Very few business leaders would argue that the most severe economic disruption the United States has experienced since The Great Depression isn’t over. Not by a long shot. In fact, as the days and weeks go by, we see businesses that were previously thriving and are suddenly disappearing - Out of Business. What’s happening here? What’s happening is that the longer the Great Recessio... Read More.

In our last post we created a fictionalized scenario in which you were having a serious conversation with your best friend Bill. You were discussing your growing concerns for your business’ health and well-being. In our scenario, Bill suddenly began talking to you in Greek, a language that you had no idea he knew and a language that you definitely do not know. (Here is a link to that post http:/... Read More.

Imagine this … Your best friend is Bill. You have been best friends since high school. There is nothing that you and Bill don’t talk about. Nothing. You frequently talk about your respective businesses with complete candor and trust. One day you tell Bill that you’re worried about your business’ health and overall soundness. You tell him that you’re losing customers, tight on cash ... Read More.

We’re frequently asked about what books and other media we recommend that small business owners and leaders should read and have in their business libraries. So, we thought we’d offer you some suggestions from our current recommended reading list.  Consider these to be highly “Recommended Reading for Successful Business Leaders who are truly committed to improving and growing their busin... Read More.

Why the majority of 500,000 small businesses disappeared in less than a year and a half In our last post, (http://bit.ly/ncOQCg) we noted the Bureau of Labor Statistics revelation that the U.S. Economy suffered a net loss of 500,000 small businesses from January 2009 to March 2010 and had incalculable direct and indirect consequences to millions of people.This loss is unprecedented in an economy ... Read More.

  Did you know that in the first quarter of 2010 — the most recent period for which the data are available — there was a net loss in the U.S. of 96,000 companies with fewer than 100 employees? In the full year of 2009, the net loss was 400,000 small business organizations. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics) Shocking isn’t it? In the space of 5 consecutive calendar quarters the... Read More.

How many business-related conversations do you have about your business on a Monthly basis? Take a moment and think about it. Surprisingly, you probably have thousands of such conversations. They occur with customers, vendors, employees, and the list goes on and on. Over a year’s time these conversations could easily number in the tens of thousands. Yet we’ll bet that you rarely have the... Read More.

If you are reading this, then we will assume that you have either direct knowledge of or an active interest in running a small business, most probably your own small business. We will also assume that you know us (Bob & Dave) either through individual relationships or through an awareness of our joint collaboration, The CEO School. In any event, we welcome you to our new blog, Talking Business... Read More.