If you are unprepared or desperate, entering a new market can kill your business. Deep pockets won’t always save you either.
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Remember Target expanding into Canada back in 2013? They had deep pockets and resources. Then after a series of missteps, they pulled out roughly two years later, incurring financial losses in the billions.
Target Canada made a lot of mistakes starting with […]
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Earlier today I was reading the Calgary Metro (Monday, June 6, 2016). The story “Albertans see it half-empty” quoted the results of a poll of Albertans that stated:
Is it going to rain on August 15th?
The trend is for a warm, dry summer. August is usually pretty decent in Alberta. I […]
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Many men have lost their place in the bigger story. We bought into one narrative that has not worked out and are now struggling to find a new one as the world rapidly shifts underneath us. Some are looking for a hero, and some are seeking to become one again. We […]
“I’ve never been much of a fighter, apologies for what you’re about to see” ~ Ser Davos, Game of Thrones
What is the normal price of oil?
When looking at this chart, it is evident that, just like the weather, there is no normal. We can talk about […]
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I know more than a few men who’ve started what they thought was the perfect business for themselves. Once momentum kicks in it can get hard to change direction. The biggest trap ends up being the one we make in our heads.
One example is the expert industry. There are variations, but the formula is pretty straight forward. You start […]
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I don’t usually mention this, but I initially studied to be an engineer before circumstances sent me off on a different path. Maybe that training causes me to notice things or maybe seeing patterns is just a part of me.
Quite a few years ago, I observed something about Calgary road designs. It seems like every major intersection project was an […]
When times are tough it is tempting to play a safe game. You might want to reconsider that strategy to win in business.
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In tough times, it is tempting to tighten the belt and keep doing what you do.
Our natural inclination is to reduce the bigger risk by taking fewer risks at all; to seemingly play it safe. If you are the sole breadwinner it feels like every business mistake is taking food out of your family’s mouth.
So we get paralyzed with […]
Your ability to invest and leverage resources determines your success in business. How do you measure up?
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The Internet has taught us we can be experts in anything we choose. So we try to be experts in everything. Or worse, we learn just enough to fool ourselves into thinking we are experts because we don’t have the time or passion for achieving mastery.
I see this a lot with small business owners.
For example, they figure out how to build their website and do online marketing because […]
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When I think of personal greatness, I don’t mean the narcissistic “look at me, look how great I am” of an adult child clamoring for constant approval. A little limelight is good for the soul. Tying your sense of self-worth to the […]
It is very difficult to focus on a business mission and yourself at the same time. Clarity makes all the difference.
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“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
Robert has somewhere between seven and a dozen small business ventures on the go at any time.
If he sees an opportunity or has an idea, he is quick to launch it. One of the businesses started out in managed information technology services. Then a client asked
if he could build her a […]