small business owner Archives – Sunwapta Solutions

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 […]

19 Aug 2020

How to Rescue Your Business with a Little Maslow’s Cat

By Doug Wagner|2020-08-20T23:46:02-06:00August 19th, 2020|Categories: Business Strategy, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|Tags: business, business advice, business growth, business strategy, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, leadership, Maslow's Cat, Maslow's Hierarchy, Rescue your business, small business, small business owner|

Maslow’s hierarchy is often expressed as a pyramid and frequently used to explain the basics of human nature based on five levels of needs.

According to established historical lore, ancient Egyptians revered cats. Perhaps pyramids were built to house ancient kings, but that would not have stopped a cat from sitting on the top of one and looking down to watch everyone else.

Cats see things a little differently.

Maslow’s cat can help us better understand those needs […]

23 Jul 2020

How to Fight the Right Fight – Pick a Rising Trend

By Doug Wagner|2020-07-23T00:08:39-06:00July 23rd, 2020|Categories: Business Strategy, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|Tags: advice, business, business advice, business growth, business strategy, business success, Creating Value, Entrepreneurship, Marketing Strategy, Pandemic, Rising Tide, Rising Trends, small business, small business owner, strategy, success|

“A rising tide raises all ships.” ~ John F. Kennedy

The tide is a metaphor for the overall economy. The theory is that if the overall economy is rising, everyone benefits. Conversely, if the tide is falling, everyone suffers.

Yet, is any of this consistently accurate? Does the tide affect every business the same?

Looking Closer at the Trends

To see the overall economy, you have to zoom way out. When you are at this level, you can’t easily see any details.

To find meaning – cause and effect – you […]

2 Jul 2019

19 Years – Our Big Mistakes Are Your Powerful Lessons

By Doug Wagner|2020-05-28T18:45:40-06:00July 2nd, 2019|Categories: Business Strategy, Current Events, Doug's Blog, Dream Teams, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|Tags: business, business advice, Business Culture, Business Performance, Business Planning, business strategy, Corporate Culture, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship lessons, sales, sales process, small business, small business owner, strategy|

A little over 19 years ago, my two business partners and I set off on the entrepreneurial journey that became Sunwapta Solutions. Over the years, we’ve had some successes, made some (costly) mistakes, and sometimes learned a few things.

People typically don’t learn much from easy success, aside from a false sense of security and overconfidence. Nor do they believe they will make the same mistakes you did – until they do.

I can’t prevent you from making any mistakes. Nor […]

3 Jan 2018

The 5 Big Problems with Social Media Automation

By Doug Wagner|2018-01-03T19:05:21-07:00January 3rd, 2018|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Marketing|Tags: Audience, Automated Responses, business advice, business strategy, content, Ideal Client, Ideal Clients, Inbound Prospecting, marketing, Marketing Strategy, problems, Scheduling Posts, Scheduling Social Media, small business, small business owner, Social Engagement, Social Marketing, social media, social media automation, Social Media Engagement, Traditional Marketing|

Don’t get me wrong. The promise of social media automation is both alluring and useful.

Unless you have a dedicated social media team – a luxury few SMBs have – you have other tasks and responsibilities during your workday. As well, you might need the illusion of a 24/7 presence to address the different time zones and locations of your prospects, clients, and fans.

Scheduling posts is essential for most marketing teams, and we are not talking […]

18 Sep 2017

How to Avoid Setting Your New Salesperson Up For Failure

By Doug Wagner|2017-09-19T12:25:35-06:00September 18th, 2017|Categories: Marketing, Oilfield Pulse, Sales, Working on the Business|Tags: business, business growth, business strategy, business success, CRM, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, inbound marketing, Lead Generation, Marketing and Sales, Marketing Strategy, Oilfield Hub, Oilfield Pulse, sales, sales process, Sales Teams, small business, small business owner, smarketing, Steps of the Sale, Working on the Business|

As you grow your business and hire a new salesperson, you are likely leaving money on the table. Are you making one or more of these mistakes and setting your team up for failure?

Over the last few weeks, I’ve met several people who were hired to work […]

11 Jul 2017

5 Powerful Moments on the Path to Get More Clients

By Doug Wagner|2017-07-12T16:20:31-06:00July 11th, 2017|Categories: Doug's Blog, Go-Giver Coach, HubSpot Agency Partner, Marketing, Sales|Tags: adding value, Bill Ellis, Bob Burg, business, business advice, business strategy, business success, Certified Go-Giver Coach, Chet Holmes, Clients, Dan Tyre, digital marketing, Dixie Gillaspie, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Get More Clients, HubSpot, HubSpot Agency Partner, Ideal Client, Ideal Clients, inbound marketing, Inbound Prospecting, inbound sales, John David Mann, marketing, Marketing Strategy, Online Marketing, Perfect Client, sales, sales process, small business, small business owner, The Go-Giver, The Ultimate Sales Machine, Working on the Business|

Most small businesses start with someone who has an innovative idea, or at least the desire to build a business around what they do. In most cases, these entrepreneurs fall into sales out of necessity. You either figure out how to get more clients, or you fail.

—

Our story started this way. Early successes led us to underestimate the power of mastering marketing and sales, both the skills and the […]

26 May 2017

Sharing a Cultural Experience – Amina’s Business Start-Up

By Doug Wagner|2017-05-26T18:49:46-06:00May 26th, 2017|Categories: Doug's Blog, Non-Profits and Community|Tags: Arsheen Dhalla, business, business advice, business success, Daraja, Daraja Foundation, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, leadership, small business, small business owner|

Arsheen Dhalla has been busy doing remarkable work in Zanzibar through the Daraja Foundation. Daraja means bridge in Swahili. During one of her infrequent visits to Calgary, I had the pleasure to sit down with her and listen to her story. There are many stories to tell. For the second video in the series, we decided to focus on Amina’s business story.

The first time Arsheen traveled to Zanzibar in this capacity, her […]

25 May 2017

Do You Know What Makes You Successful At Sales?

By Doug Wagner|2020-07-02T16:19:19-06:00May 25th, 2017|Categories: Doug's Blog, Marketing, Sales, Working on the Business|Tags: adding value, business, business advice, business systems, Challenger Sales, entrepreneur, inbound marketing, marketing, Marketing Strategy, sales, sales process, small business, small business owner, Steps of the Sale, Working on the Business|

Most small and mid-sized businesses cannot clearly define the process they use for successful sales. This lack of clarity severely limits the growth potential of an SMB. Here’s why.

—

I didn’t say YOU can’t sell. If you’ve been in business or sales for a few years and are still around, you’ve probably figured something out that works for you.

In fact, I haven’t met very many business owners who don’t think they can sell or at least have someone on […]

15 May 2017

Get Serious About Defining Your Ideal Clients

By Doug Wagner|2017-10-18T16:52:05-06:00May 15th, 2017|Categories: Branding, Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Marketing|Tags: 80/20 rule, Brand Strategy, business, business advice, business strategy, Ideal Client, Ideal Clients, inbound marketing, marketing, Marketing Results, Marketing Strategy, Perfect Client, sales, small business owner, SMB, SME, Strategic Marketing, Target Market, Venn Diagram, Working on the Business|

One of the keys to strategic marketing is to make the best use of your limited resources for the greatest results. One of the most powerful drivers of marketing results is to define your ideal clients precisely.

◊♦◊

The best way to show how this works is to take you along on my latest journey to do just that for the online marketing services portion of our business.

A good strategy is just as much about what you will not […]