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Business Ownership
One Word for 2022
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?
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…
Marketing Like a Treadmill? Hug the Hamster.
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…
One Word for 2021
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 Solutions to Complex Problems?
“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…
That was a Great Conversation But…
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
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
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
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
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 this failing. … Keep reading…
We Must, We Must, Increase Our Trust
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…
How to Make Smart Marketing Decisions
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…
What Would Your Hero Do?
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…
We Can’t Do It All So Let’s Choose Wisely
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…
What’s Your Value Proposition? Really.
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
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…
Online Marketing Faux Pas
Online marketing provides an ample playground for errors, such as typos, broken links, and incorrect dates. We’ve gotten used to little boo-boos – they happen to everyone and we’re mostly forgiving. Then there are those biggies – the things that can cause a total disconnect … Keep reading…
How To Give and Get Great Referrals
How about that feeling when a colleague sends you a new referral? Great, eh? Referrals are so much more than new business; they’re also a sign of trust. That’s why we need to treat our referrals with such care. But what happens when you discover … Keep reading…
Where to Get a Haircut in a New Town
A small business owner, let’s call him Bob, arrives in a small town for a meeting with a potential new client. Before his afternoon meeting, Bob decides he needs a haircut to get all spiffy. The receptionist at his hotel tells him there are only … Keep reading…
Is Planning Becoming Passé?
“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower Planning is a noble task, full of focus and good intention. It’s always been one of my favourite things to do. Now I hear about the newest trend: the ‘anti business plan’ entrepreneur. Here’s a … Keep reading…
Trust and Your Reputation
Your reputation is what people are saying about you behind your back. Shouldn’t you have some control over what is being said? Reputation and trust are two words that are often intermingled. There is a big difference though. Your reputation is a backward view of … Keep reading…
Resetting Expectations and Owning a Moment
I recently had the pleasure once again of hearing Toni Newman speak about innovation and being different. If you haven’t attended an event featuring Toni, you won’t hear the energy and conviction behind her message, but an important message it is. Below is my attempt … Keep reading…
It’s Easy to Market to Yourself
“People tell us who they are, but we ignore it because we want them to be who we want them to be.” – Donald Draper If my target market consisted of 1000 of me, my marketing efforts would be so much easier. After all, I … Keep reading…
Audit your Reputation
I know, I know! Doesn’t it sound dreadful? The Audit. Conjuring up images of spreadsheets, accountants and bad hair days. But wait… this isn’t about that kind of audit. This is much less stressful, yet just as important. We have talked about auditing your website … Keep reading…