I know what you’re thinking…I’m a consultant so either this is a self-loathing mea culpa or I have a point. Bear with me because I do in fact have a point. The thing about consultants is that we generally are really skilled at something, that’s why we’re consultants. But we are workers, fixers, problem solvers. We aren’t business owners and that is something that I have come up … [Read more...]
The Small Business Owner Blues
In the silence of the night when everyone else has shut down and you are left with your decisions, that’s when you become an entrepreneur. Someone said to me once that to be an entrepreneur you have to have a spouse with a full-time job and while that anecdote is funny it’s also a bit sad. The very essence of an entrepreneur is a risk-taker, however unfair that risk is to the … [Read more...]
Buy and Get Out!
As entrepreneurs sometimes we get so preoccupied with making sales that we forget to take care of the customer. Sadly enough that seems to be the rule rather than the exception the bigger the company. I had one such experience with the vendor Verizon Wireless chose to insure their devices. My company moved to Verizon less than a month ago and as a consultant I get paid by the … [Read more...]
Marketing Your Company, Not You
As I stumble through this minefield of entrepreneurship, I have learned that there has to be a significant switch in your thinking. We start businesses for a variety of reasons, mostly because we are really good at something specific. What happens is that you quickly realize that you cannot be the person that runs the business and the person who does the work. There has to be … [Read more...]
Are you the reason you’re business is failing?
It has taken me 15 years, an MBA, starting my own firm, acquiring and firing partners and staff to understand one infinite business fact. Your gut is always right, no matter what situation no matter who the players. That knot in your stomach that tells you something isn’t right, never lies. So as I come out of a difficult situation I find that I am not doing something that I … [Read more...]
Business Advice for Dummies
As a business owner particularly when you are starting out, ‘constructive criticism’ is something that you get in spades. Some of the criticism is great, it tells you things about yourself and your company that you didn’t know. Other times it can feel like a direct attack, so how do you know the difference and how do you find the silver lining? Consider the source Sometimes … [Read more...]
Women of Innovation – Jen Grisanti
The third business woman to be profiled in Women of Innovation is international speaker Jen Grisanti, an acclaimed story, script, and career consultant at Jen Grisanti Consultancy, Inc. Grisanti is also a writing instructor for NBC’s Writers on the Verge, a former studio executive, a blogger for Huffington Post, and the author of Change Your Story, Change Your Life: A Path … [Read more...]
For Love of the Game
This morning I had the privilege of attending an Executive Breakfast that focused on employee engagement and what that actually means. It was a timely discussion because I hear the phrase employee engagement in just about every explanation of what’s wrong with an organization. But what is it really? What does employee engagement mean and why is it important to your business? … [Read more...]
Women on Innovation – Dr. Jane Karwoski
For the first post in my series called Women of Innovation, I believe it only fitting to feature my friend, colleague, and business partner, Professor Jane Karwoski. Jane, who also is known by her media name, Dr. J, is an angel investor, a freelance online psychology professor, and an entrepreneur. Embrace Ambiguity One trait that Jane feels has stood her in good stead is … [Read more...]
Most Powerful Women in the World 2013 Announced
Who are the most powerful women in the world? According to the Forbes 2013 World's Most Powerful Women List, they come from diverse industries, including business, technology, media, politics, philanthropy, real estate, investments, fashion and retail, food and beverage, and entertainment (i.e., celebrities). Of the 100 power women on the list, a large percentage work in … [Read more...]