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Why Your Business Feels Chaotic – Even Though You’re Making Money
If you’re making money but everything still feels heavy, reactive, and scattered, you’re not doing anything wrong. You’re experiencing a normal – but dangerous –…
25 Years In, Here’s What I Actually Know
This year marks 25 years in business. A quarter century of building, breaking, fixing, and starting over. I keep waiting to feel like I have…
What Proactive Actually Requires
Knowing you should be more proactive is not the same as kEvery business owner I talk to knows they should be more proactive. They say…
The Bottleneck Is Usually You
When every decision runs through one person, growth has a ceiling. I say this with genuine respect, because I have been there myself: the most…
Your Business Has a Will. Does Anyone Know Where It Is?
Most service business owners have thought about their personal estate. Almost none have thought about what happens to their business. Nobody likes this conversation. I…
When Busy Stops Being a Badge
The difference between being productive and just occupied. I used to wear busy like a trophy. If someone asked how things were going, ‘busy’ was…
The Partnership That Actually Scales
Why the CEO-COO relationship determines whether growth sticks or falls apart. Most growing businesses hit a wall. Revenue is climbing. The team is expanding. Opportunities…
Creating Your Best Life
If you have been following me you know I have been doing a lot of inner, personal work lately. At the moment, I am focusing…
Relearning How to Dream Big in Your Business
“Its ok to be comfortable if that is what you want…its not ok to be small.” That is the premise behind a recent episode of…
When a New Season Arrives… So Do New Problems
I have spent the past four months complaining about the weather. Anyone who lives in Michigan knows winter can be unpredictable, but the past few…
This book will inspire and inform you…and hopefully encourage you to grow your business in new and exciting ways! One of my hands-down favorite author, Seth Godin, and his 2002 book Purple Cow. Before you dismiss this years-old stale book that can’t possibly teach you anything, give it a try….
I want to introduce you to another 2002 book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits by Verne Harnish. Despite the age of the book, it’s a business classic for a reason. One of the reasons I love it is that it hits on systems and processes…my specialty! This is a book filled…
You know it is important to keep looking for new ideas and better practices…we all do. The hard part is making time to do it. One of my favorite sources of inspiration and information is Entrepreneur. Last month I found an article there that really got me thinking. “Secrets to…
Do or do not, there is no try. – Yoda Yoda as business leadership inspiration? Yes. I love Yoda. All that courage, wisdom, will, and power tucked into that small, frail-looking character just grabs me. The scene where he is teaching his student to do more than he believes he…
I want to introduce you to a 2011 book, Screw Business As Usual by Richard Branson, the entrepreneur behind Virgin Atlantic Records, Virgin Airlines, etc. This book is a great read for inspiration on running a business with thoughtful stewardship. Not just of giving good customer service and taking care…
I have been wondering for years now, what exactly is an entrepreneur. On one side, you have those that give you that label simply because you own your own business. On the other side you hear that word when names like Bill Gates, Walt Disney, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Elon…
Winter is here! The leaves have gone, the weather has turned, and the December holidays are right around the corner. The business season has changed, too. For entrepreneurs, this time of year brings its own challenges. This is a great time to take a moment, get a cup of coffee,…
One of the greatest joys of owning your own business and working for yourself is the freedom to schedule work around your family, spouse, and life. Or, at least, that’s what we tell ourselves as we file for our Tax ID and begin pouring our energy, effort and time into…
“Empowering employees so that they can make good decisions is one of an entrepreneur’s most important tasks.” – from Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School by Richard Branson I agree with Richard Branson. Empowering your employees, contractors, and team members of any flavor so they…
I recently came across an article on Entrepreneur.com that caught my eye. You have Good Ideas–Don’t Let Them Disappear by Matt Mayberry made a point that I try to make with my own clients. Systems and processes aren’t just for big business! Automating even small tasks can make a business…