Blog

OPERATIONS

Documenting Your Company’s Workflow (VIDEO)

So many companies struggle with the idea of documenting the way they do business. However, capturing your company’s workflow can give you peace of mind and offer great protection for your company. WATCH >>

Making a Big Decision (video)

Making a big decision for your company is not easy. With multiple decision paths, it’s easy to become myopically focused on one solution. In this video, we explore one client’s approach to a big decision that took them in a very different direction. WATCH >>

DISASTER RECOVERY AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY: ARE YOU READY?

Data breaches. Natural disasters. Power outages. These events can have a devastating effect on your business. Even a modest interruption can severely impact company operations and require a Herculean effort to get back up and running again. READ MORE >>

4 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR CALL CENTER

Your call center that takes questions and complaints can be one of your most powerful ways to connect with your customers. However, a bad experience with your call center can do a lot of damage to your public image. READ MORE >>

LESSONS FROM STAR OIL

Several weeks ago, I was a guest at the Chief Executive Forum, which began the session with a tour of Star Oil given by Mark Fitz. Here is a summary of some of the topics he covered on growth and expansion. READ MORE >>

FINANCE

Tracking Mileage

Accounting is the bane of many small businesses. With efforts spent on sales, marketing and customer service, keeping the books up to date often falls to the bottom of the priority list. That’s why it’s important that your accounting flow is as fast and efficient as possible. READ MORE>>

Making Deposits

PLAYING ACCOUNTING CATCH-UP

We recently completed a finance consulting project. To tackle this project, we created a chart of accounts, downloaded all of the bank statements, and entered every transaction into QuickBooks. READ MORE >>

WHEN TO CHARGE SALES TAX

Recently, I helped a customer launch a dumpster rental service. In planning sessions, our customer kept wondering whether or not they had to charge sales tax on the rental. Getting that decision wrong could be very costly down the road. READ MORE >>

MARKETING

MAXIMIZING YOUR COMPANY NEWSLETTER

Newsletters can be a great communication tool. They let customers and prospects know about your products and services and provide current, relevant information about the way you're impacting and shaping your market. READ MORE >

THE PROS AND CONS OF VIDEO

Red Fender was recently hired to produce a series of videos for a customer. As the work progressed, a number of interesting questions were raised about the pros and cons of video. Here is a little insight into that. READ MORE >>

HOW TO CHOOSE AN SEO VENDOR

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO as it is commonly called, is a strategy to make your company's name appear at the top of search engines like Google and Yahoo. Learn more about this valuable tool. READ MORE >>

SECRETS TO A SUCCESSFUL TRADE SHOW

Trade shows can be a very smart use of your marketing budget. Instead of crisscrossing the country to meet your customers, they come to you. To make sure you capture their attention, here are a few tips from the Red Fender team on how to have a successful trade show. READ MORE >>

DEVELOPING GREAT SALES TOOLS

Your sales force is an asset that you want as productive as possible. To help them achieve their primary goal, they need specific tools to cultivate leads and bring contracts across the finish line. Here is a description of a few of these tools that are worthy of consideration. READ MORE >>

HOW MUCH MARKETING DO YOU NEED?

I’m working with a client who is launching a very exciting company selling leading-edge equipment to estheticians. When they started drawing up a list of all of their marketing projects, it got me thinking about a key question: Just how much marketing do you really need? READ MORE >>

MANAGEMENT

Getting Organized

More than likely, you have more tasks to accomplish than you have hours in the day. Between work, personal life and family needs, it can feel like you’re never able to get ahead of the demands that are made of us. READ MORE >>

The Importance of Mentoring

Recently, I was asked to speak to a group of business leaders who volunteer their time mentoring small business owners. Here is a summary of the challenges and triumphs of being a mentor in your organization. READ MORE >>

PERSONAL INSIGHTS

Navigating Difficult Relationships

I’ve had colleagues where we just can’t seem to get on the same page because we communicate in completely different ways. When I try to explain what’s happening for me if we have a difference of opinion, the conversation sometimes goes sideways. READ MORE >>

9 Rules to Master Life

Back in college, I took a summer job inspecting empty dorm rooms. The work itself was repetitive and grueling, but the part I enjoyed the most was my boss, Heloisa. She had nine rules to live by—and they’re still relevant thirty years later. READ MORE >>

Are Your Gears Grinding?

I often use a metaphor called “wear spots”—those nagging thoughts or situations we have in our lives that cause stress, anxiety or worry. They usually start with words like “I know I should…” or “I’ve been trying, but…” READ MORE>>

Reaction vs. Response

We all carry around thoughts, beliefs and opinions about others and about ourselves. Many of these formed in our mind that formed decades ago when we were kids. I’s fair to say that a good chunk of this mental clutter is outdated and not relevant to the life you lead today. READ MORE >>

The Power of Words

Words matter. How we communicate our ideas and describe our feelings has a huge effect on how the other person perceives us and whether we’re moving forward lock-step or we trip ourselves and end up in a misunderstanding—or worse. READ MORE >>

Be the Captain

I’ve been doing a lot of reading on leadership. I came across a series of quotes on being a ship’s captain that I found quite inspirational. I thought I’d share some of these with you in hopes of providing perspective on the responsibility that leadership brings. READ MORE >>

Progress, Not Perfection

I was getting an update from a customer who was a bit overwhelmed with the sheer volume of tasks he had to accomplish in the next few weeks and was struggling under the weight. READ MORE >>