As we create our businesses more often than not we get caught up in the day to day firefighting strategies. What we don’t do because there isn’t enough time in the day, no one has figured out how to clone ourselves and/or we don’t see the immediate value is define a future strategy. It’s easy to spend so much time in our businesses that we don’t work on them, so here are a few … [Read more...]
The Gospel of Sales
As an entrepreneur I know that sales are the lifeblood of my business, so when I am approached with a sales pitch I tend to take an analytical view. Recently I was searching for a vendor to complete my website overhaul and some of the pitches that I received…well they were interesting. In reviewing the pitches, I learned five most important points if you are not a marketing … [Read more...]
What we need in incubators
Around the country politicians, industry leaders and small businesses have screamed their support for small business development centers and universities to get involved in creating business incubators that help build and sustain small business. The goal is admirable, small businesses stimulate economies and create more jobs. But there is an undercurrent of dissatisfaction … [Read more...]
What’s a “GUTSY CHICK”?
When I was working on the cover for my new book, “GUTSY: How Women Leaders Make Change”, I spent time with the designer looking at all the overt and subtle meanings of the word "GUTSY". Karrie, www.karrieross.com, asked me what the smallest visual I could think of to demonstrate what "GUTSY" means. I sat with closed eyes and saw a hand with elegant long fingers and well … [Read more...]
Is it time to stop running your business?
There are things in life that are inevitable, love, death, taxes and the failure of a business. Knowing that doesn’t make the pain any easier to deal with so if you are facing the decision of when to quit and when to hang on, I have four pearls of wisdom (ahem, at least in my mind) for you to consider. Did you give it your best shot? Hindsight is 20/20 and when making the … [Read more...]
Get Serious About Winning
In my last post I discussed how women need to compete in the workplace in order to push past the almost invisible barriers that seem to exist. Having a competitive attitude is definitely the first step in winning because it says “I’m here and I’m ready to play”. It puts you at the starting block and gives you an understanding that yes you are in a competition for your job, for … [Read more...]
The Church of Business
Starting a business is optimism incarnate and we have all had that moment when the question” what are you working on now?” seems to be an indictment of our failure as an entrepreneur. I’ve noticed that there are some silver linings when warm leads dry up and you have to roll your sleeves up to stay in business. You learn what you are made of Failure isn’t for everybody … [Read more...]
Dealing with Difficult Personalities
Leadership is one of those jobs that no matter how good the pay, it is never enough for the amount of personality issues you deal with. Well this morning as I had the honor of dealing with a difficult personality, I managed to garner a few nuggets of wisdom. Remember they have a point While this nugget is hard to swallow when the difficult personality has decided to … [Read more...]
What Leadership Knows Matters
Last night in a conversation on a treadmill, a friend was rehashing her take on management and questioning why certain efforts were made with no regard to cost, effort and effect. It was an interesting conversation and as a business owner it was nice to see the other side of the table. As owners we sometimes forget how much our decisions influence our staff, so here are the … [Read more...]
1 in 2 Independent Consultants are Women [Infographic]
Statistics show women are joining the growing independent consulting sector at a rapid pace. Women make up less than half (47%) of the traditional workforce, but they make up 53% (8.5 million) of the independent workforce. A new study from MBO Partners reports that 77% these women are satisfied and 74% plan on remaining in independent work. The top reasons women cite for … [Read more...]