It’s a question that all new business owners ask: What can I do to compete against all the other companies out there that are already doing what I do? Maybe the answer isn’t to try to figure out some special sales gimmick to try and corner an already crowded market. Maybe we just need to create our own market; one …

We’re often asked what we do for a living. It’s a standard ice-breaker question whenever we meet someone new at a party or event. What we don’t realize is that the success of our business often comes down to how well we can articulate what it is we do. Answering someone’s question at a birthday party doesn’t really matter that …

Lots of businesses think that they’ve figured out the secret sauce, and then proceed to try to guard their secret with their lives. But, let’s get real. It’s not like we’re living in the year 1903 anymore. Everyone has access to everything, and sooner or later, the secret’s gonna get out. What happens then, when all your competitors are doing …

Offering a service to your client is a one-off event. Like doing a home inspection; it happens that one time and it’s done. The journey to become excellent at what it is you do, however, is not a one-off event. It’s a life-long undertaking. It’s important that we don’t confuse the steps we take along the journey for the journey …

If you’re trying to be the best (insert your profession here) in your market, It you want to be know as the go-to authority on a subject, If you’re attempting to be memorable, If you’re endeavoring to be better than all the other options out there, It’s stupid to think it’s going to be an easy thing to do. If …

When we first start out in our businesses, fresh from learning “everything” we need to succeed, we tend to overestimate our abilities. And once we’re old, grizzled veterans, the opposite happens, and many of us start to underestimate what we’re capable of, which often prevents us from growing and expanding our business reach. In psychology, this is called the Dunning-Kruger …

Problems. They’re all around us; coming at us from all directions. And they’re usually not simple, straightforward things. They’re always complex and multifaceted, making them difficult to deal with. Just as our problems are detailed and all over the place, we’ve got to utilize every available option when trying to deal with them. When we try and limit ourselves to …

Continuing on my rant about perceived problems that really aren’t: Being in business (as well as being a human) means that we’re constantly bombarded with information and interruptions. All day. Every day. But, that doesn’t mean that we’ve got to respond to (or even waste precious mental energy thinking about) every single intrusion into our stream of consciousness. To quote …

We’re all confronted with personal affronts each and every day. Someone says this to us. Another person does that. This entity causes this to happen. This thing makes our life a living hell. Over and over again, we’re being confronted with provocation and outrage. Or, so we think. We generally have little control over the things that transpire day to …

Today is a pretty important date in American history. Something really special happened today. But, if we stop to think about it, throughout mankind’s long and storied history, something really special is bound to have happened on each and every day of the year. Important things happen all the time. What, then, are we waiting for? It’s time to make …