Business is Personal

About Mark

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Me? I’m Mark Riffey. Among other things, I’ve started, bought and sold a few businesses (software, skin care, consulting, vending, etc), and currently spend much of my time helping small business owners prosper, rather than just survive. I play the “stern but loving parent” role. I examine everything looking for the “slight edge” (and then the next one, and the next one and …), not to mention for things that can create big breakthroughs for your business.

One of the things I collect, other than Scout patches, is stories about businesses that are poorly run, or that could use some serious fine tuning (less often), as well as those that are smart and doing things right. Once in a great while, I’ll find a real gem, and hopefully, a story about a smart business that is hitting ‘em out of the park.

Understand that the majority of the stories will be about what businesses are doing wrong, or not doing enough of. Don’t look at it as negative, because I don’t look at it that way. Instead, look at it as opportunity for that business to improve, and more importantly, as ideas for you to take back to your business.

No matter what, I’ll tell you their story, in hopes that you can learn and gain from the lessons others have learned. You can also get on my free email newsletter (you’ll get one about every 4 days), which covers these topics as well, but sometimes from a different slant.

The name? “Business is Personal” is a statement in response to those who say “It’s not personal, it’s just business.” Donald Trump says it, others repeat it. I disagree. In fact, I would argue that few things are more personal than your own business. Your business reflects your values, how much you care about your clients, what’s important to you, what (in most cases) you truly love to do. Clearly, his businesses are very personal to Trump. I suspect he means business DECISIONS aren’t personal, but that’s not often the context of the quote when others repeat it. So there, and enjoy.