4 Things To Remember When You Feel Like Giving Up On Your Business

Have you ever felt like giving up on your small business? Does it ever seemlike building your business is too much work for too little reward? If so, you're not alone. Even the greatest, most successful entrepreneurs share stories of failure, discouragement, and sometimes hopelessness. And it's no wonder when 8 out of 10 small business owners fail and give up in the first 18 months, according to an article by Forbes . So if you are in that place today and feel ready to give up, here are a few things to considerbefore throwing in the towel.... Read More

By: Dave Sunday December 1, 2024 comments

Unorthodox Interview Tips for Hiring Great Employees

"What makes you qualified for this position?" "How do you deal with stressful situations?" "Why did you choose this job?" You might as well lull your applicant to sleep. Do you REALLY think they haven't already heard this line of questioning a million times before? A lot of interviewers complain that they're getting the same kinds of candidates over and over, when they're looking for someone to wow them instead. Well, it's the nature of the interview that's to blame. You can't keep playing the same game and expecting a wildly... Read More

By: Dave Sunday December 1, 2024 comments

5 Life Lessons from Running a Software Company

This is a big one. No flashy intros, let's get right into it. 1. It's not always the big things that will nickel and dime you. Running a business is expensive . Which is ironic when you consider most companies work for profit. Whatever profit model, whatever practice, business building is a high-market, high-investment endeavor. If it isn't capital it's labor, if it isn't labor it's design, if it isn't design it's finance, around and around. The costliest thing in business is just being out of your zone. I mean... Read More

By: Dave Friday May 28, 2021 comments Tags: Business Development

Who is in Control of your Business

Is it your clients? Is it your staff? As a business owner, knowing how to delegate tasks within your business is essential, but it’s also just the first step. Delegating work only adds value if the person you delegate to knows how to perform the task you put before them. The Problem of Compromising Before today I've discussed the turmoil of managing a difficult client and how to be a better manager for your employees . When looking to these things, I've pointed to the processes you should learn and... Read More

By: Dave Thursday April 8, 2021 comments Tags: Management

8 Common Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

What are the most common mistakes made in advertising? Frequently, I find that the approach to marketing is typically less structured and more of a random smorgasbord of unrelated marketing attempts. One example, you get a voucher in the mail for $100 worth of free pay-per-click advertising with Google. You figure this is found money, and you are anxious to put it to work. After setting up your campaign and loading in 50 different keywords at $1 per click, you find that the entire $100 has been spent in just a few hours, and you have made no... Read More

By: Dave Thursday April 1, 2021 comments

Entrepreneurship for 6th Graders

In May 2016, I had the privilege of teaching a classroom of 6th graders at Severance Middle School how to create a new product and prepare it for market. The program was created by Junior Achievement Rocky Mountain , a non-profit organization that is "dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy". As an entrepreneur, I was impressed with the quality and accuracy of the curriculum - it translates directly to how real business is done. I started the day off in the auditorium where several classes... Read More

By: Dave Monday March 15, 2021 comments

Investing In The Young Workforce

Helping is in our company’s DNA, it’s what our foundation was built on . I started AllProWebTools in 2009 because I wanted to give small business owners a better shot at success. Over the years, that vision has grown to become so much more. Our enduring identity of helping other entrepreneurs slowly evolved into a passion for prompting growth of character, personality, and skill in our very own staff ! I’m writing this article after witnessing twelve successful cases, because it’s been a beautiful journey... Read More

By: Dave Monday March 1, 2021 comments

Tips for Successfully Managing Your Very First Employee (Part 2)

Ready to hire your very first employee? If so, congratulations! This is an important business milestone. Prepare yourself for a whole new set of challenges, but if you can learn to manage your first employee effectively, you’ll be in a great position to continue growing your team and your business! Management doesn’t always come easily, but I maintain that anyone can learn how to do it. In Part 1 of this blog , I shared 6 tips to help ensure your new employee will actually save you time, rather than taking up more of your... Read More

By: Dave Monday February 15, 2021 comments

Tips for Successfully Managing Your Very First Employee (Part 1)

By far one of the most exciting milestones in growing a small business is the moment when it’s time to hire your first employee. But if you think hiring another employee will instantly make your life easier as a business owner, you may be surprised! An employee should save you tons of time in the long run, but management has a steep learning curve. I believe management is a skill that anyone can learn, especially if you are organized and have the right tools by your side to keep things organized and efficient. If... Read More

By: Dave Monday February 1, 2021 comments

3 Questions Before Calling a Meeting

How often do you find yourself in meetings each week? My guess is, you scoffed at this question, mentally tallying up the staggering number of times “Meeting” has ended up on your calendar. So when did companies decide to ignore the inevitable inefficiency of meetings? Obviously team meetings can help collect ideas, and they have potential for powerful results. But far too often collaboration problems, as we describe here , come together to derail your productivity. Remember, a 20 minute meeting with 3 team members is the... Read More

By: Dave Friday January 15, 2021 comments

Teaching Job Skills Results in a Second Chance in Life

Life can hit hard. For Cherie Strauser, the path to success began at a very low point. Interactions with the law, homeless, but pushing through, Cherie found an internship with us through the Larimer County Workforce Center . What was originally intended as an internship, turned into an eventual full time hiring almost 6 months after she completed her program. Hired to answer phones, Cherie’s determination and the support from her new business family saw the opportunity turn into so much more. When she left us for her new job,... Read More

By: Dave Friday January 1, 2021 comments

Why Are There So Many CustoMonsters These Days?

For as long as humans have been exchanging goods and services, there have been dissatisfied customers. But does it seem to you that customers today are on a shorter fuse? They’re more easily angered than they have been in the past, issues seem to escalate more quickly, and they’re making their anger much more public. In short, we have an upswell of CustoMonsterson our hands. The “Dissatisfied Customer” vs. The CustoMonster A customer who states their dissatisfaction, expects accountability,... Read More

By: Dave Tuesday December 15, 2020 comments

Why you should raise your prices

"How much is this?" "Oh..." as the item is placed back on the shelf. For those of you who provide a service, are potential clients excited about your services, yet they never seem to commit? The solution to both problems may have something to do with your pricing. No, I'm not suggesting you lower your prices, I'm actually going to tell you why you may need to raise your prices. "How can I raise my prices," you might be thinking. Americans are primarily driven by something known as perceived value. If we weren't, every one of us... Read More

By: Dave Tuesday December 1, 2020 comments

When and How to Break Up with a Bad Client

It’s less costly to keep an old customer than to attract a new one – unless that client is a toxic one. A bad client can sap your energy, take up too much of your valuable time, and put stress on you and your team. The costs of these drains can be hard to measure. In fact, they’re often much higher than you realize. But breaking up with a bad client is rarely an easy decision – especially if you don’t have a ready replacement. Here are some tips to help you make the decision, and what to do if you... Read More

By: Dave Sunday November 15, 2020 comments

Customer Lifetime Value

How much is a customer worth? This is a fundamental question, especially for small businesses. Having fewer customers means that each one has a proportionally larger impact on your business. Good customers can eliminate your cash flow worries and keep you going in hard times, and bad customers can drain more of your time and resources than you can afford. But how do you calculate which customers are “good” or “bad,” or somewhere in between? Most business owners have a sense of this, but backing up your... Read More

By: Dave Sunday November 1, 2020 comments

Close More Leads and Increase Your Average Sale Amount

Hits, Upsells, Loss Leaders Free Offers: Explained What are these things and what can they do for your business?... How can I turn hits into purchases?... How do you effectively upsell your product or service?... What is a loss leader?... What can a free offer do for me? If you've priced your products or services correctly, you should have plenty of profit margin to make hard to resist offers.Put yourself in the shoes of the consumer, how would you feel if you walked in to buy... Read More

By: Dave Thursday October 15, 2020 comments