I was playing poker with some friends recently, and we began to discuss raising our children. (Yes, I realize that is not what you are supposed to talk about while playing poker.) We began to talk about our different parenting strategies and helping our children turn into good adults. My mother always told people who…
Read More
Question: I am using an older version of QuickBooks and want to upgrade to the current year. What should I do to prepare for this? Answer: First of all, back up your current QuickBooks file. Then, run your balance sheet, and profit and loss (income) statements on both the accrual and cash bases for the…
Read More
A blog is one of the simplest and most useful ways to promote your business online. Consistent blogging can be worth far more than most comparable investments of your time to promote your business online. Here are five reasons you should be blogging, along with several ideas of what you can be blogging about. 1.…
Read More
How do you respond to “no” in your business pursuits? Let me share a short story about a “no” that that I recently experienced. I found out late one afternoon that I needed to get to suburban Charlotte for a week. I immediately got online to book my favorite hotel, but the website said there…
Read More
As the PPAI Expo in Las Vegas came to a close, and we hopped on planes and returned to normalcy, it was easy to look back and feel overwhelmed by an event that offered so much. Along with dozens of meetings and seminars, we flocked to Vegas primarily to see the latest and greatest products—and…
Read More
Question: I have created a duplicate customer in QuickBooks that has a slightly different name. How do I combine them into one customer account? Answer: Go to “customers” > “customer center.” Highlight the customer name you want to change, right click on it and click “Edit Customer: Job.” Change the customer name to match the…
Read More
Do your customers want the latest, trendiest, most-newsworthy promotional product? Or do they want to achieve a specific business objective? Or do they want to look like the coolest, hippest, most savvy and in-touch, worldly executive to their associates? Knowing what your clients want is the key to your success. Your value proposition should be…
Read More
Your clients only buy what you make them feel. Describe how your clients feel after they’ve just entrusted their brands, their projects and their reputations to you. You see, people don’t buy what you do or what you sell. They buy how it (the relational and transactional experience with you) makes them feel. Do they feel…
Read More
Let’s start with a verifiable fact. Everyone hates their ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system. Yes, a few of you will say your ERP is great, wonderful, etc. However, you are wrong, or at least using “alternative facts.” I hate my ERP system, and yet I realize that my ERP is actually great. I just want…
Read More
Question: Is there a way to view my profit by type of customer? Answer: QuickBooks has a function within it to allow segmenting your business in reports. It is called “classes.” You can create a set of classes, which you enter into QuickBooks and apply to customers, vendors or other categories. For instance, you can…
Read More