Helpers do what you say, while good help does what you need, without you saying anything. People who can help you the most are actually smarter than you, at least in their domain. Top entrepreneurs spend more time putting the right team in place to accomplish their objectives than they spend on any other components [...]

At some point in our lives, most of us have had a long-lost friend get in touch, out of the blue, and invite us for coffee or a meeting with some ‘special’ opportunity. Within minutes of meeting the friend, we realize this is not going to be a touching reunion but a marketing pitch, and [...]

It was 4:30 a.m. I had just boarded the train heading to Baltimore (from NYC) to a business event. I was tired… had very little sleep; been up since 2:30 a.m. I had planned to get a decent night’s rest the night before, so I laid my head on the pillow by 9:30 p.m., but [...]

It seems as though everywhere you look, there’s another blog post, article, or news story about social media. If a person didn’t know better, you might think social networking is the only way to connect with people anymore. Of course you do know better… right? Social media is an amazing tool and can make a [...]

You have dreams.  Dreams of fame, a publishing career, and a Bill Gates-sized bank account.  You’re convinced that writing an eBook will earn you the big bucks. Publishing an eBook is just as much about marketing yourself as it is about writing.  (And you, Donald Trump wannabe, have no problems chatting yourself up.  This will [...]

As any business owner can tell you – entrepreneurship is never a sure thing. In fact, the most common reason people give for not starting their own business is that it’s “too risky.” Risk of great financial loss, risk of loss of relationships, and risk of instability and failure are just a few potential entrepreneurial [...]

Being able to build rapport with potential prospects will be a very valuable skill when trying to launch a new business.  This is important because not only do people buy from people they like, but also because having rapport will greatly improve an entrepreneur’s ability to control and manage an opportunity through a sales cycle.  [...]

Making the decision to become an entrepreneur is a major commitment, with huge implications for skills and lifestyle.  Yet there is no standardized testing or certification required or available anywhere to help you decide if you are a good fit for entrepreneurship, or entrepreneurship is right for you. An MBA or other academic credentials just [...]

We often see entrepreneurs using what I would call a “shotgun approach” for their marketing efforts. They have the “throw enough [mud] at the wall and something’s bound to stick” philosophy. Not only is that an expensive tactic, it’s also not nearly as effective as targeting your ideal customers. When you organize your marketing (and [...]

Is there one thing your customers, employees, friends, and family all have in common – one thing they all want from you? Your relationship may be very different with each group of people in your life, and their needs and expectations do vary. But in fact there is something that all of us desire, and [...]

People are different – and that’s fantastic news. Not everyone has the same favorite color, likes the same food, enjoys the same activities, or laughs at the same jokes. Thank goodness that’s the case, or life would be pretty boring. But not only would life be boring – there would be no need for more [...]

For survival, the objective of every business should be to bring in revenues which exceed their costs. Even non-profits have to do this to cover overhead costs, unless they rely totally on donations. Yet I continue to see business plans, or even talk to founders, and can’t find the specifics of the business model anywhere. [...]