Recent Articles from Theresa Szczurek
Going mobile
Every business must ask, “How do we support mobile sales and service?” How many of our customers have a smartphone and use it to access our mobile websites and to call our call center. Each company, telecom reseller, and solution vendor must ask, “What can we do to proactively support mobility?” C...
Winds of change: How-tos for successful transitions
You’ve been through it. We all have. It’s when the winds of change start blowing. Transition is coming. It may be in your personal life or in your professional life. These times are upon me now. Our daughter Annie is heading off to college. How could 18 years go by so fast? There is enjoying every...
Five tips to help conquer your mountain
Have you ever climbed a mountain? There's nothing better than standing on top of the world with a 360-degree majestic view. From here, you can see forever, and this is one of the real rewards. Of course, there are many other rewards, including getting physically and mentally stronger from challeng...
Four lessons from vacation
Annie had been raising money for two years to go to the India Centre in Sangam. She sold thousands of boxes of Girl Scout cookies and wrapping paper, led outdoor skills day camps as fundraisers and even won a scholarship from the Girl Scouts of Colorado Council. This council-wide trip to Sangam di...
Six strategies for a rewarding life
This is graduation time. Students, family, and friends are gathering around the world to commemorate the awarding of a degree or diploma to graduates. So it has been with my family as our 18-year-old daughter just graduated from high school and moves on to her next phase in life. What is the best...
Dakin’s tips for 1st Dollar Revenue
Cash is king. It is the oxygen of a business; without it your company is dead. There are two primary sources of business cash: revenue and capital funds. Generating revenue is the best approach. The goal is to create a sustainable business model which produces revenues, lots of it. This keeps you...
The Phoenix Factor
There are days when life slams a door shut. What do the most successful people do? Regenerate. This is the R in Sunflower. Passionate pursuers, as described in the book Pursuit of Passionate Purpose, have the SUNFLOWER Traits, whereby each letter aligns with a different characteristic or trait. ...
Reaffirming your passionate purpose
My mother always said, “Life is short. Death is sure.” The beginning of the year (and every day thereafter) is the right time to ask yourself in the words of Mary Oliver, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” While much of the nation is frozen […]
In search of a great exit: Part Two
(Editor’s note: This is the second of two parts. Read Part One.) It’s the ultimate goal of an entrepreneurial venture – a good exit. Yet the odds are against the entrepreneur – most ventures fail. It often is a harder journey than expected. Getting to a good exit typically requires a bold vision, the right […]
In search of a great exit: Part One
Steven Covey says, “Start with the end in mind.” At the recent Colorado Capital Conference, Peter Adams, Executive Director, Rockies Venture Club (RVC) said, “For entrepreneurial ventures, that end is typically an exit.” For more than 27 years, RVC has advanced Economic Development in the Rocky M...
Five lessons from the 100-year flood
Two blocks from our house, a firefighter, driving to work down a road that had turned into a river, helped a man climb to safety. The man was hanging on for dear life to his car's side mirror. The firefighter then came back to rescue the woman who was still in the car. Two teenagers from the same...
Four tips to maximize the customer experience
Customers buy your products and services — they bring you cash. Customers spread the word about you to others. Happy customers spread good words. Unhappy customers spread bad words. The conclusion: smart businesses keep their customers happy. Here's how.