One Thing You Must Do Every Time Your Business Grows 50%

I hear it all the time… Small business owners are frustrated with their businesses and they don’t know where or how to start. You got into business because you had an idea, a passion for solving a problem, and you knew you could make money doing it. The problem is that a few years into…

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Busyness is Not Productiveness

Somehow a packed calendar/agenda seems to be an indicator of our “success.” We live in a 7/24 world, we have more work than we can manage, and we constantly fill our calendars with activities. It impacts people at all levels. I’ve told this story before, but it bears telling again. About 15 years ago, I…

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5 Benefits of Leveraging the Small Business Checklist

While it doesn’t get loads of attention like some other special days, Checklist Day (October 30) should be on the calendar of every small business owner. Let’s look at five incredible benefits you can get by simply creating good checklists in your small business. Reduce errors. Establishing a checklist for routines, procedures, and processes will assure…

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6 Hidden Business Startup Costs

Starting a business is exciting! You’re finally ready to bring your dreams to life, become your own boss, and strengthen your local business community. You’ve got everything figured out…at least, you’re pretty sure you do. But with a new business come lots of startup costs, and you want to be sure not to overlook them.…

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6 Untold Secrets to Increase Your Productivity Levels

Wondering why some workers are able to churn out gargantuan amounts of work, day after day, without ever feeling tired, while you can’t stop complaining about the work load? There might have been times when you felt a certain urge to ask them what was the key to their miraculous abilities. However, if you follow…

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5 Ways to Get It Done

How do you get it done? If I ask any marketing pro, business leader or entrepreneur what they need more of (and I take money out of the list of possible answers), 99% of them will give me the same response. Time. Whether it’s the pace of life, the vast variety of channels, information overload…

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Business for Life Not Life for Business

We talk about work-life balance, in general terms, but here’s one simple thought that should always be there in the background: Your business exists to make your life better. Not vice-versa. Don’t sacrifice your life to make your business better. I got a lot of play on Twitter recently with this simple idea. And this post…

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How to Avoid “Death by Meeting”

Imagine yourself with a calendar requiring you to be in six meetings in a day. Day after day. How long would it take to induce you to rethink your use of time—and that of the others sitting (or standing) beside you? More important, how long would it take to realize that there is something wrong…

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How High-Performing Leaders Refuel

“People can’t inspire others unless they are inspired themselves.” —Carmine Gallo, Talk Like TED My buddy Rand Stagen runs a leadership academy in Dallas. He’ll tell you he helps entrepreneurial leaders of companies with hundreds of millions in revenue scale to billions in sales. While this may be the outcome, I believe his most valuable skill is…

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Win Fast, Lose Faster

Inevitably, as I do pipeline and deal reviews, I see sales people hanging onto too many bad deals. The deals are hopeless, the sales person may reluctantly admit it, but stubbornly wants to keep it in their active pipeline. These deals arise for all sorts of reasons, some good, but most bad. There are those…

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