One of the hard truths of business is that you are paid and evaluated on your results, not your effort—a fact that occasionally makes “knocking it out of the park” with pricing feel unattainable. (And job satisfaction, less than desirable.) Particularly for businesses that specialize in custom services (raising my hand; are you as well?), establishing concrete pricing is … [Read more...]
Mastermind Brainstorming Events
A mastermind group for brainstorming events is an innovative way to create goals. There is a commitment and high level of energy that comes with participants of a mastermind group. The people in the group challenge each other to create goals and brainstorm ideas. They support each other with honesty and compassion. The concept for this type of group was started in the early … [Read more...]
PR 101: Customer Service Counts
Interesting business conversations can crop up just about anywhere—if you're paying attention and know exactly how, and when, to jump in. Such was the case the other day, during an informal meeting with a potential client. Informal, because our entire meeting took place at the checkout counter of her specialty food market. I knew from the start, that there would be … [Read more...]
13 Lists to Make Your (Work) Day Better
In the market for some new office art? Here's a tip: Skip the ethereal paintings and photographs and surround yourself with a creative display of insight and advice, culled from your favorite sources. If you don't mind dedicating a few pages of printer paper to your design, you can quickly create eye-catching "snippets for success" to motivate yourself and others during the … [Read more...]
Read to Succeed: A-List Business Books
With one eye on deadlines and bottom-lines, and the other on client and customer relations, it's easy to lost sight of professional goals. And, to maintain a palpable level of on-the-job inspiration. Some days you feel at the top of your game, full of energy and vision. Others, it's high anxiety, frustration, failure or an overall sense of defeat. You start sweating about … [Read more...]
Make Tomorrow a Better (Work) Day
Surfing the web gets a bad rap, but when you stumble upon articles and posts that have workplace relevance (and that are so smart, you wish you'd penned them), there's real satisfaction. Such was the case yesterday, when a little aimless clicking led me to 14 Things You Should Do at the End of Every Work Day, an engaging summation of how ending your workday on a positive note, … [Read more...]
Four Factors: How to Stay Motivated when Working From Home!
Guest Post By Sheri Andrunyk, Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Inspiring Speaker, Holistic Business and Life Coach, Author and Publisher (More about Sheri at the end of this post) Staying motivated is a choice, and it doesn’t always come from “feeling” like doing something. In fact, the feelings usually follow action. Staying motivated is about focusing on … [Read more...]
Social Media Made Worthwhile
Here's a scenario you can relate to: Just before settling in to edit this post the other night, I skimmed eight different articles on social media (how-to, why-to, when-to, where-to, who-to...), clicked "Read Later" five times, "Pin It" once; posted on Facebook and Twitter, updated my Paper.li, shared a link on Google +, tweaked one of my online profiles and commented on one … [Read more...]
20 Steps to Effective Media Relations
The first step to effective media relations is shaking off the notion that editors and reporters are the enemy. Sure they may not be the best at returning phone calls and emails, and occasionally turn their nose up at your pitch, but get them alone in a dark alley, and they'll admit to needing you just as much as you need them. Even when you're doing the chasing, they're … [Read more...]
Big Thinking for Small Business
If you want to get noticed in a noisy world, your message needs to be better, not louder. And, it needs to be delivered with polish and panache. Your budget may have limitations, but your imagination doesn't, so just because you own a small business doesn’t mean you're off the hook for big thinking. Or, big execution. Need a tangible? Your website. Thinking like a big … [Read more...]