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Ready to Grow? Discover BookWerks™

We free up small business and franchise owners’ time — and help them make informed decisions Do you have a clear handle on the purpose of your business and what customers value most in your offerings? If so, you are ahead of the game—and poised to build on that value! But many small business owners […]Read More

The Promise and Conditions of Satisfaction

grass

Continuing with our discussion on workflow communication, the result of a request and a successful negotiation is a promise. The promise is a commitment, made by the fulfiller of the request to perform work. Wrapped into the promise are the Conditions of Satisfaction that were determined during the offer and negotiation phases. Conditions of Satisfaction […]Read More

The Negotiation

2 business owners shaking hands

After making a request, the next step in workflow communication, is negotiation. Too often, we accept all requests, as spoken, without negotiating. This behavior is quite common in the employee – boss relationship. This unconditional acceptance of a request can lead to problems. We have probably all been on the receiving end of what we […]Read More

The Request

hand held up high

The first step in workflow communication is the request. Clear and unambiguous requests require preparation. Prepare by considering your desired outcome of the request. Be clear on your Conditions of Satisfaction. Your conditions of satisfaction should convey what the end product / service looks like, the timing for completion, and your offer, if any, to […]Read More

Workflow Communication

cartoon depicting communication chart

This is the first, in a series of posts we will publish on how work gets done at BookWerks. Take a look at the workflow diagram. More coming soon!Read More

Companies don’t buy things

young person buying looking at clothes to purchase

Companies don’t purchase anything. Although, we talk like they do. “We received a PO from Acme today!”. “How much business has Acme done with us YTD?” Humans purchase things. Humans buy things on behalf of the company. Humans buy things to take care of concerns they have. ” I want to perform in my job.” […]Read More

Travel light when starting up

traveler on top of a mountain ridge

When beginning your entrepreneurial journey, travel light. Start your business with just you and maybe one other person. Don’t assemble a team. Visit with potential customers yourself so you can learn the market. At the beginning, taking care of employees is a distraction from your exploration into what’s possible. This is the time to hone […]Read More

The MacDaddy sales metric – Sales Payback Period

image of word "payback"

One of the best gauges of your business’s ability to scale, is this metric, Sales Payback Period (SPP). SPP sets up a ratio between customer acquisition cost, and annual gross margin. Here’s an example to bring this concept home. A company sells intruder detection software on an annual subscription basis. In other words, a Saas […]Read More

On Speculation

person sitting on fence in field

It’s ok to speculate. That business plan in your hand. It’s a narrative about how the future will turn out. Speculation launches us into valuable conversations for action. But know that it’s speculation, not truth.Read More

The Accelerator Dilemma

tunnel with blurry lights

The folks who run accelerators, typically require nontechnical founders to find a technical co-founder. The thinking, is that adding a coder (ideally full-stack) will allow the startup to be more nimble and iterate faster, being more responsive to obtaining product – market fit. No argument here. However, finding the right full stack dude or dudette, […]Read More