As a business owner, we all have more than one job (many of us carry 4 or 5); but two of those jobs are the same for every business owner. The first is being a great leader in your business. Whether you are the CEO/President, or a partner who shares the leadership, one of your…
Jason Fried is a terrific entrepreneur who has been incredibly generous to the Chicago entrepreneurial community. I love the product that he’s created (Basecamp) and I’ve enjoyed his writing over the years. But I also really dislike Jason Fried. His company is a —*no doubt*— success; and he worked hard to make it a success….
On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced the dramatic and ambitious goal of sending an American safely to the Moon before the end of the decade. At the time he made that commitment, no American had even orbited the earth. We had no idea of what it would take to make good on…
“What is the difference between a living thing and a dead thing? In the medical world, a clinical definition of death is a body that does not change. Change is life. Stagnation is death. If you don’t change, you die. It’s that simple. It’s that scary.” – Leonard Sweet Let’s face it. The last four…
Based on the broad economic indicators 2015 is shaping up to be a terrific year for the US economy. The question is, for most business owners, “What will that mean for mybusiness?” A robust economy generally means that our customers have more money to spend, so our sales pipelines might start to really move again….
Have you ever heard a really great conference speaker? One who’s words echo in your head for weeks after the actual event? I was at ICON14 — the annual Infusionsoft users conference — where Casey Graham was one of the featured speakers. Casey has grown his company, The Rocket Company, over 832% in the last…
Running a business is hard. That’s why a lot of folks decide to partner up and start a business with someone else. There are some definite advantages to working with a partner: two heads are better than one, and partnerships often have access to better resources and talent that a solo founder might not have….
The headlines are dramatic, and appear to swing from one end of the pendulum to the other: Stock market has best day of the year; Dow up 188, US jobless rate falls to 5-year low of 6.6 percent. Are we actually seeing the beginnings of the much promised recovery, or are we experiencing a minor…
The turning of the calendar from one year to another is traditionally a time to wipe the slate clean and start new. We make resolutions, we attempt to remake ourselves, it’s a new year — anything is possible. So as we head into the holidays where many of us will spend some time away from…
‘Tis the season for gluttony! Business owners are some of the biggest culprits of gluttonous behavior during the holiday season. Constant ads fill inboxes, TV shows, websites, and mailboxes as businesses try to end their year on a high note. But it is precisely this time of year that business owners can really benefit from…