More than a Few Words

I love a good networking event. but I know not everybody loves that process.  They're often confused and frustrated with how to start the conversation and where to go after they've opened it.  Laura Templeton suggests you start by ditching the pitch mentality. Start by crafting a short "I help" statement.  So when someone asks what you do, you an say I help . . .  That makes the conversation about...

Every parent knows, It takes a village to raise a child. Each of the adults in the child’s life, relatives, teachers, coaches, brings a different perspective. The same is true for your business. No matter how smart you are or how much you know about your business, there are gaps in your skill-set. Your business village should be filled with smart, talented subject matter experts to help you fill i...

Think you know how Google works?  Guest, Kyle Roof explains your assumptions may not be right.  For example, many people think Google reads a web page as a human would.  Google is not able to do that, it isn't pulling meaning from your content.  It is an algorithm  looking at your content not from an editorial quality perspective, but a mathematical one looking to see if you check off the boxes in...

I bet you didn't know that you're sitting on a gold mine. but according to my guest Mary Henderson, you are. As human beings. we experiences built over a lifetime, and those experiences are currency.   This is particularly true of former corporate executives who are exploring entrepreneurship.  The skills you build over your career   can be worth millions if you can systemize your knowledge, wisdo...

 Words have power to move, motivate, inspire, frightened and cheer, what you say and how you say it can have a strong impact on another person. Some words, called power words have more impact than others. These words have strong meaning, which can trigger a psychological or an emotional response. They're persuasive, pushing people to action. Using these power words in your web copy, email communic...

Whether you're trying to hire a new person, work with an agency or close a sale, the very first step is really figuring out if you're sitting across the table from the right person. The problem is that people don't come with scorecards telling you exactly who they are and whether or not they're a good fit, or do they?  Social engineer, Benjamin Bressington says there is a scorecard, if you look fo...

What if you could improve the amount of traffic that came to your website, the amount of conversions and the lifetime value of  customers by 26% each?  My guest Michael Buzinski developed the Rule of 26  to help busy business owners understand we do not have to dive into the complexities of digital marketing to get revenue from our websites. He believes many business owners think of their website...

Wouldn't it be nice if we all just got along. That might seem like a good idea but it really isn't. You can't eliminate conflict completely. and you shouldn't. Well-managed conflict actually cultivates discussions and create opportunities to uncover new and innovative solutions. Accept conflict as a natural part of your relationship with employees and with all of the people in your life. It isn't...

All work and no play makes Jack or Jill very dull.  As a business owner you work really hard but you also need to find ways to get away and take a vacation.  Guest Carol Clegg shared great vacation preparation tips from working ahead, to finding co-working spaces along the way to get things done.   You have to prioritize and focus on those things which have to get done to keep your business.  But...

Why should I buy from you? That's the question we have to answer if we want to grow our business.  My guest, Rich Brooks thinks the answer needs to be remarkable.  And he has developed a formula to help business owners find makes them remarkable.   It starts with the four "F's" - find, focus, fashion and frame.  About Rich Rich Brooks is founder and president of flyte new media , a digital agency...

Let's go on a buying journey. Think about the last item that you bought, where you spent more than $100. Maybe it was something for your business or home. Write down the item you bought and work backwards through your buying journey. Describe why you chose that particular product. Did you see an ad? Did someone recommended it? Was there information on social media which made you curious? Write dow...

If you're like a lot of people you may be under the misconception that you have to make a choice between doing what you really love or making money but that doesn't have to be the case.  Guest Joel Salomon  doesn't believe you should have to make that choice.  It starts with transforming limiting beliefs into empowering beliefs and creating affirmations to shift your mindset. Use present tense, no...

Do you have a super toolkit for your business? Also called standard operating procedures (SOPs), when created correctly give business owners freedom to work on their business.  This week, our guest Kris Ward explains that many business owners make the mistake of creating  static SOP's to cover liability.  The narrow definition and inflexible design will actually hold you back. A super toolkit will...

When it comes to marketing, there are three simple truths. The first is that marketing hasn't really changed in 50 or 60 years. The basics of marketing are about what they were half a century ago. What has changed are the tools. And that's the second truth, there are always new tools on the horizon, new ways of doing things. And the third truth is that the most effective marketing is marketing tha...

If every morning is an adventure and you're not quite what you should do first, Ryan Cote suggests you begin your day with a morning routine.     Interestingly, one thing many highly successful people do is start the day off with a morning routine. In this conversation, Ryan shares his morning routine, and things you can do to build a habit of investing in yourself.  

This is a marketing story about personal branding that took place about 30 years ago, I had just started working for Lennox industries. At that time, Lennox Industries was a male oriented business. With men in all the senior roles, this company was trying to change their boys club image. It was also, surprisingly a personal, family run, $750 million business. It was a personal family business. Thr...

Many business owners think closing the sale is the end of customer journey.  Guest Wayne Mullins doesn't agree.  He sees the act of attracting the customer as only half the process.  The other half should be focused on keeping the customer engaged so they become an evangelist for our product. As a salesperson he discovered  when he nurtured those relationships, checking in after the sale the custo...

We make buying decisions because we've been influenced by someone or something. Many companies are trying to cash in on this trend, hiring influencers to promote their brand.  But our guest Jason Falls focusing on the influencer is not the right strategy. When you focus on the personalities there is  really no substance to it. If however, you the "r" off and focus on what you're trying to achieve,...

Everyone likes to be right and to see their ideas put into practice but sometimes your ideas are not the best it. If, as a leader you are more focused on proving you're right and winning every argument people around you will acquiesce.  You will have a solution but it won't necessarily be the best solution. This is tough, because it means you have to give up control. If you've hired the right peop...

Great content helps small business owners build trust and compete with businesses significantly larger, by establishing authority and credibility.  Guest John Hinson explains it is a cost effective strategy saving you potentially thousands of dollars every month because you are driving traffic without paid search. In the legal field, like many industries there are great evergreen topics. Informati...

The stories that we tell ourselves really are our most important stories. Our guest, Bridget Cook-Burch shared her thoughts on stories and how stories drive our destiny.  It is less about what is really happening and more about how we frame the situation. There are stories of opportunities and stories of limitations.  As entrepreneurs we got to capture the beautiful stories and learn to reframe ot...

If you're a business owner, you are probably  always looking for ways to widen your circle and networking is certainly a great way to do just that. In this conversation with Ryan Hansen, we talked about a slightly different approach to networking. Often called a professional extrovert he loves talking to people about their business ideas and then helping them act on it. So it was a natural fit  to...

I love running my own business, getting to do things “my way” … most of the time. But I learned that to be successful, I need to also listen to the opinions of others. Who are these “others?” They are people who compliment my weaknesses and have skills to fill my blind spots. They are the Yang to my Yin. What Is Yin-Yang? With roots dating back to China in 1300 BCE,  Yin-yang  refers to a concept...

If you're a coach you can earn a living one conversation at a time. But if you really want to maximize your revenue opportunities. You need to consider group coaching Where do you start?  Our guest Chris Williams says it boils down to four simple steps Start organically.  Don't worry about advertising till you really understand your audience Start measuring predictability. If you don't have a way...

All too often people think the word freelancer is synonymous for broke. But according to my guest, Kate Bagoy, that's not true. You can make money and live the life you want as a freelancer. Right now is a great time for freelancers as we've moved to a more remote work culture.  More are outsourcing and opportunities for freelancers growing faster than ever. Making this shift from freelancer  to b...