No matter where we look, there are plenty of people waiting (impatiently) to correct us, happily telling us what we’re doing wrong. There’s plenty of bosses, coworkers, friends, family members, boards, panels, advisory committees, clients, and competitors, falling all over themselves to tell us how we’re not fitting in. This world is great at doing one thing: reinforcing the status …

Whenever things aren’t going right for us, we’re quick to point the finger, trying to figure out what’s causing us to fall short of expectations. We hardly ever stop to consider that the issue could be closer to home. Maybe our biggest problem is right between our own ears. Could it be that we’re the thing that’s causing us the …

When we meet our clients’ expectations, when we do our job according to the standards, there’s no surprise. Everyone says “Good, you did what you were supposed to do.” But what if we did something different? What if we invested in ourselves, learning new things so we become smarter, practicing to make ourselves better, spending money to make our product …

We’ve done all the work. We’ve got the license. We’ve bought our insurance. We made a cool looking logo. We’ve designed our business cards and brochures. We’ve got our website up and running. We’ve figured out our software. We’ve been shaking hands and kissing babies. Now, we’ve just got to wait. They’ll come. Sounds great, but it’s not right. Author …

Why does he get all the business? I’m just as good as him! Being jealous of our more successful competitors is a common trait in business. But did we ever stop to figure out why they’re more successful than we are? What is it that they’re doing that we’re not, or at least not as successfully? We may figure out …

It’s hard to admit when we’ve make a mistake. We often think that by doing so, we’re admitting that we’re not good enough, not smart enough, or not strong enough. And we couldn’t be more wrong. In Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin, the authors explain “Taking ownership for mistakes and …

It’s easy to be average. Everyone’s doing it (or at least a whole lot of, well, average people). Do just a little bit more than what’s required, and there you are: average. It’s not that difficult. You don’t have to try too hard. It doesn’t take much extra effort. Now we’re just like everyone else. Average. Regular. Mediocre. Run of …

Knowledge is power. Attributed to Sir Francis Bacon I don’t read my own reviews… I read other people’s reviews, though. Kevin Bacon Keeping better records is the key to keeping our business. Knowing where our business is coming from allows us to make better decisions regarding where to invest our marketing dollars. It doesn’t make any sense to spend money …

Marketing. Rarely is it someone’s favorite thing about running a business, but it’s a necessary evil if we’re to run a successful one. To make matters even worse, marketing isn’t really there to book us any business. Marketing has one primary goal: to create an awareness of our company. It’s there to help us develop a relationship with our potential …

Looking back at it now, it’s simply amazing that I was able to get my business off the ground. Everything is stacked against us when we first start out. We have no idea what we’re doing, how we’re supposed to do it, or who we’re doing it for. When we’re reminiscing many years later, with all that uncertainty far behind …