How is your 2021 “Brand EQ”?

Here’s a question to ask yourself as we’ve moved out of a particularly challenging year into 2021: How would you evaluate your “brand EQ”?   What, exactly, are we talking about?   Do you have a favorite song—perhaps one that sounds exceptionally pleasing in your headphones? The reason it sounds good is that when that …

Marketing Strategy: What You Need to Know Before Spending One Cent

If you’ve been feeling like your marketing dollars are being wasted and not delivering on what you had hoped…you’re probably not wrong, and you’re definitely not alone. Small businesses have a notoriously difficult time making sound decisions with their marketing budgets without expert guidance. A survey of small businesses last year found that at least …

Tips for Converting from Brick-and-Mortar Marketing to Online Campaigns

If your business has traditionally relied on brick-and-mortar marketing strategies, you’re probably already aware of the challenges facing you in this “new normal” as the economy starts reopening. With social distancing in place, face-to-face marketing, product demonstrations, etc. may be ineffective at best, or nearly impossible. Companies who successfully convert to online marketing tend to …

The Importance of Forming Strategic Alliances with Other Businesses

Have you ever gone into bookstore Barnes & Noble, browsed around, picked a handful of interesting titles, then wandered over to the in-store Starbucks to enjoy your favorite coffee drink while perusing your new finds? If you have, you’ve just demonstrated the power of a strategic alliance. Barnes & Noble doesn’t sell coffee. Starbucks doesn’t …

2017 LA Small Business Academy

You know when you sign up for something and aren’t sure what you’re getting yourself into? That’s what I did when I applied to participate in the 2017 LA Small Business Academy at USC. In it’s fifth year, the Academy is sponsored by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), Los Angeles World Airport …