It takes an insane amount of courage and determination to be an entrepreneur. Our perspective is always eerily optimistic and we don’t always respond well to ‘feedback’. We are so busy fighting for the life of our businesses that sometimes we forget that we are the only ones who signed up for this life willingly. Everyone else has come along for the ride to support us or … [Read more...]
Changing the game: How partnerships can change you business
In our quest to build an empire, we are often tempted to rush through relationship and just do it ourselves. During my many mistakes I have learned that the best way to build your empire is to collaborate and build relationships. Collaborating is not easy, you have to bring something to the table; so here are the secrets to successful collaboration as a small business. I … [Read more...]
Why you need a female mentor
There will always be people that teach you things, but the real things you need to know will come from your female mentors. I may get a little cheesy here, but bear with me. These people are the ones who will help you build your foundation and who will understand the guilt you feel, when you have to leave your kid at the babysitter for another meeting. They get it, they … [Read more...]
Lessons from Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the new currency, maybe it’s a pipe dream or maybe it is the evolution of commerce. Whatever it is, here is what small business can learn from it. Change will come No matter what your market and how much you know, one day you will be obsolete. Count on it. That’s the thing about Bitcoin. It reminds us of this and that’s why it’s so scary. Noone understands how far … [Read more...]
What are we afraid of?
Small business owners this is a hard truth to admit, but in order to grow we have to be uncomfortable. So I will do it, I will incur the wrath of my small business brethren and ask ‘what are we scared of?’ I admit to being in a much different environment, federal contracting is a whole different beast but the fundamental principles are the same. Why are we scared to … [Read more...]
Oh My! At Look at Mayer’s Leadership
No one said Marissa Mayer’s journey into Yahoo would be easy, but there have been some controversial moves made by tech maven. A lot of articles are taking shots at Mayer left and right, but I believe that there’s a method to the madness. She is going for long-term survival. Here’s what small business can glean from this year of leadership challenges. Who you fire … [Read more...]
Managing Expectations
On any given day as an entrepreneur we are expected to navigate staff, money and business situations with little to no insight. How do we know what to do and what to expect? It all starts with understanding what you can expect and who you can expect it from. Here’s what I’ve learned. The only surefire way to fail is to fail to manage you expectations The thing about people … [Read more...]
The Secrets of Success
Running a small business can be the greatest thing you experience as an entrepreneur, to make sure that your business is successful concentrate on strategy. The best thing about strategy is that it creates a roadmap of actionable steps for building your empire, here’s how you start. Be Willful I’m a mom first so let me apologize that most of my advice will inevitably find its … [Read more...]
The Big Dream of a Small Company
I had an interesting conversation today about strategy and growth. What was different about this conversation was that the tone of it just made sense. As my firm has grown and matured, things have changed. The stakes have become bigger, the rewards better and the disappointments more bitter. As I wondered aloud ‘am I dreaming too large’ these are the nuggets the conversation … [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...]