Almost everybody wants their business to grow; and if you want your business to grow you are likely working hard. For some companies that success comes right away; first some good clients, then some more, then… For others it comes more slowly—sometimes excruciatingly slowly. This can be a huge challenge. We live in an “instant”…
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…
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” ~Jim Rohn Over and over again, business owners come to me with the same problem (though they may describe it differently). Some say, “I don’t have the right people,” or “I can’t hire good people”. Others tell me, “These people just…
When you join a workgroup, you are committing your welfare and your future to that group; the stakes are high enough that the potential for deeper meaning is there. There is the potential to grow a tribe. Think about it. What else would a tribe be? You spend the better part of the day with…
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…