Business is Broken
You spend good money on advertising and can't tell if it did any good.
You seek qualified help, and get unqualified responses—or resumes that brought the right skills, but the wrong person.
Your customers don't seem to know the meaning of loyalty—except to the lowest price.
Where is the satisfaction that was supposed to come from owning your own business? Where is the freedom of self-direction? Where's that warm and fuzzy feeling you expected when you did something really worthwhile?
Business is broken.
Build Something New
But sometimes fixing what's broken isn't as simple as just replacing the broken parts with a new version of the same thing.
Napoleon was the greatest strategist of his time, but when his army came to a river, he couldn't walk on water any more than the rest of us can. So what did he do?
He built bridges. His pontonniers created quick plank bridges supported by boats, over which even his artillery could pass, making the obstacle irrelevant.
Sometimes, fixing what's broken means thinking in a completely new way.
How Would You Like Access to a Worldwide Team of Bridge Builders?
Who better to teach you new business thinking to build bridges than folks who are already practicing it?
We are a team of business people from all over the world, from a wide spectrum of business and education backgrounds who can work together with you to create change.
We'll help resolve the challenges that are causing the greatest concern today, and help free up time and energy to spend planning and preparing for tomorrow, for next week, next month, next year.
Introducing Friends of The Commonsense Entrepreneur
When you talk to me, you're really talking to an international network of business experts from a wide variety of experience and education. They don't work for me. We work with each other, sometimes formally, sometimes informally. If anyone here strikes your fancy, please feel free to ask for an introduction or to contact them directly.
Jill Anderson
Jill has an extensive background in Marketing including database marketing, direct mail, telemarketing and campaign analytics. Jill offers exceptional service in the following areas:
- Database marketing management- customer or prospect database build recommendations &/or management of your vendor as well as report analysis
- Merge-Purge Processing Management- un-duplication of customer &/or prospect list files at either individual or household level, address standardization, zip code correction, as well as tracking undeliverable mail
- Inbound & Outbound Telemarketing Management (script writing, agent performance, report review & analysis, program monitoring, as well as agent training and incentives)
- Campaign Analytics - from direct mail &/or telemarketing (including list, TM script, envelope &/or creative test cells vis-a-vis control cells)
Ellen Di Resta
Ellen helps organizations to grow through consumer relevant innovation. She has over 20 years of experience in new product and service development, with expertise in innovating for emerging markets. Her focus on translating the needs of the market to realistic criteria has helped clients to beat the odds for success of new offerings. You can read more about her work at her blog.
Anne McCrossan
Anne is the founding partner of Visceral Business which helps organizations to make better connections with audiences. Visceral Business sits at the intersection of marketing and organizational change, partnering with clients companies both large and small to create strategies for social participation.
You can read more about Anne's work at the Visceral Business blog.
Marcos Gaser
If your business needs innovative input from the network marketing or direct sales perspective, Marcos can offer you a wealth of experience. He has spent the last 16 years building and coaching one of the largest network marketing organizations in South America. Now retired at 44, he´s an acclaimed blogger about and trainer in his industry. You can read more about Marcos at his Squidoo lens (and maybe even find out what a Squidoo lens is!)
Sue L. Canfield
My Mission: To partner with my clients, helping them save time and money by providing administrative and marketing support. Working together we create and implement strategies to promote their businesses. Values of sincere interest, reliability, high integrity and remarkable service motivate clients to refer my services to others.
When I partner with a client, it's my goal to see their business succeed. Having a real interest in others, being personable, reliable, and a person of high integrity are all reasons my clients recommend my services to others. My goal is to offer remarkable service, exceeding my client's expectations.
Suzanne Matthiessen
innerevolution media & communications
415-524-8121
website: communicatinghumanity.org
blog: http://communicatinghumanity.typepad.com/
Conflict costs businesses money, productivity, morale and overall tribal health—and often negatively impacts other areas of both employers' and employees' lives. Writer, educator and mediator Suzanne Matthiessen's Mindfulness-Based Conflict Resolution and Communication Trainings offer lasting, empowering ways to transform conflicts into opportunities for on-going growth and positive change.
Bill Gemmell
I'm a mathematician turned business man and I believe there is a simple formula that can be applied to gain success. If I can identify where the factors of one organisation can be extrapolated to help you then hopefully I can help you balance your "Expectation Equation".
Lets apply Pragmactivity™—the art of common sense.
I lead group of fellow consultants who use their life experiences to assist other businesses in achieving their goals through a pragmatic approach. What life teaches us, works in business too. Good guys are in it for the long game.
There's more at my website and even more at my blog.
Rex Williams
Rex Williams is a champion of change and innovation within a large aerospace company in the US. He has learned how to navigate around long-standing corporate structure to start movements and make things happen . His large personal network across functions, disciplines, business units, and programs has allowed him to organize significant events and build internal communities that are influencing the culture of the company from the bottom up.
Learn some of his philosophy and strategies at The Rex Blog.
Jule Kucera
Creative. Develops cost-effective and successful learning solutions for challenging situations, whether it is using PVC pipe to illustrate the leadership pipeline or a world cafe to explore generational differences.
Intelligent. Quickly gets up to speed on client industries, organizations, and issues.
Personable. Interacts effectively and empathically with everyone from C-level executives to entry-level employees.
Demanding. Sets high standards and applies them to all, especially herself.
Savvy. Understands that her job is to make your job easier and to make you look good.
Megan Elizabeth Morris
Megan M. is a font of knowledge, skill, determination and resourcefulness. She pushes to encourage others to meet (and surpass) their potential, and maintains that all people are capable of great things. (This means you. She's not kidding.)
Megan is the internet genius lurking in dark corners behind The Usual Error Project and Martin Whitmore's Evil Illustration Empire, as well as many other exciting undertakings. She picks up projects that give her a powerful sense of purpose, whether that means writing, design, development, ideastorming, marketing, inspiration, encouragement, connection, learning something new, and even, on occasion, the odd aria. ;}
If you need what she's peddling, drop her a note. If you just want to talk, she loves making new friends—and she loves to help brilliant people who are driven to make something wonderful happen. If you think you can do amazing things, you're already halfway there.
What Megan Does (And What She Can Do For You)
The Blog of Megan M.
You can get an inkling of MEM's intensity in the video below—jdc
Randell Waddell
I run various programs in a State High School. This includes Learning Enhancement programs for students with learning difficulties through to Gifted and Talented students. Other groups involve Boys Education, taking students at risk out bush in Adventure Based training programs, using exercise to reset vestibular integration/ brain crossover etc. Keeping current with a range of approaches assists me to evaluate and tweak my own teaching dynamics, and those of the programs involving small to large groups up to some 100 people.
One of my greatest joys as a teacher, coach, mentor, and friend, is to share in the explorations and successes of my "right brainers", be they kids at risk, G&T kids, or just incredible innovative individuals.
Much of my greatest frustration comes from seeing similar people failing to live anywhere near up to their potentials, and be able to curb their impulse control. For these people, when working independently, setting goals and forcing themselves to stick to them often makes them physically sick, and they rebel both consciously and unconsciously to them.
I am a very great believer in the power of appropriate feedback (and feedforward) mechanisms—when I/we have been able to hit the appropriate buttons for an individual, resistance appears to quickly evaporate, success often unfolds/flows at amazing rates, and can be powerfully liberating.
Jodi Kaplan
Jodi Kaplan fixes broken marketing. Her clients are small businesses spending money on marketing with disappointing results. She improves returns up to 285% and cuts costs up to 50%.
Jodi's website is Kaplan Copy. And please have a look at her 'Fix Your Broken Marketing' blog.
Bonnie Larner
Finder of Possibilities
betaBonnie@gmail.com
What I bring to any job that most other trendies don't:
- An understanding of marketing
- An overwhelming urge to watch and listen to total strangers
- Knowing the difference between a trend and a fad
- Determining which trends will, or will not, benefit clients
- Creating new products, services, and experiences to capitalize on trends
- Possibility reports in any product category
Little bits of Bonnie all over the web:
http://www.freewebs.com/astronautBonnie/
http://www.squidoo.com/smallmatters
http://www.squidoo.com/howtopickaname
http://www.squidoo.com/dreamvacation
Ed Welch
Ed Welch's experience offers your business a unique perspective into the world of online retail and marketing. Ed can help you:
- reinvent customer service so your customers enjoy marketing for you
- create search engine friendly internet commerce
- improve conversion rates
- advance business strategies
If you’re not elated with his services Ed will not accept any compensation.
Read more about Ed and his services at his Squidoo lens and his Tribe Building blog.
Michael Vanderdonk
Michael is managing director of Toach, a company based around coaching individuals, groups and organisations to achieve the best they can, setting goals, breaking through blockages, and learning what is required to excel in today's fast paced world
Becky Blanton
Becky is a ghostwriter, author and photographer. A photojournalist for 22 years, Becky brings an insider's experience to press releases, articles, ebooks, speeches, publishing and copywriting.
Tom Bentley
Tom Bentley can give your organization the dynamic language, slant and tone to sell your products, inform your customers, or pitch your ideas with a compelling curve. He has years of experience in business, technical, magazine and newspaper writing. His expertise includes web content, direct response/targeted mail, internal/external newsletters, multimedia scripts, user documentation, brochures, white papers, press releases and many types of marketing collateral.
Simon Ford
Founder, CEO, and Owner of Events Listed. Simon’s background in internet marketing, social media, and social networking has pushed him well ahead as a leading authority in the field of applying the internet and Social Media as a delivery platform for event marketing in particular.
Bernadette Jiwa
Bernie is the godmother of dripit. dripit (it's lowercase on purpose) shares information on issues which are ready for change, and connects those who are ready to change them. It shows how tiny incremental actions can have enormous effects.
A driven and driving Irish lady living in Australia, B also created Twordle and The 1 Moment.
Bernd Nurnberger
Bernd co-leads a multinational company's branches of safety testing and management system assessment professionals in Asia. He's passionate about trying new things; figuring out what makes people tick and things work; learning, applying, coaching and learning more.
Shawn McCormick
Shawn brings a healthy, holistic view to organizations looking to transform organizational performance, transition through change, or improve overall business process maturity. Whether developing strategic plans, removing quality issues, or improving customer service, Shawn can bring forth the unsaid messages and the underlying cultural issues that are inhibiting productivity of the human beings you count on in your business.
email: shawn.mccormick@sympatico.ca
John W. Furst
John Furst started helping clients with using the Internet as a business tool back in 1996. In the early days the technology part of it was the real challenge. It is not anymore.
Putting Web pages online has become really easy. And as a result of it: You have to compete with billions of pages. You are not alone anymore. A Web site template might get you started, but only a good strategy will make you succeed.
One tool that should be part of every Web strategy is email marketing. Unfortunately many businesses mess this up. John advices his clients and blog readers, "When you have got a Web site, you also must get an email autoresponder! Period." To help spread his word John publishes a dedicated bi-weekly email marketing tips blog carnival since May 2008. It's the only publication of its kind and contains tips from John, his colleagues and other recognized Internet marketers.
Now, click through to John's Web site and sign up for his email newsletter to keep yourself up-to-date.
Links:
Email Marketing Tips Blog Carnival, Internet Business Solutions