Last week’s email about “Focus increases Traction” produced this response from one reader: I’m prompted by your email about trying to do too many things at once and how much you can get done when you finally focus with a group that will hold you accountable and help you workshop your ideas. Over the last…
Today, I’m going to take you on a bit of a journey – warning: it involves algebra! How many people do you have in your life that you trust? I mean, you’d let them hold your wallet, trust. You’d let them babysit your kids, trust. Think about it for a minute. Now, think about just…
Let’s say it was your job to get 3 large stones up a hill. Would you pick up one stone, move it 3 feet, then go back and pick up the second stone, move it 3 feet, and then move the last stone that same 3 feet? Repeating that process over and over until all…
A pattern that I see with agency owners in the growth stage is that they are the biggest reason their firms aren’t making progress. Don’t believe me? How many projects or initiatives are waiting on something from you? Your team is committed to a content marketing plan, but you are responsible for producing (or even…
I have gotten a number of replies to my email about Riding the Roller Coaster of Entrepreneurship. Clearly it hit a nerve with some of you! I wanted to share some of the things that helped to make the roller coaster less taxing. Here’s a few (edited for length): “I’m learning more and more to ask…
Running my own business produced some of the best days of my life, and some of the worst. I’ve won big deals and then lost them again. I’ve hired the perfect person who would transform my business only to have them accept a counter-offer. I’ve sent an offer out to my list that got a great response,…
On Tuesday, we talked about how you are most likely the best salesperson your business will have. But that doesn’t mean you have to do it alone! Here are some ways I’ve seen agency owners get help to keep business flowing. Use a VA for outreach If you are doing some form of consistent outreach…
If you run a B2B business, this is “go time.” We’re in the playoffs. It’s showtime. Use whatever metaphor gets your juices flowing, but it’s a crucial time to set your business trajectory for 2021. Over the next 100 days, your clients are making plans for 2021. They are setting priorities, creating budgets, and laying…
In his famous book Good to Great, Jim Collins writes about interviewing Admiral James Stockdale, who was a POW in Vietnam. There’s one line from that interview that has remained seared in my brain ever since. Collins asked Stockdale about how he dealt with the cruelty, the deprivation, and the uncertainty of not knowing if…
Last week I wrote to you about the challenges I was having. I got several nice notes back from you, encouraging me. I appreciate that! My attitude lifted seeing your notes and reading your replies. This week I’ve been talking with more business owners who are facing similar challenges. With all the change and stress 2020…