With our Best Wishes for a Blessed Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2012 Nick & Nanci Petra and the Team at Strategic Duck … [Read more...]

“There has never been a better time in history than now to be marketing on the Internet. Look around at some of the retail giants that have gone out of business or filed for bankruptcy recently: Circuit City, Steve & Barry’s, Linens’n Things, shoe Pavilion and Whitehall Jewelry. Now compare them to similar online businesses: www.Amazon.comn, www.Zappos.com, www.MyWeddlingFavors.com and www.BlueNile.com”   This statement is  the introduction from a book written by Michael … [Read more...]

We are creatures of habit. Our personal routine seldom varies; driving to work the same way, having the same morning ritual, watching the same TV shows and having a relatively structured life. Unfortunately, the “Comfort Zone” we have adopted in our personal life, often carries over into our business life. This trait often shows up when I start a Strategic Focus Plan process with a new client. In our pre-planning meeting I listen to all the things that have become “rituals” in a … [Read more...]

This morning I received an e-mail soliciting referrals. The e-mail said that for every referral I give this supplier in the next three weeks, my name will be entered into a drawing for $500. The sad part is that this is one of my suppliers and I spend between $2,000 and $3,000 with this company every year. My business with this small company is handled mostly by mail and I have not had any personal contact with this business owner in over two years. It was one of those " out of sight out of … [Read more...]

The design of this site has been an interesting journey. Our intent was to combine all our different sites into one complete site so that you, as a business owner or business start-up will have one source to get the support you need to grow a successful business. Our blogs are posted 5 days a week so that you will receive a new message every weekday. Our archives are being transferred into this site and they are being categorized for  easy reference. Questions and comments are … [Read more...]

Just because your grandfather made horseshoes doesn't mean that you should start a similar business today. The "next new business" is probably an idea in someone's mind. Think for a moment about what has happened to jobs in the US.In 1790 the US has a population of 3,929,214 and farmers made up 90% of the labor force. Fast forward to 1990, the US population was 261,423,000 and the farmers made up just 2.6% of the labor force. From there we went to factory jobs and those started going away due to … [Read more...]