Archive | Small Business Success

If in Doubt, Ask.

It is okay to ask questions in life, in work. In the work environment, as an owner, manager, supervisor, or whatever I may be, whatever hat I may be wearing, I want to hear questions. I dislike it when an employee does not ask a question, for whatever reason, then does something wrong, or does […]

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Here’s a question for David: Why was your part of this post so short? But, to get to the point, I agree with David about asking questions, up to a point.  We recently terminated an employee who spent more time asking us stupid questions than using her brain.  This employee seemed, to me, to ask […]

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When Not to Wear Shorts

I live in Florida. I have lived in Florida almost all my life, with the exception of living out of state for a couple of years for employment reasons. I know it’s hot in my home state of Florida. I live here and if you’re hot when we are together, I am probably hot too. […]

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In my mind, there are many “costumes” which are appropriate in different situations.  As a photographer, I dressed to blend into the environment where I would be shooting.  If it was a business event, I would wear a shirt/tie or sometimes, a tuxedo, to seem to be a part of the event.  Casual events, like […]

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Pay Your Own Way Marketing

Marketing is a big topic. It covers many things including advertising, sales, strategy, research and more. It was one of my 3 undergraduate majors and though some things have changed, for example, the transition from traditional advertising to social media advertising, the basics have long been the same. Getting yourself or your company known for […]

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My first job upon completion of my Ph.D. was Director of Marketing Research at a large hospital in Jacksonville.  I don’t know what the marketing department’s budget was, but the amount of money it spent on marketing and public relations must have been in the multi millions.  I can’t begin to imagine what this hospital, […]

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I’m pretty fast myself

One of my favorite things to say is. “I’m pretty fast myself.” This quote didn’t originate with me. As usual, it is a line from a song, this time, from “Better Not Look Down” by B. B. King. The day I am writing this post is my first day back at work since David and […]

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Melissa likes speed, in addition to working fast.  She drove a Corvette, fast, for many years.  More than any other car she’s had.  But it fit her personality as did subsequent cars, several of which had propensities for speed that were less obvious than the Vette.  Her perspective is full speed ahead, get things done, […]

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Someone else will do it – but I’m the someone else

“I’ll get around to it.” “ I was going to do that.” “Oh, you beat me to it.” I hear these comments on a frequent basis. Most people move more slowly than me, including some who go through life at a snail’s pace. When I start cleaning up their mess, picking their trash off the […]

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It becomes a personal challenge of mine to stay ahead of Melissa, where I can.  And, there are many times when she wants something done that I’ve already accomplished.  Further, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cleaned up something that she never saw on the floor and our counters, at home or the […]

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Constant Reinvention

Much of what we do as trial consultants remains constant over time. Social science research is well established in terms of methodologies such that the changes are in the margins. Technological changes are not a major factor in our world, yet, we constantly look at processes and technologies to improve our work. Among those have […]

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David and I are rarely on the cutting edge when it comes to adopting new technology and new ways of doing things, however, we are usually light years ahead of most people we know.  Recently, we have had the pleasure of hosting 2 of my friends/colleagues in our home for an extended period.  Both of […]

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I Don’t Write Paychecks

David and I have owned and operated Magnus for 30 years. We have employed countless people, including many whose names have faded into obscurity. During all the years we have been in business, David and I have had different job duties. David’s job includes the administrative, finance, human resources, vendor relationship, and client liaison roles, […]

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Terminating employees is one of the least pleasant tasks I have.  Even when an employee has done something blatantly wrong and is deserving of immediate termination, knowing the ramifications for the employee it is difficult, to do so.  I hope most people who have the power of termination feel that way.  Yet, we’ve had some […]

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10 Years After, Part 2

Working as a trial consultant has many unique factors that keep our lives interesting, and sometimes, frustrating. One factor is the time between when we are called on a case and when we actually do our work, such as a mock trial, and when that case goes to trial. I sometimes have attorneys ask me […]

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David does an excellent job of following up with Magnus’ clients.  Some people would be offended by the “radio silence” that usually happens between when a client contacts us about a potential case and when he or she decides to retain us.  Not David.  David calls, then calls again and again, emails, then emails again […]

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It Gets Late, Early

My late Mother was fond of saying, “It gets late, early.” As she aged, she went to sleep earlier and earlier and when I remarked about her change in bed time, she would smile and tell me, “It gets late, earlier and earlier.” I had no idea why she said this; furthermore, I had no […]

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This was to be a precursor post to Melissa’s post about her Mom’s South Carolina sayings.  I struggled with that post not having experienced similar sayings in my family, though I can’t imagine why I did not.  My grandmother did frequently lament that growing old was not for sissies, and we wrote about that previously […]

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Live a Little – Hawai’ian style

David and I have visited Hawai’i several times. It is one of our favorite places and somewhere I would enjoy making my home. I learned a lot on our trips to Hawai’i, including that the rainbows for which it is famous are possible only because, you guessed it, it rains a lot, daily it seems. […]

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Living a little is a concept some people don’t appreciate until it is too late.  The ability to live a little is probably one of the primary reasons Melissa and I enjoy owning our own company.  We frequently build a little “living” into our “working.”  Very often, this involves exploring a venue where we are […]

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