It is virtually impossible to scale and grow a business without people so recruiting, managing, rewarding and exiting staff is a skill that you need to become better at if you are going to get the best return on the salary that you pay them.

If you want to make a sale you have to make it easy for customers to do business with you. The more barriers and hoops you put in the way for your customers the less likely they are to buy from you. After all most of us want an easy life – so why do some companies just make it so hard to do business with?

Perception is reality in the mind of the beholder. You might think that you have a great business but if just a few of your customers, suppliers or employees don’t believe that you could be in real trouble! It takes years to build a reputation and minutes to destroy it.

Everyone knows this phrase – on it not in it, just as we all know we should ‘focus on the important’ bits first. But we don't. We love working in our business too much, or is it that we don’t know where to start?

Starting a business. Beware there is usually an under-current that threatens to de-rail your plans. It’s loneliness . Here are my 9 top tips.

I love matchmaking or should I say connecting people if we are talking in business mode. I love it when 2+2 = 1004! I just love being the + in the middle.

Recruiting staff is tough; really tough. Can these potential employees really do what they say they can? Will they fit into your team? Will they stay, and for how long? Do they really buy into your vision?

Most of the business owners I work with want to sell their business, for lots of money and retire. Family businesses generally have a different agenda but whatever your goal you need to build value in your business.

Remember the Skoda Cake Car? Well, this week’s guest blog is from the woman whose company  baked the cake that built the car: Sharon Goodyer. Her insightful blog follows a discussion we were having about how to make training in the work place