My sons, Eric and Josh, graduated from middle school last week. I had a conversation with them about moving onto high school. I expected to hear "I'm looking forward to high school," "I'm nervous" and "I hope there isn't that much more homework" but, after all of the complaints I heard this ... Views: 4524
Have you seen the show Hoarders, Buried Alive? Many people are entranced by it. It’s reminds me of when you drive down the road and pass an accident… it’s hard to turn away. I’ve heard people say that they are amazed at how “those people” live. Can’t “they” understand the difference between ... Views: 3746
Are you over complicating things?
I was at our local Whole Foods Market® for a networking meeting. I drank a cup of tea (I’m not a coffee drinker) as a small group of us talked about our businesses and exchanged ideas.
After the meeting we said our goodbyes, I grabbed my empty cup and ... Views: 3039
I was on the treadmill, one mile into my two-mile run. Once I finished, I would get on a bike and ride for ten miles, then back to the treadmill for another two miles.
Running doesn't come easy to me. Frankly, neither does biking. I signed up for the duathlon at my gym as a challenge. I ... Views: 2271
You know you have to do them. You know that they are the foundation to a profitable business. You don’t have a choice…the dreaded sales call.
You may have lists of names of people to follow up with. People you’ve met at networking events. Someone that somebody else suggested you get in ... Views: 2260
I said, "Does anyone have any questions for me?"
The response, "Yes Carrie I do. Since you've been in business for over ten years will you share the top three things that you believe have led to your success?"
It was a question I didn't expect so I thought a moment ... here's the answer I ... Views: 2043
Have you ever said?
• I don't have time to do it right now.
• I'm already overwhelmed; I can't add anything else to my plate.
• There aren't enough hours in a day.
• One of these days...
• Maybe tomorrow...
These are the words of your dreams waiting to be followed. Not pretty, ... Views: 1985
I read an article the other day about a teapot that J. C. Penny is selling. Apparently someone thought it looked like Hitler. J. C. Penny dealt with the matter immediately. They apologized and said that any resemblance is completely unintentional.
The article went on to discuss other ... Views: 1923
Whew...I just made a list of the categories of things we must handle regularly as business owners. Before I started to list them, I was thinking that it would fall into four or five categories. The list grew. I came up with ten areas that entrepreneurs must work on regularly. I've listed ... Views: 1900
I've seen it happen again and again. You wake up in the morning ready to go. You've already decided, "Today's the day." It might be the day that you're going to clear off your to-do list. Maybe you'll spend the day making sales calls. Or maybe it's the day that you're finally going to ... Views: 1864
When I sat down at my computer I was instantly overwhelmed. I opened my email and it was overflowing. I knew there were messages in there that needed my attention. There were emails from current clients, prospective clients, and colleagues looking for information. There were opportunities ... Views: 1738
I was speaking to a colleague who, like me, is a coach who works with other business owners. We hadn't spoken for about a year. I was happy to catch up with her. When I asked her what was going on, she told me that she was looking for a job in the corporate world. She missed the ... Views: 1720
Life as a solopreneur…in many ways the work is the easy part. You know what you’re supposed to be doing. You say that you’re working and your community understands why you’re not available. In fact there’s a certain level of “I’m doing the right thing” when you head to work.
However…one ... Views: 1716
I couldn’t believe it. It must have been a set up. A really bad joke and I was the victim. I was facing down a freight train and I was losing. I was being humiliated. Worse still… it was a public humiliation and there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it.
It started ... Views: 1694
We did it! It’s finally springtime, my favorite time of year!
Here in New Jersey we experience very distinct seasons and during the winter everything dies, or at least it looks like it does. Then spring comes and the earth magically comes back to life. The snow melts, the branches of the ... Views: 1693
I like to believe that I know what's most important to concentrate on. After all, the reason people hire me as their business coach is to help them get focused, set priorities and keep them motivated and productive, so that their projects get done and their business grows.
So why have I felt ... Views: 1673
It’s officially summertime and vacation season.
Business owners often have a tough time traveling on two fronts. First, there is often a sense that they are responsible for so many things that there is no way that they can truly shut down. Then there’s the other side of the coin… the sense ... Views: 1664
My daughter, Sammi, goes to Lehigh University (my alma mater) and just pledged a sorority.
Sorority recruitment (or rush) at college is a pretty intense experience. Sammi referred to it as a solid week for "girl flirting". At Lehigh rush happens DURING winter break. The freshmen girls go ... Views: 1647
Productivity is a multi-billion dollar business so it should be easy to cross things off your to-do list. For the most part the tasks that are on our lists are not difficult, yet it’s as if an invisible force stops you from implementing.
We’re full of excuses. Some of the excuses are more ... Views: 1609
When something comes up four times over the course of two days I know it's serious. Entrepreneurs are lousy at taking care of themselves.
* Entrepreneurs routinely work long hours.
* Entrepreneurs often beat themselves up for not doing enough or not doing it well enough.
* Entrepreneurs ... Views: 1587
Wouldn’t it be great if we could do it all? Imagine never having to think about having the time or resources necessary to do a project because you had all the time and resources in the world. Wishful thinking huh?
The truth is that you don’t have infinite access to time or resources. There ... Views: 1585
The theme of last week’s conversations with my clients was…pricing. I was asked, how much should I charge? What do I do with my clients in low level programs; I know they need more, what do I do? I’m new to this, I don’t have enough experience to charge that much. And then the biggest ... Views: 1568
When people talk about productivity they often talk about routines or habits.
“Professionals” tell us that it takes 21-repetitions of an action to form a habit. This means that after twenty-one repetitions of an activity, it will be engrained into your mind and body so that you do it ... Views: 1567
With all of the "100 days of gratitude" posts I see on Facebook I have to think that many people believe it feels good to acknowledge when things go well. To say thank you when people help you or are nice to you. To express when you feel appreciative of something.
So I have to wonder, why is ... Views: 1547
At the beginning of February I committed to a new challenge at my gym... to run (or walk) a total of 144 miles over three months. It amounts to 12 miles a week. It was a big commitment for me. I already spend about four hours a week at the gym in classes that I don't want to give up. To add ... Views: 1538
The weather here in NJ has been pretty stormy lately. A couple of hours ago, it was dark outside. Thunder was rumbling. Everything seemed to be in place for a terrific downpour but the storm didn't come, at least not then. All we got were a couple of raindrops that quickly disappeared. Hours ... Views: 1534
One of the biggest challenges an entrepreneur faces is that there is no road map for what they want to do because it's their dream that they are following. They don't have a boss telling them what projects to work on and no teacher giving them homework assignments, teaching them what they need ... Views: 1529
Honestly my first thought was "How rude of these people to waste my time."
This past month I’ve been to four business-building events. I was a speaker at three of them. I booked over seventy-five "follow-up appointments". I had team members block the time on my calendar and send the other ... Views: 1523
This is a special request article. A client of mine told me that a colleague reached out to him to do a “quick” project. He priced it on the low end, since it was for a friend and it seemed pretty straightforward. She said yes and he set his team off to work.
The result…”She’s been a ... Views: 1520
Hunger, noise, temperature, surroundings, energy level and overall health. All of these impact how well you function, your productivity and the quality of your work. It doesn't matter what your business plan or marketing strategy is, the one thing that will make or break your bottom line is ... Views: 1510
I went for a walk the other day and saw a squirrel gathering acorns for the upcoming winter. I was thinking about how much easier his life would be if only he could go to Target for all of his acorn needs.
I pictured the sale Target would have in order to attract the squirrels and imagined ... Views: 1508
A client of mine was frustrated. She was talking about the pace of growth in her business. She was telling me that things were shifting, that her message was getting clearer. That she was feeling more confident every day. She also shared with me that her business was still not where she ... Views: 1505
We've all heard that going to events and networking is very important. Meeting someone in person is generally a much faster and effective way to get to know him or her than through online methods.
There are some people who are born networkers. I'm not one of them. I didn't like networking ... Views: 1497
I love people watching. I love guessing what is going through their mind as I watch. There is so much to learn by studying human behavior. It’s easy to apply the lessons to my life and in turn, to my business.
I was sitting in an airport lounge. An alarm went off. I looked up. Nobody ... Views: 1494
I got a hug from the person checking my luggage in for a flight.
My bag was 3 pounds overweight. I was given two choices. I could remove a few things or pay $75. I had a few copies of my book right on top. I pulled them out and put them on the counter. The baggage check lady looked at them ... Views: 1461
I participated in a duathlon last week. It was a 2-mile run followed by a 10-mile bike ride and finally a 2-mile run. After 64 minutes and 35 seconds I was done. I was sweaty and tired. I got a medal (we all did). I know it was an accomplishment. I trained for it. Now here's the part ... Views: 1453
Distractions, it's a topic I've written about before. Some of us are simply more susceptible to distractions but based on what I've been hearing lately and what I've been experiencing myself it's getting worse for everyone.
Did you know that one of the best things you can do to increase ... Views: 1430
It's like you're throwing a temper tantrum.
You know what you want to do. You know why you want to do it. You know how to do it. It's important. The growth of your business depends on it. But, no matter what you do the three-year old kid inside of you is stomping his or her feet ... Views: 1412
I was teaching a class the other day and one of the participants said ... it's like brain hoarding.
You've got so many amazing ideas, so many cool things you want to do. So many opportunities you want to take advantage of. You don't want to let them go.
The problem... like hoarding, ... Views: 1403
I took a picture out of the hotel window. When I look at it I see about two inches of snow, no big deal. Here’s a little more information. The picture was taken from my hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, the week of January 26th. Atlanta doesn’t see much snow. What to me looks like a dusting of ... Views: 1388
I was astounded. I raised $1,109. Yes, that's a lot of money and that's not what astounded me. What astounded me was that out of over 8,000 participants I was the 23rd top "fundraising participant". Frankly, I find that embarrassing. Why? Because, I hardly put any effort into raising that money, ... Views: 1383
My clients tell me of a love/hate relationship with systems. The love part comes because systems make things easier. The results are predictable, you know what you need to do and know where all the things you need to do it are. The hate part comes because there is a belief (which I disagree ... Views: 1378
Many people have trouble staying focused on what they are doing. I got this email recently, take a look, does this sound familiar to you? "I know what I have to do but never do it. I get side tracked, then I lose track of time and next thing I know the day is gone and I've done nothing. It ... Views: 1367
I decided to write an article about getting things done and not worrying about perfection and found myself in need of my own advice...
I like to think that I subscribe to the idea that "good enough" is good enough. Sure it's important to do a good job and make sure there are no major mistakes ... Views: 1326
Procrastination is the result of many things. Oftentimes it's the result of simply not wanting to do something. You know you should or that you're supposed to, but you don't do it. This is what I hear when I talk to my clients about going to networking events. They know it's the right thing ... Views: 1324
The last four coaching calls I’ve been on have focused on one topic. Self care. But wait a minute; I’m a business coach so why do I spend time with my clients talking about self-care?
Guess what? Unless you take care of yourself you cannot take care of your business.
Entrepreneurs tend ... Views: 1295
My sons, Eric and Josh, graduated from middle school last week. I had a conversation with them about moving onto high school. I expected to hear "I'm looking forward to high school," "I'm nervous" and "I hope there isn't that much more homework" but, after all of the complaints I heard this past ... Views: 1281
I was sitting in my son’s high school psychology classroom on back to school night. I was listening to the teacher talk about what the kids would be learning. He asked if there were any questions. One of the parents asked, “What’s with the map?” I looked at the wall and realized the map was ... Views: 1279
I met Valerie at the Charlotte Airport.
She welcomed me to the “Happy Zone” when I walked into a store to get a bottle of water.
I found my drink and went to the register where Valerie waited. She said, “Welcome to the Happy Zone” again, and rang up my purchase with a huge smile on her ... Views: 1273
Networking is vital to growing your business. Simply put, unless you go out and meet people nobody will know you exist. If they don't know you exist they can't hire you. You can be the best "networker" out there but unless you follow up with the people you meet you are wasting your time.
I ... Views: 1245