Hunter | Mar 27, 2016 | Operations Manuals
Does your business have a written policy and procedures manual that covers employee guidelines, personnel procedures and company rules? A comprehensive policy and procedures manual clarifies employee expectations about your business policies and communicates corporate...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 21, 2015 | Change Management, General - Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Start-Ups
It’s part of an entrepreneur’s make up to take risks. Launching a new product, entering a new market, or starting a business entails an element of risk that can lead to failure just as it can lead to success. As Benjamin Franklin once said: “The man who does things...
by Chris Hunter | Dec 29, 2015 | General - Human Resources, General - Operations, General - Personal Growth & Leadership
In most enterprises today goal setting for team members is a part of the business structure. Goals provide a direction toward which your team can direct their energies. Goals focus your efforts and the efforts of your team on the activities that propel you in the...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 22, 2015 | Business Development, Change Management, General - Entrepreneurship, Strategy
Success, they say, is its own reward. In the competitive world of small business, this must be doubly true – financial benefits aside, ‘making it’ is even more satisfying if you have established and grown you business from the outset. But with success comes growth...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 25, 2016 | General - Operations
Whether it’s buying or selling, dealing with customers or employees, business owners have to negotiate virtually every day. Yet many may not view it as a separate skill, such as bookkeeping or time-management. Successful negotiating is both a science and an art, and...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 25, 2016 | Cash Flow Management & Modeling, General - Operations, Profit Improvement
With the local economy in the dumps, business development advisors are working with clients to tighten up their defenses. In addition to dispensing advice on how to better monitor cash flow and accelerate receivables, business development advisors are helping clients...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 24, 2016 | Change Management
If there was ever an American icon of the highways it’s the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. 2003 is the year the company celebrates its 100th anniversary with a series of motorcycling events around the world. The company also announced record revenue and earnings for its...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 27, 2016 | Business Plans, Cash Flow Management & Modeling, Performance Management, Start-Ups
A professional services day is theoretically the same as any other – 24 hours long. But when it comes to how many of those hours can be dedicated by managers to earning fees you’d probably be surprised just how small the number actually is. If the working week were...
by Chris Hunter | Sep 22, 2019 | Change Management, General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership, Performance Management, Strategy
From McKinsey & Company When developing initiatives to improve performance and health, follow this process to prioritize for maximum impact. Click picture to read article.
by Chris Hunter | Mar 24, 2016 | Business Development
If you’re running or consulting for a small business, you’ve no doubt heard the oft quoted statistic that something like 50 percent of all small businesses fail within two years of opening. While it’s true that it’s not easy to run or consult for a small business, it...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 23, 2016 | Change Management
by Chris Hunter | Mar 24, 2016 | Change Management
by Chris Hunter | Feb 15, 2016 | Computer Software, Performance Management
If you’re worried your employees are spending too much time sending personal emails at work, or worse, that they are using your company’s email and Internet facilities to distribute obscene or defamatory material, there’s something you can do about it. Implement an...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 24, 2016 | Change Management
“Change management” was a hot phrase some years ago. Although the term’s use has faded it’s still the case that the business environment is constantly changing and firms have to be able to implement change at all levels to keep up. Unsettling changes continue to...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 24, 2016 | Business Development, Change Management
Ever calculated just how much you spend on software? Or does the thought of the money spent on IT to supposedly improve your business make you want to cringe? Here’s something even more cringe-worthy. Many businesses are obliged to invest heavily in new software to...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 26, 2016 | Intellectual Property
The Internet has irrevocably altered many of the most fundamental ways of doing business, and the murky waters of intellectual property are no exception. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have always found this to be a tricky area and one where expert...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 26, 2016 | Intellectual Property
by Chris Hunter | Mar 27, 2016 | Coaching & Soft Skills, Employee Recognition & Rewards, General - Human Resources, Leadership, Performance Management, Retention
Everyone who’s ever worked in a business has thought about how to make it better. It’s usually with the goal of making their own job a bit easier or more rewarding, but that’s natural and highlights the sincerity of suggestions that originate from outside the owner’s...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 26, 2016 | Meetings
We’re getting less formal about business every year. Offices that once had rigid dress codes now tolerate jeans and sports shirts. Thanks to teleworking and teleconferencing it’s possible for executives to attend a business meeting from home wearing a bathrobe. But...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 25, 2016 | General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Operations
There are several reasons why you should make sure conditions in your office are comfortable for the members of your team. People who are comfortable work more efficiently and tend to stay in their positions longer than those who are uncomfortable. Maintaining...
Chris’ combination of academic credentials, career experience and temperament ideally suit his calling as a business development advisor. Clients say he has a mind for business and a heart for service.