Articles

Guest Experts

Articles by Lea A. Strickland, MBA MA CMA CFM CBM GMC, President/CEO F.O.C.U.S. Resources

Mastermind Groups for Exponential Business Growth

Why You Need a Facilitated Mastermind Group Business owners, solopreneurs, and entrepreneurs have a lot of demands on their time, and this leads to stress. Stress impacts rational decision-making and effectiveness. Another challenge to business leaders is the feeling

Are You Doing Business with Zombies?

Beware The Zombie Business Apocalypse What are Zombie Companies? The walking dead are zombies. Zombie companies are businesses that require recurring bailouts to stay in business. These firms cannot repay their debt. They are companies that are dead when you look at.

Strategic Delegation – How to Optimize Your Output and Profits

We all wish we had more hours in the day. Since that won’t happen, it is critical to make the best use of the hours we have. Delegation is key to maximizing results. You want to be productive and work toward your goals, not be overwhelmed by nonproductive activity

Organic or Cultivated Clients? Which Do You Want?

These days the term “organic” seems ubiquitous. Organic has come to mean more than the traditional dictionary definition. In this instance, I want to talk about organic growth as it relates to a natural process that is without direct intervention or influence. Looking at that definition, let me clarify further.

Strategic Plan: Your Five-Year Roadmap to Success

Too often, the owners of many businesses of all sizes and industries don’t see the need for a strategic plan. They make critical decisions on which deals to do, what systems to put in place, and who to hire based on the current vision of the business. They focus on the near term of the current year or at best the year to come.

10 Elements of Successful Businesses

While every business has elements that are unique to it. Every successful business shares common characteristics with other successful businesses.

Concept

The first element of a successful business is a clear concept of what the business is and does.

S.T.R.I.V.E for Success

Success Is Action Success is a verb, an action, not a noun. It is a journey, not a destination. Measuring success in terms of forward momentum or progress makes sense. You strive for success. You take action, make decisions, and get others actively involved. Truly successful businesses (and people) accumulate financial wealth as a product of their journey.

Looking Inside the Gig Economy with GigSalad CEO/Founder Mark Steiner

Technology has become a driver for innovating how we view talent of any type; traditional gig-types of musicians, actors, and other artists are now joined by speakers, consultants, as well as homeowners, drivers, and people looking to increase their income through gig opportunities. Mark provides some important lessons about serving a niche, utilizing technology, and growing a business.

Want a Thriving Business? Focus on Building Your Business Capability

Several years ago, a marketing firm contacted me to work with one of their clients. The client was complaining that the successful marketing campaign was killing his business. They were right. The marketing firm was able to double the business’s sales volume. Unfortunately, the business didn’t know that it wasn’t capable of handling double the sales.

Purpose-Driven Marketing: Following Your North Star

What can we say… it was the eighties. Madmen still roamed the earth unevolved. They were brilliant and creative… they fashioned ad campaigns out of thin air… they twisted the truth… they preyed on human fear and desire…

Be Smart, Be Strategic, Be Generous: We WILL Get Through This!

I’ve always been involved in organizations. The Chamber of Commerce as well as business groups with other CEOs who share their knowledge.

Behind Every Marketing Effort, There’s BIG Strategy

When people think of marketing, they think of social media… logo design… email campaigns. The fun stuff! Those activities are essential to your marketing.

Marketing Doesn’t Work

Many small businesses believe that marketing doesn’t work. They have come to these conclusions after failed social media marketing campaigns or blog posts that never bring them, clients. We find local small business owners who feel like marketing doesn’t work frequently. As soon as we hear this, there are quite a few questions we begin to ask to ascertain what is causing their business to struggle with marketing.

How To You Choose a Great Web Designer

When starting a new business, many small business owners start with a new logo then start looking for a web designer to build their website. There are a variety of choices for web design, but how can anyone choose the right one? We ask small business owners to consider their needs before choosing a company to build their website. If there will be more needs than just a website in the future, choose a full service, marketing agency.