tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74378462008-04-17T20:23:49.668-07:00Mike DohertyBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-51797303105747240102008-04-03T20:03:00.000-07:002008-04-03T20:21:35.537-07:00

As I racked my brain trying to enhance a social network exercise I had launched, I happened to look up and glance out the window. A tanker was slowly making its way across the bay in the afternoon sun. Wow. When I first saw this office, the view took my breath away. But with the hustle and bustle of the business day, I rarely notice. I am sure it’s out there every afternoon, but who looks

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-43779322213984774232008-03-28T10:57:00.000-07:002008-03-28T11:18:19.449-07:00

The folks over at Bankaholic have come up with common causes of business debt. I left out the easily avoided part, because I am sure many a struggling entrepreneur has ventured down these slippery slopes. But, it provides a good reminder of the pitfalls faced by small businesses everyday. "Start-ups go out of business all the time, often before they even have a chance to even really star up

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-5308062980774262372008-01-29T09:06:00.000-08:002008-03-28T11:19:12.975-07:00

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. . ." Charles Darwin This is probably one of my favorite quotes. And its application to business is endless. These days, many businesses use the web as a primary tool for marketing. We spend fortunes and endless hours building our websites, creating links and then we

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-32595387636548385822008-01-15T11:50:00.000-08:002008-04-03T21:37:24.117-07:00

Last weekend, I headed off to an industry conference. I checked online and the flight was on time. But when we got to the airport, there was a three hour delay. Apparently, thunderstorms were blanketing the East Coast. Ugh! I took a seat at the gate and contemplated my fate. Unintentionally, I took a glance around the waiting area. As you can imagine, there were many disgruntled passengers

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-57046777533523944172007-12-24T14:06:00.001-08:002007-12-24T14:09:29.704-08:00

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-48924731058858056012007-10-05T15:09:00.000-07:002007-10-05T15:22:58.645-07:00

The Web has long been heralded as the Golden Grail to retailers - the world at your door, if it may. Many have launched, gone broke on Adwords and ridden off into the Internet sunset. What can we learn from our brick and mortar counterparts?Any savvy retailer knows the age old mantra “location, location, location.” A quality location enhances visibility, benefits from foot traffic and leverages

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-16198976870865360172007-09-28T15:25:00.000-07:002007-10-05T16:42:36.136-07:00

When we go shopping, we typically choose to do business where we perceive the best value for our time and money. But in that decision have you considered the value of locally-owned small businesses? Consider the real cost of losing locally-owned small businesses – local values. It’s the local business owners that typically employ more than 50% of the workforce, support local charities, sit on

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-6814222392999933022007-09-19T15:34:00.000-07:002007-10-05T16:05:40.861-07:00

So, you’ve built a website and posted it for the world to see. Having launched your global marketing campaign, just sit back and reap the rewards. Sounds too good to be true? That’s because it is. A successful website must be accessible to customers. So, unless customers can find your website, it doesn’t matter how amazing it is or how good your product is. According to Netcraft, there are over

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-83442750108286103322007-09-12T16:25:00.000-07:002007-10-05T16:34:19.698-07:00

The other night, I was teaching a class about Internet Communications and in the course of the evening we ventured into scary waters. I asked the class – “What is your defensible position?” Silence. Deafening Silence! What is a defensible position? I tend to think of it in two steps – What do you do different from the existing competition? (Competitive Advantage)Can you sustain the

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-33695658277429846652007-03-07T16:58:00.000-08:002007-03-07T17:01:32.531-08:00

In the past year, we launched a retail site The Complete Bear. We wanted to see if we could take our own advice. Sometimes we do, and sometimes we don’t . . . This experience has provided amazing insights into trying to grow a business. By going piece by piece through the business development process, we are able to provide real life experience to our consulting clients. It has always been our

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-24584617615463923152007-03-01T14:32:00.000-08:002007-03-01T14:37:37.447-08:00

OK, I know the official start of spring is still several weeks off – but . . . You know there are some golden rules to organizing those pesky chores. Every New Year’s you are supposed to change the batteries in the smoke detectors (exactly, when was the last time you changed the batteries, when they were installed? Did you borrow a battery or two for the remote? It’s not too late, go get some

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-43620857212070776972007-01-09T16:52:00.000-08:002007-01-09T17:21:03.044-08:00

I want to start a business. Where do I start? Should I go to the chamber of commerce first? What questions should I ask? Is it better to open a business that I am passionate about or just go for what you know will be profitable in the long run? My thought has always been that running a business is a big commitment - time, money, energy, etc. - so you better do something you love. If it's simply

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-48154345514607454142007-01-08T14:32:00.000-08:002007-03-01T14:38:59.604-08:00

The other day, I was working late on a project and my dog came in and dropped his ball in my lap. "Not now, buddy - I'm working,” I said pushing him away. A few moments later he tried again. This time I looked up and saw a wagging tail begging for my attention. Hey, I am not made of stone. For years, my work schedule prevented me from having a dog. Now that I do, I'm telling him to wait. Wait

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-39595972613920913422006-12-24T22:23:00.000-08:002006-12-24T22:24:43.274-08:00

Hopefully, this list will let you wish the merriest of greetings to all your friends and family around the world . . . 01 - Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année ! 02 - Merry Christmas & Happy New Year ! 03 - Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo ! 04 - Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo ! 05 - Boas Festas e um feliz Ano Novo ! 06 - Fröhliche Weihnachten und ein glückliches Neues Jahr ! 07 - Pax

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-19488823449805585682006-12-20T15:24:00.000-08:002006-12-20T15:30:42.443-08:00

If you ever wanted to get the inside scoop of the life of an entrepreneur - This is it - http://www.blueprintventure.com/holiday06.html If you liked that one, check out last year’s card, where Gary Snoman makes his brash debut: http://www.blueprintventure.com/holiday05.html p.s. If those two cards got you chuckling, and you have a couple minutes for another laugh, check out Santa’s reindeer as

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-1082766747252206252006-12-19T20:05:00.000-08:002006-12-19T20:07:41.125-08:00

You launched the business, you’ve built the website – and now you wait for the sales. And you wait. And you wait. Then you are introduced to the wonderful world of Search Engine Optimization - Meta Tags, Keywords and Pay Per Clicks (Need a refresher? – Internet Search Engine Rankings). Trying to buy visibility on the Search Engines can be an expensive, if not futile, process. The folks

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-1164836637489893572006-11-29T13:41:00.000-08:002006-12-20T15:31:59.635-08:00

Hardly. Most of the businesses that I have worked with that have become “overnight” successes took years to become so. The old cliché is right - success is when opportunity meets preparation. The overnight part was the opportunity – thus creating visibility that did not previously exist. And while the success would not have existed had the opportunity not presented itself, it won’t happen

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-1164653917608382852006-11-27T10:44:00.000-08:002006-11-27T10:58:51.413-08:00

This blog has somehow become the poor abandoned step-child. Every week, I fret over not posting and yet . . . So today, I come to work to find that someone has done the work for me. Uhm, thanks but no thanks. My comment section had been spammed. I guess I should be flattered that they thought enough of my postings to think I was reaching a wide enough audience for their spam. So, once again

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-1155858770159175952006-08-17T16:42:00.000-07:002006-08-17T16:58:54.053-07:00

That which does not kill us makes us stronger. Friedrich Nietzsche Well, it's only Thursday and we've fried the motherboard on one computer. Made 27 trips to Best Buy. Temporarily lost our QuickBooks Data. Launched a new website. Launched our MySpace account - keeping up with the techno Joneses. Taught a new class on Internet Marketing. Sat through a local public policy hearing. And ran home at

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-1153327042415781902006-07-19T09:35:00.000-07:002006-07-19T09:41:48.290-07:00

Recently, the telephone books showed up at our house. I immediately tossed them into recycling. Much to the dismay of my partner. “I use those!!,” he cried. "Really?" I just assumed we had all moved online for any such search. The next day, I conveyed the story to a class I was teaching on business planning. I received blank stares. Apparently, over 70% of the room still used phone books as

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-1152238491766160102006-07-06T19:13:00.000-07:002006-07-06T19:14:51.783-07:00

Some of you (obviously, with too much time on your hands – LOL) may have noticed a considerable amount of time had passed since the last post. And, the last post was about the amount of time between posts – ugh!! Well, the last 6 or 7 months has been about change. We lost our lease in December after 5 years. In April, Liza broke her ankle – thus creating quite the change in our staffing

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-1152236903758734402006-07-06T18:45:00.000-07:002006-07-06T19:17:34.593-07:00

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” Charles Darwin (English Naturalist and Author of the theory of evolution by natural selection. 1809-1882) So can be said for businesses. It’s not how much capital you have (we all know companies with what seemed like unlimited capital resources that

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-1147192557402263392006-05-09T09:24:00.000-07:002006-05-09T09:36:40.556-07:00

The whole idea of the blog is to always have fresh and interesting content for the site. This only works if you post something. "Forgive me father, for it has been a month since my last blog entry. Mea Culpa" As with any small business, we are faced with the challenges of wearing many hats. Marketing, business development, client services, etc. - It is not easy . . . So we prioritize, we

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-1144782874497617842006-04-11T12:12:00.000-07:002006-04-11T12:31:50.226-07:00

Recently, I was thumbing through Bark Magazine because I am the ultimate consumer when it comes to products for our dogs - Puck and Miguel. About midway, I came across an ad for for Windsor Vineyards offering custom labels personalized with our dogs' photo. “Hmm, that would be a cool gift.” And as an added benefit, 5% of the order was being donated to the ASPCA. I was able to scratch my inner

Mike Dohertytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-1144273269030148642006-04-05T14:40:00.000-07:002006-04-07T14:59:06.490-07:00

We spend a concerted amount of time trying to scheme how to reach our customers. We are emailing, blogging, podcasting, searching for the next SEO trick and so forth. And while these are great avenues for communication – they seem to be lacking. They are missing the personal touch. Have we forgotten the basics? These days, 95% of my correspondence is email based. The daily ritual is to peruse

Mike Doherty