Posts by Dan Fontaine
Laughing Skull Lounge: Differentiate Yourself
What makes you different from everyone else around you? Marshall Chiles, founder and owner (and self proclaimed “dudeman”) of the Laughing Skull Lounge in Atlanta, has created a business unlike any others in his market. With the smallest space and the fewest seats of any comedy venue, the Laughing Skull Lounge offers a more intimate…
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Laughing Skull Lounge: Finding Customers
The best way to get new customers is to take care of your current customers, says Marshall Chiles, founder and owner of the Laughing Skull Lounge in Atlanta. If you deliver a great product or service, your customers will tell their friends about it, and word of mouth advertising like that is the best thing…
Read This ArticleBeef ‘O’ Brady’s: Entrepreneurial Advice
Reed Parker is the owner of a Beef ‘O’ Brady’s franchise in Dallas, Georgia, and shares his advice for entrepreneurs. He focuses on maintaining a positive outlook: if you’re down on your luck, the best way to move forward is to handle it positively. Set goals, and find what you’re passionate about. If you’re doing…
Read This ArticleBeef ‘O’Brady’s: Learning from Failure
As a business owner, you have to measure failure on a day-to-day basis. If you had a bad day the day before, you have to find the lessons you can and then come back bigger and stronger the next day. Depending on where you are in life, failure can mean different things. For many people,…
Read This ArticleBeef ‘O’ Brady’s: Taking Advantage of Social Media
Social media is a great way to reach people in your community. Reed Parker, owner of a Beef ‘O’ Brady’s franchise in Dallas, Georgia, uses social media as an important part of his daily routine. Between a range of different networks, from social media profiles to local yard sale listings, he can reach thousands of…
Read This ArticleBeef ‘O’ Brady’s: Hiring and Training Great Employees
In any business, the people you hire are essential to your success—they are the impression that customers will get of your business. Reed Parker, the owner of a Beef ‘O’ Brady’s franchise in Dallas, Georgia, believes that behavioral questions are the key when you look at hiring someone. You need to know if the person…
Read This ArticleBeef ‘O’ Brady’s: Marketing Through the Community
When you operate a franchise business, you’re getting marketing from the franchisor, but that isn’t enough. Reed Parker, the owner of a Beef ‘O’ Brady’s franchise in Dallas, Georgia, says that might get people in the door, but you have to get involved in the community to get them to keep coming. Reed believes that…
Read This ArticleBeef ‘O’ Brady’s: The Importance of Community Service
In tough economic times, one of the best ways for a business to stand out and find a way to survive is by taking an active role in the local community. Reed Parker, owner of a Beef ‘O’ Brady’s franchise in Dallas, Georgia, says that his business found great success by getting out into the…
Read This ArticleTailfin Marketing: The Value of Referrals
What’s the best type of market? A warm market. Referrals are an incredibly valuable way to build a business and find new clients. Tailfin Marketing relies on referrals for the bulk of their business. As clients move around, they tend to bring Tailfin with them to the new places they go because of the personalized…
Read This ArticleTailfin Marketing: No Typical Day
Working at a small company, everyone has to wear multiple hats. At Tailfin Marketing, said co-founder Greg Abel, there is no such thing as a typical day. Sure, there are some things that have to be done on the business side, but there are different things happening every day—it’s a balance. The day could have…
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