We all know that a sweet lie feels better than a hard truth, but in business it’s supposed to be all about the facts. In a world where perception can be skewed as quickly as a tweet is posted, how can you make sure that your business is telling you the hard truth all of the time? The truth is that you can’t. You can’t make sure that everything that reaches your eyes is beyond … [Read more...]
The New Business Credit
One of the most difficult areas to maneuver as an entrepreneur is getting your hands on the cash you need when you need it. Capital is a tricky thing, you never have it when you need it and what you do have is never enough. So what’s a small business to do? Well, enter Lendo Limted. This caught my eye in the Wall Street Journal and here’s we entrepreneurs need to know… It’s … [Read more...]
Building Bridges
The worth of an entrepreneurs is in their ability to bring create solutions and to build relationships. What hinders small business is that we either don’t use our networks enough or we only use our networks. What small business is most guilty of is not networking because they could be doing something else. The thing is that having coffee or lunch with a contact is something … [Read more...]
Great Expectations and the Entrepreneur
Every entrepreneur envisions that time when they land the big contract, but then the demands start and you think ‘this was not what I signed up for’. You suddenly have to be somewhere at a certain time and some clients demand a certain amount of hours. Typically a consultant has very fluid hours, but what do you do when this happens? And what happens when you end up on a team … [Read more...]
Measuring How Happy Small Business Owners Really Are [Infographic]
Did you know that 70% of small business owners describe themselves as “happy” and 97% feel a sense of “pride and accomplishment"? On the flip side – 88% of small business owners say they never fully stop thinking about their business and 39% work more than 60 hours per week. Those statistics come from a new infographic from Bolt Insurance which examines how happy small … [Read more...]
Selling Your Soul
As an entrepreneur I got into this game to make more money for myself, like everyone else. The thing that I face continuously is should I make the sale or save my soul. The answer is surprisingly easy for me, I save my soul every time. I’m hoping that I rack up enough business karma to hit my goal of a $350m company, but in the meantime here is how I measure the situation. Why … [Read more...]
Do you know where your business network is?
As business owners, we network a lot. Networking means different things to different people, but it's suppose to help you build relationships that will turn into tangible business either directly or indirectly. The problem with networking is that if your aren't careful you can waste your most precious commodity, your time. Here are a couple of tips that I have found to decide … [Read more...]
The Ties that Bind
As I had a conversation today with a colleague about the benefits of releasing negative company, I wondered does the same theory apply to entrepreneurs? As individuals we know that we have to be aware of the people we surround ourselves with and the energy they bring, but can we bring that thought into our business as well? Maybe we can and here’s where I think we should … [Read more...]
The Trouble with Talent
As entrepreneurs the thing is, we can see talent. The moment it walks in front of us, we know that this person has exactly what we are looking for. The problem with talent is that if the person has it, they inevitably want to use it. There is a fine line between being a person who requires little oversight and being a rogue employee who thinks they know everything. So how … [Read more...]
Your Business, Your Leadership
The past week has given me the opportunity to observe the management style of a district manager for a fairly well known retailer. As I have had the horror of observing this individual, I’ve noticed that there are some things that entrepreneurs can learn from this horror movie. The staff mistakes are your mistakes What I have observed is this DM ruthlessly pointing out every … [Read more...]