I make people think. I make them laugh. I make them money.

Thanksgiving 2024

We are celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States. We are thankful for you! Enjoy your holiday, and please don’t forget to connect with friends and family. We’ll be back on Tuesday, December 3. Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

2024 Small Business Holiday Gift Guide

Following our yearly tradition to help shine the spotlight on small businesses during the holiday season, our annual 2024 small business holiday gift guide featuring incredible products and services only from small businesses is here! These unique gift ideas are all provided by our own contributor network of small business owners, experts, advisors and entrepreneurs […]

Who Do Founders Talk to About Stress?

Founding and growing a business is incredibly stressful. The success of a business, certainly at the early stages, depends on the founder(s). I was interested to see the statistics in this article from Startup Snapshot, “Behind the silence: Why do only 10% of founders open up to their investors?” The article begins: In the high-stakes […]

5 Types of Videos Every Small Business Should Use to Boost Engagement

Video marketing continues to be important for small businesses that want to create more awareness and connect with their target customers. In addition, social media algorithms favor video content, and many users spend more time consuming it. In fact, videos drive more engagement and retain attention better than any other form of content. They’re an […]

How to Pitch a Blog Editor

As the editor of this blog for more than a decade, I have received a lot of pitches. Guest blogging on someone else’s site can be a good way to gain exposure for yourself and your product / service, and to boost yourself and your company in search results. I have had the pleasure of […]

‘No Problem’ Could Be a Problem

This has been a pet peeve of mine for a while and I would love to know if it rubs you the wrong way as well. I think it’s a big customer service faux pas. This happens at fast food or low-price retail establishments, but do you say this to your customers? Customers who may […]

The Silent Partner You Must Listen To

One of my primary philosophies is that it makes no sense to separate the person from the professional – it’s an artificial distinction and doesn’t work. Solo or small business owners ARE their business, so anything that is going on in their lives can affect their productivity, and subsequently their business. The silent partner in […]

These Ghoulish Clients Are All Trick and No Treat

Clients come in all shapes, sizes, and costumes. As today is Halloween, I thought we should explore some particularly ghoulish kinds of clients – the ones you want to try to avoid, if at all possible. The first conversation with a client may be music to your ears. You know you can help them. You […]

Two Strategies That Will Make You a Better Entrepreneur (and Person)

Most entrepreneurs are very busy and commit to a lot of things. In fact, they frequently commit to too many things, and then stuff starts falling through the cracks. A very easy differentiator for your business (and for you personally) is to create the habit of consciously committing and fulfilling. It goes like this: Don’t commit to something that you can’t […]

Value Your Time Like You Value Your Money

As a small business owner, especially a new business owner, you may feel like you don’t have a lot of money – but you have plenty of time. This is a big mistake! Your time is also a precious resource that needs to be allocated appropriately and, more importantly, consciously. What you may not be […]