It’s crazy that Alaska is more than twice the size of Texas but its largest city has only 304,000 people. It’s isolated from the rest of the country. Due to its weather, terrain and lack of adequate infrastructure, Alaska has the highest cost of energy in the nation behind Hawaii. And it has the third highest per capita […]

In most large companies, the customer service department is strictly for complaint resolution. Companies usually relegate customer service to the bottom of the corporate structure pyramid because they’re seen as some kind of a clerical call center. They’re the ones who answer the 800 number complaints and comments. And they’re the ones who are expected […]

When we talk to young startups these days, we repeatedly hear them asking for the same thing, “Cash!” It’s true that a certain amount of cash is necessary for any startup. But when we press them and ask if they have taken full advantage of their hidden resources, they look back with vacant stares. Most […]

Every time we speak, it never fails that at least one member of the audience comes up and asks, “I’m just a start up, I’m on a very limited budget. How can I afford to advertise and get the word out about my goods and services?” Almost everyone in the audience is looking for ways […]

We recently had the honor of the opening keynote for the Alaska Small Business Development Center’s first annual Vitalize Alaska Conference. The conference was the brainchild of Jon Bittner their new Executive Director. He wanted to encourage and inspire innovation and business development in the new frontier. Over 300 small and medium-sized business owners attended. […]

We used to think it was only common sense that the consumer would always bear the brunt of higher prices that any trade wars cause. But we guess we were wrong. We guess we have to learn that one all over again. In these days of high tech memory devices, why can’t we seem to […]

We recently had the pleasure of spending the day with 65 MBA students from Nanyang University in Singapore. Twenty-five percent of the class were part-time students who were already running their own businesses. They asked most of the questions because they obviously had the most immediate concerns. One question that was particularly telling was, “How […]

Organize your files We often hear business owners say, “I don’t need to think about an exit strategy because I’m not going to sell my business anyway.” But they do! And here’s why: Your potential acquirer’s due diligence is the perfect way to organize your files. Period. What kind of documents would you want to see […]

When we sold Barefoot Wine, we received the Wine Industry’s coveted Top Brand award for multiple years, sold 600,000 cases per year in 25,000 stores, were growing in all 50 states and 28 foreign countries, had no turnover for 10 years, and did it all with just 40 employees. We got tons of awards for […]

We’re inviting you to a FREE online event called the GoTime Business and Tech Summit where you can watch 32+ short interviews (around your schedule) of some of the world’s top high growth entrepreneurs and experts. Kim interviewed both of us at the same time & also individual interviews with each of us. Michael’s interview […]