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Business Ownership

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One Word for 2022

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It’s been another rough year for many small business owners. I was just reading my ‘one word’ post from a year ago. I remember feeling pretty optimistic at the time – thinking things can only get better… and other such nonsense. Was I ever wrong! … Keep reading…

Is the Journey More Important than the Goal?

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Sometimes we can find business wisdom in the strangest places. Recently, while watching an interview with an actor (OK, I admit, it was Sam Heughan) about performance excellence, I got caught up in their discussion about goals and how goals may not be as important … Keep reading…

hamster running on a wheel

Marketing Like a Treadmill? Hug the Hamster.

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We see jokes all the time about life or work – or both – feeling like a hamster running on a wheel. It’s the perfect analogy for constantly being busy but never seeming to reach our goals. I have to admit, I’ve always secretly liked … Keep reading…

woman holding face mask

One Word for 2021

In

When 2020 arrived, I had recently split with my husband of 17 years, sold our family home, and moved into a new apartment. The problem was that during the year of getting the house ready and sold, I turned away work. And I started the … Keep reading…

easy button

Easy Solutions to Complex Problems?

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“For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” – Henry L. Mencken – Henry was not a small business owner. Instead, he was a journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic and scholar who penned that quote a hundred years ago. … Keep reading…

Testing Theories: Marketing Experimentation

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Advice is one thing but thought and research are still necessary. Theory is another thing (I’m all for it) but experimentation is where the rubber hits the road (and many other analogies). Now is a good time to try new things and figure out what … Keep reading…

That was a Great Conversation But…

In

Imagine you’ve just gotten off the phone from a lively conversation with a prospect that lasted an hour. Your purpose in having the call was to build a new business relationship or build on an established one. You both discovered you have much in common … Keep reading…

How Planning for Failure Can Help Ensure You Don’t Fail

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We all want things we’re working on to be successful. Nobody ever plans to fail… but wait, planning for failure can be a useful exercise. The term ‘premortem’ comes to us from the field of project management. According to the Harvard Business Review: “A premortem … Keep reading…

Working Alone Doesn’t Have To Be Lonely

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Sometimes I take things for granted. For instance, while many have been adapting to working alone, I’ve been happy as a pig in sh*t. You might think this is because I’ve been working at home for 15 years, so I’m used to it. Sure, that’s … Keep reading…

One Word for 2020

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I’m not sure what I was thinking when I decided on my one word for 2019. It was a week after my husband had told me he wanted to split up… and I chose EMBRACE as my guiding word for the coming year. At the … Keep reading…

That’s Not What I Wanted to Hear

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The best boss I ever had told me I was a crappy listener. Those weren’t the exact words he used but Carlos was always blunt and to the point during performance reviews. I was young and confident… and completely surprised to be told I had … Keep reading…

We Must, We Must, Increase Our Trust

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You may not often think of trust in relation to productivity but there’s a very direct correlation, especially for small businesses. What is trust in a business relationship? It can be quite different than in our personal lives, of course. I’ve recently weathered the end … Keep reading…

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How to Make Smart Marketing Decisions

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Small business owners can spend a lot of time and money on marketing initiatives. Sometimes we’re successful and sometimes not so much. I think of marketing as an experiment because – really – there are no magic bullets. There are best practices, there is good … Keep reading…

Getting Back on Track

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If you’re feeling – like I am – that you need to get focused for the next quarter, perhaps my list of planned activities below will be helpful. Business development: Continuing to refresh and work to a business plan is a top priority, but sometimes … Keep reading…

Using Lists to Embrace Change

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Many small business owners didn’t start their careers as small business owners. And the road each of us took to get here is quite different. But one thing is fairly common – we’re finding ways to earn a living doing work we love. Often that … Keep reading…

What Would Your Hero Do?

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Survivor fans might remember WWMD – “What would Monica do?” – from Season 34 Game Changers. Brad Culpepper often reflected on what his wife Monica would do in a given situation. He considered Monica his hero as she had made it to the final tribal … Keep reading…

How to Work Effectively with Marketing Creatives

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Did you know that a third to a half of the total time spent working on marketing implementation projects is spent communicating with clients? That communication usually takes the form of informing, consulting, decision-making and tracking action items. Depending on the scope, it may also … Keep reading…

We Can’t Do It All So Let’s Choose Wisely

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My good friend and business collaborator, Anita Kirkbride, has been doing keynotes recently about how to embrace being #flawsome. It’s a hard lesson for someone like me with perfectionistic tendencies. But around mid-May, I made a conscious decision to let a few things suffer so … Keep reading…

Knowing When to Go

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Change is a wonderful thing – it keeps life interesting. It allows our businesses to evolve and do better. When we can plan and drive change successfully, it can be very rewarding. Then there’s the change that’s forced on us. You know, like when your … Keep reading…

woman praying in front of computer

What’s Your Value Proposition? Really.

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The words that make my heart sing are only sometimes the same words that make my potential clients’ hearts sing. And I’ve learned that I can be quite wrong about what I think is the value I bring to each relationship. For instance, nagging can … Keep reading…

Creating Your Own Networking Opportunities

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If you’re new to business networking, you might be discovering it can (and should) be much more strategic than just showing up. You might also be feeling some stress about it. I can remember being worried about how to start conversations and what to talk … Keep reading…

Asking Your Friends Works Better Than Asking The Universe

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During the past two weeks, I’ve been repeatedly reminded of The Secret and its message of asking the Universe for what you want and being open to receiving what comes. Except it’s not the Universe I’ve been asking – it’s my friends (aka business colleagues). … Keep reading…

One Word for 2019

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Reflecting back on this past year, the first thing I realized is that I didn’t define a ‘One Word’ for 2018. That’s because, as 2017 was rolling over to 2018, I was busy building a website and working hard with colleagues to launch Social Media … Keep reading…

Waking Up Without an Alarm

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The young cashier at Walmart grinned at me and said, “Joke’s on them then.” I had just told him to keep the printer cartridge separate as my business was going to pay for that. I grinned back and said, “The joke’s on me then since … Keep reading…