I can’t believe it. It has been one year since I started working with Carol Roth and managing Business Unplugged™. What a difference a year makes! I wanted to take this opportunity to share my thoughts (i.e., rant) on why collaboration is a great business practice, why you should take every opportunity to celebrate, and the benefits of keeping track of milestones.

Collaboration

Collaboration does not have to be a formal thing. People can come together for one event (which may then lead to others if successful), or they can have a longer-term goal in mind. I recently saw Barry Moltz give a talk at the Big Ooga group, and he said that he thinks more and more entrepreneurs and small business owners will start coming together to collaborate.

I agree with Barry and have found collaboration to be a great strategy for me and my business. I get tremendous benefits from working with Carol. As you know, she is a super-smart lady and every day I have to bring my “A game.” Being responsible for this blog gives me deadlines that cannot slip. This keeps me focused, and even when I slack off on tasks for my company, the tasks I do for Carol get done. And then, more often than not, I am in the groove so my personal tasks get done too. (Bonus!) 

I also have personally benefited from Carol’s business strategy expertise, and she has been very generous with her time, including reading the entire draft copy for my website upgrade last winter. This collaboration is a win-win for both of us.

Celebration

One year is a big deal so Carol and I are taking the opportunity to celebrate tomorrow. I can neither confirm nor deny that pedicures and cupcakes might be involved. It’s been a good year for the blog:

  • We launched the new look and feel for the site
  • We have been fortunate to get some of the best small business bloggers out there to contribute
  • We did a successful month-long guest blogger event in July
  • We have continued to grow our awesome community

All of these accomplishments are definitely worth celebrating – don’t you think?

Milestones

Milestones are important and valuable. When asked, sometimes we can’t remember our accomplishments – and milestones help us to remember. We can take for granted some of the great work we do, but when we have specific goals and milestones, we know when we have finished a phase and can stop to take a breath and reflect. (And maybe eat a cupcake.)

Thank you!

Thank you so much for being a part of the Business Unplugged community. I have enjoyed providing you with the best content I can find. Here’s to another great year. And thank you, Carol! You are the best.