GAHZLY

One wintry night in 1933, Percy Shaw found himself driving his automobile on a remote country road in England. The night was moonless; the fog hung densely and there was a persistent mixture of rain and snow belting against his windshield. The road was little more than a lane, with no signage, no shoulders, winding and curvy. Any error in judgement would be very costly indeed. As Mr. Shaw slogged along he suddenly came upon a rise in the road and was startled when a small Morriss Minor automobile appeared right at the crest of the grade. The approaching car was headed directly at his vehicle. He was on a slight curve, it was pitch dark, the road was slick and unmarked. In the split second he had to make a decision a small housecat scampered across the road. The headlights of Mr. Shaw”s car illuminated the eyes of the cat, and the reflection from those iridescent orbs provided Percy Shaw with just enough perspective to gage his distance and edge safely around the Morris Minor. As P...

Many small to medium sized businesses face a common struggle; a balancing act of plans, strategies, departments and decisions. All of the elements are present, all of the gears in working condition, but business isn’t exactly booming at the pace it had anticipated or forecasted for. What exactly does this growth and sustainability require? In a turbulent economy teeming with congested airwaves and aggressive business practices, it’s about standing out from the crowd. And surprisingly, your marketing strategy has a lot more to do with it than you might realize. Conflicted business owners can overcome the masses and draw the customers that are right for their product by executing a stellar marketing strategy, not by yelling louder than their competitors or using neon banners on their storefront (or banner ads on your website). My point is, you don’t have to be throwing yourself out there with a bunch of noise all the time. What you need to do is paint a vision for your b...