Every child is born an artist. The problem is how to remain one as we grow up. – Pablo Picasso I’ve always loved this quote. But I’ve sometimes struggled to really put my finger on why. Initially I suppose I liked it because it conjured for me an image of a joyfully uninhibited child artist wandering freely from one thought to another, seeing infinite possibilities in her work and exhibiting a freedom that few adults seem to have the luxury to indulge. Now however, I find myself re-reading this quote
Ok so, about a week ago it was Black Friday. Followed by Small Business Saturday, and then of course there was Cyber Monday and I don’t know what’s next – Adopt a Pet Thursday? And oh, is today something? If so I’ve lost track. At any rate, my head is spinning with all these crazy themed days. What are they all about anyway? – They’re about selling us stuff of course! My inbox is overrun. My junk folder alone has over 2000 emails from sites alerting me to their latest
If you own a business you know that one of the biggest challenges a small business owner faces is branding building. You want to grow your business. To do that you need to sell more of your product or service. But, in order to sell more you need more exposure. Sounds simple, right? The challenge though for most of us is creating massive exposure for our product or service while remaining confined to a very limited marketing budget. We could try advertising in traditional media, whether it’s print or broadcast.
Over the years I’ve struggled both professionally and personally with the idea of worth. Professionally, I’ve sometimes wondered if I should consider discounting my price or settle for less in order to get more business. In my personal life I’ll admit I’ve been guilty of getting stuck in the thinking that I’m “just” a mom and by doing this I’ve unwittingly de-valued my role and contribution to my family and myself. Neither is good. I know. Though in defense I must say that professionally, I’ve found pricing one’s services is often
The other day I was chatting with a friend who owns a small business. My friend was complaining that she’d pitched a prospective client that she was convinced would give her their business because she knew she was the best choice. After all she said – and I’d have to agree – she worked harder and knew more about this client’s business than any competitor and she’s had more success in this industry than any of the competition. And yet in the end, and to her great surprise, the prospect chose
So much has been written about finding a job or career you love. It’s become something of a cultural obsession, kind of like uncovering the professional Holy Grail. Honestly, who among us hasn’t thought, wouldn’t life be great if I could work at something I really enjoyed and in turn I became super successful doing it? I must admit I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time over the course of my professional life trying to solve this riddle. No doubt, like some of you I thought, gosh, if I could
This Week: I Love Surprises and Other Lies, Spoiler Alert: All Decisions are Emotional, ‘Merica’s New Favorite Beer and More!! Time for the TMIK weekly wrap up! Get all this blog’s most splentacular posts on success, leadership and entrepreneurship from the week. A must see! And hey, if you like it why not click the subscribe button to get all the weekly goodness sent right to your inbox!
“Spoiler Alert: All Decisions are Emotional” Years ago, while working for a large corporation I was asked (along with a few other colleagues) to review candidates for a plum new management position at our company. After interviewing a large group of individuals our team narrowed the search to two strong candidates. On the whole the two were really quite similar. Both were well qualified. Each had extensive experience, each had an impressive track record of success and each was well respected by his peers. One of the two candidates it
“I Love Surprises. ..And Other Lies We Tell.” Has this ever happened to you? You’re on a road trip with your family. It’s been a long drive. The sun is setting on another day, the kids are asleep in the back, you’ve got some good tunes playing and thankfully you’re making great time. By your estimate, if you push through you’ll make it to your destination tonight. Ah, but then, suddenly there’s a cry from the back of the car, “I’m hungry!” shouts one small passenger. “Yeah, I’m staarrrving!”
Steve Jobs on Failure. “You’ve got to be willing to act.” #tmik (Source: https://www.youtube.com/)