small business

What 80s Music Taught Me About Business

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I had the distinct privilege of going on a trip recently in a vehicle that had SiriusXM radio. I have never ponied up the monthly fee to have it myself, so this was a treat for me. And of course, the first station I went to was 80s on 8, where it stayed the entire […]

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Pinterest: Game Changer or Just Another Scrapbook?

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What is Pinterest? Ask the nearest woman and she can probably tell you. Here’s a shocking stat for you: If you look at Facebook and Twitter’s growth rates at the some point in their history as where Pinterest is right now, Pinterest’s user base is growing faster than both of them. What does that mean? […]

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The P-Word

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Just about everybody hates it. The P-word. No, I am not talking about THAT P-word. This isn’t THAT kind of post! I am talking about ‘planning’. Yeah, I know you like to fly by the seat of your pants and ‘go with the flow’, right? Well, if I have any readers left after the first […]

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When They Venture Into Your World

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Last week I shared about what you need to do when you venture into your customers’ world. This week I reverse it and share with you what you need to do when they visit you. You know stores that you really love to go to. And you also know stores that you hate going to. […]

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Venturing Into Their World

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Several weeks ago we had a get-together over at my house for many of our friends. It was a great night of visiting with friends, laughing, eating, and socializing. I think we need that every once in awhile because it seems the more technology we have that ‘connects’ us, the more we disconnect from opportunities […]

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My 7 Favorite Twitter Tools

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In the spirit of full disclosure, I have a new book about Twitter coming out soon which is available for pre-sale in my online store, so forgive me if I trip over myself mentioning it to you. While piecing together the final chapters over the last couple of months, I have had the opportunity to […]

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18 Inches

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My head told me one thing, and my heart told me another. It was that pivotal moment when you have to decide who will win… your head or your heart. We have all been there, and you can probably chime in with examples from both your personal life and your business. And I’ve made the […]

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Millions of Years Away

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The bright light of the stars that you see in the night sky are deceiving, because what you are looking at might not even be there anymore. Sounds strange, I know, but it’s true. You see, light travels through space at the speed of… well… light. Which is really fast. But some of those stars […]

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Systemic Mediocrity

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Lukewarm food. Games that end in a tie. “Let’s just be friends.” You can probably think of a bunch of your own examples, but most people don’t like things that are ‘mediocre’. Things that are bland, boring, and un-exciting. That state of constant blandness, consistent incompetence, or middle-of-the-roadness could be labeled as ‘systemic mediocrity’. That’s […]

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Before Your Head Hits The Pillow

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Maybe I am just getting old and starting to get all nostalgic or something. I have been thinking a great deal about what I am spending my time doing, and how precious my time actually is to me. I have started to cut things out of my life that just don’t make a difference for […]

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Once Upon A Time…

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Once upon a time there was a small business owner named Bob who was busy. So busy in fact, that he struggled to find time to do all the things that he needed to do. Each morning when the sun shown through his window and awakened his eyes he struggled to get out of bed […]

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Spend some time in the shade

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Some of you might be surprised to learn this about me. Years ago when I was in college I had a summer job as a roofer. After that summer I had a deep respect for roofers. It’s not an easy job. For years I wondered why I would drive by a work site and see […]

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Sometimes You Just Have To Do Something Different

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Here’s a bit of trivia for you Fab-Four fans. Who was the first non-Beatles musician to play on a Beatles’ record? The story is pretty amazing, and I wanted to share it with you. Several years ago George Harrison shared a story about the events surrounding the writing of his signature song, While My Guitar […]

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Social Media Guilt

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I read a fantastic article the other day by Stephen Chapman over at ZDNet entitled ‘Social burnout: I am officially sick and tired of chasing social platforms‘. I gotta be honest and say that I have almost reached that point. Actually, I might already be there. I live this stuff every day, so I know […]

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The Bluest Ocean

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I was recently in the Bahamas and heard a fantastic story about the second man who walked on the moon, Buzz Aldrin. One of my friends who lives in the Bahamas was riding around her subdivision one day and drove past a strange man walking down the street who looked lost. The person riding with […]

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