strategy 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 […]

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 2020

Is Honest Communication a Lost Leadership Value?

By Doug Wagner|2020-07-02T21:38:02-06:00July 2nd, 2020|Categories: Business Strategy, Leadership|Tags: business, business advice, Business Culture, business success, communication, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Ethics, leadership, small business, strategy, Values|

More and more, we see examples of leadership that are less than stellar – including less than honest communication.

Part of this seems to be a win at all costs mentality where “at all costs” means any way you can – even if that includes lying, bullying, cheating, and changing the rules so you can win.

As someone who spent many years as a leader in the military and 20 years leading a business, I find this disheartening. Crony capitalism and other forms of cheating are not good […]

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 […]

22 Dec 2017

A Year of Reflections and Shining a Light on 2018

By Doug Wagner|2017-12-22T21:13:37-07:00December 22nd, 2017|Categories: Business Strategy, Marketing, Sales, Software Development|Tags: adding value, business, business advice, business growth, business strategy, business success, Clients, Creating Value, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Ideal Client, Ideal Clients, inbound marketing, innovation, innovation engine, Lead Generation, marketing, Marketing Strategy, Online Marketing, Perfect Client, revenue engine, sales, sales enablement, sales process, small business, software development, strategy, success, Tax Checklist, workflow, Working on the Business|

Reflecting back over the last year, we’ve seen a number of local businesses close their doors and countless more struggle. It hasn’t been an easy year for us either.

Through tough times come some of the most valuable business lessons. The biggest one is to avoid facing tough times whenever you can. In my opinion, it is far better to be struggling with growth challenges.

Part of being in business for 17 years is making […]

28 Jul 2017

Bicycles – How to Create Business Skills for Life

By Doug Wagner|2017-07-28T20:38:13-06:00July 28th, 2017|Categories: Doug's Blog, Non-Profits and Community|Tags: Arsheen Dhalla, Bicycle Shop, business advice, business skills, business strategy, Community, Daraja, Daraja Foundation, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, non-profit, small business, strategy, Students, success, Working on the Business|

Bicycle Shop Students - Creating Business Skills

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 third video in the series, we decided to focus on business skills and the bicycle empowerment center.

The first time Arsheen traveled to Zanzibar in this volunteer capacity, her work primarily focused on an orphanage and a local […]

9 Jun 2017

5 Ways to Win Survivor Alberta – Business Edition

By Doug Wagner|2017-06-27T14:23:25-06:00June 9th, 2017|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Marketing, Mindset and Motivation, Oilfield Pulse|Tags: Alliances, Brand Strategy, business, business strategy, Business Survival, Game of Business, Growth, leadership, marketing, Marketing Strategy, Mindset, Oilfield Pulse, Partnerships, Skills, strategy, success, Survive, Survive and Thrive, Survivor, Survivor Alberta, team building, Thrive|

The key to being the ultimate survivor in business in an extremely competitive landscape is to have a strategic plan. These five components will help you thrive.

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Before I stopped watching television, I used to watch Survivor. One of my favourite scenes was an episode where Rupert stole shoes and other items from the other tribe, and then they used the pirated loot to trade for more useful – and untraceable – […]

12 Apr 2017

5 Powerful Exercises to Rehab Your Business

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-12T16:44:29-06:00April 12th, 2017|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Oilfield Pulse, Working on the Business|Tags: business, business advice, business strategy, Creating Value, Ideal Clients, Increasing Sales, innovation, marketing, O&G, Oil and Gas, Oil and Gas Industry, Oil and Gas Service Company, sales, strategy|

In rehab, you engage with experts and specialists to get through the first few stages of recovery. You can also speed it along by outsourcing to clinics outside of the public health care system.

At some point, you have to do some of the work on your own. If the exercises are too complicated or time-consuming, most people won’t do them.

So here are some simple but powerful exercises you can do to rehab your business. You will get stronger faster, by pushing the exercises […]

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 […]

19 Jul 2011

Are You Working on the Business?

By Doug Wagner|2017-05-24T13:03:07-06:00July 19th, 2011|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Working on the Business|Tags: business, business advice, business growth, business strategy, business success, Dysfunctional Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, leadership, small business, small business owner, strategy, success, Working on the Business|

What does working on the business really mean?

As a business owner (or entrepreneur) you spend a lot of time working to build your business. You are:

Finding new customers,
Keeping existing customers happy,
Providing your product or service to customers,
Hiring good people,
Retaining your employees,
Keeping on top of the finances,
Putting out fires,
And generally growing your business.

And many business owners can generate a lot of revenue and even profit doing the above. They may even significantly grow their businesses.

So isn’t that […]