We’ve been inside (more or less) for 154 days. Even though I’d been working at home for almost a year before the shutdown, the extended confinement of ‘Rona times has been messing with my head. When I leave the house only to walk the dog, or occasionally to shop, one day blurs into another. With few…
When you started out on your entrepreneurial journey, what were you looking for? If you are like most people, you’ll answer some mix of, “I wanted to be your own boss,” have more control or freedom, try something new, and make more money. Also, if you’re like most people, you aren’t feeling as free or…
I’m known for making amazing spreadsheets. I can whip up a spreadsheet that helps to illustrate a financial issue, or helps leaders to plan for the future, in no time. I have a color code that I use so folks don’t mess up my formulas. The charts that I create are clear and easy to…
Normally around this time of the year, it’s good to pause and review our progress. Take a minute to stop and review what’s been going well so far this year, what’s not, and plan how we can end the year strong. But this year… 2020… Well, it hasn’t gone according to plan, right? I don’t…
I used to read business books voraciously. Peter Drucker, Jim Collins, David Maister, Patrick Lencioni, I loved reading and learning from these business giants. They taught me so much! But, after a while, my desperation to voraciously consume business books started to wane. As I look back on it, I was so voracious because I…
When you read that subject line, you knew the decision I was talking about. It might be to fire someone, or to hire someone, to start doing something that scares you or to stop doing something that bores you. Whatever it is, make that decision today. You can’t afford to carry around that kind of…
The world turned upside down in the last three months. I have one friend who says it’s like, we’re living in 1918, 1929 and 1968. But all in two months! It’s a crazy time. It’s almost impossible for me to predict the future. Will we have more COVID cases and shut everything down again? Will…
George Floyd’s death was just nine days ago. Since then, our country has been in turmoil. We’re trying to understand why it happened, and why it keeps happening—and then trying to appreciate the reactions of the protesters, and deal with the reactions of the politicians, and the police. I wish I could just turn it…
As if living through a global pandemic wasn’t enough — you’re a business owner, so you have to become an expert on SBA loan guidelines and now learn all about CDC recommendations too? We’re here to help you out. Here’s the CDC’s workplace decision tree and our advice about what to think about when reopening……
My bookkeeper, who’s from New Orleans, reached out to check in with me yesterday. “Y’all OK in Chicago?” Yes, it was an intense weekend in Chicago, intense and surreal. First, there was the grief over yet another unjustified police killing. Then, there were the protests. At first, they were energizing — let’s do something. Then…