There is nothing more exhilarating than knowing where you’re going in business, seeing the road ahead and knowing what steps to take.  Just having that in your pocket feels like a currency, like being rich with hope AND strategy. Conversely, speaking for myself and possibly the other 22 million of us US entrepreneurs who sometimes [...]

If you crave intelligent life in Chicago and are an entrepreneur or solo-preneur  looking for a business community to lift and support your company, here are a few really good reasons to consider joining Big Ooga. Not all groups are equal.  Not all workshops and teachers are equal.  Both have to be worth your time [...]

We’re thrilled to offer this class! Reinvent Your Site and Control Your Content Hands-on WordPress Workshop – Build it in two hours Whether you have an existing website or not,  your company needs an Internet presence that is reaching and connecting with your target customers. In this class we will build a WordPress blog or [...]

Last year I was operating under the old ratio of:  busy tasks vs. priority tasks.  The equation looked like this:  600 + 4 = a day in the life of an entrepreneur. The 600 represents everything other than what you should actually be doing -  reading possibly important stuff, looking for stuff, responding to stuff, [...]

We opened the meeting with some real-time analytics, asking new faces to introduce themselves and tell us how they found us.  90%  said word of mouth.  It was either a friend, a direct experience, direct invite or event  listing – in that order. In other words, it was personal. Just like the writing of this [...]

Last year was tumultuous.   It was about adapting and embracing change, both chosen and thrust.  It was about living under new conditions and circumstances – within the world and within my personal world and I can say with certainty, I survived it with a positive attitude, damn it. Still.. 2010, don’t let the door hit [...]

Image via Wikipedia For those of us who love to write, the joy is in discovering the inspiration of the day! You never know what’s in your head (of value) until you download it onto paper. Free flowing writing channels pure original insights. These can lead to business breakthroughs or crystallize ideas that were gasses [...]

Between social media, digital media, blogging, twitter, Linked In and networking, a small business could go crazy in the acid rain of information and options.  Just doing a task takes you to a browser that lures you into reading a story you could care less about.  Sure you’re more informed, which might come in handy,  [...]

Carving out undisturbed time for focused work is so precious to entrepreneurs, we think of it as Mecca. I would like to describe my Mecca yesterday – the utterly delicious day I blocked off for hitting goals. I arrived at the desk at 7:30 am, went directly to my task list, do-not-stop-GO at email.  For [...]

Image via Wikipedia I don’t try to act “AS IF” I am successful or happy.  When I try, it’s to act “AS IF” I’m normal.  There have been plenty of times when I thought I WAS normal only to find out that I wasn’t. I’d like to take you back to my first real business [...]