Welcome to The Inventor's Business Academy Blog
The Best Days of My Business Partnership were the First and the Last!
Choosing a business partner is like choosing a life partner....Marry in haste, repent in leisure, as the old adage goes. When a business partnership goes wrong, it can be as stressful and as financially devastating as a divorce. So here are our Do's and Don'ts...
If Your Competitors are Drowning – shove a hose in their mouth!
Hmm, seems a bit extreme doesn't it? After all, isn't there plenty of room for us all in the market place? Whatever our service or our product? Do we really need to "crush" the competition, "grind them into the ground" or "kill them off"? I don't think so, and...
Charity begins at home
Our good friend Jerry Kool autographed his beautiful wooden chart for the highest bidder at a recent silent auction. Jerry donated this piece to our local Yacht Club, who held a fund raiser for a local lady who is suffering from a rare form of cancer. Is...
Let them blow your trumpet!
The most effective and powerful marketing tool that you will ever have at your disposal, is a referral. An endorsement from someone who has experienced your product and your company, and LOVES both, and is prepared to shout it from the hilltops...
Are You Afraid to Make First Contact?
It's a sad fact, but many of us are terrified of our customers. I'll say that again - many of us are terrified to make contact with our customers, it's like they are aliens visiting from outer space - a species to be feared and avoided at all costs......
A Customer Service Horror Story
We didn't have to wait for Halloween this year for our first horror story. This is a classic. My husband Bob has been driving back from Arizona . He delivered one of our products to a customer, installed it and is now nearing the last phase of a 36 hour drive...
It’s That Time of Year again….
It's Audition time again! - the start of auditions for the next series of Dragon's Den. At least it is in my home town of Nanaimo, situated on beautiful Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. Dragon's Den has become essential viewing for all entrepreneurs who dream of...
Charge ’em Double!
These two young entrepreneurs feature in a Volkswagon commercial - they adjust the price of their lemonade from 25c to $1, as they watch the fancy new Volkswagon Passat stop at their lemonade stand. This wasn't the main point of the commercial - it was...
Why We Need to Think Like Mad Men
I've been "binge watching" Mad Men. For those of you who do not watch as much TV as I do, "Mad Men" is a drama series set in the early 1960's about an advertising agency in New York. Things that stand out about the show (apart from the startling image of just...
Why Being Broke May Be Good For Your Business
No one likes being short of cash. No one likes having bills pile up while you toil at a new business project. And everyone who has started a new business from scratch, at some point has thought (or said) "If only I had more cash, I could improve the design, do more...
5 Ways to Get Good Suppliers and Keep Them
I recently saw a post in a social media group from a poor lady who was tearing her hair out after being let down by her suppliers. Consequently her product launch could be delayed, and promises she had made to prospective clients, broken. It's a situation that...
The Crab Trap Syndrome
Crabs are instinctive creatures. They are lured into crab traps by bait. Crab traps can be round or square, they have one entrance, and the bait is usually fastened in the middle. The entrance remains open, to allow more crabs to wander in and feast...
Got a Bright Idea ?
Ever had that "aha" moment? The one when you figured out a solution to a problem that's been bugging you for ages? It's a great feeling. How do you think you would feel if you shared this solution with your neighbour, who has been facing the very same problem?...