We occasionally hear political discourse about the need to support small business in America. Regardless of which side of the political aisle you find yourself — and admittedly the size of that aisle is cavernous these days — we find a common definition of “small business.” The small business of which Washington DC speaks is one with 12 full-time employees and $5 million a year in annual sales. Now, many entrepreneurs want to get to that point. But I believe the truth of the matter is that the vast majority of small businesses in America support one person, the owner; the average small business delights its owner when it crosses into six figures of revenues.
That’s one small step for a man. . .
We all know we should set goals. Sometimes, a goal can be as lofty as energizing an entire nation to put a man on the moon and return him safely by the close of the decade. But often, goals can be much smaller, bite sized chunks of life. Recuperating from a serious illness can offer humbling lessons in goal setting. Sometimes a goal can be arising from a hospital bed and taking a trip around the floor. Nevertheless, having aspirations, things to achieve, or even a daily to do list, are important elements to a life well lived. Realize that no achievement, no matter how large or how small, is unimportant on the path that you tread.
The Seven Deadly Sins of entrepreneurship — Number Seven
Our last undesirable trait or sin, is science without humanity. Technology can be an awesome tool. We have grown incredibly reliant upon it. Have you ever stood next to a microwave oven wondering why we don’t have something that can cook food faster? Or, don’t you smile when you see two teenagers sitting on the ground perhaps 10 feet apart texting each other and wonder why they don’t simply converse? [Read more…]
Update on Your Coach
Hi everyone – wanted to give you an update on what’s been going on with me the past two months. I had two strokes a week apart in late January and early February. From the first I had expressive aphasia – meaning speech, typing, reading aloud – and the second left a deficit in my left hemisphere vision. A week after the second stroke I had clots in both lungs and both legs. These are painful but won’t cause any permanent issues. My speech and vision are almost fully recovered, and all of the clots and stroke deficiencies should be fully resolved in the next month or so. The cause of the strokes/clots was a tumor. Surgery to remove it went very well the last week in February. I will have 18 weeks of chemotherapy which hopefully puts the cancer in permanent remission!
Thanks to all for your well wishes and thoughts!
Are you burned out? (part 2 of 2)
Last time,(January 20th) we looked at the first three signs of burnout; here are four more: [Read more…]
Are you burned out? (part 1 of 2)
You fall violently ill one day and there are two physicians who are available to treat you. To your right is Dr. Black, who has no experience whatsoever in the disease that ails you. To your left is Dr. White, who is expert on the diagnosis and treatment of your disease, but really doesn’t care about patients, medicine or healing the sick at all. You are really stuck like Buridan’s ass, aren’t you? [Read more…]
The Seven Deadly Sins of entrepreneurship — Number Six
The sixth undesirable trait that Gandhi cautions us about is politics without principle. No, we are not entering into the minefield of the current state of American politics! What this trait speaks to, which is applicable to the study of entrepreneurship, is the dangers of creating a public persona that bears little resemblance to one’s authentic self. [Read more…]
Perhaps the most critical tool for success is . . .
Long gone are the days when Emotional Intelligence was seen as flowery add-on to corporate training seminars or as something that would be nice, but not necessary, for a firm’s success. These assumptions about EI in the workplace are rapidly being put to rest as more and more organizations – from Fortune 500 companies to government agencies, solo entrepreneurs to non-profit organizations – realize the importance of having self or staff that has been trained in emotional intelligence strategies, and who know how to navigate coworkers’, colleagues’ and clients’ emotional trigger points. By doing so, better outcomes are achieved, and the organization as a whole, whether large or small, becomes more successful. [Read more…]
Possible tip for the solo or micro entrepreneur to save time in navigating the Affordable Care Act?
If you are are a small entrepreneur, particularly one who has had difficulty obtaining health insurance in the past, the Affordable Care Act will give you the ability to purchase insurance for yourself and your family. [Read more…]
The Seven Deadly Sins of entrepreneurship — Number Five
The fifth of the Seven Deadly Sins is worship without sacrifice. For purposes of adapting this maxim into the world of the entrepreneur, I have substituted the word spirituality for worship. In today’s Western society, while some will claim to have a set of religious beliefs, almost all of us feel we have a spiritual side to our being. [Read more…]