The best strategic plan addresses what you can stop doing. That’s counterintuitive, especially for small businesses who grasp at any shiny object to bring in revenue. But it’s not until you simplify and focus that you gain the clarity and strength to leverage your time, talent, and treasure. My ‘stop doing’ list became a lifeline. … Read More
As Seen In … Like Erma Bombeck famously said about housework, Succession planning expands to fill the time available. It can take years. Except … when it can’t. Let me share with you stories of three business owners who had to create contingency plans in a hurry: For lifestyle reasons, Kimberly Martinez had already chosen … Read More
As a small business owner, it’s common to think of our company as an island. Isolated. Self-contained. Having to generate all resources from within. Surrounded on all sides by unknown threats. That gets lonely. And stressful. It puts a huge burden on the business owner to “make it all happen.” What if you took a … Read More
Where’s your focus? Is it in “just get through today?” Or do you have a real strategy you’re working? One year, it took 3 smack-me-in-the-head-with-a-brick experiences to get the lesson of focus, and to apply it to my business. Lesson 1: I’m driving down Interstate 75 from Gainesville (GA) to Orlando (FL) to get from … Read More
On a trip to Santa Monica, my husband and I stopped into 24 Hour Fitness Express. Armed with a free three-day pass and dressed to sweat, I was ready to climb the Stairmaster and pretend to work off the previous night’s dark chocolate lava cake. Only there was a problem. I hadn’t carefully read the … Read More
You don’t sharpen a knife against a sponge. I love that expression. It goes beyond the platitudes like there is no I in team, or it takes a village. To grow—in any area of life—you need people who will help you sharpen your skills and thinking. Who will challenge you constructively. Not just rubber-stamp your … Read More
As Seen In … Have you built a job, or built a business? If you have passion for starting and growing, that’s great. Don’t care about selling your company? Here’s an invitation: When you have a sense of the “end game,” you make business easier for yourself in the long run. Most businesses close because … Read More
Archimedes shouted “Eureka!” in a bathtub. Einstein had sudden insights into the theory of relativity while riding a streetcar. Newton “discovered” gravity during a countryside retreat (Cambridge University was closed because of the Black Death plague). I had my own eureka! moment when I started my first business years ago. I hated my job at … Read More
As Seen In … Why did you start your company? If I had to guess, it could be for any number of reasons. Your boss was an idiot. You wanted to make a difference in the world. You wanted to work in a collaborative spirit with other people, instead of always watching your back. You … Read More
“I took my first 3-week vacation ever,” beamed my 62-year-old client, Tim, over lunch. “Never checked in once. It felt amazing. And my doctor is finally taking me off all the blood pressure meds I’ve been on. Can you imagine?” Tim, the owner of a 7-figure glass business, was finally enjoying the fruits of his … Read More
When you’re running your business, it’s easy to feel alone. Your spouse/significant other doesn’t get it. The kids are clamoring for attention. Employees think you’re Daddy Warbucks. Vendors and strategic partners are leaning on you. And the IRS has its hand out …. Is it just a pipe dream that someday you’ll get to play … Read More
Listen to the Episode Below: Marketing may have the sex appeal, but finance is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to growing your business. The hard numbers can tell where you’re succeeding, where you could put in a little more work, and where you’re hemorrhaging and should let go of what’s not … Read More
