Entrepreneur Beware – How to Find the Right Help

Many corporate fugitives start their businesses with a solemn vow to live footloose and fancy free and to fly completely solo. Self-motivation is good, but getting the right kind of help when you need it makes a world of difference. Entrepreneurs who are willing to invest wisely generally grow their business much more quickly and avoid expensive and... [Read more]

Why the Typical Type A Personality Can Hurt Your Business

When I look back at the 20 years I spent in corporate life, I often feel like  my career happened to a totally different person. My life is so different now and I feel so much more joy and peace than I ever did.  In fact, I can honestly say I have never had a single bad day since becoming an entrepreneur.  I’ve heard this from others who have made... [Read more]

How Proving Your Value Costs You Money and Loses Clients

If I were to ask you, are you committed to doing things the hard way? I’m sure you’d say no. But every day I see examples of business owners making what could be simple, instead very complex. What they don’t realize is that it’s costing them a ton of money in lost profits and sales. Of course, we don’t do this consciously. The fact is, it’s... [Read more]

Reminder – Q&A Session this week

If you have specific questions that you’d love to ask me about starting, marketing and growing your business, I have some very special, very information and free business success events coming up. The first one is Wednesday, February 24 and you can find all of the details here. (Note, check the Break Free tab on the top of this page often, this... [Read more]

What to do when fear freezes you in your tracks

“You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.” Wayne Gretzky Canadian hockey player “The Great One” If there’s one thing I learned early on in my career, and business too, it’s that I would never know the answer to a question if I was too afraid to ask it. I’m the kind of person who tends not to hear “no” (just... [Read more]

Why Typical Business Advice Doesn’t Work

One thing I know to be true from my experiences advising and coaching people making the shift from employee  to entrepreneur is that our entrepreneurial journey is different. So I was delighted to read this Forbes article by executive coach Dr. Steven Berglas. His article was so spot-on that I had to get in touch with him and share my observations.... [Read more]

How to Get Testimonials If No One Has Paid You Yet

When you’re in a service business, potential customers who are checking you out always want to see if others have had the results you promise from your product or service. The more expensive and the more intangible the service (i.e. you can’t see, touch, smell or taste it), the more examples they want to see that show you can deliver on your promises. This... [Read more]

How to Get Credibility Before Getting Customers

If you’re in a brand new business, or entering a new market, you may feel that your biggest business hurdle is getting your first paying customer. Like the catch-22 of finding your first job without experience, it can be discouraging. While desperately wishing someone would give you a chance, you may also be hesitant to put yourself out there because... [Read more]

Keep Left on the Service Spectrum

There’s an elusive line that many business owners never cross, and as a result, never get the see the rewards that are waiting on the other side. I think of it as the Service Spectrum. It’s the line between being  a service provider, and an expert. Imagine a horizontal line, and at the far left is the pure Subject Expert, sought out for knowledge... [Read more]

How to Assume Yes When You’re Afraid of No

I’ve had a revelation over the last few months. It became really clear to me after attending conferences this fall and meeting so many business owners. I realized it after hearing story after story from business owners how much they realized they need to be better at marketing.  But I’ve yet to meet someone who acknowledges they need to spend more... [Read more]

Money and Marketing Fog and The Perfect Storm

Are you creating the perfect storm in your business? If you’re going about your day-to-day life and work in a money and marketing fog, you’re creating the perfect conditions to sink your finances and all of your hard work. If you’ve heard of the true story of the Andrea Gail and the movie The Perfect Storm, you know that the conditions were brewing... [Read more]

What’s your cash infusion plan for 2010?

It’s Black Friday in the USA, a traditional day of spending and the start of the Christmas countdown. So are you heading out there, ready to lavishly spend the results of your hard work on treasures for your loved ones, and doing it with total peace of mind because you’re totally confident about your future cash flow, or does the thought of spending... [Read more]

How the Employee Mindset Keeps You Stuck and Broke

Are you running your business like the job you left? If you are, this is a sure path to frustration, not to mention under earning in your business. Having an employee’s approach to an entrepreneurial venture simply doesn’t work. What’s so ironic about this is that on the outside you may show all the signs of a successful business owner. If you’re... [Read more]

How to Build a Business that Fits Your Life

There’s a reason the first question I ask a client is “what do you want your life to be like?” It’s because without a clear and vivid vision of what YOU want, you won’t be very likely to get it. This sounds trite and flippant, but I assure you, it’s by far the most important question you need to ask yourself as you build a business. Who... [Read more]

Debt – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

As a business owner, or aspiring entrepreneur, you will be faced with making many choices that can either move your business forward, or hold it back. Although most of us would agree with the concept that you have to spend money to make it, when it’s your signature on the check, and your bank account that’s being depleted, it can be really difficult... [Read more]

Next Page »