business growth

16 May 2021

Lessons in Business – Communicating 21 Years of Quiet Success

By |2021-05-16T19:35:54-06:00May 16th, 2021|Categories: Business Strategy, Manifast, Marketing, Sales|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Quiet Success, Trucks on Highway

What do you say when someone says, “So, what does your business do?” Communicating what success looks like for your customers is key.

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We don’t sell anything popular like pizza or chocolate. We aren’t spies or secret agents. Or superheroes who wear capes.

For almost 21 years, we’ve run a software and business consulting company that quietly serves other businesses.

This line of business is not as glamourous and sexy as it sounds. Really.

It is complex.

How Communicating Usually Works

Unlike financial planners, real estate […]

16 Sep 2020

How To Profit From Your Business Safety Needs

By |2020-09-16T23:34:10-06:00September 16th, 2020|Categories: Business Strategy, Manifast, Sales, Working on the Business|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Growing Profit and Increasing Business Safety Needs
Entrepreneurs are risk-takers by nature. Often that means putting aside safety but, it doesn’t have to. Thinking a little more like an investor can mitigate risk and build some security into your business.

In my last article, I talked about Maslow’s hierarchy and its impacts on consumers (or overall market), your customers, and the people inside your business.

A business also has a hierarchy of needs distinct from the people in it.

For example, human physiological needs correspond to the parts […]

19 Aug 2020

How to Rescue Your Business with a Little Maslow’s Cat

By |2020-08-20T23:46:02-06:00August 19th, 2020|Categories: Business Strategy, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Maslow's Cat Sitting on Post - Top of Hierarchy

Maslow’s hierarchy is often expressed as a pyramid and frequently used to explain the basics of human nature based on five levels of needs.

According to established historical lore, ancient Egyptians revered cats. Perhaps pyramids were built to house ancient kings, but that would not have stopped a cat from sitting on the top of one and looking down to watch everyone else.

Cats see things a little differently.

Maslow’s cat can help us better understand those needs […]

23 Jul 2020

How to Fight the Right Fight – Pick a Rising Trend

By |2020-07-23T00:08:39-06:00July 23rd, 2020|Categories: Business Strategy, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Shipwreck on a rising tide.

“A rising tide raises all ships.” ~ John F. Kennedy

The tide is a metaphor for the overall economy. The theory is that if the overall economy is rising, everyone benefits. Conversely, if the tide is falling, everyone suffers.

Yet, is any of this consistently accurate? Does the tide affect every business the same?

Looking Closer at the Trends

To see the overall economy, you have to zoom way out. When you are at this level, you can’t easily see any details.

To find meaning – cause and effect – you […]

24 Jun 2020

Sunwapta: What Is Up With All Of The Water?

By |2020-06-24T16:08:33-06:00June 24th, 2020|Categories: Business Strategy, Marketing, Working on the Business|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Sunwapta Falls - Sunwapta Solutions

As we pass our 20th business anniversary for Sunwapta Solutions, I spent some time reflecting on some of the most popular questions we’ve received over the years.

  • How did you come up with your company name?
  • What’s up with all of the water?

It All Started When

Like all business owners, we spent a lot of time trying to come up with a name that was: interesting, meant something to us, and wasn’t already taken.

After much discussion, I searched a map of Alberta and landed on Sunwapta as a […]

22 Dec 2017

A Year of Reflections and Shining a Light on 2018

By |2017-12-22T21:13:37-07:00December 22nd, 2017|Categories: Business Strategy, Marketing, Sales, Software Development|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

A Year of Reflections and Shining a Light on 2018

Reflecting back over the last year, we’ve seen a number of local businesses close their doors and countless more struggle. It hasn’t been an easy year for us either.

Through tough times come some of the most valuable business lessons. The biggest one is to avoid facing tough times whenever you can. In my opinion, it is far better to be struggling with growth challenges.

Part of being in business for 17 years is making […]

18 Sep 2017

How to Avoid Setting Your New Salesperson Up For Failure

By |2017-09-19T12:25:35-06:00September 18th, 2017|Categories: Marketing, Oilfield Pulse, Sales, Working on the Business|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The Elephant in the Room - Setting Up New Salesperson for Failure

As you grow your business and hire a new salesperson, you are likely leaving money on the table. Are you making one or more of these mistakes and setting your team up for failure?

Over the last few weeks, I’ve met several people who were hired to work […]

19 May 2017

3 Questions To Ask Before Cutting The Marketing Budget

By |2017-05-19T12:49:17-06:00May 19th, 2017|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Marketing|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Team Meeting - Questions For Marketing Budget

Most starting and early growth entrepreneurs are focused on costs. Shifting your mindset about marketing budget can change your results dramatically. These 3 questions help you do that.

The First Questions People Normally Ask

If you own a business and someone says you should use some powerful integrated marketing software that costs $800 per month – what is your first thought?

If an online marketing firm comes to you with a proposal to increase traffic and lead generation from your website and it will cost $4,000 a month […]

17 Dec 2014

Case Study: Writing a Compelling Mission Statement

By |2017-04-12T12:25:14-06:00December 17th, 2014|Categories: Business Strategy, Manifast, Marketing|Tags: , , , , , |

Compelling Mission Definition and Case Study

Purpose or mission driven businesses are not only more satisfying to start, run and be employed at; they also tend to significantly outperform their competitors financially.

So I’ve been thinking a bit about mission or purpose driven businesses recently. There are more and more examples coming out where mission or purpose driven organizations are outperforming their competition.

In fact, two of the books I am reading right now touch on this very concept from a client attraction and retention perspective.

The first is “Getting Naked” by […]

17 Nov 2014

Why Manifast Now? The Official Launch

By |2017-04-12T12:43:22-06:00November 17th, 2014|Categories: Manifast|Tags: , , , , , |

Several months ago (my how time flies), I had decided that we need to launch a blog that was a little different from my personal blog.

That time has come.

Well in reality this blog doesn’t look terribly different from the brand new look on my personal blog.

But looks can be deceiving.

We’ve decided to keep a consistent brand across all of our sites so looks alone are not the difference.

It is the character, format and content that will be a bit different.

My personal blog will keep going as a place for me to write […]