Aurora

A few weeks ago, I was at a store that didn’t carry the local coffee I usually buy, so I grabbed the big national brand that felt like the next-best option. I was surprised it was a whole $7 cheaper. Grocery shopping has been leaving me with a bit of sticker shock lately and it was eye opening to see what a big difference a few similar swaps might make. A few days later I was making my coffee and noticed that what I had assumed was a full pound was only 11 ounces. It had been

A lot of people start their business because they have a vision for how things should work. They want to create something better than what they’ve experienced themselves, whether that means treating employees fairly, contributing to their community, or filling a void. Having a strong vision often provides the energy and momentum needed to get a business started, but bringing a vision to life is only one part of running a business. Long‑term stability comes from the operationa

Running a business requires keeping a hand on a lot of different things. Managing the daily minutia can mean losing sight of the big picture, leaving critical weaknesses in the broader operation. Recently, a client came to me in a state of paralysis. They needed help explaining the state of their business to an investor and were panicked that they couldn’t answer the investor’s questions. The business had been declining for a while. They were stuck in the weeds of daily opera

There are a lot of businesses that look super successful from the outside but are barely breaking even. Just because a business is always busy or is great at what they do doesn’t mean they are profitable. While revenue is an important factor for any business, low margins will always leave you working hard but standing still. One of my biggest surprises was working with a business that looked like they were doing everything right. They had great offerings and lots of demand.

It is easy for things to balloon in your business without realizing it. Especially when it comes to product-based businesses, it can seem like more is more ; more products or more services mean more potential business. The fact is that a lot of times, a very small number of items are doing the vast majority of the work. Which means that the effort you put into maintaining a broad offering is out of balance with the impact it has to your revenue. One business I worked with ha

Pricing is one of the most impactful tools you have in your business. Most small business owners know it matters, but very few have a consistent, well-rounded way of setting prices. Good pricing does a few important things: Covers the cost of time and materials Reflects capacity (time, staff, and resources) Matches customer demand Makes your value clear to the customer Supports revenue and profit goals Bringing all these elements together is a balancing act. The goal is to