The Gray Cat Blog
A growing library of practical business articles and insights created to help entrepreneurs, small business owners, franchisees, and multi-unit operators strengthen leadership, improve operations, drive growth, and build more profitable organizations.
Leadership is often misunderstood. Many people associate leadership with titles, authority, or organizational charts. In reality, leadership is less about position and more about influence. Effective ...
Working with a number of Founders, the biggest leap that I find for them is letting go of the tactical reins and focusing on the strategic.
To do that, it requires them to hire very smart people - pe...
For decades, convenience stores built their business around fuel, cigarettes, beverages, and packaged snacks. While these categories remain important, shrinking margins and changing consumer expectati...
“Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!”
When it comes to foodservice and retail, there are few sales strategies more powerful than group orders. One large catering order can generate the same revenu...
I owe a great deal to my mentors for pushing the envelope with me with regard to layering on more and more responsibility in my corporate roles.
Today, as an Management and Operational Consultant, I ...
Believe it or not, commerce actually was conducted prior to email, mobile phones and Slack.
In this fun clip from a recent podcast with Amisha Shrimanker, I was asked about business in a pre-tech wor...
Execution. Â Execution. Â Execution.
Execution makes or breaks a project. Â Leaving everything to chance creates confusion, cost overruns and wasted resource management.
Attempting to "war game" as muc...
Your lease is expiring. A newer shopping center has opened nearby. A better location with improved visibility and traffic has become available.
The opportunity is exciting—but so is the risk.
Every ...
Part of the challenge of tackling interim assignments is aligning the team to a common goal.
In most of my interim assignments - either departmental head or general manager of a division - I am gener...
"Drinking from a fire hose" was par for the course in my corporate days.
I honestly believe that my practical experience in the C-Suite provided significant hands-on experience that makes an academic...
Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to work with several high-growth companies. Some expanded organically by opening new locations, while others accelerated growth through acquisitions. Both s...
Most successful businesses begin with a simple idea—and an entrepreneur determined to make it work.
Whether the company starts in a garage, a spare bedroom, or around a kitchen table, entrepreneurs r...
