I was reading from Lao-tzu's Tao Te Ching last night when I ran across an interesting quote: He who knows others is wise; He who knows himself is enlightened. The passage made me stop and contemplate my own life. How well do I know myself? I went down that path for a bit of time; looking at my … Read more about Small Business Advice: Are You Enlightened?
7 Reasons Not to Link with Click Here
Do a Google search for click here. What you'll find is around 1.7 billion (yes billion) instances in Google's database where website owners have used "click here" as linked text on their website. Let me guess, that includes you, right? But click here is seldom the best option for linked text. Take … Read more about 7 Reasons Not to Link with Click Here
Is Your Business About Relationships? …and Why It Should Be!
What is your business about? Is it about branding and marketing? I'm sure it is. Is your business about sales and profits? I sure hope so. And is it about making some difference in the world? Ideally, that would be nice. But branding, marketing, sales and making a difference require one thing - … Read more about Is Your Business About Relationships? …and Why It Should Be!
How Could Someone Think That?
Is it wise to use your business to hurt people? You'd probably agree with me that it's certainly not wise to hurt your customers or potential customers. That seems pretty clear, doesn't it? But what about the people you work with or who work for you? Is it okay - is it appropriate - to hurt, abuse … Read more about How Could Someone Think That?
Why You Shouldn't Be Afraid of The Economic Crisis
If you're paying attention to the media you know that we're are headlong into some hard economic times. Banks are failing, investment firms are in financial trouble and the housing markets across the nation are suffering. Things are so bad here in Michigan, the state with the worst economy in the … Read more about Why You Shouldn't Be Afraid of The Economic Crisis
SOBCon08: Recap – Live Blogging and Reports From The Event
Most of us at SOBCon08 are bloggers, right? So you had to know that we blogged the event. Now I say we collectively as I was too busy jotting notes to live blog and too engrossed in conversation to blog at the event. So what about the evenings...well, if I was getting to bed before 2am, perhaps. … Read more about SOBCon08: Recap – Live Blogging and Reports From The Event
Boat Rides, Indian Food and Great Conversation at SOBCon08
SOBCon08 - Biz School for Bloggers... A report, part 1 Liz and Terry sure nailed it this year. Not only in concept but in execution. Their goal - create an event where business owners and bloggers come together to learn from each other - both about social media and about running a business. In my … Read more about Boat Rides, Indian Food and Great Conversation at SOBCon08
Why You Should Give Your Business A Chance To Succeed
I have a friend who's been self-employed in one way or another for more than ten years. She's brilliant, caring and a really good communicator. Anyone who works with her immediately sees her huge range of gifts. But this friend of mine - whose name I'm not going to mention - hasn't made much of her … Read more about Why You Should Give Your Business A Chance To Succeed
The Absolutely Best Advice About Being A Coach or Consultant
If you're an educator, coach, consultant or advisor you usually want one main thing for your clients - that they use your advice. That only makes sense, right? They're paying you fees, sometimes large fees, to help them either change something or accomplish something that they just can't manage on … Read more about The Absolutely Best Advice About Being A Coach or Consultant
Small Business Advice: Are Your Customers Morons?
I was thinking this morning about what makes a great relationship. According to James from Audio Mecca, it's necessary to accept "that the other fellow is not a moron." I keep saying again and again that conversation leads to relationship and relationship leads to business. No matter whether we're … Read more about Small Business Advice: Are Your Customers Morons?
Social Media Advice: You Are What You Share
I get asked all the time why a business owner should be blogging or engaged in social media. The answer I give almost always revolves around creating relationships. If you've been reading a while, you know one of my favorite statements is people don't do business with businesses, they do business … Read more about Social Media Advice: You Are What You Share
Small Business Advice: Make Your Business Mean Something
A couple of years ago John was laid off from his job working in the assembly plant for Ford Motor company. He'd been there 15 years and came to work on a Tuesday to find out he was being laid off. John had worked at some sort of job since he was nine. He had a paper route, then three. When he was … Read more about Small Business Advice: Make Your Business Mean Something