Article by Phil Spensieri, The Alternative Board York Region It’s helpful for any business owner to have someone they can turn to for business advice. In my experience, I’ve found that discussing your business issues with a person, or in a group of like-minded...

There are two fundamental truths about information and human nature that CEO's and business owners should probably come to grips with: We are drowning in data. Humans process information through images more effectively than through words alone. Recognising these...

Business owners and CEOs should never forget that their employees are a key constituency in the organisation. Just as forthright, transparent communication with customers is of paramount importance, so, too, is the need to share information as much as is judiciously...

As you probably already know from experiences managing and being managed by others, there are a lot of different leadership styles — and not every style works with every employee (or every boss). There are different ways to motivate people: Sometimes, all you have to...

As the CEO or business owner, your job is crucial in setting the tone for your company culture. These five pitfalls can lead to discontent, high employee turnover and a negative culture. Your role as CEO or business owner goes beyond planning for the future and...

Article by Phil Spensieri, The Alternative Board York Region With many business owners experiencing challenges in locating skilled labourers, the number of possible job candidates seems to be decreasing. For small business owners looking for that “perfect” employee,...

Article by Joe Zente, The Alternative Board Austin Whenever a sales rep isn’t performing, it is time for swift and decisive action. Let’s say our rep (we’ll call him John) is falling short of his goals. Depending upon the extent to which John’s performance is lacking,...

Article by Max Woolf As a manager, you have a lot of plates to spin and many hats to wear. With all of the work adding more meetings might be the last on your list. But, if you don’t run 1 on 1's with employees, you’re walking straight past the opportunity to create...

What does company culture mean? Every organisation comes with a unique culture, a set of agreed-upon values that govern the way the company does business. Some cultures grow with the company and others are laid out in the first draft of the business plan. Either way,...

Article by Phil Spensieri Human Resources (HR) is an area that seems to cause most business owners the highest amount of stress. Unfortunately, without an HR Department, HR issues become the responsibility of you, the business owner.  If you’re like most of the owners...

Article by Garry Hoffman Virtual Office Space Dos and Don'ts You’re ready to give your business an impressive corporate presence, but you’re not willing to plunk down millions of dollars for the office space, the permanent staff, and the infrastructure. A virtual...

Any business that doesn’t place a high priority on employee appreciation is likely one that sees a fair degree of employee turnover. Back in the day, simply paying a worker on time—and perhaps presenting them with a cake on their five-year anniversary—was enough. But...

Somewhere along the line, the idea of a serious, no-fun-zone workplace became institutionalised among American businesses. For a long time, that meant no intersection between “work” and “fun.” Employees were obliged to spend a considerable portion of their lives in an...

Article by Phil Spensieri, TAB York Region In the past 30 plus years I’ve spoken to many business owners who have encountered cash flow issues over the course of running their businesses. The proper management of your cash flow can help you prepare for seasonal...

It takes a lot of smarts, experience, vision, intuition and skill to be an effective CEO or business owner. But all leaders must be mindful that their ability to make mistakes—just like everyone else—doesn’t magically disappear when they reach the C-suite. What’s also...

Vendors may not seem like a high-priority constituency to most CEOs and business owners, but in fact, a strong business-vendor relationship can significantly boost growth. Unfortunately, many people take this relationship for granted, or seek to squeeze the maximum...

Article written by Lane Harbin, Campaign Monitor   Most entrepreneurs consider one key factor during every business decision: growth. After all, businesses are created with the intention of success and expansion. If growing your business is your primary business...

Article written by Phil Spensieri, TAB York Region As a business owner, at some point, you will start thinking about what’s next; very often this thinking results in creating an exit strategy (or exit plan). Many business owners that I work with acknowledge the...

Amazingly, even in our highly brand-conscious times, it’s not always clear what people mean by “branding.” Different experts place emphasis on different elements in the brand strategy, so it’s probably not surprising that some confusion persists. Generally speaking,...

Article written by Corina Leslie, ZeroBounce With an ROI of $44 for every $1 spent, email marketing promises to deliver outstanding results. Once you have an effective email marketing campaign then next step is to think about the quality of your customer email list....

“Failure” is a word no CEO or business owner is comfortable with. But inevitably, failure occurs all the time (in lesser or major ways) in the business world. Small companies can’t get a foothold in the marketplace, larger companies fail to hold onto a once-loyal...

No business can afford to rest on its laurels for very long. Even the most successful enterprises must find ways to reinvigorate themselves and their product offerings—or risk losing customers to more innovative competitors. Successful businesses understand the need...

With all the attention given to boosting employee productivity, it’s sometimes easy to lose sight of the same urgency for business owners or CEOs and their executive teams. Ask yourself: are you doing all you can to be productive during your working day? Or are there...

Successful business growth doesn’t happen accidentally. While there are times when rapid expansion occurs due to unforeseen factors such as large-scale market changes or shifts in demographics, for the most part, a business plans for expansion long before actual...

Article by Phil Spensieri As a business owner, you can be so busy with other aspects of your business that you may neglect putting in the time to connect with like-minded people. Whether it’s online or in person, networking is an ideal way of expanding your reach,...

As a small business owner, you have a lot on your plate, and it can become easy to neglect your books. Lots of small business owners view bookkeeping as a weight over their head—and come tax season, this weight becomes tangible. In order to file accurate returns and...

Everyone experiences stress at some point, but when it occurs in the workplace, the effects can become dangerously widespread. Job performance is diminished, productivity lessened, and if left unchecked, stress can dominate the entire environment and impact a...