Working on the Business Archives

7 Oct 2024

Planning Tips to Avoid the eCommerce Iceberg

By Doug Wagner|2024-10-07T17:26:07-06:00October 7th, 2024|Categories: Business Strategy, eCommerce, Sales, Working on the Business|Tags: business advice, business growth, Business Planning, business strategy, business success, Clients, Creating Value, eCommerce, Inventory, marketing, Marketing Strategy, sales, small business, success, Working on the Business|

Implementing eCommerce at scale is not for the faint of heart. Yet, with some good eCommerce planning it can be done in phases and reduce both stress and risk.

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Once you attempt to scale any part of the business, you must make that part of the process more efficient. Once you do, you will inevitably find that some other part of your business becomes the limiting factor.

This moving bottleneck problem is true for eCommerce as well.

eCommerce Bottlenecks

Suppose you have a decent retail component […]

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 […]

24 Jun 2020

Sunwapta: What Is Up With All Of The Water?

By Doug Wagner|2020-06-24T16:08:33-06:00June 24th, 2020|Categories: Business Strategy, Marketing, Working on the Business|Tags: business, business advice, business growth, business strategy, business success, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, leadership, marketing, profit, small business, success, sunwapta, Sunwapta Solutions, Working on the Business|

As we pass our 20^th business anniversary for Sunwapta Solutions, I spent some time reflecting on some of the most popular questions we’ve received over the years.

How did you come up with your company name?
What’s up with all of the water?

It All Started When

Like all business owners, we spent a lot of time trying to come up with a name that was: interesting, meant something to us, and wasn’t already taken.

After much discussion, I searched a map of Alberta and landed on Sunwapta as a […]

10 Jun 2020

Surviving in a Crisis Requires Facing the Truth

By Doug Wagner|2020-06-11T01:41:12-06:00June 10th, 2020|Categories: Business Strategy, Current Events, Leadership|Tags: business, business advice, business strategy, business success, Clients, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Crisis, Disaster, Disaster Planning, Economic Crisis, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Pandemic, small business, Working on the Business|

Hiding from the truth will not serve you well, especially during a health and economic crisis like a pandemic.

Your business is always at risk. Maybe the threat is not immediate.

However, markets change. Products become obsolete. Often, a new competitor emerges. Tastes change. Often change is gradual. Sometimes it is relatively sudden. At times it is local in nature, and sometimes it is a global phenomenon.

Surprises happen. A squirrel shorts […]

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 Nov 2017

Prospecting Is the Heart of Your Closing Problems

By Doug Wagner|2017-11-28T15:57:49-07:00November 28th, 2017|Categories: Doug's Blog, Sales|Tags: adding value, business, business advice, business success, Closing, Closing Sales, Creating Value, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Fanatical Prospecting, Jeb Blount, Lead Generation, marketing, Prospecting, sales, sales process, smarketing, Working on the Business|

Last month you had a healthy looking pipeline. So healthy you stopped actively prospecting and had to focus on meeting prospects, analyzing needs, and moving people through the funnel.

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Now you are working on three to five hot prospects that just won’t close.

They were super excited at first. Now your leads won’t return your calls and emails go unanswered. You’ve even tried contacting other people in the organization to figure […]

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 […]

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 […]