So often this is today's view of other peoples tragedies for no other reason than people are so busy.  If you are a friend of someone who lost their pet, child, health, or even a divorce I bet anything you're at a loss of what to say or do!

How personal does one get in saying something if they're a business acquaintance vs personal friend? Does what you say even matter? What can you do to help the person past their grieving and remind them to live life? How soon is to soon to talk about the issue(s)?

First off always have to say I am not a Doctor of any sort! This advice is my own only and hope to help others who feel at a loss with the above questions. 

Because someone or something has passed does not mean you stop talking about them or the issues.  Respect the grieving person's desires and keep anything they tell you in confidence. In most cases people will appreciate your memories of the one they loved. One big time tip is remember this is never the time to bash the Ex even if your friend is doing it... at times people get back together and you will end up losing the friendship over it.

When someone is grieving be more compassionate if they snap at you about something silly we all express our grief in different ways. When unsure of your status with another person it's always a given it will be OK to express something in a more general nature vs gushing about it.

Be firm if it has gone on for a longer than normal period of time. Express your concerns directly to your friend, they will appreciate it. Make sure to keep inviting to your events thus reminding them that there is still life to be lived. Remember, what you type and say to the person grieving ALWAYS matters... Warmly, Tonie

I was talking with a company today and they were asking me if they should offer more services or stay in a specific niche`.  My questions back to them "Have you seen a severe decline in the use of your current services?" Needless to say this brought up tons of questions that I thought you the reader might find helpful in your own business.

If you have had a severe decline in the use of your current services be sure to look over the following top 3 reasons:

• Customer Complaints
• Number of Referrals
• Current Marketing Strategy and if they are in line with trends in your field

The next thing I have clients do is make note of every time a client or friend makes a request of a particular type of service.  Most of the time it will come across as: "I sure wish you did xyz so I could make this into a single stop"

Make a list of entire business services that are synergistic with your field. Do you have an interest in them? If not, refer that business out and stay in your field of business and reorganize it to better suit your current clientele.

Does your business need to be revamped or brought into the current tech trends?

When is the right time to expand? This is the 2 million dollar question for each business. I have found for most people it is a personal choice of the following:

• Do they have capital necessary to invest in expanding their business? Most businesses I deal with prefer cash based method instead of investor or credit base. What is your choice?
• Do they have the infrastructure of support?
• Are they brave enough to take risk? HELLO! You already are in business, which is a daily risk you are already taking.

Back to adding of additional services. Be very selective and add a max of 2 other business services that would be very synergistic to your current business plan. -- Try it out on your past clients as a test model! Send them a newsletter asking for their advice and thoughts on the new products.  People love giving advice! May I suggest max of 15 to 20 people starting out.  From there put it into a database and pick another 10 people to try them out on. Compile the data together and view the results.

If your current business is doing exceedingly well and you have the additional manpower to handle other services, you can use the same bubble method and testing methods above.  Be sure to not let your marketing message and business focus change drastically from your original business foundation that made you a great success in the first place!

For more tips be sure to follow me on other social media sites!

Warmly,
Tonie L. Boaman