As I listen to my client, I am struck by his intelligence. It is honest, self generated, Ivy League school supported, experience worthy intelligence. It is a type of intelligence I will never hold; much of it relates to his industry and service offerings that are highly niched, degree driven and detailed orientated.
Disclaimer: I have my own intelligence; also degree, experience and organized driven.
Read MoreI have an incessant habit of cleaning before the New Year. I can’t stand bringing junk and disorganization into something that feels to fresh, clean and opportunistic as a New Year. Being off for a few days over the November holiday, allowed me to start digging through piles, filing the trash bin and finding old memories. What a good feeling it is to purge the stuff I don’t need and reconnect with my past memories. This year, I came across something I hadn’t seen in many years; my resume.
Read MoreI remember getting the email like it was yesterday. The neighbor emailed me, “YOUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE. CALL ME.” As I made the dreaded call, I got the news that no home owner wants to hear. Your rental house is on fire and the neighbors called the fire department. My husband left immediately, for what seemed like, the longest 2.5 hours ever. Waiting to hear what became of my beloved house, the one we brought home our first born to, the one I started my business in, the one that allowed us to move to our dream property on the coast, was the longest 2.5 hours of my life. When my husband called, it wasn’t to lament over the fact that the tenants blew up and then burnt down the garage. No, his words were much simpler; Do we have our papers in order?
Read MoreMy hope is my kids know that I am their mother and the rules, love and our family culture is one that they want. However it makes you wonder about the way we are with our employees as well. Could showing up different every time your employees go looking for you, just like the little bird experienced when trying to find his mother, create distrust? Could your employees disloyalty and sluggish behavior be your fault?
Leading employees is a role, that when absent, will show up in low productivity, loyalty and growth. What do those signs really look like?
Read MoreLast week I opened my email, for the fourth time that day and found 6 newsletters in it. A few from current clients, one from a past and various reach outs from companies I have possibly given way to much money to over time. With the limited amount of time I have, I found myself naturally prioritizing what I needed to read, wanted and would never even open. Each week, I find myself doing this more and more and wonder, can there be too much information?
Read MoreEverything was good until, someone asked something so random, I wasn’t even sure they had been sitting through the session the entire time. They pressed me for an answer and I wanted to help. But I wasn’t sure how. I began to sweat and my responses began to ramble a mile a minute. Oh crap. My worst nightmare was becoming a reality at 11:30 in the morning. One of my flaws was being exposed and I couldn’t do anything about it.
Read MoreMost people are challenged to celebrate their wins. In business we are trained to work hard, do our jobs, keep our heads down and clock in and out on time. We have become so trained to do, we have forgotten to be…and being is what life is all about.
Read MoreOne day about 6 years ago I decided to start saying no. Sometimes I wonder if it was some subconscious preparation for children or maybe I was doing what I saw all my mentors do. Either way, I did it. I said no…..and I did it again and again and again.
Read MoreAs small business owners, referrals from existing customers are one of our easiest and best ways to gain new customers. If you’re like me, asking for a referral might not seem natural. I realized I had never asked this client for a referral, instead I was hoping—like so many business owners do—that my great service, stellar personality, and the results we achieved would simply speak for themselves. But building a business on hope is a bit reckless. So how can we make the process easier?
Read MoreA reverse mortgage is another way that you can get some money from your own home, condo, manufactured building to create a consistent cash flow that can give you the back up you need, for the assurance you deserve. If you find that you fall under the requirements necessary to obtain one, it might be your next system solution for the strained cash flow positions you find yourself in from time to time.
Read MoreBusiness finances can be scary. Whether you are running formal financial reports like income statements, budgets, and balance sheets or doing nothing at all; if you don’t know what you are doing, you are probably making common financial mistakes that are hurting you.
Read MoreMy heart still skips a beat every time I pick up a new follower. As my tablet dings, in succinct harmony with my phone and then desktop computer, I know what has just occurred. It really could be called magic, when you think about it. To have the ability to catch someone’s attention, from a killer post or through a strategically placed hashtag is really tough. Be proud of your work or of that fantastic marketing team you created. You are in an elite group that has few members. Now what?
Read MoreYou can’t avoid social media. It is the only way to be social now-a-days. Personally, do what you want. I don’t care if you want to hide forever, lurk around and follow people or be the 10 times a day posting master. However, when we are talking about business, it is different. Being social in business is vital to the grassroots marketing that has to happen if you want to look fresh, young, hip and inviting. No one wants to be stuck in the past and not letting your business be social on the WWW is, well, unsocial. Therefore you might as well be #d2m.
Read MoreCompetitions date back to the beginning of time. Whether it was for glory, land, a wife or politics we have used competition as a way to judge the best against the rest. Lets be honest, we as humans want to know the best and for those that are inspired by it, what to strive for.
Read MoreOne thing is clear and that is Santa is a Christmas leader. He takes on the greatest roles and actions to ensure holiday cheer is bestowed on us all. With strategy and a whole lot of marketing, he ensures Christmas is here, active and bringing happiness to all. Wow, that is a big responsibility. Wonder how he does that. Does he hire managers for that type of work? Supervisors? How does he really pay those elves? Do the reindeer do anything else? So, at a time many of you are questioning your own decisions and actions, let’s be clear about the big guy and what he does to ensure his company runs as efficiently as possible.
Read MoreFinding confidence in leadership is tricky. You wouldn’t be in the position you are without it, so you have some, but usually not enough. Otherwise you would have that feeling…you know what it feels like. Knowing that you are responding, answering, deciding, doing and being exactly what you should. We have all felt it, even if it was generated by someone else. Yet, creating it for your self, by your self, using tools that you have control over, is the ultimate freedom. I say it is a freedom we all craved when we set out on this crazy journey of owning and building a business or even a life.
Read MoreThe tool that was supposed to revolutionize work, improve productivity and increase capacity has actually spun us out so badly that some of you are drowning in your own creation. Is it possible to get back to the basics, using it as it was intended or is our only salvation to melt down and find our support group?
Read MoreI will break it to you gently. Simply building a business is a thing of the past. Focusing on activities, vendors, locations, marketing, hiring, firing, promotions, and the myriad of tasks related to operating will get you so far from where you want to be you might as well end up on Mars. Don’t get me wrong, those things are all imperative to survival. But, if it is just about surviving, then sign me up for something else.
Read More#suckitsven was something you would expect to hear in one of those Ted talks. Witty, organic, and unscripted, it resulted in one of the finest examples of marketing ingenuity I have seen in years. I couldn’t have thought of it on my own, yet when I pick it apart it has all the foundational marketing pieces I coach my clients in.
Read MoreHowever, in the end he screwed it up last week and I was resorted to picking through an inedible salad and grumbling at how customer service used to be. Of course I call and speak to the manager, only to be told the counter guy is new and to give him a chance and next weeks salad is on them. I have come in once a week for four years, have ordered the same thing and I should “give him a break”? This just leaves me feeling like it was my fault.
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