It’s not our fault. Really, it’s not. We were all trained the same way; all indoctrinated into the same mindset by the same school system. As author Seth Godin is fond of saying, we were all raised to be cogs in the wheel of industry. Put the peg in the hole; eight hours a day; five (or six or seven) …
Enough To Go Around
It seems that no matter what type of business we’re in, there are going to be many different points of view on how to run that business. Some people are generous and believe that there’s enough customers out there to sustain everyone that’s willing to put serious effort into their business. Most people, unfortunately, operate under the belief that everything …
Story Time
If we take a moment and think back on our childhood, it’s quite likely that some of our most vivid memories take us back to story time. We often recall, in vivid detail, the tales told to us by people we admired: friends, family and mentors. These stories not only helped to educate us, but they also served to cement …
Giving Away Your Hard Work for Free
Every real estate agent loves a good business opportunity. It’s even better when it seems like a great deal falls from the sky without warning. Wow, it’s gonna be a great day! Think about getting a really good listing. You get a message from a potential client, who heard about you from one of their friends you’ve worked with in …
Is There a Shortcut to Success?
Practice makes perfect. We’ve all heard that old axiom. As a child, we probably heard it enough from our parents to make us sick. But, like most old sayings, it was grounded in truth. Think back to your childhood, to any skill that your parents forced you to learn. Would you have ever achieved any level of proficiency without the …
If at First You Don’t Succeed… Quit?
We all struggle with many different things in our lives, both from a business as well as a personal standpoint. One thing that almost all of us struggle with is having a difficult time finishing things that we start. While some of us may struggle more than others in this regard, Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS) is very real and, in …
When is a Customer More Than Just a Customer?
Running your own service-based small business can be overwhelming. It often seems like the list of things to do never ends. You’re not only responsible for doing the actual part of your business that makes money (like selling a house or doing an inspection), you’re also the person who takes care of all the “behind the scenes” stuff that comes …
More or Less
We all must face that decision, sooner or later. No matter if we’re just starting out in business or have been grinding for longer than we care to remember, eventually we all come to a fork in the road; a choice on the journey that can have a lasting influence our future. This important decision may hit us right out …
Don’t Be Afraid to Try, Try Again
Growth should be the overriding goal of our business. Without (at least some) continued growth, our businesses will stagnate and die. We will be passed up by all our competitors that are growing and expanding the reach of their businesses. Without growth, without trying new things and making advancements in our knowledge and our methods, we fall behind everyone else. …
Just Give Me a Chance
When starting a new business, you’ve got plenty of things to worry about. There are lots of technical details to work out, from getting your tax id number to starting a bank account. But, often the most difficult thing to tackle is how to actually get the creative part going. Figuring out what you’re going to do, how you’re going …