I got my first job at 14. I’ve had about 50 jobs since. I got fired a few times. Each experience taught me valuable lessons and skills. At heart, I am still that trouble-making, fence-testing employee. Much of my business advice comes from that perspective. Most of the time I give advice to [...]
If you were to throw your mother a birthday party, you would put a little plan together. Set a date, book a venue, create a guest list, etc. Yet, so often, we show up for work, in a business of our own, and wing it. Without some kind of plan, the party, and the business, just [...]
Oh, I loved the movie, The Intern. Predictable, yes. Still...funny and heartwarming. Best of all, Anne Hathaway's character discovers... Wait! I don't want to spoil it for you. However, the story did inspire me to ask you this question: "Should you fire yourself?" In his iconic book, Good to Great, Jim Collins asserts that the [...]
Aren't we always looking to get more done in less time? So we show up early and work late and it never seems to be enough. Is the answer multitasking? Unfortunately, no. According to a report from the University of London, multitasking makes you less intelligent. They found that levels in IQ dropped as test participants [...]
Dear Ellen, My friend has a business plan that "passed muster" with her bank and she got a loan. How about if I just take her plan and customize it for my business? Sounds like a good short cut. What do you think? Sincerely, Vera Dear Vera, I like and don't like that idea. While [...]
I love April, John and the Watermark Plumbing Team! I especially love April’s and John’s four daughters. They are smart and hilarious and their parents totally appreciate them. (Become April’s FB friend and you’ll see what I mean.) I appreciate what it takes to manage 4 young girls, and [...]
I am blogging on behalf of Visa Business and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. Visit http://facebook.com/visasmallbiz to take a look at the reinvented Facebook Page: Well Sourced by Visa Business. The Page serves as a space where small [...]
Pull out your business plan and take a look at your mission, your vision and your goals for this year. How’s it going? What? No plan? No problem. Just consider how last year went and that’s what will probably happen this year. Only a little worse. Or maybe a little better. This year is moving [...]
While she was white-knuckle-scared as we walked to the top of the slide, Zoe experienced the pure joy of swooshing down at the speed of light (albeit slowed some by the burlap bag.) Isn’t it a blast to set a goal, face the fear, take the risk and GO?! Yes! From there, you can go [...]
Jeffrey Gitomer is one of my all time fav business gurus. He unabashedly LOVES sales and his hard-boiled delivery is grounded in goodness and integrity. Scratch the surface of this smart, tough guy and you’ll find mashed potatoes of love. However, I think Jeffrey is all wet – at least pretty damp – in his [...]
