September 2011 Blog Posts (14)

This ought to be the mantra of every business and especially small biz and startups. It's a painfully obvious statement but also one that is too often ignored. In fact, most business successes and failures can be tracked directly to this simple phrase.

In the real world, "mousetrap theory" doesn't work - you know, the one that goes "build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door". You can't succeed by having a "killer product" (with website) and assuming…

"Encore Career" ... it's a wonderful term I came across somewhere recently that really spoke to me.

An "Encore"  - an extra performance at the end of a long one ...

It describes so many of us today. Maybe you've had a long and successful career and one day you found that things changed. Maybe you were laid off or a disability caused you not to be able to continue. Maybe jobs in your field are scarce or just "went…

By: Nate Lindquist, CEO of Innerspire

Design a business not a holding cell.

Two thirds of everyone working in the US thinks their work sucks. So, you’re thinking, “Huh, really? That can’t be, I love my job. I’m fulfilled. I went to school to do this! This is who I am. Plus – I get long weekends and can leave work at 4:30pm…” Gotcha! More than likely on most occasions you’re living for the weekend baby! Just like everyone else, you probably took career…

I read recently an excellent review of an understated process for new hires known as onboarding or the process of inducting novice employees to an organization. An HR Market Analyst, Kyle Lagunas, wrote an informative post that I recommend, regarding the ROI metrics that should be of interest to executive managers who need to know if onboarding is worth the cost…

Elm St. Eats

By: Alyssa Buckley, Marketing Coordinator at Innerspire.

We make decisions every day. One of the hardest decisions comes around 12 o’clock, lunch time. Not a problem when you’re office is in the heart of downtown Manchester – where do you start? The restaurants, bistros and cafes that are woven down and around Elm Street offer quite the array for all appetites. Everyone who sits in an office from 8am to 6pm, sometimes earlier or later, anticipates that…

The most effective way to earn business, gain referrals, sharpen your selling skills and grow any enterprise is by speaking and presenting with confidence, clarity and effectiveness.  The most successful leaders in business and life have worked hard to become exceptional speakers.  There are only a few basic guidelines you need to study, practice and in time master to be just as successful as the best speakers out there.  Here are the guidelines to follow so you can take action right…

A woman I know very well named Donna got laid off last month from a high-level hotel management job at a time when she was getting ready to buy a house.  The lay off came suddenly and without actual warning.  Donna is a single woman who is reliant only upon her self to pay her bills.   Even with this job, she has struggled to maintain her financial health.

I’ve told you the facts but let me tell you the truth.  Donna didn’t quite know how to feel so she decided to allow any…

If you have something left on your bucket list that you'd like to clear up before 5 p.m., feel free to go forth and conquer for surely this is the end of the world.....Armageddon.....the end of days as prophesized in Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 24, Verse 36.

Last week, I had the great fortune to spit my cornflakes a near record 25 feet (the notoriously tough East German judge was sufficiently moved enough to give me a 9) upon reading what the marketing geniuses at Ben & Jerry's had…

I noticed the day after President Obama's big jobs speech before Congress on September 8 that Mark Zandi, the often cited Chief Economist from Moody's Analytics, praised it. True, he is an old-style Keynesian, but he is among the most respected economists in the country, so he deserves a listen to. Among the benefits he sees from the American Jobs Act are:

• Confidence would return to the public and therefore a stabilization of the economy would result.
• Just under 2…

Have you ever heard of Google’s 20% time? No? Well, you should and so should your boss.

This morning our CEO, Nate mentioned it and I had no idea what he was talking about (which happens often). I think we all want to implement this concept into our workweek but it tends to be put on the back burner.

Google engineers are offered “20-percent…

By: Jason Boerner, Interactive Developer at Innerspire

Most people reading a marketing blog will already know what a QR Code is but here’s a quick run down for those of you who don’t.  They look like the picture over there to the left.

What do they do? Well they bring people to specific…