Do you really #KnowYourCosts?

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If can happen to a large company (see story here) it most certainly can happen to your company. Surprisingly, many businesses that have never been through a tough moment fail to appreciate how often this happens. I am referring to a company not really knowing its costs and finding themselves in a position where they have to work out of a tough position because they didn’t realize what they didn’t know. Understanding the costs for your business is one of the most important things to know outside of understanding how to generate revenue. It seems simple but in practise can be a challenge many businesses struggle with.

Is your business an artist or a thief?

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I have been paying attention to some of the news and the interviews surrounding the upcoming Snap (Snapchat) IPO and found one with Jason Calacanis particularly interesting (click here to watch). He mentioned that the story of Snap is akin to the story of the artist and the thief placing Snap as the artist and Facebook as the thief. Snap creates and innovates great products and features while Facebook steals them and incorporates them into their own products and features. I was interested in the comment for other reasons. I think its important to know if your business is an artist or a thief because I believe it impacts the financial results and expectations for your company.

It’s a sad day when you learn of a #failedbusiness

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A few months back our family bought a piano from a local piano refurbisher and after making several phone calls to book an appointment to have it tuned with no response, I decided to stop by the business to see if I could speak with the owner personally. I had met him when we purchased the piano and learned that he had been in business for more than 20 years. On this particular morning when I drove up to the front door it became obvious that the business had shut its doors as the space was empty except for the sign still displayed on the front of the building.