If you want to see one of the most significant barriers to the success of a small business, just look on the desk of a small-business owner. There, you will likely see piles of unfinished work and unreturned phone messages scattered about. “If I could only get ahead!” they cry. But they can’t get ahead…
Many of the small businesses that we encounter are family-owned and operated. And on the surface, this seems like a good idea. After all, you love your family, so why wouldn’t you want to work with them? You know them well and trust them, so it seems like a lower risk venture than relying on strangers. While working with…
Managing a business, especially a small business, is like coaching a sports team. Like any team, you have your stars, and inevitably, you have your benchwarmers. While both groups have a place in your organization, they should not be managed in the same way. We all know our stars. They bend over backwards to get their work done and…
I often hear business leaders tell me that they don’t get enough done in a day. They have a to-do list a mile long, but they spend their whole day answering employees’ questions and solving employees’ problems. But, if we let day-to-day issues like these fill our day, it’s impossible to make progress on the leadership tasks that only…
There’s nothing better than being a business owner and your own boss, right? That’s what I thought when I started my business – but then I learned. As a business owner, I work for a demanding, unsympathetic and controlling person – myself. It’s understandable. Business owners, bear a lot of burden. We have to fulfill both the role of…
Every meeting has a purpose. That goes without saying, right? No, actually not. Oftentimes, meetings have agendas, but no goals for what should be accomplished. People talk, people listen, but no one makes any progress. That’s why the purpose of your meeting — that is, what you want to accomplish — must be clearly communicated at every meeting….
When you are a business owner, it’s easy to fall into a rut and feel a little blah on occasion. But the problem is, when the business owner is in a rut, the whole business generally follows right behind him or her. There’s no time for this! As much as we love business, even business…