Running your own business ranks up there as one of the most challenging things most people will ever do in their lifetime. It’s unfortunate, but the majority of those small businesses will end in failure. In the U.S., only about 25% of small business startups make it past their two-year anniversary. While the odds are stacked against new business owners, …
Who are You Calling an Idiot?
Sometimes what we say isn’t as important as how we say it. Unknown Author We’ve all run into it in our business. We provide some information and advice to our clients and recommend that they enlist the help of a professional who has expertise in the specific field that they need. And then it happens. Wham! You’re rolled over by …
Can We Live With Constant Change?
Unless you’re brand new at this small business thing (and if you are, good luck to you), we’ve all made it through the dreaded start-up phase. We’ve soldiered on, taken our lumps, run the gauntlet, learned our lessons and come out of the other end. We mourn for those who weren’t as lucky as us; the 75% of start-ups that …
Is More Always Better?
When I was younger, I always thought that I was going to grow up to be a professor. I don’t know where that career choice idea originated, but it was there, nonetheless. (I’m still not sure about the part where I grow up, as my wife would certainly debate that idea.) But it seems like my career path was always …
When I Have More Time
I’ll do it when I have more time; I’m just too busy right now. It’s likely that these are some of the most often uttered words in any language, especially from the mouths of small business owners. One of the biggest problems facing any entrepreneur is that there’s always more to do. It always seems like the to-do list expands …
3 Things
What am I supposed to do when this happens? When we’re running a business, that question is coming at us all the time. A client wants something different. Something breaks at the most inopportune time. An unusual situation comes up. An associate needs it done yesterday. It always happens at a bad time. It always piles on when we’re already …
Seeing Through the Disguise
Often, when starting out in a new small business, we run into problems. One of our biggest problems happens to be figuring out what type of clientele we want to deal with in our business. There are always two different type of potential clients available to sell our services to: professionals and amateurs. Unfortunately, because we’re just starting out in …
(Why are We) Just Getting By
We all have important things to do in our lives, both in our business and our personal lives. Some of these things are very important to us, like renewing a business license, getting exercise or visiting a sick relative/friend. And some things are much less important, but much more desirable, such as going to a sporting event or binge-watching our …
6 Common Mistakes of New Business Owners
Starting a new small business is often the most difficult thing most people will do in their lifetime. Short of a major tragedy in your life, nothing else will cause you the pain and suffering of creating a new business from scratch. While a handful are successful, the majority of new businesses fail; some dying out like embers in the …
Can You Tell Me a Story?
We know a lot of stuff. If you stop to think about it, no matter what industry we’re in, we all went through a lot of training to get where we are today. It may have been in a classroom, behind a computer screen, face to face with a trainer, or some combination of all three. But, odds are we’ve …