Dodgers vs. Brewers – Red Sox vs. Astros – Really?

by Tom LarsenOct 12, 2018 Uncategorized 0

Here we stand at the Final Four of Baseball version 2018. When Willie Mays was traded from the Giants to the Mets in 1972, my enthusiasm for baseball declined and I became an A’s fan. In 1994 with the baseball strike, I threw in the towel and said baseball is not for me. Imagine my […]

Wine Country Fires-Beyond the News Reports

by Tom LarsenOct 31, 2017 Uncategorized 2

I studied natural disasters in college at Cal. As a  result, my awareness goes beyond the news cycle. For those that might ask, here is a way to look more closely at what it’s like when a firestorm disaster strikes.

A YTD Retailer Closing Scorecard

by Tom LarsenFeb 22, 2017 Uncategorized 0

In the dynamic landscape of how we as consumers go about acquiring all the things we seem to need, the provision of those goods from the same place all the time is not a foregone conclusion.

Did you do all you could?

by Tom LarsenJun 11, 2014 Marketing, Operations, Organization, Planning, Uncategorized 0

More importantly, if you did not do “all you could”, ask yourself why, and figure out how to do “all you can” next time. Better forethought creates clearer hindsight. Impulsive efforts can’t provide any valuable hindsight at all. If you have no valuable hindsight, you can never really no how you are doing.

The three ways to grow your business

by Tom LarsenMay 28, 2014 Uncategorized 0

The art of business is determining what portion of your limited resources (time or money) is the appropriate portion to devote to your growth. Once you determine what amount of resources it will be overall, then you portion it again toward each of the above mentioned three areas. Then, hold yourself accountable with ongoing monitoring via the scorekeeping.

Fired Up About New Products From the HPBExpo

by Tom LarsenMar 12, 2014 Marketing, Uncategorized 0

The Christmas animated film character Heat Miser would have felt right at home visiting last week’s Hearth Patio and BBQ Expo in Salt Lake City. Of the more than 350 exhibitors, most were showing off their high-end fireplaces, patio heaters and BBQ grills. Looking for what’s new in the application of fire, we found innovation […]

The Consumer Product Business Model

by Tom LarsenFeb 26, 2014 Uncategorized 0

Setting your pricing by studying your market (it’s not about being the low price leader, by the way), determining where your consumers will find your product interesting (consumers have habits and thought processes and don’t buy bath towels at a plumbing store even though it sells sinks and faucets) and knowing what that particular effort will take to achieve in time and dollars, all by actually talking to people in the business, is exactly what is necessary to accomplish prior to making decisions to go forward.

What I Learned at CES about Packaging

by Tom LarsenJan 18, 2014 Marketing, Product Development, Uncategorized 0

It shouldn’t surprise anyone reading this that most of the exhibitors in the Eureka Tech Zone (startup section) at CES earlier this month were inventors and designers with little to no marketing experience. They were there to show off their brilliant innovations meant to save consumers time, money and delight them at the same time. […]

Our Favorite Things From CES 2014

by Tom LarsenJan 15, 2014 Marketing, Product Development, Uncategorized 3

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year featured some impressive offerings of new products from giants like Audi (laser beam headlights—as if they’re not blindingly bright enough already) and LG with its stylishly curved TV screen. These product innovations seem to offer more of a “cool factor” than any useful improvements to the […]