I didn’t think about this when I started my current job, but it turns out a lot of my success depends on my willingness to accept failure. In fact, you probably aren’t going to encounter true success if you aren’t brave enough to stare failure in the teeth, invite it in for a cup of coffee and acknowledge its presence in your life.

We learned as children to fear failure; who has not wanted to eradicate that sad look in a parent’s or teacher’s eyes when we do not meet their expectations? But to be successful, we have to move beyond those childhood fears.

Every failure leaves a scar as well as a lesson. They expand our perspective. I envision a fallen skier in the snow, face to the sky. It opens our eyes to look at the world from this angle.

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Facebook isn’t just for finding your best friend from third grade or keeping tabs on an ex; it can be an amazing help for improving many aspects of your business. So, I have again asked the fabulous CarolRoth.com contributor network of entrepreneurs and experts to provide their best tips for using Facebook to improve business. Their answers are presented below in no particular order.

You may notice some similar insights, but I kept the concepts separate, as something in the way one is framed may resonate differently with you.
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Since Twitter goes by so quickly, here are some great posts and information from the past week, some of which I have contributed to and some of which were brought to my attention, that you may have missed.

Small Business Influencer

: I was nominated for the Small Business Influencer Award.  It’s 1 vote per day- although I hate the concept of voting weighing in, if you have a moment, can you spare a click vote?

Social Media

Is Social Media Killing the Economy?: Via Dashal’s Blog

Daily Deals/Customer Loyalty

Is Groupon Bad For Your Business?: Season 2 of Business Boxing where I appear with Barry Moltz started at AllBusiness.Com

Groupon’s Loyalty Fail: Interesting blog via Simon Salt

Motivation

I Will Loan You My Umbrella: 5 Tips to Face the Tough Times: I contribute to the Women on the Fence blog

What I Want You To Learn From Me: Excellent post via Margie Clayman

One of the CarolRoth.com community members reached out with the following conundrum.  It’s one that I have heard many times before:

 [Paraphrasing from note & conversation]: I left my job two years ago (it was making me unhappy- I   hated the yearly reviews, etc.).  I reinvented myself as a writer and expert, which I love, but I am not making enough money to pay my mortgage, support my family obligations, etc.  My old company wants to hire me back.  My spouse really wants me to go back to work, but I am conflicted because I love my new focus area (making little money aside).  What do I do? Continue Reading;

Well intentioned folks like to put forth inspirational quotes and sayings on Twitter, sometimes masquerading as business advice.  Here is one that I came across because it was re-tweeted several times by folks that I know:

Be grateful for every sale. Rather than focus on what’s not working in your business, be grateful and celebrate what is.

While I like the spirit of this, I think there is the possibility for some misguided business advice.  Here’s how I would tweak it (albeit it’s not in 140 characters…) Continue Reading;

From The CarolRoth.com Entrepreneurship Interview Series

This interview is with phenomenal speaker and author of the incredibly insightful Endless Referrals: Network Your Everyday Contacts Into Sales, the national bestseller, The Go-Giver and the follow up, Go-Givers Sell More.

Bob and I cover a number of topics in our interview, including:

-His Journey From Being a TV Newscaster to Becoming a Renowned Speaker and Author;
-Why Bob Wrote a Fiction Business Book;
-The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success;
-The Law of Left Field;
-The True Definition of Sales;
-And more (including the scandalous super power that Bob would like to have!)
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While we all begin our business endeavors with boundless energy and excitement, as time goes on and we get caught up in the day-to-day, the dreaded feelings of business burn-out can start to set in.

Since I was able to enjoy a sabbatical of my own for a couple of weeks, I thought it would make sense to give you some ways to refresh and renew. I reached out to the CarolRoth.com contributor network of entrepreneurs and experts to find out their best tips and suggestions for battling business burn-out. Their answers are presented below in no particular order.

You may notice some similar insights, but I kept the ideas separate, as something in the way one is framed may resonate differently with you.
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Since Twitter goes by so quickly, here are some great posts and videos from the past week, some of which I have contributed to and some of which were brought to my attention, that you may have missed.

Business Strategy/ Finance

What Your Business Can Learn from the Hottest Celebrities: My recent Huffington Post addition

How to Partner in Business: I talk how & why to partner in business on Fox

When Entrepreneurs are Too Young To Succeed: I contribute to this Fiscal Times Article

Series on VC/Private Equity and Option repurchases and why you need to read your contract (via The New York Times)

The Risks of Early Stage Debt via CFO.com

Social Media

Your Business’s Social Media Problem: We are Not “Friends”: My guest post at Dashal’s Blog

Gender

Differences between men & women in commenting on blogs: My interview with Nicole Fende

Having a solo business or a small business can be completely overwhelming. You are responsible for the sales, marketing, strategic planning, office supply procurement, technology implementation and support – help! Even the most competent entrepreneur suffers from information overload and choice overwhelm. It is very easy to just shut down and not be able to move forward.

Working the To-Do List that Won’t Die: Try having a big master list but pull out 1-3 of the tasks onto a separate list and commit to getting those done today. If you finish and have more time, pick another task from the master list. Ticking off items feels good and builds positive momentum. Continue Reading;

Continuing the work I have been doing with SCORE, the Fort Lauderdale chapter invited me to speak at their recent event focused on issues facing almost every business owner, money and financials.  Because of my ability to take complex topics and break them down into understandable nuggets, I was asked to (i.e. “drew the short straw”) tackle the topic of cash flow (which I also cover in Chapter 28 of The Entrepreneur Equation).

Through the magic of technology, I was able to participate via video.  Below is the video- Cash Flow is Sexy- that was included in the event.  It is fairly long (17 minutes), but is critical to understanding the importance of cash flow and how to manage it more effectively.  The video covers:

-What is cash flow (in easy to understand terms)
-How you can show a profit on paper and still not have any money to cover your expenses
-Why you want to practice “cash flow yoga” (cash in quickly, cash out slowly)
-Clarification of jargon like working capital
-6 ways to improve your cash flow
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