I have written three business plans for my own businesses. Two were for existing businesses and one for a Start up business (BOOST Business Coaching). The two plans written for existing businesses were written entirely on the prompting of Bank Managers as I was borrowing resources to invest in these enterprises.

A while back Levi’s sent out hand selected people in their signature jeans across Australia and New Zealand while clues were released through twitter as to their whereabouts …

Check out this video interview of Seth Godin by David Meerman Scott discussing the concepts of being a Linchpin and an artist based on Seth’s new book “Linchpin: Are you indispensable?”.

Before you actually start to engage in using Social Media some serious consideration should be made to who within your organisation or company has the mandate to manage the portfolio.

Late last year there was quite a bit of commentary in the media and various blogs about the position Ruby Apparel found themselves in after the Commissioner of Trade Marks registered the trade mark RUBI SHOES in the name of Cotton On Clothing…

A disaster plan will allow you to deal and come to terms with the disaster situation in those first critical hours or days rather than deciding on how you are going to deal with it.

Earlier this week I needed to find a catery for my cat because we are going away for a few days in January. A friend of mine is a vet and she recommended both Te Puna Cat Resort, and Top Katz Boarding Cattery (also in Te Puna).

Twitter can be as frustrating as it is powerful and engaging. Because there is so much opinion and commentary most of the content is either not relevant to you, pointless or space filling nonsense. To get the most out of Twitter you have to decide what it is you want from it.

New Zealand is big on promoting itself as the destination of choice for thrill seekers and adventure junkies, but there’s an equally lucrative market they should be talking to more often and that’s young families.

There are Seven Stages in the Maturity of a business. Today we’ll focus on the first four, because they tell us what happened that screwed up our understanding of how to grow a business and why we can’t get off the treadmill.

If you don’t have a clear Strategic Plan, or a Business Maturity Date for when you’re business will make money without you being around, you are a hostage of your business; no clear rules, no end in site.

All business owners know that in order to grow or even to survive they have to cultivate and nurture relationships with existing and potential clients. Why?

Few would claim last year was an easy one for business. Taking an optimistic point of view, it has forced us to look long and hard at our business models and come up with ways to improve on the bottom line.

Marc Pachter has conducted live interviews with some of the most intriguing characters in recent American history as part of a remarkable series created for the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. He reveals the secret to a great interview and shares extraordinary stories of talking with Steve Martin, Clare Booth Luce and more.

Don’t kid yourself. The market doesn’t determine our prices; our prices determine our market. It’s our fault, not theirs.

Following on from the article in the last issue of NZSM, ‘Hiring your next superstar – making the most of the interview and selection process’, …