Troy’s Blog
Economic Obstacle or Opportunity?
In these changing times in business, I find it somewhat disturbing how so many small to medium businesses act surprised when there is an economic shift. It totally baffles me when I sit in business meetings or functions and listen to some of our business leaders...
What do you want to be when you grow up?
A while back I had the privilege of being one of the judges in a small business competition. Over the course of the event we had the chance to see some great businesses in action, hear their stories, and how they were going to develop their business should they be...
Long Haul or Long Gone – How to Survive the First Five Years in Business
It’s true, so many small businesses fail in their first years of operation. And it’s also true that so many small business operators blame external influences on their demise. I know, I was almost one of them. 20 years ago, when in my early years of business after...
Do you remember?
Over the last few years I’ve had a keen interest in motor sport to the point where a few years back I bought a car and have been racing myself. Well maybe not racing, but trying to keep up with the pack… and not crash! I had an interesting conversation recently...
Well, that’s not my fault…!
For 20 years, as a business consultant, I have been hearing those words. Time after time I have business people bark these sorts of responses when talking about their business experiences. When asked about the past: Yeah, I hear ya, but it’s different for me, and...
Chinese Takeaway
It’s new, exciting, captivating, somewhat intriguing, and even a little sexy. It’s taken the world's attention and firmly positioned itself as the new frontier in business. It is China. For over ten years now I have been traveling back and forth to Hong Kong,...
The End of the Marketing Line – If they can see if they can sell it
Every year small and medium enterprise spends thousands of dollars on advertising and marketing their companies all over the world. And every year the same companies sit down for hours sifting through data as they try and establish how they came up with the sales...
Is it Facebook or FakeBook?
Not a day goes by where I don’t get some kind of solicitation from a Social Media expert wanting to help me with my online presence. Now don’t get me wrong - I am the first to admit I need assistance in the space, with only 13,500 fans on my Facebook page, a...
2 Degrees of Separation – The Net-effect of Net-works
You’ve all heard about it, some of you have done it, many have looked at doing it, and others just don’t know how to start doing it. And some of you have done it so much that it just doesn’t do it for you anymore! It’s called: Networking. It’s one of those words...
Ready – Aim – Hire
For many business owners and leaders that headline should read, 'Ready, Aim FIRE.' It’s the age old business dilemma. ‘How do I hire and retain good people to work with me?’ For two decades I have heard small business owners and leaders scream the following...