It’s nearly Fall. That means small business owners everywhere are starting to twitch. Q4 is peeking around the corner with all its usual drama: holidays, tax prep, year-end payroll headaches, and customers who suddenly remember you exist because they “need it before Christmas.”

But here’s the million-dollar question: are you building a business that’s designed to last? Or one that’s just scrambling to survive until New Year’s Eve?

Because let’s be honest: most owners are so deep in firefighting mode they don’t even know where the damn water hose is.

Short-Term Thinking Will Kill You (Eventually)

Running a business purely on short-term wins is like living off energy drinks and vending machine Cheetos. Sure, you’ll survive… for a while. But long-term? You’re toast.

Signs you’re stuck in survival mode:

• You’re juggling debt like a Vegas showgirl with one too many flaming batons.
  
• Your “systems” are held together by duct tape, sticky notes, and sheer willpower.
  
• You spend more ti...

September isn’t just pumpkin spice and back-to-school sales. For small and medium-sized businesses, it’s the starting line of the most chaotic quarter of the year. 

The “holiday rush” isn’t just retail. Hospitality, logistics, restaurants, service providers… almost every industry gets slammed in Q4.

Here’s the hard truth: if you wait until November to figure out staffing, inventory, or your budget, you’re already behind. Planning now means you’ll actually enjoy your holiday dinner instead of crying into the mashed potatoes while checking your POS system.

Step 1: Forecast Like a Fortune Teller

Pull out last year’s numbers, look at trends, and be realistic. If sales spiked 20% last December, assume the same (or more) and plan your inventory and staffing accordingly. Don’t leave this to chance. You’ll either end up with a warehouse full of unsold stuff in January or angry customers when you run out of product. Neither is a good look.

Step 2: Staff Before You’re Desperate

Seaso...

It’s Summer and the sun’s out. 

But the customers? Not so much. 

They're at the beach, sipping fruity drinks, and ghosting your business like a bad Tinder date. Meanwhile, you’re sweating through your spreadsheets, wondering if anyone still wants what you're selling as you inch closer to August.

Spoiler: they do. You just need to give ‘em a reason to care when they'd rather be day drinking on a boat. So, let’s fix that.

Here are 5 simple, summer-proof ways to boost revenue and keep your business hot…even if the foot traffic’s melting faster than your ice cream inventory.

1. Run Flash Sales (That Don’t Suck)

This isn’t about slapping “15% off” on your homepage and praying for PayPal pings. Your summer sale needs sizzle.

Here’s what works:

• Time-sensitive offers: “48-Hour Sizzler Sale” feels urgent. “Summer Sale Ongoing” feels like a clearance aisle at a sad mall.
  
• Theme it up: Tie your promo to events…think “Too Hot to Handle Sale” during a heatwave or “Independence from Bor...

Let’s be real for a second. You’re halfway through the year.

And you’ve either been crushing it, coasting… or clinging to dear life on the back of a flaming dumpster truck labeled “Q1 optimism.”

Wherever you land, now is NOT the time to play ostrich and bury your head in the sand. It’s time for a no-BS, take-your-financial-temperature moment: your mid-year financial check-in.

Whether you’re a scrappy solopreneur, a growing agency, or somewhere in between, this is your opportunity to stop, check under the hood, and make sure the wheels don’t fly off in Q3.

Let’s break this down like a tax-deductible expense…

1. Revisit Your Financial Goals: Still Realistic or Pure Delusion?

Remember those goals you set back in January? The ones that sounded hella inspiring while you were sipping champagne and lying to yourself about “work-life balance”?

Yeah. Those.

Pull 'em out.

Are you anywhere close? Did you overshoot? Undershoot? Completely forget they existed? Be honest.

Mid-year is th...

Figuring out the right prices can be a real headache for small businesses. Charge too much, and you'll scare away your customers. Charge too little, and you'll end up eating more instant noodles than a college dorm room during finals week. It's a make-or-break decision that can impact your profitability. To help you out, we've put together this blog post to help small business owners get a better handle on pricing strategies. Give it a read and see how it can benefit your bottom line.

Understanding Your Costs:

Before diving into pricing strategies, it's essential to understand your costs. Calculate the cost of goods sold (COGS) and consider overhead expenses. This includes production costs, labor, rent, utilities, and more. Knowing your costs provides a baseline for pricing that ensures you cover expenses.

Market Research:

Conduct thorough market research to understand your competitors and target audience. What are similar businesses charging for similar products or services? Wh...

If you're a small business owner, you know how important it is to stay ahead of the game. Thinking outside the box isn’t a one-and-done move, and you can't just rely on what's worked in the past or stick to the same old ideas. You've gotta keep evolving and finding new ways to stand out from the competition. Perpetual innovation, friends. If you’re not changing…you’re falling behind.

Today, we’re going to take a look at the importance of continuous innovation for small business owners and provide practical steps you can take to ensure you stay ahead of the competition.

The Dangers of Complacency

Not to be overly dramatic, but complacency is a silent assassin that gradually erodes a business's competitive edge. Complacent = stagnant =  failure to adapt to the evolving needs and preferences of customers and missing out on some serious growth opportunities. A lack of innovation leaves you vulnerable to emerging competitors who are eager to disrupt the market with fresh ideas and ...

Pivot: /ˈpivət/ /ˈpɪvət/ to turn or rotate like a hinge or a successful business owner.

During a recent episode of our Podcast, The Liquid Lunch Project, my partner Matthew Meehan and I addressed the need for a business to be agile and its ability to effectively Pivot when the needs arise.

This is the tale of one of the greatest Pivots of all time.

In 1967, five students from Charterhouse, a boarding school in Surrey, England formed a rock band that would go on to transform the style of rock. Imagine a graduating class including Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, and Steve Hackett! Incorporating innovative themes and nontraditional instruments, Genesis went on to becoming one of the most sold and highly decorated bands of all time.

From 1970 to 1975, Collins played drums and percussion for the Band. 

In August 1975, following The Lamb Dies Down on Broadway tour, Gabriel left Genesis. The band placed an advert for a replacement in Melody Maker and received ar...

A great article was written by our very own, Matthew Meehan (CEO, Shield Advisory Group) being featured in #Forbes today!

 Check it out and let us know your thoughts. 

Three Team-Building Tips For New Business Owners

The Truth (Ahem!) Behind the First Assembly Line

“If I Have Seen Further, it is by Standing Upon the Shoulders of Giants” Sir Isaac Newton

The notion of organized systems is ages old with brilliant examples across history.

Adam Smith discussed the division of labor in the manufacture of pins at length in his book The Wealth of Nations published in 1776, apparently a banner year for Americans.

The Venetian Arsenal, a complex of former shipyards and armories clustered together in the city of Venice, dating back to circa 1104, operated similar to a production line. Ships moved down a canal and were fitted by the various shops they passed. At the peak of its efficiency in the early 16th century, the Arsenal employed some 16,000 people producing one ship each day, and could fit out, arm, and provision a newly built galley with standardized parts on an assembly-line basis. Although the Arsenal lasted until the early Industrial Revo...