Should You Downsize Your Business Goals?

I just read a great blog post by Robert I. Sutton on the downside of what he refers to as “Big, Hairy Goals.”  It’s an interesting discussion of how a narrow focus on huge “distant horizon” goals can interfere with recognizing – and celebrating – daily accomplishments.

This got me thinking about how small business owners often contribute to their own burnout by setting inflexible – and therefore unrealistic – goals.

Yes, you’re in business because you have goals…you have dreams.  But sometimes the very best business strategy is to LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS. (more…)

Admit it – You’re Lying

“An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises.” ~ Mae West

Coverups, scams, cons - the world is full of intentional lies and liars.  Always has been – always will be.

But lately I’ve noticed a massive upswing in a more subtle form of lying – people who just don’t live up to their promises; the ones who don’t put any value on being true to their word.  I know they’ve always been around but there used to be a stigma attached to being one of them.  Now it’s passed off as just the way things are in our busy world.  We all do it.  We’re all guilty.  That’s particularly dangerous thinking for small business, because the backlash can be just as subtle and stealthy as the lie. (more…)

Fatal Distraction

As a small business owner, you’re intimately connected with the daily survival of your business.  You make the decisions, you write the checks, your focus is the driving force behind your success. It can be wonderful having your life so tightly interwoven with your business.  But what if some important life event took you either physically or mentally out of the game for a while?  Would your business survive?

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Your Business Needs You – NOW

There’s a business killer that we all battle every day – every small business owner, every budding entrepreneur, every freelancer.  It’s more destructive than a down economy, lack of funding, bad unhappy clients and bad marketing combined.

Procrastination kills from within.  It will suck the life out of your company. It will break you.

You procrastinate about starting a business at all.

Not the right time…Maybe when things settle down…When the kids are older…When the economy is better…
When I have a little more money saved…

Procrastination can effectively kill your business before you even begin. (more…)

2010 – Time to bring back the American Dream

As we start a new year and a new decade, we all must look forward and make changes in our lives. These changes will effect our personal lives, our families, and our nation. On a recent business trip to China, I was truly amazed by what that country has accomplished. While China amazed me, the contrast to the condition of our country truly outraged me. China’s growth reflects the growth the US had in the 50′s, 60′s, and 70’s.

We must ask ourselves, what happened to our great country? Why is our middle-class becoming a non-existent class? It’s easy for each political party to point fingers at one another – it’s always easier to blame the other guy. Well, let’s stop this BS and take a deeper look into this problem. (more…)

Who’s in Charge: Preventing Chaos in Your Small Business

The question many small business owners forget to answer is…

You’ve just started a small business with your spouse, a friend or a few family members.  Everyone is enthusiastic and the creative juices are flowing.  You don’t want to reign in all this energy with something as “old fashioned” as an organizational chart, right?

Wrong. (more…)