business plan

Profits vs. Growth, yes. Maximize Profits, No.

By Tim Berry

Understand the inherent tradeoff between profits vs. growth. I’m struck by how much business writing and thinking takes optimizing profits as the objective. Maximize your profits. I disagree. Usually the optimal is not maximizing profits, but rather maximizing the value of the business, which often means a balance between profits and growth. In general, a... Read More »

Good Business Priorities

CEOs Change the Deeper Meaning of the Ultimate Bottom Line

By Tim Berry

As I read this morning about the Business Roundtable changing this fundamental principle, I was really glad to see it. It’s about time. Several hundred influential CEOs got together and agreed to revise priorities. The next quarter’s profits — which maximizes short-term share price — are no longer the supreme goal and top priority. Here’s... Read More »

Octane AI and Shopify

New Conversational Commerce App Increases Online Sales

By Tim Berry

Is “conversational commerce” the next big improvement in online shopping? I hope so. I’m closely following the success of the new Octane AI conversational commerce app. It was announced this week along with convincing data on significant sales increases it generated by actual users. It works with Shopify, the shopping cart platform used by half... Read More »

Business Success: Talent, Skill, or What?

By Tim Berry

I received this question: Is succeeding as an entrepreneur a matter of luck or do only the talented ones make it? And this is my answer: Luck isn’t enough, and talent isn’t enough either. You can have either one, or even both, and still fail. What you’re missing, with your question, is the work. Business... Read More »

Do You Believe the Legendary Startup Failure Statistics. I Don’t.

By Tim Berry

This recent piece on startup failure statistics caught me eye on Twitter first, and I followed the links to discover Startups: Conventional Wisdom Says 90% Fail. Data Says Otherwise. | Fortune.com. Here’s a direct quote from author Erin Griffith: “I recently found myself carelessly repeating a statistic that I’d heard dozens of times in private conversations... Read More »

unwavering startup vision

Startup Vision: Paradox of Consistency vs. Opportunity

By Tim Berry

The world is full of paradox, like this one. Here’s research on startup vision that shows “The tech landscape is lush with entrepreneurs whose success blossomed only after the founders had modified or even abandoned their original vision.” That makes sense when you see examples and details. But wait – what about the idea that the... Read More »

Do We All Undervalue Bootstrapping?

By Tim Berry

In business schools, in popular blogs, in business publications, and in general discussion of starting a business, we undervalue bootstrapping. We teach starting a business as if every new business requires sophisticated venture capital. I understand how this can be... Read More »

Two Paradoxical TED Talks Every Business Owner Should Watch

By Tim Berry

My thanks to Hubspot and post author Mike Whitney for today’s two Friday videos. Whitney included these two in his selection of 4 TED Talks Every Marketer Should Watch, from last year. I want to focus today on these two as not just for marketers, but also essential TED talks for business owners. They go... Read More »