Manifast Archives – Sunwapta Solutions

16 May 2021

Lessons in Business – Communicating 21 Years of Quiet Success

By Doug Wagner|2021-05-16T19:35:54-06:00May 16th, 2021|Categories: Business Strategy, Manifast, Marketing, Sales|Tags: adding value, advice, Brand Strategy, business, business advice, business growth, business strategy, business success, Clients, Creating Value, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, marketing, Marketing Strategy, sales, small business, success, Working on the Business|

What do you say when someone says, “So, what does your business do?” Communicating what success looks like for your customers is key.

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We don’t sell anything popular like pizza or chocolate. We aren’t spies or secret agents. Or superheroes who wear capes.

For almost 21 years, we’ve run a software and business consulting company that quietly serves other businesses.

This line of business is not as glamourous and sexy as it sounds. Really.

It is complex.

How Communicating Usually Works

Unlike financial planners, real estate […]

10 Feb 2021

When Saying “Be Careful!” Isn’t Enough

By Doug Wagner|2021-02-10T23:35:03-07:00February 10th, 2021|Categories: Leadership, Manifast, Working on the Business|Tags: Accidents, business, business advice, Business Culture, Business Risk, Business Safety, Employee Training, happiness, Health and Safety, leadership, Safety, Training, Trucking, Work, Working on the Business, Workplace Safety|

It is snowing, and the roads are slippery. One of your team members is about to hit the road, so you say, “Be careful out there!” as they depart.

You are about to head out for a wintry walk on the icy sidewalks of Calgary, and a friend texts, “Be careful!” before you bundle up and head out.

Did your chances of staying safe improve from the well-intended reminder?

The Safety Illusion – Looking Back

I was a relatively confident walker before I […]

16 Sep 2020

How To Profit From Your Business Safety Needs

By Doug Wagner|2020-09-16T23:34:10-06:00September 16th, 2020|Categories: Business Strategy, Manifast, Sales, Working on the Business|Tags: adding value, advice, business, business advice, Business Culture, business growth, Business Safety, business strategy, business success, Creating Value, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Generate Cash, Maslow's Hierarchy, profit, small business, small business owner, strategy, Working on the Business|

Entrepreneurs are risk-takers by nature. Often that means putting aside safety but, it doesn’t have to. Thinking a little more like an investor can mitigate risk and build some security into your business.

In my last article, I talked about Maslow’s hierarchy and its impacts on consumers (or overall market), your customers, and the people inside your business.

A business also has a hierarchy of needs distinct from the people in it.

For example, human physiological needs correspond to the parts […]

26 May 2016

The Future is Coming and There Is No Going Back to the Past

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-12T11:28:33-06:00May 26th, 2016|Categories: Current Events, Leadership, Manifast, Mindset and Motivation, The Good Men Project|

The past is gone. It is only an illusion that we can get it back. Good men must make the future great instead.

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Have you ever had one of those experiences with other people where the moment was spontaneous, fun, and memorable? Then you try to make it happen the next year again, but it doesn’t seem to be quite as good? There is only one first time. The older you get, the more you are likely to want to hold onto the […]

12 May 2016

Need More Money? Take a Close Look at How You’re Creating Value

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-12T11:29:28-06:00May 12th, 2016|Categories: Business Strategy, Manifast, Marketing, The Good Men Project|Tags: adding value, advice, business, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship lessons, leadership, marketing, pivot, sales, small business, success, Work|

When times are tough it is tempting to play a safe game. You might want to reconsider that strategy to win in business.

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In tough times, it is tempting to tighten the belt and keep doing what you do.

Our natural inclination is to reduce the bigger risk by taking fewer risks at all; to seemingly play it safe. If you are the sole breadwinner it feels like every business mistake is taking food out of your family’s mouth.

So we get paralyzed with […]

28 Apr 2016

Your Relationship with Time and Money Is Hurting You

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-12T11:43:17-06:00April 28th, 2016|Categories: Business Strategy, Manifast, Mindset and Motivation, The Good Men Project|Tags: 80/20 rule, advice, business, business startups, entrepreneur, happiness, Investing, leverage, marketing, men and money, money, small business, small business owner, smart investing, time management, trade time for money|

Your ability to invest and leverage resources determines your success in business. How do you measure up?

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The Internet has taught us we can be experts in anything we choose. So we try to be experts in everything. Or worse, we learn just enough to fool ourselves into thinking we are experts because we don’t have the time or passion for achieving mastery.

I see this a lot with small business owners.

For example, they figure out how to build their website and do online marketing because […]

7 Apr 2016

The Power of Knowing Your Entrepreneurial Focus

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-12T11:44:15-06:00April 7th, 2016|Categories: Business Strategy, Manifast, Mindset and Motivation, The Good Men Project|Tags: advice, business, business strategy, business success, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, focusing on results, leadership, mission, purpose, self focus, strategy, success, workplace|

It is very difficult to focus on a business mission and yourself at the same time. Clarity makes all the difference.

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“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Robert

Robert has somewhere between seven and a dozen small business ventures on the go at any time.

If he sees an opportunity or has an idea, he is quick to launch it. One of the businesses started out in managed information technology services. Then a client asked
if he could build her a […]

17 Mar 2016

Win-Win Always Trumps Creating Losers

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-12T11:44:54-06:00March 17th, 2016|Categories: Business Strategy, Current Events, Manifast, Mindset and Motivation, The Good Men Project|

You don’t have to make people lose to win. In fact, it is usually a bad long-term strategy.

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“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.“ ~ Zig Ziglar

If you have been watching Donald Trump in the news lately, you are probably quite aware that he embraces an overt and aggressive bullying technique when dealing with any opposition.

Most recently, this included attacking the credibility of a disabled New York Times reporter […]

23 Feb 2016

Starting a Business: Assume You Know Nothing

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-12T12:04:50-06:00February 23rd, 2016|Categories: Business Strategy, Leadership, Manifast, Mindset and Motivation, The Good Men Project|

When you start to think you know it all, something will happen to make you believe you don’t know anything at all.

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“You know nothing, Jon Snow.” ~ Ygritte – The Game of Thrones

It is tempting to give people advice on starting a business. Do this and not that. As if everything is black and white, yes or no answers. If we had followed all of that advice 15 years ago, we would not have started our business […]

18 Jan 2016

Don’t Annoy The Bull And Other Lessons From The Field

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-12T12:05:43-06:00January 18th, 2016|Categories: Leadership, Manifast, Mindset and Motivation, The Good Men Project|

Before you can avoid the bulls, you need to learn to spot them. With people that can be a challenge.

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“I never rode a bull – I’m not that stupid.” ~ James Caan

Some years ago we were visiting Dorothy and her spouse, friends who lived in the country near the Alberta foothills. We were city dwellers, so we enjoyed getting out of town for a little adventure.

After sitting around chatting for an hour or so, we all decided to go for a walk before […]