“I’m thinking about starting a business but I’m not sure how to go about it.” I hear this phrase quite often these days. People who find themselves out of a job and contemplating starting a new business, or  those who are trying to pursue their dreams, often find themselves at the brink of a new venture not knowing what to do next. In my experience most new businesses fail not because of lack of talent, work ethic or drive. I have seen a lot of hard-working, talented people fail because they don’t understand the “business” part of their craft. Figuring out how to deliver a great product is only part of your business dilemma. You need to understand concepts like scalability,  sustainability, and cash-flow management. While those things might not be the “sexy” part of you do, they are vital to its survival. Here are 5 books every business owner,…

I’m blessed to be able to sit in strategic meetings with great people who work for several different Christian Publishing Houses. In years’ past I heard comments such as “our competitor is getting heavy into fiction. We need to buy more fiction work and be competitive.” But in time, the publishing house that had been know for its excellence in children’s materials, for example, began publishing too many titles outside its core competency. It couldn’t deliver on its new products and it weakened, as well, the very product line that had made it successful. In marketing circles, we cal this line extension. For example, just because Startbucks is great at making coffee, it does not mean it should become a media company, as it is trying to do by creating its own music label. To me that’s dangerous and has a way to dilute the Starbucks brand. What’s next? Shoes?…