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A while back I had lunch with a friend and we were discussing how unhappy he was at his job. He doesn’t like his boss and believes the company is mismanaged and the work does not stir his passions any more. He has been in the same industry for many years and worked his way up to a good ...
When you take a look at the goals you have set for your business and your life, do you sometimes feel overwhelmed? Does it seem like a very large leap to get there from where you are today? Don't worry. You don't need to try to get there in one big leap. Your journey to success will be a progression of thousands of little steps. It's like eating an elephant.
Time is the great equalizer. It doesn’t matter how rich you are or how poor you are. Not even how famous, infamous or average you are. Time does not stop for anyone and you can’t get more of it. You can’t slow it down or speed it up. With each breath that you take or heartbeat in your chest, time moves forward. We all get a finite amount of it, so it is up to us to invest our time wisely. How have you invested your time so far this year? Are you making progress toward your goals or are you just watching time march on by?
With all the negativity in the news these days about the economy, I thought it would be helpful to give you a few ideas about how to manage through a business slowdown. It seems that most businesses will be impacted in some way by the current economic turmoil. As a small business owner, you ...
The recent economic crisis has caused many people to reevaluate their business or career interest. As a result of the turmoil, I have had the opportunity to speak with different individuals and groups about the concept of finding your true passion in business. The idea that what you do is what you love to do. Knowing yourself, finding your true purpose in life, is the essence of true and real. You have to be, before you do, to have lasting inner peace. In other words, making a living is not the same as making a life.
Now is a great time to review your goals for the year and determine how well you are doing at accomplishing those things you wanted to get done this year. If you are like many people, you probably have a few goals that you haven't made much progress toward achieving. You may even have some that you haven't even started. Maybe you started to set some goals but never even went back and finished them. Many people avoid setting goals because they tried it once and when they didn't achieve them, they decided goal setting just doesn't work.
There have been numerous books and articles written on the subject of time management. The problem is … you cannot manage time. Time is the great equalizer. We are all given the exact same amount of time in every day, week, month and year. In fact, we all get 525,600 minutes per year. That ...
Think about this example for a minute. A small business owner creates a business that grows substantially every year and becomes very profitable. The business is generating six figure profits each year and the owner is earning a great personal income. She has invested a large sum of money for ...
One questio I am getting this year is, “Should I really set big goals next year or is it better to be less aggressive so as not to be disappointed?” My answer may surprise you. My response is – it depends. I am a major proponent of the theory of Go Big or Go Home. The human ...
As a business owner, how do you know when your business is working the way you want it to? How do you determine if the sales, profits, efficiency and other pertinent areas of the business are performing the way you expected? Understanding these key performance indicators is critical to knowing ...
Have you set any goals in your business or for your life that you just haven’t managed to accomplish? Or, maybe you started to set some goals but never went back and finished them or checked to see if you really accomplished them? Many people avoid setting goals because they tried it once ...
There’s not enough time! Sounds familiar doesn’t it? How many times have you said that there just isn’t enough time to get everything done? Time is such a precious commodity in our life and yet we never seem to have enough time in our day. Ben Franklin has been quoted as saying, “If time be ...
Today many businesses are facing the prospect of failure. We hear it every day in the media and see it along every main street in our communities. The new economy will require almost every business owner to adjust their business in some way to prosper. So, what do you do when the possibility of ...
Each week the media reports hundreds of thousands more people losing their jobs. Since the recession started, over 5 million people have been laid off. For many of these workers the idea of going back into a corporate role gives them the chills. There is a disillusionment from those who have ...
If you keep doing the same things next year that you did this year you will probably get the same results – is that a good thing? If it is, then congratulations! You must be doing all the right things and living your dream life. If not, then you need to ask yourself what needs to be done ...
I recently read a story about a washing machine manufacturer in China. This Chinese company had produced a washing machine they were proud of and it was getting great reviews. However, they were starting to get complaints from some of their rural customers about the drain becoming clogged. After ...
Life can be the best teacher of all when you take the time to pay attention to what life is telling you. Whenever you engage in a sport or competition of some type there are many lessons you can apply to your career or business. I spent the last week on a golf vacation with some friends and it ...
Success does not have to be so complicated and difficult that achieving it requires great feats of super human effort. Warren Buffett, the richest man in the world, is quoted as saying, “It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results.” However, without ...
The world is continually changing around us, as can be witnessed by the events of the past year. You must be willing to change yourself in order to meet the new challenges of today and achieve success. Unfortunately, change is one of the hardest things for any of us to accept. Much has been ...
As the old saying goes, “The only things in life that are certain are death, taxes and change.” Sometimes change is thrust upon us and sometimes we must be the ones to initiate change. To succeed in today’s business environment, you must take a critical look at your business ...
It’s no secret that leaders today must be able to balance many responsibilities and roles in their quest to succeed in business. Leaders are pulled in many different directions and can find themselves caught between what they need to do in order to create a winning team and keeping all their constituencies happy. One of the big mistakes a leader can make is to believe the development of their team isn’t their top priority. The best run companies are the ones that devote significant time and resources to developing the skill, values, beliefs and identity of their team.
There are three areas you must focus on in order to achieve the success you desire. In difficult times like these it is absolutely critical that you learn these three key skills and apply them every day in your business and life. Self-Discipline One of the most difficult things to master when you are self-employed is maintaining self-discipline. It is too easy to become distracted or lose sight of what is really important. In times like these it is very important to stay focused on the big picture.
When I ask most people that question the typical responses are a wrinkle of their nose and words like, pushy, intrusive, won’t take no for an answer, an interruption, and even rude. It is a reaction born from experience and stereotypes. Just think of the last time you interacted with someone trying to sell you something. Was the experience a good one? Did you find yourself becoming defensive? Salespeople who act in ways that make us uncomfortable have confronted us all.
Statistics show that only 43% of small businesses that have employees prepare a budget that projects revenues, expenses and profit. If you include sole proprietor type businesses then that number is closer to 80%. There are many reasons for this staggering statistic. Many owners simply believe ...
There is no doubt that we are more connected today than at any time in our history. It is possible today to be connected to hundreds and even thousands of people at a time and to constantly keep everyone in our network up to date on our activities. Today’s technology makes it possible to never ...
The media and many political leaders have been waging an all out assault on the banking industry of late. Some of it is certainly justified given the current state of our financial system and many of the excesses that have been uncovered. However, to vilify all banks and bankers is simply wrong. ...
Business is a mixture of opportunities and challenges. In order to deal with both, you must be able to keep your team motivated. It is also important to keep yourself motivated. The best way to keep your team motivated is to create an environment that allows them to become motivated. It is very ...
The headlines are coming at us from everywhere. There are numerous stories all over the internet, in your local paper, in the news magazines and on the television news telling us that the age of affluence is over. This week my Time Magazine arrived in the mail with the cover page headline, “The ...