Published in UT San Diego, March 16, 2015 “Good morning, I’m Dave Wandishin, and I’ll be your captain on this flight today.” Now we all know about customer service, but that speech was delivered in the terminal, at the gate, before boarding the plane. We were flying on Virgin America to San Francisco for a […]
Gathering Information to Get Unfair Advantage
Published in UT San Diego, March 9, 2015 I love leverage. It was Archimedes who famously said, “Give me a place to stand on and I will move the earth.” This is a very important business principle. It is the mathematical principle behind every CEO who says, “We need to scale.” What is leverage? While […]
Networking Doesn’t Have to Leave You Feeling Guilty
Published in UT San Diego, March 2, 2015 A few years ago, I wrote a book, “I’m There For You Baby, the Entrepreneur’s Guide to the Galaxy,” containing “rules” for startups. Rule No. 2 says: “Networking is a profession, become a professional at it.” Well, it seems that is a more nuanced rule than I […]
Hard Work, Ear Toward Customers, Have Bakery Owners Bringing in Dough
Published in UT San Diego, February 23, 2015 “Man shall not live on bread alone.” — Matthew 4:4. On the other hand, a really good challah is worth looking for, and when I moved to Carmel Valley in 1995, one of the first places that I shopped was the new Village Mill Bakery. It made […]
TV’s “Shark Tank” is theatre, yet instructive
Published in UT San Diego, February 16. 2015 Rule No. 388: You can never have too many dots. I have been watching the television show “Shark Tank,” and I love it. I am fascinated by the range of deals — inflatable balls, food trucks, sauces, cosmetics — and a guy even shows up with a […]
Establishing Brand Should Be a Top Priority
Published in UT San Diego, February 9, 2015 Your brand is your company’s promise to your customers. It tells them what you excel at, differentiates you from your competitors, and can be your most valuable asset. Unfortunately, some small business- es pay very little attention to marketing — a process that starts with figuring out […]