• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Small Business LIFT (Marketing & Strategy)

Small Business LIFT (Marketing & Strategy)

  • Insights
    • Strategy
    • Marketing
    • Leadership
  • Results
    • What Business Owners Say
  • Solutions
    • Digital Marketing Package (DMP)
      • DMP Pricing and Alternatives
    • LIFT Consulting Engagement
  • Team
    • Houston Team
  • Get Started

Dave Sue

Growth Challenges – No Man’s Land: Where Growing Companies Fail

November 15, 2022 by Dave Sue

 

What: Learn the business growth stages and the key managerial areas to focus on during each one, including during the difficult transitions.
Why: You will understand where your company is, what you need to focus on, and what to think through for the next stage ahead.

Our recommendation:
A company’s growth journey can be compared to that of a person’s: after the womb, there is infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Out of the 1 in 10 startups that survives its first 3 years, a few become “gazelles” (as former MIT professor David Birch called fast-growth companies on the verge of breaking out) but all that survive eventually find themselves in that awkward life stage called adolescence.

It is for this adolescence stage of business, which Tatum calls “No Man’s Land,” that we cannot recommend his book highly enough. This is a stage where companies severely struggle, as they are now “too big to be small, but too small to be big.” Drawing on hundreds of case studies, Tatum articulates the unique challenges of 4 (or actually 5) distinct managerial areas along with potential solutions that every company in “No Man’s Land” will benefit from.

From Amazon:
“If you’re an entrepreneur, this book will help you make your company all it can be and all you want it to be.”

Purchase from Amazon here. Picture
​
​If we at LIFT SME can lead you and your team through a “No Man’s Land” strategy consultation during which we assess your company’s current state and together distill the best path out of this difficult phase, please contact us today.

READY TO EXPLORE A STRATEGIC LIFT?

Filed Under: Small Business Strategy Resources

Google Search Console Mobile Usability

February 7, 2022 by Dave Sue Leave a Comment

Have you received an email from Google Search Console saying, “New Mobile Usability issues detected for site”? If so, there’s a good chance your website is actually fine. 

In this article, we will review what the email notification looks like, explain how to check whether it is valid or due to a bug in Google’s program, and recommend what to do if there actually is or isn’t a mobile website usability problem.

Overview 

A. What Does The Notification Look Like?

B. How To Check Whether It Is Valid Or Not?

C. What To Do If There Isn’t A Real Mobile Website Usability Issue?

D. What To Do If There Is A Real Mobile Website Usability Problem?

E. Why is Passing Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test Important?

A. What Does the Google Search Console Mobility Usability Issues Detected Email Notification Look Like?

The email notification from Google Search Console looks like this:

Mobile usability issues detected; concern for mobile devices

So, in this example, there are three ‘issues’ that are making this site a problem for mobile devices:-

  • Clickable elements too close together
  • Text too small to read
  • Content wider than screen

B. How To Check Whether It Is Valid Or Due To A Bug In Google’s Program

First, click the big blue ‘Fix Mobile Usability Issues’ button in the email you received from Google. You’ll be taken to Google Search Console, where you can view your website’s “Mobile Usability” report.

Google Search Console mobile device issue alert

You can also view those three warning messages (from the email) again, as well as Google’s estimate of how many pages have this issue.

Click on one of the error rows in the report’s “Details” section (either does). This will take you to a new page with additional information, as shown below:

Potential mobile usability issues

The ‘Examples’ section is where you should focus your attention since it tells you exactly which page(s) Google identifies as an issue.

Potential mobile usability issues

When you click on a row in the ‘Examples’ section, a sidebar will appear, with the option to “TEST LIVE PAGE”. Click this option to let Google test this page.

Mobile usability report shows test live page option

Once Google has tested the page, it will provide you with a ‘red’ or ‘green’ report stating whether your page is mobile-friendly or not.

Mobile Device Friendly Test

Here is an example of what you are hoping to see:

Mobile Usability Issues - False Positive Verified

C. What To Do If There Isn’t A Real Mobile Website Usability Issue

If your page is in the ‘green’, just close the ‘mobile-friendly test’ window to get back to Google Search Console. After that, click the “Validate Fix” button at the top of the previous screen:

how to fix mobile usability issues if false positive

Google will display a notice that says, ‘performing quick initial validation’ (for around a minute), and will then say, ‘Validation started.’

mobile user potential issue cleared

In about a day or so, Google will typically send you an email to confirm the problem is fixed even though nothing has actually changed. Yes, you have discovered and experienced a Google bug. If you receive an email saying the fix failed, simply follow the same steps above 1-2x again to give Google the chance to correct itself.

D. What To Do If There Is A Real Mobile Website Usability Problem

If your website actually fails Google’s “Mobile-friendly test,” you definitely want to have a web developer look at your website and make any necessary changes. 

At the same time, be sure to ask any web developer you reach out to whether a single web page of your website is failing this test or your entire website is. 

We also recommend receiving at least two independent quotes or assessments of this mobile device usability issue. 

Fixing this issue could be fairly simple or quite complex, and so you want to make sure whichever web developer you’ve hired to analyze and fix it knows what they are doing and can get it done at a price (money and timewise) that fits your situation. You also want to make sure they are familiar with broadly supported web technologies, test their solution using multiple mobile browsers, etc.

Lastly, you yourself and a few friends of yours who are mobile users will want to get on your mobile devices to review your website. You will want to confirm that any web pages you have gotten fixed are fixed and that any actual mobile usability issue (e.g., if you actually did have clickable elements too close together, fixed-width viewport property issues, etc.) that needed resolution has been resolved.

E. Why Is Passing Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test Important?

Although the above is a Google bug that many can just dismiss, we want to make one thing clear. If your website actually is not mobile-friendly, you will receive these same warnings as well – so please don’t just brush them off if you’re not sure! 

As Google’s algorithms are “mobile-first” and as most websites visitors are on mobile devices (60%+ depending on the industry) these days, having your website mobile friendly is absolutely worth getting right.

Filed Under: Small Business Marketing Resources

Seek Roles That Fit The Way Your Mind Is Wired

July 5, 2020 by Dave Sue

​What: Take this 6 question assessment to better understand your natural thinking style.
Why: Your and your staff’s thriving at work partially depends on how naturally each fits with their work roles.

Have you ever found yourself quickly frustrated or bored with tasks that others on your team seem to thrive on? Have you considered that you might be hard-wired to perceive and organize the world a certain way, and that operating outside of that “thinking wavelength” might prevent you from bringing your best contribution to the table?

I was at a pivotal point in my life back in 2013 when I paid $2.4k to spend two days with a leadership coach who introduced me to the simple six question tool below (which I’ve put into a free 6-question online calculator here). ​Tom Peterson, described by Peter Drucker as, “the greatest process thinker in the world,” is the strategist who created the following Thinking Wavelength Assessment.

WHAT IS YOUR THRIVESPOT?

WHY UNDERSTANDING YOUR THINKING WAVELENGTH MATTERS

Tom believes people cannot change their thinking wavelength, regardless of the amount of training they receive. If this is true, it is best to position yourselves for jobs that align with your natural thinking wavelength range.

What happens when we operate outside our natural wavelength? We experience stress and internal discomfort, and easily become frustrated or bored (e.g., a natural abstract thinker working a job where she continually deals with a lot of details). This leads to both lower external performance and internal satisfaction.

OVERVIEW OF THE FIVE THINKING WAVELENGTHS

To help you understand a little more about the way you think, here are some descriptions about the five different Thinking Wavelengths from Tom’s book The Life You Were Meant to Live.

  • Grinders – Grinders get the work done. They are detail-minded doers.
  • Minders – Minders can manage a unit team, having both the people skills and the organizational abilities to do so. They can supervise the performance of work and are likely to function best in frontline supervision. They have an ability to conduct diagnoses and to problem solve.
  • Keepers – Keepers are capable of managing the entire organization. They appreciate the strategic and the administrative. They may have both concrete and abstract thinking skills, but will be biased to administrative/operational work.
  • Finders – Finders are entrepreneurs. They open up new territories, close important new accounts, reclaim key lost accounts, or transfer new applications into new areas. Finders are abstract thinkers, and often do not complete the paperwork that most concrete thinkers require.
  • Conceivers – Conceivers are bright, articulate, and persuasive, but are challenged with execution. They are best suited for roles in universities, seminaries and pure research laboratories. Conceivers often struggle to manage others well, and their ideas rarely become commercialized.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Here are two ideas to get you started.

  1. Use this new self-awareness to reflect on how to best position yourself in your company, what role to aim for in the future, and what type of people you need to surround yourself with to be successful.
  2. Grow your others-awareness so that you leverage your team’s strengths, and even hire people who are most naturally suited for new roles.

Although you might be helped as I was by working with a coach who can leverage this tool as part of a larger portfolio of self-leadership exercises, I think this tool can be helpful simply for self-reflection so I’ve shared it above.

CLOSING QUOTE FROM TOM PETERSON

​As Tom puts it in his book, “If your thinking wavelength and your current job description do not match up, start planning for a change in job. You can change your job. You can’t change the way you think.”
​
If we at Small Business Lift can help you or your executive team LIFT your business over a specific challenge you’re facing, contact us today to set up a complimentary initial exploratory conversation.

SCHEDULE an exploratory CALL today

Filed Under: Small Business Leadership Resources

How Can My Professional Personal Profile Be Found Online by My Desired Primary Audience

June 29, 2020 by Dave Sue

​What: Make your professional profile easier to find online.
Why: People search online and you want search engines (“Google”) to list your preferred professional online identity first so people can easily find you.

Evidence/Example: Search “Dave Sue” to see where I rank, even compared to a published Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Western Washington University who has a number of academic journal entries and a book on Amazon.

Key Questions:

  1. Who do you want to find you? Who is your desired primary audience(s) or DPAs?
  2. Where online besides Google and Linked-in do they look? What sources do they trust?
  3. When you search for your name online and in the places defined in #2 above, what do you find?
  4. What (i.e., info, photo, etc.) about yourself do you want to share professionally online?

Use the inputs from #4 and put them into all the places defined in #2; share the same information (and photo if possible) consistently across different platforms. Also, diffuse any negative listings found in #3.

​Level One (i.e., basic places to start):

 

 

  1. Update your Linked-in profile (or create one if you don’t have one; it’s free).
  2. Use a custom Linked-in address or URL (http://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname).
  3. Follow basic Linked-in tips (e.g., make sure you have solid recommendations from people who you are not giving a Linked-in recommendation to, etc.).

 

 

Update it and make sure you’re OK with anyone reading it. Assume nothing on Facebook is private.

 

 

  1. Get a Twitter account and name it @firstname+lastname or @initials.
    [If you have one already, switch your Twitter account to @firstname+lastname or @initials]
  2. Add a short bio to your profile: a brief, high level overview.
  3. Start following people and subjects relevant to your industry.
  4. Be active! Tweet daily news articles you find interesting. Reply to people who share interesting things. Be part of the conversation and the community!

 

 

 

 

 

Standardize your profile on all the channels you have defined that your DPA might visit (Step #2 above). Search engines will  give you credit for the work you’ve put into participating in these online communities and channels.

​Level Two (i.e., strengthen your online presence by getting listed on other places online through ideas such as):

  1. Resume – Migrate to an online resume.
  2. About Me – Sign up for a free profile.
  3. Website – Register a domain in your name and start a personal website. [See note below].
  4. Blog – Demonstrate your expertise in the field by writing on industry trends, showing your confidence, industry knowledge and skills.

Search engines rank listings and websites primarily based on their relevancy and trustworthiness. It is true that there are over 200 different factors Google uses to determine its rankings for any search, and so getting discovered online can feel like a complicated process. Nonetheless, having your professional profile listed on more websites that are considered trustworthy and then having those websites link back to a professional profile page you manage (e.g., your linked-in profile, website, etc.) is a strategy for professional profile visibility success.

Given the limited number of persons with  your name intentionally working to rank their profiles, there is a good chance that following just the above will get you ranked first when someone searches for your name.

READY TO EXPLORE A MARKETING LIFT?

Filed Under: Small Business Marketing Resources

Small Business Stress Management Tool

June 29, 2020 by Dave Sue

Handle Organization & Small Business Stress With Covey’s 3 Circles

What: Reframe Stressful Small Business Situations through the Circles of Concern, Influence, and Control.
Why: You will be reenergized, see things more clearly, and move forwards aligned with reality.

​Have you ever looked up how diamonds are formed? Pure carbon atoms have to undergo the duress of approximately 725,000 pounds per square inch (vs the 15 psi we normally experience in the air), and at temperatures of 2000 – 2200 degrees Fahrenheit (which is 2x as hot as the sun).

As you are (or have or will be) feeling intense stress and heat, here’s a quick exercise introducing Covey’s three circles to help you become a diamond, to not only endure but be powerfully transformed through this pressure and heat.

Exercise:

First, divide everything in your mind into one of two categories – it is either something you’re concerned about or are not concerned about. Everything you’re concerned about (e.g., health of your business during a global crisis) falls in your Circle of Concern and whatever you’re not concerned about (e.g., health of a random country’s economy) falls outside it.

Second, divide everything in your Circle of Concern into one of two categories – either something you can personally directly influence or you can’t. This is the trickiest part of this exercise because there are a lot of things you’re concerned about that you actually cannot  in any relevant timeframe personally impact (e.g., change the price of oil, whether the federal government unveils another financial bailout package, etc.). Everything you can impact falls into your Circle of Influence.

Third, divide everything in your Circle of Influence into two last subcategories – either something involving only your own behavior or not. Anything involving anyone other than yourself falls outside this last, third circle, the Circle of Control, because the only thing any of us have any degree of absolute and direct control over is our own behavior.

Assessment:

So how can this help you become a diamond rather simply crack under the stress and duration you’re experiencing? 

Take the following two question self-assessment to see.

1. What concerns do you focus most of your time and energies on? Which circle do they fall in?
2. Which of your circles is growing?

​Recognize that you are giving power to whatever you give yourself to.

Investing in anything outside your Circle of Influence gives negative energy to that Circle of Concern and shrinks your Circle of Influence. Focusing and acting on the issues within your Circle of Influence or Circle of Control ignites positive energy within and allows you to push those borders outwards, so you can influence more and more areas of your life.

Next Steps:

Reading or listening to Covey’s 7 Habits to understand his full personal transformation framework would be a worthwhile investment for sure.

To give you a quick ROI today, here’s the short answer.

1. Circle of Control: Work on your habits to solve your own behavioral concerns.
2. Circle of Influence: Learn and use different methods of influence to solve these concerns.
3. Circle of Concern: Learn to live with these concerns even though you don’t like them, but do so staying focused on controlling your response to those concerns.

​In some ways, the above next steps are captured in the serenity prayer from Alcoholics Anonymous. “Lord, give me the courage to change the things which can be and ought to be changed, the serenity to accept the things which cannot be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Just as diamonds are a valued and rare commodity, so great character driven leadership is also only formed under great stress and pressure and is also a rare and precious commodity today.

​Now that you’ve experienced Covey’s three circle analysis, on what circle are you going to focus your time and energies? Our hope is you will choose to be transformed into a diamond, knowing that the greater the stress and pressure the more solid and valuable your character driven leadership will be.

Filed Under: Small Business Leadership Resources

Small Business Leader Growth Journey

June 29, 2020 by Dave Sue

What: Understand the various leadership development stages.
Why: You will know what is most critical to focus on during each stage of your leadership journey, in your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond.

The Making of a Leader: Recognizing the Lessons and Stages of Leadership Development, by Robert Clinton (First published in 1989).

Our recommendation:
After reading his book back in the 1990s, we had to go to California to meet Dr. Clinton in person, and he is as gracious in person as his book is useful. Although written from a Christian faith perspective (with the belief that God loves and is working in the life of every person), Clinton lays out a basic character-skills-network development framework that all students of leadership will find helpful.

​His exuberance to be precise has led to a bit of an excessive creation of new terms but the basic leadership development framework he lays out makes the read well worthwhile.

​From Amazon.com:
After examining the lives of hundreds of historical, biblical, and contemporary leaders, Dr. J. Robert Clinton gained perspective on how leaders develop over a lifetime. By studying the six distinct stages he identifies, you will learn to:

  • Recognize and respond to God’s providential shaping in your life
  • Determine where you are in the leadership development process
  • Identify others with leadership characteristics
  • Direct the development of future leaders

Purchase from Amazon here.

Filed Under: Small Business Leadership Resources

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to Next Page »

Footer

(346) 412-7824

20702 Surrey Stone Court
Katy, TX 77450

11926 Cathy Drive
Houson, TX 77065

Solutions

  • Digital Marketing Package
  • LIFT Consultation

Insights

  • Strategy
  • Marketing
  • Leadership

Keep in Touch

Small Business LIFT
Small Business LIFT
5

Google Partner

Copyright © 2023 · Small Business LIFT (Marketing & Strategy) | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use