Feroz Baum is famous for saying, “Rather than turning over a new leaf, prune your tree so new leaves continue to blossom.” When was the last time you pruned your customer base? Your sales activities? Your focus? If you want to continue to grow your business, pruning may be one of the most important activities…
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Know Your ‘Why Not’
We’ve all heard the line made famous by Simon Sinek: “Know your why.” Basically, knowing your “why” is all about knowing your reason for being. Your purpose in life. Being in touch with those things that motivate us to achieve our goals. Of course, we all need to know our “why.” I also know it’s…
Read MoreHow a Picture Changed My Life
Last summer our son got married, and as a gift for his parents he gave us an awesome picture book of the wedding. As I flipped through that book, I came upon a picture of me. I was horrified. Did I really look like the person in that picture?! In that moment, I decided I…
Read MoreCan I See Open Sales Order Lists in QuickBooks?
Ask the Accountant: Question: Is there a way to see what a sales order is for in an open sales order list in QuickBooks? Answer: It can be frustrating to look at a list of open sales orders by Customer and not know which order is for which product. There is a workaround for that.…
Read More3 Keys to Being in Control of the Sales Process: Even When You Feel Out of Control
Sales can seem difficult and out of control unless you know the keys to making the sales process easy. Always be in control. Here are the 3 keys: 1. On every sales call, before the call is over, you must agree on next steps. You can never assume your prospect will follow up. You must discuss…
Read MoreHow to Avoid Security Risks With 1099 Tax Numbers
Ask the Accountant… Question: How can you suggest not keeping 1099 tax id numbers in QuickBooks? If I have security risks with this information, don’t I have security risks with all of my company information in QuickBooks?? Answer: The security risks to your QuickBooks can come from external and internal sources. Of course, you must…
Read MoreDrive With Your Eyes Closed
When we drive a car, we need to have our eyes wide open and react to everything we see. That process works for driving cars. It does not work for driving your life. The problem in life is that virtually all thoughts that we have come from the world we see. When we see the…
Read MoreFailure is the Key to Success
Most people I know, including me from time to time, do not like failure. There can be lots of financial and psychological costs to failure. However, most successes in business and life are preceded by failure. Most times, lots of failure. Additionally, sometimes winning ideas come from losing. Here’s a great example: In 1985, Proforma…
Read MoreAutomatic Downloads of Data: Is It Possible?
Ask the Accountant… Question: Is there anything I need to do if I have my bank and credit card data automatically downloaded into QuickBooks? Does all the information just get recorded? Answer: That sounds lovely, but it does not work that way, unfortunately. It is just a big dump of information into your QuickBooks, and…
Read MoreLessons from a Lobster
It’s not often we stop and think about what kinds of business lessons can be taught by Mother Nature. One of the most intriguing analogies for business growth and entrepreneurship, in my opinion, comes from the book “Grow Like a Lobster,” authored by Joshua Dick. Below are highlights from some of his key concepts –…
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